UK cardinal contests 'inappropriate' acts claims

LONDON (AP) ? The Vatican is looking into allegations of "inappropriate behavior" by Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior Catholic cleric, officials said Sunday. The claims came at a sensitive time, as O'Brien and other cardinals prepare for a conclave to choose the next pope.

O'Brien, who heads the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, was taking advice from lawyers after British newspaper The Observer reported that three priests and a former priest have filed complaints to the Vatican alleging that the cardinal approached them in an inappropriate manner.

The paper did not cite the names of the priests, but it said their allegations date back to the 1980s.

"Cardinal O'Brien contests these claims and is taking legal advice," Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Church, said. He declined to comment further.

A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the complaints had been channeled through the office of the papal nuncio ? the Vatican's ambassador ? in London. "The pope has been informed, and the question is in his hands," Lombardi said.

In the coming weeks, O'Brien, 74, is expected to join a conclave of cardinals at the Vatican to elect the next pontiff, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict announced earlier this month that he will step down on Thursday ? the first pope to resign in some 600 years.

O'Brien has not been the only cardinal to become embroiled in negative news as the papal election approaches. Across the Atlantic, thousands of people have signed a petition to keep California Cardinal Roger Mahony from the conclave because of revelations he had shielded sexually abusive priests.

Mahony has made it clear he will attend the gathering and that no one can force him to recuse himself.

In comments on the papacy made to the BBC on Friday, O'Brien said the next pope would be free to consider changing church policy on issues that were not "basic dogmatic beliefs." He said he believed that the requirement for priestly celibacy is not "of divine origin" and could be reconsidered.

O'Brien also said it was time to think seriously about having a pope from outside Europe. He said he would be "open to a pope from anywhere if I thought it was the right man, whether it was Europe or Asia or Africa or wherever."

The cardinal is due to retire when he turns 75 in March.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-cardinal-contests-inappropriate-acts-claims-145358681.html

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George Heymont: Sweating Out A Surrealist Nightmare

Do your nightmares make you feel like you've entered The Twilight Zone? Do you feel trapped in a surrealistic cesspool? You are not alone.

Written and directed by Christopher Graybill, The Great Gastromancer is a short film that started off with one goal, didn't quite get there, and (even though it's billed as "without a doubt, the strangest short film at the SFIndie Film Festival") became hopelessly confusing. On his Kickstarter page, Graybill explains that:

"The Great Gastromancer will be a short narrative about Charlie Grumbles, an amateur ventriloquist with an innocent heart. His genuine pursuit to make people laugh ultimately leads him to dark places, where this same innocence seems to bring out the malicious talent of peering through time. In these experiences Charlie finds that not only do beauty and generosity hold divine qualities, but on the contrary, so does the overwhelming power of hate and destruction. There are many themes visited in the current script. Old America and new America, hate, love, atheism and animism, demons or autonomous complexes. I've been practicing ventriloquism for the Charlie role. Alan Semok, the famed Dummy Doctor, who has worked on such films as Dummy and Cradle Will Rock is possibly supplying a vintage figure. Also Matthew David has agreed to lend his musical talents."

Christopher Graybill as Charlie Grumbles in The Great Gastromancer

If you click here, you can watch a brief video that features some of Graybill's storyboards and hear him explain that the storyboards are about a ventriloquist named Charlie.

"He's kind of modeled after Myshkin from The Idiot. He just wants to make people laugh and just has a real kind of simple demeanor. He's a good guy, this Charlie, and so he kind of ends up being this innocent victim. When this is established, Charlie kind of starts to become ill. Then it's discovered that he has another talent, which happens to be listening to the undead through the noises in his stomach."

The finished product is a confusing film which never really takes off. One reason is that, whereas in live performance, an audience can watch a ventriloquist trying to project his voice onto his dummy, dubbing a film with someone's voice (Graybill is a talented voiceover artist) completely shatters the dramatic illusion. The cruelest irony is that the trailer for The Great Gastromancer stands head and shoulders above Graybill's completed film.

That's not to say that dubbing a ventriloquist's voice can't work. In the following clip from the talented folks at Rubber Chicken Cards, ventriloquist Jack and and his French dummy, Jacques, have another one of their bizarre conversations.

* * * * * * * * * *

It's a mere hop, skip, and jump from Jack and Jacque's absurd little world to one of the most famous artistic landmarks of the Theatre of the Absurd. Years ago, in a series he entitled "Unlikely Casting," the great theatrical caricaturist, Al Hershfield, fantasized about a production of Waiting for Godot that starred Jack Lemmon and Zero Mostel.

Al Hirschfield's fantasy casting for Waiting for Godot

I've been waiting for years to see Samuel Beckett's 1953 masterpiece and now, thanks to the Marin Theatre Company, my long wait is finally over. While some explore Samuel Beckett's play in search of trenchant symbolism, I find that its greatest reward is its elasticity and the numerous opportunities it offers to create comic moments that are not in the text. Beckett's play requires actors whose comedic instincts and teamwork allow them to approach his work as if it were a piece of chamber music written for clowns trapped in a nonsensical no-man's land.

