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."
Nina
Siakhali Moradi was prevented from taking up a post on the city council
in Qazvin, the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, 100 miles north
west of Tehran, after her election was overturned by religious
conservatives.
Even with more than 10,000 votes in the
June election, putting her 14th out of 163 candidates and winning her a
council seat, the 27-year-old engineer and website designer had her
political career cut short because she was deemed too attractive to take
up the post. “We don’t want a catwalk model on the council,” a senior official in Qazvin told local press. Moradi
ran under the slogan “Young ideas for a young future,” pushing for
better women’s rights in Qazvin, the restoration of the old city and
greater youth involvement in town planning. She had been vetted and
approved as a candidate by Iran’s judiciary and intelligence services.
Her liberal views appeared popular with the electorate, The Times
reported. Moradi’s campaign posters showed her wearing strict
hijab without a strand of hair on display. Despite this, conservative
religious groups launched protests to demand her disqualification as
soon as her election was confirmed.
