by your campaign to stop a generous and wealthy lady from saving the life of a small child and giving her a decent future you have probably condemned the kid to death - and got two stories for the price of one!

Absolutely right. I cannot understand why they have blocked this especially after granting the first child. If I were the child I would choose to suffer "abuse" at the hands of Madonna than to live with my brothers in poverty but freedom. By the way I am black too.

On the other hand, you can't just allow someone to go round the world collecting children because they happen to be rich. A child needs more than money. I have no objection to Madonna wanting to adopt deprived children, so long as she is subject to the same rules and scrutiny as everyone else.

I think the rules for adoption are a bit too strict, and many children miss out on a chance for a happy family life, but the whole system needs changing, not just exceptions made for celebrities.

As an aside, I seem to recall Yul Brinner adopted several children from poor communities also.