nova
06-04-04, 13:41
http://www.moviesoundscentral.com/sounds/dirty_harry/opinions.wav
Δεν ξέρω πόσοι πήραν το ακόλουθο e-mail (σε εμένα έφτασε σε δύο διαφορετικούς λογαριασμούς). Έχει ενδιαφέρον για όσουν μελετούν κοινωνιολογία πάντως ;)
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Παρακαλώ, εξετάστε το ακόλουθο δημοσίευμα που συγκρίνει τους Ολυμπιακούς της Αθήνας με τους NAZI του ΧΙΤΛΕΡ, με ΤΣΙΡΚΟ, με ΑΛΑΝΑ ΤΡΟΜΟΚΡΑΤΩΝ, με ΤΡΙΤΟΚΟΣΜΙΚΗ ΧΩΡΑ. Κατανοώ ότι υπάρχουν καλοθελητές παντού, όμως στην εποχή της δημιουργίας εντυπώσεων μέσω των Μ.Μ.Ε., χρειάζονται πάντα αντίμετρα, δε μπορούμε να μένουμε παθητικοί δέκτες, μονίμως στην άμυνα. Επιτέλους, αξιοπρέπεια.
Εφημερίδα San Fransisco Chronicle, 5 Απριλίου 2004
The Chronicle
901 Mission St.
San Francisco CA 94103
415-777-1111
Ηλεκτρονική διέυθυνση άρθρου: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/04/05/SPG1060M1J1.DTL
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Athens becoming a five-ring circus
Scott Ostler
Monday, April 5, 2004
You have to feel sorry for the Athens folks.
This is the silliest an Olympic host has looked in preparation for the Games since 1936, when word leaked that Adolf Hitler secretly was training to compete in the 400-meter goose-step.
Greece is frantically preparing to host this summer's (yes, Greece, this summer's) Olympics. To say the Greeks are behind schedule is like saying the Amish space program lags behind Russia's.
Serious questions have arisen:
-- Will the Greeks be able to put up the buildings?
-- Will they be able to keep them up for the 21/2 weeks of the Olympics?
-- What was the world thinking? The Olympics in Athens? Did we even check to see if Bakersfield was interested?
The most serious worry is terrorism. As criminally stupid as it was to let Hitler host the '36 Olympics, the world stumbled onto a plan that guaranteed the safety of the Games -- let the terrorists host 'em.
The Nazis didn't invade a single Olympic venue in '36.
That wouldn't work today, of course. You can't hold a track meet in a cave. So we have to worry about terrorism, especially because Athens is freeway close to many of the world's bad-guy headquarters.
I will be covering the Olympics for this fine newspaper. I keep my anxiety under control by imagining that terrorists look at Athens -- the heat and smog, the under-construction mess, the likelihood of hideous transportation glitches -- and say, "The hell with it."
(Getting around Athens is going to be an adventure. Last week the Greeks kicked off the torch relay, and I was dismayed to read that the 48,500-mile relay route is the same as the route of the bus from the Athens press center to the beach-volleyball venue.)
We Americans have been the most pro-active nation in insisting upon heavy security for the Games. Our government officials have lobbied hard for our security people to be allowed to carry guns.
But really, how good is American sports-event security? It was helpless against a sneak attack by Janet Jackson's right breast.
At the recent World Figure Skating Championships, while Michelle Kwan was warming up, some lunatic hopped onto the ice and skated for several seconds. Finally, security guards in street shoes Keystone-Kopped across the ice to apprehend the guy.
There's no ice skating at the summer Olympics, but I think I speak for all American journalists when I say I'll feel a lot better if Tonya Harding is a member of the U.S. security detail.
As for the readiness of the various Athens venues and infrastructure, it's going to go right down to the wire. On opening day, they'll have scuba divers painting the black lines on the bottom of the pool.
I am looking at a map of venues, with symbols showing which are completed. Of the 12 on the map, eight venues still are under construction.
The sailing center is finished. That's right, the Greeks have brought the water up to an acceptable degree of Olympic wetness.
Construction has lagged behind schedule because of strikes, work stoppages and the fact that Athens wasn't chosen for a makeover on "Queer Eye for the Olympic Host City."
Frills are being trimmed from some venues. With time running out, the roof over the swim stadium was scrapped. Who needs terrorists when, on a muggy 102-degree day in Athens, you have 10,000 spectators cooking in the world's largest fondue pot?
That roof won't go to waste, by the way. They'll just flip it over and use it as the pool.
Who knows what other corners might have to be cut? The marathon route is said to be clogged with construction debris, and the running surface is not ready. This might be the first Olympic marathon run on treadmills. Or in the velodrome.
The torch-lighting ceremony, at least, went on without a hitch. An actress dressed as a priest in ancient Greece lit the flame by using sunlight reflected off a parabolic mirror.
I hope that lady is on call during the Olympics, in case the hot water goes off in my dorm-room shower. Just kidding. I won't have time to shower.
Through all the controversy, and warnings from the IOC, and worry from the outside world, the Greek organizers remain upbeat and optimistic. And that optimism, along with a five-drachma bill, will buy you a falafel from a roach coach at any Olympic construction site.
Still, it's worth noting that the Greeks aren't pushing the panic button. They can't. They haven't hooked up the wiring. They might have to go with a cowbell.
E-mail Scott Ostler at sostler@sfchronicle.com
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Δεν ξέρω πόσοι πήραν το ακόλουθο e-mail (σε εμένα έφτασε σε δύο διαφορετικούς λογαριασμούς). Έχει ενδιαφέρον για όσουν μελετούν κοινωνιολογία πάντως ;)
-----><-----
Παρακαλώ, εξετάστε το ακόλουθο δημοσίευμα που συγκρίνει τους Ολυμπιακούς της Αθήνας με τους NAZI του ΧΙΤΛΕΡ, με ΤΣΙΡΚΟ, με ΑΛΑΝΑ ΤΡΟΜΟΚΡΑΤΩΝ, με ΤΡΙΤΟΚΟΣΜΙΚΗ ΧΩΡΑ. Κατανοώ ότι υπάρχουν καλοθελητές παντού, όμως στην εποχή της δημιουργίας εντυπώσεων μέσω των Μ.Μ.Ε., χρειάζονται πάντα αντίμετρα, δε μπορούμε να μένουμε παθητικοί δέκτες, μονίμως στην άμυνα. Επιτέλους, αξιοπρέπεια.
Εφημερίδα San Fransisco Chronicle, 5 Απριλίου 2004
The Chronicle
901 Mission St.
San Francisco CA 94103
415-777-1111
Ηλεκτρονική διέυθυνση άρθρου: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/04/05/SPG1060M1J1.DTL
--
Athens becoming a five-ring circus
Scott Ostler
Monday, April 5, 2004
You have to feel sorry for the Athens folks.
This is the silliest an Olympic host has looked in preparation for the Games since 1936, when word leaked that Adolf Hitler secretly was training to compete in the 400-meter goose-step.
Greece is frantically preparing to host this summer's (yes, Greece, this summer's) Olympics. To say the Greeks are behind schedule is like saying the Amish space program lags behind Russia's.
Serious questions have arisen:
-- Will the Greeks be able to put up the buildings?
-- Will they be able to keep them up for the 21/2 weeks of the Olympics?
-- What was the world thinking? The Olympics in Athens? Did we even check to see if Bakersfield was interested?
The most serious worry is terrorism. As criminally stupid as it was to let Hitler host the '36 Olympics, the world stumbled onto a plan that guaranteed the safety of the Games -- let the terrorists host 'em.
The Nazis didn't invade a single Olympic venue in '36.
That wouldn't work today, of course. You can't hold a track meet in a cave. So we have to worry about terrorism, especially because Athens is freeway close to many of the world's bad-guy headquarters.
I will be covering the Olympics for this fine newspaper. I keep my anxiety under control by imagining that terrorists look at Athens -- the heat and smog, the under-construction mess, the likelihood of hideous transportation glitches -- and say, "The hell with it."
(Getting around Athens is going to be an adventure. Last week the Greeks kicked off the torch relay, and I was dismayed to read that the 48,500-mile relay route is the same as the route of the bus from the Athens press center to the beach-volleyball venue.)
We Americans have been the most pro-active nation in insisting upon heavy security for the Games. Our government officials have lobbied hard for our security people to be allowed to carry guns.
But really, how good is American sports-event security? It was helpless against a sneak attack by Janet Jackson's right breast.
At the recent World Figure Skating Championships, while Michelle Kwan was warming up, some lunatic hopped onto the ice and skated for several seconds. Finally, security guards in street shoes Keystone-Kopped across the ice to apprehend the guy.
There's no ice skating at the summer Olympics, but I think I speak for all American journalists when I say I'll feel a lot better if Tonya Harding is a member of the U.S. security detail.
As for the readiness of the various Athens venues and infrastructure, it's going to go right down to the wire. On opening day, they'll have scuba divers painting the black lines on the bottom of the pool.
I am looking at a map of venues, with symbols showing which are completed. Of the 12 on the map, eight venues still are under construction.
The sailing center is finished. That's right, the Greeks have brought the water up to an acceptable degree of Olympic wetness.
Construction has lagged behind schedule because of strikes, work stoppages and the fact that Athens wasn't chosen for a makeover on "Queer Eye for the Olympic Host City."
Frills are being trimmed from some venues. With time running out, the roof over the swim stadium was scrapped. Who needs terrorists when, on a muggy 102-degree day in Athens, you have 10,000 spectators cooking in the world's largest fondue pot?
That roof won't go to waste, by the way. They'll just flip it over and use it as the pool.
Who knows what other corners might have to be cut? The marathon route is said to be clogged with construction debris, and the running surface is not ready. This might be the first Olympic marathon run on treadmills. Or in the velodrome.
The torch-lighting ceremony, at least, went on without a hitch. An actress dressed as a priest in ancient Greece lit the flame by using sunlight reflected off a parabolic mirror.
I hope that lady is on call during the Olympics, in case the hot water goes off in my dorm-room shower. Just kidding. I won't have time to shower.
Through all the controversy, and warnings from the IOC, and worry from the outside world, the Greek organizers remain upbeat and optimistic. And that optimism, along with a five-drachma bill, will buy you a falafel from a roach coach at any Olympic construction site.
Still, it's worth noting that the Greeks aren't pushing the panic button. They can't. They haven't hooked up the wiring. They might have to go with a cowbell.
E-mail Scott Ostler at sostler@sfchronicle.com
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