tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62723512011-04-21T13:18:54.270-07:00My Life, My Times, My Doings and those of the Alternate History World. If you want an automatic copy of any new entries, please go to http://mail.changingthetimes.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/blogupdates_changingthetimes.co.uk and sign up. http://www.changingthetimes.co.ukChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1084653998426931302004-05-15T13:46:00.000-07:002004-05-15T13:47:18.826-07:00

I was discussing the pacific side of WW2 with David and I realised just how stupid the decision to build Singapore Naval base was. Not just the commander, a competent commander could have held the base, but the location as well. It’s built in a nation that has natives who don’t like Britain very much, as well as too near the Japanese for comfort and on the end of a long supply line. What if,

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1082483984851292252004-04-20T10:59:00.000-07:002004-04-20T11:03:49.950-07:00

What if Napoleon had won at Waterloo? A while back, I posed the question’ what if Napoleon had won at Waterloo?’ to myself and considered it. The problem was that it was very hard to see Napoleon producing a victory, even assuming he wiped out the main British army. There was a Russian and a Prussian force travelling to France as well, even Napoleon would be unable to win against such odds.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1082155391417065642004-04-16T15:42:00.000-07:002004-04-16T15:47:10.670-07:00

Site Problems The site should be back up tomorrow. C

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1082155295315360862004-04-16T15:40:00.000-07:002004-04-16T15:46:07.530-07:00

The sad story of 1945 From an email on the STIRLING list: Subject: Re: 1945 and why it was not finished Author: John Ringo Date: 07 Mar 2004 11:41 AM Long, weird, story that I've heard several versions of. The short story is that Baen and Tom Doherty Associates agreed to do a collaborative novel with Bill Fortschen and Newt Gingrich (Bill and Newt's idea IIRC) during the height of

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1079734035315179582004-03-19T14:06:00.000-08:002004-03-19T14:10:36.576-08:00

Elisabeth is Edward? Let’s suppose that instead if Ann Bolen being knocked up with Elisabeth, she has a son instead, called Edward. This would mean that Henry has a relatively healthy heir instead of the sickly Edward, with Mary waiting in the wings. Presumably, Henry would appoint the healthy Edward his heir. Edward would need to keep the separation between England and the Pope, as

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1079035763519537892004-03-11T12:08:00.000-08:002004-03-11T12:12:33.700-08:00

British get German fleet? In 1919, the entire German high seas fleet scuttled itself in Scarpa flow, ending the debate about who should have the German fleet. What if the British had seized the fleet? It would give them a massive advantage over any other sea power, forcing both the US and Japan to build faster in hopes of matching the fleet. If the British could use the ships, what might

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1078752953300296832004-03-08T05:33:00.000-08:002004-03-08T05:40:34.686-08:00

Stormwatch: Team Achilles 20 Review of the hit comics latest issue, as man fights superman for the future of the planet… The world has changed remarkably. In the space between #19 and #20, the Authority have taken over the United States and their position has been recognised by the world. In the Coup D’Etet mini series, the Stormwatch team have gone underground; this is the first story that

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1078271582083435972004-03-02T15:52:00.000-08:002004-03-02T15:55:59.513-08:00

Minor WW2 nations – mainly Ireland Most of the nations that took part in WW2 were big nations (Great Powers). The smaller nations that took part tended to get steamrolled by one or the other of the Powers. As something else for us to debate, were there any possibilities for one of the smaller nations to have a decisive part in the war, or altering its outcome? For example: Could Ireland

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1077924947119738002004-02-27T15:33:00.000-08:002004-02-27T15:38:39.263-08:00

Coup D'Etat Website Hi everyone, if you're reading this, why not drop me a note to tell me what you think. Meanwhile, I placed the Coup D'Etat pages here as the bandwhith on my normal site had finally expired. Chris

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-107775574775408532004-02-25T16:33:00.000-08:002004-02-25T16:38:37.216-08:00

Weird World War Two – A few PODs Finnish War never happens: Let’s assume that the Finns offer guarantees that please Stalin enough so that he does not attack in 1940. Finland takes no part in WW2, which means that a northern prong looks far less possible to German strategists in 1941. German launches a massive drive for Moscow and the Baltic’s. Meanwhile, few people have any idea how bad the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1077484652305119652004-02-22T13:16:00.000-08:002004-02-22T13:20:17.716-08:00

When UFOs arrive Within the scientific community, the question is no longer whether extraterrestrial life exists, but if ET is smart enough to do long division. Scientists are of two minds regarding the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Skeptics acknowledge simple life-forms might be found on other planets, but insist that intelligent life is unique to Earth. Their belief is based on

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1077484243508240572004-02-22T13:10:00.000-08:002004-02-22T13:13:29.013-08:00

King of England? This may lead to nothing, but in the weeks preceding Elizabeth the First’s death, Sir Robert Cecil kept a stage team of horses in readiness along the route to Scotland, planning to inform James of Scotland of her death before anyone could take advantage of the sudden power vacuum. Let’s suppose that something happens to one of the relay riders (say about mid way to Scotland)

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1077317983743811512004-02-20T14:55:00.000-08:002004-02-20T15:02:26.746-08:00

Website down, but I'll keep on writing Cursed bandwith. All I was trying to do was sort out the baen site and they think I've overdone the bandwith. Grr. Anyway, here's a review of Wildstorm's new masterpeice, Coup D'etat, for your pleasure. AH fans who don't like this, there are three small AHs and one big one coming up in the next week or so. Coup D'Etat: Sleeper. Free will. It's like

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1076718830933538062004-02-13T16:33:00.000-08:002004-02-13T16:36:24.060-08:00

Population Frozen Let’s suppose that some mad genius – or even a covert government op of some kind – decided that the world was too overpopulated, or feared that current birth trends would see their nation overflow with people or be overwhelmed by immigrants from somewhere that had too many people. That person/team uses a biological weapon, akin to the one from ‘Drakon’, to cut down the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1075911234756673982004-02-04T08:12:00.000-08:002004-02-04T08:18:17.436-08:00

As you may be aware, Baen has granted permission for me to copy the CD ISOs and share them with anyone I want – on the condition that I don’t charge for the service. They are shared here. However, if you want them on CD, I am allowed to charge for the CDR/CDRW (your choice) and the postage. If you want a copy of any or all of the discs, drop me an email. Payment: You can pay me in three

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1075847843835232102004-02-03T14:36:00.000-08:002004-02-03T14:39:42.873-08:00

Superheroes and Mutants in the Real World? Some discussions on several boards and list recently have discussed the possibilities of the real life existence of superheroes, both mutant and alien in origin. Would, they asked, be like the marvel universe with massive anti-mutant discrimination, the wildstorm universe with the heroes openly interfering with the government, or the DC universe with

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1075418443887866462004-01-29T15:19:00.000-08:002004-01-29T15:22:56.403-08:00

Challenge: Japanese Asia Something that struck me when I started to explore history in the 1600s was that the pacific was a blank slate to some extent. The Chinese were in a state where they did not have the inclination to go exploring and the Japanese were entering a state of isolation. The Dutch and the Spanish claimed a few islands, but they never found Australia or settled the area to

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1074545944993814832004-01-19T12:58:00.000-08:002004-01-19T13:01:02.996-08:00

British Royals Removed? Something I’ve been wondering about was the growing conviction that the British monarchy is no longer needed and in fact is a serious waste of British resources. What might have happened if the monarchy made a major blunder at some point, perhaps a worse incident of the Duke of Edinburgh’s racism, and hurt the national interest badly? Could they be removed from their

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1074397074587232482004-01-17T19:37:00.000-08:002004-01-17T19:39:50.560-08:00

Companies in Space An idea that’s crossed my mind recently while thinking about getting a greater commitment to space and space travel is that of including space companies right from the start. Like this, perhaps: Let’s say that an earlier president than Kennedy (perhaps Truman) realises that the US needs to be in space and that it will be seriously expensive. The US must not lose space

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1074015425959049132004-01-13T09:16:00.000-08:002004-01-13T09:42:04.030-08:00

A State of Disobedience Appendix Tom Kratman’s book A State of Disobedience includes a list, at the end, of proposed amendments to the US consitution. Kratman is at some pains on the boards to point out that they are proposed, but someone started a list of problems with them. Here’s mine. WARNING SPOILERS!! Amendment—The Sixteenth Amendment is hereby repealed. No direct taxes shall be

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073700901481113062004-01-09T18:14:00.000-08:002004-01-09T18:15:21.886-08:00

East Asian Alliance? This may come under the heading of future or present history rather than alternate history, but its an interesting idea nonetheless. There are three states in East Asia that are reasonably democratic, fairly, though nessacity, warlike and share a common short-term foe. Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Japan has a bludgeoning population with a massive nuclear industry.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073695620593518572004-01-09T16:44:00.000-08:002004-01-09T16:48:24.140-08:00

What is Planetary? Planetary is a comic book created by Warren Ellis and produced under the Wildstorm imprint. To quote the master: "One hundred years of super hero history, slowly leaking into the modern world... Sometimes, ordinary people uncover things that are best left covered. Sometimes, things best left covered emerge into ordinary life and do not have the world's best interests at

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073693697052074672004-01-09T16:14:00.000-08:002004-01-09T16:15:17.430-08:00

Virginian artillery lost to the CS? Dale Cozart pointed out (http://members.aol.com/althist1/Oct03/comments.htm) “I may have mentioned in an earlier issue that much of the Confederate artillery came from one of the big Virginia naval yards, overrun by Confederate troops early in the war.” What might have happened if that artillery had been destroyed or fallen into US hands? If the CSA army

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073596339715855602004-01-08T13:12:00.000-08:002004-01-08T13:12:39.833-08:00

Why did the Turks join Germany in WW1? Why did the Turks join Germany in WW1? Was it the British seizure of their ships or something deeper? Consider it from the Turks point of view. There are five options: 1) Join the British/Germany wins. Good in the short term, but the Germans are likely to demand colonies if they win, and the ottoman empires the site of a LOT of German investment,

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073595073487401072004-01-08T12:50:00.000-08:002004-01-08T12:51:33.803-08:00

Anglo-German Alliance From 1870ish-1914, Britain looked for allies among the states of the world. Contrary to much propaganda, the British seriously considered an alliance with Germany, and the Germans were receptive. There were, however, problems. Britain and Germany were in competition over the naval race and colonies around the globe. Germany was trying to assert itself in places that

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073594468582307872004-01-08T12:40:00.000-08:002004-01-08T12:41:28.420-08:00

A REAL state of Disobedience? I’m a big fan of many of the books published by Jim Baen, but there are some books that need a fairly extensive rewrite at the best, and, at worst, don’t live up to their promise. ‘A State of Disobedience’ (http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200312/0743471709.htm?blurb ) is one such book. While the idea of a 2nd US civil war is interesting, I don’t think that the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073569880361694432004-01-08T05:50:00.000-08:002004-01-08T05:51:40.593-08:00

Straha on the AH board thought out these a grab bag of random PODs 1) Archduke Ferdinand not assassinated, preventing World War One 2) Germany Wins WW-I rapidly (in 1915 or 1916) 3) Japan has a 'perfect' raid on Pearl Harbor, wiping out the oil storage and repair facilities 4) Germany defeats Russia in 1942, cutting of the oil supply [Baku] from the bulk of Russia's Armies. 5) A-Bomb not

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073081820519272112004-01-02T14:15:00.000-08:002004-01-02T14:17:18.890-08:00

Changing The Times Ebook? An idea I’ve had recently was to place some parts of Chaging The Times in a published forum of somekind. I’ve sort-of decided on an ebook, what do you think? I’ve got a lot of stuff that never made the final magazine and many improvements on published ones. Any thoughts? Chris

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073081678312415542004-01-02T14:14:00.000-08:002004-01-02T14:14:56.720-08:00

Korean war What-if Something I discovered while doing research was that the Americans did not arm the South Koreans properly in the years after WW2. In particular, they missed out both tanks and anti-tank weapons. Net Result: massive North Korean success and a massive American commitment to defend South Korea and to hold the line against communism everywhere, including Vietnam. So what if

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073010280359344632004-01-01T18:18:00.000-08:002004-01-01T18:24:58.430-08:00

If your're planning a holiday in these nations, don't bother. If this writer is right, there are still plenty of places where a war could break out. POTENTIAL HOT SPOTS: Where Will There Be War in 2004? Items About Areas That Could Break Out Into War December 31, 2003: Where Will There Be War in 2004? While the War on Terror has been shutting down a lot of ongoing wars (by cutting down on

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073001233543118572004-01-01T15:50:00.002-08:002004-01-01T15:55:11.950-08:00

Site Updates 01 January 2004 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! SITE UPDATES NEW Alternate Histories: Operation Norway (part two): Continuing the war in Norway... Alternate Obituary: Manual Vega.  The George Washington of Spain, 1520 Added a Fiction section, with new short stories TITLE POD AUTHOR The Monarchy British Civil War Christopher

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073001074579186612004-01-01T15:50:00.001-08:002004-01-01T15:51:32.220-08:00

Site Updates

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073001060835283952004-01-01T15:50:00.000-08:002004-01-01T15:51:18.470-08:00

Site Updates

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073000637930247102004-01-01T15:43:00.000-08:002004-01-01T15:44:15.660-08:00

Hi, I'm doing some redecorating of my site. Enjoy it. Chris

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272351.post-1073000389200589612004-01-01T15:39:00.000-08:002004-01-01T15:40:06.993-08:00

Well, here I am, Happy new year to us all. Visit www.changingthetimes.co.uk

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458119504189478704noreply@blogger.com