Indictment Against Greek Golden Dawn’s Crimes

A nine-page indictment, which refers to the 26-year course of the criminal organization composed by members of the Greek Golden Dawn, was given on Sunday, ...

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British pensioner goes missing on tiny Greek island where his family could be ...

Daily MailBritish pensioner goes missing on tiny Greek island where his family could be ...Daily MailThe family of a British pensioner who has gone missing after visiting a tiny Greek island may have to pay for their own helicopter search, it has emerged. Roger Bainbridge, 67, was last seen three days ago travelling alone to Antipaxos which is just ...

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The arrest of Golden Dawn's leader will do little to counter institutional racism

The authorities in Greece have long been aware of this neo-Nazi group. So why are they only now taking action?

Imagine an Athenian who went on an overseas trip for a couple of weeks and returned to the city on 28 September. The traveller left before Pavlos Fyssas's assassination, and the awakening of media and government to the neo-Nazi threat, leading to the arrest of Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos and some of its MPs and supporters.

The initial reaction of the traveller to the crackdown would be jubilation mixed with surprise: the change in the authorities' attitude following Fyssas's murder was dramatic. And yet, the same authorities have had detailed information about the party's criminal activities for years. Racist violence is experienced daily and has been widely reported by international media, national and international NGOs and the EU commissioner for human rights. Indeed, racist violence had become normalised for many. Legal and political authorities were unwilling to take action; Greece's anti-racist law was never applied (an improved version was recently rejected in parliament); and perpetrators of racist attacks were offered impunity.

Less than a year ago, Nikos Dendias, the minister of public order, insisted that no link existed between the police and Golden Dawn, and threatened the Guardian with a libel suit when it reported that policemen tortured anti-fascists. Yet in the wake of Fyssas's assassination, Dendias was forced to launch an inquiry into such links. Several senior officers were sacked or suspended. A day after the assassination, 32 legal cases were filed against Golden Dawn including violent, even lethal incidents.

Our Athenian would be puzzled by the obvious questions: why did the authorities not step in earlier? Why are they stepping in now? Could it be because a Greek has been murdered?

Golden Dawn should have been designated a criminal gang and legally confronted a long time ago. This course of action would have been automatic in most European countries. After the murder, European politicians indicated their displeasure, with several suggesting that unless Greece confronts the neo-Nazis it should not assume the EU's rotating presidency in January.

But perhaps the main motive in the government's fluctuating response has been political calculation: until very recently senior rightwing politicians and commentators suggested that the rightwing New Democracy (ND) party should consider entering a coalition government with the neo-Nazis, if they became more "moderate". The government presented the left and anti-fascist movement as one of the two pro-violence "extremes", even though they resisted Nazism all those years.

This historically ignorant and morally perverse "theory of two extremes" was meant to instil fear and turn people away from the leftist organisations and grassroots movements resisting neo-Nazi attacks and supporting their victims. The ND/Pasok coalition government now hopes that the exposure of Golden Dawn criminality will attract its voters to their natural home.

And so, the feeling is bittersweet: even if delayed, the heavily publicised arrest of the Golden Dawn leadership will be a relief to many. To the city's migrants, who may find it easier to walk the Athenian streets, to homosexuals, leftists, to all anti-fascists to everyone resenting Golden Dawn's shameless entry into everyday life and in the country's politics.

Every dark-skinned person had to take precautions in Athens. Evil walked the streets.

Little has changed at the institutional level, however. The application of the criminal law to thugs will not change the widespread racism fuelled by the New Democracy-Pasok coalition government. It was Andreas Loverdos, a prominent Pasok member at the time, who likened Golden Dawn to a "Greek Hezbollah" because they are "active in the big issues" and "create trust".

It was Vyron Polydoras, a former New Democracy minister, who urged a coalition with them. And it was prime minister Samaras himself who declared, in March 2012: "Our cities have been occupied by illegal migrants; we will take them back." Sticking to its word, this government launched the ironically named hospitable Xenios Zeus operation, rounding up dark-skinned people and detaining undocumented immigrants in camps euphemistically named "holding centres".

The same government repealed the reform of the 2010 Greek citizenship law, the first to offer second-generation migrants a potential entitlement to citizenship. The government and authorities criminalised HIV patients and drug addicts; persecuted and illegally detained anarchists and anti-fascists; slashed salaries and pensions; saw youth unemployment rocket to over 60%; shut down hospitals; and pushed universities to the point of collapse. This is the great paradox of dismantling Golden Dawn: the same government which threatens democracy and indulges fascism gives itself democratic credentials for its supposed curbing of extremism.

Golden Dawn is both a political party and a gang – and outlawing political parties often proves problematic and ineffective. The law can prohibit, but it cannot eliminate, fascist ideas; these must be confronted politically instead. For ordinary people, the struggle against Golden Dawn is not limited to the welcome though theatrical arrest of its leadership. Anti-fascism is a political struggle about the kind of life we want to live. It is fought daily by citizens, activists, civil society groups and migrant communities. It is a battle for democracy, solidarity and social justice. It cannot be won unless the systemic injustice of austerity is defeated.

Golden Dawn partyGreeceThe far rightCostas DouzinasHara KoukiAntonis Vradistheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Make a Monopoly and Sell it: Easy Profit

by  Kassandra

For decades the state-owned Greek organization OPAP (Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics) has been holding the monopoly on Greece’s gambling market.

Since the European Court of Justice ruled in January that OPAP's monopoly is illegal, the authorities introduced reforms to ensure protection of consumers, as well as free access to the market as provided by EU law. This becomes more pertinent now, the as OPAP has ceased to be a state-controlled body, and now the authorities, along with he EU, must secure fair competition terms.

The Greek authorities are ensuring the European Commission that new gambling regulations will guarantee consumers’ safety and free access. However, they  granted more monopoly benefits to OPAP just a few days before privatisation,  thinking that in this way they would get a better price. Such benefits include monopoly in offline sports betting and lotteries until 2030.

Another issue to be addressed probably by the European authorities soon, is the status of the few licenses already issued to private operators for online betting. When such licenses were granted companies invested serious money. Now it seems that the authorities are trying to revoke them in favor of the privatized OPAP.

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Greece's neo-Nazi party MPs face possible charges

The head of Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party and four fellow lawmakers were facing charges of belonging to a criminal organisation Sunday, as police arrested a sixth deputy from the far-right group.

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Golden Dawn MP Christos Pappas surrenders to Greek police

The GuardianGolden Dawn MP Christos Pappas surrenders to Greek policeThe GuardianA Greek MP said to be the second in command of the far-right Golden Dawn party has surrendered after authorities arrested the organisation's leader and other key members on charges of running a criminal gang. Christos Pappas, the party's parliamentary ...

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Christos Pappas, Wanted Golden Dawn Member, Gives Himself Up

ATHENS, Greece -- A Greek lawmaker sought by police surrendered on Sunday, bringing to six the number of legislators from the extreme-right Golden Dawn party now in custody and accused of being members of a criminal organization with intent to commit crimes. The government crackdown on the fiercely anti-immigrant party marks the first time since 1974 that sitting members of a Greek Parliament have been arrested. The arrests underline the government's efforts to stifle Golden Dawn, which has been increasingly on the defensive since the Sept. 17 fatal stabbing of a Greek man blamed on a Golden Dawn supporter. Thirteen Golden Dawn members and two police officers also have been taken into custody, and arrest warrants issued for 11 other suspects who remain at large, officials said. As he turned himself in at police headquarters in Athens on Sunday, Christos Pappas – a lawmaker described by prosecutors as the Golden Dawn's No. 2 official – condemned the crackdown on his party and the painful austerity measures that have been imposed during the bailout of Greece's battered economy. Several Greek TV channels broadcast his arrival live, showing him leaving a taxi, ducking under the cordon surrounding the building, and turning to the cameras. "I present myself voluntarily. I have nothing to hide, nothing to fear. The occupation government of the bailout deals has begun unprecedented political persecutions, using so-called independent justice. Nationalism will prevail. Golden Dawn will survive," he said. Pappas then shouted, "Hail Golden Dawn!" and waved as he entered the building. Five other legislators from the party, which has neo-Nazi roots, have been in custody there since Saturday, including Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos. They were charged with membership in a criminal organization with intent to commit crimes, as Pappas will be. Court hearings before a magistrate are scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday. Given the seriousness of the charge they face, the arrested Golden Dawn suspects are expected to be transferred to a prison as they await trial. However, the jailed lawmakers will remain members of parliament and only lose their seats if they are convicted or resign. The government said it plans to introduce legislation Monday aimed at cutting all state funding to Golden Dawn, which is slated to receive more than (EURO)873,000 ($1.18 million) in 2013. On Sunday, the Brussels-based European Jewish Congress welcomed the crackdown on Golden Dawn, calling it "a long overdue move which will hopefully send a very strong message to neo-Nazis in Greece and across Europe." In a statement, congress President Moshe Kantor, said: "We congratulate Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on the crackdown ... and hope that the Greek leadership will make this a central part of the European Union presidency, which they will assume in January 2014." A formerly marginal organization, Golden Dawn won only 0.29 percent of the vote in a 2009 national election in Greece, but saw its popularity explode by capitalizing on public resentment over an influx of illegal immigrants. Downplaying its extremist roots and presenting itself as a "patriotic" force, the party won public support by patrolling streets, doing the shopping for elderly residents, and collecting back rents for apartment owners with migrant tenants. During the heyday of Greece's anti-austerity protests in 2011, Golden Dawn members carried Greek flags and loudly blamed migrants and foreign "predators." Last year's election put 18 Golden Dawn lawmakers in the 300-member parliament, and party members have frequently been suspected of physically attacking immigrants.

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Golden Dawn leadership to appear in court on Tuesday

Senior members of Greek's Far Right Golden Dawn party are expected to appear in court on Tuesday as Athens seeks to quell growing unrest over the murder of an anti-Fascist activist.    

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Troika halt talks on Greek bailout

Troika halt talks on Greek bailoutThe GuardianTwo senior officials from the Greek finance ministry said the two sides had agreed on a forecast that predicted the economy would shrink by 4% this year, less than previously projected, which may give Athens more leeway as it seeks to meet targets ...Greek FinMin, Troika Agree on Fiscal 2013 Closing, Leaving Major Issues PendingGreek Reporterall 18 news articles »

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Troika announces pause in aid discussions with Greece

Teams from the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank have been in the Greek capital since September 17 for a fresh audit of the country's finances. The "troika" of donors said in a statement that the break would "allow ...

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EU to completely liberalise its market to Moldovan wines

The European Commission said it will ask EU member states and the European Parliament to amend Autonomous Trade Preferences so that the EU imports of Moldovan wines becomes completely liberalised without waiting for the provisional application of the Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). The European Commission said it will ask the Council and Parliament to do their utmost for a speedy adoption of this modification.

Moldova, which is part of the EU Eastern Partnership, is due to initial an Association Agreement with the EU, which includes a free trade agreement, in Vilnius in November. Sources in Chisinau said on 24 September that Moldova hopes to sign the Association Agreement during the Greek rotating EU Presidency in the first half of 2014.

Moldova can currently export 240,000 hectolitres of wine a year to the EU. Wine is the country’s biggest export and the country ranks 11th in the world in terms of exports by volume.

The proposal comes just two weeks after Russia, Moldova’s largest single foreign trade partner, banned Moldovan wine imports, citing health concerns. Observers interpreted the move, however, as direct pressure on Chisinau to dissuade Moldovan authorities from signing the association agreement with the EU.

Sources point out, however, that the EU as a whole is a much larger importer of Moldovan wines than Russia. In the early days after Moldova’s independence, Chisinau relied almost exclusively on the Russian market for exporting its wines.

“The European Union’s market is a sustainable alternative and a viable pole of stability for the Moldovan wine sector. A fully opened EU market for Moldovan wines in a time when Moldovan farmers are in difficulty, reflects that, beyond being a very successful economic integration project, the EU is also a space of solidarity,” European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos said in the statement.

 

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Greece Cracks Down On Neo-Nazis, Fascists

Source: www.alan.com - Sunday, September 29, 2013Down With Tyranny blogger Howie Klein draws a strong contrast between Greece, whose citizens and government have had it with the rise of fascist movements, with the United States, where John Boehner stands by passively as a radical fringe hijacks his caucus : Obama and Boehner are both victims of the rise of far right populism in the U.S. Boehner, much like the mainstream conservatives in Weimar Germany in the 1930s, has buckled under to it. Obama hasn’t. The same exact strain of toxic right-wing populism– whether you want to call it Tea Party, Nazi, Fascist or Golden Dawn– has catapulted to the third biggest party in Greece, with 18 Deputies in Parliament. And over the weekend, Greek anti-terrorism police arrested party fuehrer Nikos Michaloliakos and rounded up many of his top lieutenants, including three sitting members of Parliament. They have been charged with forming a criminal organization. This is more than a pretty big deal in Greece, whose economy has been decimated by an EU economic policy that turned the nation into an incubator for hard-right extremism. Michaloliakos’ arrest has some serious ramifications for the struggling nation : Greek police have mounted an unprecedented crackdown on the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party, arresting its leader, three MPs, and more than a dozen other key members. As the prime minister, Antonis Samaras, held emergency talks on Saturday with his public order and justice ministers, Nikos All Related

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Golden Dawn's No. 2 Gives Himself Up

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? A Greek lawmaker sought by police surrendered on Sept. 29, bringing to six the number of legislators from the extreme-right Golden Dawn party now in custody and accused of being members of a criminal organization with intent to commit crimes. The government crackdown on the fiercely anti-immigrant party marks the first time since 1974 that sitting members of a Greek Parliament have been arrested. The arrests underline the government's efforts to stifle Golden Dawn, which has been increasingly on the defensive since the Sept. 17 fatal stabbing of a Greek man blamed on a Golden Dawn supporter. Thirteen Golden Dawn members and two police officers also have been taken into custody, and arrest warrants issued for 11 other suspects who remain at large, officials said.

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Ovechkin Carries Sochi Torch for Russia

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) ? Using the sun's rays, the Olympic flame lighting for the Winter Games in Sochi went off without a hitch in southern Greece on Sept. 29, ahead of its journey across Russia's nine time zones and even a trip to space before the Feb. 7-23 games. The ceremony was held with actresses dressed as ancient priestesses at the birthplace of the Greek games held in antiquity, with the flame lighting using a parabolic mirror. Actress Ino Menegaki, in the role of high priestess, called out to the ancient god of the sun, Apollo, before the flame was lit and passed to 18-year-old Greek alpine skier Ioannis Antoniou. NHL star Alex Ovechkin was the first Russian involved in the torch relay.Newly-elected International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was present at the 20-minute ancient re-enactment, involving 21 priestesses dressed in cream-colored pleated dresses.

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David Cameron's rush over Help To Buy: panic move to counter Labour

There is real chance that coalition's Help to Buy housing scheme will create another boom-bust in the economy

The Conservatives have hit the panic button. That's the simple conclusion from the announcement that David Cameron is bringing forward the start date for the government's Help to Buy scheme.

Spooked by the positive public reaction to Ed Miliband's pledge to freeze energy prices, the Conservatives have come up with their own eye-catching measure. Phase two of the programme, providing subsidised mortgages for properties worth up to £600,000 was supposed to start in January. Now the prime minister has indicated it will happen "within days".

There is certainly a case for re-thinking Help to Buy. But the sensible thing to do would be to scrap the second phase not to bring it forward. There are clear signs of a housing bubble developing, and to inflate it further makes little sense unless you are a government willing to play fast and loose with the stability of the economy in pursuit of cheap votes.

The Conservatives have form when it comes to stoking up pre-election booms with little thought for the consequences. Reggie Maudling left Labour a dreadful mess in 1964 with his dash for growth. Tony Barber did the same a decade later. Help to Buy matches both for its breath-taking cynicism.

Government feathers have been ruffled by Ed Miliband's announcement that Labour would freeze energy prices for 18 months if it wins the next election. Here, there were echoes of the Conservative coup in 2007, when George Osborne's pledge on inheritance tax sowed seeds of doubt in Gordon Brown's mind about holding an early election. Just as Gordon Brown was thrown off balance by that announcement, so the Conservatives seem to have been discombobulated by Miliband's coup.

Labour's economic strategy is still a work in progress. Many voters blame Labour for the recession and will take plenty of convincing that Miliband and Balls are fit to run the country. It would help if the opposition had plans to regulate the City, improve the flow of investment to small businesses and raise Britain's woeful productivity performance. More work is needed to flesh out the details of Miliband's energy commitment, but clearly Labour's pledge hit the political g-spot.

Living standards have been squeezed hard in recent years and rocketing energy bills have been a part of that. The Conservative supporting newspapers that faithfully lined up to rubbish Labour's price freeze have up until now been vocal in their condemnation of the "fat cat" energy bosses ripping off their readers. It was interesting, for example, to read the "below the line" comments of Daily Mail online readers, which were much more supportive of Miliband's policy than the paper's withering editorials.

Claims by the government and its supporters that Labour is returning to the 1970s with a barrage of price controls would ring less hollow if Osborne was not manipulating the housing market through Help to Buy Scheme. An 18-month energy freeze will not in all likelihood mean that Britain is plunged into winter darkness; there is, though, a real chance that subsidised mortgages will create another boom-bust in the economy.

Up until he announced Help to Buy in the spring, even opponents of the chancellor's economic strategy could admit it had a certain intellectual coherence. Osborne said the crisis was caused by excessive private and public debt, which had to be purged from the system before real recovery could take hold. His message was that tough action to tackle the budget deficit was needed to keep the confidence of the financial markets, which in turn was necessary to keep long-term interest rates (which affect the cost of mortgages and business loans) low. The chancellor's pitch was that recovery was always going to be slow no matter who was in power.

But Osborne did not realise just how slow it would be. Misjudging the impact of VAT increases, cuts in capital spending and comparisons between the UK and Greece made things worse. The result was a flat-lining economy and fears that the economy would not recover in time for the Conservatives to win in 2015.

First we had Plan B as the chancellor watered down austerity by accepting that deficits would be higher for longer than originally planned. Then he threw caution to the wind with Plan C: boosting the property market through Help to Buy. This is already having an impact on house prices. It will now have an even bigger effect.

Osborne's gamble is that the economy will go through a Goldilocks phase over the next 18 months when it is neither too hot nor too cold. With national output still substantially below where it was when the recession started, the assumption is that there is plenty of spare capacity to be mopped up before inflationary pressure begins to surface. The Bank of England will therefore be able to keep official interest rates at 0.5% until the next election and will not need to take specific action to cool down the housing market.

This strategy looks less tenable by the week and it seemed the chancellor had belatedly recognised the potential dangers of providing government-backed home loans by asking the Bank of England to assess Help to Buy on an annual basis, starting next September. Even that looked too late, given that all the ingredients are in place for a short-lived property frenzy followed by the inevitable hangover. Starting phase two immediately runs the risk that the Bank of England will not wait until September 2014 before passing judgement on Help to Buy.

A tightening of policy by the Bank of England between now and the election is certainly not in the script, yet it could easily happen. Mark Carney, the Bank's new governor, put down a marker last week when he said he saw no case for further stimulus through the Bank's quantitative easing programme. Carney was hand-picked by Osborne to run Threadneedle Street, but is nobody's fool and nobody's poodle. He will not want to have his own reputation sullied by being tagged the man who allowed the economy to overheat.

There is tension between the Bank's guidance that official interest rates will stay low and the upward drift in market interest rates. That tension will become more pronounced if – as expected – the economy continues to grow. Osborne still has many things going for him – not least the reluctance of voters to trust Labour with the economy. But in the past a combination of pegged official rates, rising market rates and unexpectedly strong growth have added up to one thing: a run on sterling. He should have scrapped the second phase of Help to Buy before it was too late. Instead, by bringing it forward, he runs the risk that long before polling day, the Bank will feel the need to show its teeth.

EconomicsHelp to Buy schemeHousing marketDavid CameronGeorge OsborneConservativesInterest ratesBank of EnglandLabourLarry Elliotttheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Another Golden Dawn MP taken into custody in Greece

Extreme-right Golden Dawn party lawmaker Ilias Panagiotaros is escorted by anti-terrorism police officers as he arrives at a courthouse in Athens. Photograph: Giorgos ...

