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Soundbites

“The assessment is, they have [smallpox]. We don’t say 70 per cent certainty. We assess that they have it.â€

An unnamed US official on Iraq and North Korea, quoted in The Washington Post (5 November). France and Russia, also hold covert stocks, a US intelligence review concluded this week

“I’m not sure how we can credibly bring this programme to the attention of Iraq scientists.â€

Clark Murdock of the US Center for Strategic and International Studies, on a proposed bill offering Iraqi weapons scientists residency in return for details of weapons programmes (Wired online, 4 November)

“Too bloody dangerous… What if he woke up?â€

A zookeeper at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, who vetoed management proposals to collect gorilla semen by manual stimulation of sedated males The Age, Melbourne (31 October)

“The war on drugs surely has better targets than cancer patients and terminally ill people.â€

The New York Times leader after a US Court of Appeals decision preventing the federal government from revoking the licences of doctors in California who prescribe marijuana (30 October)

“Modafinil [Provigil] appears to improve certain mental abilities without the side effects of mental stimulants.â€

Cambridge University press release suggesting Provigil does more than simply keep people awake (5 November)

“I’m not screwed up now, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.â€

A fan at a rock concert replying to a police officer’s request for volunteers to help develop tests for signs of illicit drug use. The Wall Street Journal (29 October)