title: Nadir

text: Since the concept of "being below" is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the nadir in more rigorous terms. Specifically, in astronomy, geophysics and related sciences (e.g., meteorology), the nadir at a given point is the local vertical direction pointing in the direction of the force of gravity at that location.


title: Nadir

text: The term can also be used to represent the lowest point that a celestial object reaches along its apparent daily path around a given point of observation (i.e. the object's "lower culmination"). This can be used to describe the position of the Sun, but it is only technically accurate for one latitude at a time and only possible at the low latitudes. The Sun is said to be at the nadir at a location when it is at the zenith at the location's antipode and is 90° below the horizon.


title: Nadir

text: "Nadir" also refers to the downward-facing viewing geometry of an orbiting satellite, such as is employed during remote sensing of the atmosphere, as well as when an astronaut faces the Earth while performing a spacewalk.


title: Nadir

text: A "nadir image" is a satellite image or aerial photo of the Earth taken vertically. A satellite ground track represents its orbit projected to nadir on to Earth's surface.


title: Nadir

text: Generally in medicine, "nadir" is used to indicate the progression to the lowest point of a clinical symptom (e.g. fever patterns) or a laboratory count. In oncology, the term nadir is used to represent the lowest level of a blood cell count while a patient is undergoing chemotherapy. A diagnosis of neutropenic nadir after chemotherapy typically lasts 7–10 days.


title: Nadir

text: The word is also used figuratively to mean a low point, such as with a person's spirits, the quality of an activity or profession, or the nadir of American race relations.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Joseph Kallinger (born Joseph Lee Brenner III; December 11, 1935 – March 26, 1996) was an American serial killer who murdered three people, and tortured four families. He committed the later crimes with his 12-year-old son Michael.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Kallinger was born on December 11, 1935, as Joseph Lee Brenner III at the Northern Liberties Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Joseph Lee Brenner, Jr. and his wife Judith. In December 1937, the child was placed in foster care after his father had abandoned his mother. On October 15, 1939, he was adopted by Austrian immigrants Stephen and Anna Kallinger.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: He was abused by both his adoptive parents so severely that, at age six, he suffered a hernia inflicted by his adoptive father. The punishments Kallinger endured included kneeling on jagged rocks, being locked inside closets, consuming excrement, committing self-injury, being burned with irons, being whipped with belts, and being starved. When he was nine, he was sexually assaulted by a group of neighborhood boys.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: As a child, Kallinger often rebelled against his teachers and his adoptive parents. He dreamed of becoming a playwright, and had played the part of Ebenezer Scrooge in the local YWCA's performance of "A Christmas Carol" in the ninth grade. When Kallinger was 15, he began dating a girl named Hilda Bergman, whom he met at a theater which he was allowed to visit on Saturdays. His parents told him not to see her, but he married her and had two children with her.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: She later left him because of the domestic violence she suffered at his hands. Kallinger was hospitalized at St. Mary's on September 4, 1957, due to severe headaches and loss of appetite which doctors believed was a result of stress surrounding his divorce. Kallinger remarried on April 20, 1958, and had five children with his second wife. He was extremely abusive towards his family, and often inflicted the same punishments on them that he had suffered from his adoptive parents.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Throughout the next decade, Kallinger would spend time in and out of mental institutions for amnesia, attempted suicide and committing arson.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Kallinger was arrested and imprisoned in 1972 when his children went to the police. While in jail, he had scored 82 on an IQ test and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and state psychiatrists recommended that he be supervised with his family. The children later recanted their allegations.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Two years later, one of his children, Joseph, Jr., was found dead in an abandoned construction building two weeks after Kallinger took out a large life insurance policy on his sons. Though Kallinger claimed that Joseph, Jr. had run away from home, the insurance company, suspecting foul play, refused to pay out the claim.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Beginning in November 1974, Kallinger and his 12-year-old son Michael went on a crime spree spanning Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Jersey. Over the next six weeks, they robbed, assaulted, and sexually abused four families, gaining entrance to each house by pretending to be salesmen. On January 8, 1975, they continued their spree in Leonia, New Jersey. Using a pistol and a knife, they overpowered and tied up the three residents. Then, when others entered the home, they were forced to strip and were bound with cords from lamps and other appliances.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: This culminated in the killing of 21-year-old nurse Maria Fasching, the eighth person to arrive. When she refused to follow Kallinger's orders he responded by stabbing her in the neck and back. Another of the residents, still bound, managed to get outside and cry for help. Neighbors saw her and called the police. By the time they arrived the Kallingers had fled, using the city bus as their getaway vehicle and dumping their weapons and a bloody shirt along the way.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Police investigated Kallinger after gathering the bloody shirt and eyewitness testimony that he and his son had been seen in the area. They soon found out about Kallinger's history of domestic violence, Joseph Jr.'s unsolved death, and a series of arsons targeted against buildings he owned. Kallinger and his son were arrested on kidnapping and rape charges. Kallinger was eventually charged with three counts of murder for his son Joseph Jr, Maria Fasching, and a neighborhood boy. Kallinger pleaded insanity, claiming God had told him to kill.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: He was found sane and sentenced to life in prison on October 14, 1976. Michael, meanwhile, was judged to be under his father's control. He was sentenced to a reformatory. Upon his release at 21, he moved out of state and changed his name. While in prison, Kallinger made several suicide attempts, including attempting to set himself on fire. Because of his suicidal and violent behavior, he was transferred to a mental hospital in Trenton, New Jersey. He was then transferred to a mental hospital in Philadelphia on May 18, 1979.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Flora Rheta Schreiber, the author of the bestselling book "Sybil", interviewed Kallinger in jail in 1976. The interview was the basis for a book on the case which was published by Simon & Schuster under the title, "The Shoemaker: The Anatomy of a Psychotic" in 1983. This book was later part of a Son of Sam lawsuit brought by one of the victim's families as Kallinger received royalties for the book. A judge awarded the family earnings from not only Kallinger, but Schreiber and Simon & Schuster as well, leaving Schreiber nearly $100,000 in personal debt due to expenses of the book's research, including phone calls to Kallinger in prison which totaled $1200 per month for several years. A later appellate panel awarded only Kallinger's royalties to the families.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Michael Korda, editor at Simon & Schuster, said that for many years he received a Christmas card from Kallinger from jail. Schreiber herself grew very close to Kallinger during the writing process, and the two exchanged regular letters and phone calls until Schreiber's death in 1988.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Joseph Kallinger died of heart failure on March 26, 1996, at SCI Cresson. He spent the last 11 years of his life on suicide watch.


title: Joseph Kallinger

text: Joseph Kallinger “The Shoemaker” Information researched and summarized by Christopher Greenlief, Amanda Hall, and Jenna Hafey Department of Psychology Radford University Radford, VA 24142-6946


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the Miller Brewery at the site of the original Miller Brewing Company complex.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: Miller Brewing Company was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller after his emigration from Hohenzollern, Germany in 1854 with a unique brewer's yeast. Initially, he purchased the small Plank Road Brewery in Milwaukee for $2,300 ($66,736 in 2018). The brewery's location in what is now the Miller Valley provided easy access to raw materials produced on nearby farms. In 1855, Miller changed its name to Miller Brewing Company, Inc. The enterprise remained in the family until 1966.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: In 1966, the conglomerate W. R. Grace and Company bought Miller from Lorraine John Mulberger (Frederick Miller's granddaughter, who objected to alcohol) and her family. In 1969, Philip Morris (now Altria) bought Miller from W. R. Grace for $130 million, outbidding PepsiCo.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: In 2002, South African Breweries bought Miller from Philip Morris for $3.6 billion worth of stock and $2 billion in debt to form SABMiller, with Philip Morris retaining a 36% ownership share and 24.99% voting rights.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: In 2006, SABMiller purchased the Sparks and Steel Reserve brands from McKenzie River Corporation for $215 million cash. Miller had been producing both brands prior to the purchase.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: On July 1, 2008, SABMiller formed MillerCoors, a joint venture with rival Molson Coors, to consolidate the production and distribution of its products in the United States, with each parent company's corporate operations and international operations to remain separate and independent of the joint venture. SABMiller owned 58% of the unit, which operated in the United States but not in Canada, where Molson Coors is strongest, but the companies had equal voting power.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: In September 2015, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that it had reached a full agreement to acquire SABMiller for $107 billion. As part of the agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, SABMiller agreed to divest itself of the Miller brands in the US and Puerto Rico by selling its stake in MillerCoors to Molson Coors. Consequently, on October 11, 2016, SABMiller in the U.S. sold its interests in MillerCoors to Molson Coors for around US$12 billion. Molson Coors gained full ownership of the Miller brand portfolio outside the US and Puerto Rico, and retained the rights to all of the brands that were in the MillerCoors portfolio for the U.S. and Puerto Rico.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: Miller has been a large motorsport sponsor since the 1980s. In the CART World Series, the company has sponsored drivers such as Al Unser (1984), Danny Sullivan (1985–1989, 1991), Roberto Guerrero (1990), Bobby Rahal (1992–1998) and Kenny Bräck (2003). It also sponsored the Miller 200 race at Mid-Ohio.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: In the NASCAR Cup Series, Miller has sponsored Bobby Allison from 1983 to 1988, Dick Trickle in 1989, Rusty Wallace from 1990 to 2005, Kurt Busch from 2006 to 2010, and Brad Keselowski since 2011. Allison won the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and Keselowski won the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company has sponsored the Miller High Life 500, Miller 500, Miller High Life 400, Miller 400, Miller 300, Miller 200, and Miller 150 races.


title: Miller Brewing Company

text: From its opening in 2001 until the end of 2020, Miller owned the naming rights to Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers when the naming rights were bought by American Family Insurance in 2019.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Wewelsburg () is a Renaissance castle located in the village of Wewelsburg, which is a district of the town of Büren, Westphalia, in the "Landkreis" of Paderborn in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The castle has a triangular layout, with three round towers connected by massive walls. After 1934 it was used by the SS under Heinrich Himmler, and was to be expanded into a complex which would serve as the central SS cult-site.


title: Wewelsburg

text: After 1941, plans were developed to enlarge it to be the so-called "Centre of the World". In 1950, the castle reopened as a museum and youth hostel. (The youth hostel is one of the largest in Germany.) The castle today hosts the Historical Museum of the Prince Bishopric of Paderborn and the Wewelsburg 1933–1945 Memorial Museum.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Predecessor buildings existed. One of these, the Wifilisburg, was defended during the 9th and 10th centuries against the Hungarians.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Count built another predecessor fortification. In 1123/24, after his death, peasants whom he had oppressed demolished the building. In 1301, the Count of Waldeck sold the Wewelsburg to the Prince-Bishop of Paderborn.


title: Wewelsburg

text: A document concerning this acquisition indicates that two fortresslike buildings stood on the hill, the "Bürensches Haus" and the "Waldecksches Haus".


title: Wewelsburg

text: The masonry of both predecessor buildings was integrated in the current triangular Renaissance castle. In its current form, the Wewelsburg was built from 1603 to 1609 as secondary residence for the Prince-Bishops of Paderborn, at that time . Its location is near what was then believed to be the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest of 9 CE.


title: Wewelsburg

text: The Wewelsburg was taken several times during the Thirty Years' War. In 1646 it was occupied and then razed by Swedish troops, by the army commanded by General Carl Gustav Wrangel. After 1650, the mostly destroyed castle was rebuilt by Prince-Bishop Theodor Adolf von der Recke and his successor Ferdinand von Fürstenberg. He carried out some architectural changes; the three towers of the castle got their baroque domes.


title: Wewelsburg

text: From 1589 to 1821, the castle was the place of residence of a bursary officer (or steward). Two witch trials took place in the Wewelsburg in 1631 (a former inquisition room is placed in the basement next to the east tower).


title: Wewelsburg

text: During the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle fell progressively into ruin. In 1802, during German mediatisation the castle came into the possession of the Prussian state. On 11 January 1815, the North Tower was gutted by a fire that was started by a lightning strike; only the outer walls remained. From 1832 to 1934, a rectory existed in the eastern part of the south wing of the castle.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1924, the castle became the property of the district of Büren and was changed into a cultural center. By 1925, the castle had been renovated into a local museum, banquet hall, restaurant and youth hostel.


title: Wewelsburg

text: At the end of the Twenties, the North Tower again proved to be the weak point of the architecture, and had to be supported by guy wires in winter 1932/33; the preservation of the castle was supported by the "Club for the preservation of the Wewelsburg" ("Verein zur Erhaltung der Wewelsburg"). After 1925, the renovation activities decreased.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1932, the local head of the district authority ("Landrat") ordered about seventy members of the "Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst" (FAD), (voluntary labour service), to be housed at the Wewelsburg. They were unemployed and supported by the state as "Notstandsarbeiter" (literally: "crisis workers"). Through the rent, the district of Büren thus hoped to recoup some of the running costs of the castle. However, in early 1933, negotiations to set up a full-sized camp for 214 FAD participants failed.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Prior to the Nazi party taking power, Heinrich Himmler, as leader of the SS, had decided that the organization should have a retreat at a castle "in the heartland of Hermann der Cherusker" (Armin the Cheruscian). Initially Himmler showed an interest in but negotiations failed in early 1933; he then visited Wewelsburg, at the suggestion of a local Nazi leader, .


title: Wewelsburg

text: Himmler decided to buy or lease the castle on his first visit on 3 November 1933. His architect, Hermann Bartels was able to draw on existing plans for the FAD camp, for the now envisaged "Reichsführerschule SS" (SS Leadership School). This school was mainly intended to ensure a unified ideological training of the SS leadership and would be run by the "Rasseamt" of the SS.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Negotiations were difficult, however, since the "Landrat" of Büren was unwilling to give up control of the castle. In the first half of 1934, a 100-year lease was agreed for the symbolic annual rent of ℛℳ1. Initial work on the school by the FAD had started in January 1934. That August, Manfred von Knobelsdorf, a brother-in-law of Walther Darré and former professional soldier, moved in with his family as "Burghauptmann". Himmler officially took over the Wewelsburg in a large ceremony on 22 September 1934. The "Völkischer Beobachter", in reporting on the event, while mentioning the Germanic and historic past of the region, emphasized the educational aspects.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1935, Himmler announced that the SS-castle was to be officially called "SS-Schule Haus Wewelsburg" ("SS School, House Wewelsburg"). The focus of the school was to become: ""Germanische Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Volkstumskunde u. a. als Rüstzeug zur weltanschaulich-politischen Schulung"" (i.e. "Germanic pre- and early history, folklore studies, etc. as an equipment for ideological-political training"). Knobelsdorff envisioned a kind of Nordic academy.


title: Wewelsburg

text: There is some speculation that it was Karl Maria Wiligut who convinced Himmler to use the castle not only as a school but also as a cult site; Wiligut allegedly was inspired by the old Westphalian legend of the "Battle at the Birch Tree" ("Schlacht am Birkenbaum"). The saga tells about a future "last battle at the birch tree", in which a "huge army from the East" is beaten decisively by the "West". During 1935, Wiligut reportedly predicted to Himmler that the Wewelsburg would be the "bastion". Himmler expected a big conflict between Asia and Europe.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Knobelsdorf led the "SS School, House Wewelsburg". But very quickly the focus of activity shifted away from schooling the SS leadership in a broad set of ideological fields to something much narrower. In fact, work concentrated more on conducting basic pseudo-scientific research in the fields of Germanic pre- and early history, medieval history, folklore and genealogy ("Sippenforschung"), all intended to provide the underpinnings for the racial teachings of the SS. A scientific library was established. But even the first plans by Bartels from early 1934 did not show any large-scale class rooms, only smaller cell-like rooms for individual study. Among those active at the Wewelsburg was Wilhelm Teudt.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Wewelsburg castle was also a centre for archaeological excavations in the region. Fields of activity included study of prehistory and ancient history (directed by Wilhelm Jordan, who led excavations in the region), study of medieval history and folklife (directed by Karlernst Lasch from March 1935), build-up of the "Library of the Schutzstaffel in Wewelsburg" (directed by Dr. Hans Peter des Coudres), and strengthening the National Socialist worldview in the village of Wewelsburg (directed by Walter Franzius).


title: Wewelsburg

text: This latter activity included such work as renovation of a timbered house in the center of the village of Wewelsburg – the ""Ottens Hof"" – between 1935 and 1937 for use as a village community center. Franzius also undertook various other architectural tasks.


title: Wewelsburg

text: The castle crew consisted of members of all SS branches, the "General SS" (""Allgemeine SS""), the police and the "Armed SS" (""Waffen SS""). Also working at the castle were proponents of a kind of SS esotericism consisting of Germanic mysticism, an ancestor cult, worship of runes, and racial doctrines. Himmler, for example, adapted the idea of the Grail to create a heathen mystery for the SS.


title: Wewelsburg

text: No proof exists that Himmler wanted a Grail castle, but redesign of the castle by the SS referred to certain characters in the legends of the Grail: for example, one of the arranged study rooms was named "Gral" ("Grail"), and others, "König Artus" ("King Arthur"), "König Heinrich" ("King Henry", referring to Henry the Fowler to whom Himmler claimed a connection), "Heinrich der Löwe" ("Henry the Lion"), "Widukind", "Christoph Kolumbus" ("Christopher Columbus"), "Arier" ("Aryan"), "Jahrlauf" ("course of the seasons"), "Runen" ("runes"), "Westfalen" ("Westphalia"), "Deutscher Orden" ("Teutonic Order"), "Reichsführerzimmer" ("Room of the Empire's Leader(s)"; "Reichsführer-SS", or "the Reich's Leader of the SS" was Himmler's title), "Fridericus" (probably in reference to Frederick II of Prussia), "tolle Christian" ("Christian the Great", probably referring to Christian the Younger of Brunswick, Bishop of Halberstadt), and "Deutsche Sprache" ("German language"). In addition to these study rooms, the SS created guest rooms, a dining room, an auditorium, a canteen kitchen, and a photographic laboratory with an archive.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Oak was used to panel and furnish these rooms, though (according to contemporary witnesses) only sparingly. All interior decoration was shaped by an SS sensibility in art and culture; the preferred elements of design were based on runes, swastikas, and Germanically interpreted "Sinnzeichen" (sense characters). Tableware, decorated with runes and Germanic symbols of salvation, was manufactured specifically for Wewelsburg castle, and Himmler's private collection of weapons was housed in the castle.


title: Wewelsburg

text: From 1939, the castle was also furnished with miscellaneous objects of art, including prehistoric objects (chiefly arranged by the teaching and research group Das Ahnenerbe), objects of past historical eras, and works of contemporary sculptors and painters (mainly works by such artists as Karl Diebitsch, Wolfgang Willrich, and Hans Lohbeck – that is, art in line with the aesthetics of National Socialism).


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1934, the eastern castle bridge was built and the castle moat lowered. The exterior plaster was removed to make the building look more castle-like. The following year, a smithy was established on the ground floor of the North Tower for manufacture of the wrought-iron interior decoration of the castle. The western and southern wings of the castle were rebuilt between 1934 and 1938; the eastern, between 1936 and 1938. The first new building, the guardhouse ("Wachgebäude"), was constructed next to the castle in 1937. An SS sentry post and a small circular location ("Rondell") were placed next to the guardhouse, as was a no longer extant SS staff building ("SS-Stabsgebäude"). The North Tower was strengthened and rebuilt between 1938 and 1943.


title: Wewelsburg

text: The first commandant of the castle (Burghauptmann von Wewelsburg), from August 1934, was Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Manfred von Knobelsdorff. He was partial to Karl Maria Wiligut's religious theories. The opinion of other SS-scientists about Wiligut were absolutely negative. SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Knobelsdorff was succeeded by Siegfried Taubert on 30 January 1938. Because Taubert was consigned to various other tasks he was absent from the castle for longer periods.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Since 1936, Himmler (who was often present at the castle) wanted more and more to expand the Wewelsburg to be a representative and ideological center of the SS Order. Consequently, although at first planned to be an educational training center, during the 1930s increasing measures were taken to transform the castle into an isolated central meeting place for the highest ranking SS-officers.


title: Wewelsburg

text: For financing the project, Himmler founded in 1936 the "Gesellschaft zur Förderung und Pflege deutscher Kulturdenkmäler e.V." (Association for the advancement and maintenance of German cultural relics (registered association)) and assigned the association as building developer. In contrast to the SS, the association was allowed to receive donations and loans. Until 1943, the project cost .


title: Wewelsburg

text: On 6 November 1935, Himmler forbade visiting the castle without express permission. In 1939, he further forbade publishing anything about the castle.


title: Wewelsburg

text: After the "" (the "FAD", "Voluntary Labour Service") ceased work on Wewelsburg, the "Reichsarbeitsdienst" (the "RAD", "Reich Labour Service") carried out modifications to the castle; but in 1938, the RAD was relocated to the ""Westwall"" (Siegfried Line). Between 1939 and 1943, prisoners from the Sachsenhausen and Niederhagen concentration camps were used as labourers to perform much of the construction work on Wewelsburg, under the design of architect Hermann Bartels. However, by a decree of 13 January 1943, all building projects which were unimportant for the war – including the Wewelsburg – had to be stopped.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1938, after "Reichskristallnacht", 17 Jews from Salzkotten, ten kilometers (about six miles) distant, were held in the dungeon of the Wewelsburg before transportation to the Buchenwald concentration camp.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In the middle of the 1930s, Himmler had a private safe mounted in the basement of the west tower. Only the commandant of the castle knew about it. The whereabouts of its content after the Second World War is unclear.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Swearing-in ceremonies were planned at the castle. Meetings of SS-"Gruppenführer" (equivalent to lieutenant-generals) at so called "spring conferences" were planned since 1939. Some talks probably took place at Wewelsburg Castle; the only documented "Gruppenführers"' meeting was held from 12 to 15 June 1941 – one week before the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. The highest ranking SS-officers, who planned the SS operation in the Soviet Union or who were intended to be used for the operation, were called up by Himmler. Concrete decisions were not made. The meeting's purpose was the ideological preparation of the attendant SS leaders for the campaign.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Another source mentions three or four ceremonies a year of SS leaders which took place at the castle.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Towards the end of the war Himmler ordered that Wewelsburg castle should become the "Reichshaus der SS-Gruppenführer" (Reich-House of the SS-Gruppenführer).


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1938, Himmler ordered the return of all death's head rings (German: "Totenkopfringe") of dead SS-men and officers. They were to be stored in a chest in the castle. This was to symbolize the ongoing membership of the deceased in the SS-Order. The whereabouts of the approximately 11,500 rings after the Second World War is unknown.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Himmler's plans included making it the "center of the new world" (""Zentrum der neuen Welt"") following the "final victory". The monumental estate was never realized; only detailed plans and models exist. The installation of a 15 to 18-meter-high wall in the shape of a three-quarter circle with 18 towers including the actual castle area centred on the North Tower of the castle, 860 m in diameter, was planned. The real purpose of the project was never clearly defined. Inside of this castle area buildings were planned for the exclusive purposes of the "Reichsführung-SS" (Reich Leadership-SS).


title: Wewelsburg

text: The main road of an SS village was also to be centred on the North Tower of the castle with a diameter of 1270 m. This road was to be connected with three radial roads and gates with the castle area. The residential area was to be placed in the northwest, the centre of the village in the north, and the SS-barracks in the west of the castle area; between the barracks and village a villa colony for higher SS-leaders; in the southwest farmsteads.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In the architectural plans from 1941, the estate had the shape of a spear pointing towards the north; the 2 km long access avenue with four tree rows road looks like a spear shaft with an access to the Rhynern – Kassel Reichsautobahn (freeway) to the south. The plan from 1944 shows the castle as the top of a triangular estate surrounded by further buildings. The plans also included a "Hall of the High Court of the SS" ("Saal des Hohen Gerichtes der SS"), streets, parkways, magnificent buildings, a dam with a power plant, freeway accesses and an airport. From 1941 on (after Hitler's successful military campaigns against Poland and France) the architects called the complex the "Center of the World". It was to be finished within twenty years. The complex was to be a center of the "species-appropriate religion" ("artgemäße Religion") and a representative estate for the "SS-Führerkorps" (SS leader corps). If the plans had been realized, the entire village of Wewelsburg and adjacent villages would have disappeared. The population was to be resettled. The valley was to be flooded. 250 million Reichsmark were budgeted for the estate.


title: Wewelsburg

text: The "Obergruppenführersaal" (SS Generals' Hall) and the "Gruft" (vault). Their ceilings were cast in concrete and faced with natural stone. On the upper floors a further hall was planned. The axis of this tower was to be the actual "Center of the World" ("Mittelpunkt der Welt"). A preparation for an eternal flame in the vault, a swastika ornament in its zenith, and the so-called "Black Sun" symbol embedded in the floor of the "Obergruppenführersaal" lie on this axis. Although both rooms appear to have a ceremonial purpose, nothing is known about if, or how, the rooms were ever used.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Where a primary cistern was originally located, a vault after the model of Mycenaean domed tombs was hewn into the rock, possibly to serve as some kind of commemoration of the dead. The room is unfinished. The floor was lowered 4.80 meters. The foundation of the tower was firmed with concrete, and a gas pipe leading to the centre was embedded, suggesting that an eternal flame was probably planned for the centre of this space. Twelve pedestals were placed around the perimeter, each with a wall niche above it; the purpose is unknown.


title: Wewelsburg

text: On the ground floor the "Obergruppenführersaal" (literally translated: Upper-Group-Leaders-Hall, referring to the original twelve highest ranking SS-generals, called Obergruppenführer), a hall with twelve columns joined by a groined vault, twelve window- and door-niches and eight longitudinal windows was created. The room was almost finished; the rebuilding work stopped in 1943. Assumedly it was to serve as a representative hall for the SS-Obergruppenführer. In the centre of the marbled whitish/grayish floor a dark green sun wheel ("Sonnenrad") is embedded. The axis of the sun wheel consisted of a circular plate of pure gold, which was to symbolize the center of the castle and thus the entire "Germanic world empire".


title: Wewelsburg

text: Since the 1990s the ornament has been called the "Black Sun" occasionally. It is not known if the SS had a special name for the ornament nor if they attributed a special meaning to it. Possibly the sun wheel had a relation to the Germanic light- and sun-mysticism which was propagated by the SS. Today it is used as a symbol in Neo-Nazism and in a variety of subcultures. However, the ornament has only been linked to the esoteric neo-Nazi concept of the Black Sun after 1991. The Latin inscription above the entrance ""Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur"" ("My house shall be called a house of prayer") reminds of the prince-episcopalian chapel which was originally located on the ground floor of the tower.


title: Wewelsburg

text: The upper floors were to be completed as a multi-storied hall with a big dome. It was to be a prestigious meeting hall for the entire corps of the "SS-Gruppenführer". This room was only planned. In order to realize the hall the upper half of the tower was dismantled in winter 1941/42.


title: Wewelsburg

text: When the "final victory" failed to materialize, the castle commander (or "Burghauptmann"), SS General Siegfried Taubert, fled on 30 March 1945 as the U.S. 3rd Armored Division closed in on the Paderborn area in the final phases of the war. Meanwhile, at his headquarters in Brenzlau, Himmler ordered adjutant SS Major Heinz Macher, with 15 of his men, to destroy the Wewelsburg. This took place on Saturday 31 March only three days before the 83rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Armored Division seized the grounds after reports from a nearby "Bürgermeister" that "SS men had set fire to their barracks in the castle, changed into civilian clothes and fled."


title: Wewelsburg

text: Because Macher's company ran out of explosives, they placed tank mines only in the unimportant southeast tower, the guard-building and the SS-cadre-building which was completely destroyed. The castle was set on fire and – according to information of the village citizens – the castle was open to looting.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Quote of former SS-General Karl Wolff referring to the Obergruppenführersaal: "This was a part of the myth which was to be introduced here. These are the twelve compartments(*), they were created according to mystic-confused things with which Himmler liked to play, of the Round Table of King Arthur. In fact we were twelve main department leaders (Hauptamtchefs) who represented equally next to each other their service areas because Himmler didn't have the courage to appoint a Deputy-Reichsführer-SS or a Deputy Chief of the German police."


title: Wewelsburg

text: Just offsite of Wewelsburg was the smallest German KZ, Niederhagen prison and labour camp. Begun on June 17, 1940, the camp was completed the following year and named after Niederhagen Forest, the name Himmler had given to the forest outside the castle several years earlier.


title: Wewelsburg

text: It began with 480 prisoners from Sachsenhausen, and grew to 1200, consisting chiefly of Soviet POWs and captured foreign labourers shipped to Germany, although early in its life it was also a gathering point for Jehovah's Witness prisoners. Correspondingly, a large percentage of the concentration camp inmates at Niederhagen who were working on the Wewelsburg Castle were indeed Jehovah's Witnesses, perhaps the only place where they constituted the core KZ population. During the SS's December 1942 Korherr Report it was reported to have only housed 12 Jews, all of whom had died.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Of the 3900 prisoners held during the camp's existence, 1285 died of typhus and 56 were formally executed. In August 1942, the Allies began deciphering death tolls transmitted from the camps; Niederhagen had reported 21 deaths for that month. The camp was dissolved in 1943 with most of the prisoners resettled in Buchenwald, though several dozen prisoners remained behind, housed directly in Wewelsburg.


title: Wewelsburg

text: Hauptsturmführer Adolf Haas, who had overseen the camp from its beginning, was transferred to a command position at Bergen-Belsen, while Schutzhaftlagerführer Wolfgang Plaul was transferred to Buchenwald. Untersturmführer Hermann Michl had last been recorded at the camp in 1942, and later appeared at the Riga ghetto.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1948/49, the castle was restored. On 29 June 1950, the castle was reopened as a museum and youth hostel, while the Niederhagen kitchen had been renovated into a village fire station.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1973, a two-year project was begun to restore the North Tower. Due to a local government reform the Wewelsburg became property of the district of Paderborn in 1975.


title: Wewelsburg

text: By 1977, it had been decided to restore the entire site as a war monument. It opened on 20 March 1982 under the name "Wewelsburg 1933-1945: Kult- und Terrorstätte der SS" in the former SS guard house in the castle forecourt. Several Niederhagen camp survivors were present.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 1996, the Historical Museum of the Bishopric of Paderborn ("Historisches Museum des Hochstifts Paderborn") opened in the east- and south-wings. The museum documents the history of the "Hochstift Paderborn" (Bishopric of Paderborn) which was one of territories of the Holy Roman Empire. In 2010, the museum's contemporary history department was reopened as "Wewelsburg 1933–1945 Memorial Museum". The new permanent exhibition "Ideology and terror of the SS" now presents the history of the Schutzstaffel's activities in Wewelsburg within the broader context of the SS as a whole.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 2000, a memorial was built in honour of the deceased Niederhagen prisoners; four years later, the Kreismuseum Wewelsburg was granted DM 29,400 for restoring and moving the remnants of the Niederhagen camp, as well as producing an educational film on the Ukrainian and Russian prisoners who were housed there. In 2006 and 2007, it hosted the annual Internacia Seminario, a meeting of Esperanto youth.


title: Wewelsburg

text: The Youth hostel Wewelsburg, with 218 beds, is located in the west wing of the castle. The "Historical Museum of the Prince Bishopric of Paderborn" is located in the south and east wings.


title: Wewelsburg

text: In 2010, a museum about the Nazi use of the castle opened. A news item stated that the exhibition "dubbed the world's first dedicated entirely to the dreaded Schutzstaffel, charts its growth from Hitler's elite guard to a band of a million men who committed unspeakable crimes across Europe. A discussion of tours of the castle on the Expedia web site in 2020 included this information: "...head to the former guardhouse in the forecourt for the Wewelsburg 1933-1945 Memorial Museum. Browse the free and fascinating exhibit "Ideology and Terror of the SS"". A fee applied to tour the castle, however. The Kreismuseum Wewelsburg web site stated that the exhibition "utilises a comprehensive media concept as well as classical image and text elements. Many qualitative, original exhibits such as Heinrich Himmler’s pocket calendar, concentration camp barrack walls and prisoners’ clothing are on display".


title: Of Human Bondage

text: Of Human Bondage is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It traces the development of Philip Carey, as his life becomes consumed by a sadomasochistic obsession. The novel is generally agreed to be Maugham's masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although he stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography; though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention." Maugham, who had originally planned to call his novel "Beauty from Ashes", finally settled on a title taken from a section of Spinoza's "Ethics". The Modern Library ranked "Of Human Bondage" No. 66 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: The book begins with the death of Helen Carey, the beloved mother of nine-year-old Philip Carey. Philip has a club foot and his father had died a few months earlier. Now orphaned, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, Louisa and William Carey.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: Philip lives at his uncle's vicarage. Aunt Louisa tries to be a mother to Philip, but his uncle is cold towards him. Philip's uncle has a vast collection of books, and Philip enjoys reading to escape his mundane existence. After less than a year, Philip is sent to a boarding school. His uncle and aunt plan for him to attend Oxford. Philip's disability and sensitive nature make it difficult for him to befriend other students. Philip learns that he could earn a scholarship for Oxford, which both his uncle and school headmaster view as wise, but Philip insists on going to Germany.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: In Heidelberg, Philip lives at a boarding house with other foreigners and enjoys Germany. Philip's guardians persuade him to move to London for an apprenticeship. His colleagues there resent him, believing he is a "gentleman". He goes on a business trip with one of his managers to Paris and is inspired to study art in France.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: In Paris, Philip attends art classes and makes new friends, including Fanny Price, a poor and determined but talentless art student and a loner. Fanny Price falls in love with Philip, but he does not know and has no such feelings for her. She subsequently commits suicide.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: Philip realizes that he will never be a professional artist. He returns to his uncle's house in England to study medicine, his late father's field. He struggles at medical school and meets Mildred, who works as a waitress in a tea shop. He falls desperately in love with her, and they date regularly, although she does not show him affection. Mildred tells Philip she will marry another man, leaving him heartbroken; Philip subsequently enters into an affair with Norah Nesbit, a kind and sensitive author of penny romance novels. Later Mildred returns, pregnant, and confesses that the man for whom she had abandoned Philip never married her, as he was already married with three children.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: Philip breaks off his relationship with Norah and supports Mildred financially, which he can ill afford. To Philip's dismay, after Mildred has her baby, she falls in love with Philip's good friend Harry Griffiths and runs away with him. About a year later, Philip runs into Mildred and, feeling sympathy, takes her in again. Though he no longer loves her, he becomes attached to her baby. When he rejects her advances she becomes angry, destroys most of his belongings, and leaves forever. In shame, and quickly running out of money, Philip leaves the house for good. He meets Mildred once more, towards the end of the novel, when she summons him for his medical opinion. She is suffering symptoms of syphilis from her work as a prostitute. Philip advises Mildred to give up that life but she declines and exits the plot with her fate unknown.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: While working at a hospital, Philip befriends a family man, Thorpe Athelny, who has lived in Toledo, Spain and is enthusiastically translating the works of St. John of the Cross. Philip invests in mines but is left nearly penniless because of events surrounding the Boer War. Unable to pay his rent, he wanders the streets for several days before the Athelnys take him in and find him a department store job, which he hates. His talent for drawing is discovered and he receives a promotion and a raise in salary, but his time at the store is short-lived.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: After his uncle William dies, Philip inherits enough money to allow him to finish his medical studies and he finally becomes a licensed doctor. Philip is temporarily placed as locum with Dr. South, a general practitioner in Dorsetshire. Dr. South is an old, cantankerous physician whose wife is dead and whose daughter is estranged. However, Dr. South takes a shine to Philip's humour and personable nature, eventually offering Philip a partnership in his medical practice. Although flattered, Philip refuses because he plans to visit Spain.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: He goes on a small summer holiday with the Athelnys, hop-picking in the Kent countryside. There he finds that one of Athelny's daughters, Sally, likes him. In a moment of romantic abandon one evening they have sex, and when she thinks she is pregnant, Philip decides to marry Sally and accept Dr. South's offer, instead of travelling the world as he had planned. They meet in the National Gallery where, though learning that it was a false alarm, Philip becomes engaged to Sally, concluding that "the simplest pattern – that in which a man was born, worked, married, had children, and died – was likewise the most perfect". He stops the pursuit of happiness and decides to be content with his lot.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: Maugham's initial title was "Beauty from Ashes", borrowed from Isaiah 61:3, "... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair"; however, it had already been used. He took the new title from Spinoza. Part IV of his "Ethics" is titled "Of Human Bondage, or the Strength of the Emotions" (). In this part, Spinoza discusses people's inability to control their emotions which, thus, constitute bondage. He also defines good and bad categories based on the people's general beliefs, connecting it to their “emotions of pleasure or pain”. He defines perfectness/imperfectness starting out from the desire, in its meaning of particular aims and plans. Philip Carey, the main character of "Of Human Bondage", was seeking this very useful end, and became satisfied only after realizing what his aim had been, and having found a person to share this aim with.


title: Of Human Bondage

text: Maugham had a stammer (instead of a club foot), lost his parents early in life, and was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He studied medicine and his tastes in literature coincide with those of the main character in this book. Although Maugham was never an artist, he was interested in painting. He possessed in his private collection works by four painters mentioned in the book: Pissarro, Sisley, Monet, and Renoir. In "The Summing Up", he discloses that he read Ruskin and became acquainted with many pieces of European art. Many of his other works are focused on this topic: "The Moon and Sixpence" (the main character has some resemblance to Paul Gauguin). Maugham wrote an article for "Life" magazine titled "Painting I Have Liked". "Of Human Bondage" is, probably, the most vivid instance of Maugham's inclination towards arts. According to Stanley Archer, more than 30 artists are named in the book, ten famous paintings are mentioned by name and many others are referred to. Over half of the 33 artists named in the novel were painters whose careers developed primarily in the 19th century. Of these, 13 are French, five English, and one, Whistler, is American. Eleven were alive at the time in which the plot of the novel is unfolding and five – Carolus-Duran, Degas, Monet, Raffaëlli, and Renoir – were alive when "Of Human Bondage" was published in 1915.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: The 47th G7 summit was held from 11 to 13 June 2021 in Cornwall, England, during the United Kingdom's tenure of the presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: The participants included the leaders of the seven G7 member states, as well as representatives of the European Union. The president of the European Commission has been a permanently welcome participant at all meetings and decision-making since 1981, while the current president of the European Council has been the EU's co-representative since the 36th G8 summit in 2010.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Participants included leaders of the G7 member states plus representatives of the European Union. The president of the European Commission has been a permanent participant at all meetings since 1981. The president of the European Council has been the EU's co-representative since the 36th G8 summit hosted by Canada in 2010.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued within the G7 process. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron were reported to have agreed that Russia should be invited to the 46th G7 summit in 2020, but the United Kingdom and Canada threatened to veto such a proposal if the United States and France went ahead. The 2020 summit was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, invited leaders from India, South Korea, South Africa and Australia. Australia welcomed the official invitation. Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, accepted the invitation and extended an invitation to Johnson to attend the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G Summit) in May 2021, which Johnson accepted. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, also accepted the invitation. It has been suggested that Boris Johnson is attempting to expand the G7 group, a meeting forum for the world's leading economies, to create the D10, a forum for the world's ten leading democracies.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: The 2021 summit was the first summit attended by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and US President Joe Biden, and was the last summit attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It was also the first and only summit for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, also attended the summit, whilst Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, participated remotely due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in India.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Topics of discussion included developing a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to call for the G7 to work on a global approach to pandemics to ensure an equal global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and to prevent future pandemics. He proposed a five-point plan to prevent future pandemics, which includes a worldwide network of zoonotic research hubs, developing global manufacturing capacity for treatments and vaccines, the design of a global early warning system, the agreement of global protocols for a future health emergency and the reduction of trade barriers. The G7 nations agreed to pledge 1 billion vaccines to other countries. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged the group to boost COVID-19 testing, diagnostics and vaccines to help finance the World Health Organization's program on those issues. Johnson also focused on climate change, a top priority for the United Kingdom ahead of the COP26 conference, which it was due to host in November 2021. UK Secretary for Business Kwasi Kwarteng indicated that Johnson sought coordinated action on carbon border taxes, green finance, the phase-out of coal and helping poorer countries to step up climate action. While the taxes were backed by the EU and US, EU climate ambassador Mark Vanhuekelen indicated that Australia may oppose the measures. The G7 nations pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Another topic of discussion was international co-ordination on economic policies. United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said there would be a revival in American multilateralism, focused on continued economic support. Other finance ministers, including Italian economy minister Daniele Franco, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and UK chancellor Rishi Sunak similarly called for close economic co-ordination on recovery plans and economic policies. Negotiations over reforming the corporate taxation of multinationals were also carried out, with the United States agreeing to a deadline of the summer to make progress on the issue after threatening to impose tariffs on European countries in retaliation for their new digital sales tax. The United States also reviewed a plan for the IMF to allocate up to £500bn in special drawing rights to its members, which had been widely endorsed by other countries but was previously blocked by the US. The G7 countries also launched the Build Back Better World initiative, a plan to fund infrastructure development in low and middle income countries.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: G7 finance officials also supported the need to regulate digital currencies. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz issued a statement about his concerns of authorizing the launch of Facebook's Diem (formerly Libra) cryptocurrency in Europe.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Boris Johnson stated that he would aim to 'unlock' travel restrictions between UK and amber-list US at G7 summit. It is unclear whether any agreement was made.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: The G7 nations called for peace in the Taiwan Strait. In response to this, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London stated that "The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone."


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 12 February 2021, finance ministers and central bank governors from the G7 members held a meeting to discuss the relevant financial issues, from fiscal stimulus to aid for poor countries. They were joined by representatives from the European Commission, European Central Bank, and Eurogroup, and leaders of the IMF, World Bank Group, OECD and Financial Stability Board.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 19 February 2021, a virtual meeting of G7 leaders was held to call for further international cooperation on vaccine distribution and to take steps on rebuilding from the coronavirus pandemic. The United Kingdom is expected to challenge other G7 countries to speed up the development of future vaccines to 100 days (a target previously set by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and to build momentum for a more coordinated approach to future pandemics, including the creation of a global health treaty. Ahead of the meeting, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to share surplus vaccines doses with developing countries and to call for help to develop vaccines more quickly. The meeting was US President Joe Biden's first multilateral engagement after taking office. He stressed the importance of international cooperation and declared "America is Back."


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga stated Japan's determination to host the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The G7 leaders supported the Olympics in the Leaders' Statement.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Also on 19 February 2021, the G7 leaders released their 'Leader's Statement' in which they pledged to intensify cooperation on the health response to COVID-19 and to support economic recovery. All leaders agreed on the need to ensure coronavirus vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics reach those that need them and agreed on the need for a green, sustainable global recovery, in particular welcoming the United States' readmission to the Paris Climate Agreement. David Malpass, President of the World Bank, welcomed what he said was a new “spirit of international cooperation” by G7 nations and its enlarged commitments to COVAX. However, Malpass also stated that a lack of transparency of contracts and delivery schedules was hampering the effort to get vaccines to developing countries quickly.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 12 March 2021, the Foreign Ministers of G7 and the High Representative of the EU issued a joint statement on Hong Kong electoral change, expressing their grave concerns at the Chinese authorities’ decision fundamentally to erode democratic elements of the electoral system in Hong Kong.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 18 March 2021, the Foreign Ministers of G7 and the High Representative of the EU issued a joint statement of condemnation of the continued annexation of Crimea by Russia.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 22 March 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson invited the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the G7 Leaders’ Summit as a guest.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 31 March 2021, the G7 Trade Ministers held their first meeting under the inaugural G7 Trade Track. They reaffirmed the importance of the rules-based multilateral trading system and welcomed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the new WTO Director-General, to their meeting.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 12 April 2021, the G7 foreign ministers issued their joint appeal on the eve of a NATO meeting in Brussels over concerns that the years-long War in Donbass could escalate sharply.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: On 5 June 2021, during a meeting at Lancaster House in London, the G7 finance ministers agreed on a deal to commit towards a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent, which will be aimed at preventing tax havens which cater for large multinational corporations. The commitment will also include steps to ensure that taxes are paid in the countries where businesses operate.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Queen Elizabeth II also hosted G7 leaders at the Eden Project following the first day of talks in Cornwall. At the age of 95, the Queen had already received two doses of an undisclosed COVID-19 vaccine and adhered to government guidelines while hosting world leaders.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: The Chinese government reacted negatively in response to criticism from the G7 of its human rights record, with the Chinese embassy in the UK accusing the group of "interfering", as well as "lies, rumours and baseless accusations".


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Following the summit media in India widely reported on Indian PM's address to G7. However, no address transcript, video or audio was released publicly. A sitting MP from the ruling party itself raised objection to this omission. The Press Information Bureau of India, government's PR agency released only a statement about the speech, instead of releasing the transcript as is usual.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Following the summit the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cornwall increased to 81.7 per 100,000 population on the Sunday after the summit, from 2.8 per 100,000 on the Sunday before the summit. The districts in which G7 events took place subsequently had the highest rates in Cornwall, with St Ives, the town nearest Carbis Bay, the highest at 920 per 100,000. The UK government denied the summit had caused the rapid rise in cases in Cornwall, pointing to the increase in summer tourism and an outbreak among students. Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the COVID Symptom Study, explained it as a "sudden influx of holidaymakers over half-term, as well as the recent G7 Summit and a previously unexposed local population".


title: 47th G7 summit

text: During the summit, Biden and Johnson had announced a New Atlantic Charter as evidence for their Special Relationship.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: The Biden administration subsequently withdrew American troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 without any coordination with other NATO members, prompting backlash from members of the British government.


title: 47th G7 summit

text: Brokered by the UK, details of the AUKUS agreement between Australia, the US, and the UK were agreed during the summit. The discussions took place without the knowledge of French President Macron. This approach was possible as a result of the UK not entering into a formal foreign policy and security treaty in the post-Brexit deal with the European Union (EU). As a result, the UK was free to pursue enhanced cooperation with other allies.


title: This Is Us (season 4)

text: The fourth season of the American television series "This Is Us" continues to follow the lives and connections of the Pearson family across several time periods. The season is produced by Rhode Island Ave. Productions, Zaftig Films, and 20th Century Fox Television, with Dan Fogelman, Isaac Aptaker, and Elizabeth Berger serving as showrunners.


