26 Comments
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Marjorie Dickey's avatar

Such an interesting piece about how even the most intellectual and academically recognized of humans can observe evil and support it for their own benefit. Thank you.

Jim Ellis's avatar

Terrific take down of hypocritical academic "experts."

I like your style, Anand: "Personally, I would donate to MIT to be removed from emails like these."

Thanks for taking on such a disgusting and depressing topic.

Paula B.'s avatar

Thank you for this important information and analysis, Anand. It never ceases to amaze me how dense and well-defended these Epstein collaborators are. No wonder the world is so messed up.

Jeff Minich's avatar

What a self-rationalizing jerk. For all of Bach's intelligence and cleverness, the student who refused his offer to help her get grants had a far deeper understanding of the value of personal integrity than Bach.

Jutta Stengel's avatar

I've always said I'd rather hire an IT worker with common sense than a brilliant one. I lived 2 semesters in an honors dorm and some of these "bright" kids didn't have the sense God gave a goat.

Jayne's avatar

The Epstein class seems to think that, if they remove themselves from their emotions and intellectually analyze the repugnant as an "objective outside experience", they are somehow detached from the immorality of the behavior and can "discuss" it as mere observers. Those of us outside their circle are, of course, judged by them to be incapable of such "high level" intellect.

Sara Mandelbaum's avatar

This was fascinating. Thank you, Anand. An example of how brilliance is no guarantee against moral blindness.

Jenn Z's avatar

Great writing here, thank you Anand.

Amisha K.'s avatar

Thanks for the research and perspective. It seems as though the members of Epstein class find frustration in non-pedophile culture. They look to other men for comfort and very much wish they are philosophers instead of sex addicts. I think they should read some Socrates or Discourses and leave women and children alone.

Connie D's avatar

So, Bach’s opinion is: Everyone has a price.

Pam P's avatar

Every new revelation from these files is like a kick in the teeth. Epstein's crimes are beyond the pale, but almost as disturbing is how easy it seems to be for people to rationalize truly terrible acts when there's something in it for them. And for Bach to cast himself as a victim when his relationship with Epstein was revealed? What a pompous ass.

Ellen Harrison's avatar

So many times I have to stop in the middle and comment. Not this time. Breathtaking report, Anand. Mind fuckers, they are everywhere. When one truly begins to see themselves after having been gaslit and accepted or justified the behavior of their “helper,” it is a complete inner dismantling of everything they believed surrounding that person who helped them. It is emotional agony, despair, physical sickness, heartbreak and anger. I think Bach should consider that his constant refusal to see and disengage from Epstein is the real reason for his current inability to breathe and other physical symptoms he mentioned. He doesn’t know it yet, but he also is victim. One who doesn’t care about other victims. He will blame everyone except Epstein and Epstein’s hold on his mind. Even though Epstein is dead, his thoughts and ideas live on in Bach’s mind.

Marian Gillis's avatar

The messages seem to intentionally confuse victim and perpetrator.

Bach is more honest about who Epstein is, but then he sweeps it under the rug like a prostitite getting ready for a John.

“You’ll know them by which side their bread is buttered on”. - my mom

chiquita's avatar

mom is often right!

Jutta Stengel's avatar

Mine was ALWAYS right! lol

Beth J's avatar

This is interesting, yet Epstein’s ties to Israeli and US intelligence are not mentioned in your series. You, and almost all US media, avoid this. You might appreciate this interview with Rep Ro Khanna. https://m.youtube.com/watch?

v=Qubwe2jKdik

Incredible work is also being done by Amanda and Glennon Doyle on their Feb 9th and Feb 11th episodes of their podcast called “We Can Do Hard Things”. Drop Site News is a helpful resource also.

This is the most impactful conspiracy in modern history.

I hesitate to ask why media outlets and journalists avoid it. I assume that the risk is significant.

I would like to hear others’ thoughts.

J.J. Loughran's avatar

I believe that many of us (maybe all) hope to have a real view of the outside world and its attitude about us. I once considered asking friends to do so. Then after I thought about it? I decided that environment of each individual was likely to color the perception. Can we trust the view? Can we analyze it? Bach seems to leave his own acquisitions and favor out of it. Thank you. As always a good dive.

J.J. Loughran's avatar

Then a bolt of reality hit me - none of us are in the same mental frame as one such as Epstein. That Bach give him some reality? Seems unlikely that is what Epstein actively read. I responded as a mere mortal - I could never approach the immortal coil of that class.

Elizabeth Sachs's avatar

I'm no particular sage. As an academic in the trenches of community college teaching, I'm mainly kept honest, as I wish to be, by many things I value. But, having received a doctorate and having gone through the hazing of that experience, I know even personally that academics even in the liberal arts can be so incredibly venal it's . . . pitiful. That's a trope. Personally too, I'm related by marriage to a few academics who had much more access to $$ (in their cases, pharmaceutical development). BAM. Ethics out the window, more or less (though slowly sometimes: drip, drip). An uncle on my family's side, a nuclear physicist, once sneered of the pharmaceutical types in my marriage's other family side, "Money and scientific academia don't mix; once they do, it's only a moment until they're worshipping money over research--real research." This Uncle worked at Los Alamos, so I'm more or less inclined to believe he knew what he was talking about. So, "No surprise" from me about academics willing to get in bed with demon Mamon. Several academics of my own persuasion in halls of academic power much higher than what I chose (had to choose, since academia fell apart in my field in the 1990s and jobs full-time in 4-year institutions were vanishing rare) who managed to get into universities . . .developed weirdnesses. Imo. For instance, they adored going to Vegas. Um. RAZZmatazz. Personally, I still (get to) love academia in my ken for what it tries to offer: basically, Humanism. Long may it thrive (and I believe that it could--this era is junktard junky-junk, but that doesn't mean ideals won't persist and exert themselves--fingers crossed and candles lit-lit-lit) but I'll never forget the comment of a waiter who, who his colleague, awaited us academics crawling across San Diego sidewalks to have lunch during a break from a major conference. "Who. . . ARE these creeps?" he muttered. I looked backward to see this line of black-clad academics, blinking in frantic ways at sunshine, looking forward to a bit of razzle-dazzle ("Oh! Sunshine! Maybe a margarITA here? Yep! Yum-yum! And we'll ALSO talk smack about this and that person and one-up one another about Derrida!" I thought, "Yep: we're all a bunch of wormy academics dragging around our briefcases and wondering 'Where's a high life? HERE? Maybe so! SUNNY San Diego! Hey! Laissez les bontemps roulee!" THAT said? Don't jettison all academics (not that you would). Just: Get Real. Academics can be and often are as weak and venal as the average bear. Hold them to account. And get behind those who say and witness and DO: "I cannot be bought." There's a whollllle lotta aggressively-ambitious parents out there who want to align their children with academics who can move and shake and carry their kids to success. Be wise. I'd say: send your kids to community college, let them learn, don't hand-hold them, LET them decide their courses. . . and when they fail them, cut them off and make them . . .get a job and figure themselves out and possibly fund their OWN educations. They'll get as wise as they need to be. My two cents.

Emily Prager's avatar

Emily Prager

It seems to have

Been a mutual blackmail. Bach can get the money because he knows and because he takes money Epstein can keep

him on a leash. So Epstein used money as well as sexual deviances to hook his cronies. So interesting.