Quotes & Sayings About Briefing

Wait a minute! I'm not interested in agriculture. I want the military stuff. During a briefing military stuff in which officials began telling him about missile silos. — Sean William Scott

John Kerry told Tom Ridge he was too busy to receive a Homeland Security briefing. I thought that was odd, since you're not supposed to ignore terrorist threats until after you become president. — David Letterman

The thing that I try to remember is that in the briefing room it's not a debate. I'm not supposed to go in there and win a debate with the press corps. If that's what I try to do, then I'm going to lose. — Josh Earnest

So, are you two shagging yet?' He stuck two fingers up at her. 'Did you have to rip a strip off Robertson and Weatherford in front of everyone? Poor sods are doing their best.' 'Come on, I saw her checking you out all through the briefing. Yesterday she thought you were a two-foot wide skidmark on the hand-towel of life, now she's throwing you meaningful glances like they're on buy-one-get-one-free.' Steel grinned. 'You shagged her, didn't you?' 'She's my sister. OK?' 'You shagged your sister? You're disgusting. Told Susan we shouldn't have got you that boxed set of Game of Thrones.' He stood. 'You know what? I'm glad your ribs hurt. Serves you right.' Snow-covered — Stuart MacBride

Someday we'll learn the whole story of why George W. Bush brushed off that intelligence briefing of Aug. 6, 2001, 'Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.' But surely a big distraction was the major speech he was readying for delivery on Aug. 9, his first prime-time address to the nation. — Frank Rich

I think you are wrong, partner Elijah. My briefing on human characteristics here among the people of Earth includes the information that, unlike the men of the Outer Worlds, they are trained from birth to accept authority. Apparently this is the result of your way of living. One man, representing authority firmly enough, was quite sufficient, as I proved. Your own desire for a squad car was only an expression, really, of your almost instinctive wish for superior authority to take responsibility out of your hands. On my own world, I admit that what I did would have been most unjustified. — Isaac Asimov

With a knock, a slim army lieutenant came in, introduced himself as James Benford, and handed Groves a briefing summary folder. "You have to approve these, sir." Karl — Gregory Benford

Long pants,' she said rather too fiercely to Andy when he came out of his room wearing shorts. 'Long pants.' She herded him back towards his door. 'These people are from head office. These people are from Melbourne.' And she emphasised Melbourne as if that should have been all he needed to know.
'Melbourne people vomit if they see knees,' I told him, and he said, 'Why is that kind of information never part of the briefing? — Nick Earls

Jay Carney told the reporters at his morning briefing that he hoped they would watch the new movie about Obama's first term 'many times.' They might. Look how well 'Titanic' did at the box office. — Fred Thompson

A few joints are circulating around, saliva-liva-liva-liva-liva. — Tom Wolfe

Now you're thinking. I'll drive."
"No. I'd appreciate the other set of eyes, and the scary brain, but if I'm hung up I need you here to start briefing the team."
Those fabulous eyes stared right through her. "You want me to brief a room of cops? That's appalling, Eve, on so many levels."
"Nobody knows how to run a meeting as well as you. I'll try to be back, but I have to follow this out."
"I'm definitely going to want the costumes. I may have them designed for you."
"One of us is worth a dozen of them," she said, repeating his words. "You're one of us."
"I realize you see that as a compliment, but ... " He trailed off, sighed. "Thank you. — J.D. Robb

No, I can tell you one of the first things that happens to a home secretary when they arrive in the job is that they are given a briefing about the security matters that they will be dealing with and I deal with security matters on a daily basis. — Theresa May

President Bush insisted that there was nothing in the August 6th, 2001 briefing, which was titled 'Bin Laden determined to attack the United States', that hinted what bin Laden was up to. Bush says that he would have moved mountains to stop the attack. Yeah, but he draws the line at reading a memo. — David Letterman

PROFESSOR EMERITUS WOTAN Ulm, of the University of Oxford East 5, author of the bestselling if controversial memoir Peer Reviewers and Other Idiots: A Life In Academia, had consented to give a recorded lecture on von Neumann replicators to be carried as briefing material on the US Navy twain USS Brian Cowley. — Terry Pratchett

Ever get the feeling that sometime early in your life there must have been a briefing that you missed? — Robert Breault

That works for now." Eve's stomach began to clench and jitter. There were tears swimming in her aide's eyes. Peabody's lips were quivering. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Nothing. Sir."
"How come you're going to cry? You know how I feel about crying on the job."
"I'm not crying." And it appalled her that she was on the edge of it. "I just don't feel very well, that's all. I wonder, sir, if I could be excused from the briefing at sixteen hundred. — J.D. Robb

At the G-20 summit, the White House accidentally listed a phone-sex line for journalists seeking an on-record briefing call for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. To which Bill said, 'Boy, did they get the wrong number.' — Jay Leno

Thinking about operating at a quicker tempo - not just moving faster - than the adversary was a new concept in waging war. Generating a rapidly changing environment - that is, engaging in activity that is quick it is disorienting and appears uncertain or ambiguous to the enemy - inhibits the adversary's ability to adapt and causes confusion and disorder that, in turn, causes an adversary to overreact or underreact. Boyd closed the briefing by saying the message is that whoever can handle the quickest rate of change is the one who survives. — Robert Coram

As press secretary, I spent countless hours defending the administration from the podium in the White House briefing room. — Scott McClellan

If I were just to read briefing books or I were just to engage in the political back and forth, would I have heard what a big problem mental health is in New Hampshire? Would I have heard people say they're really worried about the impact on young people because New Hampshire has the highest tuition and debt problems in the country? i'm not sure I would have. — Hillary Clinton

For all of us, self-briefing before going out or starting a project sharpens artistic wit. — Robert Genn

He does possess a penetrating sense of humour. At the end of one briefing in Mexico, when Nigel Mansell had let the world know that he was suffering seriously from uncontrollable diarrhoea and needed to interrupt practice several times on this account, Prost drily asked Roland Bruynseraede, 'If Nigel has to come in during the race will you show a brown flag? — Sid Watkins

When I traveled as secretary of state, I was deluged with thick briefing books full of information about the politics, economy, and culture of each destination, so those took up most of my reading time. — Hillary Clinton

These stories about my intellectual capacity really get under my skin. You know, for a while I even thought my staff believed it. There on my schedule first thing every morning it said, 'Intelligence Briefing.' — George W. Bush

[B]riefing is not reading. In fact it is the antithesis of reading. Briefing is terse, factual and to the point. Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting. Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up. — Alan Bennett

The function of a briefing paper is to prevent the ambassador from saying something dreadfully indiscreet. I sometimes think its true object is to prevent the ambassador from saying anything at all. — Kingman Brewster Jr.

I can grow cameras!" she had shrieked at the Brill brothers during one briefing. "Who's to say that despicable centaur Foaly hasn't succeded in splicing surveillance equiptment to plants? So get rid of all the flowers. Rocks, too. I don't trust them. Sullen little blebers. — Eoin Colfer

I'm not asking much,' he said. 'Only a miracle. Can you do this?'
Wong looked down at the briefing papers in front of him for a moment. Then he looked at Tambi in the eye. 'Miracles we have fifteen per cent extra surcharge. Is it okay? — Nury Vittachi

George W. Bush attended the intelligence briefing every day. Obama has not even attended half of them. He sends surrogates. That to me is significant. — Rush Limbaugh

It was Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself who had presented the schematic to the Strategic Advisory Cell at the second briefing. But in fact the battle station wasn't a product of Republic research and development; it had originated with the Separatists. The captive Geonosian leader, Poggle the Lesser, maintained that Count Dooku had provided Poggle's hive with the basic plans, and that the Geonosians had merely refined them. — James Luceno

I'm a career Air Force officer. We have a saying in the Air Force: 'If you want people to be with you at the crash, you've got to put them on the manifest.' And so I was always of the view to almost leave no stone unturned when you're up there briefing the Hill. — Michael Hayden

I was given a White House - well, you will have to ask the White House that. But I asked to attend the White House briefing because I was, you know, because I wanted to report on the activities there. — Jeff Gannon