Vladimir (Mark Bedard) and Estragon (Mark Anderson Phillips)
in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (Photo by: Kevin Berne)

While academics may search for deep meaning in Beckett's play, I prefer to think of Waiting for Godot as the inspiration for such popular films as 1993's Groundhog Day and 2004's 50 First Dates. Set on a nearly barren stage (with only a rock, a tree, and the rising moon), Vladimir/Didi (Mark Bedard) and Estragon/Gogo (Mark Anderson Phillips) are two confused clowns trapped in an absurdist time warp. Although each day starts anew with similar expectations, Vladimir has better luck at remembering what happened the previous day. Estragon's memory seems to have been wiped clear each morning.

While there are slight variations in their day (Lucky and Pozzo cross the stage in opposite directions, two boys who work for Mr. Godot take turns informing Vladimir and Estragon that Godot won't be showing up, but might make an appearance the following day), it's best to approach Waiting for Godot as if it has been set in the kind of snow globe one shakes and inverts in order to witness its peculiar magic.

Pozzo (James Carpenter) and Lucky (Ben Johnson) in
Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (Photo by: Kevin Berne)

MTC's Jasson Minadakis directed this production with a superb cast. As Pozzo, James Carpenter's booming basso offered the perfect counterbalance to the ever optimistic twinkle in Mark Bedard's eyes. Likewise, the hulking resignation of Ben Johnson's Lucky was relieved by the physical goofiness and wide-eyed, confused bulldog stare of Mark Anderson Phillips as Estragon. Lucas Meyers and Sam Novick were innocent, unknowing boys who arrive bearing messages from the mysterious Mr. Godot.

* * * * * * * * * *

How's this for an opening moment? The lights come up on a man and woman in a messy apartment. Neither one can remember their names or how they got there. As they struggle to come to their senses, they notice some drug paraphernalia on the table and a syringe lodged in the man's forearm.

"And.....scene!"

Powerfully directed by Loretta Greco, the Magic Theatre recently presented the world premiere of Se Llama Cristina, a challenging new drama by Octavio Solis which takes the audience on a wild roller coaster ride as Miguel (Sean San Jos?) and Vera (Sarah Nina Hayon) struggle to figure out the who, what, why, when, and where of the moment (as well as how in the name of hell they got there).

Vera (Sarah Nina Hayon) and Miguel (Sean San Jos? ) in a
scene from Se Llama Cristina (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)

Is this a nightmare? Are they trapped in a bad meth trip? If so, why is some angry man named Abel (Rod Gnapp) pounding on the door and threatening them? As director Loretta Greco notes:

"I find three qualities particularly and consistently thrilling in Octavio's work. First, it features emotionally viable, poetic, and muscular language. Second, he displays a keen fascination with people who are divided -- or rather, he shares a meditation on divides of every ilk, be they cultural, economic, or spiritual. Characters in Octavio's plays are straddling borders (both literal and figurative) and trying desperately to fill the chasms. Lastly, an Octavio Solis play always uncovers plenty of skeletons in the closet -- deep, dark secrets whose gradual revelations change the courses of the lives they enshroud. This play deals with two people who truly resuscitate each other, who help each other traverse the most treacherous of pasts in order to transcend and bring new light and hope to the future."

The abusive Abel (Rod Gnapp) confronts Vera (Sarah Nina Hayon)
in a scene from Se Llama Cristina (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)

With Andrew Boyce's stark unit set and Sara Huddleston's sound design, the actors don't have many props at their disposal. Se Llama Cristina is a drug-addled, 80-minute rocket ride through psychosis, temporary amnesia, and a woman's panic over possibly being pregnant in which a sweet-talking abusive boyfriend can be foolishly forgiven and a deep fried chicken drumstick can be mistaken for an infant. As the playwright explains:

"Se Llama Cristina is a lot more challenging than my other plays because I set up a very complex labyrinth for myself, for the audience, and for the characters to traverse that has its own kind of poetry. Language is the way to enter the darker moments because the things that are happening are often not depicted in the rawness of their reality (they are spoken about). You seldom see an actual murder onstage or something sexually violent in front of you. If you do, it's elevated to a poetic level. It happens in language.

I've always been attracted to language because English is a second language to me and I like to figure out its nuances. I'm more interested in how language remains active (and not just how it exists for its own sake), but how language can BE an action. I'm not a 'realistic" writer.' I freely mix lyrical language with our profane and/or mundane vernacular because language always has to be in service of the action, which is why there is a kind of immaculate ecstatic melody coexisting with down-to-earth gritty dialogue."

Vera (Sarah Nina Hayon) and Miguel (Sean San Jos? ) in a
scene from Se Llama Cristina (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)

If Waiting for Godot is a shining example of the Theatre of the Absurd, Se Llama Cristina comes from the blazing forge of the Theatre of Broken Dreams and Tough Love. It burns with the fevered fright of a meth-induced frenzy. Sarah Nina Hayon and Sean San Jos? deliver bravura performances as the two anguished and confused leads. Rod Gnapp adds another sterling portrayal to his extensive rogues gallery of angry, confused straight men.

To read more of George Heymont go to My Cultural Landscape

?

Follow George Heymont on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geoheymont

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-heymont/sweating-out-a-surrealist_b_2751969.html

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U.S. troops to set up drone base in Niger

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama said Friday that about 100 American troops have been deployed to the African nation of Niger. Two U.S. defense officials the troops would be setting up a base for unarmed drones to conduct surveillance.

Obama announced the deployment in a letter to Congress, saying that the forces "will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region."

The move marks a deepening of U.S. efforts to stem the spread of al-Qaida and its affiliates in the volatile region. It also underscores Obama's desire to fight extremism without involving large numbers of U.S. ground forces.

The drone base will allow the U.S. to give France more intelligence on the militants its forces have been fighting in Mali, which neighbors Niger. Over time, it could extend the reach not only of American intelligence-gathering but also U.S. special operations missions to strengthen Niger's own security forces.

One of the two U.S. defense officials who discussed the development confirmed the American troops would fly drones and other surveillance platforms from Niger military airstrips, tracking militant and refugee movement inside Mali and around the border. The U.S. will share that intelligence with Niger's military, the official said.

Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the project.

The drones at the Niger base will be unarmed and used for surveillance, not airstrikes. Still, the development of a base in Niger raises the possibility that it could eventually be used for launching strikes.

Obama said in his letter to Congress that the U.S. forces have been deployed with the consent of Niger's government. The forces were also deployed with weapons "for their own force protection and security," the president said.

Last month, the U.S. and Niger signed a status-of-forces-agreement spelling out legal protections and obligations of American forces that might operate in Niger in the future.

Africa is increasingly a focus of U.S. counterterrorism efforts, even as al-Qaida remains a threat in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. Last month's terrorist attack on a natural gas complex in Algeria, in which at least 37 hostages and 29 militants were killed, illustrated the threat posed by extremists who have asserted power propelled by long-simmering ethnic tensions in Mali and the revolution in Libya.

A number of al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist groups operate in Mali and elsewhere in the Sahara, including a group known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which originated in Algeria and is active in northern Mali. Earlier this month, French forces intervened to stop the extremists' move toward Mali's capital, and Washington has grown more involved by providing a variety of military support to French troops.

France has said it will eventually pull out of its Mali operation so that African forces can help stabilize the West African country.

___

AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-troops-niger-set-drone-011915164--politics.html

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LA judge grants Jermaine Jackson name change

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Jermaine Jackson has a new, brighter surname ? Jacksun.

A Los Angeles judge approved the change to singer's name Friday.

The 58-year-old, who shared lead singing duties with his younger brother Michael in the Jackson 5, did not appear in court.

He sought the name change for "artistic reasons" and says it has nothing to do with a recent rift in his family over the care of Michael Jackson's children and family matriarch Katherine Jackson.

His attorney Bret D. Lewis says Jacksun is in Europe performing with his brothers and told him that he was sure it was "a sunny day in California."

Lewis says he doesn't know whether Jacksun will elaborate on the creative reasons for the change.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/la-judge-grants-jermaine-jackson-name-change-215058557.html

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Analysis: Obama, GOP see no need to stop the cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unlike in earlier rounds of budget brinkmanship, President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans both seem content to fight out their latest showdown on the current terrain, let across-the-board spending cuts take effect on March 1 and allow them to stay in place for weeks if not much longer.

This time, there is no market-rattling threat of a government default to force the two sides to compromise, no federal shutdown on the short-term horizon and no year-end deadline for preventing a tax increase for every working American.

The rhetoric is reminiscent, for sure.

"So far at least, the ideas that the Republicans have proposed ask nothing of the wealthiest Americans or the biggest corporations," Obama said this week as he campaigned to pin the blame for any negative effects on his political opponents. "So the burden is all on the first responders, or seniors or middle class families," he said in comments similar in tone to his re-election campaign.

Republicans, standing on political ground of their own choosing, responded sharply to the president's fresh demand for higher taxes.

"Spending is the problem, spending must be the focus," said House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, while Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declared, "There won't be any easy off-ramps on this one. The days of 11th hour negotiations are over."

A crisis atmosphere could yet develop this spring, when hundreds of thousands or even millions of threatened government furloughs begin to take effect and the spending cuts begin to bite. Already, Republicans are considering legislation to give the administration greater flexibility in making the cuts, a step that could minimize the impact on the public. It's a step the White House says it opposes, although the depth of that conviction has yet to be tested.

At heart, the standoff is yet another indication of the political resistance to a compromise curbing the growth of Medicare, Medicaid and possibly Social Security, a step that both Obama and Republicans say is essential to restoring the nation's fiscal health. It is the last major remaining challenge in divided government's struggle, now in its third year, to reduce deficits by $4 trillion or more over a decade.

Counting the across-the-board cuts now beginning to command the nation's attention - at a 10-year cost of $1.2 trillion - the president and Congress have racked up more than $3.6 trillion in savings. Much came from spending, although legislation that Republicans let pass at year's end raised taxes on the wealthy to generate an estimated $600 billion for the Treasury over a decade.

The so-called sequester now approaching was never supposed to happen. It was designed as an unpalatable fallback, to take effect only in case a congressional super-committee failed to come up with $1 trillion or more in savings from benefit programs.

Now, more than a year later, Republicans are fond of saying that the idea itself originated at the White House.

That skips lightly over the fact that their own votes helped enact it into law.

Also that they decided a month ago that it marked the moment of most leverage in their struggle to maneuver Obama and Democrats into curtailing benefit programs. To accomplish that objective, they already have raised the debt limit without winning any cuts in exchange, a step they once vowed not to take. And within two weeks, they are likely to launch legislation making sure the government operates without interruption when current funding authority runs out for most agencies on March 27.

Republicans aren't the only ones partial to verbal sleights of hand.

In a letter to lawmakers earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sounded a series of alarms. The spending cuts "could compromise" the health of more than 373,000 mentally ill or emotionally disturbed individuals, "could slow efforts to improve" health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives, she wrote, and admissions to inpatient addiction facilities "could be reduced."

Could or could not. Soon or later. Nothing pinned down.

The administration hopes to win over the public and bring Republican lawmakers to heel, and it dispatched Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to the White House briefing room on Friday.

"Come to the table and start talking" to find a way to avert the cuts, the former GOP lawmaker urged members of his own Republican Party.

Peppered with skeptical questions, LaHood directed reporters to his department's website, with a listing of more than 300 air traffic facilities where overnight shifts could be eliminated or perhaps closed entirely.

Asked if his office was receiving unhappy calls from the public, he got to the political point.

"My phones will ring from members of Congress (asking) `why is my control tower being closed?'" he said.

---

EDITOR'S NOTE - David Espo is AP's chief congressional correspondent.

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BUDGET_BATTLE_ANALYSIS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Armstrong lawyers: Justice Dept joining fraud suit

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Lawyers for Lance Armstrong say the Justice Department has joined a lawsuit against the cyclist. The lawsuit alleges the former Tour de France champion concealed his use of performance-enhancing drugs for over a decade and defrauded his long-time sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service.

The suit the Justice Department is joining was filed in 2010 by former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping.

An Armstrong lawyer, Robert Luskin, said Friday that negotiations with the government failed because "we disagree about whether the postal service was damaged."

Said Luskin: "The postal service's own studies show that the service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship ? benefits totaling more than $100 million."

The Landis lawsuit was filed under seal, but it will be unsealed now.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/armstrong-lawyers-justice-dept-joining-fraud-suit-180755433--spt.html

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Chris Kilham, Medicine Hunter, Meets With Harvesters And Trade ...

Olivia Wilde

<em>House</em> actress Olivia Wilde was <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">crowned 2010's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity</a>, along with fitness guru Bob Harper, by PETA. Wilde, previously vegan, abandoned that diet this year following her divorce from filmmaker Tao Ruspoli, <a href="http://haveuheard.net/2011/09/olivia-wilde-quit-vegan-diet-divorce/" target="_hplink">haveuheard.com reported.</a> The site writes she told <em>Cosmopolitan</em> magazine: "I was hardcore vegan for years. When everything in my life became a little hectic, going through the divorce and everything afterward, I was like, 'I need some goddamn cheese.' And so I had some cheese." On her website <a href="http://wildethings.org/vegan-things" target="_hplink">Wilde Things she says</a>: "I'm a firm believer in the adage 'your dollar is your vote.' Often we forget the power of each of our purchases." She adds: "Sadly it is incredibly difficult to ensure that you are not perpetuating a cycle of cruelty that is only getting worse as demand rises and profits grow."

Russell Brand

PETA has crowned comedian Russell Brand <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/Winners.aspx" target="_hplink">Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity of 2011</a> alongside actress Kristen Wiig. Brand, who has been vegetarian since he was 14-years-old, said, "You shouldn't eat animals, it's mean to them," PETA wrote. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2028407/Husband-Russell-Brands-veggie-challenge-hard-chew-Katy-Perry.html" target="_hplink">According to the <em>Daily Mail</em></a> he said: "Even as a junkie I stayed true to vegetarianism." He added, "I shall have heroin, but I shan't have a hamburger." According to the report, Brand's wife, singer Katy Perry, gave up eating meat two years ago to keep him happy but has found it difficult to stick to the diet.

Jessica Chastain

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/peta-sexiest-vegetarian-celebrities-2012_n_1638049.html" target="_hplink">Winning the much-coveted title of PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian 2012</a>, the "Tree of Life" and "The Help" star knows how to take care of her body and soul. "I don't want to torture anything," <a href="http://www.peta.org/mediacenter/news-releases/Jessica-Chastain-and-Woody-Harrelson-Are-PETA-s--Sexiest-Vegetarians-.aspx" target="_hplink">Chastain said in a PETA press statement</a>. "While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here." The fiery redhead says she's been a vegetarian for 15 years and a vegan for 5.

