Verbatim

“In a place like this, words fail. In the end, there can only be a dread silence—a silence which is itself a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?”
POPE BENEDICT XVI, at the Nazi death camp Auschwitz during a visit to Poland, the birthplace of his predecessor John Paul II

“I will only accept something as truth if I am actually convinced of it.”
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, Iranian President, when asked by a reporter for Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine if he stood by the claim he made last year calling the Holocaust “a myth”

“In a bad market like this people often ignore good news.”
AJIT SURANA, Indian stockbroker, on the country’s recent market meltdown. India’s Sensex index has plunged more than 20% since May 11 despite news that the economy grew by 8.4% in the year that ended March 31

“You, the Timorese people, must stand up against anyone who tries to divide you on regional or ethnic lines … Let no one deprive you of your hard-won freedom, of your right to live in security and without fear.”
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. Secretary General, speaking amid violence between government troops and a breakaway faction of soldiers in East Timor’s capital, Dili, that has killed at least 27 people

“The drains are choked, roads are flooded, trains are late. Rainwater mixed with filth is entering homes. What has changed since last year?”
TONY PEREIRA, Bombay resident, on the lack of improvement to the city’s infrastructure since record monsoon rains flooded the city in July 2005, killing 435 people

“I guess we should all be grateful the bricks are coming through the mail, not the window.”
DAN PFEIFFER, a spokesman for Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, on the bricks being sent to Capitol Hill offices by advocates of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border