TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES

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Cross-Dressing NY Restaurant Sues Over Review

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A restaurant patronized by tourists and celebrities for its transvestite waiters, who tell bawdy jokes and perform floor shows, sued the Zagat Survey eatery guide for $10 million for damaging its business with a poor review.
Lucky Cheng's in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood said in court papers made public on Tuesday that it was seeking damages for libel and negligence and a halt to more copies of the review being printed.

Representatives of New York-based Zagat, which publishes diners' views of restaurants in New York and cities around the world, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The suit said the restaurant was "libelously attacked" in reviews that "falsely state the quality of food and beverage, service, wait staff, sanitation and cleanliness are substandard and unworthy of patronage."

Zagat's 2004 edition was printed in October. The lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court said it did not reflect improvements since new owners took over in April 2002.

The review, which rated the food 9 out of 30, said: "God knows 'you don't go for the food' ... rather you go to 'gawk' at the 'hilarious,' 'cross dressing' staff. Well-wishers suggest they 'freshen up the menu -- and their makeup.'"

In addition to $10 million in damages, the restaurant is also suing for an estimated $30,000 a week in lost income since the review's publication in October and reimbursement of $250,000 in advertising costs.

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Shipwreck Crew Rescued, Then Busted for Smuggling

ATHENS (Reuters) - The crew of a freighter that half-sunk off the Greek island of Santorini on Christmas Eve spent Christmas Day thanking the coastguard for rescuing them, only to be arrested on Boxing Day for smuggling.
The North Korean-flagged Elisabeth hit an islet southwest of Santorini during a storm on Wednesday. Coastguard officers evacuated the eight-man Ukrainian crew and took them to hospital for checks, inspecting the ship the next day once weather allowed.

"When the coastguard went to check for spills and boarded the ship, they found it did not carry cement as declared, but around 35 tonnes of smuggled cigarettes," a Merchant Marine Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

The crew's rescue had been featured on Greek television as a heart-warming tale on Christmas Day, with crew members offering thanks and season's greetings. All have been arrested on charges of smuggling, the spokesman added.

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French Thieves Drive Victim Home for Christmas Eve

PARIS (Reuters) - A pair of thieves who seized a van loaded with pricey designer goods on Wednesday took a two-hour detour so they could drive the owner home for his Christmas Eve dinner, before fleeing with the loot.
Posing as police, the two men tricked the van driver into pulling over at a motorway intersection on the edge of Paris by chasing him in a car fitted with a flashing blue light, a siren and a "police" sign, local media reported on Friday.

Despite being armed with guns and wearing balaclavas, the thieves showed some seasonal goodwill when they asked their victim where he lived, explaining "we don't want you to have too far to walk," according to police sources.

They then drove the man around 300 km (185 miles) to his home in Saint Soupplets in eastern France, so he could arrive in time for the traditional Christmas meal which in France is eaten on the evening of December 24. Showing that Christmas spirit only goes so far, the man, whose van was loaded with clothes from labels like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, has filed a complaint with police.

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Swallowed Diamond Ring Shows Up as Evidence

CLEARWATER, Fla. (Reuters) - A would-be jewel thief who swallowed a 1.5 carat diamond ring has been forced by nature to give up the evidence, Florida police said.
A Clearwater Police Department spokesman said on Wednesday that Mary Flowers, 38, was arrested last week after a surveillance tape showed her putting the $20,000 ring in her mouth at a jewelry store in a mall.

Flowers denied swallowing the ring until an X-ray showed it was inside her.

She was kept under observation in a jail cell until the ring passed through her digestive system late on Monday.

Flowers has been charged with grand theft with bail set at $5,000. Police are keeping the ring until the case is completed.

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Reputed NY Mobster Shoots Man for Heckling Singer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The scene in one of New York's fabled Italian restaurants would have done "The Sopranos" TV scriptwriters proud -- a reputed mobster shot a man dead for heckling a woman singer.
Police said Broadway chanteuse Rena Strober was singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" at Rao's, an East Harlem restaurant, Monday night when a patron, Albert Circelli, criticized her performance.

Reputed Luchese crime family associate Louis Barone told him to watch his mouth but when Circelli swore in response, Barone pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and shot him in the back, police said.

A second shot fired by Barone hit another diner, Al Petraglia, 57, in the foot, police said. Barone dropped the revolver, walked out of the restaurant and was arrested by police officers.

Circelli, 37, died of his wounds and Petraglia was treated in the hospital, police said.

Rao's is a 10-table restaurant that accommodates only 40 people. It has a reputation for exclusivity and a Mafia mystique, but police said the shooting was not a mob "hit."

Barone, 67, has a record of arrests for gambling and weapons possession dating back four decades. He could be a character in "The Sopranos," a popular cable TV show about an organized crime family in neighboring New Jersey.

Barone appeared in Manhattan criminal court Wednesday on charges of second degree murder, assault and weapons possession. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life.

New York tabloids had a field day."Songfella" read the front page of the Daily News, "Bullets Bolognese at Rao's as wiseguy whacks a wise guy who insults singer." The New York Post headline was "Swan Song" and "Diva diss sparked geezer's gunfire."

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Sicily Man Arranges Shooting to Woo Woman

ROME (Reuters) - A man in Sicily asked a friend to shoot him in the groin in the hope of making his ex-girlfriend feel sorry for him, police said on Friday.
Police in the central Sicilian city of Piazza Armerina said they became suspicious when the 27-year-old went to hospital with wounds from a hunting rifle's pellets in the groin area.

At first he said the wounds had been caused in a hunting accident, but later admitted he had asked a friend, 16, to shoot him in an attempt to win back the affection of his girlfriend, who had apparently left him because of his violent character.

The man's wounds are expected to heal, doctors said.

Police said the man, and the 16-year-old, had been charged in connection with the shooting. Local reports said the man's ex-girlfriend had made clear she never wanted to see him again.

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Not the Best Christmas for Soccer King George Best

LONDON (Reuters) - Troubled British soccer legend George Best spent Christmas night in police custody being questioned about an alleged assault, British newspapers say.
The Sun and Daily Mirror said Saturday the former Manchester United and Northern Ireland winger was questioned for almost 12 hours by officers after being arrested near his home in Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey at 2 a.m. Friday.

Newspapers said the incident involved Best's estranged wife Alex.

Surrey police refused to confirm whether Best, 57, had been arrested.

"A 57-year-old man from Walton-on-the-Hill was arrested on December 26 at approximately 2 a.m. in Reigate in relation to an allegation of assault," a police spokeswoman said.

"The man was released later without charge at around midday. No allegations are now being pursued by any party."

Best captivated the football world in a sparkling 10-year career at United from 1963 to 1973, inspiring them to their 1968 European Cup triumph.

He was European Footballer of the Year that season but a hectic showbusiness lifestyle took its toll on one of the game's most gifted players.

Last year he had a liver transplant after decades of alcohol abuse. Following the operation he vowed not to touch alcohol again, talking of a new lease of life.

But he hit the headlines again this summer with reports he had started drinking again and was having marital problems.

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Morality Police to Ban New Year Trinkets

RIYADH (Reuters) - Morality police in southern Saudi Arabia plan to conduct raids to ensure that shops do not sell flowers, candles and gifts to those planning to celebrate New Year, a local newspaper reported on Monday.
The Arabic-language al-Watan said the Authority for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (APVPV) in Aseer province was determined to uphold a ban by the conservative Muslim kingdom on non-Muslim celebrations.

"Patrols will be dispatched to gift and flower shops in the next two days before the New Year to ensure that ornaments are not sold for New Year celebrations," al-Watan quoted the local APVPV head as saying.

The authority -- a pillar of the ultra-conservative kingdom since its founding -- had also banned Christmas ornaments from shops. It also bans shops from carrying Valentine's Day gifts.

"For Muslims, there are only two holidays in a year: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha," the official said, referring to the Muslim feasts that follow the annual fasting month of Ramadan and the haj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Located near the border with Yemen, Aseer is a traditional route for militants and arms smuggling into the kingdom.

Answerable only to King Fahd and separate from ordinary police, members of the authority patrol the streets with police escort, ensuring that their strict interpretation of Islamic customs are upheld.

The APVPV role has come under unprecedented scrutiny in Saudi Arabia, which is battling extremism and militant attacks linked to Saudi-born al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden.

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Home of the World's Top Sperm Donors

AARHUS, Denmark (Reuters) - Danes are spreading their genes around the world faster than ever aided by exports from local firm Cryos International, the world's biggest sperm bank.

