Support the Iraq Body Count

This is a totally not funny topic. But sometimes we have to just not be funny. Sorry.

As perhaps you're aware, there's a website called Iraq Body Count that is keeping track of Iraqi civilian deaths since the U.S. invasion in 2003. As far as I know, they provide the only publicly available count (whereas the Bush administration claimed for a while to not even be keeping count), and while IBC has an anti-war perspective, their tally is actually very conservative, based only on reported, cross-checked deaths. But the thing is, they're running out of money. Their research takes a significant amount of manpower and time, and so, especially in light of the high death tolls of the last two days, I'm asking you to consider making a donation so that they continue work that is so important to filling out the hazy picture we have of what's going on in Iraq. Just click on the above link to go to their site.

Also, while I'm on the topic, the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count is another thorough resource, with tallies of American and coalition fatalities by date, as well as information on the wounded, non-military (i.e. journalists and contractors) casualties, and Iraqi military/police casualties. It's the kind of information that removes some of the inevitable abstractions of the venture. They, too, accept donations.

Tomorrow, a joke about a priest, a rabbi, and a talking donkey.