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JEDDAH: With more than 130 films set to be screened at the Red Sea International Film Festival, VOX Cinemas are on a mission to support and promote local films the best way they can.

The Red Sea International Film Festival kicked off its festivities at Jeddahs UNESCO World Heritage Site old town, Al-Balad, on Dec. 6. It will run until Dec. 15, in partnership with VOX Cinemas and others.

VOX Cinemas will screen 138 feature films and shorts from 67 countries in 34 languages. The content was produced by established and emerging talent, with fans, film enthusiasts, filmmakers and actors in attendance for many of the films.

A slate of new Saudi films 27 from an exciting wave of Saudi filmmakers will be shown alongside the best of contemporary international cinema.

Were very proud to be partners of this festival, especially since this has been the first international Red Sea Film Festival taking place in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Toni El Massih, managing director of VOX Cinemas, told Arab News.

RSIFF is a significant breakthrough for the whole industry, exhibitors, distributors and producers, he said. This platform will help future filmmakers and storytellers know that this country is so full and rich in culture and storytelling. This is the exact platform that is needed for the talent to come across and present their project, he added.

HIGHLIGHT

VOX Cinemas will screen 138 feature films and shorts from 67 countries in 34 languages. The content was produced by established and emerging talent, with fans, film enthusiasts, filmmakers and actors in attendance for many of the films.

On tour to the main VOX Cinema sites in Al-Balad that have been constructed to screen RSIFF films, Arab News spoke to Mohamed Al-Hashemi, KSA chief of Majid Al Futtaim. He said: The Red Sea Film Festival is a statement for the Kingdom. There were no cinemas prior to April 2018, however, customers enjoyed the set of experiences as soon as they opened.

With life coming back to normal after the COVID-19 period, the Red Sea Film Festival is a statement from the Kingdom to the world that Saudi Arabia will be a major player when it comes to local content production, demand for international content, and most importantly, demand for exhibitions as well, when it comes to the best of the best that can be offered to consumers.

With movie theaters in more than six cities across the Kingdom in over 15 locations, VOX Cinemas operates 154 screens in Saudi Arabia. We are considered to be the largest cinema exhibitors in the Kingdom in terms of site numbers and screen counts, Al-Hashemi said.

Why is the screen count so important?

The screen basically is the only platform where people can showcase local content producers on the big screen. With more big screens, more local content will be produced for the local market and the regional market, and hopefully Saudi as well to the international market, Al-Hashemi said.

The RSIFF is where the Kingdom can act as a local content producer and where we can bring out the folded and untold stories of this beautiful company, to the customers within Saudi, he added.

On Dec. 6. during the inaugural red-carpet event, VOX Cinemas announced an ambitious initiative that aims to foster homegrown talent and showcase untold stories on the big screen.

A plan was made to boost regional film production and develop 25 Arabic films in the next five years.

El Massih said that many of these films would be from Saudi Arabia, with Saudi talent working as directors, producers and actors. There will also be films coming out of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Speaking on the genres of the future films, he said: The genre that we are focusing on and that has proven to work best is the comedy-drama. This is the sort of film that well be working toward.

As part of the initiative, VOX Cinemas will continue to support the next generation of homegrown content developers and provide resources for emerging filmmakers to bring their scripts to screen.

This platform will search and scout for talent. Itll be the same case later in the UAE and in other festivals that are taking place across the region.

Accordingly, well start putting a team together, building screening and writing rooms, getting stories from each of the different regions together, and then well take that forward and then do the necessary films that well see on the big screen, El Massih said.

Majid Al Futtaim has been very active in the region since 1999, starting off with exhibition, and then elevating our activities into film distribution, and recently in film production.

Being a main contributor and partner of RSIFF is huge, he added, saying that such an opportunity will support emerging talent.

El Massih said: This is the perfect platform for us to be participating and searching for the emerging talent and filmmakers that we can bring on board.

Read more:
Saudi aid agency drive to combat blindness in Djibouti ends - Arab News

Pope Francis refers to the parable of the two blind men from Matthew's Gospel to urge Cypriots to follow three steps in order to be freed of a similar darkness in which we often find ourselves.

By Francesca Merlo

Addressing the faithful in Nicosia's GSP Stadium for Holy Mass in Cyprus, Pope Francis recalled a passage from Matthew's Gospel, in which as Jesus passed by, two blind men cried out "Have mercy on us, Son of David". The Pope noted that the two men are blind, yet they realise that Jesus is the Messiah who has come into the world. They can help us, during this advent season, "to welcome the Lord when he comes", said the Pope.

Pope Francis noted that the first step is that the two "went to Jesus for healing". Although they cannot see him, he said, "they hear his voice and follow his footsteps".The two men in the Gospel trusted in Jesus, he continued, and so "they followed him in search of light for their eyes".

The Pope noted that the two trusted in Jesus because "they realise that, within the darkness of history, he is the light that brightens the nights of the heart and the world". He stressed that we too have a kind of blindness in our hearts, and like the two blind men are often immersed in the darkness of life.Often we would rather remain closed in on ourselves, alone in the darkness, feeling sorry for ourselves and content to have sadness as our companion, but instead we must go to Jesus, said the Pope. Let us give Jesus the chance to heal our hearts.

The next step, continued the Pope, is that "they shared their pain".They ask for help together, said the Pope. "This is an eloquent sign of the Christian life and the distinctive trait of the ecclesial spirit: to think, to speak and to act as we, renouncing the individualism and the sense of self-sufficiency that infect the heart".

These two blind men have much to teach us, continued the Pope. "Each of us is blind in some way as a result of sin", he explained, adding that this "prevents us from seeing God as our Father and one another as brothers and sisters". This sin distorts reality, continued the Pope, but if we bear our inner blindness alone, we can become overwhelmed. "We need to stand beside one another, to share our pain and to face the road ahead together", he said.

Dear brothers and sisters, continued the Pope. "Faced with our own inner darkness and the challenges before us in the Church and in society, we are called to renew our sense of fraternity". If we remain divided we will never be completely healed of our blindness", he stressed. Healing takes place when we carry our pain together, when we face our problems together, when we listen and speak to one another.

The third, and final step, continued the Pope, is "they joyfully proclaimed the Good News". After Jesus had healed the two blind men, the two "began to spread the good news to the entire region". There is a bit of irony in this, noted the Pope. "Jesus had told them to tell no one what had happened, yet they do exactly the opposite". Their intention was not to disobey the Lord, said the Pope. "They were simply unable to contain their excitement at their healing and the joy of their encounter with Jesus". This, he added, "is another distinctive sign of the Christian".

Bringing his homily to an end, the Pope thanked all thos present in the Nicosia stadium for living "with joy" the liberating message of the Gospel, and encouraged them to "keep advancing on this path". Like the two blind men in the Gospel, "let us once more encounter Jesus, and come out of ourselves to be fearless witnesses of Jesus to all whom we meet!"

"Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus is also passing through the streets of Cyprus, hearing the cries of our blindness", stressed the Pope. "He wants to touch our eyes and hearts and to lead us to the light, to give us spiritual rebirth and new strength".Let us renew our faith in him, concluded the Pope, "Let us say to him: Jesus, we believe that your light is greater than our darkness; we believe that you can heal us, that you can renew our fellowship, that you can increase our joy".

Full video of Holy Mass at the GSP Stadium" in Nicosia, Cyprus

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Pope at Mass in Cyprus: Only together can we be healed from blinding darkness - Vatican News

Britain's defence policy is based on "over-simplified" hype about cyber warfare, experts have claimed in a new book.

Defence experts Dr Jack Watling and Justin Bronk say damaging narratives are too easily accepted as fact by many in military and government circles.

Such assumptions quickly come to dominate thinking at the highest levels of UK defence policy, they have said.

In a new book launched on Monday, called Necessary Heresies, the experts warn there is an institutional blindness at the heart of UK defence policy.

Specialist advice is often overlooked or misinterpreted as senior decision-makers shape policy based on their own understanding, the book argues, of briefings given by subject matter experts.

Crucial nuances and practical constraints are almost unavoidably lost in translation.

This tendency is exacerbated by a natural inclination to over-hype the potential for novel technologies or strategies to provide transformative effects.

The authors argue future war is unlikely to be dominated by grey zone attacks short of out and out armed conflict.

The dangers of so-called grey zone operations, characterised by cyber attacks, assassinations, political interference and disinformation, were regularly cited by the former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), General Sir Nick Carter, as being the likely shape of future warfare.

The authors say such woolly thinking is an intellectual dustbin that confuses the true nature of conflict.

They cited Gen Carters comments during the annual CDS Rusi lecture, delivered in December 2020, that our rivals seek to win without resorting to war.

He said that arms length tools like drones and mercenaries would be used more often as they provide deniability and strategic ambiguity - thus enabling intervention without the risk of entanglement.

The authors say Gen Carters ideas not only lack crucial nuance and are unsound, but also produce "potentially harmful distortionary effects throughout Defence.

The new book attempts to challenge some of these misleading narratives before they drive acquisition and force-design decisions that undermine the British Armed Forces.

The book argues that through years of repetition, narratives about the rapidly changing character of warfare and the transformative effects of novel technologies have become akin to gospel truths, enshrined in policy documents.

Senior defence policy planning is hampered by received wisdom the authors suggest.

In many areas of Defence policy, such as cyber warfare, space or novel weapons systems, deep subject matter expertise is required to understand the potential benefits and limitations."

Incompatible demands for efficiency savings and equipment modernisation lead to senior defence planners seeking silver bullet solutions.

Once policy has been stated on an issue, further nuances and important caveats are often lost as the wider policy community try to tailor their own outputs to align with what they perceive as the new high-level consensus.

As such, the narratives that end up shaping much of the coal face work in Defence are not...(usually) nuanced.

Instead, they are often mantras or collective received wisdom that in practice has been oversimplified or distorted by repeated translation, repetition, and transmission.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: With 24 billion investment over the next four years, the Armed Forces will be modernised to meet future threats. The Integrated Review, backed by the largest investment in Defence since the Cold War, is delivering a force fit to meet the challenges posed by a more uncertain world, not battles of the past.

Continue reading here:
Defence policy is based on 'over-simplified' hype about cyber warfare, experts warn - Telegraph.co.uk

Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), but these parasitic worm infections can lead to anemia, malnutrition, and learning difficulties among children. Left untreated, schistosomiasis can damage the liver, intestines, bladder, spleen, and lungs, and soil-transmitted helminths can cause a range of problems, including slow physical and mental development.

Public health authorities have battled for more than a decade to tackle schistosomiasis, supported by partners such as the World Banks International Development Association (IDA) and World Health Organization (WHO). In 2010, one in five residents in Yemen were at risk of contracting schistosomiasis, better known as bilharzia. Today, that has dropped to fewer than one in 15 (about three million people). Limited data exists for the soil-transmitted helminths that affect communities across the country but bringing these infections under control is another public health goal.

Eliminating schistosomiasis involves the mass administration of drugs, in which members of a target population are treated once a year. Several rounds of drugs are administered over several years to get rid of a community of the parasite. The Emergency Health and Nutrition Project (EHNP), funded by IDA, the World Banks fund for poorest countries, has helped to eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem in Yemen.

Nothing beats a childs smile. This project represents a critical opportunity to decrease the disease burden among vulnerable Yemenis, particularly children. The project is part of the World Banks strategy to invest in Yemens most important assets: its people said Tania Meyer, World Bank Country Manager for Yemen.

During a recent four-day mass campaign, almost 860,000 children and adolescents between 6- and 19-years-old, were targeted (whether enrolled in school or not) across seven southern and eastern governorates, Abyan, Hadramout/Mukalla, Hadramout/Sayoun, Lahj, Mareb, Shabwa, and Taiz. In total, 37 districts, 373 team leaders, 1,070 team supervisors, and 2,140 drug distributors were involved and over 80% of the target population reached.

Yemen is making progress against other neglected tropical diseases as well. Lymphatic filariasis, which causes swelling of limbs and is spread by infected mosquitos, was eliminated as a public health problem in 2019. The administrative certification of the elimination of leprosy in Yemen is underway, and technical teams are working hard to eliminate blindness of infectious origins: trachoma by 2024, and onchocerciasis, or river blindness, by 2030.

This progress is encouraging, and a sign that the elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem may be within reach in Yemen in the next five years, said Dr. Adham Rashad Ismail Abdel-Moneim, WHOs Yemen Representative. Reaching it, however, will depend on continued support from partners.

The campaign was carried out in close collaboration with Yemens Ministry of Education and th Health Education Center, which is part of the Ministry of Public Health and Population. Technical and statistical local plans were prepared, a training of trainers session carried out, and workshops given to drug distributors and the heads of teams in charge of both fixed and mobile treatment facilities. A third-party team conducted direct monitoring of the activities and interviews with around 4,000 people across 1,000 randomly selected households.

The campaign in January 2021 targeted 2.4 million people at 3,300 sites across 32 districts in seven northern governorates, involving 6,700 drug distributors. Approximately, 4.8 million praziquantel tablets and 2.4 million albendazole tablets were distributed.

More mass campaigns against soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis are planned in 2022, with more investment to improve community engagement made in order to reach more than 80% of the targeted population in future.

See more here:
Amid the Conflict in Yemen, Mass Campaigns to End the Threat of Tropical Diseases Continue [EN/AR] - Yemen - ReliefWeb

When did you finally realise what you'd do in life? Some of us are still clueless. But Ashutosh Kumar (30), from Patna had not only decided which career to take up but also selected an institute for himself when he was in Class 7. He wanted to work with films and graduate from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. But what he did not know is that his dreams would have to jump through hoops for at least 6 years to get there.

And it all came down to a filmmaker's essence - his eyes. Ashutosh found out that he was colour blind at the medical examination before his admission to the FTII and that changed his life. "I was intrigued by cinema from a very young age. Both our parents would go to work and my sister and I would spend the afternoons watching films. When I was in Class 7 or so, I accompanied my father to Delhi. On our way back, we met two people who claimed to be filmmakers and were talking about films. I heard the name FTII for the first time and studying there became a goal. After I finished my schooling I wanted to enrol, but they (FTII) said that I needed a graduation degree to get in. I did my graduation completed my graduation in BA Psychology (Hons) from Patna University. The next step was to apply. I applied in 2013 the first time but did not get in. In 2016, I got through Film Editing. I was there prepared with the fees and everything. Then came the test, where they said that I was colour blind and that I was not eligible to study this course," said Ashutosh.

READ ALSO :FTII students desperately reach out to Shekhar Kapur in a bid to stop online classes, but to no avail

Ashutosh moved the Bombay High Court and then the Supreme Court in 2017. In the meanwhile, he has been taking up freelance work after a short stint in journalism and also completed his Masters in Mass Communication from the Nalanda Open University. "I have endured everything in these few years. I do not come from a family with affluence or filmmakers in their lineage," said Ashutosh. He also reached out to famous filmmakers like Raju Hirani for their statement on this issue and they helped. "Colour blindness should not affect the work of a film editor," wrote Hirani and added that the director and the cinematographer are the people who look after that aspect.

Ashutosh said that his fight was not just for himself but for everyone with colour blindness. "Three out of 10 human males in the world are colour blind. This isn't just my fight but for all those who will come next," said the young filmmaker.

The Supreme Court bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh has now asked a committee to be formed. The committee will have an ophthalmologist, director, film editor, colourist, script supervisor, head of any department of FTII and a lawyer. Role of the committee would be to ascertain whether colour blindness is to be perceived as a disqualification for all courses in FTII, the court order said, adding that the rules of the institute need to be looked at keeping the Right to Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act of 2016 in the perspective. It is an evolving process. We now have documents with details of some renowned filmmakers, some even got national awards in India, who have been colour blind...The best thing to say is that with the advancement of science, the issue should be revisited by a committee, within the principle of reasonable accommodation. It is futuristic thinking, added the two-judge bench.

The rest is here:
In search of 'colour': The story of aspiring filmmaker Ashutosh Kumar's tryst with FTII - EdexLive

There may be new hope for people with certain types of blindness, as an experimental sight-restoring device has been deemed safe for implantation. It still has to be tested on humans, though, and it will likely provide a fairly rudimentary form of vision.

Known as the Phoenix99 Bionic Eye, the prosthesis is currently being developed by scientists at Australia's University of Sydney and University of New South Wales. It's intended for use on patients with blindness caused by degenerative conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, in which the retina is compromised but the optic nerve remains intact.

The system incorporates a small video camera mounted on a pair of glasses, which images the scene in front of the wearer. Its output is converted into a wireless signal, which is transmitted from the camera to a communication module implanted under the skin behind the patient's ear.

That module in turn decodes the video signal into a pattern of electrical pulses, which are relayed to a stimulation module which is implanted on the retina in the affected eye(s). That device is able to bypass the retina's dysfunctional photoreceptor neurons, which have lost their ability to react to light focused onto the retina. Instead, the implant directly stimulates the underlying (and still functional) retinal ganglion cells, which are responsible for gathering input from other retinal cells and relaying it along the optic nerve to the brain.

"With regards to the quality of the restored vision, we know that it will be very different from what one would call normal vision," U Sydney biomedical engineer Samuel Eggenberger tells us. "Similar concepts of electrical stimulation of the retina have been tested in humans around the world and the results have been very variable, but expectations should be that the prosthesis will provide simple information about the persons surroundings such as detecting obstacles, with the purpose to help with navigation, orientation or even reading of big letters."

In a recent three-month study, it was found that the Phoenix99 setup was well-tolerated by the bodies of sheep in which it was implanted. There were no reactions in the tissue surrounding the components, leading the scientists to believe that the system could safely remain in place for a number of years. The team is now applying for approval to conduct clinical trials on humans.

"We hope that through this technology, people living with profound vision loss from degenerative retinal disorders may be able to regain a useful sense of vision," says Eggenberger.

A paper on the sheep study was recently published in the journal Biomaterials.

Source: University of Sydney

See the article here:
"Sight"-restoring bionic eye proceeds along the path to human trials - New Atlas

By Dr. Kashef Ijaz, Vice President-Health, The Carter Center,and Sarah Yoss, Associate Director of Special Health Projects, The Carter Center

When The Carter Center partners with a country to eliminate a disease through its disease-specific programs or otherwise improve health, a related goal is to strengthen the overall health system of the partner country. Strengthening health systems aligns with the Carter Centers core belief that people can improve their own lives when provided with the necessary skills, knowledge, and access to resources.

The Centers Public Health Training Initiative has helped improve the preparedness of health professionals in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Sudan, while our Mental Health Program has assisted in the building of a mental health care system in Liberia by supporting the training of hundreds of clinicians. Even beyond those focused initiatives, there is an element of health systems strengthening in all of our disease-specific health programs Guinea worm eradication, river blindness elimination, trachoma control, lymphatic filariasis elimination, schistosomiasis control, and our efforts to eliminate malaria and lymphatic filariasis from Hispaniola. Each of our health programs work closely with ministries of health and local communities to strengthen public health capabilities and improve health services.

Health systems strengthening, as defined by the World Health Organization, consists of efforts to achieve sustained improvements in health outcomes through the improvement of the six building blocks of a health system:

Health systems strengthening is also key in promoting global health security, as has been apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as well as previous events such as the Zika virus outbreak in Latin America and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Increasingly, national and global public health organizations, including the WHO, are framing health systems strengthening as integral to health security, promoting an approach that can build and maintain essential health services alongside the resources and capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies, including epidemics and pandemics.

This concept was summed up by Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO: Quality health systems not only improve health outcomes in peacetime, theyre also a bulwark against outbreaks and other public health emergencies. Universal health coverage and health security are two sides of the same coin.

The Carter Centers efforts focus on strengthening the capabilities, processes, and resources of ministries of health, national public health institutes , health training programs in academic institutions, the primary health care system, and community-based health workers, so that countries and communities will be equipped to stand on their own with robust domestic systems and will not have to rely on outside assistance.

Health systems strengthening promotes health security within the particular country and around the world by improving the countrys ability to identify and mitigate future outbreaks before they become pandemics. That alone should be incentive enough to support the effort.

See original here:
Disease Interventions Give Health Systems a Boost - SaportaReport

Brian Davis| Guest columnist

Bright headlights and super bright tail lights.

I'm talking about these new cars with the LED lights where it seems that they have their brights on. In some cases they actually do.

These lights are a danger because they're blinding. After the car passes you, your eyes are affected.

I know I'm not alone on this, because I talk to many people. There are multiple Facebook groups about this.There are multiple articles written about this.

There are also petitions that are being signed.

As always, it takes people with money and influence to die from an issue before anything is done.

So my rhetorical question is: When will the right people with money and influence die from a car accident due to night blindness because of the super bright LED lights on some vehicles?

In the meantime, I'm encouraging people to adjust their visors with all kinds of shading devices to block thelights from many cars.

The problem with this is decreases your lead time on seeing a pedestrian or a bicyclist or perhaps another car coming out in front of you.

I can't imagine the supposed safety factor of these super-blinding LED lights outweighs people being blinded by them or blocking their vision with visors.

Super bright LED brake lights on some of these vehicles are equally as dangerous, particularly when sitting behind them at a red light.

I know I'm not alone in this, because I talk to other people who experience the same thing.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has really missed the ball with allowing these vehicles to be manufactured and sold in the United States.

There's also the issue of people retrofitting their old headlight lenses with LEDs that end up being just as blinding, if not worse.

My question is what is being done by elected officials or bureaucrats about this? And why are police not citing these vehicles right and left for inspections?

Brian Davis lives inCathedral City.

Read more:
New LED headlights are blinding drivers. Will it take tragedy to fix it? - Desert Sun

After announcing topline data from two identical Phase III trials, Roches Genentechhas doubled down on dataand is now showing positive results from four studiesfor itsnewestblindness-fighting treatment.

Faricimabis an injectable treatment to maintain the vision of patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). These are two of the leading causes of blindness withnAMDresponsible for 90% of all blindness resulting from AMD.

Genetechs Lucentis was thefirst FDA-approved drugprovento restore sight innAMDpatients.Since 2006 it had been a game-changer in theophthalmologyworld. But thenRegenerons Eyleacame in as the main contender andthe companies have had to share the market since 2011.

Genentech is now stepping it upwithfaricimab,a new class of medicine. Instead of focusing onthesingle protein targetVEGF, like Lucentis and Eylea,faricimabis a bispecific antibody.The drug targets two distinct pathways -via angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) and VEGF-A.This approach bothreduces the growth of blood vessels on the retinalike its predecessorsandstabilizesvessels to reduce inflammation in the eye.

Thetreatmentalso gets a major leg up from proof of ability to go longer between injections.

Patients are understandably put off by an injection to the eyeball. Couple that with fears over COVID-19 exposure and sales of current Lucentis treatments seriously dipped in 2020 by 16%, about $1.6 billion.

Lucentisinjections wereneededmonthly for most patients.Competitor Eylea was needed monthly or bi-monthly, depending on the patient.The burden of treatment has proven to lead to under-treatment and therefore less than optimal outcomes for patients vision.

Faricimabspotential to extend time between treatments may benefit those patients who struggle to keep up with the regular physician visits and eye injections needed to preserve their vision,said Jeffrey Heier, M.D., Director of Retinal Research at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston in Boston, Mass.

Genentechs clinical trial design was the proofin the pudding forthis new drug. The four studies consistently showedfaricimabto bejust aseffectiveas competitor Eylea even when administered at longer intervals. Half of the patients were able to be treated effectively once every four months. About75% were eligible for treatment every three monthsor longer.Both are a major improvement to patient convenience compared to monthly or even bi-monthly injections.

These positive results show the potential forfaricimabas the first new type of medicine in 15 years for people with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and in close to a decade in diabetic macular edema, said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. This is an exciting time for our ophthalmology clinical development program, with multiple Phase III successes for two medicines from our late-stage pipeline. We hope to bring these potential treatments to people living with vision-threatening retinal conditions as soon as possible.

Genentech has not yet announced when they will seek FDA approval forfaricimabbut experts anticipate an aggressive timeline.

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Genentech Could Regain the Blindness-Related Disease Market with New Treatment - BioSpace

TipRanks

We are indeed living in interesting times and in many ways, thats a good thing. Take the automotive industry, for example. Technology is changing a rapid pace, and when it settles, it will dramatically change the way we drive. In 2030, our concept of car will likely be unrecognizable to drivers from 1980. The biggest changes are coming from power systems and artificial intelligence. AI will bring autonomous tech to our cars, making self-driving vehicles a reality. But the power systems changes will hit us first. In fact, electric-drive vehicles are already on our roads, and electric vehicle (EV) companies are proliferating rapidly. For the moment, there are several roads to potential success in the EV market. Companies are working to position themselves as leaders in battery tech, or electric power trains, or to maximize their range and performance per charge. Its a fact-paced industry environment, offering both opportunity and excitement for investors. Smart investors will look for companies capable of meeting scaling demands, once they have settled on marketable models. Investment firm Morgan Stanley has been watching the EV industry, seeking out innovative new design and production companies that are positioning themselves for gains as the market matures. The firms automotive analyst, Adam Jonas, has selected two stocks that investors should seriously consider buying into, saying As we survey the EV/battery startup landscape, we are prioritizing highly differentiated technology and/or business models with a path to scale at a reasonable level of risk. Opening up the TipRanks database, weve pulled up the details on both of Jonas picks to see whether they could be a good fit for your portfolio. Fisker (FSR) First up, Fisker, is based in Southern California, the epicenter of so much of our ground-breaking tech industries. Fiskers focus is on solid-state battery tech, a growing alternative to the lithium-ion batteries that most EVs depend on. While more expensive that the older lithium-based systems, solid state batteries are safer and offer higher energy densities. Fisker has been busy patenting its moves into solid-state batteries, a sound strategy to lock in its advances in this field. For EVs, solid-state batteries offer faster charging times, longer range per charge, and potentially lower battery weight all important factors in vehicle performance. Every car company needs a flagship model, and Fisker has the Ocean an EV SUV with a mid-range price ($37,499) and a long-range power system (up to 300 miles). The vehicle features stylish design and room mounted solar panels to supplement the charging system, and is scheduled to enter serial production for the markets in 2022. The stylish design reflects the sensibilities of the companys founder, Henrik Fisker, known for his work on the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9. Fisker entered the public markets through a SPAC merger agreement last fall. Since completing the SPAC transaction on October 29, shares in FSR are up 112%. Morgan Stanleys Jonas is impressed by this company, describing the value proposition of Fisker as design, time to market, clean sheet user experience and management expertise, and saying that the 4Q22 launch schedule for the Ocean is likely to be met. Fisker is specifically targeting the personal owned/passenger car business as opposed to commercial oriented end markets, where emotive design and user experience matter more. Additionally, the company wants to create an all-digital experience from the website to the app to the HMI in the car and continued customer engagement through its flexible lease product, Jonas added. In line with his upbeat outlook on the company (and the car), Jonas rates Fisker an Overweight (i.e. Buy), and sets a $27 price target suggesting an upside of 42% for the coming year. (To watch Jonas track record, click here) Turning to the TipRanks data, weve found that Wall Streets analysts hold a range of views on Fisker. The stock has a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating, based on 7 reviews, including 4 Buys, 2 Holds, and 1 Sell. Shares are currently priced at $18.99, and the $21.20 average price target implies a one-year upside of ~12%. (See FSR stock analysis on TipRanks) QuantumScape (QS) Where Fisker is working on solid-state batteries in the context of vehicle production, QuantumScape is setting itself up as a leader in EV battery technology and a potential supplier of the next generation of battery and power systems for the EV market. QuantumScape designs and builds solid-state lithium-metal batteries, the highest energy density battery system currently available. The key advantages of the technology are in safety, lifespan, and charging times. Solid-state batteries are non-flammable; they last longer than lithium-ion batteries, with less capacity loss at the anode interface; and their composition allows faster charging, of 15 minutes or less to reach 80% capacity. QuantumScape is betting that these advantages will outweigh the technologys current higher cost, and create a new standard in EV power systems. The companys strongest tie to the EV production field is its connection with Volkswagen. The German auto giant put $100 million into QuantumScape in 2018, and an additional $200 million in 2020. The two companies are using their partnership to prepare for mass-scale development and production of solid-state batteries. Like Fisker, QuantumScape went public through a SPAC agreement late last year. The agreement, which closed on November 27, put the QS ticker in the public markets where it promptly surged above $130 per share. While the stock has since slipped, it remains up 47% from its NYSE opening. For Morgan Stanleys Jonas, involvement in QS stock comes with high risk, but also high potential reward. In fact, the analyst calls it, "The Biotech of Battery Development." "We believe their solid state technology addresses a very big impediment in battery science (energy density) that, if successful, can create extremely high value to a wide range of customers in the auto industry and beyond. The risks of moving from a single layer cell to a production car are high, but we think these are balanced by the commercial potential and the role of Volkswagen to help underwrite the early manufacturing ramp," Jonas explained. Noting that QS is a stock for the long haul, Jonas rates the shares an Overweight (i.e. Buy), and his $70 price target indicates confidence in an upside of 28% for one-year time horizon. Granted, not everyone is as enthusiastic about QS as Morgan Stanly. QS's Hold consensus rating is based on an even split between Buy, Hold, and Sell reviews. The shares are priced at $54.64 and their recent appreciation has pushed them well above the $46.67 average price target. (See QS stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for EV stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Prevent Blindness to Hold Sixteenth Annual "Eyes on Capitol Hill" Advocacy Event - Yahoo Finance

The legend says that in the 3rd century Rome lived a priest named Valentine, who married Roman soldiers with the women they were in love with, despite a law that prevented them from getting married.

Valentine, who later on was jailed for breaking the law, fell in love with his jailors blind daughter, whom he cured of blindness. Before he was executed, he wrote her a love message signed from your Valentine.

2020 may have needed a Valentine more than ever, to enable thousands and thousands of couples who were left apart for months, amid the Coronavirus outbreak, and the measures that were imposed in a bid of the governments to halt the spread of the infection, to reunite.

With entry bans in place, borders closed all over the world, embassies refusing to issue visas, and the absence of flights, thousands of lovers have had to spend the summer apart, thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Years Eve, and now even Saint Valentines day, the day of lovers.

Many of these people have once again taken the issue to Twitter, to protest the entry bans on the days that they were supposed to be with their significant other more than on any other day.

I woke up to a photo of my partner with a rose this is the most romantic its going to get today, wrote a Twitter user from Germany that goes by the handler @lealovinglifea1.

Many couples & families have been separated for almost a year now, and there is still no end in sight. How much longer do we have to suffer? another Twitter user wrote.

A tweet of the European Union Council asking Twitter users how many European languages can they say I love you in, and sharing a romantic soundtrack has upset many.

In 5 languages, but I cant say it to the one I love, Twitter user Alessandra Simoni answered among others.

Whereas, another Twitter user named Rita wrote that they [couples] dont need romantic soundtracks but need the EU to help them to reunite us with their non-EU partners no matter what language they speak.

Many of these couples now count over a year of being apart from each other, with no other option available for them that to hope this will soon end.

Spaniard Javier, on the story of whom SchengenVisaInfo.com previously reported, on Valentines day this year marked 416 days apart from his fianc Nazym, who is a Kazakh citizen. Desperate to find a solution, he has even proposed a hunger strike to push the government to undertake any measure in order to help their situation.

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No Valentines for Thousands of Couples That Remain Apart Due to COVID-19 - SchengenVisaInfo.com - SchengenVisaInfo.com

February 12, 2021 - In the final few verses of the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 20, we read of Jesus encounter with two blind men. The duo desired to be healed of their blindness and had joined the great crowd that formed around Jesus. The Lord passes by and the two cry out, Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! What happens next? In verse 31 we read, The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!

Jesus does heal their blindness, but let us look at this verse above. Do we understand what is going on here? In the crowd were the literal followers of Christ. The disciples were in the group along with those interested in just seeing what the big deal was. There were people there who would be followers of Christ after the resurrection. There would be others that would join the mob that wanted Christ crucified. All started rebuking the blind men from crying out to the Lord for mercy. As Christians, we can understand people who are not Christians doing this but again, followers of Christ were doing the rebuking as well.

The disciples, time after time, failed to get what Christ was saying. Here in this short passage, we see two blind men getting it. They call Christ the son of David, a term reserved for the Messiah. Those who could see Christ in the flesh did not understand. The two blind men knew more about Christ than his disciples. They did what we do, go to Christ to receive mercy and we are given it. Rest upon that Christian. You are forgiven.

Wynter is an Elder at Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church. Find out more at MariposaChurch.org or email him at wynter@mariposachurch.org. Visit Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church on Facebook.

Pastors Corner isa column from Pastor Wynter Sturtevant III of the Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church.

TheChurch has moved locations, services are now held at the Bootjack Stompers Hall (located at 4662 Morman Bar Crossing) across from the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.

Time of service is at 10:00 A.M. on Sunday.

I am happy to announce that MRBC has its own sermon podcast. Please check it out by clicking on the link below or searching MRBC Sermons on iTunes. New sermons will be posted every Wednesday.

https://mariposachurch.transistor.fm/episodes

Note: Area churches interested in submitting Articles of Faith are welcome to contact us.

Please email the Sierra Sun Times at sst@goldrushcam.comfor more information.

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Pastor's Corner Articles of Faith - Mercy on the Blind - 2021-02-12 - Sierra Sun Times

Many of us are used to seeing face masks but many still find it hard to recognize faces with the said covering on the face.

(Photo : Reuters Connect/Juan Medina)A man smokes a cigarette with his eyes covered by a face mask as he takes part in a protest against the use of protective masks during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Madrid, Spain

Unfortunately, while safety measures help deter and control coronavirus's spread, some individuals face a whole new covering problem: a touch of face blindness.

In a recentpreprint studyreported on the PsyArXiv Preprints server, researchers noticed that, relative to unmasked individuals, people were less likely to recognize masked images.

Although the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, further research is required. It revealed that participants find it challenging to identify masked faces that they might have suffered from face blindness.

However, something to bear in mind: only because you might be unable to recognize masked figures right now, that does not imply that you have face blindness, but it does go a small distance to explaining what dealing with the condition feels like. Here's what, in general, you ought to hear about face blindness.

Face blindness, also known as prosopagnosia, is a neurological condition that, according to theNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke(NINDS), relates to the failure to recognize images. There are various levels of face blindness. Some people will find it challenging to identify the face of the person. Others cannot differentiate between unfamiliar faces, and some will not discern faces from separate items in certain extreme situations.

Brad Duchaine, PhD, Dartmouth University professor of psychological and brain sciences,tells Healththat approximately one in 50 persons who suffer from facial blindness have a significant effect on their everyday lives.

Doctors think that face blindness is induced by brain defects or disability, especially the correct fusiform gyrus, or a certain fold in the brain that, according to the NINDS, helps with facial vision and memory. Some persons experience a lifespan of facial blindness. Others acquire it unexpectedly following brain injuries, such as stroke, head damage, or certain neurodegenerative disorders. Face blindness is not induced by visual deficiency, disabilities of literacy, or lack of memory.

ALSO READ:7 Tips to Avoid Fogging Your Eyeglasses While Wearing Face Masks

It is also interesting that while face blindness is not a typical autism spectrum disorder occurrence, it tends to be more frequent among children who have it, according to the NINDS, likely due to disrupted social progress. Yet in addition, face blindness can be challenging to live with individually and professionally. In rare situations, in photographs or mirrors, persons with facial blindness often struggle to recognize near relatives and even their own faces, Duchaine notes. They have difficulty following films and TV programs, as well.

While face covers can render facial identification challenging for anybody, and although masks do not cause true face blindness, as you would expect, they are not usually as big a concern for people with face blindness.

Duchaine said face masks make it more difficult to recognize others for people with face blindness. However, because many people with face blindness may not rely on the face as strongly, face masks might have less influence on them than individuals with regular face identification.

In reality, Duchaine recently went through responses from prosopagnosia patients who visited his research platform Faceblind.org (the research team involves doctors from Harvard University and London University) and he came across a message from a woman who said she "loves COVID-19 masks."

It's because they don't inhibit her ability to identify faces. Rather they impair her ability to recognize objects." Only something to think about the next time you do a double-take on a pal sporting a mask.

However, a shocking positive lining to masks might have been uncovered through recent findings from the U.S. We may be rendered more desirable by them.

Collaborativeresearchbetween the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University College of Health asked participants to rate the attractiveness of a cross-section of people with and without masks. When wearing a surgical-style mask, they observed that 70 percent of allegedly "average-looking" individuals were more desirable.

According toCBC.ca, research co-author and clinical psychologist David Sarwer said that either prominent characteristics or asymmetrical features of the lower face are camouflaged by the mask.

He explained that we see certain people as more attractive in reality since less attractive features are now concealed by the face's covering.

Sarwer suggests that another explanation is that the pupils, which are left visible, are essential indicators of facial beauty.

It's something we're trained from a very early age. Sarwer explained that we're taught to look them right in the eyes while we're talking to others as adults. Because we're definitely getting some of the socialization, as well as some ingrained biology that drives us to be drawn to the eyes of strangers.

ALSO READ:Which Offers the Best Protection? 8 Face Masks Ranked Based On Effectiveness

Check out more news and information onMedicine and Healthon Science Times.

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Wearing Face Masks Could Make It More Challenging for You to Identify People; What's The Catch? - Science Times

In an inspiring documentary called Not Everything Is Black, six blind people from different cities around the world were encouraged to carry a camera and take photos of anything they wanted.

The documentary, which was initially released in 2019 and recently premiered on YouTube, aimed to grasp an understanding of how blind people perceive reality.

In Lebanon, young and adventurous Ramy Jarjoura put the camera up to his face to capture a picture of a bird in a cage as though from his own eyes.

Birds are trapped in a cage in need of freedom, and like birds, a blind person needs to escape the cage inside themselves in order to fly amongst others, he said.

He also expressed that he could relate to birds pain because of the accident that caused his blindness.

You see, Ramy began to go blind at the age of 10 after he was accidentally shot in the head by a bird hunter in the woods nearby his house.

In 2010, after many surgeries to try to restore his sight, he became completely blind. But to Ramy, it was a blessing in disguise.

I became blind in the sense most people understand blindness. But from my perspective, 2010 was when I began to see, he said.

His acceptance of the pain of his situation transformed into the strength that keeps him going.

When asked if he would ever like to see again, he tells people that he forgets that he cant see because of all the blessings he experiences from blindness.

Follow Ramy and others on their inspiring journey to capture photos by using their senses to visualize the world around them and also get inside their heads.

Watch the full documentary here:

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Video: 6 Blind People, Including a Lebanese, Were Given A Camera And Told To Take Pictures - The961

UP to 100,000 colour blind fans were left furious on Sunday after Chelsea wore their light blue away kit at Sheffield United, making the match almost impossible to watch.

For the fifth time this season, colour blind Premier League supporters were barely able to distinguish between the sides due to the bizarre choice of jersey.

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Chelsea wore their light blue away kit to take on the Blades in their predominantly white strip in Sky Sports' live showdown.

But fans were left perplexed, believing the West Londoners' home strip - a much deeper shade of blue - would have been less of a clash.

Opting for the almost-white away jerseys made life tough for those who suffer from colour blindness.

The Colour Blind Awareness charity predicted around 100,000 viewers for the game - a 2-1 win for Chelsea - would have suffered from colour blindness.

Read our Chelsea live blog for the very latest news from the Bridge

And fans took to Twitter in their droves to complain.

One wrote: "I turned it on, saw 20 matching shirts and simply turned it off again.

"I wonder where I could inquire to get some refunds for streaming expenses, since they are actively making it impossible to watch what I pay for."

Another said: "Someone with a bigger brain has got to explain how this is easier to see than Chelsea playing in their home BLUE kit?"

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A third sarcastically added: "Well done Chelsea. You really needed your almost white away kit for this fixture.

"The traditional blue would obviously have clashed with the mostly white shirts of Sheffield United."

Another viewer even called it 'blatant discrimination', tweeting: "It's been happening all season.

"So many kit clashes and absolutely nothing gets done about it, it's utterly shameful.

"People think colour blindness is a trivial issue. It's not.

"These kit clashes are ENTIRELY AVOIDABLE, that's the worst part of it. Blatant Discrimination!!'

It is the fifth time alone a Premier League clash has thrown up a colour-blindness issue, with Liverpool and Manchester United both featuring twice.

The game between the two rivals at Anfield last month was the most-watched Premier League game in history amongst Brits.

But of the five million who tuned in, a predicted 300,000 of those struggled to distinguish between the two sides.

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Liverpool wore their red home strip, while Man Utd wore their 'earth green' alternate colours.

Reds and greens - particularly in similar shades - are almost impossible to distinguish between for those suffering from colour blindness.

That meant the red of Liverpool's socks merged with the green of the grass, while the deep shade of green in United's strip also clashed with that of the grass and the home side's red.

The Premier League has developed a 'colour blind friendly flag to help clubs pick the colours best-suited to all viewers.

However, the final say lies with the club.

And Colour Blindness Awareness spokesperson Kathryn Albany-Ward lashed out at the Premier League for their failure to act.

Albany-Ward said: "They know about this issue. They know it's disability discrimination and they are not doing enough about it."

Southampton vs Man Utd, Sheff Utd vs Southampton and Liverpool vs Crystal Palace have also been criticised for their lack of empathy to those suffering from colour blindness.

Around one in 12 men suffer from colour blindness, with the disability affecting roughly one in 200 women.

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Prem in FIFTH kit clash this season as up to 100,000 colour blind viewers cant tell Sheff Utd and Chelsea a - The Sun

The Democratic Party is not anti-racist because of its diversity; it is in fact becoming a more effective agent of a racist and imperialist state.

The year was 2011 and Occupy Wall Street protesters were gathering, and sleeping, at Zuccotti Park every single day to bring attention to the perils wrought on the 99 percent by the one percent. I was interning for a labor union at the time, and regularly visiting the Occupy Wall Street encampment to participate in its marches and rallies. The internship was coupled with labor studies courses that I attended with a mixture of union workers and students interested in the labor movement. A committed Occupy Wall Street organizer made an announcement in one of my courses that activists were planning a demonstration at Broadway Junction train station as part of a series of actions targeting the citys public transit riders. The organizer claimed that these actions had successfully brought thousands of people into the movement.

Broadway Junction is located in East New York, a majority Black neighborhood in Brooklyn. Occupy Wall Street protesters organizing at Zuccotti Park were overwhelmingly white and Occupy Wall Street organizers often treated racism as a peripheral problem that could be resolved through caucuses. I asked what kind of relationship Occupy organizers had developed with the Black community they hoped would join their rally. The answer was none. The demonstration ended up being a resounding failure, drawing just a fraction of the number of people that had turned out in more capital and student-intensive (white) areas of the city.

This experience provided a profound lesson in the failures of the politics of color-blindness. The Obama administration eventually deployed the FBI and DHS to assist local police in crushing Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street activists rendered politically homeless made up a large portion of the forces behind Bernie Sanders presidential campaign of 2016 and the push to elect Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, among others, to Congress two years later. These campaigns galvanized millions of young people and workers to vote on a platform of Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, student debt cancellation, and other universal policies.

That was the good. The bad was that racism and white supremacy remained a peripheral or non-existent issue in a struggle to elect progressive-sounding Democrats to implement a welfare state that the United States has never fully possessed in its two centuries-plus of existence. Just as Occupy Wall Street demanded nothing directly from the Obama administration, so too did newfound progressive Democratic Party activists largely avoid any kind of synthesis of eight years of Obama-rule. This allowed the capitalists in control of the party to wage an ideological war on mythical Bernie Bros and exploit color-blindness to their advantage. The masses of people supporting Sanders were all racist, we were told by the corporate media, because they did not specifically address issues particular to Black people.

The Democratic Party establishment began the work of normalizing endless war, austerity, and state sanctioned white supremacy.

Bernie Sanders did not help himself in this regard. While his policy agenda of Medicare for All and other universal policies would disproportionately benefit Black Americans, his unwillingness to publicly support reparations (despite no real commitment among the establishment of what form it would take) and his reluctance to focus campaign resources in heavily Black areas of the country opened a lane for his foes in the Democratic Party establishment to take the lead on the age-old debate of race versus class. Obama was summoned to whip the Democratic Party into shape , and the Black misleadership class coalesced around an anybody but Bernie political agenda. The elevation of Biden to the presidency, a barely functional modern-day corporate Dixiecrat, was the result of two consecutive primaries where Sanders stood silent as establishment Democrats took every measure possible to prevent his nomination.

It has been more than four years since Barack Obama was president of the United States yet his legacy continues to haunt the Left in ways that have gone unrecognized to the naked eye. Obama neutralized the left and consolidated the farce that the Democratic Party was an anti-racist institution because it was a diverse institution. At the same time, many in the Democratic Party, including large numbers of Black Americans, believed that white supremacy had been handed a significant defeat with the election of Barack Obama. This predictably angered many white Americans committed to the racist roots of American democracy. With the wages of whiteness diminishing, it was quite easy for Donald Trump to take hold over the White Mans GOP with a more enthusiastic brand of racist red meat posing as working class politics.

These developments were given birth on a bed of lies. The Democratic Party was not anti-racist because of its diversity; it was in fact becoming a more effective agent of a racist and imperialist state. Obama and his political minions helped fan the flames of heightening white anxiety by focusing all of their attention on the neutralization of the Left. And this didnt begin with the direct suppression of the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements or the broad assault on the left vis--vis Russiagate. It began when Obama was elected and the Democratic Party establishment began the work of normalizing endless war, austerity, and state sanctioned white supremacy to the point of rendering any kind of ideological coherence around these machinations of imperialism too difficult for so-called progressive forces to muster.

The Democratic Party has thus played a key role in both stoking color-blind racism and its ideological counterpart on the far right. Democrat-led anti-Russian racism justified U.S. aggression toward Russia and directly led to Trumps New Cold War on China and the Yellow Peril racism required to wage it. The mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, the mass transfer of military weaponry to localized occupation forces in the Black community otherwise known as the police, and the militarization of the African continent through the expansion AFRICOM are just a few of Obamas policies that helped expand the scope of racist wars of aggression at home and abroad. Over the course of two presidential terms, the most left-leaning section of the United States, Black America, became increasingly conservative and captive to the Democratic Partys political vise grip.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the first anti-establishment steps taken out of the crisis of capitalism in the United States are color-blind in character. But this doesnt make color-blindness correct. The Democratic Party is not an anti-racist institution and does not hold on a monopoly on the struggle against white supremacy. White supremacy forms the core of why the United States never had a welfare state to begin with and why, even at its height, the labor movement in the United States could barely reach half of the country let alone take state power. Furthermore, to paraphrase Dr. Charisse Burden-Stellys commentary on Luqman Nation, Black Americans have literally existed as capital in the form of slaves for longer than they have participated in the wage labor force in the United States. Continued racial disparities in healthcare, housing, incarceration, employment, and across all indicators of class antagonism cannot be fully explained without acknowledgement of the fact that the U.S. power structure has always been, and will always be, rooted in white supremacist domination.

The ongoing struggle for peace and socialism in the United States will need to wrestle the narrative of white supremacy away from the corporate jaws of the Democratic Party, which is fully invested in the profits enjoyed from the neoliberal decay of the capitalist system. This doesnt mean avoiding the question of white supremacy in the quest for an American unity that has never existed in any mass way in the United States.

It means engaging in struggle with the people directly in a manner that raises the contradictions of U.S. imperialism into full visibility and generates a real public debate. There will be no color-blind road to socialism in the United States but it is a forgone conclusion that white supremacy is the biggest impediment to actually traveling on a socialist path in the correct direction.

Danny HaiphongBlack Agenda Report

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No Color-Blind Road to Socialism in the U.S. - LA Progressive

SANTA ANA, Calif., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson Vision*, a global leader in eye health and part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies**, today announces a month-long celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the TECNIS platform, the proprietary combination of materials and design on which Johnson & Johnson Vision IOLs (intraocular lenses) are built. Twenty years ago, a team of researchers and innovators created TECNIS, setting in motion two decades of breakthroughs, including the world's first aspherical lens and extended depth of focus lens. Today, notonly does TECNIS offer a distinct quality of vision1 that allows patients to "See More," it is also the broadest portfolio of IOLs worldwide, providing surgeons with a variety of solutions to treat different visual conditions.

"The innovation of the TECNIS platform was a revolutionary advancement in IOL design and composition that changed cataract surgery forever by introducing the concept of quality of vision," said Dr. Eric Donnenfeld, MD, Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, New York University."*** "The TECNIS IOL was the first to employ negative spherical aberration and cancel the positive spherical aberration of the cornea achieving improved visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and reducing chromatic aberration. On behalf of my patients and my practice, congratulations to Johnson & Johnson Vision and TECNIS on 20 years of improving patient outcomes in cataract surgery."

"Many ophthalmologists can help restore their patients to 20/20 vision during their cataract procedureby addressing their patient's vision needs with a presbyopia-correcting IOL, a Toric IOL, or some combination of both. But quality vision is aboutso much more than the ability to see 20/20," said Rajesh K. Rajpal****, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Global Head of Clinical and Medical Affairs at Johnson & Johnson Vision. "It's about delivering clarity and contrast regardless of lighting or contrast conditions and sustaining that visual performance for the life of the lens. This month, we're celebrating TECNIS, because of the breakthrough 20 years ago, but also the breakthroughs it continues to enable today."

In celebration of 20 years, Johnson & Johnson Vision is launching the "See More" campaign to educate patients and physicians on what is possible with cataract surgery and how the TECNIS portfolio unlocks greater potential for patients. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson Vision is donating $20,000 to the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP)|Cure Blindness in honor of the organization's dedication to spread cataract awareness. HCP | Cure Blindness is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to eradicate preventable blindness in countries across the globe and has screened and treated more than 11.5 million people and performed more than 940,000 surgeries in 20 countries.

Johnson & Johnson Vision will continue to roll out the campaign throughout 2021 by launching a global story search. Stories inside the U.S. about how cataract surgery has enabled patients to "See More" via video, photo or text will be collected at https://www.jjvision.com/tecnis-see-more; stories outside of the U.S. will be collected in accordance with the local and regional data privacy regulations. These "See More" patient stories will represent the true reach of the TECNIS platform.

"For two decades, we've dedicated ourselves to creating breakthroughs in cataract treatment and delivering the best optics available in terms of quality of vision. We believe the quality of the lens is only as good as the platform it is built on -- that's why TECNIS is both our legacy and our future. With the global expansion of our new TECNIS IOL lenses in 2021, we will be expanding access to the broadest IOL portfolio available on the market," said Nikki Sidi*****, Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing, Surgical Vision at Johnson & Johnson Vision. "We are excited to celebrate TECNIS 20th anniversary this yearand continue to offer more lenses to more patients than ever before."

In 2021, Johnson & Johnson Vision will continue to roll out new TECNIS IOLs across the globe including TECNIS Synergy IOL, TECNIS SymfonyIOL, and TECNIS Eyhance IOL, all available at launch with astigmatism correcting options under the next-generation Toric II platform.

Patients who want to learn more about the TECNISportfoliocan visit https://www.beyondcataracts.com/

About CataractsMore than 90% of people develop cataractsthe clouding and yellowing of the lens in the eyeby the age of 65.2 While part of the normal aging of the eye, left untreated, cataracts cause vision to deteriorate over time. In fact, cataracts are the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide, impacting more than 100 million eyes.3 Cataract surgery is one of the most common outpatient procedures performed today and has a success rate of approximately 98%.4 Today, cataract treatments can also offer patients vision correction, reducing or eliminating the need for glasses, in addition to removing the cataract.5,6

About TECNISThe TECNIS platform offers the broadest portfolio of IOLs to serve patients with a variety of vision conditions and lifestyles; and equip them with the solutions they need to see efficiently, clearly and comfortably. The TECNIS Family of IOLs includes monofocals, multifocals, extended depth of focus (EDOF), and IOLs for those with or without astigmatism. The industry leading platform, which offers a variety of options for different visual conditions and lifestyles, delivers a unique combination of material, manufacturing, and design to deliver exceptional visual outcomes across all distances.

Important Safety InformationWhile complications are rare, there are risks to routine cataract surgery. This is irrelevant to the lens you choose. The problems could be minor, temporary, or affect your vision permanently. These may include worsening of your vision, bleeding, or infection. Pre-existing diseases or conditions (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, and previous eye trauma) may place you at higher risk of experiencing complications and/or more difficult recovery after routine cataract surgery. With some lenses, you may experience some loss in the sharpness of your vision, even with glasses. A small number of patients may want to have their IOL removed. This can be due to lens-related optical/visual symptoms. You should discuss all risks and benefits with your eye doctor before surgery.

About Johnson & Johnson Vision*At Johnson & Johnson Vision*, part of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies**, we have a bold ambition: to change the trajectory of eye health worldwide. Through our operating companies, we deliver innovation that enables eye care professionals to create better outcomes for patients throughout their lives, with products and technologies that address unmet needs including refractive error, cataracts, and dry eye. In communities with greatest need, we work in collaboration to expand access to quality eye care, and we are committed to helping people see better, connect better, live better. Visit us atjjvision.com, follow @JNJVision on Twitter,Johnson & Johnson Vision on LinkedIn, and@JNJVision on Facebook.

About Johnson & JohnsonMedical Devices Companies**At Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, we are helping people live their best lives. Building on more than a century of expertise, we tackle pressing healthcare challenges, and take bold steps that lead to new standards of care while improving people's healthcare experiences. In surgery, orthopaedics, vision, and interventional solutions, we are helping to save lives and paving the way to a healthier future for everyone, everywhere.

*Johnson & Johnson Vision represents the products and services of Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., and the affiliates of both.

**The Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies comprise the surgery, orthopedics, vision, and interventional solutions businesses within Johnson & Johnson's Medical Devices segment.

***Dr. Eric Donnenfeld is a paid consultant of Johnson & Johnson Vision, Inc.

****Dr. Rajesh K. Rajpal is an employee of Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc., serving as Head of Clinical and Medical Affairs across both the Surgical Vision and Vision Care organizations.

*****Nikki Sidi is an employee of Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc., serving as Vice President of Global Strategic Marketing across Surgical Vision at Johnson & Johnson Vision.

Johnson & Johnson Vision, 2021. All rights reserved.

1Data on File. Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. 20152Kellogg Eye Center. Cataract.https://www.umkelloggeye.org/conditions-treatments/cataract3World Health Organization. Blindness and Impairment.https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment4Vision Health Initiative, Common Eye Disorders. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/index.html5All About Vision. Will I Need Glasses After Cataract Surgery?https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/faq-cataract-glasses-after-surgery.htm6Khandelwal SS, et. al. Effectiveness of multifocal and monofocal intraocular lenses for cataract surgery and lens replacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2019 May;257(5):863-875. doi: 10.1007/s00417-018-04218-6

SOURCE Johnson & Johnson Vision

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DUARTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--City of Hope, a world-renowned independent cancer and diabetes research and treatment center, today announced it has renamed its preeminent diabetes research center the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute, in honor of its longtime director and research pioneer. Riggs scientific achievements include developing the technology that led to the first synthetic human insulin a breakthrough that enabled mass production of insulin for people with diabetes. That discovery, which jumpstarted what is now a $500 billion global biotech industry, was followed by numerous firsts in the field of biomedical science. Today, synthetic insulin is used regularly by hundreds of millions of people.

Riggs, the Samuel Rahbar Chair in Diabetes & Drug Discovery, also developed recombinant DNA technology capable of producing humanized monoclonal antibodies that are the foundation of modern treatments for diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, blindness and a host of other diseases. These therapies include trastuzumab (commercial name: Herceptin), rituximab (commercial name: Rituxan), pembrolizumab (commercial name: Keytruda) and many others that are some of the worlds most widely used cancer drugs.

Arthur Riggs is a true visionary and a scientific giant, said Robert Stone, president and CEO of City of Hope and the Helen and Morgan Chu Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair. Dr. Riggs has been essential to the institutes growth and accomplishments over five decades, as a researcher, discoverer, mentor and major donor. His contributions to biomedical research have transformed the lives of countless people living with serious diseases and his mark on City of Hope is an indelible one that will continue on in the institute that now bears his name.

At City of Hope, in addition to dedicating himself to scientific pursuits, Riggs has quietly contributed nearly all of the wealth from his discoveries to support leading-edge research toward the development of new treatments for the betterment of human health.

Over the past 30 years, Riggs has donated more than $310 million to City of Hope. His generosity culminated in a gift of $100 million in January 2021 that will help fund the continuation of research that has been his passion for more than half a century.

Until now, Riggs has insisted that his gifts remain anonymous so that any attention would not detract from his work. He elected to make his philanthropy public now in the hope of encouraging other donors to join City of Hopes fight against diabetes and cancer, especially at a time when new therapeutic discoveries are needed more than ever.

I came to City of Hope because the environment here offers exactly that hope for people with diabetes, cancer and many other serious diseases, Riggs said. I believe in the promise of our work at City of Hope so strongly that one day, probably sooner than most think, well create a world without diabetes. Yet, we will realize the full potential of this important work only through the generosity of many other donors who will choose to join us.

The Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute is one of the worlds foremost scientific organizations dedicated to investigating the biology of diabetes and its treatment. It houses eight departments, including The Wanek Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes, and continues Riggs work under its newly appointed director, Debbie C. Thurmond, Ph.D., the Ruth B. & Robert K. Lanman Chair in Gene Regulation & Drug Discovery Research.

It has been a humbling honor to assume responsibility for this institute that Dr. Riggs so purposefully and painstakingly built, Thurmond said. Its entirely fitting that it should carry his name as we carry on the work he began for the benefit of people with diabetes. His philanthropy is an extension of the generosity of spirit he has shown to me and everyone else who has ever walked through these doors, and his impact will be with us for many years to come.

About City of HopeCity of Hope is an independent biomedical research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy such as CAR T cell therapy. City of Hopes translational research and personalized treatment protocols advance care throughout the world. Human synthetic insulin, monoclonal antibodies and numerous breakthrough cancer drugs are based on technology developed at the institution. AccessHope, a wholly owned subsidiary, was launched in 2019 and is dedicated to serving employers and their health care partners by providing access to City of Hopes exceptional cancer expertise. A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope is ranked among the nations Best Hospitals in cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Its main campus is located near Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California and in Arizona. For more information about City of Hope, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

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City of Hope Renames World-Class Research Center the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute - Business Wire

Lasers can cause temporary blindness in pilots, aviation school CEO Ashok Poduval says. Photo / 123RF

By RNZ

Massey University's aviation school is warning people to stop shining lasers into planes at night because it could cause a pilot to crash.

School of Aviation chief executive Ashok Poduval said the lasers could cause temporary blindness.

"When they're flying at night you need to keep eyes adjusted to darkness and not have any bright lights around you, so when suddenly there's a flash of light your night vision is either completely reduced or completely removed."

Poduval said it was difficult to track down who was shining the beams up at the plane but police and the Civil Aviation Authority have been notified.

He said if anyone was caught, they could face charges for interfering with an aircraft.

Flight instructor Shannon Mickleburgh told Stuff pilots could get flash blindness where they could not see anything.

"It's quite disorientating when it does happen.

"The little laser on the ground ends up being quite bright by the time it makes it up to the aircraft.

"You've got a glass canopy so everything just reflects. It's extremely bright when it actually is on the canopy itself at night because you get accustomed to the darkness and all of a sudden you've got a bright light."

- RNZ, Stuff

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Pilots complain of laser lights targeting night flights - New Zealand Herald

AMD affects the central vision and occurs when cells in the macula - a small area of the retina at the back of the eye - break down or deteriorate. While peripheral vision is not affected, one loses the sharp, straight-ahead vision that is necessary for driving, reading, recognizing faces, and looking at fine detail.

"Early on, there may not be any noticeable vision loss from age-related macular degeneration, especially if only one eye is affected, but your eye doctor can spot the most common signs before it gets worse," says Dr. Colin Mann, President of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. "With treatment, we can delay the progression and prevent further vision loss in about 90 per cent of cases, so it's critical to have comprehensive eye exams at least once a year, particularly the older you are."

While age is the biggest factor, the causes of macular degeneration includegenetics and a mixture of other health and environmental factors. Particularly at risk are those with blue eyes, heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Smokers, people who are overweight or have a family history of the disease may also be more likely to develop AMD.

Depending on which type of age-related macular degeneration someone has, vision loss either happens slowly or quickly. Nine out of 10 people with AMD have the atrophic or 'Dry' type, which usually progresses slowly over many years. On the other hand, 'Wet' AMD is less common but more serious, and can lead to vision loss quickly. Delays can result in poorer outcomes, so treating Wet AMD is time-sensitive.

Symptoms of AMD

In advanced stages, the more common symptoms of macular degeneration may include:

Early AMD changes can be detected at home by checking your vision in each eye with the use of an Amsler grid.

Treatment While there's no treatment for Dry AMD yet, a high-dose vitamin regimen hasbeen shown to reduce the rate of which people with advanced dry macular degeneration develop Wet AMD, and there are several promising drugs are undergoing clinical trials. Wet AMD is more rare, and is most commonly treated through injections directly into the eye with drugs that are very effective at causing the abnormal blood vessels to stop growing and leaking. The frequency of injections taper off after an initial period but lifelong treatment is required to prevent recurrence and vision loss.

Learn more about AMD, or one of the other four serious eye diseases, by visiting seethepossibilities.ca.

About Canadian Ophthalmological SocietyThe Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS) is the national, recognized authority on eye and vision care in Canada. As eye physicians and surgeons, we are committed to assuring the provision of optimal medical and surgical eye care for all Canadians by promoting excellence in ophthalmology and by providing services to support our members in practice. Our membership includes over 900 ophthalmologists and 200 ophthalmology residents. We work collaboratively with government, other national and international specialty societies, our academic communities (ACUPO), our provincial partners and affiliates and other eye care professionals and patient groups to advocate for health policy in Canada in the area of eye and vision health. COS is an accredited, award-winning provider of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and is an affiliate of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). For more information, visit cos-sco.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Ophthalmological Society

For further information: Elizabeth Glassen, [emailprotected], 647.309.0141, BlueSky Communications

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AMD Awareness Month sheds light on the leading cause of severe vision loss in older adults - Canada NewsWire