John McAfee's Belize Home Burns To Ground 131
Velcroman1 writes "The former island home of anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee burned down Thursday afternoon under circumstance he told FoxNews.com were 'suspicious.' It's an odd choice of words from a man whom the Belize police found suspicious, following the November 2012 murder of American expatriate Gregory Faull, a well-liked builder from Florida who was shot at his home in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye. 'I believe that there are a select few with great power in Belize that will go to great lengths to harm me,' McAfee said. 'This fire was not just a strange coincidence.'" Watch for more from McAfee soon.
Watch for more from McAfee soon. (Score:2, Insightful)
How about no?
Re:Watch for more from McAfee soon. (Score:4, Informative)
Come on! I'm making popcorn.
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How about no?
I was gonna go with "not if I can help it"; but the sentiment's the same.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah, its not a coincidence (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd be willing to bet that McAfee had it burnt down himself to add to his story and keep his name in the press.
Re:Yeah, its not a coincidence (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, its not a coincidence (Score:5, Interesting)
Nah, I've been to Belize. There's no government (i.e. no fire department and no building codes) to speak of, so pretty much any house fire is going to be a "burn to the ground" situation.
To be quite frank, I'm surprised more people there don't die turning on the lights.
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Its cheaper to build anything without the hassle of building codes, it isn't safer. Imagine wiring without electrical boxes; if there's a short it isn't grounded and its right next to wood . . .
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It is much, MUCH cheaper to build non-government regulated, non-proper homes than government regulated proper homes to the point that its economically unrealistic to build government regulated proper homes despite the safety advantages.
Theres a reason why private firefighting services never caught on.
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But that doesn't influence the probability of the fire starting in the first place. It isn't due to the fire department, that most people don't experience their house burning to the ground. Rather it is because a house being on fire doesn't happen that often. (For some reason this reminds me of a story involving a staple gun and 500kg of fireworks).
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Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
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So what is the benefit to keeping his name in the press?
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He likes it.
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So as to maintain some buzz when the movie gets released, duh. How Conde Nast Plans to Turn John McAfee's Bizarre Tale Into Hollywood Gold [hollywoodreporter.com]
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Compound Location (Score:2)
His compound is located here:
http://goo.gl/maps/EwSc3 [goo.gl]
The collection of blue roofed buildings witha pool and a dock are his place, as seen in a number of photographs in the press.
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With that many trees near to the house there is little wonder that the fire burned it all down.
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The fire was at McAfee's compound near Orange Walk on the mainland, not his house on Ambergris Caye (contrary to Fox's lazy assumption).
This time of year it's very dry, especially up north. Bush fires are not uncommon. The caretaker claimed it was a bush fire that took out the buildings. It's plausible, though it doesn't say much for his caretaking skills.
Never rely 100% on your anti-virus software (Score:5, Funny)
John McAfee of all people should know that you should never rely 100% on your anti-virus software.
He should have installed a firewall ...
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The firewall CAUSED the problem. He should have crowdsourced "IP"
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Oh, he had a firewall and it malfunctioned... he didn't have enough holes poked in it.
I put on my robe and wizard hat. (Score:3, Funny)
'I believe that there are a select few with great power in Belize that will go to great lengths to harm me', McAfee said. 'This fire was not just a strange coincidence'.
'Somebody's cast a high level Firewall'.
Probably robbery. (Score:4, Interesting)
The real question is: (Score:1)
Is he gonna hurt somebody?
Strange... (Score:4, Funny)
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He's up in ur Interwebs, trollin' all da gubbermints!
Attention (Score:1)
Stop giving it to him
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He doesn't live in Belize anymore, he's back in the US. He moved to Belize for three reasons:
Unfortunately he didn't pay enough bribes and thus began the whole scandal.
Soap opera! (Score:5, Funny)
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This is the first soap opera that I've ever followed.
I think the term you're thinking of is telenovela.
