Jockstrip: The World As We Know It

THE OLD COLLEGE TRY

A nationwide poll by the University of California at Los Angeles indicates more college freshmen describe themselves as politically liberal than at any time since the Vietnam War.

The researchers measured liberalism by asking students to describe their political views and take positions on certain benchmark issues. More than one-third -- the highest rate since 1980 -- say marijuana should be legalized, although 75 percent also say employers should be allowed to require drug tests of workers and applicants. A record 57.9 percent think it should be legal for gay couples to marry. And 32.2 percent say the death penalty should be abolished, which is the strongest showing for that position in 20 years.

Still, about half of the class's members, in line with their recent predecessors, view themselves as "middle of the road" politically. And 20.7 percent consider themselves conservative or "far right," while 29.9 percent -- the highest figure since 1975 -- say they are liberal or "far left."

(From UPI's Capital Comment)

THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

Has Asterix the Gaul, France's beloved cartoon mascot, sold out?

Maybe. As a tie-in with his latest feature film "Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" -- which opened Wednesday in France-- the short, blond-haired warrior is gracing thousands of McDonald's Happy Meal boxes, as well as posters, television spots, and flyers across the country.

Such unabashed commercialism has produced much hand-wringing among some members of France's intelligentsia. Others, struck by Asterix's uncanny resemblance to McDonald's buster Jose Bove are spinning conspiracy theories that McDo -- as the French call the U.S.-based fast-food giant -- has struck back.

As for any resemblance between Asterix and Bove -- the man who drove a tractor into a McDonald's restaurant in France -- "a simple coincidence that's amusing," said McDonald's marketing director Gregorie Champetier.

The latest Asterix movie -- distributed by Pathe -- features Gerard Depardieu as Obelix and fast-rising star Jamel Debbouze as Asterix.

Does Depardieu even like Big Macs, studio spokeswoman Laurence Edeline was asked. "I don't even know if he eats hamburgers," she said, pausing. "I don't think so."

(Thanks to UPI's Elizabeth Bryant in Paris)

NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS

Australian archeologists are claiming they've unearthed some of the oldest tombs in Egypt, according to a report by the European news agency Ananova. They found more than 20 tombs in the Helwan cemetery southeast of Cairo, and the crypts are more than 5,000 years old.

The researchers discovered written Egyptian language on the graves, and the findings lend support to the theory that writing developed independently in Egypt and was not an import from Babylon.

"We have here for the first time, very early evidence that allows us to reconstruct the further development of hieroglyphics writing during the archaic period just a couple of hundred years after writing was actually invented," said Christiana Kohler, of Macquarie University's Australian Center for Egyptology.

(Thanks to UPI Science Writer Jim Kling)

TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

An Islamic woman is fighting a decision by the state of Florida to deny her a driver's license because she refused to remove her veil for the identification picture.

Sultaana Freeman says her religion forbids her from revealing her face to strangers.

Freeman had a Florida driver's license until Dec. 17 when the state revoked it because she refused to allow examiners to take her photograph without a veil that shows only her eyes and forehead.

"It was not a problem until after Sept. 11," said civil liberties attorney Howard Marks, referring to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington. He filed a petition in circuit court in Orlando on Jan. 17 seeking to overturn the decision. He said similar regulations have been overturned in Indiana, Colorado and Nebraska.

Marks is centering his approach on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998, which was passed to shore up provisions of the Florida Constitution regarding free exercise of religion.

But state officials are not backing down. "Florida law requires a full facial view of a person on their driver's license photo," said Robert Sanchez of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. "We have no choice but to enforce it."

Freeman said when she lived in Illinois, she had no problem with her driver's license. She said she was photographed with her veil.

AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY

Nine years after post-cold war cutbacks silenced Abdul Bari Hakim's voice and the rest of Radio Free Afghanistan, the Afghan newsman returned to the airwaves Wednesday at the re-launch of the U.S.-backed broadcast service operated by Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty.

Last month, Congress approved funding for daily transmissions in Afghanistan's Pashto and Dari languages as part of the U.S. effort to encourage free speech and rebuild democracy from the rubble of the Taliban regime. Hakim and nine others were hired quickly, and dozens more are expected to join the staff at the radio service's headquarters in Prague, the Czech Republic, soon.

News stories covered the first day included President Bush's State of the Union address, pieces about the new Afghan government and the return of refugees to Peshawar, and a feature called "Kabul Weekly," which on Wednesday focused on the al Qaida murder of former opposition commander Ahmad Shah Masud.

What is now a program consisting of 90 minutes of news in Pashto and an equal amount in Dari each day is expected to eventually be expanded to six hours in each language every day.