Math

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March Update — March 10, 2026

At the Metsu today I ran into the bike guy, Bruce, and another man whose name I didn’t catch.

During dinner I talked with Sue, a Black woman who is new there. She said she was a friend of Liz. I implied that I knew Liz, although I’m not completely sure that I do. There are only so many regulars around there, so it’s possible I’ve seen her before. It might even have been the same Liz—or Lisa—I noticed when I first walked in earlier.

Sue and I started talking about movies, and then the conversation drifted into the Epstein case. She asked a lot of questions and seemed genuinely curious, a bit like Roger when he gets into a topic. I told her I’m not an expert, but I explained the generally accepted account rather than the speculative spy stories that circulate online.

I explained that the way Jeffrey Epstein operated, according to investigations and court records, relied heavily on grooming and normalization. Wealthy environments often include attractive young people working in roles like hospitality, promotion, or service—waitresses, event staff, promotional models at car shows, and so on. Because that kind of environment is common around wealthy people, the presence of young women doesn’t immediately raise suspicion.

That normalization made it easier for exploitation to occur without people immediately recognizing what was happening. Some girls were reportedly recruited by other girls who had already been drawn into Epstein’s circle. I pointed out that using a female intermediary can make new recruits feel safer or less suspicious because it lowers the perceived threat.

Sue already knew about Ghislaine Maxwell and how prosecutors argued she played a role in recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein. We talked about how that tactic—using someone who appears trustworthy to introduce others—is unfortunately a common manipulation strategy in many kinds of exploitation.

Later I took a taxi home. On the ride back I talked with the driver about movies and then about politics.

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