All posts tagged: blame

JD Vance was wrong to blame teen’s murder on immigration : NPR

JD Vance was wrong to blame teen’s murder on immigration : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy, right, and US Vice President JD Vance fish in a lake in the grounds of Chevening House in Kent, England, Aug. 8, 2025. Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Pool via AP hide caption toggle caption Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Pool via AP LONDON — Britain’s deputy prime minister said Sunday that he told U.S. Vice President JD Vance he was wrong to blame immigration for the death of a university student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from a stab wound. David Lammy, who is also the justice minister, said he challenged Vance in what he described as a “robust” phone call on Saturday. Lammy and Vance have struck up a friendship, based on their religious beliefs and family backgrounds, even though they come from different sides of the political spectrum. “We had an agreeable conversation because we have got a relationship, but I wanted to make him clear that I disagree with some of the facts that he was asserting and to present the facts to him,” Lammy told Sky News. The call …

David Lammy Says He Told JD Vance He Was 'Wrong' To Blame Immigration For Henry Nowak's Murder

David Lammy Says He Told JD Vance He Was 'Wrong' To Blame Immigration For Henry Nowak's Murder

Published by Sam Flores

David Lammy and JD Vance fish in a lake in the grounds of Chevening House in Kent last year. David Lammy told JD Vance he was “wrong” to blame immigration for Henry Nowak’s murder. Eighteen-year-old Henry was handcuffed and arrested by police as he lay dying after being wrongly accused of racism by his killer, Vickram Digwa. Digwa, who is Sikh, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years at Southampton Crown Court on Monday. The case has sparked a furious political row, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage being condemned by Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch for claiming it is proof of “two-tier policing” in the UK. In a post on X on Friday, the US vice-president said: “Henry Nowak died the same way a civilisation dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit. “His murder is as tragic as it is enraging. He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against …

'It's Shameless To Blame Workers' Rights And Fair Pay For The Youth Unemployment Crisis,' Union Chief Says

'It's Shameless To Blame Workers' Rights And Fair Pay For The Youth Unemployment Crisis,' Union Chief Says

Published by Sam Flores

Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Let’s be crystal clear from the outset: workers’ rights and the minimum wage are not to blame for the NEETs crisis. Youth unemployment didn’t appear overnight. It’s the result of more than a decade of austerity under the previous government, a failed apprenticeship system, weak economic growth, and deep regional inequality. But if you followed this week’s headlines, you could be forgiven for thinking the crisis was brand new. Ahead of Alan Milburn’s landmark review into young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs), right-wing politicians and business leaders tripped over themselves to blame workers’ rights and minimum wage rises. Rishi Sunak called for the Low Pay Commission to be scrapped. Tony Blair attacked the government’s Employment Rights Act. The boss of Next, a Tory peer, complained about wage increases. One after another they shamelessly tried to blame a long-running crisis on policies that are barely even in force yet. But Milburn himself was clear: the causes are “much more long-term and deep-seated than …

Blame the Covid pandemic for today’s ‘teen takeovers,’ experts say

Blame the Covid pandemic for today’s ‘teen takeovers,’ experts say

Published by Sam Flores

The mayhem over Memorial Day weekend in Chicago erupted without warning. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. On Sunday, hundreds of teenagers descended on a housing project on the West Side. Five Chicago officers trying to disperse the crowd sustained minor injuries when they were hit by a car. On Monday, hundreds more teenagers showed up at a beach on the South Side, and clashes erupted when police tried to get them to leave, resulting in 53 arrests and nine weapons’ being confiscated, WGN-TV reported. Both were examples of a phenomenon that has been sweeping the country for months, which frustrated law enforcement officials call teen takeovers. The Chicago incidents caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who used the outbreak of violence to launch a broadside on Truth Social against the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois. “Teen takeover in Chicago. Five officers badly hurt. Mayor and Governor are terrible. Should call for help!” he wrote. But the takeovers are not just a …

Is It You or Them? Understanding the Blame Game

Is It You or Them? Understanding the Blame Game

Published by Jenni Sidey

“It’s not you, it’s me.” With that felicitous phrase, George Costanza made another entry into the annals of Seinfeld hilarity. In this episode of the classic sitcom, George is trying to break up with a girlfriend when she turns the tables on him by breaking up first, using his proprietary phrase on him before he gets the chance. George’s ensuing indignance makes for great comedy. It came back to me the other day as I returned home from a doctor’s appointment. My doctor had irritated me with a general lack of consideration. But upon reflection, everyone was irritating me that morning. Could all these people be irritating on the same day? It seemed so, but we all know better. As had happened many times since I had quit my psychiatry practice due to health problems, I often found myself in pain, tired, or frustrated. All of this led me to being frequently irritable, as I was that day. Maybe it wasn’t them. It was me. But I was not yet ready to drop the charges. …

Russia’s drone blame game fails to split Ukraine from its Baltic allies – POLITICO

Russia’s drone blame game fails to split Ukraine from its Baltic allies – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

That can send drones toward neighboring NATO territory — something Baltic and Ukrainian officials say is now happening. For Kyiv, the balance is delicate. Ukrainian officials have apologized for incidents involving stray drones, while insisting that strikes on Russian military and economic targets are lawful acts of self-defense. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown no sign of halting the bombing campaign, which he calls “sanctions” aimed at bringing Russia to its knees. Russia’s air defenses are becoming increasingly porous, prompting it to try to use political pressure to halt the Ukrainian attacks. “Russia wants to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of countries that are one of the key ones in terms of direct and indirect support for Ukraine,” Mykola Bielieskov, a senior military analyst with the Come Back Alive Initiative and a research fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, told POLITICO. The goal, he said, is to create “a point of contradiction and division” between Kyiv and the Baltic countries. So far, that effect has not materialized. Baltic officials are not blaming Ukraine …

Assassination conspiracy theories? Blame Trump

Assassination conspiracy theories? Blame Trump

Published by Sam Flores

Let’s be clear up front: There is no evidence that Donald Trump has staged any of the three high-profile attempts on his life in the past two years. I’ll likely get some angry reader feedback to that assertion because a lot of people believe at least one of the would-be assassinations — and quite possibly all three — were false flag operations. A new survey from NewsGuard shows that 54% of Americans are open to the theory that at least one of the attacks was staged, with only 38% saying definitively they believe all three were real. When asked about each separate assault — the 2024 shooting that grazed Trump’s ear at a Pennsylvania campaign stop, the arrest of the armed man at the president’s West Palm Beach golf course later that year and the recent incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — fewer than half said these events were authentic. Once in a while, a conspiracy theory may be wrong but still manages to channel authentic frustrations. This particular one is false, but …

Starmer Takes The Blame For Labour's Election Nightmare – But Says He 'Won't Walk Away'

Starmer Takes The Blame For Labour's Election Nightmare – But Says He 'Won't Walk Away'

Published by Sam Flores

Keir Starmer insists he will fight on. Keir Starmer has insisted he will “not walk away” from 10 Downing Street despite Labour suffering catastrophic losses in the local elections. The prime minister said he “takes responsibility” for his party’s performance, which has left them on track to lose around 1,200 councillors across England following a surge in support for Reform UK. Labour is also expected to have been heavily defeated in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd elections when results start coming through later on Friday. By 9am, Labour had lost more than 250 councillors, and lose control of local authorities in their traditional heartlands. Asked if he would resign, the prime minister said: “The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved. “I was elected to meet those challenges but I’m not going to walk away from those challenges.” Speaking in London, where Labour also lost control of Westminster and Wandsworth councils, Starmer said: “The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating …