Guatemala Judge Orders McAfee Released 139
An anonymous reader points out an AP report which says a judge in Guatemala has ordered the release of John McAfee from a detention center. "Lawyer Telesforo Guerra said the judge notified him verbally of the ruling, but added that it may take a day for formal written notification to win McAfee's release, possibly as soon as Wednesday." McAfee, on the run from Belizean police, was arrested in Guatemala several days ago after making himself known to authorities. He did so because a pair of reporters who were interviewing him posted a photo which included metadata on the photo's location. In a live broadcast on Sunday, McAfee expressed a desire to return to the U.S. "I simply would like to live comfortably day by day, fish, swim, enjoy my declining years. My long-term plan was simply to get away from Belize, think, and decide what to do."
Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:4, Interesting)
A live, simple plea over worldwide streaming video without conventional media spin, circus or filter, and 48 hours later, he's released. That Guatemalan Judge don't want none of that.
*snap*
Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:5, Informative)
I think Belize and Guatemala have some ongoing disputes as well which may have had something to do with it. Doubt he'll be able to bring the girlfriend with him though.
Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:5, Funny)
I'm pretty sure multi-millionaires don't worry about losing girlfriends
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Like that fact that officially Belize doesn't exist according to Guatemala. In exchange for not pressing the issue, they get promised access to the east coast though.
Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:4, Informative)
I vaguely recall that Guatemala considers Belize to be a province of Guatemala, stolen by the British. They have made threatening remarks about walking in and taking it back. I could be off base though.
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Wait, he was doing BATH SALTS!?!? (Score:2)
My first reaction: WTF is a multimillionaire in Belize doing bath salts for? Why can't he stick to snorting cocaine off of hookers like the other rich dudes? And yes, I'm also a proponent of 'legalize just about everything', INCLUDING cocaine and heroin*, and 'bath salts' manages to make my short list of stuff to make/keep illegal.
Bath salts tend to burn the brain even quicker than badly cooked meth.
*It's a harm mitigation strategy to defund organized crime; it needs to be a medical, not a criminal, issu
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The trouble with that is that you can't just outlaw "bath salts"; there are too many different types, and making a new type is damned easy for a decent chemist. Bath salts only came along so crackheads can get a similar high from a "legal" drug. Like you say, "it needs to be a medical, not a criminal, issue. In my experience any 'successes' in the 'war on drugs' tend to simply have the users switch to something worse." Meth producti
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Meth production is way down in Illinois because of making it hard to get cold medicine, and the cops said on the news this morning that the methheads are switching to heroin, which is almost the exact opposite of meth in its effects, yet heroin ODs can kill you.
I think you're misremembering that news article. They were finding that the addicts were replacing Oxycontin, not meth, with heroin.
Legalize cocaine and only those who are already crazy (like McAffee) will do bath salts.
That's the general idea. Heck, if cocaine and such had never been made illegal, odds are 'bath salts' would have never been developed in the first place.
I align myself with the libertarian party because they're 'closest' to my views. I've been described as a 'practical minarchist', by which I mean that while I give any spending the stink eye, I'll support programs like free
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I think you're misremembering that news article. They were finding that the addicts were replacing Oxycontin, not meth, with heroin.
Nope, Here it is. [wics.com]
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*Shrug*
I remember hearing a news article about a prescription pill crackdown, specifically oxycontin, leading to a flourishing heroin market. It was a radio program in the car, I don't remember where.
But in your case, it's a very interesting trend. Drug users DO drugs. They'll 'generally' go after the safest high that meets their needs that they can afford. The largest proportion is satisfied by the legal drugs - caffeine, alcohol, tobacco. Even more if you add marijuana. I personally think that if yo
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it's my belief that you can't really 'fix' an addict until they want to be fixed.
Addicts and rehab counselors agree with you.
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Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:5, Insightful)
Hey, if you're made of money, you can do the same thing here in the U.S. too... so what's the difference? Other than the fact that a small, central-American government will be willing to do it for less bribe money?
That said, I'm not jumping to conclusions like everyone else and automatically assuming that this is what happened; I'm just making a point.
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Plenty of millionaires go to jail in the US it's just that thanks to better legal support they are far less likely to. The level of proof to put the rich in jail is far higher than for people who are poor.
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Better legal system? You mean the one in which people can just pay better (ie. more expensive) lawyers if they have the money, effectively buying their way of having to go to jail in the first place in many cases?
No doubt the legal system is better here than what they have in shitholes like the one that John McAfee fled from, but it still favors the rich. And don't even get me started on some of the ridiculous laws that make criminals out of people who get caught for some of the most harmless (to other pe
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With a lot of money you will generally: ...
live healthier
have better lawyers
have better food
have better doctors
have a better education
be able to get away with things that those poorer than you cannot
This is the way it is.
This is the way it always was.
As long as there's money in the equation, that's the way it will be.
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Unfortunately for some that have loads of money they don't have the self discipline to go with it. This often results in drug abuse and a lifestyle that leads to early death. Given some self control and good sense your post would be correct though.
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In this case, at least those people made up their own decision to fuck up their lives, instead of the government butting in and doing it for them (typically much more abruptly). That is the way it should be for everyone, but instead the government shows no remorse for certain petty "crimes" and irrecoverably destroys lives on a much more grand scale than drugs alone could ever achieve in many cases.
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So that's why billionaire Bernie Madoff is in jail on a 150 year sentence. Being rich can reduce your chance of conviction in court, but it won't just make the whole thing disappear. Well, unless you're a drunk-driving Kennedy who just got a girl killed, but that was more about political power than money.
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Yes, I'm sure that guy will live to be over 220 years old in order to serve his complete sentence. The guy has already reached old age. They might as well have just given him a slap on the wrist, because at the most all they have done is cut five or eight years away from the time he becomes senile, at which point--does it even matter if he is in jail? He'll probably be somewhere up in la-la land mentally.
With his "crime" though, it's insane to be locking him up with hundreds of actually violent people.
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Thinking of it another way, they might as well have just given him the death sentence because most people are on death row for longer than he will probably live.
I say do both. And not virtually all of his money, but every single penny plus a lien for anything his estate may accrue in the
Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:4, Interesting)
A live, simple plea over worldwide streaming video without conventional media spin, circus or filter, and 48 hours later, he's released.
Belize has had a "mutual assistance in law enforcement" treaty with the US for twelve years. That means that McAfee can be sent back to Belize if his testimony is needed in a on-going criminal investigation.
It would be very interesting to know whether the common law rule that "evidence of flight is evidence of guilt" still holds in Belize.
Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:4, Insightful)
If he was smart he wouldn't be in this predicament.
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Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Behold... the Power of the Internet (Score:4, Funny)
Nonsense! Though I do feel I must tell you that your subscription has expired and your PC may be at risk.
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As far as I know he could even have an army of sock puppets around here.
is not the same as:
everyone on Slashdot MUST certainly be McAfee sockpuppets!
Come on, you can do better.
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If he was smart he wouldn't be in this predicament.
The Central American republic signs the extradition treaty when the rich but whacko American expatriate on the run from the law has finally worn out his welcome.
Awww....! (Score:3)
He wants to live out his declining years in peace? Awww! Y'know, I bet Gregory Faull probably wanted to do the same thing eventually!
And yes, McAfee does deserve a fair trial, and may or may not be able to get one in Belize, considering how much he's upset the local authorities.
Interesting... (Score:5, Funny)
I guess his check cleared.
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It's been written, it may take a day or so to clear.
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nope, his bank takes 30 days.
But the real question is (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:But the real question is (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually, a detective who had been investigating the OJ case for 30 or so years came to the conclusion that the probable killer was OJ's oldest son Jason - his son from his first marriage. I think the tile of the book was something like "OJ was innocent and I can prove it".
