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JBA2848
reply to post by WanDash
...What about the John McTiernan story he was working on that the brother talked about? He said they talked a lot about it. And then you have to add to all the hacking involved with the guy. And you also have two actors turned Governors. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura. Also have people playing political activist Alec Baldwin playing video games on the tarmac?
...Anthony Pellicano who did the hacking for him is tied to Las Vegas. Also he is tied to another actor Steven Seagal who is tied to the hip with that Sheriff Arpio. Steven Seagal came from a background of the Mob before becoming a actor.
...John McTiernan story does tie into politicians organized crime and Hollywood. I think the story really does step on some toes.
...en.wikipedia.org...
...en.wikipedia.org...
WanDash
reply to post by bowaconstricta
Thanks for the consolation, bowaconstricta.
I went to the article @rambobiggs tweeted...
In the comments, afterward - he was not a happy camper.
For the most part, I appreciated some "new info", but ultimately, it was a fail (imo).
In the spirit, however, of never letting new info go to waste, here are some excerpts and a few thoughts regarding the same...
From "Who Killed Michael Hastings..."
...On Saturday the 15th [of June], he [MH] called Matt Farwell, his writing partner, and said Farwell might be interviewed by the FBI. Farwell was unsettled. "He was being really cagey over the phone, which was odd, very odd"...said Farwell.
The article goes on, saying that Farwell said MH would not discuss whatever it was that he could/would not disclose over the phone - so, Farwell arranged a lunch date for Michael and a female friend of Farwell's for the following Thursday (June 20th)...such that MH could pass whatever information he had, to her...and she would deliver it back to Farwell (in Virginia) when she flew back.
Of course - the lunch meeting didn't take place.
We are already generally familiar with the following...but, it adds just a bit that I don't want to miss...
Sgt. Joe Biggs...hadn't spoken to Hastings in three months...but Hastings bcc'd him on the infamous email.
Biggs said "I tried calling him when I got that email...'cause I felt so #ing scared, because it didn't seem like him."
Biggs says he emailed BuzzFeed, too...and kept emailing them...but...they never responded...
Furthermore...(the article says)...Hastings had sent one of his I'm-being-investigated emails to WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson.
Don't know if the article's author had another source than I have been privy to...or...what - but, the only information I have previously seen on this, was that MH called Jennifer Robinson.
This may not be important...but...if it is true - does this mean that Ms. Robinson was one of the Sendees on the list of Associates & Business Acquaintances in the same email Sgt. Biggs received? Or, was said "email" sent to her separately? (Again - presuming that this information is accurate.)
The week before his death, he told [Dave] Cullen (a friend & fellow writer) he was close to a deal to write a big book about Hollywood. He'd just finished a screenplay treatment based on another Rolling Stone piece he'd done, called "The Spy Who Cracked Up in the Cold," and his co-writer, Justin Kremer, spoke to him at eight o'clock the evening before he died. "He'd heard from his agent and was ready to go, and he was excited about portraying that world as he'd seen it onscreen," Kremer says.
In the end - we see that neither Farwell or MH's younger brother, Jeff, believed that he was in a state of mind to end his own life...
"I've deliberately rammed my truck into a stationary object to seek some quietus," says Farwell, who's written about his own post-Afghanistan struggles with PTSD, "and I know the emotional state he was in, and he was not in that state."
Jeff Hastings agrees: "One thing I will say with as much certainty as one person can have: He did not commit suicide. Mike wasn't planning on dying."
Will let this information simmer a while, before further comment.
Thanks AGAIN!
NickDC202
...WanDash I continue to be very impressed by your insights.
...While I am leaning towards MH dying as a result of paranoia and poor judgment during a meth binge (not basing that on the autopsy; but from the subtle clues I've picked up on in statements of friends and family ); my confidence in my opinion is challenged each time I catch up on your posts.
...Something that has always puzzled me is the relationship between MH and his wife-- it struck me as distant/disconnected; not only by physical distance but also emotional distance.. It strikes me as a marriage on paper and not much more. Might you or anyone else have any thoughts on this?
barabajagal
reply to post by WanDash
...I have always felt that understanding the relationship between MH and his wife would add insight to his mental state at death. The Wallace article insinuated that there were marital problems...
...He [Wallace] states that she was unhappy about MH going to live in LA without her. Interesting statements, but I do not see any reason to believe them. I noticed his brother did not comment on MH marriage...
...Reviewing MH Vine video account leads me to believe MH went to Oxford MS on the weekend of May 18th for the wedding of a friend of Elise. He must have returned to NY the following week. He was in MSNBC studios on May 25th.
...I have not found evidence of Ali Gharib being with MH and Elise in LA or NY shortly before his death. I read an article where he talked about time spent with them in either late 2012 or early 2013. He seemed to be a good friend of MH and Elise. Dave Cullen was another colleague and friend of MH. He is older than MH by several years. He seems genuine in his fondness for both Michael and Elise.
...I ended up at BuzzFeed's holiday party this past winter because Michael asked me to come. He introduced me to everyone there. He threw the after-party at his then-home with his wife, the national security commentator Elise Jordan. Michael and Elise had skipped out early from the BuzzFeed party itself to set up appetizers, just like they did the weekend before last when, instead of a rollicking start-up's-worth of revelers, just me and my cousin—a White House-based news producer who Michael had met on the trail—went over. We spent hours on the patio, just talking.
barabajagal
..."The Spy Who Cracked Up in the Cold".
WanDash
WanDash
reply to post by NickDC202
What I like about your scenario is – it’s a legitimate stab. It handles most of the angles related to the story.
If we were to take it, and try to work with it…though – – – unless he was just going for a “one-shot fix”, I don’t see him trying to sneak a significant “buy” into a detox/rehab facility. I don’t see him even acquiescing to his brother/s…and going to rehab/detox – much less, trying to get ‘one last fix’.
Additionally – while you or others may know that his younger brother was in agreement with the elder…on what needed to happen – I have not seen one corroboration or confirmation that the younger brother was, indeed, flying to L.A. that day.
In the interview, Jonathan Hastings said that – after he arrived in L.A. and saw Michael, he realized that Michael was not going to go “willingly”…and he “started to make arrangements with our brother” to fly out and possibly help Jonathan ‘force Mike’ into checking himself into a hospital or rehab center.
At no point have I seen Jeff (the younger brother) confirm that he had a flight booked for L.A. – No-one (that I have seen) has confirmed if he actually flew to L.A. – and, while Jonathan stated in the interview that the entire family was in-synch with his views on everything-related (to include the LAPD’s investigation) – someone (whose choice of language strongly resembles Jeff’s) does not appear to be such a happy camper, according to WhoWhatWhy.com…
Not once have I seen the younger brother come out and say – “Yeah – I agree with Jonathan. Michael had a manic drug-inspired episode, and slipped into the deep end before we could help.”
But, even then…none of this accounts for Detective White saying that he was actually going ‘somewhere’, that morning – being, Las Vegas.
Maybe you are comfortable with going through the various checks and potential checks at major airports with a fresh bag/(or whatever kind of container) of meth or crack (etc) on your person or in your bags - - - but - - - I would not be brave enough to take such a risk… And – ESPECIALLY – if I was already (as is one of the more widely accepted facts) paranoid out of my gourd that the Feds/NSA/FBI or whomever, was watching my every step/move.
I, likewise, think that – if he was indeed concerned (which – multiple witnesses seem to affirm) that someone had, or might have tampered with his car – unless he’d given in to the probability of ‘going to prison’ – I don’t see him using that same car (that was no doubt, being tracked…AT LEAST) to make a score.
And – more than almost any of that… The street-corner drug buy…does not seem to fit his station.
… Sorry for sending you down this rabbit hole.... I do look forward to your thoughts.
…1. Each time I've gone from LA to Vegas with friends in LA we, like most Californians, don't fly but drive there-- it's a fun trip. Sure I know folks who prefer to fly but consider that the drive is just 3 hours and you'd waste that much time getting to an airport, doing the security thing and still being early enough to check-in. …
…2. In lieu of tarnishing the memory of the deceased most families would prefer to keep the deeply personal, negative aspects of the dead's life; their loved one's demons out of the public spotlight in order to prevent MH being remembered as a junkie and not a skilled and accomplished journalist.
…3. As far as his car paranoia (asking to borrow the neighbor lady's car) I wonder if MH may not have wanted to move/use his car in case his brother woke up, saw he was not there and, upon return, MH could just say he went for a walk to clear his head and if the brother checked MH's car it would not be warm and there would be no signs of it just being used. (Also if he wasn't going to go along with the rehab program and denying he had a problem then was "caught" sneaking out in the middle of the night his ability to deny a problem would diminish).
… 4. Wasn't suggesting a street dealer for MH. Rather, I was suggesting that the dealer could have been waiting up for MH who couldn't leave until his brother was in dreamland and may have gotten pissed and said 'If you're not here in 5 minutes then don't come." There are countless scenarios that the dealer may have been on a strict time schedule and it could have been for because of several other reasons.