Plans

August 30th, 2007

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Don't forget - Birthday Contest for Steve – November 22, 1967. Send in an alternate birthday for him for us to post!

Alt-Notes: In RATMANifesto, I'm going to collect the continuing timelines and give them a home, finally. That's one of the projects I've been meaning to do or some time, but couldn't get around to because I had to keep putting up new posts. RATMANifesto is also going to be a site for my projects, no matter what they are – I plan on putting up a podcast or two, provided we can swing the bandwidth.
In the meantime, he's Steve, our future Alternate Historian, with today's post. Look for changes in the design of the site tonight – Steve is looking to make TIAH simpler and more conducive to the kind of visual posts he has created for us.

	"Britain was in the wrong Union. Rather than the European Union, a group hostile to Britain and the English language, Britain belonged in the American Union, on the road to worldwide English-Speaking Union. " ~ Expansionist Party of the United States

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

In 1868, in Lee Allred's West of Appomattox US Secretary of State General Robert E. Lee agrees to a proposal from a powerful but nameless figure in the British establishment which will settle the dispute between the two nations. Lee agrees to an act of self-sacrifice by resigning his position, admitting that the execution of Confederate President Jefferson Davis for treason was a strike against democracy and the constitution of the founding fathers. He reflects briefly on the insincerity of Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address - You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it." Lifting his pen to write the statement, he says - “I will pay the price to keep that oath”.

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

In 1946, former US Vice President John Nance Garner coined the term “Day of Infamy” when he delivered his Sinews of Peace speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. The anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were fast approaching, and debate raged in the United States about Truman's falsehood in describing the cities as military bases, chosen to minimise civilian casualties.

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

In 2007, Northern Prime Minister John Kerry flew into London, England to meet with the new British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. “We know that we cannot solve any of the world's major problems without the active engagement of the U.K.," Kerry said in a statement to journalist Niall Ferguson at Heathrow Airport.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content from the climax of Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Gruffalo	In 2007, Dustin Hoffman was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for his potrayal of the Gruffalo. Famous for going to extreme lengths to get "in character", Hoffman had spent six months in the deep, dark wood eating scrambled snake, owl ice cream and roasted fox.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

"Old Blood and Guts" Part 4 (1945-1965) - Robert L. Thompson subsequently admitted on his death bed that Eisenhower had General George Smith Patton III assassinated; that the auto accident in which Patton broke his neck was not an accident at all. Patton was planning either to retire or resign his commission, and enter politics. Given his popularity with the American people and the respect in which he was held by his men, it is entirely possible he could have won the same nomination his erstwhile friend accepted. Evidence suggests that the American public shared Patton's assessment of the Soviet threat. Patton's biography notes "[The] course of World War II would lead these two men to very different ends: one to the office of President of the United States and the other to a soldier's grave on a foreign shore." We now know that these different ends were by design and not by accident.

~ alternate obituary from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to re-examine the significance of a controversial historical figure.

In 1963, Kwame Nkrumah, founder and first president of the modern Ghanaian state delivered a historic breakthrough for the troubled people of New Africa in their centennial year. During the War of the States, the North had refused to enlist African Americans soldiers. Whites had been ejected from from the South after devastating epidemics had destroyed the Confederacy. After the founding of New Africa, African Americans found that their only common language was the oppressor's English. Some refuse to speak until a better tongue was found. A true visionary, Nkrumah was much more than an African anti-colonial leader. He was also one with a dream of a united Africa which would not drift into neo-colonialism. The people of New Africa understood that unity around the English medium was the key to Ghana's success in nation building, a necessary step given the hundreds of languages of West Africa *. Silent no more, New Africa strode forward into its second century with renewed confidence, taking is place amongst the nations.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the genius of Suzette Haden Elgin's classic Hush My Mouth.

* Author's note - Even today in 2007 the Bible has not been translated into all the language of every micro-ethnicity.

Von Runstedt	In 1943, rioters overwhelm defending Fascist Blackshirts to storm Buckingham Palace. British Prime Minister Oswald Mosley and King Edward VIII are seized and hung from lampposts on Whitehall. Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel issued a command instruction to German forces in Britain that the occupation was over and the Wehrmacht should cease further combat operations.
FeldmarschallKarl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt shot Rommel dead with a service revolver. “Death before dishonour” he said before also shooting himself in the head. He was thus unavailable to confirm whether his final statement referred to the cessation of hostilities, or the release of of huge quantities of poison gas just three days before at the liberating invasion forces in Dorking, in direct contravention of the Geneva Convention.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2003, from behind a one-way mirror in Paddington Green Police Station, the Prime ..	Paddington Green..
.. Minister of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland observes the two interviewees, twenty-second century fugitive Brent and first Asian QC Kim Hollis. Urgent investigations are being pursued in relation to the apparent suicide of the Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith. That suicide had prevented Goldsmith from issuing confidential legal advice that British involvement in a land invasion of Iraq would be legal despite the absence of a UN Security Council Resolution explicitly sanctioning participation by the “coalition of the willing”. Now the whole schedule for the invasion was delayed, damn!.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

General-san	In 1945, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur landed at Atsugi Air Force Base with instructions to accept Japan's surrender. Swiftly installed as military governor and de facto Head of State, it was some time before the United States realised that Brass Hat had no intention of letting going of the reins of power.
The incredible story of how General-san crushed post-war Japan under his heel was described in the biography "The Rising Sun at Dusk" by Jack Nimersheim, published in Alternate Tyrants by the editor Mike Resnick in 1997.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Sirhan Sirhan had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario where Robert Kennedy had served as U.S. president from 1969. The essence of Burns' masterpiece ..	Snake Eyes
.. is the competition of mysterious forces in Los Angeles. Two green pinpricks are amongst the ocean of eyes who watch the Kennedy's car arrive at the Ambassador Hotel. The presidential candidate enters a service area to greet supporters working in the hotel's kitchen. As he enters a crowded kitchen passage way, he notices a young man with a t-shirt banner which declares Snake Eyes watching you. Kennedy instinctively ducks, and the assassins bullets thud into the kitchen wall as the 24-year Palestinian assassin is bundled to the ground by security guards. The novel ends with RFK speaking to Neil Armstrong in the Sea of Tranquillity as his brother's goal “to send a man to the moon in this decade” is achieved.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Consider His Ways

August 10th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Bemusement: If you've been reading me for any length of time, you know that I'm a left-wing loony, and love me because/in spite of that. Well, in my perusal of one of those blogs we left-wingers are always going on about, I found this, and I felt that I had to comment upon his disparagement of alternate historians. Go read the article and defend our honor yourself!
We're recovering from or illness slowly but surely, and will hopefully be able to post tomorrow as normal. Till then, Steve will have the page, as usual – thanks, Steve! Oh, and don't forget our Birthday Contest – send in your alternate birthdays for me (August 14, 1965) and Steve (November 22, 1967) so we can have a special post on those days!

John Wyndham	In 1959, the author John Wyndham received experimental antipsychotic medication. This was part of the course of treatments required by voluntary mental health care which followed an episode of schizophrenia at a book signing ceremony in London England.
Author

This triggered a series of events which Wyndham later described in the auto-biographical account Consider His Ways and others. Wyndham woke up to discover that he is a father of some description, in a bloated body that he believes is not his own. After some confusing experiences his memory gradually returns and he recalls that he was treated with a drug that has the unpredictable consequence of out-of-body experiences. It seems that the drug has worked far better than anyone could have anticipated: he has been cast into the future. He also realises that he is in a society consisting entirely of men, organised into castes, most of whom have never heard of women. Wyndham meets a historian. It seems that the narrator is in a society around 100-150 years after his own time (this is not explicitly stated but it can be deduced from one comment in the account). Shortly after his own time a Dr Perrigan carried out scientific experiments that unintentionally created a virus that killed all the women in the world, leaving only men. After a very difficult period of famine and breakdown the small number of educated men, found mainly in the medical profession, took control and embarked on a crash programme of research to enable men to fertilize eggs and then incubate without females. The men also decided to follow the advice of the Bible: "Go to the ant thou sluggard, consider his ways", and created a caste-based society. The drug wears off. Wyndham returns to his own time and decides to stop Dr Perrigan. However, the next steps suggest that it is Wyndham's own actions that will lead to the catastrophe he hopes to prevent.

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

In 1999, James P Hoffa was elected to the Presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He had been an attorney for the Teamsters from 1968 to 1993. A member of the Teamsters since his 18th birthday (1959), he ran for president in 1996, losing to Ron Carey. He became president of the Teamsters on March 19, 1999, after Carey was barred from running for his role in Teamstergate.
Jimmy Hoffa	The news was running in the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The waitress had long since left. Back in 1975 she had discovered a napkin tucked in the leather upholstery of a dining booth with the cryptic message "THEY RULE" written upon it.
She'd died of a stomach ulcer, caused by worry about the note. A baseless fear that had come to nothing. And so it goes. Still matters had moved forwarded for America in a big way. The White House and their allies had moved way passed Unionised labour. Crushing international terrorism was the order of the day. The stakes in the great game had been raised considerably, and the pot was so much bigger.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1974, following the tragic death of Bruce Lee, the TV networks presented a surprise proposal to the actor David Carradine. For the forthcoming series of Kung Fu, Carradine could take the lead part which the late Bruce Lee had vacated. Having been turned down before, Carradine seized the opportunity but the series was axed after just four episodes due to appalling viewing figures. American audiences might be more comfortable with the anglophile Carradine, but the show lacked dramatic irony.

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

Glubb Pasha	"[British Commander of the Arab Legion, General John Bagot] Glubb (“Glubb Pasha”) should be imprisoned for serving in a foreign army without the King's permission" ~ British MP
British Agent

In 1939, Glubb succeeded Frederick G. Peake as the commander of the Arab Legion. During this period, he transformed the legion into the best trained force in the Arab world. Glubb served his home country all through his years in the Middle East, making him immensely popular in the end. Arab nationalists believed that he had been the force behind pressure that made King Hussein I of Jordan join the Baghdad Pact. Glubb served different high positions in the Arab Legion, the army of Transjordan. During the World War II he led attacks on Arab leaders in Iraq, as well as the Vichy regime which was present in Lebanon and Syria. In 1948, the British Government was humiliated by the actions of British officers employed in the Arab Legion during the Zionist Insurgency that followed the declaration of the State of Palestine two days before. Regular British officers, including a brigade commander, were instructed to leave the Arab Legion and return to Transjordan. This led to the bizarre spectacle of British officers leaving their units to return to Transjordan before sneaking back across the border to rejoin the Arab Legion. A British MP demanded that the British Command of the Arab Legion, General John Bagot Glubb (“Glubb Pasha”) be imprisoned for serving in a foreign army without the King's permission. 'The internecine struggles of the Arabs,' reported Glubb, 'are more in the minds of Arab politicians than the struggle against the Jews. Azzam Pasha, the mufti and the Syrian government would sooner see the Jews get the whole of Palestine than that King Abdullah should benefit.' Neither was the British government humiliated, nor was he a traitor – his job was to stop the internecine struggles of the Arabs. By suppressing the Zionist Insurgency Glubb Pasha began a new phase of covert operations in the Middle East. Henceforth, British Foreign Policy goals would be achieved by stealth, famously described as neo-colonialism - exerting control over other nations through indirect means. Any means necessary.

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

A well I bless my soul what's wrong with me? I'm itching like a man on a fuzzy tree My friends say I'm actin' wild as a bug
Elvis Presley	I'm in love I'm all shook up Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah! ~ Lyrics to “All Shook Up” - Click to Watch Sample
Charged with Rape

In February 1972 an hysterical Priscilla Presley brought rape charges against her husband Elvis Presley at a Las Vegas Police Station. During the investigation, Priscilla admitted that she had two affairs of her own and their up and down marriage was irreparably broken down by 1972. She alleged that the last straw came when Elvis, possibly having learned of the second affair with her karate instructor, forced himself on her in his Las Vegas hotel room, telling her, "This is how a real man makes love to a woman." Whilst the charges have never been proven, the existence of the allegations have been reported in a number of places including Wikipedia to the great dismay of Elvis fans everywhere. The lyrics are available at at Lyricsdir

~ entry by Co-Historian Steve Payne with absolutely no offence to Elvis Fans (of whom I am one).

In 1979, the movie Apocalypse Now played out the conflict in south-east Asia which hurtled towards catastrophe and tragedy. Since his father's death in April 1964, the demon General-san had transferred to his son, who continued to run China without any respect for the rule of law or human decency. Yet Captain Willard was to discover a great deal of sympathy for General-san Arthur MacArthur.