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IMF and EU mission to Greece takes breather after progress

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece's international lenders called a temporary halt to their latest mission to Athens on Sunday, saying they had made good progress and expected to resume talks with the government soon.

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IOC chief receives Russian 'assurances' over gays

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — The new president of the International Olympic Committee says he has received assurances from senior Russian officials and games organizers that an ongoing controversy over the country's treatment of gays will not affect athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

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Sochi Olympic torch lit in Greece

CBC.caSochi Olympic torch lit in GreeceCBC.caUsing the sun's rays, the Olympic flame lighting for the Winter Games in Sochi went off without a hitch in southern Greece Sunday, ahead of its journey across Russia's nine time zones and even a trip to space before the Feb. 7-23 Games. The ceremony ...Olympic flame lit in GreeceMiamiHerald.comSochi flame lighting ceremony rehearsed in GreeceRTAlex Ovechkin to be first Russian torchbearer Sunday in GreeceCBSSports.comFresno Beeall 137 news articles »

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Sixth far-right MP held in Greece

The deputy leader of Greece's Golden Dawn is the sixth MP to be arrested in Greece as part of a police clampdown on neo-Nazi parties.

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Paul Rudd: Hollywood's most lovable man

From Anchorman to This is 40, Paul Rudd has become the ultimate straight guy – and we all adore him for it. So what's he doing in a dark film based on an Icelandic movie? Sasha Frere-Jones joins him in New York to find out

When I go to meet Paul Rudd at a low-key restaurant in Tribeca, I am early. A busboy is dragging a marble-topped table out the door while arguing with a tall and elegant woman. I circle the block and return, only to enter several paces behind Rudd. The woman turns out to be the owner. Whoever hoisted the table is gone, fired moments before.

"And he was shouting! It is 11am and he is drunk! Paul, would you have defended me?" she asks in mock distress. Smiling his "I know what you mean" smile, Rudd nods: "I would have had your back." "Thank you, Paul," the owner says, making it clear that Rudd is a regular.

The airy, whitewashed restaurant is tasteful, but still a local joint. After we sit down, Rudd smiles less strategically and says: "I'll be straight up with you. I don't know if I would have stepped in if I saw that. But I might have signed a headshot for him."

Rudd, at 44, looks exactly like Rudd the actor who has made his living as Hollywood's go-to guy for buddy movies and bromances. He's about 5ft 8in and solid, like he could lift heavy items (even a drunken employee), but not as if he spends hours at the gym. He is dressed like a member of every third band I saw in the 90s: plaid button-down over a white T-shirt, blue jeans ripped open at both knees, and Blundstone boots. He is both square-jawed and soft, like he could both seduce you and help with the broken toilet in the morning.

If you didn't know him as Phoebe's boyfriend in Friends that may be because you spent a lot of time overwriting that fiction with the scenario that you two finally met and bonded over, well, everything, becoming that worthy lover he's always deserved. There's a reason that there is a Dear Paul Rudd tumblr and not a Dear Cillian Murphy tumblr. Rudd seems like the one who got away, even if he was never anywhere nearby.

But he feels close, and familiar, onscreen. "When I was starting off and I was meeting casting people or directors there was always some comment that I wasn't dangerous in any way," Rudd says. "That's not who I play. I want characters to be relatable. When somebody's watching I want them to feel: 'I know what that's like, because I sense that in myself', as opposed to thinking: 'I don't know how to do what this guy is doing.'"

Rudd's most recent film appearance is as Alvin, in Prince Avalanche, a small film about two lost souls who may just be losers, painting lines on a highway bordering a swath of burnt-out forest in Texas. It's directed by David Gordon Green, whose 2008 Pineapple Express is exactly the kind of stoner-buddy comedy that might have featured Rudd (it didn't). Prince Avalanche, however, is loosely based on an Icelandic film, and nothing like Pineapple Express – or any of those Judd Apatow franchises such as This is 40 and Knocked Up that made Rudd our biggest crush. Instead, Rudd dials down the charisma and becomes terrifyingly mortal .

