Lindsay Beyerstein: On Epstein and His Circle

Lindsay Beyerstein, writing on Bluesky on Feb 8, 2026:

Calling the Epstein [circle] a pedophilia ring lets society off too easy. What the Epstein files reveal is the impunity of the elite class to do anything they want—though, in point of fact, most don't want to have sex with children. I don't think Epstein was practicing blackmail on an industrial scale. After reading thousands of his emails, there's no hint of that. The people in his orbit adored him and begged to be included. They were having a great time. Epstein may well have blackmailed people; but that wasn't his business model. Once you get a feel for who the most blackmailable motherfuckers in his circle are, it's astonishing how well they continue to get along with Epstein for years and years. They want to come over and hang out, they delight in being invited to his events, they lavish praise on him. I wouldn't put any bad act past Jeffrey Epstein, he was a sociopath who committed all kinds of crimes. But when you look at the evidence in total, it doesn't seem like blackmail was Epstein's default. He was honey over vinegar for powerful men.

Used by permission.

Slavery and Solar Panels Bibliography

On the way to writing that short piece on slavery and solar panels, I looked at quite a few reports and articles. Here's a bibliography, for anyone interested.

Xinjiang: Slavery and Solar Panels

In Xinjiang, western China, the polysilicon that is used the in the inexpensive photovoltaic panels that have become so widespread is manufactured. The people who manufacture it are members of an Islamic ethnicity called Uyghurs,¹ and they are enslaved by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This is widely reported, but is most clearly laid out in Prof. Laura Murphy’s extensively-researched report, In Broad Daylight² from the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (HKC) at the United Kingdom’s Sheffield Hallam University.³

A Few Notes on Venezuela

• Chalk up another ignominiously lost destabilizing war. As with Iraq, it may take a while for the failure to become clear, but I do not see any path to a meaningful victory.
• Trump has badmouthed Nobel winner Machado in favor of Maduro's VP, Delcy Rodríguez, who has not returned the favor.
• Venezuelan oil is heavy sour crude and their refineries are decaying; there's no profit in that oil now or in less than a decade, probably ever. Oil is not going to pay for this.