40 Years - A Collaborative Timeline

Here are a few PODs guaranteed to mess up any plans for a smooth parallel:

11th September 1973:
President Salvador Allende survives a military coup attempt, placing General Augusto Pinochet under arrest for treason, claiming a "CIA-backed attempt at overthrow..." in Montevideo, Chile, embarassing American officials....

5th July 1977:
Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto places General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq under arrest, after a failed military coup against the government in Islamabad, Pakistan, embarassing Western governments in the region,....
 
October 22, 1975: Boston Red Sox win game 7 of the 1975 world series 3-2 after many Reds Fans still claim they could have won if Tony Perez's long fly ball was not caught by Yaz.
 
Based on the situation at large, how is the presidential election of 1972 coming out?

August 21st, 1972: Republican Party Convention Riots; riots erupt throughout Miami, Florida after George Wallace and Billy Graham call for a "coming to Jesus" moment with Richard Nixon, storming the convention floor; 415 people are arrested....
 
Here is the first update for the ATL:

Feb 22nd, 1976: A federal mine inspector declares that conditions at a major coal mine in Logan County, West Virginia are "entirely dangerous and unsatisfactory." The inspector states that several dam walls were dangerously weak, and that heavy rains could cause massive catastrophic flooding. In response, over 300 miners and their families are evacuated, although Pittston Coal Company calls the report "alarmist" and considers suing the inspector for libel. Nevertheless, they take action to shore up the dam walls.

February 26, 1972 (POD) - Buffalo Creek never flooded.

May 3, 1972: A 6.5 earthquake occcurs on the 125th street fault in New York City Killing 3500 and causing $25 billion in dammage. (mostly un-reinforced apartment buildings and smaller highrises)

4th May 1972: Indian Point Nuclear Disaster; Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in Buchanan, New York, suffers a radioactive material leak due the earthquake, dumping thousands of gallons of radioactive water into hte Hudson River, sparking a massive panic within the region....

May 5th, 1972: Oral Roberts, and Reverend Jerry Falwell, lead a prayer service in Virginia Beach, Virginia claiming that the New York earthquake occurred due to "abandonment of God's principles and values..."

May 10th, 1972: During an interview with Howard Cossell, ABC-TV, boxer Muhammad Ali, while touring through Harlem states,"Richard Nixon doesn't care for black people...."

May 11th-12th, 1972: President Nixon, conscious of his own efforts on affirmative action and other "behind the scenes" actions to improve societal opportunities --including his grand plan to implement government health care coverage-- is privately infuriated with the claims made by the outspoken boxer, and curses Ali up and down in a manner that will embarass the hell out of him a couple decades later. Acting in a manner appropriate to his desire to emulate the "Big Statesmen" of Europe and beyond, Nixon works with his top advisors --including Daniel Patrick Moynihan and, surprisingly, Henry Kissinger and others-- and flies to New York City with the broad outlines of a plan to rebuild "our premiere international city," and of course stands right on or as close to 125th Street as possible while declaring such. (Some say he thought of his old friend and rival Jack Kennedy at another city at another crisis. Nixon won't declare himself a jelly donut, but he certainly keeps these thoughts in mind.)

15th May 1972: George Wallace takes "fire from the belly" of Richard Nixon, claiming that through affirmative action and civil rights legislation, Nixon has abandoned the "same people who fought and built this country", pointing to rising unemployment amongst white males during a speech in Richmond, Virginia....

May 27th, 1972: "Big" Al Unser wins the 1972 edition of the Indianapolis 500, after Jerry Grant and Mark Donohue crash in the final stages of the race, while battling for the lead.

May 28 and June 17 1972: A couple burglaries at the Watergate complex (involving some Republican "researchers" going through Democratic hq files) go off without a hitch, with no feathers ruffled. (That year, chaos and Democrats were almost synonomous, and nobody will notice if a couple folders or papers are not in strict order.) In the late spring of 1972, rumors are flying of Nixon's "Dirty Tricks" teams pulling an array of stunts. Those close to the president shrug and point to 1960 as the experience that burned a vivid lesson into Nixon's mind about such things. The best defense is a good offense, isn't it?

