Liz has never been a good judge of character, BUT... maybe that is an asset!
Liz Taylor gives Hillary Clinton campaign $100,000

39 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Elizabeth Taylor likes the way
Hillary Rodham Clinton thinks and that is worth a check for $100,000.

While the rest of Hollywood starts to choose sides in the 2008 U.S. presidential race, Taylor has already picked the New York Democratic senator as her favorite candidate and written her a $100,000 check for the campaign.

In a statement released on Thursday, the actress said, "I have contributed to Sen.
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign because she has a mind of her own and a very strong one at that.

"I like the way she thinks. She is very savvy and a smart leader with years of experience in government, diplomacy and politics."

Taylor's spokesman Dick Guttman said the campaign donation was $100,000. Taylor, 74, is one of Hollywood's leading
AIDS activists and supporters of liberal causes.

With the fight for the presidential nominations of both parties just starting, Hollywood -- a key center for fund raising and celebrity -- is still choosing sides. Some former key supporters of the senator and her husband, former President
Bill Clinton, are showing interest in Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record).

What are they going to do, cut off women's feet for operating the pedals?
Saudi princess would let women drive

By SALLY BUZBEE, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 25, 1:15 PM ET

DAVOS, Switzerland - The most prominent princess in Saudi Arabia's royal family said Thursday that if she could change one thing about her country, she would let women drive _ a rare and direct challenge to the driving ban imposed by the kingdom's ruling male elite.

The remarks from Princess Lolwah Al-Faisal, daughter of a former Saudi king and sister of the current foreign minister, came at the
World Economic Forum _ a gathering known for getting world leaders to engage in frank, often off-the-record dialogue without fear of criticism.

Al-Faisal, however, spoke at a public session on promoting religious tolerance. Other attendees included former Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami, the prime minister of Malaysia, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and peace activist from
Israel and an American cleric.

The moderator, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, asked panelists at one point to "self-criticize" and say what they would change to promote greater interfaith understanding.

Turning to the princess, he quipped: "What would you do, princess, if you were 'queen' for a day? I won't tell anyone."

"First thing, I'd let women drive," Al-Faisal said dryly, as the audience erupted in applause and laughter. She added as the applause died down, "Or else have a great transportation system, which we don't have."

Women in Saudi Arabia now can work at many jobs that once were off-limits _ a point the princess made. But critics say their inability to drive holds them back from many jobs by forcing them to rely on hired drivers, or on male relatives, to get to work or to school.

Some critics say the driving ban particularly impacts poorer Saudi families who cannot afford to hire drivers. Because of that, some consider the driving ban not just as a women's rights issue, but also as a factor holding back the country's economic development.

Al-Faisal's comments are particularly interesting because they show that while Saudi Arabia often presents a united front to the outside world, different opinions and even vigorous debate exist in private.

The 59-year-old princess is the most publicly visible female member of the royal family and one of the highest-profile Saudi women. She led a delegation of Saudi women business leaders to Hong Kong last year, has appeared at U.S. forums on interfaith dialogue and heads a prominent Saudi women's college.

But it is rare for her to speak in public or in front of the media. And she has never before publicly pushed for an end to the driving ban.

Her comments also are intriguing because her father, King Faisal, who ruled from 1964-1975, had a reputation as more progressive on social issues than his successors.

King Faisal first instituted education for Saudi girls, for example, in the 1960s, and some have wondered if he might have pushed for more reform in the conservative, religious kingdom had he lived longer. He was assassinated in 1975 by a disgruntled royal family member.

When the current monarch, King Abdullah, assumed the throne in 2005, expectations were high that he would decisively and quickly lead the country toward more openness. Indeed, for a while, Saudi Arabia made small but striking steps toward reform, such as instances where Saudi female journalists were allowed to interview men.

But the reform pace has slowed, partly because of reported differences within the royal family over the pace and direction of change and partly because of resistance by religious conservatives who fear reform will dilute their strong influence.

The issue of women drivers has been mostly dormant from Saudi public debate in recent years. It flared after the
Gulf War in 1991, when a group of prominent Saudi women staged a protest by driving through the capital of Riyadh. But the government cracked down hard, confiscating many of the women's passports and thus preventing them from leaving the country for months afterward.

The debate has occasionally flared in newspapers since but never to such an extent as in 1991. Yet many Saudi women privately view the ban as a main barrier to progress.

Conservatives, however, are vocal in pushing to retain the ban _ saying that allowing women to drive would inevitably lead to their moral corruption, by forcing them to interact with men who are not relatives in places such as gas stations.

Other Gulf countries, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab countries allow women to drive.

Al-Faisal is a sister of two prominent members of the current government, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal and Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the outgoing Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Only a very small guillotine would be needed to set these woman free...
Saudi princess would let women drive

By SALLY BUZBEE, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 25, 1:15 PM ET

DAVOS, Switzerland - The most prominent princess in Saudi Arabia's royal family said Thursday that if she could change one thing about her country, she would let women drive _ a rare and direct challenge to the driving ban imposed by the kingdom's ruling male elite.

The remarks from Princess Lolwah Al-Faisal, daughter of a former Saudi king and sister of the current foreign minister, came at the
World Economic Forum _ a gathering known for getting world leaders to engage in frank, often off-the-record dialogue without fear of criticism.

Al-Faisal, however, spoke at a public session on promoting religious tolerance. Other attendees included former Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami, the prime minister of Malaysia, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and peace activist from
Israel and an American cleric.

The moderator, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, asked panelists at one point to "self-criticize" and say what they would change to promote greater interfaith understanding.

Turning to the princess, he quipped: "What would you do, princess, if you were 'queen' for a day? I won't tell anyone."

"First thing, I'd let women drive," Al-Faisal said dryly, as the audience erupted in applause and laughter. She added as the applause died down, "Or else have a great transportation system, which we don't have."

Women in Saudi Arabia now can work at many jobs that once were off-limits _ a point the princess made. But critics say their inability to drive holds them back from many jobs by forcing them to rely on hired drivers, or on male relatives, to get to work or to school.

Some critics say the driving ban particularly impacts poorer Saudi families who cannot afford to hire drivers. Because of that, some consider the driving ban not just as a women's rights issue, but also as a factor holding back the country's economic development.

Al-Faisal's comments are particularly interesting because they show that while Saudi Arabia often presents a united front to the outside world, different opinions and even vigorous debate exist in private.

The 59-year-old princess is the most publicly visible female member of the royal family and one of the highest-profile Saudi women. She led a delegation of Saudi women business leaders to Hong Kong last year, has appeared at U.S. forums on interfaith dialogue and heads a prominent Saudi women's college.

But it is rare for her to speak in public or in front of the media. And she has never before publicly pushed for an end to the driving ban.

Her comments also are intriguing because her father, King Faisal, who ruled from 1964-1975, had a reputation as more progressive on social issues than his successors.

King Faisal first instituted education for Saudi girls, for example, in the 1960s, and some have wondered if he might have pushed for more reform in the conservative, religious kingdom had he lived longer. He was assassinated in 1975 by a disgruntled royal family member.

When the current monarch, King Abdullah, assumed the throne in 2005, expectations were high that he would decisively and quickly lead the country toward more openness. Indeed, for a while, Saudi Arabia made small but striking steps toward reform, such as instances where Saudi female journalists were allowed to interview men.

But the reform pace has slowed, partly because of reported differences within the royal family over the pace and direction of change and partly because of resistance by religious conservatives who fear reform will dilute their strong influence.

The issue of women drivers has been mostly dormant from Saudi public debate in recent years. It flared after the
Gulf War in 1991, when a group of prominent Saudi women staged a protest by driving through the capital of Riyadh. But the government cracked down hard, confiscating many of the women's passports and thus preventing them from leaving the country for months afterward.

The debate has occasionally flared in newspapers since but never to such an extent as in 1991. Yet many Saudi women privately view the ban as a main barrier to progress.

Conservatives, however, are vocal in pushing to retain the ban _ saying that allowing women to drive would inevitably lead to their moral corruption, by forcing them to interact with men who are not relatives in places such as gas stations.

Other Gulf countries, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab countries allow women to drive.

Al-Faisal is a sister of two prominent members of the current government, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal and Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the outgoing Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Bush is a Hipocrite as Champion for the Homophobes' Party, while delcaring Death for all who "Hate Freedom?"!!!
Churches set to lose appeal on UK gay adoption law

By Jeremy Lovell Thu Jan 25, 9:50 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - A bid by the Catholic and Anglican Churches in Britain to exempt Catholic adoption agencies from being forced to place children with gay couples got Muslim backing on Thursday but still looked set to fail.

The Equality Act, which comes into force in April, is designed to stop discrimination against gay and lesbian couples wishing to adopt a child, but the Church leaders called for an exemption for Catholic adoption agencies on faith grounds.

On Thursday, Muslims voiced support for the exemption and described the government's apparent rejection as absurd.

"The Muslim Council of Britain fully supports the principled stand taken by the leaders of the Catholic and Anglican Churches," it said in a statement, adding that homosexuality is banned in Islam.

The battle between Church and state involved British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, who was said to have favored an exemption, risking a revolt by most of his ministers and underscoring the weakness of his position in the closing months of his premiership.

But on Thursday Education Minister Alan Johnson, who has responsibility for adoption, said the government, including Blair, saw no case for special treatment.

"I don't see a case for exemption and I don't think the prime minister does," he told BBC radio.

"The case for no exemption has been made very eloquently. The strength of that argument suggests that we cannot introduce legislation to protect gays and lesbians against discrimination and at the same time allow that discrimination to continue."

Blair said a decision would be taken next week and that while he favored the right of adoption by gay couples he also wanted to ensure the Catholic agencies continued their work.

"I have always personally been in favor of the right of gay couples to adopt. Our priority will always be the welfare of the child," he said. "I am committed to finding a way through this sensitive and difficult issue."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, and Archbishop of York John Sentamu wrote to Blair on Wednesday backing a call by the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor for the special exemption.

Murphy-O'Connor's letter to Blair argued that to force Catholic agencies to place children with gay or lesbian couples went against the Church's teachings.

"We believe it would be unreasonable, unnecessary and unjust discrimination against Catholics for the government to insist ... Catholic adoption agencies must act against the teaching of the Church and their own consciences," he wrote.

Murphy-O'Connor said it would be a tragedy if the agencies were forced to close as this could put some 4,000 children awaiting adoption at a disadvantage.

Despite a similar reaction to an equal rights law on adoption in the United States, so far Catholic adoption agencies in only two cities have shut.

Johnson said the Church leaders' pleas were a minority view and Jewish and Anglican adoption agencies had made no such call.

"I very much hope that the Catholic Church does continue to provide the important service that they do. But if they don't, I think we can ensure that children are not disadvantaged by that," he said.

"We want to try and find a way through," he said, suggesting a transition period before Catholic agencies had to comply.

The 12 Catholic adoption agencies in England and Wales handle around one third of all voluntary sector adoptions.

(Additional reporting by Sophie Walker and Paul Majendie in London and Michael Conlon in Chicago)

I Love You!
Sarah Silverman Is My Kind of Cunt
Talking vaginas, retards, testicles, dicks, douchebags, and George W. Bush with the Comedy Central star
by Michael Musto
January 23rd, 2007 12:05 PM

Sarah Silverman
photo: Marla Rutherford/marlarutherford.com
See also:
A Sarah Silverman YouTube Festival
by Camille Dodero

Plus: Musto on interviewing Sarah Silverman

Political correctness officially had a massive heart attack and died when South Park hit the air in 1997, but ever since then, Sarah Silverman has been gleefully squatting over its grave and making a cocky. The writer-comic-actress uses her appealing features and twinkly eyes to throw you off as she detonates verbal WMD's about everything from Jesus's nailing to the holocaust to 9-11. (She was especially devastated by that last event because it happened on the same day she found out "the soy chai latte was like 900 calories.") And I—who used to wear combat boots and hold signs picketing both Basic Instinct and the FDA—am only protesting that she please shut the fuck up for a second and let me catch my breath from laughing so hard.

You see, bitches, pop culture has changed to the point where massive representation of various minorities has taken the sting out of any one potentially dicey comment or observation. Thanks to this new, more generous landscape, the liberal public is now willing to embrace more dangerous comedy and even grasp a comic who—just like her fellow stand-up, the raucously derisive "Queen of Mean," Lisa Lampanelli—performs the delicate dance of mocking stereotypes by smirkily embracing them. Unlike Andrew Dice Clay, the '80s comic who ultimately became trampled by his stage character (a hateful caricature of testosterone-laden excess), Silverman takes a "this is just me" approach, adding careful helpings of wry detachment and irony. She doesn't do accents, but in some ways, she's the upscale cousin of Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat, draping herself in insensitivity in order to use it as a mirror and reflect everyone else's.

No, she's not really racist, she's actually commenting on racism, and even white people seem to get it. In fact, in sneakily subverting biases in between trumpeting some of her own progressive thoughts ("Nazis are a-holes," she grins, bravely), Silverman probably is politically correct—and that's the scariest thing this fudgepacking wop has heard in a coon's age.

In July of 2001, Silverman grabbed screaming headlines by telling Conan O'Brien that one way to get out of jury duty is to claim "I hate Chinks"—as if we all haven't fantasized doing just that (and much worse) to avoid the ritualized torture of public service. Since then, Silverman's sharp-mouthed JAP act has eased deeper into the mainstream, especially now that Michael Richards has shown us what real comedy-club hate can be. (P.c. may be dead, but human decency isn't; Richards's "nig"-a-palooza rampage was greeted with universal horror, making Silverman's zingers look almost adorable by comparison. She should probably send him flowers.)

A wonderfully high-reaching Jew, she does more than just tell jokes. Last year, the slender but amusing concert film Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic mixed her stand-up routines with video-style song segments, caustic sketches, and a dazzling trio performed with her own vagina and butt. Around the same time, Silverman pulled off one more feat, bizarrely popping up in the Rent movie as a TV producer and coming off by far the funniest one in it—though, as she told me at the time, it's not really that hard to be the funniest one in an AIDS musical.

Now, The Sarah Silverman Program—premiering February 1 on Comedy Central, home of South Park—has Jimmy Kimmel's real-life girlfriend playing herself as an indulgent, whiny rapscallion from the bowels of the most lazy-assed, privileged part of hell via Valley Village. The free-form feeling of Jesus Is Magic is so intact that the flick was obviously a dry run for this show. Emo songs, exaggerated flashbacks, and visits from a horny "black God" accessorize the basic throughline, which has Silverman assuming the role of the uber-bitch of our darkest dreams. Without a shred of shame, she patronizes the homeless, invents a drama to avoid having to help a friend move, and takes out money when her TV gets stuck on a help-the-children infomercial, but only to tape the bills on the screen and cover it up. The hilarious show is both a cautionary tale and an utter fantasy. This is my kind of cunt.

Our cross-country phone chat last week went like so:

Silverman: Hi, it's Sarah Silverman. Sorry I'm a few minutes late.

Musto: That's OK. I'm the douche who called you on the wrong day last time. I hope you got over that.

I just recently did.

Anyway, I really like the show. But last time you complained to me about always having to play the bitch in movies. Won't this show pour extra flammables on that problem?

That's exactly what Jimmy [Kimmel] said! But for me there's a difference between a character who facilitates the exposition for the main character, with no layers to it, and a character that has many layers to her. I'm playing someone who genuinely thinks she's a good person and who is a douchebag, and it's not flat. I think that's interesting to watch. What am I gonna do, a show where I'm Mary Richards? Don't get me wrong, that was my favorite sitcom. But the comedy I do tends to be that contrast of sweet and sour.

The best Mary Tyler Moore episode was the one where Ted has a mild heart attack and proceeds to torture everyone with his realization of the beauty of life.

"Salt! You ever really look at salt?" My favorite might be when Rhoda totally dresses down Phyllis and Phyllis says, "Oh, Rhoda, you don't know me at all—but it's amazing how well you know my mother."

But back to your show: Do you represent the death of p.c.?

It's not for me to say. There are a lot of elements culturally that led to the death of p.c., but what next? There is no politically incorrect if there's no politically correct. When alternative comedy started, it was an alternative to something. But you can't call it alternative comedy anymore because it's in mainstream clubs. It's gonna start being that way with the p.c. stuff. It's all role-playing. I always think of All in the Family. Meathead was p.c. He was telling Archie, "Don't say nigger, don't be racist." But now it's a role reversal where the liberals are the un-p.c.

Yeah, they can usually handle irony. I mean, someone would have to be a retard to think you're racist.

I love that you're saying retard!

Thanks! If you'd been around in the old days, wouldn't you have provoked way more protests, like Andrew Dice Clay did?

I'm walking a line. I don't really play a character. It's not me, but it is my voice and it's me aesthetically and visually and the way I sound. A lot of comics—Dice or people who do funny voices or weird characters—get huge, and these comics become dated and trapped. For me, there's a kind of absolute power to saying the opposite of what you feel. The truth is what emanates. What am I gonna say—"I think people should be nice"?

Eew. I prefer you accidentally crapping yourself in that farting contest on the show. But of course that leads to a sensitive song about your sincere wishes for the world. Which is the real Sarah—the crapper or the dreamer?

I think I'm the crapper and the dreamer. It kills me that I fart and shit in an episode. I love aggressively stupid humor, but it was so embarrassing. The truth is, I do wish all the nations were part of one world and our religion was love. But I'm also the retard. To quote you.

Thanks for the shout-out. Did you love getting down with "black God"? I was supremely jealous.

The only bad memory is when we did that love scene, [the actor] was in boxer shorts and I was in paper-thin sweats, and I could totally feel his balls. He's an older man and nice and dignified, and to feel his balls on me, I really understood the idea of disassociation.

It didn't make you hot?

No. In fact, my vagina inverted. No, that's stupid. Don't print that.

Please, that's my lead. But I thought vaginas were inverted. (Not 100% sure here, of course.)

They are. But even my labia majora shriveled. That's disgusting.

That's my lead. On the show, you learn life lessons under pressure, but they're rather warped, like how older black women are wise beyond their years and younger black women are prostitutes. Was there ever any effort to make for a real uplifting message? (I hope not.)

I do like having real relationships and real moments on the show. I like the combination of hard jokes and absurdity with a real sister's relationship [Silverman's real-life older sister Laura plays her younger sis and mooch target] and a feeling of abandonment when she gets a boyfriend and so on. I like the idea of comedy played real and aesthetically it looks like it could be a drama, if the sound were off.

What does this show have to do with Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Nothing! Somebody wrote that it's "Curb Your Enthusiasm with a girl." That's flattering, because I love Curb Your Enthusiasm, but this show is totally scripted and doesn't take place anywhere near show business. My name on the show is Sarah Silverman, which is probably a mistake because I'm not playing myself. I used it out of laziness. My name should have been Sarah Morgan.

Or Sarah Zbornak. Do you favor the word cunt?

Yes! I really wanted to use it. "Cookie Party" is a pretty song, and the whole thing is supposed to be that it's genuine and sweet and then the last line is, "My sister's such a dick." Dick is a hard word and hard to get a laugh. Originally it was "My sister's such a cunt," but you can't say cunt, even if you say, "I meant it the way they say it in England."

In England, they just say "Madonna." I actually like the song the way it is. I laughed because I didn't see it coming. Dick delivers. Was being a performer and writer on Saturday Night Live in your early days a ballbusting experience?

No. I'm sure I went through stages, but it was an amazing experience—the perfect boot camp. Once you've been there, you can take anything. And I got along with the cast.

Did you fuck all of them?

I didn't fuck anyone. No, wait, let me think. [Pause.] I was hired at the same time as my on-and-off boyfriend [a writer there], so I was tied down.

Well, nowadays, you're tied down by a whole other comic. But aren't funny people completely self-absorbed and narcissistic?

Jimmy isn't your usual performer. He's developing shows for other people. He's the fastest mind and the most prolific writer because he's so self-disciplined. I try to explain to him, because he gets disappointed in people, "You can't compare people to yourself. You have to keep your expectations low."

Is his work compulsion sexy?

It is. The one way it sucks is I can never say "I had such a hard day," because he works from like 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. It's like having a parent that's a Holocaust survivor. You can never complain because they've always got it worse.

"I've got AIDS, ma." "So what? I survived the camps!"

"The family is all dead!"

Anyway, darling, all dark roads lead to Michael Richards these days. Discuss.

Not to flatter myself, but I don't think it's analogous. He had a breakdown. At least the racist things I say are well thought out and planned in advance. It's not like I'm getting truly angry. He was out of control. The audience has to know you're in control. They're like dogs, they sniff your . . .

Labia majora?

. . . anxiety. Great, your new lead will be "Sarah Silverman thinks audiences are dogs." Once, I had a totally unbalanced set, with too many black jokes for that particular crowd. One middle-aged black man in the audience said, "You're not funny." I told him that [black comic] Paul Mooney writes all my material and he should take it up with him. He said, "That's not true!" I said, "Ask him!," thinking, "Please don't really ask him."

Well, let me ask you one last hilarious thing: Do you think more troops should be sent to Iraq?

George Bush should go to Iraq and be on the front lines. I'm not newsy and I'm probably gonna say ignorant shit, but why are we in Iraq when it has nothing to do with 9-11 and there's a fucking genocide in Darfur? I grew up thinking the Holocaust could never happen again and . . .

Oh, so you're one of those people who thinks it did happen?

I love you.

What imbecile did not understand these hoodlums are liars and hypocrites?
U.S. Military Spied on Hundreds of Antiwar Demos

Aaron Glantz, OneWorld US Wed Jan 24, 6:20 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24 (OneWorld) - At least 186 antiwar protests in the United States have been monitored by the
Pentagon's domestic surveillance program, according to documents obtained by the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which also found that the Defense Department collected more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in a single anti-terrorism database.

The documents were obtained by the ACLU through a Freedom of Information Act request filed last February.

"It cannot be an accident or coincidence that nearly 200 antiwar protests ended up in a Pentagon threat database," Ann Beeson, associate legal director of the ACLU, said in a statement. "This unchecked surveillance is part of a broad pattern of the Bush administration using 'national security' as an excuse to run roughshod over the privacy and free speech rights of Americans."

The internal Defense Department documents show it is monitoring the activities of a wide swath of peace groups, including Veterans for Peace,
Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, Code Pink, the American Friends Service Committee, the War Resisters League, and the umbrella group United for Peace and Justice, which is spearheading what organizers hope will be a massive march on Washington this Saturday.

"This might have a chilling effect on some groups," United for Peace and Justice's Leslie Cagan told OneWorld, "particularly among high-risk communities like immigrants who don't have their papers yet and U.S. citizens or people with green cards who are of Muslim or South Asian or Middle Eastern descent. They've already been targeted by the government and they might feel like, with this, it's just too dangerous to come out and protest."

"It seems pretty par for the course," said Daniel Fearn of the group Veterans for Peace. The eight-year Marine Corps veteran is helping to organize an event in Washington Thursday ahead of the larger march January 27th.

"What do you expect from an administration that thinks torture is an accurate way to get accurate information?" he said. "It's the same thought process that says 'we're going to get good information from torturing somebody'--that same flawed process leads to spying on peace activists."

At Thursday's event in Washington, Fearn said veterans will read sections of the Constitution they believe the Bush administration is violating as it prosecutes the war in Iraq.

Fearn said veterans will also speak out against unwarranted surveillance and torture and argue for the repeal of laws they believe violate the Constitution, such as the Military Commissions Act, which prescribes secret tribunals for terrorism suspects.

The event appears similar to those the Pentagon has kept tabs on, according to the internal documents obtained by the ACLU.

"Veterans for Peace erected an antiwar display the week of 18 April 2005 at a local university," reads a report on a New Orleans protest from the Pentagon's Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) database. "A local army recruiter mistook the event as a memorial to fallen service members and arrived to view the display."

According to the TALON report, six individuals, who the report acknowledges may not have been associated with the Veterans for Peace group, shouted "war monger" and "baby killer" at the recruiter and a shoving match ensued.

"Veterans for Peace claim to be nonviolent," the report concludes. "This incident demonstrates a propensity for violence, and the Veterans for Peace should be viewed as a possible threat to Army and DoD [Defense Department] personnel."

