Verbatim: Jan. 16, 2006

"He was dividing God's land. And I would say, 'Woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America.' God says, 'This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone.'" PAT ROBERTSON, televangelist, suggesting that Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon's massive stroke last week was divine punishment

"Today you will all have heard—and I hope that this is final—that the criminal of Sabra and Shatila has rejoined his ancestors. God willing, the others will join him soon." MAHMOUD AHMADINEIAD, President of Iran, making a premature announcement of the ailing Sharon's death

"It wasn't bad/just went to sleep." MARTIN TOLER JR., one of 12 miners who died last week after an explosion at West Virginia's Sago coal mine, in a scrawled note—found with his body—assuring his family that his final hours were painless

"I believe they are capable of making a deal with the devil himself so that they can be represented widely in the coming government." SALEH AL-MUTLAQ, Sunni Arab politician, criticizing the Iraqi Accordance Front—the Sunni Arabs' majority party—for planning to join with Kurds and Shi'ites to form a coalition government

"Killing one educated person is as effective as killing dozens of ordinary people." MULLAH NAQIBULLAH, Afghan tribal elder, warning of the dangers of the Taliban—who last week beheaded a high school teacher—and its efforts to undermine trust in the government

"There is a sort of an unwritten code in Washington among the underworld and the hustlers and these other guys, that I am their friend ... I was a little hurt." MARION BARRY, Washington council member and former mayor, after two young men robbed him at gunpoint while helping him carry groceries into his home

Sources: AP; AFP; AP (2); New York Times; Washington Post