August 14th, 1972: The New York Times reports that through FEMA records, c. 150,000 African-Americans, who have been made homeless due to the earthquake have been moved out of state through FEMA camps to places like PA, CT, RI, and NJ, "watering down" the Democratic vote....

August 17th 1972: Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition, leads a press conference in Chicago, Illinois condemning FEMA efforts to "disenfranchise African-American voters"....

August 21st, 1972: Republican Party Convention Riots; riots erupt throughout Miami, Florida after George Wallace and Billy Graham call for a "coming to Jesus" moment with Richard Nixon, storming the convention floor; 415 people are arrested....

September 5th, 1972: An attempted attack by Palastinian terrorists on the Israeli olympic squad fails, after an hour-long shootout with local police forces. As a result, security during the games is increased.

29th September 1972: Former Defense Secretary Robert Macnamara is killed during a speech at Columbia University, after revealing that "the war in Vietnam was completely unnecessary..."; The death becomes a rally cry for the anti-war movement....

November 7th, 1972: The residents of Colorado narrowly decide in favour of holding the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Denver.

15th November 1972:Earthquake starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Geneviève Bujold and Richard Roundtree makes its hit debut, detailing the "individual stories of heroism" during the New York Disaster...

May 28th, 1973: The 1973 edition of the Indianapolis 500 takes place, which is widely considered to be the "worst Indy ever". A gigantic pile-up at the start takes out 11 cars from the race, and Salt Walther's car even catches fire. While Walther survives, he'll have to live with burn scars for the rest of his life.

Race officials decided not to stop the race, but to send out the safety car instead. After 10 laps, the race continues, but so did the drama. Swede Savage crashed his car after exiting turn 4. Since he refuelled his car two laps ago, his car exploded and Savage was in the middle of his flaming car. Worse yet, he was hit at high speed by George Snider, who couldn't avoid the spinning Savage. While Snider suffered leg injuries, the crash into wall, as well as the contact with Snider was too much for Savage, and he died on the scene.

Trouble continued at Indy, as rain started to fall. After some spins and light accidents, the race control decided to stop the race and Gordon Johncock was declared the winner. After the race, USAC officials took drastic steps to make the championship cars safer. The fuel tank became much smaller (45 gallons instead of 70), as well as front and rear wings. Turbocharged engines were also outlawed, and naturally-aspirated V8 engines became mandatory from the 1974 season on.

11th September 1973: President Salvador Allende survives a military coup attempt, placing General Augusto Pinochet under arrest for treason, claiming a "CIA-backed attempt at overthrow..." in Montevideo, Chile, embarassing American officials....

May 26th, 1974 - The 58th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place, one year after the tragic 57th edition. It is also the first Indy run under new rules. The majority of the field runs on the 3.0l Ford Cosworth DFV V8s, which have already proven themselves in Formula One. The only other engine in field are Foyt's engines, which were developed by AJ Foyt himself, while Offenhauser decided against building a new engine.

The 1974 edition will be remembered for the fierce battle between Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen, Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Unser for the victory. In the end, Rutherford secures a close win, as all four cars were just parted by a couple of seconds. Worth mentioning is also the catastrophic reliability of the Foyt engines. No car that ran Foyts made it to the finish, while the "Cossies" have proven to be reliable.

July 7th, 1974 - Poland beats the Netherlands 2-1 and wins their 1st FIFA World Cup.

September 22nd, 1974 - Parnelli Jones Racing makes their Formula One debut at the Canadian Grand Prix. Mario Andretti drives the car, and is competetive right from the start. Firestone decides to fund the team for the next seasons, enabling Parnelli to stay in Formula One for the next years.

May 25th, 1975 - The 59th Indianapolis 500 takes place, which is won by Wally Dallenbach, Sr. in his Wildcat-Ford. But unlike the 1974 edition, Ford doesn't dominate Indy, as Chevrolet enters their 3.0l-V8 engine. This marks the beginning of the Ford-Chevy war, which not only takes place at Indy, but also in Formula One.

October 1st, 1975 - The "Fight of the Century" or "Thriller in Manila" takes place in Manila, between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Joe Frazier wins the fight by TKO, after Ali gave up after round 14.

