Michael Hastings Dies in Suspicious Car 'Crash'.....

[Magda Hassan]

Seems the Brennan article was already in the printing press. I suspect that there were (several) other things not that far advanced in publishing terms that they might want to stop.

CIA Director Brennan Confirmed as Reporter Michael Hastings Next Target

By Kimberly Dvorak
Created: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 10:51:00 PST

Updated: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 10:57:18 PST

This week Elise Jordan, wife of famed journalist Michael Hastings, who recently died under suspicious circumstances, corroborated this reporter's sources that CIA Director, John Brennan was Hastings next exposé project (CNN clip).
Last month a source provided San Diego 6 News with an alarming email hacked from super secret CIA contractor Stratfor's President Fred Burton. The email (link here) was posted on WikiLeaks and alleged that then Obama counter-terrorism Czar Brennan, was in charge of the government's continued crackdown or witch-hunt on investigative journalists.
After providing the Stratfor email to the CIA for comment, the spymaster's spokesperson responded in lightning speed. Two emails were received; one acknowledging Hastings was working on a CIA story and the other said, "Without commenting on information disseminated by WikiLeaks, any suggestion that Director Brennan has ever attempted to infringe on constitutionally-protected press freedoms is offensive and baseless."
The emails also prompted a phone from CIA media spokesman Todd Ebitz. He said they were saddened by Michael's death and reiterated their position that they had a cordial working relationship with the investigative reporter.
On the other hand, Stratfor, specifically Fred Burton, remains nonresponsive.
As for Hastings' final story, his wife said Rolling Stone would publish the Brennan piece in an upcoming edition of the magazine.

Was speed a factor?
The release of a new surveillance video from a nearby Italian restaurant by Michael Krikorian, an author, freelance blogger who also writes for LA Weekly, reveals a lot of information about Hastings' final seconds.
An SDSU professor Morteza M. Mehrabadi, Professor and Interim Chair Areas of Specialization: Mechanics of Materials told San Diego 6 News that calculating the speed of Hastings car follows a simple mathematic equation. By using the video and the distance traveled (195 feet) as well as the seconds that lapsed prior to the explosion in his opinion, the car was traveling roughly 35 mph.
That revelation is important because Jose, an employee of ALSCO a nearby business, and a witness to the accident told KTLA/Loud Labs (Scott Lane) the car was traveling at a high rate of speed and he saw sparks coming from the car and saw it explode BEFORE hitting the tree.
The pre-explosion could possibly explain the flash of light on the video that preceded the appearance of the car in the video. The pre-explosion and slower speed could also explain the minimal damage to the palm tree and the facts the rear tires rested against the curb. It also provides an explanation for the location of the engine and drive train at more than 100 feet from the tree impact area.
This new information prompted another round of FOIA/CPRAs and only adds to the questions that remain unanswered. One of those questions is where was Mr. Hastings going at 4:30 in the morning? Based on the accident location, Hastings was only 1.5 miles from his home and was headed away from his address.
Other unanswered questions point to the contents (computer, phones, notes, etc.) of his home, so far there has been no response from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) FOIA request regarding these issues. Also, numerous FOIAs have been filed with other federal agencies concerning details of Hastings suspicious car "accident."
I would like to thank the tens of thousands of people following this important story and the supportive comments that include many helpful tips. You can post anonymous tips for me at theKDreport.com or sandiego6.com or email: Kimberly.dvorak@hotmail.com

http://www.sandiego6.com/story/cia-direc...t-20130812

[Peter Lemkin]

Having lived in very conservative San Diego, it is most odd that this San Diego reporter is holding on to this story - or allowed to - by management. But, hey, go for it! It looks clearer and clearer that foul play and a pre-planned murder were involved. It looked that way to me from the get go. The war of terror is now also a war on investigative journalists and whistle-blowers. The Empire is getting very afraid and will do ANYTHING to ANYONE to keep their dirty secrets, at this point. The LAPD have an absolutely horrible track-record of fairly handling such evidence in such a case. They, like all big city Police Departments, have CIA persons secretly embedded within them to handle just such things as this [or the RFK murder] etc. Sadly, the state of rot is so advanced in the USA, I can't see someone coming to trial for Hastings' murder. Or should such a trial begin, a way to close it down before it gets going, will be found. I hope I'm wrong. If the article is still planned to come out, expect more foul play to stop it. If it does come to print, it should be an interesting read.... We lost a good man and researcher. The good, they die [or are murdered] young!

[Dawn Meredith]

I totally agree Peter. It used to be that authors and journalists were not murdered. The thinking by the power elite was that only a few read this stuff so why bother killing the messenger. But now in this internet age and more people becoming aware there has been a shift. THis IS a war on investigative journalists and whistle blowers. Murdering Hastings was akin to murdering Dorothy Kilgallen. Both murders served a dual purpose. One of shutting down that story, and the more important reason: let the writer know that this could be his/her fate. With Dorothy it was her high profile that played a huge role. Unknown researchers/writers on the assassination were left alone in terms of murder. (Mostly). Since 9-11 we have seen the advance of fascism at an alarming rate. And most just fall for it, stand for it. This must have been how it was in Italy, Germany etc. I weep for the world our grand-daughters (13 and 10) will grow up into.

