AH Challenge: The Best of All Possible Worlds
- Thread starter Akiyama
- Start date
The First Gulf War ends with the capture of Saddam, GHWB re-elected, Bill Clinton retires to obscurity.
Alternatively, GWB wins in 2000 by a much wider margin.
Alternatively, GWB wins in 2000 by a much wider margin.
Also among the less popular:
In 1975, an ingenious scientist happens to be successful in every effort in manipulating genes - the technology and knowledge was basically already there, some things would have to be done in a simpler way, though.
While there was no possibility to decipher the whole human genome, it would definitely have been possible to isolate a few genes, and create a virus which can enter a gene into an animal or a person.
After all the basics are done, and several different "healing viruses" are created and tested on animals, in 1980 a virus which was supposed to be for research on terminally ill people, is accidentally released into the population. The virus travels around the world, and while some people die from its effects and mutated variants of the virus, millions are saved and an illness is basically eradicated.
Due to this success, billions are invested in this technology, partly by health insurances or governments who hope to reduce costs. More and more such "healing viruses" are produced, the (well anticipated) possible sideeffects are better controlled by better testing and higher security, and so on.
By 1990, most illnesses are defeated - genetic illnesses by repairing the genes, parasitic illnesses by improving the immune system. Even weaknesses which are not considered illnesses are being tackled, when it's easy to do. Also, people are being given non-multiplying shots which are mainly for making them immune against any unwanted virus, to avoid them being used for bio-warfare.
By 2000, this method has been improved to a degree that every single person has his or her own "access code" for any virus to enter. Specialist doctors create suitable variants for every single client. Whenever a "backdoor" or a weakness in this system is found, a virus is produced which does all the improvements known at that time and closes this "backdoor", replacing it by a general key, so that genetic medicine still stays possible for developing countries and people without health insurance. Also, at that time, even problems like aging and most variants of heart disease, cancer and so on have been solved, so that there is basically no such thing as illness in our societies, world wide, and all people look like they were in the 20s (some after surgery). Any retirement system has been pulled in face of this development. Also, there is practically no more racism, social darwinism or the likes in the world, as it doesn't make even the little sense of earlier times anymore - the genes are determined by scientists, the looks by taste.
By 2005, people can get their custom variants of genetic modification - any hair color, eagle vision, and so on. A few companies offer their "updates" in different pricing categories, with different features. There are even developments to increase personal power over ones own development - like faster muscle build up for athletes, faster creation of new synaptic connections for thinkers, quicker healing for people with lots of injuries, conscious changing of hair or skin color, and so on. The newest fad is personal editing of the very genetic structure of themselves - certainly under precautions like making undesirable changes nearly impossible, only allowing changes to improve abilities or to change appearance, creating possibilities to return to an earlier version of oneself, and so on. The increased population expansion has been countered by making people more conscious of the number of children they make. Some people use solar energy like plants, so that when only resting they don't need any food anymore.
In 1975, an ingenious scientist happens to be successful in every effort in manipulating genes - the technology and knowledge was basically already there, some things would have to be done in a simpler way, though.
While there was no possibility to decipher the whole human genome, it would definitely have been possible to isolate a few genes, and create a virus which can enter a gene into an animal or a person.
After all the basics are done, and several different "healing viruses" are created and tested on animals, in 1980 a virus which was supposed to be for research on terminally ill people, is accidentally released into the population. The virus travels around the world, and while some people die from its effects and mutated variants of the virus, millions are saved and an illness is basically eradicated.
Due to this success, billions are invested in this technology, partly by health insurances or governments who hope to reduce costs. More and more such "healing viruses" are produced, the (well anticipated) possible sideeffects are better controlled by better testing and higher security, and so on.
By 1990, most illnesses are defeated - genetic illnesses by repairing the genes, parasitic illnesses by improving the immune system. Even weaknesses which are not considered illnesses are being tackled, when it's easy to do. Also, people are being given non-multiplying shots which are mainly for making them immune against any unwanted virus, to avoid them being used for bio-warfare.
By 2000, this method has been improved to a degree that every single person has his or her own "access code" for any virus to enter. Specialist doctors create suitable variants for every single client. Whenever a "backdoor" or a weakness in this system is found, a virus is produced which does all the improvements known at that time and closes this "backdoor", replacing it by a general key, so that genetic medicine still stays possible for developing countries and people without health insurance. Also, at that time, even problems like aging and most variants of heart disease, cancer and so on have been solved, so that there is basically no such thing as illness in our societies, world wide, and all people look like they were in the 20s (some after surgery). Any retirement system has been pulled in face of this development. Also, there is practically no more racism, social darwinism or the likes in the world, as it doesn't make even the little sense of earlier times anymore - the genes are determined by scientists, the looks by taste.
By 2005, people can get their custom variants of genetic modification - any hair color, eagle vision, and so on. A few companies offer their "updates" in different pricing categories, with different features. There are even developments to increase personal power over ones own development - like faster muscle build up for athletes, faster creation of new synaptic connections for thinkers, quicker healing for people with lots of injuries, conscious changing of hair or skin color, and so on. The newest fad is personal editing of the very genetic structure of themselves - certainly under precautions like making undesirable changes nearly impossible, only allowing changes to improve abilities or to change appearance, creating possibilities to return to an earlier version of oneself, and so on. The increased population expansion has been countered by making people more conscious of the number of children they make. Some people use solar energy like plants, so that when only resting they don't need any food anymore.
1992 UK General Election returns a hung parliament, a Lib-Lab coalition gains control.
Or, having Tony Benn gain control of the Labour Party in 1988.
Or, having Section 28 never introduced in the first place.
Or, having Tony Benn gain control of the Labour Party in 1988.
Or, having Section 28 never introduced in the first place.
Here's mine:
1975 - The UK votes to leave the Common Market.
1984 - Fall of the Berlin Wall. The end of Communism in Eastern Europe. Soviet troops withdraw from Eastern Europe.
1985 - The end of Communism in the USSR. It splits into individual states.
1987 - Demonstrations in Tianenmen Square mark the end of Communism in China.
1988 - John Smith (Labour) becomes Prime Minister of the UK. Hillary Clinton becomes first woman President of the US.
1988 - North Korea, Cuba etc. abandon Communism. Western countries draw up the "Clinton Plan" to aid the new democracies in their transition from planned economies to market economies.
1989 - Gary Gygax publishes the second edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide is twice the size of that of the first edition and the Monster Manual runs to nine volumes.
1989 - Kylie Minogue stops singing Stock Aitken and Waterman songs and reinvents herself as a goth/punk/metal goddess. Over the next three years, she becomes the most famous singer in the world, and outspokenly political on environmental causes. She also poses nude for Playboy. In the following years, popular music as a whole becomes more political.
1990 - The Japanese economy fails to go into recession and continues to grow at around 3-9% a year up until the present day. Interest in Japanese culture continues to grow in the rest of the world.
1992 - New Zealand institutes a radical reform of its tax and welfare systems, with most taxes being replaced by a single flat tax on income, and most welfare benefits being replaced by a single "citizens' income" payable to all, regardless of their circumstances. Over time, this becomes a model for other nations.
1995 - Russia launches its new modular space station Mir II.
1996 - John McCain becomes President of the United States.
1996 - The actor Sylvester McCoy retires from playing the role of "The Doctor" in the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was one of the most popular actors to have played the role, partly due to the sharp scripts from Douglas Adams, Iain Banks and Paul Cornell which gave the show a more sophisticated, adult feel, and the popularity with viewers of the Doctor's long-time companion, archeologist Bernice Summerfield.
1997 - Ken Clarke (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister of the UK.
1997 - The European Union launches the modular space station Jules Verne.
1998 - The "McCain Plan" proposes to solve Africa's problems through a combination of fairer trade, a WHO programme to eradicate disease, debt cancellation conditional upon governments introducing democratic and pro-market reforms and increasing spending on health and education, and UN sanctioned military intervention to prevent wars and civil wars and to remove the worst dictatorships.
1998 - Sanctions are lifted on Iraq after UN weapons inspectors declare the country free of WMDs.
1998 - Japan launches the modular space station Yamato.
1998 - As a result of research showing that watching too much television lowers children's intelligence and damages their social awareness, television starts to become unfashionable among the liberal middle-classes in some western countries.
1998 - The Labour Party government in Isreal reaches a historic agreement with Yasser Arafat. The West Bank and the Gaza strip are incorporated into the state of Isreal, which is renamed Isreal and Palestine. Non-jews are given equal rights with Jews. Palestinian refugees have a right to return to Isreal, but not a right to reclaim property taken from them. Although the transition to the "New Isreal" proves difficult and spawns hatred among fundamentalists on both sides, nothing disasterous happens.
1999 - "Sliders", an intelligent big-budget film about travel into an Alternate History where the Soviet Union won the cold war, directed by Steven Spielberg, is a box-office smash-hit. Sliders II (2001 - British America) and Sliders III (2003 - post-nuclear holocaust) follow.
1999 - The EU, Japan and Russia jointly send astronauts to the Moon.
1999 - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons third edition (d20) is published geatly changed and simplified from the second edition, alongside Basic Dungeons and Dragons d20 edition, a compatible but even more simplified version.
2000 - Television rejection in western countries spreads to conservative families, and to young professionals, among whom it becomes a status symbol not to own a television ("I don't have time to watch television - I have too many real friends . . .").
2001 - The US government reveals that it has thwarted a possible terrorist attack on US soil (Islamic terrorists intended to hijack passenger jets and fly them into the World Trade Centre). The US uses this as an excuse to invade Afghanistan and depose the Taliban regime. Osama bin Laden is killed resisting capture by US special forces. McCain uses his subsequent popularity to persuade Congress to ratify the Nagoya Treaty on global warming. The US and its allies (Britain and France) subsequently provide enough long term aid (financial and otherwise) to Afghanistan to enable it to start to move from warlordism to genuine democracy, and to dramatically reduce the amount of opium grown.
2001 - The United States launches the modular space station Geronimo.
2002 - UN reform gives Japan, Germany and India permanent seats on the Security Council. The Veto is abandoned, instead Security Council votes require a majority of at least 12 to 3.
2003 - The computer software company Microsoft stops making Windows products and starts selling Linux programs like everyone else.
2003 - In Iraq, Saddam Hussein is deposed by a popular uprising. After a few months of chaos, the three most powerful groups, the Shia in the south, the Kurds in the north, and an alliance of pro-western factions in the centre, agree to a ceasefire. Although theoretically still one nation, Iraq has in fact split into three.
2003 - China launches the modular space station "Cheng Ho".
2004 - Colin Powell (Republican) becomes President of the US.
2004 - In western countries, people who still own television sets are starting to be regarded by society at large as losers. Television rejection has led to an increase in sales of books and of tabletop games (Chess and Go, board games, card games, role-playing games).
2005 - The actor Paul MacGann retires from the role of "The Doctor" in Doctor Who. During his time as The Doctor, the series became popular worldwide, and is now shown in almost every country, and appreciated as a sophisticated science-fiction series for adults. The series concentrated much more on time travel, with a return to the purely historical adventures of the early years and the going "War in Heaven" plot, which introduced new time-travelling enemies of the Time Lords. "Doctor Who VI: Valentine's Day", which wraps up the War in Heaven storyline and introduces the Ninth Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston) is the biggest grossing movie of the year across the English speaking world. Plans for a new TV series are put on hold while the BBC decides what to do about the decline in television ownership.
1975 - The UK votes to leave the Common Market.
1984 - Fall of the Berlin Wall. The end of Communism in Eastern Europe. Soviet troops withdraw from Eastern Europe.
1985 - The end of Communism in the USSR. It splits into individual states.
1987 - Demonstrations in Tianenmen Square mark the end of Communism in China.
1988 - John Smith (Labour) becomes Prime Minister of the UK. Hillary Clinton becomes first woman President of the US.
1988 - North Korea, Cuba etc. abandon Communism. Western countries draw up the "Clinton Plan" to aid the new democracies in their transition from planned economies to market economies.
1989 - Gary Gygax publishes the second edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide is twice the size of that of the first edition and the Monster Manual runs to nine volumes.
1989 - Kylie Minogue stops singing Stock Aitken and Waterman songs and reinvents herself as a goth/punk/metal goddess. Over the next three years, she becomes the most famous singer in the world, and outspokenly political on environmental causes. She also poses nude for Playboy. In the following years, popular music as a whole becomes more political.
1990 - The Japanese economy fails to go into recession and continues to grow at around 3-9% a year up until the present day. Interest in Japanese culture continues to grow in the rest of the world.
1992 - New Zealand institutes a radical reform of its tax and welfare systems, with most taxes being replaced by a single flat tax on income, and most welfare benefits being replaced by a single "citizens' income" payable to all, regardless of their circumstances. Over time, this becomes a model for other nations.
1995 - Russia launches its new modular space station Mir II.
1996 - John McCain becomes President of the United States.
1996 - The actor Sylvester McCoy retires from playing the role of "The Doctor" in the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was one of the most popular actors to have played the role, partly due to the sharp scripts from Douglas Adams, Iain Banks and Paul Cornell which gave the show a more sophisticated, adult feel, and the popularity with viewers of the Doctor's long-time companion, archeologist Bernice Summerfield.
1997 - Ken Clarke (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister of the UK.
1997 - The European Union launches the modular space station Jules Verne.
1998 - The "McCain Plan" proposes to solve Africa's problems through a combination of fairer trade, a WHO programme to eradicate disease, debt cancellation conditional upon governments introducing democratic and pro-market reforms and increasing spending on health and education, and UN sanctioned military intervention to prevent wars and civil wars and to remove the worst dictatorships.
1998 - Sanctions are lifted on Iraq after UN weapons inspectors declare the country free of WMDs.
1998 - Japan launches the modular space station Yamato.
1998 - As a result of research showing that watching too much television lowers children's intelligence and damages their social awareness, television starts to become unfashionable among the liberal middle-classes in some western countries.
1998 - The Labour Party government in Isreal reaches a historic agreement with Yasser Arafat. The West Bank and the Gaza strip are incorporated into the state of Isreal, which is renamed Isreal and Palestine. Non-jews are given equal rights with Jews. Palestinian refugees have a right to return to Isreal, but not a right to reclaim property taken from them. Although the transition to the "New Isreal" proves difficult and spawns hatred among fundamentalists on both sides, nothing disasterous happens.
1999 - "Sliders", an intelligent big-budget film about travel into an Alternate History where the Soviet Union won the cold war, directed by Steven Spielberg, is a box-office smash-hit. Sliders II (2001 - British America) and Sliders III (2003 - post-nuclear holocaust) follow.
1999 - The EU, Japan and Russia jointly send astronauts to the Moon.
1999 - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons third edition (d20) is published geatly changed and simplified from the second edition, alongside Basic Dungeons and Dragons d20 edition, a compatible but even more simplified version.
2000 - Television rejection in western countries spreads to conservative families, and to young professionals, among whom it becomes a status symbol not to own a television ("I don't have time to watch television - I have too many real friends . . .").
2001 - The US government reveals that it has thwarted a possible terrorist attack on US soil (Islamic terrorists intended to hijack passenger jets and fly them into the World Trade Centre). The US uses this as an excuse to invade Afghanistan and depose the Taliban regime. Osama bin Laden is killed resisting capture by US special forces. McCain uses his subsequent popularity to persuade Congress to ratify the Nagoya Treaty on global warming. The US and its allies (Britain and France) subsequently provide enough long term aid (financial and otherwise) to Afghanistan to enable it to start to move from warlordism to genuine democracy, and to dramatically reduce the amount of opium grown.
2001 - The United States launches the modular space station Geronimo.
2002 - UN reform gives Japan, Germany and India permanent seats on the Security Council. The Veto is abandoned, instead Security Council votes require a majority of at least 12 to 3.
2003 - The computer software company Microsoft stops making Windows products and starts selling Linux programs like everyone else.
2003 - In Iraq, Saddam Hussein is deposed by a popular uprising. After a few months of chaos, the three most powerful groups, the Shia in the south, the Kurds in the north, and an alliance of pro-western factions in the centre, agree to a ceasefire. Although theoretically still one nation, Iraq has in fact split into three.
2003 - China launches the modular space station "Cheng Ho".
2004 - Colin Powell (Republican) becomes President of the US.
2004 - In western countries, people who still own television sets are starting to be regarded by society at large as losers. Television rejection has led to an increase in sales of books and of tabletop games (Chess and Go, board games, card games, role-playing games).
2005 - The actor Paul MacGann retires from the role of "The Doctor" in Doctor Who. During his time as The Doctor, the series became popular worldwide, and is now shown in almost every country, and appreciated as a sophisticated science-fiction series for adults. The series concentrated much more on time travel, with a return to the purely historical adventures of the early years and the going "War in Heaven" plot, which introduced new time-travelling enemies of the Time Lords. "Doctor Who VI: Valentine's Day", which wraps up the War in Heaven storyline and introduces the Ninth Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston) is the biggest grossing movie of the year across the English speaking world. Plans for a new TV series are put on hold while the BBC decides what to do about the decline in television ownership.
Born in 1960
1960
Nixon defeats JFK in the U.S. presidential election.
1961
The Bay of Pigs invasion is not bungled. Castro is removed from power in Cuba. The Cuban missile crises does not happen. Eventually (~10 to 20 years down the road) Cuba becomes America's 51st state. Numerous communist groups do not spring up in central and south America, since they lack Cuban sponsorship.
1965
President Nixon begins his 2nd term in office. Disgusted with the performance of the South Vietnamese government, the U.S. withdraws all support. American troops are never sent to fight in Vietnam.
The billions of dollars historically expended in Vietnam are instead used to beef up NATO. Covert money also flows to various anti communist groups in the Warsaw Pact nations.
1968.
