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In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

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Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#131

Post by Renaud »

synicalx wrote: post #107
will_hughes wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But why didn't orgs like FB or Google (I forgot which) advertized SA? SA is well-known too. I don't know the actual reason. But it could be because of the religious connection. While I've seen that the Salvation Army has done a lot of good, they also connect it with their belief system. This makes me uneasy. Fundamentally I'd be happy to donate to a charity that I knew would: - Responsibly manage the funds - Ensure…

It's funny really, outside of religion, people don't seem to be naturally inclined to be both charitable AND scrupulous. Personally, I'm ok with a charity associating their work with religion if the end result is positive. You get a lot of "secular" charities that rake in a lot of money and yet don't produce much in the way of results (White Ribbon, for example), and you also see a lot of religious charities that hav…

Hmmm Doctors Without Borders ? Humanist and secular organisation that does pretty good?

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#132

Post by l0b0 »

simonw wrote: post #12

Worth re-iterating: The American Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross are independent organizations, with very different reputations.

Thanks, that clears things up massively. I've never heard anything negative about the Red Cross (International Committee or otherwise) in Europe, and was a bit shocked to see their (collective) name pulled into the dirt.

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#133

Post by dispo001 »

eots wrote: post #4
Clubber wrote: post #3

>But the charity will not provide a list of specific programs it ran, how much they cost or what their expenses were. Corruption, ineptitude or both? It's the American way!

This pretty much happens all over the globe.

As noted before, in Europe, the greatest union in the world GOD BLESS US governments do a lot of the stuff that people in the US expect from charities.

In theory, passionate empathic people should be able to outperform government projects 100:1 and no doubt many do to some extend, even without any formal organization.

If you live next door the just being there for people is priceless. Its not like government will see you rebuilding your house and bring you a hot cup of tea when you look worn out while for a private citizen that would be a minimum effort.

The obvious question is why haven't US law makers moved in for the kill with so many for-profit-non-profits? I think the answer is probably as obvious as the question.

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#134

Post by will_hughes »

synicalx wrote: post #107
will_hughes wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But why didn't orgs like FB or Google (I forgot which) advertized SA? SA is well-known too. I don't know the actual reason. But it could be because of the religious connection. While I've seen that the Salvation Army has done a lot of good, they also connect it with their belief system. This makes me uneasy. Fundamentally I'd be happy to donate to a charity that I knew would: - Responsibly manage the funds - Ensure…

It's funny really, outside of religion, people don't seem to be naturally inclined to be both charitable AND scrupulous. Personally, I'm ok with a charity associating their work with religion if the end result is positive. You get a lot of "secular" charities that rake in a lot of money and yet don't produce much in the way of results (White Ribbon, for example), and you also see a lot of religious charities that hav…

> It's funny really, outside of religion, people don't seem to be naturally inclined to be both charitable AND scrupulous.

I think you can easily remove "outside of religion" and have this statement stand.

There are far too many examples of supposedly "charitable" religious organisations working almost entirely to benefit their own directors/employees.

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#135

Post by richardknop »

There is an interesting book called Lords of Poverty from Graham Hancock. It's from 80s when he used to work as a correspondent for the Economist in Africa.

He claims that foreign aid and charities that raise tons of money from Western people for different projects in Africa are a total waste of money. The amount of corruption and waste is so huge that majority of the money people from US or EU donate ends up going directly to local strongmen who buy new cars etc and almost none of the money ends with the people it was intended for.

This is why I don't donate to charities. I believe for every dollar I would donate perhaps $0.1 would actually reach the destination and be spent on helping people. I'd rather donate directly to people in need after I meet them and can see that they are legit and there aren't several layers of middlemen leaching off the donated money.

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#136

Post by bkmartin »

richardknop wrote: post #135

There is an interesting book called Lords of Poverty from Graham Hancock. It's from 80s when he used to work as a correspondent for the Economist in Africa. He claims that foreign aid and charities that raise tons of money from Western people for different projects in Africa are a total waste of money. The amount of corruption and waste is so huge that majority of the money people from US or EU donate ends up going d…

Check out charitywater.org

I had the same concerns, but these guys are legit and get it done for the people who need it.

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#137

Post by scandox »

richardknop wrote: post #135

There is an interesting book called Lords of Poverty from Graham Hancock. It's from 80s when he used to work as a correspondent for the Economist in Africa. He claims that foreign aid and charities that raise tons of money from Western people for different projects in Africa are a total waste of money. The amount of corruption and waste is so huge that majority of the money people from US or EU donate ends up going d…

He currently gets quite a roasting on Wikipedia for his "unscientific theories". It does appear his main interest after that book is The Orion Correlation Theory and let's say "exciting" Archaeology.

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#138

Post by richardknop »

scandox wrote: post #137
richardknop wrote: post #135

There is an interesting book called Lords of Poverty from Graham Hancock. It's from 80s when he used to work as a correspondent for the Economist in Africa. He claims that foreign aid and charities that raise tons of money from Western people for different projects in Africa are a total waste of money. The amount of corruption and waste is so huge that majority of the money people from US or EU donate ends up going d…

He currently gets quite a roasting on Wikipedia for his "unscientific theories". It does appear his main interest after that book is The Orion Correlation Theory and let's say "exciting" Archaeology.

Yeah he is otherwise famous for his "alternative" archeology with books like Fingerprints of the Gods etc. Which by the way is a great book and although there is a lot of outlandish claims I wouldn't say it's totally crazy. Nothing wrong with speculating and exploring non mainstream ideas.

But I still think Lords of Poverty is a legitimate book and he had a lot of on the ground experience in Africa to observe how foreign aid is distributed and wasted. So I don't like dismissing his earlier work even if you find his later, let's say fictional work, dubious.

Re: In Search Of The Red Cross' $500M In Haiti Relief (2015)

#139

Post by scandox »

richardknop wrote: post #138
scandox wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He currently gets quite a roasting on Wikipedia for his "unscientific theories". It does appear his main interest after that book is The Orion Correlation Theory and let's say "exciting" Archaeology.

Yeah he is otherwise famous for his "alternative" archeology with books like Fingerprints of the Gods etc. Which by the way is a great book and although there is a lot of outlandish claims I wouldn't say it's totally crazy. Nothing wrong with speculating and exploring non mainstream ideas. But I still think Lords of Poverty is a legitimate book and he had a lot of on the ground experience in Africa to observe how for…

My instincts about International Charity / NGOs are the same as yours. However I'm not willing to easily accept that instinct since it is potentially self-serving. I think that we have to consider if a book written in 1989 can still be considered useful information and we also have to consider the writer's commitment to intellectual and factual rigour.
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