But Senator Charles Grassley, a leading Republican who could be key to President Barack Obama’s hopes of overhauling healthcare, acknowledged on Sunday that so-called “death panels” weren’t really a possibility anyway.

Grassley, the leading Republican in the Senate Finance Committee, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that his well-publicized comment about pulling the plug was only meant to convey the fears of voters.

“It won’t do that. But I wanted to explain why my constituents are concerned about it,” Grassley said.

He was quoted saying earlier this month that “You have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life, you should have done that 20 years before. Should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma.”

He struggled a bit when asked to explain why he made the comments in the first place: “I said that because — two reasons. Number one, I was responding to a question at my town meetings. I let my constituents set the agenda. A person that asked me that question was reading from language that they got off of the Internet. It scared my constituents…”

Obama expressed outrage on Saturday about persistent rumors about the government-run “death panels” — an issue most notably raised by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential nominee last year.

“As every credible person who has looked into it has said, there are no so-called ‘death panels’ — an offensive notion to me and to the American people,” Obama said. “These are phony claims meant to divide us.”
The issue stems from a provision in a House of Representatives bill that would have provided government funding for optional counseling on end-of-life care issues such as hospice.

Obama’s healthcare plan has been hit from both sides, with liberal members of his own party pushing for major changes while Republicans and conservative Democrats fret about cost and government involvement. The debate likely will intensify next month when Congress returns from its summer recess.

Do you think Grassley’s acknowledgement will help end the debate over death panels?

Director Ron Howard was repeatedly asked questions like whether the film was "anti-Vatican". He insisted it wasn't and, on the red carpet, added it was respectful to Catholics.

"If I really thought it was anti-Vatican, in my heart of hearts, I doubt I would take on the subject, because I don't feel that way," he said.
"And I hope that the movie is also very respectful to people of faith. And we went out of our way to make sure that there are characters that make very valid arguments for all the good that the Church also accomplishes."

Senior Church officials have been careful to avoid commenting on "Angels & Demons", sidestepping the kind of public confrontation that critics said gave "The Da Vinci Code" free publicity.

Asked about the more muted Church reaction, Howard noted that "Angels & Demons" doesn't really hit on the same fundamental issues related to the Christian faith that "The Da Vinci Code" did by arguing Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene, creating a secret bloodline of descendants.

Christianity teaches that Jesus never married, was crucified and rose from the dead.

"The hot-button issues of The Da Vinci Code spoke to some of the really fundamental principles of the faith. I think it was much more provocative. I think that with Angels & Demons there are still some things being said, some circumstances being dramatised, even though they are fictional, they (the Vatican) would really rather we wouldn't have, and they certainly didn't want to cooperate with it," he said.

Tom Hanks, who returns in the leading role of symbologist Robert Langdon, is very funny -- even off camera -- and used humour to respond to potentially sticky questions about the Church. One reporter asked if he was religious and what he thought about the Pope Benedict's recent comments about condoms.

"I am a spiritual man, and because I'm happily married for 21 years, I don't even know what a condom is anymore," Hanks replied at a news conference.

It will be interesting to see the public reaction to "Angels & Demons", particularly by Catholic viewers. What do you think the response will be? Is any fictional plot dealing with the Vatican too sensitive for the big screen?

"Angels & Demons," again starring Tom Hanks as Langdon and directed by Ron Howard, premieres in Rome on Monday at a theatre a mile (0.6 kilometer) away from Vatican City. It's due to open in the United States on May 15.

(Photo: Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer and Ron Howard (L-R) at a photocall at CERN near Geneva, 12 Feb 2009/Valentin Flauraud)

In the film, Langdon is recruited by the Vatican after the pope dies and four cardinals tipped  to succeed him are kidnapped. Langdon races through the "Eternal City" deciphering clues linked to a centuries-old secret society, the Illuminati.

"He is not the man the Vatican trusts -- he is the man the Vatican needs," Howard said in production notes for the movie.

The Vatican deeply disapproved of" The Da Vinci Code," especially its portrayal of the life of Jesus, and the Archdiocese of Rome refused permission for "Angels & Demons" to be filmed in historic churches there, forcing the crew to recreate them in Los Angeles. The Vatican has declined to comment on reports it would call for a boycott of the new film.

When "Angels & Demons" actor Ewan McGregor and actress Ayelet Zurer posed for a photocall in Rome with actors dressed as Swiss Guards, they had to do it in a deconsecrated church.

(Photo: McGregor and Zurer at photocall in Saint Marta Church in Rome, 15 Feb 2009/Alessia Pierdomenico)

But director Howard says it's not anti-Catholic and thinks that "Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome."

Will this Dan Brown movie go down better at the Vatican than "The Da Vinci Code"? Read the whole story here, plus our film Factbox.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's quip about Barack Obama's permanent "suntan" almost certainly wasn't intended to offend. But now he's battling accusations of racism.

Clearly, race is a delicate issue. And for those who have covered Berlusconi over the years, it's easy to understand how such a gaffe prone leader would stumble -- spectacularly -- on such a sensitive subject.

The remarks came at a press conference on Thursday in Moscow, where Berlusconi was trying to demonstrate his self-described role as a bridge-builder between Russia and the United States, both strong allies of Italy.

"I will try to help relations between Russia and the United States where a new generation has come to power, and don't see problems for (Russian President Dmitry) Medvedev to establish good relations with Obama who is handsome, young and also suntanned," he said.

video?videoId=93438&videoChannel=1.

I've seen Berlusconi get criticised for gaffes over the years -- he once joked about flirting with Finland's woman president to broker a political deal -- but never has the public outcry been as fast and furious as with his comments about Obama.

Berlusconi, who appears to have a blind spot to sensitive issues like sex and race, couldn't understand why people were so upset. An image-conscious businessman who had plastic surgery and a hair-transplant, Berlusconi says he struggles to look as good as Obama. By tanning.

"How can one say that from my mouth the adjective 'tanned' can be considered offensive when I, every day, do everything I can -- and I mean everything -- to appear tanned in public," he was quoted saying in Italy's La Stampa newspaper.

Many Italians shrugged off the latest Berlusconi slip. But others were outraged and talked openly of racism. Reuters Television interviewed people around Rome this morning and got comments like this one from Franco Lupi: "This isn't a joke, this is almost rascism. 'Tanned'? What is that supposed to mean? (Obama) is a black man. If I said things like that people would call me racist."

The gaffe gave ammunition to Italy's opposition centre-left led by Walter Veltroni, who lost to Berlusconi in April elections and whose 2008 campaign motto "Si Puo Fare" was an almost literal translation of Obama's "Yes, we can".

"It seriously damages the image and dignity of our country on the international stage," Veltroni said, demanding Berlusconi deliver an official apology to Obama.

An overwhelmingly white, Catholic nation, Italy doesn't show much sensitivity when it comes to talking about race. Insensitive newspaper headlines and political cartoons, particularly related to Obama's election, have been frequent. One cartoon printed in Panorama magazine showed a darkened photo of the White House. The caption read: The Black House. Obama's head was attached to an eagle hovering above.

Another political cartoon published on Nov. 4 on the front page page of Italy's main newspaper Corriere della Sera showed Berlusconi trying to imitate Obama by putting on black face paint. "I'm your Obama", the caption read.

Race is becoming an increasingly important subject, however, thanks to concerns over illegal and legal immigration. Berlusconi's government includes a famously anti-immigrant political party, the Northern League, that has control of the interior ministry and has pushed through new laws that European politicians have alleged are racist.

Party leader Umberto Bossi has in the past referred to immigrants as "bingo bongos". That makes Berlusconi's suntan comment look rather tame in comparison.

Berlusconi is now reportedly seeking a phone call with Obama. Who thinks the colour of Obama's skin colour will come up in conversation?

Looking younger all the time

After winning Italy's election, 71-year-old Silvio Berlusconi has spoken a great deal about being older and wiser in the ways of politics, having already served twice as prime minister. But there is no doubt that the conservative billionaire -- thanks to cosmetic surgery including a hair transplant -- looks much younger in many ways than he did when he last won a parliamentary election in 2001. Compare the pictures above, the first from his 2008 campaign and the second from November seven years ago.

Berlusconi, a former cruise ship crooner who built a media empire from scratch, is proud of his appearance. He bragged on Tuesday that one foreign correspondent had even asked him if he was younger than his 52-year-old election rival -- Walter Veltroni.

I remember at a press conference in 2004, Berlusconi was asked about his hair transplant and said that he believed his more youthful image made him a better ambassador for Italy.

"I have taken one of the choices of modern life," he said at the time. "It is a way of showing respect to those who share your life, your family. It is a way of showing respect to those who expect you to represent them on an international and national stage."

When I told my wife that I was going to meet porn star Milly D'Abbraccio at her apartment the other day, during office hours, with a camera crew, she had the same reaction that my boss did: sounds like a great story. That's because D'Abbraccio is running for public office, just like Cicciolina did decades ago.

If Cicciolina was known for her impromptu striptease, then D'Abbraccio's calling card must be her bottom -- which she plastered on campaign posters gracing the walls of the Eternal City (see below). Her campaign poster complains that Italians are tired of the same old faces in politics, and uses the Italian swear word for backside to describe what their faces look like.

It's hard to find the right balance as a journalist when interviewing a porn star for a political story. There was an uncomfortable moment when, cameras rolling, D'Abbraccio started listing her favourite films, which include "Professoressa di lingue" or Professor of languages (and tongues). I admit, I had to fight very hard to stop from laughing out loud.

A long-time Reuters correspondent who has tossed questions at everyone from Hugo Chavez to Hamid Karzai, I'm used to being deadly serious. But was that same attitude necessary or even helpful in this interview? Did I need to nearly give myself a seizure to prevent myself from laughing? I'm assuming the name of that film was supposed to be amusing.

If you read the Reuters story, you'll see that D'Abbraccio knows how to have fun when answering stale questions from "serious" correspondents. We'll see if that skill is enough to get her elected to city hall.