When the British came to Ibo land for instance at the beginning of the 20th century and defeated the men in pitched battles in different places and set up their administrations the men surrendered. And it was the women who led the first revolt.

You don't argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn't eat candy for dinner. You don't punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you first. And you don't argue when a women tells you she's only making 80 cents to your dollar. It's the path of least resistance. You save your energy for more important battles.

Strike against war for without you no battles can be fought!

You've got to stand up and do your own battles. My daddy taught me that a long time ago that you fight your own battles. The only way to shut everybody up is to win.

One column of truth cannot hold an institution of ideas from falling into ignorance. It is wiser that a person of prudence and purpose save his strength for battles that can be won.

When I did 'Battlestar Galactica' it was the first time I really understood science fiction. That was a very political drama but set in spaceships so people didn't really take it seriously. But some really fascinating things were explored in that.

I don't expect to win every battle but I think Fred Pierce has enough respect for me that I can go fight my battles and win my share.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is also in many ways a conflict about status: it's a war between two peoples who feel deeply humiliated by the other who want the other to respect them. Battles over status can be even more intractable than those over land or water or oil.

If we must not act save on a certainty we ought not to act on religion for it is not certain. But how many things we do on an uncertainty sea voyages battles!

My advice is very simple: if you can win a small battle it gives you confidence in the political process to take on bigger battles and so it is very much a bottom-up grass-roots way of doing politics.