Author: Bambi

Have you ever been to or heard of Clair? Well, it is a charming small village in upper Madawaska in New Brunswick (https://rb.gy/k5npg).

Bambi has an older post on this region and on the fascinating culture of the Brayon.

Now back to Clair, more specifically, it is located on the Saint John River opposite to the Maine, USA (Fort Kent). If the information on Wikipedia (https://rb.gy/c8kgk) is accurate, it seems that the name of this village is in honour of the County Clare in Ireland while being related to the location of a railroad station near Mr. Jame T. Clair’s General store. Cute, isn’t it?

Bearing the above in mind, here is a spectacular picture taken by Gina from her balcony. Check the colours of the sky, the trees, the mountains, and those houses with their breathtaking view. Bambi is now hoping she can find a puzzle with such a peaceful scene. Who knows? Maybe it exists. She will keep her eyes open in stores :).

To end this brief post with a matching music, here is Fairouz’ Arabic song entitled by “My Little House in Canada” [“Bayti El Zghir Bi Kanada” in Lebanese-Arabic]!

—

NB, Canada: Bambi’s new discovery is called “Brayon”!

Bambi had a virtual meeting, at the end of the day. While waiting for all the others to arrive and instead of chatting about the weather (as we usually do in Canada), someone informed her of the SAD news of the death of Ms. Tina Turner!

Yes, Tina Turner, this GREAT LADY who is loved by so many humans, and even deer, died today. She does not know about you, but Bambi finds it hard to imagine her dead after having “electrified” us for “decades“, to use the words of Agence France-Presse via France 24 (https://t.ly/sV8aK). However, with or without offering us electrical emotions, Rock legends do die too… like the rest of us. It is called life and we are all heading to that same place called death, which is part of it. Today, it was Ms. Turner’s time to leave our world at age 83. May she rest in peace and may her memory be eternal.

As per Tina Turner’s famous song “What’s Love Got to Do with It“, “who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?”. Today, the hearts of Ms. Turner’s fans around the world are broken. Thankfully, her uniquely powerful music is her love legacy to all of them. And love transcends death… at least, it is Bambi’s personal conviction in life. And even if love is not that powerful, Ms. Turner’s highly energetic love legacy will surely contribute to heal the wounds of not just broken hearts, but of also aching minds. This being said, and if she may, Bambi would like to end this tribute by sending her heart to Ms. Turner’s children and the rest of her family. May God know how to comfort their aching and broken hearts throughout their grief journey.

Bambi woke up to Mr. Joe Dassin’s song “Et si tu n’existait pas” [And if you didn’t exist] playing on the radio both yesterday and this morning (sung by different singers). This motivated her to quickly search for Dassin’s songs on YouTube for fun.

This is how she came across Mr. Julien Dassin singing the late Joe Dassin. Yes, his own dad. How moving if we stop and think about it. Below, Bambi will share some of these songs, hoping you will also enjoy them, even if you do not understand French. Obviously, the singing talent runs in the Dassin’s family.

Talking about family, Bambi will always remember the shocking moment when her own family and herself (as a child) learned about the sudden death of Mr. Joe Dassin on August 20, 1980.

Forty-three years later, Dassin is more alive than ever, thanks to all the great artists who have honoured his memory and spoiled our ears. Mr. Julien Dassin is one of these talented artists. Of course, he is not any one of them. He is the beloved son who is paying a tribute to his late dad, sadly gone too soon. He is keeping the latter’s legacy fully vivid decades after his loss.

Bravo, Mr. Julien Dassin, for allowing us to enjoy an incredible present musical moment while time travelling to our childhood. Your loss has been the world’s loss too. Thankfully, your tribute to your dad is also our own indirect tribute to his eternal memory.

Bambi adores Mr. Georges Moustaki (https://tinyurl.com/dz76s7cd). She often shares his music on her blog, especially his wonderful and thoughtful song “Ma liberté” [My Liberty]. Of course, he has many more beautiful melodies that Bambi enjoys listening to [and singing with :)] while driving. Some are featured below, with English sub-titles for your convenience. Thank you, Mr. Moustaki for having existed. May your memory be eternal, today more than ever ❤️!

To begin with, a few weeks ago, the phone rang in Bambi’s office. It was a very competent and nice lady calling from her Alma Mater in Montreal asking for donations. Bambi listened carefully to the description of what looks like an outstanding graduate program. Before agreeing to encourage it and support students, she asked the lady the following: “May I ask you a non-politically correct question?” After a positive answer, she asked whether this program is as described. She meant based on scientific criteria and strictly on the trainees’ merit; in other terms without any identity-based contamination by what is commonly called DEI or “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”? She was assured that it is not. Thus, she made a donation, which will be repeated yearly for the next three years; with a possibility of suspension, if needed. Bambi will keep tracking this program to ensure that it will not change its mission by becoming obsessed with identity (race, gender, religion, etc.). Bravo to her Alma Mater for this wonderful Master’s Program and the future graduate students who will benefit from it. Bambi is honoured to contribute her support!

Bearing the above in mind, this week a dear friend informed Bambi of a courageous decision by an American Politician, called Mr. DeSantis, to defund DEI programs at Florida public colleges. Bambi thought to herself: wow, never heard of this politician before, but he seems like her hero now (https://rb.gy/88rgv), given her shared concern.

Unfortunately, the obsession with identity is widespread, beyond North America. Just take a look at the first eligibility criterion (in bold below) used by the “Stuart Ross Communications Internship” in the UK, thanks to Louis for sharing (https://rb.gy/xmj0g):

“What you’ll need

• You must be of Black, Asian and minority ethnic background, defined as having some African, Afro-Caribbean, Asian or other non-white heritage
• Either an undergraduate or recent graduate on track to receive, or have already achieved, a 2:2 in any degree
• Or be a non-graduate with no more than one year’s paid experience in the communications industry such as public relations, public affairs, marketing, stakeholder engagement, media, or other related fields”.

If the first criterion shown above is not racism, what is it then? And why should it matter in a bursary program meant to “learn the essential skills you need to start your career in industries like public relations, public affairs or marketing environment“?

This program, which lasts “11 months” (“a bursary of £21,824 (reviewed in line with London Living Wage)“], looks excellent otherwise, if we exclude the first race-based discrimination against potential candidates of so-called “white heritage“. Indeed, the program is tailored to all the groups described in the list above, which ends the terms “or other non-white heritage“. The salary [“a bursary of £21,824 (reviewed in line with London Living Wage)“].

Of note, it is precisely programs like the “Stuart Ross Communications Internship” that Bambi wanted to make sure she is not financing and thus encouraging. When will go back to what matters the most in education and in business (or scientific or artistic) training: MERIT, period?!

Related to the above, what message are we giving to those described as being “with a non-white heritage“? They are not clever enough to compete? And what about those who are of so-called “white heritage“? They are not welcome?

Again, why are we resorting to identity-politics in education and in business training, even if the underlying motivation may be truly noble (i.e. wanting to be more “inclusive”… maybe with some, but sadly while “excluding” others). Bambi is against such divisive language in scholarships, regardless of the target group which is being excluded. It is a question of principle: Identity politics does not have its place in bursaries. Despite any apparent good intention, such discriminatory initiatives can eventually create social and industrial tensions. Why are we playing with the fire?

As shared further below, Bambi has an older post about the lovely balcony of her mom and dad. Today, she would like to thank her dad for sharing two beautiful pictures of their balcony in Beirut, Lebanon. Bravo for her mom’s green thumb!

If Bambi is not mistaken, the flower featured in the pictures seems to be a rose. However, she is absolutely not knowledgeable and talented in gardening like her mother. If she is wrong, she urges you to please correct her.

As for her parents, she will tell them bravo for contributing to make their beautiful green residential neighbourhood more beautiful. During daytime, birds visit their lovely balcony. At night, a pregnant wild cat comes to sleep on one of their comfortable chairs. She seems to enjoy her “free-of-charge hotel“, as they joke.

Assuming that the picture’s beauty is truly called a rose, Bambi will end this brief post with two songs: (1) the first Arabic melody (with English sub-titles) celebrates a woman’s love for roses; and (2) the second song celebrates “Life in Pink” [“La vie en rose“]. Yes, this is the state of mind, or spirit, when we live with a positive outlook on life. We are happy and we appreciate daily beauty around us. This is similar to how we feel when we (first) fall in love. It is called seeing life through rose-coloured glasses [“voir la vie en rose”], as per Ms. Edith Piaf’s eternal song.

Whether your favourite flower is a rose or not, Bambi wishes you happiness, hoping that your inner well-being will bloom like a flower to shine externally, all around you.

—

Beirut: A new government, a balcony, and a song

In life, a few of us are blessed with beautiful voices. Thankfully, the rest of us have ears to appreciate their talents. Regardless, whether done accurately, nicely, or not at all (like frogs, including Bambi), we can all sing; of course, if we like it.

Indeed, some people sing spontaneously, like little kids; often out of joy or when listening to songs. Yet others sing more professionally to earn a living while making many others happy. Some sing or whistle out of fear. Some sing for fun while driving or in the shower. Others put kids [or even themselves :)] to sleep with songs. Some sing their feelings to their loved ones and make their hearts melt. Of course, we can sing in spiritual services for our deceased loved ones (hello dear “tante” Renée on your 40-day-memorial today). Of course, thankfully, we can sing a little prayer for them in our homes from far away. Yes, there are too many reasons to sing for life, on earth or eternal, and for love and friendship. Just like those talented “Kids United, Lou, Nemo Schiffman, Angie Robba, Dylan, Ilyana, Thibault” singing Mr. Michel Sardou’s beautiful “En Chantant” [Singing] song.

This older French song starts with the following words: “When I was a little boy, I went over my lessons while singing. And many years later I chased away my dark thoughts singing. It’s much less worrisome to talk about the bad weather while singing. And it’s so much cuter to be treated like a jerk in songs” [Quand j’étais petit garçon, je repassais mes leçons en chantant. Et bien des années plus tard, Je chassais mes idées noires en chantant. C’est beaucoup moins inquiétant de parler du mauvais temps en chantant. Et c’est tellement plus mignon de se faire traiter de con en chanson.”].

Of note, in this melody’s lyrics, there is one meaningful sentence that goes like this:”Life is more fun, it’s less depressing while singing” [“La vie c’est plus marrant, c’est moins déprimant en chantant“]. Indeed, singing helps us release more endorphins (our brains’ natural pain relievers) and oxytocin (with its main function of facilitating childbirth. There is a reason it has been called the “love hormone“). Singing can be a natural anti-depressant, which may reduce feelings of loneliness. Solo and especially group singing leave people feeling not just relaxed and happy, but also connected (https://bit.ly/3MLw1uj).

Bearing the above in mind, with or without singing, may you all have a good day. If your day is not the most joyful, at least it will end and tomorrow is a new start. Regardless of a specific day in the larger scheme of life, Bambi wishes you peace of mind, fun, and love… Yes, from self-love and self-respect to love/respect for others, big L, small L if this is what you wish, and to love in all its colours and shapes.

Outremont is a fancy residential borough of Montreal in Québec, Canada. Bambi learned today from TVA Nouvelles the following: A leaflet, which was distributed in Outremont, suggests having one fewer child to fight climate change. According to the this leaflet, the latter action would be the one with the greatest impact, far ahead of not having a car, taking one less transatlantic flight, and dropping meat from diet (https://bit.ly/3OohNAR) .

Thank Goodness Bambi does not live in Outremont to receive such leaflet at her home :). In her mind, deciding to have children or not is a personal (or familial) choice. No level of governance has the right to enter people’s sexual intimacy to guilt them about their life choices. Indeed, citizens are supposed to be free to decide to have kids or not and as many as they wish. This is a strictly personal decision, whether the protection of the environment is part of the motivation to reproduce or not.Thank Goodness, Mayor Laurent Desbois had enough common sense to order the suspension of the distribution of this leaflet, which was printed in 9000 copies. The operation of distribution began at the start of the week and stopped on Wednesday (https://bit.ly/3OohNAR).

Below, you can find a thoughtful tweet by Dr. Mathieu Bock-Côté about this topic. He wrote: “On one hand, we invite people to have one child less to save the planet. On the other hand, we advocate for increasing the levels of immigration. Am I wrong or something does not add up in the dominant ideology?” Dr. Bock-Côté has a logical point here. Indeed, newcomers to Canada from other cultural backgrounds tend to have more children. Of note, Canada’s fertility rate, which was 1.47 children per woman in 2019, was only 1.40 children per woman in 2020 (https://bit.ly/3MK58a9).

To conclude this post in music, Bambi will end with a French-Canadian song she likes. It is entitled “Dégénerations” and it is by a group called Mes Aïeux. Of note, the clever title of the song is a word game meaning both The Generations and Degeneration. For your convenience, the melody is subtitled in English and it was featured in an older post, shown further below. It partly tells us the story of how Québec’s women went, across generations, from having 12 kids (14 as per the melody) to none. Isn’t it a bit ironic to now encourage women to give birth to one child less to save our planet?

—

Do you know the Mes Aïeux’ French-Canadian song called “Dégénérations”?

This short video is a heart-breaking documentary on the Lebanese economic tragedy. Thank you Channel 4 News for shedding light on the suffering of a father and his son.

Indeed, the father’s tears, along with his son’s reported past suicide attempt, speak volumes about the current despair of the Lebanese people. When will systemic corruption end in Lebanon?

In Canada, we have bills that allow us to die with dignity, if we wish (thankfully). In contrast, Lebanese people are deprived of their right to just live with dignity. To end this post with music, one song comes to Bambi’s mind now. It’s Mr. Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, in an acapella version in both English and Arabic (shared earlier). May God save Bambi’s birth country from its endemic corruption and comfort its sweet people.

—

A NOTE TO THIS BLOG’S READERS

Bambi would like to: (1) apologize for the technical crash of her blog; (2) thank her IT hero, Louis Béliveau, for working days AND nights (from far away) to resuscitate her host server; and (3) express her gratitude to those who touched base to inquire about the blog and to share the shocking news, along with their respect for Dr. Bastien. They know how often Bambi translated his thoughtful columns on her blog or cited his work. Some know how humbled and honoured she has been by his humanity, compassion, and incredible support during her censorship ordeal. Indeed, her life has been enriched by his presence and support. Today, she considers that she lost a friend as well as a brother in arms (i.e., pencils, she means) with regard to the fight for the shared values of freedom of expression-academic freedom, critical judgment, and reason in our world, regardless of our passions or preferences.

Of course, Dr. Bastien and Bambi also share a deep love for Québec, namely the respect for its own societal choices, including Bill 21 on secularism. There is a reason that Bambi earned the title of “Ambassador of Québec” by a faithful reader and friend (hello Fred Klein). What an honour for her, along with her passion for Canada. If anyone deserves such a noble title or the title of Honorary Prime Minister of Québec, it is Dr. Frédéric Bastien! Indeed, Bambi has the utmost respect for Dr. Bastien’s love, deep convictions, and dream/vision for his/our Belle Province (embracing this vision or not is secondary, today more than ever).

—

INTRODUCTION TO THE TRIBUTE

Bearing the above in mind, it is now time to start Dr. Bastien’s official tribute. Bambi’s challenge is to find meaningful words to express her sorrow along with her high respect, appreciation, and even admiration. She wants to describe him to you, dear readers, who do not know him. For her, he is not just an inspiring public figure-aspiring politician, historian, and columnist for the Journal de Montréal. She has been proud to consider him as a friend (“un ami”), now sadly a late one, during and following her censorship saga. The last time she exchanged emails with him was February 27, 2023. Thus, this tribute is perhaps the toughest one she has written thus far, given the striking impact of his sudden death on her and on all of us. Yes, like lightening!

Indeed, Bambi began writing her tribute in the middle of the night when she had trouble falling asleep after reading the shocking news first in La Presse. Then confirmed in the Journal de Montréal, and all the media of Québec, the rest Canada, and even abroad (https://bit.ly/3Inh5jw; https://bit.ly/3MdNHNR). She continued completing this tribute the following day. One thing is clear in her mind: Dr. Bastien’s death is a HUGE loss for Québec, Canada, and the entire world. He was a voice of reason and rigour; both essential to fight obscurantism.

DR. BASTIEN’S BIO (DAWSON COLLEGE, MONTREAL, QUÉBEC)  

Dr. Bastien earned a PhD in History and International Politics from the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales in Geneva, Switzerland.

His own bio reads as follows: “He is the author of two books on Paris-Québec-Ottawa relations since the Quiet Revolution. Recently his scholarship focuses on the repatriation of the Constitution of 1982. Most recently, Dr. Bastien has published “La Bataille de Londres” (“The Battle of London: Trudeau, Thatcher, and the Fight for Canada’s Constitution“), a monograph focusing on the role of the Supreme Court of Canada in the repatriation of the constitution” (https://bit.ly/3Wef7HP).

A TRIBUTE TO DR. BASTIEN

Three days ago, journalist and sister Roula Azar-Douglas wrote from out of Beirut the following deep thought, which Bambi will translate from French as follows: “Only change is permanent. In one fraction of a second, our world can turn upside down”.

Bambi knows the above fact of life so well… yet she is totally SPEECHLESS.

She has no words, only tears tonight.

A candle is burning now in Bambi’s kitchen for you “cher Monsieur Frédéric Bastien” [Dear Dr. Frédéric Bastien].

Both her heart and soul go to your wife, Ms. Marie-Eve Lépine, and your “three children aged 11, 13, and 15”. It seems that it is your wife who found you dead (likely “struck down by a heart attack”), following a stationary bike workout (https://bit.ly/3MdNHNR). Bambi cannot even dare to imagine this CRUEL scene. She is praying that God will know how to comfort your wife’s heart. It is surreal that, not even 48 hours prior to this tragedy, Ms. Lépine and her family were celebrating Mothers’ Day and then she discovers the love of her life and father of her children lifeless. Life is truly too short sometimes and highly fragile.

Regardless of the fragility of life, Bambi also prays for your kids wishing them all the courage of the world.

She sends her love to your parents (if still alive). Hard to find words for them. She also wishes them lots of courage.

Same solidarity with the rest of your extended family, friends, students/mentees, colleagues (both journalists, fellow historians, all faculty members at Dawson College), readers (of books, columns at the Journal de Montréal, and your own social media posts), fans (deer and humans), followers, political allies (and opponents), fellow Québec and Canadian citizens, and citizens of all the beautiful places you visited or lived in, including but not limited to New Brunswick, the rest of Canada, Switzerland, and the Middle East.

Dr. Bastien, you will be missed greatly by Bambi, more than you think. She will refrain from saying, as she always does, “May your memory be eternal” now. Instead, she will promise you publicly (in front of all this post’s readers) and not just in her prayer, the following: she will keep your memory alive. She will do so on her blog and in her own drive to keep denouncing the dangers of identity politics (and its resulting divisiveness). Sadly, our politicians and elites are playing with its fire, which could eventually harm us all, including them.  

Bambi will always remember how you used to kindly inquire about her situation during her seven months of suspension from work without pay. At one point, you even generously offered her your own platform to tell her story, communicate with your online audience, and thank the men and women of Québec who are so dear to her heart. They represent an integral facet of her rich identity or individuality (“identité multiple” in French). Indeed, Bambi’s Canadian adventure began thirty-three years ago in Québec where she lived for 15 wonderful years.

To come back to her past saga of censorship, you expressed joy when you learned about her Go Fund Me Campaign, which allowed her to cover the fees of her outstanding lawyer. You also kindly expressed that her first public interview, which was with the famous Dr. Jordan Peterson, was an important strategic move as it brought visibility to her surreal case (serving both her fundraising campaign and her fight for her right to academic freedom- freedom of expression). Pragmatically, you added that if it does not help, it cannot harm. Bambi remains full of gratitude for the kind hand that Dr. Peterson extended to her.

Last but not least, Bambi is also grateful for your invitations and encouragements, earlier and even more recently, to publish columns in French.

Clearly, it is in difficult times in life that we appreciate every gesture of kindness and solidarity. From the bottom of her heart, Bambi thanks you for your humanity, Dr. Bastien, along with everyone who supported her through you.

This being said, we live in odd times, which Bambi often calls “our collectively insane times”. Yes, strange times where Canada’s diplomacy, whether we agree with it or not, is considered as war criminality, patriotism as fanatism, respect for and love of a country’s (or province’s) flag as hate, expression of either a slightly different or an alternative opinion as encouragement of the following: colonization, systemic racism, rape culture, domestic, and sexual violence. Big words like these sound like empty slogans to Bambi’s ears when used to intimidate those we do not agree with.

Thankfully, there are courageous people like Dr. Bastien who remain rigorous despite their clear political convictions (ie., a dream of a country called Québec), open to others despite his criticism of the excesses of wokeism and Islamism (or any other word ending with “ism”). Yes, like multiculturalism, which seems to be unable or unwilling to question its limitations (like any approach in life) or possible slippery slopes. Bambi is saying so thinking of how Mr. Trudeau’s rather excessive conception of multiculturalism seems to lend itself more to identity-based movements like wokeism, than other cultural approaches to secularism, for instance. Of course, this is not to say that alternative cultural approaches, including those chosen by Québec for itself, cannot also become excessive in different ways.

Anyhow, regardless, Bambi does not know if you are like her. She has the utmost respect for principled politicians/scholars with integrity. It does not really matter where they stand on a any political spectrum so long as they have genuine convictions and rigour in their work. Indeed, the latter is how she will always remember you, Dr. Bastien. “Merci du fond du coeur”. Yes, thank you from the bottom of her heart!

To conclude this tribute in music, Bambi will end with a famous love song for Québec and a prayer meant for you today, “cher Monsieur Frédéric Bastien”. May you rest in peace… and good-bye now. May you always watch over your family in invisible yet concrete ways. May your inspiring legacy and rigour, along with the memory of your humanity, be eternal.