The Jeffrey Epstein case is so bizarre and unsettling, it’s unsurprisingly become grist for all manner of conspiracy theories, ranging from the zany but believable to the horrifying but . . . still believable. But at the heart of it all is one basic, almost banal truth: billionaires really shouldn’t exist.
It’s still not entirely clear where exactly Epstein’s bottomless well of cash came from, though it’s quite clear by now that it’s definitely not from what he claimed was his day job. Whatever the truth — whether he was blackmailing the rich and powerful, serving as their high-end black-market pimp, or something spookier — Epstein’s extreme wealth is inseparable from his crimes.
Epstein preyed on young girls whose families were struggling with money, came from foster homes, or were on the brink of homelessness. He dangled wads of money and the prospect of career advancement to lure them in, then plied them with lavish gifts to keep them there. The opulence he lived in rendered his crimes invisible, barely even hiding — flaunting, in fact — what he was doing on his private island, far from prying eyes on the mainland.
The best lawyers money could buy won him the famous “sweetheart deal” that made sure his prison sentence would be at worst a mild inconvenience. While restrictions on non-billionaire sex offenders can be so stringent they end up living permanently under a bridge, Epstein used his wealth to simply skirt them: he changed his official residence to the Virgin Islands, thus avoiding having to regularly check in with New York authorities, and spent more time in New Mexico, where he exploited a loophole to stay off the state’s sex offender registry.
And while Epstein’s laughably lenient treatment was due to the elite connections he’d accrued over the years, these were themselves products of his extreme wealth, with Epstein using money to ingratiate himself with some of the world’s most important people. These reinforced each other in an endless loop, with Epstein’s wealth originating in the first place from the finance connections he’d mysteriously made during his time as a math teacher.
In other words, the monstrous, sprawling crimes Epstein is accused of couldn’t have been possible without the extreme wealth inequality that prevails in our current world. And while this fact won’t blow anybody’s mind, it gains extra urgency when you consider some of the other stuff Epstein was planning to do.
Here are some Tweets about the criminal.
Search results
- Today I am requesting
@fdlepio to take over the criminal investigation pertaining to the Jeffrey Epstein matter. Floridians expect and deserve a full and fair investigation. - JUST IN: Florida governor orders criminal investigation into handling of Jeffrey Epstein case http://hill.cm/uwtbGBg
- This says Epstein was protected by Mueller's FBI, after they made him one of their informants. The
#Resistance really knows how to pick its heroes
- Jeffrey Epstein lavished cash on lawyers' charities after sweetheart plea deal https://trib.al/oW03vOc
- Amid Jeffrey Epstein uproar, models urge Victoria’s Secret to sign anti-harassment vow
#PerversionofJustice https://hrld.us/2yEKBNs - Celebrities, royals and politicians brace themselves as court orders release of explosive Jeffrey Epstein files https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/03/celebrities-royals-politicians-brace-court-orders-release-explosive/ …
- Jeffrey Epstein trafficked underage girls to have sex with the CEO of Victorias Secret.
#AndThatsVictoriasSecret - Inside the mysterious Manhattan apartment building on East 66th Street, where underage models, lawyers, and key players in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking circle all live. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is a frequent visitor. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-nyc-building-at-the-center-of-jeffrey-epsteins-web-2019-8 … pic.twitter.com/RGY6EHLUYZ
- Want to know the secret behind Victoria's Secret? They are connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
#AndThatsVictoriasSecret - “His pursuits of sex and science weren’t merely carried out in parallel but all at once and often in full view.” https://slate.com/technology/2019/08/jeffrey-epstein-science-eugenics-sexual-abuse-researchers.html …
- We did it!
Thank you @GovRonDeSantis for ordering an independent, external FDLE investigation into PBSO’s handling of criminal sex predator Jeffrey#Epstein. We deserve answers, and this is the first step.#FlaPol pic.twitter.com/7s9KumHdsG
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, August 6, 2019. Joe Biden continues to stumble along while Mosul remains a wreck.
In the US, the race is on for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. In two debates so far -- one in June and one in July -- former Vice President Joe Biden has struggled with his surroundings and recognizing them. He continues to struggle.
Emily Larsen (WASHINGTON EXAMINER) reports:
THE NEW YORK POST reminds:
Last week during the Democratic presidential debate, Biden flubbed the address where people could send donations to his campaign.
“If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330 and help me in this fight,” Biden said in his closing remarks on stage Wednesday night.
His campaign corrected his blunder the next day.
“In case you missed last night’s debate, Joe meant to say ‘Text Joe to 30330’ but left a word out,” it said. “Oops.”
In the US, the race is on for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. In two debates so far -- one in June and one in July -- former Vice President Joe Biden has struggled with his surroundings and recognizing them. He continues to struggle.
Emily Larsen (WASHINGTON EXAMINER) reports:
Former Vice President Joe Biden misstated the locations of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, while speaking to donors at a high-dollar fundraiser in San Diego on Sunday night.
Biden,
76, mistakenly referred to the shootings as “the tragic events in
Houston today and also in Michigan the day before," but later corrected
himself, according to a pool report. Biden seemingly confused Houston
for El Paso and Michigan for Ohio when speaking to donors about the
shootings.
THE NEW YORK POST reminds:
Last week during the Democratic presidential debate, Biden flubbed the address where people could send donations to his campaign.
“If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330 and help me in this fight,” Biden said in his closing remarks on stage Wednesday night.
His campaign corrected his blunder the next day.
“In case you missed last night’s debate, Joe meant to say ‘Text Joe to 30330’ but left a word out,” it said. “Oops.”
Sorry, but if we hit Trump for calling the mass shooting in Dayton “Toledo,” we can’t let Joe Biden off the hook for calling El Paso and Ohio “Houston and Michigan.” He’s out of touch and past his prime, too.
Is Joe all there? His response to shootings makes some wonder.
Joe Biden says that video games are part of the problem. “It is not healthy having these games teaching kids this dispassionate notion you can...blow their brains out,” he says. He adds, “It's not in and of itself why we have this climate."
The way I heard this — with him starting by saying, “I’ve talked about it too” — he is saying that video games are *part of* the problem. But it’s not the only reason (“in and of itself”) we have mass shootings. Here’s the full clip, definitely worth watching:
Bidens campaign staff watching another gaffe in real time.
Kamala watching this like...
I don't know how anyone could be do bad at his after 8 years working with Obama. I mean, sure I can but was he playing tetris the whole time???
Biden was coasting on the accomplishments of the Black guy. He’s always been bad at this. No idea why folks seem to have forgotten that.
Bc he was Obama's VP. That wiped out a lot of memories unfortunately.
His gaffs and cluelessness were endearing when he had no real power and POTUS was younger and the picture of health
Lmao! Funny how that works.
Ugh. Look, I'm more than up for a conversation about the gaming COMMUNITY, which has tolerated racism and misogyny and served as a recruiting ground. But Biden is getting his talking points from the 90s, and it's weird and out of touch in a world of middle aged mom/dad gamers.
Biden. Is. Too. Old.
Regardless of his age, his views are very dated, and he doesn't seem open enough to criticism for that to change.
(Warren isn't much younger, but she has a different temperament.)
This old man crankiness about that new-fangled technology shows how out of touch Joe Biden is.
To be fair, a full 73% of the US gaming revenues are from the Lego franchise.
Hahaha
Japan (of Nintendo, Sega, etc. fame) has had ZERO mass shootings.
Beto should keep saying WTF all the time
Funny how old people that have never played a video game are the only ones saying these ridiculous things
"What can I blame that will have no effect on how I live my life?"
Is Joe Lieberman gonna pop out from behind a bush soon? We’re back in the 90s
Echoes of Tipper Gore..
Tipper probably convinced me to make sure I got that 2 Live Crew tape. That movement also brought together Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider, so kudos to them on that!
Why does Joe Biden not know when to shut up?? He had the same problem in 1988 & 2008. The problem is simple: Ban assault weapons like they were when he was in the Senate. Regulate video games?? Sounds like someone's old Grandma who hates cell phones. Don't pollute the narrative.
He rambles. You can see it coming. The conversation takes on a whole other arc.
Yes. And it feeds into the GOP narrative of "not guns, but the internet." Classic Biden. It's been almost 12 years. People don't remember. They say "gaffes" as though it's just humorous. It's not. He's a terrible campaigner.
The last thing the Dems need is Tipper Gore redux from the completely out of touch Biden FFS
Joe thinks the problem is . . . video games.
He thinks playing death and destruction is the problem.
Actual death and destruction -- like the Iraq War? He doesn't see any correlation. He wouldn't, would he?
Joe Biden clearly suffers from age related cognitive decline. He is unfit for office.
Being addled minded is not Joe's only problem of late. AP reports:
A federal lawsuit accuses the brother of former Vice President Joe
Biden, hedge fund manager Michael Lewitt, and others of attempting to
defraud a Tennessee business.
The Knoxville News
Sentinel reports that the defendants have until mid-August to respond
to the lawsuit filed last month by Michael Frey and Dr. Mohannad Azzam.
It says the plaintiffs founded Diverse Medical Management to reform
failing rural hospitals, and Jim Biden promised to sell the health care
plan to investors.
Meanwhile, at THE NEW REPUBLIC, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw offers:
One would think, therefore, that candidates angling to become the standard-bearer of the loyal opposition should be capable of articulating not only the danger of this political moment, but also how their own party helped create this tragedy. Democratic candidates will never be able to steer a fresh course so long as they continue decades of denial and dissemblance. Joe Biden’s status as the 2020 field’s front-runner, in spite of his cringeworthy efforts to account for his part in that history, speaks volumes about how far today’s Democrats still have to go before they can meet the challenges of Trumpism head-on. A good deal of Biden’s inflated standing comes from an all-too characteristic Democratic posture of risk aversion, compounded by a talismanic faith in Biden’s mystic “electability.” Many party leaders and voters clearly view a Biden candidacy as the safest post-Trump course correction—and Biden as a pragmatic man of the people with the unique ability to build coalitional bridges between coastal elites and the so-called forgotten men and women of America’s heartland.
As if to underscore the inherent limitations of this posturing, Biden has trafficked enthusiastically in images of good ol’ boy politicking as evidence that he is the right man for the job. As his reminiscences of Senate business in the sepia-toned (but decidedly white) past tripped up his early campaign efforts, Biden has tried, gingerly to grudgingly, to walk his comments back. But those overtures point up a disquieting fear about his bid to defeat Trump: He may well perpetuate the fallacies of elite comity that marked his early career—and that continue to animate Democratic strategies to win back voters who are not as yet scandalized by the racist and misogynist rabble-rousing that is Trumpism. Falling back on that strategy alone may be fool’s gold. Not only is it questionable whether Trump’s heartland faithful will ever return to the Democratic column; the clouds that hang over Biden’s candidacy also suggest that when the going gets tough, the tough might find themselves going it alone. Biden’s missteps present a troubling pattern of sacrificing the interests of the very constituencies that stand to lose the most if the 2020 battle is undercut by the politics of appeasement. Voters who are activated to battle tooth-and-nail against the resurrection of our white supremacist past have every reason to press candidates for evidence that their failing marks on some of the most consequential issues affecting race and gender justice won’t be repeated. So far, the current front-runner has offered little substance in his defense, beyond Obama stardust and affability. That’s not enough in the best of times, and it is certainly not sufficient now.
For starters, Biden has yet to accept any genuine responsibility for how he helped preside over a process that depicted women—African American women—as conniving bottom-feeders. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991, Biden actively enabled the humiliation and stigmatization of Anita Hill in that terrible spectacle of patriarchal impunity. He failed to call the multiple existing witnesses who could corroborate Hill’s testimony, while granting future Justice Clarence Thomas the ability to testify both before and after his accuser. From his chairman’s perch, meanwhile, Biden took a sharply inquisitorial line of questioning toward Hill, and reassured the country that Thomas’s character was beyond reproach.
Biden’s long-overdue apology for his central role in the Hill-Thomas fiasco was typical Biden—that is to say, the rough equivalent of a reckless driver’s acknowledgment that a hapless bystander may have been harmed while he was behind the wheel. But well into the #MeToo era, Biden’s entire driving record warrants explaining, in close detail. Almost three decades after the Thomas hearings, he seems unaware of how his penchant for Senate friendliness made him a prime choreographer of a cultural debacle steeped in the toxic brand of white-male privilege that Moya Bailey and Trudy have come to call misogynoir.
The harm done to Anita Hill, to Black women, and to sexual harassment victims overall is not the half of it. The mishandled hearings put Thomas on the Supreme Court, and Thomas has gone on to be the most influential justice currently sitting. Any basic review of the long train of recent high court decisions dismantling the modest protections erected to safeguard our democracy against the unlicensed rule by the wealthy and racially privileged can’t help but highlight their common thread: The majority are 5–4 opinions in which Thomas’s vote has turned the country inside out.
In the same discursive vein, Biden’s wistful recollection of working alongside segregationists James Eastland and Herman Talmadge sent up clear alarms. To be sure, from a certain realpolitik vantage, one can defend Biden’s collaboration with white power as a necessary evil. At the same time, however, Biden’s nostalgia for his pragmatic former alliances with segregationist lawmakers bespeaks a foreshortened moral compass, one prone to equate bigotry with collegial rascalry.
July 21, 2017, Mosul was declared 'liberated' by the government of Iraq. Many bought the hype. There was no reason to. As we observed at the time:
Hayder al-Abadi has not done a good job.
Nouri was an outright thug.
Compared to him, anything looks better.
But let's not mistake Hayder not digging the hole even deeper for actually addressing the problem.
Two full years later and one prime minister later, nothing has really changed.
In pictures: West #Mosul’s reconstruction shows scant progress rudaw.net/english/middle…
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