Month: July 2020

If you are curious to know why Mr. Trudeau got this award from Lebanon, you can read Bambi’s earlier post: http://bambisafkar.ca/?p=5329

First, here is a CBC article from today about Mr. Morneau, reminding us that Mr. Morneau waited for two years to disclose his villa in France:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/morneau-2nd-ethics-probe-1.5660244

Second, here is an interesting article in the Toronto Sun (this evening) by Mr. Lilley in which he fears, like MP Pierre Poilievre (MP, Conservative Party of Canada), that the Liberals may throw Ms. Bardish Chagger under the bus (as they did with Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould.

Of note, Bambi predicted the above scenario in her earlier post above (on July 17, 2020!). For her, past performance (i.e., past unorthodox or unethical behaviour) is usually the best predictor of future performance in life (i.e., current unethical behaviour):

“One may wonder why Minister Bardish Chagger has provided the information above. Is the idea of her party to eventually terminate her mandate, pay a $500 fine, and keep the head (our PM) et al.? It remains a possibility. Let’s wait and see…” (as per Bambi’s earlier post mentioned above).

Today, several politicians, non-elected political leaders, journalists, and even activists have denounced the unethical behaviour and even called on Minister Morneau to resign. Of course, the Conservative Party of Canada, supported by the Bloc Québécois officially called for the latter. By the way, what is the position of Mr. Jagmeet Singh? (MP, Leader of the New Democratic Party). Note how no one accused or will accuse Mr. Singh of racism if he does not agree with Mr. Blanchet on this one ?. More seriously now, here is an Editorial from the Toronto Sun also asking for Mr. Morneau to resign: https://torontosun.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-bill-morneau-should-resign .

This being said, kudos to Mr. Poilievre (Bambi discovered this MP only recently). He seems to be doing a clever job, as the Shadow Minister of Finance. It is his responsibility to hold our government accountable on this front. Thank you. As tax payers, we demand transparency. After all, this is Canada, not a Banana Republic (yet, if we are not mindful). In other terms, thankfully, despite our increasingly worrisome public dept, Canada is neither Lebanon nor Syria.

Talking about Syria, Bambi recalls how this country used to be called “Syria’s el Assad” (the Syria of Mr. Assad!), which implied that the country belonged to Assad (father, with his political party running the show as a dictatorship). At times, Bambi has the funny impression that Mr. Trudeau is behaving as if Canada belongs to him (i.e., the rules do not apply to him). He seems to forget that politicians are supposed to serve us, the citizens… Not the other way around.

This being said, Bambi is personally concerned not just about any “financial” corruption, small or large, but also (perhaps even more so!) about “moral” corruption. Is it true that youth personal data may have gone from WE to the Liberal Party of Canada, as sh read in the media (e.g., Journal de Montréal citing one academic expert interested in the flow of funding behind charities)? If so or if not, why are we so interested in paying young people for volunteering work? Since when we get paid for volunteering? What is this WE all about? We may never know this part of the saga…

During his first election, Mr. Trudeau promised us “sunny” ways, not “Syrian”ways. He also promised us to rise above partisanship to do politics differently? What happened to this earlier promise, Mr. Trudeau?

Canadians deserve more financial transparency and less political arrogance (of elitism, which is not necessarily better than populism after all, isn’t it ??).

Now, Bambi will conclude this post with today’s calls (video and tweets), asking for the resignation of Mr. Morneau… and hoping Mr. Trudeau “will tell the truth” in front of the Ethics committee (THE truth… not his family or own truth). Contrary to what Mr. Morneau said (see last tweet below), this is not a perceived conflict of interest. This is a FLAGRANT conflict of interest, period. It remains so, even if he returned the “forgotten” $41K.

Here is a video showing Mr. Poilievre, arguing that Mr. Morneau must resign:

Here is a thoughtful article by Mr. Michael Karam (The Spectator, July 23, 2020):

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-it-too-late-to-save-lebanon

Once again, here is a sarcastic article by Mr. Richard Martineau (Journal de Montréal):

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/07/22/la-business-de-la-charite

This piece was published before the latest update from Ottawa about the WE Charity’s unfolding saga: (1). Mr. Trudeau will finally testify in front of the Ethics Committee and (2). Mr. Morneau (Canada’s Minister of Finance) wrote a cheque in payment to the WE Charity of $41,366 today (before his testimony). He said that he “forgot” to pay this bill to cover some of the costs of a family vacation with the WE Charity (https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/morneau-repays-we-charity-41-000-for-travel-expenses-1.1468963). As reported by Mr. Lilley in the Toronto Sun, “it was also unclear if the expenses were related to a trip his wife and daughter took with WE to Kenya the summer of 2017, one the family took to Ecuador around Christmas 2017, or both” (https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-we-fiasco-shows-trudeau-government-adrift).

OK, keeping this in mind, here is quick translation of Mr. Martineau’s article:

“To be successful in business, you must be able to seize all the opportunities available to you.

Guess what people want before they know it themselves.

Anticipate the waves, the fashions.

GOOD CONSCIOUSNESS TO SELL!

Is COVID starting to take its toll? Make masks!

Veggie fashion got the wind in its sails? Make fake meat with plants or turkey-shaped tofu blocks for Christmas!

Is crime on the rise? Hire guard dogs and security systems!

You have to guess what products and services people will be ready to buy in two or three months.

It could be Internet series, electric taxis or the digital radio.

In recent years, there has been a boom in the charity industry.

You will tell me: but what do charities sell?

Simple: good conscience.

Modern man, you see, has a bad conscience. He watches TV, reads the newspapers, and feels guilty.

To have money, to be healthy, to screw up the environment, to exploit the third world, to be sexist, racist, homophobic, grossophobic, transphobic, etc.

There are plenty of opportunities to feel guilty.

Before, when we had a bad conscience, we went to see the priest. One “Hail Mary” and two “Our Father”, and suddenly we had our conscience.

The confessional was a kind of car wash for the soul. Ten minutes, and the job was done.

You came out cleansed, shining. Ready to sin again.

Today there are charities.

You feel bad? Privileged? Guilty?

A check, and you can finally sleep easy.

The squeegees even offer drive-thru, if you don’t have time to write a check for the United Way.

A little two, a smile, and you feel like you’ve saved, if not the world, at least your soul.

THEY GOT IT!

Of course, there are a lot of people of good faith in the charity. People with their hearts in the right place.

But there are also opportunists. Who smelled the good deal.

Instead of getting into green tea or CrossFit, they got into the charity business.

Which brings us to WE, our friend Justin’s favorite charity.

Do you remember, “I give contracts to your mother, brother and wife, and you give me $43.5 million”?

The WE Charity owns $50 million in real estate.

Fifty million!

And wait, that’s not all, this “charitable” organization has two components: a non-profit component and a for-profit component.

According to the National Post, which keeps releasing juicy scoops on this organization, a lot of money goes between the nonprofit (that is, your donations) and the profit (their pockets).

This is called “being in business”.

Some of Justin’s friends got richer thanks to the marijuana legalization. The bosses of WE, on the other hand, are riding the wave of compassion-show and the culture of apology.

Two great legacies of our PM.”

There has been very critical news out of Lebanon in the past few months, and especially lately, due to its financial crisis (followed by the covid-19 pandemic).

Well, today, Bambi would like to share a rather beautiful, inspiring, and promising Lebanese story featured on the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) website, as you can see below. It is the story of perseverance and success of Ms. Doumouh Al Bakkar, “making history by officiating several men’s games after becoming one of the leading referees of women’s football in Lebanon“:

In English:

https://www.fifa.com/womens-football/news/al-bakkar-writes-new-history-in-lebanon

In French:

https://fr.fifa.com/womens-football/news/bakkar-ecrit-l-histoire-avec-son-sifflet

In Arabic:

http://lebanesefootballassociation.com/bakkar/

On the FIFA Twitter account :)):

If you are passionate about soccer like Bambi (and over 99.99% of Lebanon :)), you can read the details of her journey and aspirations for further success above in the language of your choice. Bravo to her and all the best!!

Bambi’s nephews are skilled soccer players. They may know Ms. Al Bakkar better than her :). Yet, she is eager to share this post with them… Mind you, believe it or not, Bambi herself used to play soccer on Beirut streets with the boys of her neighbourhood (as a child/teen). No clue how they trusted her to be part of their elite team, despite her clumsiness :)! She even acted as the goalkeeper.

