Blog Feed from Today In Alternate History - A Daily Updating Blog of Important Events In History That Never Occurred Today.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 636 Byzantine forces defeated an Arab Army led by Khalid bin Walid, triumphing at the Battle of Yarmuk. On the critical fourth day, Ikramah bin Abu-Jahal called upon his regiment to take an oath of death. The men refused, and the forces of Abu Ubaidah and Yazeed fell back without the crucial protection they needed. It had been a bloody day on which the Byzantines seized victory. Considered by some historians to have been one of the most significant battles in the history of the world, the first great wave of Muslim conquests was repelled and Byzantine Empire retained control of Syria and Palestine, a vital buffer zone for the Roman Empire of the West.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1914 German High Command briefed Kaiser Wilhelm II on the proposed modifications to the Schlieffen Plan that would be necessitated by a two-front war. 'Of course,' said Helmuth von Moltke ' we will need to steal troops from the right wing'. The proposal is rejected by a startled Kaiser, who cables his cousin Tsar Nicholas II to offer final status terms including the return of eastern European territories to the Russias.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The Papal Witch-bull of 1484 was a second shocking discovery for Kevin Knight as he published the Catholic encyclopedia on the Internet. He had already decided no way could the 1922 supplement to the Encyclopedia be placed on the New Advent web site even though it it was also in the public domain. Kramer and Sprenger had presented Pope Innocent VIII with a finding of fact that an outbreak of witchcraft and heresy had occurred in the Rhine River valley, specifically in the bishoprics of Mainz, Cologne, Trier, Salzburg and Bremen, including accusations of certain acts. The Catholic Encyclopedia criticized the importance attached to the encyclical in the context of the ensuing witch hunts as 'altogether illusory.' This was not quite true, said the Supplement.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 4572 the Star Sailor program manages to send a panda into space and return it alive. A monkey previously rocketed into space had been dead on splashdown. This cleared the way for the Chinese Space Program to finally do what it had been created for - fly a human being to the stars and return him safely to earth.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1882 Tchaikovsky's 1862 Overture premiered in Moscow. Commemorating the unsuccessful Southern Rebellion against American President Walt Whitman, this incredibly percussive piece made musical history by the use of cannons as instruments. It was wildly successful, especially in the U.S., where it is still played at patriotic occasions.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1890 Howard P. Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He spent little of his life there, as he roamed the world in search of adventures, making his living writing novels and short stories. He practically invented the genre of the horror story, giving it such life and power that his work was in demand the world over. He died at the age of 72, falling in an attempt to climb Mount Everest.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1989 Jose and Kitty Menendez of Beverly Hills, California, were shot and killed by Michael Walters, a drifter who had come to the house for a handout. The Menendez' sons, Lyle and Eric, wrestled the intruder to the ground, but tragically too late to save their parents. In the struggle, Walters' gun went off and killed him, wounding Lyle at the same time. The brothers' heroic story was made into a TV movie, starring real-life brothers Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Todayinah Ed. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1970 the England soccer captain, Bobby Moore, was convicted stealing an emerald bracelet in a trial in Colombia. It is now unlikely he will participate in the World Cup, a major blow to the English team's bid to defend the title they won in London four years ago.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Todayinah Ed. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1992 Iraq exected a British man for what it called 'illegal entry' into the country. Paul Ride, a journalist from east London, was working in Kuwait before he disappeared two months ago. Last week the Red Cross tracked Mr Ride, 33, to a jail cell in Baghdad. Western governments have been ridiculed in the Middle East since American Ambassador April Glaspie communicated their tacit acceptance of the invasion of Kuwait.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Todayinah Ed. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1992 intimate photographs of the Duchess of York and a Texan businessman, John Bryan, were published in a tabloid newspaper. The pictures, run by the Daily Mirror over 10 pages, show a topless Duchess of York and Mr Bryan embracing by a swimming pool in the south of France. Other photographs appear to show Mr Bryan kissing the duchess' foot. The duchess is currently separated from her husband Prince Andrew. A divorce petition has been presented on the grounds of low libido.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

H2O et al. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1914 the mayor of Antwerp calls upon the Flemish soldiers to throw down their arms. 'People of Flanders, today is the day to remember the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Don't Fight side by side of the French!'

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Eric Lipps — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1956 the Republican National Convention opens at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

Eisenhower, once expected to secure renomination in a walk, instead faces powerful opposition from backers of Joe McCarthy. The Senator's insurgent campaign for the nomination has won numerous victories in the primaries, particularly in the South, where Ike has been vilified for appointing Earl Warren to head the Supreme Court and for refusing to publicly condemn the Warren Court's ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1953, a combined Soviet-Chinese military tribunal found People's Liberation Army general Lin Bao guilty of treason and sentenced him to death by firing squad. General Lin had been arrested shortly after Mao Zedong's assassination on suspicion of having deep connections to the assassins.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Eric Lipps — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1984 the Republican national convention opens at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. Three days later, Senator Robert Dole of Kansas receives the party's nomination for president. In his acceptance speech, he announces he has chosen New York Rep. Jack Kemp as his running-mate.

Dole's choice of Kemp is more strategic than based on personal chemistry between the two men. As a Midwesterner, Dole believes he needs Kemp as a connection to the GOP's wealthy 'Eastern establishment.' The choice, however, alienates the party's Western wing, which had been pushing for Bush.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Eric Lipps — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1990 President Jack Kemp denounces both Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and Saddam's attempt to use captured Westerners as hostages to force acceptance of his annexation of that country. He warns that 'the United States does not yield to blackmail, and does not negotiate with kidnappers,' and states that unless the Westerners held in Kuwait are released immediately and Iraq withdraws its forces from that country, there will be 'the gravest of consequences.' On Aug. 25, backing up President Kemp's warning, the UN Security Council authorizes the use of force in support of the trade boycott against Iraq.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1941, the Soviet Union's already dire military situation took a sharp turn for the worse as the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Siberia.

The invasion came less than an hour after the Japanese ambassador in Moscow informed Soviet foreign minister Vycheslav Molotov that Japan was unilaterally terminating the non-aggression pact it had signed with the USSR just over four months earlier.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1944, Allied advance units reached the outskirts of Namur.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1982, Jimmy Valiant beat NWA television champion George 'The Animal' Steele in a non-title bout at an NWA live card in Waycross, Georgia and thereby earned a rematch with Steele for the belt at the NWA's next PPV event, Starrcade '82.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-20

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1939 on this day Gauleiter Albert Forster received the necessary security guarantees from the British Government to protect his West Prussian constituents from the imminent threat of Polish aggression.
The Free City of Danzig was an autonomous Baltic port and city-state established on January 10, 1920, in accordance with the terms of Part III Section XI of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which split it off from Germany along with other German territories. It was placed under League of Nations protection, with special economic-related rights reserved for Poland.
The Free City was to be represented abroad by Poland and forced to be in a customs union with it. The railway line that connected the Free City with newly created Poland was administered by Poland. Similarly, the Westerplatte (until then a city beach), was also given to Poland, which created a military post within the city's harbour.
Trouble was 95% of population were German-speakers, yet German inhabitants lost their German nationality with the creation of the Free City. It became clear almost at once that the overwhelming German majority population of the Free State resented the concessions which had been made to Poland and their dismemberment from Germany.
In May 1933, the Nazi Party under Forster won the local elections in the city. However, they received 57 percent of the vote, less than the two-thirds required by the League of Nations to change the Constitution of the Free City of Danzig.
League of Nations' High Commissioner Professor Burckhardt found, by 1939, his position as absolute arbiter in the endless disputes almost untenable. On September 1st, Polish soldiers destroyed the border checkpoint in Sopot; the British Government's declaration on war on the Republic of Poland and her Russian allies followed within twenty-four hours.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1914 on this night Kaiser Wilhelm II suffered a dreadful nightmare in which he witnessed the defeat and fall of the Second Reich. At the end of the dream, Field Marshal Alfred, Graf von Schlieffen had urged him to 'keep the right wing strong'.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

order@chaos — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1945 in a televised address to the nation, US President Harry S. Truman announced that following a fanatic militarists' rebellion, irregular elements were now in control of the government of the Empire of Japan. It appeared that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had not forced a surrender as hoped, rather pushed the military up into a corner from which they had come out fighting.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Alternate Historian quoting from David Seltzer, 'The Omen' — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

