(A message from DFNYC member Michael Minn)

While most progressives have serious questions about the motivitions behind and the execution of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, all of us honor the sacrifice made by those servicepersons who have nobly answered their country's call to serve in those conflicts.

For the holidays, many Americans choose to remember this sacrifice by making a gift to one of the numerous charities that support active duty and/or veteran service personnel as well as the growing ranks of wounded vets. But, how can you know that the money you are giving is actually going to the people who need and deserve the gift?

As reported in the Washington Post, on December 13, 2007, Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, joined a number of other charity watchdogs in testimony before Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Attached to Borochoff's prepared remarks is a table of 23 veterans and military charities listing their overhead costs and top executive salaries and grading the charities A - F based on a variety of factors.

The list includes both well-known and obscure organizations. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few F's on the list, the worst being an organization which is, essentially, a scam where only 10% of the money raised actually gets to the target beneficiaries. There are also a handful of A's, the best having only a 2% overhead.

Those interested in giving to a veterans or military charity would be advised to download and look over Borochoff's testimony before donating (the table of charities is on the last page). For those interested in a broader range of charities, the AIP publishes the Charity Watchdog Report rating over 500 national charities and available from their website for a nominal fee.

(a message from DFNYC member Michael Minn) On December 3, 2007, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released declassified excerpts from the November 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, "Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities". The lead determination: We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program; we also assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons.

That got me thinking I should get a comment on the NIE from Nathan Gonzalez, an analyst with Foreign Policy in Focus and author of the new book Engaging Iran, which was the topic of a recent DFNYC An Evening With... event. His reaction via e-mail...

The discussion surrounding the NIE is in many ways a distraction. We're back to the days when we were asking, "Does Saddam have WMD or not?" We rarely asked those days how exactly those WMDs would affect our security in practical terms, or whether they were worth throwing the relative balance of power that existed in the Gulf out the window.

With Iran, we need to focus on our shared interests. It is no secret that Iran is one of the few countries in the Middle East that actually wants the government of Iraq, and the majority Shia rule it represents, to succeed. Stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan cannot happen without the active help of Iran, so our focus should be on sitting down and talking to Iran so our troops can come home and our security situation can improve. As we've experienced with the recent breakthroughs in North Korea, diplomacy can make even the most advanced nuclear weapons program a reversible one.

Unfortunately, if regime change is the only focus of our administration, as it appears to be the case, neither the NIE findings, nor serious discussions about the pursuit of American interests, will have any impact on the move toward military confrontation.

(A message from DFNYC member Michael Minn)

In a rare win for the little guy, the City has pledged that it will not use eminent domain to condemn 227 Duffield, a historic home that has the misfortune of being located right in the middle of a massive redevelopment project to gentrify downtown Brooklyn into a gleaming upper-class paradise. A copy of a press release by Raul Rothblatt follows below with details about the home and the settlement with the city.

The press release does not indicate exactly what the fate of 227 Duffield or it's four surrounding 19th-century neighbors will be, although such details will presumably be forthcoming. Those venturing out to Duffield Street expecting to find a sanitized, museum-quality structure will be disappointed by a building that bears the scars of significant "modernization" over the years (most notably a mid-20th-century two-story addition to the front of the building) and seems to be at a modest level of disrepair. But since a common development tactic is to demolish controversial buildings quickly to circumvent any legal challenges, this does provide at least some hope, both for the people of Duffield Street and for others around Brooklyn fighting to preserve history, individual property rights and livable neighborhoods.

There will be a press event at the house at noon on December 3, 2007.

PRESS RELEASE

HISTORIC DUFFIELD STREET HOME SAVED FROM EMINENT DOMAIN!

When: Monday December 3, 2007, 12 PM

Where: 227 Duffield Street (between Fulton & Willoughby Streets in Brooklyn)

Invited Speakers: Councilmembers Charles Barron, Letitia James, Tony Avella, John Liu; Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, US Congressional Representative Yvette Clarke, Assembly Representative Joseph Lentol; Rev. Clinton Miller, Rev. Dyson, Joy Chatel, Families United For Racial and Economic Equality, Jennifer Levy Esq., Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance, Lewis Greenstein, Raul Rothblatt, Christabel Gough, Jim Driscoll, Richard Hourahan, and others.

