We need to give the Iraqis a chance to build their own future. It should be in their hands. It must be in their hands. That is what democracy is all about. We can teach it we can explain it but they must want it enough to make it work for them.

When my job was attempting to predict future economic developments for the Shell oil company I was frequently reminded of an Arabic saying: 'Those who claim to foresee the future are lying even if by chance they are later proved right.'

I'd like to think that the actions we take today will allow others in the future to discover the wonders of landscapes we helped protect but never had the chance to enjoy ourselves.

We cannot always assure the future of our friends we have a better chance of assuring our future if we remember who our friends are.

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for it is a thing to be achieved.

There have been times when I felt suicidal and I would stop my head from going in that direction of negativity because I thought there'd be something I'd miss that was funny in the future. If there's a chance I'm going to laugh tomorrow then want to live to experience that.

I love New York. I was sad depressed and incredibly moved by our fellow countrymen and what they've done. I wanted to give people a chance to see something funny have a distraction.

So what I do now is to pre-empt that by making the up into a virtue and telling funny stories about how crap I am before people have a chance to notice it for themselves and think maybe I haven't realised.

It's funny how social activists usually protest against the only things that have a credible chance of achieving the activists' goals.

Housework can't kill you but why take a chance?