Let me get this straight.  People who post on this forum are not allowed to scrutinize a non-profit organization, such as The Prem Rawat Foundation, when all the charity oversight organizations of the world are telling people to make sure that they DO scrutinize any charitable entity that solicits funds?

Do I have this straight?  Supporters of Prem Rawat would be more than happy to have donated money that should go to the victims of this disaster, spent instead on libel law suits?  I thought I'd seen the worst of cynicism until I held my nose and read some posts by Rawat supporters elsewhere on the internet in the past twenty-four hours. 

The following may apply more to Americans, but there are many international relief and charitable orgs listed here too.

If you want to give to a charity, the Better Business Bureau's Tips on Tsunami Relief Appeals is here -- they also have a list of approved charities:

http://www.give.org/news/tsunami_tips.asp

The American Institue of Philanthropy has a list of top-rated charities here, along with more advice on how to scrutinize who you are sending money to:

http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/tsunami_asia.html

Most importantly, do scrutinize and question (without fear of being sued) any non-profit orgs that "suddenly" are requesting funds. 

"You need to watch out for appeals that bring tears to people's eyes, that are long on emotion and short on facts,'' said Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer for the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance.