Douglas Anders: The Hellenophile

Moving Day!

Mon, 09 Aug 2004 03:32:37 GMT

After months of setbacks, stupid mistakes and painful collisions with my own ignorance, The Hellenophile has moved to its new home at DouglasAnders.com. The software running the site has also changed, from Radio to Textpattern; the transition has been a little rough, and there are still some hard edges over at the new site, but mostly things work. the basement is dry, the roof doesn't leak, the plumbing only makes scary noises when you flush. I'm chalking this one up as a stunning upset victory by the technologically inept. 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.

Eleni Gage

Sun, 08 Aug 2004 22:00:09 GMT

This week's Parade magazine--possibly included with your Sunday paper--includes an article by Eleni Gage, daughter of Nicholas Gage, about returning to the village her family came from and restoring her grandmother's house. The article won't be available on-line until August 16. 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.

No Threats

Sun, 08 Aug 2004 01:33:58 GMT

Greece Sees No Threats for Athens Olympics 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.

Olympic News

Thu, 05 Aug 2004 10:48:51 GMT

Here are more details on some of the events mentioned in the Reuters article I posted yesterday. 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.

The Ancient Olympics

Thu, 05 Aug 2004 00:54:48 GMT

In case the ancient Olympic games are more to your taste, here is a site that includes a database of the known winners of the ancient games from 776 B.C. to AD 277, organized by sport and Olympiad. 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.

Buying Property in Greece.

Thu, 05 Aug 2004 00:41:36 GMT

Just in case you were looking for a good place to retire, The Telegraph (U.K.) has an article on buying property in Greece, and talks to British homeowners on Corfu, Crete and in the Peloponnese.

"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.

Mostly Good News

Thu, 05 Aug 2004 00:26:13 GMT

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece said Wednesday it was ready to stage the Olympic Games but that years of delays and infighting had pushed up the cost of the huge enterprise beyond all expectations. [Reuters: Sports] 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.

Olympic News--"Smack the pig 'til it squeals"

Wed, 04 Aug 2004 23:40:59 GMT

From the BBC: 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:

Olympic News--August 3, 2004

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 23:31:55 GMT

From Reuters: 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

Vacation

Wed, 28 Jul 2004 10:53:22 GMT

This may be the last post until next Monday. I'm leaving for Mackinac Island and will be spending a few days in a Victorian-era inn. It will be Gabe's first visit to an island, trip on a ferry, and ride on a horse-drawn carriage. I'm taking Donald Kagan's Peloponnesian War with me, but reading it will not be a priority.

Olympic News--July 27, 2004

Wed, 28 Jul 2004 10:43:40 GMT

Athens Hotel Staff and Doctors Plan Olympic Strikes 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

Olympic News--July 26, 2004

Tue, 27 Jul 2004 10:47:09 GMT

Reuters: 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.

Olympic News--July 25, 2004

Mon, 26 Jul 2004 00:59:34 GMT

Wired News: Greece Battles Olympic Security 'Hysteria'

If the strategy of the Athens Olympics security planners is to confuse would-be terrorists, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The snag is that three weeks before the Games open, everyone else is equally confused too, with rumors, conspiracy theories and paranoia reaching fever pitch. "Olympic terror hysteria" is loose in the country and abroad, To Vima, a major Greek newspaper, said Friday. It is hard to argue with the assessment and probably even harder for a would-be attacker to work out what is going on, or what is fact and what is fiction. Are foreign armed guards going to protect athletes or just foreign leaders? Whoever they protect, are they going to carry guns in Olympic venues or check them at the gate? Are "Texas Sheriffs" and "Rambos" poised to ride into town, or just crew-cut American soldiers under the umbrella of NATO? Is the Blimp now hovering over Athens -- whenever the wind drops enough for it to take off -- a sinister space age surveillance and communications craft or just a lot of hot air?

Reuters: Greece delivers athletes' village

Greece unveiled its "jewel" of an athletes' village on Thursday, the Games' biggest single construction project. After years of delays and several changes to architectural plans, a smiling Athens Games chief Gianna Angelopoulos received the golden key to the 2,292-apartment complex northwest of the capital. "It is not only the most spacious but the most beautiful Olympic village in the history of the Games," Angelopoulos told reporters during a press conference on site. "This is a jewel." The 366-building complex on 400 acres of public land at the foot of Mount Parnitha will house more than 17,000 athletes and officials and will employ 10,000. Officially it will open to national teams on July 30, two weeks before the start of the August 13-29 Olympics. Access roads from the main Olympic complex to the village have also been completed, reducing travel time to and from the stadium to about 15 minutes. This will be the first time all athletes, including the U.S. basketball team, will stay at the Olympic village since the 1992 Barcelona Games. With a population the size of a small town, the village will also feature the capital's only places of worship for all five main religions, accommodating Christians, Buddhists, Moslems, Jews and Hindus. Athletes will also be able to use several indoor and outdoor training facilities on site and at the nearby Dekelia airbase. "It is the first time that the athletes will be able to train so near to the place they live. It is unique," Angelopoulos said. While construction of the village, plagued by delays after Athens won the bid in 1997, is finished, workers are still planting trees and bushes in an effort to create a lush Athens suburb by the end of the month

This article also notes that last tuesday 15 craftsmen began to make the 3,00 medals needed, delivering 150 a day. Reuters: Greece asks NATO for Olympic force

Greece has asked NATO to put hundreds of crack troops on standby in case of a terrorist attack during the Olympics, but they will not be based on Greek soil, says Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis. Voulgarakis, who is in overall charge of Olympic security, said on Thursday the troops would be on alert in case of a "World War Three" type situation developing. "They will be outside Greece, in some third country. Maybe Germany, maybe some other country ready to come in," Voulgarakis told Greece's Alpha television. "Of course these are extreme measures and essentially we're talking about a case of World War Three." The Greeks are sensitive about the presence of foreign troops in their country, which won independence after centuries of occupation by the Ottoman Turks.

Greece has requested additional security forces from NATO this past week. the request is expected to be approved within a few days. Greece preparing air defenses as Olympics precaution More than 2 dozen Mirage fighters, as well as NATO AWACS planes will be deployed over Athens to provide air defense of the Olympics. Reuters: No foreign armed guards for athletes: Greece Greece has denied reports in the NY Times that foreign guards will be allowed to carry weapons to protect athletes.

The New York Times reported that American, Israeli and possibly British security officers would be allowed to carry weapons at the August 13 to 29 event. Greece has refused to allow national Olympic squads to use their own armed security forces to protect athletes, saying its constitution prohibits foreigners bearing arms on Greek soil. It also fears a free-for-all shootout if foreign guards who do not speak Greek mistakenly interpret a situation involving Greece's own security forces. US ambassador Thomas Miller said security was a Greek issue and there had been no change in the ban on foreign armed guards protecting athletes. "Security is a Greek responsibility," Mr Miller told reporters.

Construction Safety

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 23:59:34 GMT

Long shifts, lack of adequate safety equipment and an absence of supervision is causing a very high number of construction deaths in and around the Olympic projects in Athens. Though the official death toll is 14 (Sydney had one death and Barcelona two during their construction phases), the president of the Greek Olympic Committee admitted that the actual number was much higher. "The human price is very high for me," he told the BBC. Workers in peril at Athens sites. A BBC reporter finds evidence of poor safety standards at construction sites for the Athens Olympics. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 23:49:32 GMT

A bombing in Athens.

No one was injured in the attack on the building which has featured a four-year Olympic exhibition running up to the Games in August. There was no claim of responsibility or motive, but anarchists, who have carried out hundreds of similar attacks, are thought to be to blame. Previous targets have been businesses, banks and diplomatic vehicles. There have been a number of attacks linked to the Olympic Games in recent months.

