"Such a perfect operation is unprecedented."

- Ingrid Betancourt, a hostage of Colombian rebels for six years, speaking after and she and 14 other hostages escaped in a daring rescue last week without a shot being fired (as quoted by the BBC on 3rd July, 2008).

"We in the MDC have resolved that we will no longer participate in this violent, illegitimate, sham of an election process."

- Zimbabwean Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangarai announcing his withdrawal from this week's presidential run-off poll (as quoted ABC News on 23rd June, 2008).

"I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric."

- US President George W. Bush, commenting on the 'gun-slinging' language he used in the early days of the Iraq war (as quoted in The Times Online on 11th June, 2008).

“To use the threat of hunger as a political weapon shows a callous contempt for human life."

- Douglas Alexander, the British Secretary of State for International Development, accusing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe of “callous contempt” for the poorest Zimbabweans after his government announced its decision to halt all aid operations in the country in the run-up to the deciding presidential vote (as quoted in The Times Online on 7th June, 2008).

"Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America."

- Barack Obama, claiming the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the US on 3rd June, 2008 (as quoted in The Age on 5th June, 2008).

"I hope and believe that any hesitation the Government of Myanmar may have had about allowng international humanitarian groups to operate freely in the affected areas is now a thing of the past.”

- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaking after a meeting with Burma's leader, Senior General Than Shwe (as quoted at www.un.org on 25th May, 2008).

"It's difficult in there. It's like walking a tightrope."

- World Vision Australia chief Tim Costello talking about how his attempts to convince the military junta that rules Burma that the aid agency was only in the country to help in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis (as quoted in The Age on19th May, 2008).

"The authorities of the country need to open up to an international relief effort. There aren't enough boats, trucks, helicopters in the country to run the relief effort of the scale we need. It's urgent that the authorities do open themselves up."

- Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, speaking in reference to the crisis in Burma in the wake of Cyclone Nargis (as quoted in The Wall Street Journal Online on12th May, 2008).

"This is really a war zone and great devastation...done by mother nature."

- Aung Din, from the US campaign for Burma, speaking to Radio Australia's Connect Asia program about the cyclone has left Rangoon without transport, water or communications and killed, according to revised government figures, almost 4,000 people in the Asian nation with thousands more still missing (as quoted on www.abc.net.au on 5th May, 2008).

"My decision not to participate reflects the changed symbolism of the Olympic Torch Relay...The Uniting Church and ACOSS have proud histories of standing with those who suffer violence and injustice and of working for a world in which the dignity of every person is valued and human rights are upheld."

- Lin Hatfield Dodds, president of the Australian Council of Social Services and national director of UnitingCare Australia, talking about her decision not to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay (as quoted on www.smh.com.au on 22nd April, 2008).

“Look, there's some really good stuff there."

- Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, speaking after the weekend's 2020 Summit about the outcomes that came from it (as quoted on theaustralian.com.au on 21st April, 2008).

"I grew up in a little bush town in Queensland of 200 people, and what this day says to Australian women and to Australian girls is you can do anything, you can be anything."

- Quentin Bryce on being named Australia's first female governor-general (as quoted on news.com.au on 14th April, 2008).

"It's bittersweet really, isn't it? But, to know where they're resting is really something."

- Widow Pat Ingham, whose 21-year-old husband John died when the HMAS Sydney was sunk in 1941 with the loss of all hands, speaking after the first pictures of the wreck were seen following its discovery in waters off the coast of Western Australia last month (as quoted on ABC's Lateline in 5th April, 2008).

"We have won an election. Mugabe's victory is not possible given the true facts."

- Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe, commenting on elections in the nation (as quoted by Associated Press on 1st April, 2008).

"We don't talk turning points, there are no lights at the end of the tunnel, we don't do victory dances, and we've moved the champagne to the back of the fridge."

- US General David Petraeus, commanding general of the multi-national force in Iraq, speaking about the situation in Iraq ahead of next month's report to Congress on the success of the "troop surge" (as quoted on www.telegraph.co.uk on 24th March, 2008).

"These most recent developments in Tibet are disturbing and from my point of view, I would call upon the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint."

- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd commenting about a Chinese Government crackdown on pro-independence activists in Tibet in which at least 80 people have reportedly been killed (as quoted www.news.com.au on 17th March, 2008).

"New sins have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalisation."

- Catholic Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti talking about the addition of new sins - including polluting, genetic engineering, obscene riches, taking drugs and abortion - to the seven deadly sins defined by Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century (as quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald on 11th March, 2008).

- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking after becoming the first Iranian head of state to visit Iraq since the bitter war between the two nations in the 1980s (as quoted by Reuters on 2nd March, 2008)

"The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution is unique, Fidel is Fidel, as we all know well, he is irreplaceable."

- Cuba's new president, Raul Castro, after being unanimously selected by the nation's National Assembly to succeed his ailing brother, 81-year-old Fidel Castro (as quoted by BBC on 24th February, 2008).

"To the stolen generations, I say the following: as Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the
government of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the parliament of Australia, I am sorry. I offer you this apology  without qualification."

- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in a speech made after he read a formal apology to the stolen generations in the Australian Parliament on 13th February, 2008.

"For there to be a coordinated attempt to assassinate the entire democratically elected leadership of a close neighbour and friend of Australia's is a deep and disturbing development."

- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaking in response to news that East Timor's President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao had been attacked in raids by rebel gunmen on 11th February, 2008. President Ramos Horta was airlifted to Darwin after he was shot in the chest and stomach while Prime Minister Gusmao escaped harm.

"It's not a baby doll - it's alive!"

- Rescue worker David Harmon after finding 11-month-old baby Kyson Stowell lying about 100 metres from his Tennessee house after it was destroyed by a twister. Fifty-five people have been killed in tornadoes which unleashed their fury across five US states this week (as quoted in The Washington Post on 7th February, 2008).

"It was clear ethnic cleansing in the Rift Valley."

-The top US offical for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, US assistant secretary of state, describing violence in parts of Kenya since the 27th December presidential election as "ethnic cleansing" (as quoted in Guardian Unlimited on 31st January, 2008).

"All the crew did their job absolutely brilliantly, but I think some thanks has to go to the man upstairs for giving us the little lift at the end."

- John Coward, co-pilot of a Britsh Airways jet that crash-landed at Heathrow Airport in Britain late last week (as quoted in Herald-Sun on 21st January, 2008).

"I don't know if I particularly want to be remembered for anything...but there's no doubt, either, that my most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and medical clinics. That has given me more satisfaction that a footprint on a mountain."

- Sir Edmund Hillary, who became the first man known to have climbed Mt Everest - the world's highest peak - in 1953. The New Zealander, who founded the Himalayan Trust which built schools, hospitals and clinics, died on 11th January at the age of 88 (as quoted in The Weekend Australian on 12th January, 2008).

"The impact will be that Pakistan is in more turmoil. There is a very real danger of civil war in Pakistan."

- Riaz Malik, of the opposition Pakistan Movement for Justice party, following the death of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a suicide bombing attack (as reported on www.telegraph.co.uk on 27th December, 2007).

"God guided me and protected me."

- Security guard Jeanne Assam who shot gunman Matthew Murray after he murdered four people - including two teenage girls at a church and two YWAM workers at a training centre - in Colorado on 9th December (as reported on www.thedenverchannel.com on 10th December, 2007).

"In Africa the lifetime risk of dying of pregnancy-related causes is around one in 22. In industrialised countries, it's one in 8,000."

- UNICEF's chief of health, Dr Peter Salama, commenting on a report which shows that while remarkable progress has been made in reducing child mortality rates, maternal mortality, HIV prevention and pneumonia are all key areas that need improving (as reported on www.abc.net.au on 10th December, 2007).

"My class was delighted and were making wonderful progress with their studies. I will miss them terribly and I am very sad to think that they have been distressed by this event."

- British school teacher Gillian Gibbons in a statement following news that she was being released from prison early in Sudan. Ms Gibbons was sentenced to 15 days in jail for allowing children in her class to name a teddybear Muhammad (as reported on www.bbc.co.uk on 3rd December, 2007).

"Today the Australian people have decided that we as a nation will move forward to plan for the future, to prepare for the future, to embrace the future and together as Australians to unite and write a new page in our nation's history."

- Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd after news of the Labor party's victory on 24th November, 2007.

"Can I say to all the people of Australia that it has been a tremendous honour, opportunity and privilege to serve you...I wish this nation well. "

- Outgoing Prime Minister John Howard in his concession speech on 24th November, 2007.

``Slowing and reversing these threats is the defining challenge of our age."

- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the launch of the final report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (As quoted on on 19th November, 2007).

"China's religious affairs authorities and the Olympic organisers have not - and could not - issue a rule banning the Bible in the Olympic village."

- China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao responding to reports last week that Bibles would be banned from next year's Beijing Olympics. (As quoted in The Guardian on 8th November, 2007).

"I cannot allow this country to commit suicide."

- Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf speaking in a television address after imposing a state of emergency in Pakistan late last week. (As quoted on www.reuters.com on 3rd November, 2007).

"We cannot declare the execution of Australians to be barbaric and the execution of Indonesians to be acceptable."

- Former chief justice of the Australian High Court, Sir Gerard Brennan, in comments in which he said Australia's stance on the death penalty for the Bali bombers was jeopardising the nation's international credibility. (As quoted on www.abc.net.au on 1st November, 2007).

"The people who died belonged to the poor classes."

- Fasal Edhi, mortuary director, commenting on the deaths of at least 138 people following a suicide attack on the homecoming procession of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi, Pakistan, on 19th October. (As quoted in The Age on 21st October, 2007).

"This country does not need new leadership, it doesn't need old leadership. It needs the right leadership."

- Prime Minister John Howard, after announcing the federal election will take place on 24th November. (As quoted on www.abc.com.auon 14th October).

"I intend to make the case for why Australia needs new leadership now."

- Opposition leader Kevin Rudd in response to the announcement of a poll date. (As quoted on www.abc.com.au on 14th October).

"It's with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust."

- Fallen US track star and three-time Olympic champion Marion Jones in a statement made after she pleaded guilty to lying to US government investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs (As quoted on www.news.com.au on 6th October).

"I would like to deeply apologise to the people for causing trouble to them. I regret that I couldn't meet people's expectations."

- Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in a statement made on 24th September, 2007, at his first public appearance since his abrupt resignation on 12th September (As quoted on www.abc.net.au).

"My position is today as it was last week and as it was last year. I'm going to this election as a team. John Howard asked me to go to this election with him as his deputy leader and his treasurer. Last year, I said I would. I will. That's it."

- Federal Treasurer Peter Costello hosing down speculation he would challenge Prime Minister John Howard before the upcoming election (as quoted on Channel Nine on 16th September, 2007).

"It's a very important milestone in the march towards a sensible international agreement on climate change, which recognises the need to make progress, but also recognises that different economies bring different perspectives to addressing the challenge of climate change."

- Prime Minister John Howard, referring to the 'Sydney Declaration' made by APEC leaders. The declaration commits APEC members to trying to improve energy efficiency by at least 25 per cent by 2030 (as quoted by ABC on 9th September, 2007).

"We owe a big debt to the nation and people."

- Yoo Kyung-shik, one of 19 South Korean missionaries released last week after being held hostage for six weeks by the Taliban in Afghanistan (as quoted in The Independent on 3rd September, 2007).

"I want God with all the power of my soul - and yet between us there is terrible separation.”

- Mother Teresa in one of numerous letters to friends and confessors published in a new book 'Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light' (as quoted in The Times Online on 24th August, 2007)

"This type of politics that takes an indiscretion from the distant past is unworthy of our democracy. It is low politics."

- Monsignor Les Tomlinson, Vicar-General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, in reference to revelations Kevin Rudd visited a New York strip club in 2003 (as quoted in The Age on 20th August, 2007).

``We've heard about climate change, the economy and work laws. It's time to get religion back on the agenda."

- Jim Wallace, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, quoted on Bloomberg in the lead-up to last week's event in which both the Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd addressed Christians around the nation (as quoted on 9th August, 2007).

"By authorising the deployment of a hybrid operation for Darfur, you are sending a clear and powerful signal of your commitment to improve the lives of the people of the region, and close this tragic chapter in Sudan's history."

- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement to the Security Council following its resolution to deploy a UN-African Union force in Darfur (as quoted on 31st July, 2007).

"The Korean government strongly condemns and urges an immediate end to these heinous acts of killing innocent people in order to press for demands that it can't meet. Kidnapping and killing innocent people can't be justified for any cause.''

- The South Korean Government in a statement released after the murder of the second of 23 South Korean Christian missionary hostages being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan (as quoted on www.koreatimes.co.kr on 31st July, 2007).

"I think we are done with the mortality of AIDS in treated people. Only five years ago hope was an abstract notion, now hope is a reality."

- Michel Kazatchkine, newly appointed executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria speakng at the International AIDS Society conference in Sydney (as quoted on www.smh.com.au on 23rd July, 2007).

"It means the Pope is a Catholic, actually. Of course, they would think that - we think they're a bit dodgy, too, but we've come a long way from saying the Pope is the antichrist."

- Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, commenting on the release of a document by the Vatican stating that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church (as quoted on www.theage.com.au on 12th July, 2007).

"You are Live Earth!"

- Eco-crusader and former US vice-president Al Gore speaking at the weekend's Live Earth concerts, 7th July 2007 (as quoted by the ABC).

"It's obvious that we have a group of people - not just in this country, but round the world - who are prepared at any time to inflict what they want to be maximum damage on civilians, irrespective of who the religion of these people who are killed or maimed are to be."

- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking after terrorist attacks in London (which were foiled by police) and Glasgow (which involved a car exploding at the airport) in late June (as quoted by the BBC).

"Many Australians, myself included, looked aghast at the failure of the American federal system of government to cope adequately with Hurricane Katrina and the human misery and lawlessness that engulfed New Orleans in 2005. We should have been more humble. We have our Katrina, here and now. That it has unfolded more slowly and absent the hand of God should make us humbler still."

- Prime Minister John Howard in a speech at the Australia Institute on 25th June, 2007, referring to the issue of sexual abuse of children in remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. The Federal Government last week unveiled their plan to intervene in remote communities in a bid to stop the abuse. (as quoted on www.smh.com.au on 26th June, 2007).

"It just seems impossible sometimes. I left Sudan because they force us to join the army and I would have ended up killing my brothers, people just like me."

- Sudanese refugee Abueldasim Adam, one of refugees which gathered in Sydney on 20th June, 2007, to call on the Federal Government to send peacekeepers to Darfur (as quoted on www.abc.net.au).

"It's heartbreaking. I've been through the earthquake and a fire in the building, but the water damage is the worst experience I've had in 40 years of retail life. Just pure devastation."

- Newcastle businessman Paul Murphy, whose business was among those ransacked by looters in the wake of the floods in New South Wales (as quoted on www.news.com.au on 12th June, 2007). Nine people died in the floods with damage estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.

"China will not commit to any quantified emissions reduction targets, but that does not mean we will not assume responsibilities in responding to climate change."

- Ma Kai, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, which steers climate change policy in China (as quoted on Reuters.com on 4th June, 2007).

"I hope this anniversary marks a renewed effort by all Australians to use all the tools and knowledge of today to achieve a genuine and full reconciliation and equality of our peoples, both indigenous and non-indigenous."

- Governor-General Michael Jeffery referring to the 40th anniversary of the 1967 referendum in which voters supported changing the constitution to allow the Commonwealth Government to make laws specifically for indigenous Australians and remove barriers to counting them in the census (as quoted in The Canberra Times on 28th May, 2007).

"David is well and he enjoyed the trip, and he's very, very glad to be back on Australian soil."

- David McLeod, Australian lawyer of former Guantanamo Bay internee and convicted terrorism supporter, David Hicks, following Hicks' homecoming on the weekend (as quoted on www.abc.net.au on 20th May, 2007).

"Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right."

- British Prime Minister Tony Blair sums up his legacy on 10th May, 2007, as he announces he will be stepping down in late June.

"Let's boycott and not go there so that in this way we can embarrass and put pressure on the Zimbabwe government and Mugabe and his cronies."

- Pius Ncube, Archbishop of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, calling on Prime Minister John Howard to stop the Australian cricket team touring Zimbabwe in September (as quoted on ABC Online on 3rd May, 2007).

"The truth of war is not always easy to hear but it is always more heroic than the hype."

- Former US Army private, Jessica Lynch, testifying before a congressional committee in the US on 24th April, 2007 (as quoted by The Guardian newspaper).

“We must hope and pray there is rain”

- Prime Minister John Howard speaking with regard to the ongoing drought in Australia on Thursday, 19th April, 2007 (as quoted in The Herald-Sun).

``We feel today that we are stronger than yesterday. The parliament, government and the people are all the same - they are all in the same ship which, if it sinks, will make everyone sink."

- The Iraqi Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, speaking in response to the suicide bombing in parliament's dining hall, since claimed by al-Qaeda, which killed eight and wounded 23 on Thursday, 12th April, 2007 (as quoted on Guardian Unlimited on 14th April, 2007).

"It is okay in the day, they play around the camp, but when night comes and we are putting them to sleep, they start thinking of their friends and cry because they didn't play with a mate that was killed."

- Tastre Ataria, the co-ordinator of the destroyed village of Titiana, referring to the 11 children who died in the village. As many as 20 of the 38 people who died after a tsunami hit the Solomon Islands on 2nd April were children (as quoted in The Australian on 10th April, 2007).

"I was a hero to a lot of people and I want that to remain...I want all the kids who have admired me to continue to have that admiration."

- Retired Australian swimming champion Ian Thorpe speaking in response to relevations he had elevated levels of testosterone and luteinising hormone (as quoted in The Age on 2nd April, 2007).

"It just seemed like it was coming in too quick - I looked out on the right hand side and saw how fast we were coming in, which was not a normal landing from the descent and how low we were to the ground - that's when we hit the ground."

- Leading Aircraftsman Kyle Quinlan, of the Royal Australian Air Force, who was among the injured in last week's plane crash at Yogyakarta airport. Five Australians were among the 21 killed in the crash (as quoted on www.abc.net.au on 8th March, 2007).

"I obviously made the wrong decision in this case, so I think what I have learnt in life is that you make some mistakes, you admit them, you cop it on the chin and you dust yourself off and you keep going.''

- Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, referring to now controversial meetings he had with former West Australian premier, Brian Burke, during an appearance on Seven Sunrise (as quoted on PerthNow on 2nd March, 2007).

"(Government-sanctioned slavery) ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation's history".

- From a resolution passed by law-makers in the US state of Virginia, believed to be the first US state to apologise for slavery (as quoted on BBC on 25th February, 2007).

"The separation that exists at the present time is a scandal to people outside the church who say 'Why can't these Christians get together?'."

- Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, John Bathersby, co-chair of the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission which is preparing a statement looking at the common ground and differences between the Catholic and Anglican churches. (as quoted on CNN, 20th February, 2007),

"If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."

- Prime Minister John Howard in a TV interview broadcast on the Nine Network on 11th February, 2007, in which he attacked US presidential hopeful Barack Obama's opposition to the Iraq war.

"This is my son, David. He's been missing for five years - held in Guantanamo Bay. Without trial."

- Terry Hicks, father of detainee David Hicks, in a national television advertisement which goes to air from 6th February.

"Christianity has been an enormous force for good and has done more than anything else to shape the lives, not only of millions of Australians, but the character of our nation."

- Prime Minister John Howard in a DVD message presented at an Australia Day gathering of 4,000 Christians in Melbourne organised by Catch the Fire Ministries.

"Our models indicate that it is highly likely that it will continue to weaken and will disappear within the next few months."

- Climatologist Blair Trewin, of the National Climate Centre, referring to El Nino (as quoted in The Age on 24th January, 2007).

"It seems this man wants to live in controversy..."

- Ameer Ali, chairman of the Prime Minister's former Muslim advisory group, referring to Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali in the wake of comments the sheikh made on Egyptian television claiming that Muslims who paid their own way to Australia were more 'Australian' than Anglo-Saxons who came in chains  (as quoted in The Age on 13th January, 2007).

"The Australian Government has unequivocally condemned last month's coup against the democratically elected government of Fiji..."

- Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer reiterating Australia's condemnation of the Fiji coup as he announced a new high commissioner to the island nation (as quoted on www.news.com.au on 9th January, 2007).

"Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history."

- A scrolling headline on Iraq's state run Iraqiya television on 30th December, 2006, following the execution of the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by hanging (as quoted on www.bbc.co.uk).

"The cricket we've played is as good a Test cricket as I've seen from this team for a long time. We've probably set a new standard for ourselves."

- Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting after the Australian team regained The Ashes from England (as quoted on www.abc.net.au on 18th December, 2006).

"General Augusto Pinochet symbolised a dark period in South America's history, a long night when the lights of democracy disappeared, stamped out by authoritarian coups."

- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a statement following the announcement of Pinochet's death in Chile (as quoted by Reuters on 12th December, 2006).

"This visit will help us find together the way to peace for the good of humanity."

- Pope Benedict XVI, after pausing to pray alongside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Mustafa Cagrici, in the Blue Mosque during his controversial visit to Turkey (as quoted in The Age on 2nd December, 2006).

"We didn't just wake up on a Monday morning and say, 'Let's call this a civil war'."

- Matt Lauer, host of the NBC Today Show in the US explaining that NBC News, against US Government policy, has decided to characterise the situation in Iraq as a civil war (as quoted in The Boston Globe on 28th November, 2006).

"I do have a brother. That brother, along with both sides of politics, has failed to see with the same moral clarity what your generation gets".

- World Vision chief executive and co-chair of Make Poverty History Tim Costello speaking at the Make Poverty History concert in Melbourne on 17th November, 2006 (as quoted in The Age).

“MPs should reflect on Senators’ confusion and uncertainty over this controversial vote and clarify for themselves that the issue is genuinely about overturning a unanimous decision to ban cloning in 2002.”

- Jim Wallace, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, in a statement released on 8th November, 2006, after the Senate passed legislation to allow the cloning of human embryos.

"Down with the invaders and down the the traitors."

- Part of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's response to news that he had been sentenced to death by hanging for ordering the murder of 148 Shia villagers in 1982 (as quoted in The Australian on 6th November, 2006).

"It's the worst in a century. I would expect this drought to leave a very big impression on the Australian psyche."

- Prime Minister John Howard (as quoted by Reuters on 13th October, 2006).

"If the most backward, poverty-stricken, hermetic regime in the world can go nuclear, it is a sign that any country that wants to can eventually do the same."

- Jon Wolfsthal, a security specialist at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, following news North Korea had tested a nuclear weapon (as quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald, 10th October, 2006).

"I believe words have great weight and I want people to know exactly what I mean."

-Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez responding to a question from Time Magazine after an extraordinary speech at the United Nations in which he accused US President George W. Bush of being the 'devil' and of leaving the smell of sulpher in the UN hall.

"My Daddy was my hero."

- Eight-year-old Bindi Irwin in a speech she made at her father Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's memorial service in Queensland on 20th September, 2006.

"Our major priority must be to maintain peace and harmony within the Australian community, but no lasting achievements can be grounded in fantasies and evasions."

- Cardinal George Pell, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, in a statement responding to the reaction to a recent speech by Pope Benedict in which he controversially quoted from a medieval text.

"It is a struggle for civilisation. We are fighting to maintain the way of life enjoyed by free nations."

- US President George W. Bush in an address to mark five years since 9/11.

"I would never blame an animal if it bit me, that is for sure, because I'm at fault, not them."

- Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, whose death from a stingray barb was reported on Monday, 4th September (as quoted in The Age, 5th September, 2006).

"We thought it was just a little ball."

- Hassan, one of three children, aged 10 to 12, who was injured when they encountered a cluster bomb while playing in he village of Aita al-Shaab, in southern Lebanon. He spoke these words from his bed in the intensive care ward in a Tyre hospital where he was being treated after his abdomen was cut open. (As reported in on Guardian Unlimited, 21st August, 2006).

"To those who did not return home, the 18 we lost at Long Tan and another 500 who gave their lives during the 10-year war, and the 2,400 we lost wounded or maimed in various ways, let us remember them. Lest we forget."

- Retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith, commander of Delta Company, 6RAR, at Long Tan, (as quoted on 17th August, 2006 on www.smh.com.au)

"No political party owns God."

- Kevin Rudd in a speech given at the National Christian Heritage Forum in Canberra on 7th August, 2006.

``My hope is that there will be an opportunity for voices of freedom to be heard within Cuba, that this would begin a moment of transformation and transition to a better life and better day.''
- Former Cuban resident and now a US senator for Florida, Mel Martinez, on news that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was handing power over to his brother Raul as he enters hospital for surgery (as quoted in the Miami Herald 1st August, 2006).

"It is urgent that we reach these children with emergency relief and supplies that can make the difference between life and death."

- UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman quoted as the first UN convoy carrying humanitarian relief arrived in the strife-torn city of Tyre in south Lebanon (as quoted by ABC Online 27th July, 2006).

"We see the terrible, tragic loss of life that is happening. It is an appalling situation, and a dangerous situation for the whole of the region, the whole of the world."

- British Prime Minister Tony Blair in reference to the Middle East crisis involving Israel and Lebanon (as quoted by Associated Press,18th July)

"We will work to defeat the evil designs of terrorists and will not allow them to succeed.''

- India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after bomb attacks in Mumbai killed more than 170 people and injured hundreds more (as quoted on Bloomberg,12th July).

“This is a grave crisis. The slightest turn of events could easily set off another full-scale conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, bringing greater dangers to civilians, and with serious regional repercussions. All parties must recognise this, and act with wisdom and care, and in full conformity with international humanitarian law."

- Assistant UN Secretary-General for Political Affairs Angela Kane (as quoted on UN website, 30th June).

"We're obviously happy we've got this far but so disappointing to go out in the fashion we did."
- Australian Socceroos captain Mark Viduka after Australia bowed out of the World Cup, losing 1-0 to Italy (as quoted on ABC online, 27th June).

"I've had a chance at great wealth and with great wealth comes great responsibility. It is time to give back to society those resources in the best possible way to help those in need."

- Bill Gates, the world's richest man, announcing he intends stepping down from running software behemoth Microsoft over the coming two years so he can devote himself to charity work (as quoted in The Australian on 17th June, 2006).

"It is not a question of discriminating against them; it is a question of preserving as an institution in our society marriage as having a special character."

- Prime Minister John Howard, answering a question about why the Federal Government was scuttling the Australian Capital Territory's plans for gay civil unions (as told to ABC's AM program on 7th June, 2006).

"If we do not unite, everything we have will be lost. We have to stop the violence. We have to solve, one by one, all the problems."

- East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao addressing demonstrators outside his office in Dili on 6th June, 2006, referring to the destruction and violence that has rocked the fledgling nation during the past couple of weeks (as quoted in the Melbourne Herald Sun).

"Hospitals, the whole medical infrastructure, are overwhelmed. It's Day Three after the earthquake, many have severed limbs, crushed limbs, as in all other earthquakes, and it's a race against the clock to save their lives."

- The UN's top relief co-ordinator, Jan Egeland, referring to the aftermath of the earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter Scale which struck close to Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java on 27th May, 2006 (as quoted on www.bbc.co.uk). At least 5,000 people are now believed to have been killed with many times that injured.

"In regard to the Aboriginal people of your land, there is still much to be achieved. Their social situation is cause for much pain. I encourage you and the Government to continue to address with compassion and determination the deep underlying causes of their plight."

- Pope Benedict XVI in a statement to Anne Maree Plunkett, the new Australian ambassador to the Holy See (as quoted on www.abc.net.au).

"I made a film about this mysterious steam locomotive that appears on front lawns and whisks kids off to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus and that is as much as a piece of fantasy and film-making, believe it or not, as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code."

- Tom Hanks, star of the movie 'The Da Vinci Code', likening the movie's basis to his earlier film, 'The Polar Express' (as quoted in the Sunday Herald Sun, 14th May, 2006).

"Both Brant and Todd are out of the tunnel and well"
- Text message sent by Beaconsfield mine manager Mathew Gill to reporters shortly before 5am on 9th May.(as quoted on www.theage.com.au on 9th May, 2006).

"This town, the prayers...it's just a miracle..."

- Kaye Russell, mother of miner Todd Russell, after hearing he was alive despite being trapped for five days nearly a kilometre underground inside Tasmania's Beaconsfield mine (as quoted on www.abc.net.au on 1st May, 2006).

"The fact that there has been no truth and reconciliation commission means emotions are still bottled up, repressed."

- Solomon Islands' Catholic Archbishop Adrian Smith in comments on the recent violence in Honiara (as quoted in 'The Age' newspaper on 24th April, 2006).

"(T)he Church does not exist just to transmit a message across the centuries through a duly constituted hierarchy that arbitrarily lays down what people must believe; it exists so that people in this and every century may encounter Jesus of Nazareth as a living contemporary."

- Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in his Easter sermon on 16th April, 2006.

"They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas."

- Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, referring to the 'Gospel of Judas' in his work 'Against Heresies', written in about 180 AD. The recent discovery of the text in the Egyptian desert was announced by the US National Geographic Society earlier this month. Scholars say they have long been looking for the 'Gospel of Judas' because of Bishop Irenaeus' reference to it. (As reported in the New York Times, 6th April, 2006).

"I trust God for inspiration"

- Unconventional artist Pro Hart who died at the age of 77 after a long battle with motor neurone disease in March, 2006. As quoted in The Australian, 28th March, 2006.

"I am serene. I have full awareness of what I have chosen. If I must die, I will die.''
- Afghan Christian convert Abdul Rahman quoted in Rome's 'La Repubblica' (as reported by Associated Press). Since the statement, reports suggest Rahman, who faced a death sentence for his conversion to Christianity, will be released by Afghan authorities pending a review of his case. The move follows a massive global outcry over his case.

"Let me go to God."

- Pope John Paul II's last words as quoted in a new book on the late pope, 'Let Me Go'.

"A billion (dollars) just isn't what it used to be"

- Forbes magazine associate editor Luisa Kroll as quoted in a Reuters report on 10th March, 2006.

"If you believe in God (the judgement) is made by God...the only (way) you can take a decision like that is to try and do the right thing according to your conscience."
- British PM Tony Blair during an interview with TV host Michael Parkinson on his decision to commit British troops to the 2003 invasion of Iraq (as quoted in the Sunday Age newspaper on 5th March, 2006).

