You're fired
"In 1991, the North American automotive industry sustained losses unparalleled in its history. General Motors is taking aggressive action to reverse this trend and increase its competitiveness." — GM chairman Robert Stempel informing workers of the planned closure of 21 plants and loss of 74,000 jobs by 1995.
Watch your head
"Factors to be weighed include public and political reaction and operational usefulness." — A British police spokesperson on plans for British wallopers to test a single-handle baton widely used by cops in the USA and Europe.
British justice
"I was framed because the detective said, 'Just get it wrapped up for Christmas and end it some way or other'." — Stefan Kiszko, just released after serving 16 years in a British jail for a murder he didn't commit.
But Iraqis will die either way
"No options are foreclosed and no options are decided on." — The USA's United Nations ambassador and security council president Thomas Pickering in the latest standover attempt against Iraq.
Leadership
"Let's wait and see what comes along." — ACTU president Martin Ferguson announcing that the peak union body will delay any wage claim until the second half of the year, and will wait till then to work out the detail of the claim.
Death dealer dead
"In cases of a very strong and very autocratic leadership, the transition period tends to be traumatic." — El Salvador Democratic Convergence leader Ruben Zamora predicting turmoil in the right-wing Arena party following the death from cancer of death-squad and Arena leader Roberto D'Aubuisson.
Never heard of Pol Pot
"They told us this was the first time in their experience that a dictatorial country seemingly had kept so much self-incriminating documentation." — A Kurdish engineer describing the reaction of US human rights groups shown large numbers of Iraqi government documents concerning the disappearance of up to 180,000 Kurds in the late '80s.
Reformer
"I see Ukraine's tendency to leave the Commonwealth as tragic. There will be a geographical tilt and Russia will be alone in the face of the Asians." — Prominent Russian "reform" economist ckly added that he didn't mean anything racist.