Month: August 2026

Is there anything more beautiful than love?

If we could have asked the question raised above to Mr. Daniel Lévi, residing in heaven since August 6, 2022 (may his memory be eternal), his reply would have most likely been inspired by the lyrics of his beautiful song “L’envie d’aimer”, or “the Desire to Love”, shared below.

Amale—Bambi’s paternal aunt or “Amto”, in Lebanese-Arabic—and Tanios have loved each other for decades! They are cute together, today more than ever, and their union produced two wonderful children and two precious grand-children. All their family is filled with love.

This being said, Bambi refuses to go to sleep soon without highlighting this special day before its end in Atlantic Canada; it is already “tomorrow” in Beirut. Along with the two songs featured below, Bambi who sends her warm wishes to Amale and Tanios cannot help not to wonder the following: Did Tanios express his love to his charming wife with one of his beautiful Arabic love poems?

Regardless, “mabrouk”/congratulations to Beirut’s great lovers :)! May God keep blessing their love while protecting them.

To conclude this post, many thanks to “Amto” Amale and “Amo” Tanios for who they are: a source of endless love and of inspiration to everyone, especially to Bambi who is fond of their humanity ❤️ ❤️! Louis joins her in sending them his best wishes from across the miles.

Long live the desire to love everywhere and especially in Lebanon!

As reported by the Economist, “on Tuesday envoys from Israel and Lebanon will meet in Rome for their seventh round of talks this year. In June they agreed to a ceasefire and to a deal that commits the Lebanese army to disarm Hizbullah, an Iran-backed Shia militia. In return, Israel would withdraw from land it occupies in south Lebanon. Last month Israel and Lebanon started applying the agreement in two “pilot zones”. But it may be some time before the agreement is fully implemented. Hizbullah refuses to hand over its weapons, and the Lebanese army is reluctant to confront it” (https://tinyurl.com/5uewyzpx). If you wish to watch it, below you can find a brief Euronews YouTube documentary on the new round of US-sponsored direct talks in Rome between the two neighbouring countries.

From across the miles, very far away from both the Middle East and Italy, Bambi dares to see a light of hope for a possible, even if challenging, solution to her birth country’s heart-breaking problem: Hezbollah’s continuous defiance, rejecting disarmament despite the latest local and regional fiasco, and the Israeli re-occupation of Lebanon.

Also from far away, while reading L’Orient Le jour (https://tinyurl.com/zz3nkrap), she “hears” two Lebanese men expressing themselves: Mr. Naim Quassem, Hezbollah’s current head, and Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaf Salam. The first accused the Lebanese state of “serving Israel rather than Lebanon’s sovereignty” . As for the second, he courageously replied that “Hezbollah is in no position to hand out certificates of patriotism, let alone sovereignty“. In return, he accused it of “serving Israel“.

Thus, between the weapons of the Hezbollah (or any other illegal weapons) and direct diplomatic talks with Israel, Bambi prefers to see Lebanon engaged in the latter, even if she had wished that those talks didn’t happen following a devastating war. May the Lebanese state keep directly talking with all nations like a grown up, especially neighbouring ones, even if they are sadly occupying it. May peace know how to prevail in the beautiful land of the Cedars and shine, across its borders, not only to its neighbourhood, but also to the entire world.

Thanks to Italy for hosting these talks because Bambi’s birth country deserves better than endless wars, which only serve the interests of foreign entities. The Lebanese people are suffering and the Israeli innocent citizens living on the other side of the border have also suffered. Why can’t they also live in safety?

To conclude this post, and to come back to the two statements mentioned above, Lebanon deserves sovereignty to help build safety, and hopefully prosperity, for all its citizens.

According to L’Orient Today, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun “calls on the judiciary to “prove its independence and its ability to deliver justice to the victims” (https://tinyurl.com/msxvd9cn). Will the indictment be delivered soon, ideally on or close to the sixth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion?

Even if this overdue indictment is not delayed further, will justice be served? Or will it be largely unfulfilled as it was in the case of the 2005 assassination of Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, along with MANY other innocent citizens? As a reminder, Lebanon paid approximately half of the costs of the UN-Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). The final STL indictment was rather disappointing.

Anyhow, Bambi sends her utmost respect to the people of Lebanon on the evening of the anniversary of their capital’s human-made tragedy of August 4, 2020. Love to all the families of the victims, injured people, and everyone affected by the traumatic criminal negligence.

In addition to music, this post ends with the beautiful words on X of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, which reminded us of the inspiring solidarity and unity among the Lebanese people from all regions on August 5th, 2020, that is, the next day of the Beirut port explosion. If you wish, you may read a quick English translation by Mr. Google Translate.

“I recognize the depth of the national wound that continues to bleed, and I understand the magnitude of the pain borne by the families of the martyrs and victims. Yet, on this sixth anniversary of the August 4th explosion, I reiterate: there can be no compromise at the expense of justice—even if it is sometimes delayed. Truth alone has the power to heal this profound national wound.

Let no one doubt that there is no political cover for any official—regardless of their position—whether regarding the Beirut Port explosion or any other matter; accountability will spare no one.

Amidst the tragedy of August 4th, let us also remember August 5th—the day Beirut rose up, driven by its people and by the young men and women of Lebanon who rushed from every region to clear the rubble, support one another, and restore hope to the city. May August 4th remain a day for truth, justice, and accountability, and may August 5th be a day for Beirut, for recovery, and for solidarity and unity among the Lebanese people“.

—

Ten days ahead of the 6th anniversary of the surrealistic Beirut blast: Will judge Bitar issue his indictment soon?

According to the New Brunswick (NB) government website (https://tinyurl.com/2x7nsefm), “New Brunswick Day is an opportunity to celebrate the province’s history, culture and people, with activities for residents and visitors of all ages“.

Although no country or no place is perfect, Bambi considers herself blessed for living in NB (for 18 years out of 36 in Canada); perhaps the most significant reasons are the peaceful nature of her province, the kindness of its people, and the nearby Atlantic ocean.

For the readers of this blog who may not know it, 85% of NB is forest land. Additionally, and importantly, NB is Canada’s only officially bilingual province.

Long live our charming New Brusnwick ❤️! Vive notre beau Nouveau-Brunswick ❤️!

This brief post is a friendly wink to each soldier of the Lebanese Army. May the memory of the fallen veterans be eternal. Long live Lebanon and good luck for the future.