UK pays for WWII

[InsaneApache]

About time an' all.....

Britain will settle its World War II debts to the US and Canada when it pays two final instalments before the close of 2006, the Treasury has said.

The payments of $83.25m (£42.5m) to the US and US$22.7m (£11.6m) to Canada are the last of 50 instalments since 1950.

The amount paid back is nearly double that loaned in 1945 and 1946.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6215847.stm

A big thanks to our allies who helped us in our hour of need but 60 years!!! Yikes!

[Pannonian]

About time an' all.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6215847.stm

A big thanks to our allies who helped us in our hour of need but 60 years!!! Yikes!

Are the Americans going to start reciprocating those so-called technology exchange programmes? Which we could have sold to cover those payments, but which we idiotically gave away free in the naive belief that the Americans would keep their end of the bargain? Quite apart from those loans and their terms which Churchill and Keynes took exception to, the later McMahon Act was a spectacular act of betrayal. How big a chunk of those loans was spent on developing our own nuclear programme which should by right have had reciprocal access to American research?

Aside from that, an unadulterated thanks to the Commonwealth nations who helped us with scarcely a well-deserved complaint in our hour of need. The debt can never be repaid, except perhaps for Australia, who periodically extract their pound of flesh every time we play cricket. Rugby...football...tiddlywinks, etc.

[Strike For The South]

Hey we beat you in WWII dont think we wont do it agian

[Adrian II]

Hey we beat you in WWII dont think we wont do it agian

Try beating them at cricket. It's the only thing that hurts them.

[Strike For The South]

Try beating them at cricket. It's the only thing that hurts them.

I refuse to have American sweat grace a game in which we can never understand. I mean for Gods sake where are the damn pads! Somone could bruise!

[Adrian II]

I refuse to have American sweat grace a game in which we can never understand. I mean for Gods sake where are the damn pads! Somone could bruise!

No offense to our British friends, but maybe some American team could teach them to sweat. Their players seem to be lacking in that department lately...

[lars573]

Aside from that, an unadulterated thanks to the Commonwealth nations who helped us with scarcely a well-deserved complaint in our hour of need. The debt can never be repaid, except perhaps for Australia, who periodically extract their pound of flesh every time we play cricket. Rugby...football...tiddlywinks, etc.

Your welcome.

And remember after Dunkirk there was only 1 division in all of Britain fully armed. The one that had been late to the BEF party. The 1st Canadian division.

A big thanks to our allies who helped us in our hour of need but 60 years!!! Yikes!

In 1919 most people estimated that Germany would have paid off it's reparation debt by 1984.

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

In 1919 most people estimated that Germany would have paid off it's reparation debt by 1984.

They also never thought Hitler would take power.....

[yesdachi]

Are the Americans going to start reciprocating those so-called technology exchange programmes?

Typically when someone is not getting their part of the deal they stop giving theirs, if you wanted your sink fixed you should have stopped paying rent.


I think it is pretty sweet to see a debt paid off, I think it means your buying this round!

[Hosakawa Tito]

I remember the party we had when we made the last mortgage payment.

[Louis VI the Fat]

The UK can be so quaint sometimes. Just imagine these great career opportunities:

Clerk of the Green Cloth
Page of the Backstairs
Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod

Oh, I'd so love to parade around in a scarlet robe with fur facings and an enormous wig on my head and be completely serious about it. Brilliant, got to love the British.

[KukriKhan]

About time an' all.....



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6215847.stm

A big thanks to our allies who helped us in our hour of need but 60 years!!! Yikes!

We should have forgiven that debt 30 years ago.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I never realized there was any unforgiven debt left from WW2. Considering the small amount, and the fact it's our closest most dependable ally, I wonder why? Could it be that maybe the Brits insisted on paying it off as a point of pride and heartfelt obligation?

[Lemur]

We should have forgiven that debt 30 years ago.

If we had forgiven the debt, they might have gotten uppity. It's good we made them pay every penny, with interest. I'm just shocked we didn't jack up our late fees ...

[JR-]

If we had forgiven the debt, they might have gotten uppity. It's good we made them pay every penny, with interest. I'm just shocked we didn't jack up our late fees ...

no part of the payment was ever late.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Actually, three payments were deffered.

Well now that we don't owe America anything anymore will you be nice and come back to the fold?

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.

The House of Representatives 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 re-spell 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 thirty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "uhh", "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. Popular British films such as the Italian Job and the Wicker Man should never be remade.

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 are other types of football such as Rugby, Aussie Rules & Gaelic football. However proper football - which will no longer be known as soccer, is the best known, most loved and most popular. 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 2008.

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 North 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. The 4th of July is no longer a public holiday. The 2nd of November will be a new national holiday, but only in Britain. 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 without the benefit of 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 Gnat's Urine," with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as "Weak Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine." This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in the Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.

13. From the 10th of November the UK will harmonise petrol (or "gasoline," as you will be permitted to keep calling it until the 1st of April) 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.

[KukriKhan]

Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

Indeed.

[Pannonian]

You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents --- Scottish dramas such as "Taggart" will no longer be broadcast with subtitles.

Divus MarkMcManus. It would be nice if the Yanks also got to see Rab C Nesbitt. Followed by Pobol y Cwm, accompanied by that wonderful tribute to the Welsh language TV channel "S4C makes me want to smoke crack". A singalong to the bestselling Super Furry Animals album "Mwng" to be arranged afterwards. Failing that, try International Velvet.

Deffrwch Cymru cysglyd gwlad y gan,
Dwfn yw'r gwendid bychan yw y fflam
creulon yw'r cynhaeaf, ond per yw'r don
daw alaw'r alarch unig yn fy mron

Gwledd o fedd gynhyrfodd Cymraes swil
Pan darganfyddais gwir paradwys Rhyl

[Kralizec]

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.

.............

I remember that, funny stuff. I received a variation of that email during the 2000 recount episode, and the actual quote there was "your failure to elect a president" (at all)
Also "missing" from your version:

7. You should declare war on Quebec and France, using nuclear weapons if they give you any merde. The 97.85% of you who were not aware that there is a world outside your borders should count yourselves lucky. The Russians have never been the bad guys. "Merde" is French for "****". 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.

No offense intended, I just thought it was to funny to be left out

Anyway, the USA response:

The Supreme Court of Florida has instructed me to post the following to ensure strict balance in these turbulent times.

DECLARATION OF ANNEXING THE BRITISH ISLES AS PART OF THE USA
To the imperialist British colonizers.

In the light of your indecision over joining a common European Currency, your dissatisfaction with the European Union, your bickering with European Governments and the fact that you already almost speak our language and refuse to speak any other European languages, you are to be annexed as a State of America. Your state code will be GB. Zip codes will be assigned to replace your old postal districts. The state capital will be Stratford-upon-Avon which is a lot prettier than London. Princess Diana will be declared a saint. You have already assimilated so much American culture that you are unlikely to notice the transition. To aid in the assimilation, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. Look up "aluminum" in any good American Dictionary. Check the spelling and pronunciation guide. We discovered it, we named it, you are mispronouncing it. Learn to live with it. You are, of course welcome to your idiosyncratic and illogical place-names such as Edinburgh, if you wanted it pronounced 'Eddinburra' you have spelled it that way in the first place. You will quit using words such as "fortnight". The correct term is "a two week period". You will learn words such as "credenza", "intern" and "chad".

2. There is no such thing as "UK English". UK English is the relic of a defunct colonialist power which attempted to impose British English linguistic superiority on a nation which has a higher number of English speakers.