What: Press Conference

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Brooklyn, NY 11/29/07 - In settlement of a lawsuit filed by Joy Chatel and Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) the City has pledged that it will not use eminent domain to condemn 227 Duffield. The property has been the subject of controversy since 2004 when the City announced that it intended to take the property by eminent domain as part of their Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment Plan. The Downtown Brooklyn Plan is a massive redevelopment plan based on a rezoning of the area in 2004. The plan calls for over 4 million square feet of new retail, commercial and luxury housing in the middle of a historically low-income community.

On January 7, 2004, Joy Chatel, an owner of 227 Duffield Street was given a notice informing her that her home would be taken by eminent domain and demolished to make way for a new parking lot. Many believe that her home was a station on the Underground Railroad and a vital cultural treasure that should be preserved. The Underground Railroad was the network of people and places in which fugitive slaves sought refuge when escaping from the plantation system in the South.

The home, built in 1848, was owned by Thomas and Harriet Lee-Truesdell, prominent abolitionists of that era. Their role in the abolitionist movement, coupled with their relationships with other active abolitionists in Downtown Brooklyn, led the City's own researchers to conclude that the property was "quite possibly" linked to the Underground Railroad and the majority of historians commissioned by the City to review its research advocated for the home's preservation. Despite this historical documentation and the presence of several unexplainable architectural abnormalities in the sub-basements from 227-235 Duffield St, the City of New York initially concluded that the home's historic significance did not warrant its preservation. In response to litigation and years of advocacy on the part of those who support preserving the property, the City has agreed to re-draw its plans for Downtown Brooklyn so that the condemnation of 227 Duffield will not be necessary.

"I want to thank the Mayor for listening to our plea," Joy Chatel, an owner of 227 Duffield Street said, "My vision is to continue the Cultural Center and Museum my daughter and I started years ago; so all people home and abroad can benefit from the rich history downtown Brooklyn has to offer. I am also thankful to the many people who have gone to great lengths to make sure that this vision comes to fruition."

"So many of us in the community did not want to see the Underground Railroad become an underground parking lot," said Randy Leigh, area resident and FUREE board member. "Too much of our history has already been lost, and we know the City did the right thing by listening to the community and protecting our history. " The suit was brought by Jennifer Levy of South Brooklyn Legal Services who says: "I commend the City for their flexibility. They have shown that it is possible to do development thoughtfully, in a manner that is responsive to community concerns, and with an eye to preserving our history."

Tours of the home will be given on request. Contact Raul Rothblatt (rrothblatt -at- gmail.com) for more info.

(A message from DFNYC member Michael Minn)

UPDATE 11/30/2007: The Give One, Get One program has been extended through December 31, 2007: www.laptopgiving.org

The One Laptop Per Child program (OLPC) has been in the works for a number of years with the goal of providing inexpensive, interconnectable, durable laptops to school-age children in developing countries as tools for learning, communication and self-expression. The genesis of the project occurred in 2002 when MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte (brother of Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte - but don't hold that against him) visited a remote Cambodian village and noticed how connected laptops had transformed the lives of the children and familes there. After a significant amount of debate and engineering work the project will finally be distributing its first 3-pound textbook-sized machines next year.

A major hurdle has been getting the funding to build and distribute the machines. One avenue is the Give One, Get One program, where donors contribute $400 for two machines: one sent to a developing country and one sent to the donor. David Pogue of the NY Times profiled the program and the machine in October.

The machine is perfect for young children, but what an adult can do with the machine in the developed world is a bit limited by the tech specs, notably the absence of an internal hard drive (which was replaced with 1GB flash memory to eliminate moving parts and reduce power consumption). However, it does have built-in 802.11b/g/s wireless networking and ample USB ports (for an external drive) so it could easily be adapted for those tech-limited family members who just need web access and a little word processing. Its durable construction might make it appropriate for use in situations where you don't want to risk damage to your primary machine. And, do you really need a $3K dual core machine just to check your e-mail and browse the web? Regardless, it would be a nice collectible gift for the tech geek in your life while providing a transformative experience for our brothers and sisters in the developing world.

The Give One, Get One program continues through November 26, 2007: www.laptopgiving.org