If you care, my personal blog, The Agora, will be staying right here on Salon Blogs.

Sorry, but there is no automatic re-direct. Setting up my own domain, configuring new software and completely redesigning the site has drained my already meager geek powers. You'll just have to get there the old fashioned way. Likewise, anyone who reads this blog through syndication will have to re-subscribe to the new feed. If you like, the new site does have an Atom feed, if that is your favored format.
11:32:37 PM    comment []trackback []

Gage's grandmother was Eleni Gatzoyiannis, the subject of Nicholas Gage's book Eleni, a woman whose memory still influences life in the tiny village of Lia. If you aren't familiar with the story of Eleni, this is a good introduction. If you have read the book, this story is a pleasant coda. Eleni Gage has written a book about her restoration of the family house, North of Ithaka that will be published next year by St. Martin's. If you can't wait, it can be purchased now through Amazon.co.uk.
6:00:09 PM    comment []trackback []

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece declared itself the safest country on earth on Saturday as unprecedented security to guard the Athens Olympics went into full swing with under a week to go. [Reuters: Sports]

Greek officials claim that no specific threats against the games exist, and that with one week to go before the first events, Greece is one of the safest nations in the world.

Greece declared itself the safest country on earth on Saturday as unprecedented security to guard the Athens Olympics went into full swing with under a week to go.

NATO ships patrolled the turquoise waters of the Aegean, a communications and surveillance blimp hovered over Athens, and most of the 70,000 strong security force called in to protect the August 13-29 Games moved into position.

"Greece is the most secure country in the world," deputy defense minister Ioannis Lampropoulos declared. "We have no feeling that we are threatened by anyone."

Most of Greece's airforce was on standby and dozens of Patriot defense missiles, creating an air shield above the capital, were armed and locked.

And with the first of seven luxury cruise ships that will host VIPs and Olympic officials already docked at the port of Piraeus, the most expensive Olympics security operation ever got under way, six days before the opening ceremony.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge applauded Greece's one billion euro security efforts, four times bigger than Sydney spent for the 2000 Olympics.

9:33:58 PM    comment []trackback []

Athens gets Rogge approval. Olympic chief Jacques Rogge arrives in Athens and says the city is ready to host the Games. [BBC Sport | Olympics 2004 | World Edition]

Both Jacques Rogge and Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis have said that they are happy with the state of readiness in Athens, just one week before the games.

Rogge added: "Athens will give a magical games and I know that all the athletes around the world have had the dream to come and compete at the Olympics."

On Tuesday, Karamanlis said he was satisfied Athens was ready to host the multi-sport extravaganza.

"The Olympic installations and infrastructure are ready to welcome, host and serve the Olympic family, the athletes, the journalists and the spectators coming from around the world," he said.

Athens hotel staff in pay strike. Greek hotel workers are on strike to demand a pay rise ahead of the Olympic games. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

On Wednesday, hotel workers staged a one-day strike to demand an increase in pay, which is well below the level of similar workers in the rest of Western Europe.

The hotel workers' union has not ruled out calling a strike during the period of the games, which run between 13 and 29 August.

"It depends on the hoteliers," said Christos Katsotis, president of the city's main hotel workers' union representing 7,500 workers, most of them junior level staff.

Unions said almost three quarters of the 11,000 workers they represent were staying away from work on Wednesday.

But hotel owners say the strike is having little impact and only affecting two percent of the total workforce.

Olympic costs hit Greek deficit. Greece's deputy finance minister warns the cost of staging the Olympic Games is pushing the country's budget deficit well above EU limits. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

The costs of the Olympics will cause problems for the Greek government, as the costs of hosting the games will push the deficit above the limit allowed by the EU. By November 5, Greece will have to announce how the shortfall will be rectified. Currently, the costs of the games is about $8.4 (7 billion euros) billion; the original estimate was closer to $3 billion.
6:48:51 AM    comment []trackback []

The site also has information on ancient Olympia, including topography with descriptions of the buildings, 3D reconstructions and information on the other athletic contests of Greece.
8:54:48 PM    comment []trackback []

"It's a glorious day, we have swallows in the bathroom, and I've just seen half-a-dozen dolphins swim by in the Ionian," says Andrew Langton from his house on a secluded headland in the north-east of Corfu. He and his wife, Carole, spend much of the year on Corfu when he is not busy in his capacity as managing director of the high-end estate agent Aylesford.

