--- pym/portage_util.py	(revision 9135)
+++ pym/portage_util.py	(revision 9136)
@@ -266,7 +266,9 @@ 
 			myfile = open(myfilename, "r")
 			mylines = myfile.readlines()
 			myfile.close()
-		except IOError:
+		except IOError, e:
+			if e.errno == PermissionDenied.errno:
+				raise PermissionDenied(myfilename)
 			pass
 	return mylines