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."
What did the British loot from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing?
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
10 Jul 2021 In October 1860, Anglo-French forces are estimated to have looted 1.5 million priceless treasures from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, after which they then burnt the heavenly complex to the ground.
This act has been described as the greatest act of cultural vandalism in modern history - and is likely one of the largest mass-scale thefts too. In this documentary we will explore why and how the Old Summer Palace was sacked, and will inspect some of the items that were looted.
Concerning the deaths of the British hostages - At a personal level, I regret for the death of the diplomats. However, considering they were embarked on a mission to extract (my view) compensations for the opium wars, unjust wars to force open the gate of China to sell opium, they were accomplices of the evil.
Let’s not put the cart before the horse to justify the looting. Everything should be understand in its overall context.
In 2010, David Cameron made a visit to China. He was wearing a red poppy to honor Remembrance Day. It was tasteless because of the connotation the poppy has in China, especially with the British head of state visiting.
He was asked to remove it, and refused.
The least Cameron could have done was remove his poppy. The Opium Wars was injustice compounded on injustice. First the British coveted Chinese luxury goods, like tea and porcelain, for their own pleasure. Then in order to pay for these luxury goods, they smuggled in a highly addictive and destructive drug for the twofold effect of shirking their debt and ruining a generation of Chinese people.
When the Qing government, like any proper government, tried to stop the poisoning of their own people, the British —ignoring all morals they praised so highly—used gunships to put a stranglehold on China in order to force ruinous “unequal treaties” on her, while doing it all in the name of “free trade.”
To bring the history to life, we will utilise old photographs, drawings and maps, and will inspect up close some of the looted objects.