ACS
Legendary Member
- Location
- Just below the snow line
In England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by
the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
example of 'empire building' by the United States.
He answered by saying,' Over the years, the United States has sent
many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for
freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever
asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
There was a conference in France where a number of international
engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a
break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying
'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt the United States has done??
They have sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami
victims. What do they intend to do, bomb them?'
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have
three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they
are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to
shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to
feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several
thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they
carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and
injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships;
how many does France have?'
You could have heard a pin drop.
A Canadian Admiral was attending a naval conference that included
Admirals from the Canadian, U.S., English, Australian and French
Navys. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a
large group of officers that included personnel from most of those
countries.
Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks
but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans
learn many languages, North Americans generally learn only English.'
He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in
these conferences rather than speaking French?'
Without hesitating, the Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the
Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't
have to speak German.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
Robert Whiting, an elderly Canadian gentleman of 83, arrived in
Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate
his passport in his carry on.
"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer
asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously
"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."
The Canadian said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show
it."
"Impossible. Canadians always have to show passports on arrival in
France!"
The Canadian senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he
quietly explained, "Well, when I came ashore on D-Day in 1944 to
help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to
show a passport to."
Now in the braced position awaiting the inevitable backlash ………………
the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
example of 'empire building' by the United States.
He answered by saying,' Over the years, the United States has sent
many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for
freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever
asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
There was a conference in France where a number of international
engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a
break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying
'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt the United States has done??
They have sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami
victims. What do they intend to do, bomb them?'
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have
three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they
are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to
shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to
feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several
thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they
carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and
injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships;
how many does France have?'
You could have heard a pin drop.
A Canadian Admiral was attending a naval conference that included
Admirals from the Canadian, U.S., English, Australian and French
Navys. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a
large group of officers that included personnel from most of those
countries.
Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks
but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans
learn many languages, North Americans generally learn only English.'
He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in
these conferences rather than speaking French?'
Without hesitating, the Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the
Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't
have to speak German.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
Robert Whiting, an elderly Canadian gentleman of 83, arrived in
Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate
his passport in his carry on.
"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer
asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously
"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."
The Canadian said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show
it."
"Impossible. Canadians always have to show passports on arrival in
France!"
The Canadian senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he
quietly explained, "Well, when I came ashore on D-Day in 1944 to
help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to
show a passport to."
Now in the braced position awaiting the inevitable backlash ………………