Dawn

[Peter Lemkin]

I totally agree Peter. It used to be that authors and journalists were not murdered. The thinking by the power elite was that only a few read this stuff so why bother killing the messenger. But now in this internet age and more people becoming aware there has been a shift. THis IS a war on investigative journalists and whistle blowers. Murdering Hastings was akin to murdering Dorothy Kilgallen. Both murders served a dual purpose. One of shutting down that story, and the more important reason: let the writer know that this could be his/her fate. With Dorothy it was her high profile that played a huge role. Unknown researchers/writers on the assassination were left alone in terms of murder. (Mostly). Since 9-11 we have seen the advance of fascism at an alarming rate. And most just fall for it, stand for it. This must have been how it was in Italy, Germany etc. I weep for the world our grand-daughters (13 and 10) will grow up into.

Dawn

Your mention of Kilgallen is important. Your first sentence should, IMO, be slightly modified to: 'It used to be that authors and journalists were not murdered OFTEN.' I can think of others before or just after Kilgallen who were murdered to silence, but it was an unusual event. Many were during the Anarchist Movement, The Women's Movement, The Workers Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and the '60's'.

Now, it is open hunting season on investigative journalists and whistleblowers - and anyone remotely like them. Mary Meyers was, in effect, acting as a whistleblower after doing her own [personal] investigation on who was behind the JFK assassination, and was murdered. Karen Silkwood, acting primarily as a whistleblower and having done her own investigation was killed to protect Kerr-McGee and US Nuclear dirty secrets [plutonium given to Israeli nuke program, most likely]....just to name some others. As you say, it almost always has a dual purpose - to stop the message by killing the messenger - and to scare off others from even thinking of attempting something along those lines. Now, the list of those clearly assassinated for investigative reporting and/or whistleblowing is long and growing fast....I would expect it to increase rapidly in the next months and years, unless the People stop being Sheeple!

Below is a very PARTIAL, 'tame' and mostly 'not-Deep-Political' list of journalists killed from wiki: I'm trying to find a better list somewhere.....

