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Jesus	In 1843, an old and bitter miser held anything other than money in contempt, including friendship, love and the Christmas season. Ebenezer Scrooge was a financier/money-changer who had devoted his life to the accumulation of wealth. Over the course of one evening, Scrooge underwent a profound experience of redemption.
Is Love

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In 1972, Apollo 17 became the sixth mission to land on the Moon. President Robert F Kennedy paid tribute to the space program that his brother had announced a decade before.

In 1931, the British Parliament enacted the Statute of Westminster, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth. India was given equal rank amongst the North American Union, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Problem was events were going at their own pace. On December 31, 1929, the flag of India was unfurled in Lahore. January 26, 1930 was celebrated by the Indian National Congress, meeting in Lahore, as India's Independence Day. This day was commemorated by almost every other Indian organization.

John Pilger	In 1959, John Pilger mysteriously disappeared. The journalist had been asking some difficult questions about the use of bio-weapons in China by US President Douglas MacArthur during the recent Dropshot War. Foul-play was suspected but never proven.

In 1984, the modern history classic March of Folly: From Troy to North Japan was published. Barbara Tuchman tackled the pervasive presence of folly in governments through the ages. Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly in government: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance Popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain's George III, and the United States' persistent folly in Japan following Operation Downfall and the Soviet seizure of the northern island.

March of Folly

Lloyd George

In 1282, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Gruffudd the last native Prince of Wales, was killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales. He was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by King Edward I of England. Some would say he was the penultimate, but in effect he was the last ruler. In Welsh, he is remembered by the alliterative soubriquet Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf (Llywelyn, Our Last Leader). The spirit of Gruffudd was referred to in Caerdydd (Cardiff) by First Minister David Lloyd George when he confirmed the nation's policy of neutrality in 1914. The Welsh Free State had no strategic interest in a European conflict said the Welsh Wizard. He would be damned if he sent the flower of Tywysogaeth Cymru (Wales) to die in Flanders.

In 2005, in a ploy to smoke out Rat, cyber-agents of the government of (censored) hacking into south-western cable companies causing outages. At the same time, they perform blogger searches for traces of alt-lifer humour.	Rat

In 1972, Apollo 17 becomes the sixth mission to land on the Moon and the first to return to Earth with a highly contagious space bug.

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In 1977, rich with North Sea Oil revenue Scotland gains its independence exactly one hundred and seventy years after the Act of Union 1707 united the two countries as the Kingdom of Great Britain. The declaration of independence from Holyrood House, Edinburgh was also seventeen years after British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan told a stunned Parliament of South Africa -

The wind of change is blowing through this continent. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact.

Whilst 'Supermac' could just about accept the End of Empire he could not accept the dissolution of the United Kingdom, which he denounced and moved to South Africa himself. Three years later at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 the 28-year old athlete Allan Wells took the first Olympic Gold Medallist for the new country. Running as fast as the wind he finished first in the 100m sprint race, ushering in a new decade of hope for the great nation of Scotland.

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In 1718, King Charles XII of Sweden was shot in the head by a Norwegian assassin. Although he survived, his mental capacity afterwards was that of a child, and his sister, Ulrika Eleanora, ruled in his place. In 1725, after hearing of the medical miracles that the Mlosh were capable of, she contacted the Mlosh colony ship in Germany and asked for a physician to come to her court. He cured Charles, and Ulrika turned the crown back over to him. The grateful king declared that any Mlosh who desired Swedish citizenship was welcome within his borders.

In 1882, physicist Max Born was born in Breslau, Germany. The Nobel Prize-winning scientist became enamored of the parallel universe cult of Richard Tolman in the 1930’s, and went to America to join it. Like so many other scientists who joined the cult, his mysterious disappearance in 1955 was never solved.

In 1985, the reactionary anarchist known only as The Unabomber claims his first victim, a young comrade working in a computer store in Sacramento, California Soviet. Over the years he is able to avoid authorities, he becomes a sort of folk hero to the fledgling anarchy movement in the Pacific Northwest, who proudly disdain the advances of Communist life such as computers and cars.

In 1997, a federal judge orders the software company Microsoft not to bundle its internet browser Internet Explorer within Windows. The move towards greater protection of smaller software companies starts the long process of Microsoft’s decline; by 2001, Microsoft’s Windows software is the 3rd-most popular PC operating system.

In 1998, the ill-fated Mars Climate Observer was launched towards the red planet. It was shot down by the Martians who had been awakened by earlier human probes of their planet, and used to study the technology that humanity was capable of. All preparation for their attack.

