By Ben Allen

"Don't worry, speak to anyone in Malaga and they'll know someone who is young and unemployed." Javier, a businessman in the city, tries to reassure us as we're franticly making calls from the airport lounge in London.

Sarah Holmes and I are on a last minute trip to Spain. Despite having the 4th biggest economy in the eurozone, the country has the worst unemployment in the industrialised world and recent figures show that almost a quarter of the population are out of work. For those aged between 16 and 25 that figure increases to over half. Even in the context of the Eurozone crisis the stats are shocking and have already got many of you talking.

On Wednesday we'll be broadcasting from Malaga in the south of the country. With a growing young population the situation there is particularly bad and the stats are even more startling; in the region of Anduluca alone almost six hundred thousand young people are looking for work. We'll be talking to job seekers about their attempts to find work and what can be done to get Spain working again.

Back in the airport Javier ends the call with a promise to find us some interesting English speaking guests and we board our plane. What do you make of the situation in Spain? Do you believe the stats? What more can be done to help get people back into work?

We discussed what should happen to Libya and looked into a report suggesting that the US government may sue a number of banks that they believe were responsible for the global financial crisis of 2008.

'Forget Greece. What's up with Italy?' tweets TIME.

Not as much as you might think blogs Nick Ottens - because Rome won't fall in a day.

"Italy come into financial problems, it would be too big for Europe to bail out but there is no reason to assume that it could face the possibility of a default yet. Italy is in bad shape but its problems are far cry from the predicament of Greece or Ireland"

Italy's finance minister has announced that the country will be beefing up austerity following EU leaders' concerns that the contagion is spreading- but is it too late?

Alen Mattich blogs that whilst economists point out Italy is nothing ike Greece or Spain -he's not so sure.

'This lacklustre growth is directly a result of Italy's euro membership. The Italian economy is about a third less competitive than Germany's and the only way to regain that competitiveness, given that it can't devalue its currency, is for German inflation to run hotter than Italy's. But with the ECB and Germany both being inflation phobic, this almost certainly means a long and painful bout of Italian deflation and austerity.'

It's a bleak future for Italy if current predictions prove true. So on today's WHYS we'll speaks to Italians and experts about the reality of the state of Italy.

Robyn's got her big, black fascinator out. And I'm going to have a chunky white flower in my hair. There will be no shortage of weird and wonderful head gear around central London tomorrow, as thousands gather to celebrate the wedding of William and Kate.

We'll be down on The Mall where we'll be able to see up the road to Buckingham Palace and ahead to the Horse Guards Parade. A privileged position.

Chloe and Fiona will be weaving in and out of the crowds outside Buckingham Palace capturing that instant reaction.

I'm sure not all of you are Royal Wedding fans. If you're not a fan - tell us why. If you are partying - tell us where and how. And if you are just curious - ask the crowd some questions.

We'll have our eyes peeled for the best costume, the person who has travelled the furthest and the one who has been waiting the longest to catch a glimpse of the couple.

World Have Your Say is on at 0800-0900 GMT and we'll pop up as part of the World Service Radio coverage throughout the day.

Ms Caro led a high profile campaign against anorexia when she posed nude for an billboard ad in 2007.

'She was frail, her skin flaky, her teeth falling out and her hair ruined. She pointed out these flaws from the anorexia, and she knew it was the price for having a serious illness.'

Whilst the cause of her death has not been confirmed, the news has reopened the debate surrounding the campaign and disease.

Musa in Kenya posts on our Facebook page,

'Only until you can walk in the shoes of another human being can you judge. Her selfless act might have saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands.'

But Mabvunika in Zambia feels little sympathy,

'This is a no brainer. I'm sorry but i refuse to have compassion for someone that has a meal but chooses not to eat it and dies because of it. I believe she made her bed. Too many people haven't the means to eat in my country for me to be compassionate about this!'

Ike in Abuja points the figure at the fashion industry,

'Clothing ads that feature very thin models should come with disclaimers like cigarette ads for example. '

But others like blogger Catherine have been touched by the news,

'I have never met Isabelle. I do not know her, I am not close to her and I only became aware of her during the uproar that ensued after 'that' campaign... It isn't that we both know what it is like to live with the illness, to know how it feels never to be thin enough, and to want to change peoples' minds and raise awareness whilst all the time being acutely aware of how hypocritical we may seem. All that is true, but that isn't why I am writing. The fact is that I don't know why. I was deeply saddened when I heard and read the news.'

What's your reaction to Ms Caro's public battle against anorexia and her death?

See listeners' comments about this programme

 ...That white, fluffy, magical stuff is up to mischief again.

When heavy snow hit Northern Europe only last week, the world wondered why  Moscow and Chicago could manage tough weather and why London and Paris couldn't. But even they haven't been spared.

From Philadelphia to Boston, snow storms are forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights and causing some places to declare a state of emergency.

Julie in Atlanta posts on our Facebook wall,

'I live in Atlanta where we had our first white Christmas in 128 years. We got a little over an inch of snow. Normally our winters are mild and if get winter weather like that, it does not come all in one month.'

'We're snowed in here in Queens NY, a lot of people are stranded tonight, my cousin at work included.'

Blizzards are slowing down New York says this article - but is that such a bad thing?

And the US isn't the only country affected by freak weather. Over in India, dense fog has brought transport systems to a standstill. And in Russia unseasonably warm weather has cut power and infrastructure.

Michael's been in touch to tell us about the situation in the East Cheshire, England where he has been engulfed in snow since November,

'The question is how much is long term changes in weather patterns and how much is just a return to spells of freakish weather that for a long time didn't occur?'

Are you concerned by the extreme weather or is this just a return to how things were? Have you been affected at all?

It's a "reckless provocation" accordingly to Professor Zhu Feng from Peking University, whilst Dr. Park Young believes this is North Korea flexing its muscles.

"Although I can't be certain of the rationale behind North Korea's attacks yet, I see it as North Korea's intention to turn this region into a conflict zone so that it can bring the concerned parties to the discussion table....By showing that it has nuclear capacity and by firing artillery shells today, I think it is trying to make a point that it is militarily capable and thus should not be lightly regarded. Ultimately, I think it is strategically seeking to tilt talks concerning the contested Northern Limit Line and the peace treaty toward its advantage."

Is this attention seeking behaviour that should be ignored, or are South Koreans right to be concerned?

Dave in Seoul emails the BBC,

'I'm in an office with 15+ Koreans who, although having the radio reports streaming from the internet, don't seem all that concerned. Hard to see how this incident will be any more newsworthy than the previous North/South spat.'

Whilst Colin responds,

'I live in Seoul and there is a definite sense of worry amongst it's citizens. Traffic was busier than normal and a even greater sense of urgency around. The news typically has just one story plastered all over the TV.'

And Jimmy agrees.

'Guys in the office are getting a bit agitated, everyone has stopped working and watching the news on their computers, but hoping its just a small incident and its not going to escalate, but dont know just cannot predict the North Koreans.'

The clash comes days after North Korea revealed its latest uranium enrichment plant to the West. Is this an attempt by North Korea to strengthen its negotiating hand in direct talks with Washington?

And how should South Korea respond?

See listeners' comments about this programme

George Bush has kick started his 'rehabiliation tour' by talking about torture. So in the words of the former president himself, 'let's talk about waterboarding.'

Amongst his many assertions in his new book Decision Points, Mr. Bush stands by the use of waterboarding as a interrogation technique saying it saved lives in both the US and UK.

He comes armed with his proof that detainees can become assets through the use of torture. Sep 11 plotter Khalid Sheik Mohammed is one prize example where after 'enduring the CIA's harshest interrogation methods and spending more than a year in the agency's secret prisons, (he) stood before U.S. intelligence officers in a makeshift lecture hall, leading what they called "terrorist tutorials." '

I witness the physical, psychological and emotional consequences of torture every day at our torture treatment centers in Washington and Baltimore. Have you ever noticed the public outcry when an animal is abused? Imagine listening, as I have, to a torture survivor say to me that he wished he were an animal, because animals have rights in the United States. I pray that he did not hear Mr. Bush's flippant remark.
Waterboarding is torture, and torture is a violation of law.

