... 1204 (805 years ago today), during the 4th Crusade, Constantinople fell to crusaders and Venetians. All who take note of current conflicts will find familiar ground in what this website writes of what happened next in the Byzantine city (below left; credit) where today stands Istanbul, Turkey:
Thus began the sack of Constantinople, the richest city of all Europe. Nobody controlled the troops. Thousands of defenselesscivilians were killed. Women, even nuns, were raped by the crusading army and churches, monasteries and convents were looted. The very altars of churches were smashed and torn to pieces for their gold and marble by warriors who had sworn to fight in service of the Christian faith.
... 1968, the U.S. Public Health Service released evidence indicating that in Skull Valley, Utah, 6,400 sheep had died because of the airborne testing 4 weeks earlier of a nerve gas agent by the U.S. Army at its Dugway Proving Ground nearby. The Pentagon maintained that no harm to humans would result from the testing of the chemical weapon. (credit for 1968 Deseret News photo)(Prior April 12 posts are here and here.)
