Murphy James

International
1.In a remote corner of northwest Africa, where the golden dunes of the Sahara reign and camel caravans dot the horizon, lies the country of Mauritania. It is an Islamic state, the size of California and Texas combined, and stretches for miles along the Atlantic coast. Just over 3 million people live in the desolate land. They call Mauritania the land of one million poets — poets who write about, among other things, the ideal woman being big and buxom. So, it's no surprise that as a saying goes here: "The glory of a man is measured by the fatness of his woman." Yes, that's right. Mauritanians, in their odes and songs, glorify obese women.

OPINION
I think that the american people need to see that there is nothing wrong with big people. The movies and billboards and all that stuff have technical devices that take away all the flaws. I think america could learn a few things about womens asspects from these type of countries. We need to be more open minded to the women and not make the feel horrible for eating to much in one day that's their choice not the public eyes.

2.PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale confirmed a record fourth-quarter loss after absorbing a huge rogue trading scandal that has made France's second-biggest listed bank a potential takeover target.
SocGen, like many of the world's top banks, has been hit by losses related to a global credit crunch and the bank warned it may make further writedowns in the future.Executive Chairman Daniel Bouton told Reuters the 144-year-old bank was determined to ride out the storm as an independent bank, despite reports of a potential bid from long-time suitor and arch-rival BNP Paribas .

OPINION
The banks need to have more sense in what they are doing with their money. Ezpecially over there where there are all those scandals going on and you really never can trust anyone with anything. The banks need to find confidential people completely and make sure that they know if they do something wrong there will be a major punishment.

National
1.There's nothing like the whiff of a sex scandal to inject some life into a Republican race that's pretty much (yet still not entirely) over and done.
Now we know what all the fuss was about -- and we'll find out in the coming days whether it was worth the wait. There, hiding under a humble tag calling it part of The New York Times' biographical "Long Run" series, is the story that's rocking the presidential campaign this Thursday -- with the not-so-subtle suggestion that Sen. John McCain had an affair with a lobbyist. "A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client's corporate jet," writes a Times news crew member. "Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself -- instructing staff members to block the woman's access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him."

OPINION
Half the stuff that people post in the news paper or on the news are scandals. I think that they are just trying to bring McCain down because they know he may have a good chance with what he's doing. People just need to face the fact we need a friendly compotition.

2.There's a Texas-sized stumbling block on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's comeback trail.
Even Clinton's most devoted surrogate -- her husband, Bill Clinton -- acknowledged the do-or-die stakes on Wednesday in Beaumont, Texas, conceding that a loss in Texas or Ohio would likely doom her candidacy. "If she wins Texas and Ohio I think she will be the nominee. If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be. It's all on you," the former president told the audience at the beginning of his speech.

OPINION
Hilary Clinton is at the end and she needs to step it up if she really wants to be the nominee. Her husband is even telling people she has to because since she got rid of her campaign management system she has been slacking. The only way she is going to even be able to see a chance in this race is if she steps it up all the way.