鈥淲e have heard of young men gouging their flesh, drinking acid, removing genitalia. These are people in desperate need of help and we are punishing rather than treating them.鈥�
Marjorie Wallace, of the mental health charity Sane, on the eve of a UK report into self-harm (The Independent, 27 July)
鈥淚f a bomb goes off in your building, look for the safest way out.鈥�
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In Preparing for Emergencies, put out by the UK government to help protect the public in case of terrorist attack (26 July)
鈥淚n the course of the last seven years, you probably have done business with 1000 companies, and with this bill, each of those companies has the right to junk fax you.鈥�
Lawrence Markey Jr, at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, on a US bill that would allow advertisers to send faxes to anyone who has contacted them in the last seven years (Wired.com 23 July)
鈥淭hey took the male tomtit and left his mate behind and he decided 鈥楤ugger that, I鈥檓 going home鈥�, so he did.鈥�
Warwick Murray of the Department of Conservation in New Zealand on a protected North Island tomtit that escaped and flew 63 kilometres, a record distance for such a small bird, to return to his mate. (Reuters, 27 July)
鈥淭he benefit of offering elective cosmetic surgery to soldiers is more for the surgeon than the patient.鈥�
Bob Lyons, chief of plastic surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center, arguing that plastic surgery performed by the US military is aimed at maintaining skills in army doctors (The New Yorker, 26 July)