Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
I had posted in Anil Netto's blog against his sympathy for Palestinian Terrorists. He is also a regular columnist at the Catholic Herald. I like to read the columns of this gentlemen, sometimes. His one weakness, for a column read by Christians is he loves being a rabid anti Bush and Israeli basher. This newsletter is for Malaysians and Christians, why bother about something happening in the faraway Middle East. There are alot of avenues for catching up on the news or opinions on the Middle East issues. There are 57 Muslim countries forming a block calling themselves OIC. Why not talk about the treatment of minorities in those 57 countries? Which I am sure is a lot to write about. The column I read on Sunday 3rd Feb 2008, must have been the result of Anil Netto's post dated 22nd January 2008.
He wrote in the Herald dated 3rd Feb 2008 under his "Sunday Observer" titled "Breaking the siege of Gaza". He speaks for us Christians, let me quote "One reason many Christians blindly take the side of Israel is that they have an affinity to the prophets of the Old Testament and God's promise to his people. But remember, the prophets spoke out against injustice and oppression- and so must we". Well, we are not blind, we can listen and see, we have brains that think too, we speak out against injustice too, when 57 countries gang up against one puny country. Dear, dear Anil, you should not blindly schill for terrorists. Anil should know how Christians are treated in the Middle East. I have argued about this here.The issues in the Herald should be of our interest not a personal leftist agenda.
He made a statement in his rebuttal to me, "Consider the views of Chomsky, widely recognised as the world’s leading public intellectual". I did not laugh that much for such a long time, as most of us know that Chomsky is a left wing nut job. In his blog I asked Anil whether he had been a corespondent with Reuters. He did not answer me. Maybe, he was a correspondent at Al- Reuters. I am sure he must have heard about the injustices inflicted against the Copts in Egypt.That would have been a better topic and of interest to Christians who read the Herald.
