USA-related post: If your sense of humour has been surgically removed, you may wish to stop reading or watching now!

Bambi would like to tell her American friends who are reading this post and who may be thrilled today (some others may not be overjoyed, mind you) that she is happy for their happiness. As usual, she wishes their beautiful country all the best!

Just to bring some sarcastic perspective here, she will share a video with them, hoping that they still have their evolutionary sense of humour :).

The day her friends (and herself) will lose their sense of humour Bambi would be seriously worried about not just America or Canada, but also about our whole world, including Lebanon!

Now, this being said, some of these American friends are actually of Lebanese origins, like Dr. Saad in the video below and herself. Thus, perhaps they can all say “Mabrouk” (or Congratulations!) to one of Mr. Trump’s daughters. It seems that she got engaged to her Lebanese-African boyfriend (i.e., a Lebanese expatriate from Lagos and they have been dating since 2018), according to Indian Media:

https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/trumps-youngest-daughter-announces-engagement-on-his-final-full-day-in-office/2013921

This is funny because when Bambi was in Beirut at Christmas 2019, a rumour circulated there that this engagement was about to take place. Some even invented a fake invitation to the wedding. People’s joke then was: “Wow! We have a “wasta” (connection or nepotism, in English; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasta) with Mr. Trump now. Maybe he will try harder to save Lebanon“.

The question now is: Do Mr./Dr. Biden have any Lebanese connection to compete with Mr. Trump at that level? That was a joke, in case you did not get it :).

Seriously, Mr. Trump’s adult children are married to people of all sort of background (Jewish-American, Lebanese-African, etc.). Himself he is a child of immigration, just like Ms. Kamala Harris (the new Vice-President). No media has ever put emphasis on this reality. Is it because it did not serve the acceptable narrative?

The reality is the following: Regardless of the President, and whether we admit it or not, the United States of America is one of the most welcoming countries in the world (like us in Canada)!

As Mr. Biden himself wisely said today, his country remains the land of “opportunities“. Think of it, you have children of immigration becoming Presidents, like Mr. Trump, and Vice-Presidents, like Mr. Harris. In how many countries of the world do you see that? Just for your information, Bambi’s own sisters (or herself) could never become Presidents of their own birth country because they are not of the right sectarian (or religious) group for this position.

It is Bambi’s hope that the increasing “racial socialism” we are dangerously observing in our world will never ever take us down the road of silly/unfair quotas like the above. According to Bambi, and based on her second life in the war-torn Lebanon, this would be moving backward in life, not forward (contrary to what we may think out of our excitement for what may look like social justice).

To come back to Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump. both politicians come from different worlds when it comes to their political visions for their country. Isn’t this amazing in and by itself?

This being said, Bambi hopes that our neighbours will truly integrate their opposing views, even if the are going from one political direction to the other. What matters is to keep moving forward as a civilization (regardless of the political choices). Bambi is saying this not just for them, but also for us here in Canada and in the free world (that Lebanon has always looked up to. Mind you, throughout their history, Lebanese people have aspired to be/remain free spirits!).

Perhaps a secret ingredient against civilizational suicide has been mentioned by Mr. Trump himself yesterday in his farewell speech. He used the term “to keep having faith in ourselves“. On that one, even if we are allergic to him, Mr. Trump was right: When a civilization stops believing in itself, you can eventually say good-bye to it. It does not take a genius to say so…

To conclude this post, perhaps this is precisely what keeps Lebanon alive, despite the chaos of the sinking boat and the despair of its people. Indeed, Lebanese citizens think highly of their country and of its myths (e.g., the cedars, the resilient phoenix bird, the east meeting the west, love of freedom, etc.). Above all, and in their own ways, the people of Lebanon love their country (like the Americans, they are patriotic). It is this love (and this pride) that no one can take away from you, despite any sexy ideologies that can lead to civil unrest, if people are not lucid enough (to avoid their own fanaticism, first and foremost, before criticizing the fanaticism of others).

So, the pandemic is over in the USA? Except for masks, in the inauguration of Mr. Biden and his Vice-President, we see people hugging each other and shaking hands even! Is this wise, despite the joy?

Congratulations to the USA for their new stage in history. Best Wishes too, but why aren’t we respecting the “ clear” “science” of public safety?

We even saw Mr. Obama fixing his mask more than once and then shacking people’s hands. Bambi got worried about him…

Perhaps people are simply too happy that they forgot about their own safety and the safety of the rest of the population!

Or is this like the “peaceful” demonstrations of last summer that were not a public health hazard :)?

