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 :-)

The controversial Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen has been moved out of the western Indian city of Jaipur to an undisclosed destination - she had flown from Calcutta to Jaipur on Thursday after violent protests by Muslims. The increasing storm surrounding this woman became so bad during the week that the police in Calcutta used tear gas and baton charges to control crowds calling for her Indian visa to be cancelled. Rioters blocked roads and set cars alight. At least 43 people were hurt. More than 100 arrests were made.

DEATH THREATS

Critics say she called for the Koran to be changed to give women greater rights, something she denies. Ms Nasreen fled Bangladesh in the early 1990s after death threats and has spent the last three years in Calcutta after a long stay in Europe. Wednesday's trouble in Calcutta began after the predominantly Muslim All-India Minority Forum called for blockades on major roads in the city.

This is the punch-line: the group said Ms Nasreen had "seriously hurt Muslim sentiments".

Many Muslims say her writing ridicules Islam. The army was called out and a night curfew imposed. The All-India Minority Forum says Taslima Nasreen's Indian visa should be revoked and she should be forced to leave the country.
To quote directly from one blogger on this subject:

"This is a tragedy of colossal proportions. Since when is it the government's responsibility to evict law abiding residents of the territory, simply because a bunch of hooligans - Muslim or Hindu - decide to burn the city ?. The biggest tragedy, however, is that this country's moderate Muslims and Hindus remain silent - again. The political parties - rather than uniting behind Taslima, rejecting calls for her visa to be canceled, and denouncing the AIMF for the fundamentalists that they are, all parties have remained largely silent. They worry, perhaps, about disturbing their Muslim vote bank. So why does the Muslim vote bank not speak up?"

What do you think ? What does this say about modern India ? What does it say about Ms Nasreen and her writing ? What does it say about any voice that moves off the path chosen by what is afteral a vocal majority ? Can Ms Nasreen voice still be heard from wherever she ends up ?

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Peter :-)

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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 on the on-air blog.

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 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.

And yesterday Hamas clamped down on journalists reporting in the territory.

Is President Abbas right - should Hamas be ousted?

Do the people who live in Gaza feel safer now? And looking further afield is support for Hamas across the Middle East still holding strong?

Laila El-Haddad is a Palestinian blogger who crossed the border with Egypt in June. A couple of days later, the borders were closed by the Israelis. They're still closed. Is the blockade to blame for the current crisis in Gaza? Laila will be with us today, from the North Carolina, US, where she's now with her family.

And what about rival Fatah..? Should Palestinians and the rest of the world now support them?

Wars of the future

The United States Congress has allocated funds for the development of a new space weapons system 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 systems to defend American satellites and attack those of its enemies — 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?

A Russian man convicted of murdering an air traffic controller he blamed for the deaths of his wife and children has been given a hero’s welcome in Moscow after he was freed early from jail.

Vitaly Kaloyev had initially been sentenced to eight years in prison for the crime. But a jury decided he could not be held responsible for his actions and reduced his sentence.

Is homicide ever justified or is a personal tragedy like this reason enough to lighten the punishment against somebody?

PAKISTAN

The former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto says President Pervez Musharraf is 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 BBC 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?

The group, which includes former military officers from seven countries, all say they have seen a UFO or have conducted research into the phenomenon. However, the Air Force says nothing has happened in the past four decades to justify resuming investigations

Are they right? We'd like to hear from you if you've had a close encounter..

WAR COSTS

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the American taxpayer nearly twice the amount previously thought, according to a report obtained by the Washington Post. It says the report, written by Democrats on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, shows the wars have so far cost one-point-five trillion dollars.

Donald Rumsfeld once said: War is always a last choice, for with war comes the cost of human life and financial sacrifice for our country. But terror must be stopped before it arrives on our shores.

America soil has been free from terror since 2001 so isn't this a fair price to pay to fight the war on terror?

ITALIAN FOOTBALL

The Italian Football Federation has suspended next week's Serie B and C matches after the latest fan violence. Is this going far enough? Should the Italian National side be banned from world football until the violence at home is sorted out?

EXCESSIVE DRINKING

On yesterdays programme we had a sparkling debate about fat taxes on planes. Today alcohol finds itself in the tax spotlight. Taxes on alcohol should be increased and advertising restrictions should be tightened, according to the Alcohol Health Alliance – a new group of 24 leading health organisations here in the UK. They want TV adverts for alcohol banned before 9pm and stronger health warnings to be placed on promotional material.

Should there be more taxes on alcohol and restrictions on advertising? Or is this just an extension of the 'nanny state'?

Should obese people on planes 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 obese passengers should be liable for a penalty.

Is he right? Would a fat tax work?

"Americans are blessed to live in a Nation of democracy and freedom. For these blessings we thank our veterans".

Well it seems thanking the veterans is one thing.. Housing them is quite another. It's a statistic that some might say shames America: military veterans make up one in four of all the homeless people in the United States.

Figures are also bad in here in the UK.I've read statistics as high as 1 in 8 of homeless in the UK is a former soldier..

What is going on here.. don't our veterans deserve better?

She wrote an ode to beheading - now she faces a jail term..

You'll feel the knife hit the food pipe. But don't stop. Continue with all your might

Samina Malik who dubbed herself the "Lyrical Terrorist" has became the first Muslim woman in Britain to be found guilty of terrorism offences. Samina Malik, who worked air-side at Heathrow airport, posted a series of poems on websites across the internet about killing non-believers, pursuing martyrdom and raising children to be holy fighters.

Police chiefs, politicians and football administrators in Italy are meeting today to discuss the weekend's violence across the country which flared up after a policeman accidentally shot dead a football fan in his car. One listener has already emailed us here to say 'Violence in Italian football occurs every weekend." So is Italian foootball out of control?

Foreign ministers from Commonwealth countries are meeting in London later today to discuss possible sanctions against Pakistan. How can the Pakistan crisis be resolved?

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.

Slight fine tuning of our debate today: we're asking you about legalising it. We will, we suspect, get into the argument about decriminalising prostitution as well. Now, these are two distinctly different concepts. Legal prositution means women working in specific areas and very probably in in specific properties, in a structured work-place. Decriminalising protitution is something totally different - that means it's not against the law - anyplace - and the women can work for themselves. Some of the women who World Have Your Say has been talking to have already told us that this second option is better, because with decriminalising comes a reduction in the level of people trafficking. Why? Because the women can, and do, work for themselves, so the shady networks of people who traffick women, all over the world, has no need to get involved in the first place. This aspect to the "profession" withers and dies, because there's no need.

What do you think ? If it was legal would the girls be safer ? Would you accept a legal brothel next door to your house, next door to your childrens' school ? Would you talk to a prostitute if you knew what she did for a living ? And if she felt empowered by being "legal", would you have a choice, but to live with it ? Accept it ? Is this debate about the women, or is it about our attitudes towards them -- the prostitutes.

Let us know via the blog, e-mail or text.

DID WE GET IT WRONG YESTERDAY ?

Just a little point of WHYS housekeeping. As usual yesterday's debate flew, we had many many people who didn't get on. But some of our e-mailers today think we got the question wrong. They seem to think we SHOULD have been saying 'whats wrong with us adults', to lead to the kind of radicalisation we mentioned on Thursday. Fair point maybe. One of our e-mailers sums up the other stance, the other way of looking at yesterday's debate thus:

"It's not what's wrong with our youth; it's what's wrong with us. Our children are in the coaches as we drive the train down scary tracks. At any one time a bunch of us are killing some other bunch of us, because we've skillfully neglected effective communication, even while chatting away for the last 100K years, or so. The children are frightened. They are able to do simple math. They can estimate the likelihood of finding food, water, career, spouse, energy supply, quite place away from wild-eyed pistol wavers, cure for the next pandemic, haven from the flood of immigrants wearing odd clothes and chanting weird chants, etc. etc. Unfortunately, for an ever growing number of children, the sums are starting to come up on the minus side. They don't see a bright future."

Discuss ?

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WORLDHAVEYOURSAY.COM
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Fan sites dedicated to Prince say they have been served legal notice to remove all images 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?

My government has decided to ban access to social network Facebook to all Mauritius, cause it contain a joke profile of our prime minister Navin Ramgoolam. I think is a terrible, cause they are acting as censors.

The banning of YouTube in Morocco, the firewall in China, and most recently the apparent blocking of Facebook in the United Arab Emirates are just a sampling of other cases.

At the same time thousands of Facebook members have been threatening to boycott the site if its administrators don't shut certain groups considered offensive.

Is there a line between censorship and free speech?

In a book published today, Tim Gill -- a former British government adviser on children -- argues that society is "bubble-wrapping"' children and exaggerating the risks they face.

Mr Gill adds that the level of playground bullying is being exaggerated and children must learn to cope with name-calling and teasing to help them develop resilience.

Is he right? Do you remember having more freedom, or should that be less protection as a child? Is this zero-risk attitude damaging our youngsters?

We'd like to hear your views.

Meanwhile fashion chain Gap has withdrawn from sale children's clothing allegedly made using forced child labour in India. But does ethical shopping help children in poor countries?

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has accused Britain of not doing enough to prevent international terrorism. He was speaking ahead of a state visit to the UK - the first by a Saudi monarch for 20 years - which begins today. King Abdullah also told BBC News that Britain had not made full use of intelligence provided by the Saudis

But some would say that Saudi Arabia needs to get its own house in order before criticising others. One British opposition leader is boycotting the official trip because of Saudi's "human rights record is appalling".

Where do you stand?

And is she the new Evita? Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the wife of the outgoing president of Argentina, has become the first elected woman president of her country.

Iran in turn has accused Washington of a hostile act, while the Revolutionary Guard -- singled out for special treatment by America -- declared itself ready to fight if necessary.

Is it time to put more pressure on Iran or is this a prelude to war?

The speed at which mankind has used the Earth's resources over the past 20 years has put "humanity's very survival" at risk were told this morning.

The bleak verdict on the environment was issued as an "urgent call for action" by the United Nations Environment Programme, which said that the "point of no return" was fast approaching.

How concerned are you.

Monkeys

Meanwhile our closest relatives are under unprecedented threat because of us.

Colombia Elections

Municipal elections across Colombia this weekend will take place in a climate of fear created by armed groups that have murdered at least 26 candidates across Colombia and threatened many more.

So in an attempt to lighten the gloom how about this?

Anthems

Now have you ever heard the Spanish National Anthem? You may have noticed that it doesn't have any words...? Well in Spain today is the deadline for entry into a competition to decide on lyrics for The Spanish Marcha Real (Royal March) national anthem, which has been played without words since the death of former dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975. That got me thinking would you like to change the lyrics of your national anthem?

Why not send us the first verses of a new anthem for your country... We could read them on air, throughout the programme.