It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose and the eyes will take care of themselves.

One of the matters that must be addressed is that Rwanda and Uganda have to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We're also supporting processes to ensure that the political dialogue among the Congolese themselves takes place so that the people there can decide their future.

The goal of my Foundation is to give young people a chance to better themselves and establish a base for a successful future.

We know that when people are safe in their homes they are free to pursue their dream for a brighter economic future for themselves and their families.

Up against the corporate government voters find themselves asked to choose between look-alike candidates from two parties vying to see who takes the marching orders from their campaign paymasters and their future employers. The money of vested interest nullifies genuine voter choice and trust.

All my children have spoken for themselves since they first learned to speak and not always with my advance approval and I expect that to continue in the future.

I think if actors don't think of themselves as funny in real life they think they can't do comedy.

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.

Some of the writers I admire who seem very very funny and very emotional to me can develop a closeness with the reader without giving too much of themselves away. Lorrie Moore comes to mind as does David Sedaris. When they write the reader thinks that they're being trusted as a friend.

Who do I like? I am a big fan of French and Saunders - not that that they are particularly stand-up I have to say but I think they have been great for women and they are of themselves just incredibly funny whether they are male or female.

Karaoke isn't fair when you're a comedian. The whole idea is to get people laughing and enjoying themselves and I'm a professional funny guy.

It is funny that men who are supposed to be scientific cannot get themselves to realise the basic principle of physics that action and reaction are equal and opposite that when you persecute people you always rouse them to be strong and stronger.

Here's a news flash: No soldier gives his life. That's not the way it works. Most soldiers who make a conscious decision to place themselves in harm's way do it to protect their buddies. They do it because of the bonds of friendship - and it goes so much deeper than friendship.

It will give them the opportunity to show themselves worthy of the respect and friendship of peace-loving nations and in time to take an honorable place among members of the United Nations.

The rare few who early in life have rid themselves of the friendship of the many.

Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good and alike in excellence for these wish well alike to each other qua good and they are good in themselves.

Our soldiers have nobly fought to protect freedom since our country's birth and have fought to protect those that could not protect themselves even in foreign lands when called upon.

You have spent many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive it. And here you have a people who won it by themselves and need only the help to preserve it.

If governments let themselves be fully bound by the decisions of their parliaments without protecting their own freedom to act a breakup of Europe would be a more probable outcome than deeper integration.

Our Founders warned against this. They said don't... that your liberty is only as secure as the people are. Because once they um get the ability to vote themselves entitlements from the largesse of the government liberty is done freedom is over with. We were warned. We are there.

I don't look so closely at women's fashion but from the 20th century on people have had the freedom to express themselves and their individualities and fashion is one of the most fundamental ways in which they do this men and women are equally able to express themselves.

You cannot mistake Bush's clarity of purpose. He believes in a story about freedom and opportunity that makes his followers feel like they aren't just ticking their days down but are part of something larger than themselves.

I think the American people have become more reliant upon government and less reliant upon themselves and that they now tend to put security ahead of freedom but I think freedom is the most important aspect of our lives.

All the characters in my films are fighting these problems needing freedom trying to find a way to cut themselves loose but failing to rid themselves of conscience a sense of sin the whole bag of tricks.