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John McAfee Collapses At Guatemala Detention Center 219

An anonymous reader writes with this snippet from ABC News: "Software millionaire John McAfee has been taken to a Guatemala City hospital via ambulance after suffering a possible heart attack at the detention center where he is being held. McAfee, 67 — who may soon be deported back to Belize, where authorities want to question him about the shooting death of his neighbor — was reportedly prostrate on the floor of his cell and unresponsive. He was wheeled into the hospital on a gurney, but when nurses began removing his suit, he became responsive and said, 'Please, not in front of the press.' Earlier today, McAfee had complained of chest pains."
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John McAfee Collapses At Guatemala Detention Center

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  • what... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:34PM (#42208773)

    ...a drama queen

  • by jelwell ( 2152 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:36PM (#42208813)

    That is the oldest jail cell trick in the book. I'm glad it still works.
    Joseph Elwell.

    • I thought you were supposed to conk the guard and take the keys when they open the cell to check on you. That's an important step.
    • by mcgrew ( 92797 ) * on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:54PM (#42209123) Homepage Journal

      Sadly, it doesn't. An acquaintence of mine was jailed for some minor offense here in Sangamon County, and he died in agony from a perforated colon because they thought he just had a stomach ache. Of course, his family sucessfully sued the county for a shitload of money.

      They're not going to let you out of custody, they're going to have a guard on you at the hospital. When the hospital releases you, back to jail you go.

      Your "oldest trick" is quite ineffective. It also costs the county a lot of money.

    • Hey, if there's one thing he knows, it's false positives...even in the medical community. If it looks like a heart attack and it acts like a heart attack, then it must be a heart attack. Except it really doesn't look like a heart attack, lol. The other possibility is basically, well, withdrawal will do that to you. In either case, what a jackass.
      • by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

        If it looks like a heart attack and it acts like a heart attack, then it must be a heart attack.

        Meth and cocaine can give the same symptoms of a heart attack, and if you treat them with standard heart attack treatments the patient will often die.

        The other possibility is basically, well, withdrawal will do that to you.

        No it won't. [wikipedia.org]

        Withdrawal symptoms of methamphetamine primarily consist of fatigue, depression, and increased appetite. Symptoms may last for days with occasional use and weeks or months with chro

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:37PM (#42208845)

    He was unresponsive until he might get embarrased in public and then becomes responsive.

    Does this make anyone else think he was faking it, or am I just too jaded?

    (PS want a LOL? Captcha: Captures)

    • by rokstar ( 865523 )

      He was unresponsive until he might get embarrased in public and then becomes responsive.

      Maybe they applied cortical electrodes.

    • If he isn't actually pretending to be a paranoid nutter and actually is terrified for his life because his drug addled mind thinks he's about to be killed I can see someone keeling over from the stress.

      Just because the threat is all in his mind doesn't mean he can't give himself a heart attack.

    • I think it was probably withdrawal symptoms from whatever dodgy chemicals he ingests.

  • Withdrawals (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SoupGuru ( 723634 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:38PM (#42208859)

    Wonder if he had to go cold turkey on some addiction

    • Re:Withdrawals (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06, 2012 @05:05PM (#42209285)

      Why do people always target drugs?

      Honestly, when you're around 67 years old, I'd like to see you spend a full month running from the government; little sleep, always on the move, old worn down body, hiding in trees, mind fucked from all the worrying...

      And *then* try telling me that it's drugs.

      I'm not saying that there are in fact no drugs involved--I don't know, and neither do you--but seriously, quit placing the blame for every single health condition on recreational drugs for a change. If drugs are found to be a cause, then you could add those to the potential causes, but don't fucking forget old age, which you don't need any drugs at all to take a toll on your health.

      And you know what? A lot of people take drugs, er, I mean "medication" that their doctors prescribe them once they get up in age and start having heart problems (who would've guessed, eh?). Ever think that if he is supposed to be taking prescription drugs, that maybe, just maybe, they're not exactly his top priority while trying to save himself from the Belize government? What if the *lack* of drugs combined with stress and old age are doing him in? There are too many factors that could be involved, do us all a favor and shut the fuck up about recreational drugs.

      • Re:Withdrawals (Score:5, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06, 2012 @05:16PM (#42209421)

        Why do people always target drugs?

        Honestly, when you're around 67 years old, I'd like to see you spend a full month running from the government; little sleep, always on the move, old worn down body, hiding in trees, mind fucked from all the worrying...

