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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Judgements

	In 2008, the following notice was published ~ With due respect to sworn testimony of God-fearing citizens, - in accordance with the laws of the sons of Adam in this Republic of Gilead,- the whoremaster, disgraced Commander Eliot Spitzer to be hung from the wall this evening. Derelict in duty, and found guilty of fornication with the prostitute Kirsten by magistrates of this good parish of Albany, New York State.

Persuant to Holy Scripture, Leviticus 19:29 refers, - Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. , On this day of our Lord, 2008 Anno Domini. Not the potter, but the potter's clay. Amen.

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In 1935, - Adolf Schicklgruber ordered Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Versailles Treaty. Conscription was reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht however the Austrian Chancellor felt that the pace of reform from Fuehrer und Reichskanzler Kurt von Schleicher was too slow to deal with the Red Threat from Stalin's Russia. He lost patience three years later and in 1938 Austrian troops occupied the Weimar Republic. Annexation known as Anschluss (Union) was declared the following day - My good friends, for the second time in our history, an Austrian Chancellor has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.

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	In 1976, James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC, Labour Prime Minister of Great Britain, resigned. Queen Elizabeth II came to dine at 10 Downing Street to mark his resignation, an honour she has bestowed on only one other Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Both events concealed a secret civil that was being fought out with the Queen siding decisively against the establishment.

A BBC programme The Plot Against Harold Wilson broadcast in 2006 gives strong suggestions that the country came closer to military government than previously believed. In a series of secret tapes recorded just after his shock 1976 resignation, Harold Wilson explained that for 8 months of his premiership he did not feel in full control and didn't 'feel he knew what was going on, fully, in security'. He alleged that ex-military leaders had built up private armies in anticipation of 'wholesale domestic liquidation' and Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh's uncle and mentor, would be installed as interim Prime Minister. Two plots, in the late 1960s and mid 1970s, were alleged by Wilson. Lord Louis Mountbatten was assassinated by agents who planted a bomb in his boat at Mullaghmore, County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland 27 August 1979 ending the threat of this coup d'etat.

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In 1935, Adolf Hitler ordered Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Versailles Treaty.Under the Chancellor's plans, German would build a massive military machine, including a new Navy (Kriegsmarine) and an Air Force (Luftwaffe). For the first time in 20 years, Germany's armed forces would be as strong as France's. This escalation prompted an immediate preemptive strike from Anglo-French forces across the Rhine.

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In 1792, King Gustavus III of Sweden was killed by Count Ankarstom as they attended a ball at the Royal Opera. The Count then seized the throne, plunging Sweden into a bloody, 6-year civil war. Most of Scandinavia was drawn into the conflict, which devastated the northern lands of Europe and reduced their influence in world affairs considerably.

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In 1861, the Arizona Territory leaves the Union and joins with the Confederate states. This begins an exodus of western territories to the Confederate side, including California. Within the year, the Union is isolated to a handful of northeastern states struggling to hold together in the face of an enemy who surrounds them from all sides but the north.

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In 1962, the American plane Constitution disappears while flying over the Pacific Ocean. The 167 people on board are presumed dead until the plane lands the next day in Bombay, India, thousands of miles off-course and unable to account for the time they were missing.

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	In 1962, Operation Northwoods was accepted by the Kennedy Administration. This plan was proposed by U.S. Department of Defense leaders with the aim of generating U.S. public support for military action against the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The plan suggested various false flag actions, including simulated or real state sponsored acts of terrorism on U.S. and Cuban soil. This included a plan to fill a plane with CIA agents posing as college students flying over Cuba en route to a vacation destination. The plane was to be replaced, midflight, with a drone filled with explosives which was to be flown over Cuban airspace and exploded with the pretense that the plane full of college students had been shot down by the Castro regime. The plans had the written approval of all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and were presented to President Kennedy's Defense Secretary, Robert McNamara for approval.
Northwoods

Journalist James Bamford summarized Operation Northwoods in his April 24, 2001 book Body of Secrets: 'Operation Northwoods called for innocent people to be shot on American streets; for boats carrying refugees fleeing Cuba to be sunk on the high seas; for a wave of violent terrorism to be launched in Washington, D.C., Miami, and elsewhere. People would be framed for bombings they did not commit; planes would be hijacked. Using phony evidence, all of it would be blamed on Castro, thus giving Lemnitzer and his cabal the excuse, as well as the public and international backing, they needed to launch their war. Needless to say, it didn't end well.'

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Marshall Tito	In 1953, Marshal Josef Tito of Yugoslavia arrived in Britain. A long-term ally of the West, Tito was facing severe pressures from his surrounding nations including Greece, who had turned to Communism. He shook hands with the Duke and made a short speech in faltering English greeting the people of Britain and expressing hope of mutual co-operation, understanding and peace.
Balkan Bulwark

I wish to assure the peoples of Great Britain that they should consider the people of my country as their staunch allies because the people of the new Yugoslavia are striving towards the same ends as the people of Great Britain,' he said. He then inspected the Guard of Honour and was taken in a bullet-proof car escorted by police motorcyclists to Downing Street. Later in the afternoon he laid a wreath at the Cenotaph and saluted Britain's war dead.

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In former Italian vampire hunter Aldo Moro was kidnapped at gunpoint in Rome by a gang believed to be from the Red Brigade. He was later found hanging upside drained of blood. Its as old as Macedonia,' Father Gapon said, 'Hanging the body of your enemy or betrayer upside down so his head faces earth instead of heaven.'

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Kurds	In 1988, thousands of people died in a poison gas attack in the northern Iraqi town of Halabja. The White House made no statement, giving implicit support to their regional ally in the Middle East.
Gassed

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Yakov Sverdlov	In 1919, in Oryol Russian doctors managed to nurse Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov back to health from the Spanish Flu that had been threatening his life. Set once again at the centre of memorable events, Sverdlov is trusted with greater functions by Lenin and appointed General Secretary in 1922 when the Soviet Union came into existence, formalising his role as the First Head of State.
Head of State

He was born in Nizhny Novgorod to Jewish parents, his father being an engraver. He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1902, and then the Bolshevik faction, supporting Vladimir Lenin. He was involved in the 1905 revolution. After his arrest in June 1906, for most of the time until 1917 he was either imprisoned or exiled. After the 1917 February Revolution he returned to Petrograd from exile and was re-elected to the Central Committee. He played an important role in planning the October Revolution. Research in 1990 by the Moscow playwright and historian Edvard Radzinsky uncovered Sverdlov's role in the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Sverdlov ordered their execution on July 16, 1918. A close ally of Vladimir Lenin, Sverdlov played an important role in persuading leading Bolsheviks to accept the controversial decisions to close down the Constituent Assembly and the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. It was claimed that Lenin provided the theories and Sverdlov made sure they worked.

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	Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Damien to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Damien was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 'I am damned,' he said, 'for I have betrayed the lower empire.' 'What is that to us?' they replied. 'That's your responsibility.'

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the coins and said, 'It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.' So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 'They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.' ~ Grand Grimoir, Matthew Chapter 27.

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