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15 Apr 2010 20:50

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U.S.: Obama orders added hospital visitation rights for gays, lesbians

  • He says they’re “uniquely affected” by relatives-only policies at hospitals. The Obama administration today asked the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a rule to make sure that gays and lesbian partners have the same rights of visitation as straight partners do. “There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital,” he said on the memo, “Yet every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 6 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2010 10:04

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Tech: After the Tweetie buy-out, are Twitter developers screwed?

Not if you’re Seesmic. No word on other developers, but Robert Scoble reports the Twitter client maker diversified its approach, though they say they’ve felt squeezed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 09:29

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U.S.: California universities throw tons of cost-cutting options on the table

  • one Encourage students to take summer classes and graduate in three years.
  • two Double the number of out-of-state students in the university system to 10 percent.
  • three Charge more for the most popular campuses – UCLA and UC Berkeley particularly.
  • four Increase online classes offerings so people don’t have to look at each other. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2010 15:55

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Tech, World: Google gets around China, moves searches to Hong Kong

  • We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk  is a sensible solution to the challenges we’ve faced—it’s entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China.
  • Google Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond • Regarding the company’s final decision on handling the China problem. There’s a very good chance that China will censor the search engine on the mainland after this, but you can at least say they tried very hard to have it both ways. This is a win for human rights. Unfortunately, it may not be a win that does Chinese citizens a whole lot of good. Is it better to be unable to give uncensored information, or willfully censor by the rules of a country that is willing to make people drive long distances just to check e-mail? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2010 20:33

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Tech: Digg’s upcoming redesign: Necessary, but fundamental?

  • Everybody knew it. The second Oprah said the word “Twitter” on her show, Digg looked old hat. It lacked the decentralized social spark other, more recent social media options had perfected. But – lucky us – the site hasn’t taken the passing of time lying down. Coming soon is a top-down redesign that slickens up the look and personalizes the results. Maybe with more personalization and social functions it might be able to solve our fundamental problem with the site. Will Digg get more substance with the changes? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2010 10:58

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Biz: College students will have a (necessarily) harder time getting credit

  • $1,879 amount of credit card debt the average college student had in the heady days of 1998
  • $3,173 amount of credit card debt the average college student had in 2008, which is a huge increase source
  • » So, what changes? A law that takes effect Monday will regulate the credit industry at large, but with the largest effect on adults under 21. They won’t be able to get credit without a parent’s signature and proof of other assets. The new policy will help limit high amounts of debt for college students, but may also hurt them, as many often use the credit to pay for necessities.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Feb 2010 23:34

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Tech: Jesus hell, Facebook, another goddamn redesign? Aargh.

  • Happy sixth birthday dudes, but for the love of God, stop it. In the past, we’ve been for Facebook’s constant push to innovate, but it seems like they’re redesigning again just because. We’re sure it’s powerful and does a lot of cool stuff, but your last redesign was plenty useful. There seems to be no reason to screw with it again so soon. This hits 80 million users tonight, by the way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Jan 2010 15:41

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Culture: Conan says “screw you, NBC, you guys suck” loudly, publicly

  • NO Conan won’t go back to 12:05 quietly source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2010 09:56

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Biz: Higher salaries, fewer bonuses: Banks change up the mix a little

  • 65% of banks increased basic salaries for workers in the wake of the financial crisis
  • 88% cut back on bonuses – which had been vilified more than anything else source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jan 2010 20:25

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Biz, Culture: NBC’s Leno quick-fix really a reboot for the entire network

  • For us right now, instead of trying to reinvent, going back to basics is probably the smartest play.
  • NBC Universal Television Chairman Jeff Gaspin • Regarding the changes to the network’s late-night schedule (which, by the way, he confirmed), but in a broader sense, the entire network. NBC has spent the last few years trying to shake up its business model – getting rid of the traditional television upfront, working on innovative advertising deals and coming up with ways to save costs that turn the traditional network television model on its head. “The Jay Leno Show” was really the crux of a long period of corporate thinking. Gaspin’s basically admitting the whole idea was a failure. Wow. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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