SteelClip49
5/31/2008, 09:59 AM
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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 '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
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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 '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