ThisWeek TheySaid

If the allegation that the 45-minute claim had been inserted at the behest of No 10, that it had been done knowing the claim …

If the allegation that the 45-minute claim had been inserted at the behest of No 10, that it had been done knowing the claim to be wrong, and that it was against the wishes of the intelligence services had been true, it would have merited my resignation.- Tony Blair testifying at the Hutton Inquiry.

It is not a country in chaos and Baghdad is not a city in chaos.

- The US-appointed administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer.

The military is totally ignorant of local culture, so they have unnecessarily inflamed people who should have been allies, losing big opportunities.

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- Sami Shakur, a member of Iraq's governing council, who is working on a plan to bring calm to western provinces, beset by anti-American violence this week.

My biggest fear is coming out of there permanently brain-damaged.

- Illusionist David Blaine reveals his fears about spending 44 days and nights entombed in a glass box above the River Thames.

It's a big democratic step that has been taken by our country . . . Rwandans are happy, including myself, that we have been able to make this huge stride.

- The incumbent President, Paul Kagame, as Rwandans go to the polls for the first time since the genocide of 1994, in which 800,000 were killed.

I know my father was more than a dreamer. He didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk.

- Martin Luther King III, on the 40th anniversary of his father's "I have a dream" speech.

I suppose being sober is a bit like a new drug.

- Artist Damien Hirst, who has renounced drink and drugs.

The fat lady hasn't sung yet.

- Former soccer star George Best, who recently started drinking again.

There is no room for compromise.

- Health Minister Mr Martin is determined to press ahead with plans to ban smoking in pubs.

I am more concerned that a trial should be about the facts of the case rather than what a person said or did not say in a police station.

- Minister for Justice Mr McDowell moves to curb suspects' right to silence .

No one understands the pressure we've been through \ the last 30 years.

- Michael McConville, son of Jean, murdered by the IRA in the early 1970s. Remains believed to be hers were discovered this week.

In the name of God, what harm did two little lads do by walking around Croke Park? I just can't believe that the GAA hasn't more to bother them than this.

- Laois manager Mick O'Dwyer, after the association fines the Leinster champions €1,400 for letting two mascots accompany the team on to the pitch before the provincial final last month.

A potential feature of almost all institutional denominations and religions.

- Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher Michael Jackson says sectarianism continues to undermine efforts at forging closer links between the churches in Ireland.

Kids are seen as a burden. And from a financial point of view, they don't want to commit.

- Stuart Fogarty, managing director with AFA O'Meara Advertising, as CSO figures show people are delaying starting families and having fewer children. The advertising industry says it spotted the emerging trend as early as five years ago.

We are remarkably slow to complain when a meal is disappointing. And let's face it: there's a lot to moan about.

- Trevor White and Domini Kemp, authors of The Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants.

I wouldn't say I'm a model. I don't approve of it. I don't approve of the pressures put on young girls to be stick thin.

- New Rose of Tralee Orla Tobin.