quotes of the week

People no longer accept that old crazy logic that to get the rich to work harder you must pay them more, whilst to get the poor to work harder you have to pay them less.

Leif Mills, president of the TUC

Only a handful of brackets from the original 438 were left on the 11th day of negotiations. All must be removed before a final full session on Friday.

Reuter report on the delicate final negotiations between delegations to the UN conference in Peking to agree a 10-year blueprint for women's rights

A divorced couple need a house each, a refrigerator each, their own carpets, curtains, CDs. From the economy's point of view, the sooner we are all in our own houses ... the better.

Norman Dennis, researcher, on economic implications of the break-up of the family

It is the occasional triumph of the under-privileged over the privileged which is one of sport's undying fascinations.

Roger Bannister talking to the British Association for the Advancement of Science on race and sporting achievement

I am a rager. I can be propelled by rage for days. I'm a kicker and a swearer and a jumper as well.

Gillian Shephard, Secretary of State for Education and Employment