The times, as Bob Dylan wrote, “are a`changin.” Conspiracy theories about journalist Michale Hastings' death – or murder – now have now been pumped out via “mainstream” vehicles, such as Huff Post, without it being just another exercise for bashing conspiracy theories with ridicule and rejection under the at-times hallucinatory influence of maximum prejudice and minimal knowledge. Maybe this change is due to mainstream media finding itself unable to continue freezing out serious consideration of conspiracies because of what someone wrote on this blog called the difficulty of distinguishing reality from conspiracy theories anymore. In this case though, they play it pretty safe by getting a mainstream media darling such as Richard Clarke to do the most of the talking:
“The peculiar circumstances of journalist Michael Hastings' death in Los Angeles last week have unleashed a wave of conspiracy theories. Now there's another theory to contribute to the paranoia: According to a prominent security analyst, technology exists that could've allowed someone to hack his car. Former U.S. National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism Richard Clarke told The Huffington Post that what is known about the single-vehicle crash is “consistent with a car cyber attack.” Clarke said, “There is reason to believe that intelligence agencies for major powers” — including the United States — know how to remotely seize control of a car. “What has been revealed as a result of some research at universities is that it's relatively easy to hack your way into the control system of a car, and to do such things as cause acceleration when the driver doesn't want acceleration, to throw on the brakes when the driver doesn't want the brakes on, to launch an air bag,” Clarke told The Huffington Post. “You can do some really highly destructive things now, through hacking a car, and it's not that hard.” “So if there were a cyber attack on the car — and I'm not saying there was,” Clarke added, “I think whoever did it would probably get away with it.” Authorities have said that it may take weeks to determine a cause of death for Hastings, but that no foul play is suspected.”
More:
Was Michael Hastings' Car Hacked? Richard Clarke Says It's Possible
They Got Hastings, and are Gunning for Snowden, so is Greenwald Next?
These are dangerous times to be an honest journalist or someone, like Snowden, Manning or Assange, who supplied or supplies journalists with information . It can get you killed, arrested or hounded to the ends of the earth to be jailed forever or killed. And all for merely telling the truth
“But the baring of authoritarian teeth was visible this [Sunday] morning, when the journalist who broke the Snowden story, Glenn Greenwald, appeared on “Meet the Press.” Host David Gregory assumed the tone of a Justice Department prosecutor when he sternly asked: “To the extent that you have aided and abetted Edward Snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn’t you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?” To this onscreen transformation of a supposed “journalist” into the Grand Inquisitor, Greenwald responded: “I think it’s pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies.”
Well, yes, it is extraordinary, but I think we should all be getting used to it pretty soon. And it’s not like there’s no precedent: I recall the Weekly Standard demanding the prosecution of the New York Times for revealing the Bush administration’s hand in pioneering the eavesdropping system the Obamaites have perfected, with other conservative “journalists” joining the chorus. But this used to be the kind of thing only neocons would say out loud – now the “liberals” have appropriated the neocons’ rhetorical style as well as their intelligence-gathering methods. It was clear what Gregory was doing: letting the journalistic mask slip for a moment, and assuming his real role as the Voice of the Powers That Be, he was issuing a direct threat on behalf of his government sources – We’re gonna get you, punk!”
I hope Glenn Greenwald is carefully checking his car before he gets in it..
More:
Edward Snowden, A Modern Paul Revere
RECAP:
Berto Jongman: Who Murdered Michael Hastings? Why? How?
Mini-Me: Cyber-Hacking a Car — Can Do Easy