Bazaar

July 28th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Justification: Here's something else new – sorry about all the jumping around lately. I'll settle down on one thing or another before too long. If you have an opinion about which story I should settle down on, email me or leave notes in the comments.

The bazaar smelled terribly, just as it always did. Sonja's nose crinkled for a second, then her filters kicked in, and most of the smell went away. Not all, of course, because some of those smells were capable of bypassing her filters, but at least the worst ones were subdued.
Most of the booths had pheromone attractors, and some of those were bypassing her filters, too. She was glad she had disabled her sex drive before coming. There were bombardment streams at some of the more pushy booths that tried to break into her main interest centers, but she had neural assistants to take care of those.
"This is what you want." The thought popped in, and she felt a great desire to stop at the booth that had supplied it. A second later, that thought was joined by, "This is what you will buy." A second after that, her assistants cleared all trace of that stream from her head. She raised an eyebrow at the expectant storekeep, smirked, then strode away. Several uglier thoughts followed after, which she didn't have to bother killing.
The booth she was heading towards had no need of the flashy ads the others employed. Its owner was an artist known by everyone who needed his talents. He did not wish to attract new customers by artificial means.
Sonja pushed through the beads surrounding his booth and sat on the cushion that faced a man-sized rectangular block. As she sat, the temperature and lighting in the area bounded by the beads instantly changed to what she enjoyed most. Light music began playing, a small piece from the last century that was one of her favorites. He hadn't read her mind to discern it - the booth worked on a thousand subtle clues she dropped as soon as she broke through the beads. Drac never read people's minds unless they asked him to. But the fact that he didn't need to made people respect him all the more.
It also showed that he respected the privacy of others. Whatever happened in Drac's booth was left in Drac's booth. Another great factor in his reputation.
The block began glowing, then slowly warped itself into the shape of a tall man, long and lean, with skin the color of mahogany. The attraction Sonja felt for him had nothing to do with pheromones. "Hi, Sonja. What can I do for you?"
"I've got something pretty hot to trade, Drac." She pulled a thin vial out of her shirt pocket. It was filled with a couple of milliliters of yellowish fluid. "This is Oregon's finest. Militia security culture. Know of anyone with a need to bypass Militia security systems?"
Drac smiled, revealing his fangs. "I can think of a person or two. Is it reproductive?"
She sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, this is it. But, this is enough to treat about a thousand kilos of total mass."
"Until they change cultures."
She nodded, a little disappointed that he caught on that fast. "Right, but they don't do that more than once a month. And they just made the change three days ago, so this culture's going to be good for at least three and a half more weeks."
"Have you got the antidote culture to it?"
"No, you'll have to find some way to clear it out. But, someone of your skills should be able to do that with no problem," she smiled, "right, Drac?"
"Of course, dear. I just needed to know whether I had to knock that off of whatever you want to trade that for." He leaned over to her. "What do you want to trade it for, Sonja?"
"I need a new body."
He looked her up and down. "I've always liked the one you currently have. It would be a real shame to get rid of it."
"I don't have much choice."
He frowned. "No, they never do. Why do you need a body from me? That's a very common function; practically anybody can supply you with culture that'll do that."
"Because I need your skill in creating it."
He snickered. "Why all the flattery, Sonja? Are you in that much trouble?"
"Yes."
He raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be wavering in his decision not to read minds. "Am I going to need that Militia culture myself after this?"
She didn't meet his gaze. "It's possible."
"Well, you've been very bad, indeed, little Sonja." He gestured below him, and a hole opened up. "Let's continue our discussion someplace a little more secure."
Her cushion rose into the air, and she held herself as steady as she could on it. It floated to the hole and dropped through, followed by Drac. As the shopkeep passed the hole, it closed, and they floated in darkness for a moment. Then, Sonja felt her cushion land, and a light came on around them.
They were in a cavernous office, filled with tasteful furniture that was at least two and probably three centuries old. Drac strode over to the desk that filled up half of one wall and seated himself in the throne-like chair behind it. He gestured, and the cushion placed itself and Sonja on an impossibly comfortable chair opposite him.
"You have such wonderful taste, Drac. How much does all of this cost?"
He looked around and ran a few numbers in his head. "More than you will see in your life."
"I don't know about that."
He settled himself down to business. "Why do you need a body from me, Sonja? And what sort of modifications is that body going to have?"
She pursed her lips. She had been working out the particulars for several hours, but had yet to hit on any that worked for her. "Well, I'm going to need a reader screen and at least temporary camouflage cultures." She held up her palm and an image of a woman popped up out of it. The face was angular, with blue eyes and high cheekbones. The hair was short and black. The body was a stylish hourglass, with high definition on the muscles of the legs and arms. "This is what I'll need to look like. She's 1.847 meters tall and weighs 61.013 kilos." An image of fingerprints popped up, followed by a retinal pattern. "This is her ID, and I've got a DNA sample for you to culture that you'll have to match."
"You know, I've always liked you as a blond. I don't know if you'd exhibit the same charm as a brunette." He looked her in the eye. "Who is she?"
"Do you really need to know?"
"I do if it's going to mean trouble for me. I don't like to move my shop; my clientelle know where I am, and the furniture gets scratched in transit." She felt a small pressure at her temples, a warning that he was holding a mental probe ready to use on her. "Tell me."
At least he warned her. Most of the other craftsmen she had considered for this job would have probed her the second she walked into their booths. "She's Ben Harrison's daughter, Melissa. Mr. Harrison is the president of Tyr Weapons Systems in Redmond."