Each year Danish men donate sperm that contributes to around 1,000 pregnancies, and with increasing demand from Americans, Cryos has opened its first New York office -- on Broadway.

Thousands of men visit Cryos's three Danish donation centers, most of them students. They are paid $40.50 for each donation.

Visiting the donor room is not enough to qualify, though -- only around 10 percent of the donations are of high enough quality to pass Cryos' qualifications.

Childless couples can browse through about 250 successful donors on Cryos' U.S. web, under Viking aliases such as Birk, Gorm, Olaf and Thor alongside a curriculum vitae which lists hair and eye color, height, education and professional details.

Cryos, which has currently accepts only Danish donors, exports to 40 countries. Within a year or two, Indian, Asian and African men will also be able to donate to Cryos, when it launches a global franchise.

Why does Denmark, with its 5.3 million people, donate more sperm than any other country?

Good technology and social acceptance, says Cryos founder and chief executive Ole Schou.

"We have developed a technique where at least 30 percent become pregnant after the first treatment. Most other donation centers can't reach more than 10 percent," he explained.

A highly secularized country, Denmark has removed many taboos which make donations awkward in other countries, Schou said. The same could be said of other Nordic countries and might explain why one-third of the world's sperm industry is found in the region.

But this position is under threat.

In Norway there are no private insemination clinics and very few men donate semen. Since the country passed a law in November banning anonymous donations, even these will stop, Schou said.

"This is only wishful thinking to help the child. The reality is that when anonymity goes, so do the donors," he said.

Finnish men have become less keen on donating semen amid concerns that their right to anonymity is at stake since fertility treatment legislation was put to parliament a year ago, which would have given children an unconditional right to gain information about the donor.

It was pulled prior to general elections before a decision was made and is awaiting debate in parliament.

Around 10-15 percent of couples worldwide are involuntarily childless, a third because of physical problems with the man. Apart from insemination, male infertility remedies include testosterone injections and ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection), where only one healthy sperm is needed.

SWEDISH MODEL

Sweden opened its donor files in 1985 after a court case deemed a child fatherless when the biological mother conceived a baby through insemination without the father's consent and he rejected any legal relationship when the couple separated.

Norway followed the Swedish model when it passed its law. Schou said that 500 to 800 Swedish couples travel abroad every year for insemination -- mostly to Denmark -- because of the lack of donors.

"Very few donors want 'their' children to be able to contact them, that's the reality. In Sweden, donors diminished overnight when anonymity was taken away and forced most Swedish couples wanting insemination to go to Denmark."

Cryos has found that around 12 percent of its donors would continue to provide sperm if their right to anonymity was abolished. About 8 percent would accept one of their biological offspring contacting them.

"It's normal for part of the population not to know who their biological father is ... Therefore one can't demand every child's right to know its biological parents," Schou said.

Iceland has chosen to allow both non-anonymous and anonymous semen donations. An ideal solution, Schou said, which would not threaten the company's operations.

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Security Snafu Shuts Airport

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Security officials shut down part of San Antonio International Airport after traces of a cleaning solution on a piece of luggage were mistaken for the explosive TNT.
One of the airport's two terminals was closed for 30 minutes Monday after the checked baggage tested positive for the explosive, said airport spokeswoman Lisa Burkhardt-Worley.

The bag was removed for further testing and its owner was taken into airport custody, she said.

Transportation Security Administration officials scoured the terminal and plane, but it turned out that the suspected TNT, or trinitrotoluene, was nothing more than his mother's cleaner.

"The gentleman's mother apparently owns a cleaning business, and the chemicals used in one of the cleaners is similar to the chemical makeup of TNT, so that's why the elements set off the explosive detection machine," Burkhardt-Worley said.

Security measures were increased at U.S. airports during the holiday travel season after the government said there was an increased chance of Sept. 11-style attacks by extremists.

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Santa Crashes from the Sky

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A helicopter carrying a man dressed as Santa Claus to street celebrations in a Serbian town crashed on Tuesday, injuring several people.
The helicopter crashed a few hundred yards from a crowd of children gathered to greet Santa in the central town of Kragujevac, witnesses and local media said.

The pilot, co-pilot and the Santa were all injured, Beta news agency reported. Four people were injured but their lives were not in danger, a hospital official said. There was no word on the cause of the crash.

Serbs celebrate Orthodox Christmas on January 7 but children receive presents at New Year -- a legacy of communist rule when Christmas was not officially celebrated.

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Dottie Cleared of Attack on Queen Elizabeth's Dog

LONDON (Reuters) - The dog accused of attacking one of Queen Elizabeth's beloved corgis was a victim of mistaken identity, a royal source said Tuesday.
Buckingham Palace said Dottie, an English bull terrier owned by the queen's daughter Princess Anne, had been wrongly blamed for savaging Pharos, who had to be put down.

"It wasn't Dottie," a palace spokesman said. "It was another dog, Florence."

Bull terrier Florence, also owned by Princess Anne, attacked Pharos last week as the royals gathered to celebrate Christmas at their Sandringham estate in eastern England.

The finger of blame was first pointed at Dottie, who also attacked two children last April in Windsor Great Park, near London.

Princess Anne was fined 500 pounds ($880) in November and ordered to pay the same amount in compensation after pleading guilty to a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act. It was the first time a senior member of the British royal family had been convicted of a criminal offence.

The queen has bred corgis -- a short-legged Welsh farm dog with a fox-like face -- since being given a mean lady called Susan for her 18th birthday.

She is devoted to her pets and prepared them Christmas stockings filled with doughnuts and chocolate drops, the Times newspaper reported.

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M&M's Candy Fades to Black and White

NEW YORK (Reuters) - M&M's, the colorful button-shaped candies, are about to go off color for the first time in 60 years, but it remains to be seen whether their fans love or hate the change.
The chocolate-filled sugar-coated candies, made by a division of U.S. confectioner Mars Inc., will be available in only black and white for the next few months instead of the standard six colors as part of a promotional campaign.

Mars' Masterfoods USA division, which also markets chocolate brands such as Snickers, will launch the chiaroscuro version in the United States on Dec. 31. But some stores that ran out of the colorful stock have already received supplies of the new variety.

The candy is sold in more than 100 countries, but the black and white ones will be available only in the United States.

"Many tourists from places like London are buying them because it is not available in their country," said Yahya Tai, the owner of a New York City newspaper and candy stand who has started selling the new M&M's.

But the company plans to bring back the colored candy to the market after the promotion runs its course in a few months.

"You are going to have people who are shocked and they are going to be miss their regular favorite colors," said M&M's spokesman Jeffrey Moran. "As long as we can tell them the colors are eventually going to come back, they will be pretty happy."

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Pie-Eyed Robbers Forego the Dough

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two hungry thieves with an appetite for crime were arrested after robbing a Sydney convenience store of meat pies, a national dish in Australia.
The pie bandits entered the store in central Sydney early on Tuesday and while one chatted with the shopkeeper, the other snatched hot meat pies from an oven, police said.

"The pair left the store and, after eating the pies, returned. The staff member questioned them and the man produced a firearm threatening the employee," according to a police statement.

The thieves were later arrested in a nearby park.

The meat pie is a culinary icon in Australia, often referred to as a "Dog's Eye" in local rhyming slang. Australians are reputed to be the world's largest consumers of meat pies per capita, devouring over 12 each year.

Australia's "Four'n Twenty" pie manufacturer claims its bakery is the largest meat pie and associated products plant in the world, churning out more than 50,000 pies an hour.

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Phony Paris Hiltons Buy Plenty of Pizza

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The simple life has rubbed off on hotel heiress Paris Hilton -- or so one would think judging by the amount of Domino's pepperoni pizza ordered in her name.
"Paris Hilton" is the No. 1 fake name used by people calling for pizza deliveries, according to a survey of Domino's Pizza drivers in Washington, D.C., released Monday by the pizza delivery chain. And 38 percent of those using the name of the socialite model ordered pepperoni topping.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft might want to open an investigation into these findings -- he was No. 2 on the list of assumed names used by people ordering pizza.

Of course, given his conservative bent, he probably wasn't among those answering the door in the nude, who the survey said tend to tip better than people who answer in their pajamas.

According to the survey of 630 drivers, nine percent of people who answer the door in the nude tip more than 20 percent, compared with 2 percent of people in pajamas.

Among political pizza findings, people with "Dean for President" bumper stickers on cars in their driveways tipped 22 percent higher than people with "Bush for President" bumper stickers. People with "Bush for President" bumper stickers were three times more likely to order meat-topped pizzas than "Dean for President" drivers.

The night of the televised wedding of reality show contestants Trista and Ryan was the top pizza ordering night of the year in Washington, according to the survey. The announcement of the war in Iraq was No. 2, the Super Bowl No. 3 and the debut of Hilton's reality show "The Simple Life" was No.4.

And as an example of giving people what they want, the night Saddam Hussein was captured was the biggest tip night of the year. No. 2 was the night Madonna and Britney Spears kissed on the MTV Music Video awards.

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Nude Barbie Photos Are Free Speech

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal appeals court has upheld a Utah artist's right to make nude photos of Barbie dolls being menaced by kitchen appliances.
Noting the image of Barbie dolls is "ripe for social comment," a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected toymaker Mattel Inc.'s appeal of a lower court ruling in favor of lampooning the popular doll.

The San Francisco-based appeals court ruled that naked photos of Barbie made by Kanab, Utah, artist Thomas Forsythe were meant to be a parody and could not affect demand for Mattel products.

Holding that social criticism was protected by the First Amendment, the court affirmed a 2001 federal court ruling for Forsythe, who had produced photos of nude Barbies in danger of being attacked by vintage household appliances.

Mattel had argued the photos infringed on their copyrights and trademarks. Forsythe had used Barbie dolls in absurd and often sexualized positions for his "Food Chain Barbie" photos.

The artist had argued that the photo series, which also included a photo of Barbie dolls wrapped in tortillas and covered in salsa in a casserole dish in a lit oven, was meant to critique the "objectification of women" and "beauty myth" associated with the popular doll.

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Park Puts World's Longest Snake on Show

KENDAL, Indonesia (Reuters) - A recreation park in Indonesia is displaying a 49-foot python -- making it the longest ever captured -- that was revered as a tribal ruler and has a huge appetite for dogs.
The huge, dark-colored male snake has a diameter of 2.8 feet, weighs 984 pounds and is 48 feet, 7 inches long, according to keepers of an animal exhibition at the Curugsewu park in the small Central Java town of Kendal.

Snake handler Imam Darmanto told Reuters the nameless serpent likes to gulp down dogs.

"This snake swallows up dogs. In a month, it can eat around five dogs," he said.

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest discovered snake was also a reticulated python from Indonesia. It was 33 feet long when found in Sulawesi island in 1912.

Last year, Samantha, a snake measuring eight meters and which was dubbed the largest in captivity, died in the Bronx Zoo in New York. Samantha came from Indonesia's side of Borneo island.

Darmanto found the reticulated python last year on Sumatra island, where it had been caught and kept in captivity by villagers.

But it took months to get permission from the villagers, who revered the creature, to bring it to Java.

"It was seen as the ruler of the Kubu tribe. So, we had to go by the book and the tourism authorities had to ask for it," Darmanto said.

The Kubu tribe live in the jungles of southern Sumatra and shun encounters with the modern world.

The snake has tripled the number of visitors to the state-run park, normally known just for its scenery and waterfalls.

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M&M's Candy Fades to Black and White

NEW YORK (Reuters) - M&M's, the colorful button-shaped candies, are about to go off color for the first time in 60 years, but it remains to be seen whether their fans love or hate the change.
The chocolate-filled sugar-coated candies, made by a division of U.S. confectioner Mars Inc., will be available in only black and white for the next few months instead of the standard six colors as part of a promotional campaign.

Mars' Masterfoods USA division, which also markets chocolate brands such as Snickers, will launch the chiaroscuro version in the United States on Dec. 31. But some stores that ran out of the colorful stock have already received supplies of the new variety.

The candy is sold in more than 100 countries, but the black and white ones will be available only in the United States.

"Many tourists from places like London are buying them because it is not available in their country," said Yahya Tai, the owner of a New York City newspaper and candy stand who has started selling the new M&M's.

But the company plans to bring back the colored candy to the market after the promotion runs its course in a few months.

"You are going to have people who are shocked and they are going to be miss their regular favorite colors," said M&M's spokesman Jeffrey Moran. "As long as we can tell them the colors are eventually going to come back, they will be pretty happy."

Very interesting. I am going to have to get me some of these black and white colored M&M's... but I may have to get the colored ones before my local Wal-Mart gets them in.

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Court Blocks Deportation of Writer

LUSAKA (Reuters) - A Zambian court has blocked a deportation order against a British writer accused of insulting President Levy Mwanawasa and calling two of his ministers "baboons," a defense lawyer said Tuesday.
Roy Clarke, a satirical writer for the privately owned Post daily, has gone into hiding since the government said Monday he would be deported within 24 hours.

Post lawyer Patrick Matibini told Reuters that high court judge Philip Musonda had issued an injunction Monday night against the deportation of Clarke, who has lived in Zambia for more than 40 years and is married to a local woman.

"The judge has granted leave to stay the intended deportation," Matibini said. The court would later Tuesday set a date for a hearing on the legality of the deportation.

But home affairs permanent secretary Peter Mumba said the state had not been served with the stay order and would proceed to deport Clarke, whenever he was found.

"We will fish him out even if he is hiding in a spider hole and he will be deported," Mumba told reporters.

Court officials could not be reached immediately for confirmation of the injunction. But Post officials said they had a copy of it.

Clarke, who writes a column known as "The Spectator," referred last Thursday to Mwanawasa as a "foolish elephant" and to two of his ministers as "baboons" when Mwanawasa visited a game park for his Christmas holiday.

The Briton has regularly annoyed authorities with his satirical column, which portrayed government leaders as living lavishly in the impoverished southern African country of 10 million people.

The Post backed him in an editorial Tuesday, describing the deportation order as a "destruction of press freedom."

"Let's not be misled by these narrow-minded petty politicians into believing Roy is a racist who should be deported," it said. "We need to stand up in defense of Roy and in defense of press freedom."

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US Liberal Group Sorry for Hitler/Bush Comparison

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, often a lightning rod for opposition to the Iraq war, apologized Monday for posting two political messages on the Internet comparing President Bush to Hitler.

One ad mixed images of Hitler and Nazi militarism with Bush taking the oath of office and equated German war crimes of 1945 with Bush's foreign policy. The other quoted Hitler and Bush as saying they acted in God's name to vanquish their enemies.

After being roundly denounced by Jewish leaders and Republicans, MoveOn.org issued a mea culpa saying the two ads were in poor taste. But the group said they had been displayed in error as part of a contest inviting members of the public to create and send in their own ideas for anti-Bush television spots.

Neither of the two ads was ever aired on TV and by Monday had been removed from the "Bush in 30 Seconds" Web site (http://www.bushin30seconds.org) set up by the MoveOn.org Voter Fund.

The head of the Voter Fund, Wes Boyd, said his group posted more than 1,500 entries in all submitted by "ordinary Americans" and that the two Hitler spots "slipped through our screening process."

"None of these was our ad, nor did their appearance constitute endorsement or sponsorship by MoveOn.org Voter Fund," Boyd's statement said. "We do not support the sentiment expressed in the two Hitler submissions."

He accused Republican leaders of a "maliciously misleading" attempt to cast the two Hitler ads as sponsored by his group.

Nevertheless, the leaders of three major Jewish groups -- the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center -- roundly criticized MoveOn for placing the Hitler ads on the Internet.

They and Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie all seized on MoveOn.org's own pledge in the ground rules for its "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest not to "post anything that would be in inappropriate for television."

"To compare the president of the United States, his fight against al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, with the politics of Hitler is ... shameful, it is beyond the pale, and has no place in the legitimate discourse of American politics," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Hier, Gillespie and other critics of MoveOn also demanded that Democrats seeking the presidential nomination in 2004 should speak out to renounce the Hitler ads.

MoveOn.org said Monday it was going ahead with its contest. It said the winning entry will be picked by a panel of celebrities and political pundits, including comedian Al Franken, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and Democratic political strategist James Carville.

The winning spot will be announced at a gala event Jan. 12 in New York and will be aired as a paid political commercial during the week of Bush's upcoming State of the Union address.

It is not the first time Bush has been compared to Hitler. In 2002, Germany's Justice Minister, Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, resigned after creating an uproar by likening Bush's saber-rattling over Iraq to Hitler's use of foreign policy to conceal domestic woes.