Persuasion
"Charm, persuasion, the telephone and supplies of Scotch." — A British government source listing the tools available to ensure a desired vote from hereditary members of the House of Lords. (The government later won the vote.)
Oops
The Salvation Army has withdrawn an issue of its publication The War Cry because of an article which described McDonald's hamburgers as "limp rissoles, soggy salad and squashed bun". McDonald's is a major supporter of the Salvos' Red Shield appeal.
Stop press
"A personal and political failure". — Former leader Neil Kinnock's frank evaluation of his time at the head of the British Labour Party. Kinnock led the party to defeat in two "unlosable" elections and presided over the expulsion of most of those members who weren't driven away by disgust.
Unpaid services
"We are approaching a crisis point in which UN intervention for policy reasons cannot be undertaken for fiscal reasons." — US ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright, complaining to Congress about US failure to pay its United Nations dues. Washington presently owes $1.23 billion.
Just like the beaches
"A worst-case scenario could see raw sewage ending up in Sydney houses, coming through toilets, showers, sinks and washing machines." — Barbara Armitage, chairperson of Sydney Coastal Councils, warning of inadequacies in the state government's Clean Waterways program.
Dangerous and exciting
"It is an important time for unions. The democratisation process can be dangerous to us, like any institution — but it should be exciting, not frightening." — ACTU secretary Bill Kelty, interviewed in the July 17 Australian.
R.I.P.
"Trade unions don't die from right-wing political pressure, they die if they are not relevant in the work force." — Kelty again.