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sent to me by my sis, please dont construe this as being anti french or any other nationality.
This has been around before, but it says so much about how people in other countries judge Americans.
You could have heard 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 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.
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 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 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
‘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 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, the customs officer replied, ‘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.
The Customs Officer said, ‘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
Frenchmen
to show a passport to.’
You could have heard a pin drop.
This has been around before, but it says so much about how people in other countries judge Americans.
You could have heard 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 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.
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 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 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
‘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 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, the customs officer replied, ‘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.
The Customs Officer said, ‘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
Frenchmen
to show a passport to.’
You could have heard a pin drop.
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