The plot is ridiculously implausible and the characters are cardboard cartoon cut-outs. I heard Univision passed on the pilot.
Oh please (Score:2)
The man lived in the middle of the jungle in a third world nation. Of course it burned down. No doubt 50 squatters were living there when it did.
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Who the fuck cares? (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, does anybody give a shit about McAfee's little world?
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People who hold stock in the company that bears his name probably care.
Perhaps this is an ingenious scheme by Mr McAfee!
1) tarnish your own name with crazy behavior
2) ??? (ask your former company for X million dollars, in return for a promise to never speak to the press again)
3) Profit!
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It's Slashdot and the tech world's version of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
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It's Slashdot and the tech world's version of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Yes, although Slashdot and the tech world's version of Keeping Up with the Kardashians should be Keeping Up with the Cardassians.
Why is it odd? (Score:4, Interesting)
It's an odd choice of words from a man whom the Belize police found suspicious
Police try to frame MCaffe, he escapes.
Next best thing - burn down his house.
I failed to see why this does not greatly support his narrative of what happened. He's not even there to burn it down himself...
I mean, lets say a corrupt government was after you. Why do you think it unlikely they would burn down your house after you crossed them?
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Why would they burn down your luxury mansion rather than just seize it and make it their own?
Does McAfee really care about a house he'll probably never be able to return to or recoup anything from being burned down?
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Why would they burn down your luxury mansion rather than just seize it and make it their own?
Pretty obviously because they can't legally seize it, easier just to set fire to it... at which point they can condemn and seize the property. You just are so naive...
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So they can have someone murdered and frame a guy for it, they can have a house burnt down, but they can't figure out how to legally seize the property?
You're not the sharpest tool in the box are you?
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Proof? Because the competing narrative - police very reasonably includes McAfee in the list of suspects, and he's a paranoid nut from all the bath salts he's been doing, and possibly guilty, so he escapes - is actually simpler. It doesn't require us to assume corruption, government conspiracies, unknown assailants, or any other factoids we don't already know; it fits right in with all known facts.
As opposed to simply seizing it a
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Proof? Because the competing narrative - police very reasonably includes McAfee in the list of suspects, and he's a paranoid nut from all the bath salts he's been doing, and possibly guilty, so he escapes - is actually simpler.
It was before the fire. The fire is more complex in your version, less in the one where the police are framing McAffee and getting back at him any way they can.
Otherwsie you have to concoct some story about how he paid a guy to go set a fire on his own property, for some dubious end.
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Never dealt with people bigger than yourself obviously.
So you are claiming that in the history of dealing with corrupt governments, people have not been killed and property not destroyed?
I'll let the reader decide which one of us is the idiot.
Why (Score:2)
Belize is the libertarian paradise (Score:1)
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Not quite true...
http://www.paradisehunter.com/CountryInformation/Belize/Living-There/Emergency-Services
JM: International Man of Mystery (Score:5, Funny)
After stowing away on a SEAL training flight, John exited the aircraft at 50,000 feet. His H.A.L.O. insertion going to plan, he landed 50 nautical miles in the blue waters off the coast of Belize. As luck would have it, there was a submarine, a Russian boomer, on the surface, which John quickly boarded. After killing the captain with his own sidearm, John took command of the sub. Setting course for his island lair, the Russian sub was intercepted by an American fast attack sub with Alec Baldwin on board coaching the crew.
Several "Crazy Ivan's" later, the US sub dodging Russian torpedoes all the while, the Russian sub was struck by its own torpedo, fatally damaging the vessel. By this time, the majority of the crew had committed suicide, opting for that fate rather than listen to John regale them with his witty anecdotes of his worldly exploits. As the sub was sinking, John managed to escape to the surface using a deep water escape gadget, which, as the inventor, he owns the patent on.
