Friday, Feb. 29, 2008

Verbatim

'Fidel is irreplaceable.' RAUL CASTRO, Cuba's new President, paying homage to his older brother, who stepped down on Feb. 19 after 49 years in power

'I'm like a man with no country.' MOHAMMAD BARIKBIN, Iranian immigrant who has waited more than three years for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process his citizenship application. He has joined others in suing the agency over the delay

'Then get out of here, you total jerk.' NICOLAS SARKOZY, President of France, to a man who accused the increasingly unpopular leader of "dirtying" him while greeting constituents at a Paris trade fair. A video of the outburst posted the next day by the newspaper Le Parisien tallied more than half a million hits in just a few hours

'It's a total waste of time and money.' LORD FOULKES OF CUMNOCK, member of Britain's Intelligence and Security Committee, calling for an end to the "circus" inquest into Princess Diana's death, which began last October

'In Pakistan, the people have spoken.' IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, dismissing the notion that a defeat of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf's party could lead to instability in the region

'This song was written from the perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are.' MARKETA IRGLOVA, musician, after winning an Academy Award for the song Falling Slowly from the movie Once. Host Jon Stewart brought her back onstage after the orchestra accidentally cut off her words following co-songwriter Glen Hansard's acceptance speech numbers

Sources: Reuters; USA Today; AP; Guardian; AFP; Chicago Tribune

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