The Lexicographer's Rules

"People who have the personality to turn the biggest American tragedy into a racist free-for-all don't really care to distinguish between countries and prefer to imagine the Middle East as one confusing and dangerous entity. A camel-riding entity. And camels are a favorite way to put down the perceived enemy as someone who is backward or primitive. They spit out the word 'camel' in such contempt, as if this was supposed to be an insult of some sort."

—The Iranian. Niki Tehranchi defends the noble camel.

"The leader of this groupÑa young, arrogant SaudiÑstepped forward demanding in fluent English to know who I was and what I was doing in Afghanistan. Wearing a military fatigue jacket and billowing trousers, he was flanked by 20 fellow Arabs from various countries armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. It's crucial to retain face in Afghanistan. So for the benefit of my Afghan companions, I deliberately turned to my interpreter and spoke in English. Amused, my interpreter repeated my wordsÑin English: 'I am a guest in this country just as you are.' It was important to show that, as a foreigner, this Arab had no business demanding to know who I was. To this he retorted: 'This is our jihad, not yours. Afghanistan does not want you. If I see you again, I'll kill you.'"

—Christian Science Monitor. Edward Girardet describes a personal encounter with Osama bin Laden in 1989.

"On Friday, Verizon asked voice mail customers to delete messages they did not need, in order to avoid overtaxing the system. What Verizon did not say was that it wanted as many messages discarded as possible so it could turn off the so-called electronic janitor that automatically deletes messages, and allow people to retain last-minute messages they received from loved ones who may have perished in the twin towers, according to Eric Rabe, the chief spokesman for Verizon."

—New York Times.

"If I see someone comes in thatÕs got a diaper on his head and a fan belt wrapped around the diaper on his head, that guy needs to be pulled over."

—The Advocate. Congressman John Cooksey is a Republican who plans to run for Senate in Lousiana.

"When I take action, I'm not going to fire a two-million-dollar missile at a ten-dollar empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive."

—Newsweek. President Bush comments during a September 13 meeting with New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton.