Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (6035)	3/18/2006 6:18:42 PM
From: Lady Lurksalot	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Thank you, Peter. I and most other women did sympathize and empathize with her at the time. After all, she had been hired to model for what was to be a routine demonstration of new technology. It was those lunkheaded men who had not an inkling what that woman might be thinking and feeling during that seminar. Of course, this happened in the days before sensitivity training, so I guess I will cut the boys some slack. - Holly

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (6035)	3/19/2006 9:00:10 AM
From: paret	Respond to of 71588

Want a trasnsfusion? Good luck _________________________________________________________ FDA to Review Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood Washington Post ^ \| Saturday, March 18, 2006; A06 \| By Rob Stein The Food and Drug Administration is considering revising its policy that bars as a blood donor any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, officials said yesterday. The change in policy is being recommended by the American Red Cross, the American Association of Blood Banks and America's Blood Centers, which collect virtually all the blood used for transfusions nationwide. The three groups requested the change at a March 8 workshop the FDA convened to review the latest scientific information about the safety of the blood supply, arguing that current tests and screening methods have improved enough to protect transfusion recipients without the lifetime ban. Instead, the group recommended that men be barred from donating for only a year after having had sex with another man, treating them the same as other groups at increased risk for spreading sexually transmitted virus through donated blood. SNIP The FDA implemented the lifetime ban in the mid-1980s when concerns about the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, were running high and many questions remained about the ease with which people could spread the virus and the reliability of screening methods. Since then, the accuracy of testing has improved substantially, as have questionnaires that all donors answer to identify those posing the greatest risk, Dodge said. SNIP Agency officials are "definitely interested in hearing all the science, and if there's hard evidence in place that changing the policy would not endanger the blood supply they're definitely open to it," King said. SNIP "The blood deferral policy that exists is not based on science. It's based on inertia and in many cases stereotypes," said Jon Givner of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. ... (Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (6035)	3/19/2006 9:27:01 AM
From: paret	Respond to of 71588

Visible Ink Tattoos come out from under, and show up for work Boston Globe ^ \| \| March 16, 2006 \| By Christopher Muther, Globe Staff There was no hesitation when preschool teacher Alex Campbell began the process of filling her lower leg with a bright orange koi swimming in a blue pond of labyrinthine waves. The intricate tattoo is not hidden under schoolmarm tights or practical slacks; instead it has become part of the lesson plan in her class at Corner Co-op Nursery School in Brookline. Campbell's students followed the process of their teacher getting a tattoo firsthand -- or as close as a 4-year-old can get to firsthand without stepping into a tattoo parlor. They talked about sketching, needles, and, most importantly, not touching Campbell's leg the day after she was tattooed. Campbell, who seldom wore skirts before getting her calf tattooed, has switched over to a wardrobe that is far more skirt-friendly to display her pricey body art. Her next step is getting a full arm tattoo (those in the know refer to a full arm tattoo as a sleeve). ''I asked a few parents about how they'd feel about a teacher with tattoos on her arm, and they were fine with it," the 37-year-old Brookline resident says. As tattooing reaches a mainstream crest thanks to shows such as ''Miami Ink," ''Inked," and even ''Meet the Barkers" and ''Prison Break," professionals such as Campbell are bringing more elaborate -- and more visible -- body art into the workplace. For Campbell, the tattoos were a non-issue at school, and even became a teaching tool that resonated with the tykes in her class. In the current tattoo-friendly climate, a number of white collar professionals are finding that body art is a helpful tool at the office -- a way to give a subtle nod and a wink to co-workers or clients that they run with a crowd that owns the new Arctic Monkeys CD ... (Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (6035)	3/19/2006 9:38:50 AM
From: paret	Respond to of 71588

This cuts me deep ............................................................... Big hurt: Washington Post's struggle Media Life Magazine ^ \| 3/17/06 \| Barton Biggs It’s the plight of so many American newspapers: declining circulation, flat or declining advertising revenues, rising newsprint costs. But it's a plight that seems to be hurting The Washington Post more. The Post announced just a week ago that it would be eliminating some 80 newsroom positions over the next year. That’s close to 10 percent of its reporters and editors. In some ways, the move isn’t really a surprise. Cuts and layoffs are increasingly common elsewhere. Not a week goes by that some paper somewhere in America isn't announcing yet another round of newsroom cuts. What's significant is who’s making the cuts. The Post is one of America’s most celebrated newspapers, a Pulitzer Prize winner times over, and also among the best-managed. Which raises the question: If one of America top papers is suffering so, what does it say for the future of all the rest? Post management is downplaying the staffing cuts, pointing out that they will come through attrition and buyouts, not layoffs. They also insist that the Post is in better shape financially than many papers. It's positioning the cuts as part of a larger plan that will actually improve overall news coverage. But the paper’s publisher is candid about the financial realities. "During the past year newspaper revenues have flattened while expenses--particularly newsprint--have continued to rise," Boisfeuillet Jones Jr. wrote in an internal memo to staff. The Post will not reveal circulation and ad revenue figures to Media Life, but data available elsewhere paints an alarming picture. Ad revenue is up just slightly over the past five years, to $783.5 million last year from $770.6 million in 2000, according to TNS Media Intelligence. But circulation has tumbled, falling by 137,695 for the weekday paper in the past decade, from 816,474 for the year ended Sept. 30, 1995 to 678,779 for the six-month period ended Oct. 2, 2005. That's a decline of 17 percent. That's according to numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the latter of which has not been audited yet and is based on publisher statements. If the Post must struggle to hold onto readers, other papers must be in real trouble, or so it would seem. Analyst John Morton says what the Post is experiencing is in some ways typical, the result of online publications taking a bigger bite out of print newspapers. He does not see that changing. “Generally speaking, their circulation will continue to decline,” Morton said yesterday. “I don’t know that there’s any solution.” What makes the Post unusual is that its circulation is sinking faster than that of many other newspapers around the country. And there are several reasons for it. One is sheer size. With such a huge circulation, among the largest in the country, the Post's subscriber losses will be that much greater in total numbers. Another, as Morton points out, is that the Post has enjoyed a deeper household penetration in its market. So as the city and the region change, as the ethnic mix shifts, the paper faces even greater challenges in maintaining those penetration levels. Too, the Post faces increasing competition, and not just from the internet. It now competes against two other dailies, the Washington Times and now the Washington Examiner. There are then a whole slew of free papers and magazines. “Big city newspapers are feeling it more because there are more choices in big cities,” says Morton. “There’s an awful lot of competition.” It’s still unclear how much the new, free, Washington Examiner is cutting into the Post’s readership. But Morton says that anytime you get a new entry into the market it’s bound to increase the pressure. Post management insists they will not cave into the pressures by compromising their high editorial standards, or allowing the overall quality of the paper to decline. But, if there’s a lesson in the Post’s woes, it’s that quality does not neccessarily hold the key to salvation. It certainly doesn't hold the key to halting the Post’s declining circulation numbers. So, how low could they eventually go? “I don’t have a clue,” Morton says. “And neither does anyone else.”