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You could have heard a pin drop
VTX Cafe ^ | 31 May 2011 | ShinerDoc

Posted on 06/01/2011 11:30:52 AM PDT by ShadowAce

JFK’s Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60′s when Charles de Gaulle decided to pull out of NATO. De Gaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded, “Does that include those who are buried here?”

DeGaulle did not respond.

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 intend 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 finally…

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 their passports upon 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.


TOPICS: Humor; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS:
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1 posted on 06/01/2011 11:30:56 AM PDT by ShadowAce
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To: ShadowAce

Yup.


2 posted on 06/01/2011 11:33:47 AM PDT by Former Proud Canadian (Slugs and Bitter Clingers Unite.)
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To: ShadowAce

Oh, this one is an absolute keeper, BIG TIME.


3 posted on 06/01/2011 11:34:15 AM PDT by TLI ( ITINERIS IMPENDEO VALHALLA)
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To: ShadowAce

Are these true?


4 posted on 06/01/2011 11:35:19 AM PDT by RockinRight (Herman Cain stopped for gas in South Carolina and inadvertently won a Primary debate.)
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To: TLI

When I read it, I thought the same thing


5 posted on 06/01/2011 11:35:25 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: RockinRight

Don’t know, though I have my doubts (The quote about asking for land is iffy, I think—we do have military bases in foreign countries)


6 posted on 06/01/2011 11:36:33 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: ShadowAce

Still funny no matter how many times I read it.


7 posted on 06/01/2011 11:39:33 AM PDT by Vendome ("Don't take life so seriously... You'll never live through it anyway")
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To: ShadowAce

French Combat Deaths for the Battle of Normandy = ZIP ZERO NADA!!!!! Look it up!!!!


8 posted on 06/01/2011 11:40:00 AM PDT by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
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To: ShadowAce

bookmarked


9 posted on 06/01/2011 11:41:14 AM PDT by ßuddaßudd (7 days - 7 ways a Guero y Guay Lao >>> with a floating, shifting, ever changing persona.....)
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To: RockinRight

First two have been floating around for some time and are well-attested.

No idea about the others.


10 posted on 06/01/2011 11:42:55 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: massgopguy

When I was first reading this, I was expecting the “I flew in here in 1945, but I didn’t stop” line


11 posted on 06/01/2011 11:43:41 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: ShadowAce
we do have military bases in foreign countries

We don't own any of them except Gitmo.

We pay outlandish rent for the others.

12 posted on 06/01/2011 11:44:41 AM PDT by Dan(9698)
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To: massgopguy

Not to mention the French firing on our landing in Africa.


13 posted on 06/01/2011 11:45:11 AM PDT by hometoroost (Love the Onion story on a closed-ceremony "transparency" award. Oh wait, that actually happened.)
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To: Dan(9698)

Thanks for the info!


14 posted on 06/01/2011 11:45:22 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: massgopguy

Not to mention the French firing on our landing in Africa.


15 posted on 06/01/2011 11:45:25 AM PDT by hometoroost (Love the Onion story on a closed-ceremony "transparency" award. Oh wait, that actually happened.)
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To: ShadowAce

OUTSTANDING!!!


16 posted on 06/01/2011 11:45:43 AM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: RockinRight
Checked Snopes about Powell: http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/powell.asp

I was actually search for "you could hear a pin drop", figuring that by now, they'd have investigated all of them.

Short answer: the spirit of it is true for Powell, but it was overly simplified. Full text is at snopes.

17 posted on 06/01/2011 11:46:57 AM PDT by Tanniker Smith (I didn't know she was a liberal when I married her.)
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To: ShadowAce

Epic burn!!


18 posted on 06/01/2011 11:48:04 AM PDT by VanDeKoik (1 million in stimulus dollars paid for this tagline!)
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To: Professional Engineer

ping


19 posted on 06/01/2011 11:50:43 AM PDT by Peanut Gallery
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To: ShadowAce

Oh BUMP IT!


20 posted on 06/01/2011 11:50:55 AM PDT by ScreamingFist (Quiet the Idiot)
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