wajajaja02
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2008
- Messages
- 667
GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACKS
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury, to apparently general approval by others in the group, if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire-building by George Bush.
Powell answered calmly, "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."
It became very quiet in the room.
A number of international engineers were taking part in a conference in France. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to 'help' the tsunami victims. What does he intended 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 each day of fresh, safe drinking water from sea water; and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting the injured and other victims to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have"?
Once again, dead silence.
A U.S Navy admiral was attending a naval conference that included high-ranking officers from a multitude of allied nations. At a cocktail reception he found himself standing with a large group that included personnel from many other countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks when a French admiral suddenly complained, "Whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English." He then asked in an irritated fashion, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French"?
Without hesitating, the American admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, New Zealanders 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:
A group of Americans, all retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83 and part of the group, 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 as the line behind Mr. Whiting grew.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready".
The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it".
"Impossible! Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France"!
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single damn Frenchman to show it to".
WE MAY NOT BE PERFECT, BUT WE'VE GIVEN MORE TO THE WORLD THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY AND MORE THAN ANYONE HAS GIVEN US.
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury, to apparently general approval by others in the group, if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire-building by George Bush.
Powell answered calmly, "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."
It became very quiet in the room.
A number of international engineers were taking part in a conference in France. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to 'help' the tsunami victims. What does he intended 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 each day of fresh, safe drinking water from sea water; and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting the injured and other victims to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have"?
Once again, dead silence.
A U.S Navy admiral was attending a naval conference that included high-ranking officers from a multitude of allied nations. At a cocktail reception he found himself standing with a large group that included personnel from many other countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks when a French admiral suddenly complained, "Whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English." He then asked in an irritated fashion, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French"?
Without hesitating, the American admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, New Zealanders 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:
A group of Americans, all retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83 and part of the group, 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 as the line behind Mr. Whiting grew.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready".
The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it".
"Impossible! Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France"!
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single damn Frenchman to show it to".
WE MAY NOT BE PERFECT, BUT WE'VE GIVEN MORE TO THE WORLD THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY AND MORE THAN ANYONE HAS GIVEN US.
