Bessma Momani
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bmomani.bsky.social
Bessma Momani
@bmomani.bsky.social
3.1K followers 940 following 290 posts

Professor at the University of Waterloo in Political Science and Senior Fellow at CIGI, interested in International Affairs.

Videos
Political science 34%
Economics 31%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Bessma Momani

en.afp.com
AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 5h
Cybersecurity experts warn AI agents, chatbots that do the work humans do online, like buy a plane ticket or add events to a calendar, could wind up getting hijacked and doing the dirty work for hackers

u.afp.com/Snq4

Reposted by Alan Richardson, Bessma Momani, Samantha Brennan

alexusherhesa.bsky.social
Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 15h
I know no media is covering the Canada Student Grant cuts, but it's real and it's going to cost several hundred thousand students about $1200 this year. Here's the explainer.
The Canada Student Grant Cut | HESA
Somewhat remarkably, no media have picked up the story that the Canada Student Grants were slashed in last week’s budget. Possibly, this is because the government did not issue a press release saying ...
higheredstrategy.com

Reposted by Bessma Momani

bloomberg.com
Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 15h
Sheinbaum’s plan to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports has been delayed until at least December as opposition from Mexico’s private sector and members of the ruling party stalls congressional debate
Sheinbaum’s China Tariffs Plan Meets Business, Party Backlash
President Claudia Sheinbaum’s plan to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports has been delayed until at least December as mounting opposition from Mexico’s private sector and even members of the ruling party stalls congressional debate, according to lawmakers and business leaders.
bloom.bg

Reposted by Diane Coyle, Jonathan Wolff, Dirk Pilat , and 1 more

hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 3d
‘Al could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2
percentage points’

Well that’s the best chart of the year in this @johnthornhill.bsky.social column and basically sums up where we are
on.ft.com/4qMMkJd
Al could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points

Reposted by Bessma Momani

reuters.com
Reuters @reuters.com · 3d
Exclusive: Billionaire Bill Gates' foundation will spend at least $1.4 billion over the next four years to help farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia access technologies for adapting to extreme weather, the organization's CEO told Reuters reut.rs/3Ll0CAP

Reposted by Will Jennings, John Horgan, Steve Peers , and 7 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4d
Let’s hear more of the dangers of democratic socialism under Mamdani
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d
Trump to the Novo Nordisk CEO: "Maybe you should give us a piece of the company like I've been asking for."

Reposted by Juan Cole, Bessma Momani

rimaanabtawi.bsky.social
Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 5d
YouTube has deleted more than 700 videos posted by Palestinian human rights groups, ranging from investigations into the killing of American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli soldier, to testimonies of Palestinians tortured by Israeli forces.

theintercept.com/2025/11/04/y...
YouTube Quietly Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations
The tech giant deleted the accounts of three prominent Palestinian human rights groups — a capitulation to Trump sanctions.
theintercept.com

Reposted by Bessma Momani

matthewhaybrown.bsky.social
M🍁tthew Hay Br🏈wn @matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · 5d
Claudia Sheinbaum says she's pressing charges against the man who groped her this week outside Mexico's presidential palace.

“It is something that all women in our country experience,” she said. “If I do not report the crime ... what condition will all Mexican women be left in?”

wapo.st/4852563
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pressing charges in groping incident
Mexico’s first female president said she is pressing charges against her assailant, sending a message in a country where harassment of women is common.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Bessma Momani, Victor Pickard

newrepublic.com
The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 5d
New York City Mayor-elect Mamdani is kicking off with a big move: bringing former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan to co-chair his transition team.

It's a strong suggestion that he’s willing to take on powerful corporate interests as mayor. trib.al/99csETK
Mamdani Brings Lina Khan Onto His Team After Historic Election Win
Zohran Mamdani has named his transition team—and it’s amazing.
trib.al

Reposted by Bessma Momani

anabrandusescu.bsky.social
Ana Brandusescu @anabrandusescu.bsky.social · 6d
Unions, Lawsuits and Whistleblowers: Public Sector Leadership from Below

Excited to share my piece for the @mtlaiethics.bsky.social's State of AI Ethics Report on AI in Government: Public Sector Leadership and Implementation.

montrealethics.ai/state/
Chapter 17: AI in Government – Public Sector Leadership and Implementation Unions, Lawsuits and Whistleblowers: Public Sector Leadership from Below

Reposted by Bessma Momani

velshi.com
Ali Velshi @velshi.com · 6d
Election Day in New York City.

Adams endorsed Cuomo.

Trump endorsed Cuomo.

Musk endorsed Cuomo.

Any questions?

Reposted by Juan Cole, Bessma Momani

msf.ca
Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) @msf.ca · 6d
#TalkAboutSudan:

"Children are not spared. Elderly people are not spared. Women are not spared.”

The crisis in #Sudan is catastrophic.

Watch as Michael Lawson, Humanitarian Representative to #Canada, updates Parliament. #cdnpoli

Reposted by Bessma Momani

agathedemarais.bsky.social
Agathe Demarais @agathedemarais.bsky.social · 7d
People around the world are getting (a bit) less grumpy, worried and stressed
• Negative feelings are back to pre-covid levels, below where they would be if earlier trend had continued
• Age also plays role, with oung adults everywhere angrier than older people and middle-aged folks most stressed

Reposted by Christian E. Weller, Bessma Momani

heimbergecon.bsky.social
Philipp Heimberger @heimbergecon.bsky.social · 7d
This IMF paper finds that during and after the 2022 global inflation surge - largely driven by supply shocks - inflation outcomes in inflation-targeting countries were no better than in non-targeting countries, despite the former implementing more aggressive interest rate hikes.

Reposted by Robert Wolfe, Bessma Momani

theglobeandmail.com
The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 7d
China approves group tourism travel to Canada after Carney-Xi meeting
The Prime Minister met with Xi Jinping on Oct. 31 in South Korea
www.theglobeandmail.com

Reposted by Kori Schake, Joanna Bryson, Meredith Broussard , and 46 more

lswisnom.bsky.social
Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 7d
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching

Reposted by Bessma Momani

climateofgavin.bsky.social
Gavin Schmidt @climateofgavin.bsky.social · 9d
no. people are using machine learning to tackle big data problems and the like with success, but the direction of research and hypothesis generation (to the extent that is even a thing) is firmly in human hands.

Reposted by Karen R. Lips, Benjamin Mason Meier, Bessma Momani , and 2 more

gregggonsalves.bsky.social
Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 9d
The US funds the bulk of biomedical research globally by far. It's not like other countries can simply take up the slack. The more likely: people leave research, new people don't become researchers. There is no happy ending. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." Stephanie Sy examines what’s b...
www.pbs.org

Reposted by Bessma Momani

politico.eu
POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 9d
In a study of some 20,000 election-related posts in the Netherlands, researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the University of Mainz found that over 400 posts were AI-generated. 

What does that means for European politics and for its voters?

🔗 www.politico.eu/article/elec...

Reposted by Bessma Momani

ldobsonhughes.bsky.social
Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 9d
This week's 98% election victory for Tanzania's president is yet another milestone in the descent into autocracy. Rigged elections, disappearing opponents, extra-judicial killings, and police state tactics against citizens www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...
Has Tanzania Reached Its Breaking Point? | Journal of Democracy
President Hassan promised Tanzanians freedom, transparency, and reform. Instead, she has delivered repression, violence, and arrests as she bars anyone who dares challenge her.
www.journalofdemocracy.org

Reposted by Bessma Momani

cplaisant.bsky.social
Clément Plaisant @cplaisant.bsky.social · 10d
"Several reports have highlighted the dramatic decline in Turkish higher education and, as a corollary, that of an entire generation of young people [...] 32% of young people aged 18 to 24 in Turkey are neither employed, in education nor in training"
www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
La Turquie risque de perdre toute une partie de sa jeunesse, ni employée, ni scolarisée, ni en formation
Plusieurs rapports ont mis en lumière le décrochage vertigineux de l’enseignement supérieur turc et, en corollaire, celui de toute une génération, un tiers des 18-24 ans n’étant ni employés, ni scolar...
www.lemonde.fr

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Martin Tomko, Adrian Vickers , and 2 more

anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 10d
A horrific mass murder is unfolding in Sudan, where no one can see it. The RSF are murdering civilians in El Fasher, having finally defeated the Sudanese army forces holding out in the city. The BBC has managed to speak to some who escaped

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7fC...
Sudanese survivors of el-Fasher siege tell the BBC about RSF brutality | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Parliamentary Library, Jonathan Hopkin , and 11 more

faineg.bsky.social
Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 10d
“Individuals on the ground sent a message that reached us Monday morning that 1,200 were dead,” Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, said. “By that evening, they said 10,000. By Tuesday, we couldn’t reach them anymore. We assume our ground contacts are dead.”
Yale lab reports mass killings in Sudan, calls for student activism
The Humanitarian Research Lab was told this week that over 10,000 people in Sudan were killed within three days.
yaledailynews.com

bmomani.bsky.social
Bessma Momani @bmomani.bsky.social · 10d
Anyway to signal he’s not from here. So sad from NYT!

Reposted by Bessma Momani

rimaanabtawi.bsky.social
Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 10d
Inside the UAE's secret Sudan war operation at Somalia's Bosaso

Colombian mercenaries, regular transport flights and cargo marked 'hazardous' reveals a vast covert operation fuelling the RSF massacres in el-Fasher.

#KeepEyesOnSudan

www.middleeasteye.net/news/inside-...
Exclusive: Inside the UAE's secret Sudan war operation at Somalia's Bosaso
Colombian mercenaries, regular transport flights and cargo marked 'hazardous' reveals a vast covert operation fuelling the RSF massacres in el-Fasher
www.middleeasteye.net

Reposted by Bessma Momani

smsaideman.bsky.social
Steve Saideman @smsaideman.bsky.social · 10d
Hey, Americans, want to hang out in Canada for a bit and see how the Canadian govt operates? The CFR has a fellowship to do exactly that 2026-27 International Affairs Fellowship in Canada. www.cfr.org/fellowships/... and Ottawa is a great place to hang out.

Reposted by Bessma Momani

audreytruschke.bsky.social
Audrey Truschke @audreytruschke.bsky.social · 10d
Being an academic isn't a popularity contest. But we should be free to conduct and share our work without harassment.

Decent context here for thinking about why political groups and actors want to suppress scholarship on a far-right supremacist movement.

www.counterview.net/2025/10/rutg...
Rutgers academic event on Hindutva draws political backlash, security concerns
News and views from alternative quarters
www.counterview.net

Reposted by Bessma Momani

techpolicypress.bsky.social
Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 10d
Platforms are accelerating the transition to AI for content moderation, laying off trust and safety workers and outsourced moderators in favor of automated systems, writes Tim Bernard.
buff.ly/EvVEFfO

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Tim Bale , and 2 more

sundersays.bsky.social
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 10d
Most people in Britain are positive about universities (63%). Just 6% think they have a negative impact. A third of people are neutral. Universities may be struggling more with political elites than with general public, but could broaden their public reach too
www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/res...
Shared Institutions: public opinion on the university sector
At a time when trust in many British institutions is strained, our new research with UCL Policy Lab, Shared Institutions, finds that universities remain a source of national pride. Most Britons say un...
www.moreincommon.org.uk

Reposted by Steve Peers, Cathy N. Davidson, John Hogan , and 5 more

justinhendrix.bsky.social
Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 10d
"Many of the deals OpenAI has struck — with chipmakers, cloud computing companies and others — are strangely circular. OpenAI receives billions from tech companies before sending those billions back to the same companies to pay for computing power and other services." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How OpenAI Uses Complex and Circular Deals to Fuel Its Multibillion-Dollar Rise
Here are seven unusual financial agreements helping to drive the ambitions of the poster child of the A.I. revolution.
www.nytimes.com