There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not in my nature ... The men think us incapable of real friendship, you know, and I am determined to show them the difference. Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. ibid.
I went by footpath and by stile
Beyond where bustle ends,
Strayed here a mile and there a mile
And called upon some friends ... Thomas Hardy, Paying Calls
To discover evil in a new friend is to most people only an additional experience. Thomas Hardy, Desperate Remedies
‘And I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.’ His voice rose nearly to a shout. ‘You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all the time.’ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
Some friends. Do you know I’ve been beat by half the people out there? Panic in Needle Park 1971 starring Al Pacino & Kitty Winn & Alan Vint & Richard Bright & Kiel Martin & Michael McClanathan & Warren Finnerty & Marcia Jean Kurtz & Raul Julia & Angie Ortega et al, director Jerry Schatzberg
Friendship, Kim. Friendship above everything. Cambridge Spies I II III IV, Burgess, BBC 2003
Friends was just one more class of victim. T2: Trainspotting 2017 starring Ewan McGregor & Hamish Haggerty & Ben Skelton & Connor McIndoe & Ewan Bremner & Aiden Haggarty & John Bell & Jonny Lee Miller & Logan Gilles & James McElvar & Robert Carlyle & Daniel Jackson & Daniel Smith & Christopher Mullen & Kelly Macdonald & Shirley Henderson & James Cosmo & Anjela Nedyalkova et al, director Danny Boyle
I don’t know who he [Ivan] is. This is my apartment I assure you. The Visitor 2007 starring Richard Jenkins & Haaz Sleiman & Danai Gurira & Hiam Abbass & Richard Kind & Michael Cumpsty & Marian Seldes & Maggie Moore & Bill McHenry & Amir Anison et al, director Tom McCarthy
We are illegal. We are not citizens. ibid. Zainab
You can’t just take people away like that. Do you hear me? He was a good man, a good person. It’s not fair! ibid. Walter
They’re my two closest friends. Let me introduce you … Seems like the three of us would get each other into trouble ever since middle school. The 15:17 to Paris 2018 starring Alek Skarlatos & Anthony Sadler & Spencer Stone & Judy Greer & Jenna Fischer & Irene White & William Jennings & Bryce Gheisar & Stephen Matthew Smith & Thomas Lennon & Tony Hale et al, director Clint Eastwood
I wish we were friends, Julian. Trailer Park Boys s8e6: Friends with the Benedicts, Mr Lehey
When something major happens like Ricky getting shot, you realise who you’re friends are and why. Trailer Park Boys s10e10: Looks Like the Liquor Wins, Barbara
My husband’s in insurance. He doesn’t have any friends. Thief: Everything That Rises Must Converge 3/6 starring Andre Braugher & Mae Whitman & Malik Yoba & Yancey Arias & Clifton Collins junior et al, bird, 2006
Spies can’t have friends. Not proper friends. Because they tell too many lies. Blunt: The Fourth Man 1986 starring Ian Richardson & Michael Williams & Anthony Hopkins & Albert Welling & Rosie Kerslake & Emma Cottrell et al, director John Glenister, wife to husband
An acquaintance merely enjoys your company, a fair-weather companion flatters when all is well, a true friend has your best interests at heart and the pluck to tell you what you need to hear. E A Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly
It’s a shame … The base will close … I will make it up to you, Peter. I’m a powerful friend to have right now. Perhaps your only friend. So don’t defy me. House of Cards US s1e4: Chapter 4, Frank, Netfli 2013
Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and one-time lover of disgraced child abuser Jeffrey Epstein is behind bars facing trial. The charges against her – finding and grooming young girls for Epstein. Chasing Ghislaine I: Sins of the Father, Vicky Ward, Quest Red 2022
‘She actually took part in sexually abusing the teens.’ ibid. prosecutor
I now understand that the root to Jeffrey’s ability to cover up his crimes was his extraordinary skill at manipulation as well as the very powerful figures who surrounded him. ibid.
Ghislaine Maxwell is the gatekeeper to a tale that’s even deeper and darker. ibid.
Maxwell’s bullying was not confined to outsiders; he ruled his family with an iron fist as well. ibid.
He was bankrupt. Throughout his whole life he was condemned as a crook in one instance after another. ibid. Tom Bower, biographer
The publishing business he built served a second purpose: access. ibid.
Three people I interviewed say Maxwell did other types of work for Israel as well. ibid.
Deeply weird. This was the guy she was dating. Why the hell would she be finding young girls for him. Chasing Ghislaine s1e2: Power Geisha, friend
This very strange confusion as to nobody quite knowing for sure when she and Jeffrey actually met. ibid.
Hoffenberg [Ponzi scheme] has since said that Jeffrey was the mastermind behind the crime … Hoffenberg says Jeffrey stole money from his company. ibid.
The network of guys who lifted up Jeffrey Epstein and enabled these alleged sex crimes – that endures. Chasing Ghislaine s1e3
Epstein didn’t just get a short sentence, his lawyers negotiated a non-prosecution agreement for him … and he was released six days a week to go to his office. ibid.
It seems he uses these high-powered individuals to attract others. ibid.
Gates flew on Jeffrey’s plane at least once and visited his home many times. And there are rumours Gates’s divorce from his wife Melinda is in some part connected to these visits. ibid.
How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime. ibid. The Miami Herald article Julie K Brown
If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don’t accept, because you will lose one friend; on the other hand, if two strangers come with the same request, accept because you will gain one friend. Saint Augustine
29 December 2021 5.12 p.m.: ‘Ghislaine Maxwell just got convicted of five of six of the serious counts against her, including the most serious counts – sex trafficking of a minor.’ Ghislaine Maxwell: The Making of a Monster I: Queen Bee, court reporter, Channel 4 2022
And she says to me, ‘They are nothing. They are trash.’ ibid. colleague
She got away scot free. Ghislaine’s lifestyle was lavish. It was the best of everything. ibid.
And by chance he had a partner – Ghislaine – who was a basket case … He moulded her into being complicit. Ghislaine Maxwell: The Making of a Monster II: Hidden in Plain Sight, witness
I remember a little girl walking downstairs crying. She was wearing a uniform. And I thought, What happened? And Ghislaine said, She didn’t get the job. Some people aren’t cut out for modelling. ibid. door-keeper
And she says to me, They are nothing. They are trash. ibid. writer
In 1998 Epstein purchased a private island in the Caribbean.
Prince Andrew was there – he came a few times. ibid. Island butler
This sexual pyramid scheme really had Ghistlaine Maxwell at the top. Ghislaine Maxwell: The Making of a Monster III: The Reckoning, rozzer
The Miami Herald uncovered the close relationship between the federal government and Epstein. It also revealed the vast scale of Epstein’s abuse of underage victims. ibid. caption
She’s evil and she’s dangerous. ibid. witness
If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guys to betray my country. E M Forster, Two Cheers for Democracy, 1951