Winter Olympics

To the Editors:

It does not matter whether the U.S. shines in the Winter Olympics at Sarajevo [Jan. 30]. Even if we fail to win a gold medal, which is highly unlikely, I am proud of our athletes.

Kevin J. Harris

Clarence, N. Y.

Your portrayal of America's Olympic athletes is as inspiring as the Games themselves. The lives and abilities of these talented people should make us proud that they are representing the U.S.

Nina Chien

New York City

As the parent of young speed skaters, I was angered by your comment that speed skating is an obscure sport and "Heiden, the greatest speed skater in history--and an American--has flashed through without leaving a trace." Eric Heiden chose to excel in a sport that demands grace and strength, instead of one like hockey, which can be brutal and violent. I am proud that my children chose to emulate him.

Judy Feldman

Glenview, Ill.

Four years after the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, the press continues to snipe at us. In your report on the Sarajevo Games, almost every adjective or phrase you use in referring to Lake Placid has a negative or derogatory connotation. We may have done some things imperfectly that winter, but we did a lot that was right.

Ruth P. Hart

Lake Placid, N. Y.

In your historical review of Sarajevo, you say that Bosnia and Herzegovina were annexed by the Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian empire in 1878. At the Congress of Berlin in that year, Bosnia-Herzegovina was placed under Austro-Hungarian authority by the European powers but technically remained Turkish until the region was annexed outright by the Hapsburgs in 1908.

Edward F. von Briesen

Oyster Bay Cove, N. Y.

Argentina's "Dirty War"

Your articles on the arrest of Argentina's former military leaders [Jan. 23] are not evenhanded. The left-wing terrorists, not the generals,started the dirty war. As a cousin of mine who is among the disappeared ones told me the last time we met, "The old order has to be destroyed to build a more just one." His politics led to acts as despicable as those used by the military. Because the generals won that war, we have democracy today in Argentina.

Ezequiel Fernandez

Buenos Aires

Now that Argentina has leaders who want to govern in their citizens' interest, I see hope for that country. Maybe the junta's disastrous invasion of the Falkland Islands was a blessing in disguise.

Douglas A. Johnson

Georgetown, Mass.

Argentina would not be electing its leaders today had the leftist guerrillas defeated the "barbarous" and "repressive" military regime in the dirty war.

John Stuewer

Madison, Wis.

Justice, Chinese Style

The Chinese crackdown on criminals [Jan. 30] seems uncivilized to Westerners. Yet we have labored for two centuries to perfect a fair judicial system, only to find ourselves bound in a cumbersome process that often prevents justice from prevailing. We should learn from the Chinese.

Sharon Bergren

Portland, Ore.

So criminal cases in China have dropped 42% as a result of 5,000 executions. I thought capital punishment had no deterrent value.

Simon Raskin

New York City

Study and Play

I agree with H. Ross Perot's criticism of Texas schools and their obsession with football and marching bands [Jan. 30]. However, I would not deny a student the chance to participate in extracurricular activities because of low grades. Some students have their talent in their heads, others in their hands and feet.

Joachim Barz

Highland Park, N.J.

Of the students who play high school football, only a scant number will make the college team. The remaining thousands, instead of having learned to be men, as the coaches say, will have probably neglected their educations. It is one thing for an individual to decide he wants to pursue athletics at the expense of his studies. It is quite another for a community like Odessa, Texas, to sacrifice the education of all its children for a game.

Michael F. Schultz

Seattle

As a teacher in the Odessa school system, I would like to remind you that the Greeks, who held scholars in the highest esteem, also prized athletes. I have never had an A-student jock who did not place English, math, science and history above athletic honors, and I have had more A-type jocks than those scraping to pass.

Bobbye Durrett

Odessa, Texas

I suggest we clone H. Ross Perot and put one on every school board in the U.S.

Marion Larson

Barnegat Light, N.J.

Inquisitor Koppel

It is no surprise to learn that Ted Koppel's ethics and integrity [Jan. 30] emanate from a set of sound personal values as well as intellectual honesty.

Dorothy R. Patterson

San Diego

Anyone who has watched Koppel knows he can dissect verbose answers and find what is crucial in them. I wish he would mediate a Reagan/Andropov debate.

Joshua King

Swarthmore, Penn.

Boom in Beta

Lest the consumer and our dealers be led astray, may I correct the statement in your story "Max Troubles for Betamax" [Jan. 16] that indicates Toshiba has abandoned Beta? On the contrary, Beta is still being sold by Toshiba in both the U.S. and Japan. With the advent of Beta hi-fi and Beta movies, Toshiba's business in this videotape system is booming.

J. Paul Michie, Senior Vice President

Toshiba America Inc.

Wayne, N.J.

Femininity Flowers Again

Susan Brownmiller's observation that femininity is making a comeback [Jan. 30] is accurate, but her rationale for its renewal is wrong. Femininity is returning to our society, not because women are lowering their expectations, but because men and women have discovered that a unisexual society is boring.

Polly Browder

La Jolla, Calif.

According to Brownmiller, the difference between a traditional woman and a feminist is that one shaves her legs and wears perfume and the other does not. And all this time I thought the big issues were equal pay and equal rights.

Nancy S. Gamer

Pomona, Calif.

Will our society ever be able to accept a woman who thrives on the challenges of the boardroom and also enjoys relaxing in a bubble bath?

Cynthia Fosse

Concord, N.H.

Methodist Split

Your article on the struggle between the conservatives and liberals in the United Methodist Church [Jan. 30] demonstrates how difficult it is for a national religious organization to meet the needs of all its members. The liberal activities of the board of missions, which are the source of the disagreement, make me hope that the Methodist Church can be an effective force in the world.

Patricia Thrash Evanston, Ill.

A Girl's Dream

I am a 15-year-old Portuguese who was disappointed with your article on multimillionaires [Jan. 23]. Is it true that girls do not have a chance to get rich in the U.S.? Do men still control everything? I ask because I would love to go to America and make a fortune. I could do this with a big idea or with my skills, which I hope to improve every day.

Maria Antonia de Figueiredo

Lisbon

Assessing Africa

Your article on Africa's woes, "A Continent Gone Wrong" [Jan. 16], is thought provoking. We should take courage from the Ashanti aphorism "The seed must get rotten before it germinates."

Vincent Ude

Monrovia, Liberia

It is ironic that Western nations, which are the champions of individual freedom and private enterprise, are thwarting the establishment of these principles by giving financial and technical support to African states with heavily centralized governments. These countries should reduce their bureaucracy and ease their restrictions on their farmers and businessmen. This will enable the economy to respond to market forces, which will do more to benefit Africa than huge development schemes.

Asbjorn Osland

St. Louis, Senegal