REVIEW -- "Unsolved History -- JFK: Beyond The Magic Bullet" (The Discovery Channel)
David Von Pein
The Closest We're Likely To Ever Get To A Perfect Duplication Of The
Single-Bullet Theory......
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The cable television network "The Discovery Channel" aired the
documentary program "JFK: Beyond The Magic Bullet" in November 2004, a
very impressive John F. Kennedy assassination-related program which set
out to attempt to duplicate (with all possible accuracy) the
controversial "Single-Bullet Theory"; and it's a program which hammered
one or two more nails into the "conspiracy" coffin.
The more and more time that passes, the firmer and more solidified the
"Lone Assassin" position becomes with respect to JFK's murder in Dallas
on November 22, 1963; while the "It Was A Conspiracy" side makes no
headway whatsoever, with zero tests like that of The Discovery
Channel's "SBT" test being performed to prove the conspiracy buffs are
correct. Nor do we ever see any computer simulations for the "CT" side
to "prove" their case for conspiracy (a la Dale Myers' exacting
animation project, which, like the "Magic Bullet" program, goes a long
way toward proving the SBT is a truism).
Several impressive things supporting the overall doability of the SBT
scenario came out of the "Beyond The Magic Bullet" program.....such as
the "log" test (with a bullet being fired into a solid block of wood).
The test bullet looked absolutely perfect after being dug out of
several feet of wood.
And, of course, the actual SBT re-creation itself....which proved
beyond any doubt that a WCC, 6.5mm, FMJ, Mannlicher-Carcano bullet
exactly like "CE399" (the actual bullet from the JFK case in 1963)
could, indeed, take a very similar path through two "bodies", and then
emerge in pretty decent shape....as we can see here:
http://216.122.129.112/dc/user_files/6735.jpg
The Discovery Channel test bullet was more damaged than CE399, but IMO
the test proved a very important thing -- it proved that a bullet like
Oswald's 399 could go through two bodies, do a lot of damage, and NOT
BE BROKEN UP AT ALL.
The test bullet, just like 399, emerged PERFECTLY WHOLE (i.e., not
fragmented at all). It's all in ONE PIECE. It's flattened more than
399, sure....but certainly not banged all to hell like Dr. Cyril Wecht
seems to think a bullet like 399 would HAVE to have been if it went
through the bodies of both Jack Kennedy and John Connally and caused
seven wounds; and the "test" bullet caused an extra (2nd) rib fracture
within the John Connally mock-up "body" during the re-creation as well.
The nose portion of the test bullet wasn't flattened at all either,
which is an important factor, indicating almost certainly it took a
similar path through John Connally's "mock" torso in the test, just as
CE399 most-likely took through JBC's real torso in 1963 -- indicating a
bullet that smashed into most of the hard objects that it hit in a
BACKWARD, END-FIRST manner, thereby keeping the nose undamaged.
And another impressive part of the "Magic Bullet" broadcast was the
ending sequence which had a doctor giving his erroneous opinion that
the damage he had just seen in the X-rays from the re-creation almost
certainly must have been caused "by more than just one bullet".
When proven wrong in this multi-bullet belief, the Los Angeles doctor
was genuinely surprised. (Do CTers think that he's a "CT plant"
too...only feigning "surprise" when confronted with the test results to
further the notion of the SBT?)
All-in-all....that Discovery Channel broadcast did an amazing job at
replicating the damage path and general characteristics of CE399. The
test bullet exited the JFK mock body much lower than the real 399 did
in '63, true. I certainly cannot deny this obvious difference. But we
must keep in mind that a PERFECT re-creation can never be fully
achieved, with every single "human" nuance accounted for (since only
mock torsos were utilized in the re-creation).
With some unavoidable limitations in mind, the SBT re-creation done by
the Australian team of JFK researchers in early October of 2004 is as
close to the real event that I believe we're likely to ever see. And
the results most certainly do not debunk the likelihood of the
Single-Bullet Conclusion. To the contrary -- the results of that
re-creation enhance the viability of the Warren Commission's one-bullet
conclusion greatly.
David Von Pein
October 2006