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Justia Dockets & Filings Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit First Penn Pacific v. Evans Filing 920090226
First Penn Pacific v. Evans
UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 07-2020 FIRST PENN-PACIFIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. WILLIAM R. EVANS, Chartered; INVOTEX INCORPORATED, Maryland First Financial Services Corporation, Defendants - Appellees. ------------------------------------LIFE INSURANCE SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATION, Amicus Supporting Appellees. f/k/a Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Andre M. Davis, District Judge. (1:05-cv-00444-AMD) Argued: January 29, 2009 Decided: February 26, 2009 Before WILLIAMS, Chief Judge, and NIEMEYER and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. ARGUED: Bryan David Bolton, FUNK & BOLTON, P.A., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Nathaniel S. Shapo, KATTEN, MUCHIN & ROSENMAN, L.L.P., Chicago, Illinois, for Amicus Supporting Appellees. Paul S. Caiola, GALLAGHER, EVELIUS & JONES, L.L.P., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Michael P. Cunningham, FUNK & BOLTON, P.A., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. David G. Sommer, GALLAGHER, EVELIUS & JONES, L.L.P., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees. Jenny R. Leifer, KATTEN, MUCHIN & ROSENMAN, L.L.P., Chicago, Illinois; Eric A. Kuwana, KATTEN, MUCHIN & ROSENMAN, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Amicus Supporting Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. 2 PER CURIAM: First Penn-Pacific Life Insurance Company (First Penn) appeals from the district court's grant of summary judgment to William R. Evans, legal title owner of a First Penn life insurance policy, and Invotex, Inc., receiver for the bankrupt owner of that policy. to Stanley we Moore. agree First Penn originally issued the policy Despite with the Moore's intent court to transfer Moore had the an policy, district that insurable interest when he obtained it, preventing the policy from being void ab initio. Moreover, even if Evans endorsed a premium refund check that First Penn offered for rescission, such an endorsement did not manifest a meeting of the minds sufficient to establish a mutual rescission of the policy. Therefore, we affirm the district court. I. The majority of facts in this case are not in dispute. September 1997, Moore, an Arizona resident, commenced In a fraudulent scheme to exploit the "viatical settlement" industry. A viatical settlement is a contract by which a terminally ill person assigns the benefit of his life insurance policy to a third party in exchange for cash to pay for medical or personal expenses. 284, See, e.g., Life Partners, Inc. v. Morrison, 484 F.3d (4th Cir. 2007) (reviewing 3 history of viatical 287�88 settlements). Between November 13, 1997 and December 15, 1997, Moore applied for (and eventually obtained) seven life insurance policies, thereafter, totaling Moore $8.5 met with million a in coverage. settlement Shortly broker to viatical discuss selling the policies he had obtained; at that time, he falsely represented that he was terminally ill. Moore had sold at least six of his policies. On January 5, 1998, First Penn issued to Moore a 10-year policy, which a month later Moore converted to a 20-year policy; this 20-year two million dollar policy is the one at issue in this case. By not disclosing his existing and pending policies By April 1998, with other insurance companies when obtaining this policy, Moore made material misrepresentations to First Penn. In October 1999, about a year and a half after issuance of the Moore policy, First Penn learned of Moore's fraud. First Penn sought to rescind the policy, sending a letter to Evans 1 giving notice of rescission along with a refund check for the premiums paid. Evans promptly responded to the letter, rejecting the attempted rescission and returning the check to In March or April 1998, Moore sold his First Penn policy to Kelco Inc., which then sold the policy to Answer Care, Inc., for which defendant Evans formerly served as escrow attorney. Evans thus holds legal title in the policy at issue here for the benefit of Answer Care. The State of Maryland placed Answer Care in receivership on October 16, 2000, and appointed intervenor and appellee Invotex, Inc. as receiver. 4 1 First Penn. First Penn then sent a second letter to Evans Evans again rejected the rescission and of the policy but did not return the seeking rescission. demanded reinstatement check, stating it would be "ludicrous to keep sending this check back and forth." However, Evans did state his intent not to Evans may have endorsed that check over Answer Care; the parties dispute In any cash the refund check. to the beneficial owner, whether the endorsement to Answer Care was a forgery. event, it is undisputed that Answer Care never cashed the refund check and instead continued to contest First Penn's attempted rescission. On March 6, 2001, First Penn filed a complaint against Evans, seeking a declaration that the policy was rescinded and void. grounds The in district light court of the dismissed the case state on abstention concurrent receivership See First proceedings, and this court affirmed the dismissal. Penn-Pac. Life Ins. Co. v. Evans, 304 F.3d 345 (4th Cir. 2002). On February 15, 2005, after the conclusion of the state proceedings, First Penn again sought rescission, filing a new complaint; the district court granted summary judgment to Evans and Invotex. appeal interest First did First Penn then timely noted this appeal. Penn not asserts exist two arguments: law, (1) which an On insurable parties under Arizona the agree governs here, when First Penn issued the policy to Moore, 5 rendering the policy void ab initio 2 and (2) the parties mutually consented to a rescission of the policy. II. We review a grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards as the district court. Holland v. Washington A court may Homes, Inc., 487 F.3d 208, 213 (4th Cir. 2007). grant summary judgment only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). We have reviewed the record, briefs, and applicable law, and considered the oral arguments of the parties, and we are persuaded that the district court reached the correct result in granting summary judgment to Evans and Invotex. See First Penn- Pac. Life Ins. Co. v. Evans, No. 05-444-AMD, 2007 WL 1810707 (D. Md. June 21, 2007). The parties also dispute whether the incontestability clause in the policy and Arizona's incontestability statute, which states that insurance policies become incontestable two years after issuance, bar First Penn's insurable interest claim. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 20-1204 (2002). Because we conclude that the insurable interest claim lacks merit, we need not reach this issue. 2 6 III. A. With agree respect the to First Penn's first claim had on an appeal, we with district court that Moore insurable interest under Arizona law despite his plan "to sell all or most of his life insurance policies at the time he applied for them." First Penn, 2007 WL 1810707, at *4 n.7. An "insurable interest" in the context of a life insurance policy is an interest in having the insured life persist, as opposed to an interest only in the loss of that life. 155 (1911). Clearly, an individual has an insurable interest in his own life, and consequently, under Arizona law, "[a]ny individual of competent legal capacity may procure or effect an insurance See Grigsby v. Russell, 222 U.S. 149, contract upon his own life or body...." 20-1104 (2002). In contrast, an Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. � individual without "any reasonable expectation of pecuniary benefit or advantage from the continued life" of an unrelated person may not insure that life; this constitutes a pure "wager policy" and is void as a contract against public policy. Conn. Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Schaefer, 94 U.S. 457, 460 (1876); Gristy v. Hudgens, 203 P. 569, 572 (Ariz. 1922); Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 20-1104 (2002). Once a life insurance policy validly issues, however, the insured may freely transfer the policy to a third party who has 7 no insurable interest in the insured life. 155�56. Grigsby, 222 U.S. at The district court correctly held that in this case -- in which Moore intended to sell the policy when he applied for it but where "[t]here is no evidence that anyone other than Moore was a participant in the scheme at the time Moore obtained the First Penn policy" -- Moore had an insurable interest when he obtained the policy. First Penn, 2007 WL 1810707, at *4 n.7. No third party participated in the procurement of Moore's policy and therefore no one was "wagering" on Moore's life in violation of public policy. Furthermore, as amicus curiae noted in its brief and at oral argument, evaluating insurable interest on the basis of the subjective intent of the insured at the time the policy issues, and as First Penn would have us into do, the would be unworkable would inject uncertainty secondary market for insurance. 3 We note that the majority of courts that have directly considered the issue under various state laws have similarly concluded that intent to transfer a policy does not alone destroy an insurable interest; a third party must be involved in the procurement of the policy to eliminate the insurable interest. See e.g., Sun Life Assurance Co. of Can. v. Paulson, No. 07-3877(DSD/JJG), 2008 WL 451054, *2 (D. Minn. Feb. 15, 2008); Life Prod. Clearing, LLC v. Angel, 530 F. Supp. 2d 646, 653-55 (S.D.N.Y. 2008); Fyffe v. Mason, 268 S.W.2d 29, 31-32 (Ky. 1954); Harrison's Adm'r v. Nw. Mut. Life Ins. Co., 63 A. 321, 321 (Vt. 1906). 8 3 B. With respect to First Penn's remaining contention -- that the parties mutually consented to rescission -- Evans initially argues that First Penn did not timely assert this issue in the district raise court. issue, Even the assuming claim that First on the Penn did properly Mutual the fails merits. rescission of an insurance contract can arise from "any act or course of conduct of the parties which clearly indicates their mutual understanding that the contract is abrogated." United Realty Co. v. Lewis, 101 A.2d 881, 884 (Md. 1954). when an insured cashes a premium refund check offered Great Often as a rescission, this action manifests agreement and effectuates the rescission. See Mut. of Omaha Ins. Co. v. Korengold, 241 N.W.2d 651, 652 (Minn. 1976). In this case, however, it is undisputed that neither Answer Care nor Evans ever cashed First Penn's proffered refund check. As the district court explained, "the record shows that there has been no acceptance of the refund of premiums and that defendants have consistently rejected the attempted rescission." First Penn, 2007 WL 1810707, at *3. First Penn argues that Evans's alleged endorsement of the check was a "negotiation" under Maryland law, see Md. Code Ann., Com. Law � 3-201(b) (2002), and therefore constituted a rescission. However, all of the cases relied on by First Penn involve situations in which 9 the refund check was cashed. First Penn cites no authority for the proposition that an endorsement from a title owner to the beneficial owner constitutes agreement to a rescission. Because Answer Care consistently manifested its intent not to agree to a rescission, Evans's retention and any endorsement of the check did not manifest "a mutual understanding." Cf. Warren v. N.Y. Life Ins. Co., 58 P.2d 1175, 1181 (N.M. 1936) (holding that retention challenge of to check the for extended period without consent notice to or the rescission constituted rescission). IV. For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. 10


So here's the deal. It's Colin Brush's Free Therapy, a teenage saga about a nerdy kid who plays therapist to one of the school hotties vs. David Griffin Brown's Brink, the tale of a couple struggling with an unwanted pregnancy.
Right now, Griffin Brown's way out ahead. Maybe because he vowed to give his winnings to charity and coined the instant classic catch phrase "A vote for Brush is a vote for infant mortality"?
But, as members of the very active comment board have pointed out, Brush has a knack for pulling out a big victory at the last minute, so nobody's counting him out, that's for sure.
It's a fight to the finish! It's the Deathmatch!


Max demonstrates a variety of social, communication, and self-feeding skills.
Severina demonstrates a variety of social, communication, and fine motor skills.
Cody demonstrates a variety of fine motor skills.
Cody demonstrates a variety of gross motor skills.


The Company went public in 1973 when it changed its name to Bata India Limited. Today, Bata India has established itself as India's largest footwear retailer. Its retail network of over 1200 stores gives it a reach / coverage that no other footwear company can match.


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What famous people own homes in the Wilmington area in 2013?
Mike Voorheis
Will Antwon Tanner be returning to 'One Tree Hill'?
When will the movie 'Waiting for Superman' be screened in Wilmington?
If a restaurant adds the tip to the bill for large parties, even if it's stated as policy on the menu, is the customer legally bound to pay it?
Does Frank Theatres still plan to build movie theaters in Leland?
What locations around town were used for the film "Sleeping with the Enemy" starring Julia Roberts?
Why aren't local movie listings printed every day in the StarNews like they are in other newspapers? Why are they in classified instead of near the TV listings where they once were?
Who is Linda Lavin?
What are the most common celebrity sightings in the Wilmington area?
What was the 'Mothball Fleet'?
Was there ever a motel or hotel in Castle Hayne?
The list of famous people living in the greater Wilmington area has changed since Ben Steelman answered this question in 2009.
Alas, Linda Lavin, the Broadway actress who played "Alice" on the 1970s sitcom, has sold her things and moved to New York. Dennis Hopper, who filmed "Blue Velvet" here and bought a place in downtown Wilmington, has passed on. In fact, several of Wilmington's most renowned celebrities have passed on in the last six years or so – movie studio president Frank Capra Jr. and character actor Pat Hingle, who played Commissioner Gordon in "Batman," among them.
Here's a list of some celebrities who own property in New Hanover, Brunswick or Pender counties – even though they might have a primary residence elsewhere.
Joseph Gallison, who played Dr. Neil Curtis on the daytime drama "Days of Our Lives," has lived in the area for many years and has been extremely active in local theater.
Actor Peter Jurasik, of "Tron" and "Babylon 5" fame, owns a home in the Masonboro area. Jurasik teaches at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Nina Repeta, a former N.C. Azalea Festival queen most famous for her role as Bessie Potter on "Dawson's Creek," lives in Wilmington.
Sydney Penny, most famous for roles on the soap operas "All My Children" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," owns a home in downtown Wilmington with her husband, Robert Powers.
Several cast members of NBC's "Revolution" have made Wilmington a temporary home. With filming going on for up to eight months out of the year, you might find stars such as Tim Guinee hanging around Wilmington.
Henry Darrow, who played Manolito on TV's "The High Chaparral" and who also appeared on "Santa Barbara," "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The New Zorro," lives in Wilmington.
Martha DeLaurentiis, filmmaker and widow of Dino de Laurentiis, has a home at Wrightsville Beach.
From Gary E. Trawick: Samm-Art Williams, who received a Tony nomination for his play "Home"; has received Emmy Award nominations for "Motown Returns to the Apollo" and "Frank's Place." He wrote for "Cagney and Lacey, "Miami Vice", and the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air." He appearred in the TV movie "Cook and Perry: The Race to the Pole" and in the title role in the PBS drama "Denmark Versey". In 2010 he was inducted into the N.C. Literary Hall of Fame.
Athletes and coaches
Howie Long, pro football Hall of Famer and studio analyst for Fox's NFL coverage, bought property on Bald Head Island in 2005, although he hasn't built a home on the lot yet.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach and CBS football analyst Bill Cowher, who seems to be the subject of rumors whenever a football coaching opportunity arises, owns a home on Bald Head Island.
Wilmington native Trot Nixon, who played 12 years in the major leagues primarily with the Boston Red Sox, bought a home in Landfall in 2004 and still resides in Wilmington.
University of North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams owns a house on Lumina Avenue in Wrightsville Beach.
Former UCLA star and NBA All-Star Sidney Wicks has a home in Hampstead.
East Carolina University athletic director Terry Holland has a home at Figure Eight Island.
Some people are more influential than they are famous. There are also plenty of titans of business and industry who make Southeastern North Carolina home. Or their second home. Or maybe their third.
Among notable business leaders with homes in the area are Dr. Fred Eshelman, former CEO of the pharmaceutical research giant PPD Inc. and now founder and chairman of Furiex Pharmaceuticals, and Dennis Gillings, longtime CEO of the pharmaceutical services business Quintiles Transnational.
Lynn Beasley, former president of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and her husband, Ron, bought a house in Landfall in 2007.
Bill Hawkins, retired chairman and CEO of Medtronic, owns a home at Wrightsville Beach.
John Mack, former CEO and chairman of the board at Morgan Stanley investment bank and brokerage firm, owns several parcels on Figure Eight Island. He has the distinction of owning the most valuable single-family residential property in New Hanover County. His Figure Eight home is valued at just over $6 million.
Paul J. Taubman, the co-president of Institutional Securites for Morgan Stanley, has a home on Figure Eight Island. Taubman helped broker billion dollar deals for Morgan Stanley but recently was passed over when the other co-president, Colm Kelleher, was promoted, Taubman's consolation is a $1.7 million early retirement package. He also owns more than a million shares of Morgan Stanley stock.
Another Morgan Stanley connection exists. Gary G. Lynch, former chief legal officer and vice chairman for Morgan Stanley and currently an executive at Bank of America, bought a home on Figure Eight Island in 2007 for $3.9 million.
Dr. Nido Qubein, president of High Point University, author of 11 books and chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company, owns a home on Figure Eight Island.
Frank Genovese, president and owner of the The Rothbury Corporation investment firm, has run nine corporations. He has a home on Figure Eight.
J. Eric Pike, president and CEO of Pike Energy Solutions bought a home on Figure Eight Island in 2007.
George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil, owner and operator of Biltmore Farms, has a home at Bald Head Island.
Bill Faber, who designs furniture lines for Century Furniture, has a home on Bald Head Island.
Simon Jose, president of Stiefel, a GSK company, has a home on Bald Head Island.
Ernest Mario, former CEO of Reliant Pharmaceuticals and other pharmaceutical companies and lead director at PPD, has a home at Figure Eight. The Rutgers University school of pharmacy bears his name.
David S. Congdon, CEO of Old Dominion Freight Line, has homes on Bald Head Island and Wrightsville Beach.
Martin Orlowsky, a consultant and retired CEO of Lorillard Tobacco Co., owns a house at Figure Eight. Forbes listed his total compensation for 2010 at more than $19.7 million.
Zack Bacon Jr., father of hedge fund magnate and billionaire Louis Bacon, owns a home on Figure Eight. Louis' mother, Blanche Bacon, also owns a home on Figure Eight. Louis Bacon bought Orton Plantation in Brunswick County in 2010.
Bill Prestage, founder of Prestage Farms, owns a home on Figure Eight.
Monkee's Franchising managing partners Brenda Maready and Deirdre Shaw each have a home at Figure Eight Island.
Norman Garrity, former president of Corning Technologies, has a home at Shell Island on Wrightsville Beach.
Tara Lebda, wife of Lending Tree founder, Doug Lebda, owns a home at Wrightsville Beach.
John Edwards, the former U.S. senator and presidential candidate, owns a home on Figure Eight Island.
Art Pope, North Carolina politician, chairman of the John William Pope Foundation and chief budget writer for Gov. Pat McCrory, has a home at Bald Head Island.
Vivian Pliner, senior political affairs officer for the United Nations, has a home on Bald Head Island.
Bill Brencick, senior adviser for the U.S. Dept. of State, has a home at Bald Head Island.
Clyde Edgerton, the New York Times best-selling author of such novels as "Raney" and "Walking Across Egypt," owns a house in town and teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Author, actor, technician, inventor and humanitarian Jock Brandis has adopted Wilmington as his home.
Farina Wong Kingsley, an international culinary instructor and author of three cookbooks for Williams-Sonoma, has a home at Bald Head.
Celia Rivenbark, syndicated columnist and author of six books of Southern humor, lives in Wilmington.
Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the Comments section below.
What famous people own homes in the Wilmington area? (2009)
Do any famous or important people live in Holden Beach?
Date posted: February 21, 2013
18 Responses to " What famous people own homes in the Wilmington area in 2013?"
On February 22, 2013 at 11:25 am Frank Archer wrote:
Bill Dooley?
On February 26, 2013 at 12:39 pm Karen Bland wrote:
If I am not mistaken David Andrews (CSI and Terminator) lives in Wilmington.
On February 26, 2013 at 12:49 pm TOM wrote:
My son lived in Wilmington a number of years ago. He mentioned John Travolta had a place near Wrightsville Beach?
On February 26, 2013 at 3:21 pm sandy wrote:
I've been told richard geere who plays in several movies with julia roberts lives on oak island. Is it true?
On February 27, 2013 at 7:37 am Shirley K. wrote:
Doesn't John Travolta live on River Road?
On February 27, 2013 at 5:36 pm Sara wrote:
Moira Kelly (several movies and the role of Lucas' mom, Karen, on "One Tree Hill") lives here. She did a Lifetime movie just this fall.
On March 1, 2013 at 3:38 pm Si Cantwell wrote:
Not that we know of. He used to keep his plane in Wilmington, and he has filmed here before.
On March 1, 2013 at 4:07 pm Anon wrote:
Former Jets quarterback Al Woodall has a seasonal home on Pleasure Island.
On March 8, 2013 at 4:07 pm dewayne wrote:
Sports- former NFL player and UNC football coach John Bunting lives in Hampstead.
On March 11, 2013 at 1:11 am Carol wrote:
Maury Povich owns property at the Thistle Golf Course in Sunset Beach, NC–it's listed in the Brunswick county tax records.
On March 11, 2013 at 8:18 pm Larry wrote:
Fred and Alice Stanback have a house on Figure 8, I believe. More about them here:
http://www.rmi.org/spring_2012_esj_14_fred_stanback
I've noticed they are frequent donors at the Nature Conservancy and NC Coastal Land Trust and others. Usually their names are top of the list of donors. Good People!
On April 5, 2013 at 11:49 am Alex wrote:
Justin Timberlake's mother has a home in Figure 8.
Roy Williams has ahome at Wrightsville Beach (I've actually ran into him a few times, riding beach cruisers)
On May 28, 2013 at 6:24 am Robert Redhead wrote:
Ravens coach John Harbaugh owns a house on Bald Head Island.
On August 14, 2013 at 7:58 pm Seb wrote:
U.S. Senator Dan Coats (Indiana) has a house in Landfall.
On December 29, 2013 at 12:04 pm Jess James wrote:
One of the founders of Yahoo lives downtown and
the founder of HotJobs.com is a resident.
And writer John Jeremiah Sullivan, the Southern Editor
for the Paris Review, author and contributing writer for The New York
Times Magazine, GQ, Esquire, etc. lives downtown in
the home formerly used as Payton's house on One Tree Hill.
On February 7, 2016 at 11:14 am Marie wrote:
Michael Strahan and family
On February 7, 2016 at 11:40 am Judy Andricak wrote:
Jaqueline DeGroot, author, Brunswick County. Miller Pope, author/artist Brunswick County.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Avalanche Vs. Wild: Colorado Desperate For A Goal
By Muzia@MMuzia Feb 9, 2011, 2:42pm MST
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Okay, now it's getting desperate. The Colorado Avalanche enter tonight's game against the Minnesota Wild in absolute free fall. They have lost six of their past seven games, and have seen their playoff chances dwindle as well. They are in 13th place in the Western Conference less than two months after leading the Northwest Division. Hope still remains, however, as they are only five points out of a playoff spot and are starting to get healthy.
The long awaited return of forward and Colorado legend Peter Forsberg will have to wait another day, as he has been delayed by immigration issues. Look for his season debut to take place on Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hopefully his imminent return will spark a dormant Avalanche offense that has now gone six straight periods without a goal, by far their longest stretch of the season.
Another forward has finally returned, as Ryan O`Reilly made a speedy recovery from a shoulder injury suffered against these very same Wild and played on Monday against the Phoenix Coyotes where, despite a solid team effort, Colorado suffered yet another disappointing loss. He will be in the lineup again tonight.
Both teams were shut out by Phoenix their previous contest, with the Wild gaining three whole days to rest. They have used a great 2011 to push their way into playoff contention, though currently are on the outside by two points. Tonight's winner gains a huge step towards that ultimate goal.
Craig Anderson will again start in net for Colorado. If the Avalanche are to make the playoffs this season, it will be on his shoulders. Niklas Backstrom has been fantastic for Minnesota this season, and will again get the start in net.
Puck drops at 6:00 pm MST.
Colorado Avalanche Final Score: David Jones Scores Two Goals in Avalanche Loss


Biosphere Inn is located in Baa Atoll Dharavandhoo Island which is 20 minutes away from the International Airport by flight. Biosphere Inn is a renovated local home with a mixture of traditional and modern look; thus our guests will experience a true local stay while they enjoy our service. Biosphere Inn was opened in September 2015. The most unique part of Biosphere Inn is that it is located in Baa Atoll, which is declared by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve. According to UNESCO, Baa Atoll biosphere reserve is home to a globally significant biodiversity among its numerous reefs and demonstrates a long history of human interaction with the environment. Please surf through this website for more information about the biosphere reserve and its unique divising sites. Biosphere Inn in located very close to white sandy beach in Dharavandhoo and has 3 Standard rooms, one outdoor cafe', Excursion facilities and a beautiful backyard for relaxing. Biosphere Inn is operated by one of the most experienced team in Dharavandhoo for guest house operation. Our staff are well-trained and have years of experience in hospitality industry. Thus, we guarantee to provide one of the best hospitality service in Dharavandhoo.


Alexandria, VA, February 23, 2018 – The American Society of Travel agents (ASTA) today announced that Special Needs Group, Inc. (SNG) has been appointed the official mobility and special needs partner for both ASTA and its sister association, the National Association of Career Travel agents (NACTA).
ASTA (American Society of Travel agents) members represent 80 percent of all travel sold in the United States through the travel agency distribution channel. Together with hundreds of internationally based members, it is the leading global advocate for travel agents, the travel industry and the traveling public. ASTA's history of travel industry advocacy traces back to its founding in 1931 when it launched with the mission to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. For more information, visit ASTA.org.
ASTA's sister association, the National Association of Career Travel agents, represents a professional community of independent travel agents ready to assist the traveling public.
Special Needs Group, Inc. is the leading global provider of wheelchair rentals, scooter rentals, oxygen rentals and other special needs equipment rentals. It also offers a broad range of special needs equipment for purchase. Special Needs Group also services guests visiting hotels, resorts, theme parks and convention centers. Special Needs Group is the Travel Industry's total special needs equipment and services solution. They are located at 302 NW 1st Street, Dania Beach, FL 33004. For more information, visit www.specialneedsgroup.com or call 1-800-513-4515.


Wonderful collection of Haeckel images, these created from the HMS Challenger Expedition from 1872 - 1876 which circumnavigated the world surveying the deep ocean.
More than 4000 new species were discovered with many being drawn and catalogued by Haeckel. These are full page reproductions of the original plates showing the organisms in stunning detail.
Beautiful abstracts and symmetries of microscopic views of ocean creatures.