But Mr. Bush would do it again if it meant saving lives.

David Danzig attempts to bring out the nuances in the debate in this piece.

'Challenging someone's credibility creates the possibility that he will tell you everything he knows. Waterboarding a suspect ensures that he will, at best, only tell you what he needs to in order to make the pain stop.'

Quoting Eric Maddox, the U.S. Army interrogator who spearheaded the hunt for Saddam Hussein, he continues,

"Water boarding? Give me a break!" Maddox told me. "Why would I do something to an individual where first of all they think they are going to die and second you don't follow through on the threat. I mean once you pull them up they are not dead, everything the interrogator does is a farce from then on....I am not trying to make the guy like me...But he has to believe me. If I tell him that I can make everything OK for him or his family, if he works with me, he has to take me at my word."

And Chris Selley believes we've reached a point where it's time to embrace the hypocrisy.

'We simply think it's more important that benighted lands adhere to basic human rights principles than it is that Canada or the United States adhere to them, because we have mighty, wealthy democracies to protect at all costs, and they don't. Torture is different when we do it. Our child soldiers are different. That's just the way it is.'

What's clear is that George Bush is a content man with few regrets. He has long said history will judge his presidency - but how do you view it? And how far should you go to get life-saving information?

This topics was discussed on World Have Your Say on Monday 8 November 2010. Listen to the programme.

We talked over a number of issues that are clearly being raised by President Obama's visit to India. At first we looked to choose one over the other, but in the end we decided we should touch on them all. So here they are...

1. Where does the balance of power lie between these two countries?

2. Do relations warrant being called a 'defining' relationship for this century?

3. Should President Obama offer more criticism of Pakistan? And should India refuse such an extensive trade relationship with the US, while American support for Pakistan continues?

4. What, if anything, does the out-sourcing of jobs tells us about the relative strengths of the two countries' economies and their leaders?

5. Is President Obama right to support India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council?

That should keep us going for the hour

KRUPA'S ORIGINAL POST

Twinkle toed President Obama might need to stick to dancing to impress his Indian audience. His usual oratory flair has become cause for suspicion during his trip to the subcontinent. And here's why: he's friends with the enemy.

Posting on the BBC's Soutik Biswas's blog, Chinmay_BVB_Dort comments,

'For Indians 'very important strategic partner in USA's international policy' has no meaning ! What's more meaningful (and highly unlikely to happen) is to 'officially' declare Pakistan a terrorist nation, explain why USA is giving $2bn military aid to 'rogue' elements and when will the strategically important' partnership translate into permanent membership in UN security counsel. Everything else will be just an entertainment program for Diwali vacations!'

Dancing aside, Mr. Obama defends his ties with Pakistan.

"We want nothing more than a stable, prosperous and peaceful Pakistan...it may be surprising to some of you to hear me say this, but I am absolutely convinced that the country that has the biggest stake in Pakistan's success is India."

He's right on one thing - Indians need convincing.

Krishnakumar Padmanabhan highlights how Pakistan has always been tied to America's security and strategic goals and how generosity towards its ally in the War on Terror shows no limits; the money has disappeared, much of it towards militarising Pakistan's border with India.

Yet amidst the emerging pessimism, India and US have announced $10bn worth of new trade deals. As Indian defense analyst K. Subrahmanyam highlights the relationship between India and the United States is the one to watch.

"If America needs a partner, Europe is aging, Japan is aging and China is going to age," he said. "The only two major nations in the world who will not be aging, at least for the next 30 years, are the United States and India."

But how far will India need to compromise in this relationship? Somrup Pal in Bangalore is bewildered by the 'needless appreciation for Obama in India all over Facebook' and posts,

'Why do we forget that Uncle (Obama) is here to save his own back by clinching mega deals and taking back "JOBS" . Uncle doesn't care about our Pakistan concern, donates weapons and funds for Islamic extremism in the name of the war on terror.'

What's clear is that Indians seem conflicted.Some crave more attention from the US, whilst others worry about getting too close to Washington.  So who needs who more? The Hindu writes that expectations from India of Obama have been unrealistic and therefore unsustainable.

