A Reunion

August 23rd, 2007

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The Announcement

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

I went over to the alcove where she kept her holo equipment and plugged myself in. A woman's face appeared in front of me and asked, "Thank you for using TT of A. What number would you like to dial?"

"I'm not quite sure of the number. The name is Rosanto, Emilia Rosanto, and she lives on Set Lane in Thesylonica."

"Thank you. Hold for your call please." The woman's face was replaced with an image of a bell ringing gently every couple of seconds. After seven rings, Emilia's face popped up in front of me, her eyes bleary from lack of sleep. Since this was her normal state, I didn't think anything of it.

She grew immediately animated at seeing me. "Gabe! Oh my gods, it's so good to see you! You've got to come over, right away. Where are you?"

"I'm at Willie's. I wanted to get everybody together, see if we could maybe take a little trip out for a while. My last partner just found his paradise."

Emilia laughed and shook her head. "Everybody but you, huh, Gabe?" Her softly dark Mediterranean features were everything I've ever dreamed of in a woman, but Emilia refused to come with me to the Porno Universe. Some people just don't know what's good in life. "What was it this time? Gold raining from the sky? The hunter-gatherer world?"

"No, nothing so pleasant. Did you ever meet Patrice?" She shook her head. "He wanted the African world, where Europeans were slaves. I helped him make the European slaves realize that their condition was the will of God."

"So, you're feeling a bit slimy at the moment, is that it?"

"Basically."

"You poor thing." Her hand reached out and stroked me. I felt nothing, of course, but it was a nice gesture, nonetheless. "You want to come over? I have a guy here, but he's the understanding type." She winked at me. "A candidate for your dream world."

"You know I'd never refuse an offer like that, honey, but I need to call up the others. Are Sylvan and Moshe still living in Babylonia?"

"Well, Moshe is. Sylvan got carted off by a UFO almost three months ago."

"Damn it!" Sylvan and I had gone to grade school together. He was always one step ahead of the saucers. Until now, of course. "We're going to have to do something about the UFO's someday, Emilia."

"When you figure out what, you let me know, OK? Dartha and Inikia are here in Thesylonica, and I think Karlus moved to Roma, but I'm not sure. I don't think he's up to any more planewalking, though. You remember what happened last time?"

"It was just a small curse, and it stopped working once we got back to our home plane."

"The clap is hardly a small curse, Gabriel. Poor Karlus had to wear a diaper everywhere." She counted us on her fingers. "I think that's everybody. Two boys and three women - you'll practically be in your paradise, Gabe."

"If only. Can you let Dartha and Inikia know? I'll talk to Moshe and try to get hold of Karlus."

"He won't come. Trust me on this, Gabe. The man dripped for three weeks, he hates your guts."

"I'm very persuasive when I set my mind to it, Emi." I gave her my best evil smile. "And, if that doesn't do it, hypnosis works wonders."

"Some archangel you are. When and where?"

"Tomorrow night, and here at Willie's, I think. If she doesn't agree, I'll let everybody know, and we'll find someplace." I took a long look at her tantalizingly lovely features, framed by the black silk of her hair, and sighed. "It's been way too long, Emi."

"I'll get there a little early for the reunion." She blew a kiss at me. "See you tomorrow, love." Her face folded in on itself, and I was left alone with my fantasies.

I got hold of Moshe, but Karlus was simply not reachable. I guess the clap was a little more serious than I thought it had been. After hanging up on the third number suggested for a Karlus Maurelius in Roma, I gave up and went down to Willie's basement.

She was examining a huge painting, one that covered an entire wall, and whose subject reminded me of some of the more ambitious Italian works of the old masters. An alien was coming down from the clouds, bearing a chain in one hand and a UFO in the other. Various Asian figures were gathered about it, some in fear, others up in arms, but most bowing down to worship at the feet of the huge Arythiok. It was quite compelling. "Is this the new artist?"

"It's not his best, but it's certainly his most impressive. The subject matter is rather cliché, but the style makes up for it." She led me over to smaller, more unique pieces. "These present his talent much better." There were several statues scattered among a few framed works, and even a hologram. "Did you contact your friends?"

"Most of them. One of them was abducted, as you feared."

She shook her head in commiseration. "It is regrettable what some of my people do."

I stood between her and a spectacularly overdone wall-hanging. "Are you ever going to tell me why they take us?"

Her eyes became almond jades of embarrassment again. "Perhaps some day. But, I don't believe you're ready."

"You people always say something like that. You just don't want to tell me."

"That could be true, as well."

"You know, you could tell me anything. If you used to do it, you could tell me that. If you still do it, you could tell me. There's very little I haven't imagined as your answer to that question."

She fidgeted, and pointed at the hologram. "This piece represents Buddha under his tree, stylized into a technological image of a double helix. The displacement of the tree by a modern image creates a similar feeling of displacement in the viewer, don't you think?"

"All right, you don't have to answer me. You can stop being all uncomfortable now."

"Thank you." She brightened up right away.

"I needed to ask you if I could use your house to meet them all tomorrow night. Is that all right with you?"

"Of course." Her pensive look came back. "If I did tell you that I was one of the kidnappers, would that make a difference between us?"

"No."

"You answered that quickly."

I shrugged. "It's something I've been thinking about for a long time. It was the first thing that went through my mind when you wouldn't answer my questions." She smiled. "Are you going to answer them now?"

"No, but I think I'll have to soon. A pity. The mystery has been such an exciting part of our relationship."

"Naturally." I took her arm and led her over to some of the more esoteric offerings of her collection. "But, once we really know each other, don't you think that'll deepen our feelings for each other?"

"There is always that hope." She took a small statuette and handed it to me. "This was meant to be handled. Feel the astounding number of textures the artist has managed to place in a single piece? That's an Arythiok technique. Layer upon layer, appearing similar with one sense, showing an amazing complexity when experienced with another."

"That's an Arythiok technique, all right." She poked me, and I nearly dropped the statuette. "Careful, now. We don't want to add any more textures to this thing."

I put the statuette back in its place and we looked at the rest of the collection in silence. Willie's an impressive connoisseur, but art only captures me for so long, and then I go into sensory overload. Still, when you're a guest, it's best to play the appreciative ascetic when your host is. After the tour, she took me upstairs and offered me her bath.

"Am I that offensive?"

She turned black again. "No, no, I just thought that you might want to freshen up before dinner."

I sniffed at myself and agreed with her. "I'll just do that, then." I bathed slowly and luxuriously, enjoying it all. Willie has the most wonderful bubble bath you could ever hope to find. One of the fringe benefits of being a planewalker is finding all the places that are the best of everything.

"When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I'll die!' Jacob became angry with her and said, 'Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?'

Aunt Lydia	"Then she said, 'Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family.' " ~ Rachel, wife of Jacob Genesis 30:1-3
Handmaid

The sons of Jacob suspended the US Constitution and replaced Massachusetts with the theocratic Republic of Gilead. The birth rate had fallen alarmingly and radical measures had to be taken to rectify the situation. The full article is available at Manitoba University

~ quotation from Margaret Atwood: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1945, General-san Douglas MacArthur declined a reactivation order from US President Harry Truman who promptly fired him. Actually MacArthur had no ambition to receive the Japanese defeat. His Filipinos harriers were busy installing a rogue state in the Philippines, after all why else write the enigmatic message I will return?

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

In 1956, Izear Luster "Ike" Turner, Jr moved the Kings of Rhythm to East St. Louis where he met teenage, gospel-trained singer from Nutbush, TN, named Anna Mae Bullock, and promised her a chance to sing with his band.

Ike Turner Revue	That chance kept failing to materialize, until one night Bullock simply grabbed the microphone and started belting. Turner made her a part of his revue, changing her name to Tina. Ike had other plans for Tina – he wanted to control her free spirit. Predictably, after Tina became pregnant by the band's saxophonist, Raymond Hill her prospects receded sharply.
A second and final chance appeared - and then disappeared. In late 1959, Turner's band entered the studio to cut a song called "A Fool in Love" for the Sue Records label. The scheduled male vocalist was running late. Tina was about to be pressed into service by Ike, who thought the vocalist had failed to show up for the session - when he suddenly appeared, full of apologies.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Tony Blair	"I am a modern man. I am part of the rock and roll generation—the Beatles, colour TV, that’s the generation I come from." ~ Tony Blair Pre-election speech at Stevenage, 22 April 1997
Bliar

Demonstrating he was living in a time warp by describing the modern world in terms of symbols from thirty years before.

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

She stared at him, He stared at her. No one said anything for ages. The clock ticked. Outside a large ship honked. No one said anything for ages. She stared at him. He stared at her. The tension at the whaleing station was palpable. "Sardines on toast anyone?" said Father at last. And so it goes.

~ from Sardine-House-Five, a thrilling new pschyo novel by Kod Vongutfish

In 2002, in RM Muleuch's Twelve Legions of Angels Air Marshall Hugh Dowding returns to 1940. Without the distraction of his loving family he will make a success of Big Wing and win the Battle of Britain. He will delay German invasion until the autumn when the English Channel would be too hostile for the Kriegsmarine's landing craft. Trouble is the ghost of Keith Park dispatched Dowding to a 1940 that really needs him. The rescue flotilla heading towards Dunkirk has been decimated by Stuka Dive bombers. Dowding somehow must buy the Royal Navy another two weeks whilst the British Expeditionary Force fights for its life against the Wehrmacht.

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

In 1914, the British Army begins withdrawal from the Battle of Mons. It was in the period of this hectic retreat, when the British troops would have been so vulnerable to a pursuing enemy, that something extraordinary occurred. British troops claimed that they had seen an apparition in the sky of three angelic figures who appeared to ward off the attacks of the enemy. The retreat was successfully accomplished and the British troops lived to fight another day. The story of the Angel at Mons spread like wildfire through Britain. It became the subject of many articles and even artistic productions. After the war, Harold Begbie published a book on the phenomenon, On the Side of the Angels, in which he quoted some who had witnessed the apparition first-hand. One lance-corporal recalled: '"I could see quite plainly in mid-air a strange light which seemed to be quite distinctly outlined and was not a reflection of the moon, nor were there any clouds in the neighbourhood. The light became brighter and I could see quite distinctly three shapes, one in the centre having what looked like outspread wings, the other two were not so large, but were quite plainly distinct from the centre one. They appeared to have a long loose-hanging garment of a golden tint they were above the German line facing us." The Angel of Mons was in fact the entity known as Aiwass, summoned by Aleister Crowley at the request of a desperate British Government.

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

1973, seven years as Simon Templar earned Greatest living Englishman Roger Moore enough popularity (and credibility) among fans of detective fiction to earn him the role James Bond despite the inevitable comparisons to Sean Connery. Due to redrafting errors at the contract office at Eon Productions, Moore was offered a contract for life. His latest movie, Golden Years features a dramatic hand of the card game patience with "Jaws" at the Moonbase. Wikipedia reports - "The satire show Spitting Image once had a sketch in which their latex likeness of Moore, when asked to display emotions by an offscreen director, does nothing but raise an eyebrow. Moore himself has stated that he thought the sketch was funny, and took it in good humour. That series later featured a Bond movie spoof, The Man With The Wooden Delivery, with Moore's puppet receiving orders from Margaret Thatcher to kill Mikhail Gorbachev, and many other comedy shows of that time ridiculed Moore's acting, Rory Bremner once claiming to have had a death threat from an irate fan of Moore's, following one such routine. "

~ entry by Co-Historian Steve Payne

Castle Bonny	In 1943, movie critics give a varied response to Castle Bonny which premièred four days before on Broadway. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Cary Grant as Dick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund.
The rekindled romance between Blaine and Lund was set during Great War II in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt, off the Bight of Bonny – then controlled by the Nazi Protectorate of Britain. Rudy Behlmer emphasises the variety in the picture: "it’s a blend of drama, melodrama, comedy [and] intrigue". The other characters, in Rudy Behlmer's words, are "not cut and dried": they come into their goodness in the course of the film. Ronald begins the film as a collaborator with the Nazis, who extorts sexual favours from refugees and has Ugarte killed. Dick, according to Behlmer, is "not a hero, ... not a bad guy": he does what is necessary to get along with the authorities and "sticks his neck out for nobody". Even Ilsa, the least active of the main characters, is "caught in the emotional struggle" over which man she really loves. By the end of the film, however, "everybody is sacrificing".
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2127, Mullah Elijah Rafsanjani returns from a truth and reconciliation visit to the eastern seaboard of Turtle Island that being the continent renamed after the Italian merchant Amerigo Vespucci during the western epoch c1492 to 2081.	Brent
As part of his Peace and Brotherhood jihad he has embarked on a fact-finding mission by visiting the centres of the fallen Western Civilisation. On-board his light aircraft is a Eurasian stowaway, Brent. The plan that Brent has hatched is straight out of Rafsanjani's book, not that he would appreciate it himself.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Chiang Kai-Shek	In 1839, the United Kingdom captured Hong Kong as a base as it prepared to war with Qing China during the First Opium War. Just over one hundred years later, Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai Shek sought refuge in the Colony. Having arrived with the entire gold and foreign currency reserves of China, he joined British imperialists ..
.. in building a thumb-your-nose at Communism show case in the middle of Guangdong Province. Just as a small impurity can cause great stomach upset, Hong Kong created greater and greater problems for the Chinese Communist Party until it collapsed entirely in 1967. Thereupon the Kuomintang returned to Beijing, and set about building an even more powerful city than Hong Kong, a mission that was completed by the end of the century.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1952, on this day the charter of the Arab League went into effect. Head quartered in Cairo, Egypt, the League's charter states that the League shall co-ordinate economic affairs, including commercial relations; communications; cultural affairs; nationality, passports, ..	Anthony Eden
.. and visas; social affairs; and health affairs. This predecessor organisation to Nasser's United Arab Republic (UAR) greatly alarmed governments in London and Paris. Four years later, led by British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, Anglo-France forces joined with Israel to strike the Suez Canal Zone, being forced to back down by President Eisenhower. Following the enlargement of the UAR to Saudi Arabia in 1980, official biographer Robert Rhodes asked, "who can now claim that Eden was wrong?"
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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April Fools' Day

The state of TIAH

April 1st, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: Today, we present our April Fools' Day Contest Winners. In the future, folks, please limit your entries to 300 words or less – a couple of these posts are a touch lengthy. After the contest winners, our Guest Historian Stephen Payne makes his regular appearance. Enjoy the day, everyone, and don't be an April Fool!

in @2900 BCE, the first advanced calendar system appears in the Sumerian city of Nippur. The day "April First" is born and fixed as the first day of the year. The "calendar riots" are unleashed, in opposition to the tendency of the rulers to control time rigidly. The unrest was quickly crushed.

In 2350 BCE, Sargon of Kish usurps the throne, and expands the Akkadian Empire to an unprecedented size: he controls all the port cities on the eastern Mediterranean coast, on the Arabian Peninsula, and Mesopotamia,including all cities along the Tigris - Euphrates valley. Sargon favored the Sumerian scribes, and made the Nippurian calendar the standard for the Empire. Hearing of Sargon's innovations, sages in the East, especially in India, begin preaching the doctrine attributed to Kalinjar, the "Destroyer of Time." Indian merchants, travelers, and sages begin infiltrating the Empire to spread the doctrine: all calendars must be destroyed, all clocks smashed, and men must be freed from the curse of human imposed time. Some argue that time itself can be destroyed.