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Doctor Dolittle (1967) (Blu-ray Review)
Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Dec 26, 2017
Format: Blu-ray Disc
1967 (November 14, 2017)
20th Century Fox (Twilight Time)
Film/Program Grade: B
Video Grade: A+
Audio Grade: A
Extras Grade: B-
www.twilighttimemovies.com
Like many of its ilk, the remake of Doctor Dolittle has all but vanished from many people's minds, despite the fact that it was somewhat popular in its day, even generating sequels. There was nothing to it other than what was on the surface, which is partly why the original film holds up so marvelously well. Not only is it a fantastical, lighthearted, and humorous tale, but it also has something to say. Additionally, it gave its star Rex Harrison the chance to shine in another leading role, one that many people who saw the film when they were children still remember him fondly for. His charismatic, down-to-Earth nature, as well as his dry, British wit, is perfect for the role of an eccentric but caring man who can talk to animals.
Surprisingly, Doctor Dolittle wasn't a major success when it was originally released, earning some less than positive reviews from critics. However, it managed to bring in a modest profit for 20th Century Fox and was even nominated for several Academy Awards, winning two for Best Song and Best Special Effects. The product of many, not the least of which includes screenwriter and songwriter Leslie Bricusse and director Richard Fleischer, this musical fantasy is quite dazzling. Despite the running time, it moves along at a brisk pace, due partly to most of the character and plot driven musical numbers which help to hurry it along rather than slow it down. The performances are enjoyable from all involved and there's a sense of playfulness about it. Even dramatic moments aren't overtly heavy, which works in the film's favor.
Doctor Dolittle is also radical in its own way due to its message about the treatment of animals by human beings. All of it is summed in the rather poignant musical number "Like Animals" about halfway through the story. Keep in mind that the film was released in 1967, many years before where we are today as great portions of our society now spend much of their time and energy devoting themselves to helping animals of all kinds, whether it be through shelters, rescues, or hospitals. Rex Harrison's interpretation of Dolittle also has much to do with the film's lasting appeal. His on-screen compassion for creatures big and small is infectious, carrying us through some of the film's rockier patches. While the latter half pushes the envelope in terms of believability (which is not an easy thing to say in a film about a man who talks to animals), Doctor Dolittle is a lovely film overall, full of whimsy and wonder with a touch of lasting social commentary.
Twilight Time's presentation of the film comes from a new 4K high definition transfer taken straight from the film's original 70mm camera negative at an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. With a format that large, it's difficult to make the film look bad at all, but this new restoration is superb – one might even say that it's reference quality. It's rich with bold and beautiful colors, soaking in fine detail with enormous depth, and featuring almost perfect grain reproduction. Black levels are inky deep with excellent shadow detail while brightness and contrast levels are virtually perfect. It's appropriately crisp and sharp with no evidence of digital enhancements on display while also remaining stable with no leftover film or digital artifacts. It's practically flawless, and superior to any release of it that has come before by miles. The audio for the film is presented on two tracks: English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD, with optional subtitles in English SDH. The 5.1 option is actually a recreation of the film's original 6 track theatrical presentation, and is obviously the better option of the two. Like its video counterpart, it too stuns with crystal-clear harmonies and dialogue reproduction. Score benefits greatly from the immersive experience, filling out the rear speakers with potency. The dialogue to song vocal transitions are obvious, as they are in most musical films, but they're never jarring.
The extras for this release include an isolated 2.0 DTS-HD music track, and for a film like this is almost essential; an audio commentary with songwriter/screenwriter Leslie Bricusse and film music historian Mike Matessino; the vintage A&E Biography special Rex Harrison: The Man Who Would Be King, which is presented full screen; the film's original theatrical trailer in standard definition; a scroll-through of the current Twilight Time catalogue; and as always, a terrific 8-page insert booklet with an essay on the film by Julie Kirgo – always an essential read for every Twilight Time release.
If you're an A/V fanatic seeking out only the cream of the crop, Twilight Time's release of Doctor Dolittle should not only be on your radar, but an immediate part of your home video library. It's a delightful film with a top of the line presentation. It also has a limited availability of 3,000 units only, so get it while you can.
- Tim Salmons
1967, 20th Century Fox, Alexander Courage, Anthony Newley, APJAC Productions, Arthur P Jacobs, Blu-ray, Blu-ray Disc, Doctor Dolittle, fantasy, Hugh Lofting, Leslie Bricusse, Lionel Newman, Marjorie Fowler, musical, review, Rex Harrison, Richard Attenborough, Richard Fleischer, Robert L Surtees, Samantha Eggar, Samuel E Beetley, The Digital Bits, Tim Salmons, Twentieth Century Fox, Twilight Time
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SAMS Bulletin
Access to scientific literature
Interprofessionality
Personalized health
Scientific culture and young researchers
Sustainable health system
Swiss Personalized Health Network
National MD-PhD Program
Young Talents in Clinical Research
Helmut Hartweg Fund
KZS Fund
Robert Bing Prize
Théodore Ott Fund
Théodore Ott Prize
Stern-Gattiker Prize
Ethics in end-of-life care
Ethics support
Medical care in the penal system
Vulnerable patient groups
Sustainable health system: a compass to provide orientation
Contact general secretariat Medical-ethical Guidelines Swiss Personalized Health Network
Eleven MD-PhD grants awarded
The national MD-PhD program has awarded eleven grants to young physicians engaged in research to complete a doctorate in natural sciences, public health sciences and clinical research at a Swiss university. The synopsis of grantees gives an overview of the supported projects.
The national MD-PhD expert committee retained 11 young researchers for funding out of the 22 candidates preselected by the local MD-PhD committees. The grants cover the salary of grantees for two to three years. They are sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Swiss Cancer Research (KFS) and the SAMS. The next call for proposals of the National MD-PhD program will be launched in autumn 2019 with submission deadline on 15 December 2019.
Synopsis of grantees PDF
Link to the programme
Common templates to facilitate data and material exchange
The Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) and Swiss Biobanking Platform (SBP) have worked in close collaboration to deliver Data Transfer and Use Agreement and Material Transfer Agreement templates to facilitate data and material exchange in the context of academic research projects.
In order to be able to exchange data and samples for research projects between institutions, a Data Transfer and Use Agreement (DTUA) and/or Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) are required. As part of a national harmonization effort, SPHN and SBP have, together with Swiss universities, ETH-Domain institutions and University Hospitals, developed common templates for both documents. Details can be found in the newsletter published today.
Futher information
The annual report 2018 is published online
The SAMS keeps up with the times and publishes its annual report online only. We use the advantages of the internet to link the review with further information and ongoing activities.
Perhaps you will find the commission in which you were involved or the title of your project selected by our experts? We hope you will enjoy discovering or rediscovering the many highlights of 2018. Our report is available in German or French.
Young Talents in Clinical Research: Call 2019
With the «Young Talents in Clinical Research» program, the Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation and the SAMS aim at encouraging young medical doctors to venture into clinical research. CHF 1 million is made available for this call with submission deadline set on 30 June 2019.
The program is conceived in two consecutive steps: Young medical doctors can start out in clinical research thanks to a «beginner grant» which guarantees them protected time for research by covering a portion of their salary. Interested grantees can then apply for a «project grant» to consolidate the acquired research skills during the next two years. More information can be found on our website.
Flyer «Young talents in clinical research» PDF
KZS Fund call for proposals for young researchers in biomedical ethics
In 2019, the SAMS is providing a total of CHF 250'000.– from the Käthe-Zingg-Schwichtenberg Fund (KZS Fund) to support junior researchers in biomedical ethics who wish to carry out an independent research project with a Seed Grant. The submission deadline is 15 June 2019.
Contributions for 2019 from the KZS Fund are provided to junior researchers aiming at an academic career in biomedical ethics. Up to CHF 50'000.– can be awarded per Seed Grant to explore novel research ideas, to realize a small, independent pilot project or to prepare a project proposal to be submitted to a larger funding agency. Details on the call and procedure for submission can be found on our website.
Recommendations to support young clinical researchers
The SAMS is committed to a good scientific culture and thereby to improving the situation of young researchers. A working group has evaluated the existing instruments for the support of young scientists at university hospitals. The report published today summarizes the recommendations to strengthen and improve the current structures and instruments.
The working group recommends, among other things, the establishment of a web portal offering a direct access to the resources available to young clinical researchers. This portal is to be developed until mid-2020. More information can be found in the recommendations (in German or in French) available on our website.
Nachwuchsförderung in der klinischen Forschung – bestehende Instrumente und Bedarf PDF
New recommendations: Ethics training for health professionals
In daily clinical practice, healthcare professionals are often confronted with ethically challenging situations. The recommendations on ethics training for health professionals reflect the SAMS' commitment to a successful collaboration when dealing with ethical issues in everyday medical practice.
Ethics education is important in two ways: on the one hand, to ensure that ethically sensitive situations are recognized as such in the first place, and on the other hand, to develop appropriate options for action. The SAMS recommendations describe the contents of a solid ethics education and training and offer a uniform basis for all health professionals. The document can be downloaded in German, French, Italian and English and can also be ordered in printed form (d/f) free of charge.
Recommandations: Ethics training for health professionals (2019) PDF
Patient, doctor, big data. Who has the power of definition?
At first glance, concepts of health and disease seem to be limited to abstract reflections. Patients and health professionals are, however, tangibly affected. During the workshop «Patient, doctor, big data. Who has the power of definition?», the exchanges were focused on three perspectives on health: health as conceived through scientific data, health as defined by the professionals and health understood as a public good.
Experts from health and science policy discussed whether there's a need for redefining today's concepts of health and disease to better reflect the age of big data and artificial intelligence. The trilingual workshop report (German, English, French) summarizes the most important results of this day rich in discussions. The brochure can be downloaded; a printed copy can be ordered free of charge.
Patient, doctor, big data. Who has the power of definition? PDF
Schweizerische Akademie der Medizinischen Wissenschaften
Académie Suisse des Sciences Médicales
Accademia Svizzera delle Scienze Mediche
Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences
House of Academies
Laupenstrasse 7, CH-3001 Bern
+41 31 306 92 70 mail@samw.ch
Imprint (German)


text:
German Renaissance Draughtsman, Engraver, Woodcutter and Painter
Born: May 21, 1471 - Part of the Holy Roman Empire (Modern Day Nuremberg, Germany)
Died: April 6, 1528 - Part of the Holy Roman Empire (Modern Day Nuremberg, Germany)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1498)
Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe (1500)
Young Hare (1502)
Adam and Eve (the Fall of Man) (1504)
The Feast of the Rosary (1506)
Praying Hands (1508)
Melencolia I (1514)
The Rhinoceros (1515)
Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I (1519)
Late Period
"If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle."
"What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things."
"Why has God given me such magnificent talent? It is a curse as well as a great blessing."
"I hold that the perfection of form and beauty is contained in the sum of all men."
"No single man can be taken as a model for a perfect figure, for no man lives on earth who is endowed with the whole of beauty."
"As I grew older, I realized that it was much better to insist on the genuine forms of nature, for simplicity is the greatest adornment of art."
"And since geometry is the right foundation of all painting, I have decided to teach its rudiments and principles to all youngsters eager for art."
"Sane judgment abhors nothing so much as a picture perpetrated with no technical knowledge, although with plenty of care and diligence."
Summary of Albrecht Dürer
It's fair to say that without Albrecht Dürer, printmaking as we know it within art history and contemporary art, would not exist. Despite living approximately 500 years ago, he remains one of the most famous and important printmakers in art history, in particular bringing woodcuts printed in large editions into the realm of fine art and the art history canon.
Even though Albrecht Dürer's fame was largely built on his prints and graphic style, his financial income was secured with commissions of paintings of religious subjects and portraits, and these works remain held in high esteem for their draughtsmanship and use of color. He was, and remains, the most famous artist of the Northern Renaissance who successfully integrated an elaborately-detailed Northern style with Italian Renaissance's ideals of balance, coherence, and monumentality.
Until the 1500s, the art of Renaissance Italy (focused on proportion, perspective and representations of 'man' in his environment) had remained almost entirely independent from late medieval art in the north of Europe (focused on naturalistic studies). Dürer combined these two modes of art making, and was the first non-Italian artist to apply contemporary philosophy, medical, and theological ideas to his paintings.
Dürer felt it was important to produce artistic allegories for new conceptions of the human. For example, his famous series of prints, Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513), St. Jerome in His Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514), represent the three spheres of human activity: the active, contemplative, and intellectual.
Later in his life Dürer became increasingly engaged in scientific topics, publishing treatises including his Four Books on Measurement (1525), Treatise on Fortification (1527) and Four Books on Human Proportion (1528), for which he created illustrations. He believed that geometry was essential for producing harmonic artworks, and thus that it should be taught to all young artists, alongside other mathematical rigors.
Despite his decidedly Renaissance interest in Humanism and mathematics, Dürer continued to produce extremely detailed studies of the natural world, particularly animals - be they newly discovered in Europe (such as the mythical rhinoceros and lion) or common native creatures (such as the hare, owl, or cat).
Dürer was well aware of his own artistic genius, which equally tortured and enlivened him. He painted a number of aggrandizing self-portraits, and would often appear as a character in his painted commissions. He was one of the first artist celebrities, with copycats, followers, and fans; in a model that continues to this day.
Important Art by Albrecht Dürer
This is the third woodcut in Dürer's terrifying Apocalypse series, which contains altogether fifteen scenes from the Book of Revelations. It depicts the four Apocalyptic Riders as they are described in the Old Testament. From left to right we see Death, Famine, War and Plague on their horses, trampling on a group of helpless people. An angel oversees the scene, with dramatic clouds and rays of light in the background.
In the Bible the three riders are mainly distinguished by their horses' colors. Dürer, having to make do with the black and white that the woodcut medium dictates, instead prominently depicts their weapons - bow, sword, a set of balances and a trident - as identifying attributes. Death is furthermore distinguishable as an old haggard man with a beard on an emaciated horse. The four figures are riding next to each other but are in slightly overlapping positions, denoting their order of appearance in the text. Death as the last to enter the scene brings with him Hell, depicted in the form of a wide-mouthed monster, who swallows a man wearing a bishop's miter and crown. The clergy and nobility are devastated by the Apocalypse just as the rest of society. Their contemporary clothing makes it easy for the 16th-century viewer to imagine their own suffering ahead.
Apocalyptic scenes became particularly popular in the years leading up to 1500, which was predicted by many to be the time of the Second Coming of Christ. Dürer's Apocalypse series was published in 1498 as a collection of 15 folios, each verso showing the illustration and the recto containing a descriptive text in German or Latin. In 1511 the woodcuts also became available to purchase as single-sheet works. Today the prints still survive in large numbers, which indicates that they were produced on a big scale, probably to meet their increasing demand and popularity, and circulated widely.
Dürer masterfully captures the panic and chaos of the end of times by filling almost the entire page with painstaking detail. The diagonal shape formed by the riders placed on top of the minutely thin horizontal lines that create the dark background gives the scene a sense of forward-thrusting dynamic. This work, as well as the accompanying illustrations of this series, shows the artist's unrivalled ability to achieve in the so often crude unwieldy woodcut medium the same kind of fine dynamism and depth of expression as in a drawing.
Woodcut - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe
This painting of the artist as Christ could be considered an audacious, blasphemous statement, but is most likely an expression of faith alongside a confidence in the artist's competency as creator. It shows Albrecht Dürer the artist, his talents bestowed onto him by God. Set against a plain background, the artist is directly facing the viewer. His right hand is lifted to his chest with two fingers spread apart, reminiscent of a gesture of blessing. His curly hair falls to his shoulders and his monogram is emblazoned prominently to his right. To his left stands an inscription in Latin that translates as "Thus I, Albrecht Dürer from Nuremberg, painted myself with enduring colors at the age of 28 years."
During the Renaissance era the convention for portraits was to show the sitter in three-quarter view, mostly set within a realistic background. By choosing a frontal view and a dark non-descript backdrop, Dürer evokes religious images of the Middle Ages, especially devotional images of Christ Pantokrator. With his blessing gesture, long dark brown hair (Dürer was dark blond) and idealized features, the artist here clearly depicts himself as Christ. And given the Apocalyptic year of the work, the painting would therefore have been a strong expression of the artist's self-awareness as a devout Christian. Dürer was highly concerned with his public image, repeatedly inserting self-portraits into his works. The self-portrait from 1500 was sold or given by Dürer to the City Council of Nuremberg where it was on public display until the early 19th century.
Mixed media on panel - Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Young Hare
The incredible detail and care in this study of a small wild animal is a predecessor to the detailed scientific illustrations it has influenced and endures as an extremely accurate and sensitive depiction of one of nature's common creatures. It shows a hare in three-quarter view, its hind legs folded underneath its body, with the front legs slightly extended forwards. Although the work usually bears the title Young Hare, the animal can be identified as a mature wild hare.
Dürer's nature pieces are famously detailed. Young Hare is, however, not simply a scientific study of an animal. The work contains an innate tension, created by the contrast between the subject and its depiction: a hare is a notoriously restless animal, fleeing when approached too closely. The artist has captured the hare in a fleeting moment of stillness. The slight turn of its ear and the eye that's fixing the viewer, however, indicate that the animal has noticed us. Its hind legs are bent, ready to jump.
Whether the artist sketched a hare in the wild and completed the final piece with a dead specimen, or he kept a live animal in his studio is a question yet to be solved. The left eye reflects what seems to be a window. This has been taken as a clue that Dürer kept and painted the hare indoors. Adding a crossbar to the pupil of an eye is a recurring feature of Dürer's work and could simply be a technical method to create vitality in the eye. It could also be another testament to Dürer's meticulous attention to detail, of him capturing the reflection of his workshop window in his subject's eye. The prominent monogram and date indicate that the artist perceived the drawing as a complete work in its own right rather than a sketch.
Watercolor and gouache on paper - Albertina, Vienna
Adam and Eve (the Fall of Man)
Dürer's depiction of 'the fall', the moment in Christian mythology where the first two humans - Adam and Eve - disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of Knowledge, remains unique in its bold depiction of 'man' and of nature. This engraving was made shortly after the young artist returned from Italy, and is more about his own interest in the Renaissance, combined with a pride in his own home, than the story in the book of Genesis. In Adam and Eve (the Fall of Man) the figures are based on classical nudes, and the ideal human proportions and poses as proposed by Greco-Roman artists and architects of the time. The wild foliage behind the couple bears resemblance to German forests, which the artist would have been familiar with and thus he literally places Italian figures within his local environment. Adam holds a small branch with a sign hanging from it, which boldly proclaims the artist's name - written as '"Albert Dürer of Nuremberg" (reinforcing his German pride) in Latin (the classical language).
A parrot is perched on the end of the branch. The sound that parrots make was then interpreted as 'Ave Maria', and thus the birds were symbols of the Holy Virgin Mary, who is signified here as the woman who later compensates for Eve's original sin in Catholicism. As well as the snake, which is literally the devil according to the Bible, each animal has a particular symbolism. The rabbit, cat, and elk, represent the four 'humors'. According to Ancient Greek and Roman doctors and philosophers, there are four distinct bodily fluids in each person, and that an excess or deficiency in any one of these humors directly correlates with personality and health. In Dürer's Garden of Eden, the elk represents black bile, and a melancholic personality; the ox phlegm and a phlegmatic one; the rabbit blood and sanguinity, and the cat yellow bile, and the choleric. Again, the artist ironically uses the Biblical story of the fall of 'man', the failure and expulsion, to illustrate human beings' scientific and philosophical successes and ideals.
Engraving - Museum of Art, Boston
The Feast of the Rosary
Dürer's visit to Venice in 1506 culminated in the creation of the Feast of the Rosary, one of his most significant large-scale paintings. It shows the Virgin Mary surrounded by a large group of male figures and putti. She is being crowned with a wreath of roses by two cherubim whilst holding the Christ child on her lap. Saint Dominic stands to her right and two figures, thought to be Pope Julius II and Emperor Maximilian I, kneel at the front. Several more figures surround the throne. They are mostly believed to be members of the German community in Venice. Among them is Dürer himself, who is shown holding a piece of paper that reads EXEQUIT CUINQUE MESTRI SPATIO ALBERTUS DURER GERMANUS MDVI (It took five months Albrecht Dürer the German 1506).
The Feast of the Rosary is one of the most impressive results of the cultural relations between sixteenth-century Venice and the artistic centers north of the Alps. It skillfully combines characteristics of Northern-European art such as the highly detailed composition and the landscape in the background, with Venetian elements like the Sacra Conversazione motif and musical angels, which can be found in works by Giovanni Bellini such as his San Zaccaria Altarpiece (1505). Dürer used distinctly Venetian pigments in this work, including large quantities of lapis lazuli. North of the Alps azurite was much more commonly used and Dürer never used lapis in any of his Nuremberg works. By combining materials, techniques and pictorial elements from both Northern and Italian schools of painting, fusing the Venetian obsession with color and light with the German conventions of a religious altarpiece, he successfully bridges the gap between both Northern and Italian schools of painting.
Commissioned by a group of German merchants for the church of San Bartolomeo in Rialto, the presence of Venetian elements in a German-made artwork takes on more significance as it let patrons show their loyalty to the state of Venice while at the same time expressing their patriotism. Dürer's own interest to surpass his Venetian contemporaries by adopting their methods, skills, and qualities and taking them to a higher level, certainly played a big role as well. Being an established artist in his home, but having not quite found the same fame in Italy, he strove to prove his value to the Italian market. He himself was clearly satisfied with his work, writing to Pirckheimer that he had "silenced all those painters, who had said, I was good at engraving but at painting did not know how to handle colors."
Oil on Panel - National Gallery, Prague
Praying Hands is likely one of the world's most reproduced images, and has become an international symbol for piety and for Christianity, up until and including the present day. Using printing technologies Dürer could never have dreamed of when he made this drawing more than 500 years ago, the image has appeared on bibles, t. shirts, needlepoint, and even on Andy Warhol's tombstone. This sketch is made with ink and pencil on blue paper that the artist made himself and was produced not as a standalone work, but merely a preliminary drawing towards an altarpiece commissioned by Jacob Heller in 1507. The altarpiece depicted the coronation of the Virgin Mary for a church in Frankfurt. These hands are drawn towards those of an apostle kneeling next to Mary's tomb. The altarpiece was destroyed in a fire in 1729, although Jobst Harrich made a close copy in the 1600s, which is on display in Albertina Museum in Vienna.
Around the 1930s, a fable arose about the hands in this sketch, postulating that they were the hands of the artist's brother, worn from hard work and immortalized in this drawing. However, it is much more likely that the artist modeled the drawing on his own hands, and similar hands can be seen throughout his oeuvre.