The uprising is Czechoslovakia is larger and better organized. A provisional government is declared that controls most of the country. NATO has plans in place (they helped to fund the uprising). A request for assistance results in a U.S. armored corps being rushed to Prague. President Nixon stands firm. The 1945 Soviet occupation was illegal. NATO stands with the Czechoslovak people. Eventually the Soviet government decides to let Czecholsovakia go. It is not worth WWIII. But the cold war just got a lot colder.
1969 - 1978.
The U.S. stands firm in confronting the Soviet occupation of central Europe. This accomplishes what President Regan historically accomplished during the 1980s. This is aided by what happened in Czechoslovakia. Other nations want their freedom as well. Opposition to the Soviet occupation is greater (and better funded thanks to the CIA) then what happened historically.
1979
The Berlin wall comes down. The Soviet occupation of central Europe is over.
1960
Nixon defeats JFK in the U.S. presidential election.
1961
The Bay of Pigs invasion is not bungled. Castro is removed from power in Cuba. The Cuban missile crises does not happen. Eventually (~10 to 20 years down the road) Cuba becomes America's 51st state. Numerous communist groups do not spring up in central and south America, since they lack Cuban sponsorship.
1965
President Nixon begins his 2nd term in office. Disgusted with the performance of the South Vietnamese government, the U.S. withdraws all support. American troops are never sent to fight in Vietnam.
The billions of dollars historically expended in Vietnam are instead used to beef up NATO. Covert money also flows to various anti communist groups in the Warsaw Pact nations.
1968.
The uprising is Czechoslovakia is larger and better organized. A provisional government is declared that controls most of the country. NATO has plans in place (they helped to fund the uprising). A request for assistance results in a U.S. armored corps being rushed to Prague. President Nixon stands firm. The 1945 Soviet occupation was illegal. NATO stands with the Czechoslovak people. Eventually the Soviet government decides to let Czecholsovakia go. It is not worth WWIII. But the cold war just got a lot colder.
1969 - 1978.
The U.S. stands firm in confronting the Soviet occupation of central Europe. This accomplishes what President Regan historically accomplished during the 1980s. This is aided by what happened in Czechoslovakia. Other nations want their freedom as well. Opposition to the Soviet occupation is greater (and better funded thanks to the CIA) then what happened historically.
1979
The Berlin wall comes down. The Soviet occupation of central Europe is over.
Succession of Presidents after Nixon
That would be pure speculation. The changes wrought by a Nixon presidency ILO J.F.K. and L.B.J. would be tremendous. Here is a very wild guess.
1964.
Nixon beats JFK again. This essentially ends JFKs political career.
1968, 1972.
Nixon is hugely popular because of his success in Europe. But he cannot run again. Robert Kennedy is elected president. No one really knows if he had the "right stuff". But let's say he does a good job and gets reelected in 1972.
1976, 1980.
Ronald Regan is elected president. He is reelected in 1980.
That would be pure speculation. The changes wrought by a Nixon presidency ILO J.F.K. and L.B.J. would be tremendous. Here is a very wild guess.
1964.
Nixon beats JFK again. This essentially ends JFKs political career.
1968, 1972.
Nixon is hugely popular because of his success in Europe. But he cannot run again. Robert Kennedy is elected president. No one really knows if he had the "right stuff". But let's say he does a good job and gets reelected in 1972.
1976, 1980.
Ronald Regan is elected president. He is reelected in 1980.
Straha
Banned
Mine shares acouple of events
1987-No stock market crash
-due to FCC complaints and lots of parents groups complaining, MTV is shut down.
- Demonstrations in Tianenmen Square lead to the communist governmnet of China imploding. North Korea and other non-soviet communist nations also drop communism. The west begins giving aid to the new democracies.
1988-Fidel Castro chokes on a chicken bone while doing a speech at a dinner and Cuba's communist government falls.
-A crackdown on rap and hip hop begins.
1989 - Gary Gygax publishes the second edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide is twice the size of that of the first edition and the Monster Manual runs to nine volumes.
1990 - The Japanese economy fails to go into recession and continues to grow at around 3-9% a year up until the present day. Interest in Japanese culture continues to grow in the rest of the world.
1991-unlike OTL Enix decides to release Dragon Warrior I & II for the SNES in the US too.
1992- The lineup of Paul Tsongas/Bill Clinton wins the presidential election on a platform of reform.
-Dragon Warrior III released for the SNES(in OTL it was just released in Japan)
-As the Internet community begins to realize that web pages could contain images as well as text, concern grows that this new technology could someday be used for pornography. The ICANN orgainzation adds a new top level domain name. This new domain name .sex is to be used for all web sites that were primarily built for pornographic content.
1993-1994- Instead of attempting a hillarycare healthcare "Reform", the Tsongas administration focuses on trying to reform the war on drugs. MArijuana and other soft drugs are legalized. The punishment for dealing in hard drugs like cocaine or heroin is made much harsher. PEople who aren't dealing in cocaine or heroin but just posess it will be treated instead of punished. The legalization of marijuana will start a domino effect.
1993-The clinton welfare reforms of OTL's late 1990's are pushed through. The only major change from OTL is that churches and other organizations are given more leeway
-MTV is revived. Unlike OTL's MTV its focused on simply doing the music videos and no reality shows.
1994-President Tsongas signs a bill into law that states that it is a felony to knowingly place a pornographic web site on anything other than a .sex domain. The law would apply to ISP's and the person who owned the site.
1995-North American Free trade alliance passed. Unlike OTL's NAFTA it includes the carribean and central america. It also has a joint tariff barrier for goods coming from outside NAFTA. NAFTA is also more of a customs union.
- Russia launches its new modular space station Mir II.
1996-the US government adopts a policy of not giving any visas for more than 1 month or student visas to anyone outside of europe, east asia and the americas. Immigration from those 3 areas is promoted.
1997-Paul Tsongas dies and Bill clinton becomes president.
-A parent's group commends those who had the foresight to make pornographic web sites use the .sex domain name. They say that it makes it very easy to filter out web sites and unsolicited emails.
1998 - Japan launches the modular space station Yamato.
-Votes in Switzerland legalize drug use. The proposal was passed by a 3-1 margin.
1999 - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons third edition (d20) is published geatly changed and simplified from the second edition, alongside Basic Dungeons and Dragons d20 edition, a compatible but even more simplified version.
-No columbine massacre so no big concern about high school security and therefore no ID badges or security guards.
-The European Coalition to End the Anti-drug Madness (ECEAM) stages a rally in Paris, France, calling for European governments to legalize marijuana. 569,000 people attend it. This leads to several countries doing reforms. Finland's Parliament passes a law decriminalizing marijuana and Austria votes to legalize marijuana by a wide margin. Norway's Storthing also votes to legalize pot.
2000-Clinton reelected due to the booming economy.
-The European Parliament passes a resolution calling upon members to legalize pot. Denmark's Parliament votes to legalize marijuana the Icelandic and german governments follow suit..As a result of this France's National Assembly fails to censure the government, thereby automatically making the decriminalizing decree about marijuana the law of the land.
2001-No 9/11 because the would be hijackers don't manage to get visas in the 90's.
-A corporation calling itself the Horns Corperation, manages to become the leading producer of hemp products in 75% of the countries legalizing pot. These countries are experiencing a huge market growth and low unemployment. Hemp products make huge dents into paper, rope, and clothing manufacturers profits. New factories are going up, as well as growth facilities.
-The porn industry generally stops using spam emails to attract customers. This is because some services such as Yahoo and Hotmail can be set up by users to dump any email containing .sex as part of the sender's address before the mail even reaches the user's mailbox.
2002-Sweden decriminalizes pot.
2004-Rush Limbaugh, broken, divorced, bankrupt, and tarred with charges of racism and nastiness, dies of congestive heart failure in Cape Giardeau, Missouri. He is missed by few.
1987-No stock market crash
-due to FCC complaints and lots of parents groups complaining, MTV is shut down.
- Demonstrations in Tianenmen Square lead to the communist governmnet of China imploding. North Korea and other non-soviet communist nations also drop communism. The west begins giving aid to the new democracies.
1988-Fidel Castro chokes on a chicken bone while doing a speech at a dinner and Cuba's communist government falls.
-A crackdown on rap and hip hop begins.
1989 - Gary Gygax publishes the second edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide is twice the size of that of the first edition and the Monster Manual runs to nine volumes.
1990 - The Japanese economy fails to go into recession and continues to grow at around 3-9% a year up until the present day. Interest in Japanese culture continues to grow in the rest of the world.
1991-unlike OTL Enix decides to release Dragon Warrior I & II for the SNES in the US too.
1992- The lineup of Paul Tsongas/Bill Clinton wins the presidential election on a platform of reform.
-Dragon Warrior III released for the SNES(in OTL it was just released in Japan)
-As the Internet community begins to realize that web pages could contain images as well as text, concern grows that this new technology could someday be used for pornography. The ICANN orgainzation adds a new top level domain name. This new domain name .sex is to be used for all web sites that were primarily built for pornographic content.