In 1595 BCE, the more widespread Babylonian Calendar is born, based on the Sumerian system of measuring the passage of time. Again, April 1 is dubbed the first day of the year (At that time the month "April" was named "Nisanu," after the Akkadian King of the Gods, Anu). As the Babylonian Empire extends its influence, the "calendar wars" begin. People of the lower classes and priests of the various gods rebel in virtually all cities, excepting Nippur, Akkad, and Babylon, now capital of the Empire. Rioters overthrow local governments, and small armies spread out to attack cities which adhered to the concept of the calendar. Eventually all calendars are destroyed throughout the Empire.

During the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish calendar was destroyed by an alliance of Jews and Babylonians. In Egypt, the sidereal calendar system came under attack, as the teachings of Kalinjar spread into Northern Africa. People caught observing the star Sirius were put to death by some Pharaohs, and by 1330 BCE, the Pharaoh Iknaten had eradicated the calendar. Iknaten combined the doctrine of the Destroyer of Time with his belief in One Timeless God, called Aten.

The Greeks revived the calendar, until they were conquered by the Romans. Some Roman senators and consuls, inspired by Greek astronomical science, attempted to reinstitute the calendar, the so-called Julian and Gregorian experiments. They were denounced by subsequent Roman and Byzantine popular movements. The Ottoman Empire revived the calendar of the early Arab Muslims, going to the extent of using the name "Nisan"(April) to designate the first spring month. The Ottoman Turks were harkening back to earliest Babylonian calendar. The Sultans succeeded within their domains, until the revolution of the Young Turks, which destroyed the Caliphate, the Sultanate,and the Islamic calendar, once and for all.

Once freed from the calendar, mankind became capable of new advances in Ethics, Philosophy, and the pursuit of the timeless truths.

We now well understand why calendars were destroyed, along with clocks, and detailed written histories. The reasoning given by Kalinjar himself has been passed down with all the world's religious and philosophical teachings in what was called "The New Religious Supplement." The tenets were:

1. Looking to the past was harmful.

2. Looking to the past induced an exaggerated sense of self importance (people took too much pride in the achievements of their ancestors).

3. Revenge and hatred were caused by focusing on past emotions and past actions. Wars were caused by the remembrance of grievances of the races, the nations, and the sects.

4. Forgiveness and striving to forget the past are prime virtues.

5. The measurement of time was a method used by the elite to control the activity and thought of the people.

6, The absence of clocks and calendars allows for a life which is leisurely, unhurried and humane.

These tenets have become combined with the principles of all the main world religions. Believers (in Anu, in Aten, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tze, Muhammed, and Confucius) embrace the religious supplement, though small groups still try secretly to preserve the Babylonian, Egyptian, Chinese, Hebrew, Islamic, Gregorian, and Hebrew calendars. Rather Lengthy Post By April Fools Contest Winner Wei Enlin

in 1891, William Wrigley Jr. starts his own company, selling soap and baking powder. The following year, he briefly attempts to package chewing gum with his backing powder as a promotional gimmick, but it falls flat; Americans, especially kids, dislike the mouth-feel of the rubbery substance. Duly chastened, he redoubles his efforts to improve his core products. Today, nearly every home in America has a Wrigley product in its pantry or bathroom. Post By April Fool's Contest Winner LeaperBP

in 1917, William Aloysius Butler took a stand against the Louisville Bluegrass Blue law, which prohibited banjo music in public on Sundays. He was arrested in a city park after a brief and violent struggle, in which several officers were physically accosted with a banjo. Later that day citizens stormed the local jail, freeing Butler. The mob was chased and finally cornered in a small farm outside of town. The event escalated into a 2 week stand off, dubbed the Bluegrass Revolution. US military forces were called in and opened fire on the Bluegrass Freedom Fighters (BFF). The BFF returned fire. After an 18 hour fire fight, all the BFF were all slaughtered. Shortly after the citizens voted to remove the Bluegrass Blue Laws from the law books. post by April Fools' Contest Winner V. Burnett

in 1930, Mahatma Gandhi speaks to Muslims at an Ulema urging communal unity, prior to the launch of his most sustained campaign of civil disobedience. In the ensuing days, Gandhi leads the Great March to the Sea, to violate the laws of the occupying British Empire. Gandhi and his followers make salt out of seawater, thus defying the British monopoly on salt.

What followed was a full fledged uprising which lead to the triumph of Gandhi's non-violent satyagraha revolution. His goal was to drive out the British and establish an Indian government based on ahimsa (non-violence). Communal differences were put aside, and the people of India united to defy a wide array of British imposed laws. Countless leaders were detained by the British, in order to break the movement. The wave of arrests only incited the people more, until Gandhi himself was jailed. British authorities outlawed Gandhi's pro-Independence Congress Party, and banned all its publications. In response, the people created their own congresses and published their own pamphlets and bills throughout the country. When the government relented, it was too late. After the release of Gandhi, the movement continued, until India became ungovernable.

By the end of 1931, the Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed. Colonial control was so thoroughly thwarted that withdrawal of all British troops from India was completed in the following 18 months.

During the mid and later 30's, the success of the Indian non-violent revolution made an impact on the rest of the world. In South Africa, where Gandhi had begun his work, Indians and Black Africans united to create the first multi-racial African democracy. In Italy, the trade union movement re-awakened, and pursued a campaign of non-violent civil resistance which resulted in the ouster of Benito Mussolini.

Meantime, Gandhi traveled to Aden, Marseilles, London, Helsinki, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Peking, Singapore, and Rangoon, spreading his gospel of non-violence, socialism, and compassion throughout the world.

In 1931, the Spanish Revolution had erupted, with advocates of Mussolini-style fascism clashing with syndicalist movements, social democrats, and Leninists. The popularity of Gandhi's methods influenced the trade unionists and the cooperativists, most of whom relied on the non-violent techniques, but many fascists and hardline communists continued to act violently. Spain was thus forced into a prolonged civil war. Events there were largely influenced by the subsequent failures of fascism in Europe and Leninism in Russia.

The Gandhi-Tolstoy connection had become popularized throughout Russia, and the Doukhobors, Christian (Quaker-like) non-violent religionists, had organized quietly and secretly, gaining strength since the death of Tolstoy, in 1910. When Lenin died and Trotsky took power, an alliance had formed between the Two Tendencies: The platform communists and factory committees on the one hand, and the bureaucrats along with the vanguard communists on the other hand, managed to prevent the triumph of either a rigid totalitarianism, or a decentralized loose association. The Doukhobors, after 1932, exercised considerable influence, transforming Russia from a society in ideological flux to one which embraced the Tolstoyan non-violent ideal and the Gandhian practical plan. Gandhi was finally able to visit Moscow in 1937, after the most hardline communist elements had left government, or softened their stances.

In Germany, the rise of a Mussolini style fascist party presented a danger to the whole of Europe. Adolph Hitler was greatly disillusioned by the fall of Mussolini, and frustrated by the slow pace of his ally in Spain, General Franco. Hitler decided to concentrate his efforts on the domestic regeneration of Germany. When he focused on the so-called Jewish question, and pushed for a boycott of Jewish owned stores, he was opposed by an alliance of Jewish and German shopkeepers. The antisemitic operatives of the Nazi party failed because virtually every single store was marked "Juden", so that no organized boycott could be sustained. Not long after this, the famous Rosenstrasse incident occurred: hundreds of male Jews married to non-Jewish woman were rounded up for deportation or even execution; and in response, the women organized around the clock non-violent protests. Hitler himself gave the order for these Jews to be released. Soon, Jewish and non-Jewish Germans were getting married by the tens of thousands, Christians were attending synagogues, Jews were attending churches, as the slogan "I am a German, a Christian, and a Jew" became widespread (in imitation of Gandhi's affirmation: "I am a Muslim, a Hindu, a Christian, and a Jew, and so are we all").

The philosophers of fascism shrugged. Giovanni Gentile said, "We thought extreme violence against our opponents would continue to work. However, when Mussolini killed thousands, and Hitler killed more, the truth became obvious over time: Violence is a completely impractical tool to use against the followers of Tolstoy and Gandhi. Violence only works against those who offer violent resistance. The non-violent resisters, when organized, sap the will of the man of violence, and tax his conscience. Today we wonder if even Caesar or Napoleon could have conquered such men."

The stagnation of fascism in Europe, and erosion of Leninism in Russia, gave courage to the non- violent resisters in Spain. Franco continued to fight against the Loyalist elements (those loyal to the Republic of 1931), but international brigades of civil resisters, from India, Italy, Scandinavia, Britain, and America, managed to quell the incendiary flames. Franco killed thousands, who engaged in non- violent non-cooperation in fascist controlled areas. Conservative Churchmen, who were originally Franco's allies, went over to the other side, and joined the ranks of those who had "turned the other cheek." Soon, Franco's ranks were depleted, and the Republic was reestablished in Spain, on the basis of Gandhian democratic socialism, combined with syndicalist and cooperativist economics.

It was not long before most of Europe began to adopt Gandhian political methods and institutions. In the US. the struggle began with A. Phillip Randolph, a black union organizer, who had met Gandhi in 1932 in New York. Randolph paralyzed Washington D.C., with the help of former World War I veterans, who called for a new society based on non-violence.

Taoist and Buddhist currents became vehicles for widespread civil resistances in Sri Lanka, Burma and Indochina, until the Chinese employed nonviolent non cooperation against Japanese invaders, during the mid 30's. The failures of the Japanese aggressors in China caused a local revolution, which started in Hokkaido, and spread to the main Japanese island of Honshu. The Muslim Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ("the frontier Gandhi") of Afghanistan, had succeeded in converting most Muslims to his non-violent interpretation of the Q'uran (by emphasizing the early career of Mohammed, and the notion of the universality of all religions). By the end of the 1940's, Gandhian, Taoist, Buddhist and New Muslim non-violent regimes has sprung up throughout most of Asia.