Hilarious: Thanks Dr. and Ms. Saad for your sense of humour

Humour is always refreshing, regardless of the politician(s) or country in question (USA, Canada, or Lebanon… or other).

Humour is also a form of healthy communication in our Orwellian times of black and white thinking… as well in times of civil wars.

If we lose our sense of humour, we are doomed.

Reality is never all white or all black. There are shades. There are also nuances.

Lebanon has been torn like the USA between opposing views for many years, called March 14 and March 8, if Bambi recalls well. Perhaps these two visions do not exist or are diluted in the multiple crises of this tiny bankrupt but eternal country.

Well, Bambi vividly recalls how a good friend asked her when she was in Toronto if she is with this or that view. She replied, in all honesty, I think there is merit here and there. I may have more sympathy for one view versus the other, but it does not mean the other side is not important to part of the Lebanese population or does not have any merit.

The friend said something like you cannot say that. You have to clearly take a position (for this friend, the so-called March 8 was the good vision for Lebanon and the other view was the “evil” one, to use a word said by Ms. Saad). Well, she replied that she does not agree, even if she has her own preference maybe (which was not shared by her friend). She added something like the challenge of Lebanon is maybe to know how to integrate both visions in order to unite and move forward. She explained that, for her, not taking a side is actually a position in itself. The friend seemed to have trouble accepting this whereas she refused to see evil in those supporting the other view.

They ended up joking about all this and changed the topic (despite the seriousness of the tragedies there from the assassination of the Former Prime Minister Hariri, along with innocent citizens, and all the killing of those from the March 14 side).

To conclude this post and come back to the American context, thanks for the joke Dr. Saad and for your spouse for participating in this video.

Politicians are getting sillier in front of our citizen eyes…

Today, the Chief of the Conservative party, Mr. O’Toole, expelled one of its members (called Mr. Derek Sloan) because he received a donation from a so-called Nazi or a so-called white supremacist (at least according to the mainstream media… so not too sure, if this is in the true sense).

Mmm, it turned out that the headquarters of the Conservative party itself also received a donation from the same source ? ?.

What does this tell us?

  1. How can you tell the sympathy of each donor? Is this realistically possible? Some funders may be extremists on this side and others extremists on another side.
  2. Will Mr. O’Toole fire himself from his party now? Or cancel it altogether? ?.
  3. The game of political correctness or identity politics or wokeness is a dangerous game. It is like playing with fire. One day, the fire can burn the person playing with it. So, why is Mr. O’Toole playing the same game as his opponent, Mr. Trudeau, and many others like Mr. Singh and politicians abroad too.

As far as Bambi is concerned, she is sick and tired of all politicians, even if some are decent, thankfully. Without being unfair to the latter, perhaps she is fed up specifically of those two big parties fighting each other for power by pretending to be like each other (perhaps they are the two sides of the same coin of silliness in reality?). Some other politicians are not hesitating one second in showing their authoritarian or hypocritical side in the pandemic. However, the latter would be topic of another post.

Bambi has more respect for Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (even if she does not agree with him on one or two points or visions. She appreciates that the Bloc is playing the role of an authentic and clever opposition), Mr. Maxime Bernier who is not in Ottawa now (she agrees with him on several issues especially the vision of the unity of Canada and the economics, namely a smaller and more efficient government… BUT not all issues at all times), and for the Green party (not her favourite party to vote for, as she is more to the centre of socialism or environmentalism, but she highly respects its REAL green concerns and thanks them!). Of course, Bambi has the utmost respect for Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould, an independent MP. What these politicians have in common is their clear positions for what they stand up for. It is up to us the voters to decide whose platform makes the most sense at a particular time in history.

Talking about history or the past that won’t come back, needless to say that Bambi has respect for the former NDP leaders (Mr. Layton who left us too early and Mr. Thomas Mulcair, a man of integrity and deep thinking).

Sadly, in Bambi’s opinion, what we are increasingly witnessing is men and women pretending to be whom they are not and… accusing others of being racist, as a political weapon or if they do not agree with them. The racist card is thus used lightly and in bad faith to symbolically kill/cancel the competition. Sometimes they use the card of sexual harassment in such a politically nasty way. Bambi knows politicians who did that, here and abroad. When she sees that, this upsets her because the REAL victims of abuse/rape no one cares for them :(.

To conclude this post, where are the political convictions in life? Where are the authentic debates of ideas? Where are the values and vision for our country? Why does everything seem to be about winning votes only? Is all this only for the sake of power and its benefits, etc.?

When will we have smart media (not propaganda) again?

Bambi loves kids, snowmen, sneakers, socks, nieces, and dogs… However, she does not care to read media articles about any of the following:

Mr. Trudeau’s cute kids and their snowman:

https://www.narcity.com/en-ca/people/ottawa/justin-trudeaus-family-got-out-in-the-snow-finally-made-a-snowman-photo

Ms. Harris’ charming sneakers, shoes… or even niece:

https://nypost.com/2021/01/16/video-of-kamala-harris-socks-goes-viral-on-tiktok/

https://www.oprahmag.com/style/a34438196/kamala-harris-converse-sneakers-shoes/

https://www.insider.com/kamala-harris-wore-the-future-is-female-socks-2021-1

and Mr. Biden’s beautiful dog:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/01/17/joe-biden-dog-major-honored-indoguration-josh-groban-performs/4200826001/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/10/us/major-biden-first-shelter-dog-indoguration/index.html

She does not know about you, but she prefers to read about their politics, hoping it will be substantial.

Following the Beirut blast, Lebanon received donations of at least five field hospitals, including two from Qatar. Despite the catastrophic pandemic, it is only yesterday that authorities accepted to build them!

According to a report entitled “Covid-19 emergency appeal Lebanon” (May, 2020) prepared by the UN an its partners in Lebanon, the Lebanese public sector has only 140 ICU beds, while 300 beds would be availed by the Lebanese private sector. Furthermore, “additional funds are needed to procure the needed equipment to ensure a capacity of 700 ICU beds”.

Today, January 18, 2021, there were 750 Covid-19 patients in the ICU and sadly 59 people died from this illness in the past 24 hours.

A tweet by l’Orient Today (English edition of the l’Orient Le Jour)

Yesterday night, before going to sleep, Bambi watched the MTV News, with tears in her eyes. Indeed, Lebanon’s Covid-19 health-crisis is devastating to its healthcare system, to say the least. If current or new inpatients need to use an ICU bed for reasons not related to Covid19, what will happen to them?

Keep in mind that many of Beirut hospitals were destroyed during the blast. One must also remember the financial crisis that has been going on since October 2019.

As a result, many private hospitals are facing shortages and are not receiving arrears from the government, which is officially bankrupt. OK, corrupt and bankrupt… or bankrupt and corrupt. Who cares in which order now?!

In the middle of this tragic crisis, there is a lockdown with a severe curfew (following more loose times during the holidays) in the hope of delaying the spread of the coronavirus and alleviating the pressure on the healthcare system.

It is in the middle of this chaos, again in a country where corrupt minds can bring ammonium nitrate, resort to Ponzi schemes, or even build buildings without any protection from earthquakes, that Bambi will share with you the following story: Resourceful yet exhausted healthcare providers at a Beirut hospital (called the Rizk Hospital) started rapidly building extra patient rooms in freight containers to welcome arriving Covid-19-patients lacking oxygen (and risking death!). Well guess what happened? A group of police officers came to stop them. Guess why?! Because they did not have a construction permit from the municipality!! Should we cry or laugh to this absurdity?! Did the country’s authorities ask citizens for the permission to destroy their city? Here we have citizens saving lives! The least their country can do is to thank them, especially that Lebanon’s sectors have been collapsing, one after the other (banking, health, political, etc.). Well, thank Goodness, with the pressure of the media and social media outcry, the authorities came to their senses at the end of the day. This quick construction continued.  

A tweet of an Agence France Presse (AFP) journalist, Mr. Jean-Marc Mojon about the Hôtel Dieu de France Hospital in Beirut, as re-shared by his colleague, Ms. Roula Douglas (from l’Orient Le Jour)

Now, to come back to the donations of field hospitals, just five days following the Beirut blast on August 4, 2020, countries around the world, some poor ones, and foundations rallied to help Lebanon. At least three of them sent field hospitals, including Qatar (2), Russia (1), Iran (1), Jordan (1), and the Philips Foundation (1). This in addition to medical equipment from around the world, including poor countries:

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-08-09/factbox-countries-rally-round-lebanon-after-beirut-blast

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200806-lebanon-receives-4-field-hospitals-following-beirut-explosion/

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/08/06/qatar-sends-field-hospitals-to-lebanon.html

https://www.philips-foundation.com/a-w/articles/beirut-explosion-response.html

Thanks to all the generous donators. Most likely, some of the medical equipment may have been used, as needed and bravo for that. However, for unknown reasons to the population, the two field hospitals from Qatar remained stored for over 5 months, despite the crying need!!

Luckily, and finally, Lebanese officials, once again came back to their senses… but after five full months. They finally gave their approval to build those field hospitals:

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/278572

Was their motivation not to do so sectarian? Perhaps not agreeing on which part of the country to place it in or which part of the population to serve? Was their reason corruption-related (God knows how their shenanigans work)? Or was it just a mere mismanagement or… stupidity?

As usual, the Lebanese population will never officially know the motivation underlying the fiasco.

So, Mr. Biden/Ms. Harris et al., do the Iranian regime actions look “peaceful”, climate-friendly, and economically fair to the starving Iranian people? How do their actions foster peace in Lebanon and the whole Middle East?

We learned yesterday from Israeli media that Mr. Biden’s administration team is already negotiating with Iran:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-biden-team-already-holding-talks-with-iran-on-us-return-to-nuclear-deal/

We learned from the Canadian, American, and Iranian media the following about Iran:

This “peaceful” country is “asking UN watchdog to stop publishing unnecessary details about nuclear program“.

It is also demanding the following: “Biden must unconditionally return to JCPOA“.

How will Biden et al. address this political and military intimidation? Bambi is curious.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-17/iran-asks-watchdog-not-to-publish-unnecessary-nuke-details

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457044/Biden-must-unconditionally-return-to-JCPOA-senior-MP

Montreal is a francophone city. Yet a 2021 promotional video of the “Club de Foot de Montréal” [Montreal soccer club] is presented in the following order of languages: Mohawk, English… and LAST in French. If such “wokeness” is not collective insanity, what is it?

The first article of the charter of the Ville de Montréal states the following (http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fr/ShowDoc/cs/C-11.4):

“1. Est constituée la Ville de Montréal. Montréal est une ville de langue française.Montréal est la métropole du Québec et un de ses principaux acteurs en matière de développement économique”.

This means: “A city is hereby constituted under the name “Ville de Montréal” . Montréal is a French-speaking city.Montréal is the metropolis of Québec and one of its key actors as regards economic development”.

What is the purpose of all these initiatives, like this one, and who is funding them?

Is the ultimate point of such initiatives to diminish the French language in Québec?

https://ne-np.facebook.com/ClubdeFootMTL/videos/2815332848739433/

Can Mr. Trudeau clarify if “he helped China to cover-up origin of Coronavirus at inception of the outbreak”, as reported by an Indian media, citing “a Canadian portal quoting military document”?


Mmm, Mr. Trudeau, how can you explain this article/video to us… ideally without accusing this journalist or the Canadian military leaking the information to him of using a “coded language“, as you did with Mr. Blanchet (when he raised questions about one of your new Ministers)?

Why did the army cut the quarantine time of our soldiers upon their arrival home sick (from Wuhan), even sending them to their homes across the country?

And why didn’t we test them for the coronavirus, as they requested?

Why didn’t you tell us about all this then?

Why isn’t the CBC telling us about this? Or the other mainstream media? Why should we read the news about Canada from a foreign country (India)?

Is this normal? Or did our media become too dependent on the Government (to the point of becoming its voice)?

Mr. Trudeau, are we in Canada or in Qatar where the media (e.g., Al Jazeera, etc.) are allowed to criticize the whole world… but not their authorities?

Is Mr. Trudeau telling us that we cannot call Islamism Islamism anymore?

Should we laugh or cry at Mr. Trudeau’s childish yet dangerous attempt at demagogy?

Mr. Trudeau is now telling us that Mr. Yves-François Blanchet is using a “coded language” about his Minister of Transportation, Mr. Alghabra ? (for the record, please read Bambi’s latest post about the topic).

He is now pretending that Mr. Blanchet incited hate by just raising questions about the past political positions or sympathies of Mr. Alghabra?

Is Twitter going to remove Mr. Blanchet from its platform now?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/omar-alghabra-minister-bloc-blanchet-trudeau-1.5875222

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1763495/remaniement-conseil-ministres-omar-alghabra-bloc-quebecois-bq-yfb

Please give us a break, Mr. Trudeau and stop using what happened in the United States to censor your clever opposition further and further.

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-trudeau-wants-to-turn-back-clock-on-free-speech

Why do you seem to be modelling their (totalitarian) methods?

Don’t you trust yourself/governance enough to think that you can/deserve to win the next elections without resorting to dirty political games?  

Oups, soon with the new regulations, our elected members of Parliament or citizens, like Bambi cannot criticize our government anymore because this could be called “online hate speech” ?/☹:

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-trudeau-wants-to-turn-back-clock-on-free-speech

By the way, who gets to decide what is hateful in your new policy?

And didn’t we already have laws to protect citizens from hate speech (the real one, Bambi means)? So, why all this now?

How ironic it would be when Bambi can continue to criticize the government of her birth country or Islamism there, but… not her Canadian government or Islamism here.

Isn’t our world becoming increasingly upside down?

——