Two very hopeful stories broke this evening that show that the non-escalation factions in the Obama Administration can play the leaking game, too.

First, we have this Washington Post piece that describes Ambassador Eikenberry’s strong warnings to the president about adding more troops in Afghanistan before Karzai cleans up his act (ha ha ha ho ho hee hee hee hum):

The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai’s government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban’s rise, senior U.S. officials said.

…Eikenberry has expressed deep reservations about Karzai’s erratic behavior and corruption within his government, said U.S. officials familiar with the cables. Since Karzai was officially declared reelected last week, U.S. diplomats have seen little sign that the Afghan president plans to address the problems they have raised repeatedly with him.

U.S. officials were particularly irritated by a interview this week in which a defiant Karzai said that the West has little interest in Afghanistan and that its troops are there only for self-serving reasons.

…Eikenberry also has expressed frustration with the relative paucity of funds set aside for spending on development and reconstruction this year in Afghanistan, a country wrecked by three decades of war. …The ambassador also has worried that sending tens of thousands of additional American troops would increase the Afghan government’s dependence on U.S. support at a time when its own security forces should be taking on more responsibility for fighting.

BBC’s reports that Eikenberry said more troops was “not a good idea.”

Eikenberry’s no peacenik. He was a lieutenant-general in charge of training the Afghan army before Obama tapped him to be the U.S. ambassador. Technically a U.S. ambassador is the head honcho for the United States in a given country. If the ex-military ambassador says we should think twice about sending more troops into his country of responsibility, you better take it seriously.

Next, we have this hopeful AP article that asserts that the president is choosing, “none of the above,” as his option in the multiple choices presented to him by the Pentagon:

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

I wonder if this strange feeling in my gut is this “hope” thing I keep hearing so much about.

The ultimate 60s activist, Tom went on to serve in the California State Legislature for eighteen years. He’ll share the insights gleaned from his forty years of activism and politics as outlined in his newest book, The Long Sixties: From 1960 to Barack Obama.

A riveting look at that revolutionary era, The Long Sixties makes the case that Barack Obama was possible only because of the stunning social changes born in that game-changing decade – and you can hear about what that means for social movements today straight from the man who helped define the Sixties movement.

This is one Brave New Conversation not to be missed.

Event details:

Date: Wednesday, November 11th at 7:00 pm
Please arrive on time. We are filming this event and will shut the studio door promptly at 7:00 pm.

Location: 10536 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
Please enter through the gate behind the building.

RSVP: Please RSVP by emailing Elise Wagner at ewagner@bravenewfoundation.org
Seating is limited, so we will be taking a small number of RSVPs.

Parking: There is free parking on the streets on either side of our building.
Please do not park behind the building as those parking spots are reserved.

I hope you can join us for this event.

Yours,

Elise Wagner
and the Brave New Foundation team

After eight long years, and with words like “quagmire” and “new Vietnam” now being used to describe the situation in Afghanistan, the time is ripe for change. By educating people with our groundbreaking film and sharing the powerful voices of those who dare to speak out — this is how an opposition movement to the war will be built.

Featured Speakers:

Daniel Ellsberg, the man who helped bring about an end to both the Nixon presidency and the Vietnam War when he leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times, a 7,000-page classified history outlining the true extent of US involvement in Vietnam.

Matthew Hoh, who recently became the first known US official to resign in protest of the Afghan war. Matthew has been featured in The Washington Post, on CNN and all over the media in recent weeks outlining his position against the war.

Sonali Kolhatkar, the founder, host and producer of the radio show Uprising at KPFK-FM, Pacifica Radio. Sonali is also the co-director of the Afghan Women’s Mission, which works in solidarity with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.

Robert Greenwald, producer, director and political activist as well as founder and president of Brave New Foundation, a new media company that uses media to educate, influence, and empower viewers to take action around issues that matter.

You can help inspire the courage and conviction needed to stand up and speak out against the injustice being done to the people of Afghanistan by attending this important screening. We usually do not charge for our events, but we need to raise more money to make a difference with our efforts in this area. Donation suggestion for admission is only $20, and you’ll receive a FREE copy of the Rethink Afghanistan DVD to take home to share.

Prior to the screening there will be a reception where you’ll have the rare opportunity to meet Daniel Ellsberg, Matthew Hoh, Sonali Kolhatkar and Robert Greenwald. Hear their thoughts in a more intimate setting for a donation of just $100, and receive a year-long subscription to our Brave New Conversations series as well.

Event Details:

Date: Thursday, November 12th

Reception: 6:30 pm — $100 Limited Capacity
Includes screening admittance and both a copy of Rethink Afghanistan and a year-long subscription to our Brave New Conversations series for FREE!

Screening: 7:30 pm — $20 Pre-pay now for a guaranteed seat
Followed by our special guest panel with Daniel Ellsberg, Matthew Hoh and Sonali Kolhatkar. Includes a FREE copy of Rethink Afghanistan.

Location: Venice United Methodist Church
1020 Victoria Avenue — Venice, CA 90291

RSVP — To guarantee your seat, pay in advance today:
For the screening, check the $20 option
For the reception & screening, check the $100 option.

OR Pay at the door & RSVP by emailing:
Cherita Smith at rsvp@bravenewfoundation.org.

Together, we can stop this war.

Yours,

Cherita Smith
and the Brave New Foundation team

You may know Andy Cobb from the series of humorous video sketches he’s done about Republicans, the media, and assorted inanities. But he works by day as an actor. And a few years ago, he was a commercial spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. Now, he’s speaking out about the insurance industry in a new video produced by Brave New Films for their Sick For Profit campaign.

Andy, who lives in Los Angeles, describes himself as a “spokesjerk” put in front of the cameras by the industry to deliberately stand in the way of reform and maintain the status quo. He asks for solidarity from spokesjerks like him – the Sham-wow guy, for example – to stop pitching products that rip off Americans.

More on this at The Huffington Post.

Here in Clatsop County, Oregon, we are just starting to fight a Wal-Mart super store from invading our beautiful area. Astoria is on the mouth of the Columbia River with a population of 10,000. The next town, about 3 miles south of Astoria, is Warrenton, population 4,600. There is wetlands all around Warrenton. Unfortunately, the City of Warrenton in enthralled with “Big Box” stores. There is a new super-sized Costco (the old one was too small) and a Home Depot. All this is along side a designated scenic by-way!

Now Wal-Mart is planning to grab their share of the wetlands, with the blessing of the city and most of the residents. Astoria will be hurt the most if this assault is accomplished. In the beginning of October, when the local newspaper finally announced that Wal-Mart was coming and it was a “done deal,” I was interviewed in the Daily Astorian about Wal-Mart and before I knew it, I said I would fight it. So to put my money where my mouth is, I enlisted help to fight it. It has been barely a month and we have come up with a name, Clatsop County Citizens for Responsible Development – CRD for short – distributed the Wal-Mart movie and did presentations to all three Chambers of Commerce, Warrenton City council and Astoria City Council, showed the movie for free at our locally owned movie theater, had a public meeting, formed a group with committees, got an experienced lawyer, an organizer who has experience with fighting Wal-Mart, and have an ever-evolving plan to beat them.

Now the hard part begins. Quite a few of us have been involved with recalling our county commissioners and fighting for over 5 years to stop liquefied natural gas (LNG). Some of the high stakes in these fights are the endangered Columbia River salmon that LNG import terminals and tankers will destroy. The experience of these other struggles will come in handy for keeping Wal-Mart out.

By Lori Durheim of Clatsop County Citizens for Responsible Development. For more information, you can email Lori at nolng@charter.net

First, Tom Harkin, who is seeking to subpoena insurers for failing to provide information requested by his committee.

Harkin, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said his committee may demand information from health insurance companies about the reasoning for steep increases in premiums faced by small businesses.

“I’ve been inundated with letters and information about the exorbitant increases in premiums for small businesses in this country,” Harkin said during an appearance on MSNBC. “I asked them to come and testify at a hearing I had yesterday. They refused.”

“So now I’m asking them to give us information on which we can make some decisions on why these premiums are going up so much for small businesses,” he added.

Here’s the video:

Jay Rockefeller also wants some information about the industry’s “medical loss ratio,” and how they cook the books to pretend that they spend a substantial amount of premium money on treatment and care.

The New York Times reports: “The health insurance industry likes to cite figures showing that 87 cents of every dollar in premiums is spent on medical claims. But a new Senate analysis suggests that for-profit insurance companies are spending much less than that, especially for policies sold to individuals and small businesses. Instead, as little as 66 cents of each dollar paid in premiums goes toward doctor and hospital bills, while the rest covers administrative expenses, marketing and company profits, according to the analysis. …. The [health reform] legislation that may reach the House floor later this week would initially require insurers to spend at least 85 cents of every dollar in premiums on medical claims.”

A long-standing complaint from individuals and small businesses is that they get less for their money. “But insurance companies generally do not disclose how much they spend in different segments of the market. The Senate analysis of the figures does not include information from California, because that state’s filings are not available through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. … The insurance industry’s trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, said Monday that the 87-cent figure it cited as the industry average was based on information collected by the federal government and was an accurate reflection of how much of each dollar in premiums was spent on medical claims.” (Abelson, 11/2).

This comes at a time when the Senate is about to unveil their health care bill. This information could be crucial to massing public opinion against the industry and keeping the entire Democratic caucus on board with reform.

The lobbying expenses of the top 13 health insurers and their industry association, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), spent nearly $8.2 million in the third quarter of 2009 to influence Congress on upcoming health care legislation, according to analysis released today by the nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog Public Campaign Action Fund (PCAF). The total marks an 11 percent increase over the pace of their spending in the first half of the year.

“Congress is marching toward passing landmark legislation to overhaul the health care system, and the health insurance industry is fighting them every step of the way,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director of Public Campaign Action Fund. “These insurance giants may be running out of time, but clearly they haven’t run out of political cash.”

This brings the total in lobbying to nearly $23 million this year, including $6.3 million from AHIP, $3.5 million from WellPoint, $3.5 million from UnitedHealth and $2 million from Aetna. Humana, which has spent $1.85 million in lobbying fees this year, saw their earnings rise 65% in the third quarter, a lot of it off the wasteful Medicare Advantage program, which represents a corporate handout and which is earmarked for scale-backs in the health care bills. Majority Leader Reid’s office released this statement in response:

“It’s no wonder why Humana has been misleading seniors about health insurance reform — they saw their profits rise 65 percent last quarter and want to make sure the gravy train doesn’t end. The insurance industry is making billions by gaming the Medicare Advantage system, at the expense of seniors’ traditional Medicare coverage, and taxpayers are footing the bill.

“The American people have had enough, but unfortunately Senate Republicans have sided with insurers like Humana and are working to protect insurance industry profits over Americans’ health care needs. When we pass health insurance reform this year, this will all come to an end. Our seniors deserve better and American taxpayers should not be asked to pad the profits of the insurance industry.”

Insurers like Humana are ready to pounce on this legislation when it hits the floor in both Chambers, particularly in the Senate, where they will use the amendments process to try and cripple reform and the cloture process to outright kill it. But the insurance industry isn’t just fighting for their own self-preservation, they’re fighting the interests of the people.

Note: Derrick Crowe is the Afghanistan blog fellow for Brave New Foundation / The Seminal. Learn how the war in Afghanistan undermines U.S. security: watch Rethink Afghanistan (Part Six), & visit http://rethinkafghanistan.com/blog.

Talks between Hamid Karzai and Abdullah broke down today, according to CNN, meaning there will be no power-sharing arrangement to head off a highly problematic runoff vote.

That would be bad enough in itself, since the administration recognized the difficulties posed by getting a legitimate poll done before winter sets in and had hoped a power-sharing deal would provide legitimacy while dodging the dicey balloting.  But, things actually get much worse:

According to the source, Abdullah will likely announce this weekend that he will boycott the runoff presidential election slated for November 7, a runoff that had been scheduled after intense diplomatic arm twisting by the United States. [emphasis mine]

One hopes a CNN reporter simply failed to choose his/her words carefully and meant instead “drop out of” the race, because if Abdullah is going so far as to boycott the race, Afghanistan could become a much more dangerous place than it is already. Recall that earlier this year, Abdullah supporters were promising protests “with Kalashnakovs” if he simply lost in a fair vote, and, as if to prove their point, reports indicated a frightening flow of weapons toward Abdullah’s political base. Now we’re potentially talking about him urging people not to participate and declaring the entire runoff process illegitimate.

