Political Faux Pas

"Funny Mistake"

This is a true story from the Japanese Embassy
in US.

A few years ago, Prime Minister Mori was given
some Basic English conversation training before
he visits Washington and meets president Bill
Clinton...

The instructor told Mori, "Prime Minister, when you
shake hand with President Clinton, please say
'how are you'. Then Mr. Clinton should say," I'm fine,
and you?" Now you should say 'me too'. Afterwards
we, translators, will do all the work for you."

It looks quite simple, but the truth is....When Mori
met Clinton, he mistakenly said "Who Are You?"
instead of "How are you".

Mr. Clinton was a bit shocked but still managed
to react with humor: "Well, I'm Hilary's husband,
ha-ha...."

Mori replied, "Me too, ha-ha.."

Then there was a long silence in the meeting room.

*******************************************

"Political Faux Pas"

In her memoirs, Barbara Bush described one of
those most embarrassing moments that inevitably
occur, even on the most carefully advanced of foreign
trips. Along with her husband, then the Vice President,
Mrs. Bush was lunching with Emperor Hirohito at
Tokyo's Imperial Palace.

Sitting next to the Emperor, Mrs. Bush found the
conversation an uphill task. To all her efforts at
verbal engagement, the Emperor would smile and
say "Yes" or "No," with an occasional "Thank You"
tossed in for good measure.

Looking around her elegant surroundings, she
complimented Hirohito on his official residence.

"Thank you," he said.

"Is it new?" pressed Mrs. Bush.

"Yes."

"Was the old palace just so old that it was falling
down?" asked the intrepid visitor.

In his most charming, yet regal, matter, Hirohito
replied, "No, I'm afraid that you bombed it."

Mrs. Bush turned to her other lunch partner.

*******************************************

"Mystery Solved"

Many will recall that on July 8, 1947, witnesses claim
an unidentified object with five aliens aboard crashed
on a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell,
New Mexico. This well-known incident many believe
has long been covered up by the US Air Force and
the federal government.

However, you may NOT know that in the month of
March 1948, exactly nine months after that historic
UFO reached earth, Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.; Hillary
Rodham; John F. Kerry; William Jefferson Clinton;
Howard Dean; Nancy Pelosi; Dianne Feinstein;
Charles E. Schumer; and Barbara Boxer were born.

This should clear up a lot of things...
Received on Sun Jan 14 09:24:40 2007