Month: July 2020

Bambi would like to thank her friend Amale for sharing the last two videos shown further below. Of note, in the first one, you can see/hear the American University of Beirut (AUB) President, Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri saying: “Now I am going to be blunt to you. This is the worst government in Lebanese history with regard to their understanding or of care of higher education…”.

Before sharing these videos, Bambi will thank Ms. Jane Ferguson for her journalistic piece for the PBS News Hour. It describes the tragedy of Lebanon very well…

Lebanon deserves much better than this financial/economic fiasco.

No, it is neither the covid-19 nor the USA’s fault. This is a homemade tragedy…

Here is Ms. Durocher’s hilarious article published today in the Journal de Montréal:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/07/09/we-love-justin-trudeau

Here is a quick English translation:

“We recap

– Justin Trudeau’s wife is an ambassador for WE.

– Justin Trudeau’s wife hosts a podcast for WE.

– In one of the WE podcasts hosted by Justin Trudeau’s wife, Justin Trudeau’s wife interviews Justin Trudeau’s mother.

– Many photos on his social media show Justin Trudeau’s wife in front of a WE logo, holding a WE microphone or wearing clothes with the WE logo.

– In his first public appearance after his election, Justin Trudeau participated with his wife in a WE event.

– In March, Justin Trudeau’s mother, Justin Trudeau’s wife, Justin Trudeau’s daughter and Justin Trudeau’s half-sister went to London to participate in a WE event.

– Trudeau’s mother was paid $ 250,000 for her various conferences for WE.

– Trudeau’s brother was paid $ 32,000 for lectures he gave for WE.

And despite all that, at NO point did Justin Trudeau see that he was in a conflict of interest by entrusting WE with the mandate to manage a contract of 900 million, contract for which WE was going to put 19 million in its pockets?

Are you pulling a fast one on us?”

End of Ms. Durocher’s funny article.

Now here is Mr. Blanchet’s serious request: He is requesting that the PM steps asides, at least during the ethics investigation (as he also said in an interview with TVA News channel), leaving the “responsibilities to the deputy PM”.

Will anyone listen?

First, Mr. Trudeau “forgot” about our constitution and started distributing student loans (usually a provincial responsibility).

Second, after billions of expenses and public debt since Trudeau I era, Mr. Trudeau decided to pay students for their volunteering work. He even argued that the WE charity is the only program capable of administering the program ?. WE Charity would receive $19.5 million in order to administer a $900 million program meant to subsidize youth volunteering.

Third, we learn that this charity is CLOSELY related to him, to his family clan and to his political party: about $300K honoraria to his mother, brother, and spouse, in addition to the maximum donation possible to the Liberal party during his last electoral campaign.

Now, the federal government is fit again to administer the program above 🙂 but Mr. Trudeau is in trouble again… He is being investigated by the Ethics Commissioner FOR THE THIRD TIME.

Here are links in the media:

Timeline: Trudeau’s ties to WE are as old as his political career

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/margaret-justin-trudeau-we-charity-1.5643586

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/pm-trudeau-s-mother-brother-and-wife-paid-to-speak-at-we-charity-events-1.5017697

LILLEY: Trudeaus paid big to appear at WE Day events

This story is worse than the older sponsorship scandal.

This story is worse than his own Aga Khan vacation scandal.

This story is worse than his own Bombardier saga.

This story is VERY serious… In addition to being a bad leader (no vision, no talent… just beautiful words and socks), Mr. Trudeau is ethically NOT fit be the PM of Canada.

If he wishes, Bambi can offer him a ticket to the “Banana Republic” of Syria :).

Seriously, Assad Junior & Asma will be happy to hang out with him.

Whilst there, he may wish to jump and visit the corrupt Lebanese politicians.

To conclude this post, he and the media should stop “favourably” comparing him to the USA (i.e., Mr. Trump). It is about time to focus on our OWN problems at home!

——

Here is an earlier post from Bambi:

Mr. Joseph Facal: «It is more serious than being silly” [«Il y a plus grave qu’être niaiseux»]

Today, Bambi woke up to sad news (see videos below) relayed by her own sister, journalist Roula Douglas.

A woman seems to have attempted to commit suicide. Did she survive? Bambi closed her eyes and prayed for her…  In the first video, we hear the shocking lamentations of her friends (from the balcony). In the second video, we see the Lebanese Red Cross ambulance. We assume she died… but then Bambi heard that she has survived (it all depends on how she fell down… Miracles do happen). Let’s hope she will hang on to life to heal from whichever hospital bed she may be lying in now!

The tragedy is that that there is a shortage of US$ in Lebanon and there is a HUGE inflation. The whole country is suffering, sadly including this community of foreign workers ☹. They are usually paid in US money, as per their working contract. Their bosses can no longer afford to feed themselves (and them) to be able to pay their salary. Some of these bosses may have lost their humanity (who knows?) or their sanity?! So, these workers found themselves kicked out to the streets. Luckily, community organizations and big-hearted people remain there to help… even the bankrupt government did something good at one point (finding shelter for some of them).

Activists have been urging the Ethiopian government and the UN to help repatriate them!

There are about 250,000 foreign workers in Lebanon, it seems, mostly Ethiopian. Others are from other African and Asian countries.

Some activists are reporting up to two suicides per day in this group ☹. Can you imagine?

 Can someone do something PLEASE!?!

To begin with, here is an article from Global News, informing us that Dr. Ngola will no longer face criminal charges AND that “he seeks apology”:

Doctor blamed for Campbellton, N.B., COVID-19 outbreak won’t face criminal charges, seeks apology

Good for him, he and his family must be relieved… but why this impolite sense of entitlement?

He is the one who should be apologizing to NB and not the other way around.

Mr. Higgs, you did nothing wrong. You should not be apologizing!

——-

Here are earlier posts by Bambi about this story:

Why should Mr. Higgs apologize to Dr. Ngola?

Goodbye/Au revoir Monsieur Daniel Ouellette

Outbreak of the coronavirus in Restigouche: Why aren’t we revealing the physician’s name to protect the population?

Mr. Nasrallah gave a press conference, as per Naharnet.

Below the screenshot, you will see Bambi’s reply to his speech, point by point ?.

Nasrallah on economy: One should think of all those living on Lebanese soil, including refugees.

Mr. Nasrallah, if you mean the Syrian refugees, you should have thought about these innocent people before going to war in Syria behind the back of the Lebanese government. You should have thought about them before supporting Mr. Assad in his ethnic cleansing ☹.

If you meant the Palestinian refugees, please stop using them ☹.

Nasrallah: We need to rectify some issues to be on the right track. As for the issue of “turning east,” this does not mean turning against the West.

Mr. Nasrallah, can we just turn inward (self-reflection, self-interest, etc.), neither East nor West… but rather BOTH East and West + North and South and all the directions, as needed! Enough of alignment on Iran… and further East on China, if this is your second best dream… unless you are saying this, thinking it will scare the USA ?.

Nasrallah: We are open to help from any country in the world except for Israel.

Do you really meant it Mr. Nasrallah: Would you collaborate with the United States ??

Nasrallah: No one is trying to put Lebanon in a certain axis.

Really, Mr. Nasrallah ? ??

Nasrallah: We are not seeking to cut off “Western oxygen” from anyone in Lebanon.

You mean the opposite, of course.

Nasrallah: No one has called for changing Lebanon’s cultural face.

Sadly, the Western world is changing its cultural face in front of our eyes… and it looks more like a self-destructive process. Let’s hope Lebanon will know how to avoid collective stupidity, preserve its sanity, and dynamic culture, as a meeting point of the East & West!

Nasrallah: We won’t be an obstacle if America wants to help Lebanon.

Time will tell…

Nasrallah: We have not called for endorsing the Iranian model.

No need to call for it. You are living it and breathing it… and suffocating Lebanon with it ☹.

Nasrallah: If we said that China should come invest in Lebanon, this does not mean turning the country into a communist system.

Let’s hope China will not buy Lebanon as it did with Africa and with some famous brains here in North America…

Mr. Nasrallah, your fellow Lebanese people may be in a sinking boat right now… but they are too lucid and smart to embrace communism. The latter has proved itself as a failed model. It looks appealing on papers (in the abstract) ONLY. Lebanese people are entrepreneurs and creative people.  With all due respect to the one communist party in Lebanon, your fellow citizens will kill communism before it kills their spirit and imagination ?.