1993-1994- Instead of attempting a hillarycare healthcare "Reform", the Tsongas administration focuses on trying to reform the war on drugs. MArijuana and other soft drugs are legalized. The punishment for dealing in hard drugs like cocaine or heroin is made much harsher. PEople who aren't dealing in cocaine or heroin but just posess it will be treated instead of punished. The legalization of marijuana will start a domino effect.
1993-The clinton welfare reforms of OTL's late 1990's are pushed through. The only major change from OTL is that churches and other organizations are given more leeway
-MTV is revived. Unlike OTL's MTV its focused on simply doing the music videos and no reality shows.
1994-President Tsongas signs a bill into law that states that it is a felony to knowingly place a pornographic web site on anything other than a .sex domain. The law would apply to ISP's and the person who owned the site.
1995-North American Free trade alliance passed. Unlike OTL's NAFTA it includes the carribean and central america. It also has a joint tariff barrier for goods coming from outside NAFTA. NAFTA is also more of a customs union.
- Russia launches its new modular space station Mir II.
1996-the US government adopts a policy of not giving any visas for more than 1 month or student visas to anyone outside of europe, east asia and the americas. Immigration from those 3 areas is promoted.
1997-Paul Tsongas dies and Bill clinton becomes president.
-A parent's group commends those who had the foresight to make pornographic web sites use the .sex domain name. They say that it makes it very easy to filter out web sites and unsolicited emails.
1998 - Japan launches the modular space station Yamato.
-Votes in Switzerland legalize drug use. The proposal was passed by a 3-1 margin.
1999 - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons third edition (d20) is published geatly changed and simplified from the second edition, alongside Basic Dungeons and Dragons d20 edition, a compatible but even more simplified version.
-No columbine massacre so no big concern about high school security and therefore no ID badges or security guards.
-The European Coalition to End the Anti-drug Madness (ECEAM) stages a rally in Paris, France, calling for European governments to legalize marijuana. 569,000 people attend it. This leads to several countries doing reforms. Finland's Parliament passes a law decriminalizing marijuana and Austria votes to legalize marijuana by a wide margin. Norway's Storthing also votes to legalize pot.
2000-Clinton reelected due to the booming economy.
-The European Parliament passes a resolution calling upon members to legalize pot. Denmark's Parliament votes to legalize marijuana the Icelandic and german governments follow suit..As a result of this France's National Assembly fails to censure the government, thereby automatically making the decriminalizing decree about marijuana the law of the land.
2001-No 9/11 because the would be hijackers don't manage to get visas in the 90's.
-A corporation calling itself the Horns Corperation, manages to become the leading producer of hemp products in 75% of the countries legalizing pot. These countries are experiencing a huge market growth and low unemployment. Hemp products make huge dents into paper, rope, and clothing manufacturers profits. New factories are going up, as well as growth facilities.
-The porn industry generally stops using spam emails to attract customers. This is because some services such as Yahoo and Hotmail can be set up by users to dump any email containing .sex as part of the sender's address before the mail even reaches the user's mailbox.
2002-Sweden decriminalizes pot.
2004-Rush Limbaugh, broken, divorced, bankrupt, and tarred with charges of racism and nastiness, dies of congestive heart failure in Cape Giardeau, Missouri. He is missed by few.
Wendell said:Some of that is purely wishful thinkingWhy/how do you even have the then-unknown Hillary Clinton as a candidate in 1988?
Well, the main reason is that I know very little about US politics in the 1980s. I could have invented a fictitious Democrat president but I couldn't be bothered.
But after all, it is an alternate timeline - and in this timeline Hilary Clinton was well known in 1988. She was the Governor of Arkansas and good at drawing attention to herself and getting herself noticed by the national media.
The Clinton presidency (1988-1996) led to two good things:
First, the peace dividend and the money coming in from higher taxes enabled the government to fund free healthcare and better public schools while at the same time paying off some of the national debt.
Secondly, the administration encouraged the mood of political correctness in the US during this time, which eventually went too far and led to a backlash and a national debate about the kind of society Americans really wanted to live in, which in turn led to an increased level of moderateness and mutual respect in political discourse (compared to OTL).
BTW my original timeline had the Conservatives in the UK in 1997 led by a female Pakistani libertarian . . . but I thought that was a bit too unrealistic.
Jason Sleeman Born 1978
1978- Beatles Reunite on Saturday Night Live afterwards recording a multi-platinum double album which include a disco track written by Ringo and Paul and a Lennon track which is very Rap and Funk oriented.
1979- Saudi Osama Bin Laden dies in an automobile accident.