        And *then* try telling me that it's drugs.

        I'm not saying that there are in fact no drugs involved--I don't know, and neither do you--but seriously, quit placing the blame for every single health condition on recreational drugs for a change. If drugs are found to be a cause, then you could add those to the potential causes, but don't fucking forget old age, which you don't need any drugs at all to take a toll on your health.

        And you know what? A lot of people take drugs, er, I mean "medication" that their doctors prescribe them once they get up in age and start having heart problems (who would've guessed, eh?). Ever think that if he is supposed to be taking prescription drugs, that maybe, just maybe, they're not exactly his top priority while trying to save himself from the Belize government? What if the *lack* of drugs combined with stress and old age are doing him in? There are too many factors that could be involved, do us all a favor and shut the fuck up about recreational drugs.

        McAfee is a well known user of MPDV. He was a frequent poster on bluelight.ru, a recreational drug forum.

        This isn't out of left field. He used the shit out of MPDV.

      • Maybe it's because McAfee has written a lot about his interest in fucking drugs [*]? And that something like "bath salts" which he eulogises can have extremely powerful effects, including heart attacks?

        [*] pun intended

  • by Revotron ( 1115029 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:38PM (#42208861)
    "Please, not in front of the press... until I post it on my blog."
  • Withdraw (Score:4, Insightful)

    by gr8_phk ( 621180 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:38PM (#42208865)
    Is he suffering from withdraw from all those drugs he does?
  • by Anonymous Coward

    why is everyone obsessed with this guy?

    • by Anonymous Coward
      Why are you not? This shit is amazing!
    • by nurb432 ( 527695 )

      Now that the elections are over, nothing else to talk about.

  • by alphatel ( 1450715 ) * on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:40PM (#42208913)
    There once was a man from Belize
    Who suffered from heart disease
    When offered revivial
    He'd cry for survival
    "Not in front of the press, please!"
    • There once was a guy named McAfee
      Whose drug of choice was not coffee
      He collapsed in the jail
      But his heart did not fail
      Just let him snort some coke off the ass of Tawnee Taffy

    • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06, 2012 @05:25PM (#42209533)

      There once was a man named Hans Reiser
      Who was a bit of a creepy old miser
      He got sick of his wife
      And ended her life
      So we switched to ext4 all the wiser.

    • As nature's version of the Microsoft Signature service.

      McAfee gets uninstalled prior to shipping and we never have to see the trial.
    • If you're going to do a limerick, you should make it scan properly:

      There once was a man from Belize
      Who suffered a weird heart disease
      When offered revivial
      He'd cry for survival
      "Not in front of the press, oh no please!"

      It's not that difficult, you'd done all the hard work.

  • by Cro Magnon ( 467622 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:41PM (#42208935) Homepage Journal

    I'm guessing it was a virus.

  • by crazyjj ( 2598719 ) * on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:41PM (#42208937)

    I imagine he's got quite a bit to come down from too.

  • but the more McAfee pulls these stunts the more he looks guilty in my eyes.

    I will give him credit for making every effort to remain out of jail and out out of Belize for that matter.

    It seems clear that 1 or more of 3 possibilities are the truth.
    1. He killed his neighbor in retaliation for his dogs being poisoned.
    2. He is innocent and being persecuted by froces within the Belize government and police department.
    3. He is having or has had a psychotic episode.

    I am mostly convinced that #3 is true. I wonder

    • by Nite_Hawk ( 1304 )

      4. We are infact collectively having the pschotc episode.

    • The guy is a bath salts addict. It's likely any combination of the three, or possibly all ofhtem.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Next headline: "John JcAfee Escapes from Guatemala Hospital".

  • The Belize authorities are going to get him!

    Where are all the conspiracy theorists today?
    • Re:Now... (Score:5, Funny)

      by socceroos ( 1374367 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @08:13PM (#42211255)
      It's all about the FSB. The FSB and Kaspersky.

      You see, Kaspersky and McAfee have been the two top contenders for the anti-virus throne for nearly a decade now - big money has been made by both sides. What few people know is that McAfee and Kaspersky have been working together for a long time on manufacturing crippling viruses, dividing up clients evenly, infiltrating large organisations with 'update backdoors' - and this isn't even all the illegal activities they've been involved in.

      But in September of last year, McAfee stabbed their long-time cohorts in the back by making a move with Intel that manouvred McAfee into a market position that Kaspersky could no longer take - Ultrabooks. Anti-theft software you say? No, exclusive backdoors on a technology that they knew every manager across western society would procure. And McAfee had done this without Kaspersky. Why was this so important to Kaspersky? Because their greatest source of income/raison d'être was on-selling high-level root access to managerial and corporate systems across western society to the FSB (whom they work very closely with).

      Now what has this got to do with McAfee the man and his purported murder of his next door neighbour? Let me tell you. The company McAfee's greatest mistake was not rebranding when the founder moved on. McAfee's brand is built on the name of the man himself. Turn the man into public enemy #1 and a crazy schizophreniac and you have destroyed the company's reputation.

      This leads us back to the beginning: the FSB ordered and carried out the assasination of an innocent human to bring down a corporate empire so that McAfee would be forever distanced from the security industry and so that they would lose their foothold on the next big corporate purchase - ultrabooks. Kaspersky (FSB) badly wants their backdoors in the corporate west.

      You've heard it here first.
  • by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:55PM (#42209145)

    par for course for mcafree at times it just crashes and then you need to reboot the full system to get back to work.

  • by Missing.Matter ( 1845576 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @04:56PM (#42209151)
    I understand this guy founded a software company, but he's not exactly been a public figure until now. What's with all the fascination over this investigation?
    • by Anonymous Coward

      It's a grass-roots build-up for the Slashvertisement announcing his new product in 2013.

      I shit you not.

    • by vanyel ( 28049 ) *

      Anyone making an extensive run from the law and leaving a trail will make the news, e.g. the "barefoot bandit" who was a nobody.

      If I'd been handling the gurney when he "woke up" just in time to say "not in front of the press", I'd have turned him around and sent him back to his cell.

    • by Jeng ( 926980 )

      Crazy people doing crazy things make the news especially if that crazy person is rich and is accused of killing someone.

      Now the question as to why is it on Slashdot?

      Many years ago this person founded a software company, cashed out, and moved to Latin America to do lots and lots and lots of drugs. So yea, there really isn't a reason it should be Slashdot since this person has not been relevant in the Nerd fields for a very long time.

    • I understand this guy founded a software company, but he's not exactly been a public figure until now. What's with all the fascination over this investigation?

      It echoes strangely the Hans Reiser case.

      In some ways it echoes every high-profile real-life and fictional encounter of the geek and the criminal law. The ego the size of the planet. There are the extra added attractions of the remote luxurious villainous Lair and the Bond women. The fulfillment of every adolescent sexual fantasy.

    • I understand this guy founded a software company, but he's not exactly been a public figure until now. What's with all the fascination over this investigation?

      He's someone who has made a lot of money from starting and then selling his own technology company, and then has gone to live somewhere where he can do drugs, creepily stalk women and play with guns, which is every libertarian slashdotter's dream.

  • to avoid extradition back to Belize...after having flown his private jet there in the first place...

    Otherwise known as the "Wanker Defense"

  • USA Today said he was accompanied by his 20 year old girlfriend to the hospital. Perhaps the 2 minor heart attacks were after a conjugal visit?

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/05/guatemalan-police-arrest-mcafee/1749997/ [usatoday.com]

    • USA Today said he was accompanied by his 20 year old girlfriend to the hospital. Perhaps the 2 minor heart attacks were after a conjugal visit?

      He had seven live-in "companions" that age in Belize.

      The day before, I met "Tiffany" here. She claimed to be one of McAfee's girlfriends, one of seven. They all live together, sharing McAfee's houses and fantasies. He's 67. Tiffany says she's 23 and they have been lovers for three years. The girl beside her gives no name and only says she's 19.

      A bizarre visit to John McAfee's pleasure palace in Belize [cnn.com]

      • I wonder what all those young girls saw in the multi-millionaire 67year old McAfee?

        Yes, I know I stole if off Mrs Merton.

  • Has Slashdot turned into a tabloid? Hourly updates on McAfee seem superfluous.
    • by SeaFox ( 739806 )

      Hourly updates on McAfee seem superfluous.

      My school's free AV software was Sophos, and it would check for updates every 10 minutes.

  • Although most non-tech people would be like who the hell is this guy.

  • by Gordo_1 ( 256312 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @05:27PM (#42209575)

    You gotta admit, this is possibly the most exciting tech-related drama of all time. Hans Reiser's trial pales in comparison.

    Let's see, you've got:

    * eccentric millionaire going off the grid to do obscure 'antibiotics' research in the jungles of Belize flanked by various hot young babes
    * a compound with military-grade security
    * allegations of corrupt local officials with commando units demanding bribes
    * embedded American journalists following the saga
    * a murder with alternate allegations of settling a vendetta versus a framing job
    * millionaire hiding in dirt to avoid authorities
    * extreme measures to hide location, including numerous disguises and a decoy with a North Korean passport
    * arrest and detection in yet another third-world country
    * fake heart attacks to escape detention

    Grab some popcorn, the second act hasn't even begun yet...

    • by Gordo_1 ( 256312 )

      Oh yeah, forgot about the allegations of experimental drug use on part of said millionaire.

      • Oh yeah, forgot about the allegations of experimental drug use on part of said millionaire.

        I don't think they're allegations so much as paranoid boasts by the man himself.

    • You missed the part where his dogs were poisoned, buried, exhumed, and finally decapitated.

      You just can't make this stuff up.

    • Let's see, you've got: * eccentric millionaire going off the grid to do obscure 'antibiotics' research in the jungles of Belize flanked by various hot young babes
      * a compound with military-grade security
      * allegations of corrupt local officials with commando units demanding bribes
      * embedded American journalists following the saga
      * a murder with alternate allegations of settling a vendetta versus a framing job
      * millionaire hiding in dirt to avoid authorities
      * extreme measures to hide location, including numerous disguises and a decoy with a North Korean passport
      * arrest and detection in yet another third-world country
      * fake heart attacks to escape detention

      Sounds like the plot of a Crysis/Duke Nukem hybrid game.

  • Does no-one else find it odd he's being deported to Belize? He's a U.S. citizen, he should be deported here. There is no extradition treaty between the two countries. Everyone on Slashdot in the story where he was captured assumed he would be exported to the U.S...

    I'm not sure he's all there mentally but I am sure he's being screwed over by Belize and will be killed if he gets back there. Or possibly now and they'll just frame it as a heart attack.

    • by rsborg ( 111459 )

      Does no-one else find it odd he's being deported to Belize? He's a U.S. citizen, he should be deported here. There is no extradition treaty between the two countries. Everyone on Slashdot in the story where he was captured assumed he would be exported to the U.S...

      I'm not sure he's all there mentally but I am sure he's being screwed over by Belize and will be killed if he gets back there. Or possibly now and they'll just frame it as a heart attack.

      Where did he commit the alleged crime? If I am accused of murder in France, and am on the lam in England should I get deported to my country of origin (let's say for example it's the USA)? No, I should get extradited to France where I (await in prison) and stand trial.

      • Where did he commit the alleged crime?

        He could have killed 400 people out in the open in Belize and it would not matter. Belize and Guatemala do not have an arrangement to extradite criminals.

        The thing that matters, then thing he was arrested for, is entering the country illegally. So why would he be deported to any country except for the one he has a passport for? If I enter Germany illegally should they send me to the Netherlands?

  • by dmomo ( 256005 ) on Thursday December 06, 2012 @05:47PM (#42209827)

    "It looks like your heart is at risk. You have not activated your emergency care subscription. Please stay protected by activating your subscription now."

  • >> "due to privacy considerations," the embassy would "have no comment on the specifics of this situation," but that, "U.S. citizens are subject to the laws of the countries in which they are traveling or residing, and must work within the host countries' legal framework."

    Unlike if you piss of the US corporations which will drag you from your country to the US to face the laws for breaking the US laws on your own countries soil.

  • is whether he's already written the book. Perfect money making scheme.
  • ABC News is reporting that a Guatemala City hospital found no reason to keep McAfee overnight.

    Call it an anxiety attack, if you like.

    You might want to compare and contrast these two photographs :

    [This photo of McAfee and Vice editor-in-chief Rocco Castoro] included meta-data revealing their precise location, which a reader quickly pinpointed as ''next to the pool at Nana Juana Hotel Marina and Yacht Club'' in Guatemala. McAfee was soon arrested. Oops.

    McAfee, Vice, and the limits of hipster journalism [macleans.ca]

    John McAfee Returned to Guatemala Detention Center After Hospitalization [go.com] [Guatemala's National Police/AP Photo]

    The impression I have is of a man who was flying high uo in the clouds only to come crashing down hard --- and not for the first time.

  • Why is this person given so much attention in the press?
  • Ah, the faked heart attack, longtime fallback plan of British MP's when anyone get's close to hauling them before a court. Depressingly it works every fscking time here.

    Nice to see it didn't work this time ;)

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