The Crusades

 

The Eight Major Crusades

• First Crusade (1096–1099).
  Launched by Pope Urban II to aid the Byzantine Empire and reclaim Jerusalem from Muslim rule. Crusaders successfully captured Antioch and Jerusalem, establishing four Christian Crusader states in the Levant.
• Second Crusade (1147–1149). Called in response to the fall of the Crusader state of Edessa to Muslim forces. Led by King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany, the campaign ended in failure after a disastrous siege of Damascus.
• Third Crusade (1189–1192). Known as the "Kings' Crusade," this expedition aimed to retake Jerusalem after its capture by the Muslim sultan Saladin. Led by Richard the Lionheart of England, Philip II of France, and Frederick Barbarossa, the Crusaders captured Acre and Jaffa, ending with a truce allowing unarmed Christian pilgrims access to Jerusalem.
• Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Intended to invade Muslim-held Jerusalem through Egypt, the campaign was diverted by financial debts and political intrigue toward the Christian Byzantine Empire. Crusaders brutally sacked Constantinople instead, permanently weakening the empire and deepening the split between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
• Fifth Crusade (1217–1221). Crusaders attempted to conquer Jerusalem by first invading the powerful Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt. After capturing the port city of Damietta, the army marched toward Cairo, became trapped by Nile floodwaters, and was forced to surrender.
• Sixth Crusade (1228–1229). Led by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, this expedition involved very little actual fighting. Through skilled diplomacy with the Egyptian Sultan Al-Kamil, Frederick secured a ten-year truce that peacefully returned Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth to Christian control.
• Seventh Crusade (1248–1254). Organized by King Louis IX of France after Jerusalem fell once again to Muslim forces in 1244. Like the Fifth Crusade, Louis targeted Egypt, captured Damietta, and was eventually defeated and captured along with his army, requiring a massive ransom for his release.
• Eighth Crusade (1270). King Louis IX launched a second campaign, this time landing in Tunis in North Africa rather than the Levant. The expedition stalled quickly when disease swept through the camp, killing Louis IX shortly after arrival, and ended in a negotiated peace treaty.

(Note: Some historians also list a Ninth Crusade in 1271–1272—led by the future King Edward I of England and his wife Eleanor of Castile—which is often grouped as a continuation of the Eighth Crusade and marked the final major medieval expedition to the Holy Land.)

Woke Research

 

1.  August 2026  Entwined Positionality 

This paper investigates the ethnographic researcher's positionality and its role in sensemaking within the research process.  

Calls for and Approval of VIolence

 

2.  11/9/2026 

On a recent episode of the I’ve Had It podcast (hosted by Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan), the hosts were reading social media posts/jokes reacting to Democratic wins in the 2026 midterms. When they got to that one about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk (who was assassinated in September 2025), they laughed hard—reports describe it lasting around 20–30 seconds—before moving on. The joke: “We’re digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again.”

They have no decency.  But they are sorry that they might lose some sponsors.

1.  11/9/2026

Alixandra Patterson, the @miamiuniversity student , who allegedly called for people to "Kirk" pro-life students. She was just arrested.

Dirty Tricks on Trying to Link Trump to Russians

 I have forgotten the whole story.  SHould try to get grok to explain.  So just a few tidbits here. 

1.  https://www.npr.org/2021/01/29/962140325/ex-fbi-lawyer-sentenced-to-probation-for-actions-during-russia-investigation

A federal judge has handed down a one-year sentence of probation to a former FBI lawyer who pleaded guilty to doctoring an email used to get surveillance on a former Trump campaign adviser during the Russia investigation.

Kevin Clinesmith, who was also ordered to perform 400 hours of community service, told the court Friday at his sentencing hearing that he is "fully aware of the significance" of his actions and that he takes full responsibility.

"I am truly ashamed about the harms I have brought the FBI and the Justice Department through my actions," he said.

The case against Clinesmith was brought by special counsel John Durham as part of his investigation into the origins of the FBI's Russia probe. The former FBI attorney is the only person charged so far as part of Durham's investigation.

Clinesmith pleaded guilty last year to altering an email in 2017 that was used to get permission from the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to conduct surveillance on Carter Page, who had served as a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign.

As the FBI was putting together its application to the surveillance court, Clinesmith inserted text into an email from the CIA so that it said Page was "not a source" for the agency. The original email had indicated that Page had provided information to the CIA.

Clinesmith pleaded guilty last year to one false statements charge for doctoring the document, although he said he believed the information he inserted was correct.

The government had asked for prison time for Clinesmith, arguing that his actions did long-term damage to the public's trust and confidence in the Justice Department, the FBI and the surveillance court.

"The act of altering the email to change its meaning may seem simple and like a momentary lapse, but the resulting harm is immeasurable," said department attorney Anthony Scarpelli.

James Boasberg, who currently presides over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in addition to sitting on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, agreed that Clinesmith's actions had harmed the surveillance court's reputation and forced reforms at the FBI.

But Boasberg said in his view, Clinesmith "likely believed" that the information he inserted into the email was true, and that he was just "taking an inappropriate shortcut" to save himself some work.

He also noted that Clinesmith obtained no personal benefit from his actions, and that the Justice Department's inspector general had found no evidence that Clinesmith acted out of political bias.

On top of that, Boasberg said, it's unclear the warrant wouldn't have been signed even without the altered email since there were "other significant errors and omissions" beyond Clinesmith's.

A lengthy report from the Department of Justice inspector general documented at least 17 errors and omissions in the surveillance application on Page.

Clinesmith's actions were undoubtedly wrong and harmful, Boasberg said, but "this conduct is the only stain on the defendant's character that I've been able to discern."

Clinesmith has lost his job and may never work in the national security field again, and he's been in the middle of a media hurricane since his conduct became public.

Boasberg said he weighed that against the harm Clinesmith caused and decided on a sentence of 12 months' probation.

 

Benjamin Weingarten

@bhweingarten

·

Jul 16

Look at part of an email thread in which officials are debating content and phrasing of an assessment regarding China’s info operations during the 2020 election. They straight up strike a sentence about China seeking to topple Trump and write that China doesn’t have a preference.

The

Wind Resistance Advantage of Being in Mid of Peleton

 

Med School Acceptance Rates

 

1.  California Med School Acceptance Rates (Downloaded July 2026)

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