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DOLAPA AINA IN NIGERIA WROTE LAST WEEK:

''Why do European financial operatives/bankers aid African leaders in the looting of Africa's treasury and still find it increasingly hard to admit their role or even re-fund such funds?'

I'm sure that many bankers would deny playing any such role Dolapa, but that's not to say it's never happened or that we shouldn't discuss your beliefs if they are widely held in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. Are you able to provide us with specific examples? Do you have friends who have the same view of bankers as you? How exactly would you imagine the programme working? Which people would you like to speak to - fellow Nigerians, international bankers, people in charge of aid programmes?

If you want to help Dolapa develop this idea, then post here on the blog or email us.

ROBERT O'LEXA WANTS US TO TALK ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST:

'Please discuss America's blocking (veto) on UN action towards Israeli attacks in Gaza. You did quite a bit of compelling coverage on Israel/Lebanon conflict without ever really deeply addressing America and the U.K.'s support of Israel. They provide weapons and money, even though the Israeli occupation of Gaza seems quite aggressive. I know it's a touchy subject to say the least, but, the settlements and unreported Palestinian suffering also fuels a large part of terrorism in the world. I think it's time to get it on the table and make people confront the reality and consequences of it.'

Thanks for your email Robert. First things first, I think the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis is extensively documented by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ (see as an example) and lots of other media organisations, NGOs, bloggers and so on.

I don't think we would look to particularly focus on the experience of Palestinians, but it may well be worth out while going back to both Palestinians and Israelis to hear how the crisis affects their lives. We did the same thing with Israelis and Lebanese during the conflict between their countries in July and August and I found it very affecting and informative to hear stories of day-to-day life on both sides of the border. We'll look into doing that again.

As for the issue of America's use of its veto, I wonder if this something the rest of you think warrants discussion now. Certainly it's raised its head several times and it's come up when we've discussed America's policy towards the Middle East. In fact we discussed just that on Thursday's show from in Detroit. The other thing that is certain is that there will be many of you who don't share Robert's analysis of the rationale behind the use of the veto - but then that's a reason to discuss it, not a reason not to.

So does this demand a fresh look on the programme? - well, Robert, let's see what people think....

THE TREATMENT OF AFRICAN WIDOWS

We've received this email from Emmanuel in Warri, Nigeria

'I will like you to talk about the maltreatment of widows in African culture. I will like to see a situation where our effort is channelled towards important assurances like the maltreatment of the women folk by their husband's family at the death/burial rite of their beloved life partner. I believe the Family have an important role to play, but we should be considerate on what we do to widows and hope we treat the bereaved man's immediate family.'

Thanks for your email Emmanuel. I'm convinced already. As you'll see from today's meeting, I've also been thinking about hearing about the frustrations of some African women at how they have to struggle to inherit the belongings and property of their late husbands. It seems to the two could go well together. Let's see what else people suggest.

HIV / AIDS

I was sitting here preparing for the show on Monday and was flicking through our newsroom's headlines and came across the story about the in South Africa. Now, that the increase has occurred is a talking point in itself - the South African government has in the past been sceptical about relying on them to battle HIV / AIDS. But it was actually one line in the story that really caught my attention. 'Eight-hundred people die every day as a result of HIV/AIDS in South Africa' it read.

Now of course I read a lot about the effect of HIV / AIDS and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ runs many stories about it. But maybe on WHYS because we cover stories that you're reacting to on a day-to-day basis, the relentlessness of HIV / AIDS somehow misses our radar. It's come up in shows over the past year, but I can't remember one where we've put our focus entirely upon its effect around the world.

This isn't a fully-formed idea, but I'm convinced it's something we should do. Do you agree? And if you do, how might we put the programme together? It's such a vast subject and we only have one hour. We'll keep thinking about this, but you're help would be welcomed. Please email us, if you have ideas of which countries we should hear from, which people we might speak to and what questions we should ask.

Thanks for reading about these ideas. Hopefully we can discuss them more over the next few days.