In many campaigns, one candidate or another is asked to answer for comments he or she made in the past. The answer is usually gibberish - 'That was a long time ago,' or 'I was trying to say something else.'

Opinion pages have an impact on public debate, and they sometimes reveal things the government would rather have kept quiet.

The 24/7 nature of online debate, on the web and across social media, has allowed for more vibrant discussion of the opinions we publish - and your own.

I have sometimes thought the power of computers had exceeded our ability to use them, but Mr. Jobs and his team kept giving us devices that made indispensable things easier in ways you never thought of.

I always found the extraordinary loss of life in the First World War very moving. I remember learning about it as a very young child, as an eight- or nine-year-old, asking my teachers what poppies were for. Every year the teachers would suddenly wear these red paper flowers in their lapels, and I would say 'What does that mean?'

Blue is the color of peace. Water is blue. I like the color blue because it just puts me at peace. The patriotic symbol is blue. I just like blue.

I believe if religion brings you to a sense of peace, that's beautiful. But I also believe if religion's not your thing, that's fine, too, just so long as you're a good person and you find that one thing that leads you to peace and teaches you to have harmony with yourself and other people around you.

War its thousands slays, Peace its ten thousands.