'The United States and India do not share the same interests on key issues and their politicians will irritate each other when they let electoral pressures impede compromise. Building a lasting, productive relationship will thus require both countries to better balance their parochial priorities with the need to meet bigger global challenges.'

Does and should business come before security? Or does the US need to chose whose side it's on?

Victoria Clark argues that the answer to Yemen is not increased international aid but more regional support.

'We would be well advised to leave the job of arresting Yemen's descent to Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf counties which make up the Middle East's equivalent to the European Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). All have substantial Yemeni diaspora and a much better understanding of how the country's internal and tribal affairs work. They also have the funds and, as the attack on Prince Mohammad bin Nayef shows, the immediate and pressing motivation.'

But is this threat too serious to sit back and wait for Yemen's neighbours to step in? Robert Baer warns,

'..the more ominous truth is that these bombs have the hallmark of a higher degree of professionalism than we've ever seen come out of al-Qaeda...Something else that should worry us about Yemen is that the militants there appear to have better intelligence and organization than al-Qaeda has shown in the past. If indeed al-Qaeda's base is now in Yemen, we're facing a whole new dynamic. Yemen's well-armed and notoriously independent tribes are even less likely than those of Pakistan to stand for a sustained aerial campaign against the militants. Angered, the tribes can be all but counted on to move on Yemen's capital Sana'a and other major cities, dragging the country into a full-fledged civil war.'

U.S. officials are already reportedly considering increasing operations in Yemen but as Ishaan Tharoor argues,

'If Washington believes it can wholly guide Yemen away from dysfunction, it has its hands full - as in Afghanistan, foreign intervention here has little record of success and, invariably, has caused more harm than good.'

In Yemen, terrorism thrives on poverty - but is money really the answer to combating radicalism in the country now labelled as the 'new crucible of terror'?

"Today I will start with a three-part sermon on: Jesus was HIV-positive."

'Not only is his position theologically correct, its also ethically, philosophically and morally correct. It's a profound and powerful metaphor.'

'Exciting stuff. Maybe this will help people at least talk about it. I live in East Africa, and i can see that bringing the church into the issue of AIDS has helped whole nations deal with HIV in an amazing way.'

'My personal opinion is when a person spreads an untrue doctrine, God is against such liar. '

Otsile in Gaborone, Botswana writes,

'the pastor has lost touch with moral goodness!'

Blogger Vic the Vicar has mixed feelings,

'I think perhaps Xola has taken things a little too far...this attempt to remove the stigma and get people talking should be understood as a right motive, wrongly executed.'

Was Pastor Skosana's sermon a step too far?]]> Krupa Thakrar Padhy Krupa Thakrar Padhy https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2010/11/what_do_you_think_of_this_past.html#272181 https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2010/11/what_do_you_think_of_this_past.html#272181 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:40:31 +0000

We're updating all the time: facebook / twitter

"Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact. Even the Indian government has accepted this.'

This is the comment that's pushed Arundhati Roy to the Kashmiri frontline. The award-winning author of The God of Small Things is hardly a stranger when it comes to voicing her opinions. But this time, her words have got many questioning her loyalty to India.

The Indian government is threatening to arrest Arundhati Roy on charges of sedition. Yesterday she issued this response;

'In the papers some have accused me of giving 'hate-speeches', of wanting India to break up. On the contrary, what I say comes from love and pride. It comes from not wanting people to be killed, raped, imprisoned or have their finger-nails pulled out in order to force them to say they are Indians...Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds.'

But themetromonkey in India reacts on Twitter: 'There is a difference between freedom and complete disregard of national sentiments. Arundhati Roy has crossed the line.'

Does freedom of speech stop when your comments are thought to insult your country?]]>Blogger Venkatesan Vembu calls Ms Roy's comments 'dangerously wrong.'

'The Indian state may not always have got it right in Kashmir, but Roy's black-and-white delineation represents a colossal and intellectually dishonest oversimplification of the problem without sufficient appreciation of the fanatical geopolitical forces at work.'

Others, like Rathnikesh in India have mixed feelings. He posts: 'simultaneously admiring and hating arundhati roy ... '

But TheKashmiris tweets: Why Indians fail to understand that self determination is a form of direct democracy. #Arundhati Roy #Kashmir -God Bless You.

Over on the blogosphere, KashmiriIndian asks people to not take Ms. Roy's comments seriously,

'Dont give much importance to this lady and grant her the publicity she craves for. Read her history and you shall know that she keeps jumping from one issue to another merely to draw attention.'

'Roy is, of course, correct but she does not go far enough.Not only is Kashmir not a 'vital' part of India, it not a part of India at all. It is ironic to see a nation born of a people's demand for self-determination denying Kashmiris this very same right with such brutality. '

Vicky on Pickled Politics believes that Arundhati Roy makes a living out of criticising India.

'She went to stop Narmada Dam to get publicity, people didn't toe the line then...Now, local people are reaping benefits of the Dam...Nobody denies that the state has failed its citizens in many ways and the administration should be much better but to say that India should break up is just not acceptable....Azaadi or Freedom is very fashionable in Kashmir Valley. People must understand that there are regions of Ladhak, Jammu and also Muslims of Kargil, Drass sectors who are very happy with Indian State. She wont mention them..'

Were Arundhati's Roy's comments purely patriotic or is the Indian government right to threaten her with prison?

This topic was discussed on World Have Your Say on 25 October. Listen to the programme. 

The 'forgotten war' is back on the front pages.

The whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has released 400,000 army documents relating to the conflict in Iraq. The documents reveal details of civilian deaths and prisoner abuse, and suggest that the US ignored evidence of torture by Iraqi authorities.

So much for Western ­'civilised' values writes Stephen Glover,

'The Iraq war was fought in the name of ­civilised values and ­common decency. The British and Americans presented themselves as the good guys, bringing ­democracy and the rule of law and ­humanity to a ­dysfunctional country ruled by a lunatic ­genocidal tyrant...If this neat contrast between good and evil has already worn pretty thin in the seven-and-a-half years since the invasion of Iraq, it has now finally been blown apart by a massive leak of nearly 400,000 official ­American military 'field reports' by WikiLeaks.'

'As far as Americans are concerned, the Iraq war is over, done, finished. We've turned the page, changed the channel, tied up the odd loose end, inserted the last punctuation mark, and moved on.'

The Iraqi media seem equally as disinterested but the conversation is already underway on our Facebook page, where Halima writes,

'Too long have the powers that be thought they could do whatever they wanted with an underlying assumption that they are the "good guys" even when clearly they have not always been. ...I like the idea that behaviour of the most powerful is now answerable to international scrutiny.' Michael in Wisconsin isn't convinced by the reports,

'War is hell, and as far as war goes, Iraq and Afghanistan have been extremely tame, mostly due to the fact that the soldier has one hand tied behind his back and needs to take his lawyer with him to the war zone to avoid any implications of impropriety while trying not to die.'

Jacob Shapiro Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University believes that we shouldn't be quick to judge the documents; the database is selective and could be missing a bigger picture.

And the Telegraph finds some empathy for the soldiers on the front line, but little for politicians who sent them there.

'Some of the most painful instances published, indeed, in which Iraqi civilians have been killed at US checkpoints, are also horribly understandable: when frightened soldiers - alert to potential suicide bombers - encounter terrified civilians in a fog of barked commands and misunderstandings, a tragic outcome can become almost inevitable...A very different standard applies, however, to those who sent them there, and drew up the codes by which they were required to operate... If morality is difficult to preserve in war, it was then made significantly more so by the failure of George Bush and Tony Blair to put in place any comprehensive plan for the governance of Iraq after the invasion. That was not a forgivable error, but a fundamental one.'

Robert Grenier a retired, veteran of the CIA's Clandestine Service stands by the troops - this was war.

'There is more than a little irony in the fact that it is precisely those who are most likely to characterize the US military presence in Iraq as an unwanted military occupation, trampling on the sovereign rights of Iraqis, who in this instance suggest that US military personnel should have behaved like colonialists. In dealing with an Iraqi system in which abuses by security forces were rampant at all levels, what were US forces to do, practically speaking? Should they have taken over every suspect police station? Should they have indicted and tried those suspected of prisoner abuse? In whose courts?'