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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

#571

Post by CrazyStat »

davrosthedalek wrote: post #115
rosser wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is precisely zero need for assumption here. The only way Epstein's behavior could have been more in the open is if he were advertising screenings of the "home movies" he made with these girls. When you continue to associate with that guy, you're saying, "People who do that are okay with us." That's normalization. Especially when, say, your day job is as the head of a pretty damned prestigious institution like J…

I don't get this. If it was so clearly obvious that he was breaking the law, why was he not in jail? Isn't that a bigger scandal?

He did 13 months in jail with "work release" so he wasn't even in jail most of the time.

The prosecutor who agreed to this absurdly lenient sentence went on to become a member of Trump's cabinet. He recently resigned.

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

#572

Post by CrazyStat »

curiousgal wrote: post #482
jdkee wrote: post #450

It is now apparent that Joi Ito was an opportunistic scumbag who elevated personal gain above ethics. Good riddance to him. And good riddance to the reputation of Nicolas Negroponte as well.

Personal gain? He didn't pocket the money as far I know. Ethics is also a touchy subject, people can't fully agree on whether taking a criminal's money to do good with it is ethical or not. So it's not as cut and dried. He did however violate MIT policy so that's a valid reason for his resignation or even firing in my opinion.

Epstein also invested in Ito's private investment fund, which financially benefits Ito directly.

Personally I suspect Ito was more incredibly naive than scumbag, but being naive is also not a good trait for the leader of a prominent group like the Media Lab.

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

#573

Post by point78 »

fortran77 wrote: post #328
point78 wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 60 year old American financier who's uglier than a frog has 2 teenage eastern european models as "assistants"....does that add up to you?

Why are we judging people by their looks? Is that what the righteous thought-leaders of Y Combinator and Hacker News do? Why are young women who look like "models" not credible at MIT Media Lab?

The keywords in my sentence was "american" and "eastern european"

EE is known for sex trafficking young beautiful women and mainly in Europe. That an American has his hands on them is even stranger.

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

#574

Post by point78 »

nf8nnfufuu wrote: post #290
point78 wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 60 year old American financier who's uglier than a frog has 2 teenage eastern european models as "assistants"....does that add up to you?

Even young East European models have to work somewhere (at least some of them). (Paragraph called them "young women", not "teens", btw). Should young women only be allowed to work for poor people, if they are attractive? Or maybe only for other young people? I don't think that would be a good rule. I don't think it would be enough for an accusation. Of course with the background that Epstein was already known as a se…

The keywords in my sentence was "american" and "eastern european"

EE is known for sex trafficking young beautiful women and mainly in Europe. That an American has his hands on them is even stranger.

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

#575

Post by solveit »

paganel wrote: post #569
leereeves wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ... that only means that that close friend of yours knew what you liked and what you were into That's the only possible explanation? Perhaps Epstein wanted to ensnare Minsky in a situation that could be used to coerce him. That's consistent with Minsky turning her down, unlike your version.

What’s there left to coerce in an 88 year old who had been pretty happy to take photo shoots with Epstein before and whom the same Epstein had in his pocket based on the potential financial donations alone? All I’m saying is that Minsky’s influence was at that point behind him.

Uh... neither of those things is exactly raping a child? There would be plenty to coerce.

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

#576

Post by paganel »

solveit wrote: post #575
paganel wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s there left to coerce in an 88 year old who had been pretty happy to take photo shoots with Epstein before and whom the same Epstein had in his pocket based on the potential financial donations alone? All I’m saying is that Minsky’s influence was at that point behind him.

Uh... neither of those things is exactly raping a child? There would be plenty to coerce.

I’m saying that when a close friend of yours sends you a child to be raped then I assume that that close friend of yours knew that you liked raping children, orherwise he would have sent you something else or nothing at all.

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

#577

Post by sooheon »

jacobolus wrote: post #208
nf8nnfufuu wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why was he running around free then? Had he already passed his time in jail?

> Why was he running around free then? Because Bush-appointed US Attorney Alex Acosta (until recently Trump’s Secretary of Labor) made an illegal plea agreement to let Epstein off the hook and cover up the details of his criminality. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article226577... Some extremely rich and powerful men were among Epstein’s child-rapist co-conspirators, so there are strong pressures on l…

Is this man being taken to trial? Or is resignation the only repercussion he'll face?

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

#578

Post by pvg »

darawk wrote: post #530
jakelazaroff wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think that's a very unfair framing of the issue. He invited Epstein over. Epstein brought his 'assistants'. It's still a question mark whether they were even prostitutes, let alone prostitutes operating in any sort of non-consensual capacity. What we have here is simply that someone at MIT speculated whether they were being trafficked. There is no evidence at all that their presence was anything other than consen…

> How is it unfair? Have you ever been put in a position at work where it even crossed your mind that associates of a guest your boss invited might be sex trafficked? Have you even heard of that happening until now? We are talking about a truly extraordinary situation; can we not agree that if you have to even consider the question, something is very wrong? Of course i've heard of that happening. People speculate all…

the evidence of him engaging in this behavior warranted him being exiled by MIT at the time

So dude who is (at the time) convicted of a sexual crime involving a minor shows up at MIT Media Lab with a pair of very young, model-looking women assistants, what what are rational moral actors supposed to think? That he's just a railroaded maverick?

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

#579

Post by jakelazaroff »

darawk wrote: post #530
jakelazaroff wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think that's a very unfair framing of the issue. He invited Epstein over. Epstein brought his 'assistants'. It's still a question mark whether they were even prostitutes, let alone prostitutes operating in any sort of non-consensual capacity. What we have here is simply that someone at MIT speculated whether they were being trafficked. There is no evidence at all that their presence was anything other than consen…

> How is it unfair? Have you ever been put in a position at work where it even crossed your mind that associates of a guest your boss invited might be sex trafficked? Have you even heard of that happening until now? We are talking about a truly extraordinary situation; can we not agree that if you have to even consider the question, something is very wrong? Of course i've heard of that happening. People speculate all…

> Of course i've heard of that happening. People speculate all the time that older men out with younger, attractive women are being "trafficked" in the sense meant here.

That is not the question. Has your boss at your tech job ever invited an important guest to your workplace, who brought associates whom you reasonably thought might be there against their will?

> The entire point under discussion however turns on the question of whether or not the evidence of him engaging in this behavior warranted him being exiled by MIT at the time. Not the evidence today.

No, the discussion is about whether Ito should have known at the time to not work with Epstein. tptacek is also arguing that he should have left once Epstein’s involvement with Media Lab was first discovered, since he had to know the depth of the story.

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

#580

Post by leereeves »

paganel wrote: post #576
solveit wrote: post #575

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh... neither of those things is exactly raping a child? There would be plenty to coerce.

I’m saying that when a close friend of yours sends you a child to be raped then I assume that that close friend of yours knew that you liked raping children, orherwise he would have sent you something else or nothing at all.

I think you're assuming "friend" means "someone you like" and the purpose of a gift is to make a friend happy.

But among the powerful, "friend" often means "someone who is useful to know" and "gifts" usually have a self-serving motive.

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