³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Funny or disgraceful?

Anji, UK - Unbelievable that they've apologised for it being heard, but not for him saying it.

Alexander, Russia - President Putin wasn't born to be a diplomat, and once he had finished the conference he was being a regular person.

Anji - Unbelievable that a political leader can have such beliefs

Galina Stolyarova of the St Petersburg Times - Putin grew up in a rough area of St Petersburg and this is part of who he is. Also he cultivates this as part of his image, and he won't be worried by it.

Sabina in Canada - Doesn't make any sense to justify it by his background - he represents the state of Russia and shouldn't have these opinions.

Galina Stolyarova - We have to face the truth: it's very common in Russia for MPs to use street language in parliament. I try to explain it but am not justifying it.

Alexander - I'm not justifying him, but it was a private conversation.

Andrew by email from Italy - The Russian President expresses the disrespect and discrimination against women which is also common to many countries in Southern Europe. In Italy this kind of comment is to be heard in all kinds of social contexts and especially at work, though for the sake of political correctness it will be only hinted at, but not fully spelled out in the media.

Andromeda by email - here is what is disgusting:
We have so many political factions in this world claiming that we don't have enough religion in this world, that morals are needed, and that they should be enforced by law. They put religion at the heart of the political structure & debates. No where is this more evident than in a country where they have been fighting for years (basically) over who has the better religion. Then the leader of this country is accused of being a rapist. Do we need more reason than that to show that religion should have no place in politics or law?

Kate in Washington - People can understand that there can be differences in translation but I don't see how this could be funny and the officials haven't explained it.

Anthony in Wales - We've all got the right to say what we want. The joke could have been an ice-breaker or sarcasm.

Alexey, a Russian in Saudi Arabia - It was a private conversation and he should be able to say what he likes. Women are very respected in Russia.

Malleck - There's a chance to look into the mindset of our rulers. All 'leaders' and politicains become cynical when they're in power.

Matt. Guildford. UK by text message - What's funny about rape? Putin's remark was not sarcastic. It reveals Russian male attitude.

Alexander, Brussels by text message - People are not aware of all goings on behind curtains between Russia and Israel, and that is why they can not judge correctly about such comments/jokes. Women in Russia and Eastern Europe are respected much more then they are in Western Europe.

Dee in Berlin by text message - Excuse me but haven't any of the self righteous heard of sarcasm?

Paul, Singapore by text message - This is being taken too seriouslly, politicalllly incorrect jokes are made all the time. Why isn't this program about the real problem which is the actual abuse of women by their employers.

Lubna from Iraq by text message - Any fault that is related to women is dealt with mockingly, that's how women are respected in western world.

Shannon in Berlin by text message - It seems obvious that he was being sarcastic and was belittling the israeli president.

Gerry in Berlin by email - It's a mystery to me why politicians who have caused death and suffering to thousands, and Putin in Chechnya is only one example, so often don't get publicly condemned until they commit some kind of sexual or other relatively minor indiscretion.

Paul by email - Are you sure Putin wasn't being sarcastic?

Jacques from Boston, Massachusetts by email - Give it a break, the man was being sarcastic... can't you tell how much Putin despise the president of Israel?

Jim, Pennsylvania, USA, by email - Instead of exposing Putin to your gossipy criticism, why don't you subject G W Bush to your rightful indignation for his off-microphone call to his poodle and your prime minister, Blair, with "YO! BLAIR!"
Certainly, the Bush comment was disrespectful... Putin's comment indicates a man with a sense of humor who happens to have made an off-color comment. He's only human.

Ken in Cleveland, Ohio, USA by email - Putin's private joke is disgusting, but the more urgent matter is the boom of sexual scandals and misconduct in the political world. Putin may be crude and insensitive, but so far, he isn't the root of the problem. Let's focus more on investigating allegations against the real offenders and punishing the guilty.

Mamamdou in France by email - Putin was making a joke and in private, who doesn't do such things? Don't presidents have a private life at all? Please give us a break with all these people complaining about discrimination against woman, this is all nonsense!

Ryan in Northern Virginia by email - The comparison of Putin's comments today and Bush's comment to Blair on the topic of Hezbollah is completely ridiculous. Beleive it or not, Bush was discussing foreign policy strategy, while Putin's comments were disgusting and repulsive.

Philippa in the Netherlands by email - You spent more time discussing Putin's bad joke today than you did the crime of the Israeli president yesterday. Where's the logic in that?

Breast cancer screening

Hazel Thornton is a founder of the Consumers Advisery Group for Clinical Trials in the UK - there's a misconception that screening reduces the number of women treated for breast cancer but that's just not true.

Dr Emma Pennery, consultant at UK charity Breast Cancer Care - There's conflicting information coming out because of a lack of data. We need more data.

Barbara Shumley, a nurse in Manitoba, Canada - In my work with women they support mamograms and self-examination. We are looking to screen more women. The harm is around the psychological aspect, and invasive procedures can be done unnecessarily.

Karon in Hertfordshire near London - I've had a preventative mastectomy because both her mum and sister have been diagnosed with breast cancer and she had genetic screening, which detected the gene she had which means she could get it.

Barbara - We need better diagnostic procedures.

Helen, UK - Any question of not screening people is wrong while there is no other alternative. Surely it's better to be checked than find out too late. We should bring the age down.

Karon - I agree.

Christine in Chicago - People say there's anxiety when you're screened, but there's a lot of anxiety when you're not screened. Being screened is very empowering. I felt a lump, got screened and they found an agressive tumour.

Salome in Virginia - we should check at age 40 not 50. Early detection does save lives. I'd be happy with the extra cost that would incur.