Expects agreement
"I obviously don't retract from what I said but I'm not seeking to have any argument with Malaysia." — Liberal frontbencher John Howard after a remark that Malaysia is a racist nation.
Deep thinker
"The US motor industry has been depressed for the past three years and we need to figure out a plan to revitalise it." — Edsel Ford, great grandson of Henry, and head of Ford Motor Credit.
Any ideas, Ed?
"As soon as the traffic gets a bit of clearance, there is another accident and it slows down again." — A police spokesperson on the six-hour traffic jam north of Sydney at the beginning of the Australia Day weekend.
Bad back cured?
"I'm specifically instructed that my client felt very frightened indeed on the third of January ... The treatment is that he receives oxygen by a mask three times a day." — Lawyer Shane Herbert explaining why Christopher Skase is unable to leave the beaches of Majorca to face an Australian court over the matter of a missing $19 million.
Suffering snoopers
"Quite apart from my own interest in the matter, however, there is an overriding public interest. The allegations regarding ASIO, for example, are crippling to the public confidence it should be able to enjoy, and should be disposed of properly." — Evan Pederick, who confessed to the 1978 Hilton bombing and whose attempt to implicate Tim Anderson was discredited in court, supporting calls for a royal commission into the incident.
Mystery
"The image of Queensland is fundamentally driven by perceptions of the Gold Coast, which is a double-edged sword." — From a Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation study trying to puzzle out why many Australians see the state as a "cultural desert".
World leader
"You have the space in Australia to do these things and if it were successful it could actually be a world leader in implementing a lot of the technologies that are at the moment largely theoretical." — Magazine editor Ashley Crawford on alleged Japanese plans to build a model city of 300,000 in Western Australia's Great Sandy Desert.
But not stealing land "Noise pollution is a criminal offence." — Amir Cheshin, adviser to the mayor of Jerusalem, on a fine imposed on a Muslim prayer leader for "making unreasonable noise" in his early morning call to the faithful.
Eating the profits
"Privatisation is for everyone. It effectively reduces state debt and enables government to concentrate on maintaining and improving essential services to the community." — NSW Premier Nick Greiner announcing a $2.5 million advertising campaign for its privatisation program.