Verbatim

"I told him I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families."
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. President, recounting a conversation he had with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House last week about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers

"This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation ... I'm talking about people having a good time."
RUSH LIMBAUGH, conservative American radio talk-show host, comparing the abuse of Iraqi prisoners to alleged hazing rituals at a Yale University secret society

"This attack was supposed to be the last one; they wanted to finish us all."
ABDULLAHI ABDULLAHI, a member of the council of elders in the Nigerian town of Yelwa, speaking of attacks by Christian tribesmen on Yelwa's Muslim residents. At least 630 people, mostly Muslim, have been killed

"Their censorship orders are totally groundless, absolutely arbitrary, at odds with the basic standards of civilization, and as counter to scientific common sense as witches and wizardry."
JIAO GUOBIAO, a journalism professor at Peking University in Beijing, criticizing the Chinese Communist Party's censorship policies in a banned essay that has been circulated widely on the Internet

"We make ketchup; we don't make politics."
JACK SMYTH, senior vice president at American condiment giant Heinz, denying any involvement in the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry. Kerry's wife, Teresa, is the widow of Senator H. John Heinz III, great-grandson of the company's founder

"She looks fun. And I'm sure she is a good influence on her husband."
TERESA HEINZ KERRY, wife of John Kerry, talking about First Lady Laura Bush on ABC's 20/20 TV program

"This guy's supposed to be the greatest warrior of all time; I had to get my [butt] in shape."
BRAD PITT, American actor, explaining why he quit smoking, went on a diet and worked out intensively to prepare for his role as Achilles in the movie Troy