In an hourlong program that was to be broadcast yesterday, the History Channel will engage in an unusual mea culpa, presenting an evaluation of one of its own programs that concludes that it and the channel were irresponsible.
Last night's program was produced in response to vociferous complaints about a documentary, The Guilty Men, that accused former US president Lyndon Johnson of being complicit in the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. It was broadcast in November, during the week of the 40th anniversary of Kennedy's death, and a squall of protest arose shortly afterward, led by the broadcaster Bill Moyers; Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association; and others who worked for Johnson during his presidency. They were supported by Lady Bird Johnson, the president's widow.
The History Channel subsequently asked three prominent historians -- Robert Dallek, Stanley Kutler and Thomas Sugrue -- to make an independent evaluation of the documentary. In a statement the station acknowledged that the historians had determined the accusation against Johnson was insupportable and that the documentary should not have been broadcast.
Barr McClellan, the author of a book that makes similar accusations against Johnson and who was a central interview subject in The Guilty Men, said he was disappointed that none of the three historians got in touch with him.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was