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If you'd like to visit our new blog, .

For months we have tried in vain to get this blog to consistently publish your comments but to be honest we've made little headway. Sometimes it works, plenty of times it doesn't.

We're now advised it will be at least another six months before a new content management system can be introduced, and that's too long for you to put up with.

So, for the moment we're putting this blog on hold and have moved to Wordpress which so far seems to be working very nicely. Please visit us there and hopefully we'll be back here sometime in 2008. But after the year we've had don't hold me to that.

The latest claim from the is shocking: "we're dealing with an urban guerrilla tactic, with the use of conventional arms and hunting rifles".

They're talking about Paris. Yes, I know, the suburbs, or banlieue, but still Paris.

High unemployment, strikes, gangs, violence, angry disaffected young people: what's wrong with France?

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Why so much scepticism?

Palestinians (at least the Fatah side) and Israelis are . This is the first Middle East summit since 2000.

More than 40 organisations and countries are at the Annapolis talks, in the US, including Syria.

And yet, many say this is a road to nowhere: Hamas is not represented, President Bush and Israel do not want peace, Iran is the priority now, construction goes on in the West Bank's Jewish settlements.

Is there reason for optimism? Do you think Annapolis will lead to serious negotiations and peace or is it just a bubble, ready to burst? Send us your views, post here on the blog.

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Welcome to the WHYS Daily Email to Kingsford in London, Frank in Zambia, Greet in Belgium, Paddy in the south-west of England, and Mitchel in Tanzania.

Now before getting onto today's topic, my colleague James would like to ask you about renting dogs. Please bear with me...

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You can expect a busy night in Oxford today.

The Oxford students Union has invited for tonight's debate a historian once imprisoned for denying the Holocaust and the leader of a far right political party in Britain.

at Oxford both from Jewish and Muslim groups at Oxford.

Should David Irving and the British National Party (BNP), Nick Griffin, be allowed to have their say?

Oxford graduate and novelist Diran Adebayo says we're now living in a culture where people are keen to ban anything, from smoking to free speech. Do you agree with him?

Send us your views, post here on the blog.

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Morning / afternoon / evening -- Peter here with news of todays World Have Your Say on air at the usual time, 1800 GMT on a radio, a hand-held, a PC, a phone near you :-)

Two big talking points today: the Australian Election and the perils of Taslima Nasreen. We'll get to Taslima a little later but first:

IS THIS THE WORLD FIRST GREEN ELECTION ?

Prime Minister John Howard and his Labor challenger, Kevin Rudd, have set out final campaign pitches as the hours tick down to Australia's election. Mr Howard warned that a Labour victory would fundamentally change Australia, while Mr Rudd said the country was "crying out for new leadership". Opinion polls continue to put Mr Rudd ahead of Mr Howard - the latest % difference was 54 to 46, in the favour of Mr Rudd.

But is this also a "green election", our first, anywhere in the world ? Yes, to paraphrase what someone, somewhere said once "it's the economy stupid" -- but what about the envionment ?

Australians are the world's worst polluters per head, according to data from US think tank Center for Global Development. Some parts of the country are already experiencing record drought conditions, with some groups blaming climate change. That drought has created financial hardship for farmers and forced some people to move away from affected regions. This, combined with rising global concern over climate change, is making environmental issues more important than ever in this election campaign.

So, how have the politicians reacted to this ? What does it teach the rest of us ? If it IS global warming to blame (and yes, we know, the science is still open to question according to some people) does this now mean that politics, and being a politician has changed forever ? Global warming is not about to go away -- so, do the people who want YOUR VOTE not have to change accordingly ?

Let us know as usual via the normal routes :-)

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Hi there. James here over at Television Centre with a look at what's around today. We had an amazing response to our programme last night, with over 400 comments on the text and email. If you didn't catch the show - you can listen again here.

Pakistan has been - the government has brandished the move as "unreasonable and unjustified". Commonwealth members says democracy needs to be restored before Pakistan's accepted again. So how relevant is the Commonwealth in today's political climate? Is it better to be "in" or "out"? ...

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Hello everyone. Two topics today and both chosen by you. Africans and smokers we particularly want to hear your comments (and if you're an African smoker then you score double points).

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Hi It's Karnie on the blog this morning...

I finally got the hang of getting here a little before I'm due to start..just get up really really early and plant yourself at a train station so you have so many options that you have NO chance of getting stuck on a delayed train into London! Well that method worked today at least! Hope you are all well..

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We're off air now, but you can podcast the programme here.

Write your comments .

DO YOU TRUST YOUR GOVERNMENT WITH YOUR DATA?

It's the main talking point in Britain today: in Parliament, in the streets, in the pubs. Two discs with personal information -- addresses, bank details, names etc. -- about some 25 million people in the UK have gone missing from government offices. Or have been stolen, no one knows.

It contained information about virtually every family in the country with children aged under 16. That includes the Prime Minister himself, Gordon Brown, who was forced to apologize to in Parliament today...

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Hi It's Karnie doing the morning blog...Here are some ideas to chew over..

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We're off air now, but you can podcast the programme here.

Write your comments .

Hi there. Heather Mills is known for a few things - her husband, their divorce and TV dance shows come to mind. Having one leg as well, and that's something she's making light of in a new campaign to get us. . They give various reasons, we want to know if you're convinced...

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Hi it's Karnie again...

Another late train but thankfully I got here just in the nick of time! It's quite a rush getting in earlier than usual..more people, more cars, buses...congestion and delays. All typical of city life. The weather in London is slightly..only slightly better i.e. it's not raining..yet :)

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We're off air now, but you can podcast the programme here.

You can write a comment

Unusually I have very little to mention bar today's subjects. But rather than fight it, I'll let you enjoy this rare moment of calm... Here they are... remember you can post your comments here...

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Hi It's Karnie attempting to set the agenda for the first time..It;s a gloomy day here in London. I tried to get here as early as possible to get the morning blg going but was stuck on delayed trains. I commute from Berkshire every day, which is about 30 mins drive outside London, so it takes me that bit extra to get in each day..BUT I had the opportunity to have a good read of the newspapers tghis morning and this is what I have come up with..Quite a few things have caught my eye ...let us know what you think and what you'd like to talk about....

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We're off air now, but you can podcast the programme here.

Write your comments

...than never. Iain went sick this morning so apologies for the tardiness of this blog. Mind you, given the technology problems we've been having with this blog, you may never get to read this anyway...
I spent most of yesterday at a news programmes "Awayday" (they love them at the ´óÏó´«Ã½) in gorgeous Kew Gardens but it's nice to be back in the office..

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1. Is your news ticker flicking above your screen as you read this?
2. Are you not paid to, but still know the headlines?
3. Is one newspaper never enough?

Is you answered yes to these, then World Have Your Say needs you.

We're looking for four volunteers, living in four different countries, to take a 48-hour news blackout.

Have you just inhaled quickly with shock? Has the thought of it made your blood run cold?

Ok. You're definitely who I'm looking for.

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Morning / afternoon / evening, Peter here (using Leonardo's login) with news of todays ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Have Your Say -- 1800 GMT :o).

Today we were going to ask if life was better in Gaza because of Hamas, but given the events that I'm outlining below, we think the question should be more like this:

IS IT TIME TO GET RID OF HAMAS?

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has just called for Hamas to be ousted from the Gaza strip. Mr Abbas said that Hamas - which seized the territory in June from his Fatah movement - should be removed by force.

This is the first time the Palestinian president has called explicitly for the removal of Hamas, previously saying it should apologise for taking over Gaza and return it to Fatah control.

The comments by the Palestinian leader come days after the killing of seven Fatah supporters during a rally in Gaza.

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Yesterday on World Have Your Say we asked a simple question - Is Iraq getting better?

As part of our global conversation we had callers and comments from Basra, Baghdad, Mosul, the Kurdish north and a number of serving and former soldiers joined the debate. Their overwhelming verdict was - "yes, things are better", though there was no idea whether it's a brief lull or whether the underlying problems are being addressed. A regular on WHYS - Lubna - told us " we do drink the water now, we just pray before we do it".

If you missed the programme you can listen again here or check out the comments .

Today we want to shift our attention slightly - but ask a very similar question - Is life better in Gaza under Hamas?

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has just called for .
Mr Abbas said that Hamas - which seized the territory in June from his Fatah movement - should be removed by force.

This is the first time the Palestinian president has called explicitly for the removal of Hamas, previously saying it should apologise for taking over Gaza and return it to Fatah control.

The comments by the Palestinian leader come days after the killing of seven Fatah supporters during a rally in Gaza.

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morning / afternoon / evening, Peter here with news of World Have Your Say, on air at the usual time - 1800 GMT

IS IRAQ GETTING BETTER ?

Now, we're not talking about the so-called US 'surge'. We've discussed that at length before, and I daresay we will again. No, today we want to know if Iraq is actually, finally becoming more peaceful. The number of road-side bomb attacks has dropped, more people are going to work, the number of month-to-month military casualities is down - so is Iraq getting better ?

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Good morning - here are the subjects that have caught my attention today.

Wars of the future

The United States Congress has allocated funds for the development of a capable of delivering precision-guided warheads anywhere on earth within two hours.

Known as Falcon, the one hundred-million dollar feasibility programme envisages a super-fast cruise vehicle that would be launched into space on a rocket and attack its targets from orbit before returning to earth. It would allow the US to carry out strikes on possible enemy missile launches at short notice without depending on overseas bases.