title: This Is Us (season 4)

text: The series was renewed for a fourth, fifth, and sixth season in May 2019, with production for season four beginning that July. The season stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Niles Fitch, Logan Shroyer, Hannah Zeile, Mackenzie Hancsicsak, Parker Bates, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, Lonnie Chavis, Lyric Ross, Asante Blackk and Griffin Dunne.


title: This Is Us (season 4)

text: The fourth season premiered on September 24, 2019 and concluded on March 24, 2020. The season consisted of 18 episodes.


title: This Is Us (season 4)

text: This was the first season not to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.


title: This Is Us (season 4)

text: On May 12, 2019, NBC renewed the series for a fourth, fifth and sixth season of 18 episodes each, for a total of 54 additional episodes. Dan Fogelman, Isaac Aptaker, and Elizabeth Berger serve as the season's showrunners.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Manaus, Brazil, to Brasília and Rio de Janeiro. On 29 September 2006, the Boeing 737-800 operating the flight collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. The winglet equipped wingtip of the Legacy sliced off about half of the 737's left wing, causing the 737 to break up in midair and crash into an area of dense jungle, killing all 154 passengers and crew. Despite sustaining serious damage to its left wing and tail, the Legacy landed with its seven occupants uninjured.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The accident was investigated by the Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center ( - CENIPA) and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and a final report was issued in 2008. CENIPA concluded that the accident was caused by air traffic control (ATC) errors, combined with mistakes made by the American pilots on the Legacy, including a failure to recognize that their traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) was not activated, while the NTSB determined that both flight crews acted properly and were placed on a collision course by ATC, deeming the Legacy pilots' disabling of their TCAS system to be only a contributing factor rather than a direct cause.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The accident, which triggered a crisis in Brazilian civil aviation, was the deadliest in Brazil's aviation history at the time. It remains the second-worst plane crash in Brazil, after TAM Airlines Flight 3054 in 2007. This accident was also the first hull loss of a Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, the first fatal accident of a Boeing 737-800, and the first Boeing 737 Next Generation accident to result in fatalities on board the aircraft; , it is still the third-deadliest accident involving the 737 Next Generation series, after Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 and Air India Express Flight 812.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Gol Transportes Aéreos twin turbofan Boeing 737-800 aircraft, registration PR-GTD, was a new Short Field Performance variant, with 186 seats (36 Economy Plus and 150 Economy seats). It made its first flight on 22 August 2006, and was delivered to Gol on 12 September 2006, less than three weeks before the accident.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Six crew members and 148 passengers were on board the Boeing airliner. The six crew members and 105 of the passengers were Brazilian; the remaining passengers were of various other nationalities. The crew consisted of Captain Decio Chaves Jr., 44, First Officer Thiago Jordão Cruso, 29, and four flight attendants. The captain, who had also been serving as a Boeing 737 flight instructor for Gol, had 15,498 total flight hours, with 13,521 in Boeing 737 aircraft. The first officer had 3,981 total flight hours, with 3,081 in Boeing 737 aircraft.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Gol Flight 1907 departed Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus on 29 September 2006, at 15:35  (BRT) (18:35 UTC), en route to Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport, with a planned intermediate stop at Brasília International Airport.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The twin turbofan Embraer Legacy 600 business jet, serial number 965 and registration N600XL, newly built by Embraer and purchased by ExcelAire Service Inc. of Ronkonkoma, New York, was on a delivery flight by ExcelAire from the Embraer factory to the United States. It departed from São José dos Campos-Professor Urbano Ernesto Stumpf Airport (SJK), near São Paulo, at 14:51 BRT (17:51 UTC), and was en route to Eduardo Gomes International Airport (MAO) in Manaus as a planned intermediate stop.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The ExcelAire flight crew consisted of Captain Joseph Lepore, 42, and First Officer Jan Paul Paladino, 34, both U.S. citizens. Lepore had been a commercial pilot for more than 20 years and had logged 9,388 total flight hours, with 5.5 hours in the Legacy 600. Paladino had been a commercial pilot for a decade and had accumulated more than 6,400 flight hours, including 3.5 hours in the Legacy 600, as well as 317 hours flying as captain of Embraer ERJ-145 and ERJ-135 jet aircraft for American Eagle Airlines. (The ERJ-145 and ERJ-135 aircraft are regional jets of the same family as the Legacy.) Paladino had also served as first officer for American Airlines, flying MD-82, MD-83, and Boeing 737-800 aircraft between the U.S. and Canada. Both pilots were legally qualified to fly the Embraer Legacy as captain.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Two of the five passengers were Embraer employees, two were ExcelAire executives, and the fifth passenger was "The New York Times" business travel columnist Joe Sharkey, who was writing a special report for "Business Jet Traveler".


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: At 16:56:54 (19:56:54 UTC), the Boeing 737 and the Embraer Legacy jet collided almost head-on at , approximately midway between Brasília and Manaus, near the town of Matupá, southeast of Manaus. The left winglet of the Embraer sheared off about half of the 737's left wing, causing the 737 to nosedive and enter an uncontrollable spin, which quickly led to an in-flight breakup. When the 737 was hit, the left engine remained on the wing that stayed attached to the aircraft.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Boeing 737 crashed into an area of dense rainforest, east of the municipality of Peixoto de Azevedo. All 154 passengers and crew died and the aircraft was destroyed, with the wreckage scattered in pieces around the crash site.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Embraer jet was able to continue flying, despite serious damage to the left horizontal stabilizer and left winglet, though its autopilot disengaged and it required an unusual amount of force on the yoke to keep the wings level.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: With radio relay assistance from Polar Air Cargo Flight 71, a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft flying in the area at the time, the Embraer's crew successfully landed the crippled jet at Cachimbo Airport, part of the large military complex Campo de Provas Brigadeiro Velloso, at about from the collision point.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Passenger and journalist Joe Sharkey described his experience on board the Embraer in an article for "The New York Times", titled "Colliding With Death at 37,000 Feet, and Living", filed on 1 October 2006:


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Immediately after the Embraer's emergency landing at the Cachimbo air base, Brazilian Air Force and Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) officials detained and interviewed the flight crew. The two "black boxes"—the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR)—were removed from the Embraer, and sent to São José dos Campos, São Paulo, and from there to Ottawa, Canada, at the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) laboratories, for analysis.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: In an initial deposition, the Embraer flight crew testified that they were cleared to flight level 370, about above mean sea level, by Brasília ATC, and were level at that assigned altitude when the collision occurred. They also asserted that they had lost contact with Brasília ATC at the time of the collision, and their anticollision system did not alert them to any oncoming traffic.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 2 October 2006, the Embraer's captain and first officer were ordered by the Mato Grosso Justice Tribunal to surrender their passports pending further investigation. The request, made by the Peixoto de Azevedo prosecutor, was granted by Judge Tiago Sousa Nogueira e Abreu, who stated that the possibility of pilot error on the part of the Embraer crew could not be ruled out. The Embraer crew was forced to remain in Brazil until their passports were released to them on 5 December 2006, more than two months after the accident, after federal judge Candido Ribeiro ruled no legal grounds existed for "restricting the freedom of motion of the foreigners."


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Prior to their scheduled departure to the United States, the crew was formally charged by Brazilian Federal Police with "endangering an aircraft", which carries a penalty up to 12 years in prison. The two pilots had to explain why they had not switched on the transponder. They were allowed to leave the country after signing a document promising to return to Brazil for their trials or when required by Brazilian authorities. They picked up their passports and flew back to the U.S.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Brazilian Air Force (the Força Aérea Brasileira or "FAB") sent five fixed-wing aircraft and three helicopters to the region for an extensive search and rescue (SAR) operation. As many as 200 personnel were reported to be involved in the operation, among them a group of Kayapo people familiar with the forest. The crash site of Gol Flight 1907 was spotted on 30 September by the air force, at coordinates, east of Peixoto de Azevedo, near Fazenda Jarinã, a cattle ranch. Rescue personnel reportedly were having difficulty reaching the crash site due to the dense forest. The Brazilian airport operating company, Infraero, at first indicated the possibility of five survivors, but a later statement from the Brazilian Air Force, based on data collected by their personnel, who rappelled to the crash site, and local police who assisted in the SAR effort, confirmed no survivors. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared three days of national mourning.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The FDR and a nondata part of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the Boeing 737 were found on 2 October 2006 and handed over to the investigators, who sent them to the TSB for analysis. On 25 October 2006, after nearly four weeks of intensive searching in the jungle by about 200 Brazilian Army troops equipped with metal detectors, the memory module of the Boeing's cockpit voice recorder was found. The module was discovered intact, separated from other wreckage pieces, embedded in about of soil, and was also sent for analysis by the TSB in Canada.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 4 October, the recovery crews began moving the bodies to the temporary base established at the nearby Jarinã ranch. The FAB deployed a C-115 Buffalo aircraft to transport the bodies to Brasília for identification.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The recovery teams worked intensively for nearly seven weeks in a dense jungle environment, searching for and identifying the victims' remains. All the victims had been recovered and identified by DNA testing by 22 November 2006.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The accident was investigated by the Brazilian Air Force's Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In accordance with the provisions of ICAO Annex 13, the NTSB participated in the investigation as representative for the state (country) of manufacture of the Boeing, state of registry and operator of the Embraer, and state of manufacture of the Honeywell avionics equipment installed in both planes.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Once the black boxes and communication transcripts were obtained, the investigators interviewed the Legacy jet's flight crew and the air traffic controllers, trying to piece together the scenario that allowed two modern jet aircraft, equipped with the latest anticollision gear, to collide with each other while on instrument flights in positive control airspace.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Embraer's flight plan consisted of flying at FL370 to Brasília, on airway UW2, followed by a planned descent at Brasília to FL360, proceeding outbound from Brasília northwest-bound along airway UZ6 to the Teres fix, an aeronautical waypoint located 282 nmi (324 mi, 522 km) northwest of Brasília, where a climb to FL380 was planned. According to the filed flight plan, the Embraer was scheduled to have been level at FL380, proceeding towards Manaus, while passing the eventual collision point, which was about northwest of Teres.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Embraer's crew asserted in their depositions and subsequent interviews that they were cleared by ATC to FL370 for the entire trip, all the way to Manaus. The actual transcript of the clearance given to the Embraer's crew prior to takeoff at São José dos Campos at 14:41:57, as later released by CENIPA, was:


