Madonna, Sean Penn and porn star Jenna Jameson

JENNA JAMESON ENDORSES ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT
Porn queen Jenna Jameson, whose opinion will no doubt have much sway in America's political class, endorsed presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney's bid for president. The sex star took the stage at a San Francisco strip club last week and announced she was ready for a Romney presidency, CBS reported. "I'm very looking forward to a Republican being back in office," Jameson said as she sipped champagne. "When you're rich, you want a Republican in office." Jameson, who by 2001 earned US$60,000 (RM180,000) for a day-and-a-half long DVD shoot and US$8,000 (RM24,000) per night dancing at strip clubs, switched positions politically speaking in 2008. Previously, she had supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

 

MADONNA SAYS JAILING RUSSIA'S PUSSY RIOT WOULD BE A TRAGEDY
Madonna, whose opinion will no doubt have much sway in Russia's political class, urged the country not to jail three women from the punk band Pussy Riot for staging a protest in a church. Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, face up to seven years for storming the altar of Moscow's main cathedral on 21st February and belting out a "punk prayer", calling on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Vladimir Putin, the prime minister who has since returned to the presidency. Jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has likened their trial to a medieval inquisition.

 

SEAN PENN JOINS CHAVEZ ON CAMPAIGN IN VENEZUELA
Madonna's first ex-husband, Sean Penn, joined President Hugo Chavez at an election rally in Venezuela, bringing a dash of Hollywood to the campaign as he rode with him atop a truck past cheering supporters. Sean is a friend of Chavez, who hopes to win a new six-year term on 7th October. The campaign has turned into the toughest fight of the president's political career. "Thank you very much for visiting us again, dear friend," Chavez said after introducing Sean to the big crowd in the central city of Valencia. "We're all Americans, from the north, the centre, the south. Long live the American continent!"

 

JUNIOR COSTA RICAN MINISTER FIRED OVER RACY ONLINE VIDEO
Costa Rica said it had dismissed a junior-level minister after she appeared in a video posted online wearing only her underwear and delivering flirtatious messages. Deputy Minister for Youth, Karina Bolanos, lost her job after a video showed her laying in bed, pointing at her breasts and inviting a man she refers to as "little one" to join her. Bolanos told cable TV network CNN en Espanol, the video was made years ago and was put onto the Internet by a computer engineer who stole it and was trying to extort her. Uploaded onto YouTube over the weekend, the clip quickly went viral.

 

OBAMA SPENDS HIS 51ST BIRTHDAY ON THE GOLF COURSE
President Barack Obama celebrated his 51st birthday on Saturday with a round of golf, then helicoptered to the Camp David presidential retreat for a quiet evening off the campaign trail. Obama, an avid golfer, played with colleagues and friends at the Andrews Air Force Base in hot, muggy weather conditions before taking Marine One to Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. The White House didn't release details of the president's evening plans or share the menu for the birthday dinner he was expected to have with the missus. Their daughters were at summer camp and it wasn’t clear whether they would be present at the rustic getaway that the Obamas have visited less than past White House residents. The president often opts to golf at Andrews or play basketball in downtown Washington to unwind on the weekends.

 

INDIAN STATE MINISTER RESIGNS OVER SUICIDE CASE
Haryana minister Gopal Kanda resigned after Delhi police arrested him for allegedly abetting the suicide of a former air hostess for his now defunct airline MDLR.

 

Source: Reuters

Published: 7th August 2012