Struggling
"We found no problems selling in the $5000-$30,000 price range, but above $50,000 it was a struggle." — Melbourne auctioneer after a recent art auction met a "subdued response" from buyers.
Take him! He's yours!
"We are nostalgic for Bond. We understand that Mr Bond is no longer popular in Australia, so it may not be good for me to say that we liked him here." — Employee of Chile's Bond-owned telephone company.
Left out some details
"The fall of President Gorbachev came as no surprise to Renucio Boscolo, the Italian writer who for months has said the 16th-century mystic Nostradamus predicted it would happen this northern summer." — Sydney Morning Herald, August 21.
Sneaky
"In previous wars a lot of people died from things that didn't happen in this war — the other side fighting back." — US military aide Roy Alcala explaining why the rate of US deaths from its own fire in the Gulf War was a third higher than in previous wars. Of 148 US personnel killed, 35 died under fire from their own forces.
One day's notice
"If a koala is observed in trees, the tree is not pushed over that day. The tree is inspected the next day or so. The koala has normally vacated the tree. The tree is then pushed over." — Comments by Walcha district forester P. Massey-Reed, read to a court hearing on the Chaelundi forest last week.