Conversation stoppers

Courtesy of my friend Bob Leone, these historical reminders:

JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's, at a time when DeGaule had decided to pull out of NATO, demanding that all US military personnel get out of France as soon as possible.
Rusk asked: "Does that include those who are buried here?"
DeGaule did not respond.
You could have heard a pin drop.

At a conference in France, a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and Americans. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt by President Bush? 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 United States, along with the British, Canadian, Australian, and French navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from all 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 because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."
You could have heard a pin drop.

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At 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 a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."
You could have heard a pin drop.

Rico says maybe we're being hard on the French... Nah.