These floating, praying hands are extremely significant in the history of religious symbolism and remain so popular due to the way they might belong to almost anyone - with the rough shirtsleeves suggesting a worker or everyday man, as opposed to an important priest or scholar. Even though the artist did not intend for this to be a standalone work of art, it is an excellent and enduring example of the combination of theological, humanist, and naturalistic interests in Dürer's work.
Ink and pencil on paper - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Melencolia I
This print is a very early depiction of melancholia, or depression, is an integral image both in the production of the myth of the "suffering artist" and in the progression of artists depictions of their own mental health and anguish. Melencolia I forms part of a group of three plates called Meisterstiche (Master Engravings) from 1514, the other two titled St. Jerome in His Study and Knight, Death and the Devil. In this composition, a winged female figure is deep in contemplation, absent-mindedly holding a compass in her right hand. She wears a wreath and is surrounded by numerous objects, all of which have a particular symbolic meaning. A sad-looking putto sits behind her; an emaciated dog rests by her feet. A flying bat in the sky holds up a banner that states the title. Melencolia I is an archaic spelling of Melancholia, or profound and unnatural sadness.
Art historian Erwin Panofsky famously described this work as Dürer's "spiritual self-portrait", a reflection of the artist's own melancholia or depression. In the Renaissance, melancholy was also believed to be closely linked to creative genius. The many objects depicted in the engraving underpin the notion that they were employed by Dürer to express his own artistic state of mind. The carelessly scattered and unused tools symbolize geometry, one of the seven liberal arts and likely the most significant to Dürer as an engraver, and the failure to utilize them. The hourglass, a well-known symbol for the transience of life, the ladder with no clear beginning or end, and the empty scales speak of apathy and aimlessness. The polyhedron seems to play on the famous Renaissance artistic concept of linear perspective, throwing it into confusion.
Both the personification of Melancholia and the putto have wings, but are firmly grounded on earth, their thoughts too heavy to let them fly. Even the dog seems too thin and weak to get up. The image radiates defeat and paralysis, chaos and helplessness. The obvious skill with which this engraving was executed, however, stands in sharp contrast to the artistic ineptitude the painting symbolizes and this work established Dürer as one of the greatest engravers of his time.
Engraving - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Rhinoceros
Ever since its first publication in 1515, Dürer's Rhinoceros has remained one of his most popular artworks. The woodcut shows the artist's interpretation of an Indian Rhinoceros depicted from the side standing on a small patch of soil. The date, the title RHINOCERUS, and Dürer's monogram signature are located above the animal's head on the right. An inscription on the top reads in translation: 'On 1 May 1513 [this should read 1515] was brought from India to the great and powerful king Emanuel of Portugal at Lisbon a live animal called a rhinoceros. His form is here represented. It has the color of a speckled tortoise and it is covered with thick scales. It is like an elephant in size, but lower on its legs and almost invulnerable. It has a strong sharp horn on its nose which it sharpens on stones. The stupid animal is the elephant's deadly enemy. The elephant is very frightened of it as, when they meet, it runs with its head down between its front legs and gores the stomach of the elephant and throttles it, and the elephant cannot fend it off. Because the animal is so well armed, there is nothing that the elephant can do to it. It is also said that the rhinoceros is fast, lively and cunning.'
The rhinoceros depicted in the work was a gift from Sultan Muzafar II of Gujarat to the governor of Portuguese India. The latter sent it to King Manuel I in Lisbon, who in turn gifted in to Pope Leo X in Rome. The animal was loaded onto a ship but, after a brief stop at Marseille where it was admired by King Francis I of France, the rhinoceros drowned when the ship sank in a storm.
Dürer never got the chance to see the animal himself. Its appearance was only available to him through written accounts and it is no surprise that Dürer's work does not show a realistic representation of a rhinoceros. The animal is shown with thick plates that resemble a suit of armor. The surface is covered in a pattern of circular marks. In addition to the horn on its nose, there is a second horn between its shoulders. Its legs are scaly, almost like that of a reptile.
As the first rhinoceros to arrive in Europe alive since the third century ACE, the emergence of this almost mythical creature was seen in the context of the Renaissance as part of a rediscovery of antiquity and roused huge interest. Dürer's woodcut depiction of the animal became popular throughout Europe. Choosing the woodcut technique over the more laborious and cost-intensive copper engraving allowed for a quicker and easier reproduction.
The first version of the print from 1515 was followed by altogether eight editions over the following three centuries. Later editions include an extended text. The image was repeatedly included in scientific texts. It also inspired subsequent artworks, from a panel in the west doors of Pisa Cathedral to Jean Goujon's obelisk outside the Church of the Sepulchre in Paris (1549) and Salvador Dalí's sculpture Rinoceronte vestido con puntillasvon (1956).
Woodcut - The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I
In this oil painting of 1519 the emperor Maximilian I is shown in half-length and three-quarter view in front of a green background. He is turned towards his right and in his left hand he holds a pomegranate, a symbol of abundance as well as of his empire, with the seeds representing his subjects. The emperor is clothed in a fur-trimmed robe with a black dress underneath. His black hat is wide-brimmed and adorned with a brooch. The coat of arms of the Habsburg family together with the symbol of the Order of the Golden Fleece is depicted in the upper left corner of the painting. An inscription in capital letters above the emperor relates his titles and virtues.
The Habsburg Emperor Maximilian I, whom he met in 1512 during a royal visit to Nuremberg, was among his most prestigious patrons. In 1518 Maximilian visited the imperial city of Augsburg where it is believed that the influential banker Jacob Fugger the Elder commissioned Dürer to paint the emperor's portrait. Before executing the work in oil, he sketched a pencil drawing, now in the Albertina in Vienna, annotating it: "Is the emperor Maximilian that I Albrecht Dürer portrayed in Augsburg, up in the high palace, in his small room, Monday 28 June 1518".
Maximilian I made no secret of the fact that he used artistic commissions as a tool for self-promotion. He was highly concerned with his image as a ruler and the commemoration of his life and achievements. In Dürer's portrait the emperor is shown in expensive dress, the heavy fur collar of his robe taking up a large part of the picture. His grey hair denotes his age and wisdom and the pomegranate lies heavy in his hand, reminding the viewer of his responsibility as a ruler. The expression on his face is stern and determined. Rather than having the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece displayed around his neck, as was usually custom, the fleece is dangling off his family's coat of arms, engraining the status further into his lineage. It has to be kept in mind that the portrait was painted after the emperor's death. The work, therefore, became one of the final pieces in Maximilian's series of artistic propaganda. Dürer subsequently adapted the painting into a woodcut, which would have been widely circulated and was eventually accepted as the best-known portrait of the emperor.
Oil on panel - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Biography of Albrecht Dürer
Dürer was born in the city of Nuremberg on March 21st 1471 to Albrecht and Barbara Dürer as the third child of the two, who would go on to have at least 14, and possibly as many as 18 children. His father, a successful goldsmith, had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós near Gyula in Hungary in 1455. He changed his surname from the Hungarian Ajtósi to its German translation Türer, meaning doormaker. Due to the local pronunciation, the family name eventually became established as Dürer.
Albrecht Dürer started an apprenticeship in his father's workshop at the age of 13, but showed such exceptional talent as a draughtsman that aged fifteen he began to be apprenticed under the painter Michael Wolgemut, much to the disappointment of his father at the time. He trained with him for three years from 1486 to 1489.
From 1490 to 1494 he spent time as a journeyman, or traveler, as was custom at the time, in order to expand his knowledge and skills by working with various other artists. In July of 1494 Dürer returned to Nuremberg to marry Agnes Frey, the daughter of a local coppersmith and lute maker. The marriage, which was arranged by Albrecht's parents, was not a particularly happy one, which is evident from letters to his close friend Willibald Pirckheimer where Dürer describes Agnes as an "old crow". The couple remained childless. Nonetheless, Agnes became instrumental in her husband's success, selling his works at market stands and fairs, following him on some of his travels and running his workshop during his absences.
Dürer traveled to northern Italy for the first time in late 1494, where he remained until 1495, finding much inspiration in the local art scene. Upon his return to Nuremberg in the same year, he opened his own workshop.
Dürer's success as a printmaker rapidly spread across Europe, fueled by his popular Apocalypse series of woodcuts from 1498. He was highly aware of his artistic image and authorship, which is evident in his bold monogram signature. As his art became increasingly valuable, Dürer's maker's mark was repeatedly forged, which even led him to file a complaint with the Venetian government against the engraver Marcantonio Raimondi, who had repeatedly copied his works and maker's mark, selling them off as originals. In the end, the court ruled that Raimondi could continue making copies of Dürer's, as long as he didn't reproduce the artist's monogram. The case famously stands as an early dispute in the development of intellectual property law.
Pirckheimer was Dürer's closest friend and advisor. A lawyer and humanist, he sat on the Nuremberg city council and had powerful connections throughout Europe.
Back in Nuremberg, he was made a member of the Great Council in 1509, underlining his social standing as a renowned citizen. Dürer was in close contact with Nuremberg's humanists, among them Pirckheimer, with whom he frequently discussed his work and subject matters, making sure they appealed to his cultured clientele.
After 1519 Dürer's health slowly began to decline. His eyesight became poorer and it has been suggested that he suffered from arthritis in his hands. Despite this, he continued to travel, going to the Netherlands in 1520, followed by a trip to Brussels. When he returned to Nuremberg in 1521, he had contracted an unknown illness, possibly malaria, which left him with recurring fevers and greatly reduced his artistic activity. He began a number of larger religious works, which were left incomplete, and created a handful of smaller paintings. His last major work, the Four Apostles (1526), was given to the City of Nuremberg.
In the final years of his life, Dürer became increasingly engaged in scientific topics, publishing treatises for which he also drew and engraved illustrations.
Dürer died in Nuremberg on 6 April 1528 aged 56. His large estate, including his house in Zisselgasse, now a museum, went to his widow. He was buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery where his tombstone reads, "What was mortal of Albrecht Dürer lies beneath this mound", a dedication written by his life-long friend Pirckheimer. Hans Baldung, one of Dürer's pupils, was sent a lock of his hair, which is today kept at the Vienna Academy of Arts. A macabre possibility is that some of his admirers are said to have secretly exhumed his body shortly after his death to create plaster casts of his face and hands.
The Legacy of Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer mastered various artistic media including painting and drawing, but during his lifetime it was as a printmaker that he became most renowned. His reputation spread throughout the continent as his prints were disseminated widely. Promoting his name through this relatively new medium inspired the Italian masters especially, among them Raphael and Titian, who frequently engaged printmakers to create copies of their works. Other followers copied Dürer's originals (Marcantonio Raimondi, Agostino Veneziano) or included elements from his landscapes into their backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Benedetto Montagna).
In Northern Europe many of his successors never created works of equal scale, focusing on smaller compositions instead. Only the Dutch master Lucas van Leyden produced larger engravings.
Dürer's pupils in Nuremberg included Hans Schäufelin, Hans Baldung Grien and Hans Süß von Kulmbach, all of whom went on to be renowned painters. In comparison to his prints, Dürer's paintings were less influential during his lifetime, mostly due to the fact that the majority were private commissions and therefore not widely accessible. His output as a painter however became increasingly valued in recent centuries. His works were admired particularly in Germany between 1870 and 1945 as they were seen as the epitome of German artistic accomplishment. After World War Two, the German Democratic Republic took his art as inspiration for Socialist Realism.
Hans Pleydenwurff
Michael Wolgemut
Dieric Bouts
Martin Schongauer
Giovanni Bellini
Willibald Pirckheimer
Erasmus of Rotterdam
Hans Baldung-Grien
Hans Schäufelin
Hans Süß von Kulmbach
Renaissance Print
Useful Resources on Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy
By Giulia Bartrum
Albrecht Dürer: A Biography
By Jane Campbell Hutchison
The Life and Art of Albrecht DürerOur Pick
By Erwin Panofsky
Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith
By David Hotchkiss Price
By Norbert Wolf
The Essential Dürer
By Larry Silver
The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer
By Kurth Wilhelm (Ed.)
The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Dürer
By Walter L. Strauss (Editor)
Delphi Complete Works of Albrecht Dürer
By Peter Russell
Albrecht Dürer: His Art in Context
By Jochen Sander
Albrecht Dürer: 101 Portrait Drawings & Paintings
By Raya Yotova
Albrecht Dürer - The complete works
'Dürer and Italy': A master's impact on Renaissance art
By Roderick Conway Morris / New York Times / May 18, 2007
Albrecht Dürer: The painter with 'a magical touch'
By Kelly Grovier / BBC Culture / September 19, 2019
Edited by Giulia Bartrum / British Museum
BBC Northern Renaissance 02 The Birth of the ArtistOur Pick
Episode from series with Joseph Leo about the Renaissance in Northern Europe, looking in detail at Dürer's career
Dürer's woodcuts and engravings
David Drogin and Beth Harris discuss Dürer's woodcut and engraving techniques, created for the Khan Academy
Visiting Albrecht Dürer's house | Check-in
Short video showcasing the Dürer House in Nuremberg
The Goldfinch (1654)
Dutch Golden Age Painting
The Venetian School
Dutch Golden Age
Content compiled and written by Alexandra Rivett-Carnac
"Albrecht Dürer Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. . TheArtStory.org
First published on 03 Oct 2018. Updated and modified regularly


