Bad News In The War

The state of TIAH

May 6th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: We have an additional Guest Historian today, Jake Dominguez. Professor Jake has contributed to many of our contests before, and we are happy to see that he is still keeping his hand in.

in 1891, 'Sockless' Jerry Simpson, hearing the news that Missouri's new governor doesn't wish to participate in the siege of Kansas, pulls his men away from the Missouri border and sends them north to Nebraska. He also sends a telegram of congratulations to the new governor, Arnold Morgan, and tells him that Kansas has no designs on those who honor its sovereignty. This telegram throws a pall over Governor Morgan's reception of Major Mark Wainwright, who tries to argue that Simpson's Kansas volunteers mean to spread their rebellion across the midwest, and thus endanger Missouri. Morgan shows the telegram to Wainwright, saying, “Sir, this gives the lie to that rather bold declaration. I mean to make peace with my neighbors.” Wainwright leaves the meeting downhearted, seeing the chances of the Union to win this war dwindling away.

at the start of the Moon When Ponies Shed by the End of the White Man's War, War Leader His-Horse-Is-Crazy of the Ogala Lakota accepts the surrender of General George Crook at Forest Canyons, Nebraska. The white man's camp, while well-armed and filled with warriors, had been suffering over the long winter by lack of food and water, with forage parties being neatly cut down by the Lakota besiegers. Late in the winter, the white men had begun sending unarmed parties of women and children to gather food and water, prompting His-Horse-Is-Crazy, privately amused at the cleverness of his enemy, to decree these not be harmed. However, what supplies these managed to collect were insufficient, and the white man sent messengers to ask peace before the heat began to touch the territory. At the ceremony, George Crook, clearly familiar with the customs of the Lakota, bowed in submission and presented his very long steel knife and fine flat warbonnet, decorated with gold, to the War Leader. His-Horse-Is-Crazy was touched by the gesture and ordered that all whites be fed, and provisioned with one horse for every woman-and-two-children, as well as with enough supplies for the entire band to be able to leave the territory. This was done, and the sheer number of weapons left behind was found to be enough to arm a tribe twice the size of the gathered Lakota. However, the news of the victory swelled the numbers of willing warriors from the Plains People, guaranteeing the dominance of the Ogala Lakota in the area. post by Guest Historian Jake Dominguez

in 1915, B-Movie director George O. Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Through a nearly 40-year career, Welles produced over 450 motion pictures, the vast majority of which were obscure, low-budget science fiction yarns or monster thrillers. After his October 30, 1938 broadcast adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds for the CBS radio network, Welles quickly realized the potential of fantastic fictional concepts and creatures to thrill and overwhelm the populace. He quickly moved to Hollywood where he convinced RKO to fund his first and most-acclaimed cinematic 'achievement', Venusian Kane. Despite the rather pithy story of a man from another world's struggle to adapt to Earth society, the film featured a number of directorial innovations that quickly placed it among the most well-critiqued films of 1941. However, the success of the film seems to have wilted Welles' ambitions to transform Hollywood's creative process, and he soon became comfortable churning out an average of a dozen low-grade films per year for a multitude of lesser-known film studios, chief among them American-International Pictures, for whom he directed the cult classic I Was A Teenaged Biker Werewolf in 1962. Toward the end of his life, as the B-movie market dried up with the growing popularity of the expensive genre movie, Welles moved on to performing voiceover work for popular cartoons and television programs, as well as hosting the Saturday Night horror film showcase program Creature Features for a nearly 10-year stint. Welles died of a heart attack in 1985, and at his own request was memorialized only by having his image and voice inserted in the role of a doomed citizen in the then in-production Japanese film Godzilla vs. Biollante. post by Guest Historian Jake Dominguez

In 1992, Neal Stephenson published Snow Crash a cyberpunk classic which described the outbreak of a virus in an anarcho-capitalist America of the near future. The title is a geeky reference to a total software failure mode on the Apple Macintosh computer. Stephenson's genius was to imagine that ancient Sumerian language constructs could invoke such a failure in the human mind itself. So successful was the novel, that five years later, Stephenson would attend the premier of the movie.

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

In 1999, on the right shoulder of Route 5 in Center Lovell, Maine he heard the approaching roar of the engine. It was Mr Gray. Get off the road! Hide a voice screamed in the mind of the author Stephen King.

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

Joseph McCarthy	In 1947, the Tydings Committee got under way with the interview of General Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, effectively in overall charge of the Allied forces in Western Europe on 1 May 1944 known as D Day. By way of introduction, Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy of Wisconsin read ..
.. to the committee the statement that Eisenhower had prepared the night before D Day: 'Our landings have failed and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.' Perhaps Eisenhower would like to explain the need to write such a self-admonishing note?
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1989, the British Royal household awoke to find some very unpleasant photographs in the morning report. Last night a police van had been stoned. And similar reports were coming out of the Royal capitals across Western Europe. The Goddess of Democracy had been in Hyde Park for forty-eight hours now.	Stoning a Polic..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Clement VII	In 1527, Spanish and German troops sacked Rome, ending the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, died fighting the forces of Charles V during the Sack of Rome but were unable to permit Pope Clement VII (real name Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici) to escape. The second dark ages began in Europe.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1983, the Churchill diaries were revealed as a hoax when experts examined the books and concluded that they were fake. The hoaxers had claimed to have received the diaries from England, smuggled out by Hugh Trevor-Roper. The diaries were claimed to be part of a consignment of documents recovered from an aircraft crash ..	Winston Churchi..
.. in Windsor in April 1945. However within two weeks the Churchill Diaries were revealed as being 'grotesquely superficial fakes' made on modern paper using modern ink and full of historical inaccuracies, the most obvious of which might have been the fact that the monogram on the title page read 'VC instead of 'WC' (for Winston Churchill) - even though in the old English typeface those letters looked strikingly similar. The content had been largely copied from a book of Churchill's speeches with additional 'personal' comments recorded by those who fled into exile with him in 1941.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Force

In 1976, Jeremy Thorn said without expression "I already know the name of the man I'm supposed to see is Bugenhagen. That was the name, I've remembered it all. " "'When the Jews return to Zion '" Thorn recited in a near whisper, "'and a comet fills the sky and the Holy Roman Empire rises then all of us will die.'" Mrs Baylock listened intently in the darkness; finally, alterted by the lifeless tone, she knew something in Thorn had changed. "'From the eternal sea she rises with armies on either shore turning man against his brother until man exists no more.'"	Hallowe'en Story

Jousting	In 2007, federal legislators promised to review health and safety regulations in Equestrianism following another jousting fatality. A man died in a freak accident at a jousting tournament on Monday. The unnamed man died after a splinter of wood from a lance flew through the slit of his helmet and penetrated his eye. He died after a week in hospital. The accident occurred in September but the man's death has only just been made public. "We have been shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic accident," a United States Department of Agriculture spokeswoman said. "The professional event has an excellent safety record and took all the appropriate and necessary precautions and it does sadly appear this was a tragic freak accident."
Fatality

The United States Department of Agriculture perform routine inspections of horse shows including jousting events, but safety concerns are difficult to eliminate in this controversial high contact sport.

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Quebec

In 1943, the Governor General of Canada, Major General Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS, born Prince Alexander of Teck warmly welcomed Allied leaders to the Quebec Citadel. Earl Athlone was joined for a series of strategy meetings by Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The agenda was to decide the strategies of the Western Allies that would lead to victory over Nazi Germany and Japan.

Closing the conference, Athlone thanked the Allied leaders for their attendance. Of course, only Roosevelt was leaving the country. Churchill and the British Royal Family were amongst the other members of the British Government in Exile, staying at the Governor's residence at Rideau Hall, Ottawa.

In 2008, service agents at the head office of the restaurant chain Wanda's of Montreal received complaints from customer regarding abusive messages on the company's web site. "B*rfed, totally thux" was widely reported by customers as the most offensive comment.

Gromyko	In 1962, at an emergency session of the UN Security Council Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko showed photographs proving American missiles were installed in Izmir. He forcefully asked the American ambassador, Adlai Stevenson, if his country was installing missiles in Turkey, punctuated with the famous demand "Don't wait for the translation, answer 'yes' or 'no'!" in demanding an immediate answer. Following Stevenson's refusal to answer the abrupt question, Gromyko retorted, "I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over." In a diplomatic coup, Gromyko then showed photographs that proved the existence of missiles in Turkey, just after the American ambassador had said they did not exist.

In 1956, a week after his 17th birthday Lee Harvey Oswald enlisted in the US Marine Corps. His shyness and Soviet sympathies alienated him to his fellow Marines. Ostracism only seemed to provoke him into being a more staunch and outspoken communist. For his steadfast beliefs his nickname ultimately became Oswaldskovich. The Marine had subscribed to The Worker and taught himself rudimentary Russian. During his otherwise undistinguished military career, Oswald earned the Sharpshooter weapons qualification badge with a score of 212 out of 250 targets, average or slightly above average for a Marine, and far above average judged by civilian standards. Initially the KGB considered Oswald to be a potential deep sleeper agency.	Alek
He proved unreliable after his arrival Minsk, and to protect their investment, the KGB eliminated Oswald and substituted him with a Soviet double named Alek. Impersonating Oswald, Alek was ordered by Khrushchev to “return” to the United States and eliminate Kennedy before he could win the Cold War for America.

Hiroshima	In 2999, the mind cast for the next instalment of “Personality of the Triple Millennia” was re-run across the networks. POT3M drew an even larger audience because of its oddness. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the candidate, the context was the Manhattan Project and the moment was seconds before FDR expired. Would FDR endorse a decision by a successor to drop the Bomb on the cities of Japan if it would save hundreds of thousands of American lives? FDR said in principle he would, but was concerned that successors would be trapped in the Pandora's Box logic of the bomb. MC Millenia asked FDR to explain quickly and he said that adversarial powers would doubt the commitment of future US Governments to commit ground troops, and if they did not drop the bomb, they would be forced to accept defeat.

In 2003, on this day the Cedar Fire is reported at 5:37 pm. It becomes the second largest wildfire in California history. Most significantly, it forced sasquatch to leave their native habitat. Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin had captured sasquatch on film at Bluff Creek, California in 1967 and the authenticity of that event was now unambiguously verified thirty-six years later.	Big Foot

White Horses

The state of TIAH

May 20th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: C'mon people! In 1 week, we'll hit TIAH's third anniversary. As before, that calls for a contest! Please send in your alternate versions of the Academy's beginnings (May 27th, 2004 was the date in this timeline). You can even use the fact that we lost the original day and had to restart on the 28th – whatever you can think of to provide a twist to our start. Send 'em in, and we'll print 'em! Be sure to tell us how you want your credit for the post to appear, as well as any links you want to be connected with your entry. Thanks for reading and get researching those alternate timelines! And, just as an addendum – if we don't get any entries, we're going to consider printing some of our more interesting emails...

in 1999, Sir Lance du Lac is freed from the Hungarian prison camp he had been held in exchange for a promise from the British troops not to bomb Budapest. Sir Lance forcefully prosecutes the war against the Hungarians regardless, and they regret letting him go. However, Queen Gwen is quite happy that he is free, as are the non-Hungarian elite of the Illuminati. King Arthur II brings du Lac back to England for a ceremony celebrating his freedom, and Queen Gwen uses his brief stay in Great Britain to rekindle the affair between them. For some reason, Sir Lance is far more compliant this time, and spends the night in the queen's chambers before returning to the Hungarian front. Queen Gwen sends word to her illuminated brethren that, “Lance is now completely under our control. Let us use this weapon as subtly as our art can allow us; for, should his true purposes be revealed, his usefulness will cease.”

In 1760, in order to to sell a white stallion a farmer traveled from Moberly to the market at Macclesfield. On the roadside he was stopped by an old man who made an offer; he rejected it, hoping to get a better price in Macclesfield. Having failed to do so, he returned home that evening and accepted the old man's offer. Led to Alderley Edge and down into a cave, the farmer saw fabulous riches. He also saw a host of sleeping knights, each had a white horse - save for one. The farmer filled his pockets with treasure in exchange for his horse, and made his way home; he could never find that cave again.

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

In 1939, on the eve of World War II, civil defence measures were implemented to prepare for German bombing raids of big towns and cities. Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter Pevensie were amongst the million children evacuated from London; they were sent to live in a rambling old house in the countryside owned by a mysterious professor.

