You could have heard a pin drop !

[mobaholic]

In France , at a fairly large conference, Prime Minister Steven Harper was asked by a French cabinet minister if Canadian involvement in Afghanistan was just an example of "empire building".
Mr Harper answered by saying, 'Over the years, Canada 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.


A Canadian Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the Canadian, US, English, 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, North Americans generally 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 Canadian 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.
 

When Robert Whiting, an elderly Canadian gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane at the French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
The official replied "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."
The Canadian said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."
"Impossible, Monsieur.  Canadians always have to show passports on arrival in France !"
The Canadian senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look.  Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore 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.

[petkow]

Hi (and a happy new year to all)...

So I take it the Canadians really do not like the French very much? 

The 3 stories are perhaps some food for thought but IMHO the members here (foneforumers) are a very international lot! I'm not sure if I agree that this is a good stage for these sort of anecdotes. Let's not forget that some might consider these to play a bit heavily on national stereotypes or certain national viewpoints of important historical accounts as well as ongoing world events.  I think several members here will agree with me here that the reasons for the war in Afganistan are complex and best not discussed here.

Apart from that, each anecdote reflects a biased view point. For example most historians strongly disagree with the common misunderstanding that the French themselves were hardly involved in the D-day landings. This seems to be the sentiment expressed in the 3rd anecdote. It's fairly well accepted that networking and path paving ops undertaken by the French resistance saved many allied lives! It might also be a little known fact to the Canadians that the USA were actually only single votes short of chosing German as their national operating language... and this was several generations before Herr Hitler and his dreams of German world domination.
edit: I just cross checked this and got it wrong. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhlenberg_legend

Some might say I am lacking a sense of humour... but I just think that certain things are best discussed in closed circles and not on public forums, especially those with members from diverse backgrounds and cultures!

[mobaholic]

Thank you for your comments petkow.  I note that you have expressed your reservations, but I am pleased to see that you have done so in a measured way.  I therefore do not wish to attack you for lacking a sense of humour, but I will take this opportunity to make some explanation.

Firstly, I did not actually make any selection of the stories: the three arrived together in an email from a friend.

Secondly, the favour towards Canadians is no national bias of mine, as I am not one.

Thirdly, I am aware of the sensitivity of mentioning Afghanistan, but that was only in one story out of the three, and I in no way made the post to make any political comment about that country.

I am not sure that you are correct about the sentiment expressed in the 3rd story.  I took it myself to mean that the German troops were on the run, and there were no French authorities as the country had been under occupation.

Lastly, I am somewhat tired of the pressure to be 'politically correct' all the time, and quite enjoy a few national jokes ( especially at the expense of the French ! )       
( Memories of Charles de Gaulle's "Non! non! non!" run deep, especially after we sheltered him in our country during the war. )       

[petkow]

But I am french! 

Just kidding... but thanks for the detailed explanation! No I didn't really see a maple leaf stitched to your backpack either!

I too got (almost) the same email nearly a year ago with the same stories (along with another one not mentioned here about GWB sending an aircraft carrier to aid Tsunami victims) though in those the subject was always an American. In the first story Steven Harper was replaced by Colin Powell being asked by the archbishop of Canterbury. It's actually quite amusing that this line of stories has been reworded with the Canadians rather than Americans.

French-bashing was obviously quite the vogue when they voted against the invasion of Iraq which was followed by the renaming of "liberty fries"! I've got a silly niggling question though: Are there actually any Canadian or US soldiers that are burried in Afganistan? Aren't they all repatriated?

[mobaholic]

I have no problem with your first 3 paragraphs petkow, thank you.       

But in your 4th, aren't you going against your own best advice to steer well clear of controversy ?       

The French objection to the Iraq war was actually one of the few things I admire about them !       

On your last question, ( which I was somewhat surprised to see ), aren't you missing the point entirely - that the corpses mount up, whereever they rest, are cremated, or are sent in bin bags.       

[Graham]

Have to agree with you about how tiresome political correctness can be, MH. How right you are about that 'bar steward' De Gaulle!!

[mobaholic]

Have to agree with you about how tiresome political correctness can be, MH. How right you are about that 'bar steward' De Gaulle!!

Lol !       

I remember it well, as we had a French student staying with us, shortly after the infamous veto.       

His ( unsolicited ) comment was: "Il est trop mauvais pour être français!"