"It's a church being organised on corporate logic. That can be quite dangerous if we are not very careful, because this may become a Christianity which I describe as 'two miles long and one inch deep'."

- World Council of Churches General Secretary Samuel Kobia in a reference to the "megachurch" phenomenon, as quoted in an interview with Reuters which took place at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Brazil (14th to 23rd February, 2006).

"Somehow up to 100,000 abortions a year is accepted as a fact of life - almost by some as a badge of liberation..."

- Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott during the parliamentary debate held on 15th February over who should decide whether Australian women can access the abortion drug RU486.

"These decisions should be taken on their journalistic merits by Australia's news media - we should not be kow-towing to anybody when it comes to freedom in this country."

- Federal Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd saying that decisions about whether to publish cartoons depicting the Islamic Prophet Mohammed should be made solely on editorial grounds (as quoted in an ABC online report on 6th February, 2006).

"(T)here is a fundamental contradiction between armed group and militia activities and the building of a democratic state. A two-state solution to the conflict requires all participants in the democratic process to renounce violence and terror, accept Israel's right to exist, and disarm, as outlined in the (diplomatic quartet's peace) roadmap."

- From a statement by the Middle East diplomatic "quartet" -  consisting of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - issued on 26th January, 2006, following Hamas' victory in the Palestinian elections.

"There are people walking around now who after the use of RU486 will be dead, and we won't be able to legislate them back to life, so I think it is very important that we give this inquiry its proper airing."

- Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce quoted in 'The Age' newspaper on 19th January, 2006, in relation to his push to extend a Senate inquiry looking at the question of who should decide whether Australian woman can use the controversial abortion pill RU486. The inquiry is expected to report to Federal Parliament on 8th February with members to make a conscience vote on the issue the next day.

"Today, as we recall our collective failures in places like Rwanda and Srebrenica, it remains my hope that we may never again be found wanting where so many lives hang in the balance."

- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, speaking on the 55th anniversay of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, on 12th January, 2006.

"We urge prayer for his health and for the person of Ariel Sharon, as well as for his nation, which is facing much sudden uncertainty."

- Malcolm Hedding, executive director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, in a summons to prayer issued on 6th January, 2006.

"Australians should greet 2006 with hope and optimism. This is a strong and respected country. Our nation's standing abroad has never been higher. As 2005 showed it is also a compassionate country with a big heart."

- Prime Minister John Howard in his New Year's message to the nation.

"(T)he fact that a scientific theory cannot yet render an explanation on every point should not be used as a pretext to thrust an untestable alternative hypothesis grounded in religion into the science classroom."

- US Federal Court Judge John Jones in his ruling that intelligent design cannot be taught in high school sciences classes in Pennsylvania (quoted in The Age, 22nd December, 2005).

"Attacking people on the basis of their race, their appearance, their ethnicity, is totally unacceptable and should be repudiated by all Australians irrespective of their own background and their politics."

- Prime Minister John Howard responding on 12th December to the violent attacks on people of Middle Eastern appearance which took place at Sydney's southern beaches on the weekend.

"Mr President, we talk about work and family, but this Bill is about work or family. That is a choice Australians should never have to make."

- Family First Senator Steve Fielding in a speech in  Federal Parliament on 1st December, 2005, following the second reading of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005.

"My hope is that the Government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly."

- US President George W. Bush quoted during his visit to China earlier this month where he went to a worship service at an officially sanctioned Protestant church.

"All schools and kindergartens should be able to have nativity plays and Christian celebrations."

- Victorian Premier Steve Bracks quoted in a Herald Sun story on 21st November, 2005. The State Government's stance on Christmas celebrations comes after several schools banned nativity scences and carol singing last year for fear of offending non-Christians.

"I believe that it is a matter of concern that Australia, as a Christian country, does not mention God in our anthem in the same way God is mentioned in the anthems of other countries..."

- Federal MP Peter Slipper addressing Parliament on 8th November 2005, arguing that God should be mentioned in Australia's national anthem.

"In the time it took you to read this article, 13 people died of tuberculosis, 20 people died of AIDS, and more than 5,500 babies died of preventable respiratory infections."

- From Time magazine's 7th November issue (2005) in relation to an article on world health that barely runs for more than half a page.

'God' to guide deal on fair pay

- Frontpage headline from 'The Sunday Age' newspaper, on 30th October, 2005, referring to comments by the head of Australia's proposed Fair Pay Commission, Ian Harper, that he will rely on his Christian faith and values to make decisions.