Of course, before each game, they had to quickly clean the debris of shells and bombs from their building entrance, street, or nearby public garden (depending on the location of the game, which depended on the safety risk :)). The ideal scenario was to play in the public garden, especially when it allowed them to discover beautiful Roman mosaics or columns (as you can see below). What a nice neighborhood and what a fun childhood despite the absurdity of war!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_Garden_(Beirut)

At one point, it takes such a scary advertisement to make people remember protection, theirs and that of others. Bravo to Québec.

The ad below makes Bambi think of other fear-inducing prevention advertisements, namely those of drinking and driving or those about child drowning.

Today, Québec had 180 new cases of covid-19. As it has been mentioned on QUB radio in a conversation between Mr. Vincent Dessureault and Ms. Sophie Durocher, “it is the summer and it is sunny, true. People are thrilled to go out or to party (privately or in bars, etc.). However, we should not forget that we are still in the middle of a pandemic. A simple gesture of common sense can help save lives… If not, it can at least prevent a boring two-week quarantine in the middle of the summer!”

First, here is the latest decision of the Associated Press (AP) featured in an article by Mr. David Bauder entitled “AP says it will capitalize Black but not white“:

https://apnews.com/7e36c00c5af0436abc09e051261fff1f

Second, here is a rather sarcastic video by Dr. Gad Saad, commenting on the above article and sharing his idea of adding “boring” and “Noble” adjectives ? to all this, of course “boring” is for the so-called white and “Noble” is for the so-called black:

Let’s start this post with a SAD story from Lebanon ☹ and end it with a happier one from Québec.

Both stories are very inspiring. Both stories are about serving patients and one’s society.

Serving in one way or another… Devoting one’s career, or just vacation, to care for patients and to help them heal.

It is heart-breaking to read about this young Lebanese physician, Dr. Louay Ismail (32 years-old only…), who died of the complications of covid-19 (severe pneumonia). Bambi read this story first on Naharnet and, of course, she consulted her favourite journalist’s Twitter account, Ms. Roula Douglas (OK, as you may know by now, in addition to being a great journalist, she is Bambi’s sister).

Ms. Douglas shared tribute of Dr. Louay Ismail by his colleagues. Thanks to him for his devotion to patient care throughout his young career, in his country’s tough conditions, and literally until his last breath. A very compassionate physician and kind colleague, it seems. May he rest in peace. May his family learn to find peace in their grief journey.

Following the Naharnet’s screenshot of Dr. Ismail’s picture and a short article below, Bambi will share a quick translation of an article published in the Journal de Montréal by Ms. Frédérique Giguère and entitled “A chief of police with patients suffering from covid-19”:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/07/20/un-chef-de-police-aupres-de-patients-souffrant-de-la-covid

“A Laurentian police chief who used his own vacation days to help seniors with Covid-19 will remember his experience all his life, where he encountered suffering and illness, but above all, recognition.

“One day, a 93-year-old lady whom I saw regularly asked me to come and make her rosary with her,” says Francis Lanouette, who has been managing the Intermunicipal Police Board Thérèse-De Blainville (RIPTDB) since 2015. She is very religious, so it was really an intense and important moment and it did him a lot of good. I was really challenged and I felt fortunate to be able to give back like that. “

Personal initiative

As soon as he felt his team was ready to take on covid-19, the 48-year-old father answered the Prime Minister [or Premier] François Legault’s call by applying to become a service aide for the elderly.

He was therefore assigned at the beginning of June to the Days Inn hotel in Blainville, which had been transformed into a shelter for seniors suffering from covid-19 in order to avoid too great a spread in their CHSLD [residential and long-term care centre].

“It was important to me that it remains a personal initiative, so I took a month of my vacation to go,” humbly describes the one who even paid all his salary to the Red Cross and Moisson Laurentides.

Mental Health

It was with a heart swelling with gratitude and overflowing with admiration for the health workers that Francis Lanouette ended his assignment at the beginning of July to resume his duties as Chief of Police.

Although he had worked with people with mental health problems in the past as a police officer, he found himself at times completely deprived of resources.

“I have seen the expertise of patient attendants and nurses put to the test,” he says. I saw them grasp the needs of patients so quickly, I was truly impressed with their dedication. “

Francis Lanouette’s citizens’ initiative is also perfectly anchored in the community shift he has advocated since taking office at the RIPTDB [his police station].

“I didn’t do it for others, but it is certain that if it inspires people here, it’s good! “

The experience even took on a family resemblance with the Lanouettes, since the chief of police’s son, a nursing student, also contributed.

“We talked to each other and I asked him if he would be willing to do it if I did it too, and that’s how it all started,” he recalls. My 18-year-old son went to help near Laval.”

Preventive routine

In order to reassure and protect the rest of his family, the chief and his son followed a preventive routine when arriving from work.

“We changed for the first time when we left and we put our clothes of the day in drain bags. Once at home, we took off our clothes once more in the garage and put everything in the washer. Finally, we showered before going to see others.”

None of this has cooled the fervor of Francis Lanouette, who has already informed the public health of his region that he would be delighted to put on his visor and his jacket again if a second wave struck”.

First, the Bloc Québécois fully supports its leader, the 31 MPs. Easy to do in the case of an anonymous FB post on an anonymous site (apparently not hosted in Canada?), which is logically and apparently defamatory.

Second, Mr. Blanchet did an outstanding press conference. You can begin hearing him at 12:43 minutes of the following video, in French followed by questions in both languages (answers in French).

Mr. Blanchet is right. In Québec and in Canada, we are lucky to live in a country that has a rule of of law.

At one point during his press conference, he invited us to close our eyes and imagine for one second that we are in his shoes. Indeed, what an awful situation to find oneself in. How unfair, to say the least.

As his peers described him in their statement cited above, Mr. Blanchet is a decent man of integrity. Indeed, we can see, hear, and feel this in his verbal and non-verbal communication during this press conference (and throughout his career).

Bambi has been following the performance of this politician for a while now. He is true to himself. His positions in the parliament and his tweets are all aligned in the direction of integrity. Québeckers are lucky to have his bloc and we, in the rest of Canada, are also benefiting. Thank you Mr. Blanchet and please keep up!

To the other politicians or public figures, make no mistake… As Ms. Denise Bombardier concluded her article recently published in the Journal de Montréal: “Who is next?”. Today, it is about Mr. Blanchet. Tomorrow it may be the turn of someone else.

It is morally wrong and it is surely not courageous to use anonymous sexual harassment or other direct or indirect allegations (racism or whatever else) as a weapon to destroy someone’s reputation, honour, and career.

Bambi will always stand up for ANYONE wrongly accused of sexual or other misconduct, whether she likes him or not, whether she shares his opinions or not.

This has nothing to do with her support for the REAL victims. As Mr. Blanchet said, our society is facing a challenge: to defend the real victims without creating new victims of defamation. Well said.

Today, standing up for Mr. Blanchet is very easy because this story does not make any sense. On top of that, and likely related to this saga, Mr. Blanchet is doing a great job (citizens do appreciate him; it shows in surveys).

Bambi thinks highly of this politician, today more than ever!

Bambi would like to thank her cousin Paul for sharing the short song below.

It features a talented unknown young voice giving hope to her fellow citizens!

The melody is well known. As for the lyrics, Bambi tried to translate them from Arabic as follows:

• “The Cedar of Lebanon never kneels
• It is famous for its resilient people
• You who can uplift this situation
• You who can bring change
• Hand in hand, we will build a new Lebanon
• We will plant the hope that we see as being so far away
• Why are you still seated and consumed by your worries?
• What are you waiting for? Come on stand up!
• The wind of change will be in your hands
• La la la lay lay lay…  La la la lay lay lay… (twice)“

Even if “the economic crisis in Lebanon has turned the country into a failed state“, is it true that “there is light at the end of the tunnel“, to use the words of the Lebanese current Economy and Trade Minister?

It is hard to see that light of hope when we hear sad stories from Beirut each day. The latest is about the American University of Beirut- Medical Centre (AUBMC; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_of_Beirut) laying off over 500 staff (some local Lebanese media reported a total of 850 employees).

Is Lebanon (already) a “failed” state, at least economically speaking?

If so, how do so-called “failed states” recover eventually?

It seems logical to think that the political elite of a “failed state” must start by taking responsibility for their state’s failures, instead of blaming external forces or challenges.

Only such mindset can lead to a national reform plan. The latter (or anything that seriously looks like it) is what is expected by the IMF or any other foreign investor.

Of course, Lebanon’s road to recovery will be a very long process that will require a genuine commitment to that reform plan, along with citizen’s patience (if at all possible, despite what has been done to them!).

Without this commitment, there is NO “light at the end of the tunnel”…