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."
The value of Charlie Hebdo by Commander (Rtd) S Thayaparan
Thursday, January 08, 2015
From Malaysiakini : "What can you say to a man who tells you he
prefers obeying God, rather than men, and that as a result he's certain
he'll go to heaven if he cuts your throat?" - Voltaire
COMMENT Even amidst the slaughter of its journalists, the spirit of Charlie Hebdo managed
to illustrate the absurdity of religious tyranny of the Islamic
variety.
One of the police officers butchered by an Islamist fascist was
a Muslim.“Fundamentalism isn't about religion, it's about power,” said
Salman
Rushdie and whether the said power is enforced through laws limiting
free speech or the barrel of gun, the result is the same. Western
democracies are under siege. Those in power are not as fanatical as
those seeking to undermine those values.
While some argue that Islam is under siege, I dismiss this idea as intellectually disingenuous. In ‘Welcome to the religious jungle’,
I wrote: “What exactly is a ‘true’ Muslim, or ‘true’ Christian for that
matter? Someone who believes that religion should not be politicised?
Someone who believes that you should not mock another's religion?
Someone who believes that religion should not intrude in the private
lives of members in any given society? Someone who believes that there
should be a separation of church/mosque and state?