khalid
@phantomkhalid.bsky.social
this is where we’re at as a country btw
September 25, 2026 at 8:11 PM
this is where we’re at as a country btw
Reposted by khalid
"rapidly medicalised layabouts" really jumps off the page as being an absurdly hateful thing to say
Kind of grimly fascinating as always, coming from the former director of strategy to a Labour PM. There just isn't a future for a centre-left politics that is this hostile to pretty basic progressive values.
September 25, 2026 at 4:47 PM
"rapidly medicalised layabouts" really jumps off the page as being an absurdly hateful thing to say
do these people realise that people voted for CHANGE from the previous tory administration? you are governing for the people that voted for you, not to impress the media/westminster bubble fgs
Kind of grimly fascinating as always, coming from the former director of strategy to a Labour PM. There just isn't a future for a centre-left politics that is this hostile to pretty basic progressive values.
September 25, 2026 at 7:03 PM
do these people realise that people voted for CHANGE from the previous tory administration? you are governing for the people that voted for you, not to impress the media/westminster bubble fgs
Reposted by khalid
You're only ever a recession or an inflation spike away from your opposition gaining power, so you have to want them to respect the broad norms.
Let me be clear: I despise Jacob Rees-Mogg. I would still prefer he take the right side on this, because I am not a big baby and as someone with a child with some who immigrated to the UK, I have a personal stake in people of mixed origin not being othered.
September 23, 2026 at 8:51 PM
You're only ever a recession or an inflation spike away from your opposition gaining power, so you have to want them to respect the broad norms.
Reposted by khalid
something has gone very, very wrong with the UK
September 22, 2026 at 8:12 PM
something has gone very, very wrong with the UK
Reposted by khalid
Reposted by khalid
one takeaway i had from working in digital media in the 2010s was that it's pretty bad for your brain and your understanding of your career/the world when your industry becomes the main subject of twitter and twitter becomes the main context for your industry. also bad for the industry overall
September 10, 2026 at 5:48 PM
one takeaway i had from working in digital media in the 2010s was that it's pretty bad for your brain and your understanding of your career/the world when your industry becomes the main subject of twitter and twitter becomes the main context for your industry. also bad for the industry overall
Reposted by khalid
I think one thing you really notice in right leaning Westminster circles is how off their perception of what the median person thinks about Gaza/Israel is.
Another measured column from Armageddon Allister Heath.
Evening.
Evening.
September 9, 2026 at 8:07 PM
I think one thing you really notice in right leaning Westminster circles is how off their perception of what the median person thinks about Gaza/Israel is.
Reposted by khalid
a ban on goods trade with settlements on illegally occupied territory is a "punishment package" to "win back pro-Gaza voters"
September 7, 2026 at 7:33 PM
a ban on goods trade with settlements on illegally occupied territory is a "punishment package" to "win back pro-Gaza voters"
tomorrow will be worse
September 7, 2026 at 7:28 PM
tomorrow will be worse
Reposted by khalid
38-31%.
These are not good numbers.
These are not good numbers.
Britons tend to feel the masked demonstrations over the weekend were not a legitimate way of protesting, by 38% to 31%
Note: Only a minority of the public report following the news closely
Note: Only a minority of the public report following the news closely
September 7, 2026 at 4:29 PM
38-31%.
These are not good numbers.
These are not good numbers.
Reposted by khalid
The Milo stuff is the perfect picture of fascism. You think you're protected because you go as big as you can on racism, you spend years harassing the movement's perceived enemies, you even disavow your own sexuality. They'll still throw you in a cage over the tiniest disagreement already forgotten.
August 28, 2026 at 6:48 PM
The Milo stuff is the perfect picture of fascism. You think you're protected because you go as big as you can on racism, you spend years harassing the movement's perceived enemies, you even disavow your own sexuality. They'll still throw you in a cage over the tiniest disagreement already forgotten.
Reposted by khalid
in the face of a sweeping scholarly consensus, refusing to refer to a genocide as a genocide is in fact genocide denial.
August 24, 2026 at 8:04 PM
in the face of a sweeping scholarly consensus, refusing to refer to a genocide as a genocide is in fact genocide denial.
Reposted by khalid
The level of vitriol towards people with autism/ADHD in the British media over recent years, particularly surrounding PIP, has been a complete and total disgrace
They’ve tried to make out one group is responsible for the UK’s financial issues, despite evidence proving not enough support exists
They’ve tried to make out one group is responsible for the UK’s financial issues, despite evidence proving not enough support exists
August 15, 2026 at 4:26 PM
The level of vitriol towards people with autism/ADHD in the British media over recent years, particularly surrounding PIP, has been a complete and total disgrace
They’ve tried to make out one group is responsible for the UK’s financial issues, despite evidence proving not enough support exists
They’ve tried to make out one group is responsible for the UK’s financial issues, despite evidence proving not enough support exists
Reposted by khalid
It's a good example of this stuff being the refuge of those whose talents, even if real, never quite match up to their egos - and they'd rather blame the world than reconcile themselves to it.
His comment about becoming "head of the department of eugenics and race science at Harvard" seems to confirm that his whole DEI/race/woke-obsession is just him never having gotten over the fact that he was rejected at Harvard
August 15, 2026 at 12:22 PM
It's a good example of this stuff being the refuge of those whose talents, even if real, never quite match up to their egos - and they'd rather blame the world than reconcile themselves to it.
Reposted by khalid
Foundational text of the 2020s www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0...
August 15, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Foundational text of the 2020s www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0...
Reposted by khalid
Weird watching the right-wing columnist cohort try to collectively pull the handbrake on ethnonationalism. Like the world's biggest hotdog man convention.
British columnists love getting everything they wanted and still moaning about it
August 11, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Weird watching the right-wing columnist cohort try to collectively pull the handbrake on ethnonationalism. Like the world's biggest hotdog man convention.
Reposted by khalid
Good to see some positive developments starting to happen
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'We're not under siege any more' say Southampton shopkeepers
Businesses in the Shirley area of Southampton saw months of harassment from teenagers last summer.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 10, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Good to see some positive developments starting to happen
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by khalid
It is just unacceptable that the NHS may have to find funds to fight potentially a slew of nuisance lawsuits funded by one extremely wealthy person with an obsession.
Just so predictable. Labour got themselves into this because those who aren't True Believers thought they could appease those who are then the issue would go away. Not so. The GCs are obsessives attempting a top down reorientation of our culture to spite a minority they despise. They must be fought.
August 9, 2026 at 3:10 PM
It is just unacceptable that the NHS may have to find funds to fight potentially a slew of nuisance lawsuits funded by one extremely wealthy person with an obsession.
Reposted by khalid
It feels mad how blasé we seem to be about an incessant run of weather that (a) will have killed a lot of older/vulnerable people and (b) will cause havoc with agricultural supply/prices.
My son was born earlier this year. This is his first summer. We have bags of clothes he’s never worn as it’s dangerous to wear them in this heat. Every day we black out the windows as our flat gets too hot for him. Everything is too expensive and next year is going to be worse. BBC? It’s sunny!
It is so crackers the drought we have had. Like never in our lives. It hasn't properly rained since like May? But people just would rather ignore it?
August 9, 2026 at 9:30 PM
It feels mad how blasé we seem to be about an incessant run of weather that (a) will have killed a lot of older/vulnerable people and (b) will cause havoc with agricultural supply/prices.
Reposted by khalid
One of the most informative books about the Lebanese civil war is Zeina Maasri's Off The Wall, it is about political posters and through the visual medium she explains their role in social mobilization and propagating the different ostensible narratives justifying the different sides' goals.
August 8, 2026 at 12:00 PM
One of the most informative books about the Lebanese civil war is Zeina Maasri's Off The Wall, it is about political posters and through the visual medium she explains their role in social mobilization and propagating the different ostensible narratives justifying the different sides' goals.
Reposted by khalid
boy I absolutely can't wait for the new Hungarian government's forensic accounting team to really get to work
His final podcast for the New York Times was a discussion with Rod Dreher about the future of American politics and culture
August 8, 2026 at 12:08 PM
boy I absolutely can't wait for the new Hungarian government's forensic accounting team to really get to work
Reposted by khalid
They're going big on the ban on Shechita. Obviously if you want Reform to do well you need to trash Restore. But I wonder if it may have anything to with the very clear stance of the Telegraph's new owners.
owners.axelspringer.com/en/inside/the-essentials-what-we-have-adapted-and-why
owners.axelspringer.com/en/inside/the-essentials-what-we-have-adapted-and-why
August 8, 2026 at 4:11 PM
They're going big on the ban on Shechita. Obviously if you want Reform to do well you need to trash Restore. But I wonder if it may have anything to with the very clear stance of the Telegraph's new owners.
owners.axelspringer.com/en/inside/the-essentials-what-we-have-adapted-and-why
owners.axelspringer.com/en/inside/the-essentials-what-we-have-adapted-and-why
Reposted by khalid
Fascinating that it's taken Restore beating the Tories in Manchester to get the Telegraph panicking about ethno-nationalism.
It's hardly been creeping up on us.
It's hardly been creeping up on us.
Afternoon.
In which Jake Wallis Simons now worries about fascism. In your super soaraway Telegraph.
In which Jake Wallis Simons now worries about fascism. In your super soaraway Telegraph.
August 8, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Fascinating that it's taken Restore beating the Tories in Manchester to get the Telegraph panicking about ethno-nationalism.
It's hardly been creeping up on us.
It's hardly been creeping up on us.