Couched in the hills around Langton's house are some of Corfu's most impressive villas. Most face the clear blue Ionian Sea and distant Albanian mountains and come equipped with swimming pools, personal chefs, tennis courts and boats in private marinas.

"We are an eclectic group of people who have all become passionate about Corfu, and enjoy the wonderful sailing here," says Langton.

The essential accessory in the north-east is a boat, even if it's a dinghy. Most British inhabitants in Corfu know one another and enjoy lengthy, animated lunches together, especially on Sundays at Toula's taverna on the Bay of Agni. The restaurant is nigh on impossible to reach by road, so it's better to arrive by boat, which the staff will moor for you.

Corfu is expensive, but for the less astronomically wealthy, both Crete and the Peloponnese offer ramshackle character at bargain prices. Personally, I have my heart set on retiring in Nauplion--I love those trees that look like giant pineapples.
8:41:36 PM    comment []trackback []

With just days to go until the opening of the games, there is both good and bad news for Greece. Currently, the cost of the Olympics is 50% over the original budget, strikes are hurting the hotel industry, and a small bomb blast Wednesday in western Athens has raised new questions about security.

But both Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, and John Coates, from the Australian Olympic Committee, praised Athens and the preparations.
8:26:13 PM    comment []trackback []

Paramedics demand Olympic bonus

Paramedics are joining other medical personnel and hotel workers in demanding larger bonuses. they are currently on strike, and have threatened to repeat the strike during the Olympic Games.

Greece Starts Probe Into Reporters' Beating

A government official apologized and promised an investigation into the beating of a Mexican television crew attempting to film footage in Piraeus, the port where cruise ships will be anchored during the games.

The two Televisa Mexico crew and one translator say they were pushed into an unmarked car by three security officers as they tried to film outside the port that will host Olympic cruise ships for the Aug. 13-29 Games.

They said they were taken to a police gymnasium and beaten.

"We strongly regret what happened yesterday," Games spokesman Michael Zaharatos told reporters, while not confirming any of the details given by the Mexicans.

"A formal investigation has been launched and should there be a need for disciplinary action against the officers it will be taken immediately."

"This incident will not be repeated," he said.

Four other Mexican journalists were detained on Tuesday afternoon while filming close to a military base housing Patriot missiles in northern Athens.

They were taken to a nearby police station where they had their credentials checked before being released without charge, a police source told Reuters.

The paramedics' union says 2,600 ambulance drivers have been given special training for Olympic duties and deserve extra money.

"We are on strike today and will be on a rolling 24-hour strike daily until they give us what we justly deserve," Christos Barkonikos, president of the union, Ekab, told Reuters news agency.

"As we say in Greece 'we will smack the pig until it squeals'."

During the strike, paramedics will operate at minimum staffing levels and will only handle emergencies.

From Go Greece:
7:40:59 PM    comment []trackback []

Greeks Exult at Olympic Games 'Surprise' Turnaround

Six months after dire warnings of disaster, the last minute efforts of the Greeks are being praised as athletes and visitors begin to arrive in the city. Even the traffic flowed smoothly on the first day of the Olympic traffic system.

Russian women's volleyball coach Nikolai Karpol, himself a gold medallist twice in the sport, was among the many surprised at the dramatic turn-around in Athens' fortunes.

"There is a great improvement compared to the last time I was here," he said. "In my opinion the Athens Olympics will be the best ever."

American Christie Wells, 24, a medical student from Kansas City, said she was knocked out by her visit to Athens.

"It is great. I saw the Olympic Stadium yesterday. It is great and the scenery as well. We didn't expect this at all."

From the AP:

Greek navy on Olympic patrols for 'suspicious' ships

35 Greek vessels have begun to patrol the coasts in advance of the Games. They will soon be joined by 15 NATO ships paroling in international waters.

Maritime protection has taken a prominent role in Greece's $1.5 billion security network. Greece -- with a coastline of 9,320 miles and some 6,000 islands and islets -- is a major destination along illegal smuggling routes for immigrants and goods.

Some global security analysts warn that al-Qaida or other terrorist groups could be studying possible attacks on shipping lanes and other sea targets.

More than 200 naval commandos are stationed at seaside Olympic venues. Off the port of Piraeus, about six miles south of central Athens, a frigate with about 200 sailors will watch over at least eight cruise ships that will serve as floating hotels for heads of state and other dignitaries. The first of the cruise ships is expected next week.

From Go Greece:

Prices Drop for Olympic Games Travel

If you put your dreams of Olympic travel aside because of high prices quoted months or even a year ago, now is the time to reconsider. Some flights to Athens are actually costing less than the same period last year.

Also from Go Greece:

A New Athens Emerges
7:31:55 PM    comment []trackback []

It wouldn't be Greece if there wasn't a strike. Both hotel workers and doctors are gearing up for strikes in August. Many unions are using the Olympics as an opportunity to demand more pay, and the hotel workers strike will begin just as IOC officials arrive in the capital city to examine the last-minute preparations. Due to the rising costs of the Games, the Greek government has been unwilling offer more pay increases.

The hotel union claims that workers[base '] monthly take-home pay is among the lowest for hotel workers in Europe.

The threatened strike is part of a larger wave of protests by Greek unions using the approaching games to win concessions, including a one-time Olympic bonus.

Doctors at a Athens hospital staged a three-hour strike today to demand bonuses for extra duty during the Olympics. On Wednesday, doctors in the Athens area plan a six-hour strike.

BBC:

Athens installs Patriot missiles

Patriot missiles and a zeppelin are all part of the security measures now in place in Athens.

Anti-aircraft missiles are in place at three Athens sites, including Tatoi airfield near the athletes' village, and elsewhere around Greece.

It is part of a 1.2bn-euro security plan ($1.bn), the most costly in the history of the games.

Hundreds of surveillance cameras are also being installed around Athens.

The Greek authorities said the US-made Patriot missiles were progressively installed from 1 July, and would remain in place until after the games end on 29 August.

Macedonian Press Agency:

NATO's Special Forces to Arrive in Greece on Friday

Contrary to previous claims by the Greek government, NATO troops will be stationed in the nation.

As soon as Friday, 120 troops trained to deal with Nuclear, biological and chemical attacks will arrive
6:43:40 AM    comment []trackback []

Olympics-Greece guerrilla trial may extend until Athens Games

The Greek government had hoped that the trial of several members of a left-wing revolutionary--the ELA-- group would have ended by the opening of the Olympics, but an extension will drag the trial on through the Games.

The five suspects have been on trial since February and face charges of "setting up and participating in a terrorist group".

The ELA has claimed responsibility for two murders and dozens of attempted murders and bomb attacks on Greek and foreign targets since 1975. The group last claimed responsibility for an attack in 1995.

Its victims include a deputy prosecutor and a senior police official, who were killed in 1989 and 1991. But it has also bombed U.S., German, French and European Union targets, as well as Greek police and tax offices.

BBC:

Fury over ceremony rumours

A British newspaper has reveled secret details of the opening ceremonies, and roundly irritated Greek officials.

Olympic officials have been angered by a newspaper article claiming to reveal details of the Athens Games opening ceremony on August 13

[. . .]

"We're wasting our time on rumours and leaks which create a bad atmosphere," said Greek minister George Voulgarakis.

6:47:09 AM    comment []trackback []