This has already been a terrible week for the U.S. as President Obama wraps up his sixth review of Afghanistan policy with a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today. Earlier this week, IED attacks pushed the U.S. death toll to its highest monthly level since the U.S. invasion. Yesterday, we learned that Hamid Karzai’s drug-trafficking, electioneering mafioso of a brother was on the CIA payroll.  If the CNN report is accurate, things may be about to get much worse.

The fact that the House will embed, and probably pass, this repeal makes its ultimate survival in conference pretty good, since we know Harry Reid, who testified in its favor, is a supporter. He may not have wanted to introduce something in the blend of the bills that didn’t appear in either of them, but that won’t be the case in the conference committee.

Iraq war quickly morphed from “mission accomplished” to fiasco, imperial hubris, and descent into chaos.

But Shane was a favorite of ours, a man with a off-beat sense of humor and a wry southern and, indeed, South Carolinian way of getting at the grit of reality. He was a truck driver by inclination and trade, with the hard rules of the road as his moral compass. On his many trips across the United States he thought he had seen everything. But he had not yet experienced the Alice-in-Wonderland world of Halliburton/KBR in the land of greed, grab, and grin that was Iraq as the CEOs that hired him descended upon this great opportunity to serve their country… from a golf course in the tony suburbs of Houston.

What Shane saw while working as a driver for Halliburton was shocking at first, but approached the banal by the time his stay in Iraq ended. He saw $80,000 dollar trucks left to rot for lack of an oil filter or spare tire. He saw new commercial heaters and air conditioners, thousands of dollars at a shot, thrown into the “burn pit”: “They [Halliburton/KBR] just took a lot of nice reusable stuff and just threw it away, is what they done.” He saw padded time cards, people paid to do nothing, a usable car buried in the ground. Halliburton CEOs in Wonderland, slaphappy Mad Hatters with multi-million dollar smiles that conveniently disappeared when they spoke of their love and concern for the troops.

“That don’t make sense either,” Shane pointed out with complete sincerity, as if still perplexed by the absurdity of the acts, “just to take stuff that costs that much and bury it and do away with it. It don’t make sense to me just wasting government money, but that’s Halliburton.” “But that’s Halliburton”. My mind’s eye sees Shane the spokesperson for the big H in a the world’s best anti-commercial: “And big companies will lie to you. Just like some individuals will lie to you. Anything that sounds too good to be true, usually is. Halliburton, To Good To Be True,” a five-million dollar thirty-second jingle on SuperBowl Sunday.

The Mad Hatters worked under a cost-plus contract that guaranteed a profit above what was spent. Spend more, waste more, well, they just got paid more. Compassionate conservatism was the mantra of the day indeed. Shane, a Republican all his life, didn’t much care that his team was doing the stealing. The rules of the road dictate that laws must be obeyed, stated and expected obligations attended to, no matter what brand of car one drives, at the cost of lives if they are not.

I’d like to think that a bit of the legacy Shane left to his children and wife Rebbecca is in his courage, his audacity, his sense that it was time to step up and tell the honest-to-goodness truth about corporate waste and corruption in Iraq. His story sketched out the coordinates of greed that connected Houston to Baghdad, and ran through Washington D.C. during the Bush reign. But I know that Shane’s wife and children, and the many friends who will attend his funeral services today, will remember him not on film but rather in the flesh, as a kind man,  a “one-of-a-kind,” as Rebbecca told me this morning, and as a guy who knew how the world worked and knew his place in it. He was a fine and generous person.

Shane, thank you for your commitment to honorable and honest rules of engagement during wartime, against the odds and against the powers that were arrayed to your flanks.  Rest in peace, my friend.

Iraq for Sale trailer, featuring Shane Ratliff: