Wikileaks: Journalist Michael Hastings Was Dogged by FBI

[Octafish]

Following his tragic death, information revealed that controversial reporter was being 'investigated'

- Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Published on Thursday, June 20, 2013 by Common Dreams

Following the sudden and tragic death of Michael Hastings, the 33-year-old investigative journalist who was best known for his explosive Rolling Stone profile of General Stanley McChrystal, WikiLeaks is alleging 'foul play.'

On Wednesday, WikiLeaks tweeted that Hastings had reached out to WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson "just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him."

They added ominously that his death "has a very serious non-public complication," promising more details at a later date.

SNIP...

"He was incredibly tense and very worried and was concerned that the government was looking in on his material," said Cenk Uyger, host of “The Young Turks," following news of his friend's death. “I don’t know what his state of mind was at 4:30 in the morning, but I do know what his state of mind was in general, and it was a nervous wreck.”

CONTINUED...

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/20-0

[geek tragedy]

1. Wikileaks is exploiting his death to troll for attention.

And doing so by (a) violating something he told their attorney in confidence (breach of legal ethics) while promoting a stupid-ass conspiracy theory that'll just get the Alex Jones crowd on the left as well as the right all lathered up.

Shameful.

Edited to add:

Why? Probably because they're spectators on the biggest leak story of the past 10 years--the NSA story--having been bypassed by Snowden in favor of Glenn Greenwald.

[cali]

5. I agree- though whether they breached legal ethics is doubtful

wouldn't he have had to have been a client? Just telling a lawyer something doesn't mean that utterance is bound by confidence.

[geek tragedy]

8. If someone meets with an attorney, and is allowed to take away the impression

that the information being shared will be held confidential, it's very, very dicey for the attorney to then break that confidence.

Obviously, a very fact-intensive inquiry, also depending on which jurisdiction's rules of professional conduct apply.

[Vinnie From Indy]

47. Nonsense!

eom

[geek tragedy]

49. Your substance-free response has caused me to change my mind. You are very persuasive, nt

[Vinnie From Indy]

54. You appear to be seldom correct, but never in doubt to me

Cheers!

[cali]

88. I really doubt it. Not to mention that he told this to quite a few people evidently

he wasn't a client so attorney client privilege is doubtful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney-client_privilege

[geek tragedy]

90. As I said, fact-intensive.

I don't know what he told his family.

[DirkGently]

97. If any third person knew of the contact, there is no privilege.

And that whole line is kind of specious anyway. Revealing the fact he was under investigation, if that's true, doesn't render Wikileaks mentioning it somehow ghoulish.

[RobertEarl]

6. What is the conspiracy?

That Hastings was maybe getting to close to something big?

Something on the scale of wikileaks?

Is there any reason that certain elements could want to silence the reporter?

What type of car was he driving? Was it a drive by wire?

[geek tragedy]

11. The 'theory'

appears to be:

"He was (allegedly) being questioned by the FBI, and then he winds up dead. You do the math."

[RobertEarl]

12. There has to be more than that

What about the other questions?

You seem to have come to a conclusion already. You must have investigated all possibilities, right? So what about the other questions?

[geek tragedy]

15. My conclusion is that there are no facts showing that Hastings was killed

by someone else, let alone a government conspiracy.

If new facts showing foul play emerge, then speculation/suspicions/claims to that effect will be credible.

Until then, it's simple verbal wanking.

[RobertEarl]

19. So, you don't know for sure

It is funny that you can conclude something so quickly without even seeing the police report.

[geek tragedy]

21. I know there are zero facts that have been revealed that contradict

the "tragic accident" scenario.

I don't know for sure that it wasn't the Obama administration about the same as I don't know for sure it wasn't Klingons.

[RobertEarl]

24. You know zero facts?

Is there any 'fact' that you do know? Can you share any fact with us?

[geek tragedy]

26. There are facts, those facts point towards "tragic accident'

Speeding, car colliding with tree, etc.

[RobertEarl]

28. That is all you have?

I hate to belabor this, but like I say, since you claim to have concluded already, I just figured you had something more than anybody else.

I guess not. So we are just supposed to trust you? Why?

[geek tragedy]

29. I'm saying look at the facts.

Are there facts showing "tragic accident" to be likely?

Yes.

Are there facts that contradict the "tragic accident" scenario?

No.

If new facts re-emerge, then one could re-assess.

Right now, all of the facts point one way.

[RobertEarl]

39. Well

Like I said, you have nothing more than what the media has told all of us, so I will end asking questions of you that would probably never get answered by you anyway.

Have a nice day.

[geek tragedy]

42. "you have nothing more than what the media has told all of us"

Which is all any of us knows 99.9% of the time regarding such matters.

[Vinnie From Indy]

53. Cheers for your line of inquiry!!!

I hope all DU'ers note how adamant some are about what actually happened as well as the speed and number of attacks on anyone that expresses even the slightest curiosity about this incident.

It is troubling that some here seem to be trying very hard to shut down even cursory discussions of possibilities. Some have even posted threads where they assert that their understanding of the facts is absolute and the final word.

Huzzah to all of you that use your own minds and do not let these people make you feel stupid for even speculating about issues.

Cheers!

[okaawhatever]

141. Not to mention the car crossed a median. I wondered if he possibly dropped something on his

floor board. Bending down to pick something up, like a cell phone or bottle of water, will often make one increase speed and lose control. I also wondered since it was in the middle of the night if he had possibly just come back on a flight from somewhere. Maybe he was very tired.

[zappaman]

30. BeFree to make up your own facts.

You normally do.

[Octafish]

18. What's shameful is diverting attention away from what Hastings said.

Then, that's how the game is played. So, there's a reason for bringing up history.

It was dangerous work. In his book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan, Michael Hastings noted that he once got a death threat from a McChrystal staffer.

“We’ll hunt you down and kill you if we don’t like what you write,” the staffer threatened, according to Hastings, who responded: “Well, I get death threats like that about once a year, so no worries.”

SOURCE: http://www.inquisitr.com/805444/michael-hastings-journalists-death-surrounded-in-mystery-conspiracy-theories/

That's the Pentagon.

Remember Dick Gregory?

In 1968, the activist/comedian publicly denounced the Mafia for importing heroin into the inner city. Did the FBI welcome the anti-drug, anti-mob message? No. Head G-man J. Edgar Hoover responded by proposing that the Bureau try to provoke the mob to retaliate against Gregory as part of an FBI "counter intelligence operation" to "neutralize" the comedian. Hoover wrote: "Alert La Cosa Nostra (LCN) to Gregory's attack on LCN."

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media/FBIAbuse_WMOZ.html

That's the FBI.

[geek tragedy]

23. How is pushing half-baked conspiracy theories and citing

the abuses of someone who's been dead for 40 years not diverting attention from what Hastings was doing?

note by the way that this "FBI dogging" is an unsubstantiated hearsay claim, which is worth only as much as the paper it was written on . . .

[Octafish]

27. Didn't know I wrote any of that.

If so, please show.

[geek tragedy]

31. You cited the abuses of J Edgar Hoover as reflecting what the FBI

does nowadays, in other words claiming that there has been no change since his reign.

Also, pushing the hearsay speculation from Wikileaks as a possible explanation for his death is rather absurd.

[Octafish]

43. So, that's not what I wrote.

Yet you insist on making the effort at spin. Why?

[geek tragedy]

44. You cited an abusive episode from 1968 and said "That's the FBI."

I could point at a map of Europe from 1968, point at Estonia, and say "That's the USSR."

[Octafish]

50. No. You said I wrote that I was advancing 'half-baked conspiracy theories.'

As for the FBI, that is what they did to Dick Gregory in 1968.

Fast forward to 2013 for the FBI Toaday:

Yet Another Media Version of Shooting by FBI Agent of Unarmed Friend of Boston Bomber

EXCERPT...

Read the details of that version and you almost have to laugh. One of the cops texted the FBI agent to tell him the suspect was getting agitated? And it was when the FBI guy was reading the text that all the action started? And the “samurai sword” that became a “pole” that became a “broomstick” had now become the metal part of a broom, perhaps to make it sound more like the original “knife.”

[Vinnie From Indy]

58. Cheers to you Ocatfish!

I am a bit amazed at the posters that try and shut down even a cursory discussion of this incident. It is though they have an agenda. Some posters appear to be trying very hard to paint anyone that speculates on Hastings death as whacky or un-serious. I am glad you and others are not cowed by their bullying bullshit!

Cheers!

[DirkGently]

133. Come now, the FBI's reputation is not helpful to your cause.

They just shot an unarmed Chechen kid to death in his townhouse, and gave four or five different, false explanations (unofficially, of course). There was a knife. No, not a knife, a sword! No, wait, it was a ceremonial "sword." Across the room. Maybe. But no.

The FBI has spent the past several years claiming to have "saved us" from a motley collection of incompetents they talked into very unlikely "terrorist" scenarios before pouncing and declaring victory.

And the fact the Hoover days were a while ago hardly wipes the slate clean. There no small amount of skullduggery done in those days, and it was done in large part to progressives of varying stripes.

Moreover, though, the OP does little more than repeat something Wikileaks tweeted, which as far as we know is true. To extract from that a wild "conspiracy theory" and then haughtily dismiss it all with one stroke comes across as frantic strawmanning. The attempt at raising legal ethics is a wild tangent that seems even more desperate.

People have every reason to arch their eyebrows when a prominent embarrasser of authorities goes down in a small plane or up in a late-night fireball. There's no need to suppose any facts not in evidence to openly wonder if there is more to the story.

What's actually not in evidence is that anyone here, much less the OP, are leaping to any wild conclusions.

[rhett o rick]

56. Your rationalizations are amazing. nm

[geek tragedy]

59. Yes, it's my bias for facts and evidence over vapid speculation.

I generally hold myself to a higher standard than the 90's era freakshow that thought the Clintons put a hit on Vince Foster, but obviously not everyone does.

[rhett o rick]

63. Do you think that politics is conspiracy free? nm

[geek tragedy]

65. Of course not. But there needs to be factual substantiation to allegations

of particular conspiracies, i.e. the current one wherein the gubmint killed Michael Hastings.

Speculation is not a substitute for evidence.

[rhett o rick]

73. I havent noticed any posts claiming the government was responsible. There may

some but looks to me like a lot of people are saying that things need to be investigated further. And I would think you would agree. I dont read all the posts but I havent seen anyone reflect on the President related to this as some claim.

It's a fact that Mr. Hastings had some enemies that are powerful and have lots of resources. That doesnt mean he was killed but it sure gives room for "speculation" and further investigation. What can be wrong with that? Isnt transparency one of the things that the President wants more of?

It's also speculation that drugs or alcohol were involved. I assume you are ok with that speculation. The only problem I have is that some going down that path are disrespecting him so quickly after his death.

[geek tragedy]

75. I have no idea whether drugs or alcohol were involved.

Speculation invites skepticism as a response.

The FBI, even in its COINTELPRO days, didn't engage in wildcat operations. One really can't point the finger at the FBI without pointing it at Holder and Obama.



Note that Wikileaks is claiming foul play, according to the Common Dreams article. Wikileaks has explicitly linked the death to the allegedy FBI investigation.

What's up with that?

[rhett o rick]

102. I am willing to wait and see before making a judgment.

I totally agree with "Speculation invites skepticism". Both are tools of an open mind. Ridicule isnt.

[warrprayer]

77. gee you keep repeating

the same thing on every thread about this almost verbatim.

[geek tragedy]

79. Why do you think Wikileaks is claiming the FBI stuff is related to his death? nt

[warrprayer]

106. I was unaware

that wikileaks made that claim. I thought they just released a tweet saying Hastings called one of their lawyers not long before his death saying he was under FBI investigation. Not the same as claiming the FBI was involved in his death, at least I don't think so.

[geek tragedy]

109. First tweet was "Michael Hastings death has a very serious non-public complication."

then they talked about the FBI.

As I've said, looks like trolling on their part to my eyes.

[warrprayer]

116. o.k. valid point

and at least you are keeping an open mind - no snark.

[still_one]

114. Frankly from what I am observing some on du are too willing to jump on that band wagon. I saw them

Do that on the IRS scandal also.

[geek tragedy]

117. slight difference--the ones jumping on the IRS bandwagon were the conservadem, Ron and Rand Paul

fans.

These are more along the lines of the 911 Truth Squads.

[still_one]

122. Yeah you make a good point with that distinction

[Luminous Animal]

137. How do you know that Ms Robinson didn't tell Wikileaks?

[railsback]

2. The Tea Party is looking saner every day.

[Octafish]

45. For sure. Like Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

Remembered by politicians and other customers as the "D.C. Madam," Ms. Palfrey ran an high-end prostitution ring that furnished services to the likes of Pentagon brass and CIA bosses. Before she could start writing a book from a federal prison cell, she was found hanged inside her mother's tool shed, her death ruled a suicide.

[railsback]

52. Yes, government did that, too.

They also infested my front lawn with gophers, having discovered my liberal leanings through NSA spying, believing I would go to the local hardware store and spend three times as much on 'green solutions', thus 'contributing' more to the Federal coffers so they can build more drones. It's all a conspiracy.

[Octafish]

89. I don't know who did it.

The official stories often don't wash with me.

Seeing how the media take orders from above, I don't trust them, either.

[still_one]

119. I understand your point, but not really. Because someone makes an inane claim without facts

doesn't make another party that makes inane claims any less insane

[railsback]

134. touché

[still_one]

139. You just painted a picture for me of a fencing match

[bluestate10]

136. Yep. I am afraid so. Some here on DU have jumped the shark and are hurdling every

duck in site. Sad, because liberalism is far superior to teaBS, but some here haven't gotten the memo.

[napoleon_in_rags]

3. They should release what they have.

And get a comment from the FBI. The problem with the status quo is you could be getting harassed by the STACI or KGB or Nazi secret police, and you can't tell them apart from being harassed by your own government, because our government is so shifty and secretive about what it does. This situation looks bad, bad for our government, with all the talk of oppression of journalists. I say clear the air with openness.

[Octafish]

4. USN&WR: FBI issues standard 'no comment,' swats at emerging conspiracy theories

WikiLeaks: Journalist Michael Hastings Under FBI Investigation Before Death

FBI issues standard 'no comment,' swats at emerging conspiracy theories

By STEVEN NELSON
U.S. News & World Report

EXCERPT...

A staffer at the FBI's national press office swatted at conspiracy theories that the reporter's death might have been related to an investigation.

"I don't see how killing could be part of an investigation," the staffer told U.S. News. "We're supposed to investigate and that's what we do." The woman declined to provide her name because she is not an official spokeswoman.

CONTINUED...

http://www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2013/06/20/wikileaks-journalist-michael-hastings-under-fbi-investigation-before-death

[napoleon_in_rags]

10. They could clear the air a little more.

1) Was he being investigated?
2) If so, would the investigation be so intrusive that he would have noticed it, or did he notice something else?
3) Was he under suspicion, or was he considered in danger?

This is all the stuff that would be good to know.

[HardTimes99]

126. 4) Since his car was travelling in excess of 60 mph on a street (Highland Ave) that is unsafe above

40-45, I think one must ask whether he was being followed or chased.

I don't work in law enforcement or the law so I don't know how you would answer that question without eyewitnesses (or maybe a 911 call from Hastings?).

But just a thought.

[zappaman]

7. Michael Hastings Crash: Car Was Speeding, Engine Flew 100 Feet, Cops Say

Even as fans of journalist Michael Hastings, known for his take-down of General Stanley McChrystal and for his probing of CIA shenanigans, focused on his coverage of the powerful in a search for answers regarding his untimely death in Hollywood, increasing evidence points to speed as a major factor in his fatal car crash early yesterday.

LAPD traffic investigators found the motor of the late-model Mercedes-Benz C250 coupe involved in the accident about 100 feet away from the car, the Weekly has learned, a clue that would indicate the vehicle was travelling at more than 60 miles an hour when it apparently veered out of control and struck a palm tree:

That's according to the expert estimation of Harry B. Ryon, a former LAPD officer who now runs his own private accident investigation firm in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The engine's location is evidence that the driver "was hauling Irish ass and lost control," Ryon told us:

With the engine torn off the gas lines would rupture and it would start a fire.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/06/michael_hastings_crash_engine_flew_speeding_recovery.php

[AZ Progressive]

9. How about sudden acceleration?

Everything's electronic in cars nowadays, its not hard for a hacker to corrupt a car computer (assuming they can get access to the car) and have it to do something like sudden acceleration since even the accelerator pedal is digitized nowadays.

[napoleon_in_rags]

13. Reminds me of Syriana

Trailer, 0:30 in:

[geek tragedy]

17. Reminder that Syriana was a movie. nt

[SalviaBlue]

46. Yea, a movie based on pure fantasy right?

Nothing like that ever really happens. That's just crazy talk.