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence took a massive gamble. Lawrence was a natural risk taker, often driving his motorcycle with such abandon that he betrayed the death wish which had gripped him since his disastrous loss of integrity in November 1917. Actually, in 1935, he had almost died when he had swerved to avoid two small boys and struck a van driven by German agents. Yet these letters he had written between 1931 to 1934, posing as his own Uncle to John Bruce were something else - a threat to his family. A threat to his missionary brother, and anchoress mother who had already lost two sons to the war.

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

In 1970, António de Oliveira Salazar had been dead for just twenty-four hours. Labelling the African Unity Organization a Marxist movement, Salazar had fought the Winds of Change sweeping the southern hemisphere; "Proudly alone" was the motto of his final decade as the dictator of the Portuguese Republic.

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

For we who grew up tall and proud In the shadow of the mushroom cloud Convinced our voices can't be heard We just wanna scream it louder and louder louder
Queen	What the hell we fighting for? Just surrender and it wont hurt at all You just got time to say your prayers While your waiting for the hammer to fall ~ Lyrics to “Hammer to Fall” - Click to Play Sample
Apocalyptic Childhood

The apocalyptic influence of the Dropshot War (World War III) and how it affected members of the band and their childhood. The lyrics are detailed in full at at Lyrics Freak

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

In 1940, former New York DA Allister Park and new wife Kuurikwiljor depart the Tawantiinsuujan capital of Kuuskoo in an airwain, a scaled down aircraft with steam engines on either side of the wing. Unexpectedly, the Wheel of If turns once more as the airwain is forced to land in a Mexico City that repelled the conquistadors. The reason for the repulsion is apparent, the City is ruled by an ancient demon of the Aztec world Mictlantecuhtli. The Lord of Mictlan plans to sacrifice the newly weds at the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlanthe very next day..

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

Stalin	In 1942, USSR leader Joseph Stalin issued Order No. 227 in response to alarming German advances into Russia. Under the order all Soviet forces retreated behind the armistice line. Comrade Stalin had intended to organise a series of hit and run strikes from Siberia, however his politburo colleagues executed him for betraying ..
.. the revolution due to his cowardly decision to quit Moscow.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1976, in China an earthquake measuring 8.2 magnitude flattened Tangshan, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851. Many people in Tangshan reported seeing strange lights the night before. A thousand chickens reportedly refused to eat and acted wildly, along with several hundred geese who reportedly tried to eat each other ..	Tangshan earthq..
.. in desperation and frustration, and sheer terror. Dogs would not stop barking and goldfish jumped out of their bowls. The source of this catastrophe was not understood at the time. Only later did Earth Scientists discover the extent of the underground damage caused by the Tunguska impact event of 1908, and the south-eastward trajectory of the Neutronium.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Armalite	In 2005, the Provisional English Republican Army (The PERA) called an end to their ..
.. thirty year long armed campaign in Southern England. In so doing they had finally heeded the advice of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera from 1942. During the disastrous State Visit of the 32nd US President, he had responded to Winston Churchill's call to action “Something has to be done”. de Valera argued “The English must now move forward from 1533 and stop arguing about the past”, a reference to Henry VIII actions in breaking with Rome which caused the collapse of English power at the hands of Catholic Europe.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley's British army defeats a much larger French force under Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Yorktown. Wellington had arrived in North America to set the clock back to 1776, and he meant business.	Wellington
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Merry Christmas Everyone

Stop the Cavalry	In 1914, after the "Christmas truce" begins in World War I, British, Russian and German soldiers return home to overthrow their respective monarchs. This supreme act of peace and reconciliation was celebrated by the lyrics of Jona Lewis's 1980 classic Stop the Cavalry ~ If I get home, live to tell the tale I'll run for all presidencies If I get elected I'll stop - I will stop the cavalry.
Truce

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In 1861, United States government made the pivotal decision to refuse to free Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell. While traveling to take up the post of Confederate envoy to Britain and France, on the British mail steamer RMS Trent, the ship was stopped by USS San Jacinto on November 8, 1861. Mason and John Slidell were confined in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, precipitating the Trent Affair that brought Britain into open war with the United States of America.

