Unstoppable Forces

Joseph Joffre	In 1914, the Battle of the Marne begins. North-east of Paris, the French attack and are routed by the unstoppable German forces who are advancing on the capital. Catalan French general Joseph Joffre and the French Sixth army flee south to Marseilles to establish a new seat of government. German Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger was not able to celebrate for long. Trouble was another unstoppable force, the Russian 1st and 2nd Armies were racing through East Prussia and at their current trajectory, would be in Berlin inside of two weeks.
The Great War was headed towards an asymmetric result, with the Germans triumphing in the West only to be crushed in the East. In Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm II started to write a telegram to the Tsar, he knew it would have to be a great piece of communication. “Dear Cousin Nicky,.. he began.
~ entry by Steve Payne

Berlin 2010	In 2003, multiple-award winning author of Ruled Britannia and The Guns of the South Harry Turtledove asked a startling question In the Presence of Mine Enemies. What if Germany won World War II, and the Nazi regime’s rule over most of Europe and North America continued into the twenty-first century? And now, in 2010, the Third Reich faced an Iraqi style crisis?
~ variant from Steve Payne extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius (Soviet style crisis). to be continued..:

In 1976, as the vampires and the infected fed upon Robert Neville he recalled the bite of the vampire bat in Panama during the war. The long gaps that he could not remember which he had attributed to alcoholism. Neville was neither immune, nor a unique survivor -the vampire master, he was legend.

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

In 2127, Mullah Elijah Rafsanjani woke up in Doha, Quatar. He did not feel himself at all today. On his breakfast table, was a half-empty Starbucks Styrofoam cup which presumably explained his heart burn stomach acid. He switched on the news. Instead of Al-Jazeera, a beaming American face announced it was “going to be another hot one today folks!”. OMG!	Mullah
~ entry by Steve Payne

Black September	In 1972, the Munich Olympic Games turned to tragedy when Palestinian athletes were massacred by the Israeli Terrorist Group, Black September. Enraged, President Yasser Arafat ordered Operation Wrath of God, instructing the Palestinian Secret Service to 'set the boys loose' and assassinate the officer class of Jewish Society.
This excessive response turned Palestine into a pariah state, and her athletic team were not even invited to either the '76 summer games in Montreal, Canada or even more symbolically, the winter games at Innsbruck, Austria.
~ entry by Steve Payne

In 1960, Cassius Clay won the gold medal in boxing at the Rome Olympic Games; tragically, he was to die in Vietnam on a tour of duty during the Tet Offensive. A dreadful conspiracy was later discovered by journalist Alex Hayley. Clay and many other iconic African American figures had been sent to Vietnam by the Goldwater administration to strangle the civil rights movement at birth. Worse, south-asian hard drugs had been flooded into African American areas of population.	Cassius Clay
The death of Clay prevented Haley from giving his people a myth to live by, overturning other myths about the Black American experience and giving African Americans a proud history.
~ entry by Steve Payne

In 2007, Macrosoft, Inc. delivered a new breakthrough for users of the stable desktop platform. New editions of Vesta Home Edition shipped with a redeemable “write back” voucher. Upon return, consumers would be sent a free copy of the award winning anger management CD-rom based training solution Life Thux and then you upgrade your desktop operating system. Also included on the bundled CD were a selection of Whale music audio files, however a critical update to on-board sound card drivers was required before they could be played in the Vesta Media Center.

~ entry by Steve Payne

Kids Stuff

Alternate Historian says, we've finalised the 2008 design now. Please note the hyperlinked metadata tags (see example) will not go into effect until January 1 when we start using the new HTML generator.

We would be very grateful if you could please email any comments on compatibility issues, browser problems, bookmark functionality etc. to the Alternate Historian.

In late 1944, Kurt Vonnegut had met Colonel "Wild" Bob of the Four-Fifty-first Regiment on the Prisoner of War train to Dresden. "Wild Bob" was almost the only survivor of the regiment, having lost forty-five hundred men. Or boys mostly, in what Vonnegut thought of as the "Children's Crusade".

Kurt Vonnegut	"God be with you, boys!" ~ Colonel "Wild Bob", delivering his last address to his already dead troops Kurt Vonnegut was a fourth-generation German-American living in easy circumstances on Cape Cod (and smoking too much), who, as an American Infantry Scout hors de combat, as a prisoner of war witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden. In 1967, Vonnegut needed help with his memories for Slaughterhouse-Five, and decided to contact the crazy Colonel. For the sake of balance in his anti-war diatribe, if nothing else. And just taking up an open offer, after all.
Peacenik

Missing	In 1975, a tour de force performance as Lord Southmere in One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing had earned Nimmo enough popularity (and credibility) among fans of detective fiction to earn him the role James Bond despite the inevitable comparisons to Sean Connery.
Roger Moore had abruptly resigned after the Spy Who Loved Me had failed at the box office. Hoping to capitalise on the success of One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, a slight change of format was introduced. The new Bond Girl for the next movie, Moonraker would be his Scottish Nanny, the actress Molly Weir.

Brunel	In 1867, at a price of £10 million Great Britain completed the Alaska Purchase from Russia. Shortly thereafter, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, having recently recovered from several years of ill-health, arrived. He began a new engineering “first” - the Fort Sitka-Mexico City railway, the arterial transport link upon which the North American Union was founded.

In 1989, in one of the final acts of the meltdown of Western Monarchies that year, West German Head of Government Helmut Kohl resigned. After German re-unification, he first fled to the America but was extradited by the new US government to Germany, where he was imprisoned and tried for high treason and crimes committed during the Cold War (specifically the deaths of 192 Germans who tried to escape the Kohl regime). However, as he was dying of cancer, he was released from prison. He died in exile in Chile about a year and a half later.	Helmut Kohl

LBJ	In 1988, Simon Burns published What if Jack Ruby had missed? in which Lyndon Baines Johnson is discredited by Lee Harvey Oswald's testimony. The story climaxes in September 1964 with a tearful President telling America I will not seek, not will I serve...

In 2007, Rat sees the Mesh as it really is, lines of streaming green code: he finally becomes "the One". Agent Smith makes a final attempt to physically attack him, but his punches are effortlessly blocked, and Rat destroys him.	Agent vs Rat
The other two Agents flee, and Rat returns to the real world just in time for the ship's EMP weapon to destroy the Sentinels, which already breached into the ship.

Choices

In 2006, Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, Acting Commissioner of FDA filed the approval documents for Bluetooth enabled pace makers. Continuous heartbeat monitoring by premium Internet hosted services became a commercial reality. Investors anticipated explosive stock growth from sales of devices which were widely expected to extend the lifespan of the super rich.

~ entry by Steve Payne:

Marvin Lee Aday	"Have a double, it's gettin' late, you'll get home, just rely on fate Place just finally came alive, good old boys just arrived Stools keep changin' faces, and the night just slips away And like a long distance love affair, soon you've got to pay Silver bullets in the jukebox, spin another round Everybody at the back of the line, it's midnight at the lost and found." ~ Meatloaf, lyrics to Midnight at the Lost and Found which went Gold in the UK selling over 100,000 copies.
“Meatloaf”

In his autobiography, To Hell and Back, Meatloaf claims that shortly after his mother died, his father, in a drunken rage, tried to kill him with a knife, and that he barely managed to escape after they had a bad fight. After Marvin got his inheritance from his mother's death, he rented an apartment in Dallas and isolated himself for three and a half months. Eventually a friend found him (a psychology student at the University of Dallas). Marvin bought a car with his inheritance and drove to California. At some point during the journey, a dreadful suspicion started to take shape in the mind of his friend. Was "Meatloaf" really the victim character of a devil-may-care rock 'n' roller? Or the personae of a murderous super ego? A summary of his autobiography, To Hell and Back is detailed at - Wikipedia

~ quotation by Steve Payne

In 2023, Christian missionaries on the Planet Tyrr took grateful receipt of the delivery of a package from Wycliffe Bible Translators in Dallas, TX. A covering note explained that standard methods had been varied substantially in order to achieve the 2,612th translation of the Bible, into Martian. In a typical translation project, Wycliffe senior workers first request permission to operate from the government in charge of a region. After the organization receives permission to operate, several small teams research a region's linguistic populations. Based on this data, teams are sent to each linguistic group. The team introduces itself to a group, usually with the aid of bilingual helpers such as traders or guides. The team lives on site, and attempts to speak the language. Formal recordings, word lists and grammars are kept, usually on computers, backed up periodically to the national mission. When the phonology is understood, the team selects a writing system similar to those in use by nearby trading languages. At some point, the team begins to translate short portions of the Bible into the native language. The translation is tested and corrected with native speakers, as well as the existing lexicographies and grammars. Once the Bible is translated, printings are arranged, often through one of the United Bible Societies. The length of the entire process varies depending on the portion of the Bible being translated; it can take as long as 20+ years. The Martian version had actually been achieved in a remarkably short period of time, just 15 years. In 2008 at Lacus Soli, Captain von Tromp had located a single survivor from the doomed first mission of the USS Envoy. The innocent Valentine Michael Smith had already grokked the fullness of his water brothers. Shortly afer his arrival on Earth, Smith super-accelerated the translation process for the Wycliffe Mission.

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

Rhett Butler	"I think it's hard winning a war with words, gentlemen .. I'm saying very plainly that the Yankees are better equipped than we .. All we've got is cotton and slaves, arrogance and our British allies." ~ Confederate Captain Rhett Butler, speech at Twelve Oaks
Captain

During a heated debate at Twelve Oaks going on among the gentlemen about the impending War of the States. Excited and patriotic southerners boastfully predicted a quick victory, led by Gerald O'Hara: "The Yankees can't fight and we can!" Ashley Wilkes attempted to cool off the room full of Southern hotheads, hoping that the North will let the South leave the Union without war: "Most of the miseries of the world were caused by wars. And, when the wars were over, no one ever knew what they were about." The rogue of a good family from Charleston, and turned out of West Point, Rhett expressed his lone dissent from the optimistic voices. He disagreed with the fervent patriotism of the Confederates: "I think it's hard winning a war with words, gentlemen...I'm saying very plainly that the Yankees are better equipped than we .. All we've got is cotton and slaves, arrogance and our British allies." He realistically believed that the South's cause was doomed to failure because of its gradually declining resources - he spoils everyone's enthusiasm for war: The full story of Gone with the Wind is described at Film.org

~ quotation by Steve Payne

In 2017, the Regional Municipality of Peel responded formally to the concerns of voters in the Greater Toronto Area. Citizens of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga had been making increasing use of the growing number of independent medical facilities in the Region's shopping malls and greater regulation was called for. In particular, the age of individuals booking in for an "adjustment" was falling alarmingly.

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

Douglas MacArthur	In 1950, on this day the United Nations made a daring assault, landing up to 50,000 troops behind enemy lines at Inchon, on the west coast of Korea. More daringly, General Douglas MacArthur deployed the Bacteriological weapons of Unit 731 handed to him by Japanese General Otozoo Yamada in 1945. “There's no substitute for victory” the General tells the World by way of justification at a Press Conference the next day.
~ entry by Steve Payne

In 1940, the Battle of Britain ends with a Kriegsmarine victory over the Royal Navy. In How Chamberlain lost the Battle of Britain written in 1995, historian Richard M. Langworth recounted the battle. Critics muted their May 1940 attacks on the Government for the sake of national unity. Chamberlain heeds Reynaud's call for Britain to fling the bulk of her air force into Battle of France.	Kriegsmarine
Failing to group the British Expeditionary Force around Dunkirk, 300,000 British troops are lost in the greatest military disaster in British history. The Battle for Britain is fought first on the English Channel and then on the beaches and the landing grounds. Like the French before him, Chamberlain considers the choice between surrender and going down fighting--and chooses surrender. His successor, Halifax, signs the instrument of surrender while a raging Churchill escapes with the remnants of the fleet and sails to Falkland Islands, there to organize an international resistance movement.
~ entry by Steve Payne

Post Conference	In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle met in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy. With the Pacific War heading towards an end game, FDR agreed to land American Forces in North Africa as part of Operation Torch. Unfortunately for de Gaulle, FDR was defeated in the November Presidential Elections, and Charles Lindbergh pursued a very different US Foreign Policy.
Winston Churchill could only wring his hands in New Britain, having refused to travel to New France for the Octagon Conference.
~ entry by Steve Payne

In 1962, the Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that set into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis. President Kennedy disregarded forged reconnaissance data presented by hawks who sought open war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Kennedy also ignored warnings that compromise was impossible. Instead he prevented a third world war more horrible than the second, in which he had lost his eldest son.	Cuban Missiles
The President could hardly be accused of inconsistency; he had after all been pro-appeasement since 1940 when he was the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James.
~ entry by Steve Payne

Happy Father's Day!

Today In Alternate History

Digg this

The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Note: Happy Father's Day to all our readers out there who are male and have produced progeny! That includes your humble historian as well as his talented contributor, Steve, and I'm sure that we both will be showered with praise by our loving families today, right? That's what we all get on Father's Day, after all. What do you mean you need me to do some work around the Academy...?

in 1891, with the surrender of Topeka and the murder of 'Sockless' Jerry Simpson, General Theodore Monteith declares an amnesty for all the Kansas rebels who will turn themselves in during the coming week. Since the previous governor is dead, Monteith appoints Thaddeus Elridge, an erstwhile Farmers Councilor who had switched sides at the end of the conflict, political liaison between his forces and the Kansans. Elridge makes a quick round of the state, tamping down the fires of rebellion that he had so recently stoked, and reducing the fighting to a few scattered pockets here and there. As this day winds to a close, General Monteith hosts Lt. Colonel Mark Wainwright at the governor's mansion. “Much better than last time you were here, eh, Mark?” Wainwright had to agree. “No one's pointing a gun at me this time, sir.” The leaders of the Union expeditionary forces went to sleep that night, secure in the knowledge that they had at last quelled the Kansas Rebellion.

in 1999, the staff at the hospital where King Arthur II is being cared for notify Queen Gwen that the king is showing signs of coming out of his coma. “Oh, thank you, thank you ever so much,” she tells them tearfully on the phone. Once she hangs up, though, her expression hardens. She calls Sir Lance du Lac and orders him to return to London. “There is a task that must be done, my loyal knight, and you are the only one who can do it.”

In 2008, the Champion returned to Earth with Innocent Valentine Michael Smith onboard. During the journey, two thoughts filled Captain Von Tromp's mind. Smith was fabulously wealthy. As the sole survivor of the founding colony, he owned the real estate of planet Mars; also the patent revenues from the pioneering work of his mother Mary Jane Lyle Smith were huge – she had invented the very drive that enabled the crew to race back in just eighteen days. If the Old Ones of Mars destroyed the Earth it scarcely matter. What mattered was whether a Martian called Smith could invite the combatants of the Second Gulf War to share a water ritual. To become water brothers, to grok each other.

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

In 1980, scientists at the Atlanta Plague Center made a breakthrough with the perfectly healty patient Stuart Redmond, nicknamed "East Texas". Stu was naturally immune to the superflu known as "Captain Trips". Now the scientific community knew why Stu was still eating Breakfast Tacos and his buddies from Arnette were all dead.

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

In 1971, the Osmonds appeared on The Andy Williams Show. Before singing “Two Bad Apples”, Donny Osmond was asked the million dollar question by Williams, about the inclusion in the band of the two older Osmond brothers – who were both born deaf. Donny said sincerely that it was true that neither Virl or Tom could contribute much musically, yet the other six brothers loved them too much to exclude them from their success. In fact, the choice of the song title “Two Bad Apples” poked fun at record producers who had encouraged the brothers to stick with a reduced line-up of six, comprising Alan, Melvin, Merril, Jay, Donny and Jimmy. Williams smiled broadly when Donny told him that He who troubles his own house inherits the wind; he understood, he really did.

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

European Grapev..	In 1760, non-caucasoids understood that the healthful properties of grapes came from the seeds themselves. Using the sap of grapevines, folk healers cured skin and eye diseases. Another historical use includes the leaves being used to stop bleeding, pain and inflammation. For treating sore throats unripe grapes were used, ..
.. raisins were given as treatments for consumption (tuberculosis), constipation and thirst. For the treatment of cancer, cholera, smallpox, nausea, skin and eye infections as well as kidney and liver diseases, ripe grapes were used. Twenty-fourth century research into resveratrol, a chemical found in grape skins, identified a tool against cardiovascular disease, cancer and aging, had begun to back up some of the assertions of the non-caucasoids folk healers of the pre-pandemic epoch. The research said, "Resveratrol has been shown to modulate the metabolism of lipids, and to inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins and the aggregation of platelets." Today in the twenty-fifth century, grape seed oil, from the crushed seeds are used for its perceived wide range of health benefits.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, a very nervous Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King received the alarming news that former British Prime Minister has arrived in Canada for medical attention. Chamberlain carried a communique of greetings from Jan Smuts in which the General indicated that the Fuehrer himself had approved the transatlantic ..	McKenzie King
.. flight. This of course contradicted a telegram from the Fuehrer himself, that communique stated that Chamberlains' entry into Canada would be considered an act of war by Nazi Germany and would invite immediate action from the Kriegsmarine currently moored off the east coast.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Watergate Compl..	In 1972, five well dressed men were arrested at 2:30 a.m. in the process of planting surveillance bugs at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate Hotel. US President Robert F Kennedy's conspiracy to prevent the election of arch-rival Richard M Nixon was about to be exposed. Tricky Dicky cannot let the ..
.. Kennedys cheat him out of the White House twice.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, Nazi Deputy Rudolf Hess was privately distressed by the war with Britain, as indeed was confidante Joseph Goebbels. Hess hoped to score a stunning diplomatic victory by sealing a peace between the Reich and Britain. Hess therefore organised a flight to Britain to meet the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon and Aleister ..	Rudolph Hess
.. Crowley, aka “The Beast”, “The Man We Would Most Like to Hang” and "The Wickedest Man In the World” inter alia at the latter's residence by Loch Ness. He would parachute from his Messerschmitt Bf 110 and engage in immediate peace talks with this pro-German circle.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -

Millennia's Final Shot

Today In Alternate History

Digg this

The Announcement

in 1891, troops from Kansas City and Concordia, along with Kansas volunteers led by Thaddeus Elridge, march on Topeka, hoping to beat reinforcements heading there to shore up 'Sockless' Jerry Simpson. Simpson bustles about the capitol, getting the Kansans still loyal to him ready to endure a seige.

in 1999, Queen Gwen, the newly-christened “Pillar of Britain”, negotiates a surrender from Central European Imperial holdouts in Istanbul, freeing up Sir Lance du Lac's Round Table Corps to head off to Africa, where former vassal states of the CEE are attempting to stir up trouble for Great Britain's possessions there. The queen is hailed for her mastery of politics, and poll after poll shows that she is almost as beloved as King Arthur II, who lies near death in a coma.

In 2008, powered by the Lyle Drive, the Champion made the space flight to Mars in just eighteen days. Landing south of Lacus Soli, the crew soon discovered that Mars was inhabited. Captain von Tromp located a single survivor from the doomed mission of the Envoy. The Martian was a thirteen year old innocent named Valentine Michael Smith, very much a stranger in a strange land.

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

In 1983 Diana Ross was arrested on a charge of assault following the NBC broadcast Hitsville 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. The unrehearsed Supremes reunion between Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong was cut short when Ross, frustrated by the fact that Wilson and Birdsong were taking the same steps forward as her instead of staying in the back, turned around and pushed Wilson towards the back of the stage.	Diana Ross
In Ross' defense Mary Wilson had said in her own book that she had instructed Cindy right before the performance that they should both take a step forward each time Diana did. Thereby provoking Diana and causing her to tell Mary to stand back. A few moments later, Motown labelmates such as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and others quickly filled the stage for an impromptu finale. Although Producer Suzanne Depasse had instructed Diana to introduce Berry Gordy after leading the finale, Mary decided to do the honors, by calling Berry down herself. This led Diana to tell Mary "it's been taken care of". By the time the reunion aired on NBC, the Ross/Wilson altercations had been excised from the special, but they were widely reported, and although Mary confessed in her book in 1986 the performance resulted in bad publicity for Ross. Mary Wilson made a formal complaint after the show leading to Ross' arrest.
~ story by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1945, in the devastated city of Tokyo the mirage of the nuclear mushroom cloud transformed into the shape of the Lord Jesus. The peace and reconciliation mission led by General-san Douglas MacArthur fell upon their knees, hot tears of joy ran down their cheeks. They had found a place in their hearts for Jesus, and that day they would be with him in Paradise.

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

Gibr al-Ţāriq	In 1761, an Arab Dhow undocked from the great Berber port of Gibr al-Ţāriq (Gibraltar). The "Rock of Tariq" as it was called in Arabic was named after the Umayyad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the initial incursion into Iberia in advance of the main Moorish force in 711. Today the circumstances were somewhat inglorious ..
.. as a Moorish crew departed Iberia. During shore leave the crew had fallen into drunken fighting and whored extensively on the Rock. Two of them had been bitten by rabid monkeys. With forty-eight hours, all of them would be dead.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, Adolf Hitler fell upon the most devious plan of his Chancellorship. He instructed Martin Bormann to construct a telegram to General Jan Smuts in South Africa. The Fuehrer sent his most cordial greetings to the General. As a matter of human dignity, he would of course approve entry into Canada for medical attention ..	Bormann
.. to be given to the former British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain who was dying of cancer.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Kenneth Clarke	In 1994, the returned passengers of London Underground train number AEJX53B are interviewed at Paddington Green Police Station in West Central London. Each of the passengers has the most incredible tale to tell. And they have photographic evidence too. Behind a fake mirror watching the interrogations, Home Secretary ..
.. Kenneth Clarke nervously smokes a large cigar. He is studying a selection of photographs. In one graffiti is sprayed down the side of the Statue of Liberty in bright red including slogans such as BAD DAY, NIGHT FALLS and ALAS BABYLON. Homeless people huddle inside the unlit and unheated Manhattan apartment blocks. New New York City is a humanitarian disaster. The photos of Sydney Shanty Town are even more distressing.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2999, a most heated exchange of views occurred. The wisdom of mind casting a third episode of “Personality of the Triple Millennia” (POT3M) was the topic of discussion. The first episode had been an anticlimax of pure Schmaltz. “I never leave a pub before closing time”, said Churchill, “and tonight will be no ..	MC Millennia
.. exception.” when questioned on his next steps. And episode two had suffered a technical gaffe. A cross-over in the megaband multimedia stream had confused Adolf Hitler with a 1960s British TV anti-hero, the Dalek. Mega personality MC Millennia convinced a sceptical team that he deserved a final shot at the show. Very reluctantly, they agree.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -

Q's Opens; Norma Jean's Skirt

September 15th, 2005

in 1847, Mlosh businesswoman Q’Moltriya opens her first boutique in Paris selling pastries adapted from traditional Mlosh recipes. While French gastronomes are daunted at first, Q’s becomes one of the city’s most popular patisseries within a few years, with adventurous gourmets making pilgrimages to the City of Lights specifically to eat there.

in 1883, the People’s College of Austin, a liberal arts school founded by Marxist-Thoreauvians from New Hampshire, began receiving state funding and renamed itself The University of Texas. It grew over the next century to become the largest public college in the Soviet States.

in 1915, the Boston Pilgrims beat the Jefferson City Nickels by the incredibly lopsided score of 20-1. Town Ball has seen few such blowouts since then, and the Nickels have never been beaten as badly.

in 1919, after corresponding with a young Vietnamese man named Ho Chi Minh, President Woodrow Wilson attempt to negotiate French Indochina’s independence from France. Although he was unsuccessful, Ho Chi Minh never forgot that the United States had attempted to intervene on his people’s behalf, and when Indochina won its independence after World War II, he became a staunch ally of the Americans.

in 1944, composer and band leader Glenn Miller disappeared over the English Channel. He had been appointed a Captain in the Army Specialist Corps whose job was keeping the troops’ morale high, and was embarking on a tour of Europe. 20 years later, Miller and his plane reappeared on the French coast, not having aged a day. Neither Miller nor his crewmates could remember what had happened to them, in spite of many inducements to do so. The reappearance of the jazz legend brought his music back into style, and jazz experienced a renaissance.

in 1945, The German Reich forbids all non-Aryans from holding citizenship. More laws follow that strip those who marry non-Aryans of their citizenship, that forbid citizens to trade with non-Aryans, although the government still allows itself that privilege, and that declare non-Aryans enemies of the state.

in 1954, Norma Jean Mortensen’s most iconic pose is shot while filming The Seven Year Itch. She stands over a subway vent while her skirt is blown up, laughing and trying to push it down. Her husband, comic playwright Arthur Miller, is reported to have kept pictures of the most risqué poses on his desk in their home.

in 1970, Murray Gell-Mann, a physicist working in the field of subatomic particles, vanishes. Gell-Mann had belonged to Richard Tolman’s parallel universe cult since his childhood, and had been working on a special project for them at the time of his disappearance.

in 1983, on the 20th anniversary of the bomb blast in which she was the sole survivor, Cynthia Wesley announced her candidacy for the governor’s seat in Alabama. Ms. Wesley had been a great rallying point for the civil rights movement since her childhood was ripped from her by an explosion in her church in Birmingham; she won office with a slim majority of the vote, becoming Alabama’s first black female governor.

in 1990, a young girl disappears in Kingston, Massachusetts, and the FBI came in to investigate. On a hunch, the lead FBI agent asks permission from Washington to get the neighbors to take polygraphs. The request is turned down, since polygraphs are inadmissible in court, and the hunt goes on for months before a neighbor of the girl is caught abducting another child from the street, and practically beaten to death by an angry mob of local parents.

in 2002, two very hairy men approach the front gate at the White House and talk with the guard there for several minutes, after which, they walk inside the grounds. They walk up to the White House, and, unchallenged, walk into President Bush’s office. “Mr. President,” one of them says in an upper-class British accent, “We need to speak with you.”

in 2003, 4 horsemen were observed riding towards Buckingham Cathedral, The papal spokesman made no comment on the horsemen, and refused to answer questions about what their purpose in the Holy British Empire might be.

in 2004, when Ako Elma is not heard from, several Elders appear at the White House, demanding to see her. They are let into the Oval Office, where Dr. Carrera’s device is used on them. One manages to escape before being turned into the grey goo, and he alerts the other Elders to what is happening in Washington. The Elders give President Gore an ultimatum – cease the attacks on Elders, or suffer the destruction of his city.


TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST

In order to provide for the upkeep of our new historian, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - make a donation at our Paypal link, then email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Boring contest information is available on our Forum link below. Enter early and often!

Also, we still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link - Boring legal info on the TIAH Halloween Contest!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can make up your own mind by seeing the pilots at http://aol.com/situationcomedy

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!

King Cetshwayo's Ruse; Dr. King's Dream

August 28th, 2005

in @3000 B.C., Dr. Melvin Courtney and Professor Malcolm Thomas witness the crash of the object from Edwards Air Force base crash into the New Mexican desert. Most of the creatures inside are killed by the crash; the two witnesses find themselves following one survivor of the crash through the object as it sends off a distress signal and then locates the Chimanimani object and fires at it one last time. It then seems to die.

in 1249, Caliph Amal bin-Yusuph convenes the Conference of Cairo to recodify Sharia law in Islam. bin-Yusuph favors a more liberal interpretation of the Koran, and hopes to change the Sharia to reflect this.

in 1879, King Cetshwayo of the Zulu allows himself to be captured in a daring ruse that allows his warriors to fall on and decimate a company of British soldiers. He continues to be a thorn in the side of the British occupation of southern Africa for several years more.

in 1938, Northwestern University awards an honorary degree to Edgar Bergen’s dummy Charlie McCarthy. The jocular mood of the occasion is broken when the “dummy” comes to life and flees the stage, leaving a dead Edgar Bergen behind.

in 1959, having left China behind, Li Huang-Sen and Huan Yue journey through Japan, avoiding any place where they might be asked for official documents of Huan Yue’s citizenship. Li speaks fluent Japanese, and is able to pass Huan Yue off as a young bride, too shy to speak.

in 1961, Robert A. Heinlein’s novel Stranger in a Strange Land becomes the first science fiction novel to reach the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list. Literary critics begin reexamining a genre that they had disdained for many years and the field experienced a renaissance in popularity, both critical and commercial.

in 1963, Martin Luther King, chairman of the Semitic-African Resistance organization in America, gave his stirring I have a dream speech in Washington, D.C. As he called for the nation not to fall under the sway of the European New Reich at the end of the speech, Chairman King was arrested.

in 1963, President Kennedy himself made a surprise visit to Martin Luther King’s rally on the Washington Mall, and is so deeply moved by Dr. King’s speech that he immediately runs up to the podium and embraces the reverend before the gathered multitudes. Promising that he will do more for American blacks, he introduces the Civil Rights Act of 1963 before Congress as soon as they come back from their summer recess.

in 1996, Prince Charles of England reconciles with his estranged wife, Princess Diana, before their divorce can be finalized. In what has been repeated in countless recreations of the moment, he met her at the entrance to a subway station, and while both were in disguise, rode a train for 3 hours while they talked out their differences.

in 4697, contact between the Chinese Empire and its Yang Gao colony in the Tchou star system is lost. Imperial officials press for a fleet to be sent to the system to see what has happened to Yang Gao, and Emperor Xiao Yang authorizes his Star Fleet to send one out with all possible speed.

in 2004, searching for the power signature of the Elders on earth, the ELS-3 picks up a very strong signature in China. This one doesn’t fade out. They alert the other two ships patrolling the outer system, ELS-1 and ELS-2, and the captain of the ELS-1, Jeffrey Bainbridge, uses one of his old school contacts, a senator from Idaho, to inform President Gore that their lines have already been breached by the Elders.


TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST

In order to provide for the upkeep of our new historian, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - make a donation at our Paypal link, then email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Boring contest information is available on our Forum link below. Enter early and often!

Also, we still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link - Boring legal info on the TIAH Halloween Contest!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!

The Tragedy Of Richard Of Gloucester

June 26th, 2005

in 1483, evidence is produced in Parliament that young Edward V, son of the late King Edward IV of England, is the product of a bigamous marriage, and therefore illegitimate and ineligible for the crown, as is his brother Richard. Their uncle, Richard of Gloucester, is urged by many nobles present to seize the crown for himself. Torn between love for his family and righteous indignation at the thought of a bastard on the throne of England, Richard proposes a compromise. He would adopt the boys as his own, rule as regent till Edward came of age, and then abdicate to the boy. After much wrangling, Parliament agreed to this, and Richard was crowned Richard III ten days later. He named Edward his son and heir, and upon his majority, willingly surrendered the crown to him. Richard’s reign is remembered for his fairness in civil matters and mercy to his enemies.

in 1483, Archbishop Richard of Gloucester was named by the College of Cardinals as the next Pope of the Holy British Empire, following the death of Pope Edward IV. Many cardinals of the Order of St. Lancaster objected, preferring Monsignor Henry Tudor of their own order, and this caused a holy war to break out between the 2 factions. In the ensuing battle, the Lancastrians won, and Henry was installed in 1485 as Pope Henry VII. The Holy British Empire mourned the change; His Holiness, Henry VII, was not the best leader they had had.

in 4561, after their captured air raft is shot down, General Pham Tat Tran leads a division of his men to ambush a Siamese unit. Taking their uniforms, they sow division between the Siamese and Chinese soldiers by staging raids on the Chinese in Siamese colors. This tactic succeeds brilliantly, and thousands of Siamese and Chinese soldiers are killed in the in-fighting over the next three days until Pham’s unit is discovered and the ruse is unmasked.

in 1962, Comrade President Rosenberg makes his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in East Berlin, decrying the wall that fascist Europe has built between itself and the enlightened socialism of the east. In this most famous speech of his career, he said, “There are those who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin!” Thousands of dedicated communists heeded his call and descended on the divided city to work for the advancement of socialism there.

in 1974, after a brief separation, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton reconciled their marriage, and remained together happily until Burton’s death ten years later. Ms. Taylor, distraught over losing her greatest love, never married again.

in 1981, Mobius, the 7th survivor of the Vegas Plague, uses his growing mental powers to force the police to free him, and takes them and the other criminals over. With another personal army, this time very well armed, he makes another assault on Las Vegas, where the Vegas 6 intercept and divert them from the city into the desert. Out there, Mobius escapes, but the 6 deprive him of his criminal army.

in 1995, realizing that a frontal assault on the Kremlin would be problematic at best, Mikhail von Heflin disguises himself as a courier and infiltrates the complex. Once inside, he relies on his senses to guide him to the creature from beyond that has been taken captive. Once he finds the chamber where the creature is being studied, the Baron has a tough choice; free the creature and risk it escaping into the streets of Moscow, or turn this chamber into its prison and hope he can cut it off from the rest of the Kremlin before too many soldiers force him to retreat. He chooses the latter, and begins the process precisely at midnight.

in 1998, Gone With The Wind is re-released. The nostalgic look at northern life prior to the devastation of the Civil War was one of the few films to have successful box office on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line when it was released in 1939. In the wake of the coming reunification of the Confederate and United States, though, it is seen by many on both sides of the border as unnecessarily inflammatory.


WE HAVE GAS, BUT WE STILL NEED HELP!

Thanks to your generosity, we have gas money, and truly appreciate the assistance. But, we still have a broken windshield to repair, so we're keeping the offer open - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site this month. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link - contribute to our magazine!

Warp and Protocols still available

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.

Forum Link

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.

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

The Forum lives again! My esteemed Co-Historian has brought the forum back to life, and in spite of the issues we've had with the forum in the past, we think that this time, it'll stay up!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

Ten Significant Events

June 26th, 2007

Digg this

The Announcement

in 1999, King Arthur II met with Prime Minister Kay Ector, freshly returned from Greece. “Our war is over,” Ector told the king. “On every front, the Illuminati are extinguished; the Central European Empire is no more.” Arthur clapped his old friend on the back and congratulated him on his work in bringing this war to an end. “The queen was a huge help,” the prime minister said. “Her influence on our allies, and her ability to rally our people, proved invaluable in this struggle. Where is her majesty, by the way?” Arthur looked away uneasily. “My queen isn't feeling well at the moment, Sir Kay. You'll forgive her absence?” The prime minister bowed slightly and said, “Of course. I hope it isn't anything too serious.” The king's face grew stony as he replied, “No, I don't believe it is.” After the meeting, he went to Queen Gwen's cell, alone, to speak with her. “I want to know something,” he said, standing close to the bars. “Did you ever feel anything for me?” She shrugged. “In the beginning, when we were fighting to unseat the Windsors – you were all fire back then. Remember that night when you first took the crown?” She ran a hand along his on the bars, and he didn't pull away this time. “That was real passion, my king.” For a moment, a long moment, they stared deeply into each other's eyes, then drew together for a kiss between the bars of the cell. “I still love you,” Arthur said, drawing back. “God help me, I still love you.” They twined their fingers together and Gwen told him, “I'm sure by now you've learned that those I once served are eradicated, my liege. I could be your queen again, sitting at your side, aiding you as you rule the most powerful nation on earth.” Arthur yearns to set her free, but cannot bring himself to do it. “You're bearing du Lac's child.” She reached a hand out to his face and stroked his beard tenderly. “You could not give me a child, my king; can you think of a better man to produce Great Britain's next monarch?” Arthur took his hands away from her and walked away. Gwen hunched against the bars of her cell in disappointment and said, “Before you leave, I do ask one thing.” He murmured over his shoulder, “What?” She whispered softly, “Your forgiveness, Arthur.” He took a key from the wall and opened her cell door. “It is granted.”

In 1999, the networks ran installment one of Ten Significant Events of the Twentieth Century (TSEotTC). British Prime Harold Macmillan spoke of the Hurricane of Change sweeping Africa. The "Terrorist" Nelson Mandela was executed after his 1964 mistrial in Rivonia. And Malcolm X brought it home in the Deep South.

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

In the beginning, the First Man and Woman put the stars in a blanket. The Coyote made the Milky Way by hurling the blanket into the sky. Navajo astronaut Jamie Waterman cherished the wisdom of the Old Ones. When the international mission landed on Mars, he simply reported “Ya'aa'tey” (“It is good”) to the NASA controllers. A self-described red man on the red planet, he had no time at all for the jingoistic nationalism of his fellow astronauts; his mission was to find life.

~ variant from Steve Payne : to celebrate the author's genius, original text of Ben Bova's classic "Mars" has been reserviced to present an "in context" alternate ending.

In 1971, recording of the double LP Exile on Main Street was suspended at Nellcôte, guitarist Keith Richards' nineteenth-century villa on the French Riviera. Exile wasn't intended to be a studio album and therein lie the problem. A number of factors were to blame for the lost opportunity for the Rolling Stones to make their greatest album at their absolute peak and capture the atmosphere at Nellcôte with messy faithfulness. "We recorded in Keith's disgusting basement, which looked like a prison. . . . The humidity was incredible. I couldn't stand it. As soon as I opened my mouth to sing, my voice was gone. It was so humid that all the guitars were out of tune by the time we got to the end of each number." "It was 120 degrees," Richards recalled. "Everyone sat around sweating and playing with their pants off. That's when I got into Jack Daniel's. You're trying to get backup vocals finished . . . and the voice starts to go: 'This'll give you another half hour.' It's those fumes that do it, man." The Stones had literally attempted to make Exile on the run. In May '71, they moved to France, citing the excessive taxation and police harassment in their native Britain. Many of the Jagger-Richards songs planned for Exile reflected the exhaustion and madness of the Stones' personal and public lives at the time ("Torn and Frayed," "Soul Survivor"). Jagger's marriage to Nicaraguan model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias on the eve of the Exile sessions irritated Richards, who wanted his singer's full attention during recording; Richards was at the height of his 1970s heroin addiction and spending a lot of time with American country-rock icon Gram Parsons.

~ variant from Steve Payne : to celebrate the author's genius, original text of Ben Bova's classic "Mars" has been reserviced to present an "in context" alternate ending.

Fallen woman	In 1761, the fallen woman dipped her swollen feet into the cool Atlantic ocean. As she arose, her fellow stowaway gasped in shock, dropping the Arab wine vessel to the deck where it smashed into pieces. Her lower legs had a crimson hue.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1918, at the Battle for Belleau Wood, Allied Forces under George Armstrong Custer defeated Imperial German Forces commanded by German Crown Prince Wilhelm. Custer said it was the toughest battle in fifty years, referring of course to his victory over Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse near the Little Bighorn River.	Battle of Belle..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Viennese Airlif..	In 1948, an airlift was started to Austria after the Soviet Union blockaded West Vienna. The Western allies turned to USAAF General Curtis “Candy Bars Away” LeMay. By now an expert in such operations, LeMay put into operation a plan he had conceived in 1946 for the resupply of the Japanese home population during Operation Downfall.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1963, on this day John F. Kennedy spoke the famous words "Ich bin ein Wiener" ("I am a citizen of Vienna") on a visit to the Western occupied quarter of the Austrian City. A former citizen of Vienna, Adolf Schicklegruber was not there to enjoy the speech. He was languishing in Spandau Prison with Rudolf Hess, intermittently ..	John F Kennedy
.. arguing over the wayward deputy's flight to Scotland in 1941. Hess' only regret was not staying in Scotland, he been forced to listen to this admonishment for eighteen long years.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -

Witness To A Miracle

June 1st, 2007

Digg this

The Announcement

in 1891, General Theodore Monteith attacks Topeka, Kansas, plowing into the city from the west, easily driving the few defenders out of his way. However, as the last of his column entered the city, he was surrounded by the superior numbers of the Kansan reinforcements, and started fighting a desperate battle against overwhelming odds. As the sun set on Topeka, Monteith had suffered almost 4,000 casualties, and 'Sockless' Jerry Simpson called again for his surrender. Monteith read Simpson's demand at the same time that a messenger brought him the news he had been waiting for. “It would be imprudent for me to surrender at this time,” Monteith wrote back to Simpson, “when rescue is just at hand.” As Simpson read this, panic broke out in the back of the Kansan lines – Colonel Mark Wainwright was arriving at Topeka with 30,000 militiamen drawn from the states surrounding Kansas, and was obliterating the rebels who stood between him and his commanding officer. By midnight, Simpson and the rest of the Farmers Council were forced to abandon Topeka and move west with their wounded soldiers.

in 1999, King Arthur II, with victory sounding her trumpet on every front, retires to the Welsh countryside for a few days to rest from his grueling schedule. Queen Gwen accompanies him, as does the psychiatrist, Dr. Archibald Mordred. Dr. Mordred has a fresh supply of Brightol for the king, which he has started taking in ever-increasing doses; he attributes all his recent success to the confidence that the drug has given him. It is in the euphoric state induced immediately after taking the drug that Queen Gwen tells Arthur, “My beloved majesty, I have news even greater than our war fortunes to tell you. You shall have an heir.” Arthur is overcome with happiness at the news of his queen's pregnancy, and they plan the announcement to the nation together. As Queen Gwen prepares for bed, though, Dr. Mordred approaches her and asks to speak with her privately. She sends her servants away, and asks, “What is it that you wish to say, doctor?” The psychiatrist hesitantly begins, “Your Majesty, I have access to all of the king's medical records. It's never come up before, of course – I mean, he's only been king for a year, after all – but...” The queen impatiently demands that the doctor get whatever he plans to say out. “Well, Your Majesty, the king... he's sterile. He cannot have children.” The queen regards him coldly for a moment, then says, “Then, you have been witness to a miracle, doctor. And you shall not speak of this again.” Mordred withdraws from her withering presence, conflicted as to what he should do next.

In 1955, the Indochina War neared its end in Vietnam, and the French Union offered to surrender to the United States. The British, eager to keep the Chinese out of the Gulf of Tonkin, urged President Stevenson to accept. A month later, a small American force steamed into Saigon. At the Paris Peace Conference, America accepted a League of Nations Mandate over Vietnam. General of the Armies Dwight David Eisenhower commanded American forces.

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

In 1941, the author Robert Heinlein completed a thirteen-hour marathon writing session to complete his latest story By His Bootstraps. He did not see the circle grow and was unable to prevent the stranger throwing them both through it. Recovering, he asked the stranger where they were. "In the Hall of the Gate in the High Palace of Norkaal. But what is more important is when you are. You have gone forward a little more than thirty thousand years."

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

William Westmor..	In 1988, on this day William Westmoreland published his auto-biographical work Chunnel : No End of a Lesson. The book gave a somewhat one-sided account of the Channel Tunnel Crisis of 1982. The casus belli was English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's decision to nationalize the Channel Tunnel, refusing to pay financial ..
.. compensation to the Confederate States of America who had built and paid for it. President Westmoreland ordered CS 101st Airborne Division to scramble from their bases on the Rhine and march to Sangatte to seize back the Confederate property. The background was quite simple; fundamentally England was a bankrupt nation. When Westmoreland had decided not to bankroll the north sea oil field development program, he had inadvertently pushed the Iron Lady into a corner from which she chose to come out fighting. Whilst England was ultimately defeated at Sangatte, the peace settlement included development funding for the North Sea and Thatcher became a cause célèbre and rallying point for European nationalists. You could say the Confederacy had won the battle and lost the war.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1760, a terrible silence reigned across the great continent of Europe. For various reasons of molecular biology that were unrealised at the time, the plague known as the Red Death came out of China decimating the Caucasoid. The great cities of Europe were choke with the dead, each with the crimson kiss upon the neck. Yet ..	Caucasian Map, ..
.. a few survived, and their deliverance was at hand. The wise know that God helps those that help themselves. And so it was in 1760. All the survivors had to do was to figure out how they had survived. What was their connection? And more importantly, how could they issue forth survivor infants?
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Kaspar Hauser	In 1828, Maestro arrived in Nuremberg to seek the mysterious feral child Kaspar Hauser. Discovered wandering the streets of Nuremberg, Hauser was wearing peasant clothing and could barely talk. He said that he had spent most of his life in a darkened 2×1×1.5 metre cell with only a straw bed to sleep on and a horse carved ..
.. out of wood for a toy. He was given nothing but bread and water, and was periodically drugged so that his clothes could be changed and his hair cut. The first human being he ever had contact with was a mysterious man who visited him on occasion, always taking great care not to reveal his face to Kaspar, and from whom the boy acquired his limited spoken vocabulary and learned to write his name. The stranger eventually released Kaspar from his cell and deposited him outside, where he fainted. His next memory was of wandering the streets of Nuremberg.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2008, on Prince of Wales Boulevard, Phase 2 building works were moving very slowly. Which was surprising when you pause to consider that the construction crew were working like demons. In a low-key way, it registered on his mind that somehow, things were not quite what they seemed.	Welding
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -