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Anu kicked things off with a montage of the feeding frenzy that is the UK paparazzi industry who this morning were camped outside Madonna's house hoping to get a glimpse of baby David but instead saw nothing but a dustbin inside Madonna's garage.

Moz: "The beaureaucratic red tape is so much. If Madonna can cut through some of the red tape then it's good for the baby. I wanted to be able to give my child a father and wanted her to grow up in financial stability - these two things can only benefit the child."

Boyd in Botswana: "The world should be happy for baby david - it's the chance of a lifetime. He's been rescued from a life of poverty."

So is Madonna getting a raw deal?

Chris in Canada: "Madonna is seeking publicity."

Moz: "They should be applauded for what they've done as a family. How can you not be happy for them?"

Anu them asked Moz if she'd be happy for her child to have been treated as a commodity . . .

Moz: "The Ritchies are already good parents. When you see them they look like happy kids. With my experience I fought the beareaucrats and tried to get my baby girl through the red tape asap. I don't take the cynical view that this is a publicity stunt. We don't know how long they've been planning this. I've heard Guy has been going back and forward to Malawi for months and months. It seems a little unclear as to what rules have been broken?"

Nav, a Madonna fan: "This child still has a father. Is Madonna going to help the child maintain his relationship with his real father? The rules are irrelevant - we need to focus on the child. This child is going to be in publicity from day one."

John from Gambia then described his own family's experience with adoption. "It's another way of helping Africa. I am quite sure he will not forget his family back in Malawi. We should should commend them."

Nicola: "I agree. He will know his heritage and he probably will go back."

Stefanie said: "People are picking on her because she's a celebrity. I hope more celebrities will adopt children. If they've got the money then they should use it."

Jean called the programme, he left Rwanada when he was 16 for the US and has direct experience of grwoing up in an alien culture: "There are many Malawians who live in England. He can connect with his people any time."

Max Clifford, a well-known UK PR guru then came on the show to give us some context: "They did the right thing, the right way for the right reasons. But she needs to address the controversy. They've got to get the message out there that they haven't broken the rules and haven't used their money and fame to achieve what ordinary people cannot achieve. From a PR perspective those are the doubts and concerns people have."

Anu then asked why Madonna's press was so bad when Angelina Jolie was not praised for her adoption?

Max Clifford: "It's the US press - they are more friendly whereas over here in the UK we have a more critical press. The public are probably split 50-50 on this."

A prescient comment from Mr Clifford because the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Online poll yesterday showed a clear 50-50 split on the issue of Madonna's adoption.

It's the second half of the show and we're moving onto Iraq and whether it would be better off partitioned. Peter Galbraith is a fellow at the Centre for Arms Control and Non proliferation in Washington and got the ball rolling . . .

Peter Galbraith: "I'd argue that Iraq has already broken up. In the north they have virtually their own state. The South is governed by a Shi'ite theocracy using militias to enforce their rule. Baghdad is divided. There isn't a unified country. I think the independence of Kurdistan is inevitable."

Samir, a Sunni: "George Bush has liberated the country. But they've made thousands of mistakes and those mistakes cannot be forgiven. They've put the country into a total mess. They've put some puppies in to rule the country. I don't think the country should be split up. I am a Sunni but 2 of my sisters have married Shias."

Sadiq, a Shia: "I agree with Samir. It's up to Iraqis if Iraq splits up. What does splitting up actually mean? We're talkinbg about splitting up brothers and sisters. I feel part of the whole of Iraq."

Peter: "If there were a Kurd here he or she wouldn't have any part of this. I've never met a Kurd who wanted to be part of Iraq. They voted 98% for independence."

Peter didn't know we had Waria waiting from Kirkuk . . .

Sadiq: "We have a constitution. The Kurds can be part of a federal Iraq."

Waria, a business man from Kirkuk came on the show with a dodgy phone line but we got the gist of what he wanted to say. He would like to see somewhere down the line an independent state: "It's the dream of every Kurd but we're happy to be a part of federal Iraq."

Professor Juan Cole, professor of Modern Middle East at the History Department at the University of Michigan said: "It's a process of nation formation which might well devolve in to a partition. It's like Lebanon in the 1980's and Yugoslavia in the 1990s."

Peter hit back: "Take the Kurdish/Arab divide. How would Prof. Cole persuade the Kurds to be part of Iraq. . . ? There is nothing Iraqi in the Kurdish region. It means when the opportunity arises they will sieze it. What I'm arguiing is that the people in Kurdistan voted not to be part of Iraq. There's a debate over the size of the territory."

Prof. Cole: "These things change over time. Identities are fluid. In Lebanon there was a period when the Maronites said they were Phoenicians and now they're back in the fold. These things are changeable. We shouldn't get hung on the issue of whether Kurdistan should secede from Iraq. If Kurdistan declared independecnce tomorrow it would mean war. Do you really want a war of that sort at this point?"
Peter: "I agree it's not practical at the moment."

Sahaib a Kurd from Northern Iraq: "I don't believe in any splitting up of the country. The reason we have federalism is purely because of the influence of the neighbouring countries who support terrorists."

Hassan in Bagdhad: "I think one country is better. Three countries is a reason for civil war.

Suhaib: "An indpendent Kurdistan is not about oil. It's about democracy."

Prof. Cole: "I disagree. Kurdistan has much petroleum. Without Kirkuk it would have a low economic profile. What we saw in Turkey is that a lot of Kurds have been drawn out by the economy - they've gone to Istanbul to work. Nationalism that seeks to parcel the world up into smaller and smaller chunks is now seen as archaic. We've seen that in the Basque region."

Sadiq: "Iraqi people have a clue. They've decided what to do. Iraqi people want to stay together. We can't control the country though if we have occupying forces there."

Prof. Cole rounded off a great debate with a gloomy outlook: "In the next year or two there will be further movement towards a Shi'ite confedracy in the South and Increased ethnbic cleansing."

Hope to catch you all tomorrow! From all at WHYS - Goodnight.