October 22, 1975: Boston Red Sox win game 7 of the 1975 world series 3-2 after many Reds Fans still claim they could have won if Tony Perez's long fly ball was not caught by Yaz.

August 16-19 1976: Vice President Ford (because Agnew was Agnew and Nixon's team are viciously effective in ensuring that Agnew is off the boat) clinches the Republican nomination for president. This is done after some noises of a Reagan challenge in the primaries come to naught. Ford girds himself for battle, choosing the energetic George H. W. Bush as his running-mate.

September 6, 1976: Mao Tse-tung records a speech approving his wife, Jiang Qing, as his successor, and support for Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen...

September 9, 1976: Chinese Politburo announces that Mao Tse-tung has been incapacitated. In reality, Mao Tse-tung has died, and the PLA has decided to back Jiang Qing's claim as successor...

October 6th, 1976: Jiang Qing is proclaimed Premier to the People's Republic of China in Beijing, becoming one of the most powerful female leaders in modern history...

5th July 1977: Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto places General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq under arrest, after a failed military coup against the government in Islamabad, Pakistan, embarassing Western governments in the region,....

February 1, 1979: Anti-American guerillas shoot reporter Peter Jennings (ABC-TV), while he is covering the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran....

May 18, 1980 - Mount St. Helens never erupted.

11th May 1984: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird produce The Walking Dead (Mirage Comics), sparking national attention for independent comic publishers....

January 28, 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger made its successful space flight and never exploded.
 
May 25th, 1977 - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, starring Mark Hamill as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Alec Guiness as Qui-Gon Jinn, makes its hit debut...

May 5th, 1978 - Star Trek: Planet of the Titans, starring Stephen Collins as Captain Willard Decker, Persis Khambatta as Lt. Ilia and David Gautreaux as Lt. Xon, makes its hit debut...

May 21st, 1980 - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, starring Richard Gere as Anakin Skywalker, makes its hit debut...

June 4th, 1982 - Star Trek II: The Vengeance of Khan, makes its hit debut...

May 25th, 1983 - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, makes its hit debut...

May 9th, 1988 - Star Trek: The Next Generation - Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) was killed in hands of alien parasite infested Admiral Quinn.

May 25th, 1988 - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, starring Tom Cruise as Luke Skywalker, Val Kilmer as Han Solo and Joanne Whalley as Princess Leia, makes its hit debut...

June 9th, 1989 - Star Trek V: The Academy Years, set during the days of Kirk and Spock at Starfleet Academy, starring Michael J. Fox as Cadet Kirk and Alexander Enberg as Spock, makes its hit debut...

September 21st, 1990 - Star Trek: The Next Generation: Commander Riker (Lance Guest) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Denise Crosby) gets their new starship, the U.S.S. Titan in the end of BOBW.

May 21st, 1991 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, makes its hit debut...

December 2nd, 1993 - Rick Berman announced plans that Star Trek: The Next Generation would continue for ten years.

May 25th, 1994 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, makes its hit debut...

November 18th, 1994 - Star Trek VII: The Ashes of Eden, written and directed by William Shatner, which is based on Shatner's best-selling novel in OTL, makes its hit debut...

December 16th, 1994 - Generations, a two-hour Star Trek: The Next Generation episode,which is based on OTL's Star Trek VII, aired and became successful, this time, the Enterprise-D is not destroyed until the 1995-1996 season finale.

November 22nd, 1996 - First Contact, a two-hour Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, which is based on OTL's Star Trek VIII, aired and became a most successful Star Trek episode ever.

May 8th, 1997 - Star Trek VIII: The Return, written by William Shatner and directed by Jonathan Frakes, makes its hit debut...

May 21st, 1997 - Due to low ratings, Star Trek: Voyager was cancelled.

November 17th, 2000 - Star Trek IX: Avenger, written by William Shatner and directed by Stuard Baird, makes its hit debut...

May 23rd, 2003 - Star Trek: The Next Generation, ends its run on television after sixteen years...

September 26th, 2003 - Star Trek: Enterprise, set on the Enterprise-B after the disappearance of Captain Kirk, starring Alan Ruck as Captain John Harriman, makes its hit debut...
 
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