Mandelson’s birthday note to Epstein

[stanleycups]

https://x.com/Peston/status/1965382563406774537

shudders

Grim. I suppose we can be fairly certain that not all their preferences were shared.

How about Farage being BFFs with Trump ? Whose artistic endeavours are immortalised in the book ?

He says he regrets ever meeting Epstein. Yeah, I’ll bet he does. No mention of Epstein’s victims, he’s just sorry that his association with him has bitten him on the arse.

It’s grim and I can’t see how it can be read as anything other than an admission that he was involved in the Epstein awful-ness.

🤢 nauseating drivel

Ugh - if someone write that for my birthday I would be horrified! Bet Epstein loved it! Vile

Loves money and rich people does Peter. So I can see why he was there. But looking at the Trump drawing or Clinton's child reference they were all aiding and abetting Epstein. Islands, supposedly rich, prob a smooth talker who knew that money/sex in the right places would get him far. Trump is seemingly denying he ever sent a note, not his signature, never does drawings when the opposite seems true

He remained friends with Epstein after he was convicted the first time (2008).and while he was in the UK government.
The best interpretation of his conduct is that he was happy to remain friends with someone convicted of child sex abuse and commonly known by then (2009 onwards) to be a sex trafficker. That would be dodgy if he was Joe Blogs but he was in a position of power and influence so in being public friends was also adding to Epstein's aura of untouchability and power. And that position of power came via the UK government so it's basically allowing the UKs reputation/standing bolster the image of a predator. Marvelous.
I can actually believe he was only friends with him for contacts/money/influence but that still is so far from OK.

This is NOT a defence of Farage. But Farage in this case is 2 degrees of separation (he knows someone who was mixed up with Epstein). Mandleson is only 1 - he is friends with Epstein. So that puts Keir Starmer at 2 degrees of separation of you want to calculate it like that. The same as Farage. It really shouldnt be difficult to be a better person than Farage.

It’s absolutely grim and imo it’s morally wrong to have him as an ambassador.
No way he knew nothing.

Just to add Farage is not a government representative, he is elected MP but it’s different. If people were so stupid to elect him..

Is it now a de facto response from the left to every criticism of their beloved Labour Party to cry “But Farage…!”???

And yet our Trade Ambassador/Queen's son was also running about with friend of the rich/powerful Epstein. Supposedly various celebrities, politicians etc were years ago buying the rights to photos of themselves with Jeffrey in order there would be no surprising reveals

Yes, it’s so disgusting. I'm trying not to think about it tbh as it’s just nauseating.

The thing i don't understand, is that us ladies can smell trouble a mile away and steer clear, but these men don't.

Or choose not to because they believe/think they are in an elite club. Riches and power go hand in hand and once they are in the club anything might be possible/available

I suppose Mandelson thought Epstein would never be brought down. With Prince Andrew Epstein clearly saw him coming but Mandelson’s a canny operator.

Honestly, seeing the way men with power behave. All ambassadors, NGO workers, politicians, police officers and every other person who wields power should be female. See if that helps stem the tide of wholesale abuse and sexual depravity.

Men en masse with power seem incapable of avoiding abuse.

Unfortunately no...
Women are less likely to be sexually abusive for sexual purposes if that makes sense. However, it isn't uncommon for women to be involved in grooming, CSE etc to please an adult boyfriend or for money etc. Ghislaine Maxwell for example. Some men are just straight up paedophiles. But they will involve themselves with men and women who are happy to facilitate it. And around them there are lots of men and women happy to turn a blind eye. And actually humans are very good at "not seeing" when it's convenient. It's corruption in the most literal sense.

Also in group/out group dynamics. Everyone (including you and me) have a natural tendancy to not "see" crimes against children when they involve an in group perpetrator and an out group victim. You can override that tendancy but it's not as easy as "women protect".

I do think that societies with more female participation tend to take child sexual exploitation more seriously than very very patriarchal ones. But on an individual level people aren't "safe" just because they are women so it wouldn't work.

But Corbyn ...