4 ms·

Bill Gates really needs to say more than just refusing to answer questions about his involvement here. I don't understand how that quells any rumors if it's to

by tempsy 7y ago

Bill Gates really needs to say more than just refusing to answer questions about his involvement here. I don't understand how that quells any rumors if it's to be believed his relationship with Epstein is being exaggerated as he is claiming through a spokesperson.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
simplicio 7y ago
The Gates angle is weird. Surely MIT has people in his orbit to go ask for donations without having to rely on a convicted sex-offender that they're too embarrassed to even take money from directly.
- pm90 7y ago
  I think it makes more sense if you look at the specific institution within MIT (the media lab) which has this particular problem. So while MIT itself may have ample funding from non shady sources, Perhaps this institution doesn’t. Or perhaps it does and the people working there just want to prove their worth by securing funding (which is what most university administrators are incentivized to do).
  - orbifold 7y ago
    Yeah I mean most of the research at MIT is funded by the military and department of energy. Those guys are not shady at all.
    - rocha 7y ago
      [citation needed]
      - tibbon 7y ago
        I don’t have a citation, but MIT and the defense/energy industry are definitely intertwined and everyone on campus knows it. Most universities don’t have something like Lincoln Labs, which is literally a DoD research center: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Lincoln_Laboratory https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Lincoln_Laboratory
      - jakear 7y ago
        MIT restricts sharing funding info with non-MIT people. So you aren’t likely to find a concrete source. But this is very true.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - creato 7y ago
      > Those guys are not shady at all. This appears to be sarcasm, but I think most of the country would unironically agree with this. Trying to slander MIT for taking money from DoD/DoE really puts you in a bubble.
      - DoctorOetker 7y ago
        to resolve the 2 plot holes of 1) impossible prestige-for-cash if Epstein's involvement is kept secret 2) the weird way in which Gates is involved check out my interpretation at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20904781 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20904781
      - cheaprentalyeti 7y ago
        As Churchill once said, mankind occasionally stumbles over the truth, but picks itself up and carries on. I'd like to suggest that y'all are almost tripping over the connection that Epstein was possibly trying to get compromising material on researchers working on US military technology projects and then looking at it, going 'huh?' and wandering off again.
  - simplicio 7y ago
    But in this case, they're securing funding from Bill Gates. So if Gates wants to give them money, and they want to take it, why drag a convicted sex trafficker (whose participation they than have to go to the trouble to hide) into it at all? Why not just have Gates, like, mail a check.
claudeganon 7y ago
Given how much money and support Gates has given to the Pangloss of Wealth Inequality, Steven Pinker, and given Pinker’s overlap with Epstein, there’s almost certainly a lot more going on than meets the eye... https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-58-the-neoliberal-optimism-industry https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-58-the-neoliberal...
- CalChris 7y ago
  Another cite as well: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/07/17/steven-pinkers-aid-jeffrey-epsteins-legal-defense-renews-criticism-increasingly https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/07/17/steven-pinker...
alexashka 7y ago
Does he? Why? Journalist are on their witch hunt that'll die down within a year, and then Bill Gates can go back to being America's geeky dad figure that does charity work. We have a justice system. If you don't like the way it works, go fix it. These witch hunts are an attempt to by-pass laws and ruin people's lives based on emotions, not facts. Just look at what Louis CK has to go through, because somebody completely unrelated to him, was a piece of shit. If he jerked off and made some women uncomfortable in isolation, it'd be a funny 2 second mention and he'd be immediately forgiven, but because there was a Weinstein tsunami of outrage, now Louis has to put up with a mountain of shit. Bill Gates is wisely avoiding becoming the Louis CK of this particular situation.

by tempsy 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

simplicio 7y ago

The Gates angle is weird. Surely MIT has people in his orbit to go ask for donations without having to rely on a convicted sex-offender that they're too embarrassed to even take money from directly.

pm90 7y ago
I think it makes more sense if you look at the specific institution within MIT (the media lab) which has this particular problem. So while MIT itself may have ample funding from non shady sources, Perhaps this institution doesn’t. Or perhaps it does and the people working there just want to prove their worth by securing funding (which is what most university administrators are incentivized to do).
- orbifold 7y ago
  Yeah I mean most of the research at MIT is funded by the military and department of energy. Those guys are not shady at all.
  - rocha 7y ago
    [citation needed]
    - tibbon 7y ago
      I don’t have a citation, but MIT and the defense/energy industry are definitely intertwined and everyone on campus knows it. Most universities don’t have something like Lincoln Labs, which is literally a DoD research center: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Lincoln_Laboratory https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Lincoln_Laboratory
    - jakear 7y ago
      MIT restricts sharing funding info with non-MIT people. So you aren’t likely to find a concrete source. But this is very true.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - creato 7y ago
    > Those guys are not shady at all. This appears to be sarcasm, but I think most of the country would unironically agree with this. Trying to slander MIT for taking money from DoD/DoE really puts you in a bubble.
    - DoctorOetker 7y ago
      to resolve the 2 plot holes of 1) impossible prestige-for-cash if Epstein's involvement is kept secret 2) the weird way in which Gates is involved check out my interpretation at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20904781 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20904781
    - cheaprentalyeti 7y ago
      As Churchill once said, mankind occasionally stumbles over the truth, but picks itself up and carries on. I'd like to suggest that y'all are almost tripping over the connection that Epstein was possibly trying to get compromising material on researchers working on US military technology projects and then looking at it, going 'huh?' and wandering off again.
- simplicio 7y ago
  But in this case, they're securing funding from Bill Gates. So if Gates wants to give them money, and they want to take it, why drag a convicted sex trafficker (whose participation they than have to go to the trouble to hide) into it at all? Why not just have Gates, like, mail a check.

claudeganon 7y ago

Given how much money and support Gates has given to the Pangloss of Wealth Inequality, Steven Pinker, and given Pinker’s overlap with Epstein, there’s almost certainly a lot more going on than meets the eye... https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-58-the-neoliberal-optimism-industry https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-58-the-neoliberal...

CalChris 7y ago
Another cite as well: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/07/17/steven-pinkers-aid-jeffrey-epsteins-legal-defense-renews-criticism-increasingly https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/07/17/steven-pinker...

alexashka 7y ago

Does he? Why? Journalist are on their witch hunt that'll die down within a year, and then Bill Gates can go back to being America's geeky dad figure that does charity work. We have a justice system. If you don't like the way it works, go fix it. These witch hunts are an attempt to by-pass laws and ruin people's lives based on emotions, not facts. Just look at what Louis CK has to go through, because somebody completely unrelated to him, was a piece of shit. If he jerked off and made some women uncomfortable in isolation, it'd be a funny 2 second mention and he'd be immediately forgiven, but because there was a Weinstein tsunami of outrage, now Louis has to put up with a mountain of shit. Bill Gates is wisely avoiding becoming the Louis CK of this particular situation.