[zappaman]

20. How about aliens chasing him in a spacecraft...cloaked of course.

Just as much evidence for that so far.

[Liberal Veteran]

95. No evidence of a government hit is evidence of a government hit.

I'm still going with the extremely likely probability based on the lack of evidence that rabid unicorns were responsible.

[zappaman]

96. So far, your theory makes the most sense.

[Liberal Veteran]

98. OMG! Even worse! Rabid Zombie Unicorns!

That picture is all the proof I need to support my theory.

[FarCenter]

33. Since it was a Mercedes, look for the Bundesnachrichtendienst

[glinda]

38. That might explain his racing through a red light. He would

have had to gone down what appeared to be a car lined street at high speed? If he could not stop his car this might explain the speed and erratic actions.

[RobertEarl]

66. Were his brake lights on?

If they were lit, it would show he was trying to stop.

Eventually the brakes would wear out.

These are the type of facts we need to know before making conclusions.

[snooper2]

80. Have you been to the scene of the crime yet?

With your detective skills I think we would should start up a RobertEarl investigative fund!


My mom said never trust anyone with two first names but we can make an exception!

Go RobertEarl! Get to the TRUTH!

[Octafish]

86. Why do you add personal insults to the thread?

If you want to add something, please, go ahead.

RobertEarl is a DUer of good standing.

You? You're exposed.

[snooper2]

87. What insult?

You want to contribute?


Wait, new idea!

ACTUALLY< we get enough money you can go as a team...


Like Starsky and Hutch!

[zappaman]

93. I went by this morning on my daily commute

and am willing to meet any budding Keystone Cops who want to meet up there.

[KoKo]

91. I was looking for new car when Toyota and Honda were dealing with that problem.

I held off...and that was maybe 5 years ago? Could the Mercedes he was driving suffered from this?

They are putting all kinds of new Upgrades in Computers in Cars these days and maybe Mercedes didn't learn from Toyota?

Instant Acceleration led to accidents...which is why they did the RECALLS... So, it's not "non-existent" with cars these days.

[DirkGently]

111. Ugh. Not to be a pain, but ...

No. There weren't any recalls for any actual "instant acceleration." Not when those claims were made about Audis years ago, and not with Toyota. Not with Honda. Toyota attributed the issue to floor mats and recalled those. There has been some other stuff about "sticking acclerators." No car has been shown to have accelerated all on its own.

One thing to remember whenever that question is raised is that a car's brakes can completely overwhelm the accelerator at any time. So even if the gas pedal somehow mashed itself to the floor, full application of the brakes would stop the car.

I'm a little appalled at how jackass-ily the arching of eyebrows over Hasting's crash are being pounced upon as conspiracy craziness, though. I haven't seen anyone here do more than that -- arch a quizzical eyebrow -- and that's not unreasonable given the waters Hastings swam in.

I'm sensing more wounded feelings over the perceived insult to the President over the ongoing surveillance scandal than any kind of good faith there.

[KurtNYC]

150. It is rumoured that the ISI (UK) developed a technique to

cause one-car crashes and that they used this to kill Dr. David Kelly in 2003. The technique is dubbed "Boston brakes" :

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/07/25/gordon-duff-boston-brakes-no-skidmarks-in-the-sky/

[Octafish]

32. A similar accident happened to Ed Meese's son, Scott.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19620723&id=mdYwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=huAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2721,2656932

[zappaman]

34. A similar accident happened to Brandon Joseph Hahn.

http://london.ctvnews.ca/tillsonburg-man-30-dies-after-car-crashes-into-tree-1.1332089

[KoKo]

72. Hauling "Irish Ass?" What kind of an investigator would say something like that?

That's quite bizarre.. Along with that he's the fact that he's a "Private Contractor"...according to your post:

That's according to the expert estimation of Harry B. Ryon, a former LAPD officer who now runs his own private accident investigation firm in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The engine's location is evidence that the driver "was hauling Irish ass and lost control," Ryon told us:

[OilemFirchen]

92. HOW DARE YOU SMEAR HASTINGS!?!

Anyway, we all know that the LAPD are in league with the STACI (sic), KGB and Nazi secret police.

Illuminati, as well, though they'll probably deny it too.

[warrprayer]

113. glad to see

someone keeping an open mind about this

[OilemFirchen]

125. Happy to have tickled your funny bone.

We all need more floor rolling.

Speaking of which, what leads you to believe that I don't have an "open mind"? Because I ROFL when citing ongoing police investigations is treated as "smearing" the victim?

Come now, we laugh together. No?

[warrprayer]

155. no n/t

[warrprayer]

108. hmmmm....

[zappaman]

110. If you are going to hit a tree head on while going 100 mph

you might need one of these...

[warrprayer]

112. Engine landed how far away?

gee, that Merc looks like a BOMB went off in it...

[zappaman]

115. Car stopped...

Engine kept going.
Feel free to work out the physics knowing the car was going 100mph before it came to a sudden and complete halt.

[warrprayer]

118. o.k. valid point

but as I said it's funny this stuff never happens to the Wolf blitzers or Geraldos. I don't know what happened for sure, and at this point we may never know.

[zappaman]

123. I think they will figure it out and we will know.

Also, a bomb would leave evidence and what kind of car bomb would propel an engine, but not destroy the car and not leave a crater?
If you saw the video, he hit a hydrant first, sheering it off. Probably ripped open the gas tank.
Car catches on fire.
Burns.
Who knows if the car had not caught on fire, perhaps he may have lived?

I have sped on that street like everyone else who drives it has, but never even close to that kind of speed.

[warrprayer]

128. what I think is

if it was a sanctioned hit, we will never know. Remember, the NDAA...

[NoOneMan]

14. Conspiracies are ridiculous

Its not like we live in a state where every electronic action we make is tracked, profiled, and analyzed by a super-computer for the purpose of risk-assessment, segmenting and profiling.

Garsh. We can trust them

[Octafish]

35. For sure. Like John Kokal.

A fellow at the State Department who opposed the lies running up to the invasion of Iraq and ended up jumping off the roof of the State Department. A man of integrity whose death was ruled a suicide. What a coincidence.

[geek tragedy]

36. you forgot to mention Vince Foster., nt

[Octafish]

40. For sure. Like Cliff Baxter.

The guy was ENRON vice chairman and had indicated he would tell the authorities what he knew about Kenny Boy's Ponzi scheme and the beneficiaries, like George Herbert Walker Bush and his dim son George Walker Bush.

[geek tragedy]

41. Ron Brown too. I talked to a guy who told me Hillary had him assassinated.

Very suspicious. Plane 'accident'

(note, is sarcasm)

[Octafish]

51. I don't know why you want to ridicule a serious issue, but it's good to see where you stand.

Perhaps one day you'll understand more than you do now.

[geek tragedy]

57. Fact-free conspiracy theories are not a serious issue.

Also, I think it's a good idea to have children vaccinated.

[Octafish]

81. Right you are. You're one of those who insulted RFK, Jr.

http://election.democraticunderground.com/10022933992#post130

[geek tragedy]

84. he's an anti-vaxxer loon, so yes. He's not his father.

His name doesn't immunize him from criticism for saying crazy shit.

[rhett o rick]

60. They rationalize that they can declare something as ridiculous therefore deserves ridicule. But

the truth is ridicule is the only tool they have.

[geek tragedy]

83. You don't think it's ridiculous to claim, as Wikileaks has, that the FBI

had something to do with his death?

[rhett o rick]

99. I think you are too quick to call something ridiculous. In any event, there is no excuse, no

justification for using ridicule on a sight for "politically liberal" people. Ridicule is only used by those with no substantive argument.

[geek tragedy]

100. One is not required to take unserious arguments seriously. nt

[rhett o rick]

120. I totally agree. I only have a problem when those that dont take something seriously think

they need to disparage those that do. I also have a problem with the lack of respect for Mr. Hastings by some here.

I think speculation is healthy and skepticism also healthy. Ridicule has no place here.

[Octafish]

85. LA Times: Michael Hastings researching Jill Kelley case before death

Hastings researching Jill Kelley case before death

By Brian Bennett
Los Angeles Times June 20, 2013, 9:24 a.m.

WASHINGTON – During the weeks before he was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles, reporter Michael Hastings was researching a story about a privacy lawsuit brought by Florida socialite Jill Kelley against the Department of Defense and the FBI.

Hastings, 33, was scheduled to meet with a representative of Kelley next week in Los Angeles to discuss the case, according to a person close to Kelley. Hastings wrote for Rolling Stone and the website BuzzFeed.

Kelley alleges that military officials and the FBI leaked her name to the media to discredit her after she reported receiving a stream of emails that were traced to Paula Broadwell, a biographer of former CIA director David H. Petraeus, according to a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., on June 3.

SNIP...

The story about Kelley, Broadwell and the Petraeus affair would have been consistent with topics that Hastings has focused on during his reporting career. His unvarnished 2010 Rolling Stone profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, led to McChrystal’s resignation. The story described the disdain McChrystal’s staff showed for President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

CONTINUED...

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-michael-hastings-jill-kelly-case-20130620,0,2559316.story

Thanks for putting them in words, Rhett! Without enlightened posters, sharing the board often is like a long ride, standing-room only, down a bumpy, dusty road on a packed bus without air conditioning -- lots of smells that no amount of cheap deoderant can mask.

[NoOneMan]

68. While you may have missed the sarcasm, I think PRISM probably understood me.

[rhett o rick]

74. How embarrassing. I did miss the sarcasm. I am often sarcasm impaired. nm

[FarCenter]

16. Since his deceased fiance worked for CIA, and his wife worked for Condi Rice, the Bush White House,

and for the Bush administration in Bahgdad and Afghanistan, I'd guess his FBI dossier was pretty thick.

During the Bush administration, Elise worked at the State Department as speechwriter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and in the White House Office of Presidential Speechwriting. In 2007, she joined the National Security Council, where she worked on press and communications strategy for Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. While at the White House, Elise worked for extended periods at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad and for the Commanding General’s Strategic Advisory Group at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.

http://www.thephillipsfoundation.org/fellows/2010/elise__jordan/novak_profiles.cfm

[RobertEarl]

22. He could have had inside info

A very dangerous position to be in.

[Rex]

25. People jump from Foggy Bottom all the time.

And sometimes they are pushed...er walk in front of a train. Of course these are all innocent acts caused by a lone person. Series. There are no conspiracies, just people that are paranoid that the government is listening...scratch that...going through their trash at night.

[Octafish]

37. For sure. Like Ted Westhusing.

The guy was active duty U.S. Army colonel, a West Point instructor, had a few PhDs, including one in ethics, was training the Iraqi security and such and found that the war was a cash cow for crooked contractors. Told his family he was scared. When his bodyguard wasn't around, he was found shot to death in a trailer. Since the door was locked from within, it's obviously a suicide.

[FSogol]

48. LOL at commondreams. You Better Believe It!

[Octafish]

61. There's nothing funny about a journalist who covered corruptions of the national security state...

...dying in a car accident.

Embedded, Restricted, Dead

They Shoot Journalists, Don’t They?

by NORMAN SOLOMON
CounterPunch MARCH 11, 2004

EXCERPT...

Thirteen journalists were killed while covering the war and occupation in Iraq last year, says a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The deaths were a subset of 36 on-the-job fatalities related to journalistic work across the globe in 2003.

CPJ’s annual worldwide survey "Attacks on the Press," released on March 11, indicates that some of those deaths in Iraq were not just random events in a hazardous war zone.

Journalists who were "embedded" with the American military tended to be safer. But as a practical matter, the tradeoffs shortchanged news readers, listeners and viewers. "The close quarters shared by journalists and troops inevitably blunted reporters’ critical edge," CPJ reports. "There were also limits on what types of stories reporters could cover, since the ground rules barred journalists from leaving their unit."

SNIP...

Meanwhile, journalists who were not imbedded with the invading military "faced a multitude of hazards and restrictions, limiting the reporting from non-U.S. military perspectives," the CPJ report says. In some cases, those journalists "faced outright harassment from U.S. forces."

On April 8, during a pair of assaults, the U.S. military killed three journalists and wounded several more. In mid-August, American forces killed an award-winning cameraman. CPJ’s report includes summaries of those events, and — if you read between the lines — they shed a lot of light on the Pentagon’s lethally cavalier attitude.

* "In the first attack, a U.S. warplane struck an electricity generator outside the Baghdad bureau of the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera, killing reporter Tareq Ayyoub. The attack occurred in an area of heavy fighting, although Al-Jazeera noted that it had provided the Pentagon with the coordinates of its offices weeks before the incident. The nearby office of Abu Dhabi TV also came under U.S. fire at the time. In October, a U.S. military spokesman acknowledged to CPJ that no investigation into the incident was ever launched."

* "In the second incident later that day, a U.S. tank fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel, which housed most foreign correspondents in Baghdad, killing cameramen Taras Protsyuk of Reuters and Jose Couso of Spanish television channel Telecinco. U.S. troops claimed that they were responding to hostile fire emanating from the hotel. A CPJ investigative report published in May concluded that the shelling of the hotel, while not deliberate, was avoidable since U.S. commanders knew that journalists were in the hotel but failed to relay this information to soldiers on the ground."

* "On August 17, soldiers shot and killed veteran Reuters cameraman and former CPJ International Press Freedom Award recipient Mazen Dana while he filmed a U.S. tank convoy outside Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad. U.S. soldiers said they mistook his camera for a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher. Dana had secured permission from U.S. forces to film in the area, and, according to eyewitnesses, there was no fighting in the area when the journalist was shot.

CONTINUED...

http://www.counterpunch.org/2004/03/11/they-shoot-journalists-don-t-they/

Until we know more, my mind is open.

[FSogol]

94. Yeah, that's a tragedy, but it is disgusting how all the conspiracy nuts are trying to use his

death to bash the administration.

[Octafish]

101. Really? Care to show where I do any of that?

On this thread? Anywhere?

[FSogol]

103. ^Snicker^

[Octafish]

105. You're trashing through labeling.

That's a propaganda technique.

[FSogol]

107. Oooooooo, maybe I'm part of a government conspiracy!

Better stock up on tin foil, just to be safe.






Hmm, 16 emoticons? Is that a clue?

[rhett o rick]

121. Mr. Hastings was one of the good guys and I am disappointed at the lack of respect shown here. nm

[FSogol]

138. The lack of respect by people using his death for their political purposes?

[rhett o rick]

140. Most of those that are asking for more information and further investigations have given their

respects. Those that are trying to close down discussion, trying to assassinate his character have not.

[FSogol]

146. Bollocks: "Trying to assassinate his character"

Last edited Fri Jun 21, 2013, 07:36 AM - Edit history (1)

A truly ridiculous response and complete fabrication on your part. Show me where I said a single thing about his character.

Pathetic.

[KansDem]

55. Ernest Hemingway suffered a similar fate...

Ernest Hemingway 'driven to suicide over FBI surveillance'

Ernest Hemingway may have been driven to kill himself because of his surveillance by the FBI, his close friend and collaborator has said.

AE Hotchner said he believed the FBI's monitoring of the Nobel Prize-winning author, over suspicions of his links to Cuba, "substantially contributed to his anguish and his suicide" 50 years ago.

Hotchner wrote in The New York Times that he had "regretfully misjudged" his friend's fears of federal investigators, which were dismissed as paranoid delusions for years after his death.

In 1983 the FBI released a 127-page file it had kept on Hemingway since the 1940s, confirming he was watched by agents working for J. Edgar Hoover, who took a personal interest in his case.

Hotchner described being met off a train by Hemingway in Ketchum, Idaho, in November 1960, for a pheasant shoot with their friend Duke MacMullen.

Hemingway, struggling to complete his last work, complained "the feds" had "tailed us all the way" and that agents were poring over his accounts in a local bank that they passed on their journey.

--more--
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8614094/Ernest-Hemingway-driven-to-suicide-over-FBI-surveillance.html

[Vinnie From Indy]

64. I hope all DU'ers note that there are some here that

are trying very hard to shut down any discussion of this incident. Ask yourselves why they are so adamant that, even at this early stage, there was no foul play involved. The fact is they have no idea what happened beyond what any of us know. They were not at the scene and they do not have any personal access to the police investigation yet they bully and mock anyone even suggests that there may be more here than just a terrible accident.

Strange days here at DU.

[zappaman]

67. well...

"Ask yourselves why they are so adamant that, even at this early stage, there was no foul play involved."

Because the police don't suspect foul play?

The Los Angeles Police Department said there appears to be no foul play in the one-vehicle accident that killed journalist Michael Hastings.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-no-foul-play-suspected-in-michael-hastings-death-lapd-saysd-20130620,0,7630869.story


A witness said the vehicle was traveling about 100 mph shortly before the crash.

http://laist.com/2013/06/20/coroner_confirms_michael_hastings_died_in_crash.php

[HardTimes99]

131. Hey Zappaman - fellow Angeleno here. Is it even possible to drive 100 mph down Highland? That

street is butt-pucker scary to drive on at night (at least the portions south of Hollywood Blvd). I go to Highland Grounds coffee house all the time, so know the lay of the land pretty well (altho it's been awhile since the last time I went to HG to see a band play).

[zappaman]

132. Absolutely but...

Once you hit Melrose, where the accident occurred, the street narrows considerably.
But it's wide open that time of the morning between Sunset and Melrose!
It's been years since I was on it at 4AM, but about a month back I took it home around 2AM and there wasn't much happening.

Haven't been to Highland Grounds in years.
That whole area is getting nicer though!

[HardTimes99]

142. Thanks. I remember Highland being really dark with a lot of twists and turns and

definitely not a road I'd want to be driving fast on. But I was never there at 4 a.m. either, so could definitely see it without the traffic being more open.

FYI: I just found out Highland Grounds has closed, presumably yet another victim of the Starbucks-ization of Hollywood and Los Angeles. A shame, really. Heard some great bands and songwriters there and they had a great open mike.

[geek tragedy]

69. We're part of the conspiracy.

That's how these conspiracies work--any time you see a lack of evidence, that just means that the conspiracy is effective at suppressing it.

So, no reason to ever doubt a conspiracy allegation.

[Vinnie From Indy]

76. You certainly are very sure of what has happened in this case

Were you there at the scene? Are you privy to the investigation notes?

Why are you so sure this was just an accident? Why do you belittle and mock others for speculating about the accident?

Why indeed!

Cheers!

[geek tragedy]

78. There's no evidence it was anything but an accident.

None. Zip. Zilch.

If there emerges evidence that this was something besides an accident, then it's a different conversation.

[rhett o rick]

129. Logical fallacy. Just because it all conspiracies theories are not valid doesnt mean that none are.

"any time you see a lack of evidence, that just means that the conspiracy is effective at suppressing it. " Wrong. It's not "any time" but could be some times.

And isnt it early in the investigation to be screaming "no evidence, no evidence".

[geek tragedy]

149. When there's no evidence, perfectly okay to say "no evidence." nt

[treestar]

144. Yep. Reminds me of Colonel Flagg

on MASH, when he thought the poker game was a conspiracy and when it was proven clearly that it was just a poker game, he said, "Aha! So this is bigger than all of you!"

[RobertEarl]

70. It is almost a conspiracy, isn't it?

Thanks Vinnie for pointing out the antis.

When his car went through the red light, were his brake lights on, meaning he was trying to stop, but the car kept speeding up for some reason?

That's just one good question any good investigator should be asking.

[OilemFirchen]

104. Yeah. I cannot believe all of the posts from the Truth-Seekers that have disappeared.

They vanished so deeply, there's nary a trace of them left.

Damn those discussion shutdowners! How much are they being paid to shut up people like Vinnie From Indy? Is the fact that his post stands the ultimate proof that they're denying his right to speak?

This is a deep, deep, conspiracy. Everything you know is a lie, except when it isn't. That's how insidious it is.

[Vinnie From Indy]

130. And, here is my proof about mocking people that ask questions

Thanks for being a sport and providing such a clear example of my point!

Cheers!

[treestar]

145. Yep, there's no way to disprove the conspiracy

And it's authoritarian to question that!

[rhett o rick]

124. Their decision is solely based on whether or not the incident could reflect badly on Pres Obama.

Their disrespect for Mr. Hasting is shameful.

[Octafish]

71. Heartbreaking.

The FBI were giving him the same treatment they gave Dr. King and others who worked to "change" things.

COINTELPRO Revisited:
Spying & Disruption

By Brian Glick
Internet

EXCERPT...

The ground-work for public acceptance of repression has been laid by President Reagan's speeches reviving the old red-scare tale of worldwide "communist take-overs" and adding a new bogeyman in the form of domestic and international "terrorism." The President has taken advantage of the resulting political climate to denounce the Bill of Rights and to red-bait critics of US intervention in Central America. He has pardoned the FBI officials convicted of COINTELPRO crimes, praised their work, and spoken favorably of the political witchhunts he took part in during the 1950s.

For the first time in US history, government infiltration to "influence" domestic political activity has received official sanction. On the pretext of meeting the supposed terrorist threat, Presidential Executive Order 12333 (Dec. 4, 1981) extends such authority not only to the FBI, but also to the military and, in some cases, the CIA. History shows that these agencies treat legal restriction as a kind of speed limit which they feel free to exceed, but only by a certain margin. Thus, Reagan's Executive Order not only encourages reliance on methods once deemed abhorent, it also implicitly licenses even greater, more damaging intrusion. Government capacity to make effective use of such measures has also been substantially enhanced in recent years:

-Judge Webster's highly-touted reforms have served mainly to modernize the FBI and make it more dangerous. Instead of the back- biting competition which impeded coordination of domestic counter- insurgency in the 60s, the Bureau now promotes inter-agency cooperation. As an equal opportunity employer, it can use Third World and female agents to penetrate political targets more thoroughly than before. By cultivating a low-visibility corporate image and discreetly avoiding public attack on prominent liberals, the FBI has regained respectability and won over a number of former critics.

-Municipal police forces have similarly revamped their image while upgrading their repressive capabilities. The police "red squads" that infiltrated and harassed the 60s' movements have been revived under other names and augmented by para-military SWAT teams and tactical squads as well as highly-politicized community relations and "beat rep" programs, in which Black, Hispanic and female officers are often conspicuous. Local operations are linked by FBI-led regional anti-terrorist task forces and the national Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU).

-Increased military and CIA involvement has added political sophistication and advanced technology. Army Special Forces and other elite military units are now trained and equipped for counter-insurgency (known as"low-intensity warfare&quot . Their manuals teach the essential methodology of COINTELPRO, stressing earlier intervention to neutralize potential opposition before it can take hold.

The CIA's expanded role is especially ominous. In the 60s, while legally banned from "internal security functions," the CIA managed to infiltrate the Black, student and antiwar movements. It also made secret use of university professors, journalists, labor leaders, publishing houses, cultural organizations and philanthropic fronts to mold US public opinion. But it apparently felt compelled to hold back--within the country--from the kinds of systematic political destabilization, torture, and murder which have become the hallmark of its operations abroad. Now, the full force of the CIA has been unleashed at home.

CONTINUED...

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/FBI/COINTELPRO_Revisited.html

For all his foibles as a human being, Mr. Hemingway stood for peace and justice. What's more, he put his own hide in harm's way for freedom and democracy in Spain and Cuba. It seems his kind are destroyed, while the greedheads, warmongers and traitors get ahead.

Thank you for the kind reminder, KansDem.

[KansDem]

82. You're welcome, Octafish!

[WillyT]

127. K & R !!!

[Octafish]

153. Why Gen. Petraeus’ Assassination Inc. Threatens Us All

By Fred Branfman, AlterNet
Posted on Aug 24, 2010

&quot General McChrystal says that) for every innocent person you kill, you create 10 new enemies." —"The Runaway General," Rolling Stone, 6/22/10

The truth that many Americans find hard to take is that that mass U.S. assassination on a scale unequaled in world history lies at the heart of America’s military strategy in the Muslim world, a policy both illegal and never seriously debated by Congress or the American people. Conducting assassination operations throughout the 1.3 billon-strong Muslim world will inevitably increase the murder of civilians and thus create exponentially more "enemies," as Gen. McChrystal suggests—posing a major long-term threat to U.S. national security. This mass assassination program, sold as defending Americans, is actually endangering us all. Those responsible for it, primarily General Petraeus, are recklessly seeking short-term tactical advantage while making an enormous long-term strategic error that could lead to countless American deaths in the years and decades to come. General Petraeus must be replaced, and the U.S. military’s policy of direct and mass assassination of Muslims ended.

SNIP...

The increasing shift to direct U.S. assassination began on Petraeus’s watch in Iraq,where targeted assassination was considered by many within the military to be more important than the "surge." The killing of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was considered a major triumph that significantly reduced the level of violence. As Bob Woodward reported in The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008:

"Beginning in about May 2006, the U.S. military and the U.S. intelligence agencies launched a series of top secret operations that enabled them to locate, target and kill key individuals in extremist groups. A number of authoritative sources say these covert activities had a far-reaching effect on the violence and were very possibly the biggest factor in reducing it. Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) responsible for hunting al Qaeda in Iraq, (conducted) lightning-quick and sometimes concurrent operations When I later asked the president (Bush) about this, he offered a simple answer: ‘JSOC is awesome.’" (Emphasis added.)

SNIP...

Woodward’s finding that many "authoritative sources" believed assassination more important than the surge is buttressed by Petraeus’ appointment of McChrystal to lead U.S. forces in Afghanistan. McChrystal’s major qualification for the post was clearly his perceived expertise in assassination while heading JSOC from 2003-‘08 (where he also conducted extensive torture at "Camp Nama" at Baghdad International Airport, successfully excluding even the Red Cross).

Another key reason for the increased reliance on assassination is that Petraeus’ announced counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan obviously cannot work. It is absurd to believe that the corrupt warlords and cronies who make up the "Afghan government" can be transformed into the viable entity upon which his strategy publicly claims to depend—particularly within the next year which President Obama has set as a deadline before beginning to withdraw U.S. troops. Petraeus is instead largely relying on mass assassination to try and eliminate the Taliban, both within Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The centrality of assassination to U.S. war plans is revealed by the fact that it was at the heart of the Obama review of Afghan policy last fall. The dovish Biden position called for relying primarily on assassination, while the hawkish McChrystal stance embraced both assassination and more troops. No other options were seriously considered.

CONTINUED...

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_gen_petraeus_assasination_inc_threatens_us_all_20100824/

PS: What shocks me is how few Americans in leadership positions express remorse. Do they fear reprisal, should they stand up to War Inc.?

[bluestate10]

135. You post this without a puke smilie to close the story out? Amazing. nt

[Octafish]

152. Nothing funny.

Rise of Fascism
Unelected Government
Secret Government
Unlimited Corporate Power
Wars for Profit
Secret Spying on Citizens of the United States
Push-Button War by Drone
Assassination of Citizens Without Trial or Due Process
Assassination of Children Without Trial or Due Process

Journalist who Reported Some of That is Dead in What Looks Like an Accident

While I'm not sure if it was an accident, I know it's not funny.

[treestar]

143. Wikileaks says so, it must be true

[rhett o rick]

151. You dont like wikileaks do you? Nor Anonymous. nm

[treestar]

154. I was ribbing people who think they are always in the right

But if you let people agree with Obama or have issues with some criticism of him or think something other than Obama is to blame on certain issues without calling me a worshipper and fangirl, then I will quit calling Wikileaks devotees fans and worshippers.

Although I don't think leaking is always the right thing to do - but then I don't know that Wikileaks says that's the case - they do seem to just dump documents out there, though, without consideration of each one before doing so.

[boilerbabe]

147. omfg i didn't know about this! how did i miss it? his wife , also a reporter, was killed in Iraq!.

[cali]

148. no, it was his gf.