Verbatim

“We need to… find out what turns us on.”
VIVIAN BALAKRISHNAN,
Chairman of the government-appointed “Remaking Singapore” panel, which hopes to reinvigorate the city-state’s staid public image

“I am not afraid of threats against my life.”
THAKSIN SHINAWATRA,
Thailand’s Prime Minister, on rumors that drug dealers are plotting to kill him in retaliation for his antidrug campaign, which has so far claimed more than 1,500 lives

“They are part of a logic of war.”
DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN,
French Foreign Minister, rejecting a British proposal to list six requirements Baghdad would have to meet or face war

“I find it extraordinary that without even proper consideration, the French government will reject these proposals.”
JACK STRAW,
British Foreign Minister, in response

“Making Congress look even sillier than it sometimes looks would not be high on my priority list.”
BARNEY FRANK,
U.S. Congressman, after Capitol Hill cafeterias replaced french fries with “freedom fries” on their menus

“I had to train myself to drink like a man … this is part of the sacrifice I make for Hong Kong.”
REGINA IP,
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, on the city’s mostly male government