Loose cannons

Issue 

Work ethic

"In the late '80s people were often staying right through dinner, and it's almost getting back to that stage now. We generally get banking and finance people and the bond and derivatives dealers." — The owner of the Imperial Peking Harbourside restaurant in Sydney on the revival of the business lunch, quoted in the Sun-Herald, October 16.

Hero machine

"Though only about 500,000 US military personnel served in the [1991] war against Iraq, the Pentagon has handed out some 3.5 million medals for Gulf War service." — Middle East Report.

A taxi's cheaper

"Mr Greer said to me: 'You need to rent an MP just like you rent a London taxi'." — Businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed explaining how lobbyist Ian Greer asked him to bribe MPs to ask questions in the House of Commons during a 1988 battle for control of Harrods department store.

Very keen

"We are very keen on attracting investment to this state. We think the best form of social justice you can have is a job." — Bob Smith, joint Victorian secretary of the Federation of Industrial, Manufacturing and Engineering Employees, explaining why it's OK to talk to Jeff Kennett and not ban work on the Grand Prix track.

Bullet biter

"We've bitten the bullet in a lot of our industries. In the steel industry we've lost nearly 20,000 members since the early 1980s. But we now have a very strong, viable, highly profitable industry that's world competitive." Bob Smith again, describing how he has brought "social justice" to FIMEE members.

Wonderful

"What a year! Profits up 64%" — Cover headline on this week's Business Review Weekly.

Sounds reasonable

"Precisely four refunds were made by mistake, and the money will be recovered." — Spokesperson for the US Internal Revenue Service. After a magazine article suggested that black Americans should file for a tax refund as reparations for slavery, some 20,000 did so and the IRS paid four of them US$43,000 each.

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