Loose cannons

Committed

"Although we do not feel responsible for this regrettable event, we are committed to help clear up what happened." — Cervesur beer company manager Carlos de la Flor commenting on the irreparable damage done to a 500-year-old stone sundial in Peru's famed Inca ruins by a giant crane used to film a beer commercial there.

Christian love

"We believe corporal punishment is biblically endorsed, but it's not the only method of discipline endorsed by the Bible ... If given lovingly and caringly, it is a very viable method of punishment." — NSW education director for Christian Community Schools, Neville Pollard, quoted in the October 25 Sydney Morning Herald.

Stop press

"NATO is not in Kosovo for the Kosovars, but for ourselves." — A NATO-country diplomat, quoted anonymously in the New York Times.

A growth

"I understand small business growth. I was one." — George W. Bush, quoted in the New York Daily News.

Greenie

"This is Preservation Month. I appreciate preservation. It's what you do when you run for president. You gotta preserve." — George W. again.

Madmen

"This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." — and again, quoted in the Financial Times.

From GLW issue 426