--- a/makefile.machine	2009-05-29 07:24:22.000000000 +0000
+++ b/makefile.machine	2009-05-29 07:25:22.000000000 +0000
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 # makefile for Linux (x86, PPC, alpha ...)
 #
 
+CXX ?= g++
+CC ?= gcc
 OPTFLAGS=-O
 
 ALLFLAGS=${OPTFLAGS} -s \
@@ -9,8 +11,8 @@
 	-DNDEBUG -D_REENTRANT -DENV_UNIX \
 	$(LOCAL_FLAGS)
 
-CXX=g++ $(ALLFLAGS)
-CC=gcc $(ALLFLAGS)
+CXX += $(ALLFLAGS)
+CC += $(ALLFLAGS)
 CC_SHARED=-fPIC
 LINK_SHARED=-fPIC -shared