Wow, that’s, like, superficially logical. But in the realm of non-superficial experimental physics, how do you explain that theory in light of the fact that every single experiment–rifle vs. cadavers, skulls, watermelons, whatever–shows precisely the opposite?
And yet it moves.
About twenty years ago, there was an episode of Nova summarizing the various evidence for and against the key points of the conspiracy theories.
They showed film clips by a physicist who placed a skull filled with white paint on a ladder. The physicist then shot the skull from behind with a rifle. The skull went flying backwards (i.e., in the direction the shot came from), while the white paint and a large portion of the skull went flying forwards. Afterwards, there was a small entry hole on the skull, while the front was blown away.
Every heard the phrase “in like a pea, out like a grapefruit” to describe the effect of an impact from a high powered rifle? His head was thrown backwards by the force of the bullet, part of his brain, and a large part of his skull leaving the front explosively.
That JFK’s head went flying backwards is evidence that Oswald’s bullet hit him, not someone firing from the front.
Entirely correct, except that [nitpick]the Nova episode was from around 1993-94[/nitpick]. It’s an excellent show, however, one of the best Nova has ever run.
To reaffirm hansel’s point…
JFK landed at the Quad Cities airport in 1962. My father was 13, lived by the road going from the airport to the highway. JFK waved to my father from his convertible as he passed by, my dad and his family stood on the porch and waved back. They got a picture of it. My father could have shot JFK in 1962 with a simple rifle from his front porch or an upstairs window, (not that he would have, he liked JFK when he was that age.) So why in the world do people feel the need to speculate multiple gunmen and vast conspiracies?
Balance. Some folks cannot accept that the worlds most important man was taken out by a miserable, useless waif. A conspiracy fills the void.
BTW clayton_e, there are severeal video clips demonstrating the jet effect at work on the McAdams site.
A shot from the grassy knoll would have gone right past several folks. And they would have likely heard such a close report since it was no more than a few feet from some of them. Rather than listen to those folks, buffs instead elect to listen to the everchanging Jean Hill stories.
I actually had an arguement about this on another board. The guy was seriosuly speculating a show from the sewer drain with a silenced pistol. There was some serious cognitive dissonance in that buff. I had to throw up my hands when he cited the Clinton death list.
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s up with this whole JFK conspiracy thing? The man’s been dead for 39 years. Maybe I just can’t understand, as I was born in 82 and he was shot in 63. I see it on the same level as the whole “moon hoax” thing. Why does anyone care now, and should we expect anyone to care after my parent’s generation dies, that is, my generation and my children?
"My father could have shot JFK in 1962 with a simple rifle from his front porch or an upstairs window . . . "
—Hmmmm . . . And your father’s name would be . . . ? [getting Oliver Stone on the phone]
NOTE-The following theories are entirely my own work. They are not based upon the work of others or evidence.
#1- There were several shooters. BUT, they were not working together. Various factions decide to kill JFK. They do some research and all pick the plaza as the best location. Somebody fires first, confusing all the other snipers.
#2-I was led to this by the same thinking Mr Miskatonik used. Oswald was acting alone. There was no conspiracy. BUT the FBI, and CIA made it seem like there was a conspiracy and that they were covering it up. That way instead of people thinking ‘A lone moron can kill the President. None of us is safe.’ they think 'Vast, shadowy cabals control the world. One of the cabals killed JFK. But, the government hides this and says it was Oswald. Like one nut could kill JFK!"
My favorite theory of ALL TIME for JFK conspiracies: “umbrella man” (lingo for the guy holding the umbrella you can see on the near side in the Zapruder film) shot him with a poison dart fired from the tip of the umbrella. Whoever thought up that one deserves the Hugo Award for science fiction. Maybe umbrella man was Harlan Ellison in disguise.
That’s some pretty nasty poison that makes a man’s head explode!
RexDart, you are aware that a KGB agent did kill a man using a very similiar method?
As they passed on the street, the agent poked the man’s leg with his umbrella tip. This was to hide the pain of the poison filled metal ball the umbrella fired.
