thunderbird update to 2.0.0.12 breaks Gutsy

Binary package hint: thunderbird

Ubuntu version is Gutsy.
I am reporting this bug using my Windows box because Ubuntu is essentially unusable.

The problem occurred after installing an update presented by Update Manager to make some update to Thunderbird. I don't know what, precisely, the update was because I didn't read it that carefully and now I can't do much in Ubuntu. I do know that Thunderbird is now version 2.0.0.12, but I don't know what it was before the update.

The best I can do to describe the problem is that the desktop loads correctly but from there nothing else seems to run correctly (or, possibly, that it runs e x t r e m e l y slowly so that it appears not to be working at all. Also, there continues to be hard drive activity after the desktop appears, which is unlike the normal behavior. It is acting like Windows, with lots of things going on behind the scenes.

As a very simple example of the problem, after the desktop appears I am unable, for several minutes, to click the running man to get the shutdown dialogue window to open. After a while though, the dialogue will open--in fact it opens as many times as I clicked the running man, I think. This behavior seems to be true for all the icons on the panel. Also, no menu opens when I mouse over an icon on the panel.

Once, however, the panel icons did seem to be working, and the menu opened when I moused over Applications. I ran Openoffice.org Writer and it loaded and seemed to run just fine, as responsive as ever.

I could go on and on (more than I already have) trying to guess what might be useful information, but perhaps this is enough for someone to suggest some help. Thanks.

Jim