Month: June 2021

Mmm, why did the Bloc Québécois, along with the Liberal Party of Canada and the NDP, vote down “Bill-C10 amendment that would exempt social media content from regulation”, as per the National Post?

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/bill-c-10-amendment-that-would-exempt-social-media-content-from-regulation-voted-down

Why does Mr. Blanchet’s Bloc Québécois (BQ) consider that Canadian or French content would matter more than a risk of censorship?

With regard to Bill 96 on the protection of the French language, Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould saw partisanship of our federal political parties with the BQ asking to amend the Canadian constitution (i.e., Québec is a nation and French is its language).

Does she or do you see any partisanship of both the BQ and NDP with the Liberals with regard to Bill C-10?

Despite Mr. Blanchet’s articulate press conference about this proposed bill (and compassionate answers to other questions from the journalists), and as a non-expert citizen, Bambi still sees the risk of censorship on social media and questions the need for this bill. She is saying so, even if Mr. Blanchet may be right in pointing to the competitive attitude of both the Liberals and the Conservatives toward each other (with regard to this bill), to use his own words.

To begin with, why don’t our lawmakers listen to the expertise of the University of Ottawa law professor, Dr. Michael Geist (https://commonlaw.uottawa.ca/en/people/geist-michael)? As reported by the National Post article cited above, Geist once wrote one his own platform: “The CRTC’s lack of competence and dismissal of competitive concerns combined with the government’s willingness to vest the future of Internet regulation in its hands creates perhaps the greatest threat arising from Bill C-10”.

Last but not least, why would any government of any democratic country in the world want to regulate (OR control) social media? And why would citizens accept this or do they really do so, if they were not consulted about it (of course, assuming consultations are genuine, etc.), Bambi cannot help not to wonder?

Without any clear answer, she remains concerned about this proposed Bill C-10 or at least its possible use in the future. She is saying so, despite her utmost respect for Mr. Blanchet, along with her gratitude for ALL our lawmakers’ hard work related to the proposed Bill C-10.

Yes, it is June 3rd again… Time flies from year to year.

Bambi cannot go to sleep before wishing her sister (Rania) and nephew (Michael) a double Happy Birthday :). May each one of them have a wonderful new year!

To honour them both, Bambi will re-share their double birthday post from last year where you can see their artistic/entrepreneurial talent and rewarding corporate banker career journey as well as wisdom.

In addition, this year, she will allow herself to “steal” two videos of personalized birthday songs from YouTube. How could she not be delinquent when the songs seem to be meant for the Ranias and Michaels of our world? Even if these names are common, Bambi’s sister and nephew are unique in so many beautiful ways. She misses them both beyond words.

Happy birthday Rania! Happy Birthday Mickey!

Rania’s personalized song:

Michael’s personalized song:

Rania’s and Michael’s common song:

To conclude on a joyful note, here is the kid song that Bambi initially found for you. Yes, even if you may feel wiser today (while aging :)), you have been adorable babies like this cute one:

Happy Birthday Rania & Michael, two talented family members!

First, Bambi would like to thank her cousin Christiane for sending her the picture below, likely widely shared on social media. It dates from 1963 and it informs us that Lebanon was one of the four most prosperous countries of the world back then, after Switzerland, West Germany, and the United States:

Look at the contrast with today’s situation (Wion short news documentary)!

This economic fiasco is likely the outcome of the mindset/actions of endemic corruption in public service with impunity, along with an absence of a clever long-term vision of prosperity for the country (of course, there has also been a destructive 15-year civil war, in addition to regional challenges… and now a pandemic).

Bambi has always wondered which is worse in life: financial OR moral corruption? Although she is convinced that the latter is worse, the tragedy of Lebanon is that the latter is also likely responsible for the inaction of its political so-called leaders now.

Bambi is saying the above while recognizing the complex competing interests of foreign forces in this tiny, bankrupt yet always beautiful and dignified country. If over the years, the political elite had put Lebanon’s interests first, perhaps this fiasco could have been prevented, mitigated, or… at least confronted by now.

To conclude this post on a musical note, here is a moving song, entitled “J’ai quitté mon pays” [“I left my homeland“] by Mr. Enrico Macias from Bambi to Lebanon and the people of Lebanon… with love:

Again, the CBC, in its section called “Being black in Canada”, seems to be pushing for a certain political agenda in our country and now province. You can read and hear videos here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/black-indigenous-discrimination-1.6045321

The three folks being interviewed will also be featured in two follow-up articles. They are as follows: Mr. Matthew Martin (President of BLM, Saint John & musician), Mr. Neil Clements (lawyer), and Dr. Timothy Christie, Philosophy, Medical Ethics and Epidemiology.  

The same article calls to defund the police whilst also arguing (as per Dr. Christie’s words, it seems) that “making racism a crime would better protect Black people by allowing them to report racism to the police, who would then be able to investigate, collect evidence, subpoena witnesses and see that charges are laid.”

First, do you see the contradiction like Bambi?

Are these just talking points or do these men realize what they are saying?

Second, are they, perhaps along with the CBC, serious in asking for the criminalization of racism? And what about false accusations of racism? Concretely speaking, this means that Bambi’s censorship saga is not only an attempt to silence her, but eventually, it can also make her go to jail ?. Does Dr. Christie and the CBC reporter realize the pandora’s box of abuses that can happen when anyone in our world can be called racist for having a different opinion… yes, including deer.

If you happen not to see the contradiction and the potential slippery slope of such demand, perhaps like Bambi, you can just find it hard to understand the mission of BLM (in the About section of its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/249620259466028/). It reads as follows:

“The platform upon which black communities across Saint John and New Brunswick can actively dismantle all forms of anti-black racism, liberate blackness, recognize black excellence, support black healing, affirm black existence, to create freedom to love and self- determine and to help offer education to those who seek it”.

Bambi read this mission several times and she struggles to understand it. She even thought at one point of offering editing services. For instance, what does “liberate blackness” mean? What is “blackness”, by the way? And why does it need to be liberated? And how to do we “create freedom to love and self-determine”?

In Bambi’s dictionary of tolerance, we surely do not create freedom by revoking the freedom of, or by contributing to censoring, those who think differently; perhaps even those who may agree with the demand for justice, but not with the means to achieve it…