WARNING: Three Moments of Silence (May offend)

X5323601
Fairbanks, Alaska USA

Posted: Apr 11, 2008, 2:20 PM CST

When 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 George Bush. 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 who did not return." It became very quiet in the room.

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were present, 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 Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he 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?" Dead silence.

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S , English, Canadian, Australian, and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers who 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, Americans 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 American Admiral replied 'Maybe its because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.' Silence

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rescuemepleez
clydebank, Strathclyde, Scotland UK

Posted: Apr 11, 2008, 2:29 PM CST

OH AH....:laugh..

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Detente
North West, England UK

Posted: Apr 11, 2008, 2:32 PM CST

X5323601 wrote:

When 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 George Bush. 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 who did not return." It became very quiet in the room.

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were present, 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 Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he 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?" Dead silence.

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S , English, Canadian, Australian, and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers who 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, Americans 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 American Admiral replied 'Maybe its because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.' Silence

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OUTRAGEOUS
San Juan, Panama Panama

Posted: Apr 11, 2008, 3:00 PM CST

X5323601 wrote:

When 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 George Bush. 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 who did not return." It became very quiet in the room.

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were present, 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 Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he 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?" Dead silence.

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S , English, Canadian, Australian, and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers who 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, Americans 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 American Admiral replied 'Maybe its because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.' Silence

Clear example of foot in mouth...

when I was very young, I met a Colombian man, we became very good friends later... but when we first met, I asked him, being rude and cocky and arrogant as I was: so you are from Colombia, I hear Colombia has a lot of drugs"... he looked me in the eye, and without losing a beat, he said "We also have a Literature Nobel Prize, Gabriel Garcia Marquez".... That shut me up for good, and taught me not to make assumptions any more...

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X5323601
Fairbanks, Alaska USA

Posted: Apr 11, 2008, 3:05 PM CST

OUTRAGEOUS wrote:

Clear example of foot in mouth...

when I was very young, I met a Colombian man, we became very good friends later... but when we first met, I asked him, being rude and cocky and arrogant as I was: so you are from Colombia, I hear Colombia has a lot of drugs"... he looked me in the eye, and without losing a beat, he said "We also have a Literature Nobel Prize, Gabriel Garcia Marquez".... That shut me up for good, and taught me not to make assumptions any more...