A Bit Of John Cleese Humor

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kashmir

Lifer
May 17, 2011
2,712
64
Northern New Jersey
ALERTS TO THREATS IN 2013 EUROPE
From JOHN CLEESE
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Syria and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.
The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.
The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France 's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose."
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels ..
The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.
Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is cancelled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the last final escalation level.
Regards, John Cleese , British writer, actor and tall person
And as a final thought - Greece is collapsing, the Iranians are getting aggressive, and Rome is in disarray. Welcome back to 430 BC.
Life is too short...

 
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rmason

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 27, 2013
765
0
That was absolutely hilarious Kashmir, thank you for sharing this with us; and it made my day.

~Ron

 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,636
14,758
Very funny...I too have long been a Cleese fan. I consider Fawlty Towers to be possibly the funniest thing that was ever on TV.
This “alerts” piece of his also serves as a good illustration of just how deep and profound the imprint of WW2 is on the collective psyche...and the extent to which that imprint still shapes our perceptions of the world.

 

yaddy306

Lifer
Aug 7, 2013
1,372
504
Regina, Canada
I like John Cleese, and I like this piece.
But the piece is not written by John Cleese.

See snopes.com or John Cleese's official webpage, thejohncleese.com

 

dermotfahy

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 14, 2013
166
0
Would love to hear if he had something about America

The United States lowered its threat level today, from (11) "Suspicious that we are no longer being taken seriously" to (12) "Audible Tittering from the third world." As this is the lowest of their official threat levels, their press secretary has announced that when they have to lower it again, they will borrow Canada's system. In case of having to raise the threat level, as unlikely as that seems, they have recourse to the following levels:
10 "Expensive Waste of Munitions." Used quite often recently.

09 "Hide Head in Sand." Used twice, always followed by level 1.

08 "Get whupped by various Spaniards." Used once.

07 "Get Shown up by the Soviets." Used three times.

06 "Happy Days." Surprisingly, this one hasn't been used all that often.

05 "General Housekeeping." Used often, sometimes interchangeably with "Show up the Soviets."

04 "Whup various Spaniards" Used four times.

03 "Make Great Britain look Inept." Third level, used twice.

02 "Show up the Soviets." Probably the most used level.

01 "Save the World." Highest level, used twice. (See Germany's "Lose" level, above.)

"Family Bickering." Used once, ("Don't ever push the red one!") Doesn't count in the hierarchy.

 

kashmir

Lifer
May 17, 2011
2,712
64
Northern New Jersey
Well, I may stand corrected it seems. Sure sounds like something he'd write tho. I went to his website, where apparently there's a John Cleese forum (of all things), where there's a blurb on this:
"Today this piece is going viral on Facebook/Twitter/Internet etc. It first surfaced in 2007, apparently, but now has some comments that include current affairs. Is it really by John Cleese or is it by John Humberstone"?
http://thejohncleese.com/forum/discussion/113/is-this-an-authentic-piece-by-john-cleese#Item_30

 

simnettpratt

Lifer
Nov 21, 2011
1,516
2
I actually have that saved in My Documents.
I've always said I believe the Scots are pissed off because of the cold and the kilts.

 

pipefish

Can't Leave
Aug 25, 2013
341
8
Absolutely hilarious--the Scots and German references were my favorites! Thanks so much for posting!

 
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