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

Battle of Dunki..	In 1947, the Tydings Committee continue the cross examination of General Sir Bernard Montgomery with a cruel summary from Senator McCarthy. By your own omission, you masterminded the execution of Operation Dynamo, an incredible, simply incredible, evacuation of Allied troops at Dunkirk with minimal casualties. We ..
.. have noted your weaker performance in the invasion of Italy when your opportunity to seize the position of Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force was lost. Therefore, we must ask ourselves, what has changed? McCarthy walked over to Guderian who passed him a small, ancient bottle. Tail gunner Joe lifted the vial and shouted 'This change, when you lost it!'. Montgomery slumped forward, broken. 'Yes, its true' confessed Montgomery. Apart from Montgomery, Guderian and McCarthy, everyone else is mystified, most of all, Millard Tydings.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1989, the Republican leadership was in the hands of Peter Tatchell. And he had made a bold decision. The British Royal Household were not going to resign or flee the country. The Republicans required a Force majeure. They needed an alternative government the British public could trust and they also needed some level of ..	Peter Tatchell
.. complicity from the Security Forces. Tatchell's plan for the Force majeure was to storm Buckingham Palace and hope that the Security Forces did not have the stomach to open fire on the protesters. Having drawn the Security Forces to the Palace, the Republicans would seize Downing Street and the BBC and announce the dissolution of the monarchy as a televised broadcast.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Huntress' Yacht	In 1998, he raced towards the quay but he was out of time and out of luck. The information ..
.. he was acting on had arrived just too late. Again. He pulled up sharply at the end of the jetty, gasping for breath, his heart thumping in his chest. As the yacht pulled away, the huntress saw him briefly. She flashed her trademark bitter-sweet smile in his direction. He had failed, yes, but for a moment his mission was forgotten. Briefly he basked in the radiance of her fierce, liberated joy.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1918, the small town of Codell, Kansas was struck by a tornado. Incredibly, the same town was also hit in 1916 and 1917 on this date. The sensational reason for this event was revealed by the first aerial photographs of Earth from outer space. Actually, the Wyandot Nation of Kansas had known about Codell for a thousand ..	Tornado
.. years. They had imprisoned a false shaman claiming to be the son of Iosheka, and now the spell was unwinding.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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A Pale Horseman Came Riding...

December 20th, 2004

in 1812, the North American Confederation started a minor war against its Sioux neighbors when a group of N.A.C. colonists moved into land they mistakenly believed to have been ceded to them by the Sioux. Nearly 50 colonists were killed, along with an equal number of Sioux, before the dispute was settled and the N.A.C. colonists withdrew.

in 1889, Mikhail von Helfin set sail from Brest, France, for the United States. The few descendants of his who had managed to stay in contact with him had immigrated to a place called Texas, and he had decided to join them.

in 1929, American courts had the good sense to ban that British pornographic tome, Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Once it was settled that the moral health of the nation stood to gain from the government determining what was good for the citizenry to read, the Department of Censorship was created and its secretary made a full Cabinet officer. Now, we only read what’s good for us.

in 1941, troops loyal to the German Underground are being pressed hard by the winter and by the Greater Zionist Resistance in western Russia. G.U. leader Adolf Hitler orders his men in the east to keep pressing forward and not surrender; when word of this reaches Hitler’s neo-Nazi backers from the future, they countermand the order and save thousands of G.U. soldiers from certain doom.

in 1946, magician and world-renowned skeptic Uri Geller was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Geller, an accomplished magician, took on all sorts of “psychics” in his native land, proving them to be phonies. He then took his act to America, where he helped unveil the truth behind notorious frauds such as Jeanne Dixon.

in 1976, all of Illinois mourned as the illustrious chairman of the state’s Communist Party, Comrade Richard Daley, died in Chicago. Comrade Daley had briefly been the mayor of Chicago during the 1960’s, but his services were better put to use building the most successful party organization in the Soviet States of America.

in 1980, in one of the most obvious attempted murders of the century, Sunny von Bulow was found in a coma in her Rhode Island mansion. Her husband, Claus, was arrested and quickly confessed, since the police had him dead to rights. He is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Rhode Island.

in 2003, a pale rider on a pale horse rode through London, and all who stood within his path died. The horse was seen galloping towards Buckingham Cathedral after an Estellian in his way had called upon her to save him. He was the lone survivor of that horseman’s hideous ride.

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Duchy Of Ohio; Berlin Wall Opens

Christmas Day Contest! LAST CHANCE!! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on December 25th, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Today, December 20th, 2005, is the last day for you to enter! The contest is over once the post for December 21st, 2005 goes up. Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

December 20th, 2005

in 1579, England's greatest playwright was baptized in Sussex. John Fletcher took over writing for the King's Men and the Blackfriars from the unsuccessful hack William Shakespeare, and the magical settings of his writing enchanted the court. Since then, his star has never faded, and such gems as Wild Goose Chase are still performed today.

in 1783, Lord Stephen Dumont-Warrington is given the newly-created Duchy of Ohio, created from the western possessions of the Virginian commonwealth. Dumont-Warrington is famous for raising an army among the natives of his new duchy and using it to fight the Canadian nationalists; the fight proved foolhardy, as the natives abandoned him when the fight went badly, and he was killed by the Canadians in 1786.

in 1812, the North American Confederation started a minor war against its Sioux neighbors when a group of N.A.C. colonists moved into land they mistakenly believed to have been ceded to them by the Sioux. Nearly 50 colonists were killed, along with an equal number of Sioux, before the dispute was settled and the N.A.C. colonists withdrew.

in 1888, Mikhail von Helfin set sail from Brest, France, for the United States. The few descendants of his who had managed to stay in contact with him had immigrated to a place called Texas, and he had decided to join them.

in 1892, New York inventors Alexander Brown and George Stillman patented their design for an inflatable tire, in order to make auto travel a little less bumpy. Auto manufacturers refuse to use it, though, because of the ease with which they wear out compared to the standard solid rubber tire. This does spur the development of shock absorbers, giving the nation's auto-riding public a bit more comfort.

in 1929, American courts had the good sense to ban that British pornographic tome, Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Once it was settled that the moral health of the nation stood to gain from the government determining what was good for the citizenry to read, the Department of Censorship was created and its secretary made a full Cabinet officer. Now, we only read what’s good for us.

in 1946, with World War II over and Japan safely out of his country, Indochinese leader Ho Chi Minh begins his long crusade to free his native land from French colonial rule. With the aid of such unlikely allies as Joseph Stalin and Dwight Eisenhower, Ho secures freedom for his people, although the French negotiate the use of the Indochinese coast for several naval bases.

in 1965, years after Comrade President Joel Rosenberg's famous speech, the Berlin Wall is opened to foot and auto traffic between East and West Berlin. Although the German monarchy still fears the communists of the east, the cries of the people to be reunited with their loved ones has become too loud.

in 1980, wealthy socialite Sunny von Bulow flees her Rhode Island mansion, pursued by her husband. Although he catches her, several neighbors in their suburb witness his attack and call the police. When the cops arrive, Claus von Bulow flees, never to be seen again.

in 1989, when President George Bush attempts to order American troops into Panama in order to “enforce American law” against dictator Manuel Noriega, Congress halts the operation and expands the so-called Iran-Contra hearings to include events in Panama. When it comes out that the Panamanian strongman was one of the conduits through which the Contras sold drugs in order to support their war efforts, impeachment proceedings began in the House.

in 2003, a pale rider on a pale horse rode through London, and all who stood within his path died. The horse was seen galloping towards Buckingham Cathedral after an Estellian in his way had called upon her to save him. He was the lone survivor of that horseman’s hideous ride.

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One Horse Town

July 27th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alt-Hist Intro: This is a time-traveler idea I've had – let me know what you think in the comments!

I went back in time the other day. It was quite an interesting experience. I almost prevented the birth of Hitler, and was an inch away from saving Martin Luther King. And, by the way, it was Oswald, and he was the only gunman. I can say that without fear of contradiction.
I'm not supposed to interfere, but you can't help yourself, really. After all, what's the point of going back if you're not going to try to change things? Time travel is the ultimate wish fulfillment. If you go back far enough, and you know enough, you can be a god.
Marcus had wanted to do that; be a god. He told me that he could bring a few gadgets with him, set up shop in Mesopotamia or someplace like that, and he would never have to worry about anything ever again. I reminded him that modern conveniences like hologames, running water and vaccinations might be missed by someone playing the god for the primitive locals, but he says that he could tough it out. I doubt it.
But, he's been gone for a while now, and I don't think he's coming back. The world hasn't come crashing down around us, so whatever changes he's made, I assume that they've already been taken into account in the time stream. I hope.
That's what we all hope, really. Everybody involved in the project has got to hope that we can't really change the past, at least not in a way that will destroy the present. If we can, then somebody's going to screw us all up any day now.
Maybe they already have.
There are a lot of paradoxes in this line of work, and you really just have to get used to them. I mean, if you try to grasp each set of contradictions that you bring up just by appearing in the past, you'd spend all your time sitting around confused instead of doing something. And that's not very productive.
My main area of focus is on historical accuracy in textbooks. I was the one who got to correct all the assassination buffs who’ve been living on JFK rumors for decades. That was my masterpiece; seventeen cameras along a one mile patch of road in old Dallas. Conclusive proof that the only shots came from the book depository, there was nobody on the grassy knoll, and I got a really good close-up of Lee Harvey himself squeezing the trigger. How they howled. I've now been labeled part of the conspiracy.

