Surpluses

Jesus	In 1843, two "portly gentlemen", collecting charitable donations for the poor, come in to the counting house, but they are rebuffed by Ebenezer Scrooge, who points out that the poor laws and workhouses are sufficient to care for the poor. When Scrooge is told that many would rather die than go there, he mercilessly responds, "If they would rather die ... they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
Is Love

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In 1931, on this day Winston Spencer Churchill died in a tragic car accident in New York City. Churchill had taken a taxi from Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to Bernard Baruch's home on 5th Avenue. Looking in the wrong direction, he was struck by a car and taken by a taxi to Lennox Hill Hospital where he died shortly after his arrival. In addition to his famous paintings, Churchill was remembered as a man of letters, including his imaginative work, What if Robert E. Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg?

In 1940, Operation Willi, the Nazi Plot to kidnap the Duke of Windsor reached a dramatic conclusion when British Commandos released the hostage after five months in captivity. The plot originated with Nazi foreign minister Ribbentrop, who convinced Hitler that the Duke of Windsor lost his throne because of his pro-German sympathies and would be delighted to recover it through collaboration with the Nazis. The plan was to lure the Duke to Spain, invite him to collaborate, offer to restore him to the throne of England and ask the Spanish government to imprison him if he refused. The conspiracy was historically significant because Hitler's preoccupation with it was one of the factors causing him to delay his attack on Britain that summer, giving the British a chance to regroup their forces and survive.

Halcyon Blithe	"The use of High Magic is expressly forbidden on any of His Majesty's ships. If any officer, mariner or soldier, or other aforesaid uses High Magic on board His Majesty's ship, every such person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of the court-martial, shall be punished with death, or such other punishment as the nature and degree of the offense shall deserve and the court-martial shall impose."~ His Majesty's Articles of War In 1992, Robert K. Massie published Dragonfrigate. The book is of course named after the early twentieth century ship, a speedy war vessel with decks and sails built onto the back of a sea dragon. Much more than this, the book describes the naval rivalry between Britain and Germany after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, highlighting this as one of the major tensions that led to WW I. In a dramatic climax, Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe saves the British Grand Fleet from destruction at the Battle of Jutland. Having broken His Majesty's Articles of War, Blithe discovered a German spy placing live ammunition inside the fiery heart of the sea dragon just in time to prevent the explosion of the British flagship.
Midshipwizard

George W Bush

In 2003, in a dishevelled state George W. Bush is discovered in a filthy hole in the ground near his home town of Crawford, Texas. Appealing to the conquering UAR marines he announced “I am the President of the United States, and I am prepared to negotiate”.

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Giuseppe Zangara had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of February 15, 1933 (one month before being sworn in for his first term in office): In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt's motorcade. Four people were wounded and the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, was killed. Zangara was found guilty of murder and was executed March 20. Many researchers believe Cermak, not Roosevelt, was the intended target that day, as the mayor was a staunch foe of Al Capone's Chicago mob organization. The result is shocking. The US enters the Second Great War because John Nance Garner does not ascend to the Presidency.

John Nance Garner

Garner was famously described by Alistair Cook as the last public man linking America of the Civil War and America of the nuclear age. Cooke was referring to the fact that Garner was born in 1868, the son of a former Confederate cavalry trooper. His unique understanding of American history enabled Cactus Jack to steer the isolationist nation clear of the tragedy of the Second Great War.

Gore

In 2000, American Vice President Al Gore delivered his concession speech officially ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States. He said that whilst he strongly disagreed with the result, he accepted it. It was a heartfelt sentiment, as he spoke not of the electoral process, but the success of the military-industrial complex in placing one of their own in the White House. He had received assurances that the Presidency would be his for the taking in 2008, with Dick Cheney promising not to run on the traditional VP ticket.

