> >>>> >When in England at a fairly large conference,
> >>>> >[span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1192492845_1" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0%; mozbackground-clip: mozinitial; mozbackground-origin: mozinitial; mozbackground-inline-policy: mozinitial;"]Colin Powell[/span] was asked by the Archbishop of
> >>>> > Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
> >>>> >example of "empire building" by [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1192492845_2" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);"]George Bush[/span].
> >>>> >
> >>>> >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."
> >>>> >It became very quiet in the room.
**************
> >>>> >Then there was a conference in [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1192492845_3" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);"]France[/span] 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 [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1192492845_4" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);"]Indonesia[/span] to help the tsunami
> >>>> >victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?"
> >>>> >
> >>>> >A [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1192492845_5" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0%; mozbackground-clip: mozinitial; mozbackground-origin: mozinitial; mozbackground-inline-policy: mozinitial;"]Boeing[/span] 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 [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1192492845_6" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);"]France[/span] have?"
> >>>> >Once again, dead silence.
*****************
> >>>> >A [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1192492845_7" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);"]U.S. Navy[/span] 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?'
> >>>> >
> >>>> >This is pretty good!
> >>>> >
> >>>> >
> >>>> >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.'
> >>>> >You could have heard a pin drop!
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