Alternate Hirstory Traveller Guide [2/7]
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- Max Belankov (2:5054/2.31)
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- Date
- 1997-09-13T20:12:21Z
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Hello All!
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Another piece of advice,if you are looking for a trick,think twice
before looking at an Iroquois.
There is a custom Indian men dressing as women. This is not unusual
for this culture,since cross gender themes are common in indian culture
but thanks to 20th century technology some legends can take their custom
one step further with hormones and implants,there are reports from the
last couple years of naive tourists going through there...getting
suckered and then getting robbed.
(heard from a Source in the Iroquois travel bureau)
1996 By Steve Voss
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Reconstruction Period Earth
1996 by Jonathan Edelstein
... In front of the State House in Raleigh stands the Freedmen's
Monument, depicting a Black farmer receiving the deed to the land he
once worked as a slave. Erected in 1879 at the height of the
Reconstruction period, the Monument still bears the scars of the
infamous Railroad Riots of 1897.
The Railroad Riots were instigated by members of the Redeemer Party, a
white supremacist organization which had won 31 seats in the General
Assembly elections of 1895. Although the primary catalyst for the riots
was the Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that segregated
railraod cars were illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, much of
their ferocity was due to residual anger at the increasing prosperity
and influence of Raleigh's Black community. This was evidenced by the
sack of the State House and the downtown business district by rioters
on June 19, 1897.
Widespread public revulsion at the excesses of the riots - in which
several Redeemer leaders, including two members of the General
Assembly, were implicated in the rape and murder of Black women and the
massacre of children at the Baptist Negro Children's Home - led to the
Redeemers' crushing defeat at the polls in November 1897. In that
election, the Republicans regained their firm majority in the General
Assembly and Raleigh's first Black mayor, James T. Ford, was elected on
a reconciliation platform. Ford, who later served as Governor
(1905-1913) and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
(1916-1922), is widely credited with keeping the city calm when racial
tensions again came to the surface after the accidental shooting of a
Black teenager by a White municipal policeman. It was also Ford who
suggested that the Freedmen's Monument not be repaired, in order that
the atrocities of the Railroad Riots should not be forgotten.
As a symbol of the turbulence of the Reconstruction period and the
struggle for civil rights, the Monument has figured prominently in
African-American prose and poetry. Among the most moving examples of
this is Countee Cullen's poem, titled simply "Freedmen's Monument,"
written two years after he arrived in North Carolina to become one of
the leading figures of the "Raleigh Renaissance." (This poem may be
found in Cullen's 1929 anthology, "The Birth of a Nation.") The
Monument was also cited in Chief Justice Charles Hamilton Houston's
1937 decision in Sparks v. Landon, upholding the Civil Rights Act of
1936.
For more than 20 years, the Freedmen's Monument has been the site of an
annual reading of contemporary African-American poetry. In recent
years, a prominent figure in these readings has been Governor Maya
Angelou, the first Governor of North Carolina ever to have previously
served as Poet Laureate of the state.
(From the 1996 Michelin Guide to Raleigh)
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Saturnalia Night Live
1996 by Jonathan Edelstein
You've celebrated Saturnalia in your home town, and you may even have
celebrated it at Rome, but you haven't seen Saturnalia until you've
seen it in New Orleans. In this charming city - originally a colonia
established by Gallic settlers, but with a population that has been
enriched by Iberian, Britannic and African immigration - a
well-developed sense of play has refined Saturnalia to a fine art.
Saturnalia in New Orleans is the standard by which all Saturnaliae are
judged.
Preparations for Saturnalia begin months before the holiday every year.
In the week before the celebration begins, millions of visitors from
throughout the civilized world descend on New Orleans to take part in
the greatest Saturnalia of them all. The celebration begins just before
dawn, when the chieftain of the Aquilae - New Orleans' oldest secret
society - takes to the streets with his twelve lictors. As the sun
rises over the city, the chieftain selects a spectator at random to be
King of Fools. Anyone - nobilis, capite censi, or even a slave - may be
chosen ruler of the city for a day.
If you, the tourist, are touched by the fasces of the Aquila lictors,
you will be carried to the imperial palace where you will be feasted,
entertained in royal style, waited upon by the Emperor himself, and
given complete control of the city for the duration of the festival.
Even if you are not chosen, however, there is still plenty of fun in
store for you during Saturnalia. With the city turned topsy-turvy,
citizens and slaves parade through town in outrageous costumes, and the
streets are filled with the music for which New Orleans is famous. All
sumptuary laws and morals legislation are rescinded for the duration of
the holiday; during Saturnalia in New Orleans, anything goes and the
more outrageous the better.
Bring your kids, bring your slaves; Saturnalia in New Orleans is an
unforgettable experience for the whole family!
(From Fodorius' Guide to Terra Nova, AUC 2749)
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Commune of America
1996 by Jonathan Edelstein
... Often neglected by contemporary tourists, the ruins of the Peace
and Freedom Monument provide a fascinating glimpse into a turbulent
time in pre-Confederation American history.
The Peace and Freedom Monument was commissioned by the short-lived
Commune of America, which took power after the Chicago riots and the
General Strike of July 1968 (which was modeled after the successful
French general strike which had toppled the Fifth Republic the month
before). The Monument contains the symbols of the various radical and
liberal groups which participated in the strike and the subsequent
Commune Government. Among the surviving symbols are those of the Black
Panther Party, the Young Lords, Students for a Democratic Society, the
National Organization of Women, and the War Resisters League; the last
of these is credited with fomenting sufficient dissension within the
ranks of conscripted soldiers to thwart the military's attempt to
suppress the General Strike. Also noteworthy is the half-finished
emblem of the NAACP, which was expelled from the Communal Council and
outlawed for "insufficient revolutionary commitment" midway through the
completion of the Monument. In this, the NAACP shared the fate of many
other liberal organizations during the increasingly radical phase of
the Commune Government in 1969.
The Monument was destroyed shortly before its scheduled completion in
the riots which followed the May 19, 1970 massacre of conservative
protesters outside the courthouse where former President Nixon was
being tried for crimes against humanity. The brutal suppression of the
riots by a Black Panther-led security force drastically weakened the
Commune Government by causing the defection of many members who opposed
violent suppression of dissent. After further convulsions, including
the July Purges of 1970, the Commune fell, due in large part to the
surfacing of a long-festering quarrel between President Eldridge
Cleaver and Self-Defense Minister Huey Newton.
The Emergency Council, headed by Chairwoman Angela Davis, which took
power following the fall of the Commune, briefly debated restoring the
Peace and Freedom Monument. Rehabilitation of the Monument, however,
soon gave way to more pressing concerns, and was abandoned entirely
when the Emergency Council collapsed in October 1971.
The Constitutional Convention of 1972 and the establishment of the
libertarian Confederation of North American Nations ended the period
when Washington was a center of government. The ruins of the Peace and
Freedom Monument, however, still stand in Washington as an ironic
reminder of a time when America had very little of either peace or
freedom.
(From the Dollarwise Guide to the Nation of Maryland, 1995 ed.)
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The Three Papacies
1996 by Jonathan Edelstein
...While many outstanding examples of medieval architecture still exist
in Avignon, the primary attraction is of course the Papal Curia.
Whether you attend Mass at Avignon's imposing 14th-century cathedral,
watch Pope John XXVII's glittering daily procession to the altar, or
simply purchase an indulgence from the streetcorner pardoner, all the
pageantry of the Papacy is there for you to see.
Those of different faiths, especially those who follow the Pope in Rome
or in London, are warned to become familiar with the Avignon liturgy
before attending services in the city. The Estates-General of France
still recognizes Henri IV's Edict of Sovereignty, and Pope John is to
all intents and purposes Avignon's temporal as well as spiritual ruler.
The Act of Toleration is not in force here, and you will *not* have
recourse to French law if the Swiss Guard arrests you for heresy. Do
not fear, however; most priests in Avignon are easygoing with
foreigners, and will gladly instruct you on liturgical and doctrinal
matters.
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With best wishes,
Max
Kime: Муж - это все то, что остается от мужчины после бpака.
--- This message is shareware. Pay $2.50B0901 to register.
* Origin: Кто к нам с чем -- тот оттого и того... (2:5054/2.31)