Allegedly, Jason had been treated for mental illness involving violence at least twice. At the time of the murders he was on probation for attacking his former boss with a knife, out of the set of chef's knives he always carried with him. He was also a friend of Nichole and spent a fair amount of time in her company - On the evening of the murders, she was supposed to be a guest at the restaurant where he was a chef.
The book documented all of his theories in detail (about 600 pages worth) and appeared pretty convincing.
The interesting part is that no one tried to rebut the contents of the book. The people you would expect to care simply ignored the book completely.
It's kind of like the original trial where the defense claimed that the LAPD was bigoted and framed people for crimes they were not guilty of. Then we had the Rampart scandal where a member of the LAPD testified that they were bigoted and framed people and planted evidence to convict the not guilty.
And most of America decided screw the evidence, he's guilty.
Re:But the real question is (Score:5, Informative)
No one paid attention because it's a ludicrous theory. And the motivation behind such a theory? oh, that simplest and oldest of reasons:
"However, this theory is only advocated by one person and is described by "celebrity criminal defence lawyer" Jeffrey Steinberger as "absolutely absurd, ... a desperate attempt to sell a book".
Also, he'd been "investigating" the case for 6 years, not 30. 30 would've been noteworthy indeed, considering the murders happened in 1994.
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Actually, a detective who had been investigating the OJ case for 30 or so years [...]
The murders occurred in 1994. You're a whole decade off.
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30 years?? OJ Simpson's murder trial was in 1995 - that's only 17 years. Pull the other one, it has got bells on.
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Did OJ ever find the real killer(s)???
He searched every golf course and strip club in Florida but OJ never found his ex-wife's killer!
Re:But the real question is (Score:4, Insightful)
If a man is living on your house, screwing your wife, driving your Ferrari....not saying it's right, but I understand.
Re:But the real question is (Score:5, Informative)
He's paying $25,000 a month in alimony, got another man driving around in his car and fucking his wife in a house he's still paying the mortgage on. Now I'm not saying he shoulda killed her... but I understand.
Good lord, if you're gonna rip off Chris Rock at least get the quote right.
Re:But the real question is (Score:4, Funny)
Hans Reiser did it
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Now he wants to go back (Score:2)
"I have been back to America many times since I have been in Belize. I have no interest of going this month or next but ... I can come and go freely to America any time I want."
cnn article from Dec 8th [cnn.com]
There systems slow down so much that they had to (Score:2)
There systems slow down so much that they had to let him go but even then it still needs formal written notification to get rid of that POS.
McAfee should be a virus killing word (Score:4, Insightful)
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No it wouldn't. Most CS graduates can do more than he ever did. He simply isn't impressive, just there early.
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He simply isn't impressive, just there early.
That, in and of itself, is impressive. Certainly there were plenty of other CS graduates around before and during the time McAfee was developing his software. None of them did shit.
Re:McAfee should be a virus killing word (Score:5, Funny)
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And in this case I'd say the idea was less obvious than is the case for many other inventions, and more about insight (or foresight
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metadata (Score:2)
oopsie! someone really wasn't thinking... also makes you wonder why they would post the raws, or why their photoshopping tools maintain that. I really wouldn't expect photoshop to preserve gps metadata.
It was an iPhone photo (Score:3)
also makes you wonder why they would post the raws
It's not really raw, it was a JPG - straight from an iPhone. If you give the photo app permission (it asks the first time you launch) it will record location in every photo thereafter, unless you specifically disable location in settings (you can turn it on or off).
But... (Score:1)
My long-term plan was simply to get away from Belize, think, and decide what to do."
When you've turned into a real-life Bob Arctor with your own home-brewed "Substance D," is there any thinking left that you're capable of? After reading his blog posts, I have to say that his options for thinking logically are limited.
But coming back to the US, his options for making his "Substance D" are going to be much more limited, so there's that.
--
BMO
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Gah, I shoulda used the preview.
--
BMO
Home-brewed "Substance D" (Score:2)
As well as Gregory Viant Faull is a US citizen, so the US Justice department isn't as likely to go lenient as if McAfee had killed some non-US nonentity
--
"I saw Substance D. I saw death rising from the earth itself, in one blue field"
Better to spend time in an American/English Prison (Score:1)
First with the rumour ... (Score:3)
Doesn't anyone actually verify the story anymore ?
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Research prevents media outlets from getting to shout, "FIRST POST!!!1!1!1!!"
Wow, he really is confused: (Score:2)
"My long-term plan was simply to get away from Belize, think, and decide what to do."
If that is now McAfee's notion of long-term plans, I guess his short-term plans include bodily functions I hope even he wouldn't blog.
didn't ever really feel sorry for him (Score:3, Informative)
So - this guy takes off from the USA so he can dodge paying American Taxes on his fortune (John Galt style!) - then he's shocked SHOCKED! to find out that governments in third-world countries are run like gangs, and will extort money from him. Now he's crying to get back into the US eh?
Who is John Galt, and where are his back-taxes?
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I thought he formed his own independent micro-state, hidden inside a mountain[1]?
So that does count as leaving, sort of like Jefferson Davis did. Apart from the mountain. And the senseless slaughter.
[1] Didn't he figure somebody would eventually spot it on Google Earth? Maybe he wasn't so smart after all.
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I'm pretty sure that policy was around long before Obama...
You know who has it even worse? People who come from other countries to work in the USA. I don't have any investments back home, but if I did the US government would feel entitled to get a cut from them. I guess the US has been poking their nose into other countries laws enough that now they think it's part of the US.
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Arrogant SOB, ain't he? (Score:2)
My long-term plan was simply to get away from Belize, think, and decide what to do.
"Decide what to do"? You don't get to decide what to do when you're looking at a murder charge. You get yourself a lawyer (which I assume he has), turn yourself in, and clam up. That's what you do.
Did you ever stop to wonder... (Score:2)
if he really committed any crime? Or do you just believe whatever you read?
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Most of us realize from his behavior (past and present) that he makes an obvious suspect who does more to convict himself than screaming 'I'm GUILTY!'
Most people believe lots of nonsensical things (Score:5, Interesting)
Most of us realize from his behavior (past and present) that he makes an obvious suspect
Anyone who has travelled in third world countries is way more prone to believe his story than not, no matter how crazy he might be otherwise. Believing that the police force is on the take and after him for not paying up is one of the most lucid and rational things he has said for some time.
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Reading his past stuff he does not at all come off as dangerous in any way though. It's a whole different vector from anything he said to killing anyone.
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The EVIDENCE (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, lets recap on the evidence.
He was arrested for not having a permit. He says the policeman took his permits. He had copies, the US embassy managed to get him released. From this we know he is being targeted. On return he says one of his weapons was not returned. This is well before the shooting, he also says they took his passport, they deny that.
http://news.techeye.net/security/john-mcafee-arrested-in-belize
They must have had record of his gun permit, so why would they raid his house and confiscate guns on a weapons permit charge, if that was the case? Big problem right there, you have independent confirmation of a corruption problem.
McAfee kicks up a stink, claims its because he refused to pay a bribe to a corrupt politicians. His neighbor gets killed, also American, he says he was mistaken for McAfee. McAfee goes on the run.
So his position is consistent with a drugged up paranoid loon, but also with someone being attacked by a corrupt local politician. The one piece of independent information (the bogus raid and bogus arrest) suggests he's a victim here.
What I'd like to see at this point is the security camera footage from his neighbors house. He's from Florida living in a poor country, so there will be CCTV everywhere, and that will be a proper security system. The *absence* of that, would confirm the initial bogus-gun-permit charge to me.
Please see the definition of "Evidence"... (Score:1)
Then, compare and contrast that with the definition of "Hearsay"
You may withdraw from the bench. And I don't want any more grandstanding out of you, or you'll be held in contempt.
