Quips& Quotes

“To this, people the length and breadth of the country reply with a three-word response, the third word being ‘Sherlock’.” – Southland Times editorial on the report that found southerners pay too much for petrol

“Are we not smart enough to know how stupid we are?” – astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” – Willie Nelson

“It’s not that we’re against elections; we just like to know the results in advance.” – a Chinese official quoted by Chris Patten in the Times

“God made the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands.” – proverb quoted by Timothy West in Great Canal Journeys

“Trump and Putin talked about teaming up to form a cybersecurity unit to stop future hacking of elections. It’s like hiring the guy who stole your car stereo to put it back in.” – US comedian Jimmy Kimmel

“If we are not regularly deeply embarrassed by who we are, the journey to selfknowledge hasn’t begun.”

– author Alain de Botton

“It can’t take back the hurt or bring back the dead. It can’t heal lives that were twisted out of shape. It can’t repay those who had to live with a criminal record. It can, however, express regret and say that things like this must never happen again. ” – David Herkt on RNZ’s website on the Government’s apology to men convicted of homosexual acts lackadaisical immigration policy that allowed Peter

Thiel citizenship after only 12 days makes any Labour Party immigration indiscretion over interns seem a peccadillo.

The internship programme had no more to do with immigration than does a short visit by any other visitor, so is in no conflict with Labour’s plans to introduce a rational immigration policy if elected.

Murray Eggers (Paraparaumu)