Month: September 2021

In 2016, the French-speaking newspaper La Presse invited readers to share their memories or thoughts about the 9/11 tragedy, which took place on September 11, 2001. Unfortunately, Bambi missed the deadline. Thus, her comment was never published. If she may, she would like to share this brief reflection with you.

The original text, written in French, appears first. This is followed by a quick translation into English:

Bambi’s reflection on the 9/11 tragedy (n French):

“Je pense aux familles des victimes du 11 Septembre, 2011. Comment l’être humain peut-il être si méchant envers d’autres humains innocents? Je ne le comprendrais jamais. Je demeure bouche bée 15 [et maintenant 20 ans] plus tard!

A l’époque, je vivais à Montréal. Je me souviens encore de l’appel de mes parents de Beyrouth choqués et morts d’inquiétude. Pour les rassurer, j’ai dû leur rappeler la distance géographique New York-Montréal.

En ce qui me concerne, cet acte terroriste a eu lieu à ma 11ème année depuis mon immigration au Canada. Pour la première fois depuis 1990, j’ai fait des cauchemars pendant 3 nuits consécutives. Mes souvenirs de la guerre civile, que j’ai vécue de l’âge de 3 à 17 ans, sont remontés à la surface de ma mémoire. “Ça alors, la violence pouvait arriver ici aussi” fut ma première pensée.

Une autre pensée tragi-comique, qui avait traversé mon esprit, était la suivante: Comment ces terroristes d’origine arabe ont-ils “réussi” leur coup criminel avec ponctualité alors que les arabes sont connus pour être tout sauf ponctuels?

Je rêve du jour où tous les jeunes, issus du Proche-Orient meurtri, choisissent de mettre leur savoir au service de l’innovation scientifique au lieu de la terreur barbare.“

An English translation of Bambi’s reflection on the 9/11 tragedy:

“I think of the families of the victims of September 11, 2011. How can humans be so mean to other innocent humans? I would never understand it. I am speechless 15 [and now 20 years] later.

At the time, I was living in Montreal. I still remember the call from my shocked parents in Beirut who were worried sick. To reassure them, I had to remind them of the geographic distance between New York and Montreal.

As far as I’m concerned, this terrorist act took place in my 11th year since I immigrated to Canada. For the first time since 1990, I had nightmares for 3 consecutive nights. My memories of the civil war, which I experienced from the ages of 3 to 17, came back to the surface of my memory. “Gosh, violence could happen here too” was my first thought.

Another tragicomic thought, which had crossed my mind, was the following: How did these terrorists of Arab origins “pull off” their criminal coup with punctuality when Arabs are known to be anything but punctual?

I dream of the day when all young people from the battered Middle East choose to put their knowledge in the service of scientific innovation instead of barbaric terror. “

To conclude this post, Bambi will borrow the beautiful words of Mr. Nicola Ciconne from his song entiled “Nous serons six milliards” [“We will be six billion“] about the choice of love. Yes LOVE, despite wars’ adversity and/or our lack of courage (it is easier to hate). Following the song, if you wish, you may read a quick English translation of its lyrics. May the memory of the 9/11 victims be eternal. May love and peace prevail not just in the United States, but also across the world (including the Middle East).

“They are more than six billion

And we are only two

To want love

Be the greatest of the gods

They say we are crazy

That we do blasphemy

But we stay standing

We never believe them

They are more than six billion

And we are only two

To see that all these wars

Only serve heinous acts

They say we are cowardly

That they will put chains on us

But despite all their rages

We choose peace

Of course there are days

Where we lose heart

Of course there are days

Where we shipwreck

But despite all these days

Despite all these outrages

We believe that one day

That one fine day

They are more than six billion

And we are only two

To believe that all men

Have the right to be happy

They say we are deaf

That hell is on earth

But despite their insults

We believe in tomorrow

Of course there are days

Where we lose heart

Of course there are days

Where we shipwreck

But despite all these days

Despite all these outrages

We believe that one day

That one fine day

We will be six billion

And they will be nothing

We will unite our dreams

Our joys and our paths

We will go without detours

Rediscover the light

We will be six billion

And they will be nothing

Nothing“.

Bravo Monsieur Legault.

French starts at 21:17 minutes followed by a Q/A period in French and English.

Bambi is neither a climatologist nor a political scientist. However, as a deer with ears and a brain, she also heard what Mr. Mario Dumont is describing and she happens to agree with his insights. Food for thought…

First, here is Mr. Dumont’s article (in French) published in the Journal de Montréal:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/09/10/crise-climatique-des-chiffres-en-lair

Second and finally, here is a quick English translation (OK, it includes a couple of comments by Bambi).

“What a ridiculous moment during the electoral debates! The leaders who are relaunching themselves on the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The bidding is enough to provoke a laugh.

The Conservatives promise a 30% reduction, the Liberals do better at 40%.

The Bloc (which will never govern) and the NDP (whose promises are not quantified) promise a reduction of 50%.

In an auction, the town crier would ask “Who says better?” »The Green Party! A reduction of 60%.

This one-upmanship discredits serious work on climate change.

Never reached

First, how do you throw such huge targets in the air when we know Canada has never met its targets in the past? On several occasions, our emissions have even increased!

There is a limit to living in one’s whims. Leaders talk about hitting targets in the future as if it were child’s play. Canada is struggling to reduce emissions by 1% and suddenly, during an election campaign, we could reduce them by half without making any sacrifices.

So far, only one type of event can be associated with years of declining emissions. These are not actions of governments, they are economic recessions. When the economy takes a nosedive, factories shut down and freight traffic slows, our emissions go down.

A decrease

Second, no one even dares to move forward on the far-reaching changes in our lives that would be needed to get closer to such so-called lofty goals. Sacrifices, abandonment of activities, travel. Job losses by the tens of thousands too.

We will be told that renewable energy will create new jobs [Mr. Blanchet said it in both French and English; contrary to others who say, or appear to say, one thing in a language and its opposite in the other; mind you, some even insult in one language but not in the other], and it is true. But reducing emissions by 50% or 60% in nine years is a radical shock. It is a pure lie to believe that the transition from new jobs to lost jobs will be smooth.

We are talking about a decrease, a rise in the cost of living and a fall in income. An impoverishment that will hurt several households and which all ignore.

Our party leaders never mention a single sacrifice. The pandemic has given us an idea of ​​what it means to hit highly “ambitious” targets. Remember when everything was at a standstill, we had dramatically improved our record [Lebanon probably hit its own record lately without fuel for cars, hospitals, bakeries, factories, hospitals, and private generators to run, in addition to lack of cooking gas, medication, food, etc.].

Everyone confined to home, no travel, almost no leisure, no visiting friends or family, we can imagine that our emissions record must have improved. However, at the time, the experts told us that it was not enough yet. Not enough.

In truth, it is science and technology that will help us [Bambi agrees]. More than politics.

In the meantime, I am looking for politicians who will articulate concrete changes to me in honest terms. From now on, I will listen more to the politician who describes a specific measure that will reduce our emissions by 2% than to conjurers by 50%.”

Bambi has an earlier post on the absurd and extreme gesture of book burning in Canadian schools (as shown below).

According to Le Devoir, and despite denouncing book burning, no political party leader blamed the Liberal Party for having a “knowledge keeper” (une soit-disant “gardienne du savoir“) (https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/630561/politique-federale-l-autodafe-de-livres-juges-racistes-envers-les-autochtones-s-invite-dans-la-campagne-electorale.

Well, we learned today more about the lady who encouraged this intellectual inquisition. It seems that the “Co-chair of Liberals’ Indigenous commission resigns after questions emerge about ancestry“.

Bambi does not know about you, but she does not care about this lady’s ancestry.

She only cares about the impact of extremism in life.

In her mind, burning books or destroying/erasing the past is not a wise approach to improving the future.

Why don’t we find more constructive, efficient, and less violent ways in life?

In addition, why are Radio-Canada and the CBC insinuating that the issue here is the (incomplete) ancestry of this lady? And is the problem of book burning solved with her resignation?

