Americans have discovered the fragility of life, that ominous fragility that the rest of the world either already experienced or is experiencing now with terrible intensity.

The world is governed by institutions that are not democratic - the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO.

We've all had our moments of weakness, and if we manage to get through today without any, we'll be sure to have some tomorrow.

Men are angels born without wings, nothing could be nicer than to be born without wings and to make them grow.

Death has no need to be cruel, taking people's lives is more than enough.

I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement. Yes, I'm a writer, but I live in this world, and my writing doesn't exist on a separate level. And if people know who I am and read my books, well, good; that way, if I have something more to say, then everyone benefits.

The distribution of tasks among the various employees follows a simple rule, which is that the duty of the members of each category is to do as much work as they possibly can, so that only a small part of that work need be passed to the category above. This means that the clerks are obliged to work without cease from morning to night, whereas the senior clerks do so only now and then, the deputies very rarely, and the Registrar almost never.