You could have heard a pin drop

[Vteckidd]

Saw this on another forum...

You could hear a pin drop...


I hope you take the time to read this.

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 1944 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.

IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS,
PLEASE, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM.

[The BUCKY]

awesome post

[Echonova]

I love you.

[gforce23]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to.

*You could have heard a pin drop

Love this one..

[Pickleteg]

Absolutely awesome post!

[BanginJimmy]

its old and none of it is true, but it makes for good reading.

[ubers2k]

that was definitely awesome. Glad I woke up to that. lol

[tony]

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.

IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS,
PLEASE, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM.

Someone should explain that to John McCain who does not support increasing benefits for Veterans through the G.I Bill (And was in California looking for money while Hillary AND Barack flew in to vote) he says its "too generous." He of all people should be behind this.

Regardless, the propaganda post is nice. It gives the sense that if you don't support the effort then you are not patriotic which is far from the truth. Support to troops but also educate yourselves on the events that the chain email cites.

[blackshine007]

Good post

[BTLFED]

Great Post.

[Reaper]

best post i've read in a long time

[Jaimecbr900]

Some of you are so caught up with Bush haterisms to see the forest for the trees. In each and every single one of those alleged instances there is from cups of truth......to truck loads of truth. But the bottomline is that there is TRUTH in each and every one of those. Doesn't matter if Colin Powell said it, some generic older man said it, or My Dear Aunt Sally said it. Truth is always an absolute defense, so stop all the belly aching and recognize.

In a world chock full of people that preach "tough love" for their own flesh and blood, we have liberal pansies that would rather be whipping posts than real men/women and defend what's right from wrong.

Whatever.

[GGPIS3]

its always nice to see perspective drawn on a different platform. its too bad theres a handful of people who will never understand the meaning behind this thread

[0p7!mu5]

I have always supported troops. My family and a lot of close friends have served and i wanted to but couldnt. Im behind them 100% but what I am not behind however is sending our service men to die for a "war" that has very little evidence of ever needing to be stared in the first place. Afghanistan I understand but Iraq never sat well with me because the evidence didnt back up the action. And before any of you bastards get all "you're not a patriot" with me I do believe it is my constitutional right to say what i want and disagree and that our servicemen have upheld that with their own blood. I just dont see how you can say somebody can call anybody else unpatriotic and not be hypocritical. We are not back in the McCarthy era and i feel that our blame throwing in politics is kinda bringing back that policy. If we spent more time trying to elect people who can better the international image and protect America instead of worsening its image and way of life then i hope eventually such pointless conflict wont be needed and lives wont be sacrificed for a cause that the majority of us dont support. I think McCain should have supported the bill because a lot of these men and women put their lives on hold and give them up for a country no questions asked. The least they can do is offer them an education instead of worrying about troop strength. Hell if more poeple were intelligent enough or had the foresight at the time maybe we wouldnt be in the mess we're in now. And how would that be prevented without education? Just my 2 cents

[Spektrewing386]

i think most of america agrees with what 0p7!mu5 says.


truth is that the neocons have been wanting to do it since 91, but they just havnt read the manual for the other tools in the foreign policy box.

[rizzler]

awesome +1

[0p7!mu5]

i just find it sad that for McCain to be a soldier and not support this, same with bush, its almost like a damn ***** slap in my opinion. We should be focused on preventing **** like this from happening again without having to fire a bullet or kiss up to a damn terrorist organization. i mean a real foreign policy.

[BanginJimmy]

We should be focused on preventing **** like this from happening again without having to fire a bullet or kiss up to a damn terrorist organization. i mean a real foreign policy.

You just threw out the foreign policy of both major canidates for president.

One of my favorite quotes of all time:

"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." George Orwell

Another quote of his I believe is extremely relevent:

"The quickest way to end a war is to lose it"

[Spektrewing386]

actually, the quickest way to end a war is to not start it in the first place.

i think 0p7!mu5 had it wrong when he said "kiss up to", that is the kind of black and white thinking that gets us into trouble. To "kiss up to" is not the only other option besides physical war. Foreign diplomacy is not divided into kisses and bullets.

[IndianStig]

+REPS. i love these

[Kevykev]

good scenarios.

[JessAlba452]

Best post I have seen in a LONG time!



+Reps

[Tech5]

X2

awesome post

[BanginJimmy]

i think 0p7!mu5 had it wrong when he said "kiss up to", that is the kind of black and white thinking that gets us into trouble. To "kiss up to" is not the only other option besides physical war. Foreign diplomacy is not divided into kisses and bullets.

Obama's foreign policy is to kiss up to the world's tyrants. He has said on several occations he would meet with these tyrants with no pre-conditions. A US president doesnt meet with the English Prime Minister without pre-conditions. Plain and simple, if Obama meets with Iran with no pre-conditions he will be made a fool of in front of the world.

[vTeC]

Great post. I've never seen it before.

[tony]

Some of you are so caught up with Bush haterisms to see the forest for the trees. In each and every single one of those alleged instances there is from cups of truth......to truck loads of truth. But the bottomline is that there is TRUTH in each and every one of those. Doesn't matter if Colin Powell said it, some generic older man said it, or My Dear Aunt Sally said it. Truth is always an absolute defense, so stop all the belly aching and recognize.

In a world chock full of people that preach "tough love" for their own flesh and blood, we have liberal pansies that would rather be whipping posts than real men/women and defend what's right from wrong.

Whatever.

I'm going to go ahead and assume this was pointed toward me since I was the first to not go with the majority and praise the post.

First off.. I've been on the side of "Conservatism" for about.. 7 or 8 years now, voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, and pretty much voted republican through that time. I have made the decision to make a career change and pursue a position in the armed forces because it is what I feel in my heart. What has pissed me off with partisan politics and propaganda like the original post is its just that.. propaganda.

It plays to that whole.. "God Bless America and Nobody else" way of thinking.. its all well and good to have pride in your country but present it in a way that doesn't detour from the truth and creates tension (however slight) toward other nations.

Colin Powell was in Switzerland, not England when he stated that.. his presence was about a joint effort with the United Nations in dealing with Iraq, Colin Powell did not even support entering Iraq but rather focusing on our efforts in Afghanistan.

Our presence in WWI was not about saving the French from speaking German (especially since a good number of French citizens are fluent in German and vice versa) but rather we had no choice.. losing 128 citizens on the Lusitania struck by a german submarine puts you in a position where war is no longer a choice. Woodrow Wilson wanted no part of the war in Europe before then.

Our constitution is written on the notion of accountability, patriotism is much deserved in this country but c'mon now.. When chain letters start to manipulate the truth and what people believe all in the name of being patriotic.. someone has to question it.

[_Christian_]

Our presence in WWI was not about saving the French from speaking German (especially since a good number of French citizens are fluent in German and vice versa) but rather we had no choice.. losing 128 citizens on the Lusitania struck by a german submarine puts you in a position where war is no longer a choice. Woodrow Wilson wanted no part of the war in Europe before then.

I think that was referring more to WWII. Our presence obviously wouldn't be based on trying to save their language as much as securing their freedom. I hope you are aware that France was invaded by Germany in WWII... If France was still under German control what language do you think they'd speak?

[Jaimecbr900]

I'm going to go ahead and assume this was pointed toward me since I was the first to not go with the majority and praise the post.

It was directed at everyone that can't see the forest due to their obvious haterism for the Bush(es).

First off.. I've been on the side of "Conservatism" for about.. 7 or 8 years now, voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, and pretty much voted republican through that time. I have made the decision to make a career change and pursue a position in the armed forces because it is what I feel in my heart. What has pissed me off with partisan politics and propaganda like the original post is its just that.. propaganda.

Did we not defend, protect, and fight to liberate the French in WWII? Then what is "propaganda" about that? That's the point. You can polish a turd all you want, but in the end you still just have a shiny TURD.....right? The point is that no matter HOW you say it, if it's TRUE then that's it.....it's TRUE. Did we or did we not liberate the French, and the entire world for that matter, from Hitler's grasp? We DID. So if you make up a Kebbler Elf to say that we did, does the fact that an elf is saying it CHANGE the overall FACT???? NO. That is the point.

It plays to that whole.. "God Bless America and Nobody else" way of thinking.. its all well and good to have pride in your country but present it in a way that doesn't detour from the truth and creates tension (however slight) toward other nations.

And that is the U.N. way of thinking. "Let's worry about everyone and get permission from every country in the world to go to the bathroom" kind of thinking. To be honest, the U.S. should take the same stance 99% of the world takes.....you help me and I'll THINK about helping YOU some day. That's what really happens in the real world. When a famine, earthquake, political uprising, or in-grown toe nail happens in any corner of the world....just WHO is the first one sending first aid, money, and helping rebuild????? WE are. How often do any of those countries return the favor???? Hardly if ever. So why do WE need all these "permissions" from these same countries that are quick to hold their hand out when THEY need something but when WE want something suddenly they want to hug a tree or talk about Global Warming???? Give me a break.

Colin Powell was in Switzerland, not England when he stated that.. his presence was about a joint effort with the United Nations in dealing with Iraq, Colin Powell did not even support entering Iraq but rather focusing on our efforts in Afghanistan.

Once again, how does WHERE and WHEN he said something "change" WHAT he said? It doesn't, and that's the very point everyone that is splitting hairs just doesn't get.

Did he or didn't he say that? Then why does it matter if he said it at 2:07 p.m. as opposed to 2:30 p.m.? It doesn't. Right or wrong?

Our presence in WWI was not about saving the French from speaking German (especially since a good number of French citizens are fluent in German and vice versa) but rather we had no choice.. losing 128 citizens on the Lusitania struck by a german submarine puts you in a position where war is no longer a choice. Woodrow Wilson wanted no part of the war in Europe before then.

How many "citizens" died on 9/11? WHERE did those same terrorist receive training before 9/11? We could go on and on making parallels to this.

Bottomline is that if it were not for OUR troops the chicken $hit Frenchies would be drinking warm beer and driving w/o speed limits just like their neighbor. Again, right or wrong? The TRUTH is that France could not defend themselves against the Germans. WHO came to their aid? Then if we want to point that out in this context, why is that wrong? Again, truth is absolute defense.

[0p7!mu5]

actually, the quickest way to end a war is to not start it in the first place.

i think 0p7!mu5 had it wrong when he said "kiss up to", that is the kind of black and white thinking that gets us into trouble. To "kiss up to" is not the only other option besides physical war. Foreign diplomacy is not divided into kisses and bullets.

true, i misworded what i meant to say. I know its a grey area but imo its just the road less traveled it seems

[itsnotarex]

Completely true or not, this is a great post that makes some good points...especially the first one.

I do believe that we spend too much time trying to spread american ideals around the world when they wouldn't really take root in many places.

I've always supported our troops, however...even if I don't support what they're ordered to fight for.

[Kevykev]

I just want to thank you guys for reinforcing the reason why I DO NOT get into politics and political debates.

[BTLFED]

I just want to thank you guys for reinforcing the reason why I DO NOT get into politics and political debates.

I don't either. At the same time I enjoy reading them.

[Miranda]

You know... I hope that days like today remind all Americans that the very best of us have made harder sacrifices than we will ever be able to understand.

I also hope that today will serve to remind all of you that there should be a HUGE difference between being anti-war and anti-soldier. Today, if for even just ONE day... I pray that those Code Pink crazies will stay at home.


Thanks Mike... this was a good post. +1 for you buddy..

[TheProfiteer]

Our presence in WWI was not about saving the French from speaking German (especially since a good number of French citizens are fluent in German and vice versa) but rather we had no choice.. losing 128 citizens on the Lusitania struck by a german submarine puts you in a position where war is no longer a choice. Woodrow Wilson wanted no part of the war in Europe before then.

do you not find it a bit odd that it was actualy sunk in German controlled/occupied waters that were declared non-safe zones because the U-Boats in that area were given orders to attack anything that was not German. What was the Lusitania doing there in the first place?

[Kevykev]

I don't either. At the same time I enjoy reading them.

As do i, It signifies their passion for what they believe in. Only reason i choose not to get into politics is because when it all boils down, you're debating over the choices of 'MEN'. Tony, for example, clearly studies his stuff before he states a point.

I've also notice then when you read debates you'll see words like Propaganda and Lobbyist liberation etc.GUARANTEED . Those words have to be stated in order for you to be taken seriously.

p.s

I'm not poking fun at those who debate.

[BTLFED]

As do i, It signifies their passion for what they believe in. Only reason i choose not to get into politics is because when it all boils down, you're debating over the choices of 'MEN'. Tony, for example, clearly studies his stuff before he states a point.

I've also notice then when you read debates you'll see words like Propaganda and Lobbyist liberation etc.GUARANTEED . Those words have to be stated in order for you to be taken seriously.

p.s

I'm not poking fun at those who debate.

Thats why there are two things I never discuss: Politics and Religion.

[quickdodge®]

Cool post, Mike. Later, QD.

[blaknoize]

I have always supported troops. My family and a lot of close friends have served and i wanted to but couldnt. Im behind them 100% but what I am not behind however is sending our service men to die for a "war" that has very little evidence of ever needing to be stared in the first place. Afghanistan I understand but Iraq never sat well with me because the evidence didnt back up the action. And before any of you bastards get all "you're not a patriot" with me I do believe it is my constitutional right to say what i want and disagree and that our servicemen have upheld that with their own blood. I just dont see how you can say somebody can call anybody else unpatriotic and not be hypocritical. We are not back in the McCarthy era and i feel that our blame throwing in politics is kinda bringing back that policy. If we spent more time trying to elect people who can better the international image and protect America instead of worsening its image and way of life then i hope eventually such pointless conflict wont be needed and lives wont be sacrificed for a cause that the majority of us dont support. I think McCain should have supported the bill because a lot of these men and women put their lives on hold and give them up for a country no questions asked. The least they can do is offer them an education instead of worrying about troop strength. Hell if more poeple were intelligent enough or had the foresight at the time maybe we wouldnt be in the mess we're in now. And how would that be prevented without education? Just my 2 cents

U REALLY NEED TO MAKE UR PARAGRAPHS, PARAGRAPHS...

Otherwise, great post there mr. kidd. Though I'm followin Tony on this one, cuz thats just how I feel about this war.

[Vteckidd]

I think some people are reading too far into it.

Whether this is true or not, it just is a good thing to reflect upon this memorial day weekend.

Thanks for the positive responses

[quickdodge®]

Thanks for the positive responses

I left one in this thread, *******. Along with some reps. Just don't check your reps for a few days. Later, QD.