Love's Labours Lost?
"This is a very classic, almost Shakespearean story." — Alan Glueckman, who wrote the lyrics for a musical based on the Clinton-Lewinsky affair.
The march of something-or-other
"It is not possible to judge whether there has been any actual progress in terms of nuclear safety." — The author of a European Commission audit of £580 million spent to improve the safety of eastern European nuclear plants. Most of the money vanished without visible results.
Restraint
"When people in other major urban police departments want to learn about restraint, they come to ... New York and look at the things the police department does to teach police officers restraint." — New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, after three police shot an unarmed black man 41 times.
Calculated it ourselves
"It was 110% the right decision, regardless of what any expert says." — A spokesperson for NSW Olympics minister Michael Knight, defending a decision to buy a radio network which experts called more expensive than and inferior to a competitor.
Ups and downs
"More high buildings went up but more cadres fell down." — Chinese newspaper Southern Weekend on corruption in the country's building industry.
Enough said
"Our views on democracy and freedom of speech are well known in this region. I don't think we really need to say any more." — Murray McLean, Australian high commissioner to Singapore, on why the Australian government will say nothing about the Singapore government's jailing of an opposition party leader for making a public speech.
Reassuring
"The US food supply is the safest in the world." — The US Environmental Protection Agency, on a study by the Consumers Union, which found unacceptably high levels of pesticides on seven common types of food.