Rethos.com - bari's Global Feed

Environmentalist Preaches Conservation as Chaos Engulfs Eastern Congo

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:46:25 -0500

Environmentalist Preaches Conservation as Chaos Engulfs Eastern Congo

November 4, 2008, Uvira, Democratic Republic of Congo: With little more than a motorbike and a mission, Clement Kitambala has been spreading news about environmental issues in remote communities of the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo.

Amid renewed fighting that has displaced more than 130,000, ongoing food crises and rampant sexual violence, his newsletter, Tunza Mazingira ("Conserve the Environment" in Swahili), has provided a steady voice for conserva...

Top Small Workplaces of 2008

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:14:12 -0400

Top Small Workplaces 2008

Creating great workplaces has never been more important for small businesses. Nor more difficult. Here are 15 companies that do it well.

By Kelly K. Spors

It's never been harder to create a great workplace. With all the turbulence in the economy, business owners are spending more time trying to boost sales and cut costs than fretting about the well-being of their employees.

But creating a rewarding work environ...

Credit Card "Insiders" Speak Out About Abusive Practices

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:36:25 -0400

Earlier this year, former employees of MBNA and Bank of 
America contacted AFFIL looking for a way to speak out about 
disturbing sales practices they were trained to use as employees. Their stories confirm what
we've long suspected: that credit card companies extend credit
to those who can't afford it, and engage in a "tricks and traps" 
business model designed to max out cardholders and keep 
them on a debt treadmill as long as possible. Watch the video 
and listen to what Cate Colombo
and Jerry Young have to say.

The YP4 fellowship (heads up, college students!)

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:11:51 -0400

Make change today. The Young People For (YP4) fellowship is a leadership development program focusing on identifying, engaging and empowering young progressive leaders.

Credit Card Tips for College Students,” Consumers Union...

War on the middle class

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:40:29 -0400

Credit card companies go after American college students, often with the help of universities. Lisa Sylvester reports.

What Will Mac ’n’ Mae Cost You and Me?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:30:11 -0400

THE inevitability of a taxpayer-funded bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the hobbled mortgage behemoths, shook investors last week, and shares in both companies plummeted on fears that existing stockholders would be wiped out.

These government-sponsored entities guarantee or hold $...

That Student Loan, So Hard to Shake

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:28:08 -0400

MOST people struggling to pay off their student loans keep quiet about it. They do not want to acknowledge that, perhaps in a fit of naïve, youthful optimism, they borrowed more than they could handle.

Then there is Alan Collinge, who for years has described his struggle with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt to anyone who will listen. He has appeared on “60 Minutes” criticizing...

Avoiding College's Plastic Hangover

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:25:34 -0400

The immediate gratification of using plastic to buy an iMac, tickets to a Coldplay concert and nights of bar hopping has a way of coming back to haunt college students after graduation.

Despite their lack of a credit history and sizable student loans, most college students can get their hands on credit cards with as much ease as a swipe. And they're often lured into doing so with awards like free T-shirts. Along with the freebies, however, come some not-so-pleasant surprises: high interest rates and a range of fees and penalties.

Ideology 101 in 2008

Political thought in the United States can't just be divided into two camps — us vs. them, left vs. right, progressive vs. conservative — it's much more complicated than that. There are actually a variety of progressive viewpoints on the economy, fo...

Hello from Big Sur - Alec Henderson

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:14:43 -0400

Hello everyone, After spending two months deep in the mountains of California's Central coast I and the majority of monks at the Tassajara Monastery have been evacuated due to the recent fires. My friends at the LA Times wrote a front page article http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-fires28-2008jun28,0,4613015,full.story on our plight and this has generated some significant publicity. I am hold up in Santa Cruz with the monastery dog, Ginger. She and I are well and blogging at http://sittingwithginger.blogspot.com/ I am only back on the grid until we can ret...

Ally Request - Common Good Finance

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:51:40 -0400

Easy Ways You Can Help Conserve Rainforests

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:54:33 -0400

1Choose foods grown on farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance

Buy coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, bananas, orange juice, g...

Communications and Network Associate

Tue, 06 May 2008 14:24:56 -0400

People For the American Way Foundation conducts research, legal, and education work on behalf of First Amendment freedoms and democratic values; monitors, exposes, and challenges the Religious Right movement and its political allies; identifies, trains, and supports the next generation of progressive leaders through its Young People For youth leadership programs and its Young Elected Officials Network; and carries out nonpartisan voter education, registration, civic participation, and election protection activities.

Young People For (YP4) is a youth-driven and youth-led pr...

Re: Re: Rather Important - Pablo Salzman

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:12:21 -0400

Sorry Bari, but I feel when it comes to a problem as severe as an Ongoing Genocide drastic action (& threatening emails) must be taken. Stay tuned for Chapter 2 and FW Chapter 1 to friends who need to know. Best, P-

The Chinese Connection : The Red Dragon's tacit support of the Darfur Genocide

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:40:52 -0400

In 1994 China, an emerging super power, desperately in need of new oil sources helped a poor Government in Khartoum convert the Sudanese nation into oil exporters. In the 14 years since, as the oil and the money flowed, the relationship between the two nations has blossomed.

Today, China accounts for a quarter of Sudan’s imports and for nearly 70% of it’s, oil led, exports. The economic monopoly enjoyed by China through soft loans and state owned company investing in the Sudanese economy resulted, from its outset, in an incredible amount of Chinese poli...

Bats in the cave, canaries in the coal mine

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:03:19 -0500

Across New England, bat colonies are dying off at an unprecedented rate from a malady known as “white-nose” syndrome. The disease can be recognized by patches of white fungus on the animals’ muzzles. Rather then being in deep hibernation, as they should be in February, biologists from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department observed emaciated bats clustered toward the entrance of the Aeolus Cave in Dorset, Vermont, the largest wintering habitat for bat populations in New England. Other bats were flying outside the cave entrance and dead carcasses littered the snow. As ...

Tell the Senate to Stop Foreclosures!

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:44:16 -0500

In the aftermath of reckless subprime lending, our nation's economy is in serious trouble. This week the Senate will vote on a new bill that would prevent unnecessary foreclosures and stabilize the housing market. Please take a moment now to tell your Senators to support this bill – call toll-free 1-800-580-5739 to be connected with them. Here’s a sample message:

I understand that the Senate will vote this week on Senator Reid's "Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008," S. 2636. This is a time to st...

thanks for becoming an ally - Lee Purcell

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:43:03 -0500

Hi, Bari: I spent a little time on your Web site and was impressed by your eclectic portfolio, diverse interests, and polished presentation. Your organization reminds me a bit of the Media Alliance (http://www.media-alliance.org/) in San Francisco (from the days I lived in the Bay Area). I'm curious if rethos has helped your connect with anyone with like-minded business interests. I've been using LinkedIn for my high-tech contacts, but I'm actively trying to move away from computer-related technical communication toward alternative energy pursuits and work for community-based organiz...

My Culture Killed Lawrence King

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:11:47 -0500

Yesterday evening, I attended a candle light vigil for Lawrence King in West Hollywood.

My culture tells me that children must adhere to certain rigid rules of conduct, decorum, dress and manners depending solely on the genitalia they receive at birth. If born with a penis children are required to behave as “boys”. The strict boundaries required of “boys” are part of the social conditioning imposed to create conformity in sex roles. Adolescence is a time when children begin the tr...

Wolves Under Attack

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:37:40 -0500

In a characteristically ill-considered and short-sighted maneuver, the Bush/Cheney administration has announced plans to remove Endangered Species protections from wolves in the Northern Rockies region. The roughly 1,500 wolves in this area, once delisted in this manner, would be subject to hunting and trapping under state regulations, even if their numbers were reduced to as few as 300. This would essentially legalize the killing of up to 80 percent of the wolves in the Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.

From an administration with complete disregard for Constitutiona...

Alliance Accepted! - Lee Purcell

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:09:08 -0500

Ally Request - MÃ©decins Sans FrontiÃ¨res

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:03:49 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Young People For (YP4)

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:49:59 -0500

Halliburton Victim Twice Over - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:43:34 -0500

Check out this important message from our Partner, Public Citizen: http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=22031 â€œNo one â€“ especially a victim of a heinous, violent crime â€“ should be denied access to a judge and jury because of a binding mandatory arbitration clause in an employment contract. â€œUnfortunately, this is what is happening to Jamie Leigh Jones, who recently told ABCâ€™s 20/20 that she was gang raped while working for a Halliburton subsidiary in Iraq. Now, she is being victimized twice over. Halliburton is denying her constitutional right to tak...

Overdraft Abuse: Tell Your Story - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:05:18 -0500

Congress needs to hear your story: A message from the Center for Responsible Lending Jennifer Rakowski of Oakland, CA had been with her bank for 15 years when, before she knew what hit her, she accumulated a series of overdrafts in quick succession that put her over $300 in the red. Has something like this happened to you? Consumers are catching on to the ways in which banks artificially increase overdrafts, costing their account holders billions per year in unfair fees. When the House Financial Services Committee was debating H.R. 946 this month, Congresswoman Carolyn Malone...

Alliance Accepted! - steph

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:59:09 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Technology For People Group Inc.

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:39:04 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Thomas Defler

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 16:44:40 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Frank Miller

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:39:06 -0400

YP4's newest free course, "Ideology 101: What's Your Vision?"

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:37:33 -0400

Ideology 101: Whatâ€™s Your Vision?

The Progressive Academy Online, a project of Young People For, offers flexible and free education wherever you are. Check out the newest six-week course, Ideology 101, which starts October 29. (Late registration ends November 4.)

Political thought in the United States canâ€™t just be divided into two camps â€” us vs. them, left vs. right, progressive vs. conservative â€” itâ€™s much more complicated than that. There are actuall...

Echoing Green Fellowship

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:45:41 -0400

What is the EG Fellowship?

Through our two-year Echoing Green Fellowship program, we provide start-up capital and technical assistance to help new leaders launch their organizations and build capacity. We offer:

â€¢ A grant of up to $90,000, paid in four equal installments over two years â€¢ A health insurance stipend â€¢ Conferences led by organizational development experts â€¢ Access to technical support and pro bono partnerships to help grow your organization â€¢ A community of like-minded social entrepreneurs and public service leaders

W...

YP4 is hiring a Program Associate!

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:27:04 -0400

That’s right, we’re hiring.

The Program Associate is based in New York, reports to the Fellowship Program Deputy Director, must be able to support new program development, and will travel frequently.

More info: www.youngpeoplefor.org/about/jobs/listings/program_associate/

Feel free to forward this information.

Alliance Accepted! - The Nature Conservancy

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:08:09 -0400

Please come to Los angeles for Darfur Rally

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:07:10 -0400

Monday October 15 in Downtown LA 12 noon!!!

Help to stop American Investment in Darfur! Join me in downtown Los Angeles for a rally!

Click here to sign up

Alliance Accepted! - Ken

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:09:04 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - National Wildlife Federation

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:02:16 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Alec Henderson

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:52:06 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Shannon Cherry

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 08:05:15 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Progresswear

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:06:51 -0400

Conserve the Rainforest

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:32:14 -0400

Support an organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.

Volunteers needed for Medical Trek to Peru

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 16:51:35 -0400

Trek4Good is a volunteer program of The Mountain Fund. This program was started in order to address the need of volunteers to both see the country of Nepal, and to also contribute their time. By hosting volunteer visits that are close to the people and the cultures of the country, we help to prepare them to be more effective volunteers with a deeper understanding of the issues. Every Trek4Good trip either has a volunteer component built in, or is organized to raise funds for a particular project we support. It is another way that we can support our community-based partners around the world ...

Alliance Accepted! - Rainforest Alliance

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:15:47 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:58:54 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Chris Dodd

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:33:46 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Sarah Byrnes

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:50:54 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Pablo Salzman

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:52:12 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Chris Advansun

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:09:23 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Emma

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:53:28 -0400