Rethos.com - HardRockPhilanthropy's Global Feed

Impact of the global financial and economic crisis on health

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:13:07 -0500

Statement by WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan

We face a severe financial crisis of unprecedented dimensions in a world that has never before been so closely connected and interdependent. The consequences are global. The situation is volatile. The current financial crisis is rapidly becoming an economic crisis and threatens to become a social crisis in many countries.

The crisis comes at a time when commitment to global health has never been higher. It comes in the midst of the most ambitious drive in history to reduce poverty and distribute ...

Bible Illuminated's The Book New Testament

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:58:55 -0400

Forget heavy leather-bound volumes - this New Testament brings an entirely new look to the table.

Even the format of Illuminated World's New Testament is a vast departure from any version of the Bible that readers are familiar with. It doesn't look like a book, but instead looks like a high-end magazine, complete with glossy pages and illustrated with contemporary photographs.

Why These Pictures and Highlighted Passages?

The layout is a departure from tradition, but the text itself is not. The New Testament uses the sta...

New Post: Finally! - Li Li Parsons

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:25:15 -0400

It's been a while but here's a new article. No time like the present, with all of the current chaos, to be Present! Li Li http://www.rethos.com/news/view/1608 Feedback appreciated!

Don't Patronize Me: The Economy 101

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:55:20 -0400

I have now seen at least a dozen television commercials and psuedo-short-documentaries and news blurbs about "how we got into this financial mess" and "what exactly is a credit crunch?" I find it to be rude, disdainful, patronizing and insulting that somehow, we (the American public) are deemed too ignorant to understand what has brought us, collectively, to the edge of financial ruin. Some of these pieces of "information" are delivered in cartoon format, no less, which gives me the eery feeling of being four years old and watching School House Rock, learning how a Bill becom...

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.

A must read for every college kid heading back to campus!

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:12:35 -0400

Credit Card Tips for College Students

Now that you're making financial decisions for yourself, be sure to protect yourself from credit card tricks and traps. Here are some tips to consider before you break out the plastic. Adapted from "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.

They warned us then, that if we did not stop plundering the Body of the Mother for her blood and vital fluids (gold, oil); if we did not stop breaking up her bones for fuel (coal); if we did not stop ripping away ...

Loan Industry Fighting Rules on Mortgages

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:15:53 -0400

WASHINGTON — The mortgage industry, facing the prospect of tougher regulations for its central role in the housing crisis, has begun an intensive campaign to fight back.

As the Federal Reserve completes work on rules to root out abuses by lenders, its plan has run into a buzz saw of criticism from bankers, mortgage brokers and other parts of the housing industry. One common industry criticism is that at a time of tight credit, tighter rules could make many mortgages more expensive by creating more paperwork and potentially exposing lenders to more lawsuits.

Fed to hold public hearings on BofA-Countrywide deal

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:14:50 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Consumer advocates nervous about Bank of America Corp.'s proposed takeover of troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. are pressuring the bank to provide assurances that Countrywide borrowers facing foreclosure won't lose their homes.

The campaign is likely to intensify Monday as members of the Federal Reserve Board begin two days of public hearings on the proposed $4.1 billion stock deal.

Piling On: Borrowers Buried by Fees

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:14:03 -0400

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

Published: April 20, 2008

SLOWLY but surely, a handful of public-minded bankruptcy court judges are drawing back the curtain on the mortgage servicing business, exposing, among other questionable practices, the sundry and onerous fees that big banks and financial companies levy on troubled borrowers.

Stop Debt Disease 2

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:27:09 -0400