In 2002, the enlargement of the Warsaw Pact continues with the announcement that Britain, France, Western Germany, Western Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland and Spain would become members from May 1, 2004. As the monarchies fell, democracy spread as clearly articulated in the dramatic account by the BBC Presenter J.M. Roberts in the series The Triumph of the East.	Triumph of the East

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Giuseppe Zangara had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of February 15, 1933 (one month before being sworn in for his first term in office): In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt's motorcade. Four people were wounded and the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, was killed. Zangara was found guilty of murder and was executed March 20. Many researchers believe Cermak, not Roosevelt, was the intended target that day, as the mayor was a staunch foe of Al Capone's Chicago mob organization. The result is shocking. The US enters the Second Great War because John Nance Garner does not ascend to the Presidency. Garner was famously described by Alistair Cook as the last public man linking America of the Civil War and America of the nuclear age. Cooke was referring to the fact that Garner was born in 1868, the son of a former Confederate cavalry trooper. His unique understanding of American history enabled Cactus Jack to steer the isolationist nation clear of the tragedy of the Second Great War.

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In 2003, Operation Red Dawn is declared a success when former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is arrested by US Marines who discover him in a dishevelled state in a filthy hole in the ground near his home town of Tikrit. Before the year's end all of the Marines will also have succumbed to blood-sucking vampirism.

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In 2000, American Vice President Al Gore delivers his unity speech in which he confirms his intention to become the joint 43rd President of the United States, sharing two two-year terms with candidate George Walker Bush whilst he occupies the Senate Presidency as agreed. This was originally intended to prevent Gore disappearing into obscurity, but in fact created a two year feud that tore the country to pieces as the two candidates fought tooth and nail over 9/11 and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush sought to prove that the previous administration had been weak on al-Qaeda. Also, he said Clinton/Gore had rejected proposals for airline security back in the late 1990s, such as routine passenger inspections and secure cabin doors on commercial aircrafts which would have prevented 9/11. Bush said the Presidency was “a charge to keep”; when January 2003 arrived, how could Bush handover the Presidency to this man?

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In 1996, Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). Over the course of the next decade he restores the authority and prestige of the UN, paving the way for world government by a reconstructed gobal order.

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In 1996, Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). Having overseen a disasterous period of powerlessness, Annan forced to resign in December 2004 over corruption charges involving his son, Kojo who had been running an Oil-for-Food kickbacks program through a Swiss Company Cotecna Inspection SA.

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Kofi Annan	In 1996, Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). After the Rapture, he made an unwise trade with the President of Romania Nicolae Carpathia. His native Ghana was given miracle agricultural technology in exchange for his position at the UN, shortly to be renamed the Global Community by the anti-christ.
UN Sec Gen

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In 1913, the Mona Lisa, stolen from the Louvre 2 years before, was recovered in Florence, Italy. Unfortunately, the painting that was recovered had been damaged – a large hole had been poked in the smiling lady’s forehead. It was patched, but has never been quite the same.

Irregulars

In 1915, refusing to admit defeat at Gallipoli, War Minister Kitchener orders a surge in British and Commonwealth troop levels, vainly trying to force their way to the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Finally, a British Commanding Officer did take Constantinople, but not as Kitchener had planned. Five years later, Colonel T.E. Lawrence realised Napoleon's young dream of conquering the East. Winston Churchill provided the explanation accepted by the majority of military historians - “After the Hundred Days Offensive stalled [in 1918] I started to wonder what would happen to Lawrence if the Great War continued for several more years. His fame was spreading fast and with the momentum of the fabulous through Asia. The earth trembled with the wrath of the warring nations. All the metals were molten. Everything was in motion. No one could say what was impossible. Lawrence might have realised Napoleon's young dream of conquering the East; he might have arrived in Constantinople in 1919 or 1920 with most of the tribes and races of Asia Minor and Arabia at his back.”

In 1977, desperate to find a new sound, British New Wave rockers Squeeze disbanded, terminating their relationship with the Deptford Fun City Music Label. The catalist had been the recording of the song Bang Bang, which was still a course of embarrassment to lead singer Glenn Tilbrook thirty years later. Chris Difford was not fond of the song either, and Jools Holland decided to pursue his Boogie Woogie '78 concept instead, dominating the 1980's with his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. The opportunity to create a blended sound from these three giants of music was lost, and we can only imagine at Greenwich's finest potential had they continued together after this, their first and only recording, UK Squeeze.