Thus began the era of non-violent international warfare. Gandhi had advised the formation of non-violent armies to protect against invaders. In 1962, the Chinese and the Russians fought the first full scale non-violent wars, in which civil resistance campaigns of the 30's and 40's were re-enacted on a gargantuan scale. The disputes were partially territorial and partially ideological: the Chinese population was growing, and moving peaceably into parts of Siberia; while the subtle differences between Tolstoyan and Taoist civil resistance techniques were at odds. China and Russia each sought to convert the other. The Sino-Russian non-violent war continued for 45 years, during which time at least 17 people died (most of these were participants in hunger strikes, including Gandhi himself who died in 1971, just after his hundredth birthday). Another Rather Lengthy Post By April Fools' Contest Winner D. Lanquandria

in 1957, the British news programme Panorama broadcast a story about the latest harvest of Swiss spaghetti. Viewers were treated to a rare glimpse of farmhands plucking the long noodles right from the trees. As presenter Richard Dimbleby said, "there's nothing like fresh, home-grown spaghetti." In an ironic twist of fate, that very May, just as demand for spaghetti reached new heights thanks to Panorama, an infestation of spaghetti weevils devastated the Swiss countryside. Though imports from Rome and the United States helped placate the masses, some citizens resorted to growing their own spaghetti right from empty tomato sauce cans. Post By April Fool's Contest Winner LeaperBP

in 1970, President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law. This law, practically written in the boardrooms of the major tobacco companies, all but defangs the Surgeon General and other anti-smoking forces under the aegis of "fairness and balance in public discourse" by requiring that tobacco manufacturers get "equal time" whenever their product is denounced in the media. The law opens the floodgates, with other industries getting in on the act, confusing the public with hundreds of claims and counter-claims by "experts" and "studies" on every side of even the most minor question. American confidence in the major media and advertising hits an all-time low by the time the law is rescinded in 1974. Post By April Fool's Contest Winner LeaperBP

in 1999, the territory of Nunavut secedes from the Dominion of Canada, declaring itself the independent Republic of Nunavut. The decision was announced by the Nunavut National Assembly (NNA), which had been secretly meeting in Iqaluit since late 1997, motivated by Inuit desires for sovereignty. The Speaker of the Assembly, Paul Okalik, declared, "For over a century our people have tried to live in the shadow of the white man. He shows no concern over our affairs and wellbeing, yet exerts his political will over us from afar. We Nunavummiut must now craft our own destiny." However, given the suspicious date on which the announcement was made, people around the world were skeptical at best. No nation or government, even the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, took the declaration seriously... most ignored it altogether. Prime Minister Chretien made no motion acknowledging the NNA's declaration. One Canadian legislator went so far as to quip, "Really, these April Fool's jokes are quite audacious this year." Horribly embarrassed, the NNA quickly dissolved the Republic, permanently disbanded, and Nunavut carried on as a Canadian territory as if nothing ever happened. Post By April Fools' Contest Winner Ryan Hackel Of The Ryanarium

in 2005, following the death of Arthur Wells, delegates from Moebian churches across the country convene in Hollywood to elect a new leader. At first it appears that Bill Murray—whose hit movie Groundhog Day was inspired by Moebian teachings and who has decided to retire from movie making in order to lead the church—will win easily, but during debates about the proper interpretation of Moebianism, deep and irreconcilable differences among its members are soon revealed. While Murray holds that the true Moebian ethic is to be selfless and loving toward others, David Bowie - who regards Friedrich Nietzsche's doctrine of the eternal return as the proper foundation for Moebianism--proclaims a doctrine of selfishness and self-fulfillment as the true teaching. A third, minority, group—while agreeing with Murray about selflessness--finds the teachings of Moebianism too unbearable to live with. Preaching a doctrine of withdrawal from the world in order to minimize suffering, members of this group finally conclude that the only rational response to Moebianism is suicide—preferably a painless suicide. Soon, however, this group effectively eliminates itself, as members across the country kill themselves. post by April Fools' Contest Winner Richard Reilly

George Bush	In 2008 the Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) has finally been recovered from Iraq and is less over seventy-two hours from entering its rightful home in the United States. The end is in sight for George Bush's thirty-five year mission that started with the forty-first US President's appointment as CIA Director. That position ..
.. gave 'Bush41' unrestricted access to Project BlueBook, the USAAF investigation into UFO Activity since the Roswell Incident in 1947. He set a course for World Supremacy based on ET to climb out of the ashes of defeat in Vietnam.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1983 Journalist Gerd Heidemann met with a number of experts in World War II history, notably the historians Hugh Trevor-Roper, Eberhard Jäckel and Gerhard Weinberg to finalise the authenticity of the Bormann Diaries. Heidemann claimed to have received the diaries from East Germany, smuggled out by a Dr. Fischer. ..	Martin Bormann
.. The diaries were claimed to be part of a consignment of documents recovered from an aircraft crash in Börnersdorf near Dresden in April 1945.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Bosnian Wars	In 1992 the Muslim Holocaust euphemistically called the Bosnian War began in the first days of April. The existence of Islam in southern Europe was of course a direct consequence of the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. Even in the 1990s many Christians still called the Muslims 'the Turks' because of ..
.. the legacy of the Ottoman Empire, which finally dissolved in the second decade of the twentieth century. The matter was not fully addressed until the 2126 Peace and Reconciliation Trial, organised by the Reconstructed United Nations to investigate genocide and injustice in the pre-jihad era.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1873 on this day the RMS Atlantic sank with the loss of 546 lives. RMS Atlantic ..	Burial service for vict..
.. was a steamship of the White Star Line that operated between Liverpool, United Kingdom and New York City. This sad and tragic event gave owners of the White Star Line the inspiration for the idea to switch the RMS Olympic with the sister ship, the Titantic in 1912. The original Olympic had collided with a British Warship HMS Hawke on September 20, 1911 and was severely damaged; repairs at the Harland & Wolff shipyard were prohibitively expensive. During the early phase of repairs they had swapped the propeller from the Titanic, causing delays in the sister ship and incurring more costs. This small cheat led to a bigger cheat as is the nature of such things. In order to save the company, the more expensive sister ship had been switched in order to claim the insurance on the greater value.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Straw Lady

