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."
Went to the Malaysia Bon Odori 2019 with my JAPANESE wife
JBond : PAS is getting worried that they would be thrown out of Selangor in coming election so need to creat racial and religious issue to win the heart of the Muslims but it backfired after the Sultanās intervention. Looks like PASās final nail in the coffin for Selangor has just been hammered in by themselves. Good for Selangor.
Vgeorgemy : The issue is apparent. PAS is challenging the Selangor Sultan by using JAKIM as a weapon. We have seen in an earlier instance Idris challenging a Committeeās decision under the Sultan of Selangor.
That ended up in Royal rebuke. PAS is conducting a Culture War and Identity Politics using the deep pocket of the public treasury in the name of race and religion. Muftis under Federal Government tacitly encourage PAS to conduct divisive and hate crimes.
Why didnāt PAS oppose this festival in the last thirty years? Why now? The issues are very apparent. PAS want to challenge the State's religious heads using Federal power.
Malaysiakini : KINIGUIDE | The Bon Odori festival originating from Japan has been observed in Malaysia for decades.
The
festival held in Shah Alam alone reportedly drew more than 35,000
Malaysians and Japanese expatriates annually and is one of the largest
outside Japan.
This year, however, as the festival prepares to
make a post-pandemic comeback, the upcoming celebrations drew headlines
after religious authorities told Muslims not to attend.For this instalment of KiniGuide, Malaysiakini looks back at the roots of the festival and how it has evolved in Malaysia.
