Here’s the Only MH370 Theory That Actually Makes Sense

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We need more traffic here at Mother Jones, and that can mean only one thing: we need to pump up our coverage of the missing Malaysian airliner. Let’s take stock of what we know:

  • Investigators have discovered that data was erased from the flight simulator belonging to one of the pilots.
  • The plane veered off course in response to a course change programmed into the flight management system.
  • The transponder was turned off.
  • The ACARS tracking suggests the plane flew in the general direction of India. However, no ground-based radar detected the plane, which means the ACARS signals were probably spoofed.
  • Debris has been discovered in digitized satellite imagery, but an actual physical search has failed to find anything.

This all suggests one thing: a computer genius. A very rich computer genius. One who knows how to cover his tracks and is accustomed to avoiding discovery.

This whole affair was engineered by Satoshi Nakamoto. I will be publishing a detailed version of this theory in Newsweek shortly.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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