Author: Bambi

First to Rania, Bambi’ sister in Beirut (Lebanon), Happy Birthday! Below is a little tribute to your talent… well, using your own pictures :):

Here is Rania’s website with more pictures: http://www.raniaazar.com/ Bravo to her!

Ok, that was Rania in Beirut. Bambi will virtually jump to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) now to wish her nephew Michael a Happy Birthday! Yes, the latter was born on his aunty Rania’s birthday :). Bambi was blessed to see him at Christmas, right before the pandemic. She is proud of him big time! Below you can partly see why (article/interview featuring him). The other part is simply beyond words… This smart/talented young man is a beautiful soul with a BIG heart. He is humble, generous, down to earth, etc. Did Bambi forget anything about him? As you can notice below, he is handsome too :).

“Managing Expectations” (published by “Diaryforyourstory” on January 1, 2019)

“Young. Enthusiast. Aspiring banker. Michael Doghlass, a corporate banker at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, thrives to keep climbing up the success ladder as a young man. Born and raised in Canada, Doghlass does not only consider himself a Canadian citizen but also a citizen of the world. “There is no geographical area that would limit me,” he says. He is a 24-year old adventurer who contemplates meeting people from different educational and cultural backgrounds: a benefit to his personal growth.

“I decided to come to Dubai to discover what the corporate life is all about. I fell in love with the city,” he reveals.

Doghlass graduated from the Lebanese American University with a B.S. in Economics. He, then, mastered in International Business at Grenoble Ecole de Management University. Throughout his life, Doghlass always had the mentality of “I want to keep learning”. For that, he decided to visit Dubai during that summer and go for an internship at the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Being a graduate from one of the top business schools in the world, he did not aim to want it all at the beginning. “For me, planning your objectives and not setting your expectations too high are two of the most important things”, he states. One could say that managing the expectations of his parents, clients, and his surroundings is one of Doghlass’s hobbies.

Expectations. Expectations. Expectations.

Doghlass is aware that he is in for a treat. With trying new places and learning new cultures, one would assume that adapting would be hard. In this case, he took his new experience one-step at a time, until adapting became a piece of cake. Doghlass continues, “I am currently working in the Large Corporate Department. I manage accounts that have a turnover of 500 million and above, some of the biggest accounts in Dubai.” “This came in after the hard work and overtime hours that I have put in to get to where I am,” he adds.

Expectations is a word that people often tend to “look” at with high standards as they believe that there is a minimum target one should fulfill. As this happens, some might neglect the more important things in their own lives. It is always a dilemma of setting own goals and objectives all while trying to hit the expectations of bosses, parents, and surroundings.

“To me, it is not about the goals or targets. It is about the expectations, just the right amount of dosage,” states Doghlass. However, on another note, individuals should not let all of their targeted roads be based on goals and objectives. Expectations allow the mindset of a person to be at ease within himself and his entourage. If expectations at work for a newbie were to complete tasks that seniors are doing, then the management would have been disappointed. Doghlass says, “I told myself that everything above my own expectations was an achievement to myself.”

Doghlass’s parents did not have expectations that he would get the job in Dubai. When he got to Lebanon, he didn’t come back unhappy if he didn’t get the job. He wasn’t even worried about what his close ones’ reaction would be. “All what I was doing was a plus to my objectives and goals,” declares Doghlass.

“I strategize my future one step at a time, I do not jump steps. If I jump, I will not be setting myself firmly in the best way.”

Shifting a little bit towards his educational period of time, Doghlass was asked to be the valedictorian of his graduating class at Grenoble Ecole de Management University. “When I knew that I was going to give the graduation speech, I was very happy,” he states. He was hesitant at first since he was the only one giving a speech out of around 200 students.

“I am managing expectations,” says Doghlass firmly.

Steps That Matter

When asked “What’s next?” Doghlass stressed on the fact that it is important for him to grow personally. He believes that if he stays in the same place, he will not be able to grow in the way that he wants to. “I was introduced to the Head of Corporate at the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. I wanted to feel the vibe and learn more about how the work flows”, he says.

At this point, Doghlass gives credit to his boss. “Every day my boss used to take time out of his work to thoroughly help me answer all of my concerns and develop further my knowledge,” admits Doghlass.

He is known to be a thorough observer. What helped him the most, it is the fact that he used to take notes about everything his bosses used to say. “I wanted to learn the best out of each senior,” tells Doghlass.

Doghlass worked long-hard hours to prove himself and his capabilities. He created a need for himself at the Bank. His dream was to stay there and he wanted to learn more. The managing team found a loophole to have him among them.

Doghlass states, “I want to build on my resume that I am a loyal employee. Here, I am able to learn.”

He believes that learning is the key to keep on growing and developing personally and professionally. Since his Grenoble Ecole de Management graduation, Doghlass did not stop to ameliorate himself. He is still studying to land a certification in Investment Banking: Mergers and Acquisitions from the New York Institute of Finance. He has already completed four out of six courses. He reveals that the courses are very tough. In that context, Doghlass always tries to find a few hours after work to study and sit for his exams. “This is what is helping me grow,” he confirms.

Humorous Insight

What distinguishes the young generation from the old is the fact that they tend to try to do it all. This upcoming era of individuals create humor and fun moments from nothing. Imagine if your name coincides with a major famous actor: Michael Doghlass! Well, what are the odds? According to Doghlass, this coincidence has its perks. Some tend not to believe him until they are provided with proof. Others assume that the actor’s team is speaking on his behalf.

Yet, stereotyping strikes again! “They believe that my first name is Michael but they do not believe that my family name is Doghlass,” he admits.

Doghlass decided to take matters into his own hands and declare to people that they will not be believing his name as he introduces himself. However, this has brought him a lot of advantages. Doghlass affirms, “People tend to remember me more because of my name. It will always ring a bell.”

With everything happening around, all the work load, the convincing, the feeling of being homesick, it is always refreshing to know that one has a caring family back home. This two-way communication between children and parents is crucial in a person’s everyday life. It gives both parties a kind of energy to keep on going and look forward to the meeting point. Doghlass recalls, “Technology is my best friend in such situations. It takes two seconds to send a message to let my family know that I am okay.”

Passing on the Torch

“If I want to give advice to the younger generation, I would say do not set your expectations too high. Go in with zero expectations and build yourselves from there”, emphasizes Doghlass. With high expectations, people expect more of each other and set certain standards to be achieved. Anything less would be perceived as a low achievement. Senior managements or even one’s entourage would be disappointed.
Entering his 3rd year working in the city of Dubai, Doghlass is mastering the patience and understanding skill. Work problems and bad days happen, it is up to the person to know how to react and handle such situations in the utmost professional way.

Professionalism is crucial to the workforce colleagues and bosses. “I was taught how to deal with sensible work obstacles by my close family members through their own unique humble experience,” he reveals. “I solve problems that I encounter with a mix of both my own thinking and the advice he has given me”.

Doghlass says, “My advice to aspiring youngsters is start somewhere. No matter how little it is, you will grow and you will achieve. Do not stop studying and always try to get certifications from good places”.”

End of the interview published “Diaryforyourstory“.

To conclude this post, here is a song for you, Michael & Rania :). Bambi loves you and wishes you all the best! Be safe, have fun.

Above is a picture taken from the Journal de Montréal (June 2, 2020) from the following article signed by Mr. Mathieu Bock-Côté:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/06/02/une-manifestation-americaine-a-montreal

Below is a quick translation of this thoughtful text:

“There was an American demonstration in Montreal this Sunday.

Why this expression? Because pretty much all of the visible signs were in English.

I see two possible explanations for this.

English

Either the demonstrators take Québec for the United States, and therefore they identify with the United States to the point of adopting its language.

Either they know they are in Québec (and they claim that the American problems are also ours), but they don’t care about its language and its culture and, thus, show a great contempt for its identity. Let’s call this a linguistic colonialism disguised as anti-racism.

We must come down to earth.

We are all overwhelmed by the assassination of George Floyd in Minnesota. And no one will dispute the persistence of racism in the United States.

But whatever activists may say, involuntarily revealing their historic lack of culture, one cannot confuse Québec and the United States.

Obviously, there are racist individuals here as elsewhere, and that, in all communities. They are condemnable. Racism is abject.

But the Québec society has not been structured around racial categories. It has not institutionalized racism as a principle of social organization. There is no structural or systemic racism here, as long as we do not tamper with the meaning of words. This pseudo-sociological theory is wobbly.

Besides, the people of Québec were dominated at home. They did not have the means to discriminate against many people. We forget it today because we present them as “white” people.

Nation

A nation is not a race. A white cannot become a black, a black cannot become a white. Race is a suffocating identity.

But you can come from anywhere, have any skin colour, and become a Québecer, as long as you claim and assume this identity.

It is this definition of ourselves that we must hold on to.”

Bambi will not spend much time commenting on the article below, as it is a waste of time:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-anti-black-racism-1.5593395

She just feels the urge to express that she is fed up of hearing Mr. Trudeau and his peers, lecturing us, on how much we are systematically racist as a country.

One, enough virtue signalling; Two, for once, show some genuine compassion for your neighbouring country (not once we heard words about that). Please stop saying nonsense to please we do not know whom or to show us how much of good boys you are, better than folks south of our borders.

For God’s sake, do not import neither Somalia nor the United States to Canada.

Bambi has never heard of Mr. Ammar who is cited in the CBC before (even if he is of Lebanese origins too). He may have a point: Mr. Hussen does not make much sense (hence her title). She will add, neither Mr. Trudeau, with all due respect to both and to our actual government.

As for Mr. Trudeau’s “collection of racial data at Statistics Canada to fight against discrimination”, Bambi always omits those questions on purpose, as they get on her nerves. Sometimes, she answers whatever, choosing “other”. She refuses to be categorized in any group like that. She refuses that any of these groups would become a sort of protected group of “deer of Middle Eastern origins” or “deer who have ancestors of this religious background or that” or “deer of this colour or that”. She thinks that merit should be our only measure of excellence and respect to all a primary value.

Stated differently, Bambi’s background is no one’s business. She is against racism to anyone, period. Racism does not have any particular colour or religion or orientation or whatever. She is against torture and brutality to anyone.

Bambi is a Canadian deer, period. Canada is our country all of us. Canada and the Canadian rule of law should be above us all equally, period. Please do not Lebanonize Canada ☹.

In other terms, “all” lives matter, not just “deer lives”.   

From this article from a media from Québec (not even in NB), Bambi learned that the clinic of the irresponsible physician in question is on “Village Avenue” in Campbellton.

From a quick read of the media, we can learn that this physician seemed to have lied to the authorities about his travel reason. Upon his return from Québec, he did not respect a rule ALL the citizens are supposed to respect upon returning from “essential” travels (14 days of self-isolation). This physician completely forgot that, as a health professional, he should know all this better than the rest of us. For whatever reason, he did not. Perhaps he was too eager to return to his service. Perhaps he thought himself above the virus (and the rules).

Consternation et incompréhension dans le Restigouche

A quick English translation:

https://translate.google.ca/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcimtchau.ca%2Fnouvelles%2Fconsternation-et-incomprehension-dans-le-restigouche%2F

From the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick’s public website, when we search, we can find the following table:

If the table above is up-to-date and the physician is truly a “he”, as it has been referred to him in the media, he would be one of the following: Dr. Ngola Monzinga, Dr. Ahmad Khatib, or Dr. Fuzesi Gabor. If the physician is a female, the only name seems to be Dr. Catherine Benoit.

Bambi was curious to find the name, hoping secretly the physician would not be of her same origins. Luckily, he isn’t (even if he would be the one with the Arabic name).

NB has been doing an outstanding job in the pandemic from Day 1 (if not, Day zero!). It is still doing great now, thank you, except perhaps for the following: Too much political correctness (especially in pandemic times) can literally kill.

As far as the nursing home that is infected is concerned, Bambi hopes they will learn from the experience of Québec in dealing with the patients (transporting the so-called “red” patients (those infected) elsewhere, which seems to have been done, bravo. In addition to this, the “orange” residents (those who could be infected) must not get in contact with the “green” ones (those clearly tested negative). Perhaps this is easier to implement in this nursing home due to is architecture.

http://www.lokia.ca/residence/atholville/manoir-de-la-vallee

People have all the right to be upset and to express their anger, whether in person or on social media. Mind you, Bambi is not on the latter but, from the article above, she understood that people may have circulated a picture of the physician and expressed their frustration. It is normal of municipal politicians to call for calm and remind people of the service of this physician to the community. However, people need to vent in life AND to share information that may have not been shared in the media or the authorities. Why making them feel guilty/badly for doing so?

We can also argue that we should perhaps consider providing the name of the physician for the sake of the other ones (his colleagues whose behaviour did not include the silly act).

Yes, the health authorities will thoroughly help trace the contact of the physicians over two weeks. However, wouldn’t it make more sense to make the information fully public, so no one may be forgotten by inadvertence?

It is Bambi’s hope that everyone will be safe at the end of this story, including the (suspended) physician and his daughter, May this outbreak be successfully contained as much as possible. Best wishes to Restigouche/Campbellton and all of NB!     

During eight LONG minutes (+ 46 seconds!), a police officer had his heavy foot/weight on the neck on an unarmed man lying on the ground.

How come no one stopped to tell this guy: What are you doing? STOP. Remove your foot off his neck?

Officer charged with murder in George Floyd’s death had knee on his neck for nearly 9 minutes

It does tell you something about the TOXIC culture of the police division/station in question.

It is sad to witness once again the deep racial problems in the otherwise beautiful country of our neighbours, the Unites States.   

This police officer may have been one individual cruelly/criminally acting like that until the death of his client during his arrest BUT what about his colleagues, at least those who were with him at the time?

Why didn’t they denounce this brutality (criminal/racial abuse of power)?

Rest in peace, Mr. George Floyd… Bambi can only imagine one drop of the sorrow/anger of your loved ones.

May peace and respect prevail in this city.

May love, unity, and common sense triumph over injustice, violence, and hatred— not just in Minneapolis but in the rest of America… and in the world.  

Her name was Romina.

Her life ended at age 14.

No, it was neither due to an illness nor to an accident.

Her own dad killed her… during her sleep AND in the most horrible way possible (i.e., decapitated, can you imagine?!).

It seems that she ran away from home with a man 21 years older than her (boyfriend?).

O course, any dad (or mom) would worry about his daughter dating a man more than twice her age… But, make no mistake, this is not the issue here.

The main issue is a murder of a young girl disguised in a tribal cultural tradition.

As explained in the following BBC article, the reasons may be refusing “to enter into an arranged marriage”, being “the victim of a sexual assault or rape” or having “sexual relations outside marriage, even if only alleged”. However, “killings can be carried out for more trivial reasons, like dressing in a way deemed inappropriate or displaying behaviour seen as disobedient.”:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52811631

Bambi has posted about this topic earlier (Israa’s sad story):

Where are the voices of our radical Canadian feminists to denounce Honour killing abroad?

How can someone cruelly and coldly kill one’s own daughter because she is perceived as having brought dishonour/shame to her family?

Why would a so-called honour of one’s family be valued more than loving or forgiving one’s daughter (for real, perceived, or suspected undesired behaviours)?

It is hard to imagine. It is shocking to read about every time.

Although honour killing is more cultural than religious, religion can act as a carrying vehicle for it.

Indeed, as per the BBC article cited above, “Iran’s Islamic penal code reduces punitive measures for fathers and other family members who are convicted of murder or physically harming children in domestic violence or ‘honour killings’. If a man is found guilty of murdering his daughter in Iran, the punishment is between three and 10 years in prison, rather than the normal death sentence or payment of diyeh (blood money) for murder cases.”

Honour killing may have occurred in Ancient Rome, of course in a different form. As described in Bambi’s earlier post, it keeps occurring in some Arab (e.g., Jordan, Palestine) or Muslim countries (e.g., Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan) as well as in India, Ecuador, Brazil. Mind you, it has occured elsewhere (e.g., Canada, France, the UK…).  

As long as societies remain patriarchal (for real/to the extreme, like in many of the countries cited above), as long as punishment of the crime is minimal, and educational programs are lacking, we will hear about a future Romina and another Israa.

Bambi will always strongly condemn this violence against girls/women… and she will keep dreaming to live long enough to see an end to such tribal criminal practices!

Here is the news from Postmillennial:

https://thepostmillennial.com/toronto-mayor-celebrates-menstrual-hygiene-day-by-calling-women-people-who-menstruate

Here is Mayor Tory’s letter from his own Tweeter account :)):

Bambi does know this Mayor. He may be competent but he seems to want to be into equity and inclusiveness (to all groups/genders, etc.) so much that he totally forgot about biology… and women (as per the article above, using the term “people who menstruate”).

With all due respect, he sounds absurd (if not silly), even he may have intended to be welcoming to all whilst being keen about menstrual hygiene.

Mind you, why should we have a day for every single matter in life OR every single group, whether the latter considers itself “a marginalized community” or not?

Why do we always have to think in terms of victimhood? What about pride/dignity in life? What about joy or free will, etc.?

Most importantly, what about biology?! Once again, we seem to deny it when we push our illuminated ideas a bit too much.

In the end, declaring a day for this or that will become like Saint days; there is one for each to the point that it is hard to remember all of them, even if we know they are meant to be good folks (to whom some pray for protection or inspiration). In addition to these days, we also have an All Saints Day on November 1st. Perhaps not famous in North America as much as Halloween (the night before). It is still a big holiday in Europe and in Lebanon.

Talking about this day, does it mean we can take it off work to either celebrate it or to take care of oneself because of it? Or would that count now into the 10 paid days of sickness during the pandemic :)? If you think Bambi is exaggerating, Lebanon still has such a day off, if she is not mistaken.

Anyhow, menstruation day or not, Bambi prefers to think of May 28 as the Wedding Anniversary of her parents and the birthday of Ben, a friend who turned 2 today :)!

To conclude this post, below you can find an earlier post from Bambi on Mayor Valérie Plante:

As the Mayor of Canada’s most infected city, instead of fighting the coronavirus, Ms. Valérie Plante “attacks the supremacy of the masculine over the feminine in the French language”

May 28 is the wedding anniversary of Bambi’ parents (# 54).

How can she go to bed without highlighting this day?!

Congrats/”Mabrouk”! Bless your inspiring love.

Thank you for having shown Bambi (and her sisters) the greatest lesson in life: Love.

A love built on respect and trust. First comes the respect. The trust naturally follows.

Love that is pure.

Love that is flexible to go through discovery, passion, and friendship.

A lasting love to go through life stages and hardships, sometimes with humour.

Love that is solid to survive losses, wars, and pandemics.

Love that is human and simply simple. Yes, with ups and downs but also with wisdom and freedom. After all, love is a constant re-choice…   

Your love has been fruitful with children and grandchildren (despite any loss, along the way).

You always chose to move forward in life. You gave your children roots and wings. For this, Bambi will forever be grateful.

To end on a lighter note now, Bambi will never forget two moments from her trips, visiting you:

The first moment took place a few years ago. Bambi must have been jet-lagged and using her time to work on a project of some sort. Her dad was still awake, editing a family video. In doing so, he must have wanted to chose pictures for his artistic creation. At one point, Bambi saw him looking at her mom’s picture for a long time. He then took his head out of his screen to tell her: “Look at your mom Bambi… how beautiful she is!“. Indeed, her mom is a very beautiful woman and it is cute how her dad has remained a man in love after all these years ?.

The second memory is an older one. Bambi was in her early twenties. She recalls asking her mom on their wedding anniversary: “Mom, what is the secret of your long union, tell me?” Very wisely, her mom said something like: “Love is beautiful at all stages but I guess the key is to accept that it will change with time… Perhaps less of a passion and more of a deeper bond, like a life friend“. Well, Bambi must have been quite silly back then (let’s blame it on her young age ?) as she replied something like “well this is nice…but if this it, I refuse to accept it!“.

Well, after 17 years in love with her spouse, she is convinced that her mom is one of the wisest women she has met in her life!

To conclude this post, Bambi would like to offer you two songs: The first is one of the most beautiful love songs of all times and maybe languages (mom, you can guess it…). It is: “Ne me quitte pas” (of Mr. Jacques Brel) interpreted by Ms. Hiba Tawagi at a concert in Byblos, Lebanon (2015). Finally, the second song is lighter. It is also by Hiba Tawagi, “Les moulins de mon coeur” but in Arabic.

Thank you, mom and dad, for being whom you are and for raising us the way you did. Bambi loves you (are you surprised to hear it ??) Happy wedding anniversary!

Before translating this article, one must remember that any high amount of money is meaningless without purchasing power, as the citizens of Lebanon have been learning way before the start of the covid-19 pandemic.

Of course, it is both nice and necessary to have a helping hand from the state… However, all this money is borrowed, and we will have to pay for it in the future (us or likely the future generations of Canadians).  

Keeping this in mind, here is Mr. Dumont’s interesting article published today in the Journal de Montréal:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/05/27/des-milliards-qui-rapportent

Now, here is a quick English translation:

“Justin Trudeau’s popularity suffered at the start of the coronavirus crisis. He has been accused of overly lax decisions in border management and the quarantine of travelers.

Things have changed. Today, Justin Trudeau’s popularity is on a solid upward trend, in almost all parts of Canada.

In Québec, the recovery was particularly spectacular. This is where the grumbling against border management was heard most harshly. The rise of Mr. Trudeau and his party is therefore particularly remarkable.

The leader

If an election were held today, one might think that Justin Trudeau would win the most seats in Québec. And he would win a majority government across Canada.

Let’s do an exercise. Let us draw in our heads the popularity curve of Mr. Trudeau for three months. And let’s draw the curve of the billions spent for the same period. Sorry, tens of billions spent.

It’s still striking to see how these two curves would go together in perfect harmony. As if at the rate of these daily press briefings during which billions in aid were announced, the Prime Minister regained the hearts of voters.

No one will deny that government support was necessary. Emergency aid was needed so that households who lost their income could pay for groceries and rent. Lifebuoys were needed to prevent restaurants, shops, and other businesses from sinking.

So easy

That said, there is a growing impression over the weeks that Mr. Trudeau gives a lot of money, and quite easily. So easily that the incentive to go to work has gone out of the window. The CERB [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] for students is also criticized by small and medium businesses, farmers, municipalities, in short by all those who would like to hire students.

Throwing 100% borrowed money wholeheartedly, to the point of demotivating people to go to work, is not a great recipe. Justin Trudeau is severely criticized in economic circles for this.

But on the political level? To distribute money to everyone with very few conditions and restrictions. Did you think it no longer works? This is not what the pollsters seem to be measuring in the field.

A deficit of two hundred billion, two hundred and fifty? This could cool voters. But it looks like a deficit, even out of proportion, becomes less horrible if you have received checks yourself. This is the beauty of this money distributions signed by Justin Trudeau: there are not many forgotten.

This week, the Liberal Prime Minister killed two birds with one stone. He announced another generous piece of good news: ten days of paid leave for all! And at the same time, it is cutting the grass under the feet of the NDP [New Democratic Party], which was promoting this idea.

How much does it cost? Who pays? Secondary questions. Because politically… it will pay off!”

A judge of the Federal Court has accepted to fast-track Rebel News lawsuit against Mr. Justin Trudeau.

This is good news for democracy, regardless of the colour of our government and regardless of the name of our PM.

This is also encouraging as it shows that independent judges do exist.

Good luck for the July 13 hearing, regardless of the outcome.