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."
Waqf Act: How the British initially shaped it, only for Congress to hand it unchecked power after independence
The Waqf Board's sweeping powers today trace back to colonial-era laws,
later expanded drastically by Congress, allowing it to claim properties
with minimal checks.
OpIndia : In 1954, under the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru, the Waqf Act was introduced, replacing the 1923 law. The law
established Central and State Waqf Boards to oversee properties
Waqf has a long, winding history in India. Initially, back in 1894,
the British came up with the Waqf Bill for the first time via a
judgment. At that time, the British were grappling with its legal
status. From 1894 to 1947, laws and amendments were introduced to shape
the Waqf Actās legal system. Later, after 1947, the Congress-led
government eventually turned it into a system with far-reaching
authority. So much so that now Waqf Boards can claim any property using
several clauses, and the onus to prove the land they have claimed is not
Waqf lies on the actual owner, which in many cases is the central or
the state government.
Waqf was
initially supposed to be about charitable endowments, which has
drastically changed over time. It has grown into something much larger,
often at odds with the secular framework of the country. The initial
rules were indeed set by the British, but it was the Congress that took
it furtherāand took it too far. Here is how the Waqf has changed over
time.
British rule ā A shaky start for Waqf
Waqf properties were dedicated under Islamic law for religious and
charitable purposes. However, under British rule, Waqf faced legal
hurdles. In 1894, a landmark judgment by
the Privy Council in Abul Fata Mahomed Ishak vs Russomoy Dhur Chowdhury
sent a shockwave through the Muslim community. According to the
judgment, Waqfs which benefited the founderās family were declared
invalid. The Council cited English lawās aversion to perpetuities as the
basis of the judgment.
It was not a minor ruling and challenged a tradition stretching back
to the Delhi Sultanate. Notably, Sultan Muizuddin Sam Ghaor gave
villages to Multanās Jama Masjid, which continued through the Mughal
eraās vast Waqf holdings. The decision by the Privy Council caused
uncertainty among the Muslim community.
The case that led to the establishment of the foundation of the Waqf
Act stemmed from a family feud over a Waqf property in Bengal. Two
brothers, Abul Fata Mahomed Ishak and his sibling, had created a Waqf
property as per Islamic law. The intention behind creating it was to
provide for their descendants. The remaining benefits would eventually
flow to charitable causes. Following the death of the founders, a
creditor named Russomoy Dhur Chowdhury challenged the validity of the
Waqf in court.
7INN : A new regime ruled by a former jihadist who until December had a $10 million bounty on his head, who is building an Islamic dictatorship and who has just organized a religious pogrom of Alawites is getting flooded with money from Europe.
A scandal.
An āact of faithā worth 5.8 billion euros to the ānew Syriaā: The
Donors Conference organized by the European Union certifies the change
of pace in the Westās relations with Damascus after the fall of Bashar
Assadās regime and the arrival to power of Ahmad al Sharaa, known as āal
Julaniā. The conference raised 5.8 billion euros in loans and grants,
80 percent of which from the EU. From the Commission alone, Ursula von
der Leyen announced, 2.5 billion euros are arriving in Damascus.
Six billion a week after the worst religious pogrom in recent history?
A
new regime ruled by a former jihadist who until December had a $10
million bounty on his head, who is building an Islamic dictatorship and
who has just organized a religious pogrom of Alawites?
It is eye-opening. Mouth-dropping.
Once
the massacres were over, the dictator welcomed in Brussels formed his
new government: 21 ministers, all Sunni Muslims and of 154 government
appointments, 150 are Sunni. Not bad for ādiversityā.
Meanwhile,
the European embassies in Damascus are reopening: today the German
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock flew to Syria. Two months ago the
dictator had refused to shake her hand. But evidently there is no
āSofagateā that can stop her.
Amine
Ayoub of the Middle East Forum warns: āYou cannot go from being an
al-Qaeda affiliate to a human rights defender overnight.ā He emphasized
the concept of taqiyya, used to describe the deception sanctioned by the Islamic religion to consolidate power.
Are Europeans stupid? Or a mixture of cynicism and naivety? Or is it corruption? We have seen Qatargate.
Is the EU aware that it is funding a Taliban emirate in the Mediterranean?
A
bloodthirsty Islamist coalition, responsible for the massacre of
thousands of innocents - Christians, Alawites, Druze and other
minorities - has just taken power in Damascus. The European Commission,
always ready to lecture Hungary on ārule of lawā and āprotection of
minoritiesā to the point of cutting off its funding, remains strangely
silent in the face of jihadist massacres. And when it comes out of its
silence it is to announce 2.5 billion for the Syrian Caliphate.
"Do Not Leave Any Alive" - Sunnis vs. Shiites By Daniel Pipes
IDF Alpinists at Syria-Israel border
INN : No one knows how many unarmed Alawites were killed in Syria between March 6 and 10, but University of Oklahoma Middle East studies professor Joshua Landis estimates more than 3000.
While Alawites constitute but a small religious community in Syria,
perhaps 10 per cent of the country's 15 million resident population,
they suffer from a unique prominence and vulnerability.
Through a
millennium, they stood out as Syria's most isolated, impoverished,
despised and oppressed ethnicity. Only when generals from their
community seized power in Damascus in 1966 did the power balance change.
But
the ruthless domination of Syria by Alawites for the next 58 years
caused the country's majority Sunni Muslim population in 2011 to rebel,
leading to a full-scale civil war that ended in December 2024 when
Sunnis overthrew Alawite rule and returned to power.
Solid green indicates an Alawite majority and partial green a significant Alawite minority.
Recent events
point to an ominous Sunni desire for retribution. To understand its
sources and implications requires a look at the past.
As is well
known, Islam claims to be the final religion; accordingly, Sunnis and
Shi'ites alike historically reviled Alawism, a new and distinct religion
that emerged from Shia Islam in the ninth century. They looked upon
Alawites as apostates. A 19th-century Sunni sheik, Ibrahim al-Maghribi,
decreed that Muslims might freely take Alawite property and lives, and a
British traveller records being told: "These Ansayrii, it is better to
kill one than to pray a whole day."
Frequently persecuted and
sometimes massacred during the past two centuries, Alawites insulated
themselves geographically from the outside world by staying within their
highlands. A leading Alawite sheik called his people "among the poorest
of the East". Anglican missionary Samuel Lyde found the state of their
society "a perfect hell upon earth".
After Syria's independence
from French rule in 1946, Alawites initially resisted central government
control but reconciled to Syrian citizenship by 1954 and, taking
advantage of their over-representation in the army, began their
political ascent.
Syria: Terrorists in Suits and Ties No Future for Christians or Other 'Infidels' by Lawrence A. Franklin
From March 6-9 ā unchecked by Ahmed al-Sharaa's professedly "moderate"
interim government ā his jihadist troops slaughtered an estimated 1,080
Syrians in 72 hours, apparently mostly civilian members of the minority
Alawite religion.
Gatestone Institute : In December 2024, after an offensive lasting less than two weeks that
swept through much of Syria, a Turkish-backed Sunni militia led by
Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted the Assad regime, which had ruled the country for
54 years.
From March 6-9 ā unchecked by al-Sharaa's professedly "moderate" interim government ā his jihadist troops slaughtered
an estimated 1,080 Syrians in 72 hours, apparently mostly civilian
members of the minority Alawite religion. The Alawite sect, which split
off from Shia Islam in the ninth century, is regarded by other Shiites
as heretical. To people who practice Sunni Islam -- the religion of
al-Sharaa and Turkey -- all non-Sunnis are infidels. Alawites are
estimated to be up to 10% of Syria's population, and the deposed Assad
family belong to the sect.
Al-Sharaa, on taking power in Syria in December, originally professed
to be a "moderate." The Biden administration even lifted a $10 million
bounty for his arrest, for previous terrorist activity linked to Al
Qaeda, presumably in the hope of moderation actually being delivered.
Since that time, however, al-Sharaa and his followers have appeared more
as terrorists in suits and ties.
Since December, and escalating in March, Jihadist terrorist gangs have been slaughtering Alawites in coastal Syrian towns. The atrocities this month began purportedly in response
to attacks on government troops by Alawite remnants of the Assad
regime's security and military forces. Some Syrian Christians were also slain, but possibly not specifically targeted by the new government.
Like the Alawites, Christians were for the most part a protected minority during the Assad years. According to many Syrians, however, Christians are resented by the Sunni Syrian majority "because they are viewed as infidels."
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University anti-Israel activist whom the
Trump administration has targeted for deportation, has become a darling
of the left, as people who hate America so often do. The New York Civil
Liberties Union (NYCLU) claimed Friday
that Khalilās arrest āhas created a speech-chilling atmosphere of
fear,ā and charges that āthe Trump administrationās actions represent a
dangerous escalation of the presidentās attempts to choke off the free
speech rights of people on American soil.ā And on Sunday, Khalilās wife
attempted to blow up the entire case against him, asserting that it was āridiculousā and ādisgustingā to say that Khalil supports Hamas.
This is all-important, because if Khalil is found to be a Hamas supporter, the case against him would be nearly open-and-shut. U.S. Code § 1182 states
that āany alienā who is āa representativeā of āa political, social, or
other group that endorses or espouses terrorist activityā is
āinadmissible.ā U.S. Code § 1227 adds that such an alien āis deportable.ā The Associated Press described Khalil two weeks ago as one of the āstudent leaders of Columbia University Apartheid Divestā (CUAD). The Washington Post reported last Tuesday that āNo one disputes that Khalil was the face of Columbia University Apartheid Divest.ā
Khalil was CUADās chief negotiator with Columbia administrators. Politico explained:
āKhalil was a lead negotiator representing the student protesters to
the Columbia administration during the schoolās āGaza Solidarity
Encampmentā last spring. The student group behind the encampment ā
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, or CUAD ā had two main demands:
that Columbia cut all its ties to Israel, including divesting and
halting plans to build a āglobal centerā in Tel Aviv, and that the
protesters themselves receive amnesty for their actions.ā
However, apparently aware of how damaging that fact is to his case, Khalil himself disputes this. The BBC framed Khalilās
connection to CUAD as if it were merely something his opponents
claimed: āActivists supporting Israel have accused Mr Khalil of being a
leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (Cuad), a student group
that demanded, among other things, the university to divest from its
financial ties to Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. Mr Khalil has denied
that he led the group, telling the Associated Press (AP) that he only
served as a spokesperson for protesters and as a mediator with the
university.ā
Itās easy to see why Khalil would want to distance himself from CUAD. In August 2024, it posted this
on Instagram, then removed it once it started getting appalled notice
from saner quarters: āWe are Westerners fighting for the total
eradication of Western civilization.ā During the anti-Israel protests at
Columbia, the demonstrators screamed āDeath to America.ā
Media Rallies Against Deportation of Student Who Urged Taking āCueā from Hamas By Daniel Greenfield
Robert Spencer : āMy hatred of the US empire knows no boundā. Momodou Taal had a simple plan. Come to America on a student visa to destroy it from within.
In one post, he wrote, āThe end of the US empire in our
lifetime in sha Allah.ā Months later, he celebrated receiving his
student visa, writing, āStudent Visa issued. We going to America baby!
Alhamdulillah!ā Shortly thereafter, he tweeted, āMy hatred of the US
empire knows no bound. Wallahi.ā
āWhen the enemy is US imperialism, then absolutely anyone the US
calls an enemy is my friend,ā he posted in July. āMy hatred for US
imperialism and the global system it reproduces knows no bounds,ā he
wrote one month prior. āAt this point; any movement, nation, people who
are working to decrease the impact and effects of US imperialism on the
world has my support.ā
āThis is what they referred to as āresistanceā. The burning to death of Jews. The rape of Jewish women.ā By Hugh Fitzgerald
Robert Spencer : The truth-telling British journalist Brendan OāNeill has read the
All-Parliamentary Report on the October 7 atrocities carried out by
Hamas, and now reports on his own reaction here: āA savage rupturing of
our civilisation,ā by Brendan OāNeill, Spiked, March 20, 2025:
ā¦The youngest victim was
14 hours old. That was Naama Abu Rashed, a Bedouin Israeli, shot while
still in her motherās womb. The bullet went through her tiny leg. She
was born gravely wounded, and later died. The oldest victim was Moshe
Ridler, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor. He perished when Hamas
militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the safe room in which he
had sought refuge from the rampage. They then shot to death his Moldovan
carer, Petro Boscov. Mr Ridler, as a kid in Romania, had survived the
Nazi ghetto and deportation trains, but he could not survive Hamasās
sadistic crusade.
The methods of murder included shooting, burning, asphyxiation,
grenade explosions and missile attacks. Many of the victims were
subjected to mutilation, sexual violence and āother forms of deliberate
brutalityā, either before or after death. A woman was raped at gunpoint.
Other women were raped in their bedrooms before being murdered. Rescue
forces found womenās bodies āstripped of their underwearā as well as
āsigns of semenā. The part of the report where I had to take a break
from reading describes the discovery of a womanās body where there had
been ā[the] insertion of a knife into the genital areaā.
The violence was ferocious. Molotov cocktails were thrown to burn
people alive. A father and his baby daughter suffered savage burns when
Hamas militants used a butane gas cylinder to make an inferno of their
home. Dad spent 58 days in an induced coma, his daughter spent eight
days. Hamas entered one home screaming āYahud!ā, meaning Jews. And they
found Jews: a father, a mother and their four kids. Dad used a piece of
furniture in a desperate effort to ward off the invaders ā they shot him
dead. They then shot his daughter in the face. She had āa hole in her
cheek and she was gasping her last breathsā, her mother later recounted.
Mum and the three surviving kids were taken to Gaza and forced into a
āholeā in the ground. Why? Because theyāre Yahud.
The report is full of accounts like this, of the most bestial
violence, visited with extreme prejudice on men, women, children. 7
October feels like a thing from the last century, the century of war and
extermination. It was as if atavistic hatreds had leapt from the
history books and imprinted themselves on our complacent era. Perhaps
the reportās most valuable contribution is to make it crystal clear that
this was no impulsive assault. This was not the Wretched of the Earth
ābreaking outā of their āprison campā to wreak desperate revenge on
their oppressors, as Hamas-adjacent leftists would have us believe. No,
this pogrom was years in the making. It was a conscious and thoroughly
organised massacre of Jewsā¦.
This, then, is what the activist class has been making excuses for.
This is what they referred to as āresistanceā. This is what they called
āa day of celebrationā. The burning to death of Jews. The rape of Jewish
women. The murder of Jewish children. The assassination of a Jew who
had survived the greatest crime in history. We now have all the data,
all the timelines and all the information about 7 October. But we still
await that moment of moral clarity when our intellectual elites finally
acknowledge the gravity of this crime against Jews and humanity, and
devote themselves to defending the civilisation it so gravely offends.
I have nothing to add to Brendan OāNeillās impassioned response. Now
if you can stand to do it, read all of OāNeillās article, and then read
the entire 318-page report. Then you will understand why Israel must,
not just for its own survival, but for everyone who is part of our
advanced, Western, still salvageable civilization, destroy Hamas ā
destroy it utterly.
