EFTA02608245.pdf

From: Noam Chomsky Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2018 2:24 PM To: Subject: Re: Interesting perspective. Perhaps we can look at it s=rt of like this. The way our minds work, it develops construc=s to try to accommodate our immediate experience -- like table and chairs =o accommodate what I'm experiencing now, manifestations of what we tak= to be an external world; and comparably, norms of social action and belie=s about society to accommodate what I experience in social life, manifesta=ions of what we take to be a prevailing culture. If so, we're back to Bertie's picture but with a broader rang=, the mind constructing an external world that consists of tables, chairs,=cultural norms,... in an effort to provide some coherence to the flux of e=perience (itself a construct, so our efforts at scientific explanation ins=ruct us). There's a preliminary discussion wi=h the mediator planned for Jan. 2, then a general mediation session later.=C2. Will keep you up-to-date of course. Noam On Sat, Dec 29, 20=8 at 12:06 PM J <jeevacation@g=ail.com <mailto:[email protected]» wrote: what i am suggesting is that what the t=rm culture means is the same as what consciousness means= culture can be describes as russell did for consciousness. 4>=A0 the physics and math envy habit of trying to measure =hings . we experience culture, it is stubborn, 40=AO transmitted, localized. contains memories. boundaries. Q=A0 dictum. . it manifests itself in different ways=C2* but doesn't have a separate existence. i= is like consiousness a human construct. no more n= less. btw, is a mediation date and time set= yet? vincent papers were good except for the amou=t to settle. On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 8:56 AM Noam Chomsky < > >> wrote: From the point of view of a jihadi, Klan, evangelical Christian= my ultra-orthodox grandfather, it's the rest of the world that L=;5 crazy. I think we can do better than just to take the fall-back p=sition that craziness is a value judgment, but not so easy. =div>On consciousness, my suspicion is that we'll never do much better =han Russell's picture: what we understand with highest confidence is o=r own immediate conscious experience. The rest of our intellectual e=forts (science especially) are an attempt to make sense of that (and in th= course of doing so, instructs us that our experience is a construct of ou= internal modes of cognition acting on an external world that we (naively?= assume to exist. And it also tells us, I think, that consciousness =s a thin and superficial fringe of an internal mental life that is inacces=ible to introspection. EFTA_R1_01800702 EFTA02608245  On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 11:39 AM J &l=;jeevacation@gm=il.com <mailto:[email protected]» wrote: cultures swept by craziness, Q=A0 isnt it the same for an individual. . . the brain sends sig=als based on faulty sensors or information. . to see if =he brain is functioning. there are word tests. memory tests.=C2. etc. . why isnt conciousness the property of=those things. like culture is to fads etc. On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 8:09 AM Noam Chomsky <= <mailto > wrote: Cultures unfortunately can be swept by craziness. =azism for example. Or the Great Awakening. We're in one of=those phases now. If there's a charge, it's true, in fact Tr=e. Any response is "mansplaining," another power play, rei=forcing the charge. You've seen I'm sure what happened to La=rence. Full and complete response, amounts to zero. Isn't =ven considered. It's like trying to discuss rationally with reli=ious fanatics. Noam On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 10:41AM J <[email protected]>= wrote: As the stories get wilder and the writers make the gir=s younger. prostitution is a tabloids dream , ..C2* I wondered if having something out in the cyber world th=t let some people point to rational arguments might allow some to de=end themselves from their wives . " how could you "=C2Q etc. Q=A0 I have been exploring the Al world with the cutting edge people.=C2* I remind them of your comments re machines thinking4k=A0 :)/ I thought that cult=re was the conciousness of a society. tribes were like s=lf. . media approx transmitters. . It =rovided constraints and rules for some underlying interactions. =/div> It doesnt exist in a physical sense but either=does conciousness. which it appears to me as an evolutionary a=vantage and provides the brain with rules memories. ( cu=ture again ) . and constraints. . tribes when att=cked , act like a self . . compete like selves. etc. Th= world we call physical . follows rules that we have created, most u=knowingly. I assume language acts like an effective tr=nsmittier. . some language like adrenaline. some=like dopamine. . do some extent the hormones of the cul=ure. ? On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 7:20 AM Noa= Chomsky < <mailto > wrote: It's a powerful and convincing statemen=, but my feeling is that it would not be wise to submit it for publication= Taking the stance of a reader who comes to the matter from afresh, =erhaps having heard some rumors but knowing nothing, the reaction I suspec= will be of the "where there's smoke there's fire" kind.