Free Republic

A national rights group for the blind is vowing action after a vision-impaired South Boston man was denied a visit on the historic USS John F. Kennedy yesterday after Navy officers told him it was too perilous for the blind. “When it happens, it’s a very traumatic experience to be denied the right to participate in something,” said Mika Pyyhkala, 34, who unlike 30,000 other people, did not get a chance to walk the deck of the USS JFK yesterday. Marc Maurer, an attorney and president of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, said the Navy’s denial violates...

A bionic eye implant that could help restore the sight of millions of blind people could be available to patients within two years. US researchers have been given the go-ahead to implant the prototype device in 50 to 75 patients. The Argus II system uses a spectacle-mounted camera to feed visual information to electrodes in the eye. Patients who tested less-advanced versions of the retinal implant were able to see light, shapes and movement. "What we are trying to do is take real-time images from a camera and convert them into tiny electrical pulses that would jump-start the otherwise...

... In response to a lawsuit filed by the American Council of the Blind, Judge James Robertson ruled this fall that the U.S. government has to alter America's paper currency -- in ways such as changing its size or texture -- to make it easier for those with visual impairments to tell various bills apart.

STERLING, Va., Feb. 5, 2007 – At the Sport Rock Indoor Climbing Center here, a sign warns that climbing can cause serious injury. If Army Capt. Scott Smiley could see the cautionary sign, he would probably disregard it. “I know I’ve done more dangerous things than this,” Smiley said Feb. 2 from the base of the 50-feet-tall rock he prepared to climb. In April 2005, Smiley’s 25th Infantry Division platoon was patrolling Mosul, Iraq, for suicide car bombs when the soldiers saw a suspicious vehicle on the road. “He was facing west, and I was headed north when I...

Is it a miracle that a legally blind man now has perfect vision? CNN's Jason Carroll reports. (December 21) VIDEO LINK

(AP) WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration on Tuesday asked an appeals court to overturn a ruling that could require a redesign of the nation's currency to help the blind. Justice Department lawyers filed the appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on behalf of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The appeal seeks to overturn a ruling last month by U.S. District Judge James Robertson, who ordered Treasury to come up with ways for the blind to recognize the different denominations of paper currency. Robertson had ruled in a lawsuit brought by the American Council...

OTTAWA, Kan. -- A Kansas high school senior is legally blind and has a debilitating illness, but he's overcome the odds and is a star football player, KMBC's Jim Flink reported. Darius Johnson can see clearly only what is right in front of him, and he has sickle cell anemia. "It's kind of a blur," he said. "I've had glasses -- it doesn't help. Nothing would help. I've checked into contacts, even Lasik (eye surgery) -- it will not help." And yet, Johnson has rushed for more than 1,000 yards on the football field. "He can only see clearly 2...

The vending machine industry would have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars so its machines could handle new currency that blind people could use if a new ruling on U.S. bills is enforced. U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled Tuesday that the current bills discriminate against blind people. He ordered the Treasury Department to find a solution. "If the government is mandated to change U.S. currency, there would be a tremendous financial impact across a number of industries, including the automated vending industry," said Jim Brinton, a director of the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), a trade association of...

Just headline right now...will post story ASAP.

Close window Published online: 8 November 2006; | doi:10.1038/news061106-10 Blind mice see after cell transplantStudy suggests newborn cells best for transfer.Helen Pearson A transplanted cell (green) connects up to the host retina (blue). MacLaren et al Using a technique that may one day help blind people to see, researchers have shown in mice that retinal cells from newborns transplanted into the eyes of blind adults wire up correctly and help them to detect light. The finding challenges conventional biological thinking, because it shows that cells that have stopped dividing are better for transplantation than the stem cells that normally...

"Links list dialogue." "Links list view" "Your Account — Two of 164." This is what the Internet sounds like to Chris Danielsen. Danielsen is blind. He's using a software program called Jaws that converts the text on a Web page into a computerized voice that comes out through a speaker, allowing him to surf the Web using keyboard commands instead of a mouse — the same way lots of blind people use the Internet. In this case, his computer is listing all the Web links on the page he's on and telling him that the highlighted link his cursor is...

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | While leading the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in the summer of 2003, David Kay received a phone call from "Scooter" Libby, Dick Cheney's chief of staff, who wanted a particular place searched: "The vice president wants to know if you've looked at this area. We have indications — and here are the geocoordinates — that something's buried there." Kay and his experts located the area on the map. It was in the middle of Lebanon. This story from Bob Woodward's "State of Denial" would be hilarious were it not about war. The vignette is...

LONDON (Reuters) - A blind man who was convicted of dangerous driving after he admitted being behind the wheel of a car that touched 35 mph was given a three-month suspended sentence on Monday. Omed Aziz was also banned from driving for three years at Warley magistrates' court in Oldbury, West Midlands. Aziz, 31, who lost his eyes after an explosion in his homeland of Iraq, had been driving by following instructions on where to steer and when to brake from a passenger who himself had been banned from driving. When police stopped the Peugeot 405 in April this year...

A police officer described yesterday how he pulled over a motorist who was veering across the road and found that he had no eyes. Omed Aziz, who lost both his eyes in a bomb blast and is also deaf, was caught behind the wheel with a friend sitting in the passenger seat giving him instructions on when to steer and brake, and how quickly to drive. Omed Aziz Bomb victim Omed Aziz Aziz, who also suffers from leg tremors, claimed he was perfectly safe and denied a charge of dangerous driving before being convicted.....

Stem cells used to restore vision A hospital in West Sussex is pioneering the use of stem cells to restore the eyesight of patients. The trial, being carried out at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, has already helped 40 people see again. The surgery at the hospital has been developed over the past five years. Stem cells from the patient or a donor are used to redevelop the cornea, the transparent film at the front of the eye which lets in light. Opthalmic surgeon Sheraz Daya said: "Many people who've had injuries to their eyes, or even people born...

NEW DELHI: Age-related degeneration of vision has been a common problem, which so far has no cure. However, an ongoing stem cell study at AIIMS might just provide a solution. For about six months now, Dr Rajender Prasad Centre for Opthalmic Sciences at AIIMS has been studying the effect of stem cells in patients who suffer from degenerative vision disorders — the patients taken in the Phase I of study can’t see beyond 3 metre and according to the WHO classification are termed ‘blind’. The study is being conducted on patients who have age-related vision loss or are affected by...

The economy's growth has never before been so driven by real estate. Now that engine is sputtering. Jiany Massad isn't quite ready to throw in the towel on his fledgling career as a Miami real-estate tycoon. But if the local housing market continues to head south, the 30-year-old real-estate broker is already making alternate plans. "I might restart my old business," he says of a home decorating company that specialized in high-end window treatments. "At least it's real-estate-related." With home sales down by nearly a third in Florida last quarter, thousands of those who hoped to cash in on the...

When Jesus was living, he did not align himself with the Jewish religious parties, then called Saducees and Pharisees, nor the secular authorities: King Herod and Rome. He obeyed the Mosaic law and even paid tribute. He told Nicodemus, an old man that he had to be born again to be saved. Jesus meant born spiritually. Jesus preached that this spiritual new baby would be then, dead to the world, living in the world but not of it. He pointed out that worrying about the future was not what a Christian would be doing because tomorrow has enough worries to...

This is different. This post isn't about what I have gleemed from some 'news-source' today. This post is about HOW do you convince your friends, your family .. your loved ones that "There Is A Crisis" in America and that this crisis continues to grow, each and every day..regardless of whether they believe it or not! The only thing that any of them believe in is: Our Government. I would like to give you the whole story, how I have tried and finally given up, given up in trying to convince my family, my loved ones that we are at...

At a very young age, I was diagnosed with a congenital eye disease. I was suffering from something called retinoschisis and in the late 1950's surgeons did all they could to provide me with limited vision in one eye. I was technically considered legally blind, but I did have quality of life. Running and jumping, playing baseball and riding a bike are all activities enjoyed by children. Fortunately, with the breakthrough surgeries that were performed on my eye in the late 1950's, I also was able to enjoy these pleasant activities of youth. This is not to say life was...

Blind since age 3, Ben Underwood skateboards, shoots hoops and plays video games. How does he do it? Just like bats and dolphins"I'm a normal kid," says Ben, who lost his sight at 3. (above, he inspects his prosthetic eyes.) Photo by: Theo RigbyThe Boy Who Sees with Sound There was the time a fifth grader thought it would be funny to punch the blind kid and run. So he snuck up on Ben Underwood and hit him in the face. That's when Ben started his clicking thing. "I chased him, clicking until I got to him, then I...

TAMPA - It may have been the least likely place for a man who doesn't believe in God to receive a standing ovation, but it happened Sunday morning when Joe Redner went to church. Bishop Randy White, senior pastor at Without Walls International Church, invited the strip club owner to join him in the pulpit and talk about his campaign for the Hillsborough County Commission District 5 seat. "All right, he's not running for pastor. My job's not up," White jokingly told parishioners while introducing Redner, as their continued applause prompted Redner to stand and nod his head in thanks.

The mayors of both New Orleans and Baton Rouge take serious issue with a U.S. census report issued Tuesday night estimating how many people have moved out of, or around, Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina. As WAFB's Jim Shannon reports, neither mayor believes the information is accurate. If you buy what's on the census data reports, the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge could be in for the short end of the stick when it comes to federal dollars. "My reaction is virtually one of shock," said Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden. "I mean anybody that says that roughly we've...

Man charged with attack on mother dies 30 March 2006 A mentally ill man has been found dead after being accused of biting off his elderly mother's finger and gouging her eyes, possibly leaving her permanently blind. The 41-year-old man died in a mental health unit in Hamilton overnight apparently from natural causes, police said. He was charged with assault after his 73-year-old mother was brutally attacked in her Ngongotaha home near Rotorua on Sunday. She had her eyes badly gouged and she had a finger bitten off. Doctors feared she would go blind in one eye, possibly both. The...

Chicago Schools Require Driver's Ed for the Blind CHICAGO - Most high school students eagerly await the day they pass driver's education class. But 16-year-old Mayra Ramirez is indifferent about it. Ramirez is blind, yet she and dozens of other visually impaired sophomores in Chicago schools are required to pass a written rules-of-the-road exam in order to graduate — a rule they say takes time away from subjects they might actually use. "In other classes, you don't really feel different because you can do the work other people do," Ramirez said. "But in driver's ed, it does give us the...

A blind North Dakota man, licensed to carry a concealed firearm, says it's too easy to get the permit in his state.

Game 2 of the ACLS left Chicago celebrating a 2-1 victory. Controversial strikeout didn't end the ninth..

Do you think she'll go out with me?

MAFIKENG, South Africa (Reuters) - A South African became the world's fastest blind driver Thursday after driving across a remote airstrip at 269 kph (167 mph). Blind since birth, 33-year-old Hein Wagner of Cape Town had a sighted navigator for his record attempt. After crossing the airfield, he told reporters he wanted to do it again but was considering piloting an aircraft for his next record attempt. "I'm very happy," said Wagner, whose drive in a borrowed Maserati V8 GranSport was monitored by motoring organization Motorsport SA and filmed for the Guinness Book of World Records. The drive, on an...

Researchers have finally found evidence for what good Catholic boys have known all along – erotic images make you go blind. According to a report in New Scientist, the research has added to road-safety campaigners' calls to ban sexy billboard-advertising near busy roads, in the hope of preventing accidents. The new study by US psychologists found that people shown erotic or gory images frequently fail to process images they see immediately afterwards. And the researchers say some personality types appear to be affected more than others by the phenomenon, known as "emotion-induced blindness". David Zald, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc. on Monday said a review of its popular impotence treatment Viagra turned up no evidence of increased risk of blindness among patients taking the erectile dysfunction drug. Nevertheless, Pfizer said it is in talks with U.S. regulators about revising the Viagra label to reflect rare reports of a serious ocular condition known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) in some men who have used the medicine. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that no causal relationship between Viagra and NAION has been established, Pfizer has agreed with the agency to include...

By Colleen Heild Journal Investigative Reporter The Richardson administration's plan to buy a new jet means students at New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Alamogordo will have to find a new way to fly home on weekends. Superintendent Diana Jennings said state aircraft have been flying students home most every weekend during the school year for the past 10 years to communities such as Farmington, Raton and Taos. She said the school received notice May 3 that the state General Services Department can no longer commit state aircraft for student travel. "What was communicated to us...

