[font=Tahoma]I received this email as a part of Mensa newsletter. I thought you’d like it, but obviously you didn’t even understand it (and then I’m supposed to ask myself why a non-English speaker cannot understand English humour!?).[/font]
Demijohn has it right. Personally, I have no pro-Bush agenda. On the other hand, I believe that the loony-left thinks it has a sitting target in Dubya. They’re wrong (imho).
However, I find it interesting that the entire world feels empowered to dump on our elected President. Personally, I think Göran Persson is a dissembling wanker, but I’d of course never say so in an open forum.
That’s the guy. I wasn’t aware that he was personally responsible for Peace in Europe.
Pretty impressive, considering he’s only 54 years old. He must have been a very talented toddler.
Of course, when he says "Europe" he’s probably refering to the EU countries, which have seen plenty of insurgency but no proper war on their own territory during that time, as I recall. The wars that they did take part in over the past 50 years were mostly wog-bashing and don’t really count, do they.
As I said. A dissembling wanker. (Oops, I wasn’t going to say that in an open forum, was I. My bad.)
PW, surely you must know by now that in the USA it is a grand old tradition to use our elected officials as foils for humor. Why? You might ask. Because. For one thing, we can. We are rarely shot or hung because of it.
It was no accident that I chose the 350 year cutoff. I believe most of those whose primary motivation was monarch-bashing (at least those from England) made their sea journeys prior to that, i.e. before the English Civil War. Subsequent Atlantic-crossers most likely had other motives. Mine, for example, was love. :)
That’s a nice word for it. More likely it was because they were tired of the torpid class system, fed up with the lack of opportunities, wanted to get away from their families, at odds with the old order, or were simply adventurous. I think people tend to forget what a marvellous adventure the New World must have seemed to be for disenfranchised Europeans a century ago.
[quote author=Nymann link=board=omni;num=1056396578;start=0#3 date=06/24/03 at 09:07:35] 8)
[font=Tahoma] . . . but obviously you didn’t even understand it (and then I’m supposed to ask myself why a non-English speaker cannot understand English humour!?).[/font]
But this is obviously American humor, not English humour, so I understood it. However, I think we can all see how this probably wouldn’t translate well from English ("great mind . . . never mind.")
//Larry "A waist is a terrible thing to mind."
(Which probably won’t translate at all, especially if you’ve never seen the original commercial/PSA (Public Service Announcement)!)
[I’ll be glad to IM an explantion to anyone who requests it; I’ve been soundly thrashed in the past for explaining jokes on the Agora. Are you reading this, Grant? :D]
[quote author=Nymann link=board=omni;num=1056396578;start=0#3 date=06/24/03 at 09:07:35] 8)
[font=Tahoma]I received this email as a part of Mensa newsletter. I thought you’d like it, but obviously you didn’t even understand it (and then I’m supposed to ask myself why a non-English speaker cannot understand English humour!?).[/font]
Looking back through this thread, I have to assume that this comment was directed at moi.
Well, yes, I think I did understand the joke. And yes, I think it was silly. Which doesn’t mean that you can’t post it, even if it did come from Mensa. I post silly stuff all the time.
I am an English speaker and have been one since birth (or shortly after). Humor is a relative phenomenon. One man’s being hit by a falling grand piano is another man’s belly laugh. One man’s hysterical outbreak is another man’s big yawn.
I’m sorry if any of my remarks p i s s e d you off, but I can only post them as I see them.
Förlåt.
- PW
P.S.
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind."
Sorry, I had to add this: Larry, would that be related to waist management? ;D
Oh, I can never be "p i s s e d". Secondly, I didn’t write this joke, so you would have to complain to Mensa’s workers around thwe world. And, who says I don’t like Bush? Boo, silly… Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. Any name could be written instead of his.
And I’m not here for the politics. But the thing that you’re politically inspired by this tells so much about you. It’s like Rorschach’s patches!
Enjoy Agora’s good points! I can very easily delete all these posts by just pressing a button.
However, I think we can all see how this probably wouldn’t translate well from English ("great mind . . . never mind.") 