1980 Soviet Union launches Capitalistic reforms to make it's economy more viable
1981 North Korean pro democracy demonstrations are put down by Army. Civil war begins.
1982 Concert for North Korean Democracy- With- Duran Duran, Queen, Journey, Asia, Paul McCartney, and Ray Charles.
1983 MDMA legalized as a "marital aid" it can be obtained by perscription
1984- Fidel Castro dies of a stroke. although a marxist government remains, capitalist reforms however begin to take root.
1985 After the success of the film "Back to the Future" the Delorean Motor Company is reformed an releases the D14 in 1986
1986 Metal aid for Africa raises 150 million dollars for famine relief . Performing acts include. Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Ratt, and Judas Priest
1987 North Korean civil war won by pro democracy faction, Reunification is discussed.
1988 Pro Democracy demonstrations in Bejjing and Moscow. Both are put down by force and both governments are condemned for doing so by the west.
1989 Korea united as one democratic nation
1990 Soviet/U.S/Israeli/Mid East Peace conferences conclude bringing stability to a troubled region
1991 Grunge rock (a seattle fad) gains an underground cult following after being dismissed by the major labels as depressing noise"
1992 Communism collapses in Soviet Union, China and Cuba, as world is swept by world freedom movement.
1993 Iraqi pro freedom movement topples Saddam Hussien
1994 Poison, Guns N Roses, Def Leppard, Metallica and Aerosmith plays world freedom tour with stops in Moscow, Havana, Baghdad, Seoul, Bejjing, Berlin and Saigon to raise money for the international freedom fund
1995 Russia,U.K, France,Japan,U.S, China, Germany, and Korea fund international space station.
1996 Indo-Pakistani peace pact signed
1997 Colin Powell inagurated as first African American U.S President
1998 Pro Democracy forces defeat Taliban in Afganistan
1999 Prince releases multi platinum comeback album featuring new techno remix of song "1999"
2000 International Space Station built International space agency formed
2001 U.S introduces a flat tax
2002 cancer cure discovered by British research team
2003 first international moon expedition
2004 Hybrid Cars reach over 50% of new auto sales SUV'S now banned in 17 states without special permit
2005- George Lucas anounces production of Episode VII
Jason Sleeman
1978- Beatles Reunite on Saturday Night Live afterwards recording a multi-platinum double album which include a disco track written by Ringo and Paul and a Lennon track which is very Rap and Funk oriented.
1979- Saudi Osama Bin Laden dies in an automobile accident.
1980 Soviet Union launches Capitalistic reforms to make it's economy more viable
1981 North Korean pro democracy demonstrations are put down by Army. Civil war begins.
1982 Concert for North Korean Democracy- With- Duran Duran, Queen, Journey, Asia, Paul McCartney, and Ray Charles.
1983 MDMA legalized as a "marital aid" it can be obtained by perscription
1984- Fidel Castro dies of a stroke. although a marxist government remains, capitalist reforms however begin to take root.
1985 After the success of the film "Back to the Future" the Delorean Motor Company is reformed an releases the D14 in 1986
1986 Metal aid for Africa raises 150 million dollars for famine relief . Performing acts include. Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Ratt, and Judas Priest
1987 North Korean civil war won by pro democracy faction, Reunification is discussed.
1988 Pro Democracy demonstrations in Bejjing and Moscow. Both are put down by force and both governments are condemned for doing so by the west.
1989 Korea united as one democratic nation
1990 Soviet/U.S/Israeli/Mid East Peace conferences conclude bringing stability to a troubled region
1991 Grunge rock (a seattle fad) gains an underground cult following after being dismissed by the major labels as depressing noise"
1992 Communism collapses in Soviet Union, China and Cuba, as world is swept by world freedom movement.
1993 Iraqi pro freedom movement topples Saddam Hussien
1994 Poison, Guns N Roses, Def Leppard, Metallica and Aerosmith plays world freedom tour with stops in Moscow, Havana, Baghdad, Seoul, Bejjing, Berlin and Saigon to raise money for the international freedom fund
1995 Russia,U.K, France,Japan,U.S, China, Germany, and Korea fund international space station.
1996 Indo-Pakistani peace pact signed
1997 Colin Powell inagurated as first African American U.S President
1998 Pro Democracy forces defeat Taliban in Afganistan
1999 Prince releases multi platinum comeback album featuring new techno remix of song "1999"
2000 International Space Station built International space agency formed
2001 U.S introduces a flat tax
2002 cancer cure discovered by British research team
2003 first international moon expedition
2004 Hybrid Cars reach over 50% of new auto sales SUV'S now banned in 17 states without special permit
2005- George Lucas anounces production of Episode VII
Jason Sleeman