Year: 2021

First, thanks to Mr. Jonathan Kay for bringing this story to our attention. Thanks also to another colleague, Mr. Jamil Jivani as well as to Dr. Bruce Pardy for re-tweeting it.

What is the story about? Well, as you can see in Mr. Kay’s original tweet below, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (https://www.osstf.on.ca/) has changed its voting rules, so each so-called “non-white” union member would have “his/her vote weighed more than” so-called “white members“. They even provide slides to justify this absurdity. Should we laugh or cry to such collective insanity?

Mr. Jamil Jivani started his tweet by reaching out to “Ontario friends“. Well, since Bambi considers herself a loving friend of Ontario (for having lived and worked in Toronto for 4 years), she will say the following:

She is grateful to the friend who attracted her attention to the place where this union of teachers may have perhaps taken its idea. It is South Africa under Apartheid with its Tricameral Parliament (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricameral_Parliament#Structure). Can you imagine?!

Indeed, in the Tricameral Parliament, there were three separate elected chambers as follows, as per Wikipidia:

• “A 178-member (White) House of Assembly (Afrikaans: Volksraad), which was in effect the existing single-chamber Parliament.
• An 85-member (Coloured) House of Representatives (Afrikaans: Raad van Verteënwoordigers)
• A 45-member (Indian) House of Delegates (Afrikaans: Raad van Afgevaardigdes).”

Does that make any sense to you from a democratic, human, and ethical perspective?

Imagine such proposal being offered in the Lebanese Parliament. Imagine that the members of this or that religious affiliation will have more democratic weight than members of the other affiliation! A second civil war would break out immediately… or a revolt like the one of October, 2019!!

Imagine such proposal would be practised in countries like Iran (with its Sunni Muslim minority) or like Saudi Arabia (with its Shia Muslim minority)? Will that be fair respectively?

If the cream of the educated Ontarians find Apartheid outrageous when it is in South Africa (or perhaps push to boycott Israel because of an ongoing occupation that they call Apartheid), why are they bringing this odd and toxic idea to their own unions and workplaces?

To conclude this post, Bambi will share that she is still under shock since she read about this early in the morning. When will we see more pushback to the excesses of our collectively insane times in our beautiful Canada?

Bambi would like to thank Mr. Ezra Levant for a couple of tweets about a CHEK News article where we could listen to a video in which Dr. David Suzuki said that pipelines will be “blown up” if our “politicians or global leaders fail to act on climate change“. His comment was made at an Extinction Rebellion protest in Victoria, Vancouver Island (entitled “A funeral for the future“).

In our world, we have passionate environmentalists, thank Goodness. Indeed, thanks to them for pushing for a greener environment. However, when a passion reaches extreme levels of activism that start sounding like fanaticism or a covert call for ecoviolence, should we start worrying about any slippery slope in our country?

Bambi does not know about you, but words referring to explosions are a turnoff for her. Plus, instead of mobilizing people around the cause, they may actually harm the environmental cause. Dr. Suzuki is a smart scientist/environmentalist with a long career in broadcasting. His words have a weight. They can influence our youth and older passionate Canadians. With all due respect, perhaps he should be more careful with the choice of his words next time… unless he truly meant the word “blown up“, which would be truly scary.

To conclude this post, of course, you do not have to agree with neither Bambi’s question nor her concern for the fanaticism of environmentalism. After all, the “funeral” may take place for real and perhaps sooner than we think… but it would be not in the way this radical environmental group meant it.

David Suzuki says pipelines will be ‘blown up’ if leaders don’t act on climate change

Tomorrow (in an hour in Beirut) on November 22, Lebanon will “celebrate” its “independence”. The latter refers to the end of the French Mandate, in 1943, after 23 years of rule.

Sadly, Lebanon is VERY far from being an independent nation– today more than ever. Indeed, its fate depends on so many countries of the world. The fate of its residents is at the mercy of the tyrants of their country.

One of Lebanon’s residents is Bambi’s dear friend whose name is Georges. Mr. Georges Abu Arraj expressed the sad reality of his country so elegantly in the language of Voltaire. Bambi will share his beautiful poem with you below, along with a quick English translation. Thank you Georges for moving Bambi’s heart today. Thanks also for your generosity when she asked you if she can share your writing on her blog. She is honoured that you kindly accepted.

“Indépendance et Dépendance…

Chaque année, nous fêtons notre liberté
acquise, d’un mandat gouverneur.
Chaque année, nous célébrons avec fierté,
défilés, choeurs, et péroraisons d’orateurs.

Serons nous un jour assez perspicaces?
Pour regarder notre reflet, dans la glace?
Et décréter notre indépendance,
du besoin, de la corruption, et, de l’ascendance.

Serons nous un jour perspicaces,
et reconnaître un système inefficace.
Qui nous a mené  à la résilience,
à  un occupant des plus coriaces?

Chacun son tour, pour décider de notre sort.
L’un s’en va, l’autre s’en vient.
Le pays scindé, entre oui ou non, au consort,
puis arpenter sûrement, vers l’est, le chemin.

Indépendance où  est tu?
Ceux qui t’ont conquis, ne sont plus,
les géants sont partis
emportant, la gloire de ma patrie!”

Georges Abou Arrage
21 Novembre 2021

Here is a quick English translation, and please Georges forgive Google Translate (Bambi’s faithful friend… so indirectly yours too :)) for not being able to do justice to your talent:

“Every year we celebrate our freedom acquired, of a governance mandate. Every year we proudly celebrate, parades, choirs, and perorations of speakers. Will we one day be insightful enough? To look at our reflection in the mirror? And decree our independence, of want, of corruption, and, of ancestry. Will we one day be insightful, and recognize an inefficient system. That led us to resilience, to one of the determined occupants? Each in turn, to decide our fate. One is going, the other is coming. The country divided, between yes or no, to the consort, then surely walk east along the path. Independence where are you? Those who conquered you are no more the giants are gone carrying, the glory of my homeland! “ Georges Abu Arraj November 21, 2021

To conclude this post on a friendly, optimistic, and patriotic notes, Bambi will end with the following:

(1) Georges Abu Arraj is multi-talented (entrepreneurship, engineering, languages, and… good citizenship!). Bambi featured his writing/him in an older post from July 24, 2020 (shown at the end of this post, if you are interested);

(2) If nothing surprises us until then, Lebanon seems to be heading toward elections in March, 2022. It seems that about 231,717 expats from around the world (over 33 countries) registered to vote. MANY from North America. Will their vote help bring some seeds of change? Time will tell. We just know that for now, these non-resident citizens were highly motivated to vote (a total number 2.79 greater than in the last elections in 2018; imagine that one double-citizen deer who has never ever voted in her birth country is proud to be among them, even if this will not make any major difference on the ground). They/we are all simply heart-broken to see what is happening to their birth country (Bambi suspects that most of them are recent migrants after the Beirut blast or following the worst economic crisis of the world since 1850s; and

(3). Regardless of their vision for Lebanon, whether trapped in it or expats, Lebanese people love their country so much (minus its multiple crises or wars). To each one of them, Bambi will dedicate the Lebanese National anthem (sub-titled in English). It is perhaps one of the most beautiful anthems in the world, starting with “Koulouna Lilwatan“. This means: “All for the country, for the glory, for the flag“. May the glory of Lebanon know how to shine again, even if it will take many years. May its flag always know how to unite and keep uniting all its people!

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Mr. Boris Vian would have been proud: Inspired by “The deserter”, Mr. Georges Abu Araj wrote moving verses about Lebanon!

In Global News, Bambi just read (https://globalnews.ca/news/8390694/online-hate-speech-bill-c-36/) the following:

“The Coalition to Combat Online Hate, which includes Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Indigenous and Black organizations, has written to Justice Minister David Lametti and Rodriguez urging them to ensure that a bill regulating online hate and vitriol will have “swift passage” through parliament.”

Her question is the following: What are these groups forming this so-called coalition and how many of them are funded by our federal government, the so-called “Liberal” Party of Canada?

Plus, how sad it is to read that a former Bloc Québécois member is also pushing for Bill C-36.

To conclude this post, a song comes to Bambi’s mind… yes, again, Ms. Nana Mouskouri’s liberty song:

Those, who like Bambi, come from countries that have been torn by sectarianism know very well where modern forms of tribalism can lead.

Of note, Lebanon has a word for (institutionalized) sectarianism, called El Taifia, and it specifically applies to religious sects or affiliations/identities. However, the world is still not as upside down in Lebanon as it is in Canada (even though this country is sadly collapsing while struggling for its existence). Lebanese people lucidly know (when they do not want to forget…), deep inside of themselves, that El Taifia is destructive because it is socially toxic and potentially highly explosive.

After listening to the brilliant words of Dr. Pardy (thanks to his clever interviewer, Ms. Kate Wand), Bambi came to the conclusion that not only she doesn’t mind, but she is actually proud, to be called “racist” if it is by those who have endorsed distorted views of a concept as important as racism. She means by that the definition of this word or the new norm of the so-called anti-racism or anti-phobia (whichever its prefix), that perhaps comes down to an obsession with group identities or sub-identities (like colour/races/religions/sex/gender, etc.).

Stated differently, Bambi is convinced that respect of all (or humanity towards all) is the best antidote to racism and to any other form of discrimination or injustice in our world. Perhaps it all starts with a simple yet priceless ingredient called self-respect. The latter naturally extends to respecting others. Perhaps it is the same for love? And maybe also the same for peace?

For Bambi, each person she encounters in life is unique (she has been blessed to meet so many amazing people over the past 6/7 months that have enriched her life in one way or another. Thanks to each one of them). Before and beyond this period of her life, each character of each person [or other deer :)] she has meet or will meet in the future is unique. Each story of each character is also unique. Failing to see the richness of this uniqueness is a loss of a lifetime opportunity to learn from and grow with/through the experiences or relationships with others. In other terms, this can be a dead end to personal growth, to the joys of human love, and to opportunities of laughter in social interactions… and what is life without (genuine) love and a sense of humour?

To conclude with a touch of humour proving her point, and if your own sense of humour has not been surgically removed yet (with much political correctness), here is a potentially funny short video for you… Well, maybe not for you but it made Bambi laugh :). Thank you Marc & Nico in this Marc Hachem video on food and table manners between two friends in Montreal (entitled: ” What happens when you pit JAPAN against LEBANON? Clash of cultures or perfect match”?).

On June 19, 2021, Bambi’s two posts were about the beautiful Ehden village in Lebanon (in the Middle East). Thanks to her sister, Ms. Roula Douglas, Bambi was able to share some pictures and even videos from this beautiful village. However, in her first post, she made a mistake and showed a picture of Bcharreh instead of Ehden. She commented on her own post with the following words :):

“This is Bambi commenting on her own blog. To be very accurate, and in order not to mislead her readers, she just learned from her sister that those specific pictures were taken from the nearby village, called Bcharreh, and not from Ehden per se. Luckily, both are located next to each other in the Zgharta District region! So, Bambi’s mistake could be easily forgiven :). This being said, if you happen to be reading this post and you are from Bcharreh, please accept Bambi’s apologies. One of the future posts will be about the charming Bcharreh, count on her :)! “

Well, today, she would like to act on her older promise by devoting this post to feature the charm of Bcharreh. She hopes to do justice to its beauty… but from where to start?

Perhaps first with the etymology, which is the field of studies of the origins of words and their change throughout history? Bcharreh is of Syriac origin: “Beit Shary“, which means “to begin” or “strength and stability”, as per the blog below entitled “Les plus beaux villages du Liban“. According to this source, Bcharreh is a “former Phoenician village where cedar wood was exploited in antiquity” .

Bcharreh

What about geography now? According to the same Lebanese reference above, “Bcharre rises to 1400m in North Lebanon, in the heart of a majestic and fierce nature. The village, with a rather urban character, stands out above all for its exceptional natural environment marked by the presence of two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely the millennial forest of the Cedars of God and the Holy Valley of Qadisha, home to meditation and asceticism since the beginning of the Christian era. Several hermits still live today in the rocky slopes of the Qannoubine valley“.

What can we do when we visit Bcharreh? So many exciting activities including a visit to the museum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibran_Museum) of the great Lebanese-American philosopher/writer/visual artist Mr. Gibran Khalil Gibran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlil_Gibran).

If you are into spirituality, you will be well served in this piece of heaven (religious or spiritual tourism). If you are into winter sports, you will enjoy skiing and discovering the snow-covered mountains. Mind you, you can resort to this activity even late in the spring- early summer. You can be skiing and less than an hour later (OK minus any traffic :)) find yourself swimming in the Mediterranean sea!

“Kadisha” means “Holy” in Aramaic, which is the language Jesus spoke. This valley is simply SO beautiful. It is close to the “Forest of the Cedars of God“. So many civilizations used the timber (e.g., Temple of Solomon, shipbuilding, railways, etc.): The Phoenicians, Israelites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Arabs, Ottoman Empire or Turks, etc.

To conclude this post, here is a very brief video called Bcharreh by drone. Bambi hopes you will enjoy it, along with the music. One of the songs is called Almahaba (or love)– of course a tribute to Mr. Gibran Khalil Gibran! The other is called Bint el Shalabiya by Fairuz (Bambi still did not have the time to complete learning how to play it on the guitar :). Hopefully soon!

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Bambi’s older posts on Ehden located in the Zgharta district (North of Lebanon).

Lebanon’s charm: Discover Ehden!

The sunset in Ehden (Lebanon) through the eyes of Ms. Roula Azar-Douglas

It is always fascinating how old songs come to our brains at unexpected times.

Yes, even deer with ugly voices sing all the time.

Tonight, Bambi heard herself singing a song that she has not heard for over three decades.

This song was composed by the Rahbani Brothers for Feirouz. It is entitled “La tehmelny La Tensany” (or “Do not ignore me, do not forget me“).

Well, is it a song or a prayer? Bambi forgot… Perhaps it is just Feirouz’ pure voice that makes it sound like a prayer?

Well, whatever it is, since it remains timely, Bambi will dedicate it to Lebanon (Fairouz’ beloved country).

If you are interested you can listen to it below. If you are curious about the meaning of the lyrics, Bambi managed to find a translation of the Arabic words in French and Turkish respectively (https://bit.ly/3kSKczg). No English… but thanks to her faithful friend Google Translate, here is a quick translation for you!

“Don’t leave me (Don’t neglect me)
My house is yours, and I have no one
By dint of calling you,
Spaces get bigger (3)
 
I waited for you at my door, and all the doors
I wrote you about my pains
On the setting sun (3)
 
Don’t leave me, don’t forget me,
I only have you, don’t forget me (2)
 
My country has become an exile
The streets are covered with thorns and wild grasses
Send me tonight, someone to watch over me
 
My house is yours, and I have no one
By dint of calling you,
Spaces get bigger (3)
 
Don’t leave me, don’t forget me… Oh poor sunshine
From our land of fear we cry out… Oh sun of the poor
The days punished, the looks promised
I call you, until your voice enlightens me
My promise and my heart cry out for your voice in song

Don’t leave me, don’t forget me… Oh poor sunshine
From our land of fear we cry out.. Oh sun of the poor
 
I am a rose of your flowers, bless me, help me
With tears you plant me, with happiness you harvest me
 
You are overflowing with justice towards me, your generosity enlightens me
And if everyone forgets me, you are left alone not to forget me
 
I called you in my sadness, I knew you with me
The spaces widen and the earth kneels
 
Don’t leave me, don’t forget me… Oh poor sunshine
From our land of fear we cry out… Oh sun of the poor”

After reading the Scarborough Charter posted on the University of Calgary’s website (https://designrr.page/?id=140172&token=1735715840&type=FP&h=9346), Bambi still has no clue what the University administrators featured in the videos below mean?

Are their words empty (just stating the obvious: Do you know anyone who does not want justice, mutuality, equality, accountability, etc.?)? Or do these words hide a concrete agenda for increased bureaucracy of the flourishing industry of so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion“? Or maybe both?

Are our universities in financial crises and is our federal government tying funds (of research chairs) to the promotion of such UN-based ideologies?

Is there a real problem here and, if so, what are the concrete proposed solutions? And where are we heading with all this?

Mind you, Dr. Malinda Smith is also referring to Canada as “the Indigenous territories now known as Canada“, like the language used by the University of Alberta (as per the older post shown further below).

