Talking points 18 March

How far should a parent go to find a sexual partner for her disabled son? That’s exactly what one woman in the UK is actively doing. She’s even going as far to say she would consider paying for a prostitute for her son who has Downs Syndrome.

This blogger asks How many mothers seek hookers for their sons?

Here are some of the conversations going on on a BBC messageboard. This agony aunt in the UK says she believes this young man Otto Baxter, who has Downs, has the right to sex.

On air: Are employers killing you by making you work nights?

The Danish government has set a precedent by paying out compensation to women who have developed breast cancer after working night shifts. The move comes after the UN-backed International Agency For Research On Cancer found that there was an increased likelihood of developing cancer for those who worked nights.

Are you a night worker? Do you feel you’re risking your health for the sake of your job?

On air: Is this justice for the shoe thrower?

Back in December he took out his anger on President Bush by throwing his shoe at him during a trip to Iraq. A grave insult in Arab culture. Today that same journalist, Muntadar al-Zaidi, has been jailed for three years for assaulting a Head of State, despite being hailed a hero in the Arab world.

The right to bear arms?

Why did an apparently perfectly normal 17-year-old in Germany go onto kill 15 people?  It seems he used one of his father’s guns ….So should people be allowed to keep guns at home?

On air: Staring into the abyss?

Hello I’m Stephen Nolan. Today I’ve been asked to present World Have Your Say from my home town of Belfast. On my phone-in radio programme that went out on BBC Ulster today, I listened to Angela the wife of a police officer who told me how her son clung to her husband terrified he would be shot, begging him not to go to work. She echoed the fear and shock for many in our province that dissident factions have murdered two soldiers and one police officer in the last few days.

Back to the troubles?

As I write Shaimaa is grabbing our technical equipment and heading to the airport for tomorrow’s special programme live from Belfast. In the last 48 hours 2 soldiers and a policeman have been shot dead in two separate incidents. The first murders of security forces in more than a decade.

The programme will be hosted by the Sony Award winning presenter Stephen Nolan, from an as yet undecided location. He’s born and bred in Belfast and presents radio and TV programmes on BBC Radio Ulster and our sister station here in the UK BBC Radio Five Live. There is, frankly, no-one better to illustrate to the world what the mood is like in Northern Ireland at the moment.

What could the rich world’s banks learn from the poor world’s?

He’s an economist, a banker and the man who developed the concept of microcredit. Mohammad Yunus  set up the Grameen bank in Bangladesh more than 30 years ago, and in 2006 they were jointly awarded the the Nobel Peace Prize. In simple terms the concept he dreamt up was to loan small amounts of money to entrepreneurs, too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. His view was that rural poor people had skills that with a little financial backing could help lift them out of poverty. He also strongly believed that people from a poorer background were more likely to repay their loans.

On air: Is Sharia law a price worth paying for peace?

No peace, no Sharia. For many people outside Pakistan the idea of implementing Sharia law to bring peace to a once thriving tourist region was a controversial olive branch. But to others living in the Swat region it’s a welcome relief. As I write this the Pakistani President Asif Zardari has announced he will only sign such a deal, once peace there is fully restored.

Read more here from our talking points post. We’re planning on looking at this issue on Wednesday’s programme.

On air: Should sex offenders be castrated?

Europe’s leading human rights body has criticised the Czech Republic for continuing to surgically castrate male sex offenders. The Council of Europe claims castrations had sometimes been performed without warnings of side effects and on men not capable of making an informed decision. In the past ten years 94 castrations have been carried out and a further 300 Czech men have undergone chemical castration since 2000.

On air: Does an aid appeal for Gaza undermine impartiality?

The BBC is under growing pressure to air a Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) charity appeal for aid to Gaza after other channels agreed to broadcast it. Caroline Thompson, the cheif operating officer at the BBC , will be on the first half of the program today to take your questions.