Diplomats

"But if some mind very different from ours were to look upon some property of some curved line as we do on the evenness of a straight line, he would not recognize as such the evenness of a straight line; nor would he arrange the elements of his geometry according to that very different system, and would investigate quite other relationships as I have suggested in my notes. We fashion our geometry on the properties of a straight line because that seems to us to be the simplest of all. But really all lines that are continuous and of a uniform nature are just as simple as one another. Another kind of mind which might form an equally clear mental perception of some property of any one of these curves, as we do of the congruence of a straight line, might believe these curves to be the simplest of all, and from that property of these curves build up the elements of a very different geometry, referring all other curves to that one, just as we compare them to a straight line. Indeed, these minds, if they noticed and formed an extremely clear perception of some property of, say, the parabola, would not seek, as our geometers do, to rectify the parabola, they would endeavor, if one may coin the expression, to parabolify the straight line."

"Sir, I wald speir at ȝow ane questioun. Behauld sum Prelats of this Regioun: Manifestlie during thair lustie lyvfis, Thay swyfe Ladies, Madinis and vther mens wyfis. And sa thair cunts thay haue in consuetude. Quhidder say ȝe that law is evill or gude?"

"Brother Wantonness, what thinks thou? Yon are the Three Estates I trow Gangand backwart."

"Heir entirs Flattery new landit owt of France"

"Heir sall Wantones ga spy them and cum agane to the king"

"Quhen the Sonne is at the hycht, Att nonne quhen it doith schyne most brycht, The schaddow of that hydduous strength Sax myle and more it is of lenth. Thus maye ye Juge, in to your thocht, Gyfe Babilone be heych, or nocht."

"Quhowbeit that divers devote cunnyng Clerkis In Latyne toung hes wryttin syndrie bukis, Our unlernit knawis lytill of thare werkis, More than thay do the rauyng of the Rukis. Quharefore to Colyearis, Cairtaris, & to Cukis, To Jok and Thome, my Ryme sall be diractit, With cunnyng men quhowbeit it wylbe lactit."

"Unthrift, sweirnes, falset, povertie, and stryfe Pat polacey in dainger of hir lyfe."

"That nicht he sleipit never ane wink, Bot still did on the Ladie think."

"He usually lacks the originality of Henryson and the brilliance of Dunbar and Douglas. But what there is of him is good all through."

"Lyndsay, with all his ancient coarseness…maintained for two centuries, even among the precise, his position as the popular poet of Scotland."

"But in the glances of his eye, A penetrating, keen, and sly Expression found its home; The flash of that satiric rage, Which, bursting on the early stage, Branded the vices of the age, And broke the keys of Rome. * * * Still is thy name in high account, And still thy verse has charms, Sir David Lindesay of the Mount, Lord Lion King-at-arms!"

"And to the Devill of hell condemne this mein3e; For quhy sic reformatioune, as I weine Into Scotland was never hard nor seine."

"Ere I depart this natioun, I shall mak Reformatioun!"

"When it comes to labour market reform, here's the difference between us and John Howard: John Howard regards labour as just like any other economic commodity. We actually see labour as made up of human beings. These are human beings with an intrinsic dignity. When they go to the workplace, they're not just like a lump of wood or a piece of coal, these are human beings, and they should be treated properly as people with intrinsic rights."

"Since ideology matters for Xi Jinping, Rudd’s book [On Xi Jinping] matters for those who want to understand him. The alternative is reading daily Xi’s quite boring prose."

"There's nothing like having a bit of somebody else in you."

"I actually believe in a big Australia - I make no apology for that. I actually think it's good news that our population is growing."

"It is unlikely that you'll have anything emerge from MEF (Major Economies Forum) by way of detailed programmatic specificity."

"That means temporary borrowings. People have to understand that because there's going to be the usual political shit storm, sorry, political storm."

"My name is Kevin, I'm from Queensland, and I'm here to help."

"The major challenges of climate change, the major challenge of the economy and manufacturing, the major challenges in education, and how do we turbo-charge our national education system to create the knowledge base for the future of the Australian economy. These are the sorts of areas that you're going to see detailed policy plans from us in the weeks and months ahead..."

"Compassion is not a dirty word. Compassion is not a sign of weakness. In my view, compassion in politics and in public policy is in fact a hallmark of great strength. It is a hallmark of a society which has about it a decency which speaks for itself."

"I say to those opposite: we intend to prevail in this battle of ideas, on the ground, right through to the next election. We intend to prevail."

"Labor’s message then is this: we believe in a strong economy; we believe also in a fair go for all, not just for some."

