Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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."
Headscarves enter French election fray as Muslim women confront Le Pen, Macron
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Marine Le Pen
BCF : Muslim headscarves took centre stage in Franceās presidential
campaign on Friday as both finalists in a tightly contested April 24
run-off were confronted by women in headscarves who asked why their
clothing choices should be caught up in politics.
France is home to western Europeās largest Muslim population and many
Muslims feel the presidential campaign has unfairly stigmatized their
faith. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who trails the incumbent in the
polls, has said she will ban headscarves in public and fine women who flout the ban.
At a farmersā market in the southern town of Pertuis on Friday, a
woman in a blue-and-white head covering approached Le Pen as the
candidate weaved past fishmongers and vendors to greet supporters.
āWhat is the headscarf doing in politics?ā the woman asked. Le Pen defended her position, calling the headscarf a āuniform imposed over time by people who have a radical vision of Islam.ā āThatās
not true,ā countered the woman. āI started to wear the veil when I was
an older woman (...). For me it is a sign of being a grandmother.ā
The woman noted that her father had served in the French military for 15 years. Le Penās opposition to the headscarf has encapsulated what her critics
say makes her dangerous to French unity, by stigmatizing millions of
French Muslims. Le Pen would also slash immigration and wants to outlaw
ritual slaughter, which would restrict French Muslimsā and Jewsā access
to kosher and halal meat.
