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."
Merry Christmas to all Malaysians By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Malaysiakini : “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if
Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...
perhaps... means a little bit more!”
- Dr Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
A Man In Indonesia Becomes A Catholic Priest While His Mother, A Muslim Looks On. Only In Indonesia!
COMMENT | It would be easy with all the provocations by the religious far right to wallow in cynicism this Christmas day.
The
great comfort I get from this season is that the animosity shown by
mainstream politics and the pusillanimous attitude of non-Malay power
brokers, the divisions they seek to sow, was not always like this.
There was a time when Malaysians from all faiths celebrated religious
festivals with fervour and brotherhood that only came when people knew
that though their cultures may be different, we were all in the same
boat.
Those were the days when religion was not mired in identity
politics and a live-and-let-live attitude was embraced because the
commonality of different religions was celebrated.
But things
slowly changed and what we are left with, what our children and their
children are left with, is the animosity that comes with being
constantly told that we are foreigners in belief and deed in our
homeland.
An old friend related to me how his children were
shocked to discover that their school-going children were bullied by
other children during religious classes because they were allowed to
attend Christmas parties, Deepavali parties and Chinese New Year
parties.
