1968
A year with many problems, but had an turning point
Tet Offensive
US signals intelligence--the much-vaunted ability of American military and spy units to eavesdrop on the radio calls and other electronic communications of an adversary--failed at crucial moments during the Vietnam War, according to a just-declassified National Security Agency history of the effort. The 10,000 cryptographers and other signals personnel in Southeast Asia at the time did not predict the start of the Tet offensive on Jan. 31, 1968. Prior to that, signals intelligence may have actually misled President Johnson and other top policymakers about the nature of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which a supposed North Vietnamese attack on US forces triggered a major escalation in the war." (Christian Science Monitor) Highlights of the declassified study are presented, demonstrating how "'critical information was mishandled, misinterpreted, lost, or ignored.
Democratic Convention
A rash of sex discriminatory laws--including the legalisation of polygamy, marital rape, abduction and the justification of violence against women--remains in statute books around the world. In a new report released here [United Nations Headquarters in New York City], the New York-based Equality Now has identified dozens of countries, including Kenya, Mali, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Bahamas, Malta, Nigeria and Yemen, which have continued with discriminatory laws in violation of international conventions and U.N. declarations." (Global Information Network) This article describes "different sex discriminatory laws from a range of countries" throughout the world.
Assassination of Robert Kennedy
The assassination of Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy, took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California, during the campaign season for the United States Presidential election, 1968. After winning the California and South Dakota primary elections for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, Kennedy was shot as he walked through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel and died in the Good Samaritan Hospital twenty-six hours later. Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian/Jordanian immigrant, was convicted of Kennedy's murder and is serving a life sentence for the crime. Sirhan's lawyers have released statements claiming evidence that he was framed. The shooting was recorded on audio tape by a freelance newspaper reporter, and the aftermath was captured on film.
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American clergyman and civil rights leader who was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday, April 4, 1968, at the age of 39. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 pm that evening. He was a prominent leader of the African-American civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was known for his use of civil disobedience and non-violence.
Election of 1968
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon, won the election over the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Nixon ran on a campaign that promised to restore law and order to the nation's cities, torn by riots and crime.