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Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

nytimes.com

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Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#351

Post by joering2 »

ritchiea wrote: post #325
roenxi wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sort of rests on whether the women were 'trafficked' in any meaningful sense. If they were not then the media lab team were being judgemental and unpleasant even though they did turn out to be right about his character. If they were then everyone involved is potentially at moral fault, irrespective of who was accepting what. The greater story of this scandal has parts that should never have happened and parts th…

Why are there inevitably people who want to do the mental gymnastics of assuming innocence for a man convicted of sex trafficking? I understand assuming innocence the first time someone is accused of anything unsavory because mistakes happen. But once you are convicted, serve jail time and are suspiciously behaving in the same manner... Who are we serving by assuming innocence? And let me remind you that in society w…

> Why are there inevitably people who want to do the mental gymnastics of assuming innocence for a man convicted of sex trafficking?

This is extremely good question that I continue to be unable to find an answer. Much bigger case than Epstein would be that of Donald Trump. Everyone knew he is a six-time bankruptee, posted record $1B (billion) dollar loss with IRS and haven't made any of his many business ventures successful, other than add some to the real estate fortune that his father left him, but nothing too spectacular (growing $400MM to $600MM in two decades, which adjusted for inflation is probably close to zero). Yet the consensus of 2016 was that he is the only man capable of steering forward a budget of the most valuable country on the face of planet Earth. Its boggling my mind, frankly.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#352

Post by nf8nnfufuu »

jacobolus wrote: post #291
matt-attack wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's this type of attitude that makes most on the right cringe at the left. The notion that if someone isn't living their life in a way that you deem to be of value, then there must be a "power imbalance" that needs to be corrected. Has it occurred to you that not everyone wants to be a doctor, or "businesswoman". And that many young women actually like sex and furthermore like using their sexuality to get things in…

Who said anyone’s life lacked value? There’s nothing wrong with being a market clerk, or a restaurant server, or a farm laborer, or a fashion model, or an administrative assistant, or a factory worker, or a janitor, or a soldier, or a mail carrier, or a taxi driver, or a stay-at-home parent, .... The problem is that many people in many places are stuck with a choice of either working themselves to death at a job they…

The women could simply lead a normal life without Billionaire perks, like Billions of other women do. They are not forced to sell their bodies in exchange for a Billionaire lifestyle.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#353

Post by CrazyStat »

asveikau wrote: post #264
asveikau wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember similar stories about people who took money from Harvey Weinstein, for example there was an AIDS nonprofit he gave millions to. It all highlights the difficult job facing people tasked with taking money from donors in this way. They won't always have 20/20 hindsight. They may learn about sketchiness after they already took the money. They may be so blinded by what they see as generosity and good will that…

Anyone care to explain the down votes? I am not defending anyone implicated, or claiming knowledge of specifics, but saying that vetting donors in a world where the category of "criminal-philanthropist" is a thing probably gets difficult.

I didn't downvote you, but if I were to guess I would say people don't think discussion of the situation where a recipient might not be aware of the donors criminal activities is very relevant to this case. Epstein's felony conviction was public record and known to MIT.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#354

Post by bigmit37 »

AndrewBissell wrote: post #332
coldtea wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the critical thinking mentioned, is: 1) If a powerful man who has been accused of sex trafficking 2) shows up with two girls less than half his age, 3) who are from eastern europe (while he is an American, not exactly where he'd get girlfriends or assistants), 4) he passes them of like his "assistants", 5) while they look like models, 6) and they make everybody uncomfortable to the point of telling them to signal…

This thread is amazing . Epstein could have confessed to personally trafficking children from the former Yugoslavia (an actual thing that Blackwater was involved in, btw), and if he showed up 5 years later with a couple of barely legal Eastern Europeans in tow, there'd be commenters ready to insist you never can tell for sure !

My thoughts exactly. My jawing is dropping at the lengths people are going to defend this situation.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#355

Post by scarejunba »

rayiner wrote: post #334
grandmczeb wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know if this is a cultural thing, but at least in California I hear the word “boys” used to refer to grown men pretty frequently.

I’ve never heard a grown man referred to as a “boy” except in the pejorative sense/as part of a turn of phrase.

It's common in my friend group (late 20s, early 30s) in CA, and as far as I know, it's also common farther out than that. Not pejorative.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#356

Post by scarejunba »

wiggles_md wrote: post #344
bonoboTP wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no female equivalent to "guy", so "girl" is used instead. You're intentionally misinterpreting things.

Isn’t “gal” the equivalent?

That makes you sound like a rootin' tootin' cowboy.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#357

Post by AndrewBissell »

baron_harkonnen wrote: post #73
tempsy wrote: post #19

Why would Bill Gates need Epstein to be the middle man for his $2 mil donation? Why didn't he just donate to the Media Lab directly? And given his insistence that the donation be made anonymously, it seems like he was well aware the optics would be bad if the public knew there was a connection between the two, and yet he chose to make the donation through Epstein anyway.

Even though we won't find out more, this Epstein issue has given us a tiny glimpse to the mechanics of the plutocracy we really do live in. It's pretty clear that for certain individuals higher up in the social hierarchy than most of us will ever see, Epstein offered a very exclusive service. And was part of a world of that we mostly think of as fiction. Similar to when the Snowden leaks happened we all saw that "yes…

Probably the most astute comment on this entire thread. In particular the willingness of putatively skeptical and inquisitive people to accept the most transparent, dissembling excuses from the likes of Gates has been quite a sight to see.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#358

Post by roenxi »

nscalf wrote: post #327
roenxi wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sort of rests on whether the women were 'trafficked' in any meaningful sense. If they were not then the media lab team were being judgemental and unpleasant even though they did turn out to be right about his character. If they were then everyone involved is potentially at moral fault, irrespective of who was accepting what. The greater story of this scandal has parts that should never have happened and parts th…

Not to be nit picky, I'm genuinely not well versed in "moral fault" and I am interested in learning more. So if they ended up being trafficked, the staff members who tried to figure that out and offered assistance if they were would be at moral fault as well? Could you elaborate a bit on that?

I'm sort of assuming that if they were trafficked the staff members didn't do anything about it; I haven't paid a lot of attention to the story but I don't think it was tip-offs from the MIT lab were important to Epstein's arrest.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#360

Post by KZeillmann »

docker_up wrote: post #350

I don't understand the outrage. He was convicted of a crime, and he served his time. In hindsight, the sentence was too light, but as regular people are we really supposed to understand all the details? If I met someone who went to jail, should she be exiled forever after serving her sentence? I just don't understand. And people get lenient sentences all the time, am I as a non-lawyer supposed to understand this and…

I think the bigger issue with Epstein specifically is that it was an open secret that he hadn't changed anything about his behavior
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