Bob Sacamano
@bobsaccamanno.bsky.social
Stats, survey research, politics, religion. Research faculty in the GCC. En/Ar/Fr
"But what I never knew I never will forget" - John Prine, One Red Rose
"But what I never knew I never will forget" - John Prine, One Red Rose
Pinned
Bob Sacamano
@bobsaccamanno.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Follow the thread below for a list of useful security tools for travelers, journalists, expats of all stripes. If you find an issue with any please let me know.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Yes. But I’m not sure this is a mistake or a farce given conditions on the ground. al-Sharaa is right about the time needed for an electoral system to develop. Whether it will, or whether he will permit one to, after these partial, indirect elections, are real questions.
August 24, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Yes. But I’m not sure this is a mistake or a farce given conditions on the ground. al-Sharaa is right about the time needed for an electoral system to develop. Whether it will, or whether he will permit one to, after these partial, indirect elections, are real questions.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
In one conversation with Netanyahu, White House officials cited polls showing that more than 50 percent of Israelis now supported a hostage deal rather than continued war.
“Not 50 percent of my voters,” Netanyahu replied.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/m...
“Not 50 percent of my voters,” Netanyahu replied.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/m...
How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power
www.nytimes.com
July 12, 2025 at 1:44 PM
In one conversation with Netanyahu, White House officials cited polls showing that more than 50 percent of Israelis now supported a hostage deal rather than continued war.
“Not 50 percent of my voters,” Netanyahu replied.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/m...
“Not 50 percent of my voters,” Netanyahu replied.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/m...
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Washington, D.C., has a population roughly equivalent to Alaska's.
And it has zero senators. If D.C. had senators, the GOP megablil bill would have failed today.
Instead, Murkowski got carve-outs and money for Alaska, and then voted to subject DC to the bill
And it has zero senators. If D.C. had senators, the GOP megablil bill would have failed today.
Instead, Murkowski got carve-outs and money for Alaska, and then voted to subject DC to the bill
July 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Washington, D.C., has a population roughly equivalent to Alaska's.
And it has zero senators. If D.C. had senators, the GOP megablil bill would have failed today.
Instead, Murkowski got carve-outs and money for Alaska, and then voted to subject DC to the bill
And it has zero senators. If D.C. had senators, the GOP megablil bill would have failed today.
Instead, Murkowski got carve-outs and money for Alaska, and then voted to subject DC to the bill
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Laughing in front of cages designed to hold migrants and refugees, many of whom came to this country fleeing extreme violence and poverty, and hoping to raise their children in a more compassionate country. And many of whom followed all the legal procedures to enter the country.
July 2, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Laughing in front of cages designed to hold migrants and refugees, many of whom came to this country fleeing extreme violence and poverty, and hoping to raise their children in a more compassionate country. And many of whom followed all the legal procedures to enter the country.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
What happened to the Friday News Roundup?? I turned on 1a this morning, & there’s something about music. The world is on fire & there’s no Friday News Roundup?! And what happened to BBC America? I’ve emailed WAMU, but no response. @steveinskeep.bsky.social
June 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
What happened to the Friday News Roundup?? I turned on 1a this morning, & there’s something about music. The world is on fire & there’s no Friday News Roundup?! And what happened to BBC America? I’ve emailed WAMU, but no response. @steveinskeep.bsky.social
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
the reason he keeps getting mad at his robot for being insufficiently racist or full of misinformation is that it’s actually quite hard to get LLMs to provide exactly what you want - training is expensive and unpredictable, and direct interference leads to things like the white genocide snafu
“You are being updated this week.”
(MM and RS are Media Matters and Rolling Stone)
(MM and RS are Media Matters and Rolling Stone)
June 21, 2025 at 1:40 AM
the reason he keeps getting mad at his robot for being insufficiently racist or full of misinformation is that it’s actually quite hard to get LLMs to provide exactly what you want - training is expensive and unpredictable, and direct interference leads to things like the white genocide snafu
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
honestly this was very predictable if you could a) accurately recall the political consequences of the 2020 protests and b) take public opinion as it actually existed in 2025.
impossible difficulty for a non-trivial portion of the professional political commentary class
impossible difficulty for a non-trivial portion of the professional political commentary class
ENTEN: “.. Polling shows that Trump's lost the political battle over the LA protests, even as immigration had been his best issue.”
@cnn.com
@cnn.com
June 20, 2025 at 8:57 PM
honestly this was very predictable if you could a) accurately recall the political consequences of the 2020 protests and b) take public opinion as it actually existed in 2025.
impossible difficulty for a non-trivial portion of the professional political commentary class
impossible difficulty for a non-trivial portion of the professional political commentary class
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Social Media really did doom us by driving elites crazy. Marc Andreseen became convinced the social contract had broken down and that there was no point trying to be a socially responsible wealthy person because there was no philanthropy he could do that would make people stop yelling at him online.
"boss hate their workers and have been driven insane by the slightly whisper they should respect the wishes" is a process of derangement that has popped up everywhere in our society
June 20, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Social Media really did doom us by driving elites crazy. Marc Andreseen became convinced the social contract had broken down and that there was no point trying to be a socially responsible wealthy person because there was no philanthropy he could do that would make people stop yelling at him online.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Mahmoud Khalil has been released.
Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil freed from immigration detention
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released from federal immigration detention. The former Columbia University graduate student left a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday after 104 days ...
apnews.com
June 21, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Mahmoud Khalil has been released.
@wamu.org.web.brid.gy So what happened to the Friday News Roundup this week?
June 21, 2025 at 2:07 AM
@wamu.org.web.brid.gy So what happened to the Friday News Roundup this week?
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Hi everyone
I was denied entry, detained, and deported from the USA over the last 48 hours because of my reporting on the Columbia student protests
I arrived back in Melbourne hours ago and had my phone handed back to me upon landing
I was denied entry, detained, and deported from the USA over the last 48 hours because of my reporting on the Columbia student protests
I arrived back in Melbourne hours ago and had my phone handed back to me upon landing
June 14, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Hi everyone
I was denied entry, detained, and deported from the USA over the last 48 hours because of my reporting on the Columbia student protests
I arrived back in Melbourne hours ago and had my phone handed back to me upon landing
I was denied entry, detained, and deported from the USA over the last 48 hours because of my reporting on the Columbia student protests
I arrived back in Melbourne hours ago and had my phone handed back to me upon landing
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Hypnotic sunset hues over the Mediterranean Sea, off the southern coast of Turkey.
June 1, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Hypnotic sunset hues over the Mediterranean Sea, off the southern coast of Turkey.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Today, I was denied access to seeing my constituent, Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him.
May 26, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Today, I was denied access to seeing my constituent, Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
This is a must-read: The Trump administration's use of anti-semitism to attack immigrants and higher education mirrors plans by a group of Christian nationalists in the Heritage Foundation (which produced Project 2025). 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/u...
The Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Crush the Pro-Palestinian Movement
www.nytimes.com
May 18, 2025 at 12:29 PM
This is a must-read: The Trump administration's use of anti-semitism to attack immigrants and higher education mirrors plans by a group of Christian nationalists in the Heritage Foundation (which produced Project 2025). 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/u...
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
#BBCNews - Israel launches major offensive to 'seize and control' areas of Gaza
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hamas-run health ministry officials say Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday. Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hamas-run health ministry officials say Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday. Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March
Israel launches major offensive as Gaza rescuers say scores killed
IDF says "Operation Gideon's Chariots" aims to defeat Hamas, as Hamas-run health ministry says hundreds of people killed since Thursday.
www.bbc.com
May 17, 2025 at 9:49 AM
#BBCNews - Israel launches major offensive to 'seize and control' areas of Gaza
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hamas-run health ministry officials say Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday. Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hamas-run health ministry officials say Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday. Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Trump is one of the worst negotiators in foreign policy history (as his deal with the Houthis shows). When it comes to Putin, he has already given away the farm, so that Putin’s negotiating floor now is higher than the ceiling would have been with Biden. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
Trump's Great Service To Putin
Putin’s Floor Under Trump Is Better Than His Ceiling Under Biden
open.substack.com
May 10, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Trump is one of the worst negotiators in foreign policy history (as his deal with the Houthis shows). When it comes to Putin, he has already given away the farm, so that Putin’s negotiating floor now is higher than the ceiling would have been with Biden. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
How to square the circle of "there's no difference between Democrats and Republicans" and "no, I don't protest Republicans, there's no chance they'd listen to me, and I could be putting myself in physical danger if I tried"?
Those seem contradictory.
Those seem contradictory.
May 6, 2025 at 2:42 PM
How to square the circle of "there's no difference between Democrats and Republicans" and "no, I don't protest Republicans, there's no chance they'd listen to me, and I could be putting myself in physical danger if I tried"?
Those seem contradictory.
Those seem contradictory.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Kuwait abolishes Article 153, which mitigated punishments for honor killings. Huge congratulations to Alanoud Al Sharekh, Abolish 153, and the organizations that have pushed this campaign for over a decade. www.arabtimesonline.com/news/kuwait-...
‘Honor killing’ excuse axed from Kuwait law
KUWAIT CITY, March 16: The official gazette 'Kuwait Alyoum' published decree-law No. 9/2025, which cancels article 153 of the Penal Code issued by law No. 16/1...
www.arabtimesonline.com
March 17, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Kuwait abolishes Article 153, which mitigated punishments for honor killings. Huge congratulations to Alanoud Al Sharekh, Abolish 153, and the organizations that have pushed this campaign for over a decade. www.arabtimesonline.com/news/kuwait-...
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
The World’s Deadliest Infectious Disease Is About to Get Worse
By retracting foreign aid, Trump could make tuberculosis untreatable again. And make it the world’s deadliest infectious disease & maybe a top 5 disease again.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
By retracting foreign aid, Trump could make tuberculosis untreatable again. And make it the world’s deadliest infectious disease & maybe a top 5 disease again.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
The World’s Deadliest Infectious Disease Is About to Get Worse
By retracting foreign aid, President Trump could make tuberculosis untreatable again.
www.theatlantic.com
March 16, 2025 at 4:53 PM
The World’s Deadliest Infectious Disease Is About to Get Worse
By retracting foreign aid, Trump could make tuberculosis untreatable again. And make it the world’s deadliest infectious disease & maybe a top 5 disease again.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
By retracting foreign aid, Trump could make tuberculosis untreatable again. And make it the world’s deadliest infectious disease & maybe a top 5 disease again.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
An important corrective to an idiotic @nytopinion.nytimes.com op-ed.
Tufekci starts her second paragraph stating that people who brought up a lab leak were labeled “kooks” or “cranks”.
Let me tell you, when I brought up that possibility, neither the head of the NIH, NIAID, or Wellcome thought I was a crank.
Instead, they encouraged me to investigate further.
Let me tell you, when I brought up that possibility, neither the head of the NIH, NIAID, or Wellcome thought I was a crank.
Instead, they encouraged me to investigate further.
March 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
An important corrective to an idiotic @nytopinion.nytimes.com op-ed.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Horrifying. It's hard to believe this is happening, but it is.
MUST-WATCH: This is the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil from the perspective of his wife, who is 8 months pregnant.
This is federal agents in plain clothes dragging a man from his home as punishment for his speech.
@nyclu.org @ccrjustice.org @theimeu.bsky.social
This is federal agents in plain clothes dragging a man from his home as punishment for his speech.
@nyclu.org @ccrjustice.org @theimeu.bsky.social
March 14, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Horrifying. It's hard to believe this is happening, but it is.
Reposted by Bob Sacamano
Americans voted for a criminal who insisted law doesn't apply to him and vowed to break it in office, the Senate voted to confirm an Attorney General and FBI Director who advocate corrupting DOJ from law enforcement into personal revenge and loyalty enforcement, and they're getting what they wanted.
March 14, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Americans voted for a criminal who insisted law doesn't apply to him and vowed to break it in office, the Senate voted to confirm an Attorney General and FBI Director who advocate corrupting DOJ from law enforcement into personal revenge and loyalty enforcement, and they're getting what they wanted.