Nasrallah: We should not stick to only one path and we should not await the outcome of negotiations with the IMF without seeking other choices, seeing as these talks might take time or fail. The idea of turning East came from here.

Mr. Nasrallah, aren’t you tired of taking Lebanon hostage? At every milestone of its good days and bad days, of its troubles and potential solutions, you could have made the choice of Lebanon first. It is never too late, Mr. Nasrallah!

Nasrallah: The Americans waged a fierce campaign against the Chinese choice to scare the Lebanese and prevent them from cooperating with China.

Ha!Ha!Ha! ? or ☹.

Nasrallah: What we are going through today is the most dangerous threat that can face a people and a state, but we are capable as Lebanese state and people to turn the threat into a chance. We have an opportunity to carry out very important steps towards economic stability.

PLEASE leave Lebanon to the new generation of talented people… please stop the BS. Please!

Nasrallah: Iraq represents a great chance for Lebanon.

What does this mean Mr. Nasrallah? Is Iraq an example of a successful, prosperous state right now? They are in trouble like Lebanon, likely because of you or people like you… or because of their Iranian neighbour that wants to keep controlling them (and controlling the whole region).

Nasrallah: Openness towards Iraq, China, Iran and other countries gives hope to the Lebanese and sends a strong message to Americans and others that the country has other choices and courses.

Mr. Nasrallah, who died and made you the King of Lebanon? You do not have the monopoly of the countries that Lebanon wants to be friend with! You have the weapons, we get it, but you do not decide for the Lebanese people BY YOURSELF. Shame on those allied with you who keep giving you this cover ☹.

Nasrallah: We are a consumer country and today there is a chance to become a productive country and the State has a responsibility to revive the agricultural and industrial sectors.

OK, you make more sense here.

Nasrallah: We should wage “agricultural and industrial jihad and resistance.”

You are back to your delusion and silly (fake too) religious rhetoric. What does “agricultural and industrial jihad and resistance” mean, for God’s sake? Should Bambi laugh or cry here!?

Nasrallah: The U.S. State Department is playing an exposed role in Lebanon.

What do you mean Mr. Nasrallah ??

Nasrallah: The U.S. ambassador is acting like a military ruler and what business does she have in intervening in the financial appointments?

You are probably not saying the truth here Mr. Nasrallah, with all due respect. Please respect Ms. Shea.

Nasrallah: Colonial countries act this way and not friendly ones.

Ha!Ha!Ha! Nasrallah is using the term “colonial”, speaking the language of our radical left and some of the political class (we can wonder from where all this is coming now ?). So, Mr. Nasrallah, when Iran colonizes us, including your own brain, it this that different from the other colonial countries you are referring to?

If you are thinking of France, please do not tarnish the beautiful relationship of France with Lebanon. It won’t work. People are MUCH smarter than you think.

Nasrallah: The U.S. ambassador has no right to say if the government should leave. She is also interfering in the nature of the next government and this is a blatant intervention.

No clue if this is the truth or not. However, it smells like a lie. The logic would be that it is you who does not want to let Lebanon reform or be accountable to the funders of the IMF, etc. You are imposing your will on this government, most likely.

Nasrallah: The U.S. ambassador is inciting the Lebanese against each other.

Ha!ha!ha! No one believes you, Mr. Nasrallah.

Nasrallah: Why didn’t some people defend Lebanese sovereignty like they defended media freedom?

Coming from a smart man, this seems like a silly statement… You have tried to silence Ambassador Dorothy Shea but it did not work. Thankfully, Lebanese people love their freedom and are attached to their sovereignty… or what is left of it.

Nasrallah has expressed pride in Judge Mohammed Mazeh’s ruling.

No clue what it’s all about. Probably this is the name of the Judge that ended up resigning after having ruled something not orthodox (shutting the freedom of expression).  

Nasrallah: The U.S. is exploiting the accumulations of 40 years in Lebanon.

Ha!Ha!Ha! You are projecting… At the same time, of course, the US is thinking of its interests, as always (just like you!!).

Nasrallah: The U.S. is trying to weaken and isolate Hizbullah through starving the people and turning them against the resistance.

NO, it is not true. Bambi read about this act and listened to Lebanese experts in the media. The USA had the decency of giving Lebanon a one-year time to prepare itself for this Act. You are saying this in order to make the people turn against the US Caesar Act, which is against the Syrian dictatorship (war and corruption of Mr. Assad, his spouse, cousins, clan, etc.). The second wave may be likely your group… this is why you feel cornered now and this is why you are giving this speech at this time.

Nasrallah: This will not work and Hizbullah and the Resistance will not surrender.

No comment. Can you just keep the political part of your job and leave out the military part? Can you choose Lebanon FIRST? Is it too much to ask for?

Nasrallah to Americans: The policy of siege and sanctions you are following against Lebanon won’t weaken Hizbullah but rather your allies and influence.

No comment. Just to say that what impoverished the Lebanese people is YOUR corruption, you and your peers! Not just you, not just them… ALL of you, even if you may not be as bad as them in this corruption! “Kiloun Yaané Kiloun” = “All of them means all of them”!

Does Prince Harry really believe all this ? or… is he under the influence of his spouse ☹? Are they being paid to talk like that? Or perhaps no need for any pay. Virtue signalling rewards itself!

Bambi may be wrong but she bets his grand-mother, our wise Queen, may not be that proud of all this trendy narrative.

Perhaps he should have stuck to the cause of climate change (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49836292)… At least it does not screw up our Western societies as much as the blahablahblah of this new lunatic ideology of “systemic racism and unconscious bias”.

By the way, did they allow the other guests to say something (Bambi had wished to hear their voices too)… or did they do all the talking themselves :)?

First, here is Mr. Facal’ article published today in the Journal de Montréal:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/07/07/il-y-a-plus-grave-quetre-niaiseux

Second, here is a quick translation of his sharp text:

“Australian journalist Rita Panahi once said that Justin Trudeau was the Kim Kardashian of political leaders.

To be sure we understand, she added that he had the intellectual depth of a puddle of water.

The pandemic has however paid off for Justin’s popularity rating.

He went out every morning to get some fresh air and, behind his little lectern, loaded our credit card for years.

He did this by tirelessly repeating his tape: Justin knows it’s hard, but Justin assures you that the federal government will be there for you.

Oops!

Then Justin pulls another rabbit out of his hat.

WE Charity would receive $ 19.5 million to administer a $ 900 million program to subsidize youth volunteering.

Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau is the ambassador for WE Charity, Justin’s mother is involved, and the two leaders, the Kielburger brothers, are generous donors to the LPC [LPC is the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr. Trudeau’s OWN political party].

This sweet deal between friends was done without tendering and confidentially [Bambi is allowing herself to add the following: Mmm… this is starting to sound a bit like Lebanon. No, not a noble comparison ☹].

Justin explains that the public service assures him that this organization was the only one able to administer this program.

Evil media obviously wanted to see the official’s memo that said that.

Friday, Justin cancels everything in disaster.

The federal public service suddenly becomes competent enough to manage this program.

Justin did not admit error. He simply deemed the case “regrettable”.

The ethics commissioner will therefore investigate Justin for the third time.

The first two times – his family vacation on the private island of a religious leader and his role in the SNC-Lavalin affair – earned him blame.

This time, let’s save the ethics commissioner’s time. Section 6.1 of the Federal Conflict of Interest Act reads as follows:

“6 (1) No public office holder shall make a decision or participate in making a decision related to the exercise of an official power, duty or function if the public office holder knows or reasonably should know that, in the making of the decision, he or she would be in a conflict of interest.”

Pretty clear, right?

To me, there is even more tiring than the fact that Trudeau is a repeat offender for ethics deviations.

The most annoying thing is this annoyance which he expresses when one does not allow oneself to fall asleep by the nobility of the cause which he proclaims.

Because it’s always like this with Justin: the virtuous knight flies to the aid of young people and all “oppressed” minorities.

As the cause is noble, everything else is unimportant, peccadilloes, and only stubborn minds could quibble.

We can’t all have his height of vision and his nobility of heart, can we?

Pretentious

And why does he put his feet in the dishes again and again?

Because he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, born at the third goal of life [a baseball analogy], he thinks that the usual rules only apply to you and me.

He is very much above that.

And this sufficient and pretentious arrogance is a lot more serious than his intellectual limitations”.

We learned the following from a CBC article: “Ontario to end ‘discriminatory’ practice of academic streaming in Grade 9” (meaning “academic” or “applied”) or AND “a ban on suspensions for younger students” because, according to the Ontario Ministry of Education, this “practice… has been shown to disproportionately impact Black students”:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-streaming-high-school-racism-lecce-1.5638700

So, if educators can no longer discipline younger kids when they have to AND if there is no police (abolished/defunded, etc.) to intervene with our youth when they commit delinquent acts, will our societies be safer? And wiser?

Why are we doing this to those so-called black students AND their parents who kill themselves to offer them a good education and to discipline them, as needed?

When we raise children, we offer them love AND discipline.

Because we love, we discipline.

Without discipline, love is not enough.

When we no longer can put limits to our children, we do not do them a favour in their healthy development. We do not do a favour to our society in the long-term.

Is that the vision of the Ontario government for itself and for its country?

First, here is an article about this story, published lately in the Ottawa Citizen and entitled: “Profs, alumni urge Carleton to accept eight commitments to build “anti-racist university“:

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/profs-alumni-urge-carleton-to-accept-eight-commitments-to-build-anti-racist-university/wcm/2ee7b8bf-b013-47c1-823e-0f62f86b4d61/

Second, Bambi has the urge to reply to those so-called eight commitments to build “anti-racist university“, just for fun ?:

1. Reassess the school’s relationship with police to create “a campus community in which everyone has a sense of physical and psychological safety as well as a sense of belonging”;

What does this first point mean??

What is the link to anti-racism?

2. Commit to hiring, retaining and promoting Black faculty;

Why specifically a commitment to this minority?

Plus, what is a “black” faculty, according to those signing this letter?

For example, what does a black person from the Arab world (a Bedouin, etc.) have in common with a black person from Haiti or a black person from Toronto, etc.? Nothing. Bambi has more in common with each of them (e.g., language spoken or being urban/rural or being Canadian, etc.) than they have between each other.

Our commitment should be to merit only!

Plus, we do not do a service to this particular group by letting them think that they positioned themselves because of their skin colour or whatever other limited racial feature. We do not do them a service by letting us doubt one day that this what made them earn the position, instead of their merit.

3. Create a steering group to study racism and racialization that will enhance research, teaching, and program development in Black Studies and Critical Race Studies;

Don’t we have enough of such steering groups thus far?

By the way, what does “critical” race studies mean ??

4. Fund anti-racist and Black-led student and faculty research;

Oh so, this is what it’s all about then… funding.

What does anti-racist mean?

Aren’t we all anti-racism because we are pro-respect (to all, including ourselves)?

What does “black-led research mean”? This sounds like anything but scientific research. This sounds like ideological absurd language.

5. Address the “hostile culture and oppressive environments” that reproduce anti-Black racism on campus;

?. OK, seriously what does “hostile culture and oppressive environments” mean?

Our campuses are anything but hostile… they are rather perhaps getting unfair (at times literally, hostile or dismissive) to those who do not virtue signal with these fancy ideologies. Look what happened at UBC lately, with their former Chair of the Board of Governors.

6. Generate data on the racial backgrounds of students, faculty and other employees;

What?! Why?! To create a form of apartheid ??

Bambi thought the latter was not a good practice… or is it only when it is practiced elsewhere (e.g., South Africa, etc.).

Why are we doing this to ourselves, as public institutions and as a society?

Whom interests are we serving by creating freaky new policies or practices like that.

7. Support Black, Indigenous and people of colour who work in custodial and maintenance services with a liveable wage and safe working conditions;

Wonderful… but why only them? What about their other peers, who may be local or from other ethnolinguistic groups? Don’t they “matter” too?

8. Commit to evaluating the university’s investment portfolios and relationship to the military.

This reminds Bambi of the whole fossil fuel divestment saga ?.

How does this relate to the earlier points and to the topic/essence of the letter?

How will such divestment make the lives of everyone, including the specific group mentioned in the letter, more enriched?

End of the letter’s commitments.

To conclude this post, Bambi will say the following: Make no mistake, like you, she is against discrimination and racism to anyone.

We all want our society to be the most welcoming and fair to all.

Thus, we must keep aspiring to be respectful to all to ensure that our world is non-racist/anti-racist.

With all due respect to any noble intention, according to Bambi’s non-expert citizen’s opinion, this letter is not only silly. It is also dangerous, as it can eventually lead to the opposite of what it claims to be fighting against.

Is this what the signatories want their university to become?