Ben Stiller

After a challenging inner struggle, Ben Stiller finally came out to his parents... as a vegan. "They were a little bit confused at first, but now they're supportive," the star told Conan on his show this summer. Although Stiller is not fully vegan (he still eats some fish, but no eggs, milk, or other animal proteins) the star is adjusting to his newly herbivorous diet. According to Ecorazzi, <a href="http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/07/28/watch-ben-stiller-comes-out-as-vegan-to-his-parents/" target="_hplink">Stiller attributes his ability to perform sans stunt double</a> on the set of his new movie "The Watch" to his recent dietary changes.

Anne Hathaway

Actress Anne Hathaway has had an on-again/off-again relationship with a meat-free diet. but according to the most recent reports, she is currently a a vegetarian. <a href="http://www.realbollywood.com/2011/08/anne-hathaway-speaks-vegetarian-diet.html" target="_hplink">Realbollywood.com reported</a> the actress had trouble while in the UK in August. <a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/film/851230-anne-hathaway-theres-nothing-wrong-with-nudity-in-films" target="_hplink">In an interview with <em>Metro</em></a> in December 2010, Hathaway said: "I've actually been a commitment-shy vegetarian since I was about 12. I wasn't all that committed, to be honest, and then when I was in England filming One Day, I don't know what happened but I just didn't want to eat meat any more. But I was still eating fish. And then I was sent a copy of Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals. I read it and that was it for me in terms of being able to eat fish - which is a shame because I really enjoy the taste but I just can't support the way fish are farmed and caught." The Mother Nature Network reports that after wrapping up filming for "The Dark Knight Rises," <a href="http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/blogs/anne-hathaways-vegan-catwoman-diet" target="_hplink">Hathaway took the plunge and dedicated herself to a (mostly) vegan diet</a>, but admits to indulging in chocolate desserts every now and then.

Kristen Wiig

"Bridesmaids" actress Kristen Wiig has been named <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/Winners.aspx" target="_hplink">PETA's 2011 Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity</a> alongside comedian Russell Brand. According to PETA, Wiig stays healthy by eating a lot of tofu and soy.

Bill Clinton

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton has opted for a vegan diet to improve his health since having quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 and stent surgery in 2010, <a href="http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/diet-nutrition/story/2011-08-23/Bill-Clinton-declares-vegan-victory/50111212/1" target="_hplink">according <em>USA Today</em></a>. Clinton does not eat beef, chicken or dairy. A big move for someone known for their love of burgers and junk food. <em>USA Today</em> reported Clinton said he lost 24 pounds last year in time for his daughter Chelsea's wedding.

Natalie Portman

Actress Natalie Portman <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natalie-portman/jonathan-safran-foers-iea_b_334407.html" target="_hplink">wrote for The Huffington Post in 2009</a>: "Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals changed me from a twenty-year vegetarian to a vegan activist." In 2011, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WomensHealth/natalie-portman-drops-vegan-diet-pregnancy/story?id=13349964" target="_hplink">ABC News reported</a> she returned to her vegetarian diet while pregnant with her first child. "I actually went back to being vegetarian when I became pregnant, just because I felt like I wanted that stuff," Portman told the radio's Q100 "Bert Show." "I was listening to my body to have eggs and dairy," ABC reported. In 2007, the star launched her own vegan shoe line, <a href="http://www.vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?catId=8&pageId=2790" target="_hplink">according to VegNews.com.</a> Portman was voted <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity in 2002</a> alongside actor Tobey Maguire.

Mike Tyson

Boxing champion and vegan Mike Tyson <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/transcript/mike-tyson-039i-live-boring-life-i039ve-learned-love039?page=2" target="_hplink">spoke with Fox News</a> about switching to an animal product-free diet earlier this year. In the interview, Tyson says he became a vegan two years ago after his wife was trying out different weight-loss diets and says he "feels awesome" even though he "forgets to eat sometimes." "(I feel) incredible. I wish I was born this way. When you find out about the processed stuff you have been eating. I wonder why I was crazy all those years." He adds, "All that garbage I was eating running around, the drugs didn't help either."

Pamela Anderson

Baywatch star and PETA activist Pamela Anderson let viewers know how she feels about non-vegetarians on the Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this year. <a href="http://www.ecorazzi.com/2011/02/28/pamela-anderson-bangs-the-vegan-gavel-on-meat-eaters/" target="_hplink">Ecorazzi.com reports</a> that Anderson said, "I don't think I'd be a very good juror. You know, if you're not vegetarian--guilty!" Anderson <a href="https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3205" target="_hplink">appeared on a PETA campaign</a> in 2010 showing "All Animals Have the Same Parts" and encouraging people to ditch meat.

Tobey Maguire

A vegetarian since 1992 and vegan since 2009, some reports suggest Tobey Maguire doesn't allow leather in his house, even making guests remove any leather clothing before they come through the front door, <a href="http://www.zimbio.com/Vegan+Stars/articles/Ip8hg8soxDe/Tobey+Maguire" target="_hplink">according to Zimbio.com.</a> <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">The actor was PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity in 2002</a> alongside actress Natalie Portman.

