Business as usual
“It's a question of taking care during the recovery phase of the relationship to ensure that everything is going to promote a speedy recovery.” -- Prime Menzies John Howard on Australia's relationship with Indonesia, April 6.
Magic pudding
“The basics of the relationship, the bread and butter of the relationship, has survived, very effectively.” -- Howard on Indonesia again.
PC greed
“[It is] basically because it's socially acceptable to reward yourself again for your achievements.” -- Porsche Australia's managing director Michael Winkler explaining the record sales of luxury cars in 1999-2000.
A little learning
“Women [in Cambodia] are not given opportunities in society to learn, or for social development, or for things like that.”-- Frederick Pang, a representative of Konica, claiming that the film company's sponsorship of a “beauty contest” will “increase opportunities” for Cambodian women.
Materialism
“Always base your decisions on facts rather than hope. Investing on hope carries a much higher risk of the unknown.” -- Number 6 in a list of 100 “Basic rules of good investment” in the April 8-9 Financial Review supplement Money Matters.
Knowledge rules ... sometimes
Borrowing to invest is a valid strategy for those who know what they're doing ... Pay off your house before you embark on market investing.” -- Rules number 29 and 37 in the same list.
Naturally
“I think visits to Chechen territory of ... delegations from the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe should naturally be stopped.” -- Russia's spokesperson on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, on assembly fact-finding missions to the war zone.
Back-scratching in progress
“The Council of Europe delegates did not understand one very simple truth -- we need them as much as they need us.” -- Yastrzhembsky on the council assembly's vote to suspend Russia's membership if it doesn't improve its human rights record in Chechnya.
