Daddy

Idi Amin	In 1971, Commander of the King's African Rifles, Idi Amin Dada was appointed the first indigenous Governor General in the British Empire. Dada's apppointment was a cycnical measure by British Imperialists, intended to head off nationalist pressures in Uganda. Imperial troops sealed off Entebbe airport and there are reports of tanks and soldiers on the streets of the capital, Kampala. The governor's residence was surrounded and major road links blocked. The whereabouts of Pan-African independence guerrilla Milton Obote remained unknown.
Gov. General

Idi Amin joined the King's African Rifles (KAR) of the British Colonial Army in 1946 as an assistant cook. After serving in the Burma Campaign, he transferred to Kenya for infantry service as a private in 1947 and served in the 21st KAR infantry brigade in Gilgil, Kenya, until 1949. That year, his unit was deployed to Somalia to fight the Somali Shifta rebels who were rustling cattle there. In 1952 his battalion was deployed against the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. He was promoted to corporal the same year, then to sergeant in 1953. In 1954 Amin was made effendi (Warrant officer), the highest rank possible for a Black African in the colonial British army. Amin returned to Uganda the same year, and in 1961 he became one of the first two Ugandans to become commissioned officers with the rank of lieutenant. He was then assigned to quell the cattle rustling between Uganda's Karamojong and Kenya's Turkana nomads. In 1962, Amin was promoted to captain and to major in 1963. The following year, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Army. Amin was an active athlete during his time in the army; the 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) soldier was the Ugandan light heavyweight boxing champion from 1951 to 1960 and a swimmer and rugby player. Subordinate to the ceremonial ruler Kabaka (King) Edward Mutesa II of Buganda, the British Foreign Office promoted Amin to colonel and army commander in 1967. In 1971, Idi Amin was appointed Governor General of Uganada. "I am not an ambitious man, personally," Amin said after taking power, "I am just a soldier with a concern for my country and its people." In 1972, determined to make Uganda "a black man's country", Amin expelled the country's white population in the closing months of the year, reportedly after receiving a message from God during a dream. "I am going to ask Britain to take responsibility for all whites in Uganda who are holding British passports, because they are sabotaging the economy of the country," Amin declared at the start of August. Afterwards, Amin flamboyantly described himself as Defender of the British Empire in Africa (in general), and Uganda (specific).

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Nasa Rovers	In 2004, the second of two Nasa rovers sent to explore Mars landed on the surface of the planet, where it looked for signs of water. The Opportunity rover touched down at 0505 GMT, on the opposite side of Mars from where its sister rover, Spirit, landed three weeks ago. Tantalising photos of canals and ancient cities were transmitted back to Earth. Unfortunately, the Mars Armaggedon in January 2008 caused by WD-5 prevented further investigations of life on Mars.
Mars

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In 2003, anxious scientist Seth Brundle poured his heart out in a letter to US Vice President Dick Cheney. Brundle ended the piece with a quote from the Bhaghavad Gita - 'I am death, become the destroyer of worlds'.

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In 1995, years after the Soviet Union had collapsed, and peace was the order of the day, the Russian missile defense system detected a launch from Norway. Although it was a mistake, and a simple call for verification from Moscow would have confirmed that it was a mistake, the commander at the switch that day was an unreconstructed hardliner, and ordered every missile launched. This triggered a launch from European bases, and before anyone could stop them, nuclear devastation wasted northern Europe.

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In 1971, Idi Amin, a general in Uganda’s military, seized power from Milton Obote in a bloody coup. The British Foreign Office view was that '[Idi Amin is] a splendid type and a good football player'.

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In 1792, the London Corresponding Society (LCS) was established as a moderate-radical body concentrating on parliamentary reform in the 1790s. In reality it was a secret society full of rabid socialists who overthrew the monarchy, dismantled the British Empire and executed Queen Victoria as it dragged the country kicking and screaming into the enlightened age of the nineteenth century.

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In 1994, the Ames dossier provided in some detail the inbound smuggling of narcotics and firearms into the African-American community. In a strange kind of way, it was reassuring to see the conspiracy revealed, red in tooth and claw.

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In 1349, Idi Amin, a general in Uganda’s military, seized power from the rightful ruler, Caliph Mutessa II, in a bloody coup. He abolished Islam during his short reign, alienating Uganda from all the nations surrounding it. In 1352, when he began slaughtering old tribal enemies, the Islamic nations surrounding him invaded and removed him from power.

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In 1994, Jeanne Dixon, shortly after predicting that she would be raptured with other true believers in the year 2000, died in New York City. She had stepped in front of a car that she hadn’t seen coming.

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In 1993, one-term US President George Bush prepared for 'the grandfather' business as he returned to a life of retirement following his defeat by Bill Clinton. Its maddening really, by recovering Extraterrestrial Technology from Panama and Iraq he had won the Cold War and set the scene for the American Century. In fact he had been SO focused on the programme he developed as CIA Director in the mid-70s that he had largely ignored domestic concerns. At sixty-eight he was told old for a comeback. There was nothing else for it, he would have to get W elected to nurture his legacy.

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In 1565, at Talikota battle is joined between soldiers of the Vijayanagara Empire and the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan. At stake is the future the Hindu Kingdom, which would shortly require vital unity in repelling the European Colonial Powers. The modern superstate of Hindustan was about to be born.

