Mass Suicide Part II - Jonestown

In the 1970's Jim Jones led his followers of the People's Temple to a remote area surrounded by forest in Guyana and settled in a place they called Jonestown.

Jones preached anti-communist messages under an affiliation of the Disciples of Christ, gaining more and more support, especially from the working poor. In the 1970's, the church began a plan of relocation, where People's Temple members moved to the site in Guyana and began building. Jones himself moved to the site in 1977, where 900 others joined him.

Published in Newsweek

The people were dedicated to the group, bringing them a sense of belonging and a "meaningful" life.

On random nights, Jones would call out "White Night" over the speaker phone, calling all the members to the pavilion (a tent-covered area where he gave sermons). During these "white nights", Jones and his followers would rehearse a mass suicide.

On November 18, 1978 Jones would call out the final "white night". That day, over 900 people (including over 200 children) would be killed or give their lives willingly on the command of Jones himself.

Weeks earlier, democratic Congressman Leo Ryan traveled to Guyana on a plane with 18 other people, including government officials, reporters, and members of the group "Concerned Relatives of Peoples Temple Members". All had joined in visiting the settlement, with the motive to ensure people were not being held against their will, and bring those who wanted to leave back home to San Fransisco.

Two days after landing, on Novermber 17, 1978, and after a few legal battles with the Jonestown lawyers and Jones himself, Ryan and the team of reporters were allowed to visit.

During this visit, only a few dozen people expressed their wish to leave. For many of them, this meant leaving other family members behind.

Jones was enraged by the "deserters" and, unknowing to the other faithfuls, ordered some of the loyal Temple members to follow the truck of deserters and shoot to kill anyone boarding the planes. These men were successful in killing Congressman Ryan, some of the reporters and deserters, while others ran and hid in the surrounding jungle.

Back at the pavilion, loyal doctors and nurses of the church mixed cyanide and Valium into a tub of grape-flavored juice. Children were forced the mix through injections into their mouths and many adults had to be forced as well, while others drank the juice willingly.

Jones did not kill himself willingly, he had to be shot by one of his loyalists.

Below is a video from YouTube, showing many pictures and video never seen in the public eye before.

This is the cover of Time magazine on December 14, 1978.

Jonestown in Film

In 2006, two feature-length films have been produced based on the events. One is a documentary called Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple, produced by Firelight Media Inc. The film will air in the US on PBS nation-wide on April 9, 2007.

Below is a trailer for the film, nominated for three awards, as it is seen on YouTube.



Cineflix, based in Montreal, Quebec produced the docudrama Jonestown: Paradise Lost, which mixes recreated drama with archival footage of the events and interviews close members, including Jim Jones' son Stephan Jones. The docudrama aired in the US on the History Channel and on Vision TV in Canada, earlier this month.

Mass Suicide Part I - Heaven's Gate

Today I begin a series of posts on a sub-topic of death that may seem unknown to some readers. Mass suicides are tragic events that leave the media dumbfounded in its coverage and even now, years after many of these events have taken place, are given very little attention.

Heaven's Gate

Ten years ago, over two days (March 22-23, 1997) 39 members of this infamous cult committed suicide at a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California where the members lived and learned the teachings of the "Next Level" above human existence.

To pay for their living and learning expenses the members ran a successful web development enterprise based out of the mansion.

The decision to end their lives and free their soul from their human form (or what they called their "vehicles") came after a comet (Hale-Bopp) got too close to Jupiter, which altered the comet’s orbit so that it would return every 2,000 years. Within the comet's tail of dust and space matter, conspiracy theorists saw the presence of a UFO. Marshall Herff Applewhite (known to followers as DO), leader of the cult and the self-proclaimed second-coming of Jesus Christ, saw this as the indicator for them to leave their existence on Earth behind. A "Red Alert" message flashed across the top of the group's website, indicating their time had come.

On the first day, the first 15 members ate applesauce or pudding mixed with Phenobarbital and drank vodka - a deadly mix that first knocks a person unconscious, they then slip into a coma and, eventually, their circular-system collapses - which killed them slowly, but painlessly. The second day, 15 more performed the same passage, then seven and then the final two.

Followers made "Exit videos" just days before the mass suicide and below is one of those videos. The second video is Applewhite's (or DO) "Exit video" explaining why the time to leave is now. Click here for more videos.





Click here for San Diego County Sheriff's Department tape of the scene where several bodies, dressed with Nike shoes and draped with purple cloth, lay in their mansion beds. Below is footage from a 1997 news report leaked on LiveLeak.



Sole Survivor Comes Forward Again

Just before the events in 1997, one member had an strong feeling, a feeling that he was not supposed to join his fellow followers in the "Next Life". Rio DiAngelo went to DO and shared with him the feelings he was having, similar in strength to the one that lead him to Heaven's Gate. DO felt this was a sign, a sign that he must stay behind and inform the media with the message and an understanding.

In 1994, it was this article in LA Weekly on the cult, known back then as "The Overcomers" lead by Applewhite and his wife Bonnie Lu Nettles, who died of cancer in 1985 (it was believed she was on the spaceship on her quest to retrieve the others) that lead Rio to the cult. So, earlier this week he went back to the same publication that lead him in the right direction before, to drop off a package of new information and contact in order for the paper to reach him.

Yesterday, Joshuah Bearman wrote an article in LA Weekly after speaking to Rio once more. Rio would not speak unless a prepared declaration was published which read,

“I am alive not because I rejected anything about Heaven’s Gate.

“I am alive because I have discovered something so extraordinarily important to the world that it needs to pass on to you in its most true and accurate form from ME.”

Rio still believes in the following of the cult and is not trying to force anyone to believe him. He is simply doing his job as the messenger. He wrote a book called "Beyond Human Mind – the Soul Evolution of Heaven’s Gate". Click here to read the statement of Rio DiAngelo as it was included in the information package delivered to LA Weekly.

Below is a video documentary directed by Sergio Meyers as found on YouTube. The documentary uses video taken by Rio of the dead members lying in their beds after "exiting", taken before the police arrived at the scene. As well, it uses video of the class's various field trips for us to get a better understanding of it all. Enjoy!

Somalia - A Land Divided by Media

The country of Somalia has been plagued by political chaos over the past few years. Yesterday, that chaos brought back memories of the "Black Hawk Down" incident of 1993.

Fifteen people, including several soldiers of Somalia's transitional government and Ethiopia, were killed in the capital of Mogadishu after the soldiers convened in a neighborhood south of the city to disarm the gunmen. According to the New York Times article witnesses said, they were greeted by dozens of masked insurgents who blasted them with rocket-propelled grenades.

Bodies of the soldiers were grabbed by a crowd and dragged into the streets. Soldier's bodies, some still alive, were poured with gasoline and lit on fire as crowds chanted, "We will burn you alive!"

Somalia is a nation comprised of many clans and clan rivalries. Mogadishu alone is home to several of them. The transitional government is a multi-clan enterprise, but dominated by the Darod clan. This majority has marginalized many branches of the Hawiye clan, which traditionally controls Mogadishu.

When the Islamist movement in Somalia began there was a better sense of security and less violence. However, the US regarded the Islamist movement a terrorist threat and provided Ethopia with intelligence and a small amount of ground troops to overthrow them.

Since then, hospital officials in Somalia say more than 100 civilians have been killed in the past two months and that assasinations are on the rise.

Below is the North American Al-Jazeera news report on the events that took place yesterday.



The scene was similar to the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu which involved US troops and Somalian military and citizens and where two bodies of fallen US soldiers were dragged in the streets. Two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by rocket-propelled grenades and 18 US soldiers were killed in the battle. In 2001 Jerry Bruckheimer produced the movie Black Hawk Down based off the 1999 book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War written by Mark Bowden.

When searching "Battle of Mogadishu" on YouTube and sorted by number of view, this fan-made music tribute video by user leoleonardo is the first result. The video is compiled of clips from the Hollywood film and is, by nature of the film, very violent.

The problem here is it promotes a film, a Hollywood-made production that provides the audience with drama and entertainment instead of an educational understanding of the events. YouTube does not provide Internet users an easily accessed visual understanding of historical events that lead up to these situations in Somalia.

This is raw footage taken by Somalis in the 1993 attacks.

Police Seek YouTube Help in Investigations

In yesterday's Toronto Star newspaper, an article was written about YouTube video posted by Toronto police and Crime Stoppers regarding the three missing Toronto teens that are involved in a police investigation of the slaying of Phillip Ho Sing Sit.

According to the King Township Sentinel, Phillip Sit's remains were found in August of 2006 on a rural property in King, how he was murdered was not disclosed.

Toronto police want the three teens, Eve Ho, also known as Yee Wah Ho, 17; her boyfriend Jackie Li, 18; and Kevin Lim, 18 , who disappeared shortly after the death of Phillip Sit, are considered witnesses in the case.

The video posted on YouTube (and below) was posted by Toronto police and Crime Stoppers on January 30 and can be found at their YouTube profile page 1800222TIPS.



The efforts by Crime Stoppers are interesting to see in video format. The metal sculpture of Eve Ho was made by Andre Nilm and his "personal" message to Eve Ho was recorded with good intentions. However, like user MisterQuebec's comments on the police's efforts suggest, they may be too direct and push too hard to get "anonymous tips" from these individuals.

Although the article in yesterday's Star suggests the police have been informed of enough sightings to believe all three are still alive, they have had no concrete leads in over a month.

It is good to see the community of online YouTube users providing suggestions and tips to the police to effectively tap into this new media. When it was first posted, user taavo420 commented that the police should show more pictures of the witnesses. On February 2, 2007 the police posted this slide show of photos.

The Toronto police service are on the right track by using the online video audience to spread its community service announcements. However, more investment should be made in spreading word of their online endeavors. They rely on local newspapers and television stations to announce these initiatives, when they should also be doing some more on-the-street endorsements to get the word out.



The most effective of these endeavors are their re-enacted crime videos. On February 1, 2007 the police posted a re-enactment of the unsolved November 2004 shooting on a Toronto TTC bus where a 24-year-old man and a 11-year-old girl was seriously injured.



Two weeks ago, on March 6, 2007 the police posted a re-enactment of two unsolved sexual assault incidents near the Keele campus of York University in November 2006.



The Toronto police hope to have the same success as Hamilton police in December of last year. A 24-year-old George Gallo turned himself in for murder after police posted a 72-second video clip of a surveillance camera of the nightclub on YouTube. The clip reached over 34,000 views, which may have pressured the man to come forward, police say.

The video has since been taken off the YouTube archive.

Obituaries

One of the most credential and interactive sections to every newspaper is also the same place where headlines of the dead dominate the page. Likewise, every online newspaper has a similar section for the public to browse and search.

Obituary writing is standard practice for journalists. Whenever someone with any social clout dies, the obituary section of any newspaper will write an article in celebration of the person's life and what they had contributed to society.

The most famous newspaper's obituary sections including the New York Times, Washington Post, and the L.A. Times are all available online. In Canada, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star both have their Obit sections online.

In today's obit section of the Globe and Mail, the death of film director Stuart Rosenburg, who directed 1979's The Amityville Horror, was on top of the headlines.

Obituaries are also provided by willing citizens who will submit a short written piece about their relatives or good friends who have passed away. Some newspapers have an "Announcements" section dedicated to citizen announcements of deaths, births or well wishes. Obituary Central has tips and a checklist to follow when writing a obituary.