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Why is the University of Alberta calling Bambi’s beloved country “this place now called Canada” in one of its job ads?

Mabrouk/bravo again to Ms. Hayek and thank you France24!

—

Bambi’s earlier post on this beautiful success story:

Bravo: The most prestigious award of francophone journalism, the 83rd Albert Londres Prize, was awarded to Ms. Caroline Hayek of the Lebanese daily, L’Orient-Le Jour!

Bambi’s birth country is struggling for its existence due to an endless regional conflict between two powerful countries. It is also struggling to survive its own financial, political, and moral bankruptcy. Despite the hell that the Lebanese people are living in (no gas, no medication, no access to their money, no safety, etc.), and despite the danger of sectarianism, imminent wars, and this continuing history of migration, no one has EVER called his/her doomed country “this place now called Lebanon“! Why? Because they respect it and they are attached to it, despite its MAJOR issues.

So, why did Canadians give up on their country/civilization to that extent? Why the collective self-destruction in our prestigious universities? Aren’t those places meant to generate and test innovative ideas to fix problems and build better futures for societies? Since when were they supposed to fuel destructive ideologies that can literally kill the spirit of a nation… ironically in the name of justice, of course?

Even if you do not agree with Bambi, please check this tweet by Mr. Jonathan Kay, one of our great journalists who has been tirelessly informing us of the extent of destructive (and absurd) ideologies in our beautiful university campuses and in our societies? How can someone working at a public institution call his or her (and our!) own country “a place now called Canada“? And what to say about the rest of the language of this (well-paid) job ad? If this is not propaganda, what is it then? And who is funding all this?

Here is the full text of the job “competition”:

https://www.careers.ualberta.ca/Competition/A103146335/

The position in question is called: “Lead Educational Developer, Decolonial Pedagogies and Indigenous Initiatives Lead Educational Developer, Critical Pedagogies and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity“.

What does the above title mean precisely? If you do understand it, Bambi begs you to write a comment to explain it to her. Thank you.

The University of Alberta’s vision is “to inspire the human spirit through outstanding achievements in learning, discovery, and citizenship in a creative community, building one of the world’s great universities for the public good”. Its mission is the following: “Within a vibrant and supportive learning environment, the University of Alberta discovers, disseminates, and applies new knowledge for the benefit of society through teaching and learning, research and creative activity, community involvement, and partnerships. The University of Alberta gives a national and international voice to innovation in our province, taking a lead role in placing Canada at the global forefront” (https://www.ualberta.ca/strategic-plan/overview/our-vision-mission-and-values.html).

So, how does this position and its language help achieve the above? And Can/will our universities stop betraying their educational missions after becoming too dogmatic like that… to the point of absurdity?

Related to this question, Bambi will re-share an older post on the topic, featuring an article by Mr. Jonathan Kay in Quillette that helps us in understanding the broader context of what is afflicting our Canadian universities? Tragically, the latter are a reflection of the worrisome state of our country. They are like a mirror (or the symptoms), so to speak.

Once again, thank you Mr. Kay for your thoughtful article. Is it too late to save our universities from this intellectual corruption? If not, why didn’t his work trigger a societal debate? Bambi recalls having read a French article by Dr. Joseph Facal about this important work in the Journal de Montreal (https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/11/13/la-bureaucratisation-de-lideologie-woke). If she is not mistaken, Dr. Gad Saad (also from Québec) made a video about your article. She does not know if others from the rest of Canada interviewed you about your investigation. She is curious.

To conclude this post, in Bambi’s mind, Mr. Kay’s continuous contribution, perhaps especially this thought-provoking article, deserves a journalism award, like the one awarded to Ms. Caroline Hayek (as per the old post shown further below)… Well, whether this will happen soon or not, she is nominating him for an imaginary prestigious pan-Canadian investigative award in her mind right now!

Thank you Mr. Jonathan Kay for informing us about how our University Presidents are destroying the education sector in our country!

Bravo: The most prestigious award of francophone journalism, the 83rd Albert Londres Prize, was awarded to Ms. Caroline Hayek of the Lebanese daily, L’Orient-Le Jour!