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In 4, B.C. Yeshua of Nazareth is born while his family is visiting relatives in Bethlehem. A charismatic speaker and innovative religious philosopher, Yeshua reenergizes the Hebrew faith through his subtle interpretation of God as Father, where previous rabbis had only taught of Him as Lord. This new vision of the faith swept Judaism, and helped it extend even to the Gentiles, who converted in mass numbers during Rabbi Yeshua’s life. His son continued his teachings, and Yeshua’s vision of Judaism is now the dominant sect in the world’s most numerous faith.

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Jesus	In 1843, Ebeneezer Scrooge changes his life and reverts to the generous, kind-hearted soul he was in his youth before the death of his sister. He anonymously sends the Cratchits the biggest turkey the butcher has, meets the charity workers to pledge an apparently impressive amount of money to their delight, and spends Christmas Day with Fred and his wife.
Is Love

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Tear down the Tories

In 1989, on this day, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher finally succumbed to pressure from Cabinet colleagues and resigned from her post. Thatcher had served three consecutive terms until an unprecented run of government crises in the late 1980 had made her position untenable. The stock market crashed and poll tax riots had been just two of the events in a traumatic year of spasms. Violent fast-moving change was racing across the Western democracies and the end of capitalism was in sight. The reinvigorated Soviet Union under the decisive leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev was on the march, and already people were talking about "the end of history".

Abandoned Darwin

In 1974, on this day Acting Prime Minister Dr Jim Cairns announced the abandonment of the northern Australian city of Darwin the national capital as raga storms continuned to pound the Far East. Much of the joy of Christmas disappeared as devastating high winds of up to 135mph and driving rain tore through homes, flooded streets and left up to 90% of the town in ruins. More than 100 people have been injured, many of them critically with deep lacerations, spine and head wounds and it is thought at least 30 people have been killed.

The most seriously injured have been airlifted to safety by the Royal Australian Air Force and commercial airliners. Earth had just begun to swung into Line, a ray of metafrequency energy jetstreaming from the massive black hole at the galactic hub. The transmuting effects of this atypical energy altered the planet for over a century until the Earth swung fully into line in 2113. A self-sufficient scientific community on the southern Peruvian coast - Center of International Research for the Continuance of Life on Earth, 2009-2113) - succeeded in compensating for the massive morphological changes that had occured. An ingenious discovery at CIRCLE succeeded in sustaining life - Rubeus, an artifical super-intelligence originally created to manage global weather systems. New Sydney was repopulated fully by 2165.

Churchill

In 1940, at Buckingham Palace Prime Minister Winston and His Majesty Edward VIII enjoy cigars and brandy following Christmas Lunch. Five hours later, the exiled British Royal Family have a more sombre occasion at the Governor's Residence, Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The conversation is non existent, and good cheer towards Lord Halifax non existent. After all, it was his great idea to flee to Canada and his miscalculation that Operation Sea Lion would succeed. Inside his heart, and also, out in the garden, it sure was cold enough for a Sea Lion to feel very much at home.

In 0, a bright star shines over Bethlehem as Jesus is born; “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. It is quite simply the greatest story ever told.

Star

Agents

In 2005, agents of the government of censored get a trace on Rat. Somewhere in central Texas, only 13 alternative lifers have downloaded a software update for the Yabadabadoo! RSS Newsreader. One of them must be the revolutionary blogger known as Rat, publishing perception altering content using his $250,000 Windows 2003 server farm which is Internet spoofed as a PC133-style computer.

In 753 AUC, Roman soldiers capture a married Hebrew couple that are attempting to escape the census. While they are in prison, the woman gives birth to a boy, whom the soldiers take away. Although the woman is hysterical over the child, the couple is to be imprisoned for their crime, so they will not be able to raise the boy. He is adopted by Romans, and rises to command of the Senate as Caius Jesus Bethlehemus.

In 0, a young couple in the Near East have a child that is destined to change the world, that will be truly known as the son of God. His mother is a virgin, and men come from afar to show him respect and give him gifts. His name, which will be trumpeted across the world, is Mithra.