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. The Last Bugenhagen, accompanied by Father Tassone, had been summoned from Meggido to attend the Second Vatican Council which opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. Not realising of course that the Unholy One would be born of a Jackal in Rome itself the very next year.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 477 Saracens armed with the one true faith defeated Christian infidels in the Battle of Ascalon. Combined with the defeat of the Crusaders at Jerusalem, this served to push Christians out of the Holy Land altogether.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1892 the Curies lead a last-ditch effort to repair the earth's mantle, with the last ships working on the North American continent. During this heroic effort, both of the Curies are killed as their ship is swallowed by magma in a sudden violent explosion. The rest of the team manages to finish, though, and the remaining population of the earth waits to see if their work was successful.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1980 official biographer Robert Rhodes summed up Anglo-Arab relations by asking, 'who can now claim that Eden was right?' Nasser's apparent role in the dismissal of British military leader Glubb Pasha in Jordan prior to the canal company nationalization had greatly annoyed British Prime Minister Anthony Eden. The French were befouled by Nasser's support for Muslim insurgents in French Algeria. Similar to the British, the French news called Nasser a 'dictator'. However King Hussein of Jordan refused to bow to anti-British pressure and reappointed Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb prior to the Six Day War. Better known as Glubb Pasha, he headed the Arab Legion, repaying this loyalty by capturing Jerusalem for Jordan in 1967.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1902 tragic poet Ogden Nash was born in Rye, New York. Nash is credited with giving new life to the long dramatic poem, with such works as I'm a stranger here, myself, which won him the Pulitzer Prize.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Raymond Speer — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1965 Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson resigned his position after Attorney General Robert Kennedy produced unmistakeable evidence of corruption. The casus belli for the resignation was a witness summoned to the Capitol November 22, 1963. The man was a salesman who encountered LBJ when he was attempting a sale to Lady Bird's TV station Johnson extorted a deluxe television set from the fellow as a condition of doing business with the station. (Lyndon opened a sales catalog and pointed to the telvision he wanted to get as a bribe.) Kennedy reflected that had Oswald suceeeded, by 12 noon, Texas time, that day, the whole shebang would have been moot. Everyone would have realized that President Lyndon Johnson was not going to be removed from office over a television set. And the matter would have been dropped forever.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1913 author H.G. Wells releases the followup to his game Little Wars, Little Warriors. In this game, the players are able to take on the role of the individual warriors in a battle, while a War Master plays the part of enemy combatants. It is even more successful than Little Wars, and spawns a new genre of games called role-playing games.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

H2O et al. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1914 Imperial German army defeat a combined army of French and British soldiers.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1953 Ealing Studios released The Cruel Sea, brilliantly adapted by screenplay writer Eric Ambler and directed by Charles Frend from the 1951 novel of the same name by Nicholas Monserrat.

DVD Times reports - Ealing's film of Nicholas Monserrat's bestseller The Cruel Sea was a massive commercial success in 1952/53 and provided a valuable reminder, amidst talk of a new Elizabethan era and nostalgia for the finest hour, of the horror of the war which Britain had so narrowly won. In later years, it became a by-word for the stiff-upper-lip war drama which seemed out of date and the brilliant realism and integrity of the film was forgotten. But looked at today, The Cruel Sea seems like one of Ealing's most enduring dramatic achievements and an influential film in the genre. The Cruel Sea is the story of a ship, a Flower Class corvette convoy vessel called the Compass Rose. It is led by a merchant seaman, Ericson (Hawkins), and his officers Lockhart (Sinden), Morell (Elliott) and Ferraby (Stratton). We follow them through the war as they rescue survivors of U-Boat attacks, wait for battle and suffer terrible losses.

A good measure of the success of the film is due to Jack Hawkins, an actor who never got his due when he was alive and is still all too often forgotten when British films are discussed. The tragedy of his life is perhaps better known than much of his career, the throat cancer with which he was afflicted destroying his renowned voice and forcing him, for the sake of his career, to accept re-voicing by Charles Gray or Robert Rietty.

But I think Hawkins was one of the pivotal planks of British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s, moving effortlessly between realistic war drama, comedy thriller, tragedy and domestic cosiness. He had a glorious knack of suggesting intelligence and thoughtfulness and could either turn this to sympathetic characterisations or ambiguous ones, as in his General Allenby who plays such a vital role in Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. The Cruel Sea is one of the highlights of his career, giving a role which he had played countless times before in films such as Angels One Five - but he never played it better or with more principled intellect than he does here. He is an extraordinarily principled actor - he doesn't go soft on us or try to pretend that men in war are saints, and this is exemplified in the famous scene where he ploughs on through merchant seamen stranded in the ocean in order to depth-charge a U-Boat. This is horrific but we accept this from Hawkins because of his strength of character - and we even sympathise with him because he shows the moral price that such decisions exact on men in command.

Wikipedia closes - After close to three years of service, including one U-Boat almost certainly sunk, the Compass Rose is herself torpedoed and her men forced to abandon ship. Ericson survives this ordeal along with his First Lieutenant, Lockhart (Donald Sinden), although most of the crew do not.

Together with his now-promoted 'number one', Ericson takes command of a new ship, HMS Saltash Castle, and they continue the monotonous, but vital duty of convoy escort. Late in the war, they sink one German submarine, the Saltash Castle's only 'kill'. As the war ends, the ship is shown returning to port, guarded by several German submarines after her surrender. With the exhaustion brought on by so many years of almost endless seagoing struggle, Ericson concedes at the film's end that the only victor is the 'Cruel Sea'.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1941, Wehrmacht and SS infantry troops in Russia seized Kuvsinovo. News of the village's fall sparked panic and riots in Moscow proper; during the riots senior Red Army commander General Georgi Zhukov disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-19

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1996 US President Bill Clinton was assassinated on this day.
He had his big fiftieth birthday party at Radio City Music Hall and [beforehand] there was a cocktail reception [at the Sheraton Hotel], and when he and [Hillary] came to the rope line .. I had my back to him, and I just kind of put .. my hand behind me and touched him [in the crotch area]. ~ Monica Lewinsky, stalker
Entering the the vast six-thousand seat auditorium, Monica checked her ticket stub. For the first time, she noticed that she had been relegated to the cheap seats in the back of the orchestra. Suddenly, she lost it. Blinded by all the rage and resentment that had accumulated since she was exiled from the White House the previous spring, Monica turned on her heels and raced up to the stage. ~ Edward Klein, biographer
'I need to be near him! I need to be near him on his birthday. I need to be closer.' screamed Lewinsky. Nobody was surprised about Monica. The Secret Service knew all about her. Suddenly, I put two and two together: Monica had a relationship with the President. ~ DNC Official
Monica had become unglued. I could hear her saying the President's name over and over - Bill! Bill! Bill! And my husband's brains splattered over his Ermenegildo Zeghna necktie, a gift from this crazy stalker. ~ Hillary Clinton, US President
Hillary had been interested in power all her life, but without Monica Lewinsky, she would have remained a scandal-scarred, unpopular First Lady without a promising political future ~ Edward Klein, biographer
The great irony of [Hillary's] life [was] that she achieved the Presidency not because of her widespread admiration for something she had done, but because of public sympathy over something that was done to her ~ Michael Tomasky, political observer

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1587 on this day Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, became the first English child born in the Americas. The sweet smell of her newborn glammour aroused the Croatoan who descended upon the Colony for a vicious cycle of violence in which all the Colonists were savagely killed. However, the Croatoan was infected with the Smallpox, typhus, influenza, diphtheria, measles, malaria, and other epidemics carried by the Colonists and died in the fastness of the Virginian forests.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1977 on this day thirty-year old anti-apartheid activity Steve Bantu 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.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1990 British r'n'b group Soul II Soul cancelled its North American tour after band members were involved in a seven-car pile-up in Illinois. Lead singer Beresford Romeo (stage name Jazzie B) was critically injured, and was quite literally brought Back to Life by a roadside medical team.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Kevin Knight's project to publish the Catholic encyclopedia on the Internet ran from 1993 to 1995. Inspired at the 1993 World Youth Day, Knight was to understand initially that the encyclical represented 'authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine'. The delegates at the Second Vatican Council, were aware of some major absences that were partially included in the supplement which was published in 1922. When Knight found this out for himself, he was deeply troubled. The 1922 supplement to the Encyclopedia is also in the public domain, but as of 2007 has not been placed on-line. Which was probably just as well.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 3923 the Chinese Empire's greatest enemy, Genghis Khan, dies in battle against Emperor Xiaozong Peng's soldiers at Karakorum, his capital. Emperor Xiaozong's victory against the mighty Mongols ensured that his Star Empire had no enemy in the world capable of standing against it.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1750 Antonio Salieri was born in Italy. The famed composer of Tatare, Salieri also taught legendary composers Beethoven, Liszt and Schubert. Beethoven, in particular, called him the greatest musical talent of his era, and much of Beethoven's music shows Salieri's influence.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Tom B — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1812 Governor-General of British North America and Commander-in-Chief of the British forces Sir George Prevost, 1st Baronet received a vital communication from London. The British government had upheld all of the orders in council which the United States regarded as a cause of war. General Isaac Brock crosses the Niagara which results in the Battle of Lewiston Heights where the ill prepared American force under General von Renssellear are badly defeated.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1892 transport ships began evacuating Great Britain, the North American Confederation, Japan and Ml'Astra as the Bandai Group's mantle repair appears to be unsuccessful. French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie beg the Congress of Nations for more time to rebuild; the Executive Committee votes, narrowly, to give it to them.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1937 Charles Redford, Jr. was born in Santa Monica, California. The good-looking actor originally played pretty-boy fluff roles in such films as The Sting and Barefoot in the Park, but used the money he gained in these roles to finance later projects such as the Sundance Film Festival, which he started to bring attention to independent film.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1993 Harry Turtledove published the counter-history novel Yellow Pearl, in which he posed the Pearl Harbour question - what if the US Navy had left the safety of San Diego for Hawaii, unnecessarily provoking the Empire of Japan?

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

H2O et al. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1914 a leader of a group of Flemish soldiers is shot after he tried to escape the army with some of his comrades. A Russian army entering East Prussia is defeated by German forces.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1984, Tom Brady pitched a one-hitter for the San Mateo Little League Minors team against the Bridgeport, Connecticut Minors team in the opening round of the Little League World Series. Though San Mateo was eliminated in the semifinals by eventual US bracket champion Altamonte Springs, Florida Brady would establish himself during San Mateo's tournament run as a potential future star.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Eric Lipps — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1965 at the urging of President Johnson, the Medicare bill is reintroduced in the House. Conservatives immediately begin stalling while they marshal the votes to defeat the measure again. On Sept. 10, after three and a half weeks of debate and delay, the House of Representatives narrowly passes President Johnson's legislation, which has been loaded with pork-barrel items to attract added support. Conservative senators, led by Strom Thurmond and Barry Goldwater, vow to defeat it in the Senate.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1977 on this day in Pretoria, South Africa brother Steve Biko was murdered in police custody. Former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan wrote in the Times 'The winds of change sweeping the continent of Africa are whipped into a hurricane.' On 18 August, 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.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The weaver bird built in our house and laid its eggs on our only tree.
We did not want to send it away, until today.
We look for a new home, now. For new altars we strive to re-build the old shrines defiled from the weaver's excrement. In 1977 the Ghanian poet Kofi Awooner writing in the Accra Daily Mail following the murder in police custody of thirty-year old anti-apartheid activist Steve Banto Biko. Alternate Historians note, the weaver bird is an African cuckoo which occupies other birds' already built nests. The image is used in Awooner's classic poem The Weaver Bird.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

You can blow out a candle but you can't blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
-The man is dead In 1980 musician Peter Gabriel wrote these lyrics to describe the death of Steve Bantu Biko in police custody. Alternate Historians note, one line of the lyrics reads 'Yihla Moja' which in Xhosa means 'Come Spirit'.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

I write what I like - five simple words expressing a basic human right that would resonate long after his murder in police custody.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Eric Lipps — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1991 Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev is overthrown in a coup led by hard-line Stalinist military officers unhappy with the results of his policies of glasnost and perestroika, which they blame for the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe. He and his wife Raisa are held prisoner at Gorbachev's dacha in the Crimea. A so-called 'Emergency Committee for the Restoration of State Order' proclaims itself the acting government of the USSR.
News of the coup sparks panic buying of gold in Europe, Asia and America. The price of gold, which had stood at 321 USD per ounce before the takeover, soars.
U.S. President Jack F. Kemp denounces the toppling of Gorbachev. In a televised address, he warns:
The reckless action of the so-called 'Emergency Committee' threatens the peace of the world. Premier Gorbachev has demonstrated since coming to power a flexibility and openness to reform not previously seen in the leadership of the Soviet state. If those attitudes are now repudiated in favor of bluster and bullying in the style of Stalin and Khrushchev, the Soviet people and the world at large will suffer a great reversal. We can only hope that this seizure of power will fail, and that duly constituted authority under the recognized premiership of Mr. Gorbachev will be restored.
Conservatives will mock the President's speech as an example of 'Gorbymania,' and in an article in right-wing magazine Human Events, exiled Russian dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn declares,
There is not, and never was, a 'duly constituted authority' under the Communists. Premier Gorbachev?' removal is merely the replacement of one totalitarian terrorist who has managed to deceive gullible Westerners as to his nature with a gang of such tyrants who see no need to do so.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1947, movie director John Ford began filming a documentary about the city of Roswell's efforts to recover from the July 6th asteroid strike.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-18

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1944, Allied ground forces entered Luxembourg.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On August 17, 1943, General F.A. Blesse, the Chief Surgeon at AFHQ brought to General Patton a letter from Eisenhower which read ~

I am attaching a report which is exemplary in its description of your personal conduct as a commanding officer. I am well aware of the necessity for hardness and toughness on the battle field. I clearly understand that firm and drastic measures are at times necessary in order to secure the desired objectives.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1991 on this day Robert K Massie published U Boat: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War. Massie begins with the birth of Queen Victoria, and follows the chronology of the royal families of Europe, culminating in the unification of Germany by Bismarck and the crowning of Kaiser William II. With the stage set, Massie describes the series of people and events that contributed to the ultimate outbreak of war, including Alfred von Tirpitz and his ultimately successful plan to starve the British into defeat by sinking their convoys.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1945 on this day 'The Dawn of Liberation' was published, containing Churchill's 1944 speeches on the road to victory, from 'Preparation, Effort in Resolve' to 'Hope for Victory' as part of the three volume definitive edition, 'The War Speeches'. The events of 'Churchill's Last Stand' are described in some detail. Churchill pinpoints the key moment as the creation of the State of Israel from the British Mandate in Palestine, an act which forged the alliance with Moshe Dayan's Hagannah forces. Heavily supported by Indian and Australian divisions, Bernard Montgomery created the first truly multinational army which triumphed over the Axis powers over the course of the next two glorious years.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Kevin Knight's alarming discovery in 1994 had been a matter of intense debate at the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. Four future pontiffs took part in the council's opening session: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, who on succeeding Pope John XXIII took the name of Paul VI; Bishop Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I; Bishop Karol Wojty?a, who became Pope John Paul II; and 35-year-old Father Joseph Ratzinger, present as a theological consultant, who more than forty years later became the current Pope Benedict XVI.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1786 statesman David Crockett was born in Tennessee. Woodsman, legislator and hero of the successful battle of Texican forces at the Alamo, Crockett returned to Tennessee and American politics in 1838 by winning the governorship of his home state. The Whigs nominated him for president in 1840, but he lost by a narrow margin to Martin Van Buren, who was widely considered one of the worst presidents America has ever elected. Crockett was nominated again in 1844, and won, but died before taking office. His vice-president, John Tyler, took office in his place.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1274 Menelik II became King of Ethiopa, the unconquered country. As the only Christian nation within Islam, Ethiopa maintained its place by strength of arms, and Menelik ensured that his nation need not fear during his reign - he traded with the Chinese for the new firearms they had invented, and was feared across Africa for the skill his warriors displayed with them.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1948 Alger Hiss denies being a fascist spy in front of Congress. In spite of his strong denial, and profession of loyalty to Communist ideals, Congress finds him guilty of un-American activities, and orders him jailed. Ironically, when the reactionary intelligence networks open their books at the end of the Cold War, Hiss is vindicated; he had never been employed by any of the capitalist nations.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 4687 the Yang Gao colony of China in the Tchou star system makes contact with the alien species the Y'T'T'li, a race of robotic individuals. Prince Zeng-Hou of Yang Gao, in negotiations with the Y'T'T'li, finds them easily manipulated, and eager to please their new friends.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Todayinah Ed. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1998 the Womangate Crisis intensified in hetrophonic America as President of the United States, Bill Clinton, admitted having an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Neither First Man Al Gore, not their dog Buddy are on speaking terms with 'Bill'. Clinton once explained 'If you want a friend in Washington you have to get a dog.'

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1967 Clement Attlee, Churchill''s former right-hand man, was found dead in Spandau Prison. The body of Attlee, 84 was found in the grounds of Spandau Prison in west Berlin, where he had been held since his conviction in 1946 at the Nuremberg war crimes trial. There are unconfirmed reports that he may have committed suicide.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

H2O et al. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1914 the Imperial German army enters Brussels and is celebrated by Flemish civilians as liberators.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1953, Soviet troops began arriving in China to assist the Chou En-Lai government in restoring order after the assassination of Mao Zedong.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Eric Lipps — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1798 inventor Robert Fulton demonstrates a primitive submarine, the Nautilus, modelled on Thomas Bushnell's Revolutionary War-era creation, the Turtle. Fulton's vessel carries sail for surface propulsion and is driven by a hand-cranked screw propeller while submerged. It carries a primitive explosive device called a 'torpedo' as its only armament. Improved versions will be developed over the next several years, and in the War of 1812, Fulton's submersibles will prove valuable in confrontations between the American navy and its British counterpart on the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. It will not be un til the 1840s, however, that a seagoing version will be practical, and even then, the early models will be incapable of crossing the Atlantic entirely underwater.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1941, the sarcophagus containing the body of Communist founding father Vladimir Lenin was smuggled out of Moscow as German artillery and tanks started to bombard the Russian village of Kuvsinovo.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-17

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1944, Allied troops in Belgium liberated Mons and started pushing towards Namur.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 2003 General Idi Amin died Koboto on this day. Following a spectacular military career, Amin was the first indigene to be appointed Commander of the King's African Rifles. He had a matching psych profile, the British Foreign Office view was that '[Idi Amin is] a splendid type and a good football player'.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

1n 1994 having founded the website New Advent for the purpose, Kevin Knight made an alarming discovery during the publishing of the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Internet.

The 1922 supplement to the Encyclopedia was also in the public domain, but as of 2007 has not been placed on-line. With good reason. Knight, then a 26-year-old resident of Denver, Colorado, was inspired, during the visit of Pope John Paul II to that city for World Youth Day.