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: November Six Zero Zero X-ray Lima, ATC clearance to Eduardo Gomes, flight level three seven zero direct Poços de Caldas, squawk transponder code four five seven four, after take-off perform Oren departure.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Embraer's crew's altitude clearance to FL370 was further confirmed after their handoff to Brasília, during which they had the following radio exchange with ATC at 15:51.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: This was the last two-way radio communication between the Embraer's crew and ATC prior to the collision.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Embraer took off from São José dos Campos at 14:51, reaching FL370 at 15:33, 42 minutes later, where it remained until the collision.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: ATC maintained normal two-way radio contact with the Embraer until 15:51, when the last successful radio exchange with the Embraer was made on VHF frequency 125.05 MHz with Brasília Center. At that point, the Embraer was just approaching the Brasília VOR. The Embraer overflew the Brasília VOR at 15:55, four minutes later, and proceeded northwest-bound along UZ6. At 16:02, seven minutes after crossing the Brasília VOR, secondary radar contact was lost with the Embraer, thus stopping the display of the Embraer's reported altitude (mode C) on the controller's radar screen.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: No attempt was made by either the Embraer or Brasília Center to contact each other from 15:51 until 16:26, when, 24 minutes after the loss of secondary radar contact, Brasília Center called the Embraer and received no reply.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Brasília Center then unsuccessfully attempted to contact the Embraer six more times, between 16:30 and 16:34. At 16:30, the Embraer's primary radar target became intermittent, and disappeared completely from the radar screen by 16:38. Brasília Center unsuccessfully attempted to effect a handoff of the Embraer to Amazonic Center at 16:53, by calling the Embraer in the blind.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Embraer, though, started calling Brasília Center, also unsuccessfully, from 16:48 and continued with 12 more unsuccessful attempts until 16:53. Some limited contact was made at that point, but the Embraer was unable to copy the Amazonic Center frequencies. The Embraer then continued its attempts to reach Brasília Center, seven more times until the collision.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The collision occurred at 16:56:54 (19:56:54 UTC) at FL370, and neither TCAS had activated or alerted its respective crew, nor did any crew see the oncoming traffic visually or initiate any evasive action prior to the collision. While both planes were equipped with TCAS, the Embraer's transponder was later determined to have ceased operating almost an hour earlier, at 16:02, rendering both planes unable to automatically detect each other.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: At 16:59:50, about three minutes after the collision, Amazonic Center started to receive the Embraer's secondary radar reply, with its correct altitude and last assigned code. At 17:00:30 Amazonic Center unsuccessfully attempted to contact the Embraer by radio.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Embraer started calling on the emergency frequency, 121.5 MHz, immediately after the collision, but as later determined in the CENIPA report, the emergency transceivers in the area were not operational, thus the crew was unable to reach ATC on that frequency.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: At 17:01:06, the Embraer established contact on the emergency frequency with a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, Polar 71, which attempted to relay to ATC their request for an emergency landing, and continued to provide relay and translation assistance to the Embraer until its eventual landing.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: At 17:18:03, the Embraer contacted the Cachimbo Airport control tower directly to coordinate its emergency landing there, and landed safely at Cachimbo at 17:23:00.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Gol 1907 took off from Manaus at 15:35, flying southeast-bound along UZ6 and reaching FL370 at 15:58, 23 minutes later, where it remained until the collision. There were no radio or radar contact problems with the flight until its handoff to Brasília Center. No known attempts were made by ATC to warn Flight 1907 of the conflicting traffic.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 2 May 2007, the NTSB issued a safety recommendation document that included an interim summary of the investigation to date, as well as some immediate safety recommendations that the NTSB believes should be implemented by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to enhance flight safety. The NTSB reported that the Embraer apparently experienced a TCAS outage, unknown to its flight crew prior to the collision, according to the CVR:


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Preliminary findings in the ongoing investigation indicate that for reasons yet to be determined, the collision avoidance system in the Legacy airplane was not functioning at the time of the accident, thereby disabling the system's ability to detect and be detected by conflicting traffic. In addition, CVR data indicate that the flight crew was unaware that the collision avoidance system was not functioning until after the accident.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The NTSB added that the design of the Embraer's avionics is such that the nonfunctioning of the TCAS that apparently occurred is shown by a small static white text message, which may not be noticeable by the flight crew. The NTSB noted:Using only static text messages to indicate a loss of collision avoidance system functionality is not a reliable means to capture pilots' attention because these visual warnings can be easily overlooked if their attention is directed elsewhere in the flight environment.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Based on its observations, the NTSB recommended to the FAA that design changes be implemented to improve the noticeability of TCAS announcements, and that the FAA advise pilots of all aircraft types to familiarize themselves with the details of this accident, with the ways in which a pilot could inadvertently cause the loss of transponder and/or TCAS function, and how to recognize a loss of function.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 10 December 2008, more than two years after the accident, CENIPA issued its final report, describing its investigation, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The CENIPA report includes a "Conclusions" section that summarizes the known facts and lists a variety of contributing factors relating both to air traffic controllers and to the Legacy jet's flight crew. According to CENIPA, the air traffic controllers contributed to the accident by originally issuing an improper clearance to the Embraer, and not catching or correcting the mistake during the subsequent handoff to Brasília Center or later on. CENIPA also found errors in the way the controllers handled the loss of radar and radio contact with the Embraer.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: CENIPA concluded that the ExcelAire pilots also contributed to the accident with, among other things, their failure to recognize that their transponder was inadvertently switched off, thereby disabling the collision avoidance system on both aircraft, as well as their overall insufficient training and preparation.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The NTSB issued its own report on the accident, which was also appended to the CENIPA report with the following probable cause statement:


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The evidence collected during this investigation strongly supports the conclusion that this accident was caused by N600XL and GOL1907 following ATC clearances, which directed them to operate in opposite directions on the same airway at the same altitude resulting in a midair collision. The loss of effective air traffic control was not the result of a single error, but of a combination of numerous individual and institutional ATC factors, which reflected systemic shortcomings in emphasis on positive air traffic control concepts.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: avoidance system technology as a result of the inadvertent inactivation of the transponder on board N600XL. Further contributing to the accident was inadequate communication between ATC and the N600XL flight crew.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: CENIPA and the NTSB collaborated in the accident investigation, and while agreeing on most of the basic facts and findings, the two organizations arrived at conflicting interpretations and conclusions. The CENIPA report concluded that the accident was caused by mistakes made both by ATC and the ExcelAire pilots, whereas the NTSB report focused on the controllers and the ATC system, concluding that both flight crews acted properly, but were placed on a collision course by the ATC.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: According to "Aviation Week", "the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) strongly disagreed with the Brazilian conclusions regarding the Legacy pilots' actions as a causal factor, noting, 'The crew flew the route precisely as cleared and complied with all ATC instructions,' as did the GOL airlines crew." "Aviation Week" adds that "the Brazilian military operates that country's air traffic control system, conducted the investigation, and authored the report."


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The crash of Flight 1907 precipitated a major crisis in Brazil's civil aviation system, which included lengthy flight delays and cancellations, ATC work-to-rule slowdowns and strikes, and public-safety concerns about Brazil's airport and air traffic infrastructure.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Historically, Brazil was ruled by its armed forces from 1964 until 1985. Since then, a civilian government has taken over, but the country's airways () continue to be controlled and operated by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) via their Department of Airspace Control ( (DECEA)), overseen by a civilian defense minister. Most of Brazil's air traffic controllers are military non-commissioned officers, and all area control centers are run by the FAB.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: In October 2006, as details surrounding the crash of Flight 1907 began to emerge, the investigation seemed to be at least partly focused on possible ATC errors. This led to increasing resentment by the controllers and exacerbated their already poor labor relations with their military superiors. The controllers complained about being overworked, underpaid, overstressed, and forced to work with outdated equipment. Many have poor English skills, limiting their ability to communicate with foreign pilots, which played a role in the crash of Flight 1907. In addition, the military's complete control of the country's aviation was criticized for its lack of public accountability.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: Amid rising tensions, the air traffic controllers began staging a series of work actions, including slowdowns, walkouts, and even a hunger strike. This led to chaos in Brazil's aviation industry- major delays and disruptions in domestic and international air service, stranded passengers, cancelled flights, and public demonstrations. Those who blamed various civilian and military officials for the growing crisis called for their resignations.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 26 July 2007, after an even deadlier crash in Brazil (TAM Airlines Flight 3054 on 17 July 2007) claimed the lives of 199 people, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva fired his defense minister, Waldir Pires, who had been in charge of the country's aviation infrastructure and safety since March 2006, and was widely criticized for their failures. On the same day, Lula appointed former Supreme Court president Nelson Jobim to replace Pires, and vowed to improve Brazil's ATC system.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 6 November 2006, the families of 10 of the deceased filed a lawsuit for negligence against ExcelAire and Honeywell, alleging that the ExcelAire pilots were flying at an "incorrect altitude" and that the Honeywell transponder was not functioning at the time of the collision. Other suits were subsequently filed on behalf of other victims, with similar allegations against ExcelAire and Honeywell. The victims' families also filed suits against other U.S.-based defendants, including the two Embraer pilots, as well as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Amazon Tech (manufacturers of Brazil's ATC equipment), and ACSS (manufacturer of the Embraer's TCAS).


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The attorney representing the Embraer crew, Miami-based Robert Torricella, responded to the allegation that the crew was flying at an "incorrect altitude" by stating that according to international regulations, clearances and directives issued by ATC supersede a previously filed flight plan, and in this case:... the flight plan cleared by air traffic control at the time of departure required the Embraer to fly all the way to Manaus at 37,000 feet, and absent contrary directives from air traffic control, the Embraer was obligated to follow its cleared flight plan. As the findings of the investigation are made public, we are confident that ExcelAire's pilots will be exonerated.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: A Honeywell spokesperson stated, "Honeywell is not aware of any evidence that indicates that its transponder on the Embraer Legacy was not functioning as designed or that Honeywell was responsible for the accident."


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 2 July 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Cogan of the Eastern District of New York dismissed the families' suits against all the U.S.-based defendants under the premise of "forum non-conveniens". Without ruling on the merits of the cases, and while allowing discovery to continue, Cogan recommended the Brazilian court system as a more appropriate jurisdiction for the dispute.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 1 June 2007, Murilo Mendes, a Brazilian federal judge in the small city of Sinop, Mato Grosso, near the crash site of the Boeing, indicted the two Embraer pilots and four Brasília-based air traffic controllers for "exposing an aircraft to danger." On 8 December 2008, he dismissed charges of negligence against the pilots, but left in place a charge of "imprudence". He also dismissed all charges against two of the four Brasília-based controllers and reduced the charges against the other two, but supported bringing new charges against a fifth controller, based in São José dos Campos, the Embraer's departure point. On 12 January 2010, his ruling was overturned by Judge Candido Ribeiro in a federal court in Brasília, reinstating the negligence charges against the pilots.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 26 October 2010, a military court convicted air traffic controller Sgt. Jomarcelo Fernandes dos Santos, sentencing him to 14 months in jail for failing to take action when he saw that the Embraer's anticollision system had been turned off. Santos was to remain free pending the outcome of the appeal process. Four other controllers were acquitted for lack of proof. On 17 May 2011, Judge Mendes sentenced air traffic controller Lucivando Tiburcio de Alencar to a term of up to three years and four months, but ruled he is eligible to do community service in Brazil, instead, and acquitted Santos on charges of harming Brazil's air transport safety.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: On 16 May 2011, Judge Mendes sentenced the two pilots to four years and four months of prison in a "semi-open" facility for their role in the collision, but he commuted the sentences to community service to be served in the United States. Brazilian authorities accused the pilots of turning off the Legacy's transponder moments before the accident and turning it on again only after the crash, but this was denied by the crew in a deposition via videoconference. Mendes said in his sentence that pilots had failed to verify the functioning of equipment for more than an hour, a length of time he called "an eternity" in aviation. On 9 October 2012, Brazilian federal prosecutors announced that they had successfully appealed the sentence of the pilots, asking to increase their sentences by 17 months (a total of 5 years and 9 months). The new trial was scheduled for 15 October, with the pilots again facing trial "in absentia". On that date, the court upheld the prior convictions, but modified the sentences to 37 months for each, requiring that the pilots "report regularly to authorities and stay home at night."


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: In October 2015 Brazil's Supreme Court rejected the pilots' appeal, ordering them to return to Brazil to serve out their sentences.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: In 2007, Discovery Channel Brazil aired "A Tragédia do Vôo 1907" ("The Tragedy of Flight 1907"), a documentary about the disaster.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The Mato Grosso midair collision was featured in "Phantom Strike", a season-five (2008) episode of the Canadian TV series "Mayday" (called "Air Emergency" and "Air Disasters" in the United States and "Air Crash Investigation" in the UK and elsewhere around the world). The dramatization was broadcast with the title "Death over the Amazon" in the U.S. and "Radio Silence" in the United Kingdom.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: The flight was also included in a "Mayday" season-eight (2009) "Science of Disaster" special titled "System Breakdown", which looked at the role of air traffic controllers in aviation disasters.


title: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

text: In 2013, it was a featured flight in season 1, episode 5, of "Why Planes Crash", in an episode called "Collision Course".


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), also known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or immune thrombocytopenia, is a type of thrombocytopenic purpura defined as an isolated low platelet count with a normal bone marrow in the absence of other causes of low platelets. It causes a characteristic red or purple bruise-like rash and an increased tendency to bleed. Two distinct clinical syndromes manifest as an acute condition in children and a chronic condition in adults. The acute form often follows an infection and spontaneously resolves within two months. Chronic immune thrombocytopenia persists longer than six months with a specific cause being unknown.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: ITP is diagnosed by identifying a low platelet count on a complete blood count (a common blood test). However, since the diagnosis depends on the exclusion of other causes of a low platelet count, additional investigations (such as a bone marrow biopsy) may be necessary in some cases.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: In mild cases, only careful observation may be required but very low counts or significant bleeding may prompt treatment with corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, anti-D immunoglobulin, or immunosuppressive medications. "Refractory ITP" (not responsive to conventional treatment or constant relapsing after splenectomy) requires treatment to reduce the risk of clinically significant bleeding. Platelet transfusions may be used in severe cases with very low platelet counts in people who are bleeding. Sometimes the body may compensate by making abnormally large platelets.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: Signs include the spontaneous formation of bruises (purpura) and petechiae (tiny bruises), especially on the extremities, bleeding from the nostrils and/or gums, and menorrhagia (excessive menstrual bleeding), any of which may occur if the platelet count is below 20,000 per μl. A very low count (<10,000 per μl) may result in the spontaneous formation of hematomas (blood masses) in the mouth or on other mucous membranes. Bleeding time from minor lacerations or abrasions is usually prolonged.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: Serious and possibly fatal complications due to extremely low counts (<5,000 per μl) include subarachnoid or intracerebral hemorrhage (bleeding inside the skull or brain), lower gastrointestinal bleeding or other internal bleeding. An ITP patient with an extremely low count is vulnerable to internal bleeding caused by blunt abdominal trauma, as might be experienced in a motor vehicle crash. These complications are not likely when the platelet count is above 20,000 per μl.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: In approximately 60 percent of cases, antibodies against platelets can be detected. Most often these antibodies are against platelet membrane glycoproteins IIb-IIIa or Ib-IX, and are of the immunoglobulin G (IgG) type. The Harrington–Hollingsworth experiment established the immune pathogenesis of ITP.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: The coating of platelets with IgG renders them susceptible to opsonization and phagocytosis by splenic macrophages, as well by Kupffer cells in the liver. The IgG autoantibodies are also thought to damage megakaryocytes, the precursor cells to platelets, although this is believed to contribute only slightly to the decrease in platelet numbers. Recent research now indicates that impaired production of the glycoprotein hormone, thrombopoietin, which is the stimulant for platelet production, may be a contributing factor to the reduction in circulating platelets. This observation has led to the development of a class of ITP-targeted medications referred to as thrombopoietin receptor agonists.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: The stimulus for auto-antibody production in ITP is probably abnormal T cell activity. Preliminary findings suggest that these T cells can be influenced by medications that target B cells, such as rituximab.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: The diagnosis of ITP is a process of exclusion. First, it has to be determined that there are no blood abnormalities other than a low platelet count, and no physical signs other than bleeding. Then, secondary causes (5–10 percent of suspected ITP cases) should be excluded. Such secondary causes include leukemia, medications (e.g., quinine, heparin), lupus erythematosus, cirrhosis, HIV, hepatitis C, congenital causes, antiphospholipid syndrome, von Willebrand factor deficiency, onyalai and others. All patients with presumed ITP should be tested for HIV and hepatitis C virus, as platelet counts may be corrected by treating the underlying disease. In approximately 2.7 to 5 percent of cases, autoimmune hemolytic anemia and ITP coexist, a condition referred to as Evans syndrome.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: Despite the destruction of platelets by splenic macrophages, the spleen is normally not enlarged. In fact, an enlarged spleen should lead to a search for other possible causes for the thrombocytopenia. Bleeding time is usually prolonged in ITP patients. However, the use of bleeding time in diagnosis is discouraged by the American Society of Hematology practice guidelines and a normal bleeding time does not exclude a platelet disorder.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: Bone marrow examination may be performed on patients over the age of 60 and those who do not respond to treatment, or when the diagnosis is in doubt. On examination of the marrow, an increase in the production of megakaryocytes may be observed and may help in establishing a diagnosis of ITP. An analysis for anti-platelet antibodies is a matter of clinician's preference, as there is disagreement on whether the 80 percent specificity of this test is sufficient to be clinically useful.


title: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura

text: With rare exceptions, there is usually no need to treat based on platelet counts. Many older recommendations suggested a certain platelet count threshold (usually somewhere below 20.0/µl) as an indication for hospitalization or treatment. Current guidelines recommend treatment only in cases of significant bleeding.