The Death of Michael Hastings

[Sam48]

I know this news is about a week old, but I believe it deserves much attention. The death of Michael Hastings, the reporter most famous for uncovering and destroying the career of general McCrystal, was killed in a car accident near Hollywood. However, after much research, I've come to believe he was killed by our government. I know this may sound like a conspiracy, but in this day and age, such statements no longer sound so unbelievable, especially when you consider the many recent government cover-ups and scandals. More to the point, let's look at the facts.

- Not long before Hasting's death, he sent an email to multiple friends and colleagues stating that he was being harassed and followed by the FBI

- Hastings was planning on releasing a new story that he claimed was "The biggest story yet". The story in question pertained specifically to the CIA.

- Hours before his death, Wiki-leaks reported that one of their lawyers was in contact with him about this very story.

- His car hit a tree in the early hours of the morning (No explanation why, but I don't expect one). However, rather than crumple on impact, the car explodes. And just to demonstrate just how big an explosion I'm talking about, watch the following report:



Now I'm not one to believe any and all conspiracy theories, but this one's almost too obvious. He was killed via a car bomb by the FBI.

 

[Keef]

I've seen the amateur reporter footage...





I think it's pretty clear that the car crashed into the tree at a high rate of speed.

The engine ended up down the road a little ways from the car after impact, with accessory hoses and fuel lines severed.

The front of the car is crushed and the impact has also buckled the structure all the way back to the rear quarter panel. Looks about right for that sort of collision.

I kept reading that people thought this car "exploded" or that the fire was especially intense. First of all, this fire isn't especially intense. Considering that gasoline fumes burn profusely and this fire is no more energetic than that of a wood-framed house, I think it's a bit on the weak side, honestly.

As for the "explosion" people talk about, I'm not sure they've considered the fuel system in this car. It has a direct-injected engine which means the entire fuel system from the in-tank fuel pump forward is of rather high pressure like a diesel fuel system. When this system ruptures it won't simply trickle liquid fuel like an older system, it's spray and atomize a large quantity and since the fuel is atomized it will ignite almost immediately. Clearly, the engine left the car which severed high-pressure fuel lines in the bay. Given that there are also exposed electrical connections that were ripped apart, it's pretty logical that the fuel vapor ignited rapidly which would cause a shockwave to form. Thus, people who probably weren't staring right out their windows when the car hit assumed they heard an explosion when they actually heard a spontaneous combustion, like what happens in an engine's combustion chamber.

 

[Omnis]

Sounds like the car bottomed out, lost control, then hit a palm and went up in flames. Don't speed, folks.

 

[Sam48]

Very good points, maybe it was only a high speed impact. However, it still begs the question, what the hell was going on here? Why was he going so fast? Might he have been running from someone? With such precious information on hand, such behavior seems out of place. I still believe he was murdered one way or another.

In fact, there is another theory, but it's a bit more out there. But like I said earlier, to be "Out there" doesn't mean what it used to. However, I'm not sure I accept this as there is no real evidence of this. It is, however, an interesting take.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Keef has pretty much summed this up.

I guess crazy people will be crazy.

 

[Joel]

It's almost like people who are paranoid and worried about something major lack focus and are inattentive at the wheel.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Phew, I'm glad you edited that post, Noob, I thought the F.B.I had got you!

 

[Omnis]

He could've gotten drunk because Greenwald beat him to the Snowden scoop. Then he went for a 120mph drive down the street. Because when you're drunk, why not?

 

[Joel]

Phew, I'm glad you edited that post, Noob, I thought the F.B.I had got you!

I mean come on, it's not like the FBI are wat

 

[arora]

Foul play would not surprise me, neither would it simply being an accident. It's not like the u.s. gov has never pulled shenanigans before though, because they have.

Reminds me of the taped phone conversations of Nixon when he was all bent out of shape over the Vietnam whistle blower, "shut that mother ****er up!" or something close to that lol

 

[wfooshee]

Brave Sam48. Very brave. Bringing this up in a public forum and everything. They've got your IP address by now, and they're onto you.....

 

[phillgt2002]

I'm so confused reading this. Tragic accident nonetheless.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

I was going to post a witty meme about conspiracy theory etc, but in the end I realized that this is so far fetched that memes aren't needed to make it look ridiculous. CIA conspiracy.. Yeah right. However, if you disappear totally, we will know that NSA and CIA really were after this all.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Wasn't the death ofa journalist reporting on government secrets part of the plot of THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM?

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Not saying I agree something happened, I just find it a bit funny that people aren't willing to see the sheer ability of the U.S. gov't. It's not like they aren't building a major facility to house all the data they can collect on U.S. citizens or lied about drone attacks but hey, they would never do something like this...

Brave Sam48. Very brave. Bringing this up in a public forum and everything. They've got your IP address by now, and they're onto you.....

As if they didn't have it already

 

[Vegard]

 

[niky]

If I were going to fake an accidental death, I would do a better job than that.

I've heard about this story from multiple angles, and the conspiracy angle doesn't really hold up.

There are easier ways to kill someone. A heart attack. A nervous breakdown in public, followed by "Suicide by cop", inspired by a little drug cocktail and some suggestive programming or scare tactics. Have him fall asleep at the wheel on the highway in a non-explosive accident.

-

Given that he was very paranoid before the accident, it's very likely he was in a very agitated state of mind while driving.

 

[Dotini]

McCrystal styled himself the greatest general since MacArthur, standing in a line with Caesar, Hannibal and Napoleon.

Since Hastings exposed him as a rather more pathetic figure, it's more likely he was offed by a vengeful General and his acolytes than by the FBI or CIA. Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean you don't have enemies. In medieval England, merely to touch the person of a prince could mean your hand, if not your head.

 

[Ibonibo]

Don't know what to think of this.

Either way, the secret services around the world are the last scum, with all we hear on the news, and that might be just the tip of the iceberg.

In general, I wouldn't find it far fetched for a secret service to kill someone in an accident. It's common, nobody asks. And as history shows, lots of people who wanted to wistleblow or were part in big projects were the worst drivers evers as bizzarly a lot of them died in car crashes.

Jalopnik had an article few days ago about a congress question if cars could be remote operated. While the drive by wire is sometimes far fetched, it is a valid theory.

Our goverments and especially out intelligence agencies are streching their rights so far out, it's disgusting. They can be happy we won't use a guillotine anymore like a few hundrets years back.
If this trend continues in this severity, I see also in western countries, massive gatherings on the street against our goverments.

How much of our rights are we willing to destroy for the fatamorgana of security? If it would be that big of a matter, we need all to denounce our right for individual transportation as too many people die from it. Absolute security will never exist. Never. No matter how many rights we will sacrifice for it.

Now we all wait for Snowdens plane to accidently crash...

/rant

 

[Samus]

Occam's Razor.

 

[SlowInFastOut]

remotely hacking the cars computer seems the most obvious story, it's definitely not what the "official" story is reporting that's for sure, i mean when you look at the explosive evidence, funny John Kerry was just criticizing Snowden about going to Russia where they assassinate their own citizens for speaking out, when the CIA has been known to do it here on more than a few occasions, Michael Hastings now included.

 

[Famine]

remotely hacking the cars computer seems the most obvious story

It certainly does.

If you have absolutely no clue how cars - and the electronics within them - work.

 

[Samus]

remotely hacking the cars computer seems the most obvious story, it's definitely not what the "official" story is reporting that's for sure, i mean when you look at the explosive evidence, funny John Kerry was just criticizing Snowden about going to Russia where they assassinate their own citizens for speaking out, when the CIA has been known to do it here on more than a few occasions, Michael Hastings now included.

No, a (proven) speeding car losing control on a bumpy road, hitting a tree and catching fire is definitely the simplest and most likely answer until there is any evidence otherwise.

 

[Pupik]

It certainly does.

If you have absolutely no clue how cars - and the electronics within them - work.

If you have secret portable top-secret electronics that beep all the time, this is eminently possible. But if there's only 5-10 minutes left in the movie, it always fails.

 

[dhandeh]

It certainly does.

If you have absolutely no clue how cars - and the electronics within them - work.

You mean you can't reach up behind the dash, pull out 3 foot of cable, spark a few together and the car starts perfectly?

 

[Zenith]

Nonsense. They wouldn't crash the car after they remotely hacked it, they'd just use the ECU to blow up the car and the surrounding city block. Don't you guys know anything?

 

[Pupik]

Nonsense. They wouldn't crash the car after they remotely hacked it, they'd just use the ECU to blow up the car and the surrounding city block. Don't you guys know anything?

They have to use C8, not C4 explosives. Confidential stuff, used in the Coast Guard invasion of Tyrrell County. Operation New Bern, they called it.

 

[ZohsixGT5]

If they controlled the car remotely, even if it was possible, how would they see where they were going?

 

[Samus]

Also surely even if remote control were possible it would be overridden by any input from the driver rather than being under 100% remote control? Why would any manufacturer install a system like that?

 

[Ibonibo]

I just put that as possibility there as I read an article on Jalopnik.

What could be controlled with an hacked ECU ?
ABS-ESP : you could break a wheel down which acts as steering in a very harsh way. The break circuit itself no.
E-Accelerator : yes . Wired accel. no.
Steering : While companies like Nissan (Juke) have steering by wire, the also have a tradition steering column as backup. So for car noadays no. In the future with only drive by wire, yes.

This is all very theoretical, but it can be done. You still need to lay hands on the car first though.

The question like asked in the US congress : Could some kid from India hack your car? , is still no for me. But a tinkered ECU, yes.

As for this case or any other case of wierd coincidence, we will, might never know.
I just think with what they do and did in the past, official, un official but proven, it can be. I surely don't trust them or would you bet your life on them?