“In the thin Himalayan mountain air of Nepal, the unambiguous results of the March 5 national elections are breathing new vitality into hopes for clean and effective governance in one of the world’s least-developed nations. The relatively new Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has so far won about 74% of the 165 directly elected seats in the legislature. Its sweeping success positions Balendra Shah, the capital city’s youthful, antiestablishment mayor (and ex-rap star), to become prime minister. Nepal is the third South Asian country in recent years – after Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – to demand both democratic and generational change in political systems characterized by entrenched leadership, nepotism, and inefficiency. In all three nations, youth-led street protests resoundingly called for honesty and accountability, and ousted longtime political leaders, including – last September – Nepal’s four-term Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.” (03/09/26)
“‘Enough is enough.’ With those words, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders launched a push to impose a 5% annual wealth tax on America’s billionaires. With Rep. Ro Khanna, the legislation, ‘Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,’ echoes the growing ‘eat-the-rich’ mantra on the left — seeking to replicate a disastrous push in California that has led to an exodus from that state and an estimated loss of $2 trillion in taxable assets. It is also flagrantly unconstitutional. Under the plan, Congress would target 938 billionaires to tap them for $4.4 trillion. That money would then be redistributed as a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman and child in a household making $150,000 or less — $12,000 for a family of four. The timing of the move is telling.” (03/10/26)
“Polish President Karol Nawrocki refused Tuesday to sign a law enabling Poland to access almost 44 billion euros in preferential defense loans facilitated by the European Union, claiming it would be wrong to make Poland more dependent on Brussels. Instead, the president proposed an alternative draft law suggesting national resources that could be used instead of European loans to pay for further investments in defense. Subsequent Polish governments have boosted Poland’s defense spending since Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022. But while the liberal government led by Donald Tusk is happy to coordinate efforts with the European Union, the nationalist president has proven more euro-skeptic and maintained a friendlier rapport with the Trump administration. Since taking office last year, Nawrocki has positioned himself as a main opponent of the influential prime minister, repeatedly vetoing laws proposed by the executive.” (03/10/26)
“Uber has launched a feature allowing female drivers and passengers across the US to request trips with other women on the ride-hailing app. The feature was piloted in the US last year and led to women feeling ‘more comfortable in the back seat’ and ‘more confident behind the wheel,’ Uber said. The rollout comes despite an ongoing class action lawsuit in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue the move discriminates against men. Uber said around one-fifth of its drivers in the US are women, although the ratio varies by city. Uber’s Women Preferences was launched on Monday in response to women riders and drivers who told the firm they wanted ‘more control over how they ride and earn.’ Women can reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance or set their preference in the app to increase the likelihood of being matched with a woman.” (03/10/26)
“Amid the so-called ‘ceasefire’, as imperial grifters and disaster capitalists jockey to remake Gaza in their image and in accordance with their own interests, the genocide has not abated. In its current phase, while the killing continues daily, its defining feature is the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, in whole or in part. From the outset, Israel has pursued this objective through a policy of urbicide: the systematic annihilation of Gaza City, Khan Younis, Rafah, Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and Deir al-Balah. Palestinians remain steadfast in their refusal to be erased. Yet Israel’s assault has rendered Gaza nearly uninhabitable. This devastation cannot be easily dismissed with antiseptic euphemisms such as ‘collateral damage’, a term long employed to sanitize the mass slaughter of civilians. Intent can be inferred from actions, and policy from sustained patterns of conduct.” (03/10/26)
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared war on kratom, an unregulated herbal medicine that comes from the leaves of the mitragyna plant in Southeast Asia. In a Facebook post last week, the governor boasted that state agents have removed over 3,300 kratom and related 7-OH products from the shelves of licensed businesses in California in just three weeks. This is in response to growing numbers of kratom-related deaths. Newsom points out that from 2020-22, 242 deaths in the state have been linked to kratom, with 27 due to kratom alone. Now that many kratom products have been stripped from the shelves of California gas stations and convenience stores, problem solved, right? WRONG. Unfortunately, Newsom’s response only scratches the surface of the problem.” [editor’s note: The “problem” is the idea that Newsom, Siegel, or anyone else should get to decide what other people eat, drink, smoke, snort, inject, etc. – TL] (03/09/26)
“Unidentified suspects fired multiple shots at the US consulate in Toronto in what officials have described as a ‘national security incident’, as police work to determine the motive behind the attack. Authorities said the shooting occurred early on Tuesday morning at around 04:30 local time (08:30 GMT). Officers found shell casings at the scene, as well as damage to the building, said Frank Barredo, deputy chief of the Toronto Police. The US State Department said it was aware of the incident and was closely monitoring the situation in coordination with local law enforcement. It comes as Norwegian police investigate an explosion that occurred outside the US embassy in Oslo on Sunday.” (03/10/26)
“The White House said it fired a National Transportation Safety Board member after reports of drinking on the job and harassing staff, but Todd Inman flatly denied the allegations Monday and said he plans to fight back. Inman revealed Sunday that he had been fired on Friday without explanation, though his term on the board was supposed to continue through the end of 2027. President DonaldTrump’s administration said Monday that it believes the firing is justified. ‘The White House lawfully removed Todd Inman from the NTSB after receiving highly concerning reports of inappropriate alcohol use on the job, harassment of staff, misuse of government resources, and failure to attend at least half of NTSB meetings,’ spokesman Kush Desai said. … Inman said Monday that he hadn’t initially planned to sue over his firing, but now says, ‘I look forward to defending my reputation through all legal means possible.'” (03/10/26)
“A group of Democratic Party moderates gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, last Sunday and Monday for an event organized by Third Way, an influential group in the party’s moderate wing. The event, entitled ‘Winning the Middle’, brought together elected officials, prominent pundits, data gurus, communication savants, and industry figures with one goal in mind: how to block a progressive from winning the party’s nomination for president in 2028. The event’s speakers celebrated their claim that a similar conference hosted by Third Way in the same location back in 2019 helped power Joe Biden (whom they touted as ‘the most conservative Democrat in the 2020 field’) to the White House, recalling that South Carolina served as both the last refuge of and launching pad for the then-former vice president’s flailing presidential campaign.” (03/10/26)
Source: TomDispatch
by Janet Abou-Elias & William D. Hartung
“‘I love the idea of getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us’, said Alex Karp, the CEO of the emerging military tech firm Palantir. Far from an offhand outburst, his statement reflects a broader ethos taking hold in Silicon Valley’s military-tech sector, one that treats coercion as innovation, cruelty as candor, and the unchecked application of technological power as both inevitable and desirable. Karp loves verbal combat as much as he likes running a firm that makes high-tech weaponry. His company has helped Israel increase the pace at which it has bombed and slaughtered Palestinians in Gaza, and its technology has helped ICE accelerate deportations, while also helping locate and identify demonstrators in Minneapolis. Not only is Karp unapologetic about the damage done by his company’s products, he openly revels in it.” (03/08/26)
