I received the following short summaries from an email forwarded to me. The politics of these statements can be interpreted in several different ways but there is more than politics in what's being said.
You decide:*****
When in England at a 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 that did not return.
You could have heard a pin drop.
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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 Bush stunt? He 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: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and 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.
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A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies.
At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a 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, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than French?'
Without hesitating, the American 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.
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A group of American retired teachers, recently went to France on tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly 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 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 passports on arrival in
France!"
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained.
"When I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any damn Frenchmen to show it to."
You could have heard a pin drop .
Leave a comment about these remarks, if you care to.