In 2006, a series of high-level resignations continued in the Justice Department and at the FBI following the revelations of James Anthony Traficant, Jr. at a press conference in Washington.	James Traficant
A former Democratic Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio, Traficant, Jr. had been recently released from prison after compelling evidence emerged that he was the victim of a government set-up. This included false allegations of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C. All of which were dismissed at the re-trial.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border the terrible past finally caught up with Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence. Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny had been sent on a desperate mission by General Rommel, in a last ditch attempt to rescue the Afrika Korps from certain defeat in the North Africa Campaign. Skorzeny presented a series of letters from 1931 through 1934 that Lawrence had written to John Bruce, posing as his own Uncle. The Obersturmbannführer was ordered to either "turn" the Commander of the British Eighth Army, or hand over the letters to Lawrence's Arab allies. The bitter irony of being turned was not lost on Lawrence. "How could you do it?" asked Skorzeny twisting the knife.

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

"Saw a Cadillac for the first time yesterday, I'd always seen horses, buggies, bales of hay `Cause progress here don't move with modern times There's nothing to steal so there's not a great deal of crime It sure is hell living in a one horse town There's half a mile of Alabama mud bed ground
Elton John	Nothing much doing of an afternoon Unless you're sitting in a rocking chair just picking a tune And they ain't too well acquainted with the stars and stripes But if you want to hear Susanna then they'll pick all night They'll pick all night" ~ Lyrics to “One Horse Town” - Click to Play Sample
Exiled Genius

Following revelations about his personal life and flight from Great Britain, Elton John described his isolation in a remote part of Alabama at Lyric Dude

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

In 1970, on this day António de Oliveira Salazar died. He had governed as the de facto dictator of the Portuguese Republic since 1932. During the previous two years he had ruled in name only since suffering a major stroke, forcing President Américo Tomás to effectively replace him with Marcelo Caetano. As a symbol of Portugese unity, the Mocidade Portuguesa (militia) of African, Asian and European ethnicity paid homage at his funeral. Dramatic changes that had been held in check for many years were now unleashed; Portugal was no longer “Proudly Alone”.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, a turn on the Wheel of If had transformed New York DA Allister Park into Celtic Judge Ib Scotlung. Brilliantly discharging the duties of a Pugnacious Peacekeeper through an intricacy of Islam, Park found a peaceful resolution to the border dispute between Tawantiinsuuju and Dar Al-Harb. The young widow and prospective wife, Kuurikwiljor had written down the belief system of Patjakamak for Park's study. This practice was not forbidden yet not encouraged by the Tawantiinsuuju, true believers who memorized Patjakamak. A Zorastrian precedent was applied to recognise non-believers as People of the Book. This redefinition as non-pagans enabled the Emir of Dar Al-Harb to establish peace across the physical barrier of the great river Ooorinookoo.

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

In 1948, Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny escaped from an Allied Prisoner of War Camp. With the defeat of Nazi Germany inevitable, Skorzeny had trained, until March 1945, recruits for the stay-behind Nazi organisation, the Werwolves, which engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Allies. However, Skorzeny quickly realized that the Werwolves were too few in number to become an effective fighting force. Instead of this, they were used for the Nazi "ratlines", a secret "Underground railroad" which helped Nazi war criminals escape trial after Germany's surrender. Beside this organisation of the "ratlines," which would form the basis of the supposed ODESSA network after the war, Skorzeny had been employed since August 1944 by high-ranking Nazis and German industrialists to hide money and to loot property, documents, etc., some of which were buried in the mountains of Bavaria, and others shipped overseas. Skorzeny finally decided to surrender to the Allies in May 1945, feeling that he could potentially be of use to the Americans in the forthcoming Cold War. On May 16, 1945, he emerged from the Austrian woods near Salzburg and surrendered to a lieutenant of the US Thirtieth Infantry Regiment. He was held as a prisoner of war for more than two years before being tried as a war criminal at the Dachau Trials for his false flag actions in the Battle of the Bulge. However, he was acquitted when Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas G.C. of the SOE testified in his defence that Allied forces had also fought in enemy uniform. But he was held until he escaped from a prison camp on July 27, 1948. There was one item of property that Skorzeny took with him in his flight to South America. Some documents actually. Letters written by Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, posing as his Uncle, to John Bruce between 1931 and 1934. And also the five missing pages from Lawrence's War Diary, ripped in shame by the author describing his capture in Deraa during November 1917. Documents that would create a spectacular reaction when they surfaced in 1960 during the premiere of the movie Lawrence of Arabia on 16th December 1962.

