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."
Rewarding mediocre footballers ultimate insult to sports fans By R Nadeswaran
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Malaysiakini : It is said that the truth always hurts, but omitting and saying
nothing would prevent telling a white lie to the people of Malaysia.
Right?
Did we qualify for the next round? No.
Did we finish at the bottom of our group? Yes.
Didnāt Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the sports minister realise this? Yes.
So, why were they so generous with the peopleās money?
Anwar
said: āI was watching a great fight by the Malaysians against a side
thatās far superior to us. Despite losing the first two games, they
showed character and strength in their last game.
āBecause of that
spirit, based on the request by the youth and sports minister, the
government has agreed to add RM5mil to the Football Association of
Malaysia (FAM) to manage the national football team.ā
But did he watch the 4-0 drubbing by Jordan and the 1-0 defeat by Bahrain?
FAM not strapped for money
If showing
character and strength in one game can merit a reward of RM5 million, I
leave it to you - the reader - to imagine how much would have been
dished out if they had qualified for round 16.
Itās not that FAM
is strapped for money. It is the richest sports association in the
country. It gets millions from sponsorships, television rights, gate
receipts and even grants from its parent body, Fifa.
More importantly, were Anwar and Yeoh aware that 14 members of the 23-member squad were foreigners?
Members of the Harimau Malaya team
They
became citizens or what is termed as ānaturalisedā through the backdoor
method - illegally - while hundreds of Malaysian-born children are prevented from going to school on technicalities.
There is an equal number of foreign women married to Malaysians who have been denied citizenship.
With
so much money floating around and now with an extra RM5 million in
hand, the talent scouts, agents and journeymen will be making a beeline
to FAMās Kelana Jaya headquarters to hawk their ware.
There are
likely to be those who were discarded from the African continent and
have-beens from Europe and it will not be surprising if they are
embraced with open arms by the football officialdom.
The result will be that meritocracy will be thrown out of the window and we will continue to reward the mediocre.
Meanwhile,
the Manchester City coach says: āIt is not a sport when there is no
relationship between effort and success. It is not a sport when success
is guaranteed from the start. It is not a sport if it doesnāt matter if
you lose.ā
Do we care if we continue losing as long as the rewards keep coming?