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In 1971, the BBC ran footage of British industrialist Frank Spencer facing the cameras after mechanical failures onboard the British spacecraft Marie Celeste had been traced to his Factory. 'We've had a spot of bother..' started Spencer. 'Its not fair to blame my Frank, he'd had a lot on his mind recently' piped in wife Betty.

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	In 1999, six members were expelled from the International Olympic Committee following an inquiry into a corruption scandal which has deeply shaken the Olympic movement. The six were identified at the end of an investigation by the IOC into allegations of corruption during the awarding of the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City, in Utah. In all, the investigation named 13 IOC officials who were alleged to have taken cash or services in return for helping Salt Lake City win the right to host the Olympics. Three had already resigned, and six had been suspended ahead of this formal decision by the IOC to expel them.

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The Greatest Sport

May 31st, 2007

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in 1891, General Theodore Monteith's 25,000 men march to the outskirts of Topeka, Kansas, where the Union general sends word to the rebels that they may surrender and avoid bloodshed at this time. His messenger is returned with a note from the leader of the rebellion, 'Sockless' Jerry Simpson: “I fear we must politely decline the general's noble request; however, should he wish to surrender to us, we guarantee good treatment for his men and a fair trial for himself and his fellow war criminal, Major Mark Wainwright.” General Monteith laughs out loud when he reads the reply, telling the messenger, “Well, I guess they didn't hear of Wainwright's promotion. All right, then. I guess we have to go through with this.” He prepared his men for the assault on Topeka the next day. Meanwhile, three Kansan commanders - Dell Lee Lewis in the south, Emmanuel Carter in the east, and Frederick S. Ogilvy in the west – converged on Topeka with almost 50,000 reinforcements for the rebels.

in 1999, King Arthur II returns home to London amid great fanfare for his successful mission to New Zealand. Prime Minister Kay Ector, overshadowed by His Majesty's involvement in the negotiations, feels somewhat left out of the celebrations, and Queen Gwen takes note of this. She approaches him privately at the official party at Buckingham Palace, and says, “My dear Prime Minister, you seem to have not caught the festive mood of our time. Is there anything I can do to help you?” Ector, uncomfortable at the thought of being noticed by the queen, mumbles, “I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I am, of course, delighted that New Zealand will contribute to the war effort. Perhaps I am simply tired from the long trip.” The queen seems to accept this excuse, but files away Ector's mood as something that could be useful later.

Harold Wilson	"[Journalists] should investigate the forces that are threatening democratic countries like Britain. Occasionally when we meet I might tell you to go to the Charing Cross Road and kick a blind man standing on the corner. That blind man may tell you something, lead you somewhere... I am not certain that for the last eight months when I was prime minister I knew what was happening, fully, in security. " ~ Harold Wilson
Prime Minister

BBC journalist Barrie Penrose researched the TV drama documentary The Plot Against Harold Wilson which investigated the Labour prime minister's conviction that he was the target of plans to stage a military coup - and that the Royal Family backed it. Penrose says they confirm such plotting "wasn't in the fevered imagination of an embittered ex-PM". Penrose concludes his Radio Times article: "You may ask, at the end of the programme, why the coup was not believed earlier? My view now, as it was then, is that Wilson was right in his fears.... in answer to the question 'how did we come to get a military government' I can only say – we didn't speak to that Blind Man on Charing Cross Road." The review of this alternate historical masterpiece is available at BBC Web Site

~ quotation by Guest Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1919, Uncle Alf wrote - To my sweet and most delicious Geli, Hello, my darling. I wonder whether this letter will get to Munich ahead of me, for I have been mysteriously discharged by the Pomeranian doctors in this field hospital. The superhuman strength of my lycanthropy arms me for my struggles ahead. I await my meeting in Munich with General Ludendorff; together we must worship the Norse Gods together - our chosen one is Azazel. I will be home soon, I intend to show you just what a hero, just what a conqueror is your Uncle Alf.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Guderian	In 1947, General Hans Guderian addressed the planners of D-Day2. To explain his defection he read from the incantation Christabel by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 'And in my dream methought I went To search out what might there be found ; And what the ..
.. sweet bird's trouble meant, That thus lay fluttering on the ground. I went and peered, and could descry No cause for her distressful cry ; But yet for her dear lady's sake I stooped, methought, the dove to take, When lo ! I saw a bright green snake Coiled around its wings and neck.' 'Revenge motivated my flight to America, gentlemen' explained Guderian, 'but not revenge for me. Fear of revenge from the vial which was crying out for its owner – you sir'. General Sir Bernard Montgomery beamed with pleasure, this time he was going to REALLY make history. The glory of D-Day2 would be his, of that he had no doubt. No doubt at all.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1989, following a transatlantic flight the remains of the British Royal Household had their suitcases unpacked by servants in the Governor General's residence at Rideau Hall, Ottawa. King James IV was not too distressed, he was looking forward to some R&R in Canada. They would be back before the New Year ushered in the ..	King James IV
.. 1990s. Until then, it was party season. It was going to be a riot.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Anon Detective	In 2001, he experienced deep remorse at the death of the decoy. He had falsified his report, changed Eilat to Tel-Aviv, not mentioned the child. How could he? The greatest fisherman set free their catch. They have no need for unnecessary cruelty having demonstrated the mastery of their skill. Hunting, he reflected, ..
.. was after all, but a sport. The greatest sport of all.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1977, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was completed by the Russian Government. Due to the Oil Crises of the decade, the United States was unexpectedly forced into seeking a détente with the Communists as the need to find oil out-weighed the antagonisms of the Cold War.	Map of the pipe..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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