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Monday the 31st of December 2007
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The
Christmas tree lights in front of the Greek parliament in Syntagma
square
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Wednesday the 12th of December 2007
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Riot Police
officers try to dispearse demonstrating
strikers in central Athens. Hundreds of
thousands workers, teachers, journalists,
Olympic Airways personnel and public
servants participated in a 24-hour
general strike in protest of the
government's plans to reduce pensions
and unify social security funds as part
of wide-ranging reforms of the social
security sector
 
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Sunday the 11th of November 2007
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Illegal migrants plucked
from Ionian Sea
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The about 350 Iraqi
illegal immigrants on
board a Turkish
slaveboat, which was
sailing adrift amid a
fierce sea storm, were
offered temporary
accommodation at Pyrgos’
old hospital.
The ship en route to
Italy was left adrift
late on Saturday off the
coast of Ilia, SW Greece,
due to a mechanical
failure amid a fierce
sea storm. After
painstaking efforts, the
Turkish ship was towed
on Sunday morning
outside the Katakolo
port. According to law
the ship was confiscated
by Greek authorities.
Meanwhile, 12 children
escorted by their
mothers were transported
to Pyrgos Hospital after
presenting symptoms of
dehydration and
hypothermia. Tomorrow
illegal emigrants will
be submitted to special
examinations by doctors
from Special Infection
Centers.
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Tuesday the 30th of October 2007
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It could have all been so different. Back in 1966, a young Nana
Mouskouri, then relatively little known outside mainland Europe,
embarked on a tour of the US with Harry Belafonte.
It was a big moment in her
embryonic career. The calypso legend loved Nana's voice but when it came
to her choice of eyewear he was unequivocal, insisting she ditch the
black horn-rimmed specs on stage.
According to the
fairytale legend that is her life story, Nana acceded to his demands but
grew deeply unhappy. After two days of sadness it was her turn to
deliver the ultimatum to Belafonte – love me, love my glasses. The
glasses stayed.
Forty years on, 450
albums, 230 gold and platinum discs and 300 million records sold later,
Nana Mouskouri took to the stage of St David's Hall in Cardiff last
night still sporting those famous spectacles to begin the first British
night of her epic farewell tour.
She will perform before
sell-out crowds in Gateshead, London, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham
before decamping to Saarbrucken in Germany where the world first took
notice of the commercial potential of the young Greek singer with the
nightingale voice. It was there that her German language version of
"White Rose from Athens" sold more than a million copies.
The Nana musical
juggernaut has already rolled across the US, North America and Ireland
this year before coming to Britain. After touring mainland Europe, she
will then head to Australia, Asia and South America in 2008 where her
loyal army of fans are waiting to bid their ageless heroine with the jet
black hair and trademark centre parting, a tearful adieu.
It is not bad going for a
woman who turned 73 two weeks ago. Though still clearly in rude good
health and at the top of her game Mouskouri insists that, after singing
for 50 years, it is time to make way for younger performers.
There can be little doubt
that few singers coming through today in this increasingly fickle world
can expect to emulate the kind of musical longevity she has enjoyed. Nor
in this fast-moving digital age, where pop stars must reinvent
themselves every few months to stay in touch, can they hope to do so by
sticking so closely to the geeky image and basic musical formula that
have proved so incredibly popular for Mouskouri over the decades.
Nana was born into a
close-knit family in Chania, Crete, moving to Athens at the age of three.
The city was occupied by the Nazis for much of her childhood yet her
father, a film projectionist, and her mother who taught her the native
folk songs, worked hard to get her and her sister into the Hellenic
Conservatoire.
She recalls how, by
night, her dad used to slip away to fight with the Greek resistance
against the German invaders. Times were tough as well as dangerous and
despite the money running out she continued to have lessons though her
teacher's desire for her to be the next Maria Callas could not survive
her nights at the city's Zaki club where she learned how to sing like
her new heroines Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.
Her route to fame was the Greek national song contest and Mouskouri was
later to be something of the patron saint of the later Eurovision
movement, first representing Luxembourg because her native land did not
have television. She eventually made an emotional performance when the
contest was finally held in Greece for the first time in 2006.
Marriage came along in
1961 and her fame spread to France and Germany before her first trip to
New York with legendary impresario Quincy Jones. British audiences had
to wait until 1968 when she made her first television appearances on
Nana and Guests .
At that time, however,
the record shops were woefully unprepared and had to desperately seek
out some of her records to satisfy the demands of her fans.
Yet the Nana story had
another twist yet. In 1993 she was appointed as a Unicef Goodwill
Ambassador, undertaking a mission to visit children in Bosnia. The
following year she was elected as a Member of the European parliament,
representing the right wing Greek New Democracy party. She claims not to
have liked politics – "it dries your heart" she once said, though
despite being heckled by her fellow Eurocrats for her apparent
guilelessnes, she proved an effective communicator, even joining forces
with her old Eurovision sparring partner Dana when she ran for the Irish
Presidency. In 1998, Mouskouri came back to the UK –that time seeking
the return of the Elgin Marbles and campaigned across the world for
women's rights.
She served only one term
as an MEP, returning to her Unicef work and making music. Having
divorced her husband in the mid-70s, she lives with her partner Andre
Chapelle and plans to dedicate the rest of her life to her family and
her humanitarian work. While still wearing those glasses, of course.
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Monday the 22th of October 2007
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Donkeys disappearing in Greece as cars take
over
HYDRA, Greece - It is one of the most recognized images of Greece: a
donkey carrying an elderly villager along narrow, winding streets or
dusty country lanes. But it could soon be consigned to history books and
postcards, a snapshot of a bygone era.
Greece's donkeys are disappearing - fast. If current trends continue,
experts warn, they will have all but vanished within the next two
decades.
"The population of donkeys in Greece has been falling dramatically in
the past few years," said Giorgos Arsenos, assistant professor at the
Aristotle University's School of Veterinary Medicine. In the last 50
years the number of donkeys in the country has plummeted by 96 percent,
falling from nearly half a million in the 1950s to just over 18,000 in
1996, he said.
Many more died during this summer's devastating fires that swept the
country's southern Peloponnese - where about 40 percent of Greece's
donkeys live. By the end of the year, there will be fewer than 16,000
left, Arsenos estimates.
"If this reduction continues, then within just 10 to 15 years the donkey
population will fall below 1,000 animals," he said.
The trend is particular to northern Mediterranean countries. Elsewhere,
the donkey population - globally about 40 million - is growing,
explained researcher Paul Starkey, attending an international conference
on the role of donkeys and mules in the Mediterranean.
But in this part of the world, there is a massive reduction.
Used for centuries for everything from transporting people and goods to
plowing fields, the donkey has fallen victim to modernization.
"Where you can replace donkeys with motorized transport ... then people
will do that, because it's more convenient," Starkey said.
Almost everywhere in Greece, cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles have
taken over.
Everywhere, that is, except for Hydra.
For on this picturesque island, a short hydrofoil trip from Greece's
sprawling, congested capital, the donkey - and the mule - keep the town
running. With motorized vehicles banned from the island - no cars, no
bikes, no trucks - the only form of land transport is equine.
The main town sweeps up from the port to the hills above, stately homes
rising in a series of winding, narrow lanes and steps that only
pedestrians and animals can negotiate. Whether it is tourists looking
for a way to get their luggage to their hotel or residents moving house,
the only way to transport anything is on the back of an animal. Donkeys
even carry out much of the island's garbage.
"Here we have only mules and donkeys as our land transportation. This is
a remarkable fact within Europe," said Ed Emery, who organized the
weekend donkey conference on Hydra to examine the reasons behind the
massive drop in population and what can be done to stop it.
At the edge of the dock in the town's harbor, the donkeys and mules
stand patiently in a row, their owners and handlers waiting for the
boats to sail in. As visitors and locals stream off the latest passenger
ship, workers load building materials onto the animals' backs. Door
frames and long planks of wood are strapped onto the traditional wooden
saddles; bags of cement are secured by rope; furniture is carefully
balanced on either side.
"They transport everything, from sewing pins to electrical refrigerators,
anything you can imagine," said Yiannis, a mule owner waiting at the
port for someone to hire his animals - tourists looking for a brief ride
through the town or residents who need help transporting shopping or
moving materials. He would give only his first name.
"I keep them because I've had them since I was a child, and I love them,"
he says of his two mules - a 15-year-old and a 20-year-old. He charges
about 10 euros for a tourist ride, and up to four times that much for
removals.
