On this Day...

[Itascapark]

I was all of nine years old when I heard about Jonestown. I do recall picking up a Time magazine and paging through pictures of the carnage with some interest. "Why?", I wondered, "would they end their lives for a notion?" I'm still curious...


1978: Mass suicide leaves 900 dead

The bodies of 914 people, including 276 children, have been found in Guyana in South America.
Most of the dead - members of the People's Temple Christian Church - had consumed a soft drink laced with cyanide and sedatives.

However, the body of the People's Temple charismatic leader, Jim Jones, was said to have a bullet wound in the right temple, believed to be self-inflicted.

The deaths are being linked to the earlier killings of five people, including US Congressman Leo Ryan, on a nearby airstrip.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/18/newsid_2540000/2540209.stm

[Minstrel Boy]

1. Some evidence points to Jonestown having been

a CIA mind control experiment.

Here's an archived thread that might interest you:

"Jonestown, the CIA and mind control"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1917237&mesg_id=1917237

[Itascapark]

2. Thanks MS,

A lot of material here...I look forward to reading it.