His arrest is a matter of record (Score:1)
No his arrest, the police raid, and subsequent release is a matter of record. The involvement of the US embassy is known and recorded and to the definition of evidence used by any court.
It's natural to immediately wonder why they would arrest him for not having a weapons permit, if he HAD a weapons permit and they must have known that. It's then natural to wonder about the CCTV recordings from his dead neighbors house.
There's also a timeflow here, his bogus arrest CAME FIRST, the confiscation of weapons, th
It's natural to be in denial... (Score:1)
about your lack of first-hand knowledge. Lack of first-hand knowledge makes you unable to judge people, and you like judging people. So, read it all, and believe it all.
We DID land on the moon (Score:1)
Evidence can exist whether or not you personally witnessed it first hand. Hence we DID go to the moon, even if you personally don't have your own moon rock, or memories of the journey, or spacesuit in the closet.
You didn't dispute any part of the EVIDENCE. Feel free to do so.
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Your Mom.... (Score:1)
May I be the first to ask you if you would like me be the judge at your mom's arraignment?
Press2ToContinue looks at BitZtream's mom... "She looks guilty to me" (Looks at court clerk.) "What do you think?"
"She looks guilty to me too, Judge." (Looks back at Press2ToContinue.)
"Ok, I've seen enough. 20 years. Take her away." (gavel falls)
"Next!"
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And that's how you know it's a set-up (Score:3, Interesting)
If Belize thinks he killed the other man, they just have to pass the information on to the FBI
Correct. Which means his returning to the U.S. means Belize has nothing on him; they really did just want to kill him.
Remember kids, just because someone is paranoid does not mean that sometimes people are not in fact after them.
Eheh, sure (Score:2)
If he wanted to go to the US, why didn't he go there immediately?
Read Again (Score:2)
So because Guatemala has decided to return him to the US
Read again. He can go wherever he likes. Because HE plans to return to the U.S. he must feel he has nothing to fear with Belize presenting evidence of the murder of a U.S. Citizen...
Otherwise why would he WANT to return to the U.S. if he knew he would be charged with murder?
To quote you about ten minutes ago: "Idiot".
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Even if you assume all of that is true, that doesn't mean he didn't do it. Not all belief is rational. Of course, there are other problems with that argument...
Who says he wants to return to the U.S. Oh, yeah, he does. And its not li
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Otherwise why would he WANT to return to the U.S. if he knew he would be charged with murder?
Because he is a natural-born citizen there and that's the most logical place he could be deported to without being sent back to Belize. He didn't originally say he wanted to return to the US, despite lots of people suggesting that to him on his blog -- that was after he was arrested in Guatemala. It was the least bad option in a hot situation.
Whether he is guilty or not he could still be charged with murder based on evidence real or fabricated, assuming Belize is corrupt and willing to frame him.
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Might it be that you're being deliberately obtuse for the sake of trolling, Mr. AC?
Seems like a stretch, but there's a first time for everything.
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For a photo journalist to innocently take pictures with the gps function on is rather suspect is it not?
Thinking back to my fellow students who ended up in J-school... not really, no.
iPhone does GPS tag (Score:2)
For a photo journalist to innocently take pictures with the gps function on is rather suspect is it not?
Not when they are taking pictures with an iPhone (if you look up the original story of the photo having GPS metadata they stated it was from an iPhone). It asks when you first run the photo app if you'd like to enable location recording. After that it records location every time.
Real photographers would rtfm
Real photographers know how iPhones behave in addition to other cameras that have embedded GPS.
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At the very least, you forward the photo to someone you trust to remove the metadata before publishing anonymously: and you CAN'T do that FROM your iPhone, afaik. If someone told me I could, I wouldn't believe it anyway.
How can you not do that? (Score:2)
and you CAN'T do that FROM your iPhone, afaik
Why not? Any number of editing programs on the iPhone can remove metadata from a camera image.
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You say that like it's a bad thing.