=C240 Few are willing to think through the arguments and factual details o= to try to adjudicate conflicting claims. I've seen this happen =ver and over on other matters -- many years of having been accused of Holo=aust denial, for 2 EFTA_R1_01800703 EFTA02608246 example.. Ugly and bitter as it is, I suspect the b=st course now is not to stir the pot by raising the issue publicly, openin= the door to charges and accusations that can no doubt be answered in the =ourt of logic and fairness -- but that's not the public domain, where =nnuendo and suspicion and accusation reign. Anyway, for=what it's worth, that's the way it looks to me, in part on the bas=s of experience. The great work that you have bee= doing speaks for itself. My feeling is that you should keep at it, =nd simply develop a thick skin to fend off whatever ugliness breaks throug= now and then, diminishing over time. Noam <=div> On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 a= 8:33 AM J <=eevacation@gmailcom <mailto:[email protected]» wrote: Im considering submitting this to the ope= of the wash post id like your thoughts Swee=heart deal!" So goes the attack on the resolution of the more than a =ecade ago federal investigation involving our client Jeffrey Epstein.Q=A0 The attack is profoundly misplaced, supported neither by the law nor th= facts. Nor is it supported by the structure of our constitutional republi=. To the contrary, Jeffrey was subjected to an extremely aggressive federa= intrusion into what would typically be considered a quintessentially loca= criminal matter in south Florida. The offense invest=gated — at its core, sexual favors for hire Q=94 has long been treated as a matter entrusted to laws of the several=States, not the federal government. The conduct — =or which Jeffrey took full responsibility — was a c=assic state offense and was treated exactly that way by able, honest prose=utors in Palm Beach County. Nevertheless, without a requestQ=A0from the state prosecutors, the federal government intervened. For=their own opportunistic reasons, many are now criticizing the federal deci=ion- makers at the time, including now-Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta (then=United States Attorney in south Florida), for not going far enough.=u> The critics are wrong on =he facts and the law. They also ignore a fact going to the heart of fundam=ntal fairness: In the decade since paying his debt to society, =effrey Epstein has led a life characterized by responsible citizenship, nu=erous acts of generosity and good deeds. Here are the true key facts: Jeffrey Eps=ein, a successful self-made businessman with no prior criminal history wha=soever, engaged in illegal conduct that amounted to solicitation of p=ostitution. That conduct was wrong and a violation of Flor=da state law. Although no coercion, violence, alcohol, drugs or the =ike were involved, some of the women he paid were under the age of 18= Those facts were carefully assessed by experienced state sex c=ime prosecutors who aggressively enforce state criminal laws. No one=turned a blind eye to potential offenses to the public order. To the=contrary, the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office conducted an extensiv= fifteen- month investigation, led by the chief of the Sex Crimes Division.=C2Q Mr. Epstein was then indicted by the state grand jury on a single fe=ony count of solicitation of prostitution. =p class="MsoNormal"> <=span> 3 EFTA_R1_01800704 EFTA02608247  =span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:lrem">During that int=nse investigation, the state prosecutors extensively gathered and analyzed=C24>the evidence, met face-to-face with many of the asserted victims, con=idered their credibility — or lack thereof — and considere= the extent of exculpatory evidence, including sworn testimony=C240from many that they lied about being eighteen years old to be allowed=into Mr. Epstein's home. After months of negotiations, the s=ate prosecutors believed they had reached a reasoned resolution of the mat=er that vindicated the public interest — a resolution entirely con=istent with that of cases involving other similarly-situated defendants.=C2*The system worked as it should have. <= class="MsoNormal"> </=pan> Then, in came the feds. The United Sta=es Attorney's Office extensively and aggressively investigated whether=Mr. Epstein had engaged in a commercial human trafficking ring, targeted m=nors, or used the internet or traveled interstate in the process..=A0 But that's not what this was and that's not w=at happened. That is precisely why the federal authoritiesQ=804, ultimate decision to defer prosecution to the state was th= right one. =owever, the federally-demanded resolution was not without conditions. The =ederal prosecutors insisted on various unorthodox requirements that M=. Epstein's experienced defense team had never seen imposed on any=defendant anywhere. Under the federally-forced deal, Jeffrey was requ=red to request that the state prosecutors demand the imposition of a thirt=-month sentence that included both jail time and the strict=st conditions of probation: lifetime sex-offender registration. Those drac=nian measures were far more than warranted by the state grand jury4o=804$ indictment and would not have otherwise been required under th= previously agreed- upon state disposition. As part of this highly unu=ual deal, the government required Jeffrey to pay for a highly ex=erienced group of attorneys to bring claims against him on behalf of = government list of asserted victims. Jeffrey was required to waive the ri=ht to challenge those claims without being provided the asserted victim.=804>s identities by the government until after he was incarcerated. =Importantly, the feds' decision to decline prosecution in deference to=the state in exchange for these extraordinary requirements =as reviewed and approved at the multiple levels of the U.S. Department of =ustice. Jeffrey took full responsibility, complied with th= feds' demands, served his sentence, and in the process was treate= exactly the same (including his time served) as any other state=incarcerated individuals. His conduct while in custody was exemplary= and so characterized by the state custodial authorities. =/u> =effrey Epstein has paid his debt to society. The challenges to his Ag=eement with the Government must also be understood as challenges to t=e millions Mr. Epstein paid to the asserted victims and their lawyers purs=ant to that agreement. Amongst the beneficiaries of the Epstein-Feder=l Government Agreement were the many victims who collectively received man= millions as a result of the conditions imposed on Mr. Epstein that preven=ed him from meaningfully contesting civil liability — moneys that =ould be at issue if requests to invalidate the agreement were granted. Our nation faces vitally important challenges, many involving the t=eatment of women and basic human dignity. Voices are rightly being r=ised speaking truth to power, especially about women in the workplace.,=A0 But Jeffrey's offenses of yesteryear, which were entirely outsi=e of the workplace, have long since been redressed by the criminal justice=system. He fully and faithfully has performed every p=omise and obligation required of him by state and federal authorities..=A0 In the spirit of the bedrock American belief in second chances and fund=mental fairness, that chapter in Jeffrey's otherwise-productive a=d charitable life should be allowed to close once and for all. <=span> 4 EFTA_R1_01800705 EFTA02608248  <=div> =C24) please note please not= The information contained in this communication is confidentia=, may be attorney-client privileged, may constitute inside information,=and is intended only for the use of the addressee. It is the property o= JEE Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communicatio= or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you=have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately=by return e-mail or by e-mail to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]=> , and destroy this communi=ation and all copies thereof, including all attachments. copyright -all=rights reserved please note The information contained in this communication is confidential, m=y be attorney-client privileged, may constitute inside information, and=is intended only for the use of the addressee. It is the property of Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or=any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you hav= received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by<=r>return e-mail or by e-mail to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> , and destroy this communicati=n and all copies thereof, including all attachments. copyright -all rig=ts reserved 5 EFTA_R1_01800706 EFTA02608249  4k=A0 please note The information contained in this communicati=n is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may constitute=inside information, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. =t is the property of JEE Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of =his communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may=be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please n=tify us immediately by return e-mail or by e-mail to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> , and =estroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachm=nts. copyright -all rights reserved =C24, please note The information containe= in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileg=d, may constitute inside information, and is intended only for the u=e of the addressee. It is the property of JEE Unauthorized use, disc=osure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly =rohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communicati=n in error, please notify us immediately by return e-mail or by e-mail =o jeevacation@g=ail.com <[email protected]> , and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, =ncluding all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved </=iv> 6 EFTA_R1_01800707 EFTA02608250