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Omar Khan

@omaromalleykhan.bsky.social

2.2K followers 4K following 1.5K posts

CEO of @taso.org.uk, Chair of Trust for London, Executive Committee of Political Studies Association. The usual disclaimers.

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · Nov 16

Sadly, humans can be mobilised in the cause of hatred. We should bemoan & condemn it wherever we see it. We must also defend and promote a positive alternative, of how we can and do work together across our differences, indeed of how those interactions produce the best of us

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Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 1d

Today, The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin opens at AA Gallery in London! Curated by Sarah Shin and Harriet Jennings, the exhibition presents a selection of Ursula's maps, including some that have never been exhibited before.

A photo of the entrance to The Word for World exhibition, with two banners hanging vertically down outside the doorway to a brick building with white-paned windows. A row of bicycles are parked in front. The banners are purple and white and say the name of the exhibition and Ursula K. Le Guin's name.

A cord-wrapped rock rests on a vivid blue background next to a map of and program for The Word for World exhibition.

A stack of copies of The Word for World book, which shows the title in vivid blue against a black cloth cover.

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Sam Thorpe @samthorpe.bsky.social · 1d

It turns out that once you correct for this error, unemployment is actually rising faster for NON-degree workers - meaning that explanations in terms of AI replacing the college-educated workforce don't make much sense, and this looks a lot more like an across-the-board labor market slowdown.

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting/significant that the MIT statement in response to the US government 'compact' highlights both that it doesn't have 'legacy preferences' nor does it prioritise wealth

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Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 4d

We just spent 6 months to add 1 figure to this paper. Some people said, "Couples aren't prioritizing men's careers. Men just have better earnings opportunities when moving."

Earnings effects of moves for couples on the left, singles on the right. Negligible gap between single men and women.

Event study coefficients that show that men's earnings rise more than women's among couples following a cross-commuting zone move (left panels). The pattern is muted or reverses among single men and single women (right panels).

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

I agree that the 1980s Conservative govt didn't achieve the claims to equal treatment in this poster, and that immigration and integration policy - not just statements - undermined racial equality. But the public statement here is still important for bottling up the worst forms of explicit racism

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, I made that point in the thread. Notably, this usage was then widely shared, by right as well as left, and in public not just academic or progressive communication. This usage started breaking down a few yrs later, tho continued into the 90s on the left & amg (some) antiracists into the 2000s

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

Tho I'm no fashionista, the suit appears well tailored; flared trousers are coming back in style, right?

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

Obviously there are questions about how far the claims in the poster were achieved, and how far Black Britons were convinced to vote for the Conservative Party, but it's important to recall the political consensus about British identity being inclusive, and this being a positive/good thing

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

The language here is obv dated. It does show that the use of the 'Black' to refer to all racialised minorities was then widely shared in public discourse (left or right)

The concluding reason to vote Conservative, at the height of 'Thatcherism': to create a more equal, more prosperous Britain

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

A well known 1983 election poster

42 yrs on, the opposing view 'You can't be British/English if you're Black' is still defended. Powell & the Monday Club did then call for *voluntary* repatriation, a view the Thatcher govt rejected

Many of course disagree(d) w/the poster's claims for other reasons

1983 Conservative election poster stating 'Labour Says He's Black. Tories Say He's British', outlining how their policies will create 'a more equal, more prosperous Britain'

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Wonkhe @wonkhe.bsky.social · 1d

NEW on Wonkhe: What does the sector look like in 2025, in terms of the chances that groups of students can get in or get on? David Kernohan paints a picture using the latest OfS data buff.ly/qqb8LRC

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 2d

It's outrageous, tho indicative of a wider knowing jokiness/dismissiveness about racism, that he and others like him are both tapping into and amplifying/normalising

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 2d

55% of Black British pupils report experiencing racism in school. Tho I appreciate Farage thinks he knows better than these children about racism in schools, that Johnny and his friends experience false consciousness and only believe they've experienced racism because Marxist teachers tell them so

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 2d

Would welcome your view on the public discussion, but I feel the framing of autism is not just cavalier, but counterproductive if not damaging/stimgatising

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 2d

Around 70 countries have higher circumcision rates than the US, with eg Afghanistan and Nigeria at 99%, and conversely a large number of countries below 1%, including Ireland, Vietnam, Costa Rica, and Portugal

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know autism rates are 99x higher in the former

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 2d

Circumcision rates in the US are 80%, whereas they are well under 20% in Europe

Autism rates are not remotely so varied

I appreciate innumeracy and immorality are now baked into decision making, but we should keep explaining and fighting against the harms to thousands if not millions of ppl

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 2d

Besides linking Tylenol in pregnant women to autism, RFK Jr. now says circumcision is part of the reason why kids are autistic.

"Children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism, and it's highly likely because they're given Tylenol. None of this is positive..."

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 2d

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

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UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 2d

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

violent alien @blipstress.bsky.social · 2d

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 2d

This remains the most important piece i’ve written about the goals and ideological principles of the second Trump administration www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

bsky.app/profile/jame...

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Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · 2d

"German authorities registered approximately 3,200 right-wing extremist-motivated crimes committed by people up to the age of 24 in 2020. Last year, the number was more than double, at over 7,100....most of these crimes were committed by male adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17."

Omas gegen Rechts Wetterau @ogrwetterau2017.bsky.social · 2d

www.fr.de/politik/rech...
AfD wirkt. Ihre Dominanz in den sozialen Netzwerken zeigt dieses Ergebnis.

Rechtsextreme Straftaten junger Menschen nehmen stark zu

Die Behörden registrieren mehr als doppelt so viele rechtsextreme Delikte junger Menschen wie noch 2020. Die Bundesregierung sieht neue Gruppierungen und soziale Medien als Treiber.

www.fr.de

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 2d

Recalling the time I asked an American dude claiming an area with 40% Muslims was a 'no go' area for non Muslims: 'except the 60% of people who live there who aren't Muslims, right? They do 'go' there?'

He seemed to think: no?

Dude is now some kind of influencer apparently

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 2d

I agree it's shocking. That they think and say racist things hasn't usually meant they are willing to act in such explicitly targeted ways. We shouldn't pretend it's normal, and I am moderately but not totally hopeful that these actions will be clarifying about just what their views for ordinary ppl

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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 3d

Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 3d

Agree very much

As you've said, nearly everyone agrees and has experienced these interactions. In fact perhaps the issue (beyond those who seek to mine grievances) is we're at the point where for many it's such an ordinary day to day that they've forgotten that and how we've got here

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 3d

As with targets to increase higher education participation, so too with those to decrease HE participation: measures shd be monitored & asssessed for their impact on mobility. Those born into poorer households still have less opportunity, a key driver of their lower incomes & a drag on econ growth