Quote: Revolutionary conduct is a mirror of revolutionary faith

A short quote and, for the more patient, a long quote:

"... We left Mexico in a leaky boat with 82 men on board. Of those 82, only 12 would survive to witness our victory."

"... Military science assumes that the bigger the army, the stronger it is. On the other hand, only vaguely do they recognise that during military combat, the final strength of an army is also its physical capacity multiplied by one unknown 'x'. This 'x' is none other than the spirit of the troops measured as their greater or lesser desire to fight and confront danger. Men with the desire to fight, who also understand why they are fighting, regardless of who they are fighting, whether under the command of military geniuses or those of normal intelligence, fighting with clubs or machine guns, ... these men will put themselves in the most advantageous positions while fighting and they will triumph."

(Source: First half-hour of the four-hour film 'Che')

Should men wear the face Burqa?

The number of young ladies choosing (!) to adopt full-scale Burqa/Niqab east side of London is on the up proper. They seem happy lol.

"... If you go the beach, for example... men are not covering their chest and women are covering their chests. Why? Because all of us admit that there are differences between the body of a man and the body of a woman..."

"... The face of a man is not attractive to a woman *as* the face of a woman is attractive to a man..."

(Source: Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad, 'Debating the Burqa')

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=0B68C599EED95259Worth watching.

Watch this first though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlkxlzTZc48
Funny guy.

Those Beautiful Butterflies

"Fighting successfully is not simply a matter of being so brave that you are unbothered by the fight. Everyone feels butterflies in their stomach. The key is to get the butterflies to fly in formation..."

"The will to win, compares little with the will to prepare to win."

(Source: Fighter's Notebook: A Manual of Mixed Martial Arts)

The path to that point moves through sweat and blood.

The Extremists of Pakistan

"They have no tolerance. They speak, abusively if necessary, and desire little debate in return. They order and demand to be obeyed. They care not of another's grievance or state of affairs, nor make any effort towards an understanding of such. They choose to remain ignorant of the world around and its realities that impact them. They wish their every whim to be met and every diktat to be followed by all. They are prepared to use violence - brutal, unrelenting and destructive violence – until they get their way..."

http://pakobserver.net/200906/09/Articles03.asp

Outstanding comment piece.

allahumma innaa naj3aluka fee nu7oorihim wa na3oodhu bika min shuroorihim.

The D Word

"... The British public, never keen to look too long at death, were not invited to go deeper. That mysterious place was illuminated only by The Sun and Mirror pieties, where the angels were calling and Jade would be 'the brightest star in the sky'..."

(Source: The Economist, March 28th 2009, Obituary in memory of Jade Goody)

Inevitable. Tough but inevitable.

Muslim Schools (or, rather, damn Muslims!)

"... these children spend a lot of time in a Muslim cocoon. They are drilled intensively in their faith outside school; what goes on inside school reflects both state policy and local social reality."

"... For all the time spent on instruction, many young Muslims have never heard much about how to apply their faith to daily life."

(Source: The Economist, March 28th 2009)

From an article aptly named 'A long, long lesson'. Worth reading. Touches upon a number of topics.

http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13375938

Documentary Review: Pride Decade

Title: Pride Decade
Language: English
Format: Documentary, Martial Arts
Running time: 2 hours
Release date: 2009

Compulsory viewing for mixed martial arts fans. Excellent presentation of Pride Fighting Championships' ten-year lifespan (1997-2007), from inception to sale. Good mixture of narrative, interviews and fight footage (not to forget the dramatic music!).