Supermen

Supermac

In 1986, Lord Stockton, the former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, died peacefully on this day aged 92. Members of his family were by his bedside at Birch Grove House, at Horsted Keynes, East Sussex, when he died at 1820 GMT following a short illness. Tributes have begun flooding in for the former Conservative leader nicknamed "Super Mac". The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said his death left a void in politics which could not be filled. Fellow former Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath described Lord Stockton as one of the most creative minds in British politics.

Count Nikolai Tolstoi said Supermac would always been remembered fondly by the Cossack nation of Russia, referring of course to his decision at Lienz, Austria not to repatriate troops to the Soviet Union where they would face imprisonment and death. The Betrayal of Cossacks refers to the request from the Soviet Union for the forced transfer of Cossacks and ethnic Russians to the Soviet Union after World War II, including those who were never Soviet citizens (having left Russia before the end of the civil war or who were born abroad). Ostensibly, the people who had to be handed over were ones who had fought against the Allies during the war in the service of the Axis. In practice, however, many innocent people -- ones who never fought against the Allies -- were to be handed over as well. The Cossacks who fought against the Allies saw their service not as treason to the motherland, but as an episode in the Russian Revolution of 1917, part of the ongoing struggle against Moscow and Communism. This relatively little known event, as well as other events that are results of Yalta, is referred to by Nikolai Tolstoy as "The Secret Betrayal" because of its lack of exposure in the Western hemisphere. The most recognized of these events was that which took place in Lienz, Austria. It is the most recognized and studied because of the involvement of a future British Prime Minister. The British arrived in Lienz, where over 2,700 Cossacks resided, on 28 May 1945. They arrived to tell the Cossacks that they were invited to an important British conference with British officials and would return to Lienz by 6 o'clock that evening. Some Cossacks began to worry but were assured by the British that everything would be fine. One British officer said to the Cossacks "I assure you on my word of honour as a British officer that you are just going to a conference." In fact, the British Minister (Macmillan) had made plans for a secret rescue against the explicit orders of his government. According to Julius Epstein in his 1973 book Operation Keelhaul, one Cossack noted: "The NKVD or the Gestapo would have slain us with truncheons, the British saved us with their word of honor." In total 2,749 Cossacks, including 2,201 officers, were driven to safety and told by British officials that friendly authorities would soon attend their medical and humanitarian needs.

In 1997, Chinese authorities in Hong Kong, fearful of the economic damage that would result from killing all chickens possibly infected with influenza, disregard the recommendations of health professionals around the world and let the sale of chickens continue. The resulting epidemic of flu kills over 20 million Chinese, as well as an additional 2 million worldwide. The sanctions against Chinese food products that follow send China spiraling into the worst depression in its history.

In 1998, Cambodian strongman Pol Pot dies. The hated Khmer Rouge that had placed him in power begin a civil war for power that devastates the small Asian nation for the next three years. After the death toll of the war passes a million, Vietnam invades to put an end to it. The move is surprisingly supported by the international community, and marks a turning point for both nations; Cambodia, although it remains communist, becomes a freer country, and Vietnam is accepted into the community of nations.

Supermac	In 1986, on this day Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom died. “Supermac” achieve national stature as a politician whilst Minister-Resident in Central Europe May-June 1945. Blocking moves to honour a promise made at Yalta, he refused to return thousands of Cossacks to the Soviet Union, where they faced certain death. At this time, this was considered a dangerous move that brought the Allies to the bring of war. However, it was the first of many Cold War stand-offs, and the Britain nation saw that MacMillan had taken a principled stand at a pivotal moment in history.

Agents	In 2005, agents of the government of (censored) get a trace on Rat. He is somewhere in central Texas subscribing to revolutionary feeds using the Yabadabadoo! RSS alternative lifer Newsreader.

In 1999, US President Bill Clinton consults with his presidential advisors; he asks them for an assessment of the threat identified by Linus Torvald, that all computerized activity will cease on news year's eve. A Rhodes Scholar, Clinton had spent time in England and was aware of the British emergency system - was this anything to do with dialling 999? he asks.

Clinton

In 1813, the North American Confederation city of Buffalo was burned to the ground when a plant manufacturing an experimental propellant exploded. The horrific flames resisted all attempts to put them out until the local governor was able to order in enough demolitions to level the town. The N.A.C. adopted the world’s most stringent regulations on the handling of propellants after this disaster.

In 1986, on this day Lord Stockton, the former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, died aged 92. “Supermac” sought to subdue the Winds of Change blowing across the continent by appointing indigenous Viceroys such as Jomo Kenyatta and Idi Amin. During the early sixties he worked closely Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson on the No Independence Before African Rule formula.

In 1170, Henry II sends four priests to bring him the head of Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Beckett reciprocated, he ate the priests on a bed of fava beans with a fine Chianti :-)

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