
A Very British "Scandal" is discretely hushed up | Its 1828 and the British Government prepare for a "third conflict" with America. | Obama call on Snake Plissken after "The Worst of the Worst" escape from Gitmo en route to trial in New York City? |
In "Life of the King", we review the later career of Elvis Presley 1977-2010. | WWIII kicks off before WWII has even finished after Churchill orders the "Unthinkable". | Major Jesse Marcel makes a dramatic announcement about the "Roswell Incident". |
Israel backs Persia after Saddam's invasion, but Premier Rabin is "Smoked Out". | President Mandela enters a "Firestorm" at the end of the Rainbow | The "The McCain Moment" is reached when US intelligence reports that the Persian bomb is read![]() |
The most controversial of all "19th-century Americans" is born in Torrington, Connecticut. | Canada's population flee north as the "Zombie Crisis" worsens. | Might Imperial Forces have relieved the "Siege of Singapore" muses Scott Palter? |
| February 9 | ![]() |
In 1903, Theodore Herzl begins lobbying among his fellow Zionists in favor of an offer received in August from the British government to facilitate a substantial Jewish settlement in British East Africa. Herzl's effort at once provokes a split within the Zionist movement. Many reject the proposal outright, insisting that only the Holy Land, to which Zionist settlers had been emigrating since the 1880s, will do for a Jewish homeland. Others, however, see practical value in accepting the offer, since efforts to persuade either the British or the Ottoman Sultan to allow large-scale Jewish settlement of Palestine have failed. At a crucial meeting of the Zionist Congress in Basel in 1905, the proposal receives the approval of a bare majority of the organization.The Curse of Ham by Eric LippsOver the next decade, growing numbers of Jews choose to emigrate to British East Africa, where the British soon find themselves committed to protecting the settlers from attacks by Masai 'savages' who resent any sort of white occupation of their land. The cost of this effort leads the British government to reluctantly agree to allow the settlers to arm themselves, creating the nucleus of the Zionist Freedom Army.
The rise of Hitler gave renewed impetus to the Uganda Project as well as to Zionist dreams of settling in Palestine itself. Winston Churchill himself, anxious to foster a haven for Jews fleeing the Nazis but unwilling to allow them to enter the Mandate of Palestine in large numbers, lends political support to efforts to create a full-fledged Ugandan Army, the Uganda Defense Force. UDL resistance will play a significant role in hindering the Wehrmacht's efforts in East Africa.
The end of the war and the revelation of the Holocaust produce a conundrum for the Zionist movement. By this time, the last Masai resistance has been defeated and Uganda has been developed into a successful Jewish-ruled state--but the 'Palestine faction,' including David Ben-Gurion, remains strong and committed to driving the British from what its members see as land belonging to the Jewish people by divine decree. Meanwhile, the Jewish colonizers of Uganda are no longer what they once were: shaped by decades of conflict with black Africans and trade with other white-ruled states in sub-Saharan Africa, they have evolved an apartheid state, borrowing the word itself from South Africa's Nationalist Party. Heavily outnumbered by the Masai and other native blacks, they have adopted a martial lifestyle involving universal military service, and tend to elevate top-ranking military officers to the prime minister ship and other key positions.
Meanwhile, in Palestine, a fierce guerrilla war drags on. Drained of men and resources which might otherwise have brought victory, Ben-Gurion's movement fights on. Leaders of this guerrilla force bitterly resent their Ugandan cousins' refusal to come to their aid. In fact, though, the Ugandans' aloofness from the Palestinian conflict is based on their fears that if they divert any significant portion of their military strength from their own defense, the black 'enemies' they see as encircling them on all sides with the crumbling of the old colonial empires will close in and destroy them.
Another factor also plays a role. The Ugandans have evolved a strongly right-wing political order, while the Zionists of Palestine are heavily influenced by socialism. With the coming of the Cold War, that ideological split has assumed political importance, trumping even the two factions? shared Jewish identity. It does not help that the Soviet Union, seeking influence and hoping to undermine British and American power in the region, has supported the Palestinian Zionists, supplying them with arms, food and other aid.
In 1957, aided by Gama Abdel Nasser of Egypt, the Palestinian Zionists finally succeed in taking control of most of the former British mandate, with the exception of a rump state on the opposing side of the Jordan River which will soon be taken over by a Hashemite Arab monarchy. The newly proclaimed 'State of Israel,' dependent upon support from Cairo as well as Moscow, will not expel its Arab residents. Instead, over the course of years, a system of subtle favoritism will evolve under which, despite the government's official commitment to 'socialist equality,' Jews will receive the best jobs, the best educations, and other advantages.
Despite the unfairness of this system, Israel's Arabs will be better off than Uganda's blacks, who will be subjected to far more stringent controls reflecting the fears of their much more heavily outnumbered rulers. Native Ugandans will be increasingly confined to menial labor, especially in the mineral-rich country's mines. Among the Jews of Uganda, some will object to this racial stratification of society; more, however, will accept it uncritically, aided by the Ugandan government's fostering of the 'curse of Ham' myth that God Himself had ordained black servitude.
| Ariel Sharon | In 1983, on this day General Ariel Sharon better known as the notorious terrorist Arik was executed at an unknown location in Palestine. |
![]() | |
| The terrorist Arik |
In response to his last request, Arik ignored the Palestinian guards but said wistfully to fellow General Rafael Eitan of the Zionist Liberation Army ~ "Next year in Jerusalem". |
In 1986, space shuttle Challenger lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying Francis R. Scobee as commander, Michael J. Smith as pilot, mission specialists Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair and Ellison Onizuka, and 'teacher in space' Christa McAuliffe. The weather at Canaveral is considerably warmer than it had been on their original liftoff date of Jan. 28. Its mission, officially dubbed STS-51-L, will prove uneventful except for the publicity surrounding Ms. McAuliffe's presence as the first civilian in orbit, the so-called 'teacher in space.' | |
![]() | |
In 1861, leading Southern general Robert E. Lee was elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America in favour of Jefferson Davis by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama. Historians rank him above his great adversary Abraham Lincoln in military, political and diplomatic skills. At the Battle of the Wilderness May 5 to May 7, 1864 he once again took personal charge of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia defeating Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and marching onwards to Washington in the closing action of the States War. | |
![]() | |
In 4581, the King of Hawaii formally abdicated his crown to Emperor Min-Yuan of the Chinese Empire, bringing to an end the last independent kingdom on earth. Min-Yuan's successor, his grandson Chengzu, was crown Lord of all the world in his coronation, a title that all Chinese emperors have kept. | Author |
![]() | |
| Robbie Taylor |
| Author | In 1950, Comrade Senator Ted Astley of Washington Soviet accused the State Department of harboring known capitalists and fellow-travelers. He claimed to have a list of dozens of card-carrying capitalists, which he never made public, but which helped to make life hard for many Americans who had flirted with capitalist ideology in their youth. |
![]() | |
| Robbie A. Taylor |
In 1984, fresh revelations from the Watergate Scandal threatened Richard Nixon's bid for an unprecedented fifth term in the White House following a discovery by the Watchman known as the Comedian. | |
![]() | |
| The Watchmen |
Losing the support of the Watchmen was a fatal blow for Nixon. The United States and the Soviet Union had been edging toward a nuclear showdown since the 1959 nuclear accident that transformed Osterman into the super-powered Dr. Manhattan. Dr. Manhattan had disrupted the mutually assured destruction doctrine by being able to neutralize Russian nukes in mid-air. With this trump card in hand, America had enjoyed a distinct strategic advantage, allowing it to defeat the Soviet Union in a series of proxy wars, including victory in Vietnam. |
| Musician | In 1993, following his unexpected success in classical music, former Pete Best bandmate Paul McCartney releases his operetta Off The Ground. It follows the theme he had laid out in his Liverpool Oratorio of the dignity and beauty of love of the people of Liverpool in post-war England. The mature sound he was able to create delighted classical critics and audiences alike, and McCartney left popular music behind after this. |
![]() | |
| Pete Best |
February 8
In 1504, on this day Pope Julius II refused to grant dispensation for the thirteen year old Prince of Wales, Henry Tudor to marry Catherine of Aragon, widow of his death brother Arthur.England beheaded
Upon his death from the sweating sickness in 1502, Arthur had only been sixteen years old and Catherine swore that her marriage had not been consummated. Nevertheless, a dispensation from the Pope was normally required to overrule the impediment of affinity and both the English and Spanish parties sought to remove all doubt regarding the legitimacy of the marriage. Infuriated by the Pope's refusal, Henry VII lost interest in a Spanish alliance, and the younger Henry declared that his betrothal had been proposed by Queen Isabella I without his consent.
Having denied the authority of the Pope, inevitably events began to escalate as Great Britain and the Vatican became locked in a bitter power struggle. Fearful of appearing a weak vassal of Rome, Henry VII then declared himself "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England
and the Treasons Act 1504 made it high treason, punishable by death, to refuse to acknowledge the King as such.
Within months, the armies of Catholic Europe landed in southern england and marched on London to put down this fiendish anti-popish plot. Blaming religious intolerance, the Tudor Royal Family fled the country, carrying the seeds of their schismatic protest with them to North America. Henry VIII later founded the Kingdom of Deseret, based upon the new Mormon religion which conveniently permitted him to marry six times before his death in 1547.
