We make no judgment on the allegations that its bookkeeping may be irregular. But it's worth noting that Wyclef Jean has family ties to the group of gangsters and thugs that the Clinton-era CIA installed in office when it removed Haiti's elected president, Jean-Betrand Aristide from office in the 1990s. Wyclef Jean has repeated the contemptible lie all over black radio that Aristide skipped the country with $900 million stolen from Haitians. We understand where this comes from. Wyclef's uncle was the Washington DC representative of the short-lived un-elected gangster governments of Haiti, and runs a right wing rag of a Haitian newspaper dedicated to spreading outrageous and self-serving falsehoods against Lavalas, the only Haitian party capable of winning free elections in that unhappy country.

If Wyclef will lie about that, we wonder what else he'd lie about, and why we should trust him with our money.

Wyclef's problems aside, one way to ensure your donations are deployed and used in a manner faithful to your intent, and respectful of the Haitian rights to community, humanity and agency, is to send them to efforts managed in whole or in part by responsible Haitians, and members of the Haitian diaspora.

What's charitably given isn't always charitably distributed. In 21st century American and its empire, our corporate and military elite wield immense power, including the power. Corporate philanthropy serves corporate interests, not human interests, and corporate control over government, culture and media ensure that even funds donated by ordinary citizens can be directed and harvested for elite purposes too.

In the wake of the man-made disaster of Katrina, Americans freely gave tens of millions to the American Red Cross, which used a great deal of it to effectively disperse the population of black New Orleans to the four corners of the continental U.S. Millions more were diverted to their administrative overhead or other projects. But the local Louisiana elites who benefited from the exile of hundreds of thousands of black New Orleans residents were able to use Red Cross funds and personnel to work their will.

The US government, as Glen Ford points out, has thoroughly militarized US aid to Haiti, and the same US corporate media that painted New Orleans as a cesspool of violence and despair are bringing us images and impressions of Haiti that match their twisted vision. Food and water cannot be distributed until "order" is restored.

Corporate media manufactures "celebrities" all the time, people who are famous for being well known, and about whose lives we know more than we know about the public affairs in our own cities and towns and school boards. Haitian musician Wyclef Jean used his celebrity, and the earthquake, to raise millions for his own Haitian charity.

We make no judgment on the allegations that its bookkeeping may be irregular. But it's worth noting that Wyclef Jean has family ties to the group of gangsters and thugs that the Clinton-era CIA installed in office when it removed Haiti's elected president, Jean-Betrand Aristide from office in the 1990s. Wyclef Jean has repeated the contemptible lie all over black radio that Aristide skipped the country with $900 million stolen from Haitians. We understand where this comes from. Wyclef's uncle was the Washington DC representative of the short-lived un-elected gangster governments of Haiti, and runs a right wing rag of a Haitian newspaper dedicated to spreading outrageous and self-serving falsehoods against Lavalas, the only Haitian party capable of winning free elections in that unhappy country.

If Wyclef will lie about that, we wonder what else he'd lie about, and why we should trust him with our money.

Wyclef's problems aside, one way to ensure your donations are deployed and used in a manner faithful to your intent, and respectful of the Haitian rights to community, humanity and agency, is to send them to efforts managed in whole or in part by responsible Haitians, and members of the Haitian diaspora.

I gave money to Yele Haiti after the earthquake. Initially, I was disappointed to hear about the accusations against Yele. I still am, but people are going too far to call Wyclef criminal.

The facts will still come out, but it seems like a case of a group of people starting a Foundation and not having the proper training to run it most efficiently and transparently. Wyclef has given much more of his own money (and time!) to this Foundation than all the accusations add up to, so it's pretty clear he didn't start this Foundation to add to his personal wealth.

At some point, the accounting at Yele should be looked at, but no one should be calling someone names who has seen his home country devastated and his loved ones killed (while he is down there trying to help and save people).

And NO ONE should use this as an excuse not to donate to organizations helping in the relief effort. Maybe Yele's not the right place, but Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and others have a lengthy track record of getting money to those who need it most with full accounting and transparency.

Well it's like Wyclef said if you believe he's not legit, don't donate to his organization. There are plenty of organizations out there.

More importantly, why didn't Clef make another good album after the seminal "the carnival"? that was my jam back in 97.

digging up bodies gives him credibilty.

hahhaa...i have a strange feeling he was speaking metaphorically. not actually digging up bodies himself, i call BS on that.

Please don't take Velvet away.

That money will be gone 'til november.

Unless people actually visited Haiti and see the people's daily living, no one has the right to discredit Wyclef. He was actually in Haiti pulling out bodies. Why would someone want to take money from a foundation and not help his country. I'm Haitian and the country may have millions of people but we are all one family. I know you are helping Wyclef. I will continue to donate. YELE Haiti!

If you're all one family, could you please speak with your family members attacking people with machetes?

Criminals are everywhere, remember that.

People do it to their own all the time. From personal experience: the biggest crooks among Asians are other Asians, for e.g.

On the extreme example-set: check out Darfur, or, internal genocide in Rwanda.

It wouldn't be surprising at all if the revelations re: Yele are true.

Why would someone take money from a foundation and not help his country? Because he can, that's why. Just because Wyclef is the most famous Haitian doesn't mean he's any less crooked than the people who actually run the country. Of course he's going to make a trip to Haiti and get some pics taken of him holding a shovel: this earthquake is the biggest payday he's ever had.

Wow... So you're calling Wyclefs interview from CNN, the most reliable source of the earthquake right about now a liar. If you don't recall go to CNN.com and look at the interview. It wasn't pictures but actual footages.

also i heard of another charity for the family of Jimmy O the rapper who died in the quake, text at cash4moi, it'll get to the right person!

Oh, he's speaking French/Creole, that must mean he's legit! Here, take my paycheck!