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

Elimina Castle	In 1482, to pass the long night of six hundred years at St. George El Mina Castle, Kwame’s brother spoke to him of African Poetry. ”make room in your inn for me .. even your ports, recalling report how the mayflower moved ..
.. in to deflower at night the virgin land of the red indians jesus christ it seems and judas did not make it america you are a funny girl…everybody dreams of kissing you.”
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 955, on this day the forces of Otto the Great, King of the Germans were defeated at the Battle of Lechfeld. Perhaps the best opportunity for holding off the incursions of the Magyars into Central Europe was lost.	Magyars
This defining event in European history was a decisive victory for the Magyar leaders, namely the harka (military leader) Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél (Lehel) and Súr who continued to rage unchecked across the continent.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Lloyd George	In 1914, European diplomacy entered a critical phase as the August Days continued in the build up to War. In Caerdydd (Cardiff) First Minister David Lloyd George confirmed the nation's policy of neutrality. This statement was to have two very unexpected outcomes on the threat and opportunity scale.
In Berlin, the Younger Bismarck as he was known studied the text of the speech in his office at the Chancellery. If the Welsh were not to mobilize, he figured, nothing was stopping a Prussian landing in South Wales. They could be in London inside of a week.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1995, Richard M. Langworth combined fiction and fact in his publication “If Chamberlain had lost the Battle of Norway”. In this somewhat far fetched scenario, when Germany invaded Norway in April 1940, an expeditionary force was sent to counter ..	Neville Chamber..
.. them, but the campaign proved difficult, and the force had to be withdrawn. The naval aspect of the campaign in particular proved controversial and was to have repercussions in Westminster leading to Chamberlain's replacement by Lord Halifax, who immediately sued for a Carthaginian peace.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Discovered

William Robinson, Jr.	In 1940, on this day William Robinson, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan. When still a child he was nicknamed 'Smokey Joe' by an uncle because of his love of cowboy movies. In his teens, this was shortened to 'Smokey'. Smokey led a successful career as a song-writer from the mid sixties until entering the church after a religious calling in 1986. Fellow songwriter Bob Dylan named Robinson as one of his favorite 'poets' (usually mis-quoting Dylan as having named Robinson 'America's greatest living poet'), and his hit ballads also earned him the title 'America's poet laureate of love'.
Songwriter

Mary Wells had a big hit with the Robinson-penned 'My Guy' (1964), and Robinson served as The Temptations' primary songwriter and producer from 1963 to 1966, penning hits such as 'The Way You Do the Things You Do', 'My Girl', 'Since I Lost My Baby', and 'Get Ready'. Among Robinson's numerous other Motown compositions are 'Still Water (Love)' by The Four Tops, 'Don't Mess With Bill' and 'My Baby Must Be a Magician' by The Marvelettes, 'When I'm Gone' by Brenda Holloway, 'Ain't That Peculiar' and 'I'll Be Doggone' by Marvin Gaye, and 'First I Look at the Purse' by The Contours.

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In 1915, the Battle of Gallipoli began when a strong Anglo-French task force including the British battleship Queen Elizabeth released huge quantities of mustard gas from the Sea of Marmara. Turkish troops along the coast of the Bosphurus l were decimated by this dastardly and cynical attack. Promising to avenge Troy, Mustafa Kemal escaped the gas just in the nick of time. General Sir Ian Hamilton and his Mediterranean Expeditionary Force marched into the capital and from the Hagia Sophia proclaimed the liberation of the City of Constantinople.

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Martin Luther	In 1546, following the funeral of Martin Luther in Eisleben, Holy Roman Empire, Johannes Bugenhagen took care of his widow and children. The leader of the Reformation, Luther did not trust the Vatican to execute the mission, but he did trust this, his right hand man the good Doktor Pomeranus. Together they introduced the Reformation in Pomerania and Denmark in the 16th century. Anyone who could read the 1484 Papal Witch-bull could figure out why; it would be local German Catholic priests that would rid Europe of the Unholy One and his progeny. It was a startling discovery for New Advent web master Kevin Knight, who as a 26-year-old publish the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Internet. The 1922 supplement to the Encyclopedia is also in the public domain, but as of 2007 has not been placed on-line. Bugenhan and Luther would have not been surprised in the least.
Reformist

Bugenhagen was a name linked with Satan almost since the beginning of time. It was a Bugenhagen who, in the year 1092, found the first progeny of Satan and devised the means of putting to death. It was again a Bugenhagen in 1710 who found the second issue and damaged it to the point where it could summon no earthly power. They were religious zealots, the watch-dogs of Christ; their mission, to keep the Unholy One from walking the face of the earth. Second Supplement to the Catholic Encyclopedia published in 1922.

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In 1109 AUC, Emperor Constantius II shuts down the temples belonging to the cult of Christos, a messianic figure from the province of Judea. The cult's members had been attempting to destroy other religions within the empire, and Constantius felt that they would become a danger if allowed to grow unchecked.

