* “We are really tired of these wars. Women and children are suffering in many ways in many parts of the world.”–Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban, in her address to the United Nations.
* “From the beginning, America seemed determined to impose its own upbeat Hollywood ending on a movie that was only just getting started and would become much darker than imagined. The notion that what was happening in Egypt was a transformative event that would turn the country over to the secular liberals powered by Facebook and Twitter was truly an American conceit.”–Aaron David Miller, author of the forthcoming book “Can America Have Another Great President?”
* “The Germans, of course, yield to no one in their distaste for indebtedness. But they also understand the distinction between consumption and investment. By borrowing, they’ve made investments whose future benefits will far outweigh repayment costs. There’s nothing foolhardy about that.”–Robert H. Frank, economics professor at Cornell University.
* “‘I have been made stateless and hounded for my act of political expression,’ he (Edward Snowden) declared from the Moscow airport. Not true. Snowden’s ‘hounding’ stems from his deliberate decision to violate the criminal law. In the United States he was free to express any political view–certainly freer than he would be in countries like Russia, Venezuela and Ecuador.”–Ruth Marcus, Washington Post.
* “Why is it that African-American males are so disproportionately both the victims and the perpetrators of violence, more often than not against one another? In Philadelphia, where I am mayor, 75 per cent of our homicide victims are black men. About 80 per cent of the people we arrest for homicide are black men. Black men across the country are killing one another, yet that epidemic is rarely part of any national conversation.”–Michael Nutter, the African-American mayor of Philadelphia.
* “We must stand our ground to ensure our laws reduce violence.”–U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
* “I believe ‘stand your ground’ should stay in the books.”–Fla. Gov. Rick Scott.
* “Now we’re not only the ‘yes-we-can city. We’re the watch-this city. We’re on a roll and we ain’t stopping.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano in the aftermath of announcements that Copa Airlines will fly direct from TIA to Panama City, Panama and Edelweiss Air will expand its non-stop service to Zurich.
* “This company choosing Tampa Bay is an affirmation of all of our strengths and most importantly our potential. This moves the needle for both the image and the brand of Tampa Bay.”–Rick Homans, president of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Council, on the announcement that pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb will locate its North American Capability Center–worth a total of 579 jobs over three years–in Hillsborough County.
* “When Hillsborough County succeeds, Tampa wins as well.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on the Bristol-Meyers Squibb announcement.
* “We were able to present all the pros and cons of the project to the board. And after thorough discussion and reflection on all aspects of this proposal, a very clear majority of our board is in favor of the project.”–Straz Center board chairman Martin Silbiger, announcing that the Straz has withdrawn its opposition to the apartment tower planned near the performing arts center.
* “You have to have a demonstration because if you don’t see the people, you figure everything’s all right. And it’s not. It’s not. I just don’t want to have another Trayvon here.”–St. Petersburg City Councilman Wengay Newton.
* “(The high cost) was silly, but that’s downtown St. Petersburg. It’s doing so well that that’s what we had to do. There’s no more dirt down here.”–Chuck Prather, who developed the popular boutique Birchwood hotel on Beach Drive, on paying $2 million last month for Mansion by the Bay–with plans to restore it as a Birchwood annex.
* “The Pier was closed when it was for safety and budgetary reasons. It’s all economics. And we are not and have not and will not budget for any part of the vertical structure itself to be reopened, even on a limited use.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster.
* “Candidates recognize what we can do for them. They realize that the LGBT community gets out and votes and there’s economic impacts, too. It doesn’t behoove them to not have us on their side.”–Susan McGrath, president of the Pinellas Stonewall Democrats.
* “We’re not going to take prisoners.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on the city’s 30-day, code-enforcement sweep.