Stevie Wonder is releasing the first video containing an audio track for people who have trouble seeing, according to the blind singer's Web site. One version of "So what the fuss," from Wonder's upcoming album, "A Time to Love," will air on music channels. Another version featuring the track narrated by rapper Busta Rhymes will air on channels with SAP technology for the sight-impaired, Universal Motown Records Group said. SAP-accessible TV channels employ technologies developed by the Science Access Project, formed in 1995 under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. "Until now music videos have been very one-dimensional for those...

CLEARWATER - There were cheers and tears Sunday night when James Dolan and his wife, Chrissy, joined an airing party for the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" episode that featured their new house. The Dolans shared the experience with 1,500 people who gathered at Ruth Eckerd Hall, where the two-hour program and an hourlong special produced by WFTS, Channel 28, were shown on a giant screen. Some chuckled when boxes of tissues were passed out before the show, but it didn't take long for the audience to start sobbing during the emotional show. "We are a little overwhelmed by all of...

A Santa Fe man who was already blind in his right eye was shot with a pellet gun in his left eye. Kevin Bankens, 35, was shot several times with a pellet gun Tuesday afternoon. He was jogging near the intersection of Calle Atajo and Avenida Linda. Bankens, who was already blind in his right eye because of a fireworks accident, was hit in the left eye by one of the pellets. He was able to make it to a nearby park, where city workers called an ambulance. Police are looking for a suspect or suspects. They said Bankens didn’t...

Blind Student Earns M.D.: 'Things Are Only Impossible Until They're Done'By Sharon Cohen The Associated Press Published: Apr 2, 2005 MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The young medical student was nervous as he slid the soft, thin tube down into the patient's windpipe. It was a delicate maneuver - and he knew he had to get it right. Tim Cordes leaned over the patient as his professor and a team of others closely monitored his every step. Carefully, he positioned the tube, waiting for the special signal that oxygen was flowing. The anesthesia machine was set to emit musical tones to...

Blind gun-permit holder opposes changing exam By James WardenThe Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. — Carey McWilliams carries a pistol, but he can't see it or whatever — or whomever — he might shoot at. Still, he comes armed with the full blessing of North Dakota. It wasn't easy to get to that point, though. McWilliams, 31, who has been blind since age 10, had to pass a two-part exam to obtain his concealed-weapon permit. First, he had to ace an open-book test of 10 true-or-false questions. Then, he had to prove his shooting proficiency by hitting an 18-by-20-inch human silhouette...

A blind man has been arrested in Scotland after witnesses reported he sank his teeth into his guide dog’s head and then kicked the Labrador-retriever mix after it apparently wouldn’t help him across a busy street. A witness who said he saw the attack outside a busy shopping center in the Scottish capital Edinburgh reported the incident to police. After several days investigation, officers arrested David Todd, 34, on charges of cruelty to animals and breach of the peace.

 BROCKTON — Reclining in his black wheelchair Friday in his room at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Stephen Zardis gazed up at the tiled ceiling. He had never noticed the electrical sockets there before. That is because until about three months ago, Zardis had not been able to see them, or for that matter, anything or anyone at all in fine detail. "Before this I had to rely on my auditory abilities to pick up identifications," Zardis said. "I was like in a very small cocoon." Now he is like a butterfly winging about, drinking in the world thanks to a...

Man Fined For Shooting Bald Eagle Officials Report 18 Nesting Pairs In Massachusetts POSTED: 4:38 pm EST February 3, 2005 UPDATED: 8:13 pm EST February 3, 2005 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- An elderly hunter from Western Massachusetts will pay a substantial fine after shooting a bald eagle. NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that until recently, the bald eagle, the symbol of America, was on the endangered species list. This was the third shooting of a bald eagle in Massachusetts in 20 years. Joseph Donohue, a 79-year-old World War II veteran from Pittsfield, Mass., was fined $5,000 and ordered not to hunt...

Could Children's Motrin Make Your Child Blind?   A 7-year-old child recently developed blindness after taking a recommended dose of Children's Motrin.The BeginningThe tragedy started when the girl (age 6 at the time) had come home from school with a headache; her parents gave her a recommended dose of Children's Motrin. However, instead of "curing" her ache, the drug led to an acute allergic reaction known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome -- a rare, violent allergic immune system response that causes fever and blistering, which may affect the cornea and other parts of the eye.The very next day the girl was...

Read the eye chart on the wall. That's what they wanted Mike Jernigan to do. He could've blasted back with some cutting remark. Maybe even complained to a supervisor. But when someone at a hospital is trying to help you, and you're a Marine, you give it your best shot. So if he was supposed to read the eye chart, as the technician had asked without even looking up, that's what he would do. After an awkward silence, Mike began: "I-A-M-B-L-I-N-D."

Only in Canada: The say the Mounties "Always get their man," but it's the widows who pay. This is a disgrace! WIDOWS OF Mounties killed recently on duty in Alberta, including one shot dead during a standoff, have been stuck with hefty funeral bills by the national police force. Lesley Massey said the RCMP insisted on a full regimental funeral for her husband Dennis, a 33-year member who died in a traffic accident when a trailer came loose from a gas tanker and landed on his car. Massey said the force told her it would handle all arrangements, which it...

Slate's Democratic Debate Drinking Game Get drunk on political discourse! By June Thomas Posted Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2003, at 10:08 AM PT This Thursday evening, the nine remaining candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination will meet in Phoenix for the fourth debate of the year. If these events have started to blend together, why not grab a bottle or two of your favorite tipple and bring on the blurriness by playing Slate's debate drinking game. Cheers! Take one drink if: A candidate mentions an ordinary American by name A candidate mentions Bill Clinton A candidate mentions John Ashcroft A candidate...

Pitch-black room sharpens diners' enjoyment of meal with other senses, its owner claims PARIS - They tasted like tomatoes, but in the pitch black it was hard to tell. A couple at the next table was obviously struggling with eating blind, too. "I don't know what it is," came a man's voice in the darkness. "Oh! That's not good," his lady friend responded. This is dining in the dark, the concept of a new restaurant in the City of Light that wants diners to know what it's like to be blind. At Dans le Noir — "In the Dark" —...

Court to hear the scoop on dog's poop Associated Press INDIO, Calif. - A blind couple is headed to court to resolve a dispute with their homeowner association about droppings left in the street by their guide dogs. Dennis and Shirley Bartlett are aware of the pooper-scooper rules for their Desert Grove homeowner association, but said they sometimes miss droppings left by their dogs. "You can't get everything all the time," Dennis Bartlett said. The Bartletts filed a small claims suit against former association president Delmar Pierce, alleging harassment and prohibiting their guide dogs from doing what they were trained...

NEW YORK (AP) - Prosecutors on Tuesday presented the core of their terrorism case against a civil rights lawyer: grainy videos of her meetings with a jailed Egyptian sheik she allegedly helped to communicate with followers. A hidden camera at a federal prison in Rochester, Minn., recorded conversations of lawyer Lynne Stewart, Arabic interpreter Mohamed Yousry and Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who is serving a life sentence. Prosecutors contend the videotaped conversations prove a conspiracy among the three to aid terrorists. Also charged in the case is postal worker Ahmed Abdel Sattar, who had served the sheik as a paralegal and...

A rare tooth-in-eye operation has enabled a Thai teenager to see again after six years of blindness, news reports said yesterday. Luck Pewnual, 19, now reads books and watches football on television after surgeons in Singapore completed a two-part operation implanting parts of a canine tooth into his right eye. His vision has improved since the second stage was performed in June, well enough for him to legally drive a car. Several patients from Malaysia, the Philippines and Mauritius in addition to Singaporeans have been lined up for the procedure. Pewnual's case is believed to be the first carried out...

A DOCTOR employed when he was almost legally blind treated more than 1000 intensive care patients before he was sacked. Despite being too blind to read or drive, Dr Graham Fetherston slit throats to insert breathing tubes and medicated critically ill patients. He worked his way up from part-time doctor to deputy director in four years in Frankston Hospital's intensive care unit in Melbourne. Nurses and medical staff read drug vial labels, patient charts, medical histories, and handwritten notes to him because he struggled to read. "I could see, but it was like looking through a thick black lace curtain,"...