THE TIME that Aaron Swartz died many people blasted MIT and MIT responded with a white-washing report. We cited about a dozen news reports about it back then. But this isn't about Swartz, whom MIT let down and left exposed -- to the point where he killed himself (to avoid potentially more severe consequences for him and his family).
"Who funded it? Well, check the list of MIT donors. Those who fund it can indirectly control the output, obviously..."This report is hardly independent; we know who commissioned it and it's hosted by the MIT's own site (the full report is here [PDF]). In our humble assessment, it's possibly rewriting history based on nothing except people salaried by Bill Gates. There are also press reports [1-3] from Microsoft- and Gates-funded sites (one of which was formerly owned by Microsoft's co-founder). So now we have Joichi Ito (Creative Commons) and Richard Stallman (GNU, FSF and more) mentioned in the media, but one wonders if Rafael Reif is trying to distract from the much bigger MIT bribes that came from Bill Gates through his friend, Jeffrey Epstein. The media reports say nothing about it. One report said: "His death was ruled a suicide by New York’s chief medical examiner, though Epstein’s status as a member of the jet-set crowd who socialized with everyone from high-profile scientists to Microsoft founder Bill Gates as well as unanswered questions about his demise have fueled conspiracy theories."
Oh, we see... anything that doesn't fit in with the media's narrative is instantaneously "conspiracy theories..."
Well, based on our past research and reporting, Joichi Ito and Richard Stallman were hardly the culprits; they were more like scapegoats or sacrificial lambs -- people used by MIT to claim that firm action was taken and people were severely punished (even if the wrong people).
"In the above screenshot (of the original PDF) it's worth noting/noticing how they admit that they've received money from Gates, so in effect MIT was corrupted by that money and MIT does not want to 'shame' or 'embarrass' the 'generous' donor."Notice the screenshot at the top. Does that look like the outcome of a real, thorough investigation (as can be expected from a reputable institution such as MIT)? Notice the form of the evidence. It's like hearsay. Those are people whom Gates pays, reinforcing the perception -- however widely held -- that people with power and connections having the ability to change the record, rewrite history and so on. What next? Bill Gates coming out with a walking stick or claiming to have dementia (like his father)? The Weinstein and Cosby legal trick? Well, no need... he already managed to remove himself from the interrogation cycle by saying it was all a "mistake". That's it. Imagine a shoplifter being released for merely admitting regret.
In the above screenshot (of the original PDF) it's worth noting/noticing how they admit that they've received money from Gates, so in effect MIT was corrupted by that money and MIT does not want to 'shame' or 'embarrass' the 'generous' donor. To hell with MIT. It's part of the problem because it allowed itself to be corrupted by money, not just Gates' also Saudi money (a country where such sexual discourse -- sex with adolescents -- if considered culturally normal). ⬆
Related/contextual items from the news:
Disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein donated $850,000 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, per a university investigation that has found ex-MIT Media Lab director Joichi Ito and mechanical engineering professor Seth Lloyd solicited the contributions.
Epstein died in a New York prison cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from accounts that he abused and trafficked dozens of minors in Florida and New York. His death was ruled a suicide by New York’s chief medical examiner, though Epstein’s status as a member of the jet-set crowd who socialized with everyone from high-profile scientists to Microsoft founder Bill Gates as well as unanswered questions about his demise have fueled conspiracy theories.
Ito resigned from the MIT Media Lab in September 2019 after his extensive financial ties to Epstein were revealed, including $525,000 in lab funding and $1.2 million for his personal investment fund. By that point, Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida on charges of procuring a minor for prostitution and subsequent sweetheart plea deal with prosecutors to escape serious consequences was a matter of public record.
Today, MIT released a 63-page fact-finding report detailing the institute’s involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. MIT says that the report focused on visits that Epstein made to campus and 10 donations made by Epstein between 2002 and 2017, totaling $850,000. Nine of the donations, totaling $750,000, were made after 2008 when Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution with a minor.
The report, prepared by the law firm Goodwin Procter, found that while the president of MIT, L. Rafael Reif, was not involved in accepting the money, several prominent members of the MIT community were, including three vice presidents. The report found that all donations made after Epstein’s 2008 conviction went to either MIT’s Media Lab or to engineering professor Seth Lloyd. Lloyd’s lab received two $50,000 donations from Epstein in 2012 and $125,000 in 2017. In addition, Lloyd received a gift of $60,000 from Epstein that went straight into his personal bank account and is not being counted in the totals.
Lloyd and Epstein met in 2004, and were connected by Lloyd’s book agent, and the report notes that the two remained friends after Epstein’s conviction in 2008. The report also found that the two $50,000 donations to Lloyd in 2012 were made to test the waters at MIT. “Specifically, Epstein was disappointed that other academic institutions would not accept his money following his 2008 conviction, and, as Epstein put it (using a fishing metaphor) in an email to Professor Lloyd, “im going to give you two 50k tranches to see if the line jingles,” the report says. In 2016, Lloyd asked Epstein for more money, and received $125,000 in 2017.
The review, conducted by law firm Goodwin Procter at the behest of the university, also found that MIT's acceptance of 10 donations from Epstein totaling $850,000, which three vice presidents knew about, "was the result of collective and significant errors in judgment that resulted in serious damage to the MIT community." On Friday, MIT announced the investigation results and a 61-page report outlining the review.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's ties to Epstein, a multimillionaire, already have had consequences. Joichi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab, resigned in September. And Richard Stallman, founder of the free software movement, resigned from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab after the publication of an email thread in which he'd said one alleged Epstein victim likely "presented herself ... as entirely willing."
Epstein died in August of an apparent suicide in jail while facing federal sex-trafficking charges. Federal prosecutors in New York alleged Epstein sexually abused and exploited dozens of underage girls. Epstein had been convicted as a sex offender, in 2008, and the new charges against him arrived as the widespread MeToo movement brought down other powerful men.
When Epstein made his $850,000 in donations to MIT, there was no formal policy against accepting funding from "controversial" donors, the investigation found. But three administrative vice presidents -- R. Gregory Morgan, Jeffrey Newton, and Israel Ruiz -- knew of the source. Morgan and Newton are retired. Ruiz is set to step down from his position at MIT this year.