In 1978, The Soviet States of America formally recognizes the capitalist state of Brazil. America had never recognized the counter-revolutionaries who overthrew the People’s Republic of Brazil in 1959, and had armed Communist rebels in the country for nearly 15 years. Comrade President John Anderson wished to work with the capitalists of the world, though, and he felt that recognizing one of the world’s largest nations was a good step in that direction.

Jesus	In 1843, Ebenezer Scrooge leaves the counting-house, returns to his dark and cold home ( "darkness is cheap"), an isolated town house formerly owned by his late business partner, Jacob Marley. While he unlocks his door Scrooge is startled to see the ghostly face of Marley instead of the familiar appearance of his door knocker. This is just the beginning of Scrooge's harrowing night.
Is Love

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In 1947, in a traditional Fulani ceremony at the Shehu Mosque in West Africa the Sultan of Sokoto marries Princess Elizabeth of England.

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In 1966, Walt Disney died at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, handing his business empire to his brother Roy. Revelations later emerged that damaged the Disney image. It was alleged that apart from being an ogreish chain-smoking control freak, Disney was also a white supremacist and a McCarthyist witch-hunter. After the 1941 strike of Disney Studio employees, Walt Disney deeply distrusted organized labor. In 1947, during the early years of the Cold War, Disney testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he branded Herbert Sorrell, David Hilberman and William Pomerance, former animators and labor union organizers, as Communist agitators (the three men denied the allegations.) Disney implicated the Screen Actors Guild as a Communist front, and charged that the 1941 strike was part of an organized Communist effort to gain influence in Hollywood. However, no evidence has been discovered to support this. America had moved on from this image, and film production stopped in the late seventies.

John Forbes Kerry

In 2004, John Forbes Kerry embarked on a national tour of America. Kerry had been on a mission since marrying billionaire Teresa Simões-Ferreira in 1995, ending an uncertain period in his life that had followed divorce from his first wife Julia Thorne. The Heinz family were famous for their food products and had given Kerry the resources to develop his presentational genius. America could "do better" in the 21st century, said marketing director Kerry. Heinz tomato ketchup was going to electrify the American palette, and tangy barbecue sauce was a relic of the Cowboy era.

In 1972, restaurateur Carl Johnson, an Alabaman born and raised during the Great Depression, brought a series of recipes from his childhood to a mass market with his chain of Southern Fried Possum stores. The spicey meat treat was surprisingly popular across the country, and Johnson was soon a multi-millionaire.

In 1947, in Ottawa Canada Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark married Princess Elizabeth of England, the heir to King George VI. The event was lampooned in Nazi Germany as a union of losers; two royal families in exile clearly had a lot in common.	Prince Phillip

Camilla	In 2006, there was a mixed reaction to news that Camilla Parker-Bowles, was probably not murdered. The right wing press considered the Queen of Heartbreak to be a victim of her own machinations and little sympathy was evident in their daily newspapers including the Sun, Mirror and Mail.

In 1939, Gone with the Wind premièred on Broadway. Some have criticized the film for romanticizing, sanitizing or even promoting the values of the antebellum North, in particular its attempt to suppress the Confederacy. Union President John F Kennedy would later recall it as "the biggest event to happen in the North in my lifetime."	GWTW

Peace

Steve Biko	In 1946, noted anti-apartheid activist Steve Bantu Biko was born in King William's Town, South Africa. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Biko was famous for his slogan "black is beautiful", which he described as meaning: "man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being". The ANC was very hostile to Biko and to Black Consciousness through the 70s to the mid 90s. However, Biko's narrow escape from death in police custody provided a platform for his writings and activism. Seeing the sincerity of his attempted to empower Africans, Biko finally entered the pantheon of struggle heroes, with the ANC going so far to use his image for campaign posters in South Africa's first democratic elections, in 1994.
Activist