Athens centre hit by petrol bombs. Two petrol bombs have been thrown at a culture ministry building in central Athens, say police. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Exhibit Reviews

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 23:43:30 GMT

The New York Times reviews both the New York and Boston museum exhibits that are focused on the ancient Olympics. Of the two, the Boston exhibit is larger and more impressive:

On display are more than 180 objects ranging in date from about 1350 B.C. to the end of the fourth century A.D., when the Games were discontinued. (Their modern revival was largely a result of the efforts of a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, at the end of the 19th century, and they have been held every four years since 1908 except during the world wars.) The show, billed as the first major American exhibition devoted to Greek athletes, is drawn from Boston's own considerable holdings, with major loans from other institutions and private collectors. It was organized by John J. Herrmann Jr., curator of classical art, and Christine Kondoleon, curator of Greek and Roman art at the museum. A stunning lineup of painted vessels, sculptures, coins, a mural, ancient sports equipment and other objects, it also presents for contrast a group of photographs and video images of modern-day athletes, from Eadweard Muybridge's 1880's motion studies of boxing and discus throwing to contemporary action shots like Herb Ritts's photo of the track and field champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee and John Huet's glimpse from the rear of the superrunner Michael Johnson.

The New York show is less ambitious, in part because the Metropolitan Museum of Art was a major contributor to the MFA's exhibit. The Met's is focused on the Panathanaic games, nine large vases depicting the contests are the centerpieces. Other Olympic and athletic artifacts are highlighted throughout the Greek and Roman galleries. The Olympics as They Were. The Museum of Fine Arts's survey dealing with the spirit of the Games is the most comprehensive of the three Olypmics-related museum shows currently offered. By By GRACE GLUECK. [The New York Times > Arts]

Scinias

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 10:52:39 GMT

The Schinias Rowing Center, built near the Schinias marsh has sparked controversy, both from environmentalists and archaeologists since it is located near the ancient battlefield of Marathon, and a rare, ecologically sensitive wetland. Constructed to accommodate 14,000 spectators, it will host events through most the Games.National Geographic's TravelWatch column covers the ecological and archaeological concerns.

"Inconceivable" is what the Archaeology Society at Athens has called the project. "It's like building a rowing center in Gettysburg," agrees historian David Hicks, president of Georgia's Darlington School and a lifetime rower himself. The victory at Marathon, says Hicks, inspired the Greek city-states to resist subsequent Persian attacks. Germinating concepts of freedom, democracy, and rule by law would not have developed under authoritarian Persia. Historian Makis Aperghis, head of the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, adds: "There would not be a Western world if the Athenians had lost at Marathon." Greek environmentalists like Aperghis also fret about the Schinias ecosystem, a mix of forest, freshwater marsh, and marine habitats. Theodota Nantsou of the World Wide Fund for Nature Greece says the area supports 176 bird species, including the rare glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus). The umbrella pine forest where the Persians fled is a sandy coastal habitat unique to the Mediterranean, one of only a handful remaining.

Last year, during a test event, August winds--meltemi--complicated and delayed the competition, and no solutions have since been put in place.

Exhibitions

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 10:32:29 GMT

Two more exhibitions--this time on the East coast--about ancient Greece and the Olympics. The Games in Ancient Athens: A Special Presentation to Celebrate the 2004 Olympics at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is an exhibit drawn from their own collection that runs through October 3, 2004. Opening today at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is Games for the Gods: The Greek Athlete and the Olympic Spirit, pulled both from the MFA's own collection and from other museums.

Coming of Age in Ancient Greece

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 00:37:58 GMT

Just a reminder. The exhibit Coming of Age in Ancient Greece will be at the Cincinnati Art Museum until August 1, and then it will move on to the the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles from September 15 through December 5 (also at the Getty will be Byzantium and the West, a look at the influence that Byzantine art had on Germany, Italy and Armenia). The exhibit includes more than 200 works, from coins to toys and baby feeders to gravestones. Included is the grave stone of Melisto--a touching depiction of a young girl and her pets. The exhibit catalog is hefty, and well done, as most are. In addition to the listing of exhibit pieces, it has a well-done selection of essays that fill nearly half of the book. Just in case it is relevant for you, the staff at the Cincinnati Art Museum is very tolerant of two-years olds. Even when they pull up their shirts and yell "I'm in a museum!!" in a marble-clad--and thus echo-prone--lobby.

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 17:51:19 GMT

Wired has a news article on Olympic offerings on the web. NBC will have video highlights available on-line and the BBC will have live coverage of the games. Both expect large spikes in visitors, particularly from workers who do not have access to television.

NBCOlympics.com anticipates 20 million unique visitors in August, a record for NBC. The BBC Sport website, which averages 1 million unique users per day, also expects record traffic from the Games. "We are expecting big spikes in traffic during the Games, particularly because the action goes on from early morning into late evening, which means U.K. office workers who might not have access to other media will be turning to us in droves to keep up with what is going on," Chandarana said.

Blackout

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 17:39:26 GMT

On Monday there was a widespread blackout over parts of Greece. Athens and the southern countryside and some of the cycladic islands were affected. Hundreds of passengers were caught in subway trains and elevators through out the capital. Though spokesmen from the government and the power company did not give a reason for the outage, heavy air-conditioner use may have been one cause. If so, this may be an ominous event--August is usually the hottest of the summer months and the Olympics will place even greater calls on generating capacity.

Playbytherules.org

Thu, 08 Jul 2004 00:08:13 GMT

Despite the ideals of the international Olympic movement, the games are still firmly rooted in the world of professional sports. And because of that, they come with the full panoply controversial issues: rampant commercialism, doping, graft and short-sighted greed. And, just like other professional sportsmen, Olympic athletes are often wearing equipment manufactured by sweatshop labor. To change this, Oxfam America has established Playbytherules.org in an attempt to get Fila and other manufacturers to stop exploiting and abusing their own workers.

The theme of the 2004 summer Olympic Games is "celebrate humanity," yet the workers who make the gear and clothing for the upcoming Olympics suffer terribly inhumane working conditions and have few rights. Workers in official Olympic manufacturer Fila's factories endure forced overtime, get fined for mistakes they make, and are intimidated out of joining trade unions. This is no way to celebrate humanity! Ask Fila to respect its workers' rights and put an end to exploitative practices in the factories that supply its sportswear.

At their website, you can add your name to a petition to be sent to Fila CEO Steve Wynn and learn more about the international effort to end sweatshop labor

On Strike

Wed, 07 Jul 2004 01:17:26 GMT

Taking advantage of the looming Summer Games, hotel workers are demanding a pay raise, and are threatening to go on strike if their demands are not met.

The union - which has called for a day-long strike on Wednesday - said it would take further action unless hotel owners agreed to a deal. There has recently been a rash of demands and strike threats by a range of workers in Athens. They all know they have great leverage at what is a critical time for the country. But the government itself may be partly to blame, having announced substantial bonuses for members of the security forces who will be on duty during the games. Many others who are having to work during what is normally a holiday month feel they are also entitled to extra payments.

Olympics hotels face strike threat. Hotel workers in Athens threaten to go on strike for higher wages during the Olympic games. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Victory News

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 14:28:05 GMT

Here is a handful of articles on the Breek's soccer victory on Sunday. Greeks See New Day for Nation After Soccer Triumph.Greeks woke up hoarse and bleary-eyed on Monday after all-night parties celebrating their Euro 2004 victory, the whole country high on a feel-good factor that lifted the nation's damp spirits ahead of the Olympics. [Reuters: Sports] Football: Greeks hail triumph. Greece coach Otto Rehhagel says his side made football history by winning Euro 2004. [BBC News | World | UK Edition] Greek joy, Portuguese woe. Papers across Europe dissect the Greek celebrations and Portuguese woe after the Euro 2004 final. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition] European press review. Two leading dailies in France and Spain suggest that the outcome of Euro-2004 has meanings and implications that transcend the sporting arena. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition] The Gods Smile on Greece, Europe's Soccer Champion. On Sunday, 14 players largely unknown outside Greece completed their unlikely ascent by beating Portugal in the final of the European Championships. By By PETER BERLIN. [The New York Times > Sports] Greek Soccer Fans Stand Tall in Astoria. When the final whistle sounded yesterday at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, Portugal - ending the European international championship and propelling first-place Greece to arguably the most improbable and sensational triumph in soccer history - the streets of Astoria, Queens, erupted with titanic jubilation, as they did in so many Greek communities throughout the world. By OREN YANIV [The New York Times > Sports]

Suh-weet!

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 01:50:21 GMT

Football: Greece win Euro 2004. Angelos Charisteas scores the winner as Greece beat hosts Portugal 1-0 to win the European Championship. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]