Channel 6 Investigative Reporter On Michael Hastings. Police and Fire told NOT to comment

Originally posted by miner49r
reply to post by WanDash

 

...On the mirror, I am trying to snag a copy of that vid so I can step through it. If it is folded forwards rather than backward I would say that is consistent with a south bound angle of approach and impact. I may have misinterpreted your folding mirror comment a number of posts back.

Here is a fairly clean shot of it... (about 58 seconds into the 5+ minute video)


big picture - files.abovetopsecret.com...

Here is a close up of the engine and transmission for review.

Note how the tranny bolts mounts are intact. I do believe the area isolated in the other close up is the right side engine mount.



ATS Large

Originally posted by miner49r
...Note how the tranny bolts mounts are intact. I do believe the area isolated in the other close up is the right side engine mount.
...

So - what does that say to you?

1) What is "obvious" about it...?
2) What is "deducible" from it...?

...if anything...

reply to post by WanDash


Thought I would post it up for review and discussion (if any is warranted)

The sheared engine mount definitely looks like lateral shear. The mount it's self just plainly tore away. It is interesting that the aluminum mount points on the tranny are still intact.

I also did a enlargement of the night time shot (Loud Labs). The oil pan and tranny pan cover iare definitely gone and the tranny looks mysteriously empty (lack of filter or other clock works). Since I have never seen under the pan cover on a Mercedes I can't say if that is "normal" or not. An enlargement of the exhaust manifold reveals one bolt flange broken off where the exhaust pipe/doughnut connect to the manifold.... the other bolt flange is hard to tell if it is either cracked or just smutz on it.

Right now I am looking at the top of the motor close up to try and tell if the plastic cover is missing...or are we looking deeper into the engine than just under the cover. Since some say it was on fire before it hit the tree...is it possible that extreme speed/RPM's caused to motor to literally blow up before hitting the tree? That could happen with a "stuck accelerator" and if he put it into neutral. It may also give a clue as to why the hood was rather intact as well.

Originally posted by miner49r
reply to post by WanDash

 

...Thought I would post it up for review and discussion (if any is warranted)
...The sheared engine mount definitely looks like lateral shear. The mount it's self just plainly tore away. It is interesting that the aluminum mount points on the tranny are still intact.
...I also did a enlargement of the night time shot (Loud Labs). The oil pan and tranny pan cover iare definitely gone and the tranny looks mysteriously empty (lack of filter or other clock works). Since I have never seen under the pan cover on a Mercedes I can't say if that is "normal" or not. An enlargement of the exhaust manifold reveals one bolt flange broken off where the exhaust pipe/doughnut connect to the manifold.... the other bolt flange is hard to tell if it is either cracked or just smutz on it.
...Right now I am looking at the top of the motor close up to try and tell if the plastic cover is missing...or are we looking deeper into the engine than just under the cover. Since some say it was on fire before it hit the tree...is it possible that extreme speed/RPM's caused to motor to literally blow up before hitting the tree? That could happen with a "stuck accelerator" and if he put it into neutral. It may also give a clue as to why the hood was rather intact as well.

If I were Mercedes research & development...I would be "demanding" (with whatever clout they might have) to be included in the investigation of this crash.

Does it appear that a lot of people (including Mercedes?) are saying the engine/s are designed to "break away" (though, going "down and under") in certain instances?

To your question about the possibility of the engine blowing up before hitting the tree, on account of "extreme speed/s" and "transmission stuck in neutral"...
The odds of it doing it...right then...are astronomically coincidental. The question about that scenario would be - "how long was it in neutral?". With it moved to neutral - the car would have at least begun to lose speed. I guess we're also presuming "no brakes" at that point.

My brain is starting to hurt.
Explosion prior to impact - (could it have caused the hood to release?) - he loses visibility - thinks he's going one way - jerks back to correct - the hood is already "released" and easily swings back to the windshield for when the rear end lifts and slams the top into the tree...entirely dislodging the hood - the rear end falls back to the ground, leaving the detached hood at the tree...where it falls into the remaining front-end carnage... ...?

I agree my brain is starting to hurt as well.

I think until we have "new" facts it very well may be that we have combed as much of the evidence and circumstances possible.

That is why I have taken to wild and absurd theories today, lack of anything else. As I mentioned yesterday, I am beginning to form a summary conclusion. I hope new facts present themselves soon. Until then we may have to sit upon what we have.

Originally posted by miner49r
I agree my brain is starting to hurt as well.

I think until we have "new" facts it very well may be that we have combed as much of the evidence and circumstances possible.

That is why I have taken to wild and absurd theories today, lack of anything else. As I mentioned yesterday, I am beginning to form a summary conclusion. I hope new facts present themselves soon. Until then we may have to sit upon what we have.

