I'm buying neither the shaped charge theory nor the exploding microphone theory.
Shaped charged do not have "pellets" in them as mentioned in the article. The projectile of a shaped charge is formed by a metallic lining on the shaped charge itself. As the explosive rapidly burns from the back (detonator) forward, the force of the explosion rolls up the metallic charge lining into a projectile which is then thrown forward by the force of the blast and through an armored target. I have doubts that Charlie's neck was armored.
The exploding microphone theory is, likewise, not viable. How would one fit both a chamber and a barrel into a microphone? Without a chamber, the explosive would not be contained, and would exit the explosion in more or less every direction equally. Toss a .22 shell into a campfire sometime and then stand back, and you'll see what I mean. The powder blows and merely pops the bullet out of the casing, because it is not contained to propel the bullet forward. For the projectile to be directed into Charlie's (unarmored) neck, there would have to be a means of directing it - i.e. a barrel. Not to mention that there would also have to be a firing mechanism... and all of that is quite a lot to try to pack into a lapel microphone.
I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but in this case I have yet to see anything, anything at all, that is a viable alternative to what the FBI said about the incident.
There is some question as to how a .30-06 round managed to hit the C2 vertebrae and then travel down the spinal column to the T1 vertebrae where it was lodged, but stranger things have happened - I've see bullets blow half the top of a man's head off, and I've also seen them punch straight through a man leaving a little hole all the way through and failing to drop him.
Stuff happens, and sometimes you just can't predict how or why - it just did what it did. A fairly exhaustive audio analysis by an independent (non-governmental) analyst confirmed the velocity (roughly - sub sonic vs. hyper sonic. It was a hyper sonic round; it had both the report of the shot and a supersonic "crack" as the bullet passed the various nicrophones) and direction of the shot (using triangulation by timing several different recordings), and that's good enough for me.
I've also seen some arm-chair shrinks say some terrible things about Charlie's wife's reaction. They ought to be ashamed of their damned selves, and definitely shouldn't quit their day jobs to embark on a career in forensic psychology - they'd starve to damned death if they did. They've clearly not had much experience with shock or death.
Folks don't always react predictably. Life isn't stamped out by cookie-cutters. As an example, when my Dear Old Dad died, I rode 300 miles in the hearse, sitting on the coffin, to deliver him to the graveyard in another state, and never shed the first tear that entire time. I have since, but not at the time. I waited until late in the evening of the day we planted him, when I was alone, to lose my shit. Losing it in front of my ma or my sisters was not an option. Everyone was already stricken enough without needing an explosive display.
Some folks just hold their shit together while the iron is in the fire, and can fall all to hell later at their leisure after all is said and done.
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Shaped charged do not have "pellets" in them as mentioned in the article. The projectile of a shaped charge is formed by a metallic lining on the shaped charge itself. As the explosive rapidly burns from the back (detonator) forward, the force of the explosion rolls up the metallic charge lining into a projectile which is then thrown forward by the force of the blast and through an armored target. I have doubts that Charlie's neck was armored.
The exploding microphone theory is, likewise, not viable. How would one fit both a chamber and a barrel into a microphone? Without a chamber, the explosive would not be contained, and would exit the explosion in more or less every direction equally. Toss a .22 shell into a campfire sometime and then stand back, and you'll see what I mean. The powder blows and merely pops the bullet out of the casing, because it is not contained to propel the bullet forward. For the projectile to be directed into Charlie's (unarmored) neck, there would have to be a means of directing it - i.e. a barrel. Not to mention that there would also have to be a firing mechanism... and all of that is quite a lot to try to pack into a lapel microphone.
I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but in this case I have yet to see anything, anything at all, that is a viable alternative to what the FBI said about the incident.
There is some question as to how a .30-06 round managed to hit the C2 vertebrae and then travel down the spinal column to the T1 vertebrae where it was lodged, but stranger things have happened - I've see bullets blow half the top of a man's head off, and I've also seen them punch straight through a man leaving a little hole all the way through and failing to drop him.
Stuff happens, and sometimes you just can't predict how or why - it just did what it did. A fairly exhaustive audio analysis by an independent (non-governmental) analyst confirmed the velocity (roughly - sub sonic vs. hyper sonic. It was a hyper sonic round; it had both the report of the shot and a supersonic "crack" as the bullet passed the various nicrophones) and direction of the shot (using triangulation by timing several different recordings), and that's good enough for me.
I've also seen some arm-chair shrinks say some terrible things about Charlie's wife's reaction. They ought to be ashamed of their damned selves, and definitely shouldn't quit their day jobs to embark on a career in forensic psychology - they'd starve to damned death if they did. They've clearly not had much experience with shock or death.
Folks don't always react predictably. Life isn't stamped out by cookie-cutters. As an example, when my Dear Old Dad died, I rode 300 miles in the hearse, sitting on the coffin, to deliver him to the graveyard in another state, and never shed the first tear that entire time. I have since, but not at the time. I waited until late in the evening of the day we planted him, when I was alone, to lose my shit. Losing it in front of my ma or my sisters was not an option. Everyone was already stricken enough without needing an explosive display.
Some folks just hold their shit together while the iron is in the fire, and can fall all to hell later at their leisure after all is said and done.
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“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage among his books. For to you kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned with the flick of a finger.”
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake