Category: Sackville’s Memorial park

First, here is an article in the CBC entitled “Canadian business leaders launch national initiative to fight anti-Black systemic racism”:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/anti-racism-bay-st-1.5647583

Second, here is the organization mentioned in it:

https://www.blacknorth.ca/Home

The “BlackNorth Initiative”: The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism is inviting senior leaders from the top 250 TSX companies, over 100 of the biggest private businesses in Canada, major banks, insurance companies, international companies who have a significant presence in Canada, and the largest asset managers and institutional investors in the nation, to take part in the inaugural BlackNorth Initiative Summit to be held virtually on July 20, 2020”.

“At the summit, leaders will be asked to sign a CEO Pledge and deliver a statement regarding what their organization will do to combat the issue and to make our society at large free from anti-Black systemic racism.”

Look at the pledge below— Bambi will reply to each point (see the bold lines).

The BlackNorth Initiative CEO Pledge, available online, asks CEOs to commit to seven goals:

1. We will increase our efforts to make our workplaces trusting places to have complex, and sometimes difficult conversations about anti-Black systemic racism and ensure that no barriers exist to prevent Black employees from advancing within the company.

What is this BS? Who invented it and where does it come from? Companies are supposed to be about excellence and productivity, not about ideologies. If a company’s values are based on respect and a commitment to merit, there is no need for this.

Plus, this point seems condescending to the so-called “black employees” (or BIPOC, as they say on their website. As a reminder, BIPOC is a category where Bambi is supposed to fit and, as a deer, she is too free to limit herself to any trendy acronym!).

2. We will implement or expand unconscious bias and anti-racism education.

Again, “unconscious bias”… the same trendy language that Mr. Trudeau, Prince Harry, spouse Megan Markle, and her Hollywood peers use ?.  Another word “anti-racism”, wow a new invention of our times. Bambi is writing this and she has in front of her eyes her older guitar, brought from Lebanon whilst escaping… on it there is a large pin “stop racism”. She has it since age 17 (either from Beirut or Montreal, she cannot recall). What does anti-racism education really mean in the workplace? Why are we spending money and time for all this BS in the private sector?! So odd! Had Bambi been running a private company, she would never ever participate in such collective insanity.

3. We will share best—and unsuccessful—practices to ensure all companies have access to the programs and strategies needed to achieve true diversity and inclusion.

? or ☹. “True diversity and inclusion”. Too funny!! Hilarious! Sometimes Bambi feels like sending all these people for training to the Middle East or to former communist countries in order to learn what not do in life with all these trendy causes.

Respect of all human beings should be our value # 1 in any relationship, including working relations. A commitment to respect and merit, period!

4. We will create and share strategic inclusion and diversity plans with our board of directors. We will establish at least one diversity leadership council and make efforts to ensure these groups include diverse representation, including senior Black leaders, within our organization.

Why? It does not make any common sense. Again, commitment must be to excellence, period. Our skin colour or body form or whatever other feature is secondary.

5. We will ensure that Black communities across Canada are aware of opportunities of employment within our organization and that employment opportunities are set aside for Black people, including committing to specific hiring goals of at least 5% within our student workforce from the Black community.

NO and NO! Do not do Lebanon’s tragic sectarian quota mistakes! Again, a commitment to merit only, not even to gender in Bambi’s own company ?.

6. As a numeric goal provides real impetus for change, we have made a goal of, at a minimum, 3.5% of executive and board roles based in Canada being held by Black leaders by 2025.

Ha! Ha! Ha!!!!

7. We will set inclusive talent management goals and include them in senior executives’ annual performance scorecards.

? or ☹.

Companies that sign the pledge will also be expected to track their progress and share their results publicly.

If Canadian companies are as stupid as our current PM, they may sign. Let’s hope they have higher ethical standards though!

This is for you Nina 🙂 and for your beautiful country.

Yes, today is July 14… The beauty of working from home is that Bambi can sing this song all day long, without bothering her colleagues :)!

By the way, Happy Birthday to Amale too!

Yesterday evening, a friend from Montreal called Bambi. They naturally spoke about Lebanon’s saga of political corruption that led to the country’s financial fiasco. They also talked about Mr. Trudeau, as both were long-term Liberal voters. “Why did you do that Mr. Trudeau?”, her friend said.

Bambi’s friend then added: “In Lebanon, people have been asking for the resignation of their political leaders since October, 2019. There, even if they change them, they remain influential. At least, here if people go to the street, Trudeau will step down immediately” ?.

Bambi smiled and said: “I am not that sure of that, you know?”

Bambi predicted that Mr. Trudeau will say he is sorry and try to get out of this again with a little fine. He will remain in power, so will his financial minister, most likely… More than that, Canadians may even vote for him again ☹!

This is the difference between the Lebanese and Canadian populations. There, they are more lucid. They do not let themselves be deceived by the media and politicians. Sadly, this does not change the outcome.

In Canada, people prefer to keep their eyes closed. It is more convenient or reassuring. It gives a sense of security, especially in uncertain times like a pandemic. Sadly, the outcome is not surprising, at least to Bambi.

If you are wondering about the title of this post, this award is the MOST prestigious one in Lebanon. Bambi feels sorry for insulting her birth country with this joke. The idea is just to show that Mr. Trudeau is not that different from those Lebanese politicians after all. He may just be more hypocritical. He may also think we are stupid… and who knows? He may be right: his apologies may work on many of us… They don’t/won’t on Bambi. He is no longer funny… He should resign. Period.

Oh, if he wishes, perhaps the “We Charity” can organize a “We Day” for him in Beirut ?. Whilst there, he can receive his National Order of the Cedar and get a selfie with his colleagues!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-sorry-we-contract-1.5647515

Beirut has been destroyed and re-built seven times throughout history.

It will surely survive again… but for now, Beirut is just tired… of being tired.

Here is a song for you Beirut by Mr. Enrico Macias (video # 1) with beautiful pictures, followed by a short movie Bambi just discovered by Mr. Elie Fahed & Ms. Carmen Bsaibes (video # 2).

Hang on Beirut! It is not for nothing that you have been called “Sit el Dounya” (the Lady of the world). Further below you can see a translation of this beautiful poem by Mr. Nizar Quabbani written during war, which later became a famous song by Majida (video # 3).

Some used to call Beirut the “Paris of the Orient” or “the Switzerland of the Middle East”.

These days seem far away… and yet when we are a true lady, deep inside, we remain one even in our misery. Indeed, Bambi recalls very well the wise words that her grandmother Asma used to say: “The rich remains rich despite poverty… and the poor remains poor despite all the richness”. She meant the richness of the spirit, of course (not of the pocket).

Beirut you will surely rise again eventually, hoping your people will recover what has been stolen from their own pockets, along with their dreams!

Beirut Lady of the world (a poem by Mr. Nizar Quabbani)

“Ya Beirut

Ya Beirut…Lady of the World

We confess to the one and only God:

That we were envious of you

And your beauty was harming us

We confess now:

We maltreated you and we were not merciful

We did neither understand you nor excuse you

We handed you a dagger (or knife) instead of a rose

We confess to the just God:

We injured you and made you tired

We burnt you and made you weep

We burdened you O Beirut with our sins

Ya Beirut

The world is not enough

We now know your roots are deep within us

We now know what our hands had committed

Rise…Rise…Rise

Rise from beneath the rubble

Like an almond’s flower in April

Rise from your grief… Rise

For revolution is born from the womb of misery

Rise from beneath the rubble

Rise in honour of the forests

Rise for the love of rivers

Rise in honour of the rivers, valleys, and mankind…

Rise for the love of mankind

Rise oh Beirut ….Rise

Revolution is born from the womb of sorrows

Ya Beirut….Ya Beirut!”

To begin with, here is the tweet by Mr. Maxime Bernier. Is there someone left out there who can justify this?

If so, please help yourself on this blog. Unlike the CBC, comments are always open here.

Bambi is saying so and she is a former LONG-TERM liberal voter. She remains a classical “liberal”, mind you.

To conclude this post on a funny note (despite the seriousness of Canada’s matters), here is a cartoon published lately in the Journal de Québec. Mr. Dion (Ethics Commissioner) is saying: “Another conflict of interest”! Mr. Trudeau (check the heart on our PM’s belt ?) is giving us a speech, saying: “Well-ordered charity begins with yourself” ?. We can see his mom, spouse, and brother with their hands in a big “WE Charity” pot filled with dollars and we can read: “It is the CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) for rich families”.

Bambi would like to thank her friend Amale for sharing the last two videos shown further below. Of note, in the first one, you can see/hear the American University of Beirut (AUB) President, Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri saying: “Now I am going to be blunt to you. This is the worst government in Lebanese history with regard to their understanding or of care of higher education…”.

Before sharing these videos, Bambi will thank Ms. Jane Ferguson for her journalistic piece for the PBS News Hour. It describes the tragedy of Lebanon very well…

Lebanon deserves much better than this financial/economic fiasco.

No, it is neither the covid-19 nor the USA’s fault. This is a homemade tragedy…

Here is Ms. Durocher’s hilarious article published today in the Journal de Montréal:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/07/09/we-love-justin-trudeau

Here is a quick English translation:

“We recap

– Justin Trudeau’s wife is an ambassador for WE.

– Justin Trudeau’s wife hosts a podcast for WE.

– In one of the WE podcasts hosted by Justin Trudeau’s wife, Justin Trudeau’s wife interviews Justin Trudeau’s mother.

– Many photos on his social media show Justin Trudeau’s wife in front of a WE logo, holding a WE microphone or wearing clothes with the WE logo.

– In his first public appearance after his election, Justin Trudeau participated with his wife in a WE event.

– In March, Justin Trudeau’s mother, Justin Trudeau’s wife, Justin Trudeau’s daughter and Justin Trudeau’s half-sister went to London to participate in a WE event.

– Trudeau’s mother was paid $ 250,000 for her various conferences for WE.

– Trudeau’s brother was paid $ 32,000 for lectures he gave for WE.

And despite all that, at NO point did Justin Trudeau see that he was in a conflict of interest by entrusting WE with the mandate to manage a contract of 900 million, contract for which WE was going to put 19 million in its pockets?

Are you pulling a fast one on us?”

End of Ms. Durocher’s funny article.

Now here is Mr. Blanchet’s serious request: He is requesting that the PM steps asides, at least during the ethics investigation (as he also said in an interview with TVA News channel), leaving the “responsibilities to the deputy PM”.

Will anyone listen?

First, Mr. Trudeau “forgot” about our constitution and started distributing student loans (usually a provincial responsibility).

Second, after billions of expenses and public debt since Trudeau I era, Mr. Trudeau decided to pay students for their volunteering work. He even argued that the WE charity is the only program capable of administering the program ?. WE Charity would receive $19.5 million in order to administer a $900 million program meant to subsidize youth volunteering.

Third, we learn that this charity is CLOSELY related to him, to his family clan and to his political party: about $300K honoraria to his mother, brother, and spouse, in addition to the maximum donation possible to the Liberal party during his last electoral campaign.

Now, the federal government is fit again to administer the program above 🙂 but Mr. Trudeau is in trouble again… He is being investigated by the Ethics Commissioner FOR THE THIRD TIME.

Here are links in the media:

Timeline: Trudeau’s ties to WE are as old as his political career

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/margaret-justin-trudeau-we-charity-1.5643586

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/pm-trudeau-s-mother-brother-and-wife-paid-to-speak-at-we-charity-events-1.5017697

LILLEY: Trudeaus paid big to appear at WE Day events

This story is worse than the older sponsorship scandal.

This story is worse than his own Aga Khan vacation scandal.

This story is worse than his own Bombardier saga.

This story is VERY serious… In addition to being a bad leader (no vision, no talent… just beautiful words and socks), Mr. Trudeau is ethically NOT fit be the PM of Canada.

If he wishes, Bambi can offer him a ticket to the “Banana Republic” of Syria :).

Seriously, Assad Junior & Asma will be happy to hang out with him.

Whilst there, he may wish to jump and visit the corrupt Lebanese politicians.

To conclude this post, he and the media should stop “favourably” comparing him to the USA (i.e., Mr. Trump). It is about time to focus on our OWN problems at home!

——

Here is an earlier post from Bambi:

Mr. Joseph Facal: «It is more serious than being silly” [«Il y a plus grave qu’être niaiseux»]

Today, Bambi woke up to sad news (see videos below) relayed by her own sister, journalist Roula Douglas.

A woman seems to have attempted to commit suicide. Did she survive? Bambi closed her eyes and prayed for her…  In the first video, we hear the shocking lamentations of her friends (from the balcony). In the second video, we see the Lebanese Red Cross ambulance. We assume she died… but then Bambi heard that she has survived (it all depends on how she fell down… Miracles do happen). Let’s hope she will hang on to life to heal from whichever hospital bed she may be lying in now!

The tragedy is that that there is a shortage of US$ in Lebanon and there is a HUGE inflation. The whole country is suffering, sadly including this community of foreign workers ☹. They are usually paid in US money, as per their working contract. Their bosses can no longer afford to feed themselves (and them) to be able to pay their salary. Some of these bosses may have lost their humanity (who knows?) or their sanity?! So, these workers found themselves kicked out to the streets. Luckily, community organizations and big-hearted people remain there to help… even the bankrupt government did something good at one point (finding shelter for some of them).

Activists have been urging the Ethiopian government and the UN to help repatriate them!

There are about 250,000 foreign workers in Lebanon, it seems, mostly Ethiopian. Others are from other African and Asian countries.

Some activists are reporting up to two suicides per day in this group ☹. Can you imagine?

 Can someone do something PLEASE!?!