Something Serious Has Happened on Air Force One (a Tl/story by Geon)

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Lafayette_

Lafayette_

The Byrds recorded a very touching tribute in their “Turn, Turn, Turn!” album: “He Was a Friend of Mine”. Definitely worth a listen. I wonder how Dylan, Brian Wilson, and the whole folk scene would react ITTL.

Edit: I forgot to say, The Beach Boys actually did record a song inspired by it: The Warmth of the Sun. Very haunting.
 
Ogrebear

Ogrebear

Wow, that is a big butterfly on pop culture there.

I wonder what the Beatles followed Can You Hear Your Brother Crying in the Night? up with? What could possibly follow that?

More cultural changes please!
 

Parmenion

I have a feeling MLK will have to be very careful about how pacifistic he wants to be. Not starting violence is one thing, but if people feel he doesn't even want them to defend their homes and families from lynch mobs and rioters, he may well lose face with the rest of the movement.
 

wtdtd

Is this an existing song but done earlier by the Beatles?
Is it referencing something?
I did a google search but could not find anything.
 

Geon

Donor
Raikkappa23 said:
2 chapters, both bangers. Perfection takes time, don't rush it - Very surprised by Christian John Lennon, though.
Click to expand...
John Lennon flirted with Christianity over the years according to various sources I have read and watched. My suspicion is that something of the nature of the riots and also given the fact John was tired of doing "bubble gum" music may have been important here.
wtdtd said:
Is this an existing song but done earlier by the Beatles?
Is it referencing something?
I did a google search but could not find anything.
Click to expand...
It is not on Google. I will reluctantly admit that the song was my own creation.
 
Meanwhile in Havana
  • Index

    • Geon

    Donor
    I know it's been a while since I last posted. And I am afraid my postings will be somewhat sparse for now. But here is a brief post to show I haven't forgotten this.

    Havana, Cuba; February 13th, 2:00 a.m.:

    Fidel Castro awoke feeling terrible. He was feverish, coughing, and his stomach felt like it was tied in a knot. Wearily the Cuban leader got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself. He did not notice that there was blood in his stool as he flushed the toilet. Still miserable Castro stumbled back to bed and tried unsuccessfully to get some more sleep that night. By the morning his condition would be serious enough that his aides would call for doctors to come to his residence. The doctors immediately recommended he be sent to the hospital.

    Neither Castro nor his doctors knew that his days were numbered. Barely ten hours before Castro had stopped at his favorite restaurant/dairy for a chocolate milkshake – his favorite. However unknown to Castro the milkshake contained a pill that had been secretly added to the shake as it was mixed. The pill was ricin.

    The pill had been smuggled into Cuba by an unlikely alliance of CIA agents, Free Cuba rebels, and the Mafia. It had been part of a batch of such pills. A previous attempt to poison Castro had failed because the tablets did not dissolve in the milkshake due to their being hidden in the freezer. This time the agent who had prepared the deadly confection had made sure to keep the pills carefully concealed until just before Castro ordered the beverage. He had then mixed the pill with the shake. The mixer had done the work of pulverizing and combining the pill into the milkshake.

    The Dallas Incident had raised concerns in the CIA that the attacks on Kennedy, Connelly, and Johnson were part of an attempt at revenge by Castro for the Bay of Pigs invasion and the threat of American invasion during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although unauthorized a black operation by a select team of CIA agents working with other groups not friendly to Castro had decided that a message needed to be sent to the Cuban dictator given that Oswald was the founding and only member of the Fair Play for Cuba committee and had been trying to emigrate with his family to Cuba before the assassinations. The message to the Cuban government was clear – we can play dirty too.

    That message was now being clearly received by Fidel Castro and the rest of the Cuban government. Castro would be dead within three days despite the best care his doctors could give.
     
  • Index

    • ric350

    Hmmm given the KGB’s propensity for poison, this could have been a clever operation of theirs to get rid of a “loose cannon”. First the US/CIA would surely be blamed, and given the past, the world would believe it to be true. Second, Raul Castro would seem to be a more “malleable” leader than Fidel. And lastly, given Russia’s alliance with Fidel/Cuba, any Soviet involvement in Fidel’s death would seem a ludicrous suggestion.
    Eventually, Soviet missile submarines would be given permission to routinely stop in Cuba for “rest and refit”, with one leaving as another arrived. As a result, at any given time, a Soviet controlled “missile base” would exist in Cuba.

    ric350
     

    Shiva

    Thinking of the ramifications of all this, with Fidel Castro dead in such a blatant murder-y manner, he will become a martyr for the Communist movement the world over. The blame will fall on America as the obvious prime suspect and even with 'deniability', if someone is captured (or decides to brag) then the truth will surface regardless.

    Raul Castro will very likely become the new President of Cuba, though I expect some in-fighting and a power reshuffle in the Cuban government, right now in this era the Castro regime had the full support of the USSR and the death of Fidel won't see the regime change that the 'Free Cuba' crowd would want, and by the way just want to create a new right-wing dictatorship and NOT a democracy in Cuba.

    The only way you'd get regime change in Cuba in this era is with Fidel AND Raul being killed combined with an invasion of Cuba, an invasion that would see the USSR respond with an invasion of Western Europe and nuclear exchanges.

    So, Fidel will get a hero's funeral, Raul will become Cuba's President, and he will likely seek revenge on America and it's leaders for the murder of his brother.

    I hope the Secret Service has got it's shit together now, otherwise there might be a third dead President and we haven't even gotten to the 70's yet.
     
    Last edited:

    jlckansas

    Che Guavara was still in Cuba at the time and might seem like an alternative to the Castro brothers. He might have one of the factions and be able to take over from Castro at the time.
     

    Parmenion

    So if the Cubans have proof of this, what's likely to happen? While on one hand I doubt many countries outside the WP will side with Cuba over the US, it may be seen as less of a "We can play dirty too" message and more like "If you pay someone to slap me I'll burn your house down." Message. Basically a bit of an overreaction to say the least.
     

    Shiva

    Parmenion said:
    So if the Cubans have proof of this, what's likely to happen? While on one hand I doubt many countries outside the WP will side with Cuba over the US, it may be seen as less of a "We can play dirty too" message and more like "If you pay someone to slap me I'll burn your house down." Message. Basically a bit of an overreaction to say the least.
    Click to expand...
    Like I said, even without proof due to the antics of the recent past that America has engaged in with Cuba, they are the automatic #1 suspect before the evidence starts to surface. Also by killing Fidel this way, all that has been accomplished is to make him a martyr for anyone opposed to American Imperialism.

    Now that the Man is gone, the Icon has been born.
     

    Parmenion

    Shiva said:
    Like I said, even without proof due to the antics of the recent past that America has engaged in with Cuba, they are the automatic #1 suspect before the evidence starts to surface. Also by killing Fidel this way, all that has been accomplished is to make him a martyr for anyone opposed to American Imperialism.

    Now that the Man is gone, the Icon has been born.
    Click to expand...
    Plus it's setting a dangerous precedent for when it's acceptable to murder a foreign head of state. That's not a tit for tat you want to get into.
     

    GhostTrader

    Parmenion said:
    Plus it's setting a dangerous precedent for when it's acceptable to murder a foreign head of state. That's not a tit for tat you want to get into.
    Click to expand...
    To be slightly fair, the (unauthorized) black ops operated on the thought that Cuba helped or facilitated the assassination of the US President and maybe even Vice President. So, they acted on that tit or tat, no matter how wrong or unclear it is at the moment.
     

    Ozpin

    GhostTrader said:
    To be slightly fair, the (unauthorized) black ops operated on the thought that Cuba helped or facilitated the assassination of the US President and maybe even Vice President. So, they acted on that tit or tat, no matter how wrong or unclear it is at the moment.
    Click to expand...
    The international community doesn't know that it was unauthorized and telling international community about it being unauthorized would also harm the US.
     
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