Well my briefing was that Honduras was a small and vulnerable country just back on the path towards democracy it was about to have just before I arrived, the first elections for a civilian president in more than 9 years. — John Negroponte

Energy is my specialty and I do white papers and briefing documents and I help write speeches for the administration — David Baldacci

There's no briefing sheet on what to do when a supernatural soul-sucking horror disguised as a beautiful woman starts crying on your shoulder. — Charles Stross

[Artemis] returned to the aft bay for Mulch's version of a briefing.
The dwarf had drawn a crude diagram on a backlit wall panel. In fairness, there were more artistic chimpanzees. And less pungent ones. Mulch was using a carrot as a pointer, or more accurately, several carrots. Dwarfs liked carrots.
'This is Koboi Labs,' He mumbled around a mouthful of vegetable.
'That?' exclaimed Root.
'I realize, Julius, that it is not an accurate schematic.'
The Commander exploded from his chair. 'An accurate schematic? It's a rectangle for heaven's sake!'
Mulch was unperturbed. 'That's not important. This is the important bit.'
'That wobbly line?'
'It's a fissure,' pouted the dwarf. 'Anybody can see that.'
'Anybody in kindergarten maybe. So it's a fissure, so what?'
'This is the clever bit. Y'see that fissure is not usually there.'
Root began strangling the air again. Something he was doing more and more lately. — Eoin Colfer

excellent relations between these two long-intermarried families of constitutional monarchs. In Jerusalem, under the authority of the Great Powers Condominium for the Holy Land, renewed clashes have occurred between Orthodox Jews and their Muslim counterparts at the Temple Mount. In India the governor general, Gurchuran Singh, is on holiday at a hill station but has met with representatives of India's sporting and business elite for a briefing on their preparations for hosting next year's Commonwealth Games. They will hold — Richard Ned Lebow

I heard the Boss murmur, 'I sometimes wonder what goes on in that kitchen,' and we continued with the briefing. — Jodi Taylor

Are you done briefing the company yet?"
"We, um ... Haven't gotten through the introductions yet."
"Allow me: Time-traveling Kevyn Andreyasn, this is the mercenary company "Tagon's Toughs."
"Company, this is the time-traveling Kevyn Andreyasn, who will have become your captain thirty-two hours from now, as of seven weeks ago.
Now, quick. Let's go save the galaxy while they're confused. — Howard Tayler

The press briefing today I believe has lost much of its usefulness. — Marlin Fitzwater

The Ambassador and the General were briefing me on the ... the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice. — George W. Bush

Gregor sighed. "Of course I'll keep you informed." "Once a day? Haroche will be giving you bulletins once a day, I know, with your morning ImpSec briefing." "Yes, Illyan and my coffee always used to arrive together. Sometimes, if he came in person, he'd bring the coffee himself. I always felt it was a polite hint: Sit up and pay attention." Miles grinned. "That's Illyan. Once a day, yes?" "Oh, very well. Look, I must go now." "Thanks, Gregor." The Emperor cut the com. Miles — Lois McMaster Bujold

We always get up about 5:30, and George gets up and goes in and gets the coffee and brings it to me, and that's been our ritual since we got married. And we read the newspapers in bed and drink coffee for about an hour probably, read our briefing papers. — Laura Bush

president his daily briefing. He concluded by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed." "OH NO!" the President yelled. "That's terrible!" His staff sat stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sat, head in hands. Finally, the President looked up and asked, "Exactly how many is a brazillion? — FAGR

I've never seen a candidate - I've never seen a human being - who, with the most limited briefing, can understand the dimensions, the parameters, the nuances of everything of any kind of a policy or political problem. — James Carville

Even President Reagan couldn't understand him. During an early briefing Casey delivered to the national security cabinet, Reagan slipped Vice President Bush a note: "Did you understand a word he said?" Reagan later told William F. Buckley, "My problem with Bill was that I didn't understand him at meetings. Now, you can ask a person to repeat himself once. You can ask him twice. But you can't ask him a third time. You start to sound rude. So I'd just nod my head, but I didn't know what he was actually saying."
Such was the dialogue for six years between the president and his intelligence chief in a nuclear-armed nation running secret wars on four continents. — Steve Coll