I believe the Master has spoken on the KGB Umbrella Killing
While the umbrella theory of the JFK assassination is outrageous, it has some basis in fact.
I have a question regarding the famous Zapruder film. This was the 8 mm film, shot by the late Abraham Zapruder, that shows JFK’s head being blown off, Jaquelin Kennedy reaching back to the trunk lid of the limo, etc. I understand that the US govt. seized the film, and held it for many years; now the film is in the public domain. Was Mr. Zapruder ever paid anything for this famous piece of home movie film?
The Zapruders made money selling the rights. In think more than one copy of the film was developed. Now Zapruder’s family is complaining that the gov’t should pay for owning the original, even though the modern copies are actually better.
The trouble is that many, many bootleg copies have been made from teh gov’t version and the Z family recieved nothing from those.
Nice bit of dough, and teh rights to it.
Mr. Zapruder was not paid anything by the governement. He died many years ago. He did, however, get $100,000 or so from Life Magazine for selling them the right to reproduce the images from the film–I think it was around 1967. Zapruder always retained the copyright on the film, and that went to his heirs when he died.
When the government finally decided it was going to keep the original film a few years ago, the issue of valuation was submitted to an arbitration panel. The government tried to lowball the Zapruder family at around $1 million, but the arbitration panel awarded them $16M.
I don’t think you see the value of history. Significant events such as the assasination of national leaders can have effects that last for many decades. The world is a complex place and you need to know where it’s been to understand what’s happening now.
I think that the JFK assasination will always fascinate people, simply because of the very strange events that followed it…these gave theorists a whole bag of things to argue about til doomsday. A small sample:
-the Dallas PD losing Oswald’s interrogation tape
-letting Jack Ruby into the Dallas PD building; why was somebody like that allowed in?
-the “bums” in the Dallas railroad yard-mysteriously arrayed in brand new shoes(and one of them looking like Gordon liddy)
-the mysterious, undeformed bullet that turned up in JFK’s hospital gurney
-Oswald’s mysterious peregrinations-from Japan to the US, to the USSR , to Mexico City, to dallas, etc.
-the misplacing of JFK’s brain after the autopsy
None of this stuff taken by itself means anything…however, to a dedicated conspiracist, it all adds up to something.
And that is why this thing will never die!
Oh, did I add the urban myth that all of the “secret” govt. documents dealing with the assasination won’t be unseled until 2063?
I’m not trying to sound like a smart-alec, but how many people have read the entirity of “The Warren Commision Report”? Can anyone completely refute the evidence it presents?
(Bolding mine).
I remember when the TV showed warnings and what to do, if and when, there is an atomic war. (I grow up in Finland). The only man we totally trusted was actually JFK.
When he was shot, “The Dick Powell Show” (or “Dick Powell Presents”, whatever the original name could be in English), was interupted and my country and the whole world was in shock. (I still remember parts of the film).
I want to point out that he was very respected during his lifetime. Many politicians are respected only after their death, however banal this statement sounds. I am sure You understand how I mean.
If JFK would have lived longer, I think he would have been giving more of “the new hope” to the world.
Naturally he would also made some mistakes, so how he would have gone out in history is unclear, but I think that he would have done it in a mostly positive way.
I wish that everyone in US understands that it is not unimportant for the rest of the world who You elect as Your president.
I think I speak for many: We are still waiting for a man in that position to give more hope to the world and less domestic propaganda to the voters.
JFK was such a person.
However, do not get me wrong, but the internal US politics, (the “scandals”), is sometimes such that many of us outside, would like to forget the whole thing.
To answer the question clearly would take a new OP like : “What effect has the US politics upon the rest of the world?”
Have very limited time just now, so I can not make a new OP.
Hope I wasn’t hijacking too much.
I lived in Dallas at the time, in Oak Cliff, and very near the Texas Theater. I graduated from Sunset High and knew that area of the city very well. I passed Dealy Plaza and the Texas School Book Repository building twice a day, on my way to and from work. I knew exactly where Oswald lived and could retrace his movements without any difficulty. I don’t believe there was a conspiracy, but the event is a vivid, personal memory. I can’t imagine why anyone would forget, or want to.