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 just saw a Facebook page advertising UCLA's "Palestine Awareness Week" next week.
I deeply believe in awareness for Palestine, so here is my small contribution to the cause:
Are you aware that Palestine was never a country?
Are you aware that the word Palestine is Roman, not Arabic?
Are you aware that Jerusalem was never the capital of any Arab nation?
Are you aware that before 1920, the area known as Palestine included much or all of what is now Jordan?
Are you aware that practically every written history of the Palestinian Arabs starts after Jews started returning to the area in the late 1800s?
Are you aware that practically no Arabs called themselves "Palestinian" before 1964?
Are you aware that the first Palestinian Arab leader, Haj Amin al Husseini, originally wanted a "Greater Syria" to include Palestine and only changed his mind in the 1920s?
Are you aware that this same Husseini instigated murderous rampages against the Jews of Palestine - including Jewish communities that had been there for centuries?
Are you aware that this same Husseini colluded with Hitler to perform genocide on all Jews during World War II?
Are you aware the Palestinian Arabs have never accepted any peace plan that included a Jewish state?
Are you aware that modern terrorism was created by Palestinian Arabs?
Are you aware that Palestinian Arabs never demanded their own West Bank or Gaza state when they were under Jordanian and Egyptian control?
Are you aware that Yasir Arafat embezzled as much as $3 billion from his people, yet he is still regarded as a hero and no Palestinian Arab leader is trying to find his stolen money?
Are you aware that the constitution of Palestine states that Sharia law would be the main source of legislation?
Are you aware that Mahmoud Abbas bankrolled the 1972 Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes, and that he praised the ringleader of that attack as recently as 2010?
Are you aware that Mahmoud Abbas' college thesis denied the Holocaust?
Are you aware that Hamas does not want a Palestinian Arab state but instead a pan-Islamic caliphate that spans the world?
Are you aware that the Palestinian Authority still officially states that there was no Jewish Temple in Jerusalem?
Are you aware that the PLO wants to build a state with no Jews in it?
Are you aware that the elected Hamas government has laws discriminating against women?
Are you aware that Yasir Arafat was born in Egypt, but Ariel Sharon was born in Palestine?
Are you aware that the biggest heroes to ordinary Palestinian Arabs are terrorists like Dalal Mughrabi and Samir Kuntar?
Are you aware that the original 1964 PLO charter specifically excluded the West Bank and Gaza from the land they wanted, and their only desire was to destroy Israel within the Green Line?
Are you aware that not a single refugee camp has been dismantled in the territories governed by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas?
Are you aware that even after signing the Oslo Accords, Yasir Arafat publicly said that a Palestinian state is simply a stage on the way to destroying Israel altogether?
Just a small public service for Palestine Awareness Week. Hat tip: Elder of Ziyon
