Parliament Quotes - Page 17

• Democracy isn't solely about polite conversations in parliaments. It needs to be continually refreshed with raw passions, anger and ideals.

  Geoff Mulgan

  Passion, Democracy, Needs

  Geoff Mulgan (2006). “Good and Bad Power: The Ideals and Betrayals of Government”

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• I am confident that you brothers in parliament will champion the will of the people over that of the occupier.

  Muqtada al Sadr

  Brother, People, Champion

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• As nations we should also commit afresh to righting past wrongs. In Australia we began this recently with the first Australians - the oldest continuing culture in human history. On behalf of the Australian Parliament, this year I offered an apology to indigenous Australians for the wrongs they had suffered in the past.

  Kevin Rudd

  Apology, Past, Years

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than kings and parliaments. If we can get rid of the former, we may easily bear the latter.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Kings, 4th Of July, Pride

  Benjamin Franklin (2010). “Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography & Selected Writings”, p.64, American Liberty Press

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• I cannot think of any circumstances in which a government can go to war without the support of parliament.

  Tony Blair

  War, Thinking, Government

  "A declaration of war on this medieval royal prerogative" by Martin Kettle, www.theguardian.com. August 22, 2005.

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• Not in the constitution, but I would propose a law to the French parliament that provides for reducing the budget deficit year by year, until we have reached a balanced budget by 2017.

  Francois Hollande

  Years, Law, Constitution

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• A chair's function is not just to provide a place to sit; it is to provide a medium for self-expression. Chairs are about status, for example. Or signalling something about oneself. That's why the words chair, seat and bench have found themselves used to describe high status professions, from academia to Parliament to the law.

  Evan Davis

  Self, Expression, Law

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• Even before he came to power in 1997, Gordon Brown promised to change the accounts to parliament from simple litanies of cash in and cash out, to a more commercial system that took notice of the public property the departments were using. This system is known as resource accounting.

  James Buchan

  Simple, Cash, Resources

  "Judgment Day... again" by James Buchan, www.theguardian.com. August 6, 2001.

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• It is true that I entered parliament at the age of 23, and have now been representing the people of my constituency for over twenty years.

  Charles Kennedy

  Years, People, Age

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• In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which, as any American high school student can tell you, was an act that apparently had something to do with stamps.

  Dave Barry

  School, Literature, Students

  Dave Barry (2011). “Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway”, p.28, Ballantine Books

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• Women are not making it to the top. A hundred and ninety heads of state; nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, thirteen per cent are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top - C-level jobs, board seats - tops out at fifteen, sixteen per cent.

  Sheryl Sandberg

  Jobs, People, Boards

  "A Woman’s Place" by Ken Auletta, www.newyorker.com. July 11 & 18, 2011.

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• A member of Parliament to Disraeli: 'Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.' That depends, Sir,' said Disraeli, 'whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.

  Benjamin Disraeli

  Mistress, Disease, Embrace

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• We have in the last two years, we have passed 350 legislation in the parliament, most of which deal with democratization, human rights, and of course, economy.

  Bulent Ecevit

  Rights, Years, Two

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• I grew up in Somalia, in Saudi Arabia, in Ethiopia, and in Kenya. I came to Europe in 1992, when I was 22, and became a member of Parliament in Holland.

  Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  Europe, Arabia, Kenya

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• The secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for.

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

  Men, Secret, Purpose

  Fyodor Dostoevsky (1981). “Grand Inquisitor”, p.10, A&C Black

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• Parliaments are the great lie of our time.

  Konstantin Pobedonostsev

  Time, Lying, Our Time

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• We are beckoned to see the world through a one-way mirror, as if we are threatened and innocent and the rest of humanity is threatening, or wretched, or expendable. Our memory is struggling to rescue the truth that human rights were not handed down as privileges from a parliament, or a boardroom, or an institution, but that peace is only possible with justice and with information that gives us the power to act justly.

  John Pilger

  Peace, Memories, Struggle

  Sydney Peace Prize acceptance speech in University of Sydney, November 4, 2009.

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• ...I have had such a sickening of men in masses, and of causes, that I would not cross this room to reform parliament or prevent the union or to bring about the millennium. I speak only for myself, mind - it is my own truth alone - but man as part of a movement or a crowd is indifferent to me. He is inhuman. And I have nothing to do with nations, or nationalism. The only feelings I have - for what they are - are for men as individuals; my loyalties, such as they may be, are to private persons alone.

  Patrick O'Brian

  Loyalty, Men, Feelings

  Patrick O'Brian (1990). “Master and Commander (Vol. Book 1)”, p.194, W. W. Norton & Company

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• If nominated by either party, I should peremptorily decline, and even if unanimously elected, I should decline to serve.

  William Tecumseh Sherman

  Party, Political, Politics

  Harper's Weekly Interview, June 24, 1871.

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• I’m going to lie this one right on the line, right here, right now: I’m pro big pants. Strident feminism NEEDS big pants. Really big. I’m currently wearing a pair that could have been used as a fire blanket to put out the Great Fire of London at any point during the first 48 hours or so. They extend from the top of my thigh to my belly button, and effectively double up as a second property that I can escape to at weekends. If I were going to run for parliament, it would be solely on a platform of ‘Get Women In Massive Grundie’s’.

  Caitlin Moran

  Running, Lying, Weekend

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• Parliament is for discussion. Parliament is to show dissent. Parliament is to give an argument for one's opposition, to present an argument when they support. To uphold this basic spirit of Parliament, is the responsibility of every person who values democracy. It is the responsibility of those present in the Parliament and those outside. It is the responsibility of those in power and those not in power. This is a matter of spirit and it should be followed.

  Narendra Modi

  Responsibility, Giving, Support

  Source: www.huffingtonpost.in

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• The Parliament in Canada and the Congress in Washington do not have the authority to revoke the commandments of God, or to modify or amend them in any way.

  Dallin H. Oaks

  Canada, Way, Authority

  Source: www.mormonnewsroom.org

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• We be informed by our judges that we at no time stand so highly in our estate royal as in the time of Parliament, wherein we as head and you as members are conjoined and knit together into one body politic, so as whatsoever offence or injury (during that time) is offered to the meanest member of the House is to be judged as done against our person and the whole Court of Parliament.

  Henry VIII of England

  Judging, House, Together

  1543 Address to a deputation from the House of Commons, 31 Mar.

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• Schulz told lies in German, and it's unfortunate someone can speak German in this house, but it is our responsibility to stand up against it - the generation of Schulz's parents and the generation of the Arab MKs' parents collaborated to destroy the Jews. (on European Parliament President Martin Schulz)

  Uri Orbach

  Lying, Responsibility, House

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• It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than 'try to be a little kinder.'

  Aldous Huxley

  Peace, Kindness, Advice

  "Aldous Huxley - A Tribute" by Huston Smith, The Psychedelic Review, Volume 1, No. 3, Aldous Huxley Memorial Issue, pp. 264-265, 1964.

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