The slap is about power, not hypocrisy By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Malaysiakini : āI was just eating normally and the uncle asked if I am Chinese or not. I said yes, because thatās a normal question.ā - Elijah
COMMENT
| This young non-Muslim kid was slapped, and I read all these articles
about how this is a hypocritical act considering this is a holy month of
fasting.
Never mind that this act happens in a country where the
religious bureaucracy and the state make it mandatory for believers to
fast. Where shops are closed for the fasting month. Where school
canteens operating for non-Muslim students become fodder for the
political and religious class.
Not to mention this is a country
where non-Muslims are banned from using certain words and demonised by
religious preachers for their religious beliefs. Where the religious
class and political operatives always tell non-Muslims to stay clear of
religious issues even if they trespass onto their rights as citizens of
this country.
When
this man slapped this kid, it was not about religious hypocrisy. This
is not about how someone misused religion. This is about how ideas of
superiority infect the social interaction of the everyday rakyat.
This
is about bully-boy tactics that are internalised and then unleashed on
people who couldnāt defend themselves except to let the world know of
their victimisation.
darmakochi : "The slap is a petty display of religious power but carries the same symbolic weight as the power that comes with building a mosque on the site of a demolished temple."
Sir, you said it very well!
Koel : It is religious bullying by cretins nurtured in violence.
But I am also not impressed by the lack of action by the eatery where this young man was assaulted.
They should have also have immediately lodged a police report, at the very least, to show their customers that they are concerned about their welfare.
Failing to protect customers under their roof speaks badly of their customer service.
Just another indication that non Muslims should look for non halal eateries where violent cretins don't roam.
ScarletPanda9731 : Do not cross the RED LINE.
AMICABLE SOLUTION means RESPECT ALL
The kid had the RIGHT to eat food in the open .
The Hindu temple at Jalan masjid INDIA
was ALREADY THERE 130 YEARS AGO!PSO, WHAT OWNERSHIP are you barking about ?
City Hall did not exist 130 years ago!
Umno did not exist then .
What " AMICABLE SOLUTION " IS TO RE- LOCATE the temple?
A win- win solution is to have BOTH MOSQUE AD TEMPLE SIDE BY SIDE
Fair or not?.
Open minded 2281 : The authorities also feel that non Muslims can be bullied and there is no offence when a Muslim preacher mocks the Hindus. All this happens because the Minister of Home Affairs is ineffective and the cabinet just closes all their eyes.
KK Voter : Every religion that practices fasting emphasizes abstinence, spiritual cleansing, and self-discipline. However, here, one month every year, the message seems to be:
"I am fasting; therefore, I am above you and can abuse you in the name of righteousness," making the entire fasting ritual pointless.
Those who create Islamophobia blame others for having Islamophobia.
Nowadays, during the fasting month, I change my dinner time to avoid overlapping with fasting Muslims. Where I live, even if there is no physical aggression, sitting in a restaurant and eating around 6:00ā6:30 p.m. earns me plenty of dirty looks from Muslims who are sitting there waiting to break their fast.
It wasnāt like this when I was growing up in the ā70s and ā80s, studying in a "kampung" school with three classrooms, where we had an approximately 50:30:20 Malay:Chinese:Indian mix.
We were all from B40 families, sat together to eat, and during the fasting month, our Malay friends still hung out in the canteen to play with us while we ate. No one had any problems then.
OBSERVER from Space : The most accurate, truthful & courageous article on this despicable cretin's act.
Certainly the dark truth on the status of Malusia..
Blessings upon you Commander Thayaparan..
MS : One of the last few truth-tellers left in a country darkened by untruth.
Just : Pure racial bullying. Gone to physical Level. This man need to be sentence to jail for his assault and his brain need to be realign or rebrainwashed to Normalcy.
The Illusion Of Choice : It has nothing to do with Islam or hypocrisy (religious or otherwise).
Its about putting the pendatangs in their place
This man believes in Malay Exceptionalism....that the Malays are lords of this land.
Classic Ketuanan mentality.
He wanted to flex this "superiority" over a pendatang, a young boy no less, bespectacled, alone, smaller than him, looks soft, who posed no threat.
Do you think he would have done the same if it was a big-sized Indian man?
Or a Chinese ah beng covered in tattoos?
He saw an easy prey and he wanted to flex his Ketuananism.
And when the boy answered him back, he couldnt believe it. He exercised his "authority" and it wasnt acknowledged
How dare this pendatang talk back. Why didnt he cower?
Why didnt he respect his Malay "superior"?
It made his blood boil. At a loss, he resorted to violence to reinforce his superiority.
The rage and pure hate that these people feel against the NMs is palpable, boiling over.
You see it in their words and actions. Its a very intense form of bigotry.
DBKL can defuse temple storm with truthfulness By R Nadeswaran
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | The origins of the ātruth
deficiency syndromeā can be traced to the heydays of the 1MDB scandal,
when the then BN government tried to hide the mammoth losses to protect
those involved.
I then wrote:
āWe are being continuously fed with half-truths and misinformation, so
much so that not many members of the public have any faith in the
accuracy of government statements and announcements. Malaysians are
prevented from making an educated, well-informed, and precise opinion.ā
This was followed by a letter
to the then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin: āAs you are aware, the
nation is suffering from the effects of the coronavirus, but what is
more contagious is a disease called the ātruth deficiency syndromeā,
which brought the BN government down almost two years ago. With the
change in May 2018, it was contained, but whatever traces remain are
imploding without control.ā
Malaysians thought that in 2022, the
incoming government, led by Anwar Ibrahim, would eradicate this disease
by stopping its spread.
Sadly,
little has been done to disseminate accurate information to the public.
Truth deficiency syndrome has spawned a series of strains, some of
which, if not treated immediately, could turn into an epidemic.
drkam : So, letās get this straightāthe temple has been standing tall for over 130 years, minding its own business, with DBKL even providing water and electricity. But somehow, in 2014, poof! The land it sits on magically ends up with Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd, and the temple wasnāt even invited to the transaction party.
If there was a legitimate sale, surely thereād be some receipts, right?
Fast forward to today, and after failed negotiations to move the temple for Masjid Madaniās construction, thereās now an unofficial āletās just relocate itā plea. But hereās the kickerāthe temple was never illegal in the first place!
The whole āitās an illegal structureā argument is just a convenient mask for, well... less-than-noble intentions.
And letās not forget MICās legendary lack of urgency. Saravananās sudden concern is great and all, but where was this energy years ago?
MIC has been in government for ages, yet somehow, they never secured the templeās land as Rumah Ibadat Bukan Islam (RIBI). Even the late Tun Samy Vellu, despite his temple donations, didnāt make it happen.
So now, Hindus and the public have every right to askāwhy the delay?
If DBKL had done the fair and logical thing by gazetting the land properly, we wouldnāt be having this ridiculous debate. Instead, weāve got a temple that stood the test of time⦠but now has to fight off modern-day land shenanigans.
The Illusion Of Choice : Malaysiakini
Have you never heard the expression "throwing pearls before sw1ne"?
Evidently, you deleted my comment because you thought I was referring to certain quarters as "sw1ne"
That couldnt be further from the truth.
The phrase "throwing pearls before sw1ne" is a well-known English idiom.
It means giving something that isnt needed nor appreciated.
It is an old Biblical idiom, from Matthew 7:6 in the Bible
The full text from Matthew 7:6 reads....
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls before sw1ne, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces".
This is from the Bible itself. If its good enough for the Bible, surely its good enough for Malaysiakini?
"Sw1ne" here does not have a literal meaning...it doesnt mean pig - the animal or the insult.
"Sw1ne" means those who are not receptive to the valuable thing being offered, or who will not appreciate
Comment moderation has to take into account context and established metaphorical meanings, not just the literal translations of words.
Your comment moderator needs to improve his/her English skills
By the way, if someone says "Missing the forest for the trees", they are not talking about actual vegetation.
The irony ....giving my comment to Malaysiakini was akin to throwing pearls before sw1ne.
Catholic Herald : In a shithole called Pakistan. Akash Bashir, a 20-year-old volunteer security guard, sacrificed
himself when he blocked a suicide bomber from entering St Johnās
Catholic Church in Lahore, Pakistan exactly 10 years ago, on Sunday, 15
March, 2015.
As he locked his arms around the terrorist, moments before
the explosion, his final words were: āI will die but I will not let you
go in.ā His martyrdom saved the lives of more than a thousand faithful inside
the church at the time. The Vatican declared him Servant of God in
February 2022, paving the way for him to become the very first saint in
the Muslim-majority countryās history.
Churches in Pakistan began recruiting volunteer security guards after
two suicide bombers killed 127 and injured 250 in an attack on the
Anglican All Saints Church in Peshawar in September 2013. In an
interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Akashās
mother said that her son ākept insisting for three months that he
wanted to guard the churchā, adding that the young man āwas ready to
sacrifice his life if God gave him a chance to protect othersā.
On the fateful day, Akash prevented the attacker from entering the
church, forcing him to detonate his suicide vest outside. Two other
people were also killed, but an even larger scale tragedy was prevented.
His mother recalled that she āwas washing clothes in the houseā when
Akash left for church that Sunday. āHe was wearing all white. Moments
later I heard the firing of weapons outside. Then our street thundered
with explosions⦠He was a simple boy who died in the path of the Lord.ā
Local Christian pastor Samuel Ashan Khokhar assisted in the morgue
after the bodies were transferred there. He recounted: āIt was a moving
moment when I saw the boyās face. Although lifeless, I was struck by his
beauty, I was deeply touched by the smile and serenity that emanated
from Akashās face. He radiated a luminous and sacred presence that
recalled the first Christian martyrs.ā
Within minutes of Akashās sacrifice, a second suicide bomber targeted
the nearby Protestant Christ Church. More than 10 people were killed
and dozens injured in the second blast.
Bashirās parents stand with their parish priest, Fr Francis Gulzar, outside in front of the memorial to their son, Akash | ACN
The roots of Christianity in Pakistan go all the way back to the
first century. St Thomas the Apostle first arrived in Kerala on the
Indian subcontinent in 52 AD before visiting the present-day Punjab
province where the majority of Pakistanās Christians live to this day.