"When you analyse it carefully, it is about a family’s ability to stay together and have time together. We all know, with our fractured lives in this place, how difficult it becomes when we as human beings cannot spend time with one another. However, the problem is that these industrial relations laws now set that disease in place right across the nation in every workplace, in every part of the country. What I fear most of all is the ultimate impact of this on the fabric of Australian family life."

"We have seen this complete right wing takeover of modern liberalism, and it is an ugly spectacle to behold."

"This goes to demonstrate the fact that John Howard established this inquiry in order to bring about his own absolution, not to bring about any form of accountability."

"If he has any self-respect he would resign over this matter, the negligence is so gross."

"[But] we should not be kowtowing to anybody when it comes to freedom in this country."

"Everyone's entitled to their point of view but that's seriously a weird one."

"John Howard's credibility on the entire Iraq war has been torpedoed by John Howard's own intelligence agency."

"... no diplomatic intervention will ever be made by any government that I lead in support of any individual terrorist's life. We have only indicated in the past, and will maintain a policy in the future, of intervening diplomatically in support of Australian nationals who face capital sentences abroad."

"Labor has a universal position of opposition to the death penalty both at home and abroad... It is not possible in our view to be selective in the application of this policy."

"Douglas Brown: Dr Banda, what is the purpose of your visit? Hastings Banda: Well, I've been asked by the Secretary of State to come here. Brown: Have you come here to ask the Secretary of State a firm date for Nyasaland's independence? Banda: I won't tell you that. Brown: When do you hope to get independence? Banda: I won't tell you that. Brown: Dr Banda, when you get independence, are you as determined as ever to break away from the Central African Federation? Banda: Need you ask me that question at this stage? Brown: Well, this stage is as good as any other stage. Why do you ask me why I shouldn't ask you this question at this stage? Banda: Haven't I said that enough for everybody to be convinced that I mean just that? Brown: Dr Banda, if you break with the Central African Federation, how will you make out economically? After all, your country isn't really a rich country. Banda: Don't ask me that, leave that to me. Brown: In which way is your mind working? Banda: Which way? I won't tell you that. Brown: Where do you hope to get economic aid from? Banda: I won't tell you that. Brown: Are you going to tell me anything? Banda: Nothing. Brown: Are you going to tell me why you've been to Portugal? Banda: That's my business. Brown: In fact you're going to tell me nothing at all. Banda: Nothing at all. Brown: So it's a singularly fruitless interview? Banda: Well, it's up to you. Brown: Thank you very much."

"Our talks were very pleasant, as usual. Remember I used to vote Labour when I was here."

"We belong to the same Slav people."

"Democracy is a means of achieving a higher level of individual and collective gratification, welfare, peace, stability and prosperity. It is not an end in itself! Practitioners of democracy in the Pacific should therefore be pragmatic in their approach. An idealistic and a purist approach is, I believe, misplaced."

"If the chiefs as leaders are going to earn and maintain the respect of the people of Fiji and preserve the uniqueness of the traditional and cultural structures they need to also recognise that the differences that exist between us all cannot and should not be ignored."

"We all need to embrace broad principles that accommodate the rights and aspirations of all the people of Fiji. Only then will peace and harmony prevail."

"To put it in simple English, you break the law, you commit a crime, you do the time."

"The amnesty period from May 2000 to March was the very period in which the late President was removed."

"Why weren't the victims involved in the consultations prior to the formulation of this Bill?"

"Personally, I feel that if the Lau Provincial Council votes for this Bill it means that they are supporting the amnesty clause, which is what the whole Bill is about. Do they understand that what they are actually doing is agreeing in principle to the removal of the late Turaga na Tui Nayau and condoning the coup perpetrators who were the very thugs who removed the Tui Nayau and brought anarchy to Fiji in the year 2000."

"Regrettably, this Bill appears to remove everything that the late Tui Nayau worked for, that is respect for the rule of law and everything he stood for unity, tolerance and peaceful co-existence."

"I recall what the late Tui Nayau said at his last Lau Provincial Council meeting on Ono, Lau, in October 2000: 'There can be no reconciliation or peace until the coup investigations are completed and the rule of law is upheld'."

""I have one question for the Government, why can't it function without the coup perpetrators?" (July 21, 2005)"

""I spoke on this in Senate and I'll say it again — why wasn't this Bill brought about when my parents, the late Tui Nayau and Roko Tui Dreketi, were still alive?" (July 21, 2005)"

""The Bill is slanted towards the perpetrators of the coup and not the victims … This Bill is lenient towards the perpetrators while the victims get nothing." (July 21, 2005)"

""(Unless all coup perpetrators) are brought before the courts, Fiji cannot put to rest the ghosts of the coup." (May 7, 2005)"