24 January 2004

The Parthenon Marbles While in London two weeks ago, I spent a couple of hours at the British Museum in rapt study of the so-called Elgin Marbles, those that are stored there.  Wonderful, and well-presented, but one cannot help feeling they would be better presented if they were reunited with those in the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and elsewhere for that matter.  Especially since they are planned to be displayed in a stunning new museum at the foot of the Acropolis.  Unfortunately, the project is way behind schedule, definitely will not be finished by the time of the Olympics (which was the plan), and mired in all kinds of controversy.  I walk past the site almost daily, a couple of blocks up the road from us on the way to the centre of Athens, and it is a big hole in the ground, filled with antiquities. This NYT article outlines the various controversies, but most interestingly, presents architects' pictures of the building, the first I have seen.  Do I like it?  Not sure.  Definitely controversial, but what major piece of architecture isn't? Meanwhile, it seems that diplomacy between Greece (in the form of George Papandreou) and the UK government might bring the hope of the Marbles' return closer. 11:57:47 PM    comment []

Election Time in Greece Greece, like South Africa, will have an election in March.  Unlike South Africa, Greece will have a new leader following the election, and there may well be a change in ruling party.  Current Prime Minister Costas Simitis will stand down after the election, and has handed leadership of his PASOK party to George Papandreou, whose grandfather George and father Andreas were both premiers of Greece.  The opposition New Democracy party is led by Costas Karamanlis, whose eponymous uncle founded the party and was the first premier when civilan government was restored in 1974, and who fought many political battles with Andreas Papandreou.  This article sets the scene very well, and also reinforces the urgent need for radical reform of the Greek (un)civil service, education and health systems, all of which were beyond the capabilities and courage of Simitis, beholden as he was to vested interests and the unions, while this one from a week ago, looks back at the Simitus legacy. ND had an 8% lead in the polls over PASOK, which probably led to Simitis' dismissal, but that lead has diminished dramatically since Papandreou's appointment (he is a very impressive man), so it is going to be a very close race.  10:04:02 PM    comment []

Winter Arrives in Athens The weather in Athens has been very mild and sunny in the two weeks since we got back.  However, this changed dramatically on Thursday, with snow falling outside our windows all day, blanketing all the mountains around Athens, and causing widespread disruption all over the country. 9:33:27 PM    comment []

The End of November 17 While I was away in South Africa, the trial of the November 17 terrorist group came to an end with the sentencing, reported here in the International Herald Tribune.  This was the big story of 2002 and 2003, but lost a lot of heat as the trial dragged on. Good riddance to all of that scum, and if there are any more of them hanging around, or sympathizers in the Socialist government and security services, may they meet the same fate.  I covered the arrests, and early investigations here on the Roblog, and here are the comments of a Greek blogger who was probaly following it closer than I have been able to (good links too). 9:30:46 PM    comment []

Our New Year Newsletter Our newsletter for family and friends all over the world has been posted as a story, right here on the Roblog.  All of the accompanying pictures are filed here and here. 8:13:41 PM    comment []