He is believed to have been martyred in Chennai, India in 72 AD.
There are an estimated three million Christians in Pakistan today,
comprising less than two percent of the population. They often live in
extreme poverty and are routinely treated as second-class citizens, even
though freedom of religion is ostensibly guaranteed by the
constitution. Indeed, the country was originally envisioned as a haven
for religious minorities where non-Hindus could escape Indiaās caste
system.
The nationās draconian blasphemy laws are also frequently misused
against Christians, often as part of personal vendettas. For example,
Asia Bibi, a Catholic mother of five, endured eight years on death row
for blasphemy after co-workers accused her of insulting the prophet
Mohammed during an argument. She was eventually acquitted in 2018.
More recently, on 16 August, 2023, the city of Jaranwala in Punjab
was shaken by a wave of violence which Pakistanās bishops described as
āthe worst tragedy against Christiansā in the countryās history. Nearly a
thousand people were forced to flee their homes after a mob torched
dozens of churches and hundreds of Christian family homes. The rampage
began following allegations that two Christian brothers had torn pages
out of a Qurāan ā a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
Many Christian families lost all their possessions in the Jaranwala
riots, and the mob also desecrated a Christian cemetery. Tragically, the
police failed to respond before the situation spiralled out of control.
Even though at least 5,000 people committed acts of violence that day,
less than 400 have been arrested. Out of those detained, 228 were later
released on bail and 77 had the charges against them dropped.
While living in fear of further violence, Pakistani Christiansā
education and employment options are extremely limited. Many Christian
children are forced to labour in inhumane conditions, and girls are
especially vulnerable to mistreatment, including sexual assault and
forced marriage.
British police are letting pro-Palestine vandals run riot By Nicole Lampert
Lord Balfour's Portrait Being Vandalized
Spiked : This time last year, a female pro-Palestine activist
took a blade and a can of red spray paint to the 100-year-old painting
of Lord Balfour in Trinity College, Cambridge.
The perpetrator targeted
the painting because Balfour was a signatory of the Balfour Declaration ā
the British Empireās 1917 recognition of the aim to establish a Jewish
state.
The crime was filmed and posted online for all to see. The
perpetrator had a distinctive hairstyle (two plaits), as well as what
looked like a Ā£1,400 Mulberry backpack ā something your average criminal
usually doesnāt sport. She was also very clearly part of an outfit
called Palestine Action,
which claimed responsibility for the attack. With just a tiny bit of
police work and some political will, uncovering the identity of the
perpetrator would not have been a monumental task. And yet, a year after
the historic painting was destroyed, Cambridgeshire Police have ended their āinvestigationā. They said only that they hoped new information may one day come to light.
Palestine Action has vowed to continue its violent behaviour. Just this week, three activists occupied part of the Allianz offices
in central London and covered the windows in red paint. They scaled the
building to unfurl a banner demanding that Allianz ādrop Elbitā, an
Israel-based defence contractor, as an insurance customer. Police stood
around for hours, apparently helpless to do anything, until the
protesters were finally brought down and arrested.
Also this week, in Manchester,
two Palestine Action activists were arrested after climbing on to the
Aviva office in the city centre. Again, they covered the buildingās
windows in paint, set off flares and waved Palestinian flags. Aviva,
Palestine Action claims, also has links to Elbit.
Dying Europe can still be saved - Systemic change is required now to save the 400 million Christians in Europe by Kenneth Abramowitz
INN : Europe has been dying for nearly 100 years. Five notable years stand out for the beginning of Europeās demise:
1) In 1933, Hitler used his position as the leader of the largest minority party to seize power as the Chancellor of Germany.
2)
In 1967, the 6-DayWar in Israel drove Arab oil-producing countries to
dramatically raise oil prices, yet Europe did not embark on a major
effort to protect themselves by developing all forms of energy.
3)
In 1993, the European Union (EU) was founded by six countries and grew
to include 27 countries. The EU undermines the sovereignty of each
member country through a poorly managed dictatorship of an elitist EU
bureaucracy in Brussels.
4)
In 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula in Eastern Ukraine and
annexed it. No EU member country rushed aid, weapons, or soldiers to
protect Ukraine from the Russian invasion.
5) In 2015, then-German
Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germanyās borders to more than one
million Muslim migrants (aka ārefugeesā) from Syria, Libya, Egypt, and
elsewhere to enter Germany, creating a demographic, cultural, and
economic time bomb against its Christian citizens.
In addition, European countries made numerous other mistakes:
1) Since World War II, European governments have provided the mass of immigrants with overly generous welfare benefits.
2)
In 1984, five EU countries signed the Schengen Agreement, removing
internal border controls, thus allowing free movement throughout much of
Europe. This facilitated a full-scale invasion by Muslims from the
Middle East and Africa, who entered Europe through the open borders of
its Mediterranean countries.
DOUGLAS LIM LAGU RAYA ā Aidilfitri Di Malaysia - Luahan Hati Veteran Sebelum 2013
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Nazri : Selepas aku dah dengar 38 buah lagu raya baru tahun ni, aku isytiharkan lagu ni dlm top 10 lagu raya utk tahun ni.. tahniah. KAMI, PESARA ATM DAN BALU YANG TERLIBAT TUNTUTAN PENYELARASAN PENCEN 'BACKDATED' 2013. Kami pun mahu Hari Raya.....
Jen (PAT) - 7
Jen - 20
Lt Jen - 37
Mej Jen - 93
Brig Jen - 206
Kol - 338
Lt Kol - 1,235
Mej - 2,611
Kapt - 740
Lt - 27
Lt M - Tiada
PW1 - 8,017
PW11 - 16,616
SSjn - 14,139
Sjn - 16,252
Kpl - 13,437
LKpl - 3,466
Pbt - 1,306
Catatan Mesra Santai ;
1. Pesara Hakim bersara sebelum 2015 dan Balu telah dibayar 'backdated' antara RM200,000 hingga RM300,000 dan Pencen mereka telah diselaras guna duit KWAP pada Nov 2024.
2. Masalah sebenar kes penyelarasan pencen Pesara ATM yang bersara sebelum tahun 2013 disebabkan pihak berwajib kita bertindak bertentangan dengan Undang2.
Mereka guna kuasa serta tafsiran tanpa mematuhi Akta Angkatan Tentera 1972, Seksyen 187 (AAT1972) dan Peraturan2 Angkatan Tetap (Pencen, Ganjaran & Faedah2 Lain) 1982 (PPAT 1982).
3. Jika nak selesaikan masalah ini, sangat mudah. Ikut sahaja Akta Angkatan Tentera 1972, Seksyen 187 dan Peraturan2 Angkatan Tetap (Pencen, Ganjaran & Faedah2 Lain (1982).
Listen to an Indian Asking UMNO Youth In Bahasa And Samy Vellu Describing PMX In Tamil About His Deceit On The Penang Temple Issue
Wo men se yi jia ren. Anak melayu anak saya, anak cina anak saya, anak India anak saya, anak bengali anak saya, anak kadazan anak saya, anak Iban anak saya, anak hamas anak saya, anak palestin anak saya bla bla bla.
Hassan Abdul Karim
calls for Madani fairness in the Jalan Masjid India temple issue,
reminding Anwar Ibrahim of his 2019 speech in Doha and saying now is the
time to demonstrate a solution.
Pasir Gudang MP says PM
can show that he is a unifying and compassionate leader for all
Malaysians, regardless of race and religion.
Samy Vellu on the Fork Tongue of PMX (in Tamil) and another on the Hindu Temple issue (in Bahasa)
In an
open letter to Anwar Ibrahim, PKR lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim urged the
prime minister to resolve the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple issue with
fairness and wisdom.
The
Pasir Gudang MP said the Hindu temple in Jalan Masjid India, Kuala
Lumpur, should not be demolished to make way for a mosque, which should
be constructed adjacent to it instead.
āI am writing this open
letter as a Muslim MP from PKR (which is part of Pakatan Harapan), a
supporter of the Madani government, and a long-time personal supporter
of Anwar.
āIn line with the principles of the Madani government,
which are rooted in the Islamic philosophy of justice and compassion, I
urge Anwar to resolve the issue of the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple
with fairness and wisdom.
Anonymous_3f4b : Wo men se yi jia ren.
Anak melayu anak saya, anak cina anak saya, anak India anak saya, anak bengali anak saya, anak kadazan anak saya, anak Iban anak saya, anak hamas anak saya, anak palestin anak saya bla bla bla.
All election campaign fodder.
All are forgotten once power and interests are achieved.
Can this man be trusted?
OCT : Anwar had painted himself into a corner. Whatever the outcome later will be lose to him. The final decision won't be a win win but a lose lose for Anwar. If Anwar proceeds with the relocation of the temple and build a mosque on the site, it will incur the wrath of the NM for his 2R favoritism.
However, if he decides to let the temple stays put, MM will come after him for not protecting 2R. The most probably result is that die die he will be there on March 27 to officiate the launching of the mosque as he has no choice but to safe his pride, premiership and 2R.
He thinks he can live with ignoring the religious rights of NM. This is a really tough decision. Anwar should be more smart before stepping on the mine. So many writeups, opinions and suggestions about this together with hundreds of comments. Most of the comments are not nice to Anwar. It is not the case on relocating the temple. It has become a case of respect for all religions and the minorities.
This dispute is played right out for the world audience to see. Whichever one sees it, it will put a dent on Anwar's image and reputation. Nobody wins in a religious conflict. It can be seen as self inflicted wound. Anwar is not made as a statesman.
Anwar is an accidental PM. He doesn't knows how to govern with integrity, respect and honour in a multi religious multi racial country. Perhaps the premiership is not suitable for Anwar. Sales advisor is a better job.
MS : The irrational vehemence of The Chameleon in pushing to erect a Madani mosque may be seen by the following facts as outlined by OSTB.
"The Masjid India area in Kuala Lumpur already has THREE plus 1 mosques.
The first one is the Masjid India itself which gives the place its name.
The second one is the Masjid Jamek whose main entrance is across Jalan Tun Perak.
Then there is the Masjid Besar IPD Dang Wangi (at Jalan Dang Wangi).
All these three mosques are within walking distance of each other.
And all three mosques conduct the Friday prayers.
Just beside the Masjid India area is Dataran Merdeka. And at the end of Dataran Merdeka is the huge Masjid Negara. Also within walking distance."
So is it to fill an actual need that this plan has been mooted?
No. It is to satisfy the need of one narcissistic leader to perpetuate the memory his divisive reign
Quadrant : āAustralians not only want
to decide who comes to this country but the cultures from which they
come.ā Thatās from Nick Cater, senior fellow at the Menzies Research
Centre, who was re-working John Howardās famous line, this in regard to the recent industrial-scale citizenship ceremony organised by immigration minister Tony Burke. Cater hits the multicultural nail on the head and I urge Quadrant Online
visitors to visit his Substack post and read the whole thing.
His words
are highly relevant when culture clash is our daily fare and streets
fill river-to-sea with supporters of Gazaās terrorists.
After October 7ās barbarism and the ongoing massacres of Christians
and Alawites in Syria, much of the Middle East is perhaps more aptly
described as the Medieval East. Strangling babies, raping women, killing
them and dragging their bodies through the streets to be spat upon and
beaten by delirious mobs. Hostages are
mistreated for long months, then paraded and denigrated as their masked
tormentors brandish guns and revel in the cheers of co-religionists who
treat them as heroes. Celebrating death, flouting international laws and
norms, thatās so much of life and culture in the Middle East.
In the Qatari governmentās daily Al-Sharq newspaper,
journalist Abd Al-Razzaq Aal Ibrahim wrote that āZionists and Jews are
treacherous and corrupt and full of filth, wickedness and depravity.ā
Warming to his topic, Jews were also ābats of darknessāā and the ādevils
of hell who suck the blood of the nations ⦠and are incorrigibly full
of resentment and jealousy.ā
And here, too, the medieval mindset is evident and growing more
assertive. Southern Sydney Al Madina Dawah Centre preacher Wissam
Haddad, to cite one local peddler of florid hated, is being taken to
court for sermons in which he allegedly called Jews ādescendants of pigs
and monkeysā and much worse.
The strangest thing is that a supposedly enlightened West has come to
accept these wild-eyed, cartoonish hysterics as valid manifestations of
a respectable cultural cohort. This despite Islamās jumble of
scriptures ā peace in one breath, merciless slaughter in the next ā
being so often antithetical to the modern Westās Judeo-Christian
tolerance and compassion.
In these times of intense,
fanatical religious fervour on the part of extremist Muslims, we in
Australia have seen a submissive political class prefer to parrot the
nostrums of multiculturalism rather than utter anything more than pro
forma regrets about yesterday and tomorrowās anti-Semitic outrages, be
they on the Opera House steps, or seen in the flames of a burning
Melbourne synagogue and, in Sydney, a Jewish child-care centre put to
the torch.
Islam has a word for such non-Muslims, the sort who submit, who go along to get along: dhimmis
Christian believers, whatever their doctrinal differences, all
subscribe to the foundational commendation that one should o ādo unto
others as you would have them do unto youā. I am not a believer in any
god, but Jesusā counsel is the voice of peace and amity. Christianityās
icons are the dove of peace, the crown of thorns on a heart symbolising
love, and the suffering figure on a crucifix. While Jesus forgave even
those who crucified him, the Muslimsādemanded severed heads and
the slaughter of those who did no wrong other than a refusal to
bow. Christians turn the other cheek (or are supposed to), Islamic urges
slashing it.
Yet we must speak of Islam with respect regardless of its
nasty bits ā especially when those most at odds with their host
countryās traditions are voters in Muslim-heavy electorates. But respect
cannot be genuine if the recipient fails to return the favour.
What happens to a society when it tolerates the intolerant? Itās a debate Karl Popper famously teased out in his seminal work, The Open Society and Its Enemies. One online view Iāve come across puts it succinctly:
Popperās central claim is deceptively
simple: unlimited tolerance leads to the destruction of tolerance
itself. Imagine a society that welcomes all views, no matter how
extreme. Over time, intolerant ideas could infiltrate institutions,
erode freedoms, and silence dissent. To safeguard tolerance, Popper
contends, a line must be drawnābut where and how? Thatās the rub. His
framework doesnāt offer easy answers, but it gives us a lens through
which to evaluate these challenges.
In a Judeo-Christian country, such as Australia, there is a ready
line to be drawn: our border. Given that intolerant Islam and a tolerant
West are oil and water, perhaps we should avoid letting them mix.
In our culture, women are celebrated and promoted, accorded equal
rights and treated with respect before the law. In Islam they are
subjugated, frequently the subjects of genital mutilation, hidden
partially or wholly from view and at a gross disadvantage in any sharia
court. In our culture, freedom of religion is sacrosanct, whereas in
Islam you can practice any religion as long as itās Islam. In our
culture your sexual inclinations are your own business whereas in Islam
itās the stateās business, the state being conjoined to Islam.