asterisk users - Sep 2008 - Weird "permissions" issue when permissions check out...

I'm getting this really strange permissions error when I try to start  
asterisk:

# /usr/sbin/asterisk -U asterisk -G asterisk -vvvvvvvvgc
   == Parsing '/etc/asterisk/asterisk.conf': Found
Running as group 'asterisk'
Running as user 'asterisk'
Asterisk 1.2.26.1 svn rev 79171, Copyright (C) 1999 - 2007 Digium,  
Inc. and others.
Created by Mark Spencer <markster at digium.com>
Asterisk comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; type 'show warranty' for  
details.
This is free software, with components licensed under the GNU General  
Public
License version 2 and other licenses; you are welcome to redistribute  
it under
certain conditions. Type 'show license' for details.
= 
=======================================================================   ==
Parsing '/etc/asterisk/logger.conf': Found
Logger Warning: Unable to open log file '/var/log/asterisk/full':  
Permission denied

However, when I check out the /var/log/asterisk directory, and the  
'full' logfile, the permissions check out fine:

# ls -al /var/log | grep asterisk
drwxrwx---   4 asterisk asterisk   12288 Sep 19 04:02 asterisk

# ls -al /var/log/asterisk/full
-rw-rw----  1 asterisk asterisk 0 Sep 19 04:02 /var/log/asterisk/full

I've got tons of free inodes, so it's not an obscure permissions error  
that hides an inability to write out files and there are no file  
system ACLs on this box, so I'm completely stumped.

Anyone have any ideas?