Bessma Momani
@bmomani.bsky.social
Professor at the University of Waterloo and Senior Fellow at CIGI, interested in International Affairs and Geopolitics of Technology.
"TikTok’s algorithm pushed him thousands of videos about suicide, sadness, hopelessness and loneliness, right up until he killed himself." The company did this "by design" to test the effect on "daily active users" "one of the top data points by which Wall Street judges social media companies"
“Weizman shows how Israel’s invasion of Gaza included an intentional, systematic plan of destroying the conditions for Palestinian life and rebuilding the land into something available for Israeli resettlement.” I review Eyal Weizman’s new book @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/04/g...
The Architecture of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza
A new book describes the destruction of Palestinian life street by street.
foreignpolicy.com
Though the investigation into the Beirut Port Explosion had stalled for years due to political obstruction, lawyers, advocates, and family members have persisted in pursuing pathways to justice in Lebanon and outside of it. We track those efforts here. timep.org/2026/04/22/t...
The Prolonged Chapters of the Investigations into the Beirut Port Blast
Domestic and international investigations into the Beirut Port blast inch forward amid persistent obstruction, leaving victims’ families waiting for accountability.
timep.org
President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
trib.al
AI’s ‘cookie banner’ moment: EU labels come for the bots— The rules require companies to tell customers when they are interacting with AI systems and… www.ft.com/content/19ff... @bmoens.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
AI’s ‘cookie banner’ moment: EU labels come for the bots
New regulations require companies to label chatbots, deepfakes and AI-generated marketing material
ft.com
In the coming decades, writes Helen Epstein, toxic fallout in Gaza could lead to “an epidemic of cancer, lung disease, and brain damage” that might “rival in lethality the war’s bombs and bullets.”
Gaza’s Deadly Soil | Helen Epstein
Long before October 2023, Gaza’s people suffered international sanctions, a humiliating occupation, and periodic Israeli bombardments. Few could leave the
nybooks.com
Malaysia has for many years hosted refugees from Myanmar who have fled oppression and atrocities by the Myanmar military. But the Malaysian government recently announced the planned return of 5,000 Rohingya to Myanmar, where they face persecution and violence. New from HRW: https://bit.ly/3TAwpBR
Vassar College — one of the country’s first colleges to educate women — has agreed to a $5 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by female professors who alleged they were paid less than their male colleagues.
Vassar settles pay discrimination lawsuit brought by female professors
The women’s college will compensate more than 80 professors in a class action lawsuit and implement pay equity reforms.
washingtonpost.com
"The Trump administration admitted that it terminated nearly 300 federal research grants 'solely because' the projects were connected to states that voted against Donald Trump in 2024 and had two Democratic senators in office, according to court filings." www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Trump administration concedes it canceled research grants in blue states
The administration said 284 research grants were canceled because they were in states that voted against Donald Trump in 2024.
nbcnews.com
1. NEWS It appears that Telegram has been removed from Apple’s App Store worldwide. This means that Telegram — which has over 1 billion users — is cut off from an ecosystem of over 1.5 billion users. Apple has not publicly explained the removal.
As Viktor Orbán’s government-backed Danube Institute is dismantled, its leaders are quietly moving its international network to the U.S. The new entity includes Heritage Foundation allies, MAGA figures, and associates of Elon Musk’s lawyer. GPAHE previously reported on the group's expanded board:
As Orbán-allied think tank is dismantled, leaders shop its network to MAGA – English
Danube Institute, a state-funded Orbán-era think-tank quietly set up a US entity to salvage their network, apparently represented by Elon Musk’s lawyer.
english.atlatszo.hu
"The White House says its AI framework is done. It will not say what is in it. The framework gives the government a 30-day preview window on frontier models. The benchmarks are classified. The thresholds are classified. The framework itself is not classified, but it is not public either."
The White House says its AI framework is done. It will not say what is in it.
The voluntary AI model evaluation framework met its August 1 deadline. The White House will not disclose its contents, who has seen it, or when companies will use it.
thenextweb.com
I’ll soon launch CROSSING THE RED LINE—my book probing how+why the Biden admin enabled untold suffering in Gaza. This record is key to understanding both current US politics & more humane future policy. Humbled to be discussing w/the kind @mehdirhasan.bsky.social in DC on 9/29. Mark your calendars!
"Controversial White House plan to overhaul US science funding faces Senate opposition. Proposal to put political appointees in charge of research grants could be temporarily halted if lawmakers’ efforts are successful." www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Controversial White House plan to overhaul US science funding faces Senate opposition
Proposal to put political appointees in charge of research grants could be temporarily halted if lawmakers’ efforts are successful.
nature.com
NEW: In 2025 ICE obtained DNA from nearly one million people and funneled it into an FBI criminal database. The collection likely included DNA from young children and was backed by the threat of criminal prosecution. The raw genetic material is stored indefinitely. Free to read:
ICE Collected Nearly 1 Million People’s DNA Last Year—Including Young Children
Internal documents show ICE's DNA collection has skyrocketed in the second Trump administration. Now hundreds of thousands of people never convicted of a crime are in an FBI criminal database forever.
wired.com
"Any #AI safety regime that works for domestic AI models should be good enough for foreign models, including those made by #Chinese companies," Mark MacCarthy writes. To conclude otherwise is to use "safety concerns as a smokescreen for protectionism."
Regulate, Don't Ban, Chinese AI Models
AI expert argues the risk from Chinese AI models should be handled the same way as risk from any model: through mandatory safety testing.
justsecurity.org
Taliban have entrenched one of the worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago. Afghanistan is also facing a humanitarian crisis with 40% of the population in need of assistance. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...
Afghanistan: Taliban Assault on Rights Deepens 5 Years on
Afghanistan’s Taliban have entrenched one of the world’s worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago.
hrw.org
Time to add another formerly respected institution to the garbage pile, this time @aau.edu, which just worked with the Trump admin to endorse resegregation in high education, embedding MAGA fraudsters as faculty, and banning student expression. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift article “Eyal Weizman: the Strip was blanketed with “enormous dust clouds containing particles of the different materials that formed the building[s] & [their] environment—concrete, plaster, paint, glass, metal, sand, soil—some of which are synthetic & toxic.” www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...
Gaza’s Deadly Soil | Helen Epstein
Long before October 2023, Gaza’s people suffered international sanctions, a humiliating occupation, and periodic Israeli bombardments. Few could leave the
nybooks.com
The initial American strategy failed, the war with Iran is consuming the region, Iran and Ukraine are risking a face-off, both Russia and China are escalating their military commitments, American munitions are dwindling and Trump is raging. Other than that, everything is fine.
Opinion | World War Two-and-a-Half Is Breaking Out
Whatever is happening in Iran, it isn’t working.
nytimes.com
I told Nancy Youssef and Jon Levine of Atlantic “America’s calculation is that escalation would lead to surrender. Iran’s calculation is that escalation would lead to deterrence,” www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
This May Be Trump’s Biggest Error in the Iran War
Success requires knowing what motivates your enemy.
theatlantic.com
FIFA abandoned a plan to create a commercial venture and then sell stakes to minority investors, just days after unveiling it. The plan drew sharp condemnation — and a boycott from European nations. n.pr/4xfCVwh
FIFA scraps controversial deal to sell stakes in World Cup to private investors
FIFA abandoned a plan to create a commercial venture and then sell stakes to minority investors, just days after unveiling it. The plan drew sharp condemnation — and a boycott from European nations.
n.pr
Elon Musk posted footage of hordes of migrants - including them being machine gunned to death - saying "wow, the situation in Spain looks crazy" It is footage from the satirical 2013 film World War Z. Before posting a "just kidding" post ... x.com/elonmusk/sta...
Part of the problem that many liberal Zionists have not fully dealt with is that if "liberal Zionism" means anything, it has to mean full support for a two-state solution, which puts you in opposition not just to Netanyahu, but to every Israeli political party except Hadash and the Arab parties.
Alex@purplechrain.bsky.social · 5d agoalso, if your proposed alternative to protesting is to “make clear that we stand with Israelis like former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid” who all oppose a Palestinian state, describing yourself as a liberal Zionist is just window dressing
Update: Google just sent me a statement saying it is “rolling back” this AI feature that let anyone make completely bullshit satellite images. Comes after our demos of the tool and those from OSINT researchers. One of the worst AI tools I’ve ever seen bsky.app/profile/jose...
Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 5d agoNew from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...
Examine the latest developments in #Sudan’s war and its direction with Mai Hassan, Kholood Khair, Khaldah Salih, Adeeb Yousif, Mohammed Abu-Nimer & Tamara Kharroub. 📅 Aug. 6 | 10 AM ET RSVP👇 https://arabcenterdc.org/event/sudans-war-humanitarian-cost-prospects-for-peace-and-potential-ways-forward/
-"credible pathway towards achieving Palestinian self-determination and statehood" -weapons decommissioning process "shall be linked to an Israeli withdrawal, in phases" Not clear how Netanyahu says yes. Or rejects Trump's demand. When in doubt - STALL. www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of...
Full text of Board of Peace deal for Hamas to disarm, Israel to withdraw from Gaza
Hailed as 'historic' by Trump, agreement aims 'at ending the cycle of destruction' and launching a credible path to Palestinian 'self-determination and statehood'
timesofisrael.com
Took me seconds to make an image showing 'protesters' around Google buildings, using Google Earth's new AI generation tool. You can make bomb blasts, protesters, drone strikes, nuclear plants. How on earth did Google think this was a good idea www.404media.co/google-earth...
New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...
