Door-to-door chocolate bar scam reported in Niagara Falls ON

A reader from Niagara Falls ON has responded to Ed.'s note appended to "Help Kids Canada - a scam or only half a scam?", reposted here on September 3rd. He writes:

Funny you should mention that! It's been years since I was button-holed at the mall or at my front door by a waif selling chocolate bars, but today I was awakened from my afternoon nap by the insistent (three times!) ring of the door bell. 

No, it wasn't the Avon lady, but a young woman -- mid- to late twenties, I'd say -- wearing long pants and a jacket, rather warm for the weather. "Hello, I'm Hanna, from the neighbourhood," she said, with a South American accent. "My sister broke her violin and I'm selling chocolate bars to help her."

She then opened the zipper on a canvas bag to show a couple of dozen of the familiar long chocolate, the same as I remembered seeing before. Still half-asleep, I didn't have the presence of mind to ask to see the product, or ask any questions. I just closed the door in her face. Yeah, I'm rude when you wake me up!

Thinking about it now, I'd give odds that this is the same old scam that's been on the go for years. As Pierre Berton wrote in The Big Sell, they sell the story, not the product, to appeal to good-hearted people who wouldn't refuse to support a charity. Too bad it's not a real charity.

Ed. found this photo (and many like it) on the Net and e-mailed it to our reader who confirms that the chcocalate bars he saw were long and thin, like these.

Have any other readers had similar experiences recently? Click on the headline to open the comments window and let us know about it.

Help Kids Canada - a scam or only half a scam?

NOTE FROM ED., added 3/9/25. More than 15 years after it was posted, this remains one of Walt's most-read posts, so we're adding this note and reposting it now. 

We assume this scam is still being played, as "Help Kids Canada" or "Kare for Kids", somewhere in Canada or possibly the US of A. If  any reader can give us some details or link to a news report or other source, we would really appreciate it. Click on the headline to open the comments box, and leave your tip there. Thank you! 

Agent 3 complains of being roused from his Saturday siesta by a knock at the door from a teenage boy who said he was "from Help Kids Canada". He was peddling chocolate bars (since the Girl Scouts have the monopoly on cookies) and suggested that Agent 3 was a bad bastard for not supporting this worthy charity.

Agent 3, being something of a cynic [When he's cooking, is he a kitchen cynic? ed.] asked the boy if he could prove that Help Kids Canada is in fact a registered charity. The boy appealed to his "supervisor", who just happened to be driving by in a white van, who said yes, it is so, and here's the registration number for all who want proof.

Now munching on his chocolate bar, Agent 3 asks Walt if this is true, and why a reputable charity would be selling candy bars door to door. Here is what Walt found out.

Help Kids Canada is a registered charity. Where the kid and his supervisor lie is when they say that they represent or work for HKC. They do not. Here's the truth of the relationship between the chocolate sellers and the charity, according to the latter's website as it existed in July of 2010, when Walt's report was first published.

The supervisors and the kids who are selling chocolates are not employed by our organization.Their connection to our charity is that they support our organization by donating the net proceeds from the chocolate sales to Help Kids Canada. By "net proceeds" we mean what is left after the cost of chocolates and the cost of distribution, including the cost of transportation, personal expenses and payments to the kids, are deducted from their gross proceeds.

So there you have it. Those poor scrawny kids who knock at your door are being paid, but the people really making the money are their supervisors. (Agent 3 says the gal in the van was absolutely porcine.) It's very much a for-profit business. If there happens to be anything left, they give a little to the charity, and get a tax receipt for so doing.

It's a nice cozy arrangement for all concerned...except Agent 3 and others who get conned into paying a high price for a rather mediocre chocolate bar, all because they thought they were helping some poor kids.

"We can be great again!" - The retired general's anti-woke speech the "legacy media" won't let you see

Here's the headline and the lede from an article which appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on November 15th. 

Canadian Forces officers applaud speech slamming Canada's climate change policies, cancel culture, weak leaders

Serving senior Canadian military officers gave a standing ovation to a speech by a retired general who criticized everything from the removal of historical statues and apologies to victims to government climate change policies.

Did you note the date? November 15th. The speech referred to was made by Lt.-Gen. (Retd.) Michel Maisonneuve as he received the Vimy Award, a top Canadian defence award, on November 9th. Excerpts from his anti-woke speech appeared "below the fold" in some of Canada's lickspittle media a day or two later, but no video of the speech itself can be found. Believe me, Ed. has looked!

Nor has a full transcript been published, until today, when the editors of Canada's National Post summoned up the courage to run the full text, which apparently was submitted to them by the general, in response to popular demand. We've copied the whole thing, without permission, and believe Lt.-Gen Maisonneuve will be glad we did so. He wasn't talking just to hear himself, eh!

Lt.-Gen Maisonneuve is a decorated veteran of 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, and another 10 as Academic Director of le Collège militaire royal [Royal Military College] de Saint-Jean. He is a huge advocate for veterans, and served as the first Chief of Staff of NATO's Supreme Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk VA. In his November 9th speech, he pulled no punches in describing what he thinks needs to be done to make Canada great again. The emphasis is mine.

The Vimy Award. How humbling; what a tremendous honour. With this honour comes the opportunity to accept this award with a speech that acknowledges the spirit of Vimy and shares with you my vision for Canada today and for the future.

Canada — once we were great. We stopped the Americans in 1812, we gave the world Billy Bishop, Alexander Graham Bell and Lucy Maud Montgomery. We isolated insulin, invented the zipper and the snowblower. 

In World War One we mobilized 620,000 troops. We were victorious at Vimy Ridge. In World War Two we were brave enough to land at Dieppe, and we secured our beach on D-Day. The Devil’s Brigade remains the template for special forces the world over. Our small country boasted the world’s third largest navy at the end of that conflict. We became internationally recognized peacekeepers and more than 80,000 of us served on missions during the Cold War.

We beat the Russians on their ice in 1972 and a young man named Terry Fox continues to inspire us all with his unparalleled courage and determination. We gave the world the Canadarm in space; we won a world series. When the world changed again on 9/11, Canada stepped up — first to join the coalition of the willing and send in ships and JTF 2. Serving with distinction in Afghanistan — we still mourn the loss of our 159 men and women. Canada was a great nation and though we are faltering today I believe we can be great again.

Since this is my speech, I get to share what I believe Canada needs to do to take the world stage again; to be thought of first when it comes to seeking alliances, to be seen as a serious country once again. What will it take? Well, I believe it will take leadership and service. These two crucial foundations of greatness for any nation have somehow become secondary — lost in these days of entitlement, “me first”, “not my problem” and endless subsidies and handouts.

Let me start with leadership. Leadership applies in all pursuits and at all levels. Great leaders are distinguished by the success of those they lead and the entity they lead — be it a country, an army, a corporation or a sports team. When that entity succeeds, we recognize its leader … and when that entity fails, misses, or misses the playoffs, the leader must — should — take responsibility. 

History has given us many great leaders. Ask yourself: would those leaders have been as successful in today’s world? Well, let’s see; today’s world, where social media captures every move and word spoken — taken in context or not. Where cancel culture still flourishes and there is no call for redaction or amendment even when accusations are proved false. Truth is not a requirement; once cancelled, you are done.

Today’s world, where balanced journalism is difficult to find. The practice of presenting the facts — a truthful illustration of an event, a personality or issue that allowed the reader to form their own opinion — is no longer compulsory in mainstream media. The line between "news" and op-eds has blurred and too often we are subjected to sermons written not by seasoned journalists but by first-year graduates of woke journalism schools. Unbiased reporting seems to have died with Christie Blatchford and Matthew Fisher.

Today’s world, where extremism — once the almost exclusive purview of religious zealots — seems to be flourishing in all aspects of our lives, on the right … and on the left. Some of the most popular "causes" and beliefs of today are embraced by all manner of extremists with no thought of how to achieve this utopian ideal in a responsible or plausible manner.

For example, Canada’s prosperity is being sacrificed at the altar of climate change as opposed to being used to help the world transition to clean energy. Throwing soup and paint at the world’s art treasures is as heinous as it is useless. The perpetrators should be punished, not celebrated.

Today’s world is also where taking personal responsibility for our own actions has disappeared from the landscape while the phenomenon of collective apologies flourishes in our country. Individuals and groups fight over who gets to wear the coveted victim’s cloak. But any role they may have played in their own fate or in injuring others is dismissed as learned behaviour, inherited flaws or generational oppression.

So I am not here to debate whether those great leaders of yesteryear would be as successful in today’s world. But nor will I judge the decisions they made in their time against the standards of today. Enough statues have been toppled; erasing our history is not the solution. 

I believe that the most important leadership skills have not changed and are even more so today than ever. Number one is communication — it is more critical than ever in this world of sound bites and mic dropping. A good leader ensures his followers know where they are going and how to get there. A great leader makes them want to go there. A great leader can take a seemingly insurmountable objective and make it possible to achieve in the hearts and minds of their followers.

Thankfully these leaders still do exist in today's world and there is no better example than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In his nightly address he clearly, continuously, and passionately articulates the mission to his fellow Ukrainians. Dismissed early on as "an actor, a comedian, a dancer," President Zelenskyy has rallied the world to his just cause. He surrounded himself with good people, made difficult decisions and by communicating, has captured our hearts and souls with Ukraine’s plight. God speed Mr. President and Slava Ukrainii.

Secondly, cohesion, acceptance and tolerance. Today's leaders must stop dividing those they lead! Hasn't history shown us that success as a leader demands cohesion, unity and respect of all those they lead — not just those who agree wholeheartedly with them? Can you imagine a military leader labelling half of his command as deplorables, fringe radicals or less-thans and then expect them to fight as one?

Today’s leaders must find a way to unite; not divide. Leaders lead. There is a difference between making a good decision, based on research and consultation, and making a decision because it is popular or it polls well. The best decisions are those made for the good of the whole — not just good for friends of the leader. Today, special interests have trumped the collective good. Making decisions for the collective good requires strength of character, the communications skills to explain, and a great deal of courage.

Courage remains one of the most important qualities of a leader. The courage of ideas, courage in the face of criticism, the courage to guide and lead. The courage to create a vision for the good of all. The courage to recognize a mistake and accept responsibility — personal — for that mistake.

The second key to bring Canada back to prominence is service. Just a short two months ago, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, queen of Canada, died. It would be impossible to find a better example of service. On her coronation she promised that she would dedicate her life, whether long or short, to the service of all. Over the next 70 years, in good times and in bad, she placed the care of her realm and subjects above all else. She exemplified character and duty and provided us all with an example of dedication to service. She kept her promise. May she rest in peace.

The idea, the concept of service seems to be forgotten in our "me-first" culture. Service to others, to one's country, to humanity must be a noble aspiration. The obligation to give back in gratitude for a life filled with blessings, peace and good fortune should not be innovative. It seems that Canadians have lost the desire to serve and the need to serve their country.

The military — being in the service of one’s country — used to be a most highly regarded profession. Today, I see a military woefully underfunded, undermanned and under-appreciated; a force where uniforms have become a means of personal expression rather than a symbol of collective pride and unity: uniforms are no longer uniform. The idea of serving in our armed forces is getting little traction. Could it be because the moral contract under which our military serve is broken?

Members of the Armed Forces fulfill their side of the moral contract that exists between them and Canadian society — they serve and are ready to serve in dangerous missions at home or abroad to protect our country and project Canadian values. But Canada should also be holding up its end of the contract: providing them with the state-of-the-art tools they need, the best leadership, equipment, education and training to be safe and successful, and looking after them when they become veterans.

In my opinion, we are failing. Because for Canadians generally, the Armed Forces are not important until there is a crisis, and successive governments’ support of the forces reflect that mindset. Our troops who have dedicated their lives to serve this country deserve better.

We are in Veterans Week, commemorating those who exemplified the concept of service by putting their life on the line for us, and honouring those who gave up their tomorrows for our todays. Let's use them as our example to serve.

If more inspiration is required one need not look far: let’s remember the words of two of the finest leaders of our time: Margaret Thatcher believed "There’s no such thing as entitlement unless someone has first met an obligation." And of course, JFK most famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."

Soon the festive season will arrive; a season of generosity and benevolence. In the name of service, I challenge us. Offer to volunteer, no matter where: an animal shelter, home for the homeless, seniors or veterans. The most important gift we can give is our time. I challenge us all to donate — instead of selling that surplus coffee maker on Kijiji, let’s donate it to Mission Services or Goodwill or the Salvation Army. I challenge us to be compassionate: give the panhandler enough cash for a warm meal but also ask them their name, wish them well and shake their hand.

I believe we can make Canada better. To find common ground with our neighbour and to unite our country rather than divide it. To apply our leadership and service; to live with compassion, tolerance and patience — but most of all to be proud of Canada and everything we once stood for.

We Canadians live in the greatest country in the world with almost unlimited resources, a tolerant and diverse people, and an educated population who can aspire to the greatest heights. We should be prepared to serve our country and be proud to do so. And our leaders must share this vision. "If not us, who? If not now, when?" Because, as Satchmo has told us, in spite of it all … it is a wonderful world.

I thought the last line was kind of lame, but I understand the sentiment. Take out the reference to Queen Elizabeth and a few others which Americans wouldn't get, and Lt.-Gen. Maisonneuve's address would make a fine campaign speech for... errr... whoever you think could deliver it with a straight face and be believed.

Help Kids Canada scam back under new name(s)?

Long-time readers may remember that Walt has been writing since April of 2010 (!) about the activities of a dubious "charity" which calls itself "Help Kids Canada" and/or "Kare for Kids". See "Help Kids Canada - a scam or only half a scam?", WWW 10/4/10, and "'Help Kids Canada', 'Kare for Kids' -- still out there?", WWW 14/6/16. These two posts have received literally 1000s of hits and numerous comments, mostly in the summer when the weather is nice and they send kids out into the streets to sell cheap chocolate bars to the philanthropically minded.

Just yesterday, Walt received and published not one but two comments from readers, presumably in Canada, alerting us to another questionable charity, which they think may be run by the same scam artists.
Anonymous wrote: "I may be wrong but the same address and number belong to Disabled Veteran Support Canada. Being a veteran we strongly believe this is a scam organization. They are set up in Ontario but set tables at Sobeys, Walmart, etc in other provinces (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia)."
Gail Silva added: "They are now operating as Disabled Veterans Support Canada and Rainbow Seniors Support Canada. They canvass door-to-door and set up tables in grocery and liquor stores. Right now they have a presence in Nova Scotia. They have a website and are registered with CRA but there's very limited information on exactly where the money is going. Every time I check their websites info is deleted or changed."

Walt doesn't have a huge staff of investigative journalists to ferret out the truth [Like CNN? LMAO. Ed.] but asked Agent 3 to do a little checking. As regards the address, the Kare for Kids website gives their address as:
7 Bishop Avenue, Suite 2107, Toronto, Ontario, M2M 4J4, CANADA. That part of Toronto is also known as "North York". The address is that of a residential condominium, not an office building, half a block east of a part of Yonge Street occupied mainly by shops and businesses, such as carpet stores, run by people of Middle Eastern origin -- Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian etc. You know the type I mean.

Just around the corner and a couple of blocks north on Yonge Street, not far from the Iranian Plaza (really), is 6021 Yonge Street, which turns out to be a UPS store. Among other services, the UPS store will be pleased to rent you a mailbox, which gives you an address like: 6021 Yonge Street, Suite 323, North York, ONT M2M 3W2. "Suite 323" makes it sound like an office on the third floor of a tower block, but really it's just a mailbox. That address turned up in a thread on an Internet forum: "Beware buyer using address: 6021 Yonge Street Ste#323, North York, ONT M2M3W2, CANADA". (That was a dispute about "molded carpet kits", whatever they are.)

A similar address -- 6021 Yonge Street, Suite 811, Toronto, ON M2M 3W2 -- appears on the websites of... wait for it... Disabled Veterans Support Canada and Rainbow Seniors Support, the "charities" mentioned by our doubtful readers!

If you check out the websites, you will see that besides the address, the two "charities" share a phone number -- 416-733-7691. Neither of the sites offers any of the information that a legitimate charity should disclose: directors, officers, staff list, finances. They just ask for your money for such things as hiring entertainers to perform at senior citizens homes.

Rainbow Seniors Support claims to have been operating since 1996, and provides a "charitable registration number": 88909 2565 RR0001. Since it was Saturday, Agent 3 was unable to verify the number or Rainbow's status with the Canada Revenue Agency (the Canuck equivalent of the IRS). It's interesting, though, that Disabled Veterans Support Canada doesn't claim to be a registered charity. Rather, its website says: "DVSC is a division of Rainbow Seniors Support. Registered Charity Number: 88909 2565 RR0001".

That's as far as Agent 3 was able to get yesterday. Other than addresses in the same "Little Levant" neighbourhood, I can't make any connection between Help Kids/Kare for Kids and Disabled Veterans Support/Rainbow Senior Support, but they look dodgy to me. I have suggested to him, and advise you, dear Canadian reader, to contact a media outlet such as the CBC or the Globe and Mail with your concerns. Use the comments box to let us know what happens.

Something you don't see every day -- smashing pumpkins!

Walt doesn't like to be the bringer of bad tidings all the time... even though there's a lot of them around! Ed. reminds me to include, every now and then, something upbeat and, if possible, funny. Here's something.



Yes, that was a giant pumpkin -- 1046 lbs worth -- dropped from a height of about 130 feet onto a Pontiac Grand Am. [Good target. Horrible cars. Ed.] This happened during an annual fundraiser by Blue Grass Nursery and Garden Centre, near Calgary, in support of the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. Donations are still being counted but last year's event raised nearly C$40,000 and organizers are hoping for a similar result this time around.

"Help Kids Canada", "Kare for Kids" -- still out there?

Ed. keeps track of who's reading what, and noticed a lot of hits yesterday on "Help Kids Canada - a scam or only half a scam?". Originally posted in April of 2010, this story has had amazingly long "legs" -- as they say in the trade -- with regular reports of teens and even pre-teens hawking chocolate bars outside of liquor stores and supermarkets, and even door-to-door.

As Walt told you over six years ago, their pitch -- that they were raising funds for a registered charity helping kids in trouble -- was doubtful at best. Back then there was a charity called Help Kids Canada, which had a website, www.helpkidscanada.ca. But the waifs who knocked on your door or accosted you in the mall parking lot didn't work for Help Kids Canada. Noooo. They worked for independent contractors who were, errr, selling crappy candy at inflated prices. The money went into the entrepreneurs' pockets, except for any pittance they felt minded to send to HKC.

Questions have been asked about a charity named "Kare for Kids" -- sometimes "Kare for Kids Canada", sometimes "Kare for Kids International" -- which has been reported as using similar methods. Their website, still working, says "KARE FOR KIDS INTERNATIONAL is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged children suffering from malnutrition, injuries, deformities or birth defects." The address given for its head office is: 7 Bishop Avenue, Suite 2107, Toronto, Ontario, M2M 4J4, CANADA. That part of Toronto is also known as "North York".

On April 9th of this year, "tammy cake" added a comment Walt's post, as follows: "The CRA website kare for kids licence has been revoked. My nephew sells chocolates for Help Kids Canada ....if the charity they were working for is closed where are the proceeds going?? I asked what percentage do they take from his hard work he told me 75 percent!!?!!! Unbelievable...he is out there working his butt off for what?? There needs to be an investigation done. The website that he provided me with www.helpkidscanada.ca does not exist."

Early this morning, I searched "Kare for Kids" on the Canada Revenue Agency list of registered charities and found this:

So, dear readers, if you're approached on the street or at your door by youngsters claiming to be raising funds for a worthy charity, you know what to tell them. And since there's an element of misrepresentation, if not outright fraud here, you might consider notifying Inspector Knacker.

ED. EXPLAINS HOW TO COMMENT: Walt still gets e-mails from folks wanting to know how to open the comments box. It's simple. If you're on the landing page -- as you most certainly will be because we don't ask you to "click to read more" -- just click on the headline of the post you're interested in, and it will open in a separate window, complete with comments box at the bottom. You're welcome.

Charities! Take your "Xmas cards" and post them!

Here it is only half-past September and the first packet of charity "Christmas cards" just arrived at Walt's cabin in the woods. A few years back I made a donation to the National Enuresis Society, and every fall since then I get a big envelope of cards and stickers from them... and from a dozen other charities to whom they've sold their sucker list.

Sending out such packages is a time-honoured direct mail fundraising technique. It's an appeal to guilt. Although you're not legally obliged to pay for them, you're likely to use them and of course you feel obliged to send a donation. "Just give what you think they're worth. I mean, you'd pay $10 for a dozen cards at the Hallmark store, wouldn't you?"

Maybe I would pay that much... if I were the kind of person who sends out Christmas cards. But I wouldn't buy cards that had an advertising message inside and/or on the back. I wouldn't buy Christmas cards that are poorly designed and cheaply produced. And I certainly wouldn't buy Christmas cards that don't say "MERRY CHRISTMAS"!

Yet here's what I'm seeing on the cards I got today: "Season's Greetings"; "Not a creature was stirring" (picture of sleeping yellow puppy); "Happy holidays" (GRRRRRRRR!!!); and "Let it snow, let it snow", with some cute penguins rarely seen singing "winter songs" outside my front door.

Noooo... Walt won't be using these, let alone paying for them. If you get a Christmas card from me, it will have a picture of the Madonna and Her Divine Son and the text will wish you a Happy and Holy Christmas and God's blessing in the new year.

I have sent a note to the charity concerned (using their prepaid envelope) suggesting that they stop being so politically correct. Call me mean-spirited if you like, but I think it's about time the Christian majority -- if there is such a thing, any more -- stood up for the proper celebration of a Christian religious holiday!

Chocolate for charity scam still operating?

Summer has come, yea, even to the Great Not-so-white North. During Ontario's summer season (July 20th through 27th), a particular pest crawls out of the woodwork to accost people at the shopping malls -- in front of the LCBO seems a likely spot -- and knock on their front doors.

Yes, dear Canajan readers, I refer to the waifs peddling chocolate bars (made in Poland) for Help Kids Canada, a questionable "charity" first exposed here in "Help Kids Canada - a scam or only half a scam?". That very short article has had more "hits" than just about anything Walt has posted, except maybe for the Swazi girls!

I mention it again because Agent 3 has just brought to my attention a much longer story which appeared in the Guelph Mercury four months later. The headline reads: "Unwrapping a charity's chocolate bar: Kare for Kids president says controversial agency benefits all stakeholders".

Some excellent work by the paper's investigative reporter reveals that Help Kids Canada and Kare for Kids are one and the same -- parts of "an Independent Chocolate Marketing Network" run out of a condo in downtown Toronto.

They wholesale the chocolate bars to distributors who recruit "managers" who recruit kids -- some apparently pre-teens -- to peddle the goods at the malls and door-to-door. If any money is left over after "expenses", it gets donated to charity. At least, that's what the promoter in charge told the Mercury.

If you've been pestered by the chocolate-pushers, or if you've worked for this "charity", we'd like to hear from you. Please post a comment!

Have you given yet to help Somalia? Don't!

Have you been moved by the pictures of the starving children in famine-stricken Somalia? Have you sent your widow's mite to World Vision or Oxfam? Do you think your contribution is going to improve the lives of those poor (but somehow attractive) kids you see on TV? Before you reach for your credit card, think again.

Back in November 2009, in "Foreign aid: hurts us, hurts them", Walt talked about the bureaucratic mess that is USAID and its Canadian counterpart, CIDA. I've forgotten which impoverished hellhole was the "victim of the month" at that time. That was before Haiti, wasn't it? So perhaps it was Rwanda or Somalia, or some other African hellhole.

The same countries keep appearing in the Top Ten Aid Recipients. The droughts and famines recur again and again. And guilt-ridden white westerners -- the Volvo liberals, I call them -- keep raising money to throw at the problems of the Third World, money which is for the most part wasted, misappropriated or stolen by the corrupt and venal dictators and warlords who rule the world's poorest places.

Today's case in point is Somalia, where famine is officially widespread. The United Nations implores the rich countries to forget about their own problems and send billions of dollars to feed the hungry in the Horn of Africa. Just as we did about 20 years ago, the last time Somalia was the biggest basket case.

Michael Maren writes of his experiences in Somalia (and other sandpits) in The Road to Hell (The Free Press, 1997). The subtitle says it all: The ravaging effects of foreign aid and international charity. Here are a couple of pertinent paragraphs.

Aid distribution is just another big, private business that relies on government contracts. [Aid organizations] are paid by the U.S. government to give away surprlus food produced by subsidized U.S. farmers. The more food [they] give away, the more money they receive from the government to administer the handouts.

Food aid attracts people to refugee camps, where they die from dysentery or measles or other diseases they wouldn't have contracted in the bush. Is there really a food shortage when anyone with money can find all the food he wants, when the aid workers themselves enjoy meals that the locals could never get even in the best of times? And why does it always seem that a group of local elites finds a way to get rich from the disaster? Are we contributing to the problem by dealing with the businessmen-politicians who lease Land Cruisers and homes to the aid agencies and who provide trucks to transport food?

Maren goes on to make the connection between famine and dictatorship.

No country was ever transformed from being famine-prone to food self-sufficiency by international charity. As Harvard economist Amartya Sen has shown, famines always occur in authoritarian states, when the government mismanages the economy. Famines disappear when those countries become market-sufficient. India, for example -- the epitome of the famine-afflicted land when I was a child -- no longer suffers famines despite its huge populations.

And some targets of charity get worse. Today, after huge infusions of international aid, Somalia and all its formerly self-sufficient neighbors are chronically hungry and dependent on foreign food. It becomes increasingly difficult for aid workers to ignore the compelling correlation between massive international food aid and increasing vulnerability to famine. "Our charity does not overcome famine, and may help to prolong it", someone will always lament. Those who spend the time to study the local economies see that the people have now geared their own activities not to returning to their old lives but to getting their hands on aid.

The emphasis above is mine. Please keep in mind, dear reader, that Maren wrote those words in the mid-90s. Has anything changed in Somalia as the result of the billions of dollars of our money -- yours and mine -- poured down that rathole in the 15-20 years since the last "crisis"? Evidently not.

Muslims admit discrimination in Pakistan aid

Pakistani bishops have called again for an end to discrimination in aid to the non-Muslim victims of recent flooding. A spokesman for the bishops' Commission for Justice and Peace said, "The discrimination in aid distribution is still taking place.... It’s time the government officially admitted it, speaking out with clear words of condemnation and implementing a strategy to avoid it."

A missionary priest, Fr. Robert McCulloch, told Fides "We continue to see and receive news on discrimination in the management of humanitarian aid, at the expense of Hindus and Christians from lower social classes. The poor are in rural areas, people have generally looked down upon, which today are not even considered worthy of concern."

But the most startling part of the Fides report is the testimony of two Pakistani Muslim intellectuals.

According to Junaid Khanzada, former president of the Press Association in Hyderabad, "Some government officials and Islamic fundamentalist organizations deliberately ignore the needs of the tribal Sindh. They are Christians and Hindus of the lower social classes; in Pakistan, they are classified as belonging to 'scheduled castes', in India called 'dalit'.... In many cases religion, rather than the actual needs, has become the criterion for giving aid."

Another resident of Hyderabad, Ishaq Pangrati, a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told Fides "I am shocked and alarmed by the discrimination in the distribution of food to refugees, which I have seen with my own eyes in the Jati area, strongly affected by the floods."

Click here to read the bishops' statement, and keep it in mind when you're thinking about donating. Any organization that gives aid to or through the Pakistani government is disregarding strong evidence that donations are being diverted to corrupt government officials, with whatever's left at the bottom of the trough being used only to help Muslims.

Is this what you really want to happen to your charitable contributions? Give only through the Church or Christian charities.

Readers write

Walt's been hors de combat for a couple of days, so was delighted to find a couple of comments waiting to be moderated.

Gisela Corinne von Boetticher left a comment on "Dr. Laura learns a lesson in PC":

I found your site, while trying to delineate between the hijab and burka.

Thanks! I think you're funny/honest/insightful. You remind me of an old, brilliant (libertarian) economics professor I once had in the States. He never won any elections, unfortunately. :)

Gosh, Gisela Corrine, you're making old Walt blush. And you hit the nail on the head as regards my political philosophy, to the extent that I have one. I never won any elections either because I had the disconcerting habit of saying what I truly thought.

Anonymous posted a comment on "Help Kids Canada - a scam or only half a scam?":

Guess I wasn't the only one who was scammed! Never wanting to assume a kid would lie about raising money to help someone out I doled out $5 for the half empty box of chocolate covered nuts -- $4 but I said keep the change.

Deep down I was suspicious and thought this may be another charity where the "executive" on top is taking home a 6 figure income. As the girl and her friend continued down the street asking other neighbours I did see a "white" van come shortly after to pick up the girls. I did catch the name of the charity so I could check online if it was a scam or not ....and I guess I should have gone with my instincts!!!

Yep, they're still out there. In my neighbourhood they've been positioning scruffy-looking waifs outside of banks and supermarkets. Maybe going door to door doesn't work any more.

Agent 3 refers me to Ignore the Door, from which you can get big red signs to hang or stick on your front door telling canvassers to bugger off. (Well, the one I got says "At this house we ignore the door!") Maybe they'll keep the JWs and scruffy kids and energy bullies away. Worth a try.

Your comments and feedback are always welcome. Use the comments feature here or e-mail walt.whiteman@yahoo.com.

Update: Haiti

It's been 184 days since the most powerful earthquake of this century (so far) devastated much of the capital region of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This was a Big Media Event and a really big opportunity for Western (and some Asian) governments and charities to rush to the rescue of the poor downtrodden Haitians.

Billions of dollars in aid was pledged. Charity concerts were held and televised. Protestant missionaries flocked to the island to thump their Bibles and rescue "orphan" children. Her Jeanness, the Governor-General of Canada cried on TV, and (after some snide comments from curmudgeons like Walt) finally went to tiptoe through the rubble of her hometown.

It all lasted, oh, about a month, and then, as Walt predicted, was forgotten. Canada's much ballyhooed "Jacmel project" is stalled. Less than half of the promised aid has actually been delivered. Of Haiti's 8.8 million people, some 2 million are still living on the streets, according to the Fides news agency.

You'll find that link and others in a recent post on the Catholic Culture website. Read the articles and try to understand that there are some awful situations that all the good will, all the charity and all the foreign aid in the world cannot remedy. The only hope for countries like Haiti is for their people, rather than holding out their begging bowls and waiting for "special envoys" to bring relief, should start by helping themselves.