Rafaela Prifti – Page 14 – Dielli

Roland Tasho – Fotografi i Katër Dekadave – Paraqet Ekspozitë që Përfshin më Shumë se Gjysmën e Karrierës së Tij – Dielli hedh një vështrim më të thellë tek lentja e tij

January 24, 2023 by s p

Rafaela Prifti/

Biseda mori shkas nga hapja e një ekspozite të veçantë të tij e quajtur “Një Karrige për Shkrimtarët” paraqitur në Qendrën Kombëtare të Librit dhe Leximit në Tiranë muajin e kaluar. Fotografi, i nxitur nga ideja për të paraqitur portretet e një plejade të shkrimtarëve shqiptarë, e nisi punën në 1998 por me kalimin e kohës projekti mori trajtat e një gjetje tjetër që u mirëprit nga artdashësit dhe publiku shqiptar në vitin 2022.

I njohur si fotoreporter shqiptar për fotografitë e tij në protestat e dhjetorit të viteve ‘90 në Tiranë, Roland Tasho fotografonte përpara se të ishte fotograf. Kjo është e vërtetë për çdo profesionist por në rastin e tij përjetimet dhe emocionet personale si dhe zanati janë të ndërthurura në formë të pandashme tek uni i tij. I lindur dhe rritur në Tiranë në vitet 60, tek Roland Tasho bashkëjetojnë dy elemente që e formësojnë jetën dhe karrierën e tij: dashuria për fshatin e mamasë Vodicën dhe pasioni për fotografinë. Me qashtërsi thuajse fëminore, ai flet për fshatin juglindor të Kolonjës, ku shkonte në verë te gjyshja, dhe prej nga pa kuptuar përftoi mbresat e stampuara përjetësisht tek ai si artist dhe si njeri. Fotografia erdhi tek Rolandi si mundësi punësimi por duke “pasur një aparat në dorë” thotë ai, shpejt ndjeu sesi përjetimet emocionale u ndërlidhën me vetëdijësimin për profesionin. Pas një dekade pune, në vitet 2000, në sajë të dy bursave, një nga Bashkia e Parisit, Roland Tasho fiton shprehitë e fotografimit në vendlindjen e fotografisë, njohur në kontekstin e kulturës perëndimore. Aty ku Luis Daguerre (1787-1851) kishte shpikur procesin e fotografisë i njohur si tipi dagerrian, aty ku Eugene Atget (1857-1927) kishte krijuar fotografinë dokumentuese për të përjetësuar çdo rrugicë e portal të Parisit përpara se ta përfshinte modernizimi i kohës, aty ku, midis dy luftërave botërore, një brez i tërë i talenteve nga Amerika dhe nga gjithë globi shkonin të bëheshin artistë dhe prej nga u formuan trajtat e arteve figurative në shekullin e 20, aty fotografi shqiptar instinktivisht fotografonte një kishë, një park a stol, Katedralen e Noter Damit. Roland Tasho pohon se aty “nisi të mendoj si fotograf”. Portretet, më pas, erdhën natyrshëm si “rritja e njeriut” thotë Tasho. Meqë për nga vetë natyra, fotografia është dokumentuese, prej aty buruan ciklet që formojnë copëza të portretit të madh të diasporës shqiptare në botë, duke nisur nga Italia me emigrantët më të vonshëm të postkomunizmit në Evropë A’Altra Albania (Shqipëria Tjetër) 1992-2002, (foto e kopertinës) tek të emigruarit në vendin tjetër fqinj Shqiptarë në Greqi (foto e kopertinës), albumi me foto Shqiptarë në Çeki, botimi Shqiptarë në Hungari, Bridge Builders Urë Ndërtuesit Emigracioni Shqiptar në Zvicër (foto e kopertinës), deri te koleksioni me foto të komunitetit shqiptar në Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës Unë flas Shqip – I speak Albanian (2010) (foto e kopertinës). Disa nga fotot e tij janë pjesë e arkivave të Kalifornisë dhe arkiva e punëve të tij është e barabartë me atë të një institucioni. Roland Tasho ka kaluar në shumë etapa të historisë së Shqipërisë dhe të fotografisë shqiptare. Ekspozitat dhe projektet e tij sjellin gjithmonë një lidhje midis dy kohëve, dy gjendjeve, midis vendlindjes dhe shqiptarëve, midis asaj që ishte dhe asaj që është. Ai ka punuar me aparatet Praktika të viteve ‘80 dhe sot fotografon me kamera dixhitale por thotë se fokusi i tij gjithmonë ka qenë “gjetja e idesë dhe jo numri i pikseleve”. Për Tashon mund të jetë e lehtë të hap një ekspozitë retrospektive në Tiranë por është i vetëdijshëm për mungesën e vlerësimit të artit të tij.

Fotografija është një art figurativ ku për shkak të teknikave që zëvendësojnë njëra tjetrën dhe avancimeve teknologjike ka shumë “të para” si: peizazhi i parë, portreti i parë, fotoja e parë me negativ, autoportreti i parë, fotoja e parë në hapësirë, e para foto me ngjyra, e para foto dixhitale e shumë të tjera. Por ajo që është konstante është syri i fotografit që shikon gjithçka rreth vetes si nga lentja e aparatit. Për të arritur te prezantimi vizual i subjektit të fotografuar parapërgatitja nis kohë përpara se të fillojë të hapet lentja. Këtu qëndron ‘magjia’ e fotografisë e cila thotë aq shumë pa thënë asnjë fjalë, e përmbledhur në shprehjen e përsëritur shpesh “një foto është e barabartë me një mijë fjalë.”

Nga ky këndvështrim, biseda jonë mund të duket si ‘dekonstruktimi’ i fotografisë së Tashos meqënëse është prezantim verbal i shprehjeve të tij vizuale. Ky do ishte disfavor i madh për fotografinë e krijuar nga Roland Tasho i cili është fitues i disa çmimeve ndërkombëtare dhe gjashtë konkurseve kombëtare të fotografisë, është paraqitur në rreth 80 galeri arti brenda dhe jashtë vendit, ka hapur ekzpozita në Shqipëri (nga viti 1992, 1993, 2008 e këtej), Itali, (1993, 1994, 2003, 2006) Greqi (2001), Belgjikë, Gjermani (1993), Argjentinë (2000), Austri (2007), Kosovë, Francë (2005), Zvicër (2002), (listë e pjesshme), dhe është autor i 14 librave e albumeve. Për të gjitha këto Dielli tentoi ta shikoj karrierën e tij si koleksion artistik duke e drejtuar lenten në formë figurative drejt fotografit, i cili ka krijuar imazhe për katër dekada me radhë.

No Better Way to Carry Out Dr. King’s Message Than to Start With You

January 19, 2023 by s p

Rafaela Prifti/

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. requires politicians to fully embrace and act on the lessons from the civil rights leader, said his youngest daughter Rev. Bernice King at the commemorative ceremony early this week. The service is held annually at the Ebenezer Baptist Church where the social activist ministered. He served there as co-pastor with his father, Martin Luther King, Sr., from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. Rev. Bernice King said that she is “exhausted, exasperated and frankly, disappointed “to hear her father’s words about justice quoted extensively alongside “so little progress” with regard to society’s profound problems. Indeed, the national holiday, observed nationwide, is celebrated with marches and parades and with speeches by civil rights and political leaders across the country. Yet, “Dr King,” she noted, “puts some demands on us to change our ways.”

On that note, President Biden told the congregants, dignitaries and elected officials gathered at the Baptist Church that “the battle for the soul of this nation is perennial: it’s a constant struggle … between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice.”

In his remarks, the president said that for all the progress the United States has made, the country had now reached a critical point in its history. “Progress is never easy, but it’s always possible and things do get better in our march to a more perfect union. He called this moment an “inflection point”, where a lot of work “has to continue on economic justice, civil rights, voting rights, protecting our democracy.”

President Biden pointed out that at the time of choosing we currently live in, the legacy of the civil rights leader gains even more significance. “… Are we a people who will choose democracy over autocracy? …I believe Dr. King’s life and legacy show us the way and we should pay attention.” On the other side of the ocean, US Ambassador in Albania Yuri Kim, in her Twitter post, echoed the teachings of the prominent civil rights leader: “Today, we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who is remembered for his commitment to justice and peace in America and around the world. May we all do our part to make his dream more real every day.”

As detailed in Dr. King’s biography, in the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. Since King’s birthday was first observed in 1983, it’s been a tradition for volunteers across the country to devote the day to public service. You may select a way to take part in projects or opportunities that are available in your area and make service to others an indispensable part of your life experience. There is no better way to carry out Dr. King’s message and to continue his unfinished work than to begin with yourself, as his daughter put it at the commemorative ceremony.

King was gunned down at the age of 39 in Memphis in 1968 as he advocated for better pay and working conditions for the city’s sanitation workers. He helped drive passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. He would have celebrated his 94th birthday on Sunday. Dr. King is memorialized in hundreds of statues, parks, gardens, streets, squares, schools and churches all around the world as a leader whose teachings are increasingly-relevant to the progress of humankind.

Challenges For the Pope Who Has Invited and Even Embraced Them

January 12, 2023 by s p

Rafaela Prifti/

Pope Francis delivered his annual address to Vatican diplomats accredited to the sovereign nation of Vatican City. The remarks are likened to a foreign policy speech outlining the areas of greatest concern for the Holy See. In the start-of-the-2023 speech, Head of the Catholic Church denounced Russia’s war in Ukraine, Iran’s treatment of protesters, expressed alarm over a “weakening of democracy” in the Americas and called for a total ban on nuclear weapons. “There is a constant need to overcome partisan ways of thinking and to work for the promotion of the common good,” he said to the ambassadors and representatives of the 183 states that have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Linking a host of issues from immigration to the pandemic to climate change, Pope underscored a common feature that has been clearly demonstrated in all of them, “we cannot be saved alone and by ourselves: the great challenges of our time are all global.”

A few days before the delivery of the annual “state of the world” at the Apostolic Palace Hall of Blessings, there were reports of a meeting – of a diplomatic nature – between the Holy Father and Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the longtime personal secretary of the late Pope Benedict XVI. The private audience was confirmed by the Vatican’s daily press briefing and came shortly after Benedict XVI was laid to rest in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica on January 5, 2023. Pope Francis presided at the requiem Mass and funeral ceremony of his predecessor. For the first time since the election of his pontificate almost 10 years ago, there will be no emeritus pope in the church.It is worth noting that Gänswein’s forthcoming book detailing his nearly 20 years of service to Benedict XVI is getting published today on January 12. According to Reuters, “Nothing But The Truth — My Life Beside Benedict XVI” includes details about the German pope’s alleged disagreements with his Argentinian successor including Pope Francis’ restriction of the traditional Latin Mass and his statements regarding clerical celibacy.

The 330 page book by Archbishop Gänswein is written with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta. One of the episodes reportedly discussed in it is the German prelate’s effective dismissal from the role of prefect of the Papal household, which occurred in 2020. Originally appointed to the position by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, Gänswein continued to serve as prefect during Pope Francis’ pontificate. Yet he was effectively discharged from his role and duties at the Pontifical household following a controversy in January 2020 surrounding a book on priestly celibacy, co-authored by Pope Benedict, as reported by the Catholic News Agency. The views of the retired pope and the Holy Father on the issue of celibacy and priesthood did not align. Therefore the book could have been perceived as a dig at the Head of the Church. Archbishop Georg Gänswein cited “a misunderstanding” and the German pope’s name was removed from the text. Gänswein’s cessation of Prefecture tasks followed “the authorship incident” described in the soon-to-be-released memoirs while the Holy See Office has explained the termination as a reflection of the “redistribution of the various commitments and duties” of papal household staff. The book by the late Pope Benedict’s closest aide detailing the strains between the two popes might be unsettling for the Vatican. The reports raise the question of the position that Pope will assign to Gänswein’s at this time and whether it will be in the Vatican or somewhere else in the world.

Gänswein’s written account will be commented and reviewed widely and might even prove to be consequential. On the day of its publication, my thoughts go to Pope Francis. His first visit to a European country was in Albania in 2014. I am reminded that the connections of Albanians and the Roman Catholic Church go back centuries, even though the modern independent state of Vatican City was born in 1929. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Albania and the Holy See. In November 2018, the Holy Father received a group of Albanian pilgrims in Rome honoring the 550th anniversary of the death of national hero George Castriot Skanderbeg. In his remarks, Pope called Albania a land of ancient and glorious history and also expressed his wish to have encouraging conditions moving forward for the younger generations. “I sincerely hope that this anniversary will not be limited to the celebration of the glory of past deeds, but will also be a good opportunity for a renewed commitment of all, institutions and citizens, in favor of an authentic and balanced development, so that the younger generations will not be forced to migrate,” said the Pope.

In March Francis pontificate enters its 11th year. At the age of 86, he is already the third oldest pope to lead the church in the last 800 years.

New Alzheimer’s Drug Approved by FDA Modestly Slows Pace of Cognitive Decline

January 7, 2023 by s p

Rafaela Prifti/

Today the US health officials approved a medicine meant to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA accelerated approval of the new medicine known scientifically as lecanemab has drawn scrutiny given its potential wide use and its high cost of $26,500 per year for an average patient. “Leqembi is the second of a new category of medications approved for Alzheimer’s disease that target the fundamental pathophysiology of the disease” states the Press Release. In 2021, the FDA similarly cleared Aduhelm, developed through the same partnership between the Japan-based pharmaceutical company Eisai and US Biogen.

Fridays’ announcement by the FDA comes three months after a large trial findings that treatment with Leqembi slowed patients’ physical and cognitive decline over 18 months. Although the results were the first clear-cut success for a drug of Leqembi’s type in late-stage clinical testing, the accelerated approval requires companies to conduct another clinical trial before full approval can be considered. Still there are many unanswered questions about the drug with regard to the magnitude of its benefit, especially in light of its potential safety risks.

Importantly for the FDA’s decision-making, Leqembi worked as it was designed to — making it the first therapy approved in the U.S. for the treatment of Alzheimer’s itself by targeting the underlying disease process rather than symptoms of the disease.

Alzheimer is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder affecting more than 6.5 million Americans that gradually destroys memory and cognitive skills eventually affecting the ability to carry out simple tasks.

Researchers evaluated the efficacy of Leqembi in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-finding study of 856 patients with Alzheimer’s disease, as specifies in the prescribing information. The labeling states that treatment with Leqembi should be initiated in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia stage of disease, the population in which treatment was studied in clinical trials.

The approval of the drug, lecanemab, to be marketed as Leqembi, is likely to generate considerable interest from patients and physicians, per news reporting. In its decision, the FDA appeared to acknowledge the criticism brought on by its approval of Aduhelm in 2021 after both a committee of independent advisers and a council of senior officials at FDA pointed out that the data failed to conclusively show that Aduhelm slowed cognitive decline.

With Leqembi, the F.D.A. included narrower and more cautionary language on the drug label than it initially had with Aduhelm. The Leqembi label says the drug should be used only for patients in early and mild stages of Alzheimer’s disease, matching the status of patients in the clinical trials of the drug. Data shows that about 1.5 million of the six million people with Alzheimer’s in the United States are estimated to be in the beginning phases of the disease, with diagnoses of either mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s. The number of patients to be treated with Leqembi will depend significantly on whether Medicare covers the drug.

Leqembi, the brand name, is based on “qembi” in Japanese, which “roughly translates into beautiful, healthy, elegant”. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, yet much remains unknown about this progressive neurological disorder.