For its part, Veterans for Peace describes itself as a non-profit educational and humanitarian organization committed to non-violence. "We draw on our personal experiences and perspectives gained as veterans to raise public awareness of the true costs and consequences of militarism and war--and to seek peaceful, effective alternatives," the group's Web site reads.

In response to the documents' release, Pentagon officials said the material on antiwar groups should not have been collected.

"I don't want it, we shouldn't have had it, not interested in it," Daniel Baur, the acting director of the Defense Department's counterintelligence field activity unit, told the New York Times. "I don't want to deal with it."

Baur told the Times his agency is no longer monitoring peace groups.

Experts on government spying caution not to take the Pentagon at its word, however. The ACLU notes the Defense Department documents reveal that other government agencies were also involved in the spying.

In one report, a Department of
Homeland Security agent warned after a peaceful protest by the War Resisters League at a military recruiting station that the group may favor "civil disobedience and vandalism." The report indicates that the
FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Atlanta and New York were briefed on planned protests.

"We have only the Pentagon's word that the errors and misjudgments that led to widespread surveillance of U.S. citizens have been corrected," the ACLU said in a statement last week.

"Congress should not let this president off the hook for inappropriate surveillance by the Pentagon," the group's Caroline Fredrickson said. "Americans must once again be confident we can exercise our constitutionally protected right to protest without becoming the subject of a secret government file."

Vets suffering with PTSD are being SCREWED!
VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 01-22-2007 #7

VA Medical Malpractice Lawyer - Malpractice Cases for Veterans Against the VA - The Law Offices of W. Robb Graham, L.L.C. - Former Navy Judge Advocate

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OPINION: GIs SUFFERING STRESS DISORDER DESERVE

BETTER -- Former Army officer / CIA analyst and

psychologist / minister offer their thoughts.





Story here... http://www.mysanantonio.com/
opinion/stories/MYSA012107.4H.
weavercomment.aa609d.html

Story below:

---------------

Comment: GIs suffering stress disorder deserve better

Andrew Weaver
and Ray McGovern
Special to the Express-News



The California Nurses Association reported that in the first quarter of 2006, the "Veterans Administration treated 20,638 Iraq veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, and they have a backlog of 400,000 cases." A returning soldier has to wait an average of 165 days for a VA decision on initial disability benefits, and an appeal can take up to three years.

This is unacceptable and reprehensible.

The saying, "War is hell," doesn't begin to describe how horrible it has been for tens of thousands in our military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

War inevitably involves witnessing and sometimes engaging in gruesome acts of violence. It is a shocking confrontation with death and devastation. It is normal for human beings to react to war's psychic trauma with profound feelings of fear, anger, grief, repulsion, helplessness and horror — or with emotional numbness and disbelief.

Trauma is the Greek word for wound. Just as a physical wound from combat can cause suffering in the body, psychological trauma can cause acute suffering of mind and spirit.

It is not surprising to find that an assessment of more than 220,000 military personnel returning from Iraq, published in the April 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association, found nearly one in five have significant mental health problems.

At the same time, we are hearing disturbing news reports that these traumatized soldiers are not receiving the mental heath care they urgently require.

In December, the award-winning National Public Radio journalist Daniel Zwerdling did an extensive story on the military's treatment of personnel returning from Iraq who suffer from emotional problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Veterans coming home stated that their superiors have harassed and punished them for seeking help for psychological problems triggered by their service in Iraq. Several of the soldiers' supervisors acknowledged the callous treatment.

A recent national study by the Government Accountability Office found that most of the troops who show signs of PTSD were not referred to mental health professionals, despite Pentagon claims "that providing support to soldiers with emotional problems is a top priority" and "that resources are being made available to returning veterans."

If the same disastrous pattern unfolds that affected Vietnam-era veterans and these PTSD sufferers do not obtain appropriate and timely assistance, tens of thousands will become unnecessarily and tragically addicted to drugs or alcohol and may commit suicide. We lost more Vietnam-era military personnel to suicide and drugs than the 58,000 we lost in combat.

Americans must actively advocate and demand appropriate treatment for veterans who have been psychologically wounded by war.



Andrew J. Weaver of New York City is a United Methodist minister, research psychologist and author.

Ray McGovern of Washington was a Army officer before his 27-year career as a CIA analyst and is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, or VIPS.

---------------

Larry Scott

...sic 'em, Fido!

Perpetuating Democracy Is About Preserving Choice! Resist Institutional Religious and Secular Tyranny!

Posted by hotelbravo.org at 4:34 PM CST
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"For-grabs" are UP!
"Dreamgirls" snubbed for Oscars best film nomination

By Dean Goodman 15 minutes ago

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Musical drama "Dreamgirls" led the Oscar field with eight nominations on Tuesday, but its stunning omission from the coveted best picture and directing categories instantly transformed the race for Hollywood's top honors into a wild guessing game.

"Babel," a globe-spanning exploration of clashing cultures and tragic coincidence, secured seven nominations, followed by Spanish-language adult fairy tale "Pan's Labyrinth" and the British royals drama "The Queen" with six each.

Martin Scorsese's mob thriller "The Departed" and the Africa-set exploration of greed and war "Blood Diamond" picked up five
Academy Awards nominations each.

"Babel," "The Queen" and "The Departed" will compete for best picture alongside Clint Eastwood's Japanese-language World War Two saga "Letters from Iwo Jima" and the low-budget comedy hit "Little Miss Sunshine."

The 79th annual Academy Awards, the top honors in cinema, will take place on February 25 in Hollywood.

Scorsese, Eastwood, and "Babel" director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu of Mexico, will face off for best director with British filmmakers Stephen Frears for "The Queen" and Paul Greengrass for the September 11 docudrama "United 93." Greengrass and Inarritu are first-time nominees.

Scorsese, 64, has been nominated six times for directing but has never won. He was considered the frontrunner two years ago with "The Aviator," but lost out to Eastwood and his dark-horse contender "Million Dollar Baby."

"Departed" producer Graham King told Reuters he would like Scorsese to end his losing streak but the director was "completely driven by film and the art of filmmaking" rather than by awards.

The film, Scorsese's follow-up to "The Aviator," was initially envisaged as a bloody thriller with no Oscar pretensions. But rave reviews and the best ticket sales of Scorsese's career made it an awards frontrunner. Scorsese won the Golden Globe for the film last week.

But movie pundit Tom O'Neil said Eastwood and his low-profile "Iwo Jima" -- with U.S. ticket sales of just $2.4 million -- have "once again ambushed the Oscar race when Martin Scorsese was out front," and was now the one to beat.

"SHOCKING THUMBS-DOWN"

Most Oscar pundits had expected "Dreamgirls" to be among the main contenders, but its omission from the top two races was "a shocking thumbs-down," said O'Neil, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times Web site theenvelope.com.

The film's highest-profile mentions were in the supporting acting races, where veteran comic Eddie Murphy and newcomer Jennifer Hudson, a former contestant on television's "American Idol" talent show, received their first nominations.

Rolling Stone magazine critic Peter Travers said the best picture race was now a toss-up. If Oscar voters find the Scorsese and Eastwood films too violent, "The Queen" too British and "Babel" too multilingual, "Little Miss Sunshine" could win the pageant. The low-budget comedy was recently named best picture by the Producers Guild of America, a group whose choices are often echoed by the
Oscars.

"OLD FOGEYS"

Travers said the academy ignored stars such as Jack Nicholson ("The Departed"), Brad Pitt ("Babel") and Ben Affleck ("Hollywoodland"), but its members missed a good opportunity to shake off their reputation as "old fogeys" by failing to give an acting nomination to "Borat" star Sacha Baron Cohen, who did receive a nod for adapted screenplay.

Nominated for lead actor were Leonardo DiCaprio for "Blood Diamond," Ryan Gosling for "Half Nelson," Peter O'Toole for "Venus," Will Smith for "The Pursuit of Happyness," and Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland."

The best actress nominees were Penelope Cruz of Spain for "Volver," Britons Judi Dench for "Notes on a Scandal," Helen Mirren for "The Queen," and Kate Winslet for "Little Children," and the sole American contender, Meryl Streep for "The Devil Wears Prada." Streep has racked up 14 nominations in her career, breaking the record she set in 2002.

(Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant)

"...Go to hell, gringos! Go home! Go home!" Chavez said, "We're free, here, and every day we'll be more free."
Chavez tells Washington to "go to hell"

Mon Jan 22, 9:34 AM ET

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday called the U.S. secretary of state "my little girl" and told Washington to "go to hell" after it questioned his plan to seek special powers to legislate by decree.

Chavez, a Cuba ally re-elected by a landslide in December, this month launched a campaign to consolidate power by nationalizing key industries, seeking expanded executive powers and pushing for unlimited presidential re-election.

A State Department spokesman on Friday described Chavez's proposal to allow presidents to rule by decree as "a bit odd" in a democracy.

"That is a sacrosanct legal authority of Venezuela. Go to hell, gringos! Go home! Go home!" Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast. "We're free here, and every day we'll be more free."

Chavez also took on U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, who has described Chavez as a "negative force" in the region.

"Hi Condoleezza, how are you? You've forgotten about me, my little girl," said Chavez, who last year called
President George W. Bush "the devil" during a U.N. speech.

Venezuela's legislature this week is expected to give its final approval to the Enabling Law that would grant Chavez 18 months to decree legislation.

'CERTAINLY ... A BIT ODD'

The former soldier has said he would use the expanded powers to end the autonomy of the nation's central bank, create a national police force and boost state control over the nation's oil industry, which provides around 11 percent of U.S. oil imports.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey on Friday said the legislation by decree proposal was "a sovereign right of Venezuela but certainly ... a bit odd in terms of a democratic system."

Chavez also plans to alter the nation's constitution, rewritten in 1999 following a campaign Chavez himself led, to boost state control over the economy and remove a two-term limit for presidents.

He said he additionally plans to create new luxury taxes and raise Venezuela's rock-bottom gasoline prices -- currently around 13 cents per gallon -- and use the proceeds to finance community development groups.

Chavez in 2001 decreed a package of 40 laws that paved the way for a sweeping land reform measure and higher taxes for oil companies. The move galvanized the country's fledgling opposition, which accused Chavez of authoritarianism and staged a botched coup six months later.

The government says previous Venezuelan administrations used the Enabling Law, though opposition leaders say they reserved the law for emergency measures rather than divisive reforms.

Chavez frequently describes the United States as a decadent empire and has promised to roll back Washington's influence in Latin America.

The United States has criticized his close relationship with U.S. foes including Cuba,
Iran and
Syria, charging he has used the nation's oil wealth to meddle in the affairs of neighboring countries.

Imperialist European values must be crazy to eject the Bushmen and destroy their culture!
Botswana's Bushmen Return to Native Land

Aaron Glantz, OneWorld US Wed Jan 17, 11:24 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17 (OneWorld) - Tribal Bushmen began returning to their ancestral lands inside Botswana's largest game reserve this weekend, despite what their supporters describe as a heavy police presence and attempts to persuade them to stay in relocation camps.

"We're very much hoping that doesn't tip over into an intimidating situation," said Miriam Ross of the London-based rights group Survival International, which has supported the local tribesmen in their efforts to regain access to their land. "We're hoping the government will let all those Bushmen who want to return to their lands do so."

Basarwa tribesmen, also known as Bushmen, won a court order in December allowing them to return to land in the massive Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which, at 52,800 square kilometers, is larger than the nations of Denmark and Switzerland.

In its ruling, Botswana's High Court called the government's eviction of the Basarwa "unlawful and unconstitutional" and said that they had the right to live on their ancestral land inside the reserve. The court also ruled that the Basarwa who live in Botswana have the right to hunt and gather in the reserve, and should not have to apply for permits to enter it.

The Bushmen have lived in southern Africa for more than 20,000 years and are thought by some experts to be one of the oldest--if not the oldest--people on the planet, in genetic terms.

According to Survival International, government officials forced nearly all of the Bushmen to leave the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in three separate events in 1997, 2002, and 2005. Their homes were dismantled, their school and health center were closed, and their water supply was destroyed.

Life in relocation camps outside the reserve has been especially difficult for the Bushmen, Survival says. Rarely able to hunt, they have been dependent on government handouts while their society has become gripped by alcoholism, boredom, depression, and illnesses such as tuberculosis and
HIV/
AIDS.

