Just thought I would tell everyone a bit about the History of the Olympic Games.

We all know that they started at 776 BC as the festival of Zeus, and that wars and conflicts were to cease in order to celebrate the festival. We also know that the Persians took the opportunity to attack Greece during the Olympic Games, not once, but twice, and that the Spartans were called in to defend us and yes, we fought back the Persian empire with only 300 Spartans, etc., etc., etc.

We also know that the Olympic Games have been steeped in politics of the day. For example, the winner of the prestigious chariotte races was considered to have been "blessed by Zeus himself" and thereby using this as leverage against his political adversaries.

Politics always seems to rear its ugly games in the modern Olympic games as well. We cannot forget Munic and the attack on Israeli athletes. We cannot forget the bouycotting of the Moscow and Las Angeles Games. We cannot forget the fact that South Africa only recently was allowed to compete in the Games after being absent due to Appartheid. And not to mention all the biased judging that went on during the Games, marring the men's gymnastic events and casting a shadow over the American gymnast's Hamm's right to the Gold medal.

All this falls under the label of "politics". It goes to show you that we cannot be free of politics no matter how we try, and it is no wonder that most conversations eventually veer towards this subject - it is a natural progression.

And let us not forget the most important thing of all, countries take part in the games not individual athletes for individual glory. It is for the glory of a particular country that the athletes compete for - hence, to justify the politics of specific governments.

Yes, Giorgos, politics and the Olympic Games do go hand in hand.

Do you think that the Games in Athens ended on Sunday? No, politically speaking, they are still going on, as the cost of staging the games will be forever with the Greek people.

And do you think that the debate on the Athens games can be limited to "oh, yes, they were spectacular"? If that is all we were allowed to post on the games, then it would be extremely boring and no one would come here. The only reason why I even post here is because I can't get into your chat site. So, please, Giorgos, have some respect for Freedom of Speach, after all, people come to message boards to discuss controversial issues, and not merely to pat each other on the back. LET'S ALL PAT EACH OTHER ON THE BACK, SHALL WE.

[Hopefully Giorgos, you have a sense of humour and a sense of freedom of expression. So, please, Giorgos, fix your chat site so we can express ourselves more freely and without your restrictive rules.]