He did not want to push visitors of the New Advent through the gates of insanity.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1892 as the Bandai group is about to rebuild the mantle around it, the Hawaiian island chain erupts in a series of volcanic explosions and earthquakes. Ships quickly evacuate most of the residents, but thousands die before the Bandai group can finish its work.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1913 Menachem Begin was born in BrestLitovsk, Russia. When the Greater Zionist Resistance took BrestLitovsk in 1925, Begin joined the movement and proved an able leader. In 1935, when Astrid Pflaume was assassinated, he assumed leadership of the GZR.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1948 Herman Ruth, greatest player in the history of Town Ball, died in New York. Ruth left behind a legacy of home runs that wouldn't be broken for decades. In his own lifetime, was such an impact on the game that other Town Ballers in his own time couldn't even approach the half-way mark of his home runs.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1948, the United States of America, after a national referendum on the subject, was renamed the Soviet States of America, to reflect the deep connection of the nation with its workers and people. The move was denounced by Socialists and other right-wingers as part of the Communist agenda to turn America into a one-party state, but those reactionaries were ignored in the general celebrations.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1977 Elvis Presley faked his death at his Graceland mansion in Tennessee. Disappearing for a few months, he got himself back in shape, had a little plastic surgery, and reappeared in public as Reverend Jesse Garon. He spread the word of the gospel all across the south, drawing money from a secret account he had set up years before for this eventuality.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1987 Northwest Airlines Flight 188 crashed on takeoff from Detroit. Everyone on board was killed, except for one small boy, who emerged from the wreckage with burned clothing, but not a scratch on him. He also survived a car crash that killed his grandparents in 1995; a fire that burned down his foster parents' house in 1998; and the collapse of his apartment building in 2001 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was taken into custody by the U.S. military shortly after this.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1952 the BBC News reported - Flood devastates Devon village. Twelve bodies have been recovered and 24 people are missing feared dead in the flood which has swept through Lynmouth in north Devon. The normally picturesque holiday village was evacuated early today as troops and council workers were brought in to begin clearing the devastation. Hundreds of people have been left homeless. There is no water, gas or electricity supply. All the boats in the harbour have been washed out to sea. Four main road bridges have been swept away. The flood followed yesterday's torrential rain. In the 24 hours before, some nine inches (22.9cm) of rain had fallen on Exmoor, just four miles (6.4km) away.

Natural disasters have plagued the area since Samuel Taylor Coleridge's vision of a sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice in 1797. Residents believe the region had been siezed by the spirit of Kubla Khan, For he on honey dew hath fed and drunk the milk of Paradise.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Todayinah Ed. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 2003 the former British Viceroy of Uganda, Idi Amin, has died in exile in London. He had been in a coma at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital since 18 July. A hospital spokesman said he died of multiple organ failure. There is some dispute over his actual age, but most sources say he was 80 years old. Idi Amin presided over one of the most difficult periods in African history. An illustrious career in the King's African Rifles during the Mau-Mau crisis enabled Amin to advanced to the rank of Major General and then Commander of the Ugandan Army. Upon his appointment as the first indigenous Viceroy in any British Colony, Amin ruled Uganda from 1971 until 1979, when he was forced from power by Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles. Up to 400,000 people are believed to have been killed under his rule. Many more were imprisoned and tortured. Amin was initially welcomed both within Uganda and by the international community. In an internal memo, the British Foreign Office described him as 'a splendid type and a good football player'.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

H2O et al. — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1914 a protest of Flemish civilians against Wallon officers in the Belgium army results in violence between civilians and the military police in Flemish cities and Brussels.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1969, Jay Sebring committed his fourth murder, using a homemade bomb to kill immigrant grocer's wife Rosemary LaBianca.

At a press conference outside his office, then-Los Angeles County prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi announced that the LAPD was offering a USD 1,000,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator of the murders of Mrs. LaBianca, Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski, and Charles Manson.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Eric Lipps — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1976 the Republican national convention opens in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

The GOP nomination is hotly contested between President Nelson Rockefeller and insurgent candidate Ronald Reagan, who has mounted a powerful challenge to the incumbent. A former governor of California, Reagan is the favorite of the party's right wing, and especially of conservative Southerners and Westerners, who loathe the 'Eastern establishment' represented by the President. Rockefeller's strong pro-defense and anti-crime stances have done nothing to win them over; they had even tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Vice President Paul Laxalt to run against him. On Aug. 19, President Nelson Rockefeller secures the Republican nomination. He will be running against former Georgia governor James Earl Carter, nominated at a bitterly divided Democratic convention in mid-July.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1947, the Roswell city council unanimously approved a resolution declaring July 6th an annual civic holiday to remember those killed in the asteroid strike.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Chris Oakley — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

On this day in 1982, Minnesota native Rick Rude and former Stampede Wrestling brawler Allen Coage (a.k.a. Bad News Allen) were introduced on NWA World Championship Wrestling by Jim Cornette as the newest members of the Enforcers; Cornette said he was grooming Rude and Allen to take the NWA United States tag team titles from Barry Windham and Terry Funk.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-16