Are inquisitions wise or justified when a person possesses this ancestry or that trait?

In our collectively insane times, we went from censoring to now burning books we do not like.

We also censor, to the point of socially and professionally trying to eliminate, those we do not agree with.

We burn churches because of wrongdoing (ironically affecting Indigenous communities as well as new immigrant ones, which have nothing to do with our tragic past).

We justify violence when it is against others.

We do not denounce violence (enough) when it suits us.

Today, we are burning books. Tomorrow what?

And once again, can someone explain to Bambi how book burning will bring the overdue justice to the Indigenous people of Canada?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/indigenous-peoples-commission-resignation-1.6168910

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1822636/fausse-identite-autochtone-suzy-kies-demissionne-parti-liberal

—

Radio-Canada: “Schools destroy 5,000 books deemed harmful to Indigenous people, including Tintin and Asterix”. Is this reconciliation or a modern form of obscurantism?

Many thanks to VICE News for this documentary on tiny, bankrupt yet (hopefully) eternally beautiful Lebanon.

Talking about beauty despite misery, Bambi thanks journalist Roula Douglas for her moving words: “Without poetry, nor denial. No retouching or filter. Lebanon is that too“.

Oui, merci Roula pour les belles photos de ton/notre beau Liban qui souffre tant.

In Ontario, Canada, over 5000 books have been burned in the name of reconciliation, including Tintin en Amérique (https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1817537/livres-autochtones-bibliotheques-ecoles-tintin-asterix-ontario-canada).

This has been done in so-called “flame purifications” ceremonies meant “for educational purposes” in which ashes were used “as fertilizer” to plant a tree and thus “to turn from negative to positive“.

The schools even made a video for students to explain this process: “We bury the ashes of racism, discrimination and stereotypes in the hope that we will grow up in an inclusive country where all can live in prosperity and security.”

How sad, absurd, and ridiculous even to burn books in life, regardless of the book or the noble motivation.

Why are we doing this?

How can we achieve reconciliation in a more constructive and wiser way?

In other terms, and practically, how will this intellectual form of “inquisition” bring justice to Canada’s Indigenous communities?

How will it bring healing to those mourning their loved ones?

And what about the MUCH needed clean water in some First Nations reserves ( tragic reality we usually see in the Third World)?

Will burning books achieve all the above?

Finally, will we one day in 25, 45 or 125 years from now regret such extreme gestures?

Bambi has always been fascinated by politicians indulging in making extravagant promises during electoral campaigns. Today this phenomenon is even more fascinating given our worrisome public finances. If you have forgotten about the latter, here is a very thoughtful article by Mr. Mario Dumont published last Saturday in the Journal de Montreal.

The title of Mr. Dumont’s column says it all: “Yet this is not Monopoly money“. This journalist is right. Monopoly may be fun to play with our loved ones (perhaps even more so in lockdowns). However, our politicians have been spending, and/or talking about spending more, of REAL money… and it is OURS, collectively.

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/09/04/pourtant-ce-nest-pas-de-largent-de-monopoly

Below is a quick translation into English.

“The pandemic has radically damaged Canada’s public finances. Forget Justin Trudeau’s moderate deficits: the situation has turned into a debacle. However, in this campaign, this does not seem to worry anyone. Promises, billions, parties relaunching themselves to promise more than the other, it looks like we are talking about a country with a budget surplus.

I throw in some numbers.

A deficit of over $350 billion in a single year. To give an idea, the previous record was $55 billion after the 2008 financial crisis.

Canada’s debt has gone up sharply. The federal budget tabled in the spring projected an additional $700 billion by 2026.

Canada is a federation. Provincial loans must be included in order to have a complete picture. Over a short period of time, between 2000 and 2024, the federal government and the provinces will together add nearly $1 trillion to our debt.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that according to the current trajectory, a return to balanced budgets will not occur before… 2070 !!!

And guess what? All of these staggering numbers ignore the tens of billions of new pledges that were added during the current election campaign.

Too big to be tangible?

It seems to me that in a family that would have been hit by a financial disaster last year, we would have the wisdom to moderate ourselves, the time to get back on our feet, that is out from under that debt load. But not to the government! This campaign is seen as if the financial disaster caused by the pandemic never existed.

In fact, I have a feeling that a deficit in the hundreds of billions is so big it turns into Monopoly money. The same goes for a debt that is no longer in billions, but in trillions. Inordinate to our imagination, the numbers become unreal.

However, these amounts represent real money. Real CERB [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] checks and grants of all kinds, added up at the end of the year. And the reimbursement will be made with real money, with tax increases in the future (that we forget to mention during the electoral campaign).

The torrent of government spending

Anyone who finds this debate on public finances too theoretical should dwell on a few very mundane facts.

Deficits represent future taxes that you or your descendants will have to pay one day.

Interest on the debt must be paid annually. Interest rates cannot be lower, they can only go up in the years to come. Paying more interest on a debt means having more of our taxes that does not come back to us in the form of services.

And finally, we are seeing that governments that pour disproportionate money into the system are creating inflation. The rising cost of living is catching up with us.

Forgive me for this column, which does not make you dream.”

Today is Labour Day.

It is also the last long weekend of the summer preceding our beautiful fall season.

Later today, a New Year begins for some of us.  As they say, “Shana Tova” (or Happy New Year)!

Both Labour Day and an end/start of a chapter in life provide an opportunity for reflection on the meaning of labour.

Labour means work. Often, it refers to hard physical work (but not only).

In many countries of the world, including France and Lebanon, there is no Labour Day (or long weekend). What is celebrated instead is the International Workers’ Day or May 1^st Day. The latter is a celebration of the labourers (not the labour per se)/working classes.

Regardless, this brief reflection is relevant to both celebrations as well as to the start of a new year.

Some of us are lucky, even blessed, to love our jobs. Not everyone wakes up excited to go to work on every day.

Others work to earn a living without satisfaction in the work or… workplace.

Others may be devoted workers while being underpaid or taken advantage of in one or another way.

Yet others keep working hard in their search for a job after being laid out or upon migrating.

There are also those rare ones who can afford not to work in life.

And, of course, there are those who despite being passionate and diligent about work, they have been prevented from doing it or from even having physical access to it; ironically sometimes by their own employers.

Anyhow, regardless of our labour types or conditions, Happy Labour Day to you!

To conclude this post in music and maybe to also practice your French, how about two famous, work-related songs, one by the Mr. Zachary Richard and the other by the Colocs?

Bambi and her spouse join their hearts (and prayers) to everyone mourning with Abeer’s family.

If she may, Bambi would like to offer two songs not just to Abeer, but also to all her loved ones: Mom, dad, brother, sisters, cousins, grand-parents, relatives, and friends in the Maritimes and abroad.

Abeer means perfume in Arabic… May the memory of Abeer’s beautiful perfume (and smile!) be eternal.

We learned from Reuters today that “Lebanon deported a Reuters correspondent after questioning him on arrival at Beirut airport at the start of a reporting assignment last month, detaining him overnight before putting him on a flight to Jordan.”

This Reuters senior correspondent is Mr. Suleiman al-Khalidi from Jordan. Can you imagine? The Lebanese authorities “took him aside for questioning and asked him to surrender his company laptop computer and mobile phone“.

After Mr. al-Khalidi refused to hand his material, they transferred him to a deportation centre and sent him back to Jordan the next day (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-deported-reuters-journalist-after-questioning-2021-09-03/).

Reuters asked Lebanon to reverse the decision.

To conclude this post, it is worrisome to see the official Lebanon (i.e., with its powerful forces) treating reporters in this shocking manner. Sadly, such stories are becoming more frequent (Bambi has older posts on the topic). It is not surprising then to read that this tiny, bankrupt yet (always) beautiful country has been recently ranked “#107 out of 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index“. Sadly, the limitation on press freedom is also observed worldwide, not just in Lebanon (including Canada, mind you). However, the attack on press freedom/freedom of expression is acutely alarming in Lebanon.

Lebanon Ranked #107 In The 2021 World Press Freedom Index