Kristen Bell

Actress and animal activist Kristen Bell has been a vegetarian for more than 16 years, <a href="http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/editors_picks/896" target="_hplink">according to <em>Vegetarian Times</em>.</a> She told the site in 2010: "I had a lot of quirks as a child. One was that I didn't like to eat meat: I didn't like to chew it, didn't like the taste or smell of it, and just wasn't having any of it. I was in the minority of kids who actually loved fruits and vegetables." She added, "When I was little, I loved my dogs so much. Part of my becoming a vegetarian was that I would look at my burger, then look at my dogs, and I wasn't able to see a difference." Bell was crowned <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity in 2006</a> by PETA alongside singer Prince. In January 2012, <a href="http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/03/14/forks-over-knives-scores-again-kristen-bell-goes-vegan/" target="_hplink">the star and her fiance Dax Shepard decided to go vegan</a> after watching the documentary "Forks Over Knives," according to Ecorazzi.

Chris Martin

PETA labeled Coldplay frontman Chris Martin <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity of 2005</a>. <a href="http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/paltrow-and-martin-give-apple-a-vegan-feast" target="_hplink">Contact Music</a> writes that he and his wife Gwyneth Paltrow made "international headlines when they gave their daughter, Apple, a vegan birthday cake from Moby's New York eatery, <a href="https://www.teany.com/story" target="_hplink">Teany</a>."

Lauren Bush

Model and niece of Former President George W. Bush, Lauren Bush was also labeled one of the <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">World's Sexiest Vegetarians in 2003 by PETA</a>. In 2007, Bush launched <a href="http://www.feedprojects.com/" target="_hplink">FEED Projects</a> in conjunction <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/farryn-weiner/lauren-bush-feed-bags_b_852678.html" target="_hplink">with the UN World Food Program </a>. "I'm a vegetarian, so sometimes food isn't always my friend, but sometimes it's amazing. It's hit or miss. For me, (travel is) all about walking around, exploring and taking photos," she said.

Milo Ventimiglia

Named by<a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink"> PETA as 2009's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity</a> alongside musician Kellie Pickler, Milo Ventimiglia has been a vegetarian since he was "in the womb." In 2009, the Heroes actor <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P9qda1IH3Y" target="_hplink">appeared on the Bonnie Hunt Show </a>and talked about how he was raised vegetarian. "I was a vegetarian in the womb, I was doing it before it was a trend," he joked. "My parents have been vegetarian for 40 years. They raised my sisters and I vegetarian, we had a dog - he was vegetarian." He added that even when he branched out as a teenager to other foods it just "didn't sit well" with him.

Daryl Hannah

Activist and strict vegan Daryl Hannah <a href="http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/editors_picks/914" target="_hplink">told <em>Vegetarian Times</em></a> in 2010 she converted to vegetarianism at age 11 after bonding with a calf. "I noticed this truck full of calves and bonded with one in particular, who kept kissing me. After about an hour the truck driver came out of the restaurant. I asked him what the calf's name was, and he said, "Veal, tomorrow morning by 7 o'clock." That was it: I could no longer disassociate the creature from what was on my plate," she said in the interview.

Ellen DeGeneres

Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres has been vegan since 2008. She launched her new website this year to help people who want to stop eating meat and animal products: <a href="http://vegan.ellen.warnerbros.com/" target="_hplink">Going Vegan with Ellen</a>. Last year, DeGeneres was<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeSA2j4oiDA" target="_hplink"> interviewed by Katie Couric</a> about becoming vegan: "I used to love cheeseburgers and steak, I just did what most people do, I had a disconnect. I decided it's more important to taste a cheeseburger and have a steak or have a turkey sandwich and it's easier and I put it out of my mind ... I read Skinny Bitch first and then I forced myself to watch a documentary called 'Earthlings' and it is inside footage of factory farms and dairy farms and you just see that and you go, "I can't participate in that, I can't be a part of something that is suffering and it's 50 billion animals a year that are killed," and I think we all fool ourselves that there is some happy cow and it's a quick death ... and it's a very disturbing reality ... I do it because I love animals and I saw the reality and I just couldn't do it anymore."

Kevin Eubanks

Musician Kevin Eubanks was voted the <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">World's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2007</a>, alongside Carrie Underwood by PETA. At the time, he <a href="http://veggietestimonial.peta.org/psa.aspx?CID=c8d89b22-add4-4385-badc-7e49b1c53efe" target="_hplink">released a vegetarian testimonial</a> dressed as a strawberry in which he says: "none of that cholesterol or animal fat for me, oh no. I want to enjoy every moment I can, I don't want my organs getting messed up with all that stuff."

Jane Goodall

Primatologist, philanthropist, conservationist and vegetarian Jane Goodall <a href="http://vegetarian.procon.org/view.source.php?sourceID=010726" target="_hplink">said on Procon.org</a> she switched to a plant-based diet after learning about factory farms in the early 1970s after reading Peter Singer's Animal Liberation. "I thought about the delicious pork chops that I loved, the heavenly smell of frying bacon in the morning. And all the roast chicken, casseroled chicken, fried chicken, and chicken soup that I had enjoyed during my life... When I saw meat on my plate, from that moment on, I should think of pain-fear-death. How horrible. And so it was clear. I would eat no more meat," she says.

Andy Lally

NASCAR driver Andy Lally fuels himself on a vegan diet. He made the switch two years ago, <a href="http://vegetarianstar.com/2011/07/13/andy-lally-races-on-vegan-fuel/" target="_hplink">according to Vegetarianstar.com.</a> The site writes Lally said: "If (people) were able to see the mistreatment and what goes on and see what shows up to them in a nice shiny package." Earlier this year, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/lally-pumpelly-factory-farms_n_928172.html" target="_hplink">at a visit to Farm Sanctuary</a>, Lally said: "By this point in human evolution, we should be smart enough and kind enough to live without torturing other living beings just so we can enjoy lunch, especially when there are so many delicious plant-based options available."

Kellie Pickler

In 2008, country singer Kellie Pickler <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20236190,00.html" target="_hplink">told People Magazine</a> she stopped eating meat to improve her health but changed her reasoning after discovering animal cruelty videos online. "One night I couldn't sleep and I was up just Googling random stuff and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA.' I saw all the videos and I just thought it was horrible. It's animal cruelty. A lot of it has to do with knowing what happens to the animals and it really bothered me and so I will not eat meat," she said. Pickler was named <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">Sexiest Celebrity Vegetarian of 2009</a>, alongside actor Milo Ventimiglia, by PETA.

Alec Baldwin

<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/Vegan+Stars/articles/QHaN-JTolFJ/Alec+Baldwin" target="_hplink">According to Zimbio.com,</a> Alec Baldwin said "he chooses an animal-free diet for the animals, for the environment, and for his health." Conflicting reports over the years suggest Baldwin may be an "on and off" vegetarian.

Anthony Kiedis

Red Hot Chilli Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis was <a href="http://www.maxim.com/amg/MUSIC/Articles/An+Interview+with+Anthony+Kiedis+of+The+Red+Hot+Chili+Peppers" target="_hplink">asked by Maxim this year</a> whether he would eat a fatty steak or some tempeh for his last meal, considering he was a vegan. "I'm not a true vegan. I dabble in sustainable fish and dawdle in the consumption of eggs. Steak doesn't speak to me, and tempeh is so-so. I'll savor a solitary apricot that's been kissed by my baby," Kiedis answered. The musician was labeled <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity of 2008 by PETA</a>, alongside singer Leona Lewis. After acquiring the title, Kiedis <a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/_article_9984" target="_hplink">told AccessHollywod</a> animal cruelty videos convinced him of his switch to veganism. "Soon after I [went vegan] I saw some documentary footage of what happens in the factory farming of cows ... It sealed the deal," the rocker said.

Leona Lewis

Singer Leona Lewis was labeled <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">Sexiest Vegetarian of 2008 by PETA</a> alongside rocker Anthony Kiedis. In 2010, she <a href="http://redcarpetroxy.com/?p=17073" target="_hplink">told redcarpetroxy.com</a> she had a vegan clothing line in the works. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzvmTRRdnOs" target="_hplink">In the interview, </a>she told the site she looked for alternative materials when buying clothes and accessories. For example, she doesn't buy leather products. The animal activist turned down a $1 million dollar deal in 2008 with Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2034820/X-Factors-Leona-Lewis-laugh-spends-time-animals-Essex-rescue-home.html" target="_hplink">According to the Daily Mail</a>, she turned down the deal because the UK department store "continues to stock clothing made from animal fur." <a href="http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/features/voice-animals" target="_hplink">According to <em>Modern Dog</em>, Lewis</a> began the campaign "Animals Matter To Me" asking for public support for the World Society for the Protection of Animals' mission. "I've been a vegetarian since I was twelve," she told the magazine.

Paul McCartney

Vegetarian Paul McCartney urged India earlier this year to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/04/paul-mccartney-urges-india-to-declare-vegetarian-day_n_804047.html" target="_hplink">declare a national Vegetarian Day</a>. The singer sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggesting the day to "celebrate meat-free living and a compassion towards animals," a report said. McCartney's letter says, "it would be a celebration of life."

Carrie Underwood

Earlier this year, <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity of 2007 and 2005</a> Carrie Underwood announced she had rid all animal products from her diet, <a href="http://tasteofcountry.com/carrie-underwood-vegan/" target="_hplink">according to TasteofCountry.com.</a> The site reports she told Australian television show <em>The Circle</em>: "I recently made the switch to vegan because I'm actually kind of lactose intolerant." The singer said she became a vegetarian at age 13 when she realized what happened to animals on her family's farm.

Alicia Silverstone

Hollywood star and vegan Alicia Silverstone bares all in a<a href="http://features.peta.org/AliciaSilverstoneVeganPSA/" target="_hplink"> Veggie PETA testimonial</a>. She writes on their website: "Now when I see a steak, it makes me feel sad and sick because right away, I see my dog or the amazing cows I met at a sanctuary. I've been vegan for 10 years, and it's the single-most important and helpful decision I have ever made." Silverstone -- <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity in 2004</a> -- adds: "I am doing everything I can to reduce animal suffering with simple lifestyle choices like being vegan, never wearing any products made from animals (like wool and leather), and buying only from companies that NEVER test their products or ingredients on animals."

Shania Twain

Country singer Shania Twain was <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">PETA's first Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity</a>, crowned in 2001. <a href="http://blog.friendseat.com/vegetarian-meatless-celebrities" target="_hplink">Blog friendseat.com writes</a> Twain kicked meat from her diet after marrying long time vegetarian Mutt Lange in 1993. The blog writes that Twain said she "was never really a fan of meat or a keen meat-eater and her diet does not include meat, fish or eggs."

Alyssa Milano

Animal activist and actor Alyssa Milano launched a PETA ad in 2008 dressed in an outfit made entirely from green vegetables under the slogan "Let Vegetarianism Grow on You." <a href="http://www.peta2.com/outthere/o-alyssaveggies.asp" target="_hplink">According to Peta2.com, in 2008</a> Milano said: "The world has so much suffering in it already -- choosing to be vegetarian is one thing you can do to reduce the suffering on a daily basis." <a href="http://blog.friendseat.com/vegetarian-meatless-celebrities" target="_hplink">Blog friendseat.com says</a> the actress has a green thumb and loves veggies, even sticking to her vegetarian diet during her pregnancy in which she had cravings for broccoli and pickles.

Boy George

Singer Boy George, who spent four months behind bars in 2009 for falsely imprisoning a male escort, <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/116487/Why-Boy-George-can-t-wait-to-go-back-to-prison-" target="_hplink">told the <em>Daily Express</em></a> he worked as chef, preparing all-meatless food during his time in jail. "I'm a pretty good cook and made all the vegetarian food," he said. On September 18th, <a href="https://twitter.com/BoyGeorge/status/248173083100332033" target="_hplink">Boy George outed himself as a vegan</a> by tweeting "Rat meat for sale in London! F**king glad I'm vegan! # Not-Glamorous!"

Brad Pitt

<a href="http://nakedhealth.avvo.com/2011/04/13-celebrity-vegans-and-vegetarians/" target="_hplink">According to Naked Health</a>, actor Brad Pitt has been identified as a vegetarian throughout the years. There are rumors that his partner, actress Angelina Jolie's meat-eating habits have started to upset Pitt. Jolie was reportedly vegan until she said the plant-based diet nearly killed her.

Christina Applegate

Actress and animal activist Christina Applegate <a href="http://www.peta.org/features/christina-applegate-fur-get-me-not.aspx" target="_hplink">told PETA</a> she stopped eating meat when she saw blood on her plate while at a restaurant. I was eating lunch on the Married With Children set, and they served me some kind of meat (I don't even know the names of them all anymore because it's been so long). I looked down and there was blood on my plate, and it was that realization, that I can't eat something that has been alive, I just can't do it," she said in the interview. Applegate was featured in a 2007 PETA Christmas-time campaign reminding shoppers not to buy fur as gifts.

Emmylou Harris

<a href="http://vegetarianstar.com/2009/06/29/emmylou-harris-is-a-sexy-vegetarian-over-50-are-you/" target="_hplink"><em>Vegetarian Star</em> writes</a> <a href="http://features.peta.org/petaprime/sexiest-veg-over-50-2011/Round1.aspx" target="_hplink">PETA's Sexiest Vegetarians Over 50</a> are in good company with vegetarians like Emmylou Harris falling into the category. The 62-year-old runs a dog shelter in Nashville, Tennesee, her hometown and is involved with organizations like<a href="http://www.bestfriends.org/" target="_hplink"> Best Friends Animal Society</a>, according to Vegetarian Star.

Bob Harper

<em>Biggest Loser</em> trainer Bob Harper was crowned <a href="http://features.peta.org/sexiest-Vegetarian-Celebrities-2011/PastWinners.aspx" target="_hplink">2010's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity</a>, along with actress Olivia Wilde, by PETA. Harper is a long time vegetarian-turned-vegan, <a href="http://www.vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?pageId=2220&catId=8" target="_hplink">according to Veg News.</a> He told the site his new diet made him feel "clear headed and strong." The 44-year-old fitness guru added: "Not to mention my genetically high cholesterol dropped more than 100 points. That was all the motivation I needed." However, Reuters reported in September 2011 that <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/16/us-biggestloser-idUSTRE78F2CV20110916" target="_hplink">Harper has given up on the vegan lifestyle</a>: "I still believe that a plant-based diet has tremendous health benefits but I have incorporated more animal protein into my diet," the trainer admitted.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/21/chris-kilham-medicine-herbs-plants_n_2733537.html

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