125 people died in Iraq today... in a car bomb attack on a Shiite Mosque. "'It would be like a major bomb going off outside of St. Peter's [Basilica] in Rome, or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, for Christians,' Brookings Institution scholar Ken Pollack said."

This is the kind of thing that, as the article points out, could lead toward civil war. Why people kill each other over religion, even if that wasn't the case here, is beyond me.

5,000 or so civilians dead? According to CNN, "The Associated Press reported 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals, and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher."

23 people died in the blast at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad last week.

144 U.S. soldiers have been killed since President Bush declared the end of major combat May 1.

I heard a rumor that there was a major lack of supplies, especially body armor, in Iraq. So I did some digging and came up with this:

"Palazzo, whose unit is patrolling Ramadi, canceled a checkpoint Wednesday because of a shortage of body armor. As an armored unit, these soldiers typically wear vests that stop shrapnel, not bullets, so now they share body armor. 'I’m not going to put my guys out there in jeopardy,' he said." If only our President had this much wisdom. That rumor was sure true.

And then there was the story about the troops not having enough weapons:

’''We just do not have enough rifles to equip all of our soldiers. So in certain circumstances we allow soldiers to have an AK-47. They have to demonstrate some proficiency with the weapon ... demonstrate an ability to use it,’' said Lt. Col. Mark Young, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division."

That's... fantastic. Great. "Some proficiency." $4billion/month for this damn war and we can't even get the guys what they need most. SOLDIERS DIE BECAUSE OF... THIS? I want to scream.

According to CNN, President Bush is no fan of cell phones, PDAs, laptops, iPods, DVDs, VHS tapes, 8 tracks, TiVo... I bet the man doesn't even have a calendar. Those were invented what, 30,000 years ago? Actually... it was 5,000 years ago in Egypt. Apparently, the Egyptians based their calendars on the rise of the star we now call Sirius, the brighest star in the summer sky.

President Bush uses this star as his signal to go to Texas and ride around on his fishing boat which does apparently have a GPS tracking system and a fish-finding device. I hope for his sake it works better than Army arms inspectors. 'Course there was weapons-grade uranium found in Iran, which Fark.com said Bush blamed on a typographical error, but the man doesn't have a computer, so that's not true.

Also missing from the President's desk is a calculator. I guess the abacus wasn't able to predict this:

That's the Federal Defecit, predicted at $480 billion in 2004. Now, figure in the excluded costs of the [guerilla] War In Iraq ($4 billion/week), and that's... wait I have a Ti83 Plus (which is for sale if anyone wants to buy it)....$7.04x10^11!!!! Yikes. That's a lot. Such is the cost of three tax cuts. Anyway, my biggest question is how did the guy get an MBA without a calculator? That might have something to do with that Sammy Sosa trade. No, that was just plain stupidity, which he's got plenty of.

He did however use that Segway scooter, and fall off of it, which is quite improbable. I never saw the photo before today:

I think I may have figured out what went wrong. Judging by his shorts, he is either A.) Stuck in 1978 or B.) Just out of bed (notice Barbara's night gown?). In the case of A, the aforementioned list of technology he lacks is explained. All but 8 tracks weren't around then. In the case of B, he was probably hungover and unable to fully control himself, the scooter, or the world. Mystery solved.

Too bad Al Gore didn't get elected... err inaugurated . He's on Apple's board of directors. He's said to enjoy making his own digital movies among other things. He did help lead the U.S. in its longest sustained period of economic growth etc...

As for me, I'm proud to sport cell phone, laptop, iPod and Swiss Army knife each and every time I head off to school.

I was inspired today by Owix.org's new facelift. I figure, since mbare.org is nearing its 1 year birthday, perhaps it should mature a little - at least in appearance. So look out for things not looking quite right, I'll do my best. Let me know of any bugs. We here at mbare.org want nothing more than a happy audience of 3 to 8 people... Thanks!

Thanks to Lansil for posting this useful diagram in Mirkwood's Goofy note box:

. [Church]
.
.
.
.
.
.
. ( Bigass Lake )
.
.
.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Mountains^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
.
.
. [Nest of Dragons]
. [Cyborg Ninja army]
. [Exploding Cockroaches]
.
===================================================
======================== Tar Pits ====================
.
. (40 billion light years)
.
.
. [State]

President Bush's approval rating has dropped to its lowest since he took office. According to the Pew Research Group, 53% approve of the job President Bush is doing as president. That is down from 86% just after Sept. 11th, 2001.

Looks like all those lies, soldiers continuing to die and not returning home, bad economy, etc. are catching up to him.

I'd say this was good news, but its not quite campaign season, thus approval ratings mean next to nothing. Its also not news to those of us who have known all along - he sucks.

Oh yeah, gas at the Kwik Trip was $1.64 today. Sigh.

Here's a letter to the editor, submitted about the city job cuts. Lots of our friends lost their jobs. :(

Dear Editor,

With the recent city job cuts, it has become more clear that budget spending at both the state and local levels is being drastically mismanaged. This week’s abrupt cuts have been publicly deemed irresponsible and rude.

Most of the lost jobs were held by college students working summer jobs. They had been almost guaranteed their jobs would be stable. These are jobs that all of us depend on, like grass cutting at local parks, cemetery maintenance and traffic signal pole painting. Shouldn’t these costs be cut from other places where there is actual wasteful spending?

Testimonials were published by the HTR that showed the horrid effects this job loss could have on already cash strapped youth. Tuition hikes around the state have not nearly been matched by financial aid and scholarship opportunities. By my count, seventy students probably won’t return to the city next summer in search of work. Seventy students won’t return and support the local economy. Seventy students will have a more difficult time affording the education those of us at college age are told is essential to our futures.

We should feel sorry for our friends who can’t get the aid they need and worked for the city performing needed tasks. Why add to the pessimistic attitude already held by many college students about the future job market in their hometown and home state?

We should feel ashamed of those who make these decisions. Do we have to throw tea in the harbor before they will realize financially harming young adults should not be the first place to start when cuts are needed?