Quotes of the Day

'Where money for projects has not been found, we will print it.'
ROBERT MUGABE, President of Zimbabwe, on the government's plan to mint more cash for municipal improvements despite the country's annual inflation rate of at least 4,500%

'What do you expect them to do — fall on the ground and grovel?'
ALEXANDER DOWNER, Australian Foreign Minister, rejecting requests that police and prosecutors apologize for detaining Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef on suspicion of his involvement in June's U.K. terror plots. All charges against Haneef were dropped on July 27

'That's not the 'right stuff' as far as I'm concerned.'
BART GORDON, U.S. Representative and chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, on a recent report revealing that NASA astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk

'We are no longer going to be part of the security forces; we are going to be part of the community.'
NICHOLAS PARKER, lieutenant general in the British army, on its withdrawal from Northern Ireland after 38 years of service

'It's not as if you smoke a joint and you're going to go crazy.'
RICHARD RAWSON, director of ucla's Integrated Substance Abuse Program, responding to a new study that links habitual marijuana use with psychosis

'I wanted to dance in the classical ballet, but my mom told me fat girls could not dance.'
MAILIN DAZA, prima ballerina for Danza Voluminosa, an obese dance group that has become a cultural phenomenon in Cuba

'We should acknowledge the debt the world owes to the United States for its leadership in this fight against international terrorism.'
GORDON BROWN, British Prime Minister, who had warm words for the U.S. involvement in Iraq before meeting with President George W. Bush at Camp David

TOUR DE FRANCE
13% Percentage of French citizens who say they are "very interested" in the Tour de France. Its popularity has plummeted following widespread doping scandals, including the removal of Tour leader Michael Rasmussen from this year's race over missed drug tests
71% Percentage of French citizens who think the sport's reputation has been irreparably damaged by the scandals

MOTIVATION
237 Number of reasons people cite for having sex, according to a new study — including "it seemed like good exercise" and "the person was a good dancer"
4% Percentage of U.S. adults who have never had sex

IRAQ
8 million Number of Iraqis, nearly a third of the population, who are without water, sanitation, food and shelter. NGOs say Iraq's humanitarian crisis has gotten worse since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003
$37.4 billion U.S. federal funding for Iraqi reconstruction. As of May 2007, nearly all of it had been spent

RECYCLING
$770 Amount a Chengdu panda-breeding center used to spend every month to clean up nearly a ton of daily panda droppings
300°C Temperature at which the dung is sterilized under a new plan to use it for profit. It's then made into odor-free souvenirs like an Olympic-themed panda statue