Armed only with his trusty knife, he fought off several Great White sharks, and met up with a pod of Pacific spotted dolphins who, recognizing him, agreed to help him reach his island stronghold. Knowing both the CIA and members of the former KGB were closing on his location, John set about arming the charges he had built into the foundation of his house and laboratory.
Laughing maniacally, John set off the charges as he slowly walked away from his compound, huge explosions in the background. This ensuring nobody would ever get the secrets of his special formula female Viagra created with his own blend of freebase MDPV and rare jungle herbs.
CUE BOND MUSIC, FADE TO BLACK...
maybe he did it? (Score:1)
Random Fires Everywhere (Score:1)
On my recent trip to Belize I noticed the first thing while landing that there were random small fires everywhere. The place across the hotel from where we stayed had a fire one day in their yard for hours making a lot of smoke. The fire department came with their engine to put it out because it apparently had gotten a little out of control.
I asked a local what was up with all the fires and he said it's due to spontaneous combustion from the "heat" but I know exactly what it is, people burning their trash!
A
Two minor issues... (Score:2)
1) Fox News. 'Nuff said.
2) John McAfee. Unintelligent, paranoid moonbat ramblings from somebody who could have murdered another person and did what could be best described as a Beer Run from the authorities but replace the word "Beer" with "Coke and Heroin" and replace "Run" with "Higher than a fucking kite"...
Yeah... Totally trustworthy person worth my trust [imgur.com].
Infinite minor issues (Score:1)
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McAfee might be paranoid for no reason.
However, governments are well known for their targeting certain groups and individuals for persecution or extortion so a bit of paranoia can be a good thing.
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This nutcase basically had close contacts with local gangs to supply his drug addiction. Then in drunken frenzy he killed his neighbor which didn't get cleaned up by his gang friends and got in trouble with the local law on the level he couldn't fix with money.
Next you'll start calling drug smugglers on Afghanistan-Iran border "political prisoners".
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How does the house burning fit in to that?
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Pissed off gang members don't burn down houses or practice other methods of vengeance against those who essentially told them to fuck off and pretended to be clean in US?
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You seem to be mistaking me for a prosecutor.
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Then you should stop taking whatever psychidelic chemicals you're taking. Or go to a court and take a look at how actual prosecutors act.
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Yea, he might be more paranoid for no reason, but I think we can all agree that whether that is the case or not, paranoid people are WAY more fun to fuck with.
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Just remember, it's not paranoia if they are actually out to get you.
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McAfee might be paranoid for no reason.
However, governments are well known for their targeting certain groups and individuals for persecution or extortion so a bit of paranoia can be a good thing.
Yes, killing your neighbor does make the government go after you in almost all countries.
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Oh please, quit yer yapping. The story is good for page hits and advertizing dollars. And I'm sure that burning down the house [youtube.com] was a good move, from a certain POV.
Re:what mcafee is good for: (Score:4, Interesting)
BBC did a viddy on this in 1992.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AUvrPvV-KQo [youtube.com]
Just paranoid, bullshit? Sponsored by the CIA and British intelligence, NATO operatives - under the false-front, operating as a "Marxist Terror Gang" kidnapped and murdered the Prime Minister of Italy in 1978.
This was just a single instance of organized para-national political violence including strings of European bombings and assassinations, beginning in the 1940's and continuing at least into the 1990's.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio [wikipedia.org]
Then, after the cold war, there are no longer "Marxist Terror Gangs". They all just gave up and went home, I guess. Now, there are "Muslim Terror Gangs". Amazing.
PS. Don't look too closely at the Balkans.
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Then, after the cold war, there are no longer "Marxist Terror Gangs". They all just gave up and went home, I guess.
They're still around, just not in Europe anymore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_India_(Maoist) [wikipedia.org]
Re:what mcafee is good for: (Score:5, Interesting)
"Then, after the cold war, there are no longer "Marxist Terror Gangs". They all just gave up and went home, I guess. Now, there are "Muslim Terror Gangs". Amazing."
