Hot Buttons: Talk show topics

FIGURE SKATING SCANDAL

The scandal surrounding the pairs figure-skating competition at the Winter Olympics has grown so ugly that the International Olympic Committee president has decided to step in and demand action.

Throughout the day Wednesday, new details emerged in the controversy that began Monday night when Russians Enela Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharuildze won the gold medal over Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier -- despite the fact that most skating experts felt the Canadian team was clearly the best.

The referee for that competition, American Ronald Phenning, sent a letter to International Skating Union President Ottavio Cinquantana of Italy saying he believed there were judging irregularities in the pairs event. NBC-TV reported Phenning wrote that letter because he heard French judge Marie Reine Le Gougne say during the regular post-competition judges' meeting Tuesday that she voted for the Russians because she had been pressured to do so by her national figure skating association.

A news conference by Cinquantana Wednesday turned into a 75-minute session in which the head of the world skating governing body was barraged with often hostile questions.

Finally, IOC President Jacques Rogge made the rare move of summoning Cinquantana for an early-evening talk. And instead of keeping the visit secret, the IOC let it be known that the meeting had taken place -- a move seen as putting pressure on the skating union.

"I asked President Cinquanta to take adequate action as quickly as possible because of the high urgency of the matter," Rogge said in a statement.

Canadian officials have officially protested the pairs judging, asking that Sale and Pelletier also receive gold medals. Cinquantana said the entire matter would discussed at a previously called ISU meeting next Monday and that whatever is decided there would be final.

"I would be a liar if I said it (changing the results} was impossible and I am not a liar," he said. "But there is no precedent."

The Toronto Globe and Mail reported that sources had told the newspaper the pairs competition was fixed as part of a deal involving the ice dancing event, which begins next Friday. The newspaper quoted sources as saying the ice dancing results have already been determined and that the Canadian pair of Victor Kraatz and Shae-Lynn Bourne were slotted to finish fifth. It also said deals were made for Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio to win the gold in ice dancing ahead of Russians Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh, and that French skaters Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat were set to win a bronze medal as part of the deal.

Figure skating has long lived with allegations that judges trade their votes, but such a scandal in the midst of its most high-profile event could have long-term implications. There are those within the Olympic movement, former IOC vice-president Richard Pound among them, who have called for ice dancing to be banned from the Games because of past scandals.

-- What do you think?

THE IRAQ QUESTION

The United States is watching to see how Muslim countries will react if Washington launches a military offensive to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Washington-based diplomats from Muslim countries told UPI this week that U.S. officials discussed the possibility with various Islamic leaders who came to the U.S. capital.

Leaders from Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have visited Washington recently. Jordan and Turkey were represented at the highest level and Saudi Arabia sent several key members of the ruling al Saud family.

"Both Jordan and Turkey have economic interests in Iraq and fear that a military offensive against Saddam can adversely affect their economies," said one Muslim diplomat.

In addition, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit expressed fears that strikes against Iraq could encourage moves toward a separate Kurdish state in northern Iraq, which, in turn, would boost the separatist aspirations of Turkey's Kurds. Turkey is the only Muslim member of NATO.

Jordan's King Abdullah was more supportive but sought economic assurances from the United States, the diplomats said. Jordan already finds it difficult to fully enforce the 11-year old U.N. sanctions against Iraq. Many Jordanians have a deep sympathy for Iraqi civilians who have been hit hard by the sanctions, and businessmen want to maximize their trade with Iraq.

The Saudis have different concerns. They fear that a new U.S. military offensive to remove the Iraqi leader may also fail, like the previous attempt by the first President Bush. Another failed offensive, they fear, may increase Saddam's popularity among the Arab masses, already perturbed over recent U.S. airstrikes against Afghanistan.

However, after President Bush's Jan. 29 speech, in which he called Iraq, Iran and North Korea part of "an axis of evil," most Muslim leaders are convinced the Americans will sooner or later launch a military offensive against Iraq. "The question is not 'If the Americans will attack,' but 'when will they attack,'" said one diplomat.

-- Is it time to take out Saddam Hussein? Why or why not? Should it be by way of military action or covert means, such as a CIA-sponsored assassination?

(Thanks to UPI's Anwar Iqbal in Washington)

THE ANDREA YATES TRIAL

More than half of parents (54 percent) polled believe Andrea Yates should receive the death penalty if convicted in the drowning deaths of her five children.

That's according to a recent online survey conducted by Primedia's americanbaby.com. Another 25 percent of the 589 people questioned think the Houston mother should be sentenced to life in prison. Only 18 percent believe Yates should be sent to a mental hospital for treatment.

Yates' murder trial is set to begin next Monday. Her husband has said she was treated for severe postpartum psychosis prior to the children's deaths in June 2001.

91 percent of those surveyed said they believed new moms are not properly educated on the signs and symptoms of postpartum disorders.

"The tragedy that occurred with Andrea Yates has brought a huge amount of public attention to postpartum disorders and raised awareness of their existence and severity," said Dottie Enrico, director of content for Primedia's americanbaby.com. "These poll results are indicative of the great need to educate and inform both expectant mothers and their families on postpartum disorders as national attention continues surrounding the Yates trial."

-- What do you think should happen to Andrea Yates, and why?