In 1963, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, nationalist leader and the primary proponent of abolitionism in the Caribbean, was proclaimed Prime Minister of the new Cuban Republic today. Castro's first official act as prime minister was to free all negro slaves on the island, which was largely ceremonial since the revolution had made slave-owning a very hazardous venture as a total of 158 slave-owners had been murdered by Castro's followers.
One Giant Step by Andrew BeaneThe Confederate States of America, who operated Cuba as a puppet state while maintaining the island's independence, condemned the proclamation and the precedent that the liberation of the island's slaves may set for slavery in Confederate territory as a whole.
"We choose to support freedom. We choose to make certain that every man, woman and child in North America is free in this decade" ~ JFKCastro's rise to power, following a six-year revolution, is being celebrated by both anti-Confederate Cuban nationalists and abolitionists alike. A general strike was called for the day by nationalist union leaders, and millions poured into the streets of Habana to cheer for the freedom of the nation and for that of its negro citizens. The sound of automobile horns played like a symphony in the cities. Pro-Confederate President-elect Manuel Urrutia Lleo, who took over for former-President Fulgencio Batista, was forced to flee to Florida as Castro's rebel army were marching on the capitol.
John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States, welcomed the news of Castro's official capture of power. He had already admitted at the beginning of the year that the CIA had been secretly funneling weapons to the nationalists. In 1962, Kennedy appeared at Rice Stadium and told the nation "We choose to support freedom. We choose to make certain that every man, woman and child in North America is free in this decade". On hearing of the news out of Cuba this morning, Kennedy was quoted as saying we are "One giant leap closer to that goal".
"We choose to support freedom. We choose to make certain that every man, woman and child in North America is free in this decade" ~ JFKConfederate President Strom Thurmond issued a sharp rebuke against the Cuban nationalists, promising an embargo on the island if Castro " .. did not step back from profaning the right and sacred institution of slavery". Thurmond's' words carry little weight. The CSA's economy is still struggling to pull out of a near-twenty year slump following the loss of the Second World War against the Allies. Wide-spread unemployment, the building of the new national capitol in Augusta, Georgia, and the occupation of Panama since the assassination of Cantera have left little finances to allow for an invasion of Cuba. An embargo would be difficult, as merchant vessels in the Caribbean usually enjoy an escort by Union Navy gunboats.
In 1988, Democrat Richard Gephardt and Republican Rep. Jack Kemp win their respective parties' Iowa caucuses. | |
![]() | |
| Richard Gephardt |
Talk that he will be denied renomination intensifies. |
On this day in 1960, the American Football League's Boston Patriots hired Weeb Ewbank as their first head coach. | |
![]() | |
In 2007, comedian Jerry Seinfeld is left uncharacteristically lost for words on live television after an attack by news pundit Bill O' Reilly, while appearing on the latter's show The O'Reilly Factor to promote The Seinfeld Movie. | |
![]() | |
| Seinfeld |
(In which the four main characters are put in prison). O'Reilly revealled his belief that Seinfeld and co-writer Larry David deliberately made the last episode of the sitcom terrible as "a lame attempt to give two-fingers to the liberal media, and with no regard for the real viewers". |
"And when the tidings came of the fall of Gondolin, .. Morgoth [Tolkien's fear] though that his triumph was fulfilled, recking little of [Tolkien].. and he called upon them to forgive them, and rescue them back from the overmastering might of Morgoth and win back the Silmarils [Life Force]". ~ Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin
| Author | In 2003, the soviet of Montana surrenders to the Soviet States of America, reducing the People's Republic of America to Idaho and Washington. With all hope of resistance against the S.S.A. crushed by the loss of their fellow soviets, they send an embassy to Washington D.C. to negotiate for peace. |
![]() | |
| Robbie A. Taylor |
In 1969, Wilhelm Schoemann returns from his trip to see himself in the alternate, Nazi-dominated timeline he has created. He has also been to see himself in his own past; he radios Faisal Yassin, waiting with Israeli agents, that 'the door is closed.' | Elders of the |
![]() | |
| Protocols of Zion |
| Devils Footprints | In 1855, the Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon with the contemporaneous sightings of Spring Heeled Jack, a mysterious figure known for his extraordinary jumps. |
![]() | |
| Spring Heeled Jack |
In 1983, on this day Generals Ariel Sharon better known as the terrorist Arik and Rafael Eitan of the Zionist Liberation Army were sentenced to death. | Ariel Sharon |
![]() | |
| The terrorist Arik |
The Court's report said Mr Sharon had made a 'grave mistake' by failing to order 'appropriate measures for preventing or reducing the danger of massacre of innocents'. It concluded that Sharon should have foreseen what the Phalange would do when they entered the villages. Mr Sharon's defence lawyer said that because he had no knowledge of what would happen when ZLA irregular troops allowed the militia into the camps, he could not be held to account. |
In 1952, on this day Princess Elizabeth proclaimed herself Queen, Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith in a ceremony at Rideau Hall, the Governor's Residence in Ottawa. | |
![]() | |
The death of King George VI was a potential catalist to perhaps end the schismastic crisis in the British monarchy. |
February 7
On this day in 1983, 'Superfly' Jimmy Snuka confronted Tommy Rich during one of Rich's 'Psycho Ward' segments on Raw and challenged Rich to face him in a best 2-of-3 falls match on the following week's Raw to settle the score between them once and for all. | Jimmy Snuka |
![]() | |
| Superfly |
| Communist | In 1812, the communist traitor Charles John Huffam Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England. |
![]() | |
| Charles Dickens |
| United Nations | In 1961, on this day construction workers started the final stage of repairs on the UN's Turtle Bay headquarters.. |
![]() | |
| Headquarters |
In 2007, the Seinfeld Movie is released. | |
![]() | |
| Cast |
The story is about Jerry's attempts to save his old comedy club, with George being unwisey chosen to head the charity efforts on behalf of the Susan Ross Foundation as Jerry is forced to model a ridiclous men's fashion line at Elaine's insistence for her boss, J. Peterman (John O'Hurley). Meanwhile, Kramer and his postman friend Newman (Wayne Knight) decide to take over the running of a new soup-kitchen franchise started by the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas). |
In 1904, Ambassador Li'Kanto'Mk is executed by Q'B'Ton'ra, ruler of the Mlosh homeworld. Q'B'Ton'ra's fleet is ordered to locate and destroy the embassy ship that is seeking to warn earth of the impending attack. | |
![]() | |
In 4616, industrialist An Wang was born in Tangshan, Hebei Province. He provided the leadership and knowledge that drove much of the Chinese Empire's electronics industry over his lifetime. Once the rest of the world caught up to his innovations, though, he fell behind, and his later years were spent in more obscurity than he wanted. | Author |
![]() | |
| Robbie Taylor |
| Author | In 2003, the soviets of Oregon and British Columbia surrender to the Soviet States of America after popular uprisings topple their leaders. Diehard revolutionaries in the Idaho Soviet invade Oregon briefly, but are driven out by good comrades inside the soviet who are unwilling to belong to the People's Republic of America anymore. |
![]() | |
| Robbie A. Taylor |
In 1952, Mikhail von Heflin and Velma Porter, when they attempt to eat in a small diner in Bryan, Texas, are refused service because Miss Porter is an African-American. The Baron has little use for a restriction like that, and Toledo's, the steakhouse that refused them service, is burned to the ground that night. | Author |
![]() | |
| Robbie A. Taylor |
| Author | In 1301, Edward, the Black Pope, became Archbishop of Wales. His only lasting accomplishment for the Holy British Empire was the passing of this title onto each Papal heir; otherwise, his lackluster papacy was distinctive only for its diminishment of the Empire's influence. |
![]() | |
| Robbie A. Taylor |
In, 47,391 BCE, Swikolay leads her line of the Speaker's Children deeper into the heart of Africa. She wants to study how birds fly and see if her children can mimic them. She feels her age creeping up on her, and knows that she will not see them touch the sky, but trusts that they will fulfill Telka's dream even without her. | Author |
![]() | |
| Robbie A. Taylor |
| Elders of the | In 1969, Faisal Yassin makes contact with Israeli agents who agree to storm the compound that the neo-Nazis have set up for their time-traveling experiment. Wilhelm Schoemann tells him to have them begin their raid when he signals with the code words, 'The door is closed'. Schoemann is going to ensure that the timeline he has helped create will not be able to send emissaries to his own. |
![]() | |
| Protocols of Zion |
in 1964, Pete Best's old band, The Silver Beatles, arrive in New York to test the waters for an American tour. Ed Sullivan books them as a novelty act, but the show is a flop, and their hoped-for American tour never materializes. | Musician |
![]() | |
| Pete Best |
Older Posts
© Today in Alternate History, 2007-9. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.



A Very British "
Its 1828 and the British Government prepare for a "
Obama call on Snake Plissken after "
In "
WWIII kicks off before WWII has even finished after Churchill orders the "
Major Jesse Marcel makes a dramatic announcement about the "
Israel backs Persia after Saddam's invasion, but Premier Rabin is "
President Mandela enters a "
The "
The most controversial of all "
Canada's population flee north as the "
Might Imperial Forces have relieved the "
Permalinks:

