Hydra has roughly 1,200 donkeys and mules, the island's mayor says -
nearly 10 percent of the country's total population. Only the town hall
has motorized transport - one garbage truck and a small pickup truck
used sparingly.
"The donkey and the mule in Hydra has been woven into the fabric of our
way of life," Mayor Kostas Anastopoulos said. "Without these sympathetic
animals, I believe it would be impossible for us to live. All
transportation, from people to the materials needed to build a house,
are done with these animals," he said.
But Hydra is an isolated case in a country where progress and
modernization have often encroached on the traditional way of life. In
the rest of the country, the future of the donkey appears bleak.
"This is a worrying phenomenon," said Arsenos, the veterinary professor
at the conference. "We are trying to see ... what can be done regarding
the use of these animals, to what extent their use can change, so they
do not constitute pitiful remnants of a culture that is being lost."
Delegates at the conference came up with various suggestions: changing
their traditional role from one of beasts of burden to recreation and
companionship and setting up a national protection program to ensure
that the genetics of rare breeds are maintained.
"The are a cultural heritage that we should safeguard for the next
generation," Arsenos said.
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Wednesday the 17th of October 2007
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France's president invited
the Mediterranean countries to attend a summit to discuss "economic,
political and cultural union".
President of the
Hellenic Republic
Karolos Papoulias met
Wednesday afternoon with
French President Nicolas
Sarkozy.
Accepting the invitation
extended by Karolos
Papoulias, Sarkozy is
expected to visit Greece
in the first semester of
2008.
France’s President
warmly welcomed
Papoulias at the Elysee
Palace. The talks, which
were regarded as a "working
meeting", were held on
the occasion of
Papoulias’ visit to
Paris, upon
Director-General of
UNESCO’s invitation.
The issues the two
leaders touched on were
the EU defence policy,
the reformed EU
Constitutional Treaty,
the FYROM name row, as
well as the current
international affairs. "The
two presidents have the
opportunity to refer to
the excellent bilateral
ties the two nations
enjoy, especially in the
defence sector, at a
time when the French
President is striving to
make European defence a
priority for the EU,"
said the French
Presidency in writing
prior to the meeting.
Karolos Papoulias will
address Thursday the
34th UNESCO General
Conference, to be
chaired by Greek
ambassador George N.
Anastassopoulos.
Papoulias will be the
third Greek President to
deliver a speech at an
UNESCO General
Conference. Former
Presidents of the
Hellenic Republic
Konstantinos Tsatsos and
Constantine Karamanlis
had addressed the
General Conference in
1979 and 1982
respectively.
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Sunday the 16th of September 2007
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Conservative
wins reelection in Greece
ATHENS - Greece's
conservative prime minister, Costas
Karamanlis, won reelection yesterday with a
diminished majority in Parliament after a
financial scandal and devastating forest
fires that killed more than 66 people last
month.
The slimmer
majority could make it harder for the
government to carry out crucial economic and
educational overhauls, including addressing
Greece's fractured and debt-ridden pension
system.
But the
conservatives inflicted a stronger defeat
than expected on their rival socialists, who
were seen as being in disarray after
receiving the lowest number of Parliament
seats in 30 years.
"Thank you for your
trust. You have spoken loud and clear and
chosen the course the country will take in
the next few years," Karamanlis said in his
victory speech. Thousands of party
supporters thronged the streets of central
Athens, honking horns, chanting slogans, and
waving the blue flags of his New Democracy
party.
George Papandreou,
the leader of the main opposition Socialist
party PASOK, conceded defeat.
"The people have chosen and their decision
is respected. PASOK fought hard, but it did
not succeed," Papandreou said. "People
sensed that the poor state of public
administration, with the scandals and fires,
had deeper causes."
The results
indicated that New Democracy would win
enough seats in the 300-member Parliament to
form a governing majority after the
elections, which were called by Karamanlis
six months early.
With 94 percent of
the votes counted, New Democracy party was
ahead with 42.2 percent, while PASOK had
38.2 percent.
Both parties
appeared to have lost some support after the
fires and a financial scandal in which state
pension funds bought bonds at inflated
prices. But PASOK fared the worst. The party
looked set to win just 103 seats in
Parliament - the lowest number it has held
since 1977.
"The electorate's
message is that we, too, have responsibility
for the state of the nation. I ask that we
all listen to this message," Papandreou said.
Karamanlis, 51,
easily won the last election in 2004,
becoming the youngest prime minister in
modern Greek history.
The country's
economy has done well under the
conservatives, with robust consumer spending
and a strong property market. Growth was
expected to continue at more than 4 percent
this year - one of the fastest growth rates
in Europe. Unemployment has also plummeted.
When he called the
early election in mid-August, Karamanlis had
seemed assured of victory despite widespread
anger over the bond scandal.
But a week later,
massive fires devastated large parts of
southern Greece, leaving his government
reeling from accusations of mismanagement
and incompetence in its response. Karamanlis
quickly ordered aid and cash payouts for the
fire victims, and pledged to rebuild each
burned home.
"Mr. Karamanlis is
a Teflon prime minister. He has prevailed
despite all the negative events: the bond
scandal and the recent fires," Alexis
Papachelas, editor of the conservative daily
Kathimerini, said on Skai television. "The
question is whether Karamanlis will show
strong leadership despite his slender
majority or worry about party factions."
Born in Athens,
Karamanlis studied law at Athens University,
then law and diplomacy at Tufts University
in Massachusetts. He practiced law before
winning a seat in Parliament in 1989. In
1997, he took over the New Democracy party,
which was founded by his uncle, the late
prime minister and president Constantine
Karamanlis.
Before yesterday's
vote, Karamanlis had ruled out forming a
coalition with any other party if he did not
win enough seats to govern outright. A hung
Parliament could have led to new elections.
Yesterday's results
showed New Democracy was likely to win 153
of the 300 seats in Parliament, compared
with 165 in the outgoing legislature.
Karamanlis had vowed to push through the
reforms even with a weak government.
"The size of the
majority will not affect how effective our
government is," said Health Minister
Dimitris Avramopoulos. "Even with 151
deputies in Parliament, we will proceed with
our reform program."
In the fire-ravaged
villages of southern Greece, many of which
remain without water or electricity,
prefabricated containers were used as
temporary voting centers.
In Makistos, nearly
200 miles southwest of Athens, residents
were bitter. "We are expecting nothing from
these elections," one woman, whose home was
destroyed by fire, told AP Television News.
Both New Democracy
and PASOK seemed to have lost voters to
smaller parties, particularly the two
left-wing parties that are traditionally
represented in Parliament. Results showed
communist KKE party winning 7.9 percent of
the vote and the SYRIZA left-wing coalition
getting 4.9 percent.
Karamanlis overcame
a split in the right-wing vote. The small
right-wing LAOS party, which campaigned on
immigrant quotas and opposition to Turkey's
efforts to join the European Union, appeared
to have won just above the 3 percent
threshold needed to enter Parliament.
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Friday the 14th of September
2007
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Greece heads for close electionATHENS (Reuters) - Voters fed up with Greece's
main parties and shocked by devastating forest fires may decide whether
a gamble by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis pays off in Sunday's
parliamentary election.
Conservative Karamanlis, who swept to power in 2004, called the election
six months before his term ended, confident the economic record of his
New Democracy party would secure victory.
But the government's response to the fires that killed 65 people last
month has angered voters, who appear to be switching to smaller parties,
raising the chances that a coalition will be needed to form a government.
"Once they get elected, politicians don't care about the people, they
only care about themselves," said Christina Bakou, 41, an undecided
voter in the central Greek town of Kirra.
The Socialist PASOK party, led by George Papandreou, son of the
charismatic late prime minister Andreas, was a close second in opinion
polls published before a September 1 blackout, although it was
struggling to capitalize on the government's problems.
The polls showed more than 10 percent of Greek voters were undecided
about which party they would back. Analysts say these people,
disillusioned by the two parties that have ruled Greece for more than 30
years, will probably decide the election.
"Many are deciding in the last week, on the last day, in the last hour,"
said political analyst Dimitris Sotiropoulos of the ELIAMEP think tank.
"This is a mass that will make a decision based on the economic benefits
offered."
Praised by the EU for cutting deficits and turning around Greece's
economy, the nephew of the late statesman Constantine Karamanlis has
vowed to push on with the reforms the country needs to catch up with its
euro zone partners.
Greek per capita GDP is the lowest next to Portugal's and 20 percent of
the population lives below the poverty line.
Although down to 7.7 percent in May, unemployment remains one of the
euro zone's highest, despite 4.4 percent GDP growth in the first half of
the year.
Papandreou has attacked New Democracy over its handling of the forest
fires and for widening the gap between the rich and poor. PASOK favors a
pro-business economic model coupled with strong social protection.
"We had such destruction as a result of the mistakes made by the
government," he told Reuters in a recent interview. "Greek people have
been affected, elections are close and we will win."
Even if the ruling New Democracy wins, it may not get enough votes to
form a government. Karamanlis, 51, has ruled out forming a coalition
with the far-right LA.O.S party, which may enter parliament for the
first time.
"There is no chance of cooperation," Karamanlis told Antenna TV on
Friday. "The country will be led to new elections."
Whoever wins must urgently tackle a pension system that could collapse
within 15 years. Both parties have made pre-election pledges not to
raise contributions or age limits, measures experts say are necessary.
Economic analysts say Greece's EU commitments, such as balancing its
budget by 2010, tie the election winner to maintaining existing economic
policies but New Democracy is likely to be faster and more determined
than PASOK.
What could really hold things back, they say, is a coalition. "For the
reforms it would be best if one party had a comfortable majority," said
economist Theodor Schoenebeck at Deutsche Bank.
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Monday the 3rd of September 2007
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Deadly fires finally out in Greece
ATHENS, Greece - More international aid arrived
Monday in support of massive cleanup and reconstruction efforts in
Ancient Olympia and other fire-stricken parts of southern Greece.
For 10 days last month, wildfires razed dozens of villages, destroyed
livestock and charred an estimated 469,000 acres of mostly forest and
farmland. At least 65 people died, and about 4,000 had their homes
destroyed.
The U.S. Embassy in Athens said a six-member team of disaster-relief
experts had arrived, including specialists from the U.S. Agency for
International Development and the U.S. Forest Service's top firefighter.
The United States was sending another $250,000 in relief supplies to the
Greek Red Cross, bringing the U.S. contribution to more than $1.5
million, the embassy said in a statement.
Greece's Finance Ministry said the European Investment Bank was making a
$135 million long-term loan to Greece for reconstruction, with more to
come.
Greece's Culture Ministry also announced restoration measures for
Ancient Olympia. The birthplace of the ancient Olympics is a world
heritage site and while its antiquities were unharmed, the surrounding
region was scorched. The measures include clearing burnt vegetation from
the area, doing maintenance work at the archaeological museum and
replanting the surrounding landscape.
Fires continued to burn Monday in the southeastern Peloponnese region.
Officials were hopeful that wetter, cooler weather would soon help
firefighters extinguish any remaining blazes. Storms flooded parts of
northern Greece on Sunday, while rain and lower temperatures were
expected to move south this week.
Officials now fear that downpours could cause flooding and hamper relief
efforts in fire-stricken areas.
Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces general
elections on Sept. 16, toured burnt-out areas on Monday. His government
has been strongly criticized by the public for responding too slowly to
the crisis.
"The state's obligation does not stop with the measures we have taken
for the relief of our fellow citizens and the fire-hit regions,"
Karamanlis said in the southern town of Tripolis.
"We have much to do to heal the wounds caused by the fires," he said.
The government said urgent flood-control measures were under way in
fire-devastated regions, and that prefabricated houses were being
distributed to people whose houses were burned.
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Wednesday the 29th of August 2007
Katerina Antonopoulou, 76, walks bowed under a load of fodder for her
few surviving goats on a highway some four kilometers (2.5 miles) from
her destroyed home in the village of Platanos, next to Ancient Olympia
in southwestern Greece on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007. Antonopoulou lost 15
of her 20 goats and her house in a massive blaze that swept through the
area, forcing the evacuations of villages and obliterating forests and
olive groves. At least 64 people have died in an unprecedented inferno
that has afflicted vast tracts of southern Greece since Friday.
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Greece fires contained, focus on relief
ATHENS - Winds relented throughout fire-ravaged Greece, enabling
thousands of firefighters Wednesday to tame a rash of fires that killed
at least 64 people and obliterated huge swaths of fields and forests
over six days.
The fire department said all major blazes were receding, but authorities
remained on high alert ahead of a new heat wave forecast for week's end.
In the southern Peloponnese peninsula, where 57 of the deaths were
recorded, the fronts were contained and firefighters — backed by more
than 20 water-dropping aircraft — were moving in to extinguish lingering
blazes.
"The fires are no longer spreading," fire department spokesman Nikos
Diamandis said. "We had a drop in the wind which we exploited."
Temperatures also dipped to about 82 degrees in the region, compared to
nearly 106 degrees when the fires erupted last week.
But late Wednesday, authorities evacuated five villages near the
mountain town of Karytaina in the central Peloponnese after winds
rekindled a blaze. The fire department said Karytaina, site of a
medieval castle, was not in immediate danger.
At least two major fires still burned out of control near the Albanian
border to the northwest, while on the hard-hit island of Evia north of
Athens, where the other seven deaths occurred, all blazes were contained.
Diamandis said no inhabited areas were threatened.
With most fires under control, the conservative government turned its
attention to a vast relief effort — less than three weeks before
national elections.
"Our main task now is to relieve the pain, the stress and the agony that
the victims of the forest fires ... are feeling," deputy government
spokesman Evangelos Antonaros told The Associated Press.
The inferno destroyed hundreds of homes in dozens of villages,
obliterated fragile mountain ecosystems — that will require decades to
revive — displaced thousands of people and threatened an entire rural
way of life. The blazes also spread to Ancient Olympia, the
2,800-year-old World Heritage site that is the birthplace of the Olympic
Games.
The fire department, which has received aid from 19 countries, has not
announced an overall damage assessment. But independent estimates say
around 495,000 acres of forest, olive groves and scrub were consumed —
the worse fire destruction in Greece since official record keeping began
in the 1950s.
"These fires are worse than in any previous year," said Gavriil
Xanthopoulos, a researcher at Greece's National Agricultural Research
Foundation.
There were no estimates so far on the cost to the economy.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that in
response to a request for assistance from the Greek government, USAID
has provided an initial $100,000 for firefighting equipment and
humanitarian assistance.
More than 10,000 people, most dressed in black and bearing banners
reading "No to the destruction of nature," gathered outside parliament
in Athens late Wednesday to protest. Some booed and taunted riot police,
who responded by throwing stun grenades.
Up to 469,000 acres were laid waste between Friday and Tuesday — 10
times the annual average for the past 50 years, according to the
European Commission's European Forest Fire Information System. A total
679,000 acres — an area almost the size of Rhode Island — went up in
smoke since the start of the year.
"There are still some fires burning but definitely the speed of increase
of the fire front in the areas burnt is much, much smaller than in the
first three days, which was very, very fast mainly due to the strong
winds," European fire researcher Paulo Barbosa said. "The conditions are
better and I think in the next few days the situation will be under
control.
Apart from the blow to the Peloponnese's ecosystem, Greenpeace Greece
director Nikos Haralambidis warned mountain populations could end up "environmental
refugees."
"There will be several thousand people faced with the choice of staying
in a burnt land or moving to the cities," he said. "Their main source of
income was olive oil production ... and new olive saplings need at least
15 years to produce a decent crop."
A helpline set up for fire victims and offers of aid has received more
than 40,000 calls, mostly from volunteers who want to contribute, Deputy
Finance Minister Petros Doukas said.
In the southwestern city of Pyrgos, hundreds of people crowded into bank
branches to take advantage of a government promise of aid to anyone who
signs a piece of paper vouching that the fires had damaged or destroyed
their property.
In nearby Ancient Olympia, 34-year-old Giorgos Bouzas, who owns a paper
business, submitted his voucher and was waiting for his funds.
"Everything is closed now, the hotels and restaurants, while before,
everyday they were full. Now we are alone, and we need 10 years at least
to get back to where we were," he said.
The Finance Ministry said it was suspending value added tax payments for
people and companies and outstanding taxes in afflicted areas for six
months and banning seizures of property for outstanding debts.
Although the government has budgeted about $450 million for such aid,
the Finance Ministry has said the cost was expected to be much higher.
The fires are dominating political debate. Criticism that the government
failed to respond quickly enough could hurt Karamanlis.
In the main street of Ancient Olympia, a gift shop was draped Wednesday
with banners reading "Shame on you" in four languages.
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