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Government The Almighty Buck Politics

John McAfee Hides in Cuba, Touts Cryptocurrency For Evading US Government's Sanctions (reuters.com) 305

"On the run from U.S. tax authorities, tech guru John McAfee puffs a cigar aboard his towering white yacht in a Havana harbor," reports Reuters, "and says he can help Cuba evade the U.S. government too -- by launching a cryptocurrency that defeats a U.S. trade embargo."

Long-time Slashdot reader Aighearach shared their report: McAfee in an interview touted the anonymity of the digital currency while also outlining his belief that income tax is illegal and plans to run from Cuba for the Libertarian Party nomination for U.S. president. "It would be trivial to get around the U.S. government's embargo through the use of a clever system of currency," the 73-year-old said Thursday. "So I made a formal offer to help them for free... on a private channel through Twitter." While Cuba had not responded, its Communist government said earlier this week it was studying the potential use of cryptocurrency to alleviate an economic crisis aggravated by tighter U.S. sanctions... Countries under U.S. sanctions such as Iran and Venezuela have floated the idea of using digital currency to trade although no scheme appears to have gotten off the ground.

"You can't just create a coin and expect it to fly. You have to base it on the proper blockchain, have it structured such that it meets the specific needs of a country or economic situation," said McAfee. "There are probably less than 10 people in the world who know how to do that and I'm certainly one of them...."

McAfee said he did not pay income tax for eight years for ideological reasons and was indicted... To avoid trial, he left the United States in January for the Bahamas. He arrived in Cuba a month ago after suspecting that U.S. law enforcement was trying to extradite him from the Bahamas.

"With him on the yacht are his wife, four large dogs, two security guards and seven staff for his campaign 'in exile' for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, McAfee said..."

"Thousands of volunteers wearing masks depicting his face will campaign for him back home and abroad, he said."
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John McAfee Hides in Cuba, Touts Cryptocurrency For Evading US Government's Sanctions

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  • by That YouTube Guy ( 5905468 ) on Saturday July 06, 2019 @08:41PM (#58884236)
    They're going find out how hard it is to cleanly uninstall McAfee.
    • by Spazmania ( 174582 ) on Saturday July 06, 2019 @08:54PM (#58884274) Homepage

      His income tax illegality theory has a bit of a problem: the 16th amendment was written specifically to allow it.

      • His income tax illegality theory...

        Ah, yes. It just fills me with the spirit of God and all the angels to see John McAffee put his hand over his heart and hear him bestow us with the good word that taxation of the masses is illegal and immoral from the soapbox of his massive yacht.

    • Cuba doesn't fuck around. Castro had thousands of people killed extrajudicially over the years. If they want McAfee gone, it won't take more than asking once if they even extend that courtesy. McAfee is at least smart enough to know when he needs to get the hell out of town.
      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        The death rate was *much higher* before the revolution. Batista had gone as insane as the Shah of Iran, making criminal deals with the US Mafia and creating a privileged, almost entirely laws free class with a much larger, *much* poorer, disenfranchised underclass. This is the root of almost all successful revolutions. And while there's a lot to dislike, Cuba had a *successful* revolution. Things got a lot better for many poor, with the world's highest literacy rate and fairly good child care, and surprisin

      • by gtall ( 79522 )

        Cuba is smart enough not whack anyone who will cause a stir, unlike Putin who doesn't have to care.

    • They'll just shoot him if things don't go well.

    • by Cito ( 1725214 )

      Okay, I had to stand up to applaud that aged, finely crafted, multilayered joke.

      hehe

  • by Anonymous Coward

    More proof that you don't have to be sane to be rich.

    • More proof that you don't have to be sane to be rich.

      Don't worry he won't be rich much longer. Did you see the size of the "towering" yacht in the actual article? Him, his wife, two security guards, seven staff and four dogs... The boat is waaaaaay too small for all that. Knowing the average security guard, they will likely lose it first and kill all the others.

    • I've known he was a nutjob for about 2 decades now.
      Glad the rest of the public are learning about it.
      It was talked about in parts of tech industry for a long time now. It wasn't secret, but it's not something you publicize or it just makes you look bad.
      • by jwhyche ( 6192 )

        "Thousands of volunteers wearing masks depicting his face will campaign for him back home and abroad, he said."

        This guy is even more delusional than Trump about his fan base.

  • It's the sort of "news" you would read in a intentionally fake magazine ... like the emperor of Venus declaring war on personal hygiene or something like that
  • Crazy guy (Score:5, Interesting)

    by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Saturday July 06, 2019 @08:46PM (#58884252) Journal
    Might be more about the murder still [theregister.co.uk]. The IRS hasn't confirmed his story about income tax.
  • Wow (Score:5, Funny)

    by WolfgangVL ( 3494585 ) on Saturday July 06, 2019 @08:59PM (#58884296)

    I thought this show was cancelled a few years ago. What are we up to now? McAfee S04E01? I've always enjoyed the main characters antics, and it's funny how the supporting cast always somehow manage make themselves look even more goody than JM himself.

    I hope they eventually come up with a good ending, but until then... enjoy the show folks.

  • That guy is not relevant to any thing in the world. Oh look, there's something shiny!
    • He's discovered a rainforest drug that makes you trip so hard you think you cured diseases, and that it was the alien standing behind you that really shot your neighbor. It could be huge.

      Unfortunately, there appear to be a lot of side effects.

      I really doubt the Cubans are into that shit though. Probably, relations with Belize will improve slightly soon.

  • Irony much? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Waffle Iron ( 339739 ) on Saturday July 06, 2019 @10:03PM (#58884480)

    A libertarian "candidate" for president cozying up with the communist Cuban regime.

    This guy is the poster child for the phrase "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

    • by c ( 8461 )

      This guy is the poster child for the phrase "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

      This guy is the poster child for the phrase "The enemy of my enemy .... look! squirrel!!1!"

  • So basically what this boils down to is one pompous blowhard offering to help the Cuban government take on another. This should be an absolutely fascinating twitter war in a few weeks - with, as usual, no real outcome. McAfee can probably figure out how to bloat a cryptocurrency like a dead whale and not much else, and Trump will probably just threaten to build a war around Cuba until someone explains to him that it’s an island.

    Should be fun.

    • by Corbets ( 169101 )

      Wall, not war. Should have read the preview...

      • by gtall ( 79522 )

        More accurately, a Great White Wall...or War, he isn't particular and cannot tell the difference. At least now the U.S. can celebrate storming those British airfields during the Revolutionary War, they stole them years earlier I hear. The locals at the time were oohing and aahing over the rockets' red glare over Fort McHenry. It turns out the early Americans were into fireworks well before the Chinese stole that idea from the U.S.

    • I guess we could lock both Trump and McAfee in a large box with a ham sandwich, a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke, a rifle magazine with 4 rounds, and a butter knife.

      We could have hidden cams televising what happens. Put it on Pay Per View.

      Maybe even have someone weld the lock, just in case someone finds the key.
    • by gtall ( 79522 )

      Not this IRS, the Republicans have been cutting its balls off for years so they didn't have to worry about getting caught in tax cheats.

  • Isn't he the guy who said
    he could decrypt that iPhone?

  • While crypto-currencies are indeed anonymous most of them can be traced.
  • I prefer news for nerds, even if the crazy person had an Antivirus company a generation ago.

    Besides confirming that I was right to never touch that piece of software I don't see why it was posted here.

    Just because there are a few 'Cryptocurrency' words among the crazy person's speeches?

  • McAfee for president? It would be a perfect follow on to T-Rump. What we need are super huuuge egos in the White House with access to nuclear weapons.
    • by gtall ( 79522 )

      Uh, if you pay attention to how the U.S. government is working under Asshole, no one listens to him. He thinks issuing edicts over Twitter is governing. No one in the government is going follow his military orders if they are to result in serious kinetic actions. "Well, Mr....Whatever, we'll be looking into that, we'll need an exploratory panel that will, in the fullness of time (and hopefully after your ass has been thrown out of office) come back with some recommendations on how to investigate the serious

  • McAfee fried his brain years ago with all the drugs he does. He even put a video out showing how many different ways he makes chemical changes to his brain, and he celebrated it like it was a good thing.

    He's a burnout that sold his company, and any legitimate social clout he once had, years ago. Why do we even have to see these articles on slashdot? He's a piece of shit that only puts out videos so he can keep himself in the eye of society. Will anyone vote for him? Hell no (well maybe a couple thousand, bu
    • by gtall ( 79522 )

      Apparently he still has enough faculties to not have lost all his money...assuming his dough is not being managed by a bunch of "accountants" who don't want to kill and eat the pig all at once.

  • by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Sunday July 07, 2019 @09:44AM (#58885882) Journal

    "With him on the yacht are his wife, four large dogs, two security guards and seven staff for his campaign 'in exile' for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, McAfee said..."
    "Thousands of volunteers wearing masks depicting his face will campaign for him back home and abroad, he said."

    How deranged do you have to be to think that John 'Meth-head' McAfee would be a sensible candidate for President of the United States?

    I mean, what could possibly go wrong by electing a malignant narcissist with no experience who doesn't know anything about government to hold the highest office in the land? Hopefully he has some inadequate and equally-inexperienced children he can bring in as 'Senior Advisors' just to keep the nepotism thing going.

    • I mean, what could possibly go wrong by electing a malignant narcissist with no experience who doesn't know anything about government to hold the highest office in the land? Hopefully he has some inadequate and equally-inexperienced children he can bring in as 'Senior Advisors' just to keep the nepotism thing going.

      wait, are you talking about Trump or McAfee

      • wait, are you talking about Trump or McAfee

        Both.

        Although, to be fair, McAfee is better looking and more articulate.

        • Nah, smoking is at least -40 points off for attractiveness

          • Nah, smoking is at least -40 points off for attractiveness

            McAfee could paint himself from head to toe in rancid pig shit and he'd still be magnitudes of order more attractive than Trump.

            Shit, they could both be in a pitch-black room and McAfee would still win in.

            Ask yourself- who would Melania rather bang? A crazy but still fuckable John McAfee, or her repulsive, impotent husband who probably hasn't touched her in 10 years?

  • by laird ( 2705 ) <lairdp&gmail,com> on Sunday July 07, 2019 @01:25PM (#58886636) Journal

    He benefitted mightily from living in a country with police and courts that protect him from criminals, an army that protects from invasion, schools that educated him and his employees, roads to drive on, etc. Does he think all those things come for free? We all pay taxes to run the country. Does he think that the rest of us should pay to run the country, and that he who can afford it more than almost anyone shouldn't have to?

  • U.S. Code, Title 18 Sec. 953

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/us... [cornell.edu]:

    953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.

    Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to a

"The pathology is to want control, not that you ever get it, because of course you never do." -- Gregory Bateson

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