Inside the reserve reside species as diverse as the giraffe, brown hyena, warthog, wild dog, cheetah, leopard, lion, blue wildebeest, eland, gemsbok, kudu, red hartebeest, and springbok.

Botswana's government has sought to evict the local tribesman numerous times over the last 20 years, ostensibly to promote tourism and protect wildlife in the area, although many believe the main reason has more to do with diamond mining aspirations.

"The government has given various different reasons for the evictions," Survival International's Ross told OneWorld. "The government said it's for the people's own good--that they can't live hunting and gathering in this day and age, that they need to become civilized. The president said if the Bushmen want to survive they'll have to change or they'll perish like the Dodo. They've also said it's because the game reserve is for animals and that the Bushmen are a danger to animals."

Activists like Miriam Ross of Survival International doubt the government's opposition to the Bushmen's return has anything to do with preserving nature, however.

"What Survival believes is that the Bushmen were evicted because there were diamonds found under their land in the early 1980s," Ross said. "There isn't mining in the reserve at the moment but we believe the government wanted to get the Bushmen out of the way so future diamond mining could take place."

Ross noted much of Botswana's foreign exchange comes from partnerships with diamond companies like DeBeers.

"DeBeers has a concession in the Kalahari Game Reserve," she said, "so it has the right to explore for diamonds in the reserve. I would ask the government to explain that."

Even after the court ruling, the government continues to dispute the Bushmen's return, maintaining that only the 189 people who filed the lawsuit would be given automatic right of return with their children--well short of the 50,000 Basarwa who live in Botswana, 2,000 of whom say they want to go home.

Government officials also argue that tribesmen cannot take along domestic animals or other items that have become necessities for these descendants of hunter-gatherers.

"There are incompatibilities between domestic animals and a game reserve," Dr. Wayne Getz, a South Africa-trained professor of environmental science, policy, and management at the University of California-Berkeley told OneWorld. "Domestic animals can spread diseases to wild animals and vice versa and humans can be the recipients of this as well."

George Whittemyer, a post-doctoral fellow who works in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya has noticed a sharp drop in the amount of wildlife as a result of human and domestic-animal activity.

"In my system, there's a highly endangered Zebra species and it's basically being out-competed by cattle," he said. "So it no longer has the resources it needs and it looks like it might go extinct. It's going very poorly."

Hillary's IN!
Hillary Clinton enters 2008 presidential race

By Ellen Wulfhorst 2 hours, 14 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator and former first lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday entered the 2008 presidential race, officially joining a crowded field for her party's nomination.

"I'm in. And I'm in to win," Clinton wrote on her Web site that reads "Hillary for President."

The second-term U.S. senator from New York and former U.S. first lady had been widely anticipated to announce her bid to become the first woman to win the U.S. presidency. She is considered a front-runner among five other candidates in the Democratic White House field.

Her announcement comes days after a similar move by Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) of Illinois, who is expected to be her leading party competitor and whose campaign could make him the first black U.S. president. Obama's candidacy has stoked enthusiasm among Democrats looking for an alternative to Clinton, who some fear could be too polarizing to defeat a Republican candidate next year.

"I am forming a presidential exploratory committee. I am not just starting a campaign though, I am beginning a conversation with you, with America," she said in a videotaped message on her Web site. An exploratory committee is a first step toward official candidacy and allows her to raise campaign funds and hire staff.

"After six years of
George Bush it is time to renew the promise of America," she said.

President George W. Bush was elected to a second four-year term in 2004.

The wife of former President
Bill Clinton made history with her bid for U.S. Senate in New York in 2000, becoming the first former first lady to win one of the most powerful political jobs in the nation.

Clinton, 59, was re-elected by a huge margin to a second Senate term in November.

AIMING AT BUSH

In her posted written statement, Clinton took immediate aim at what she called "six years of Bush administration failures."

"I have never been afraid to stand up for what I believe in or to face down the Republican machine," she wrote. "Only a new president will be able to undo Bush's mistakes and restore our hope and optimism.

"Only a new president can renew the promise of America -- the idea that if you work hard you can count on the health care, education, and retirement security that you need to raise your family. These are the basic values of America that are under attack from this administration every day," she wrote.

"And only a new president can regain America's position as a respected leader in the world."

Clinton said she would be launching a series of live, online video conversations with voters, beginning on Monday.

Before officially declaring her candidacy for U.S. Senate in 2000, Clinton traveled around New York on a "listening tour" to meet voters and hear their issues.

Prior to her husband's two terms in the White House, Clinton was a successful attorney and advocate of children's rights, a former member of several corporate boards and public-interest boards. She was active in causes ranging from lowering infant mortality to providing legal assistance to the poor.

"Let's talk about how to bring the right end to the war in
Iraq and restore respect for America around the world," she said a videotaped message on her Web site, mentioning several issues she would address in her campaign such as energy, health care and retirement security.

Clinton worked on the House of Representatives committee on the impeachment of President
Richard Nixon. She attended Yale Law School where she met fellow student Bill Clinton and followed her husband to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was governor and she was a lawyer, mother and political wife.

(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington)

Like the callous attitude of officers toward the morality of their men is new...Ha!
Navy relieves sub commander after deaths

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Navy announced Friday it relieved the commander of a nuclear submarine that was involved in an incident that killed two sailors.

On Dec. 29, rough seas swept four American sailors from the deck of the submarine off the coast of southwestern England. The USS-Minneapolis-St. Paul was leaving Plymouth harbor when the sailors were knocked into the water by surging waves. The four men were taken to a hospital in Plymouth, where two were pronounced dead.

According to officials, an initial review determined the incident was avoidable and due in part to a poor decision by the commander. A formal investigation is still under way. He was identified by a Navy statement as Cmdr. Edwin Ruff.

According to the Navy, Ruff was reassigned to a shore-based post in Norfolk, Va. The decision was made by Vice Adm. Chuck Munns, commander of the Navy's Submarine Force in Norfolk.

"Munns took this action due to a loss of in confidence in Ruff's ability to command," according to the service statement.

Earlier this week, Ruff and another officer on the submarine received a letter of reprimand.

