More Attacks and a New Prime Minister in Iraq

New Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pledged to use "maximum force" if necessary to end the violence if necessary in Iraq. Insurgents launched a group of attacks across Iraq on Sunday. These attacks killed at least 17 people and underscoring the challenges ahead for the country's first permanent government since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The United States is pushing Iraq's leaders to appoint a government that has broad support from Iraq's factions. These include the Sunni Arabs who make up the backbone of Iraq's insurgency. "The next six months will be truly critical for Iraq, said" U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad Another issue that has risen in Iraq is whether or not the new government will split Iraq into different regions. "This will be a very, very difficult issue," said Mahdi al-Hafez, a lawmaker with the secular Iraqi National List. "There is basic disagreement on this issue among all of the represented groups."

More On Immigration

While President Bush is preparing to address the nation on immigration. U.S. lawmakers and Mexico's president on Sunday raised concerns about the possibilities of the deployment of U.S. National Guard troops along the border. Mexico's President Vicente Fox talks to Bush about his concerns with the U.S. National Guard being placed in along the border. The Pentagon has been asked to draw up options for deploying military personnel to help secure the border with Mexico. Bill Frist Senate Majority Leader does not believe that federal troops patrolling the border are necessary. President Bush will speak from the Oval Office Monday about immigration and border security, important issues that have inspired massive demonstrations and a growing political divide.

Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa


The Mona Lisa (meaning Madame Lisa) was painted by the famous artist Leonardo da Vinci in 1502. The Mona Lisa is looked at as one of the most amazing pieces of art in history. The Mona Lisa is famous for its simplicity yet at the same time its complexity. The Mona Lisa is a painting of an actual woman, but no one really knows who this woman could be. It has been concluded that Leonardo painted her as to show what the perfect and most beautiful person should look like. “The Mona Lisa is well known for its mastery of technical innovations as for the mysteriousness of its legendary smiling subject.” (Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519) The Mona Lisa is “a consummate example of two techniques- sfumato, and chiaroscuro.” (Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519)
The Mona Lisa has the perfect facial dimensions. This means her eyes have the perfect amount of space between each other, her nose is just the right size and is well proportioned to her face, and her mouth is not too big and not too small. From her forehead to the bottom of her chin all of her facial features are in perfect dimensions from each other. If one is to look closely they would be able to see that the Mona Lisa looks as though she has a very small smile. The Mona Lisa is looked at as the “work of artistic perfection.”(Shearer, 47)
Many people who view the portrait of the Mona Lisa are amazed by her mysterious smile, and the fact that the true identity is still not known of the woman. Many who view the painting Mona Lisa have come to find that she is either a self portrait of Leonardo seeing himself as a woman, a mistress Leonardo might have had while in Florence, or a portrait of Lisa Gherardini Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant. (Mona Lisa)
What is truly amazing about this portrait is that for as complex and popular as it is, it is very small. Viewers who see this painting for the first time are amazed by its size because they expect it to be quite large. The portrait Mona Lisa is a huge part of Renaissance art and breaks the barriers of art work during the Renaissance time period.
The Mona Lisa also holds great mystery because people are not certain who she is, why the setting is the way it is, and especially why she is smiling. If this painting were not this way then it would not have been as famous as it is. The Mona Lisa expresses to viewers that one does not have to know the meaning of everything as long as they can enjoy the beauty of it. Mona Lisa

Gas Prices

Gas prices are still rising, but at a much slower pace. One source says that the reason for the increase in gas prices is that there is no meaningful raise in automobile fuel-efficiency standards. The average price of gas in 2004 was $1.74 and now the average price is over $3 a gallon. The impact in which the high gas prices are having on the community is that they are having to downsize in everything. This downsize is with everything from food, shopping, and especially cars. Basically downsizing in everything the community has been used to splurging on.