Bambi’s heart is deeply touched by the lovely and generous gesture of her friend Gloria.
As you can see below, Gloria thought of Bambi when she saw “her” (as a figurine) at a store during her travels :). Not only that, she also took time off her busy schedule, taking Bambi out to offer her a cute gift, which is now exposed at her house.
This post will end with a message to her friend: Thanks, sweet Gloria. In addition to being proud of you for all your achievements (i.e., past, current, and future ones), Bambi loves you ❤️. Your kindness, beautiful smile, and our chat brightened her day. Please keep being yourself, including your inspiring values, positive mindset, and wise attitude in life!
A picture of Bambi taken by Bambi 🙂
A picture of Gloria taken by Bambi at the delicious Song’s Chopsticks Restaurant in Sackville, NB
Are you a meat-eater? And if so, do you like beef or chicken shawarma, like Bambi?
First, if you like to get yourself to smile, below you can watch a short video in which Rudy’s dad wants to order shawarma over the phone :).
Second, in case you are interested in learning how to cook shawarma, this post will share an 18-minute-video, which is subtitled in English and entitled “Everything About SHAWARMA :New Recipes, Preparation, Secrets, No-Garlic Chicken“. Thanks to Dr. Anthony Rahayel who introduced us to “his friend chef Charbel Mehanna” from “Shawarma Lab”.
At the end of today’s post, you can find one, from 2020, which was entitled “One month apart, Mr. Saab Erakat died and Dr. Hanane Achraoui resigned. Will the Palestinian leadership reform or dive into more Islamism?“.
We now have an answer to the question that was raised in the title. Sadly, it is definitely more Islamism as well as criminality in addition to corruption…. of course, all this in the name of a noble resistance. How sad for this cause and for the people of the beautiful Palestine.
At the end of earlier post, Bambi raised more questions which were as follows:
“How about elections also?
Of course, according to Bambi, it would be nice to see more secularism in the Palestinian public life (i.e., the Islamism of Hamas) and more independence from Iran’s influence.
As for Israel, is it too complicated to stop colonization and make Jerusalem shared for both co-existing nations?“
As you can guess from several other posts, Bambi does not endorse political assassinations of anyone, not even of an evil person (in the true sense of persistent behaviour and lack of empathy). For her, it is a principle just like her disapproval of death penalty; for ALL, no exception for anyone, not even for psychopaths or for malignant narcissists, that is with the dark triad.
By principle then, the above would also apply to someone as evil as the new leader of Hamas who, unsurprisingly, is much worse than the one who was recently killed by Israel (Bambi is not naming them because she is more interested in their behaviours over their characters). This being said, may everyone’s memory be eternal, including whom we might think are evil. Now, just think of the latest item on the CV of the new Hamas leader, which is the planning of a massacre. Can you imagine? We are talking about kidnapping of kids and innocent people, acts of rape and even of disrespect of human bodies… of course, again, in the name of a noble resistance.
Stated differently, is Bambi celebrating this new political nomination, like Mr. Nasrallah and Iran? No, of course not. It is a dangerous act of defiance. Indeed, it is an insult not just for Israel but also for all the innocent victims of this absurd war in all the countries of the region, starting with Palestine itself. More importantly, in the bigger scheme of things, it is also an insult for the hope of peace.
How can we hope for peace when the mindset of revenge (ie. an eye for an eye) is practised by both/all players. Some might say: yes, but does Israel have another choice? Others might say: yes, but does the current Palestinian leadership in Gaza, have another choice now, following the political assassination and given the massive destruction (including Hamas’ infrastructure), along with the resulting heartbreaking tragedy for the Palestinians. Needless to say that Hamas likely cannot see its own role in this human disaster, in addition to Israel’s responsibility. Regardless, there is truth in a positive answer to the two questions, which were raised above, especially when we put ourselves in the shoes of each side.
The wiser choice for all would be to learn/re-learn to accept one another, but how is this realistically possible? In the end, no one should/can eliminate the other. At least in Bambi’s dictionary of reason, it is never too late to work for peace, instead of being trapped in a vicious cycle when it comes to the cult of death and the mindset of revenge.
Is there hope for a deescalation now? Maybe/hopefully? We never know what is happening behind the scenes in any negotiations among the world’s leaders, including the players on the ground.
What about peace? Is there any leftover hope for the latter in the region? SADLY, peace seems to be increasingly unlikely, even if it would be nice to think that there is always light at the end of a tunnel. Indeed, even before the doomed October 7, 2023, Bambi’s thoughts were as follows (Robert, if you are reading, you may recall the discussion we had 1-2 years before the pandemic?): the Middle East’s eternal conflict will be solved when Bambi’s children will become grandparents… As a reminder, she does not have kids. Draw your own conclusion.
Anyhow, with or without peace, with or without an imminent wider war, Bambi will keep praying for peace. May everyone re-commit to reason. May healing, and eventually love, prevail, not just peace. ALL the innocent people, especially children, on BOTH/ALL sides deserve to live and enjoy life, including those in Lebanon. Enough of acts of war. How about acts of love for a change?
Yesterday was a day off in many Canadian provinces for different reasons.
In the Atlantic Canadian province of New Brunswick, we had a great reason to celebrate since it was NB Day!
This post is simply meant to share with you the picture of a tree Bambi has fallen in love with since she moved to South-Eastern NB sixteen years ago. She took this undated picture herself at the Fort Beauséjour/Fort Cumberland National Historic site. This famous fort was “the scene of three acts of war between France and Great Britain, the deportation of the Acadians and the tearing apart of British North America“. (https://shorturl.at/0PVHg).
As you can see/guess, the area of the Chignecto isthmus where the fort is located (at the border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) is almost always quite windy, even in the summer and on warmer days. Indeed, you can easily see the impact of the strong wind from how the tree is tilted.
Of note, the tree (no clue what type) moves Bambi’s heart each time she visits it because it teaches her a valuable lesson: how to survive by bending with the wind of life. Yes, being psychologically flexible, not stiff, is a marker of a good mental health, at all times and perhaps maybe even more so during conflicts or crises. This is what will allow us to be open for self-growth. Indeed and according to Dr. Rachel Goldman, “What psychological flexibility boils down to is staying in the present moment and being open to experiencing whatever thoughts or feelings may arise, and then take action that is aligned with our values” (https://shorturl.at/jAO6).
Of course, there are other beautiful trees, including birch trees, olive trees, fruit trees, Christmas trees, Palm trees, Cedars, and Pine trees. Bambi adores the latter, even if she has been allergic to them, at least during her childhood (or she rarely encounters them in North America).
What about you? What is your favourite tree in life and why? You may have a personal reason. Maybe a good memory, maybe a tree to symbolize life at birth or the memory of a loved one following his/her death? Who knows? Maybe you study trees or you may have cultural reasons to honour them? Mind you, you may also be someone who is not fond of trees. One is free to love nature or not, as long as we all know how to respect it.
To conclude this post on a musical note, Bambi will leave you with two songs. The first one is in French and she discovered it while preparing this post. It is by Mr. Julien Clerc and it is entitled “Sous mon arbre” [Under My Tree]. An English translation can be found at this link: https://shorturl.at/NtbEN. As for the second Lebanese-Arabic song, it is by Fairuz and performed below by Mr. George Nehme (yes, we established that he is the brother of Ms. Abeer Nehme, also a great singer). As she may have already shared, Bambi loves this melody about a girl playing on a tree because it reminds her of wonderful memories of a quick family reunion with cousins visiting or residing in Montreal. She misses them so much. Same for all her beloved cousins. May each one of them be safe and sound, especially those in Beirut… today more than ever given the worrisome news.
A picture taken by Bambi at Fort Beauséjour/Fort Cumberland site.
How can Bambi go to sleep without highlighting the fourth anniversary of the surrealistic Beirut port explosion that hit too close to home? Today, she thought of all those who lost their lives on this doomed day, including children and youth, and those who survived.
Of course, Bambi’s heart went to her dear childhood friend Maya who went through hell, over the years, because of a leg injury. Bambi also thought of her niece and brother-in-law who were injured as well as her (late) mom and dad who MIRACULOUSLY survived, despite the massive destruction of their apartment as well as the damage of their store.
Of note, the Beirut port human-made tragedy is one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts of the world and it is STILL without justice. Sadly, it resulted in 220+ deaths, 7500 injuries (some of whom are still in the coma), 800 regular floor admissions as well as 130 intensive care unit admissions (https://shorturl.at/E9X1u), 300, 000 instant homeless people, 150+ permanent disabilities, over 3/4 of massive destruction of Lebanon’s capital, total destruction of 4 hospitals, and US$15, 000, 000, 000 worth of damage. Of course, there is also collective trauma, which has dramatically impacted Beirutis. Many of whom migrated around the world, including Canada.
According to L’Orient Today (https://shorturl.at/iiXv6), “even today, the number of lives lost to the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion remains a matter of confusion. Is it 218, 220, 235, or even more? Three years have now passed since the tragedy, and no official figure has been provided by the authorities. As a precaution, the victims are often numbered at over 220. However, local associations and international NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch now agree on a more precise number: 235“.
Thanks to This is Beirut for the brief video shared below. Its content is in English and French (with English sub-titles). This video is followed by a beautiful part of a patriotic song performed by the talented Ms. Carla Chamoun.
Last but not least, Bambi continues to stand in full solidarity with the families of the victims, with Beirut, and with the courageous Judge Tarek Bitar!
On August 1, 1945, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were placed under full authority of the Lebanese Government (https://tinyurl.com/bdeftb4t). Each year, this day is commemorated as the “Lebanese Army Day“.
Since Lebanon’s financial crash of August 17, 2019, the LAF’s soldiers have not been able to eat meat, as per an older post shown further below. Furthermore, to survive, LAF relies on financial as well as armoured vehicles donations from different countries, including France (https://t.ly/64NCb), the United States of America (https://tinyurl.com/5y2843ns), and most recently Qatar (https://tinyurl.com/42ctd3ty). For instance, in July 2024, the latter donated US$20 million to the army who distributed “equally” to its soldiers (https://tinyurl.com/42ctd3ty).
Most importantly, instead of being allowed to be deployed along the borders to protect them, like in respectable sovereign countries, it is the Hezbollah who has remained in charge of the Southern border with Israel without any respect for the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (https://t.ly/_lRI2). How is this fair for Lebanon?
On this August 1, 2024, may God know how to protect the Lebanese Republic (or what is left of it). Instead of danger, may peace prevail not just in this tiny country, but also in the entire region including all its neighbouring and non- neighbouring countries. Yes, ALL the children and innocent civilians deserve to live in safety and peace wherever their geographical distance from any border to any side of any country in the world.
Indeed, no one deserves to live in fear, be killed, injured, stuck under the rubble, “live” in the coma until death, be kidnapped, raped, and/or to be abused in any way. Enough of suffering, wars, and vicious cycles of revenge mindsets. Time for reason, diplomacy, healing, tolerance, and why not love in this bloody Middle East?
This being said, to conclude this post, Bambi sends her best wishes to each Lebanese soldier, hoping for safer and brighter days for his or her country, even if the imminent future is worrisome.
