Loose cannons

Well, yes

"It shows that the little man ... can ... get justice. However, the fact that it took him nine years to do it proves that the system does have its problems." — Tasmanian Senator Paul Calvert on Geoff Marr, who had just won an unfair dismissal case against Telstra.

Someone has to do it

Indonesian Colonel Timbul Silaen, the former police chief in Dili, "has been promoted to Brigadier-General and now oversees corruption in Jakarta." — Sydney Morning Herald, December 1.

Fair

"A nine-hour day [for pay of $5] is fair to everyone." — The Dili Times, an English-language paper for foreign capitalists wanting to do business in East Timor.

By popular demand

"I've had literally hundreds and hundreds of letters and e-mails from people saying, 'Don't resign, you've got to stay with it'." — Malcolm Turnbull, announcing that he won't retire as leader of the Australian Republican Movement after all.

Try greed

"I've never understood the economics of chief executive salaries." — Ian Macfarlane, governor of the Reserve Bank.

Had time to think about it

"I think he'll be a more measured and considered person." — Former Bond executive Warren Jones on Alan Bond, who is planning to go back into business when he finishes his jail sentence for stealing from other capitalists.

Expert

"The secret of propaganda is sincerity. Once you learn to fake that, you're an expert." — John Laws' Book of Uncommon Sense, 1995.

On the outside

"If it keeps going like this, we'll have to join the protesters outside." — A Zimbabwean delegate to the World Trade Organisation talks, after industrialised countries showed no inclination to discuss seriously Third World demands for access to their markets.

From GLW issue 388