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

Windsor Ontario	In 1940, the fleeing British Royal Family reached their safest haven. That being the capital of New Britain established by Arthur Wellesley in 1814, Windsor, Ontario. Nowhere other than this Anglophone pocket in North America would have accepted these desperate refugees. Head of the British Government in Exile, Winston Churchill ..
.. summoned up the situation on their arrival: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was our darkest hour.'”
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1941, Japanese troops occupied French Indo-China. Meanwhile, Mountbatten, Wingate et al. were poised to quit the Far East altogether, taking with them the Indian Divisions of the British Army. These troops were desperately needed in Jerusalem by Bernard Montgomery of British Central Command. Caught in the Middle East between ..	Conquest of Ind..
.. the German and Japanese pincer movement, the British Army prepared for Churchill's Land Stand.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Syngman Rhee	In 1953, following a six-month “surge” US President Douglas MacArthur proclaimed victory in the Korean War. In Seoul, anti-communist Syngman Rhee was declared president of the newly unified Republic of Korea. Rhee's legacy has been in considerable dispute.
In general, conservative circles regard Rhee as the patriarch of the nation, while liberals tend to be critical of him. Shortly before the 1988 Olympic Games it was discovered that Rhee had embezzled over $20m from the government and tributes to the former head of state were cancelled.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1974, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment against President Robert F Kennedy: obstruction of justice. Americans were waking up to the fact that RFK's Special Investigations Unit (“the Plumbers”) had burgled their own Democratic National Committee ..	Richard Nixon
.. Headquarters in an attempt to besmirch Richard M Nixon's reputation. Still, it was just too late for Honest Dick. At sixty years old, he had made two bids for Presidency, and one for the Governorship of California. Even if he had been tricked by the Kennedys, he still had a record of losing.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Rescued by the Master

Peter Mandelson	In 2001, Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Mandelson was confirmed in his position by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Members of the inner circle had doubt whether Mr Blair would succeed in rescuing his familiar. An unknown source reported that Mandelson had his own fears – being hung upside down by his master in a gesture as old as Macedonia. At the very least the Prince of Darkness had feared a second resignation from the cabinet over a row concerning a passport application from an Indian billionaire.
Prince of Darkness

It is the second time Mr Mandelson was under pressure to leave the cabinet in disgrace since Labour came to power in 1997. Mr Mandelson, a close confidant and friend of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said he did not accept he had acted "improperly in any way" over the passport affair. Mr Mandelson had come under increasing pressure over the issue since the weekend. He strongly denied claims he pulled strings to help Srichand Hinduja secure a UK passport in return for a £1 million sponsorship deal for the Millennium Dome while Mr Mandelson was in charge of that project. The Hinduja family is one of the most influential in the world and runs the transnational Hinduja group, a company with assets amounting to around $8 billion. Since 1990 Srichand Hinduja and his brothers Gopichand and Prakash have been defending themselves against criminal allegations in a long-running corruption case involving an arms deal between Swiss company Bofors and the Indian government. Srichand Hinduja, who with his brother Gopichand has lived in London since 1979, had his first application for UK citizenship refused in 1990. Just after paying the sponsorship money, he asked Mr Mandelson whether he could apply again. The passport was granted soon afterwards. Earlier on the same day, Mr Blair had summoned him to Downing Street to 'establish the facts' of his involvement. The next day, Minister for Europe Keith Vaz also became embroiled in the affair after it was revealed he had written to both the prime minister and Mr Mandelson about the Hinduja brothers in 1997. In March 2001, an inquiry, led by Treasury solicitor Sir Anthony Hammond QC, cleared Mr Mandelson and placed the full responsibility for wrongdoing on Mr Vaz. It was a textbook case study in the highest standards of integrity in public office, a key pledge from Tony Blair when he assumed office in 2007. Vaz felt somewhat differently, describing the events through a different perspective in his political biography 'Thrown to the Wolves'.

