JFK Assasination

[gg333]

So, to prevent me from reading all 181 books on this subject, who exactly is responsible for the assasination in 1963?? Mmm Grassy Knoll, book depository etc etc...

[sft42]

It all depends on how cynical/paranoid/mistrustful of government you are....I have watched the Zapruder film a number of times which is the only recording of the actual event and it does seem highly unlikely that the fatal shot was fired from the book depository as his head moved in totally the wrong direction and the wounds recorded at the autopsy showed a bullet entering from the front...any shots fired from the depository would have been fired from behind the convoy...there are as many theories out there as there are people willing to listen....type in Kennedy and/or Zapruder into Google and enjoy the hours of material that come up then draw your own conclusion.

Though of course if you watch Red Dwarf you'll know it was Kennedy himself who travelled bak in time to shoot himself from the grassy knoll.

[bernardo]

Definitely and exclusively Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone. The mechanics of the head-movements (as shown in the Zapruder film) and of the single-bullet theory, (and lots of other things) are explained very comprehensively in the book "Case Closed" by Gerald Posner. There is not enough space here to explain properly, but the basic idea of the head movement is that the bullet entering the brain caused a massive surge of nerve impulses which caused all the main muscles of the body to tense up. The muscles in the back are stronger, and therefore predominate. Thus a bullet in the brain can quite easily cause a body to jerk backwards, even if the bullet is from behind. I used to believe that there was probably a conspiracy of some sort, but Posner's book is very impressive and explains things clearly.

[ReverendMat]

He's not dead at all. He's living on a private island with Sinatra, Diana, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. They wouldn't let Hendrix or Morrison on though. They're both in Africa.

[craig_edward]

Ok... I have watched the film JFK, presume it was relatievly factual, so just how did Lee Harvey Oswald manage to loose of so many shots from a non-automatic rifle in such a short time??? why were the bullets that were found JFKs stretcher all intact (i.e. they hadn't impacted upon anything...

[craig_edward]

and why were there more wounds than could be accounted for???? why did the motorcade stop after the first bullet - you would havce expected it to speed up right??? how do you explain the trajectory of the magic bullet??? how do you account for different people giving different stories of where the shots came from??? everyone loves a good conspiracy!!!!!!!!

[craig_edward]

PS... presumably, if you've just killed of the president of the USA, you'd want to disappear pretty quick right - going to the cinema (which is where the police somehow knew where to find LHO) would be pretty low down on you list of priorities... also isn't it funny how LHO was murdered before he could stand trial????

[sft42]

This will teach you not to believe in the movies craig...the motorcade never stopped (the zapruder film shows this) and as for LHO being killed that could just be put own to another nutter getting revenge but the point you make about the speed of the shots fired is one of the most damning facts against a single shooter.

[craig_edward]

and the 'magic bullet'???, you have to admit there were quite a few suspicious goings on... LHO had to have been quite a marksman to have hit JFK at the angle and distance from which he did (despite his army training) and also quite an athlete to have been in the places he was seen in prior to and after the shooting.... ne c'est pas????

[craig_edward]

Is there anywhere online where you can view the entire Zapruder film?????

[Gracie]

The American Government were responsible at the time. He was becoming a liability with the problems in Cuba and his endless affairs most notably with one Marilyn Monroe. The truth is set to come out when the last person involved has died. There is believed to be a dossier/document locked away safely and had to remain that way for approx 50 years which would bring it out at the end of this decade.

[bernardo]

Many of the above questions are answered comprehensively and persuasively in the book 'Case Closed' by Gerald Posner, and I would advise everybody to read it even if it is the only JFK book you ever read. It is not possible to give full answers to the questions in this space, but here is a brief summary: Q: Was the film 'JFK' relatively factual? A. Definitely not. It is based on the paranoid thoughts of a few conspiracy theorists, particularly Jim Garrison who abused his position as New Orleans district attorney to pursue a witch-hunt against a few innocent suspects. Q. How did LHO shoot so many shots within the time available? A. Quite easily. Independent tests have shown that it is perfectly possible for a reasonably able shooter to fire the required three shots within four seconds, let alone the six seconds taken by LHO. Q. Why had the bullets not been deformed on impact? A. The so-called 'magic bullet' was deformed, but it was squashed sideways not lengthways. This is because the bullet was slowed down considerably by the flesh before it hit bone, and was deflected from the original straight path while it was passing through the body. Q. Why were there more wounds than can be accounted for? A. There aren't. The single bullet accounts for seven wounds (Kennedy's neck, Connally's body, Connally's wrist, Connally's thigh) i.e. four entry wounds and three exit wounds. Q. Why did the motorcade stop after the first bullet? A. It didn't. (What makes you think it did?)

