HiFiGator
06-02-2008, 04:09 PM
I originally put this in the "Too Hot" forum, but it is even more aprepos here.
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A PIN DROP
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.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then 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 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 re plied 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 t heir flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does
France have? '
You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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 that
we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than
speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'May
be 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...
A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a
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 that he had been to France
previously.
'Then you should know enough to hav e 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 '44 to
help liberate this country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it
to.'
You could have heard a pin drop
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve --
is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made
payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and
including his life.'
That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today,
who no longer understand that fact.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A PIN DROP
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.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then 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 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 re plied 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 t heir flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does
France have? '
You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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 that
we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than
speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'May
be 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...
A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a
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 that he had been to France
previously.
'Then you should know enough to hav e 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 '44 to
help liberate this country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it
to.'
You could have heard a pin drop
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve --
is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made
payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and
including his life.'
That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today,
who no longer understand that fact.