Loose cannons

Greed is good

"I thought the suggestion was very good ... and of course I saw a commercial opportunity in it." Radio 2UE's shock-jock John Laws on his agreement to "chat" aimed at rescuing the image of Australia's banks in exchange for $1.2 million.

Freedom to lie

"My contract with the Australia Street Consulting people [who negotiated his promotion contract with the banks] in no way influences my editorial freedom." — John Laws.

Second childhood

"I'm feeling like a newborn." — Segei Khrushchev, 64-year-old son of the former Soviet leader, on becoming a US citizen.

Can't miss

"We're bombing the ocean. You can't miss." — Rear Admiral J. Michael Johnson, complaining that the US Navy is currently unable to practise bombing on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, occupied by protesters after a marine bomb accidentally killed a civilian employee.

The fixer

"There is not an even distribution of access to capital. That is something we want to fix." — President Bill Clinton on poverty in the United States.

Cognitive dissonance

"I've never wavered ... The more I travel the more people tell me the only future for Aboriginal people is self-empowerment, economic empowerment, having ... the same rights and privileges as every other Australian." — Aboriginal affairs minister John Herron during his tour of remote Aboriginal communities last week.

Jeff's thoughts

"I would like to think I don't have an enemy in the world ... there's no one I hate." — Premier Jeff Kennett in the July 13 Australian on his role in the Liberal Party brawl over preselection for the Victorian seat of Brighton.

From GLW issue 368