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An interesting letter....for our US brethren
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:51 am 
 

Thought this was interesting , but way off topic, and didn't want to destroy another thread:

John Cleese Letter to America
(Notice of Revocation of Independence - Dec. 2004)

To the citizens of the United States of America, in the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today.
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. You should look up revocation in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up aluminium. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour', skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix ize will be replaced by the suffix ise. You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra' e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation.
Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up vocabulary. Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up interspersed. There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad language as often.
2. There is no such thing as "US English". We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize.
3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney,upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents - Scottish dramas such as Taggart will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is Devon. If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become shires e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire.
4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as Men Behaving Badly or Red Dwarf will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.
5. You should relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.
6. You should stop playing American football. There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American football is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays American football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the 'World Series' for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders,your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls' game called rounders, which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.
7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called Indecisive Day.
9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time,you will go metric with immediate effect and conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.
11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.
12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer,and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. The substances formerly known as American Beer will henceforth be referred to as Near-Frozen Knat's Urine,with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as Weak Near-Frozen Knat's Urine. This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen,Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.
13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or Gasoline, as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon- get used to it).
14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.
15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy.
16. Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).
Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day.
John Cleese


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:23 am 
 

Heh.  I'm amused to see that the intro's been updated to 2004.  I imagine it will be updated again to 2008 if someone feels it necessary.  Don't expect the miscredit to John Cleese to disappear though. ;)


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:33 am 
 

that was VERY funny. that humouris John Cleese to a "T" - excellent stuff :)

Al


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:39 am 
 

Will we have to have bobbies and can we get bank holidays, too? I want bank holidays. But, don't expect me to start saying "cheque" any time soon... its just so.... wrong. :)


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:08 am 
 

Pretty funny stuff.  I especially enjoyed this part:

The substances formerly known as American Beer will henceforth be referred to as Near-Frozen Knat's Urine,with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as Weak Near-Frozen Knat's Urine.


I wholeheartedly agree.  :P   I just hope no one expects me to start eating beans on toast for breakfast.  That just isn't going to happen.  :wink:


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:24 am 
 

g026r wrote:Heh.  I'm amused to see that the intro's been updated to 2004.  I imagine it will be updated again to 2008 if someone feels it necessary.  Don't expect the miscredit to John Cleese to disappear though. ;)


You are quite correct. According to Snopes.com it was created in November 2000.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/revocation.asp[/quote]

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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:49 am 
 

Very funny.  Love John Cleese.


On a related note:  whenever I see these sorts of things I just remind everyone that the United States of America builds one hell of a bomb. :twisted:


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:00 am 
 

I'd be OK with the U.K. taking over.


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:06 am 
 

Very funny. I've never seen that before.  :lol:


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:12 am 
 

serleran wrote:Will we have to have bobbies and can we get bank holidays, too? I want bank holidays. But, don't expect me to start saying "cheque" any time soon... its just so.... wrong. :)


Cheque is the spelling that I was taught in school and still use, although every spell checker (not chequer) flags it as incorrect.

There is a Wikipedia entry for "cheque" that indicates the "Check" spelling is USA only.
(I guess as usual the USA is correct and the rest of the world is wrong).  :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheque


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:44 am 
 

Prufrock wrote:Very funny.  Love John Cleese.


On a related note:  whenever I see these sorts of things I just remind everyone that the United States of America builds one hell of a bomb. :twisted:


Martin


Yeah but now everyone else does as well...even France.  :wink:


You don't like your job, you don't strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way. - Homer Simpson

  

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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:45 am 
 

They lost me at #6.......

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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:03 am 
 

AdderMcOne wrote:
John Cleese Letter to America
(Notice of Revocation of Independence - Dec. 2004)

6. You should stop playing American football. There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American football is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays American football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game....


And it should be noted, difficult for England too, as their defeat at the weekend to Wales is a reminder.  Looks like France may end up the champions again  :wink:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/default.stm


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:53 am 
 

OH, does that mean I can now be a Lumberjack!

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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:15 pm 
 

Customer: It's not much of a cheese shop, is it?
Owner: Finest in the district!
Customer: (annoyed) Explain the logic underlying that conclusion, please.
Owner: Well, it's so clean, sir!
Customer: It's certainly uncontaminated by cheese....



  

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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:16 pm 
 

Traveller wrote:Customer: It's not much of a cheese shop, is it?
Owner: Finest in the district!
Customer: (annoyed) Explain the logic underlying that conclusion, please.
Owner: Well, it's so clean, sir!
Customer: It's certainly uncontaminated by cheese....


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:19 pm 
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3c3qJIwMDc

If you're not in the know :D


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Post Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:40 pm 
 

Hey I have a better way to handle this. The queen god love her soul and she is such a wonderful person. Should allow all of us INDIANS  to take over. We can glean the enjoyment of ripping apart the low lifes in D.C. who like to think themselves above the rest of American society. Not even to mention how they really feel about minorities.

Oh I am so sorry for all of the Americans here I should start over. Maybe she will allow all of us First People, (formerly knowns as Native Americans) Oh wait is that still politically correct to say First People today?

Ok Native Americans (Formerly known as Indians) Oops Sorry scratch that
Indians (Formerly known as Red Men, Natives, Savages, Injuns, and all of the other names that have been used.)

Anyhow if you are missing the rant its about how stupid it is that every couple years some moron in the government in the United States finds the term they are currently useing to describe what I am to be no longer politically correct. Which menas they then change it and expect me to start to use. it.

Come on I am an Indian and well all politicians are
Crooks, Scum, Loser, and well to be honest out of touch.

Fear Not though for America is about to give up her title of being so Americanized. The socialists in our government have been yelling we should be more like Europe for a while now. And no matter which one of the TWO (yeah big choice we get) parties wins this next election. We are going to be stuck with a Liberal in the leadership position.

Why oh why cant we clone Teddy Roosevelt and reclaim America?

I think I covered it all. But if Not I will end with

Americas about to become a very sad place.

<Terms and Conditions and release>
For all those Americans I apologize this is what happens when you live for the amount of years I have in a state with the highest unemployment rate, and no sign of it getting better as more and more people leave the state to find work. The government raises taxes on those who remain in order to cover their costs of a growing state government. Or in other words this is what happens to you when you live in Michigan and you have a CANADIAN for a governor.

All things said above are the personal opinnion of this person and not to be mistaken for the oppinions of the other members on the Acaeum or other forums on the internet. Oh and if your in the government.

BITE ME!!!

:P  :lol:

I feel better now. LOL


Bruce Thibodeau

  
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