[TABLE="class: wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter"]
[TR]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2 August 2007[/TD]
[TD]Chauncey Bailey[/TD]
[TD]The Oakland Post[/TD]
[TD]Oakland,California[/TD]
[TD]After investigating corruption in his community, Bailey was murdered on his way to work by the target of his reporting.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][11][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5 October 2001[/TD]
[TD]Robert Stevens (photo editor)[/TD]
[TD]Sun[/TD]
[TD]Boca Raton,Florida[/TD]
[TD]Murdered as one of the media targets of the 2001 anthrax attacks less than a month after 9/11.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][12][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11 September 2001[/TD]
[TD]Bill Biggart[/TD]
[TD]Freelance photographer[/TD]
[TD]Manhattan,New York City, New York[/TD]
[TD]Killed while photographing the rescue effort outside the World Trade Center before the tower collapsed.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][13][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]24 October 1993[/TD]
[TD]Dona St. Plite[/TD]
[TD]WKAT-AM[/TD]
[TD]Little Haiti,Miami, Florida[/TD]
[TD]St. Plite was attending a benefit for former colleague Fritz Dor when he was also assassinated for supporting Jean-Bertrand Aristide.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][14][/SUP][SUP][15][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11 March 1992[/TD]
[TD]Manuel de Dios Unanue[/TD]
[TD]El Diario La Prensa[/TD]
[TD]Queens, New York City, New York[/TD]
[TD]Murdered by Colombian drug traffickers for writing about drug trade.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][16][/SUP][SUP][17][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15 March 1991[/TD]
[TD]Fritz Dor[/TD]
[TD]WLQY-AM (1320)[/TD]
[TD]Little Haiti, Miami, Florida[/TD]
[TD]A colleague of Olivier's at WLQY, he was assassinated as he left a club.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][14][/SUP][SUP][18][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]19 February 1991[/TD]
[TD]Jean-Claude Olivier(a.k.a. Division Star)[/TD]
[TD]WLQY-AM (1320)[/TD]
[TD]Little Haiti, Miami, Florida[/TD]
[TD]A colleague of Dor's, he was known for his controversial commentary and was assassinated on his way to his car.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][14][/SUP][SUP][19][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22 September 1990[/TD]
[TD]Triet Le[/TD]
[TD]Van Nghe Tien Phong[/TD]
[TD]Bailey's Crossroads,Virginia[/TD]
[TD]A columnist of controversial content for the same Vietnamese magazine that employed Nhan Trong Do. Assassinated.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][22][/SUP][SUP][23][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Nov. 22, 1989[/TD]
[TD]Nhan Trong Do[/TD]
[TD]Van Nghe Tien Phong[/TD]
[TD]Fairfax County, Virginia[/TD]
[TD]A layout designer who worked with Triet Le, he was the first employer of the Vietnamese-language magazine to be assassinated.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][22][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9 August 1987[/TD]
[TD]Tap Van Pham (a.k.a. Hoai Diep Tu)[/TD]
[TD]Mai[/TD]
[TD]Garden Grove, California[/TD]
[TD]He was assassinated by arson while sleeping in his office by an anti-communist group that took responsibility.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][21][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15 October 1984[/TD]
[TD]Henry Liu(a.k.a. Chiang Nan)[/TD]
[TD]Freelancer and author[/TD]
[TD]Daly City, California[/TD]
[TD]A critic of Taiwan who was assassinated by order from Taiwan.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][24][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]19 June 1984[/TD]
[TD]Alan Berg[/TD]
[TD]KOA (AM)[/TD]
[TD]Denver,Colorado[/TD]
[TD]A liberal radio show host who was murdered by a white nationalist group.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][25][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]24 August 1982[/TD]
[TD]Nguyen Dam Phong[/TD]
[TD]Tu Do(Freedom)[/TD]
[TD]Houston,Texas[/TD]
[TD]Was assassinated at his home by an anti-communist group.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][26][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]21 July 1981[/TD]
[TD]Duong Trong Lam[/TD]
[TD]Cai Dinh Lang (The Village Temple)[/TD]
[TD]San Francisco, California[/TD]
[TD]Killed by gunfire from a member of one of two anti-communist groups that claimed responsibility for his assassination.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][27][/SUP][SUP][28][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9 March 1977[/TD]
[TD]Maurice Williams (reporter)[/TD]
[TD]WHUR-FM[/TD]
[TD]Washington, D.C.[/TD]
[TD]He was murdered during the 1977 Hanafi Siege.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][29][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2 June 1976[/TD]
[TD]Don Bolles[/TD]
[TD]Arizona Republic[/TD]
[TD]Phoenix,Arizona[/TD]
[TD]Murdered as a result of a car bomb set by the mafia outside the Clarendon Hotel.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][30][/SUP][SUP][31][/SUP][SUP][32][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]29 August 1970[/TD]
[TD]Rubén Salazar[/TD]
[TD]Los Angeles Times[/TD]
[TD]Los Angeles, California[/TD]
[TD]Salazar was killed by deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department while covering the Chicano Moratorium protest in East Los Angeles. The park where the protest took place was later renamed Salazar Park in his honor.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][33][/SUP][SUP][34][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]29 July 1949[/TD]
[TD]W.H. "Bill" Mason[/TD]
[TD]KBKI radio[/TD]
[TD]Alice, Texas[/TD]
[TD]Known as a crusading radio journalist in a county ruled with an iron hand by local law enforcement, Mason was shot dead by Sheriff deputy Sam Smithwick, who Mason had publicly accused of running a strip club. The senate candidate who lost to Lyndon B. Johnson believed that Smithwick had information about how the election had been rigged but Smithwick was hanged before their meeting. Mason's tombstone reads: "He had the nerve to tell the truth for a lot of little people."[/TD]
[TD][SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][35][/SUP][SUP][36][/SUP][SUP][37][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22 January 1945[/TD]
[TD]Arthur Kasherman[/TD]
[TD]Public Press(alternative)[/TD]
[TD]Minneapolis,Minnesota[/TD]
[TD]His death figured into Hubert Humphrey's mayoral victory.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][38][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9 December 1935[/TD]
[TD]Walter Liggett[/TD]
[TD]Midwest American[/TD]
[TD]Minneapolis, Minnesota[/TD]
[TD]He wrote about political corruption and organized crime.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][39][/SUP][SUP][40][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6 September 1934[/TD]
[TD]Howard Guilford[/TD]
[TD]The Saturday Press[/TD]
[TD]Minneapolis, Minnesota[/TD]
[TD]Editor of a newspaper that exposed corruption and organized crime. He and partner Jay Near won the US Supreme Court decision in Near v. Minnesota.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][41][/SUP][SUP][42][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]23 July 1930[/TD]
[TD]Jerry Buckley[/TD]
[TD]WMBC-AM[/TD]
[TD]Detroit,Michigan[/TD]
[TD]Gunned down on election night.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][43][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16 July 1927[/TD]
[TD]Donald Ring Mellett[/TD]
[TD]Canton Daily News[/TD]
[TD]Canton, Ohio[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][SUP][1][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9 November 1908[/TD]
[TD]Edward W. Carmack[/TD]
[TD]Nashville American[/TD]
[TD]Nashville,Tennessee[/TD]
[TD]Former congressman and senator. He was killed by a former army officer who disapproved of his name appearing in an article and threatened the editor.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][44][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1 April 1898[/TD]
[TD]William Cowper Brann(a.k.a. Brann the Iconoclast)[/TD]
[TD]Iconoclast[/TD]
[TD]Waco, Texas[/TD]
[TD]Wrote critical articles about Baptists. Shot in the back during a duel.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][45][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]27 March 1884[/TD]
[TD]Charles L. Kusz[/TD]
[TD]The Gringo and Greaser[/TD]
[TD]Manzano,New Mexico[/TD]
[TD]Shot through his window by unknown gunman on horses. His newspaper was reform oriented and created enemies as it sought changes.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][46][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17 November 1881[/TD]
[TD]A.B. Thornton[/TD]
[TD]Boonville News[/TD]
[TD]Boonville,Missouri[/TD]
[TD]The town marshal killed Thornton because of criticism from the newspaper and won acquittal based on the perception that the criticism was too intense.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][47][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12 June 1881[/TD]
[TD]Jerome James Collins[/TD]
[TD]New York Herald[/TD]
[TD]Bennett Island, Bering Strait[/TD]
[TD]An Irish American, Collins founded the Clan na Gael, an Irish republican organization in the United States, and left on a polar expedition as a reporter and meteorologist with the Jeannette expedition to avoid police. However, all but two survived the sinking of the vessel.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][48][/SUP][SUP][49][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]23 April 1880[/TD]
[TD]Charles De Young[/TD]
[TD]The Daily Dramatic Chronicle[/TD]
[TD]San Francisco, California[/TD]
[TD]With his brother M. H. de Young, he founded the newspaper that would become the San Francisco Chronicle. The mayor's son killed him in revenge for a feud de Young had with his father.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][50][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]27 March 1877[/TD]
[TD]J. Clarke Swayze[/TD]
[TD]Topeka Daily Blade[/TD]
[TD]Topeka, Kansas[/TD]
[TD]Swayze was killed after publishing a critical article about his murderer.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][51][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]25 June 1876[/TD]
[TD]Mark Kellogg (reporter)[/TD]
[TD]Associated Press[/TD]
[TD]Little Bighorn Battlefield,Montana[/TD]
[TD]The first Associated Press journalist to die while reporting.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][52][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5 November 1871[/TD]
[TD]Frederick Wadsworth Loring[/TD]
[TD]Appleton's Journal[/TD]
[TD]Wickenburg, Arizona[/TD]
[TD]Was killed while on assignment out west in what is known as the Wickenburg Massacre, an attack on a stagecoach by native Americans.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][53][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14 September 1866[/TD]
[TD]Ridgeway Glover[/TD]
[TD]Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper[/TD]
[TD]Fort Phil Kearny,Wyoming[/TD]
[TD]While covering the American Indian Wars, Glover was killed and mutilated during the construction of Fort Kearny in 1866.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][54][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1864[/TD]
[TD]Albert Street[/TD]
[TD]The Mobile Register[/TD]
[TD]Unknown[/TD]
[TD]One of the few southern journalists killed during the US Civil War.[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6 May 1864[/TD]
[TD]Samuel Fiske (aka Dunn Browne)[/TD]
[TD]The Springfield Republican[/TD]
[TD]Fredricksburg, Virginia[/TD]
[TD]Capt. Fiske wrote under the name Dunn Browne and served in the army and was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][55][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]23 June 1863[/TD]
[TD]Lynde Walter Buckingham[/TD]
[TD]New York Herald[/TD]
[TD]Aldie, Virginia[/TD]
[TD]Killed as a result of an ambush during the U.S. Civil War. He was buried at the Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church-VDHR 53-339 in Aldie.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][56][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6 April 1862[/TD]
[TD]Irving Carson[/TD]
[TD]New York Tribune[/TD]
[TD]Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee[/TD]
[TD]First journalist to be killed during the U.S. Civil War. Killed by a cannonball fire while covering the Battle of Shilohand General Ulysses S. Grant.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][57][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]20 May 1856[/TD]
[TD]James King of William[/TD]
[TD]Daily Evening Bulletin[/TD]
[TD]San Francisco, California[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][SUP][58][/SUP][SUP][59][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22 June 1854[/TD]
[TD]Joseph Mansfield[/TD]
[TD]San Joaquin Republican[/TD]
[TD]Stockton, California[/TD]
[TD]Mansfield was killed in a fight with a rival editor, both of whom were Democrats.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][60][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15 September 1848[/TD]
[TD]John Jenkins[/TD]
[TD]Vicksburg Sentinel[/TD]
[TD]Vicksburg,Mississippi[/TD]
[TD]Killed in a fight with an attorney after the two had a previous altercation.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][61][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]29 February 1844[/TD]
[TD]James A. Ryan[/TD]
[TD]Vicksburg Sentinel[/TD]
[TD]Vicksburg, Mississippi[/TD]
[TD]The Vicksburg Sentinel was a Democrat paper and Ryan was killed by his rival Whig counterpart in a duel on their second fight.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][62][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6 June 1843[/TD]
[TD]James Hagan[/TD]
[TD]Vicksburg Sentinel[/TD]
[TD]Vicksburg, Mississippi[/TD]
[TD]He was killed by the son of a man Hagan had criticized in his newspaper.[/TD]
[TD][SUP][61][/SUP][SUP][62][/SUP][SUP][63][/SUP][SUP][64][/SUP][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7 November 1837[/TD]
[TD]Elijah Parish Lovejoy[/TD]
[TD]Alton Observer[/TD]
[TD]Alton, Illinois[/TD]
[TD]This abolition editor was killed by a mob supporting slavery in the Union.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[Peter Lemkin]

Hastings Unauthorized Cremation' Mega-Rumor False, Family Says

By Russ Baker on Aug 13, 2013


According to a member of Michael Hastings's family, a widely circulated story that the investigative journalist's body was cremated by authorities without the family's permission is flat-out untrue.
The story that the cremation was unauthorizedfurther stoking credible suspicions aroused by Hastings's strange death in a fiery one-car crash, complete with a dramatic explosion has raged across the Internet for weeks.
A recent count showed 475,000 results for "Hastings cremated" and 357,000 for "Hastings cremation." The top results all reported that the family did not want the cremation. The clear implication was that this was proof of a cover-up that "the authorities" had rushed to dispose of the body in a way that would make further inquiries, such as an autopsy, impossible.
But a family member told WhoWhatWhy, "It was our wish to have Michael's remains cremated."In fact, this family member said the cremation came about at the family's specific requestand only after an autopsy and toxicology tests, whose results are pending.
In light of this simple, clarifying statement, it's worth asking: How do blatantly counter-factual rumors and untruths get traction in the cybersphere?
Often, as in this case, they start with legitimate suspicions: just before his death Hastings told associates he was working on a blockbuster story involving the "NSA." Building on these suspicions, a reporter makes an ambiguous statement that sounds like a shocking revelation but is actually the result of a leap of faith, an unwarranted assumption by the reporter…which turns out to be incorrect.
Here is a local television reporter for a commercial station in San Diego, Kim Dvorak:
"A close family friend did confirm that Michael's body was sent home in an urn, meaning he was cremated and it wasn't the request of the family….in fact the family wanted Michael's body to go home."
Soon, the story was everywhereincluding on almost all of the websites that generate heavy traffic by catering to those who hunger for a steady diet of stories hostile to the government, no matter their veracity.
***
When we contacted Dvorak by email to ask where she got the "unauthorized cremation" claim, she replied:
I will not be sharing sources for privacy reasons. I will point you to Elise Jordan's CNN interview where she had plenty of opportunities to deny details reported on San Diego 6 (we are affiliated with CNN).
The problem with this disingenuous reply is that Elise Jordan (Hastings's widow) was not asked about the cremation by the program's host, Piers Morgan. The short interview segment did not include discussion of any details of the crash or aftermath, beyond Jordan's statement that she accepted the crash as an accident and that her husband was always working on multiple intriguing stories at any one time. While this assertion may well be premature, it is not so surprising given the sort of pressures on family members to demonstrate restraint in such circumstances. (From several sources, WhoWhatWhy understands that the family and friends remain curious, like the public, and open to further information that may shed light on the incident.)
Meanwhile, another person Dvorak interviewed fits the description she used in her original report, of "a close family friend." That's Joe Biggs, a retired staff sergeant who was close with Hastings and who did in fact speak to her about the cremation.
In a telephone interview, Biggs told us that he was the source of Dvorak's reporting, but not her mis-reporting. "That lady asked me about being at the memorial service. I said it was the first one I've been at without a body. I meant we didn't have closure….I said that if I were killed, I would never want to be cremated. Somehow all this got mixed up… She took that to be that the body is missing and family didn't know where it is. Then this whole thing spun out of control.
"I saw the video of her on the news talking about it… That made me sick to my stomach… I finally got hold of her, and she said she'd retract it, and I don't know if she did." (She has not.)
Biggs said that as soon as he saw Dvorak's report, he contacted everyone he could think of to tell them that his comments had been badly distorted to create the appearance he was alleging a conspiracy.
Matt Farwell, who often worked with Hastings as his writing partner and who is finishing Hastings's final story for Rolling Stone, is furious with Dvorak, whom he called "a fucking disgraceand that's on the record." Farwell says he fired off an angry email to Dvorak, decrying her reports.
As for the crash itself, he agrees it should be investigated.
"It's being looked at closely and unless it's good solid stuff like the video and [the WhoWhatWhy] piece from the guy whose girlfriend has the pizzeria; unless it's good solid shoe leather journalismit's not helping anyone. It makes the LAPD and the feds go into closed-off mode and makes people not want to say anything."
***
Many people have taken Dvorak's work seriously simply because they were pleased to see a "mainstream" local television station carrying the kind of conspiracy-tinged reports she has done.
Indeed, Dvorak has become something of a cult hero on the Internet. As one popular post on Reddit puts it: "Kimberly Dvorak is essentially the only journalist doing work on the ground with the Michael Hastings death. We ***NEED*** to support her. This is her twitter. Spread this far and wide."
It's not at all clear Dvorak deserves the title of "journalist." Her twitter page identifies her not as a television reporter but as "Examiner National Homeland Security Correspondent"a reference to the Examiner network of conservative-oriented websites. Most of her work has been essays with an editorial tone for conservative or right-wing sites, marked by a clear animus toward the Obama administration, and by alarmist content about "illegal aliens" and other perceived threats.

[Kara Dellacioppa]

not sure what to make of this just yet..

BuzzFeed reporter Michael Hastings had a small amount of methamphetamine in his system when he died in a fiery collision, but it was unlikely that it contributed to his death, Los Angeles coroner's officials said Tuesday in a press release. "Toxicology shows a small amount of amphetamine in the blood, consistent with possible intake of methamphetamine many hours before death, unlikely to have an intoxicative effect at the time of the accident," Hastings' autopsy report said.
A small amount of marijuana was also found in Hastings' system, but officials say neither the meth nor the marijuana was likely a factor in the crash.
Hastings died June 18 in L.A. After being seen driving at high speeds through Hollywood, he crashed into a tree and died in a fiery wreck on Highland Avenue south of Melrose Avenue, according to his autopsy report.
Members of Hastings' family had arrived from New York the previous day to try getting Hastings to go to rehab, according to his autopsy. His autopsy report also says that he was also believed to be using the hallucinogen DMT, though a toxicology report failed to detect any.
Officials were told he had smoked marijuana the previous night. Hastings had a medical marijuana card that was found in his wallet by officials, with the belief that it was due to post-traumatic stress disorder from being a war journalist stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the report.
Officials were told that those close to Hastings believed he had been sober for the past 14 years, but that he had started using again in the month prior to his death, according to the autopsy report, shortly after moving to California from New York. Hastings was also in a collision with a pole years ago while using ritalin recreationally, entering rehab around 1999, according to the report.
One person whose name was redacted from the autopsy report told officials that Hastings "believed he was 'invincible,' believing he could jump from a balcony and would be okay."
Hastings was 33 years old. His official cause of death was "traumatic injuries," with officials noting that carbon monoxide levels indicate that he died instantly, with all burns happening after his death. The autopsy was conducted on June 20.
Hastings was best known for writing an article in Rolling Stone on U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, "The Runaway General," that led to McChrystal's resignation as U.S. commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The article included negative comments by McChrystal and his aides about members of the Obama administration, including Vice President Joe Biden. The article won Hastings a George Polk Award.
Read the full autopsy report below. (Warning: Contains graphic details.)
BuzzFeed reporter Michael Hastings' autopsy report

[Magda Hassan]

not sure what to make of this just yet..

BuzzFeed reporter Michael Hastings had a small amount of methamphetamine in his system when he died in a fiery collision, but it was unlikely that it contributed to his death, Los Angeles coroner's officials said Tuesday in a press release.

Mmmm...Yeah, not sure what to make of this either. In any case the toxicology indicates any drugs in his system were way too low to be responsible for the accident causing his death. Still leaves other causes for the accident.

Michael Hastings' family reportedly planned 'detox' at time of crash

By Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein August 20, 2013, 2:54 p.m.

Journalist Michael Hastings' family was about to stage an intervention to try to get the reporter into "detox" on the same day his Mercedes burst into flames after hitting a tree, Los Angeles coroner's officials said Tuesday.
Hastings, 33, died instantly, with the massive blunt-force trauma killing him "within seconds" of the single-vehicle collision on June 18 in Hancock Park, the report said.
No alcohol was detected in his system, but there were traces of drugs, according to the report. Authorities did not believe the drugs were a contributing factor in the crash.
An unidentified relative told investigators that after 14 years of sobriety, the journalist had begun "[using] drugs again in the past month or so." The relative, whose identity was redacted from the report, told an investigator the family believed Hastings was using DMT, a powerful hallucinogenic. But tests for the drug were negative in Hastings' body and an autopsy also found no signs of alcohol.
DOCUMENT: Read the autopsy report
The coroner's report, however, said Hastings had traces of amphetamine in his system, consistent with possible intake of methamphetamine many hours before his death. Marijuana was also detected.
A medical marijuana card was found in Hastings' wallet; the substance had been prescribed for treatment of post-traumatic stress resulting from his time as a war journalist in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One relative had arrived in Los Angeles from New York the day before the accident, with his brother scheduled to arrive later on the day of the crash "as his family was attempting to get [Hastings] to go to detox," the report stated.
Hastings, according to the coroner's report, had previously been institutionalized for rehabilitative care in 1999. A witness told investigators that Hastings had been abusing Ritalin.
His family told detectives that Hastings had been in a past traffic incident in which he crashed into a pole several years ago, and that he may have been abusing Ritalin at the time.
Hastings was not known to be suicidal, but did consider himself "'invincible,' believing he could jump from a balcony and would be okay," according to the report.
Hours before the crash, Hastings had last been seen by a relative "passed out" sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. The crash occurred just before 5 a.m.
In an interview with CNN, Hastings' widow Elise Jordan called the crash a "really tragic accident."
She told CNN's Piers Morgan earlier this month that she didn't "really have anything to add" to the ongoing police investigation into the crash that took her husband's life.
"You know, my gut here was that it was just a really tragic accident, and I'm very unlucky, and the world was very unlucky," Jordan said.
Hastings' Mercedes crashed on Highland Avenue near Melrose Avenue. The Los Angeles Police Department said there were no signs of foul play.
His death prompted numerous conspiracy theories, most suggesting that the famed journalist may have been killed while chasing his next big story.
The FBI said that Hastings was never under investigation by the agency.
"At no time was journalist Michael Hastings ever under investigation by the FBI," the agency said in a statement.
Hastings' 2010 Rolling Stone profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, "The Runaway General," exposed the general and his staff's disdain for their superiors, including National Security Advisor James L. Jones, Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama.
Hastings won the prestigious George Polk Award for magazine reporting and later wrote a book about McChrystal and his time in the war zone.

[Phil Dragoo]

WhoWhatWhy, calling the coroner's report "irresponsible."

"I can honestly say with absolute certainty that he wasn't doing meth," the family member, requesting anonymity, told WhoWhatWhy in an email. "Methamphetamine' can be nasal spray, Sudafed, one of those upper drinks at the gas station, prescription amphetamines, etc."


The family member continued, "The LAPD has done a really sloppy job investigating his case, and they were hoping for a mother lode of drugs in his system. When they didn't get it in the toxicology lab results (science!), they had to insert speculation throughout their field report to compensate for their lack of an investigation. It's so irresponsible."


http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/08/21/hastings-autopsy-traces-of-meth-found-in-body-but-crash-caused-death/

Ritalin, pole crash 1999--really? They dig that far back? When he was 19? Fourteen years.

Known DMT user? (In the 'sixties small town cops asked if so-and-so "needed the stuff"--indicating marijuana, displaying an ignorance and paranoia out of Reefer Madness.)

This is generally inhaled in a few successive breaths. The effects last for a short period of time, usually 5 to 15 minutes, dependent on the dose. The onset after inhalation is very fast (less than 45 seconds) and peak effects are reached within a minute. In the 1960s, DMT was known as a "businessman's trip" in the US because of the relatively short duration (and rapid onset) of action when vaporized.

DMT is a bell jar over the subject eliciting a Dali painting. Soon it's back on the chain gang. But is this a true account or a smear?

Siblings and detox? Is this a post-mortem creation, like Vince Foster's depression?

And LAPD is known for its integrity in crime scene investigation and autopsy results.

Viewing the sensational press release as a Red Adair blast to stop a gushing well.

Suicide? Which would explain his wearing a seat belt.

Or not.

Unmentioned, so allow me to be the first:

Model psychosis developed by administration of methedrine.

We have wrecked and killed him. Now we wreck his reputation and eclipse speculation of murder.

That's the the structure behind the release.

Yet it fails to explain explosions and fireball preceding the impact.

And his widow cites Brennan as the subject of his recent research in this article by Matthew MacEgan of Center for Research on Globalization:


The widow of Michael Hastings confirmed that the investigative journalist was working on a story on CIA Director John Brennan when he was killed in a fiery car crash in June.

In an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan on August 5, Elise Jordan said that the story on Brennan will appear in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone. The story apparently relates to Brennan's role in targeting journalists who were working on government secrets.

In its report on Hasting's investigations, San Diego 6 Newscited an email from obtained by WikiLeaks, which alleges that "Brennan is behind the witch hunts of investigative journalists" who reveal government secrets. It was an internal communication within Stratfor, a global intelligence company with connections to the US state, with a subject line stating that the message was for internal use only and should not be forwarded.

The email went on: "There is a specific tasker from the [White House] to go after anyone printing materials negative to the Obama agenda (oh my). Even the FBI is shocked. The Wonder Boys must be in meltdown mode."

Hastings died in the early hours of the morning on June 19, when his Mercedes exploded after apparently crashing into a palm tree in Hollywood, California. The vehicle burst into flames and the engine was launched 100 feet down the street. One witness compared the sound coming from the blast to a bomb explosion that shook nearby houses.

While initial eyewitness testimony indicated that Hastings had been speeding, new evidence is surfacing that questions such statements. According to the same San Diego 6 News report, a surveillance video taken from a nearby restaurant has been studied and shows that Hastings may have only been traveling as slowly as 35 mph when the collision took place.

According to San Diego 6 News: "That revelation is important because Jose, an employee of ALSCO, a nearby business, and a witness to the accident, told KTLA/Loud Labs (Scott Lane) the car was traveling at a high rate of speed and he saw sparks coming from the car and saw it explode BEFORE hitting the tree."

Hastings, who was 33-years-old when he died, had received threats from government officials in response to his work. In one of his books, he revealed that a staffer of General Stanley McCrystal, whose career was ended in part by an exposé written by Hastings, had told him, "We'll hunt you down and kill you if we don't like what you write."

In response to recent attention to Hastings' death, a CIA spokesperson told reporters that, "any suggestion that Director Brennan has ever attempted to infringe on Constitutionally-protected press freedoms is offensive and baseless."
However, the connection between the death of Hastings and the leaked CIA email raises serious questions about the death. Los Angeles Police Department officials have declared that there is no evidence of foul play.

Hastings was best known for his Rolling Stone exposé that led to the removal of McCrystal as chief of command in Afghanistan.

Following his death, friends of Hastings explained that the journalist had been in a particularly agitated state following the revelations of NSA spying by Edward Snowden in early June. Hastings was meeting with a WikiLeaks lawyer just hours before the crash.

Another San Diego 6 News report from July included an interview with Staff Sergeant Joe Biggs, a close friend of Hastings, who explained that journalist's body was returned to family members in an urn, which was not in line with their wishes. The fact that his body was returned in this fashion raises even more suspicion regarding his death.

Biggs also released an email sent out by Hastings prior to his death with the following subject line: "FBI Investigation, re: NSA." He suggested that his associates at BuzzFeed request legal counsel before speaking to "the Feds," before adding, "I'm onto a big story and need to go off the rada[r] for a bit."

Reportedly, Hastings, who frequently posted to social media web sites, made no such posts during the final week of his life.

In reference to this email, Biggs told reporters, "This wasn't an accident, and I will continue to investigate his death."


http://www.globalresearch.ca/journalist-...sh/5346028

[Phil Dragoo]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/22/mic...th-report/

Hours before dying in a fiery car crash, Rolling Stone journalist Michael Hastings told his neighbor he believed his Mercedes had been tampered with, according to a report.

~~~

http://www.laweekly.com/2013-08-22/news/...rash/full/

Leading into a lengthy Slanterbury Tales which at mile marker prime meridian contains the one per cent unzip program:

Thigpen argues that Hastings was not doing anything harder than pot. She strongly disputes the coroner's suggestion that Hastings was taking methamphetamine, saying it was much more likely the amphetamine found in his system came from Adderall. (A coroner's spokesman acknowledged that the amphetamine could have come from either Adderall* or meth.)

So the lurid headline METH HEAD HAD IT COMING is yet another Hershburger

What we know is he rattled cages, got in faces, threatened Brennan and exploded before facepalm

Much like some towers we know

* Adderall contains a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Both these medicines are central nervous system stimulants that affect chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control.
Adderall is used to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Phil's footnote: Dr. Benway and Dr. Mendoza would never ever increase the dose. Only tonight because tonight is special.

A model psychosis, a suggestion to drive, testing the beta override--success; Miller time.

[Peter Lemkin]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/22/mic...th-report/

Hours before dying in a fiery car crash, Rolling Stone journalist Michael Hastings told his neighbor he believed his Mercedes had been tampered with, according to a report.

~~~

http://www.laweekly.com/2013-08-22/news/...rash/full/

Leading into a lengthy Slanterbury Tales which at mile marker prime meridian contains the one per cent unzip program:

Thigpen argues that Hastings was not doing anything harder than pot. She strongly disputes the coroner's suggestion that Hastings was taking methamphetamine, saying it was much more likely the amphetamine found in his system came from Adderall. (A coroner's spokesman acknowledged that the amphetamine could have come from either Adderall* or meth.)

So the lurid headline METH HEAD HAD IT COMING is yet another Hershburger

What we know is he rattled cages, got in faces, threatened Brennan and exploded before facepalm

Much like some towers we know

* Adderall contains a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Both these medicines are central nervous system stimulants that affect chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control.
Adderall is used to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Phil's footnote: Dr. Benway and Dr. Mendoza would never ever increase the dose. Only tonight because tonight is special.

A model psychosis, a suggestion to drive, testing the beta override--success; Miller time.

Sadly, his suspicion was correct....and sad his friend wouldn't let him use her Volvo to get out of town. Maybe when he returned he'd have had his car checked out! [Although, it would take a very special kind of mechanic to likely catch this kind of tampering....] It was murder...not the first and not the last of someone exposing the Empire's petticoats. Its getting very ugly out there. America has moved into the 'Brownshirts' phase.....