The state of TIAH

January 30th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: We have a side-project that we are working on – a collection of several timelines with more-or-less complete stories inside them – The Fall, the Tolman timeline, the Mormon War and more – that will be up for sale on Lulu, as soon as we have it edited together. If you would be interested in this, or would like to suggest something for inclusion in the collection, please email me and let me know. And, speaking of side projects, Guest Historian Stephen Payne has one, Crimson Kiss, available for free on Lulu. Check it out after you enjoy his entry for today, an entry of our own, and the continuation of our NaNoWriMo novel.

Michael Collins	In 1913 the House of Lords approved the Irish Home Rule Bill, leading to the formation of the Free State. Tens of thousands of Irish deaths in the trenches were averted by this timely action on the very cusp of the First World War.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1933 Adolf Schicklgruber is sworn in as Chancellor of Austria. Schicklgruber set out to restore the shattered nation from the ashes of the Hapsburg defeat in World War I. His greatest triumph was of course the resistance of Anschluss (annexation) by Fuehrer und Reichskanzler Kurt von Schleicher of Germany.	Schicklegruber
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Ghandi	In 1948 Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Gandhi narrowly escapes an ..
.. assassination attempt by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. Bapu survived to guide the unified state of Hindustan through the turbulence of the mid-years of the century as surrounding nations threw off their ties to the European powers, a subjugation which the subcontinent had avoided.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1972 on Bloody Sunday, British Paratroopers kill fourteen Roman Catholic civil rights /anti internment marchers in Northern Ireland and destroy their honour and prestige on the island of Ireland. The straw lady Margaret Thatcher took Britain out of Northern Ireland altogether ..	Margaret Thatch..
.. during 1980, a capitulation which encouraged President Eva Perón to seize the Malvinas back in 1982. These two defeats stained Thatcher's reputation as the worst Prime Minister of the Twentieth Century who took the 'Great' out of 'Great Britain'. In reality 'Thatcher the Sovereignty Snatcher' was the victim of irreversible historical processes caused by the End of Empire, and she was forced to accelerate Britain's integration into the European Union during her second term of office, finding a new and compelling future for the island state.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

in 2006, the Angelic Host pushes out of the Mediterranean and begins its long march into northern Europe, Africa and Asia. European Union President and admitted Anti-Christ Morris Appleby goes on international television and advises everyone, “Start converting to Christianity right now. Ask forgiveness for everything you've done – and be specific about what you've done. I'm going to try it myself if they get too close to the capitol. Not quite sure how that'll work...”

After(cont.)
Senator Kerry agreed to push to Bryan and supply the president with some backup, and met with practically no resistance on the way. Mike, Steph and her children went along for the ride, grieving the entire way. When they got to Bryan, though, the reunion with Janice and Jake was joyous – Mike even attempted to hug Jake, which Jake rebuffed more gently than anyone else expected.
“So, what now?” Mike was seated at Kevin's computer. Kerry and Bush had gone off to Austin to pay a little visit on Governor Perry, and then were going to head on to Washington. “Are we out of the picture?”
Jake said, “I think so. Anybody who'd want us has bigger targets, now. We just gotta try and put our lives back together.”
“Easier said than done,” Steph said, rubbing her temples. “What about Kevin?”
“He has a sister who was refugeed out of Waco,” Janice answered. “They're trying to find her now. She's about to get good news and bad – she's a millionaire, but she's also an only child, now.” Her voice trembled a little bit, but she was holding it together. Steph's eyes grew bright with tears.
“Eli was already an only child,” Mike said. “His folks died a few years ago. We took out an insurance policy last year on each other. It was a joke.” His voice broke. “I guess I get to collect.”
“Maybe you and Kevin's sister can get together,” Janice said with a slight smile towards him. “You're both nouveau riche.” Mike's mouth twisted in a little grin.
“Can we go home, now?” Joan tried not to be whiny about it, but she had clearly had all the adventure she could take.
“They said we should wait a couple of days, baby,” Steph told her. “Then, we can try to get back to normal.” She looked over at Jake, who was standing behind Janice and rubbing her shoulders. “Or, at least as close to normal as we can get.” She stood up from Kevin's couch and said, “Who's hungry? I'm ready for lunch.”
“Kevin's fridge is a little bare at the moment,” Janice told her.
“That's OK,” Steph said. “I still got most of the twenty grand he gave me. We can eat out.”
They all piled into the SUV and drove into town to find a restaurant. Not knowing the town, they stopped at the first chain joint that they saw from the highway. It was practically deserted, so they grabbed a large table and ordered the best food on the menu. The three adults who weren't driving ordered alcohol; Steph got herself a soda.
Janice stood up and held her drink up in a toast. “Like that old Chinese curse – to interesting times.” They all murmured agreement and drank.

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Rings

	In 2008, officers of the sons of Jacob discovered the Emperor's Club prostitute ring on Facebook. Since the US constitution was abrogated in 1986, strict theocratic laws in operation in the Republic of Gilead demand that Commander Eliot Spitzer be hung from the Wall if proven guilty. Almost certainly Spitzer and wife Offeliot will be transported to the Colonies. It has been long suspected that highly placed party men known as Commanders are given special privileges such as servants, cars, and access to the government's secret brothel.

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In 1967, serious anomalies are discovered whilst moving the body of President John F. Kennedy to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery. The true story of how the wounded President had been smuggled out of Dallas to be secreted at Hyannisport was later revealed by Nicholas A. DiChario in his masterful work 'The Winterberry'.

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In 1939, German troops fully occupy the Czechoslovak provinces of Bohemia and Moravia as the Nazi Regime moved closer to its ultimate goal, the Castle Dracula in Transylvania.

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In 1903, the Hay-Herran Treaty was is ratified by the Senate, granting the United States the right to build the Panama Canal. The Colombian Senate would later reject the treaty. By then, Americans had learnt of the Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) buried in Panama, which they fully recovered in the invasion of 1989 on the pretext of unseating General Noriega. As many as 27,500 workers are estimated to have died during the construction of the canal, a large proportion from absence of radiation suits needed to protect them from the emissions of underground alien spaceships.

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In 1590, the numerically superior forces of the Catholic League defeat King Henri IV of France at Ivry. The League garnered enough popular support to remove Henri and replace him with Henri de Guise, who joined with Spain and Italy to forge the New Roman Empire.

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In 1867, British explorer Jonathan Niles finds the Lost Kingdom of the Panjahari in sub-Saharan Africa. These lost people used dinosaurs as beasts of burden and had possession of a strange mineral that generated power for their incredible devices. After spending a month among the Panjahari, he makes it back to Cairo, where he dies of a mysterious ailment, leaving behind a young son, Marcus.

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In 1879, physicist Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany. Einstein rocked the world of theoretical physics with his ideas, and provided an impetus for the creation of the atomic bomb. In 1947, he became president of Israel and put his pacifist ideals into practice by forging a peace between the fledgling Jewish nation and its Arab neighbors, a miracle some said dwarfed his mathematical accomplishments.

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In 1883, German emigre Karl Marx died at his home in Washington, D.C. Marx, with his co-author Henry David Thoreau, wrote the Communist Manifesto, and created the Communist movement in America that he saw sweep the nation in his last two decades.

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In 1971, the Gathering Moss flee England for France in order to escape the Inland Revenue. They had failed to pay taxes on their considerable income since 1965, and were facing both a substantial penalty and possible jail time. Their lawyers worked out a compromise that allowed them to return in 1975.

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	In 1984, Gunmen shot and killed the Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, in an attack in central Belfast. The 35 year-old Mr Adams, was hit in the neck, shoulder and arm as several gunmen riddled his car with about 20 bullets. Three people travelling with Mr Adams were also wounded in the shooting, which took place in front of terrified shoppers. After the shooting, under-cover plain clothes police officers seized three suspects. Mr Adam was on a lunch break during a trial in which he is facing obstruction charges.

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1964, Dallas night club owner Jack Ruby (Jacob Rubensten) was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murders of Lee Harvey Oswald and Patrolman J. D. Tippit. The extent of Ruby's involvement in the conspiracy is still being investigated by a Presidential commission headed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

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	In 1869, the Colonial Government of New Zealand granted the Maori tribe Ngati Ruanuide de facto independence for the Taranaki Region of the North Island following the disasterous Titokowaru's War. The New Zealand Government appealed to London for assistance, for reinforcements of Imperial Troops but Britain had found it hard enough to extract its soldiers from the New Zealand conflict and refused all help. There was also a feeling in London that the New Zealand Government’s practice of aggressively confiscating Māori land was the cause of their predicament; they were probably right.

Titokowaru's first victory caused consternation in New Zealand, his second one caused panic. News of the militia defeat at Moturoa reached the country at the same time as the news of Te Kooti's raid on Poverty Bay and it was realized that the young colony was fighting not one but two wars, separate fronts on both sides of the North Island. Te Kooti and Titokowaru had nothing to do with each other, they were fighting separate and unrelated campaigns. Titokowaru was seen as the greater threat but Te Kooti’s massacres in Poverty Bay excited the most horror and fear.

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	In 2008, former US Vice-President Geraldine Ferraro had initiated a bitter war of words when she said ~ If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept. Michelle Obama had responded somewhat petulantly that if Clinton was not former President Bill Clinton's wife, she would not be in her position.

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