Congress also approved funding for — a capability seen as crucial following China’s successful test of an anti-satellite missile in January.

Are you worried about a new space war?

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UFOs and Pakistan are going to domninate today's show... here are the details...

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Or should that be blogs... It's a little complicated at the moment but, put simply, this is the deal.
The original is still here (obviously as you're on it) and works until we go on air when it can't cope with the volume of messages. So we've a second blog which can cope with all the messages - it's address is

A good friend of mine at the World Service, Rebecca, has started working on a project called Your Story. As it says on the website: 'Send in your reports and hear them on air and online - it's an opportunity to tell your story to the world'. If you'd like to take them up on the offer, there's a load of information on the website.

Good morning from a cold and grey West London. Here are the stories that have caught my attention today.

PAKISTAN

The former prime minister of Pakistan, out of his depth and should stand down.

Police in Pakistan have strengthened the cordon around Miss Bhutto's house in Lahore, where she's been placed under arrest to prevent her taking part in a planned opposition rally. She told the ´óÏó´«Ã½ it was a sign of how badly General Musharraf had got things wrong that police who should be out looking for Osama bin Laden were now busy guarding her.

Is it time for General Musharraf to stand aside?

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WHYS' autumnal world tour has reached its natural finishing point - the little clutch of desks in London that we call home. That's it for our 2007 travelling - which isn't such a bad thing for what I have left of a green conscience. We're open to suggestions for next year...

Welcome to the Daily Email to Gregor from San Francisco, Jill in Texas, Bjorn in Iceland and Lydia in rural Virginia. Thanks for signing up.

Here are today's stories...

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Iain here and good morning from Television Centre in West London.

Should pay more for their ticklet? One Australian doctor thinks so..

If you are going to charge for excess baggage, then charge fat people for excess weight

Dr John Tickell, an Australian expert in nutrition and weight-control, believes for a penalty.

Is he right? Would a fat tax work?

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We're still having problems with your comments to this blog. So come on over to our and leave your comments.

morning / afternoon / evening, Peter here (writing on Iain's login) with news of todays World Have Your Say, on air @ the usual time, 1800 GMT :o)

SHOULD WE LEGALISE PROSTITUTION ?

Prostitutes exist. Prostitution exists. Men use prostitutes. They may not sell their wares on your street, outside your front door, or around the corner from where you live, but they're out there, somewhere, doing their thing - for money. We're not asking about the morality of selling sex, we're not asking for your opinions on the rights and wrongs of selling sex, of working in this, the worlds oldest profession. No, we're asking should it be legal.

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Mention prostitution and you'll get a smile, a joke, a pun or even an anecdote.

But is it really funny? You'll hear from women and men who sell their bodies in the streets and dodgy areas that they fear for their lives almost on a daily basis.

Ask people who live in kerb-crawling areas and they'll tell you: prostitution brings crime, drugs, violence and degradation to our neighbourhood.

There's in the UK. Would the legalisation of prostitution make women safer across the world? Would decriminalisation protect sex workers? Would it make the area where you live safer?

Send us your thoughts, post your comments here on the blog.

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Iain here. We've just been discussing Prince in the WHYS office, so in the interest of free speech, I thought I'd share this with you all.

Fan sites say they have been of the singer, his lyrics and "anything linked to Prince's likeness"..

This comes two months after Prince threatened to sue YouTube and other major Internet sites for unauthorised use of his music.

Now has the purple one got a point here? Does he have the right to protect his image or is he being a little too precious?

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A national day of mourning is being held in Finland after an 18-year-old went on a gun rampage at his school and killed seven pupils and a teacher. The gunman, reportedly identified as Pekka Eric Auvinen, shot himself in the head and later died in hospital. This kind of thing is not supposed to happen anywhere -- but this is Finland; quiet, civilised, spacious, friendly, effecient Finland. The shooting happened in Tuusula, north of the capital Helsinki, and officials have set up a crisis centre to help those affected by the tragedy. The gunman gave a warning of the attack in a video posted on the internet. The home-made film called "Jokela High School massacre 11/7/2007" shows a young man pointing a gun and declaring himself a "social Darwinist" who would "eliminate all who I see unfit". The video was made, and dated before the attack. This film is similar to the one made by Cho Seung Hui, who sent a recording of himself to the US NBC television network before killing 32 students at Virginia Tech University in April.

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Some from the show at KJZZ- a lot of Ros, but then he is the presenter....

Can you legislate effectively against radicalism, against Islamism? Well, the British government think they can.

The on the table is to allow the police to hold "terror suspects" for 56 days without charge.

Current legislation in Britain, created to combat the IRA, gives the police 28 days to question anyone they think is a terrorist.

The US had the Patriot Act, other countries have been using the law to stop radicals. But does it work? Can the law help prevent radicalism? That's something we'll probably be talking about today. Send us your views, post your comments here on the blog.

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Peter Dobbie here.....

HOW MUCH SUPPORT IS THERE FOR AN UPRISING IN PAKISTAN ?

The former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has issued what looks like an ultimatum to President Pervez Musharraf to end emergency rule. She repeated plans for a rally on Friday, despite an official ban, and called for a "long march" next week unless General Musharraf changes course. This is something that we've touched on, on the show during this week: the idea that the crisis in Pakistan would enter new territory if there are calls for street protests, and if there's enough popular support. The authorities have warned that police will not allow Friday's demonstration in Rawalpindi, the country's main garrison town, to go ahead. The city's mayor, Javed Akhlas, said: "We will ensure that they don't violate the ban on rallies, and if they do it, the government will take action according to the law."

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....in San Francisco. Great song, and now i get it. What a place, what views, smashing people. My opinions of the place are NOT in any way influenced by the excellent news that the best radio station in the City by the Bay will be adding WHYS to their roster in the new year. Some of our team went to meet them while we were there and were bowled over with the ethos of the station.
their decision is even more of an honour as - owing to a computer cock-up here at Bush House, they and KQED only managed to hear the first half of the programme. Red faces all round.

There was a moment at the othjer station we linked up with - KJZZ in Phoenix- which we can look back and laugh about now.....sort of..

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Good morning to you all, here in West London I can see a number of stories which you might want to talk about today.

If you have any better ideas, burning questions or want to tell us about talking points in your area, please get in touch (and don't forget to leave us a phone number). Post a comment at or email us.

First up, Pakistan. The state of emergency is still in place. The security situation in the North West border region has deteriorated, the ousted Chief Justice against the President. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will decide today and Imran Khan, another opposition leader forced into hiding has promised a ...

I think this is worth a revisit.

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There must be something wrong... Look at what's happening in Italy.

The former communist mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, is behind legislation that's allowing the government to.

Here in the UK, a similar debate is going on.

So what do you think? What's wrong with immigration? Is there a way of controlling immigration in a globalised world? Who would gain and lose? Send us your comments, join the conversation.

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The last time we talked about Pakistan at length here on the programme it was on the aftermath of the bomb attack against Benazir Bhutto. That was over two weeks ago.

More than were 100 people killed then and a great deal of the enthusiasm from the previous day had turned into a "what next" question.

Well, we know now what came next. Martin and I were here on Saturday, working on the WHYS climate change special from San Francisco.

Towards the end of the show, general Pervez Musharraf went live on TV in Pakistan and announced a state of emergency. But the say they won't give up. So what now for Pakistan?

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As Ros wrote earlier, the programme came live from San Francisco, where World Have Your Say talked about climate change, for a one-off, Saturday special.

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Hi everyone. I'm writing on a Saturday because we have a special edition of World Have Your Say today. We've come to San Francisco to make our contribution to the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Taking the Temperature series of programmes and reports. It's aim is to understand the shifting attitudes and policies towards global warming, and that's what we'll try and do...

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Morning / afternoon / evening, Peter Dobbie here with news of todays WHYS, on air at the usual time: 1700 GMT :-) First things first:

DO YOU TRUST YOUR POLICE ?

The reason I ask is because London's Metropolitan Police force has been found guilty of endangering the public over the fatal shooting of a man officers mistook for a suicide bomber...

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Hi, James here in London. Half of the team are on their way from Phoenix to San Francisco for a special show tomorrow (yes that's right - on a Saturday!). Anna is masterminding the show and has written more about the programme here.

While the SF team prepares for that extravanganza, we're getting ready for Friday's show here in Bush House.
So what could be getting you talking today?

IMMIGRATION ISSUE - THE ITALIAN WAY
Italy's centre-left government, long accused by critics of being soft on immigration, has pushed through a decree allowing police to believed to be a danger to society...

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Peter Dobbie here, blogging on James' log-in, with news of today's World Have Your Say, on air at 1700 GMT.

IS THE SURGE WORKING ?
The death toll for US combat troops in Iraq has dropped to 27 last month. That's the lowest monthly total since March last year and that figure is part of a downward trend that appears to confirm Pentagon claims that its "surge" strategy is a success...

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Hi. James here with some ideas to get you thinking on a Thursday.

Ros and the team are winding down after a frenetic 2-hour show in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listen again here.
Come and join our meeting to set the agenda at 1200GMT - +44 207 557 0635 and we'll call you back.

On to today's mix:

GOING TO IRAQ IS A "POTENTIAL DEATH SENTENCE"
Several hundred U.S. diplomats have about the State Department's decision to force foreign service officers to take jobs in Iraq, with some likening it to a "potential death sentence." ...

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