Wednesday Potpourri

First, you recall the Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Now, we have a postmodern Nero, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, bastard child of one Fiden Castro, who was attending a Taylor Swift concert while Montreal burned.

Fortunately, there is more to Canadian politics than the hapless Trudeau. Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre explained how the Trudeau policies had led to an outbreak of anti-Semitic violence. It reads like an indictment.

He addresses Trudeau:

You act surprised. We are reaping what you sowed. This is what happens when a Prime Minister spends 9 years pushing toxic woke identity politics, dividing and subdividing people by race, gender, vaccine status, religion, region, age, wealth, etc. 

On top of driving people apart, you systematically break what used to bring us together, saying Canada is a “post-national state” with “no core identity.” 

You erased our veterans and military, the Famous Five and even Terry Fox from our passport to replace them with meaningless squirrels, snowflakes and a drawing of yourself swimming as a boy. 

You opened the borders to terrorists and lawbreakers and called anyone who questioned it racist. 

You send out your MPs to say one thing in a mosque and the opposite in a synagogue, one thing in a mandir and the opposite in a gurdwara. 

You have made Canada a playground for foreign interference. You allowed Iran’s IRGC terrorists to legally operate here for four years after they murdered 55 of our citizens in a major unprovoked attack. 

You passed laws that release rampant offenders from prison within hours of their 80th arrest. 

And what is the result? Assassinations on Canadian soil, firebombings of synagogues, extremist violence against mandirs and gurdwaras, over 100 churches burned or vandalized (with barely any condemnation from you), all for a total 251% more hate crime.

And, while you were dancing, Montreal was burning. We won’t let you divide us anymore. Call an election now. We will fire you and reclaim our citizenship, our values, our lives, our freedom and, most of all, our country.

Second, meanwhile on the home front, Walmart is ditching its DEI programs. The Daily Mail reports:

In a jaw-dropping reversal Walmart is rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies - joining a growing list of major corporations that have done the same after coming under attack by conservative activists. 

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, joining a growing list of major corporations that have done the same after coming under attack by conservative activists.

The move, which marks a seismic shift in corporate strategy, will result in sweeping changes and include abandoning a $100 million racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd, to pulling out of a prominent LGBTQ+ gay rights index. 

When it comes to race or gender, Walmart won't be giving priority treatment to suppliers that are 51 percent-owned by women, minorities, veterans or members of the LGBTQ community.

Third, studies on anti-racism training have concluded that such training produces more racism than it removes. Naturally, certain media outlets have been trying to suppress the studies.

Newsmax reports:

Some diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training methods may cause psychological harm, according to a new study from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) and Rutgers University.

The study's findings, released Monday, show significant increases in hostility and punitive attitudes among participants exposed to DEI pedagogy covering subjects including race, religion, and caste.

The NCRI study focused on diversity training interventions that emphasize awareness of and opposition to "systemic oppression," a trend fueled by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement and popularized by texts such as Ibram X. Kendi's, "How to Be an Antiracist."

"Across all groupings, instead of reducing bias, they engendered a hostile attribution bias, amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice," researchers said in a release explaining the study's findings.

"These results highlight the complex and often counterproductive impacts of pedagogical elements and themes prevalent in mainstream DEI training."

The researchers said anti-Islamophobia training inspired by Institute for Social Policy and Understanding materials may cause individuals to assume unfair treatment of Muslim people, even when no evidence of bias or unfairness is present.

"This effect highlights a broader issue: DEI narratives that focus heavily on victimization and systemic oppression can foster unwarranted distrust and suspicions of institutions and alter subjective assessments of events," researchers said.

"In the effort to improve sensitivity to genuine injustices against people from designated identities, such trainings may instead create a hostile attribution bias. This could, in turn, undermine trust in institutions, even in the absence of bias or unfair treatment (as in our scenarios). These findings are particularly concerning given that ISPU's educational efforts include training Federal Agents on Islamophobia sensitivity."

Fourth, meanwhile, over in Berlin, a surplus of migrant children in public schools is damaging said public schools. The more migrant children the less all children will learn.

Thomas Brooks at Remix News reports:

Teachers at the Friedrich Bergius School in Berlin’s Schöneberg district have issued a stark warning about escalating issues they say are exacerbated by the city’s approach to mass immigration and integration.

In a seven-page letter to the district council, the staff described an environment of increasing aggression, violence, and educational struggles that has left them overwhelmed and desperate for support.

The letter highlights a central issue: Many students entering the school lack not only proficiency in German but also basic academic skills, with some having never attended school before.

Around 80 percent of the students speak a language other than German at home, and over 70 percent of the seventh graders admitted in 2023 were unable to even read a clock.

These challenges, compounded by behavioral problems and a lack of resources, have created what teachers describe as “untenable” conditions.

The strained educational system is underscored by a dramatic rise in verbal abuse and physical threats toward teachers which educators say has now become routine, while serious incidents of bullying have further eroded the school environment.

Is it happening over here? Most assuredly it is. The question is how long people will tolerate it.

Fifth, she is making noises about continuing the fight, but Kamala Harris is finished as a force in politics. A mega-donor has explained the basic truth, via Newsmax:

Compiling a huge campaign debt disqualifies Vice President Kamala Harris from holding future public office, according to a Democrat megadonor.

Attorney John Morgan, founder of the Morgan & Morgan firm, said reports that Harris' losing presidential campaign is $20 million in debt after a lavish spending spree "disqualifies her forever."

 "If you can't run a campaign, you can't run America. The same thing is going to follow Harris for the rest of her career. She cannot be trusted with the money, and the donors are going to be, like, 'Where is this money?'"

A good question… one  that will not find a good answer.

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