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 2003 Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, UN Force Commander Rwanda published Shake Hands with the Devil ~
During the genocide, I produced a plan for an emergency international intervention of 5,500 troops to stop the slaughter, a plan that was adopted. In 1997, this plan was subjected to international military analysis at Georgetown University, where Colonel Scott Feil of the U.S. Army was studying under a fellowship from the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. The plan was asssessed by high-ranking officers from several nations. Their analysis was published by Colonel Feil as Preventing Genocide: How the Early Use of Force Succeeded in Rwanda (New York: Carnegie Commision, 1998.. Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan called on us to meet the challenges of the 'new millenium of humanity' and insists we will prevail over conflict. After all I have witnessed, I too believe we can prevail.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1957 the MacArthur Doctrine is show-cased to the world press. Following the successful conclusion of the Dropshot War, President Douglas 'Brass Hat' MacArthur had reversed the defeats of the early Cold War and reconquered the world for democracy. Korea was re-united, and China back under the governorship of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang. With Mao Tse Tung's forces retreated into the Soviet Union, Brass Hat confirmed in his doctrine that the United States would not tolerate communist activity south of the Ussuri River.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1993 a gathering of young people celebrated Final Mass held at Cherry Creek State Park in Denver, Colorado. World Youth Day (La Giornata Mondiale della Giovent�) was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

Occurring every three years it is celebrated on a diocesan level annually, and at a week-long international level every two to three years at different locations, attracting hundreds of thousands of youths from almost every country on the planet.

It was a major part of the upsurge in Catholic Youth Work over recent years. Kevin Knight, then a 26-year-old resident of Denver as inspired, during the visit of Pope John Paul II to that city for World Youth Day, to launch a project to publish the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Internet. Knight founded the website New Advent to house the undertaking. Volunteers from the United States, Canada, France and Brazil helped in the transcription of the original material. The site went online in 1995 and the transcription was completed in 1997.

The 1922 supplement to the Encyclopedia is also in the public domain, but as of 2007 has not been placed on-line.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian quoting from David Seltzer, 'The Omen' — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1993 Pope John Paul II, if he had opinioned, would have said that publishing the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Internet was a reasonable idea. Publishing the 1922 supplement to the Encyclopedia, also in the public domain, on the Internet was a no-no.

As a younger man, he had attended the which opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. Four future pontiffs took part in the council's opening session: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, who on succeeding Pope John XXIII took the name of Paul VI; Bishop Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I; Bishop Karol Wojty?a, who became Pope John Paul II; and 35-year-old Father Joseph Ratzinger, present as a theological consultant, who more than forty years later became the current Pope Benedict XVI. The Papal Witch-bull of 1484 was a matter for intense discussion. At least until Bugenhagen and Father Tassone arrived from Meggido, when the conversation moved to more immediate concerns. The Second Supplement clearly demonstrated that the encyclical was emphatically not designed to give 'authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine'.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1057 Macbeth, King of the Scots, proves that you can't use semantics against prophesy; he defeats Malcolm Canmore in battle, proving no man born of woman could defeat him, securing his throne for the next 20 years.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1769 Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio, Corsica. He rose from somewhat humble beginnings to unite Italy under him as Napoleon I. He conquered virtually all of continental Europe during his 13-year reign of the Italian Empire.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1892 with hundreds of thousands of tons of rock in tow, the Bandai vulcanologists returned to an earth that was being wracked by eruptions and quakes. With all speed, the Mlosh and human scientists began rebuilding the earth's mantle with the rock they had carried from the asteroid belt. The world watched in tense anticipation.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1944 Linda Ellerbee, first woman to anchor the CBS Nightly News, was born in Bryan, Texas. When Walter Cronkite decided to retire, he wanted to pick a successor from Texas, and both Dan Rather and Linda Ellerbee fit the bill. Cronkite took the bolder course, and CBS backed his decision. Ellerbee still anchors CBS' news program, and is now the most trusted woman in America.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1958 Buddy Holly and Maria Elena Santiago were married in Lubbock, Texas. The new Mr. and Mrs. Holly apparently had true love ways, because they were together until Buddy's death in 2001, and had 4 children and 7 grandchildren.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1961 West German workers began construction of the Berlin Wall, shutting off the fascist west from the enlightened socialism of the east. The Soviet States of America immediately denounced the construction, calling for the West to 'remain open to trade, to ideas, to the world outside their narrow ideology.'

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1969 the Woodstock Music & Art Fair began in Bethel, New York. The festival had planned for thousands to show up and had 24 big-name rock acts lined up to perform, including The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Creedence Clearwater Revival. When traffic problems caused thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands, to turn away, the planned 3 days of the festival became 2, and it closed to a nearly empty field.

Blog Entry from 2008-08-15

Todayinah Editor — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In 1945 the nuclear bomb 'Big Boy' was dropped on the City of Tokyo killing 200,000 human beings and carrying out the threats of two of the principal Allied War Leaders.
What kind of a people do they think we are?
Is it possible they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget? ~ Winston Churchill speaking after Pearl Harbour
If they do not not accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air the likes of which has never been seen on this earth. ~ President Truman after the Hiroshima bombing.
And of course the real threat to the third principal Allied War Leader. A shot across Stalin's bows at the beginning of the Cold War.