I'm pretty much with you...
That may change by morning...but...
It would be nice to know if there is any substance to the contents of the "anonymous email" Hastings' friend (Biggs) received...stating that the LAPD had been to Hastings' residence the day preceding the tragic events, and if the claim that he was seen looking under his car...was valid. ...for timeline purposes.
Probably see you tomorrow!
Have a good one!

reply to post by GrantedBail


Ooooh, look at this something is brewing folks:





Did you get that? Two important things from SSG Joe Biggs Twitter stream:

Channel 6 Reporter Kimberly Dvorak had a long talk with Michael Hastings's close friend, Joe Biggs, who suspects his death was not an accident. Both (Dvorak/Biggs) were just featured in a 15 min video feature on RT (Jul 12) "URGENT: Investigate Michael Hastings' Death" So look out maybe for a new Channel 6 feature...

And the second one:

So, the car Hastings was driving? The company that owned half the shares in the company that made the remote navigation system? LightSquared

LightSquared's director is William F. Stasior, who from 1991 to 1999 served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Booz Allen.

This is HUGE ! Snowden last worked for Booz Allen. This (if verified) may very well be the missing piece of the puzzle for linking the Hastings-NSA-Snowden stories!!! I have to do some work in the next hours. Somebody have time to dig deeper meanwhile?

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex



Verified -

Forbes

Profile William F. Stasior is 70 years old and has served as a member of the Board since March 1998. In January 2010, Mr. Stasior was appointed by the Board to serve as its lead independent director. Since October 1999, he has served as senior chairman of Booz Allen. From 1991 to 1999, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Booz Allen. Mr. Stasior previously served on the board of directors of SkyTerra Communications, Inc., a telecommunications service provider, from May 2000 until its acquisition by Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I and Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Fund, L.P. in September 2009.

I am looking into LightSquared as well. That may be highly significant with respect to "magic bananas" . Between LightSquared and BoozAllen....plenty of tech and resources... with some to spare I would say

For clarification purposes, is it being said that LighSquared made the navigation system? The Nav system is contained in the ECU.

Originally posted by MindBodySpiritComplex
reply to post by GrantedBail

 

...Ooooh, look at this something is brewing folks:
...Did you get that? Two important things from SSG Joe Biggs Twitter stream:
...
Channel 6 Reporter Kimberly Dvorak had a long talk with Michael Hastings's close friend, Joe Biggs, who suspects his death was not an accident. Both (Dvorak/Biggs) were just featured in a 15 min video feature on RT (Jul 12) "URGENT: Investigate Michael Hastings' Death" So look out maybe for a new Channel 6 feature...

...And the second one:

So, the car Hastings was driving? The company that owned half the shares in the company that made the remote navigation system? LightSquared

LightSquared's director is William F. Stasior, who from 1991 to 1999 served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Booz Allen.

This is HUGE ! Snowden last worked for Booz Allen. This (if verified) may very well be the missing piece of the puzzle for linking the Hastings-NSA-Snowden stories!!! I have to do some work in the next hours. Somebody have time to dig deeper meanwhile?

Forgive me for not seeing what you're seeing, yet.
This is left field compared to where my thoughts have been...so, I may require some anchoring.
Are you saying that the car Michael Hastings was driving...really wasn't Michael Hastings' car...? ...And, that it belonged to a/the company that "made the remote navigation system" (LightSquared)?
And from there - your are connecting dots to Snowden...with...
- William F. Stasior was CEO of Booz Allen from 1991 to 1999...and
- is a current "director" of LightSquared...and
- Edward Snowden's last employer was Booz Allen
So - ... ?
If you don't mind...could we go back to the starting fact, and work with it 'til the rest of us have a grasp on it (&/or its significance)?
Did the car we saw burning belong to someone-other-than Michael Hastings?
If "yes"...then
Was it owned by "LightSquared"?
If "yes"...then
-- How did everyone/anyone know Michael Hastings was in it...so quickly? (that's not a real big question - but - seemed there was no delay in identifying the victim for public consumption)
-- He had come to LA to open a West Coast version of BuzzFeed... Why would he be driving a vehicle owned by another company? Does LightSquared own BuzzFeed (or some of it)?
- Or - as miner49r asked - is LightSquared only relevant to the incident by virtue of its stake in the navigation system?
-- If so -- by "navigation system", are we talking "gps location/tracking" or otherwise?
If the issue is simply - "who would know the inner workings (thus - workarounds &/or connectivity to other electronic/computerized systems in the/a vehicle) of the 'navigation system' more intimately than its 'maker'?"...I can see why alarm bells might be sounding.

I know nothing about Booz Allen. You say that Snowden's last employer was Booz Allen. Does this mean that Booz Allen is a government contractor? What kind/s of information do they deal with?
Saw miner49r's info regarding Stasior's ties to telecommunications... Is this where the NSA ties in?

MondBody you may have just lead us to the Honey pot!

I have a project that just came up and will be out for a good part of the day...

Could someone go to LightSquared and do a write up?

Under the partners link go to "Smarter Cars" ...at the bottom of the page "About Smarter Cars"

Verrrryyy Interesting! ... I gotta bail... will be back upon completion.

reply to post by WanDash


Sorry, I have to go. So a couple of links for you and miner49r will have to do for the moment:

Booz Allen, the World's Most Profitable Spy Organization

Planned wireless Internet network threatens GPS

the second link is an article from 2011 but:

A new, ultra-fast wireless Internet network is threatening to overpower GPS signals across the U.S. and interfere with everything from airplanes to police cars to consumer navigation devices. The problem stems from a recent government decision to let a Virginia company called LightSquared build a nationwide broadband network using airwaves next to those used for GPS. Manufacturers of GPS equipment warn that strong signals from the planned network could jam existing navigation systems.

Not sure it is relevant, I am not a techie just a dot connector and only just scratching the surface on this...

Originally posted by miner49r
MondBody you may have just lead us to the Honey pot!
...I have a project that just came up and will be out for a good part of the day...
...Could someone go to LightSquared and do a write up?
...Under the partners link go to "Smarter Cars" ...at the bottom of the page "About Smarter Cars"
...Verrrryyy Interesting! ... I gotta bail... will be back upon completion.

Okay - I'll give you what I got out of it...as well as a couple more pieces on LightSquared'.

LightSquared apparently partnered with "Smarter Cars"...facilitating "Smarter Cars" concept of connecting "cars with people", such that, in real time, and anywhere in the U.S., all kinds of data would be available to (and ACCESSIBLE to) interested parties...with the emphasis being on "appropriately-interested parties".
The product is facilitated with a device that connects to an On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) specific port, allowing drivers and dealerships to use smart phones, tablets or PCs to access and analyze a variety of data about the car.

"Smarter Car will connect cars with people, and...will be able to create an informative, real-time experience for consumers and dealers...
...By combining wireless technology with smart devices, Smarter Car will provide consumers and dealerships with instant access to critical data about their vehicles.
...It enables drivers and dealers to manage the maintenance, operation and safety of their cars through real time wireless technology and the cloud.
...It will also link auto telematics, multi-media, and navigation applications with smart phones and other wireless smart devices and offer an open platform, welcoming countless application programmers to the Smarter Car family of services."

Link

A little more info on "LightSquared"...
From Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org...)
Sanjiv Ahuja was the CEO of LightSquared… The company is the result of Harbinger Capital Partners' acquisition in March, 2010 of satellite operator Sky Terra Communications. (this was the telecom company Stasior was a part of)… Sanjiv partnered with Harbinger Capital Partners CEO Philip A. Falcone in creating LightSquared.
(from www.engadget.com...)
In February, 2012, Sanjiv stepped down from his position as CEO, but will continue to serve as chairman of the board…and Philip A. Falcone will assume the role of CEO…

Looks like Falcone got in trouble with the SEC shortly after assuming the role of CEO…using hedge-fund assets ($113.2 million) to pay his taxes, and conducted an illegal ‘short squeeze’ to manipulate bond prices, secretly favored certain customers at the expense of others, and…unlawfully bought equity securities in a public offering, after having sold short the same security during a restricted period. He was banned in May, 2013 as Investment Advisor for two years in SEC deals.
(listed as one of the richest Americans – 1.2 billion – ranked 377th as of March, 2013)

The Whole Michael Hasting things is SOOOO fishy- No skid marks, engine flies out of the car (apparently flying through a tree) and landing 100 feet away.. Hatzolah shows up instead of regular EMT crews.. the whole thing STINKS to high heaven.

LightSquared - Is currently in a Chapter 11 filing and is nearing the last stage. After the launch of a sattelite and the consequent failure to obtain FCC rights to deploy a 4G network due to interference with GPS frequencies.

LightSquared does not manufacture ECU units but does provide the communications for a wide range of consumer products ...to include GPS. While Stasior now 70, was formerly on the Board I am sure He is "comfortably retired"

SmarterCars - SmarterCars website has literally nothing to say who they are or what they are about...it has to be one of the cheesiest websites I have visited in a longtime.

Bosch - Seems Bosch manufactures the ECU units for Mercedes-Benz. They also manufacture ECU's for a wide range of other vehicles as well. Bosch Automotive Technology provide the software for Driver assistance programs, Driver information systems, Electronic systems, and Interior comfort systems. The ECU and software starts here with Bosch.

Booz Allen - Strait up Government Contractor (a.k.a Military Industrial Complex). A quick visit to their website and it does not take long to see they have grubby fingers into just about everything and anything that is I.T. We already kind of have an idea what t**Y are about.

John H. Brennan - Currently Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and former chief counter-terrorism ad visor to U.S. President Barack Obama. Brennan served 25 years with the CIA.

During a brief respite from Federal service Brennan became the Chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA). INSA is something of a National/International Security collaborative and think tank.

In addition, Brennan was the CEO of The Analysis Corporation(TAC) now renamed as Sotera Defense Solutions. In 2007 Sotera Defense acquired Global Strategies Group. All the above are Industrial Military Complex.

Gen.Stanley A. McChrystal - After His "retirement" He joined Yale University as a Jackson Institute for Global Affairs senior fellow teaching foreign relations at a graduate level. McChrystal also joined the board of Jet Blue airlines, and Navistar - a manufacture of heavy duty trucks.

McChrystal is also Chairman of the Board of Siemens Government Systems. - (Industrial Military Complex.)


Thoughts....

Seemingly if Hastings death was due to an electronic hack attack there is no short list of capable players who would have the smarts, manpower, and technology to pull this off with ease.

While the idea may possibly have originated with an alphabet agency, a simple nudge and hand off to a Government contractor would ensure plausible deniability.

On the other hand given the some of the players, this could well be either a targeted attack or revenge. Since the upper crust of the military industrial complex is a small community of members only,...it is not hard to conceive that they scratch each others backs.

Originally posted by thepaulstalservice
...Hatzolah shows up instead of regular EMT crews.. the whole thing STINKS to high heaven.

That's an interesting tidbit. How were you made aware that "Hatzolah" was the responder rather than regular EMTs?
From Wikipedia's article on "Hatzalah" (en.wikipedia.org...), they seem to have an excellent response time in the Beverly La-Brea neighborhood of LA... (typically 60 to 90 seconds)

Originally posted by miner49r
LightSquared - Is currently in a Chapter 11 filing and is nearing the last stage. After the launch of a sattelite and the consequent failure to obtain FCC rights to deploy a 4G network due to interference with GPS frequencies.
...SmarterCars - SmarterCars website has literally nothing to say who they are or what they are about...it has to be one of the cheesiest websites I have visited in a longtime.
---------
...Seemingly if Hastings death was due to an electronic hack attack there is no short list of capable players who would have the smarts, manpower, and technology to pull this off with ease.
...While the idea may possibly have originated with an alphabet agency, a simple nudge and hand off to a Government contractor would ensure plausible deniability.
...On the other hand given the some of the players, this could well be either a targeted attack or revenge. Since the upper crust of the military industrial complex is a small community of members only,...it is not hard to conceive that they scratch each others backs.

Agreed on all counts.
We might be looking for a needle in a haystack...when it could be the whole haystack.
No way to weigh the email claim of "a big story". How big is big? Could "big" be "gigantic"? Or simply - "juicy"?
We don't know and can only guess. If "big" = "gigantic" - who knows (?) - we might need to look at the whole haystack.

ETA: When you say that LightSquared's Chapter 11 is in its final stages...do you mean the restructuring is almost complete? Or do you mean, the attempt to restructure appears to be failing?

reply to post by WanDash


Agreed, it may be the whole haystack. "Big Story" could have been Snowden related, or about Brennan....or some totally new blockbuster. Somehow I can't help to think that someone, somewhere knows what he was working on. There must be notes and material that he kept...unless they are all encrypted and he is the only that has the key.

The Chapter 11 looks like it has it last hurdle on July, 17th 2013. I would then assume the process would be fairly complete or completed.

May I follow up with a video I found posted by Boncho




Yikes... kinds of scary when you think about it. How long before we have "Smart appliances".

**News Flash** "Amateur researcher and "CTer" in critical condition after attack by blender while making margarita".

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex


And here it is: NEW 3 min video from San Diego 6:



Kimberly Dvorak discusses her investigation into the death of journalist Michael Hastings.


Some snippets:

- spoke with some very close friends of the family

- did not confirm this with Michael Hastings' wife but close family friend said Michael's body was cremated and sent home in urn against family wishes, if there was any evidence in his body that evidence is gone

- according to family members Hastings did not have a drink in five years

- was possibly working on a CIA/NSA story, did not give details to family in order to protect them, spoke with an attorney who now has all of the information on the story

- wife hired a private investigator to look into the matter (cremated body? accident?)

- getting new leads every day

- was threatened this week