The "Michael Hastings' car was hacked" story is bullshit.

[Archae]

Period.

AOL's Story About Terrorist Carhacking Is Fearmongering Bullshit

Here's the scenario: a "14-year-old in Indonesia" sits in front of a laptop, gives an evil laugh and says whatever is Indonesian for 'check this out.' He furiously types on the keyboard, dramatically hits "enter," and then immediately cars start crashing in LA. AOL says this can happen. We say that's bullshit.

http://jalopnik.com/aols-story-about-terrorist-carhacking-is-fearmongerin-514344885

http://jalopnik.com/why-its-unlikely-someone-killed-michael-hastings-by-ha-584806047

[RobertEarl]

1. If you say so

Last edited Wed Jul 17, 2013, 09:43 PM - Edit history (1)

I find it harder to discount. In fact it makes it seem more possible, knowing you.

Modern cars can be hacked. That's a fact.

You have shown us nothing, as usual, Archae.

[Cali_Democrat]

2. It's sort of amazing how DU has become conspiracy theory underground

I posted a story here yesterday about how Hastings' body was cremated against his family's will. I posted no commentary...but I did want to see the reaction on DU to an article that caught my eye.

I had a feeling the story would be debunked as it was so poorly sourced. I was sort of testing this place.

Well lo and behold, a large number of DUers bought it hook, line and sinker.

And now it has been debunked.

[Archae]

4. Even Alex Jones would be saying "Enough!"

I mean, if anything bad happens, "It's a conspiracy! Yibble yibble yibble..." (Sound made by drubbing lips..)

[MrMickeysMom]

17. Gee, you have more time than I do...

Whatever constitutes your opinion of what DU is or isn't, based on your test is a little non-scientific, IMO.

All opinions are welcomed here. Personally, I don't set traps to support my theories about how people think here. They think a lot, and some think more than others.

[MADem]

19. Is it the same cadre of people, though?

DU has always had a little club of conspiracy enthusiasts. They always crowd about hoping that those hoofbeats are from a zebra, not a horse...

[cali]

26. seriously? Uh, du used to be be way more CT than it it today

[laundry_queen]

31. Please.

It used to be all kinds of theories were discussed openly, without derision. It is a discussion forum after all. We discussed MIHOP, LIHOP and other CTs without fear of gang reprisal. I see you came after that. Maybe that's why you have such a warped view of what DU is.

[Cali_Democrat]

32. Perhaps. n/t

[99th_Monkey]

3. How Odd! Same site --> "CarShark Software Lets You Hack Into, Control And Kill Any Car"

"CarShark's a computer program that'll let someone hack into a car's onboard computer system to kill the brakes, disable the engine, blast music and otherwise wreak electronic havoc. It's both clever and absolutely frightening. Here's how it works...."

http://jalopnik.com/5539181/carshark-software-lets-you-hack-into-control-and-kill-any-car

[Archae]

5. Same site, different authors.

Matt Hardigree plants tinfoil-hat firmly on head, says cars can be hacked.

Jason Torchinsky says bullshit, even if they can, it isn't as easy as the tinfoil-hat people say.

Meanwhile, as we speak, cars (including Mercedes,) are going *CRUNCH* at high speed into things, like trees, and people inside are killed.
And this is due not to Faux "news" bogeyman, Al-Qaeda, the tinfoil-hat contingent at Alex Jones and here who blame "The Evil Government assassins," (patent pending,) no, they are doing this due to drivers going too fast, being drunk and/or stoned, texting or yakking on cell phones, slippery roads, or distracted by something in the car like kids.

[99th_Monkey]

7. Always the "tin foil hat" spin ..

Can't you conspiracy-phobes come up with something a little more original?

[snooper2]

40. You know when you type 99th Monkey into google images

This is the first one that comes up?




You write that? LOL

[99th_Monkey]

44. That could be me

Last edited Thu Jul 18, 2013, 01:29 PM - Edit history (1)

more easily than you may realize.

It looks like it might be a good read ...
... but no, I must confess, that is not me.

[99th_Monkey]

9. Yet another article, same site --> "Hackers Wirelessly Crash Car's Computer At Highway Speeds"

http://jalopnik.com/5610373/hackers-wirelessly-crash-cars-computer-at-highway-speeds

Face it, you haven't debunked squat.

[SomethingFishy]

49. So you admit that the tin foil hatters are right.

Just not to the degree you find satisfactory.

Cars can be hacked. Are they? Who knows, probably not.
But I do find it hilarious that you just admitted you were wrong followed by an anyone who doesn't agree with me is a Fox News loving Alex Jones worshipping tin foil hat loony. That is pretty funny.

[cascadiance]

6. Oh and that biggest conspiracy monger on this topic Richard Clarke should never have been believed..

Good thing that Bush didn't believe him on the warnings on that very stupid and far out 9/11 conspiracy crap now wasn't it!

[H2O Man]

8. Perfect response

to a shallow OP. Thank you!

[Rex]

10. Yeah no doubt this will cause people to stop talking about it.

I mean since it is all a hoax right?

[Cleita]

11. There was never a story about that. The story was of Richard Clarke, who said there was

a capability of doing it. No one, other than some crazy blogs and half-baked new's sites other than here, claimed it was hacked.

[Nye Bevan]

12. I've seen enough movies to know that something like that can definitely happen.

Anyone see "The Net" with Sandra Bullock? And the highly acclaimed "Fair Game" with Cindy Crawford and a lesser Baldwin?

[Archae]

14. Or "The Terminator" movies with Ah-nold?

[AllINeedIsCoffee]

18. Hasn't anyone played Clue?

It was Obama with the remote control in the Rose Garden.

[zappaman]

20. Holy shit dude!

I actually worked on FAIR GAME and it's the closest I have ever come to quitting my job and finding another career.
Cindy Crawford as a high-powered attorney?

[Nye Bevan]

22. I know. It was one of those "so bad it's good" movies.

What made me think of it was the way the bad guys could remotely access the LoJack.

[sagat]

13. Woo wooism is strong here.

These people are immune to reality.

[laundry_queen]

33. It's all WOOOOOOO

Jesus I hate that word. All you are doing is trying to shut down discussion by screaming that with which you don't agree with is 'woo'. Don't like discussion, don't come to DU.

[sagat]

37. It's woo because there's no proof.

It's bullshit.

[laundry_queen]

39. Why do you care so much?

If people want to discuss it and investigate further, so what? Why are you so intent on shutting down discussion by mocking people by screaming woo?

[snooper2]

41. Entertainment

[Dash87]

47. Because to see bs spouted as fact is annoying.

Not challenging bs means it may be believed. All bs, such as homeopathy, bouncing Pentagon missiles, and hacked cars should be refuted do that:

A- people aren't unnecessarily scared by crap
B - the false rumor doesn't continue to spread
C - because the truth is what is the most important

[laundry_queen]

50. This is a discussion board

Since I've been here - actually well before you were here - we have discussed lots of things that can be considered CT ish. Often, DUers would pool their resources together and investigate claims. There were threads that were hundreds of responses long, where everyone was working together to find the facts.

The way you want it, is if you don't have immediate proof, you want to shut down discussion. I say to you, you can't find out facts without discussion and investigating. The truth IS important, and often time, in these 'interesting times' with a secretive corrupt government, exploring theories is helpful to find out little known facts that may or may not have to do with the theory being explored.

And I don't need you to protect me from being 'scared', Jesus, really? And false rumors on the left, imo, aren't always bad. It moves the narrative to the left, it makes politicians have to refute things and get things on the record. The truth IS important, and the road to the truth isn't always through a checklist of facts. Many scientific discoveries have happened because someone dared think crazy wild things that had no 'proof'. Who are you to shut down this discussion to 'protect' DUers and because you are worried about rumors. oh noes! What will FOX say???

[Dash87]

52. Refuting =/= shutting down

There's also some stuff that can't be discussed because there's no evidence for it. It's tiring to see the same refuted evidence posted over and over again, so posters generally dismiss it as woo.

[laundry_queen]

54. Insulting and shaming DOES = shutting down. nt

[Dash87]

55. "Woo" is not insulting or shaming.

It's calling into question the validity of either a source or discussion.

For instance, InfoWars is generally regarded as woo because its credibility has been destroyed over and over.

[laundry_queen]

56. It has become that.

Along with such phrases (paraphrased) as, "this is right wing bullshit, no REAL Democrat would post this shit. Are you a freeper?"

"I believe in FACTS, not WOO, you must be a total fucking idiot to believe this shit, why do you even bring this here?"

"This is total bullshit, why the fuck is this here? Where is admin? This shit should be banned."

That doesn't sound like 'refuting' to me. That's shaming. You can refute without bullying and shaming. Woo is part of the vernacular used by the same people who shame, insult and bully those who are exploring theories on this website. At first I thought it was a cute term, but the way it has been used lately - whenever someone doesn't agree with the narrative, they start screaming 'woo!'. It has become a word used to shame and shut down discussion. And I'll call it out when I see it, because I've come to loathe that fucking word.

[GoneFishin]

15. It's a distraction. There's a chance he was assassinated, but hacking seems like a red herring.

I want to know that they explored low-tech causes of death such as bullets, bomb shrapnel, or a cracked skull.

I want to know that the physics is correct for an engine to break loose and fly in the direction and the distance that it did, purely from the inertia of the car's motion.

I want to know that they performed chemical tests for explosives residue.

I want to know that they performed chemical tests for accelerants, and that they looked for the point of ignition.

I want to know that the car has been preserved as evidence and unaltered.

In short, I want to know that they are doing an actual investigation rather than just stalling until the controversy grows cold.

The car hacking speculation only serves to give future apologists an excuse as to why conventional testing need not be done, because "it doesn't matter, there is no way to prove one way or the other if the car's computer was hacked."

[Archae]

16. Should they test for cordrazine residue, also?

[GoneFishin]

21. Yeah, funny. So can I assume that you don't want a real investigation?

[Incitatus]

23. yeah, I bet you also want to know why his body was cremated when his family didn't want it to be

huh?

http://www.sandiego6.com/story/hastings-investigation-20130714

[GoneFishin]

24. Again, funny.

[Incitatus]

25. I wasn't mocking you.

I think it is very possible he was murdered and my previous posts on this subject reflect that. If the family had his body they could have their own people do their own tests.

[zappaman]

28. Didn't happen.

Sorry.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3283075

Time to find another conspiracy?

[Incitatus]

29. So much information and disinformation out there and only so much time so sort through it.

I didn't say I'm convinced it was murder, but I do think it's possible. It's all circumstantial though, just like some other murders that many are convinced happened.

[zappaman]

30. I'm saying the body being cremated didn't happen.

My post is from the guy who it was attributed to, who says he never said it.
If you follow the link and read the whole thread, you will find some verrrry interesting things about the reporter who reported this(a benghazi nut).

[truth2power]

27. Amazing how some here are frantic to herd everyone together

to keep them from asking inconvenient questions.

Baaaaaa-aaaa

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/06/darpa-manager-explains-multiple-ways.html

DARPA Manager Explains Multiple Ways Cars Can Be Hacked

[laundry_queen]

34. You will know them by the word 'woo' in their posts. nt

[CrawlingChaos]

36. Absolutely agree -- I loathe that stupid word

I have come to associate it very closely with certain odious behaviors, such as belittling those who question authority.

[G_j]

43. agreed

a brainless way to have a non-discussion.

[Rex]

48. Some people will ignore your post.

They hate conspiracy theories SO MUCH, that even when it is proven that a car can be cyberjacked - they still pretend that it cannot. I usually ignore those people, they don't want to debate - they just want to waste your time.

[CrawlingChaos]

35. Russ Baker ran a very good piece on his site

This article features an account by a veteran L.A. crime reporter who happened upon the crash site on the night of Hastings' death:

http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/07/14/the-michael-hastings-wreck-video-evidence-offers-a-few-clues/

This thing stinks to high heaven. It's just plain irrational to cry "woo" at those who find Michael Hastings death obviously suspicious.

[chimpymustgo]

57. Thank you for this link!! Deserves its own OP - not lost in this thread.

[Gravitycollapse]

38. It would likely not be difficult to hack into a car's ECU.

You can in fact buy ECU reflash/tuning units for fairly cheap that can manipulate many variables associated with engine management. To think that an intelligence agency could not accomplish much more is to be naive.

However, that is kind of beside the point. Why someone would want to assassinate Hastings in such an odd and public manner is beyond me.

Odds are pretty high he was acting like an idiot and killed himself.

[Blue_Tires]

42. Hastings might have been murdered, but it sure as shit wasn't this way...

[KurtNYC]

45. On Star can be used to "shut your car down"

If something has been revealed and we choose not to believe it, it doesn't make it a secret. It just makes us an ostrich.

[Historic NY]

46. Yes so it can unlock my doors too... thats been handy.

give me directions, etc...you also need a pass code. I subscribe to it it also tells me when to service my vehicle or if something is wrong.

Shutting your car down isn't going to make it crash. Its one feature available to retreiving or tracking a stolen car.

http://www.competitionchev.ab.ca/onstar/introduction.html

[Vinnie From Indy]

51. You what else is bullshit and mildly amusing?

People that label ANYONE as a conspiracy monger merely for offering a discussion about the possibility that Michael Hasting's death might be more than a car accident. These people ask you to suspend your critical thinking and move along.

I think there is plenty of prima facie evidence that this accident needs a deeper look. The victim and the circumstances demand at the very least a closer look at the "accident".

[forestpath]

53. +1000

[coldmountain]

58. These drive by wire cars can be hacked

[Scurrilous]

59. Self admitted recovering alcoholic/crackhead/f*ck-up crashes car at 4 AM while speeding.

He was like murdered by the man...man.

[reformist2]

60. Please stop trying to shut down ideas that no one is sure about.

It just makes you - and this website - look closed-minded.