Alvin wanders the highway with a sad moustache and his girlfriend's little brother, played by Emile Hirsch, taking everything too seriously, especially himself. When Hirsch's character points out that Alvin isn't getting much out of his relationship with his sister, Rudd barks back with a sense of unearned wisdom: "It's called love." The film is full of failed exchanges, each less useful than the yellow line they're painting. It's Waiting for Brodot, and the best part is watching the impossibly likable Rudd bear down, trying to make Alvin more than just a guy covered with ashes going down an endless road.

This is darker than Rudd usually gets (on film at least – a Broadway appearance last year featured him as a highly strung evangelical who murders his wife and neighbour). And though Prince Avalanche desperately needs a forest fire – or James Franco stealing the pickup truck while wearing a bear suit — it is worth your time just to see Rudd stripped of his comic tools, working to make us not give up on Alvin.

I ask him if he minds not getting the extreme gigs, the starving madman roles that go to Daniel Day-Lewis and the Oscar squad. "I never wanted to be on the outside," he replies. Rudd's parents were originally from London, and his father was a TWA employee who moved around America but kept a semi-permanent base in Overland Park, Kansas. Rudd developed coping mechanisms early. "My desire to fit in was just as real as anybody else's. All of the moving around, having parents from London, always being in new schools, I felt like an outsider. I just tried to empathise with people's anguish or angst or whatever it was. If somebody was a bully, I would always try to think about why they were the way they were. It didn't mean that I liked them. I just kind of sympathised with people."

It is hard to find someone who doesn't sympathise back. When I informally poll friends on what to ask the actor, three women want to ask if they can have sex with him, and two ask me to give him a script. When I ask a film buff what he thinks of Rudd, he says: "I love Paul Rudd. All gay men love Paul Rudd. It's a rule." I present this to Rudd, who laughs and asks if there was any overlap between those who wanted sex and those who wanted to start filming. "It would just save time."

Don't get any ideas – Rudd has been married for 10 years, has two small children, and is based in Greenwich Village, where he's lived for roughly 18 years. He moved to New York in the 90s after a summer at Bada, the British American Drama Academy, and his aims were, from the beginning, practical. "I always wanted to get enough of a foundation where I felt that I could sustain a career – I wanted a slow burn. I knew that I wanted to be a working actor; I wanted to do things I liked and feel as if I knew how to do it."

One thing that sustained Rudd between films – where he usually played supporting parts, not leads – were the theatrical stints that grounded him in steady work and kept him out of LA. After his first major role in 1995's Clueless – Rudd plays a stepbrother who acts as the Greek chorus to Alicia Silverstone's Cher, constantly mocking the acquisitive high-schooler and ultimately, yes, getting with her – Rudd returned to New York to spend almost a year working on The Last Night of Bally- hoo, a play by Alfred Uhry, best known for Driving Miss Daisy.

He lights up when we talk about Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito, both working the New York theatre scene in the early 90s. "I wanted to emulate those guys. I loved them. And David Strathairn is one of my favourites. I always liked the utility player, the guy who shows up, does the job and is great, sometimes not in the showiest role." Rudd talks cheerfully but steadily, as if he's neither reciting boilerplate nor overly impressed by his career. He talks openly in terms of acting as a job. There is no closet Brando in Rudd, a visionary waiting to impale himself on the perfect role and then retreat to a bunker. Rudd wanted in, and he got in.

And while Rudd may not always be the centre of attention, his appealing nature and ability to channel the energy around him has made him a brilliant comic foil, starting with the cult film Wet Hot American Summer in 2001 and 2004's Anchorman, which solidified his relationship with producer Judd Apatow. "They're the only two scripts I sort of kept around to read just out of pleasure," he tells me. "When I met [Anchorman director] Adam McKay, he said: 'I know you can do comedy.' But it was not my background. I did not do Second City or sketch comedy. Then I met Judd, and he was doing 40-Year-Old Virgin and then Knocked Up, so I started working with a lot of the same people."

This December, we'll see him reprise his Brian Fantana alongside Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy in the much-anticipated Anchorman sequel. The idea of being a straight man reacting to the crazy draws out Rudd's rhapsodic celebration of early David Letterman. "Letterman? What that guy means? He changed the entire sense of humour in the States. I'm a fanatic. I joined two fan clubs in my life, and his was one of them." What was the other one? "The Proclaimers." My crush on Rudd falters, but we recover.

Like a Paul Rudd character, Rudd keeps not talking about Rudd, not out of avoidance but because he seems to assume you've seen the Apatow hits and, y'know, how much explanation do comic blockbusters need? He gets excited again when we bump into the fact that he is tied to celebrated rock music, albeit sideways. As we walk away from the restaurant, he looks up an interview (with himself) on his iPhone and announces his musical credentials: "Yup, two Radiohead songs in both 'Clueless' and 'Romeo and Juliet', back when all anybody knew was 'Creep'. I had nothing to do with that, but I'm still really proud of it."

I leave him with my own embarrassing bit of gushing about Party Down, the cult TV series he co-created and which will soon be a feature film. A magical two-series wonder about a half-dozen misfits in LA who cater parties while irreparably fluffing their acting and writing careers, it drew in part on Rudd's own experience of MCing at bar mitzvahs, although Rudd remains shockingly low key about the role he played in it. His original idea of being what he describes as a "viable" employee, a favourite word, still obtains. "I've worked steadily for a good number of years now, and it's like yard work, where you're doing it in pieces. When it's all done, you look back and you're like: 'Oh look, I mowed a whole lawn. When did that happen?' I ask him how many lawns he thinks he's mowed. "I've mowed a couple of plots of land."

Prince Avalanche is in cinemas 18 October. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is out in December

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Greek Golden Dawn MP Turns Himself In

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Olympic torch lit for Sochi 2014 games

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Sochi Olympics flame lighting goes off without a hitch ahead of mammoth torch relay

by  Associated Press Olympic flame for Sochi Games ready for relay Associated Press - 29 September 2013 06:01-04:00

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — Using the sun's rays, the Olympic flame lighting for the Winter Games in Sochi went off without a hitch in southern Greece, ahead of its journey across Russia's nine time zones and even a trip to space before the Feb. 7-23 games.

The ceremony was held Sunday with actresses dressed as ancient priestesses at the birthplace of the Greek games held in antiquity, with the flame lighting using a parabolic mirror. NHL star Alex Ovechkin will be the first Russian involved in the torch relay.

Newly elected International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was present at the ceremony.

News Topics: General news, Sports, 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, Winter Olympic games, Olympic torch relay, Olympic games, Events

People, Places and Companies: Greece, Sochi, Western Europe, Europe, Russia, Eastern Europe

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This article is published under the terms of the News Licensing Group, LLC. privacy policy, in addition to the terms of use and privacy policy for this website.

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Olympic flame for Sochi Games ready for relay

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — Using the sun's rays, the Olympic flame lighting for the Winter Games in Sochi went off without a hitch in southern Greece, ahead of its journey across Russia's nine time zones and even a trip to space before the Feb. 7-23 games.

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Greek far-right party members charged after swoop

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Flame lit ahead of Sochi Olympics

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As Greece showcases Olympic birthplace, another ancient stadium threatened by cuts

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Wanted Greek Lawmaker Gives Himself Up

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GREECE CRACKS DOWN ON FAR-RIGHT PARTY WITH ARRESTS OF LAWMAKERS

ATHENS — Counterterrorism police conducted a crackdown on Greece’s neofascist Golden Dawn party early Saturday, arresting five members of Parliament, including the head of the organization, and 10 party officials. A search was underway for ...

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Extreme-Right Golden Dawn Lawmaker Sought by Police in Greece Surrenders

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Greek FinMin, Troika Agree on Fiscal 2013 Closing, Leaving Major Issues Pending

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'Gang' charges for Greek far-right

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SYRIZA Urges Resort to ‘People’s Verdict’ Against Golden Dawn

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Ron The Greek bounces back in Jockey Club

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Greek police arrest five MPs in crackdown on neo-Nazi party

Greek police cracked down on the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, arresting its founding leader and four other members of parliament Saturday, following the murder of a leftist musician allegedly by a party activist.

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