Disguises himself with tampon
McAfee describes steps he has taken to elude capture in Belize, including an elaborate disguise that includes shoving “a shaved down tampon deep into [his] right nostril.” The tampon, dyed brown at the end, leaves McAfee’s nose with “an awkward, lopsided, disgusting appearance,” he wrote. Aided by “ragged brown pants” and broken English “with a pronounced Spanish accent,” McAfee has apparently spent some time pretending to peddle “small wooden carvings” to tourists. He says he has adopted other personas as well: a native vendor, selling tamales and burritos (presumably to tourists); and an inebriated German tourist, “with a partially bandaged face and wearing speedo swimming trunks and a distasteful, oversized Hawaiian shirt and yelling loudly at anyone who would listen – ‘Leck mich umausch!’
‘I am certainly inside my compound’
McAfee says he is inside his compound.
I am, where I am most of the time. I am certainly inside my compound.
The Belize Police Department say they are investigating the claim, noting that McAfee has several buildings on his ocean front compound on Ambergris Caye, a stretch of island just off the Belizean shore dotted with resorts.
That has been passed on to the police in San Pedro. They [the police] are checking it out right now.
Responds to PM
In one of series of telephone interviews with Wired, McAfee responds to Belize Prime Minister Barrow’s questioning his sanity:.
I have no idea where it’s going. I do know that the prime minister and the prime minister’s statement yesterday could be equally reversed. You know, I think he himself is bonkers if he could throw away the constitution of the country and become dictator without the world catching on.
Asks about cell phone triangulation
McAfee, using his “stuffmonger” alias, posts to a private message board asking for information about how phone tracking works.
How long does it take for a phone company to triangulate a cell phone signal? With what accuracy? Is there any way to confuse/delay the system? If a cell phone is turned off, but the battery is installed, is there any way to locate the phone? Are there any brands of phones are more/less difficult to triangulate?
Answers range from useful to speculative.
Belize PM: McAfee ‘bonkers’
Belize’s Prime Minister Barrow urges McAfee to help the country’s police with the murder inquiry.
I don’t want to be unkind, but he seems to be extremely paranoid – I would go so far as to say bonkers. He ought to man up and respect our laws and go in and talk to the police.
McAfee has said he does not want to give himself up because he is afraid the authorities will torture or kill him. Barrow calls McAfee’s statements “nonsense,” noting he had “never met the man”:
The media attention he has attracted offers him] the best possible safeguard. It’s not as if the police have said he is a suspect and certainly there is no question at this point of charges pending. The fact that this is smeared across international headlines means the police would have to act extremely cautiously in the full glare of the public spotlight.
Reuters final warning
Keys receives a final written warning from Reuters about using a parody account to mock Larry Page, while employed at the company.
Although you eventually revealed yourself as the owner of the account, this series of actions displayed a serious lack of judgement and professionalism that is unbecoming of a Reuters journalist…Reuters journalists are never to misrepresent themselves. The creation of a fake account that did not identify you as the author clearly violates our Social Media Policy. The parody account, which disparages a public figure, also undermines our goal to provide an unbiased and reliable news service to our clients…Furthermore, the fake account embarrassed our News reporting team, and has possibly damaged our relationship with a company that we have covered aggressively.
Creates parody Twitter account
Keys creates a parody account called @PendingLarry which mocks the early release of financial data by Google’s Larry Page. The account is mentioned widely in the press, including on Reuters own wire service.
Jewish lynching victim postcard sells
After most major auction houses refuse, Sotheby’s agrees to auction a photo postcard of Leo Frank, which sells for $3,125. Sotheby’s:
It isn’t unusual for Sotheby’s to include famous images of important, yet disturbing historical events, such as the present work. This was not the only photograph related to Jewish history in last week’s sale, and it wasn’t the highest priced, either.
Gives boy kiss
The entertainer gives a 12 year old boy his first kiss on stage at her Louisville, Kentucky concert. The singer tells the boy to close his eyes and kisses him.
The only time that’s gonna happen!
Wishes O’Donnell well
Trump tweets O’Donnell well-wishes after her heart attack.
@realDonaldTrump @Rosie – well thank u donald –
i must admit ur post was a bit of a shock …
r u trying to kill me ?
xx
— ROSIE (@Rosie) August 21, 2012
Reacts to GQ: Brother did not overdose
Gordon-Levitt reacts to fashion magazine GQ’s profile article of himself that mentioned his late brother, Dan. The author wrote that Dan had died of an alleged drug overdose, which the actor corrected in his Tumblr blog. The actor and his family have not given an official statement on his brother’s real cause of death.
Using the word “alleged” technically allows the writer to say whatever she wants. The “allegations” to which she must be referring were made by a handful of gossip websites. They are factually incorrect according to the coroner’s office and the police department. I don’t like publicly speaking about my brother’s death, but I’m making an exception to correct this irresponsible claim.
Responds to claims
Guinness says the White Stripes were acknowledged as record-holders for shortest concert in the 2009 edition, but have since scrapped the category.
Subsequent to this appearance we received a large volume of applications from bands and performers seeking to beat this record. The ultimate results of this was individuals claiming that simply appearing onstage was enough to qualify them for this record.
The organization also encourages White to “attempt any of the 40,000 records that are currently active on our database.”
Policies save $1 billion
Walker reports that his policies of limiting public employees’ collective bargaining rights have saved state and local governments more than $1 billion.
It’s not just about saving money and balancing the budget. It’s about new ways to provide services.
Property taxes decrease
According to Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue, for the first time in twelve years property taxes have decreased on average throughout the state due to Walker’s reforms, limiting collective bargaining rights and cutting state funding to public schools.
Our reforms have reversed a decade of property tax increases from previous administrations. For the first time in over ten years, the average property taxpayer will have more money in his or her pocket than the year before.
Assad meets Annan
U.N. envoy Annan meets with Assad in Damascus during a mission trying to bring a halt to fighting and arrange talks between the two sides to end the country’s conflict. Assad tells Annan that any political dialogue is doomed to fail
as long as there are armed terrorist groups that work to spread anarchy and destabilize the country,
The regime blames terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy for the uprising, not protesters seeking change. The opposition rejects dialogue, saying it is impossible to talk to Assad’s regime.
Obama, Walker meet
Walker greets Obama on the Milwaukee airport tarmac and presents him with a Milwaukee Brewer’s baseball jersey that has Obama’s name and the number 1 written on the back. Obama is visiting the Master Lock Company to highlight the Midwest’s manufacturing sector. Obama:
What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries.
Walker:
The bottom line is we’re one of the biggest, most dependent on manufacturing of any state in the country. We appreciate the fact that the president’s focusing on manufacturing.
Ergodan calls Assad to resign
Turkey’s prime minister Ergodan calls on the Syrian president to step down.
For the welfare of your own people and the region, just leave that seat…If you want to see someone who has fought until death against his own people, just look at Nazi Germany, just look at Hitler, at Mussolini, at Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania, If you cannot draw any lessons from these, then look at the Libyan leader who was killed just 32 days ago in manner none of us wished and who used the same expression you used.
HRW: Prosecution ‘fair’
HRW’s International justice director, Dicker, says Gadaffi’s prosecution was fair:
The authorities will send an important message that there’s a new era in Libya, marked by the rule of law, by treating Saif al-Islam humanely and surrendering him to the ICC. His fair prosecution at the ICC will afford Libyans a chance to see justice served in a trial that the international community stands behind.
Jordan’s king calls for resignation
King Abdullah becomes the first Arab leader to openly say President Assad should stand down, urging Assad to begin talks on an orderly transition of power and warning there will be more of the same if whoever replaces him does not change the status quo.
If Bashar has the interest of his country [at heart] he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life. That’s the only way I would see it work and I don’t think people are asking that question.
Siegler: It’s not looking good
Siegler writes on the blog that the uncertainty is affecting its future:
TechCrunch is on the precipice. As soon as tomorrow, Mike may be thrown out of the company he founded. Or he may not. No one knows. And if he is, he will be replaced by — well, again, no one knows. No one knows much of anything. Certainly no one at TechCrunch. This site is about to change forever and we’re in the total f-cking dark. I’ve been able to piece together little bits of information here and there, and it’s not looking good.
Part of the blog’s effectiveness depends on Arrington’s ability to break news, including on companies he is invested in:
Could TechCrunch survive without Mike Arrington? Probably. We’re doing so many pageviews now, and the machine is so profitable, that you can plug in other parts and it will run. But without him, it will not be the same.