Three former Ubisoft executives convicted of sexual and psychological harassment

Source: The Verge

“A court in France has sentenced three former Ubisoft executives for sexual and psychological harassment. Serge Hascoet, Tommy Francois, and Guillaume Patrux each received fines and suspended prison sentences for their actions that were discovered as a part of a years-long investigation into sexual harassment and bullying at the game publisher. According to The Guardian, Hascoet, Ubisoft’s former chief creative officer, allegedly commented that a female employee’s mood could be improved if someone were to have sex with her in order to, ‘how how to calm her.’ Francois, Ubisoft’s former editorial vice president, was additionally convicted of attempted sexual assault as well as sexual harassment related to an alleged incident where he tried to forcefully kiss a female employee at a party while colleagues held her down. Patrux, a former game director, was alleged to have thrown furniture in open-plan office space, throwing other objects at employees, and drawing swastikas on a colleague’s notebook.” (07/02/25)

https://www.theverge.com/games/696996/ubisoft-me-too-former-executive-convictions

Thomas L. Knapp

They Didn’t Have to Do This

Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Chait

“In their heedless rush to enact a deficit-exploding tax bill so massive that they barely understand it, Senate Republicans call to mind a scene in The Sopranos. A group of young aspiring gangsters decides to stick up a Mafia card game in hopes of gaining the mobsters’ respect and being brought into the crew. At the last moment, the guys briefly reconsider, before one of them supplies the decisive argument in favor of proceeding: ‘Let’s do it before the crank wears off.’ After that, things go as you might expect. Like the Mafia wannabes, congressional Republicans have talked themselves into a plan so incomprehensibly reckless that to describe it is to question its authors’ sanity.” (07/01/25)

https://archive.is/4fPog

Thomas L. Knapp

Mass Deportation Is Happening

Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri

“Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s commitment to mass deportation was never in question. They were always going to try it, however unfeasible a goal it is to forcibly expel 20 million people. Of course, such attempts were always going to run into problems with costs and logistical feasibility. By mid-June, ICE was $1 billion over their budget and claimed they would be out of money entirely within a month. Moreover, even with adequate funds, it takes time to hire and train new personnel. It takes time and resources to build up enough facilities to hold the people you want to deport. It takes time and vehicles to actually move those people out of the country. And of course, you have to have other countries that are willing to accept the people you are deporting. … But now matters are proceeding further still.” (07/01/25)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/mass-deportation-is-happening/

Thomas L. Knapp

Elon Wants a Third Party, I Want What George Washington Wanted

Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis

“‘If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democratic-Republican uniparty so that the people will actually have a VOICE.’ (Elon Musk) … Elon’s third party, if it gained any traction, might ensure Democratic Party majorities as far into the future as foreseeable. I don’t really think Elon wants that, but he’s a businessman, he’s not a historian, so, as brilliant as he is in many ways, he is limited in his knowledge, as we all are. There is another way. It is the way of George Washington and our Constitution, and it is the way that I favor. … Mr. Washington, in his farewell address to the nation, warned the country against political parties; he did not believe we should even have them.” (07/02/25)

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2025/07/02/elon-wants-a-third-party-i-want-what-george-washington-wanted-n2659819

Steve Trinward

US regime blacklists Russia-based bulletproof hosting services provider

Source: United Press International

“The United States has blacklisted a Russia-based bulletproof hosting services provider, two affiliated companies and four of its leaders accused of aiding bad actors in evading detection as they conduct cybercrimes. Aeza Group is accused of providing its services to ransomware and malware groups, including Medusa and Lumma infostealer operators, who have employed the hosting services provider to target the U.S. defense industrial base and technology companies, among a slew of others.” [editor’s note: Whether the US regime has the ability to technically block access to Aeza-hosted sites, etc. is an interesting question; of more immediate interest is that under the statute the sanctions are based on, it’s illegal for US citizens to purchase web-hosting from the organization – TLK] (07/02/25)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/07/02/United-States-sanctions-Aeza-Group/4911751441767/

Thomas L. Knapp

USAID officially closes, attracting condemnation from Obama and Bush

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has officially closed its doors after President Donald Trump gradually dismantled the agency over its allegedly wasteful spending. More than 80% of all the agency’s programmes were cancelled as of March, and on Tuesday the remainder were formally absorbed by the state department. The shuttering of USAID — which administered aid for the US government, the world’s largest such provider — has been newly criticised by former Presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush. These aid cuts could cause more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to a warning published by researchers in the Lancet medical journal. … Founded in 1961, USAID previously employed some 10,000 people, two-thirds of whom worked overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service.” (07/02/25)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c307zq8ppj6o

Steve Trinward