To be fair a lot of terror gangs gave up and went home and I think it'd be hard to suggest some of them were run by the security services. Some of the Palestinian organisations, some of the Japanese groups and so forth for example. There were far more terror groups in the 60s, 70s, and 80s than there were afterwards
I think it's a combination of the fact that policies not to negotiate with terrorists, combined with successful anti-terror operations that left the terrorists red faced (in more ways than one) combined with increase global stability (which let's face it, did happen after the cold war) coupled with greater global prosperity as a result decreased the impact of it.
In fact, you can see a pretty strong parallel between the decrease of poverty in places where these groups were from a decrease in prominence and existence of such groups so I'd frankly wager that it's more about that than anything.
I think the security services are given way too much credit. Given the sorts of absurd fuckups they're often responsible for I'm not really sure they have the competence to carry out the sort of conspiracies you suggest.
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Don't kid yourself, the absurd fuckups are the low hanging fruit you hear about.
Re:what mcafee is good for: (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:what mcafee is good for: (Score:5, Insightful)
If you've never been pulled over by police in a hispanic country for being white, and threatened with jail time for no crime if you didn't bribe them away, you can't talk about conspiracies or paranoia.
I'm afraid this kind of talk isn't permitted on Slashdot.
It doesn't matter how much of a corrupt, despotic, oppressive hell-hole free of the rule of law you're talking about, according the rules of Slashdot the USA is ALWAYS worse than any other region or nation on the planet. ALWAYS. Once you understand that, browsing Slashdot will be much easier.
And no, I'm not American and I don't live in the USA.
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If people criticise the US, it is because we still expect a higher standard from the US than from the "corrupt, despotic, oppressive hell-hole", not because the US is worse. Nobody expects rule of law in central Asia, but we still get upset when American 3-letter agencies or others can ignore the law with no consequences. Is that unfair? "But mom, China did it first!" is no excuse.
Amazon's one-click (Score:2)
I wish that mis-modding was a little less unavoidable.
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I guess the truth hurts sometimes.
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That's the thing with touchscreens. Sure more handy than a mouse when you're not sitting at desk, but it's esy to make pointing errors.
As for the mod, I appreciate your effort. It's sort of amusing how if anyone sees my post and it's moderation, it does seem to refute it's parent.
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I think sjames (or someone he/she knows) had a bad experience and has decided every cop is like that.
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You should read up on some other places in the U.S. where it happens frequently. For one thing, since you said growing up, I'm going to guess they just didn't have the sort of property a cop might covet.
You should google civil forfieture and read a few of the hits, you might be surprised.
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A 30k$ roadside bribe? That's a pretty stupid policeman. That's "shoot me" territory. He should be happy he got away with not getting what he wanted.
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Puhlease... try to keep your "information" out of this. We're trying to run a fact-free discussion here!
Re:what mcafee is good for: (Score:4, Insightful)
This is untrue. Belize is a former British colony and as such is in some ways a lot more like the ex-British Carribbean islands than it is like Latin America. However,m the population of those islands and Belize is mostly black. You can easily go to Wikipedia and find a picture of the prime minister of Belize. He's black. A white person would certainly be very visible to any local thugs and would not be considered a member of the ruling class.
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the potential for some conspiratards to see themselves as they talk about "the government"
because it's all the same paranoid bullshit
if they really had anything on him for the murder, they would ask usa to extradite and the usa would extradite. if there's a tell that the accusations are phony it's that they're unable to prove them without beating him up(yay gitmo!).
it's an interesting story about 3rd world politics and gangland rules by local cops in 3rd world countries, that has little to do with conspiracy theories - but much more about why doing legit business in some countries is pretty hard since you can't just look the local mob(po
Re: His home was basically a giant meth lab (Score:2)
Re:What is slashdot's obsession (Score:4, Funny)
He's the village idiot. Yeah, he's batshit insane, but this is our village, and he's our idiot.