Security and Readiness for the Athens Olympic Games

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On Friday, August 13, 2004, the Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to open in Athens. After four years of construction, Greece is racing to finish preparations for the games. At a cost of $1.2 billion, what security measures are being taken to thwart possible terrorist attacks? With less than 100 days to go and half of the venues still under construction, will athletes have a place to compete? What-s all the fuss about one particular roof? What about future Olympics? Will other cities be willing, or able, to pay such a high price? Guest host Sara Terry answers these questions and others with historians, sports writers in the US and Greece, an American Gold-Medal winner and the Secretary General of the Olympic Games. Making News: Political Fallout from Latest Poll Numbers Today, US officials released nearly 300 prisoners from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, with promises of more releases to come. It-s the latest round in a week filled with coverage of the Iraqi prison-abuse scandal. The fallout has had worldwide repercussions, as well as political repercussions for George W. Bush. Ken Fireman, who covers the White House for Newsday, interprets the numbers for the President and rival John Kerry. Reporter's Notebook: The Nebulous Origins of Baseball The baseball world was aflutter this week when a Massachusetts town released a 1791 document the Baseball Hall of Fame called -irrefutable- evidence of the first written baseball reference ever found. The text predates an 1823 newspaper article about baseball in Manhattan. Does that make Pittsfield baseball-s real Garden of Eden, as the city-s mayor declared? Historian-novelist-baseball aficionado Kevin Baker calls the claim semantic.
On Friday, August 13, 2004, the Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to open in Athens. After four years of construction, Greece is racing to finish preparations for the games. At a cost of $1.2 billion, what security measures are being taken to thwart possible terrorist attacks? With less than 100 days to go and half of the venues still under construction, will athletes have a place to compete? What-s all the fuss about one particular roof? What about future Olympics? Will other cities be willing, or able, to pay such a high price? Guest host Sara Terry answers these questions and others with historians, sports writers in the US and Greece, an American Gold-Medal winner and the Secretary General of the Olympic Games.
  • Making News: Political Fallout from Latest Poll Numbers
    Today, US officials released nearly 300 prisoners from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, with promises of more releases to come. It-s the latest round in a week filled with coverage of the Iraqi prison-abuse scandal. The fallout has had worldwide repercussions, as well as political repercussions for George W. Bush. Ken Fireman, who covers the White House for Newsday, interprets the numbers for the President and rival John Kerry.
  • Reporter's Notebook: The Nebulous Origins of Baseball
    The baseball world was aflutter this week when a Massachusetts town released a 1791 document the Baseball Hall of Fame called -irrefutable- evidence of the first written baseball reference ever found. The text predates an 1823 newspaper article about baseball in Manhattan. Does that make Pittsfield baseball-s real Garden of Eden, as the city-s mayor declared? Historian-novelist-baseball aficionado Kevin Baker calls the claim semantic.
Guest host Sara Terry is an award-winning writer and photographer, who has written for the Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Fast Company, Rolling Stone and the Boston Globe. Her current photo-documentary project is "Aftermath: Bosnia's Long Road to Peace."

Gallup Poll on Bush approval rating

Pew Poll on Iraq prison scandal, troop pullout, Bush approval rating

Fireman's article on affect of prison abuse scandal on support for war, Bush re-election

2004 Athens Olympics

IOC expresses confidence that Athens will be ready for Olympics

Ross' article on Olympics preparations

1791 Pittsfield document on bylaw prohibiting baseball

Baseball Hall of Fame

Boston Globe article on Pittsfield claim to baseball history

Rounders, the game of

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Warren Olney