How long must we suffer these idiots?
Official faults Bush stem cell funding limits

By Will Dunham 49 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S.
National Institutes of Health official said on Friday
President George W. Bush's limits on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research have blocked potential medical breakthroughs.

The comments by Story Landis, director of the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, came as supporters of a bill to lift Bush's restrictions make a push for Senate passage in the coming weeks.

Bush used the only veto of his presidency last July to reject an identical bill and has promised another veto.

Democrats who seized control of Congress in November elections have made its passage a high priority. It cleared the House of Representatives on January 11 by a vote of 253-174, short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.

Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) of Massachusetts asked Landis during a Senate hearing to assess the impact of Bush's restrictions, imposed in August 2001.

"We are missing out on possible breakthroughs," Landis responded.

Advocates of such research call it the best hope for potential cures for ailments such as
Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries. But because such research requires destruction of days-old embryos, opponents call it immoral.

Landis said there is a "compelling need to pursue both embryonic and non-embryonic stem cell research," and no one can predict which might lead to cures.

"Therefore, NIH should support research on stem cells from both embryonic and other sources," Landis said.

'ALL AVENUES'

"Science works best when scientists can pursue all avenues of research," Landis said. "If the cure for Parkinson's disease or juvenile diabetes lay behind one of four doors, wouldn't you want the option to open all four doors at once instead of one door?"

Stem cells are a kind of master cell for the body, capable of growing into various tissue and cell types. Those taken from days-old embryos are especially malleable but "adult" stem cells found in babies and adults also have shown promise.

Many scientists hope to exploit the unique qualities of these cells to repair tissue damaged by disease or injury.

Two stem cell researchers and Lauren Stanford, a diabetic 15-year-old Massachusetts girl, pleaded with the senators to pass the bill. No witnesses opposing it were called.

Some Republican senators against the measure emphasized their support for "adult" stem cell research not requiring embryo destruction.

"Let's make sure we understand the dividing line," said Sen. Tom Coburn (news, bio, voting record) of Oklahoma, a doctor who has delivered 4,000 babies. "Some of us very earnestly believe life begins at conception.

"I can tell you that you're going to get a veto," Coburn told the bill's supporters.

Kennedy said he expected the Senate to consider the bill in February and appealed to Bush to "re-examine his conscience."

Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record), who opposes abortion but supports embryonic stem cell research, held up a pair of handcuffs from "one of my
Secret Service buddies" to make the point that Bush's policy binds scientists' hands.

Bush's 2001 policy limited federal funding to research on the human embryonic stem cell colonies, or lines, that existed at that time. Scientists say many of those roughly 20 lines are deteriorating, contaminated or obsolete.

The bill would allow federal funding for research involving additional stem cell lines derived from leftover embryos created at fertility clinics destined otherwise to be destroyed because they will not be used to make babies.

Here's a bunch of people in drastic need of education in literature/mythology.
Zeus worshippers demand access to temple

DEREK GATOPOULOS, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 19, 1:07 PM ET

ATHENS, Greece - After all these centuries, Zeus may have a few thunderbolts left. A tiny group of worshippers plans a rare ceremony Sunday to honor the ancient Greek gods, at Athens' 1,800-year-old Temple of Olympian Zeus. Greece's Culture Ministry has declared the central Athens site off-limits, but worshippers say they will defy the decision.

"These are our temples and they should be used by followers of our religion," said Doreta Peppa, head of the Athens-based Ellinais, a group campaigning to revive the ancient religion.

"Of course we will go ahead with the event ... we will enter the site legally," said Peppa, who calls herself a high priestess of the revived faith. "We will issue a call for peace, who can be opposed to that?"

Peppa said the ceremony will be held in honor of Zeus, king of the ancient gods, but did not give other details. The daily Ethnos newspaper, citing the group's application to the Culture Ministry to use the site, said the 90-minute event would include hymns, dancers, torchbearers, and worshippers in ancient costumes.

Greece's archaic religion is believed to have several hundred official followers, mainly middle-aged and elderly academics, lawyers and other professionals. They typically share a keen interest in ancient history and a dislike for the Greek Orthodox Church.

Ancient rituals are re-enacted every two years at Olympia, in southern Greece, where the flame lighting ceremony is held for the summer and winter Olympic games. But the event is not regarded as a religious ceremony and actresses are used to pose as high priestesses.

Last year, the Culture Ministry, fearing damage to monuments, blocked an initiative to hold an international track meet at Olympia. A panel of ministry experts ruled against Sunday's ancient ceremony at the ruins of the Temple of Zeus on similar grounds.

"Ancient sites are not available for this kind of event," ministry official Eliza Kyrtsoglou said. It was not clear whether the government had plans to block the worshippers.

Peppa's group, dedicated to reviving worship of the 12 ancient gods, was founded last year and won a court battle for official state recognition of the ancient Greek religion.

Those who seek to revive the ancient Greek religion are split into rival organizations which trade insults over the Internet. Peppa's group is at odds with ultra-nationalists who view a revival as a way to protect Greek identity from foreign influences.

They can't even agree on a name for the religion: One camp calls it Ancient-Religion, another Hellenic Religion.

The worshippers also face another obstacle: Greece's powerful Orthodox Church.

About 97 percent of native born Greeks are baptized Orthodox Christian, and the church regards ancient religious practices as pagan. Representatives of the church in the past have not attended flame ceremonies at Olympia because reference is made to Apollo, the ancient god of music and light.

Christianity took hold in Greece in the 4th century after Roman Emperor Constantine's conversion. Emperor Theodosius wiped out the last vestige of the Olympian gods when he abolished the
Olympic Games in 394 A.D. The modern revival of the Olympiad maintains a slender link to ancient ceremonies.

"Christianity did not prevail without bloodshed," said Peppa, a novelist and historical writer. "After 16 centuries of negativity toward us, we've gotten something in our favor."

Ellinais is demanding government approval for its downtown offices to be registered as a place of worship — a move that could allow the group to perform weddings and other ceremonies. They threaten further court action unless that permission is granted.

"There should be respect for people who want to express their religious feelings in a different way, that is not the typical Orthodox or Christian way," Peppa said. "We should not be stopped or denied our rights."