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."
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian activists on Friday slammed the wedding of a
12-year-old to her 19-year-old boyfriend, renewing their calls for the
government to outlaw child marriages.Nur Fazira Saad and Fahmi Alias married last week in northern Kedah
state after the girl'sfather agreed to the union and an Islamic court
granted permission, The Star daily reported."It is better for them to get married rather than doing something
improper," Saad Mustafa, the girl's father, was quoted as saying.
But Ratna Osman, executive director of activist group Sisters in Islam, described the young couple's marriage as "shocking". "I don't understand why this is allowed in a country like Malaysia...
We are talking about a developed country," she told AFP. "The concern
is that this is a child being married off... No parents should be doing
this."
Child marriages are not uncommon in the conservative Southeast Asian
country, where 60 percent of the population of 29 million people are
Muslim. Two years ago, the marriage of a 14-year-old Muslim girl to a 23-year-old schoolteacher triggered similar calls for reform.
Girls below the age of 16 must obtain the permission of Islamic
courts, which regulate civil matters for Muslims. But activists say such
permission is too readily granted. There was another outcry in October when two men, aged 19 and 22,
were released on probation after courts convicted them of statutory
rape. In both cases the girls, aged 12 and 13, had not been forced, lawyers said.... Hat tip: Jihad Watch
