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."
Round 2 in courtrooms will be more exciting By R Nadeswaran
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Malaysiakini : But instead emerged far more damaging issues - race and religion which were exploited by many candidates.
Attacks became personal including fat shaming and one incumbent was singled out for his appearance ignoring his track record.
Foes
have become friends and vice versa. Politicians - past and present -
have all rallied to cause crossing party lines because of friendship.
Then,
there are those who have been dropped as candidates have turned tables
on their comrades calling them despicable names, forgetting that they
were thick as thieves in the past.
There is no such thing as party loyalty in the belief that they ought
to have been nominated as a matter of right or entitlement. In short,
loyalty to self comes first.
No-holds-barred
Last
night, the campaigning was supposed to end - officially - but the video
clips are still circulating and are being forwarded.
When someone puts his foot in the mouth, there are bountiful explanations like misquoted, misconstrued and miscomprehended.
Today’s
state elections have turned out to be a no-holds-barred contest where
decency, propriety, respectability and decorum saw no takers. Instead,
it looked like a brawl except that no violence was involved.
No
one cared if their words and deeds would lead to something more serious
and the police were in control of the law-and-order situation.
We
had elections since 1955 and this was the worst election campaign. Even
with so much at stake, the national elections in 2018 and in November
last year did not see the spewing and disgorging of hatred and
animosity.
Legal letters of demand, police reports and
million-ringgit civil suits made headlines almost every day. The only
consolation we can take is that there was no need to resort to duels and
thus, no cudgels were drawn.
Even the names of the rulers were drawn and only a royal rebuke prevented their names from being drawn into the fight.
‘Foreign interference’
And the issue of “foreign interference” which has been a feature in past elections came to the fore.
Foreign
agencies are funding Pakatan Harapan and BN parties campaigning in the
six state elections to ensure they will win, thundered Perikatan
Nasional election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
Without
offering any evidence and as if from a shot in the dark, he claimed that
he only knows the money keeping the “unity government” parties running
come from overseas, but not which country.
Perikatan Nasional election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor
But
such accusations have become part and parcel of Malaysian elections
where serious allegations are made but disappear in a whimper days
later.
Similar accusations were made by Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim of gambling money used by PN eight months ago, we have yet to
see any evidence.
The bruising and the wounds may heal but the scars of the battle-hardy will remain – to fight another day.
But
there’s something different - the defamation suits filed by various
parties will reveal much more than what has been said. Get the popcorn,
sit back and prepare for another battle in the courtrooms.