Source: FDA News Release

Brief Glimpses of 2022

December 20, 2022 by s p

Rafaela Prifti/

The emergence of the Coronavirus disease set in motion major economic and humanitarian crises testing society’s capacities to respond while generating far reaching and still evolving consequences. Nearly three years since the start of the pandemic, glimpses into the public health sector, the job market, finance and housing, war in Ukraine, climate, unions reveal the vulnerabilities of the year 2022. The pandemic has irreversibly changed Americans’ relationship with work causing widening ripple effects economically and culturally. In the financial sector, the tech stocks that flourished when Americans were staying home and were plugged in online have come back down to earth. High prices and growing interest rates have impacted the home buying market. The prices of some electric vehicle have declined. As demand ramps up, industry experts say EVs and gas-powered cars will cost about the same by 2025. As even more EVs are manufactured, they will become less expensive to produce, with some experts claiming they will be even cheaper than their gas-powered counterparts in just a few years.

Office occupancy is at less than half what it was pre-pandemic. The remote work revolution taught many office workers — and their employers — that office space wasn’t essential to work. It is a trend that is expected to last, according to researchers. On one hand the reduction of real estate space lowers the office footprint of the firms while it impacts the pay of janitorial services of union and nonunion members. Since the pandemic upended the world in 2020 the industries that have made a comeback include leisure and hospitality industry. At the end of November US hotel occupancy was at the same level it was in 2019. Despite the major changes inflicted on the restaurant industry as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports indicate that, along with fast causal and quick service, dining out improved significantly this quarter. Event industry leaders are optimistic as the attendance at sporting events has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels with concert sales lagging a little behind.

The Great Resignation

Job resignation rates remain high across the board. While the fallout from the pandemic and current trends of an aging workforce continue, thecomposition of the resignations has shifted to include higher paid workers increasingly in management roles. Even as high interest rates, high-profile layoffs, and a potential recession batter the job market, Americans have continued to quit their jobs at elevated rates. Some analysts think that the tight job market is partially a factor since it supplies better opportunities. The October report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that there were 10.3 million job openings in the US, or 6.3 percent of employment.

Inflation, Wages Up

The Federal Reserve is the government body that adjusts federal funds with the aim of achieving conditions that satisfy its dual mandate, as set by Congress: Keep prices stable and maximize employment. Therefore, the Fed raises interest rates when the economy starts overheating, high inflation, and cuts rates when the economy looks weak, high unemployment. The feds raised the interest rates several times this year signaling more to come. While down from its peak of 9 percent in June, inflation is still high. Prices for all goods are up 7.7 percent on average nationally compared with a year earlier. While the job market keeps adding jobs and raising wages, the rise in inflation cuts into the increase in earnings. While actual wages are up about 5 per cent over year, workers end up having less buying power due to inflation.

Record high Flu season

The last week of November saw more positive flu test results than any week on record going back to 1997. According to experts, the flu has also spread earlier and at a quicker pace than it has in previous years. Part of the explanation is the increased levels of testing. Hospitalization rates are four times as high as they typically are at this time of year. But the main reason is that the population has low levels of flu antibodies since many Americans didn’t get the flu in the past two years, while adhering to preventive measures like masks and quarantining. To protect against seasonal flu, infectious disease specialist recommend vaccination and other measures, including mask-wearing, hand-washing, social-distancing and quarantining when you feel sick.

Dobbs v. Jackson

New data from the Society of Family Planning shows that the number of clinician-provided abortions in nearly half of the US has plummeted in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the Supreme Court effectively overturning the half-century-old Roe v. Wade. Notable, the data indicates a rise in the number of procedures in states surrounding those where abortion is illegal. The jumps show up in nationwide figures. Traveling for medical care to another state involves costs that are hard to cover by people with fewer means.

Home ownership

According to data gathered from S & P Dow Jones Indices existing single-family home prices went up just 8 percent through September this year. On a monthly basis, prices have actually come down for three consecutive months yet they remain high without any clear forecast on coming down in a meaningful way. Meanwhile, rising interest rates have made buying a home even more expensive. Home ownership affordability data shows that this category is currently the worst on record. The threshold is considered to be 30 percent of income, after which housing is considered “unaffordable”.

Remote Work

A full 79 percent of Americans who can work from home are doing so, either in a hybrid or fully remote setting, according to Gallup reporting. Considering some 56 percent of full-time workers, or more than 70 million Americans, are in remote-capable jobs, that has big impacts on the future of work in and out office space.

Unions Comeback

According to data from Bloomberg Law, preliminary numbers show that more than 1,000 unions have won elections in 2022— the most since 2015. Unions are also popping up in industries previously thought ununionizable, like retail. Retail name brands like Apple, Starbucks, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and REI all saw successful union drives this year, despite a difficult unionization process in the US. The number of strikes from nurses to rail workers so far this year was up nearly 50 percent from last year, according to data from Cornell’s ILR Labor Action Tracker. Data also shows American approval of unions is at its highest level since the 1960s, countering the decades-long decline in union membership.

Big Social Media Platforms

According to Similarweb, Facebook ranks third in a list of the most visited websites in the world following Google and YouTube. Rival social platform Twitter ranked in fourth place and Instagram, another social app owned by Facebook, ranked fifth on the list. In April, owner Elon Musk, CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, bought Twitter, a social media company, a decision that has invited even more controversy causing concern and consternation for the consumers as well as investors.

Tech Market

As tech companies have matured, in terms of rapid growth being able to generate incredibly high profits, the revenue is still growing for most of the major companies, but not as fast as it previously did. Companies like Apple, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft combined have lost more than $3 trillion in market cap this year. It has translated into hiring freezes and even mass layoffs, both moves that once were unheard of in Silicon Valley. In addition these companies have had to cut down on some of their more innovative projects. Although the big tech companies remain strong, they have shown that they are not immune from vulnerability.

Crypto

Cryptocurrencies and affiliated technologies like NFTs and Web3 were dominant in 2021 but have gone bust in 2022. Last month the spectacular fall of crypto exchange FTX caused much of the rest of the crypto industry to tumble. The collapse of FTX has been the biggest shock to crypto in years. FTX was the world’s second largest exchange, the entry point for millions of people to get into crypto. It was seen as one of the most trusted platforms, but collapsed into bankruptcy in days after its finances were revealed to be unstable. It remains to be seen if the implosion of FTX spells doom for crypto or another drop in its long-chaotic ride. Either way it reinforce the need to put in place a regulatory framework.

The War in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine began in February when Russia invaded its neighbor. Since then Europe and the US have escalated sanctions against Russia while Ukrainians continue to endure missile strikes, blackouts and loss of life. The war has also become a source of growing international tensions. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System published a report stating that the global geopolitical risks have soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A direct way to measure US involvement is its military aid. While the EU and the US continue to provide support for Ukraine, the expectations by investors, market participants, and policymakers is that a prolonged war has exerted a drag on the global economy, pushed up inflation, with a sharp increase in uncertainty and risks of severe adverse outcomes.

Supply Chain

The supply chain issues have eased up this year due in part to slowing demand, which in turn caused a decrease inthe cost of goods and delivery, along with shipping time. In order to deal with international supply chain problems, the Biden administration has made efforts to crack down on high shipping industry prices and moving more manufacturing to the US.

Electric Vehicles

The most well known electric carmaker Tesla is facing a number of issues stemming from a tightening economy to increased competition. This was a big year for electric vehicles, thanks to high gas prices, more affordable models, and government investment including a revamped tax credit. EVs made up nearly 6 percent of all new vehicle registrations in the third quarter, even as the industry grappled with supply chain issues. The figure represents a minority of total auto sales, yet it is three times the rate of two years ago, and a big step toward moving Americans away from dependence on fossil fuels. As companies like Ford and GM enter the market, Tesla’s share of new electric vehicle registrations dropped from 71 percent at the start of the year to 61 percent in the third quarter of 2022, according to data from S&P Global Mobility, showing even stronger growth of sales on a global level.