Word

	Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me....I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now, I see. T'was Grace that taught...my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear...the hour I first believed. Thro' many dangers, toils and snare, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. ~ Amazing Graceland – Fall and Rise of a King (1982), Elvis Aaron Presley.

In 1983, Elvites were shocked by the relevations of the King's autobiography. Of course only people on the Dark Side of the Moon during the late sixties could be unaware of Presley's sharp decline during that traumatic period. Fortunately, a religious awakening had lifted Presley from the nadir of his career and personal life. Revealed for the first time however was some real shockers. The Las Vegas rape, addition to prescription drugs and a near death experience on August 17, 1977. It was revealed for the first time that the King was found on the floor of his Graceland bathroom by fiancee, Ginger Alden, having 'stumbled or crawled several feet'. CPR treatment saved Presley's life after he was officially pronounced dead at 3:30 pm at the Baptist Memorial Hospital. Whilst he had recorded a lot of Gospel tracks, it was the moment when he really began to believe.

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	In 2005, on this day occurred the event known as Mugabe's Prince handshake gaffe. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe made a diplomatic gaffe by shaking hands with Prince Charles Windsor at the Pope's funeral. The President was 'caught by surprise' when the Prince leaned over to greet him, Harare source said. Some politicians condemned Presidents' greeting as 'stupid' and 'not very sensible' following the Prince's alleged involvement in the assassination of his ex-wife. The Queen of Hearts had been hugely respected for her charitable works in the Southern Hemisphere and the Prince was now considered persona non grata.

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Microsoft	In 2007, consumers reacted in anger to an email today - 'MSN to increase the charge for Hotmail user fees.' Five years before on 25 February 2001, unconsidered comments were made by a Microsoft executive, who said the company was considering introducing fees for its free Hotmail service. It was one year after the dotcom crash and everybody, even mighty Microsoft, was pondering how to make some money on the internet. A stroke of genius, Hotmail now represents over 30% of Microsoft revenue. The Seattle giant had suffered from loss of revenue from software piracy for many years, and this services-led innovation enabled the corporation to grow sales explosively in the consumer market.
Fees Announced

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	In 1998, the Police confirm the arrest of millionaire singer George Michael while he was alone in a public toilet and have charged him with lewd behaviour. The heterosexual star later revealed that he had been lured into the toilet by a female Police Officer who had played a cruel game of 'I will show you mine, you show me yours and then I will nick you'.

Gay America was outraged by the obscenity. Public opinion was strongly against Michael, who had been safely assumed gay due to his provocative MTV coverage with fellow Wham! Star Andrew Ridgeley. Michael said it was 'My own stupid fault as usual'.

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	In 2008, Nunavut Tribal Chief Paul Okalik defended Democratic front-runner Barack Obama Monday over accusations from rival Hillary Clinton that he was secretly at ease with a hemispheric trade accord which he publicly blames for losing U.S. Jobs. Clinton's criticism, on the eve of make-or-break presidential nomination contests for her in Mannhattan, stemmed from a report by Kanatan television station CTV that an Obama economic adviser told Kanatan officials the candidate was not seriously considering disrupting the trade accord.

There was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA, the embassy statement said. 'We deeply regret any inference that may have been drawn to that effect.' The consulate's written report of the meeting had left the suggestion that Obama's words on NAFTA were designed for a political audience and should not be taken too seriously, prompting an angry denial from the Obama campaign. Clinton, a Mannhattan senator, has made an issue of what she says is Obama's support for the Native American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband, former President Bill Clinton, signed in 1994 but which is now under heavy election-year criticism from her and Obama. The source of the dispute dated back to 1520, when Montezuma kicked the Spaniards out of Mexico and North AmerInds had similar success, leaving only the European colony on Manhattan Island. By the early twenty-first century, the Iroquois Federation had developed a modern economy based on the success of NAFTA.

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

Farewell, Unbeliever! Be true! You have wrought greatly for us. And with the Staff of Law we will be not unable to defend against the Despiser's ill. Take heart. Despair and bitterness are not the only songs in this world. ~ 'The Calling of Lions'.

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	In 1917, the February Revolution broke out in Imperial Russia. The Imperial German Government turn to the architect of the 1905 revolution, Father Gapon. He is sent in a sealed train to Russia in a second and increasingly desperate attempt to overthrow the House of Romanov that year.

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In 2001, BBC News reported - Donald Campbell's speedboat recovered: Divers have raised the wreck of Donald Campbell's boat, Bluebird, from the bottom of Coniston Water in Cumbria. The boat had lain there since the accident in 1967 which killed Campbell, 46, as he attempted to break the world water speed record. The craft was winched to the surface after a three-hour operation to tow it to the lakeside from its resting place, 150 feet (45 metres) below the surface of the lake. The quest to raise the boat was led by diver Bill Smith. Mr Smith said he was glad they had reached the boat as there was always the risk that less scrupulous souvenir hunters could get there first. 'You can see now she's in a remarkable state of preservation and she'll not rot away to nothing now, she can be kept this way,' he said. In final, startlig surprise, the body of Donald Campbell would be discovered on August 10th.

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In 1801, British and Ottoman soldiers took control of Abukir Bay in Egypt from Italian Imperial forces. Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of Italy, had assumed control of Egypt largely out of a desire to recreate the Roman Empire. Unfortunately for the Little Italian, it placed him perilously close to the Ottoman Empire, which joined forces with the northern European allies against Italy.

In 12-18-19-16-12, the composer for the Incan court, Bekcheco, died in his sleep in the Incan capitol of Cuszo. Bekcheco had been known for his musical styles that appealed so highly to the young people of the continent, combining eastern rhythms with more civilized traditional Oueztecan music.

	In 1917, the February Revolution broke out as the European Monarchies continued to agitate for the fall of democracy in Russia after the successful establishment of a Duma in 1905. The Imperial German Government subsequently sent Communist Vladimir Lenin in a sealed train in a second and increasingly desperate attempt at revolution that year. Ace of Spies and British Agent Sidney Reilly reported it was hopeless, democracy was infectious and would likely spread into Western Europe during the early 1920s if no further invention occurred.

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In 1994, South African troops, allies of the U.S., accept the surrender of Madagascar. Although the war in the Indian Ocean Theater is just beginning, South Africa is sweeping across its neighbors with alarming speed. In some respects, they are doing even better than President Ralph Shephard's troops in the western hemisphere.

Discovered

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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