The Xá Lợi Pagoda raids were attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in
South Vietnam in 1963, executed by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Special Forces and combat police, who both took their orders from Ngô
Đình Nhu, brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm. South Vietnam's
Buddhist majority were protesting religious bias and discrimination, and
temples in major cities, notably Xá Lợi Pagoda (pictured) in Saigon,
became focal points for protesters. On 21 August, Nhu's men attacked,
looted and vandalised the pagodas. In Huế, street battles erupted
between government forces and rioting civilians. Over 1,400 Buddhists
were arrested, and estimates of the number dead or missing ranged up to
the hundreds. The Ngô family claimed that the army had carried out the
raids; this was later debunked, prompting the United States to turn
against the regime, leading to Diệm's overthrow. In response to the
raids, several public servants resigned, and university and high school
students boycotted classes and staged demonstrations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%A1_L%E1%BB%A3i_Pagoda_raids>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
American physicist Harry Daghlian accidentally dropped a
tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium bomb core, exposing himself to
neutron radiation and later becoming the first Manhattan Project
fatality due to a criticality accident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Daghlian>
1971:
Six people were killed during an escape attempt and riot at San
Quentin State Prison in California; the subsequent trial of six inmates
was the longest in state history at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Quentin_Six>
1986:
A limnic eruption of Lake Nyos in Cameroon released a cloud of
carbon dioxide, suffocating 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos_disaster>
2013:
Syrian civil war: Areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in
Ghouta, Damascus, were attacked by rockets (launcher pictured)
containing sarin, killing at least 281 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghouta_chemical_attack>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Barbiefication:
(derogatory) A cultural move toward superficiality and a focus on
physical attractiveness at the expense of depth and intellect.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Barbiefication>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There can be a new tomorrow There can be a brighter day There
can be a new tomorrow Love will find a way
--Jackie DeShannon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jackie_DeShannon>
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