We have failed you, Brother James

-->When you left us all of a sudden, your hopes and wishes were left for us to fend

Restaurant business continues to prosper and seems to be in good hands

Our brothers try as hard to improve the business as they can

But then along the way, the path to success was marred by brotherly rants

What do you expect when one seems to be in total control?

How can they work as one when another one is almost incommunicado?

When finances and all are in a state of improbable fold

The end of Gourmet Terrace is already foretold

Now, like a flash of lightning, the restaurant has been sold

There goes all your hard work and the many sacrifices untold

Deep inside me there is anger and I cried for your poor soul

Oh James, how can I redeem your pride and lost pot of gold?

For far too many times we have failed you again and again

I can see your anger, frustrations and disdain

Please James, I seek your forgiveness with a deep sense of heart pain

We need your guidance to the path of success without

anymore restrains

What is gone is already gone

For there is no point to moan but to look beyond

We will fulfill your wish for brotherly bond

So James, please go seek solace with God and not be torn

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Five lessons for Pakatan Rakyat to be relevant

1) Patience and not hasten

The major victory of PR during the March 08 general election has brought so much of cheers among the people that it almost changed the course of the political history in this country. Maybe the cheers were so loud that it has gone into the heads of its leader who boldly declared that it has the necessary numbers of MPs who will crossed over to PR and thereby giving it a simple majority to form the next government. This number game has caused so much of confusion and a sense of false hope that in the end it was the BN that capitalize on this to wrest power in Perak.

It will be a very different political scenario if PR had planned on how to win the hearts of the people and shows what it can do to guide the country to greater heights. It must be patience enough and allow time for the people to follow and understand its political struggle.

2) From jubilation to turbulence

With the failure of PR to form the next government, we can now see the true colors of some of its MPs. Because these MPs felt there will be no rewards for them if they stay with PR, they decided to jump ship and switched alliance to BN. Only God knows what, who and how much is involved. And because money is able to do wonders, we see how these froggies attack PR through the many sinister revelations. Whether these revelations are facts or fictions, it has done enough damage and cause so much of turbulence in PR. It is with great importance now for PR to put its house in order before more froggies will jump ship.

3)Focus and not hocus-pocus

By now PR must have realized that, by simply winning big in an election does not guarantee that all will be smooth sailing. There is no magic wand for PR to do what it wants wantonly. It should stay focus on its political struggle for the people and the country. It must be bold enough to discard the old political rhetoric of racism which the people despise the most. One of the ways to achieve this is for all the component parties of PR to show true camaraderie and to speak with one voice. PR need not worry too much on those political goons who seem to thrive and survive on racism, let all right minded Malaysians take care of them through the ballot box.

4)Careful selection for greater contributions

Ah, this is the mother of all problems in PR. You see how all those froggies who have jumped ship hurling accusations and criticisms against PR. No one has an iota of inkling in PR that this can happen because no one too foresee that PR can managed to win big in the election. So any one at that time who is willing to stand for the election can be considered without vexing the true credentials, ability and background of the candidates by the PR leaders with PKR being the greatest culprit. I believe PR must have learned this bitter lesson so that in future only quality candidates will stand for elections.

5)Change or be changed

We have seen how PR made silly mistakes and blunders and how they were made to eat humble pie by BN. We have also seen how PR being attack on all fronts by BN through its controlled mainstream medias. With all these negative effects, PR must start to plan its strategy and willing to change and adapt to the needs and aspirations of the people. Whatever mistakes PR have committed, we as voters must be equally focused to support PR so that justice and fairness ca become a reality to all of us. After all, it is change we want, aren’t we?

Where life is cheap

Last Sunday, when there was nothing much for me to do, I decided to pop into the cinema to watch the Academy Award winner movie, The Hurt Locker which won the Best Picture category for 2009.

The storyline of the movie is base on the sacrifices of the US Army soldiers who are on duty in Iraq to provide security and to flush out the insurgents. It tells of a group of soldiers and a time bomb detonator who patrol the streets of Baghdad. Each time when they are out on the streets, there is fear that one might not come back alive. And very often, they will think of their families back home. And soldiers do cry!

Although it is only a movie, what has been shown is basically what the US soldiers have to endure in real life situations in Baghdad currently. In fact the chances of them being killed are extremely high. Because the soldiers are not able to differentiate between the insurgents and the ordinary people, they become easy targets. And when the insurgents mingled with the public, they can open fire or detonate themselves as suicide bombers easily. In fact, many soldiers have been killed either by suicide bombers or road-side bombs which are planted as an ambush. When the soldiers are patrolling on the streets, the insurgents can open fire like snipers from the rooftop and windows from the buildings. In other words, these soldiers are like sitting ducks waiting to be 'slaughtered' like a sacrificial lamb! Even with the advance technology of stealth and the Predator, neither one can save them.

In such a guerrilla warfare, there is no way the US Army is going to win: neither the battle nor the war. They have lost in the Vietnam War and the Russians too have lost the war in Afghanistan. In both wars, guerrilla warfare were engaged through the effective use of the tunnels by the Vietcongs and the supreme rein of the mountainous regions by the Afghans. And now the insurgents and the terrorists have the suicide bombers. While the US soldiers seemed to enjoy their booze and good life in the army camp, the terrorists seemed to 'enjoy' death and therefore, have already won a psychological warfare against the US soldiers.

With such a high mental stress on the soldiers and the fear of death looming over their heads each day, I believe many are on the verge of mental breakdown. I hope the soldiers can be sent home the soonest possible and wait to fight a more meaningful war: a war which they can be proud to fight and to die for.

Peace or War? It depends on all of us.

How we respect one another.

How we listen to one another.

How we understand one another.

How we believe in one another.