0. type 0: the state.the state the state the state.
you know you can fit "i like money more than i care about women" in a single tweet, you don't even need a medium account.I would like to add one more link, if I may, Signe Swenson on NPR. She's the whistleblower who is the key source in Farrow's article, also the Monday article implicating the rest of MIT. It's worth listening to the audio to hear the emotion in her voice, coming forward was very difficult for her. I admire her courage and am thankful for her role in getting the truth out.
Our conversations then were about his diligence to determine whether Epstein remained an abuser.Fuck. That. I stopped reading there. This is just a bunch of mental gymnastics to convince yourself you're not a monster for helping a monster.
I made my final emotional break with the Media Lab in 2016, when its now-disgraced former director Joi Ito announced the launch of its inaugural ¡°Disobedience Award,¡± which sought to celebrate ¡°responsible, ethical disobedience aimed at challenging the norms, rules, or laws that sustain society¡¯s injustices¡± and which was ¡°made possible through the generosity of Reid Hoffman, Internet entrepreneur, co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, and most importantly an individual who cares deeply about righting society¡¯s wrongs.I appreciate that Peters shares their own emotional arc about Media Lab - from credulous shiny optimism to incredulous cynical revulsion. LinkedIn is whatever, it's not anywhere close to the worst of 21st century techno-capitalism, but to name the award the founder sponsored the Disobedience Award is. Is something. I want words to still matter sometimes, and to rhetorically set a halo (just borrow a bit of the shine from MLK Jr's civil disobedience) is argh.
Research Topicsposted by spamandkimchi at 4:56 PM on September 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
#robotics #human-computer interaction #artificial intelligence #cognition #consumer electronics #health #human-machine interaction #kids #learning #music #privacy #wearable computing #social science #machine learning #behavioral science #social robotics #affective computing #ethics #biology #technology #data visualization #public health #industry #gesture interface #wellbeing #autism research #physiology #human augmentation #racial justice #diversity
¡° I was an outcast in Joi¡¯s plutocratic friendocracy.¡°Love a boss who acts like a sixth grader dividing the team into who¡¯s cool enough to hang with and who¡¯s not. Good lord.
An air traffic controller saw wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein getting off his private plane in the U.S. Virgin Islands with girls who appeared to be 11 to 12 years old in 2018, a year before Epstein was indicted on child sex trafficking charges, newly revealed government documents show.So either Ito didn't realize he was being sold a line, or didn't care. Either way made him unfit to ru and the Media Lab.
Epstein, who is now dead, on other occasions was seen at the St. Thomas airport in the latter half of 2018 getting ¡°off the plane with young girls,¡± including at least one other time when the air traffic controller saw him with a girl who appeared to be between 16 and 18 years old, documents show.
I just want to make sure that if you think a lot of the high-profile science world seems to be useless, stupid crap,posted by ZeusHumms at 9:58 AM on September 12, 2019 [16 favorites]
YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
This is my best take on why that is.
It's so much worse than it looks.
Sugar Daddy Science is a disgrace and it needs to die. Pronto. The end.
So wait - your signature is on a letter thanking Epstein for his gift, but you can't recall signing it?I once had a job ghost-writing thank-you letters for University bigwigs to send to donors. I would be flabbergasted if they read any of them. Our office sent them a stack of letters, and they had five minutes blocked off on their calendars to sign them. Those letters are donor relations outreach, written by donor relations professionals, not anything that actually comes from the university president.
Dear Members of the Harvard Community,This is the first official communication I can recall getting.
All of us have been horrified by the revelations regarding Jeffrey Epstein, and I write today to update our community on steps we are taking in view of current information about his philanthropy to Harvard.
Let me start by emphasizing the obvious: Epstein¡¯s reported criminal actions were utterly abhorrent. They flagrantly offend the values of our society and this institution, and we condemn them. We also recognize the profound pain that Epstein caused to his victims and their families, and we commend their courage in coming forward to bring his crimes to light.
Epstein¡¯s connections as a donor to this University, and other institutions, raise important concerns. With that in mind, two weeks ago I asked for a review of his donations to Harvard. Our decentralization makes such a review more complicated than it would be at some other institutions. I want to emphasize that this review is ongoing. Our review to date indicates that between 1998 and 2007, Epstein made a number of gifts to support various faculty and institutional research activities across the University. The largest of these was a $6.5 million gift in 2003 to support the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. The University received other gifts, which totaled approximately $2.4 million, based on current information. Each of these gifts from Epstein and his affiliated foundations to Harvard University predates his guilty plea in June 2008. To date, we have uncovered no gifts received from Epstein or his foundation following his guilty plea. Moreover, we specifically rejected a gift from Epstein following his conviction in 2008. We have also recently learned that Stephen Kosslyn, a former faculty member and a beneficiary of Epstein¡¯s philanthropy, designated Epstein as a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Psychology in 2005. We are seeking to learn more about the nature of that appointment from Dr. Kosslyn, who no longer works at the University.
The majority of Epstein¡¯s gifts were designated for current use, not as endowed funds, and nearly all were spent years ago for their intended purposes in support of research and education. Our ongoing review of these gifts has identified one current use fund and one small endowment designated to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences with a total unspent balance of $186,000. After consultation with the Dean of the FAS, we have decided that the University will redirect the unspent resources to organizations that support victims of human trafficking and sexual assault. This is an unusual step for the University, but we have decided it is the proper course of action under the circumstances of Epstein¡¯s egregiously repugnant crimes. The issue of the gifts given to institutions by donors at Jeffrey Epstein¡¯s suggestion, is also one that has emerged in recent days, and we are looking into this as part of our ongoing review.
Epstein¡¯s behavior, not just at Harvard, but elsewhere, raises significant questions about how institutions like ours review and vet donors. I will be convening a group here at Harvard to review how we prevent these situations in the future. I also hope to engage our peer institutions to consider how we can collectively improve our processes. We can all learn from each other.
Let me end where I began. Jeffrey Epstein¡¯s crimes were repulsive and reprehensible. I profoundly regret Harvard¡¯s past association with him. Conduct such as his has no place in our society. We act today in recognition of that fact. And we do so knowing that the scourge of sexual assault continues to demand our close attention and concerted action.
Harvard is not perfect, but you have my commitment as president that we will always strive to be better.
Sincerely,
Lawrence S. Bacow
We can imagine many scenarios, but the most plausible scenario is thatposted by spamandkimchi at 9:08 AM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
she presented herself to him as entirely willing. Assuming she was
being coerced by Epstein, he would have had every reason to tell her
to conceal that from most of his associates.
I¡¯ve concluded from various examples of accusation inflation that it
is absolutely wrong to use the term ¡°sexual assault¡± in an accusation.
Its suddenly occurred to me how ive been tripping over backwards for years to try and always call linux by stallman's preferred gnu/linux monicker but he wont use 'they' as someone's preferred pronoun.A number of long-time free software developers/advocates are cancelling their FSF donations and memberships.
The 2015 meeting offers a window into how the Media Lab was at once concerned about the optics of taking money from Epstein ¡ª a convicted sex offender who had by then served a 13-month sentence for soliciting a minor for prostitution ¡ª and also tempted by his potential to donate and encourage others to give to the research center.and here¡¯s another interesting part at the end:
¡°This is the first and only time I met Epstein,¡± Oxman said in a statement. ¡°Joi assured me that Epstein was an approved donor who wished to devote his fortune to science and technology, in part to make amends for wrongs he committed earlier in his life.¡±
After the meeting, Oxman told the Globe, Ito twice asked her to write notes thanking Epstein for his contributions. [...] And in 2017, Ito requested that her design lab, which often produced donor gifts for the university, send a token of appreciation to Epstein: a grapefruit-sized, 3-D printed marble with a base that lit up.
[...]
Oxman, 43, who is currently on maternity leave, said Ito and some of the brightest minds at MIT seemed to have given their endorsement of Epstein. At the time, she was trying to win tenure in a male-dominated world by showing she could publish significant research, produce enough groundbreaking work, and raise enough money to support the lab¡¯s mission. Oxman became a tenured professor in 2017.
But former students say that Oxman may have been in a better position than most to raise concerns. [...]
And at least one student raised concerns to Oxman about Epstein¡¯s ties to the lab in 2017.
That¡¯s when Oxman asked those in her lab to prepare and send a gift to Epstein, according to documents shared by an MIT employee.
A graduate student, seeing Epstein¡¯s name, flagged him as a potential problem.
¡°Have you read the articles about this Jeff Epstein? He seems pretty shady. . . . Just wanted to point it out in case you weren¡¯t aware,¡± the student wrote to Oxman, who was in Barcelona at the time.
¡°Joi and I are aware,¡± Oxman wrote back. ¡°I¡¯ll share more in person when I return.¡±
In the e-mail string, Oxman added that ¡°Jeff E.¡± should always be ¡°confidential.¡±
But she also told the graduate student ¡°do not worry, we are *not* sponsored by him, per my direction,¡± according to the e-mail.
Oxman said that she met with and spoke with the student who raised concerns, and she believed that the student was comfortable with sending the gift.
In Oxman¡¯s statement to the Globe, she said MIT required that Epstein¡¯s gifts to her lab be kept confidential, ¡°so as to not enhance his reputation by association with MIT, and with the understanding that he would not be considered a sponsor of our group¡¯s research or have any involvement in how the funds were spent.¡±
But the 2017 Epstein episode stuck with the student. After Ito apologized in August for taking money from Epstein for the Media Lab and his own venture funds, the student sent a lab-wide apology of her own. She said she had raised the issue of Epstein¡¯s reputation but still felt complicit.
¡°Accepting gifts is different than having students make and give them,¡± the student wrote on Aug. 16 in an e-mail shared with the Globe. ¡°I knew it was wrong. I tried to speak up, but I was more concerned about getting a degree and staying in favor than with what is right. I let myself down as much as anyone. I am so, so sorry.¡±
In recent weeks, journalists have asked questions of MIT about Oxman¡¯s lab sending the gift to Epstein.posted by bitteschoen at 7:34 AM on September 14, 2019 [6 favorites]
According to e-mails obtained by the Globe, Ito asked Oxman how she wanted to respond to media questions. Oxman¡¯s husband, William Ackman, a hedge-fund billionaire, in a phone conversation and e-mail to Ito raised concerns about Oxman¡¯s name being tied to the Epstein situation, according to multiple people aware of the situation.
¡°I don¡¯t want to see her forced into a position where to protect her name she is required to be transparent about everything that took place at MIT with Epstein,¡± Ackman wrote in the e-mail. ¡°Once her name appears in the press, she will face a barrage of questions, and anything other than perfect transparency to the media will make her look like she is hiding something. This has regretfully become a witch hunt.¡±
Joi seems to me to have genuinely believed, after doing really extensive due diligence, that the guy was terrified of the world coming down on top of him if he crossed the line ¡ª that he wasn¡¯t going to cross the line of pedophilia. Now, that doesn¡¯t mean he was going to get into a monogamous relationship with a 45-year-old woman for the rest of his life, but it was plausible that he was not going to be sleeping with ¡ª trying to seduce ¡ª 16-year-olds and 14-year-olds.Jesus that's some weak sauce. It's plausible that he might not go back to raping teenagers so we'll just quietly take his money?
And then on the basis of that judgment, Joi continues to work with M.I.T. to bring in money that¡¯s not going to be identified. Because it¡¯s not identified, he¡¯s not whitewashing Epstein¡¯s reputation with M.I.T. That seems to be a virtue, not a vice.
Once more for the folks in the back:If the argument for kicking Stallman out is predicated on his presence at MIT no longer having purpose, I daresay that it misses the point.
¡°FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE IS NOT WORTH MORE THAN ACTUAL WOMEN AND GIRLS¡±
This letter originated with a small group of senior women faculty in SHASS and SAP at MIT. A group of tenured women faculty members from across various schools were invited to comment and contribute. We understand that senior women faculty and others at MIT have a range of thoughts, opinions, and feelings about this situation. Please read this as a partial beginning to a larger conversation and collective plan of action.Signed by over 50 women faculty members (current and emerita) of MIT.
The butler who managed Jeffrey Epstein¡¯s posh Paris pad claims he waited on a rotation of famous faces including Prince Andrew, Bill and Melinda Gates, as well as Steve Bannon, according to a report.posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:19 AM on September 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
In a series of interviews with The Washington Post, Farmer, 50, spoke publicly for the first time about Wexner and his wife, Abigail. She never met Leslie and says she spoke to Abigail only by phone while at the New Albany home. But she says she holds him ¡°responsible for what happened to me¡± because the alleged assault happened at the hands of one of his closest advisers on property Farmer says was monitored by Abigail and the Wexner security team. She says that she was held against her will at the property by Wexner¡¯s security staff after her alleged assault, until her father came to pick her up.posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 11:05 AM on October 5, 2019
Alan Dershowitz won¡¯t hang up the phone. He¡¯s breathing heavily into the receiver. It¡¯s August 10, the morning Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell. At first Dershowitz wants to go off the record, and I agree. He doesn¡¯t say anything interesting, just the same protestations that he¡¯s made on Twitter and television for years. But when I start asking questions, he begins to berate me. ¡°We¡¯re on the record now,¡± I tell him. ¡°You don¡¯t get to insult me off the record.¡±It feels like he's losing it, mainly because he can't just get people to just assume his position as the truth.
So he begins breathing into the phone. He will not hang up. He does not know what to say.
¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk, you can hang up,¡± I say. ¡°But I am not going off the record if you are just going to call me ¡®fifth rate.¡¯¡±
Silence. Breathing. ¡°I won¡¯t have it written that I hung up on a reporter!¡± He¡¯s shouting. We do this a couple more times. I take notes. He¡¯s livid that I won¡¯t go off the record. He threatens to sue me. Tells me I am a nobody. My tape recorder is somewhere at the bottom of my purse.
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posted by clew at 2:25 PM on September 11, 2019 [2 favorites]