In 1777, the Continental Congress, the organization of rebel leaders for the American revolution, promotes several rebel officers to the rank of Major General. New York's General Benedict Arnold is not among those elevated, and is quite bitter about that. He is close to resignation from the rebel cause when the Commander-in-Chief of the revolutionary forces, George Washington, intervenes personally and convinces the Congress to promote him. Arnold, grateful to Washington for this personal favor, does not let his commander down. He leads rebel forces in victory after victory, and is the battlefield commander when the British finally surrender at Yorktown; he accepted Lord Cornwallis' sword himself, a souvenir he kept above his mantel the rest of his life. When the young republic called on General Washington to lead it as its first president, Washington called on the man who had been his right arm to stand by his side. Washington and Arnold, as President and Vice-President, set the definitive example of the American executive. Although many New Yorkers would have liked to see him elevated again, Vice-President Arnold felt that his health was too poor to continue serving his country. He retired to his home state and died shortly after leaving office, in 1799.

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In 1847, the Donner and Reed families, settlers from Illinois heading west to California, take up their journey again after wintering at the Sierra Nevadas. They had reached the mountains in October, but decided against trying to cross them because of the possibility of being trapped there over winter. Although it was an unpopular decision, the settler's leader, George Donner, had felt intimidated by the mountains and was not ready to challenge them until spring was at least close at hand.

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Stephen R. Donaldson	In 1968, Stephen Reeder Donaldson languished in Vietnam. By inclination a conscientious objector, he had been compelled to serve in the armed forces. Much later, and after dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first 'Covenant' trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico. Donaldson's two year compulsory military duty would be the deep undercurrent of his escapist fantasy writing. In 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever', the protagonist was a leper struggled with disempowerment in a Land he did not really believe in.
Unbeliever

'Hellfire' retored Covenant. 'You've got it backward.' He threw his words like stones at a fals image of himself. 'They coerced me into coming. It wasn't my idea. I haven't had a choice since this thing started.'With his fingers he touched his chest to remind himself of the one choice he did have. 'Unwilling,' Mhoram replied gently, 'So there is good reason for calling you 'the Unbeliever'. Well, let it pass. We will hear your tale at Council tomorrow.' ~ Vespers

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In 1981, although he had come into office expecting to reinstate the backing of the United States government for several anti-communist regimes that the Carter administration had dropped support for, President Ronald Reagan changes his mind after viewing the reports of the violence of the military government in El Salvador. 'We can't put the prestige of America behind that,' he says of the Salvadoran military. Without US aid, El Salvador's revolutionaries win the struggle 4 years later, and President Reagan extends the hand of the United States in friendship. It is gratefully accepted, and this action is often credited as keeping El Salvador out of the communist bloc.

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	In 1997, BBC News reported - 'China's reformist Deng Xiaoping dies: China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping has died at the age of 92 after suffering from failing health for several years.' Doctors believed that over-excitement about visiting the newly reacquired Hong Kong was the tipping point. Deng Xiaoping had spent lavish amounts of money on clothes and travel arrangements and was extremely excited about the defeat of the British Empire.
Deng Xiaoping

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28 Days Later	In 2001, BBC News reported : Foot-and-mouth scare at UK abbatoir - A five-mile exclusion zone is placed around an abbatoir in Essex after a suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease is detected. It was too little, too late - the Rage was now entering the blood stream of the population as the country descended into madness.
The Rage

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In 1961, BBC News report: 1961: Lumumba rally clashes with UK police - Police battle with supporters of the murdered Congolese premier outside the Belgian embassy in London. Agitators were in the pocket of the Belgian government in an attempt to make the situation in the Congo look less contrived when in fact events had been carefully staged managed. Extreme measures had been taken to murder Patrice Lumumba and bring Mobuto to power. His kleptocracy was a great cover for the continued supply of uranium to Western Europe.

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In 2002, NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe began to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. David Bowie was right, there really were Spiders on Mars.

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In 1939, Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling became the first local, non-German force to attempt conquest from within. The coup d'etat failed, but that was only the beginning of the troubles for the Axis powers. The Allies start taking up strong military positions early in southern Norway, and northern Norway too. Norway takes out huge loans from the US for an emergency buildup. Norway begins its buildup around October 1st, 1939 and France takes up positions around October 7th, 1939.