On air: Are climate change deniers the greatest threat to our planet?

All last week we talked here on the blog about your attitude towards climate change.

Now we have confirmation that Kevin Rudd’s going to get heavily involved in the Copenhagen summit, and that 60 world leaders will attend.

But that’s not what you’re talking about. By far the most attention is on these leaked emails and the accusations that scientists are manipulating research to close down discussion of the the connection between us and climate change.

Are you selfish – or are we bad journalists ?

UPDATE: Below is Mark’s original blog post about why we can not seem to interest people in the topic of climate change.

But the reactions to the stolen and leaked e-mails from The University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit shows there’s perhaps another reason:

* They don’t believe that humans are to blame for global warming or are climate change sceptics

On air: Should the match be replayed?

This is rapidly becoming one of the biggest sports stories in years. Where to start?

In the last few minutes Thierry Henry has said, “Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but
it is not in my control”. Not everyone, including his President, agrees.

On Air: The spirit of sport

It’s supposed to be  FOOTball … but one player used his HAND instead in a game on Wednesday. - it’s caused a diplomatic row, and a lot of soul-searching about the spirit of sport.

Thierry Henry controlled the ball with his left hand - twice – before passing to William Gallas, who scored the goal that takes France- not Ireland- to the World Cup Finals in South Africa next year. And the French striker has just said the game should be replayed

The Irish government isn’t happy, with the country’s Justice Minister calling for a replay.

Time to pull the plug on the Copenhagen summit ?

UPDATE: Earlier in the week we did say we would talk about this on air today, but the Thierry Henry football story continues to gather pace around the world. We’re hoping we’ll be able to go live with Copenhagen sometime next week.

It was meant to be the final chance to do something about global warming.

But it doesn’t look like there’ll be a deal at the Copenhagen summit next month: the politicians can’t agree.

Will the new president make a difference to Europe?

Herman Van Rompuy, the Belgian Prime Minister has been appointed EU president. 

And the UK’s Baroness Catherine Ashton got the second new post - Foreign Affairs Supremo. 

 The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the appointments were a “milestone for Europe and for its role in the world”.   

Does homework hinder or help?

Parents don’t get much cooler than this. Tom and Shelli Milley have just won their kids the legal right not do their homework.

“We’re not slaves to a system that sends home five sheets of spelling and says it has to be done for tomorrow,” Mr. Milley says. “It’s a hideously pathetic way to learn.”

 Should homework be scrapped? Would homework time be better spent switching off?

‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’

Was this an irresponsible comment from supermodel Kate Moss? The New York Post calls it a  ’horrifying endorsement of starving your way to supermodel thin’. And there’s no shortage of people who feel that her comment during a recent interview will encourage anorexia and other eating disorders.

Here’s an honest opinion on her statement from someone who admits to flirting with the pro-anorexia movement.

On air: Is corruption just a way of life?

‘Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life.‘

It’s a subject that’s rarely out of the headlines, it affects nearly every nation on earth – rich and poor – and it’s (arguably) endemic. What is it? Corruption: the misuse of governmental powers by officials for illegitimate personal gain. No nation is immune from its tantalising grasp.

On air: Are our children’s multi-media lives good for them?

We’re pulling together two discussions today. The first is about television. Charles Kenny, a Washington developmental economist, believes that TV can teach us all, including our children, useful lessons for life. He argues it’s too easy to dismiss its benefits. The second is a row that’s broken out over Facebook and MySpace’s refusal to adopt a help button for children to report concerns about grooming and bullying. (Here’s an excellent commentary on the story.)It once again raises the issue of how safe and beneficial being online is for children.