3. Your film-makers should learn to distinguish the American and Canadian accents. American accents are not limited to redneck drawls or New York accents. Mainland Americans have more than enough accents to cope with in our own country, so all British dramas will now bear subtitles, especially those made in impenetrable dialects such as Scottish, Scouse or Geordie. To make life easier for mainland America, all British films and TV programs must use American vocabulary and accents; Scotch characters will wear plaid, Irish characters will have shamrocks on them, Welsh characters will not be used since we don't have Welsh Americans, and English characters will wear bowler hats and pinstripes.

4. The British film industry will no longer portray all Americans as cowboys, rednecks, trailer trash or Beverly Hills billionaires. Hollywood will continue to use "Mockney" and "Posh" British accents as this makes it easier for viewers to identify which characters are British. You can have Hugh Grant back. He's a lousy actor and we don't want him either. All British films will be made in Hollywood where the weather and scenery are better. Your film industry is already unable to make a halfway-decent film which doesn't contain a American in the starring role. All American characters should be 'good guys'.

5. You will learn your new national anthem "The Star Spangled Banner". It shall be sung every morning at kindergarten, high school, university and your places of work. Your Union Flag will be hung up any damn way we wish so stop bitching about it being upside down. If there was meant to be a right way up you should have made it simpler. All Union flags will be replaced by the Stars and Stripes over a 12 month period of time.

6. You should stop playing soccer and rugby. There is no need to have two games, one of which is confusingly like Football and one of which is called football but patently isn't real football. If it doesn't require 45 pounds of padding, it isn't football. You should also stop playing cricket. Americans can't understand the rules. If you insist on playing this game which is only played by former British colonies, you will introduce a simplified scoring system, timeouts, colored strips and cheerleaders to make it more interesting. Any match which takes longer than 90 minutes will be declared a draw.

7. In films, as in real life, we decide who the bad guys are. The bad guys are those guys who don't do as we tell them. They are also the guys who attract the biggest audiences into movie theaters. You will cease using the word "cinema". They are "movie theaters". The snippets of forthcoming films are not "trailers" they are "teasers".

8. November 5th is no longer a day for fireworks. July 4th is the appropriate fireworks festival. If you want a big fireworks party on November 5th, we will help you to blow up your Houses of Parliament. You won't be needing them any longer; Disneyland London will be situated there. Hunting with packs of dogs is also banned. Instead, you will go hunting with a pick-up truck, some six-packs of beer, two coonhounds and enough guns and ammo to equip a private militia. There is also no such activity as "caravanning". It is properly called "camping". The thing boy scouts do with tents and bedrolls is called "tenting".

9. Roundabouts will be banned. What is the point of turning left in order to turn right? They are confusing to Americans and are death traps. You will start driving on the right with immediate effect. Most of the world drives on the right already. You will be allowed to turn right on a red light if safe to do so though you must check local county legislation as this is not permitted in all areas.

10. Those things which you call chips are cholesterol-soaked abominations. You will start to eat fries - light fluffy potato in crisp coating. If you want to eat British-style fried potato sticks you will need a certificate from your doctor and good medical insurance. Beer is to be served cold. The warm, flat drink you call beer is properly termed 'ale' and the FDA have determined it to be unfit for human consumption. You will also learn the difference between crackers, cookies and biscuits to avoid causing unnecessary confusion to mainland Americans.

11. All inter-personal communications between family members, even if resident in the same house, must be through a lawyer. It is compulsory to sue somebody at least once per year - be inventive. It is compulsory to have therapy three times each week and to recover false memories of your childhood which allow you to sue your parents and/or your therapist. Therapy will take the place of speaking to family members. You will be given compulsory courses on how to become dysfunctional. Name your children after interesting medical conditions.

12. You will not have guns. In the eyes of Mainland Americans you are wayward children. Children are not permitted to play with firearms unless they have a legitimate reason to do so i.e. they plan to gun down the population of a small town (self-defense) or slaughter every living creature within a mile radius (hunting).

Thank you for your co-operation. You will be assimilated.

Source: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blrevocation4.htm

[JR-]

Actually, three payments were deffered.

as i understand it the repayments started in 1950, and were to consist of 50 repayments, nominally on an annual basis.

the repayment agreement allowed six individual deferments of the annual payments, which the UK took when it considered economically necessary, thus we come to the final payment in the year 2006.

[BigTex]

We should have forgiven that debt 30 years ago.

Doubt the brit's would have allowed that 30 years ago. Though we didn't take much in the way of territorial claims after WWII. The least we could get was being an efficient banker for the allies. Still though the loans given to the european countries have payed for themselves time and time again, even including interest.

[Pannonian]

Doubt the brit's would have allowed that 30 years ago. Though we didn't take much in the way of territorial claims after WWII. The least we could get was being an efficient banker for the allies. Still though the loans given to the european countries have payed for themselves time and time again, even including interest.

I think it was the preconditions for the loans that made Churchill, Keynes, and anyone else British who was involved in the negotiations livid. Basically it was sell off the empire at a knocked-off rate or loans would not be forthcoming and we wouldn't be able to continue fighting the Germans. I can accept that as the price Britain needed to pay to hire mercenary help.

What irks me is the various technology exchange programmes that always went on way - west across the Atlantic, with nothing coming back. If we had been as ruthless in looking after our self-interest and keeping down the opposition as FDR, we would have charged for those, whose value was estimated as being many times the loans we were actually given. Instead, we gave them away freely, in the belief that the Americans would reciprocate this as befitting the idea of "exchange". They didn't, of course. The McMahon Act was symbolic of this - our Tube Alloys project added their research to the Manhattan project, only for the Americans to block any sharing of their nuclear research with anyone else, including their allies who helped them get the bomb in the first place.

That's why assumptions that we should be forever grateful to the Americans for WW2 annoy me. We were thankful for the help, but my goodness they made sure we paid through the nose for it.

[screwtype]

I think it was the preconditions for the loans that made Churchill, Keynes, and anyone else British who was involved in the negotiations livid.

Perhaps what Churchill should have done is make peace with the Nazis after Dunkirk. By continuing the struggle he virtually ensured the destruction of the very empire he had vowed to preserve when he became PM.

[King Henry V]

Ah, but that was not the honourable thing to do.

This debt should have been dropped long, long ago, as was the case for nearly all other countries who owed money to America, such as the Soviet Union. But no, that would have meant that America would not have had the leverage for matters such as decolonialization.

So, if this debt was not cancelled, what did the United Kingdom gain from joining America in the latest Iraq War apart from 900 casualties?
Just shows what you get when you play the lap dog.

[Hosakawa Tito]

oops, double posted somehow.

[Tribesman]

A big thanks to our allies who helped us in our hour of need but 60 years!!! Yikes!

Yikes indeed , still at last you get your territory back in September , damn lucky you didn't hve an Ameican citizen as a President(wellnot strictly speaking) , or you would have lost it in perpetuity(wherever that is , it might be next to downtabackofdasofa , since you always lose territories and other interesting stuff down there)
Now BTW which September exactly would that be when you get you territory back ?

I mean for Gods sake where are the damn pads! Somone could bruise!

Hmmmmm....STFS doesn't know about cricket and pads , though to be honest I thought you crowd would have given it up once they re-intoduced all day pub opening , I mean that was the only reason for cricket wasn't it , to get a pint when the pubs were closed .

[Duke of Gloucester]

If we had forgiven the debt, they might have gotten uppity. It's good we made them pay every penny, with interest. I'm just shocked we didn't jack up our late fees ...

According to BBC Radio 4 we still owe money from WW1!

[Csargo]

About time. ;)

[Banquo's Ghost]

According to BBC Radio 4 we still owe money from WW1!

Yes, I read something about that. Apparently all of the debts from the First World War were put under a moratorium during the Depression which has still not been revoked. Nor have the debts been written off, however.

It seems that, with interest, the United Kingdom owes the USA something in the region of 12,000 billion dollars.

Time to send round the bailiffs and repossess Tony Blair. That should settle it.