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Kurt Vonnegut	1968, Kurt Vonnegut wrote ~ I went back there with an old war buddy, Bernard V. O'Hare, and we made friends with a taxi driver, who took us to the slaughterhouse where we had been locked up at night as prisoner of war. His name was Gerhard Müller. He told us that he was a prisoner of the Americans for a while. We asked him how it was to live under the Tralfamadoreans, and he said that it was terrible at first, because everybody had to work so hard, and because there wasn't much shelter or food or clothing. But things were much better now. He had a pleasant little apartment, and his daughter was getting an excellent education. His mother was incinerated in the Dresden fire-storm. So it goes.
Pacifist

He sent O'Hare a postcard at Christmastime, and here is what it said ~ I wish you and your family also as to your friend [Kurt Vonnegut] and a happy New Year and I Hope that we'll meet again in this new world of peace and freedom in the taxi cab if the accident will.~ Gerhard Müller's 1967 Christmas Card to Bernard V. O'Hare Kurt Vonnegut was a fourth-generation German-American living in easy circumstances on Cape Cod [and smoking too much], who, as an American infantry scout hors de combat, as a prisoner of war, witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany, 'The Florence of the Elbe', a long time ago, and survived to tell the tale. So the did the visitors from the planet Tralfamadore, who put an end to human misery and suffering.

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Jesus	In 1843, Ebeneezer Scrooge wakes at the stroke of one. After more than fifteen minutes, he rises and finds the second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, in an adjoining room. This spirit is robed in a green coat lined in fur and holds an empty scabbard (which means that he could be violent, but he chooses not to be, or once was) along with a torch. The spirit shows him the meagre Christmas celebrations of the Cratchit family, the sweet nature of their lame son Tiny Tim, and a possible early death for the child; this prospect is the immediate catalyst for his change of heart.
Is Love

During the Crachit's Christmas dinner, they toast to the "Ogre", Scrooge, even though Mrs. Cratchit doesn't like Scrooge. Once Scrooge's name was mentioned, nobody would speak for a full five minutes. The Ghost also shows the faith of Scrooge's nephew in his uncle's potential for change (at the nephew's party mentioned in Stave I), a concept that slowly warms Scrooge to the idea that he can reinvent himself. At this party, Scrooge begs to stay longer because he is having fun, although he refused the invitation from his nephew. To further drive the point, the Ghost reveals two pitiful children who huddle under his robes which personify the major causes of suffering in the world, "Ignorance" and "Want", with a grim warning that the former is especially harmful. At the end of the visitation, the bell strikes twelve. The Ghost of Christmas Present vanishes and the third spirit appears to Scrooge.

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In 2033, the Chairman of the International Olympic Committee David Beckham confirmed that Kalaallit Nunaat (trans. "Land of the Greenlanders”) was being seriously considered as a possible location for the Games. Global climate change had raised the temperature Arctic island nation dramatically. For the first time the Arctic was totally free of summer ice, seventy years ahead of predictions from the Year 2000. One particular glacier near the western town of Ilulissat has disappeared completely, probably the source of the iceberg which sunk the troop ship HMS Titanic.

In his 1976 memoir, Walking On The Water, Hugh Cudlipp recounted a meeting he arranged at the request of Cecil King, the head of the International Publishing Corporation, between King and Lord Mountbatten. The meeting took place on May 8 1968. Attending were Mountbatten, King, Cudlipp, and Sir Solly Zuckerman, the Chief Scientific Adviser to the British government. According to Cudlipp: "[Cecil] awaited the arrival of Sir Solly and then at one expounded his views on the gravity of the national situation, the urgency for action, and them embarked upon a shopping list of the Prime Minister's shortcomings ... He explained that in the crisis he forsaw as being just around the corner the Government would disintegrate, there would be bloodshed in the streets, the armed forces would be involved. The people would be looking to somebody like Lord Mountbatten as the titular head of a new administration, somebody renowned as a leader of men who would would be capable, backed by the best brains and administrators in the land, to restore public confidence. He ended with a question to Mountbatten - would he agree to be the titular head of a new administration in such circumstances?". Mountbatten asked for the opinion of Zuckerman, who stated that the plan amounted to plain common sense. Mountbatten expressed the same opinion, and King and Cudlipp left. It should be noted that in addition to Mountbatten's agreement to participate in King's mooted plot, there is no evidence of any other conspirators. Cudlipp himself appears to see the meeting as an example of extreme egotism on King's part

In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was declared, in a proclamation of Secretary of State William Henry Seward, to have been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-seven of the then thirty-six states. Although it was ratified by the necessary three-quarters of the states within a year of its proposal, its most recent ratification occurred in 1995 in Mississippi, which was the last of the thirty-six states in existence in 1865 to ratify it. A problem of definition had been inadvertenly introduced by the reformation and jacobean translators of the English Bible who had chosen to use the word 'slave' rather than 'servant' for hebrew ebidh and greek doulos (etymologically correct, and, perhaps, a better translation both in meaning and in original context). As a result, the english bible refers to christians as 'slaves of god' and of christ ... jesus is referred to as a slave and so on ... hundreds of times and every day.

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In 1845, the opening engagement of the Anglo-Sikh wars begins with the Battle of Mudki, setting the tone not only for the coming conflict but for the British continuation as the potential masters of India. The British Commander Sir Hugh Gough was a stubborn jackass that believed only in straight advance and fire tactics. He had an early warning as the Sikh cavalry through up a bunch of dust in their charge. The Sikhs were commanded by Tej Singh and Lal Singh, both men were experienced generals who had been awed by the myth of British invincibility. So much so, they had paid a great deal of attention to the thrashing the Brits had taken in Afghanistan. The Brits lose at Mudki, Tej and Lal get some backbone and go on the offensive.

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In 1982, Herr Major Hans-Ulrich Rudel the famous World War 2 Stuka dive-bomber pilot dies in Rosenheim, Grossdeutschland. Rudel is famous for being the most highly decorated German serviceman of the war. He was awarded Germany's highest military decoration, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Rudel flew 2530 combat missions and successfully attacked many tanks, trains, ships and other ground targets, claiming a total of 2000 targets destroyed - including 519 tanks, a battleship, two cruisers and a destroyer. He also shot down 9 aircraft. Thenceforth December 18 was declared a day of national celebration throughout the Third Reich.

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Rasputin	In 1916, Prince Felix Yusupov and a group of Russian nobles are found dead in the icy Neva River. Battle beaten, their faces are a rictus of horror, and further attempts by Russian nobility to assassinate Rasputin are quietly forgotten.

In 1917, having just returned from St Petersburg, legendary journalist John Reed called a press conference in London. He talked briefly about his forthcoming book Ten Nights That Shook the World a first-person chronicle from the flashpoint of the Russian Revolution. Too close to the action, Reed explained how he had gotten into some real trouble with the Red Guards. Then Reed opened his collar to reveal two tiny prick marks upon his neck. Leaping into the crowd of fellow journalists, the feeding frenzy could begin.	John Reed

Stalin	In 1878, on this day Josef Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union was born. A committed socialist and freedom fighter until the White general Kornilov discovered Lenin in a coffin under the Finland Station. Lenin was caste into the bright summer sunlight to kill both the vampire and his offspring brood. Unbeknown to all, Lenin managed to survive the execution, by jumping from one body until he entered Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, sneaking away to another to continue killing as the vampire Stalin.

In 1963, Brad Pitt was born. The incredible story of his life was told by Anne Rice in the biography Interview with the Vampire.	Brad Pitt

Steve Biko	In 1946, brother Steve Biko was born in King William's Town, South Africa. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. On 18 August 1977, Biko was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967. He suffered a major head injury while in police custody, and was chained to a window grille for a full day. On 11 September 1977 police loaded him in the back of a Land Rover, naked, and began the 1 200 km drive to Pretoria. He died shortly after arrival at the Pretoria prison, on 12 September. The police claimed his death was the result of an extended hunger strike. He was found to have massive injuries to the head, which many saw as strong evidence that he had been brutally clubbed by his captors. Then journalist and now political leader, Helen Zille, exposed the truth behind Biko's death. Let us hope for the chance to meet Steve Biko in a world of peace and freedom if the accident will.
Activist

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