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Maximilian Wilhelm Freiherr von Stetten (* 17. März 1717; † 6. November 1794 in Würzburg) war evangelisch-lutherischen Glaubens. Er war hochfürstlich Würzburger Generalfeldwachtmeister und Gouverneur zu Würzburg.

Herkunft
Seine Eltern waren Johann Christof von Stetten (1681–1730) aus dem Haus Kocherstetten und dessen Ehefrau die Freiin Anna Eleonora Regima von Jöstelberg (1684–1743).

Leben
1754 wurde Stetten erstmals als Deutsch-Ordens-Ritter, hochfürstlich Würzburger Grenadier-Hauptmann, erwähnt. Zu Beginn des Siebenjährigen Krieges, im Jahr 1756, stand Stetten dann im Infanterie-Regiment Roth-Würzburg in Böhmen. Das Regiment kämpfte unter Karl Alexander von Lothringen auf Seiten Habsburgs und nahm auch an der Schlacht bei Prag und an der Schlacht bei Leuthen gegen Preußen teil.

Am 14. Oktober kämpfte ein Bataillon des Regiments unter dem Kommando Stettens in der Schlacht bei  Hochkirch. Beim Angriff auf die preußischen Linien nahe Rodewitz konnten 36 Geschütze erbeutet werden. Stetten hatte sich dabei besonders ausgezeichnet:

"Bei dem Sturm auf die Schanzen hatte sich der Regimentskommandeur [...] Oberst von Stetten sowohl durch die Führung wie durch persönlichen Mut so ausgezeichnet, dass nach der Schlacht die österreichische Generalität zusammentrat und ihn aufforderte, sich um das Ritterkreuz des neugegründeten Maria-Theresia-Ordens zu bewerben."

Ab 1758 kommandierte Stetten das gesamte Regiment in Vertretung von Oberst Warnsdorf, der noch immer in Gefangenschaft war. Ab 1760 war Stetten Oberstleutnant und 1861 übernahm er offiziell das volle Kommando über die Einheiten der Regimenter Roth-Würzburg und Blau-Würzburg, die zuvor, obwohl in der gleichen Armee dienend, kaum miteinander Kontakt gehabt hatten.

Am 22. April 1763 wurde Stetten zum Generalmajor und zum kaiserlich königlichen Generalfeldwachtmeister befördert. Lange nach dem Krieg wurde er im Wirzburger Hof-, Staats- und Standskalender als "Herr zu Kocherstetten, Vogelsburg und Laschach, des hoh. deutschen Ordens Ritter, Rathsgebiethiger von der Ballei Hessen, und Kommandeur zu Griefstedt, kais. königl. Generalfeldwachtmeister, hochf. würzb. Generalfeldzeugmeisterer, hochfürstl. Kriegsrat, und Oberster über ein Regiment zu Fuß, dann hiesiger Stadt- und Festungskommandant, auch wirkl. geheim- und Hofkriegsrat" geführt. Alle Positionen, auch die des Stadt- und Festungskommandanten von Würzburg, hatte er bis zu seinem Tod im Jahr 1794 inne.

1775–1779 bekleidete von Stetten die Würde eines Komturs der Deutschordenskommende Ober-Flörsheim, ab 1779 war er Mitglied des Weißenseer Kreises.

Literatur
 J. G. L. Anderson: Geschichte der Deutschen Ordens-Commende Griefstedt, Erfurt 1867, Seite 312–323, ( Digitalisat)
 Geschlechts-Register Der Reichs Frey unmittelbaren Ritterschafft Landes zu Francken löblichen Orts Ottenwald, Tafel XLII

Einzelnachweise

Militärperson (Frühe Neuzeit)
Komtur (Deutscher Orden)
Person (Würzburg)
Maximilian Wilhelm Siegmund
Deutscher
Geboren 1717
Gestorben 1794
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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You could also make these pastries open faced, like my blueberry cream cheese danish recipe. It's an even simpler twist on the classic pastry. These are perfect for making ahead of time. They reheat nicely in the oven. Just pop them in an oven set to 400 F for about 5 minutes, and you've got beautiful, warm pastries. They are also great for breakfast on the go. They are handheld and compact, so you can grab them as you are headed out the door in the morning.
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High-school students and teachers in Las Vegas comment on Sam's appearances at their schools as part of the Just Voices program, which every year brings in an author to speak to kids about writing, storytelling, and the authors' lives.
Sam taught his Tell Your True Tale workshops to 20+ kids, and then for one week in May spoke to 1500 kids at seven Las Vegas area high schools.
● "Sam Quinones is the best author I had the pleasure of introducing to my students. His experiences and stories affected my students more than I anticipated. With the high number of Hispanic students in my classes, they were able to absorb his stories and relate "from a place of knowing." I did bring in some background information, but it was more historic information about the country.
● "They loved his work. His stories were not what students were used to getting in school, and I think that his work definitely opened their eyes to the possibilities of writing nonfiction. Professionally, I was able to integrate nonfiction text into my curriculum that definitely engaged the students.
● "This group of students appreciated the fact that they were able to meet someone who cares about the voice of young people. We studied stories from Sam's website and they vocalized their support of someone who was willing to give inexperienced writers a chance to tell their tale. I know that a majority of students enjoyed this experience as evidenced by their writing.
● "The following day, after the visit, my students and I spoke at length about what research means to the researcher. Quinones spoke at length about how essential it is that a writer's interest is piqued by an oddity or something out of the ordinary and from that moment on, it becomes a journey of research and asking questions with the purpose of getting to more questions.
● "For one, I was made an Honorary Latina, which shows how it helped strengthen my rapport with my students. I also have some students who had essentially checked out of English. They are credit deficient and repeating and had essentially given up. Right now, several of those students are passing with B's and C's, a major improvement over the F's they had.
*More than 20 teachers wrote evaluations at the end of the Just Voices program. These evaluations were anonymous. They were from seven Las Vegas area high schools: Basic, Coronado, Green Valley, Las Vegas, Legacy, Spring Valley, and Valley.


text:
Tom Joyce Fires Up Santa Fe
As Santa Fe says goodbye to the 150 folk artists from 54 countries around the world who sold a couple of million dollars of traditional crafts over the weekend at the International Folk Art Alliance's annual market, the city's Center for Contemporary Art is about to open an exhibition Tom Joyce's work.
Joyce was a MacArthur recipient in 2003 who has studios in Santa Fe and Brussels. Tom Joyce: Everything at Hand opens July 28th at Santa Fe's CCA:
Stretching from CCA's Tank Garage to its new outdoor sculpture garden, the exhibition features new works by Joyce influenced by his many years of working with industrially forged remnants and byproducts of large scale manufacturing. In addition to forged and cast iron sculpture, the show highlights iron-inspired photography, video, charred drawings and mixed media installations, including experimental bodies of work in materials newly utilized by Joyce.
Tom Joyce: Everything at Hand builds on the artist's decades-long interaction with iron, a metal at the earth's core that is crucial to human survival. The exhibition illuminates Joyce's ongoing experimentation with tools and technology, both at his home-based studios and at the state-of-the-art forging facility near Chicago where he has worked since 2003.
More than 250 million pounds of iron is forged monthly at the factory to create what Joyce describes as "the infrastructure at the heart of the mechanized world." Working there with a team of expertly trained industrial blacksmiths, Joyce refashions the freshly-severed "offspring" into new works that express the indispensability of iron as both a natural and industrial product referencing the material's political, environmental and historical impacts.
Those Darned Dalís
Artists Need to Specialize to Break Out
Irving Penn Dies
Lucio Fontana by the Numbers
Peters: Generational Shift Away from Santa Fe
Scottsdale Wants in on Folk Art
Filed Under: Artists


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text:
IAEA Director General's Statement Marking 30th Anniversary of Chernobyl Accident
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)
(As prepared for delivery)
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The accident at Chernobyl was the world's most serious nuclear accident and a great human tragedy.
On the 30th anniversary, we remember with respect and admiration those who lost their lives in the emergency and recovery operations.
Hundreds of thousands of people were affected by high radiation doses. Some 350,000 people were forced to leave their homes in severely contaminated areas. This was deeply traumatic for all concerned and had a lasting impact on their lives. Their suffering must not be forgotten.
Since 1986, radiation levels in the environment have fallen by a factor of several hundred, due to natural processes and counter-measures. Most of the land contaminated with radionuclides has been made safe and returned to economic activity.
The IAEA provided extensive assistance to the regions affected by the disaster.
We made a key contribution in remediation of affected cities and farmland, monitoring of human exposure to radiation, and dissemination of information.
That assistance continues today.
In Ukraine, for example, we continue to help with decommissioning of the reactors and radioactive waste management at the Chernobyl site. We are also supporting a regional project on radiological management of abandoned areas.
In Belarus, we have assisted with forest management in areas affected by the accident and helped our national counterparts to implement environmentally sound remedial technologies.
Chernobyl led to a leap forward in global cooperation on nuclear safety. Countries with nuclear power began sharing information and experience in a way they never had before. The IAEA's mandate on nuclear safety was enhanced. IAEA Safety Standards were expanded.
Important international legal instruments were adopted, including the Convention on Nuclear Safety. An international coordinated response system, with the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre at its heart, is now in place.
An IAEA peer review system has also been established. This involves the deployment of international teams of experts to advise countries on the operational safety of their nuclear reactors or the effectiveness of their regulatory system.
Despite the improvements made after the Chernobyl disaster, the world was confronted with another serious accident – at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan – in 2011.
This was a painful reminder that a serious accident can occur even in a technologically advanced country with a mature nuclear programme.
In the five years since then, considerable improvements have been made in nuclear safety throughout the world.
But the key lesson from both Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi for everyone involved in nuclear power – plant operators, governments and regulators – is that safety can never be taken for granted. Complacency must be avoided at all costs.
Nuclear safety is primarily the responsibility of individual States. But accidents can transcend borders, so effective international cooperation on nuclear safety is vital. The IAEA plays the leading role in bringing States together to uphold the highest safety standards.
We remain committed to helping our Member States to do everything humanly possible to ensure that accidents such as those at Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi never happen again.
Thirty Years of IAEA Support to Help Mitigate the Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident
30 Years after Chernobyl: IAEA Continues to Support Global Efforts to Help Affected Regions
In Focus: Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Chernobyl, 26 April 1986: The Accident and Its Consequences
The Chernobyl Project
Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident
Exploring 30 Years of Safety Culture: IAEA Hosts International Conference on Human and Organizational Aspects of Assuring Nuclea
In Memoriam: Yukiya Amano


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The best part about decorating your tree is choosing which ornaments get to be on it. This white ball ornament has a tulle body with plastic beads dangling from the bottom. Place this ornament on your tree and create the perfect look.


text:
Judicial Reports
BREAKING: Court remands 5 Ikorodu drug lords
By Editor-in-Chief November 30, 2022 38 views
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the remanded of five alleged drug barons, arrested in Ikorodu, Lagos, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), till January 17, 2023, when their bail application will be decided.
Justice Peter Lifu ordered their remanded to Lagos center of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), Ikoyi on Tuesday after arraignment.
The defendants includes Soji Jubril Oke; Wasiu Akinade; Emmanuel Arinze Chukwu; Oguntolure Sunday and a Jamaican, Kelvin Christopher Smith.
They all pleaded not guilty to six counts charge of conspiracy, unlawful importation of 2,139.55 kilograms of Cocaine, engaging in the organization, management and financing of a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) and unlawful possession of same drug.
Counsel to NDLEA Umar Hussain, said that the defendants were arrested with the drugs between the month of July and September 18 and 19, 2022 at Number 6, Olukonla Crescent, Solebo Estate, ikorodu, Lagos.
The prosecutor told the court that the offences committed by all the defendants are contrary to Sections 14 (b): 20 (1)(g); 11 and 19 of the National Drug Law Enforeement Agency Act CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (As amended) and punishable under sections 20 (2)(b) of the same Act.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their not guilty plea, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date.
The prosecutor equally urged the court to remand them in the prison custody till the determination of the charges against them.
But their counsel, Chief Benson Ndakara and Chief Liliana Omotunde, asked the court to grant their clients bail in the most liberal terms.
Chief Ndakara particularly told the court that two of his clients, Soji Jubril Oke and Wasiu Akinade are having serious health issues.
Upon hearing counsel's arguments on the bail application, Justice Lifu, ordered the remand of all the defendants in the Ikoyi facility of the NCOS, till January 17, 2023, when ruling will be delivered on the bail application.
The judge also ordered the head of the Correctional center to furnish the court with the health reports of the sicked defendants within two weeks.
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By Editor-in-Chief 4 days ago 0
Court dismisses suit challenging Lagos Okada ban
Court remands two for alleged possession of 32.70kg of illicit drug
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Perhaps nothing in life could ever be as depressing as finding out that you or someone you love has caught cancer and now has to fight for the privilege of living. It can be hard to stay in high spirits. In the article below, you will read some great tips about how to deal with cancer in general.
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Battle of the Books Tournament for Grades 1, 2, and 3 at Fox Creek School for the month of May.
Find the bulletin board at the Library Learning Commons in the elementary library.
Classes vote on which book in each round is their favourite until there is one winning book left.