Yes, I think quark was so heavily premined that there was not much left for normal miners to mine. The website says this is for allocating to giveaways and promotions but whoever is behind it seems to be out for maximum profit. I'm not sure about ripple. I read somewhere that it is completely premined but designed a bit differently from normal crypto currency.

I am not sure about it. but someone said you can end out in debt if someone else you have trusted defaults on their debt. Maybe I will fully understand it before it comes out of beta.