when someone posted the number of civilian deaths in iraq (about 600,000 from 2003-2006) on facebook, there was a lot of brouhaha over how that number seemed too high. interesting how people sitting on their couches, watching cnn, think they have a better idea of deaths in iraq than the lancet journal which conducted an extensive study on the ground. anyway, for all the skeptics here is a great description of the methodology behind the stats.