Heart thread - 12/04/2010

Susan S. asks for our prayers:

For David who just died at 45 years of age in Oregon, his mother Hildred, a member of our choir and a dear friend, and his "good brother" Carl.

I remember Hildred from the choir at St Mark's, Berkeley, when I was a member there in the early 80s.

For Tim, husband of Vicar Rhonda, who had a double knee replacement on Tuesday and now struggles through pain management and physical therapy so he can heal and begin enjoying new knees.

For Doug's mother.

Some days, she seems to be aware of her surroundings and to know who people are. Other days, she seems not to recognize anyone or anything. We don't know yet if this is temporary or permanent.

Jack M. Lynn, 2001

For the repose of the soul of Jack McGregor Lynn, my father-in-law. For my in-laws as they work through their grief.

For the unemployed, about whom the Republicans in Congress do not give a damn.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

--the BB

Economic policy

I don't remember who wrote this or where I got it but, amid the current discussions of our baleful economy, I thought it needed to be put out there again.

Obama Promised

Looking back

From November 2004:

Halliburton has lost 1/3 of government property in Iraq
by Plutonium Page
Sat Nov 27th, 2004 at 00:31:10 PST

Halliburton says they're doing a great job tracking their inventory in Iraq.
However, an external audit shows that they're embellishing on the truth... big time.
What the audit showed:

A third or more of the government property Halliburton Co. was paid to manage for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq could not be located by auditors, investigative reports to Congress show.
Halliburton's KBR subsidiary ''did not effectively manage government property'' and auditors could not locate hundreds of CPA items worth millions of dollars in Iraq and Kuwait this summer and fall, Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen reported to Congress in two reports.
Not good news for Cheney's former company.

To see what Halliburton says, look below the fold. [Click link above.]


Laurence Lewis reports today:

Earlier this month, it was reported that one of the largest U.S. government contractors in Afghanistan was being fined nearly $70 million for having "knowingly and systematically overcharged the U.S. government." But just two months after a whistleblower revealed the Louis Berger Group's deliberate and systematic overcharging, the U.S. Agency for International Development awarded the company a new joint contract worth $1.4 billion. That seemingly large fine turned out to be but a minor business expense.

Once again we must ask:

What would "victory" in Afghanistan look like?

Is that even remotely achievable?

What the fuck are we doing there?

I know, we're enriching the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about in his farewell speech. But other than that?

--the BB