Author: Bambi

Bambi lives on a different planet sometimes.

Although this song is 20 years old, Bambi just discovered it recently :).

Thanks to the internet radio she listens to whilst working, she now knows this beautiful song’s title and history.

In Lebanese Arabic, it means “At the dawn of the third millennium“.

This song was composed for Ms. Carole Samaha by Mr. Osama Al Rahbani, a musician and composer (son of the famous musician and poet, Mr. Mansour Rahbani).

Below you can find an English translation of the lyrics (taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paNxQMQi0eA), followed by the fantastic performance of this singer.

“At the dawn of the third millennium, there is still hunger

Homeless children, crying and tears!

Let us end all wars, oh powerful nations

No to poverty

No to oppression

No to racism

Who are you? I would not question (I would not care)

But your sadness told me who you are.

I don’t know (care) which colour nor which religion.

All I know is that you are my brother

My brother in humanity

At the dawn of the third millennium, yet, there are still those exiled

People who have been in detention for years!

Let us, at the dawn of this new era when the world is so longing for peace

End all oppression

End all fear

And agree on justice

Who are you?

I would not question (I would not care),

But your sadness told me who you are.

I don’t know (care) which colour nor which religion.

All I know is that you are my brother, my brother in humanity

I come from the East

The land of faith

Our villages are the home of the sunrise and the colours of the time

From here to all the people (of the whole world) we send our greetings

May generations go and come on the path of freedom!

Who are you?

I would not question (I would not care),

But your sadness told me who you are.

I don’t know (care) which colour nor which religion.

All I know is that you are my brother, my brother in humanity”.

You can read the full statement of our PM here, if you wish: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2015/11/04/prime-minister-justin-trudeaus-open-letter-canadians

Bambi would like to attract your attention to the following words at the end of his statement:

“I am committed to leading an open, honest government that is accountable to Canadians, lives up to the highest ethical standards, brings our country together, and applies the utmost care and prudence in the handling of public funds“.

Mmm… That was less than five years ago only.

Of note, that was before our PM’s three consecutive ethical deviations (i.e., the Aga Khan vacation, the SNC-Lavalin story, and the current WE Charity saga). The third scandal is definitely the largest… It is like the sponsorship scandal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponsorship_scandal), although larger. For a description, see Bambi’s earlier post further below.

Mr. Trudeau, if she may, Bambi would like to ask you the following:

1. What happened to your beautiful promise above?

1a. Did you just “forget” about it (for the third time :))?

OR…

1b. Are you just good in talking the talk. So who cares about walking the walk?

Mr. Trudeau, can you try to remember your beautiful promise when you go to sleep the night before Thursday, that is when you will testify before the House committee?

Your own beautiful words (assuming they were written by yourself) may help inspire you to have the right mindset to answer all the questions (contrary to the WE Charity bosses today).

We, as tax payers, deserve to hear the truth, Mr. Trudeau.

Thank you for the efforts.

When the most Liberal-leaning journalists of the Journal de Montréal are that critical, it tells you how much the WE scandal is disgusting

The talented Ms. Emmanuelle Latraverse is not any journalist in Canada. She is a high-calibre journalist who worked for RDI (or Radio-Canada International). She has covered the Parliament of Canada. She was also the host of “Les Coulisses du pouvoir” (2011-2017). She was also the lead reporter for the French CBC Newscasts (“Téléjournal”) with Ms. Céline Galipeau.

Below is a quick translation of her powerful article, which was published on Sunday July 27, 2020, in the Journal de Montréal and entitled: “When will we see real inquiries on WE Charity”? [“À quand de vraies enquêtes sur WE Charity?”].

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/opinions/emmanuelle-latraverse

“In the We Charity case, each week brings its share of apologies, each more grotesque than the next [Bambi’s will add here that we learned yesterday from the media the following: (1) Despite being allocated $900 Million, the WE program was going to offer $500 Million in grants and (2) Our government already paid WE Charity $30-million; (3) “The professional code of conduct for teachers varies around the country, but in many places it appears the proposed $12,000 payments would violated the code”, as per today’s article, co-signed by Brian Platt & Christopher Nardi, in National Post: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/we-charitys-plan-to-pay-teachers-to-recruit-students-for-grant-program-posed-ethical-dilemma-for-some/wcm/e1963854-0d00-4b98-81ed-c803b20c7f39/amp/?__twitter_impression=true].

There were those of Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau for forgetting that the Conflict of Interest Act applies to them too. Then the finance minister’s surreal act of contrition for forgetting to reimburse $41,000 for travel expenses.

Beyond the spectre of cronyism worthy of the sponsorship scandal surrounding this matter, it is for the flippancy and negligence in the administration of public funds that the entire Trudeau government should apologize.

Rounded corners…

We understand today that WE Charity is not a charity like any other.

Transfers of funds to sister company ME to WE, a large pool of real estate in Toronto, all ensuring a comfortable income for brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger.

Already, governance doubts have prompted many of the most generous donors to step down in recent days.

Bye bye the millions of Telus, Virgin and many others [Royal Bank of Canada today, Bambi adds].

But these important questions about the governance of WE, it seems that no one has asked them in government. Neither officials nor cabinet members, according to the Clerk of the Privy Council.

Yet the Canada Revenue Agency should have questions about WE Charity‘s financial tricks. Will it, in turn, open an investigation?

And what about the allegations that WE Charity has passed the data on its participants in the Liberal Party.

Imagine the rest…

Moral of the story, once again the pandemic has a broad back.

The government has turned corners on the pretext of helping students, giving WE Charity a big boost in the detour.

But the question arises: how many other pandemic programs have been launched and administered so carelessly?

That the government has chosen to impose few controls to save families from bankruptcy under the Canada Emergency Benefit is one thing.

But we must not forget that, in total, 315 billion of public funds were spent in a few months.

How many other party friends have had privileged access to the government’s billions?

How many other contracts have been so neglected?

Faced with the daily revelations in this matter, it’s hard not to fear that WE Charity is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Bambi would like to begin by sharing a tweet of her favourite journalist in Lebanon, Ms. Roula Douglas:

Here is a quick translation:

“It is surrealistic what is happening. When we think we have more or less *adjusted* to a new reality in Lebanon, another one, even worse than the precedent sets in”.

Below is the worrisome news out of Lebanon today:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53511336

Who is lying here?

Israel or the Hizbullah?

Once again, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

This DANGEROUS incident between Israel and Hizbullah is part of a historic vicious cycle of violence and death culture?

Why does history keep repeating itself in the doomed Middle East?

Could it be because conflicts are never truly solved?

Could it be because wars may be more convenient for those who decide of the fate of populations on both, or rather all, sides of a border?

Enough is enough… NO to violence.

No to stupidity… especially in a pandemic.

Stop playing with the fire, for God’s sake!

Bambi would like to thank her friend Aline for sharing this thoughtful video.

As Mr. Salaudeen elegantly and wisely said, ” we live relative comfortably compared to our grandparents who were born back in 1900. They endured much more difficult challenges, including deadly pandemics. So following simple health protocols such as wearing a mask should not be seen as a hassle and inconvenient. Please help other people and yourself“.

Let’s take care of both ourselves and others. Everyone’s life is precious!

Not a long time ago, it was the global movement of climate change that was all over our schools.

Now, it is the global movement of Black Lives Matter (BLM) that wants that access.

Black Lives Matter Saint John pushes for Black history in N.B. schools

Why is BLM pushing to get into school curriculums?

The first two words we read in an image on the BLM-NB Facebook page is “Dismantle hate”:

https://www.facebook.com/events/provincial-legislative-building/black-lives-matter/196711598125966/

So, NB is that full of hate? Bambi did not notice it yet after 12 years in this province?.

We also read the following:

“It is during this time that we must rise up with our fellow humans. Black people around the world are suffering due to systemic racism, and being quiet is no longer an option.

We must stand with each other! We are all human, and we can not stand by as our parents, siblings, and children are brutally tortured and killed because of the colour of their skin! It is either all of us, or none of us! Their voices must be heard.

Please gather at the provincial legislature this Wednesday, June 3rd, in solidarity.

We are working in collaboration with BLM Protest and #BlackLivesMatterMarch.”

Who is funding this organization? What is its hidden agenda for our province?

We know the agenda for other cities across Canada:

https://blacklivesmatter.ca/defund-the-police/

For Toronto:

https://blacklivesmatter.ca/demands/

For Montreal:

https://www.facebook.com/blmmontreal/

For Vancouver:

Black Lives Matter Vancouver Calls on the City to Dismantle Systems of Violence and Oppression

Mind you, one of the stated ultimate demands in Vancouver is the following: “The City of Vancouver must commit to improving social conditions across the city with a commitment to the goal of eventually abolishing police and prisons, as they serve the primary purpose of oppressing marginalized communities and protecting the riches of the wealthy minority of denizens.”

Does the above make any sense, even if we all want a world full of love, peace, and justice?

To conclude this post, it is Bambi’s hope that the Government of New Brunswick will do its homework about the BLM’s agenda for NB in depth. It is also Bambi’s hope that they would ideally share what they will learn with us, the population before our schools (or unions of teachers in our schools) decide to endorse this movement, imposing it on our children… and thus, on our society.

First, who is Mr. Georges Abu Araj?

He is simply a good friend of Bambi whom she loves dearly, beyond words. Below you can read his story and appreciate his talent.

Mr. Abu Araj is an integral part of Bambi’s childhood memories in Beirut (Lebanon).

Each time she visits her parents in Beirut, and literally as soon as she steps out of the car (after a 10-minute ride from the airport), she stops quickly at his “L’Objet” store to to ask about him or to wave at him through the glass window ?.

L’Objet is not just a store where we find the most beautiful purses https://www.facebook.com/lobjetlebanon/!)!  L’Objet is literally a monument of this residential neighbourhood that was established in 1967 (the father of Bambi established his store a few miles away, around that time in 1961, imagine! One day, Bambi will write about her dad’s inspiring story, as entrepreneur).  

To come back to L’Objet, Bambi has beautiful childhood memories of this store, of playing in front of it, of walking by it, or simply of daily seeing it from her parents’ balcony ?.

One memory is literally like a miracle to her. L’Objet (or was it God through L’Objet?) saved Bambi’s life, so to speak… and, most importantly to her then, it saved her cousin’s life (she was under her responsibility). Indeed, Valérie (cousin) was sleeping over. It was Roula’s birthday (sister). Bambi (14 or 15 then?) was determined to offer her sister a book. Valérie and her went to a bookstore, just one street away. As soon as they arrived, Bambi felt the urge to leave the place, telling her cousin: “Let’s go purchase something from L’Objet!” They waked to L’Objet (a 0.5-minute walk). Upon their arrival, a HUGE explosion took place, just across from that bookstore! Bambi will never forget the scene of her mom screaming her name from the balcony. She could not walk to her balcony as her knees were shaking (fear). It is Mr. Abu Araj who kindly run outside to reassure Bambi’s mom. Bless his kindness. The explosion killed two kids whilst injuring citizens. The siblings’ names were Élie and Suzanne. Even in middle age, Bambi keeps praying for them in her heart.

Sorry for this graphic story about war… To come back to Mr. Abu Araj, he lived in Lebanon throughout civil war, like Bambi’s family. Like them, he also immigrated to Québec (Canada). Like Bambi’s family he returned back to his birth country (at the end of war) when Lebanon’s days were brighter than today.

Once again, like her own family, Mr. Abu Araja is attached to both Lebanon and Canada.

To use his own words, “Even if Lebanon is my homeland, Canada competes with it because between Canada and myself, there is a continuous love story”.

Mr. Abu Araj’s words take their full meaning when we know how genuine he is. No wonder he remains grateful and faithful to his love of Canada.

In addition to being a skilled merchant, he is a cultivated man who loves literature and arts.

Right now, like many Lebanese citizens (especially those of his age), he is deeply sad to see his country diving into hell like that. The covid-19 pandemic finished Lebanon, literally pushing it into famine… but make no mistake. This is not the fault of a tiny deadly mean virus. This is rather due to the metastases of decades of systemic corruption by Lebanon’s political leaders. It may also be due to mismanagement, regardless of the intentions ☹.

Inspired by Mr. Boris Vian’s poem entitled The Deserter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Vian), Mr. Abu Araj wrote verses about Lebanon’s sad reality. Bambi is eager to share her friend’s talent below!

To borrow Mr. Abu Araj’s own words again, “Mr. Vian conceived his poem, called the Deserter, in suffering and in the revolt against a war he did not conceive. This may be the same feeling that made me scream my pain and desperation of seeing what is happening to a unique country in the world. I knowingly say the latter without wanting to denigrate or hurt anyone”.  

Before concluding this post with Mr. Abu-Araj’s poem that moved Bambi’s heart today, she will start by sharing the original poem (turned into a song). Second, you will see a link with the English lyrics. Third, you can read a screenshot of Bambi’s phone with Mr. Abu Araj’s verses (in French). Finally, Bambi will provide a quick English translation of those moving verses. She will do so, urging Dearest Georges to forgive her as she will surely not succeed in keeping the beauty of his words and their rhyme intact.

May this dark cloud over Lebanon know how to move away. May the sun rise again. May a new Lebanon finally see the light… Until then, as we say in French, “bon courage”. Please hang on, Mr. Abu Araj!

Last but not least, many thanks for sharing your talent, honouring Bambi with your trust!

https://muzikum.eu/en/127-7140-78389/boris-vian/le-deserteur-english-translation.html

“Gentlemen perched up there

I am writing you this letter

That you might read

If you ogle lower

Since you are enthroned

We have seen the misery

Touching all our brothers

And laugh in our face

Since you are enthroned

The strings are chained

Over the poor wretched

Who are on the pavement,

And not even a plot of land,

To bury them,

Our accounts are razed,

Our horizons blocked,

Our saucy lives,

Only bankers show off

Gentlemen perched up there

Think about those who put you

In the position you hold

Think about all these fates

That you bullied

Think about this country where you were born

And who might see you waste away and disappear”

If you are curious to know why Mr. Trudeau got this award from Lebanon, you can read Bambi’s earlier post: http://bambisafkar.ca/?p=5329

First, here is a CBC article from today about Mr. Morneau, reminding us that Mr. Morneau waited for two years to disclose his villa in France:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/morneau-2nd-ethics-probe-1.5660244

Second, here is an interesting article in the Toronto Sun (this evening) by Mr. Lilley in which he fears, like MP Pierre Poilievre (MP, Conservative Party of Canada), that the Liberals may throw Ms. Bardish Chagger under the bus (as they did with Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould.

Of note, Bambi predicted the above scenario in her earlier post above (on July 17, 2020!). For her, past performance (i.e., past unorthodox or unethical behaviour) is usually the best predictor of future performance in life (i.e., current unethical behaviour):

“One may wonder why Minister Bardish Chagger has provided the information above. Is the idea of her party to eventually terminate her mandate, pay a $500 fine, and keep the head (our PM) et al.? It remains a possibility. Let’s wait and see…” (as per Bambi’s earlier post mentioned above).

Today, several politicians, non-elected political leaders, journalists, and even activists have denounced the unethical behaviour and even called on Minister Morneau to resign. Of course, the Conservative Party of Canada, supported by the Bloc Québécois officially called for the latter. By the way, what is the position of Mr. Jagmeet Singh? (MP, Leader of the New Democratic Party). Note how no one accused or will accuse Mr. Singh of racism if he does not agree with Mr. Blanchet on this one ?. More seriously now, here is an Editorial from the Toronto Sun also asking for Mr. Morneau to resign: https://torontosun.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-bill-morneau-should-resign .

This being said, kudos to Mr. Poilievre (Bambi discovered this MP only recently). He seems to be doing a clever job, as the Shadow Minister of Finance. It is his responsibility to hold our government accountable on this front. Thank you. As tax payers, we demand transparency. After all, this is Canada, not a Banana Republic (yet, if we are not mindful). In other terms, thankfully, despite our increasingly worrisome public dept, Canada is neither Lebanon nor Syria.

Talking about Syria, Bambi recalls how this country used to be called “Syria’s el Assad” (the Syria of Mr. Assad!), which implied that the country belonged to Assad (father, with his political party running the show as a dictatorship). At times, Bambi has the funny impression that Mr. Trudeau is behaving as if Canada belongs to him (i.e., the rules do not apply to him). He seems to forget that politicians are supposed to serve us, the citizens… Not the other way around.

This being said, Bambi is personally concerned not just about any “financial” corruption, small or large, but also (perhaps even more so!) about “moral” corruption. Is it true that youth personal data may have gone from WE to the Liberal Party of Canada, as sh read in the media (e.g., Journal de Montréal citing one academic expert interested in the flow of funding behind charities)? If so or if not, why are we so interested in paying young people for volunteering work? Since when we get paid for volunteering? What is this WE all about? We may never know this part of the saga…

During his first election, Mr. Trudeau promised us “sunny” ways, not “Syrian”ways. He also promised us to rise above partisanship to do politics differently? What happened to this earlier promise, Mr. Trudeau?

Canadians deserve more financial transparency and less political arrogance (of elitism, which is not necessarily better than populism after all, isn’t it ??).

Now, Bambi will conclude this post with today’s calls (video and tweets), asking for the resignation of Mr. Morneau… and hoping Mr. Trudeau “will tell the truth” in front of the Ethics committee (THE truth… not his family or own truth). Contrary to what Mr. Morneau said (see last tweet below), this is not a perceived conflict of interest. This is a FLAGRANT conflict of interest, period. It remains so, even if he returned the “forgotten” $41K.

Here is a video showing Mr. Poilievre, arguing that Mr. Morneau must resign:

Here is a thoughtful article by Mr. Michael Karam (The Spectator, July 23, 2020):

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-it-too-late-to-save-lebanon

Once again, here is a sarcastic article by Mr. Richard Martineau (Journal de Montréal):

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/07/22/la-business-de-la-charite

This piece was published before the latest update from Ottawa about the WE Charity’s unfolding saga: (1). Mr. Trudeau will finally testify in front of the Ethics Committee and (2). Mr. Morneau (Canada’s Minister of Finance) wrote a cheque in payment to the WE Charity of $41,366 today (before his testimony). He said that he “forgot” to pay this bill to cover some of the costs of a family vacation with the WE Charity (https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/morneau-repays-we-charity-41-000-for-travel-expenses-1.1468963). As reported by Mr. Lilley in the Toronto Sun, “it was also unclear if the expenses were related to a trip his wife and daughter took with WE to Kenya the summer of 2017, one the family took to Ecuador around Christmas 2017, or both” (https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-we-fiasco-shows-trudeau-government-adrift).

OK, keeping this in mind, here is quick translation of Mr. Martineau’s article:

“To be successful in business, you must be able to seize all the opportunities available to you.

Guess what people want before they know it themselves.

Anticipate the waves, the fashions.

GOOD CONSCIOUSNESS TO SELL!

Is COVID starting to take its toll? Make masks!

Veggie fashion got the wind in its sails? Make fake meat with plants or turkey-shaped tofu blocks for Christmas!

Is crime on the rise? Hire guard dogs and security systems!

You have to guess what products and services people will be ready to buy in two or three months.

It could be Internet series, electric taxis or the digital radio.

In recent years, there has been a boom in the charity industry.

You will tell me: but what do charities sell?

Simple: good conscience.

Modern man, you see, has a bad conscience. He watches TV, reads the newspapers, and feels guilty.

To have money, to be healthy, to screw up the environment, to exploit the third world, to be sexist, racist, homophobic, grossophobic, transphobic, etc.

There are plenty of opportunities to feel guilty.

Before, when we had a bad conscience, we went to see the priest. One “Hail Mary” and two “Our Father”, and suddenly we had our conscience.

The confessional was a kind of car wash for the soul. Ten minutes, and the job was done.

You came out cleansed, shining. Ready to sin again.

Today there are charities.

You feel bad? Privileged? Guilty?

A check, and you can finally sleep easy.

The squeegees even offer drive-thru, if you don’t have time to write a check for the United Way.

A little two, a smile, and you feel like you’ve saved, if not the world, at least your soul.

THEY GOT IT!

Of course, there are a lot of people of good faith in the charity. People with their hearts in the right place.

But there are also opportunists. Who smelled the good deal.

Instead of getting into green tea or CrossFit, they got into the charity business.

Which brings us to WE, our friend Justin’s favorite charity.

Do you remember, “I give contracts to your mother, brother and wife, and you give me $43.5 million”?

The WE Charity owns $50 million in real estate.

Fifty million!

And wait, that’s not all, this “charitable” organization has two components: a non-profit component and a for-profit component.

According to the National Post, which keeps releasing juicy scoops on this organization, a lot of money goes between the nonprofit (that is, your donations) and the profit (their pockets).

This is called “being in business”.

Some of Justin’s friends got richer thanks to the marijuana legalization. The bosses of WE, on the other hand, are riding the wave of compassion-show and the culture of apology.

Two great legacies of our PM.”