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"If the government's security forces cannot provide the necessary protection, the believers will do it."
AYATOLLAH ALI AL-SISTANI, senior Iraqi Shi'ite cleric, after a bomb shattered the golden dome of the revered Askariya Shrine in Samarra, prompting attacks on dozens of Sunni mosques. Al-Sistani later urged his followers not to attack Sunni holy sites in revenge

"The first day they were a little bit stressed. They're eating very well, and Thor, the one who talks, said, 'Good morning,' straight away."
DERRICK COYLE, Raven Master at the Tower of London, where fears of bird flu forced the famous birds to be moved indoors from the grassy inner courtyard

"Elected politicians should only be able to be removed by the voters or for breaking the law."
KEN LIVINGSTONE, mayor of London, who was suspended for four weeks, beginning March 1, for comparing a Jewish reporter to a Nazi war criminal and then refusing to apologize

"Your performance was terrible in that the show lacked mood, temperament and just about everything a show needs for success."
DONALD TRUMP, American entrepreneur and reality-television star, responding to media mogul Martha Stewart's suggestion that her version of the corporate-reality show The Apprentice floundered because Trump would not reschedule his own Apprentice, which ran at the same time

"I figured, why not have a green label so it will match? All customers will notice the green for the Hamas flag."
NADIM KHOURY, owner of Taybeh Brewing Company, the only brewery in the Palestinian territories, on his plans to release a non-alcoholic beer to mark the ascendance of the embattled region's Hamas-led government