If there is such a thing as odious debt or bad debt, then there’s such a thing as odious wealth on the other balance sheet. The billionaires’ assets of the 1% are the debts of the 99%. And the question is, should America keep all of these debts on the books? If it keeps the debt on the books, the economy is going to shrink and shrink and shrink for the 99% and the only people who will be growing is the 1% of the creditors.

"“The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, air space or water for any reason,” [the resolution] said."

"Up to now, China has tried to balance its relationship with Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East and set up a firewall between the two, although Iran is more significant in China’s strategic calculus given the fact Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf countries are still under the US security umbrella and host US military bases. China is also against further Western-sponsored regime change in the region, and Iran is an important partner in counterbalancing US hegemony and the drive toward a multipolar world."

I’ve been a technology activist for decades now, and I’ve read innumerable profound and enduring critiques of technology. In recent years, though, artificial intelligence has come under more fire than most developing trends. The pronouncements, hype, and foolishness surrounding it have risen to heights that stand out even by the outlandish standards of tech absurdity. Like me, you’ve probably encountered some of the better, smarter critiques along with all the silliness and insanity. Some of the greats are Cathy O’Neil’s outstanding 2016 book Weapons of Math Destruction, and the excellent research reports from the nonprofit AI Now institute, and also Patrick Ball’s spectacular papers published through the essential and dreadfully under-resourced Human Rights Data Analysis Group.

The legacy of the Iraq war, and the prospect of a bloody sequel sparked by Donald Trump’s assassination of a senior Iranian official in Baghdad this week, has the potential to transform the Democratic primary, offering voters radically different visions of how the next commander-in-chief proposes to deal with the ongoing chaos caused by the 2003 invasion.

"There are an estimated 6,000 US troops based in Iraq, whose primary function had been helping train the Iraqi military in anti-Isis operations, but their presence has become controversial."

World events are off to a seriously concerning start for 2020. I learned of the US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian military officer while in the midst of reading American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson. Her debut novel takes place during the Cold War, when a young FBI agent gets recruited by the CIA for an assignment in communist Burkina Faso. Current global geo-political context aside, I have found in American Spy a fulfilling story written by a promising novelist.