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	In 1966, the lives of 117 people were placed in jeopardy after an Air India Boeing 707 nearly crashed near the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps. The plane was on a regular Bombay to New York flight when the accident happened at around 0800 local time. All 106 passengers and 11 crew landed safety at Geneva airport in Switzerland. Fortunately, a Brahmacharya soul deep was amongst the passengers. Exercising 'control of the senses in thought, word and deed' the brahmacari shaped time and space to avert Moksha.
Mont Blanc

One of the passengers included chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, who was on his way to Vienna. The remaining passengers were Indian nationals, 46 of whom were sailors. Six were British. Dr Bhabha, described as a man 'who simply must not die' subsequently negotiated a nuclear free agreement for the subcontinent. Gerard Devoussoux, a mountain guide who witnessed the scene, said: 'Another 15 metres (50ft) and the plane would have hit the rock. It would have made a huge crater in the mountain'. Robert Bruce, from Tooting, who was waiting for his parents to arrive, said: 'I am so choked I cannot even cry. I will just go home with my parents and collapse. 'As far as I am concerned my world has been saved.'

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In 1965, Winston Spencer Churchill died in his Falklands stronghold, buried under a boulder inscribed, 'Founding Father of the movement to uproot Nazidom from the world.' His mission is unfulfilled at the time of writing.

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In 1945, after joking 'I drink and smoke and I am 200% fit' Winston Spencer Churchill died months before the end of World War 2, forcing the hopelessly unprepared Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee into office. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had stopped smoking when he reached the Presidency, said that a similiar disaster in America would have had deeply profound consequences for the post-world war, a disguised reference to the Bomb.

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In 1924, following a series of strokes Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Bolshevik Party, and father of the revolution is forced to shape change, fleeing his cadaver to occupy the body of the rude Georgian Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. Through the cult of the personality, Stalin as he Vladimir Lenin is known is able to dilineate an uninterrupted rulership as General Secretary, which is very much the case given the continuity of the demon in the two bodies. He leaves the cadaver of Lenin on display, embalmed at a mausoleum in the Kremlin in case he ever needs to make a Dracula-style exit from Russia in the future.

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In 1994, the Ames dossier demonstrated incontrovertible evidence of the CIA's role in the multiple Lee Harvey Oswald diversionary ploy. And some complementary words for the case file officer, George H.W. Bush.

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In 793 AUC Caligula, who had briefly served as Rome’s emperor before a brain fever drove him mad, dies under the care of doctors in Rome. Hard as it was for Romans to depose an emperor, Caligula was clearly in no condition to continue to server Rome as its leader. Rumors that he even began speaking to his horse were never confirmed, but were not doubted.

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In 1914, almost a year after vowing he would never work on it again, Franz Kafka finished his novel Amerika. Although most critics say that the beginning is a powerful tale of a European boy banished to America by scandal, the ending where the boy is turned into a sheep and eaten by coyotes in Oklahoma does tend to throw most people.

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In 1986, Ron Hubbard, known for his rollicking western pulps in the 30’s and 40’s, and his more epic detective and western fiction afterwards, died at his home in San Francisco, California. Reverend Hubbard, who was ordained in the Church of Christ and led a huge congregation in San Francisco, always said he was unafraid to die, since that was the last promotion God could give him.

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In 1986, Trade and Industry Secretary Leon Brittan became the second cabinet minister to resign over the Westland affair. Before the year was out, Mrs Thatcher would be the victim of a 'political' assassination, replaced by the more moderate Michael Heseltine.

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In 1984, Apple Computers released the Macintosh, a personal computer with a graphical user interface, rather than the command line that most PC’s had used up to that point. This innovation, although not unique to Apple, rocketed them to the top of the computing world. By the end of the decade, they produced almost 80% of the computers used in America, and their operating system, licensed out to other computer manufacturers, today accounts for around 90% of the computing done in the world.

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In 1971, British industrialist Frank Spencer and his wife Betty faced the cameras after mechanical failures onboard the British spacecraft Marie Celeste had been traced to his Factory. Spencer was asked to comment on the European Space Agencies' self-inflicted wound. The British really would have to do something about this quality control problem for next time, they had said.

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