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'Not that violence has ended, but we are able to move to provincial Iraqi control, and that's thanks to everything you have achieved.'
GORDON BROWN, British Prime Minister, informing U.K. soldiers in Basra on Dec. 9 that the last Iraqi area under British control would be handed over to local troops within two weeks

'When a truck driver is not eating rice, he's eating diesel.'
ZHANG YANCHAO, Chinese truck driver, on inhaling exhaust fumes while waiting in long lines to fill up amid chronic fuel shortages

'Education is the engine that makes American democracy work. And it has to work, and that means people have to have access.'
DREW GILPIN FAUST, president of Harvard, on the university's move to significantly increase financial aid to middle- and upper-middle-class students

'If any detestable acts were committed, I condemn them, but they were not done on my orders. I reject the charges totally.'
ALBERTO FUJIMORI, former Peruvian President, in an outburst on the first day of his trial on charges he authorized death squads to eliminate leftist rebels in the 1990s

'I hope that one day ... I can show everybody that Michael Vick is not the person you see or hear about in the media.'
MICHAEL VICK, suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback, just before a judge sentenced him to 23 months in prison for his role in an illegal dogfighting ring

'I can't believe people would come from 50 countries for that.'
JIMMY PAGE, Led Zeppelin guitarist, on the frenzy to attend the band's first full concert in 27 years