Obituaries are a staple in today's society and databases of actual obituaries and obituary sections service are also available online. The Internet provides seekers of death with many different outlets to search obituaries databases. One such database is Obituaries.com powered by Legacy.com.

As well, there are many "fluff" sites which exploit the idea of an obituary. Amuseyourself.com's Dead Celebrity Alert, a free HTML plug-in to the right, automatically updates the news list with "the latest deaths among the rich and famous, as soon as the news hits the wires."

Periodicals

Obit magazine, the website is under construction, is a magazine written for the aging "baby boom" generation who want to spend the end of their lives to the fullest. The about us section of the website says Obit will publish expanded obituaries that "will get inside the person through incisive journalistic inquiry and robust reflection upon the legacy of the life in question."

Once online, the site should give the public a taste of the written work inside the magazine that is celebrating life.

Obituaries and Online Video

On January 18, 2007 the New York Times decided to integrate multimedia with obituaries on its website and presented to the world the premiere of the obituary series entitled The Last Word.

The four-segment video interview is with former Washington Post humour columnist Art Buchwald announcing his own demise. The interview began with Buchwald looking into the camera and saying, "Hi. I'm Art Buchwald and I just died."


This is the first for multimedia journalism and gives viewers a look into an interesting life combining regular obituary methods, but integrated photos and personal video of Buchwald at his summer home in Martha's Vineyard. The video obituary was available on the New York Times website along with his written obituary, authored by Richard Severo.

This form of obituary may come close to the ethical edge for many, but with full participation of Buchwald, the video series sent waves to online news, especially the blogging community.

Given almost a year to mock the prospect of death after refusing dialysis for a failed kidney Buchwald said "Dying is easy, parking is hard" (Also the same line used by the CNN Anchor when the news broke that Buchwald had died).

An essay by Charles Krauthammer in March 12's Time magazine says there there is much to be said for a man who can die well; by mocking it to the very end. "There is great courage and dignity in that, which is why Buchwald's extended goodbye... earned him such appreciation and admiration."

In the end, death can be our only expectation - no matter how lucky we have been in cheating it.

War in Iraq (re)visited

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Dead Sea Plan Brings Peace? Not Likely.

The Dead Sea is the lowest body of water in the world and its surface level is lowering as the sea evaporates. The land-locked lake is receiving less fresh water from the Jordan River than it did decades ago, at about 1/20th of the rate.

According to an article by The Economist on March 15, 2007 (and re-printed in the Toronto Star today), Israel's deputy prime minister Shimon Peres, has devised a plan considered by Israeli government as a "national project" to save the Dead Sea from drying up. The "Peace Corridor" main project, with a few others planned (see picture), includes a 200 km down-hill passage from the Red Sea that will replenish the lowering sea level and provide more water for surrounding cities. (Click here for more info on the projects)

Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the projects to save the Dead Sea are of national importance for all surrounding governments (Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian-run West Bank) and is being pushed as a "vision of peace through economic development."

However, some skeptical scientists question the feasibility of mixing water from the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. Some scientists in Israel believe the sea brine from the Red Sea would float on top of the Dead Sea's hyper-salty water, taking years to mix in. Once mixed, algae could form.

Peace Not Likely

The Dead Sea as an initiative for peace in the Middle East? It sounds ludicrous because it is. The projected plans will only bring more disagreement between neighboring nations and add economic pressure to the Palestine/Israel dispute.

The project is waiting on a geological study by the World Bank before they commit any money towards such a plan. Even if they do not, an advisor to Peres says the go-ahead with the plan is "not dependent" on the World Bank study.

A lake positioned in the Middle East that has never been adequate for living water-life will never be used to promote "peace through economic development." Anyone who rejects the cause will find scientists to prove the infeasibility of the plan and will kill any hope for development. If Israel does go ahead with the plan without complete participation with all governments, there will be an uproar.

Below is a video clip posted on YouTube about the Dead Sea.