Cindy McCain Models For Marriage • Polanski's Prosecutors Motivated By Politics?

• Cindy McCain has posed for an ad for the No H8 campaign – in 2008, John McCain endorsed the measure. Is there about to be a same sex marriage mutiny in the McCain household? •

• Roman Polanski’s lawyers are fighting to have the Oscar-winning rapist tried in absentia, a move that prosecutors have opposed. They also argue that Polanski has already served his full sentence (42 days) and should not be required to return. “If the district attorney were truly concerned about the fair and equitable operation of the judicial system, the office would readily admit that Mr. Polanski has served his agreed-upon punishment . . . and stipulate to the entry of final judgment,” read a statement from the Polanski camp. Defense lawyers also claim that officials “intentionally mislead the Swiss” government in order to secure his extradition. • Today Tareq and Michaele Salahi went before a House committee to be questioned as to how they got through security checkpoints on November 24th. However, the Salahis invoked their Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer any questions. Members of the committee repeatedly reminded the Salahis that the safety of the president is not a joke, and should not be treated lightly. • On Tuesday a Manhattan judge denied a motion to dismiss charges against Dominique Sharpton and Kathy Jordan. Jordan – Reverend Al Sharpton‘s ex-wife – and her daughter were arrested in November after a brief “tussle” with police. • The terrorist suspect nicknamed “Lady Al Qaeda” was thrown out of court yesterday after she interrupted proceedings to proclaim her innocence. Aafia Siddiqui was a neuroscientist from MIT until last year, when she was caught carrying a list of sites in New York that prosecutors believe were potential targets for an attack. • Research has shown that the daughters of teen moms are more likely to become teen moms themselves, and a new study from Yale University found that the same is true for teen dads. The sons of teenage fathers are 80 percent more likely to have a child before age 20 compared to boys born to older fathers. • Samantha Orobator, the British woman jailed in Laos, will serve at least an 18-month sentence in British prisons. Orobator’s lawyers asserted that the drugs she was caught with were not hers, and that her unfair treatment in the Laotian prison system should exempt her from serving more time. • Police in Richmond, California have arrested a man that they believe was involved in the October 24th gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl. John Crane, 43, turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday. • The International Olympic Committee has proposed the creation of special health centers designed to treat intersex athletes. “We did not discuss any particular case,” IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist said, in response to the suggestion that this was sparked by the case of Caster Semenya. “We explored the science of all these matters… Now we have the scientific basis for going further.” • In efforts to promote population growth, government buildings in Seoul will be turning off their lights at 7 pm tonight. In addition to the baby-making blackout, they will be offering generous gift vouchers for officials who have more than one child. • Three of Haiti’s most important advocates for women’s rights died in last week’s earthquake. Anne Marie Coriolan was a political organizer who helped change the laws to make rape a punishable crime in Haiti. Lawyer and actress Magalie Marcelin once urged women to pack a courtroom where she succeeded in getting a man who beat his wife convicted. Author Myriam Merlet founded EnfoFamn, an organization that collects women’s stories and works to honor their names. She had also worked with Eve Ensler to establish safe houses for women and served as the chief of staff of Haiti’s Ministry for Gender and the Rights of Women. • Jury selection for the trial of Scott Roeder began on Tuesday, but some anti-choicers are having a hard time believing in the process. “It makes you wonder where the jurors may have stood on a key part of the prosecution and the defense,” said Jennifer McCoy, who served 30 months for planning to attack a clinic. “If you don’t know that, how can you say whether (the trial) was fair or not?” Roeder has been in touch with McCoy and several other prominent anti-choice terrorists, including convicted arsonist Shelley Shannon. •