“I’ve had enough of these drivers parking their luxury cars on bike lanes and pedestrian crossings. This tank is a good tool to solve the problem of parking in the wrong place.” --- Arturas Zuokas, Mayor of Lithuania’s capital Vilnius, before driving an armoured vehicle over a Mercedes-Benz parked in a bicycle lane. Bless. (The Telegraph, Aug 2)

“I think it speaks volumes about this government’s priority as it relates to the environment.” --- Bill Pynn, national president of the Union of Environment Workers, responds to news that 700 Environment Canada employees---meteorologists, scientists, chemists and engineers---will be fired because of federal cuts. (Toronto Star, Aug 3)

“If you like pizza you should also like #keystonexl and the sweet #oilsands it benefits #nebraska” --- A pro-tar sands tweet from a fake Twitter account used (by the oil industry?) to promote the Keystone XL pipeline and Alberta’s tar sands. (Guardian, Aug 5) 

“It seems like they may have singled me out of the crowd because of the way I was dressed. It was disgusting. I never would have expected something like this to happen in Canada.” --- Michael Puddy, a G20 bystander who was wearing a “Police Bastard” T-shirt (named after a punk band) when he was arrested, strip-searched and detained for two days. (Toronto Star, Aug 11)

“The fire’s there, secured in a room, locked away and then someone’s opened the door and it’s spread through the house.” --- Elijah Kerr, former leader of London’s most feared street gangs, on the UK riots. (National Post, Aug 13)

“Being tough on the most vulnerable in our society is not humane.” --- Nova Scotia prosecutor and member of the Canadian Bar Association, Dan McRury, adds his voice to the CBA questioning of Harper’s tough-on-crime agenda. (Globe and Mail, Aug 14)

“It’s a flag that indicates some difficulties in management over time but also in the almost uncontrolled development of the bureaucracy. Maybe it’s a symptom of what’s going on in the rest of government.” --- Defence expert Douglas Bland comments on a report showing a bloated defence bureaucracy under the Harper government. (Toronto Star, Aug 15)

“I thought that the control of the public purse was sufficient that this kind of patronage and bribery had been pretty much stamped out. That does not give me confidence that the expenditures of the government will be dealt with impartially and fairly across Canada.” --- Queen’s University Professor Ned Franks, an expert on the separation of federal powers, questions how Tony Clement can do his job as President of the Treasury Board after he essentially embezzled the $50-million G8 “Legacy Fund.” (Globe and Mail, Aug 15)

“We don't need to discourage people from voting for President Obama. He's doing a smashing job of it himself.” --- Roberto Lovato of the Latino organization, Presente.org, takes a well-aimed shot at Obama, who deported 400,000 people last year alone. (Huffington Post, Aug 15) 

“Obviously, when you dig holes here, you know, you create some environmental issues and those have to be addressed, but that can't stop development, any more than we would let that stop development in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.” --- Stephen Harper defends his government’s decision to allow a local gold mine to dump toxic waste into nearby fish habitat. (Ottawa Citizen, Aug 25)

“If politicians want to provide moral leadership, they need to do so through their deeds as well as their words.” --- Dr. Sarah Birch, co-author of a study that shows that lack of trust in politicians was a significant factor behind the riots in England last month. (The Independent, Aug 30)

“They are a malevolent organisation and any time the truth about them can be expressed, that's a good thing. We like stories about fatuous, fat-headed people who tell lies. And that's what the people at Fox News do.” --- John Cook, a writer and editor for Gawker.com, boasts about his scoop on the nefarious dealings of Fox’s most-watched (and loathed) on screen personality, Bill O’Reilly. (The Independent, Sept 1)