[bernardo]

(CONTINUED) Q. How to explain the trajectory of the 'magic' bullet? A. (1) It is deflected from a straight path while travelling through flesh, and therefore comes out of the body at a slightly different angle (2) Early theorists made incorrect assumptions about the relative positions of Kennedy and Connally (3) Analysis of the Zapruder film using new scientific techniques has enabled a more accurate analysis of exactly where they were sitting in the car (4) It is possible for the single bullet to have made all seven of the necessary wounds without doing a zigzag in mid-air [all of this is explained in great detail in Posner's book] Q. Why did people give different accounts of where the bullets came from? A. (1) The layout of the buildings around Dealey Plaza makes it very echoey and potentially misleading in terms of acoustics. The witnesses differed in where they said the bullets came from, but (1) 95% of the 200 witnesses said that they heard only 3 or fewer shots, and only 5% said they heard four or more (2) 98% of the witnesses said that shots came from only one location, and 2% said they came from more than one location [conspiracy theories depend on there being four or more shots from two or more locations]. Q. Isn't it funny how LHO was murdered before he could be tried? A. No, it was a tragedy which was caused by lax security at the police station, and by Jack Ruby coincidentally deciding to enter the building at the time when LHO was being transferred. Any conspiracy theory which has Jack Ruby 'silencing' LHO in order to hide a conspiracy, requires LHO to enable his own murder by delaying the time of his transfer just before his death. If he had not stopped to change his clothes immediately beforehand, he would have been transferred safely through the public area minutes before Ruby even arrived.

[sft42]

Bernardo although I have never read the book you keep citing I am sure it's a well researched and well written book but it still is only one man's view and work which will have inbuilt bias and favour one side of the agruement or another....your not to know but it may be entirely possible he has been well paid to put forward this point of view......I am sure there are other books on the market that could put forward as many good convincing arguements for the conspiracy theorists....I choose to stick to the facts which is only available through watching the zapruder film...which is incidentally available on WinMX and Kazaa.

[bernardo]

Hello sft42. Yes, I am aware of this possibility of bias, which is why I am only 99% convinced rather than 100% (eevn though I have the zeal of a convert). As far as I can tell, Posner was commissioned to research and double-check all the original evidence from the beginning. One of the main themes running through his book is that a lot of the conspiracy theories are simply based on people getting their facts wrong/ not checking/ and copying mistakes off each other. One example of that is something you mentioned earlier - the original autopsy doctors all said that the entrance wound was in the back of the head (not the front) and when they looked at the original photos, they said it was consistent with what they remembered (i.e. the photos had not been faked etc.). Oh, and yes I agree that the Zapruder film is crucial - the analysis of the Zapruder film was vital in confirming and verifying the single-bullet theory.

[fiRe_StoRm4]

Okay, I have seen the JFK show and know it is mostly unjustified propaganda. But some elements don't sit well with me. I live in northern Wisconsin where hunting is a tradtion. I'm a fairly experienced hunter and know rifles well. The rifle LHO used was a lever action. Lever actions are neither the fastest nor the most accurate type of rifle. If you want accuracty, go for a bolt action. If you want speed, go for a semi-auto rifle. I do use a lever action occasionally while I hunt. Waiting till a deer stops moving is the best and most reliable option. LHO wouldn't have had this option, so going at any speed at all makes a target harder to hit. First of all, iring a lever action would knock your aim every time you shot. You would have to re-aim and reload before you could shoot again. Six seconds to shoot a deer constantly moving three times with a lever action? Not likely to get a good head shot, espescially after two other shots. Another thing is the jerk of the head that is somewhat explained in other entries. I have head-shot deer before and I will compare. If you head shoot a deer, it goes down; then begins to twitch. Not big jerks, just small twitchs; nothing like the Zapruder film. And the magic bullet??? Not likely, not likely at all. Chances have to be in the millions to billions of one to that ever happening. Seven wounds one bullet? Ha-ha.

[fiRe_StoRm4]

But supposing the magic bullet, the shots, one shooter are all true? What about these four elements I have included? 1. The clothes of President Kennedy should never have been removed from his body, this issue still has yet to be affirmed by anyone. The fact that the autopsy team wasn't able to examine the clothes until the Warren Commission cannot be justified. 2. The clothes of Governor Connally should never have been washed. This is another mistake that has yet to be regarded by any one in the Government. 3. The body of the president, by law, should have remained in Texas for autopsy. The illegal removal of the President's body, under any circumstances, is unexcusable. 4. The autopsy, although complete in its findings, was incomplete in its protocol. There was no mention of the adrenal, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, larynx, trachea, ureters, urinarybladder, testes, or dissection of the neck. Although these were the result of limitations placed by the family and not a mysterious military figure, the report can not be deemed complete. These are four major deficiencies in the investigation into the President's death. Since they were never properly managed, there can never be a conclusive investigation of the assassination.

[iantresman]

The book "Who Shot JFK" (Robin Ramsay ISBN 1-904048-12-9) is recommended, at only 96 pages, it provides a good overview of the literature, and offers its own conclusion. The person who would have gained most from the assassination, and was associated with somewhat dubious colleagues, was none other than Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson.