title: Family Guy controversies

text: The episode "The Simpsons Guy" (a 2014 crossover with "The Simpsons)," featured Stewie making a rape joke that was shown in the trailer for the episode which generated controversy before the episode aired. Tim Winter, the President of the Parents Television Council, wrote to "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, Seth MacFarlane and Fox about the joke. In it, after Bart's prank call to Moe asking for a man with an innuendo name, Stewie makes his own call telling Moe that his sister is being raped. Winter felt that jokes about rape make it "less outrageous in real life", and that children who watch "The Simpsons" but not "Family Guy" would be unfamiliar with the latter show's brand of humor. A Fox spokesperson declined to comment on the joke. MacFarlane, interviewed by "Entertainment Weekly", said that although he would be attacked for stating it as such, the joke was "pretty funny... in context". A spokeswoman from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network said "I think the show is making it clear that rape is not funny by how they are positioning the joke."


title: Family Guy controversies

text: In addition, "Family Guy" has been panned by some media critics. Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" has frequently panned the show, grading it with a "D", and naming it the worst show of the 1999–2000 television season. Tucker responded to a reader's question in 2005 that he continued to dislike the series. Mark Graham noted "MacFarlane's incredibly rocky relationship with both the magazine and its lead television critic, Ken Tucker" in a blog on the "New York" magazine website.


title: Family Guy controversies

text: Other animators have criticized the show as well. The show's animation came under fire by "Ren & Stimpy" creator John Kricfalusi, who expressed concern that the simplistic animation of "Family Guy" would negatively impact the new wave of content creators.


title: Family Guy controversies

text: The show's writing style has also come under criticism by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. In a 2006 interview, Parker and Stone stated that they dislike having their show compared to "Family Guy." After the episode "Cartoon Wars" aired, Parker states they received support and gratitude from the staffs of "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill" for "ripping on "Family Guy"."


title: Family Guy controversies

text: The show has been criticized for being too derivative of "The Simpsons," with both exemplifying a working-class family with three children. Several episodes of "The Simpsons," including "," "Treehouse of Horror XIII," and "The Italian Bob," have poked fun at "Family Guy", with the latter two implying that MacFarlane's show is guilty of plagiarism. However, both MacFarlane and "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening have said that there is no serious feud between the two of them and their shows. At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International on July 24, 2010, "The Simpsons" writer Matt Selman jokingly referred to MacFarlane, stating, "Come on, Seth MacFarlane does one show three times." Selman later backed away from the comment, adding, "Those shows are all really funny – they deserve to exist." The animated film "," based on Groening's show "Futurama", featured a "Family Guy" "12 Laughs A Year" calendar. In a comic book crossover between Groening's two shows, "The Simpsons / Futurama Crossover Crisis", "Family Guy" character Brian Griffin is depicted on a television in Hell.


title: Family Guy controversies

text: In 2003, "The Simpsons" writer/producer Al Jean described "Family Guy" as "a little too derivative of "The Simpsons"" and said it "should be more original."


title: Family Guy controversies

text: Writer Chris Ware, author of "Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth," has noticed several similarities between the title character of his work and Stewie Griffin. Ware has remarked, "[The similarities are] a little too coincidental to be simply, well, coincidental." He further stated, "I don't want a book of seven years' worth of my stuff to become available and then be accused of being a rip-off of "Family Guy"." 20th Century Fox Television has insisted that Stewie is an entirely original character. In a 2003 interview, Seth MacFarlane said that he had never seen the comic strip before, described the similarities as "pretty shocking" and said that he "could see how Ware would reach that conclusion."


title: Family Guy controversies

text: An incident occurred when an episode of "Family Guy" included footage from a seven year old YouTube video displaying a glitch in the NES game "Double Dribble". The inclusion of the footage in the episode led to the removal of the original video by YouTube's automated content identification system. Within a few days however, the video was reinstated after a backlash from the community. Ultimately Fox released an apology after the video was reinstated.


title: Family Guy controversies

text: MacFarlane, whose other series "American Dad!" and "The Cleveland Show" have also been criticized by the PTC, has fired back on several occasions. In a 2008 interview with the magazine "The Advocate", he said:


title: Family Guy controversies

text: In January 2019, it was confirmed that "Family Guy" would no longer write gay jokes. During the episode "Trump Guy" which premiered on January 13, 2019, Peter Griffin, was seen telling a cartoon President Trump that the show was trying to "phase out" gay jokes. The change in direction was confirmed by the show's executive producers Alec Sulkin and Rich Appel, along with creator Seth MacFarlane, who stated that they wanted to better reflect the current climate in the show due to societal changes which have seen the jokes become frowned upon over time.


title: Family Guy controversies

text: In the Season 18 episode "Disney's The Reboot" which premiered on October 20, 2019, when asked "I thought I read you guys were phasing out gay jokes?" Peter Griffin replies: "That quote was taken out of context and widely misunderstood."


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The Bugatti EB 110 is a mid-engine sports car produced by Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. from 1991 until 2002, when the company was liquidated. It was the only production model made by Romano Artioli's Italian incarnation of Bugatti.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Development of the EB 110 started in 1987 on the engine and chassis, with work being carried out by Tecnostile, headed by Tiziano Benedetti, Achille Bevini, and Oliviero Pedrazzi. The trio had worked on the Lamborghini Miura chassis and engine development and had subsequently established their own company which was known to Ferruccio Lamborghini and Paolo Stanzani who were involved in early talks with Romano Artioli. Stanzani was chosen as company Technical Director thanks to his career experience with the Miura, Espada and Countach.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Several designers received copies of the chassis drawings in order to propose styling for the bodywork: Paolo Martin, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Nuccio Bertone and Marcello Gandini. Bertone proposed a design prepared by Marc Deschamps (who went on to style the B.Engineering Edonis in 1999) but soon after lost interest in the project. That same design would be presented again as Bertone Lotus Emotion.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Gandini gained wider acceptance by being well known to Stanzani and having worked on the styling of the Cizeta V16 which was powered by an engine designed by Tecnostile. Hence initial prototypes based on Gandini's design began testing in 1989.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The Bugatti president was not impressed by Gandini's angular design language incorporating a shovel nose and flared rear wheel arches and he was not in favour of the aluminium honeycomb chassis design proposed by Stanzani.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Gandini made a second iteration of the design with softer lines, revised front and rear lights as well as subtly different proportions for the rear wheel arches, styling cues also visible in the Maserati Chubasco of 1991. Artioli however was still not in favour and wanted further detail design changes which Gandini refused to make. Artioli thus tasked Gianpaolo Benedini (who had designed the "Blu Factory") to make the changes that he asked for. The final vehicle design replaced the network of cooling ducts on the bonnet was with ducts in the front bumper and on the outer sides of the two large fixed headlamps which replaced the early prototype pop-up head lamps. The scissor doors and the large windshield and side windows were retained.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Conflicts of opinion with Artioli led to the respective departure of Gandini and Stanzani. The role of technical director was filled by Nicola Materazzi, who had a vast experience of working with Lancia, Ferrari and Cagiva, and had been Chief Engineer for the Stratos GR5, GTO Evoluzione, F40 and C589. One of the first tasks for Materazzi was that of improving the chassis torsional stiffness because the aluminium honeycomb prototype chassis were losing a fifth of their torsional stiffness after 30,000 test km and the test drivers were noticing poor vehicle handling. A new carbon fibre chassis was developed and supplied by Aerospatiale, giving the car the stiffness it needed to achieve its performance targets.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Materazzi also brought his engines experience to fix the problems which were affecting the engine's durability on the dynamometers (excessive friction between titanium con-rods in contact). He then moved on to re-calculating the front to rear torque distribution. Test drivers Jean-Philippe Vittecoq and Loris Bicocchi stated that the cars were understeering too much so Materazzi altered the torque distribution from 40:60 to 27:73 and the drivers were satisfied with the handling improvement.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The car had many innovative technologies that were scarcely used by the automotive industry at the time of its introduction such as a carbon fibre monocoque chassis, active aerodynamics and an all-wheel-drive system for better handling. The design elements of the car paid homage to the distinctive Bugatti automobiles of the past. The name EB 110 is an abbreviation for the company's founder, Ettore Bugatti and his 110th birthday.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The Bugatti EB 110 GT was unveiled on 15 September 1991, at both Versailles and in front of the Grande Arche de la Défense, near Paris, exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti's birth.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: A lighter and more powerful variant with called the EB 110 Super Sport was introduced at the 1992 Geneva Motor Show just six months after the introduction of the EB 110 GT. The Super Sport variant was lighter than the GT by which was achieved by the use of carbon-fibre body panels on the exterior and in the interior. The Super Sport could attain a top speed of and could accelerate from in 3.2 seconds.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Early in 1994, Formula One driver Michael Schumacher purchased a yellow EB 110 Super Sport, giving the company a great deal of publicity. Soon after this, the car that Schumacher bought gained further publicity when Schumacher accidentally crashed his EB110 into a truck and blamed "inadaquate brakes" for the crash. Despite this, the car was repaired and Schumacher retained the car until 2003.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Derek Hill, son of American Formula One champion Phil Hill, was one of three drivers on a team that competed with an EB 110 in the United States at the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Hard times hit the company in 1995 and as a result of chairman Artioli's over-ambitious purchase of Lotus Cars in addition to the company's quest to develop the EB112 four door saloon along with the negative exploitation of the company's suppliers, the company was bankrupt. Dauer Racing GmbH of Nuremberg, Germany, bought the semi-finished EB 110 cars in the assembly plant plus the parts inventory through the bankruptcy trustee. The remaining chassis were later developed by B Engineering into their Edonis sports car which uses the monocoque chassis of the EB 110 combined with a modified version of its engine.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The car has a 60-valve, quad-turbocharged V12 engine fed through 12 individual throttle bodies, powering all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The engine has a bore x stroke of .


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The performance oriented Super Sport version had the engine tuned to a maximum power output of at 8,250 rpm and of torque at 4,200 rpm.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The car uses a double wishbone suspension, with the chassis built by Aérospatiale, an aircraft company, and made from carbon fibre. Equipped with Gandini's trademark scissor doors, it has a glass engine cover that provides a view of the V12 engine. The GT is equipped with a speed-sensitive electronic rear wing and active air flaps near the rear window that can be raised at the flick of a switch manually, while the Super Sport has a fixed rear wing.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Official performance numbers for the Bugatti EB 110 GT are 0– in 3.4 seconds, 0– in 3.46 seconds and a top speed of .


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: "Auto, Motor und Sport" tested a Bugatti EB 110 GT with its engine generating a power output of and published the following results:


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: French automotive magazine "Sport auto" recorded a 0– acceleration in 3.5 seconds, 0–1000 m time of 21.2 seconds and a top speed of .


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Official performance numbers for the Bugatti EB 110 SS are 0– in 3.14 seconds, 0– in 3.26 seconds and a top speed of .


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The testers suspected that the acceleration numbers could be lowered considerably by using the clutch more recklessly than they did.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: French magazine "Sport auto" measured 0– in 3.3 seconds, 0–400 m in 11.0 seconds, 0–1000 m in 19.8 seconds and a top speed of for the EB 110 Super Sport.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Dauer Sportwagen in Nuremberg, Germany, bought the remaining stock of EB 110 parts from the Bugatti factory after the company went bankrupt in 1995. A complete spare parts catalogue, with exploded diagrams and part numbers was made by the company. Three Super Sport models and a GT model were finished between 1999 and 2000 with the Bugatti logo and minor modifications.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The remaining incomplete chassis were used between 2001 and 2002 to manufacture five significantly improved cars called the Dauer EB110 Super Sport Light Weight. Power output was increased to , turbo lag was decreased and weight was reduced by with the use of a body made from carbon fibre. Top speed of the car was estimated at , acceleration from a standstill to 97 km/h takes 3.3 seconds and the car covers the standing kilometre in 19 seconds. A power output increase to with sports exhaust and modified ECU was available as factory option.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The company Dauer Sportwagen went bankrupt in 2008. All original Bugatti parts, including the high performance parts of the EB 110 Super Sport and the equipment, were bought in 2011 by the company Toscana-Motors GmbH located in Kaiserslautern, Germany.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The B Engineering Edonis is based on the Bugatti EB 110 Super Sport but has been extensively re-engineered, retaining little more than the carbon-fibre chassis from the original Bugatti sports car. It was conceived by Nicola Materazzi and styled by Marc Deschamps and introduced in 2000 with a complete exterior and interior redesign. The 3.5-litre Bugatti engine has had its displacement increased from 3,500 cc to 3,760 cc. The original four small IHI turbochargers have been replaced by two larger units from the same manufacturer. Engine power has been increased from and of torque to at 8,000 rpm and of torque. A version with 720 bhp set a speed of 359.6 km/h at the Nardo' proving ground in Italy.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: In addition, the four-wheel-drive triple-differential drivetrain from the donor car has been replaced with a much simpler and lighter rear-wheel-drive transaxle, thus saving approximately from the total weight. The car weighing has a power-to-weight ratio of 480 hp/ton. In addition, the engine's specific power output is an unprecedented 181 hp/litre. The brand claims a maximum speed of while acceleration from 0 to being achieved in 3.9 seconds. All changes were aimed at simplifying many technical issues which had been chosen by Stanzani and Artioli but which Materazzi felt were "making the easy difficult by using the un-necessary".


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: B Engineering planned to produce just 21 examples of the Edonis out of the parts retained by the company of the original EB 110 when Bugatti S.p.A. went bankrupt.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: Apart from manufacturing the Edonis, B Engineering also provides spare parts and service for the original EB 110.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The Brabus EB 110 is a modified version of the EB 110 Super Sports by German automotive tuning company Brabus. The car has not received any exterior modifications by the company with most of the modifications done to the interior and engine. The car has a bi colour blue and black leather interior and a custom made quad pipe exhaust system. Engine modifications of the car along with its performance statistics remain unknown. This is the only EB 110 modified by the company. The car's existence was known after it was put on sale in 2013.


title: Bugatti EB 110

text: The EB 110 LM participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1994. The car qualified a very competitive 17th overall and 5th in the GT1 class but did not finish the race. The car is now on display at the Lohéac Automobile Museum. A second car commissioned by wealthy pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martino Finotto also participated in the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona, but suffered a gearbox problem and did not finish.


title: Private Dancer

text: Private Dancer is the fifth solo studio album by Tina Turner. It was released on May 29, 1984, through Capitol Records and was her first album released through the label.


title: Private Dancer

text: After several challenging years of going solo after divorcing Ike Turner, "Private Dancer" propelled Turner into becoming a viable solo star, as well as one of the most marketable crossover singers in the recording industry. It became a worldwide commercial success, earning multi-platinum certifications, and remains her best-selling album in North America to date.


title: Private Dancer

text: In 2020, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Private Dancer

text: A&R man John Carter of Capitol Records is credited with relaunching the career of Tina Turner in the 1980s. In 1983, despite opposition from within Capitol, he signed her and managed her first album for the label, "Private Dancer". Recording sessions for the album took place at several studios in England and was overseen by four different production teams, including Rupert Hine, and Martyn Ware of Heaven 17. A radical departure from the rhythm and blues sound Turner had performed with her former husband and performing partner Ike Turner, the tracks in the album are a mixture of uptempos and ballads, inspired by pop and rock genres; it also features elements of smooth jazz and R&B.


title: Private Dancer

text: "Let's Stay Together" was produced by Martyn Ware of British band Heaven 17. Terry Britten produced the reggae-tinged "What's Love Got to Do with It". Rupert Hine produced "Better Be Good to Me", which had been written by Holly Knight, Mike Chapman, and Nicky Chinn, and most of the other songs. John Carter produced "Private Dancer", which was written by Mark Knopfler and has a guitar solo by Jeff Beck. "Help!" was recorded with The Crusaders.


title: Private Dancer

text: The album was released on May 29, 1984, and became an outstanding global commercial success. The album peaked at number three on the "Billboard" 200 chart for ten consecutive weeks and remained in the top ten for 39 weeks from August 1984 to May 1985. In the United States it was certified 5× platinum. In Germany, the album went 5× gold becoming one of the best selling albums in history. It peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, where it was certified 3× platinum, remaining on the charts for 150 total weeks. It was certified 7× platinum for the shipment of over 700,000 copies in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. The album has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. At the 1985 Grammy Awards, "Private Dancer" won four of the six awards for which it was nominated.


title: Private Dancer

text: In 1997, EMI, the parent label of Capitol Records, released a digitally remastered Centenary Edition of the "Private Dancer" album on CD, then including four additional demo tracks recorded in late 1983 and early 1984 with the producer John Carter, first released as B-sides to some of the "Private Dancer" singles, as well as three extended 12" remixes. The album remains the only Tina Turner studio album to have been re-issued in digitally remastered form.


title: Private Dancer

text: In 2015, the 30th Anniversary edition of this album was released by the Parlophone Records unit of Warner Music Group which now controls this album.


title: Private Dancer

text: The album received a positive reception from critics. The "Los Angeles Times" wrote that Turner's voice "melts vinyl".


title: Private Dancer

text: Debby Miller, in a July 1984 Rolling Stone review, felt that the album was a powerful comeback, with Turner's voice "rasping but strong", and a range of songs that were all good in a "modern rock setting" that was "neither detached nor very fussy". Robert Christgau of "The Village Voice" felt that she was able to deliver with honesty the "middlebrow angst of contemporary professional songwriting" and remain in control of an album with four different production teams to give it a "seamless authority". Also noted was Turner's ability to give energy and raw emotion to slickly produced professional pop/rock songs, its long term legacy is that the softening of her raw Southern soul style produced a "landmark" in the "evolution of pop-soul music".


title: Private Dancer

text: A 177 date tour to promote the album took place from February 8, 1985, to December 28, 1985. Called the Private Dancer Tour, there were 60 shows in Europe, 105 in North America, 10 in Australia, and 2 in Japan. Opening acts in North America included Glenn Frey and Mr. Mister. As well as songs from the album, Turner performed hits from her time with Ike & Tina, such as "River Deep – Mountain High", "Nutbush City Limits", and "Proud Mary".


title: Private Dancer

text: Alex Henderson, in a retrospective AllMusic review, says that the album was slicker than her R&B classics recorded with Ike & Tina, but she was still able to sing with a throaty passion to deliver her finest solo production. Stephen Holden has written in "The New York Times" that by using her English producers to soften her raw Southern soul style, discarding the "blaring horns, frenzied percussion and gospel calls and responses", the album became a "landmark" in the "evolution of pop-soul music".


title: Private Dancer

text: Michael Lydon, in Robert Dimery's "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", says that the album's lyrical themes embodied her persona of a "tough, sexy woman schooled in a tough world", and that her vocal delivery overcomes the slick production, with her "indomitable soul" unifying the multiple producers. In 1989, the album was ranked number 46 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the '80s. In 2003, VH1 named "Private Dancer" the 95th greatest album of all time. "Slant Magazine" listed the album at number 63 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s", saying, "Both a personal liberation and sonic redemption, "Private Dancer" established Turner not only as a genuine diva, but a bona fide force of nature".


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately north of the equator, at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is suitable as a location for a spaceport, because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The European Space Agency (ESA), the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), the French space agency CNES (National Centre for Space Studies), the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos) and the commercial company Arianespace conduct launches from Kourou. It was used by the ESA to send supplies to the International Space Station using the Automated Transfer Vehicle.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: In 1964 Guiana was selected to become the spaceport of France, replacing France's first launch site Centre interarmées d'essais d'engins spéciaux in Hammaguir, Algeria. In 1975, France offered to share Kourou with the ESA. Commercial launches are also bought by non-European companies. ESA pays two-thirds of the spaceport's annual budget, and has also financed the upgrades made during the development of the Ariane launchers.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: On 4 April 2017, the center was occupied by 30 labor unions and indigenous peoples leaders in the midst of the 2017 social unrest in French Guiana, highlighting problems from its colonial heritage, but was taken back on 24 April 2017.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The Guiana Space Centre was built in its current location for many reasons. Located near the equator, substantially less energy is required to maneuver a spacecraft from the spaceport into an equatorial, geostationary orbit. Adjacent to the Centre is the open sea to the east, reducing the chance of lower stages of rockets and debris from launch failures falling on or near human habitations. Rockets usually launch to the east to take advantage of the angular momentum provided by Earth's rotation.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The near-equatorial launch location of The Guiana Space Centre is meant to provide an advantage for launches to low-inclination (or geostationary) Earth orbits compared to launches from spaceports at higher latitude. This is because rockets can be launched into orbits with an inclination of as low as ~6°. The lowest inclination a rocket from Cape Canaveral could be launched to is 28.5° (the latitude of Cape Canaveral). Inclination change burns already require significant amounts of delta-v, needing to change inclination by 28.5° can seriously affects a rocket's capability to send satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). As a result of these phenomena, similarly sized Proton and Ariane 5 rockets can send similar payloads to LEO. However, the Proton, launched from high latitudes in Russia, can only send 6,270 kg to GTO while a Kourou-launched Ariane 5 can send more than 10,000 kg to GTO.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: Originally built in the 1960s under the name of Base Équatoriale du CECLES ( Equatorial Base), the pad located at was designed for the Europa-II launch vehicle. One Europa-II was launched from the site in 1971, which ended in failure due to a guidance problem, before the program was cancelled.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The pad at Giunana was demolished, and subsequently rebuilt as the first launch complex for Ariane as "ELA" (). Redesignated later as "ELA-1", it was used for Ariane 1 and Ariane 2 and 3 launches until being retired in 1989.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: In November 2001, it was refurbished again for the Vega rocket and renamed "ELV" (). The first launch was launched on 13 February 2012.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The ELA-2 pad (), located at , built in 1986, had been used for Ariane 4 launches from 1988 until 2003. Before 1988, although purpose-built for "Ariane 4", the pad hosted an "Ariane-2" and two "Ariane-3" launches. The complex consisted of two areas: the launcher preparation zone and the launch pad, separated by one kilometre, allowing a launcher to be assembled in the preparation zone while another launches from the pad. A mobile service tower at the launch pad provided a protected environment for payload installation and final preparation of the rocket. In September 2011 the pad's service tower was demolished using explosives.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: ELA-3 () has been active, launching Ariane 5 rockets since 1996. This facility is located at and covers an area of .


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: ELA4 is located along the Route de l'Espace in the Roche Christine site at , between "ELA-3" and "ELS" launch facilities. CNES was responsible for the construction of the Ariane 6 ground segments including the new launch pad. Earthworks on the 150 hectare launch site began at the end of June 2015 and was completed at the start of 2016. Four platforms were levelled to accommodate the launch pad, the liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks and the assembly building. Civil engineering works on the flame trench and other buildings began in the summer of 2016 and ended in 2019. The new launch facility was inaugurated on 28 September 2021 with first flight of the Ariane 6 scheduled in 2023.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: ESA has built ELS () at for launching Russian-built Soyuz-2 rockets. The first Soyuz launch from ELS was postponed several times, but launched on 21 October 2011.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: ELS is located on the territory of Sinnamary commune, from Kourou harbor. It is northwest of the site used for the Ariane 5 launches. Under the terms of the Russo-European joint venture, ESA will augment its own launch vehicle fleet with Soyuz rockets — using them to launch ESA or commercial payloads — and the Russians will get access to the Kourou spaceport for launching their own payloads with Soyuz rockets. Russia will use the Guiana Space Centre in addition to Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Guiana location has the significant benefit of greatly increased payload capability, owing to the near equatorial position. A Soyuz rocket with a 1.7 tones to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) performance from Baikonur will increase its payload potential to 2.8 tones from the Guiana launch site.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The ELS project is being co-funded by Arianespace, ESA, and the European Union, with CNES being the prime contractor. The project has a projected cost of approximately €320 million, where €120 million are allocated for modernizing the Soyuz vehicle. The official opening of the launch site construction occurred on 27 February 2007. Excavation work however, had previously begun several months beforehand.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: On 13 September 2010, Spaceflight Now reported that after several delays in the construction of a mobile gantry the launch pad had been finished, and the first flight of the Soyuz was expected to occur in early 2011. By October 2010, 18 launch contracts were signed. Arianespace has ordered 24 launchers from Russian industry.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: On 21 October 2011, two Galileo IOV-1 and IOV-2 satellites were launched using a Soyuz-ST rocket, in the "first Russian Soyuz vehicle ever launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.".


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: Astrium assembles each Ariane 5 launcher in the Launcher Integration Building. The vehicle is then delivered to the Final Assembly Building for payload integration by Arianespace. The Final Assembly Building is located from the ELA-3 launch zone. The mobile launch table completes the trip with an Ariane 5 in about one hour. It is then secured in place over the launch pad's flame ducts.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: Fire safety is ensured by a detachment of the Paris Fire Brigade, a branch of the French Army. Security around the base is ensured by French Gendarmerie forces, assisted by the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment of the French Foreign Legion. Before and during launch windows, CSG facility security is significantly enhanced by anti-personnel and anti-aircraft measures, the exact configurations of which are classified by the French military. All entrants to the launch complex are also subject to checks for proof of permission to enter the facility.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The Guiana Space Centre (as per CNES) also contains the "Îles du Salut", a former penal colony including the infamous Devil's Island. Now a tourist site, the islands are under the launching trajectory for geosynchronous orbit and have to be evacuated during launches.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: , Kourou counts amongst the spaceports with the highest percentage of successful launches, both successive and overall. Here is a chronology of all orbital launches from the Kourou spaceport since 1970, under the French and European space programmes.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The space sector was responsible for about 15% of French Guiana's GDP in 2014, around half of the 28% it was in 1990. This reduction is mostly due to expansion in other sectors, rather than decreasing space activity. As of 2020 the space sector employed 4620 people in Guiana, meaning the industry was responsible for just under 10% of salaried jobs in the territory, though there are estimates that as many as 9000 people are employed directly and indirectly as a result of activities at the spaceport. The Guiana Space Centre (or CSG) is one of the spaceports in the world that receives the most traffic, and it receives large amounts of funding from the European Space Agency (ESA), with the organisation covering around 66% of the spaceport's annual budget, as well as financing new facilities. Indigenous and local activist groups argue that mainland France is only interested in French Guiana as far as the space centre is concerned, and the funding that the space centre receives is symbolic given the inequity in living standards seen between the department and mainland France. Historically, the space centre has been referred to as its own state, and activists have accused both the French state and the space centre of colonial practices.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: Decolonisation of space exploration is mostly focussed on large scale efforts regarding outer space environments, however issues surrounding the Guiana Space Centre have been attributed to the continued postcolonial running of French Guiana. Proponents of this line of thinking argue that whilst the general populace may want to remain a territory of France for the benefits this entails, the negative impacts of colonialism are still being seen today, particularly in the running of the space centre. For example, despite there being high poverty levels and unemployment rates of over 20% in the department, the cost of living remains high due to a dependence on mainland France for imported food and resources, yet large amounts of funding are invested in the space programme, rather than in public services for the department.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: The territory became the site of strikes and protests over the course of March and April 2017, which were held to highlight the insecurity and infrastructural issues facing French Guiana brought about by its colonial history. Alongside 30 labour unions who launched strikes, the Collective of 500 Brothers led protests in Kourou, which spread across the entire country, and resonated in mainland France. On 21 March 2017, the launch of an Ariane 5 rocket carrying a Brazilian satellite and a South Korean satellite was prevented due to protesters and workers on strike from the CSG blockading the centre. Further strikes and occupation of the space centre meant that the satellites were not launched until May 2017. Negotiations between the French government and Guianese protesters resulted in a rejection of a €1.1 billion offer made by the French, with the Guianese demanding at least €3 billion in aid. Since the protests, CNES (National Centre for Space Studies), the French government space agency that operate the spaceport, added an additional €10 million to the €40 it had already pledged to fund economic and social programmes in French Guiana. It has been said that the impact of these protests demonstrated not only the locality of the impact of colonialism, but also the vulnerability of postcolonialism in space travel to the organisation of workers and citizens.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: Scholars in the field of labor geography, the study of spatial relationships in the context of employment and worker agency, have begun geographical analysis of space centres. In addition to the impacts experienced during the 2017 unrest, the CSG also experienced worker walkouts in 2011. Workers who operated the radar responsible for tracking an Ariane 5 rocket's launch into space were part of strike action organised by the Trade Union of French Guiana workers representing workers from a subcontractor of Ariane in Italy, Telespazio. This walkout prevented the scheduled launch with only 7 hours’ notice, and delayed satellite launches set to benefit the United States and the Middle East. Although workers unionising has hindered missions, it has been suggested that workers perpetuate the uneven conditions around space facilities that result from colonialism and the capitalist modes of production. Despite being negatively impacted by these uneven conditions, worker efforts to make the mundane or potentially high-stress jobs they do more enjoyable or manageable contribute to the success of the facilities and further “astro-capitalism”. At the CSG certain traditions arose in the workplace that were believed to increase chances of success, such as lighting candles at the church in Kourou when launches were taking place, or sprinkling salt in order to cultivate professional working relationships.


title: Guiana Space Centre

text: It has also been stressed that consideration of different intersectional identities must also occur to understand labour geographies of space centres, so that different experiences and voices can be understood in the context of the space age. Different identities impact the labour geographies of the CSG and French Guiana as a whole. Tension between workers has been seen within the space centre, where European engineers have criticised the “lack of professional commitment to labour” of the Guianese workers. Also, there is tension between workers at the facility and workers in other sectors, with there being claims that citizens must choose between working in the space centre or living in poverty. Labour geography seeks to show that space workers, such as those at the Guiana Space Centre, do not serve as a “passive appendage” to struggles around space travel and “astro-capitalism”


title: Welcome to New York (2018 film)

text: Welcome To New York is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language 3D comedy film, directed by Chakri Toleti, produced by Vashu Bhagnani and Jackky Bhagnani, and starring Diljit Dosanjh, Sonakshi Sinha, Karan Johar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Boman Irani, Lara Dutta, Sushant Singh Rajput and Rana Daggubati. The film released on 23 February 2018.


title: Welcome to New York (2018 film)

text: Teji (Diljit Dosanjh), a sloppy recovery agent who dreams of being an actor, and Jeenal Patel (Sonakshi Sinha), a fashion designer, become part of a big Bollywood event (IIFA) in New York. In between Karan Johar gets kidnapped but it is revealed that he is not Karan but Arjun.


title: Welcome to New York (2018 film)

text: The music of the film is composed by Sajid–Wajid, Shamir Tandon and Meet Bros while lyrics have been penned by Kausar Munir, Kumaar, Charanjeet Charan, Sajid Khan and Danish Sabri.


title: Welcome to New York (2018 film)

text: Rajeev Masand of News 18 severely criticized the film saying that, "Welcome to New York isn't merely a bad film, or even a terrible one. It's depressing. Not because the plot is all over the place (it is!), not because the actors appear to be doing whatever they like (they are!), and not because it has no vision or ambition (it doesn't!) – but because it's an exercise in sheer pointlessness. Really, this film has no reason to exist." and gave it a rating of 1 out of 5. Rohit Vats of "Hindustan Times" gave the film a rating of 0.5 out of 5 and concluded his review by saying that, "Welcome To New York is totally lost in New York, and looks nothing more than an extended IIFA trailer. It's not worth wasting your time, money, patience and intelligence on this mind-numbing promotional video.". Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" gave the film a rating of 1 out of 5 and said that, "Welcome To New York turns out to be a limp, lame tribute to Bollywood".


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: Thaddeus Rowe Luckinbill (born April 24, 1975) is an American actor and producer best known for playing J.T. Hellstrom on the CBS soap opera "The Young and the Restless", from August 1999 to November 2010. He reprised the role of J.T. in December 2017.


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: Thad Luckinbill has an identical twin brother, Trent, who is 12 minutes his junior. Trent Luckinbill is a lawyer who lives in Los Angeles. In the final episode of the television series "", "To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap", Trent briefly appeared as the identical twin murder victim/corpse lying beside the murder victim/corpse of the character played by Thad.


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: Luckinbill married "Young and the Restless" co-star Amelia Heinle in March 2007 while their characters were also married on the show. He is stepfather to Heinle's son, August, from her previous marriage to Michael Weatherly. Their first child together, a son, Thaddeus Rowe, was born on November 2, 2007.[5] Their second child, a daughter, Georgia March, was born on December 17, 2009. On March 1, 2017, Luckinbill filed for divorce from Heinle, citing "irreconcilable differences". However, as of late 2019, they are not divorced.


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: Luckinbill enjoys playing volleyball, surfing, boxing and going to the gym. He occasionally plays for the Hollywood Knights basketball team. He majored in business finance at the University of Oklahoma.


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: Luckinbill is a cousin of fellow actor Laurence Luckinbill -- the son-in-law of comedienne Lucille Ball and husband to entertainer Luci Arnaz, and more distantly related to film directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski.


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: In addition to his role as J.T. Hellstrom on "The Young and the Restless", Thad Luckinbill has guest-starred on several primetime television shows, including "Undressed", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Providence", "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", "Nash Bridges", "8 Simple Rules", "Without a Trace", "", "Nip/Tuck", "Ghost Whisperer", "",


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: "", and "Major Crimes". He was a recurring character on The CW show "Nikita" completing six episodes as Nathan, the neighbor and love interest of Alexandra Udinov (Lyndsy Fonseca), before the show was cancelled after its fourth season. Fonseca was also Luckinbill's former "Young and the Restless" co-star.


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: In 2001, Luckinbill was also featured in an episode of the MTV documentary series "True Life" and appeared in Madonna's "Don't Tell Me" video as the cowboy who was thrown from his horse at the end of the song. On November 3, 2017, it was announced that Luckinbill would reprise his portrayal of J.T. on "The Young and the Restless", beginning December 12, 2017. His run ended on April 13, 2018, when J.T. was hit on the back of the head by Nikki Newman with a fireplace poker and killed.


title: Thad Luckinbill

text: In 2013, Thad, with his twin brother Trent, and producer Molly Smith (producer of "P.S. I Love You" and "The Blind Side") started a production company called Black Label Media. The production company has worked with A-listers such as Reese Witherspoon, Emily Blunt, and Jake Gyllenhaal, producing films including "Sicario" starring Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro, "The Good Lie" starring Witherspoon, and "Demolition" starring Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, and Chris Cooper.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The nominal head of the Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย; ) is the King of Thailand. The armed forces are managed by the Ministry of Defense of Thailand, which is headed by the minister of defence and commanded by the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, which in turn is headed by the Chief of Defence Forces. The commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army is considered the most powerful position in the Thai Armed Forces.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Royal Thai Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 18 January to commemorate the victory of King Naresuan the Great in battle against the Viceroy of Burma in 1593.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The Royal Thai Armed Forces official role is the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Thailand. The armed forces are also charged with the defence of the monarchy of Thailand against all threats, foreign and domestic. Apart from these roles, the armed forces also responsible for ensuring public order and participating in social development programs by aiding the civilian government. The armed forces are also charged with assisting victims of national disasters and drug control.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Some critics have contended that, in reality, the Thai armed forces serve two main functions: a) internal security: to safeguard ruling class hegemony from challenges by mass movements to expand the democratic space, and b) to satisfy the self-enrichment goals of the upper echelons of the Thai military.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: In recent years the Royal Thai Armed Forces has increased its role on the international stage by providing peacekeeping forces to the United Nations (UN), in the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET), from 1999 to 2002 and participating in the multinational force in Iraq, contributing 423 personnel from 2003 to 2004.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: , the Royal Thai Armed Forces number 360,850 active duty and 200,000 reserve personnel, nearly one percent of Thailand's population of 70 million. This percentage is higher than that of the US, but lower than that of nearby Vietnam. The Thai military has more than 1,700 flag officers (generals and admirals), roughly one general for every 212 troops, a bloated number for a military of its size. By comparison, the US military as of 1 November 2018 had 920 active duty general and flag officers (GFOs) for a force of 1,317,325 personnel, or one flag officer for every 1430 troops. On 2 May 2015 1,043 new Thai flag officers of all three services promoted in 2014–2015 took the oath of allegiance. It is not clear how many retired during the same period. According to one observer, each Thai general has three aims: to align himself with politicians of the right political party; to ensure that he receives the best possible postings; and to enrich himself and share his takings with his subordinates thus ensuring their loyalty.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: In early 2021, the Ministry of Defence announced a program to reduce the number of flag officers by 25% by 2029. , the RTARF has about 1,400 generals and admirals on its payroll: 250 at RTARF headquarters; 400 in the army; 250 in the navy; 190 in the air force; and 300 in the Office of the Permanent Secretary of Defence.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Conscription was introduced in Thailand in 1905. According to the Constitution of the Kingdom, serving in the armed forces is a national duty of all Thai citizens. In practice, only males over the age of 21 who have not gone through reserve training are subject to conscription. The enlistment draft is held in early-April annually. On the draftee selection day, those who are called up for the draft report to their selection center at 07:00. During roll call, eligible draftees can request to volunteer to serve, or they may choose to stay for the lottery. Those who volunteer then undergo physical and mental health examinations including a urine test for drugs. The results of the urine test for drugs are entered into a Narcotics Control Board database. In 2018, of the first 182,910 men entered in the database, 12,209 men, or 6.7 percent, tested positive for drugs: 11,139 for methamphetamine, 750 for marijuana, and the remainder for other drugs. Over 3,000 of those who tested positive will serve in the military where they will receive drug rehabilitation treatment. Those who tested positive, but who were not drafted, will undergo a 13-day rehabilitation regimen in their home provinces. Those who do not pass the physical and mental health examinations are promptly released. Enlisting volunteers then choose their service branch (Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy, or Royal Thai Air Force) and the reporting date of their choice, and receive documentation of the year's draft selection, and an enlistment order to report for basic training with notification details of the reporting time and location. The enlistees are then dismissed for the day until the day that they must report for basic training.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: After the enlisting volunteers are dismissed for the day, the lottery process begins. Each selection center has a set quota, and the number of individuals conscripted through the lottery at each selection center will be the quota subtracted by the number of volunteers. Those who choose to proceed with the lottery then undergo the same physical and mental health exams as the volunteers, with the same procedure for dismissal for those who do not pass the health exams. Each man who stays for the lottery draws a card out of an opaque box. Those who draw a black card are released from their military service requirement and are issued the letter of exemption. Those who draw a red card are required to serve starting from the induction date specified on the card. Those with higher educational qualifications can request a reduction of service obligation. In 2018, the Royal Thai Armed Forces called up more than 500,000 men for selection. The combined quota was approximately 104,000 men: 80,000 men for the Royal Thai Army, 16,000 for the Royal Thai Navy, and 8,700 for the Royal Thai Air Force. On selection day, there were 44,800 men who volunteered to serve. After accepting the volunteers and dismissing those who were deemed ineligible, there remained a quota of approximately 60,000 slots for approximately 450,000 men who entered the draft lottery, i.e., the overall probability of drawing a red card in the lottery was approximately 13 percent. In 2017, 103,097 men participated in the draft between 1–12 April. The armed forces needed only 77,000 conscripts per annum. It has not been uncommon for some selection centers to not have to conduct the balloting lottery at all, because quotas were met by the enlisting volunteers. In such instances, those who decided not to volunteer and stay for the lottery were all issued with a certificate of exemption.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Length of service varies by whether a person volunteers to enlist and their educational background. Serving a shortened period of time is given to those who enlist voluntarily. Those without a high school diploma are required to serve two years regardless of whether they volunteer. High school graduates who volunteer are required to serve one year, while high school graduates who draw red cards are required to serve two years. Those with an associate degree or higher who volunteer are required to serve for six months. Those with an associate degree or more who draw red cards can request a reduction in time of service of up to one year. University students can request for deferment of conscription until they are awarded their diploma or reach 26 years of age.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: All conscripts are assigned the rank of Private / Seaman / Aircraftman (OR-1) for their entire length of service, regardless of educational qualification. There are wage increases after completion of basic training and for time-in-grade. Although it is alleged that more than half of conscripts end up as servants to senior officers or clerks in military cooperative shops, most conscripts regardless of their volunteer status and educational background are placed in an occupational specialty dictated by the needs of their service branch. The most common specialties are infantryman (for Royal Thai Army conscripts), Royal Marine (for Royal Thai Navy conscripts), and security forces specialist (for Royal Thai Air Force conscripts). Duties may include carrying out military operations, manning security checkpoints, force generation, as well as manual labor and clerical duties, depending on the needs of the unit. At the end of their service, conscripts are given the option of reenlisting to remain in the service. In April 2020, only 5,460 out of 42,000 conscripts scheduled for discharge at the end of the month volunteered to remain in the military.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Top government officials insist that conscription is indispensable, but some question the need for conscription in the 21st century Thailand and call for an open debate on its efficacy and value to the nation.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Critics claim that external threats to Thailand are negligible in 2019. The Thai government appears to agree: Thailand's new National Security Plan, published in the "Royal Gazette" on 22 November 2019, sees external geo-political threats to the country as insignificant in the years ahead. The plan, in effect from 19 November 2019 to 30 September 2022, views domestic issues, especially declining faith in the monarchy and political divisions, as greater concerns.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: In a report issued in March 2020, Amnesty International charged that Thai military conscripts face institutionalised abuse systematically hushed up by military authorities. According to Amnesty, the practice has "long been an open secret in Thai society". One of infamous cases was in 2011 which 10 officers torturing Wichian Pueksom to death. Until today there is still no verdict to the officials.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The defence budget nearly tripled from 78.1 billion baht in 2005 to 207 billion baht for FY2016 (1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016), amounting to roughly 1.5% of GDP. The budget for FY2017 is 214 billion baht (US$6.1 billion)—including funds for a submarine purchase—a nominal increase of three percent. The proposed budget again represents around 1.5% of GDP and eight percent of total government spending for FY2017. The FY2018 defence budget is 220 billion baht, 7.65% of the total budget. According to "Jane's Defence Budgets", the Royal Thai Army generally receives 50% of defense expenditures while the air force and navy receive 22% each.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The Ministry of Defense budget for FY2021 is 223,464 million baht, down from 231,745M baht in FY2020.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The Royal Siamese Armed Forces was the military arm of the Siamese monarchy from the 12th to the 19th centuries. It refers to the military forces of the Sukhothai Kingdom, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the Thonburi Kingdom and the early Rattanakosin Kingdom in chronological order. The Siamese army was one of the dominant armed forces in Southeast Asia. As Thailand has never been colonized by a European power, the Royal Thai Armed Forces boasts one of the longest and uninterrupted military traditions in Asia.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The army was organized into a small standing army of a few thousand, which defended the capital and the palace, and a much larger conscription-based wartime army. Conscription was based on the "ahmudan" system, which required local chiefs to supply, in times of war, a predetermined quota of men from their jurisdiction on the basis of population. The wartime army also consisted of elephantry, cavalry, artillery, and naval units.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: In 1852, the Royal Siamese Armed Forces came into existence as permanent force at the behest of King Mongkut, who needed a European trained military force to thwart any Western threat and any attempts at colonialisation. By 1887, during the next reign of King Chulalongkorn, a permanent military command in the "Kalahom" Department was established. The office of "Kalahom", as a permanent office of war department, was established by King Borommatrailokkanat (1431–1488) in the mid-15th century during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Siam's history of organized warfare is thus one of Asia's longest and uninterrupted military traditions. However, since 1932, when the military, with the help of civilians, overthrew the system of absolute monarchy and instead created a constitutional system, the military has dominated and been in control of Thai politics, providing it with many prime ministers and carrying out many coups d'état, the most recent being in 2014.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The Royal Thai Armed Forces were involved in many conflicts throughout its history, including global, regional and internal conflicts. However, most these were within Southeast Asia. The only three foreign incursions into Thai territory were the Franco-Siamese War, the Japanese invasion of Thailand in December 1941, and in the 1980s with Vietnamese incursions into Thailand that led to several battles with the Thai Army. Operations on foreign territory were either territorial wars (such as the Laos Civil War) or conflicts mandated by the United Nations.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: With the rapid expansion of the French Empire into Indochina, conflicts necessarily occurred. War became inevitable when a French mission led by Auguste Pavie to King Chulalongkorn to try to bring Laos under French rule ended in failure. The French colonialists invaded Siam from the northeast and sent two warships to fight their way past the river forts and train their guns on the Grand Palace in Bangkok (the Paknam Incident). The French also declared a blockade around Bangkok, which almost brought them into conflict with the United Kingdom. Siam was forced to accept the French ultimatum and surrendered Laos to France, also allowing French troops to occupy the Thai province of Chantaburi for several decades.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: King Vajiravudh on 22 July 1917 declared war on the Central Powers and joined the Entente Powers on the Western Front. He sent a volunteer corps, the Siamese Expeditionary Force, composed of 1,233 modern-equipped and trained men commanded by Field Marshal Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath. The force included air and medical personnel, the medical units actually seeing combat. Siam became the only independent Asian nation with forces in Europe during the Great War. Although Siam's participation militarily was minimal, it enabled the revision or complete cancellation of so-called "unequal treaties" with the Western powers. The Expeditionary Force was given the honour of marching in the victory parade under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Nineteen Siamese soldiers died during the conflict, and their ashes are interred in the World War I monument at the north end of Bangkok's Pramane Grounds.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The Franco-Thai War began in October 1940, when the country under the rule of Field Marshal Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram followed up border clashes by invading a French Indo-China, under the Vichy regime (after the Nazi occupation of Paris) to regain lost land and settle territorial disputes. The war also bolstered Phibun's program of promoting Thai nationalism. The war ended indecisively, with Thai victories on land and a naval defeat at sea. However, the disputed territories in French Indochina were ceded to Thailand.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: To attack British India, British Burma and British Malaya, the Empire of Japan needed to use bases in Thailand. By playing both nations against one another, Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram was able to maintain a degree of neutrality for some time. However, this ended in the early hours of 8 December 1941, when Japan launched a surprise attack on Thailand at nine places along the coastline and from French Indo-China. The greatly outnumbered Thai forces put up resistance, but were soon overwhelmed. By 07:30, Phibun ordered an end to hostilities, though resistance continued for at least another day until all units could be notified. Phibun signed an armistice with Japan that allowed the empire to move its troops through Thai territory. Impressed by Japan's easy conquest of British Malaya, Phibun formally made Thailand part of the Axis by declaring war on the United Kingdom and the United States, though the Regent refused to sign it in the young king's name. (The Thai ambassador to Washington refused to deliver the declaration, and the United States continued to consider Thailand an occupied country.) An active and foreign-assisted underground resistance movement, the Free Thai, was largely successful and helped Thailand to viewed positively in the eyes of the victorious Allies after the war and be treated as an occupied nation rather than a defeated enemy.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: During the United Nations-mandated conflict in the Korean peninsula, Thailand provided the reinforced 1st Battalion of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Some 65,000 Thais served in Korea during the war. Thai foot soldiers took part in the 1953 Battle of Pork Chop Hill. During the war the battalion was attached at various times to U.S. 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team and the British 29th Infantry Brigade. The kingdom also provided four naval vessels, the HTMS "Bangprakong", "Bangpako", "Tachin", and "Prasae", and an air transport unit to the UN command structure. The Thai contingent was actively engaged and suffered heavy casualties, including 139 dead and more than 300 wounded. They remained in South Korea after the cease fire, returning to Thailand in 1955.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Due to its proximity to Thailand, Vietnam's conflicts were closely monitored by Bangkok. Thai involvement did not become official until the total involvement of the United States in support of South Vietnam in 1963. The Thai government then allowed the United States Air Force in Thailand to use its air and naval bases. At the height of the war, almost 50,000 American military personnel were stationed in Thailand, mainly airmen.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: In October 1967 a regiment-size Thai unit, the Queen's Cobras, were sent to Camp Bearcat at Bien Hoa, to fight alongside the Americans, Australians, New Zealanders and South Vietnamese. About 40,000 Thai military would serve in South Vietnam, with 351 killed in action and 1,358 wounded. Thai troops earned a reputation for bravery and would serve in Vietnam until 1971, when the men of the Royal Thai Army Expeditionary Division (Black Panthers) returned home.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Thailand was also involved in the Laotian Civil War, supporting covert operations against the communist Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese from 1964 to 1972.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: By 1975 relations between Bangkok and Washington had soured, and the government of Kukrit Pramoj requested the withdrawal of all US military personnel and the closure of all US bases. This was completed by March 1976.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The communist victory in Vietnam in 1975 emboldened the communist movement in Thailand, which had been in existence since the 1920s. After the Thammasat University massacre of leftist student demonstrators in 1976 and the repressive policies of right-wing Prime Minister Tanin Kraivixien, sympathies for the movement increased. By the late-1970s, it is estimated that the movement had as many as 12,000 armed insurgents, mostly based in the northeast along the Laotian border and receiving foreign support. By the 1980s, however, all insurgent activities had been defeated. In 1982 Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda issued a general amnesty for all former communist insurgents.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: With the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978, communist Vietnam had a combined force of about 300,000 in Laos and Cambodia. This posed a massive potential threat to the Thais, as they could no longer rely on Cambodia to act as a buffer state. Small encounters occasionally took place when Vietnamese forces crossed into Thailand in pursuit of fleeing Khmer Rouge troops. However, a full and official conflict was never declared, as neither country wanted it.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: This was a small conflict over mountainous territory including three disputed villages on the border between Sainyabuli Province in Laos and Phitsanulok Province in Thailand, whose ownership had been left unclear by the map drawn by the French some 80 years earlier. Caused by then-Army commander Chavalit Yongchaiyudh against the wishes of the government, the war ended with a stalemate and return to status quo ante bellum. The two nations suffered combined casualties of about 1,000.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: After the East Timor crisis, Thailand, with 28 other nations, provided troops for the International Force for East Timor or INTERFET. Thailand also provided the force commander, Lieutenant General Winai Phattiyakul. The force was based in Dili and lasted from 25 October 1999 to 20 May 2002.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: After the successful US invasion of Iraq, Thai Humanitarian Assistance Task Force 976 Thai-Iraq Thailand contributed 423 non-combat troops in August 2003 to nation building and medical assistance in post-Saddam Iraq. The Thais could not leave their base in Karbala as their rules governing their participation restricted them to humanitarian assistance which could not be accomplished due to the insurgency during the Thai's tenure in Iraq. Troops of the Royal Thai Army were attacked in the 2003 Karbala bombings, which killed two soldiers and wounded five others. However, the Thai mission in Iraq was considered an overall success, and Thailand withdrew its forces in August 2004. The mission is considered the main reason the United States decided to designate Thailand as a major non-NATO ally in 2003.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The ongoing southern insurgency had begun in response to Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram's 1944 National Cultural Act, which replaced the use of Malaya in the region's schools with the Thai language and also abolished the local Islamic courts in the three ethnic Malay and Muslim majority border provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat. However, it had always been on a comparatively small scale. The insurgency intensified in 2001, during the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Terrorist attacks were now extended to the ethnic Thai minority in the provinces. The Royal Thai Armed Forces also went beyond their orders and retaliated with strong armed tactics that only encouraged more violence. By the end of 2012 the conflict had claimed 3,380 lives, including 2,316 civilians, 372 soldiers, 278 police, 250 suspected insurgents, 157 education officials, and seven Buddhist monks. Many of the dead were Muslims themselves, but they had been targeted because of their presumed support of the Thai government.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Is an event that began in June 2008 over the border dispute with the Temple of Preah Vihear afterwards. There were many clashes between the two sides. Along with the claims of each party over the said dispute territory.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: On 29 March 2016, in a move that the "Bangkok Post" said will "...will inflict serious and long-term damage...", the NCPO, under a Section 44 order (NCPO Order 13/2559) signed by junta chief Prayut Chan-o-cha, granted to commissioned officers of the Royal Thai Armed Forces broad police powers to suppress and arrest anyone they suspect of criminal activity without a warrant and detain them secretly at almost any location without charge for up to seven days. Bank accounts can be frozen, and documents and property can be seized. Travel can be banned. Automatic immunity for military personnel has been built into the order, and there is no independent oversight or recourse in the event of abuse. The order came into immediate effect. The net result is that the military will have more power than the police and less oversight.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The government has stated that the purpose of this order is to enable military officers to render their assistance in an effort to "...suppress organized crimes such as extortion, human trafficking, child and labor abuses, gambling, prostitution, illegal tour guide services, price collusion, and firearms. It neither aims to stifle nor intimidate dissenting voices. Defendants in such cases will go through normal judicial process, with police as the main investigator...trial[s] will be conducted in civilian courts, not military ones. Moreover, this order does not deprive the right of the defendants to file complaints against military officers who have abused their power."


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The NCPO said that the reason for its latest order is that there are simply not enough police, in spite of the fact that there are about 230,000 officers in the Royal Thai Police force. They make up about 17 percent of all non-military public servants. This amounts to 344 police officers for every for every 100,000 persons in Thailand, more than twice the ratio in Myanmar and the Philippines, one and a half times that of Japan and Indonesia and roughly the same proportion as the United States.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: In a joint statement released on 5 April 2016, six groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), condemned the move.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The "Asia Sentinel" in 2014 called the Thai military one of the most deeply corrupt militaries in Asia. The Thai armed forces have a history of procurement scandals and dodgy dealings dating back to at least the 1980s.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Thailand's defense spending has soared since 2006. Since then the military has seized control from civilian governments on two occasions. Defense spending has increased by US$1 billion since the latest coup in 2014.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: In early January 2022, Thailand's cabinet backed a plan to buy four fighter jets starting in 2023 with 13.8 billion baht ($413.67 million) budgeted for the purchase over a 4 year period to replace some of the country's aging F-16 jets.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: To build institutional solidarity and esprit de corps, each Thai service component has developed its own distinctive uniforms, ranking system, and insignia. Many Thai military uniforms reflect historical foreign influences. For example, most of the distinctive service uniforms were patterned on those of the US, but lower ranking enlisted navy personnel wear uniforms resembling those of their French counterparts. The early influence of British advisers to the Thai royal court and the historical role of the military in royal pomp and ceremony contributed to the splendor of formal dress uniforms worn by high-ranking officers and guards of honour on ceremonial occasions.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: The rank structures of the three armed services are similar to those of the respective branches of the US Armed Forces, although the Thai system has fewer NCO and warrant officer designations. The king, as head of state and constitutional head of the armed forces, commissions all officers. Appointments to NCO ranks are authorised by the minister of defence. In theory, the authority and responsibilities of officers of various ranks correspond to those of their US counterparts. However, because of a perennial surplus of senior officers—in 1987 there were some 600 generals and admirals in a total force of about 273,000—Thai staff positions are often held by officers of higher rank than would be the case in the US or other Western military establishments.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Thai military personnel are highly conscious of rank distinctions and of the duties, obligations, and benefits they entail. Relationships among officers of different grades and among officers, NCOs, and the enlisted ranks are governed by military tradition in a society where observance of differences in status are highly formalised. The social distance between officers and NCOs is widened by the fact that officers usually are college or military academy graduates, while most NCOs have not gone beyond secondary school. There is a wider gap between officers and conscripts, most of whom have even less formal education, service experience, or specialised training.


title: Royal Thai Armed Forces

text: Formal honours and symbols of merit occupy an important place in Thai military tradition. The government grants numerous awards, and outstanding acts of heroism, courage, and meritorious service receive prompt recognition.


title: Brittany Broski

text: Brittany Alexis Tomlinson (born May 10, 1997), known professionally as Brittany Broski, is an American social media personality, comedian and singer. She initially gained fame after a video of her tasting kombucha for the first time went viral on TikTok in August 2019. As of October 2022, she has 7.2 million followers and over 320 million likes on TikTok.


title: Brittany Broski

text: Brittany Tomlinson was born on May 10, 1997, and raised in Dallas, Texas. She participated in theater growing up, acting in local productions of "The Addams Family", "Bus Stop", and "Spamalot". During both high school and college, she was a part of her schools' improv troupes.


title: Brittany Broski

text: Tomlinson has also stated that she was an athlete in high school participating in many sports for the overall enjoyment and experience of them.


title: Brittany Broski

text: She graduated from Texas A&M University "magna cum laude" in 2018 with a degree in communications. She subsequently worked at a call center but left after it made her depressed. She then worked in trust and investment services at a bank, where she was fired after her boss discovered the kombucha video and determined that Tomlinson's viral fame would put the company in jeopardy. She is also a licensed insurance agent.


title: Brittany Broski

text: Tomlinson created her TikTok account in June 2019 at the request of her friends, originally using the handle @brittanyt445. She posted her first video, a Snapchat video about her "depression meal", which quickly went viral, a month later.


title: Brittany Broski

text: She subsequently posted her most viral video, wherein she tastes cherry cola-flavored kombucha for the first time with rapidly changing facial expressions, in August 2019. The video first gained notoriety on "gay Twitter" after being reposted with sexually-charged captions, eventually gaining traction on Reddit and Twitter, earning over 40 million views on the latter platform. The video also became a popular reaction image on social media and was ranked by TikTok as one of the top ten most viral videos of 2019 posted to the platform. Its popularity earned her the nickname "Kombucha Girl".


title: Brittany Broski

text: Following the success of the kombucha video, Tomlinson was signed to Influences Management and later to United Talent Agency.


title: Brittany Broski

text: In late 2019, Tomlinson moved to Los Angeles with her friend and fellow TikToker Sarah Schauer and the two have been making YouTube videos together since. She appeared in an advertisement for Sabra hummus during Super Bowl LIV. In early 2020 she competed on the second season of the YouTube reality show "The Reality House" hosted by JC Caylen and Kian Lawley; she was eliminated in the first episode. In August 2020, she was featured in an episode of the Awesomeness web television series "Dish This". She was nominated for a Subject Award in Comedy at the 10th Streamy Awards. She co-hosted the TikTok New Year's Eve Party live event with American rapper Lil Yachty in December 2020. After she used the song "Remy the Ratatouille" in a video, the song went viral, inspiring the creation of Ratatouille the Musical. In early 2021 Tomlinson became the host of TikTok's official podcast, "For You." She has since guest starred on Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova's podcast "The Bald and the Beautiful", made three guest appearances on Chris Klemens' podcast "Unhinged", and joined Trevor Evarts for the first episode of his podcast "Trevor Talks Too Much""." In 2022, she appeared on "Good Mythical Morning", hosted by Rhett and Link, as well as "H3Podcast".


title: Brittany Broski

text: On January 10, 2022, the first episode of Tomlinson's internet-themed podcast "Violating Community Guidelines", co-hosted with Sarah Schauer and produced by Studio71, debuted. The podcast was nominated for two Signal Awards in 2023 in the categories of Best "Buddy" Podcast and Popular Culture & Variety.


title: Brittany Broski

text: In 2020, Josh Kaplan of "The Telegraph" called Tomlinson "one of TikTok's biggest stars". Writing for "i-D", Tom Prior referred to her as a "TikTok superstar" and named a video of her rapping in the voice of English singer Adele as one of the 20 best TikToks of 2020. "L'Officiel" included her on their list of "People Who Made Us Laugh in 2020".


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: The Women is a 2008 American comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Diane English and starring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Carrie Fisher, Cloris Leachman, Debi Mazar, Bette Midler, and Candice Bergen. The screenplay is an updated version of the George Cukor-directed 1939 film of the same name based on a 1936 play by Clare Boothe Luce.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Clothing designer Mary Haines lives in a beautiful suburban Connecticut home with her wealthy financier husband Stephen and their 11-year-old daughter Molly. Her best friend since college, Sylvie Fowler, is the editor of a prominent fashion magazine that dictates the latest in taste and style for New York City fashionistas. When Sylvie learns Stephen is having an affair with Crystal Allen, a perfume salesgirl in Saks Fifth Avenue, from chatty manicurist Tanya, she confides in the ever-pregnant Edie Cohen but hesitates to tell Mary, who discovers the news from the same woman after getting a manicure herself. Despite her mother Catherine's exhortation to keep quiet about what she knows, Mary confronts Crystal first, in a lingerie store, and then Steven, before asking for a divorce.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Sylvie, Edie, and writer Alex Fisher join forces to support their spurned friend, but complications arise when Sylvie, facing the loss of her job, conspires with local gossip columnist Bailey Smith by confirming Mary's marital woes in exchange for Bailey contributing a celebrity profile to the magazine. Mary is stunned by Sylvie's betrayal and ends their friendship. Mary's daughter begins to ditch school and confides in Sylvie because her mother, distracted by the upheavals in her once idyllic life, becomes more distant.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Mary is fired from her job by her father, has a makeover, and decides to open her own clothing design firm with some financial assistance from Catherine. As she begins to get her life in order, she makes an effort to bond with Molly, who reveals her father's relationship with Crystal is unraveling and reunites with Sylvie, who has quit her job. With this knowledge in hand, Mary sets out to repair her fractured marriage as she prepares to unveil her new line of womenswear in a fashion show attended not only by boutique owners but the buyer from Saks as well.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Sylvie tells Mary that she has met a guy and is thinking of giving him her real phone number. Edie's water breaks and she has a baby boy. Mary receives a call from her husband and is encouraged by the others to answer it; she then arranges a date with him. In the end, we see that a magazine titled "Sylvie" is published with the four friends on the cover and Alex's book is out. A hint is given about Crystal's possibly going out with Alex's ex-girlfriend Natasha. The women talk about the magazine, the book, and the joys, heartaches, and uniquely special triumphs of being a woman.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: In "The Women: The Legacy", a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film, Diane English discusses her fifteen-year-long struggle to bring a contemporary version of the 1939 classic film to the screen. She wanted to present a version in which the female characters were strong and self-reliant and supported and defended each other rather than resort to treachery and catty remarks to achieve their goals. Since the concept of women going to Reno in search of a divorce is archaic, she needed to eliminate this aspect of the original plot from her treatment, which necessitated deleting several characters from the story. One character that is not in its original form is Lucy, who in the play and original movie runs the ranch in Reno, here she is seen as Mary's dog.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: English wrote the first screenplay in 1993 during hiatus from "Murphy Brown". The following year, Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan agreed to co-produce and star, with James L. Brooks as director and a supporting cast including Blythe Danner, Marisa Tomei, Debi Mazar, and Candice Bergen. In 1996, the first table reading of the script was held at Sony Pictures. Despite the enthusiasm of everyone involved, the project stalled when Roberts and Ryan decided they wanted to play the same role.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: English spent the following year revising the screenplay, during which time Brooks dropped out to direct "As Good as It Gets". Roberts also lost interest and moved on. English first entertained the idea of directing the film herself in 2001. Over the next few years, Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Uma Thurman, Whitney Houston, and Queen Latifah were among those to express interest, although none were attached officially.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: After being turned down by every major Hollywood studio, English decided to develop the project as an independent film and approached Victoria Pearman, the president of Mick Jagger's production company, Jagged Films, who agreed to produce the film for Picturehouse. Pearman offered some plot suggestions, and English put the finishing touches on the seventh and final draft of the script. Upon the film's completion, it was shown to executives at Warner Bros., which had absorbed Picturehouse in the interim. Unimpressed, they put the film on the back burner until the box office success of "Sex and the City" convinced them there was an audience for an all-female film.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: The film was shot on location in New York City and various cities in Massachusetts. As with the play and 1939 film, English was careful to make sure no men appear on screen, even in long shots and crowd scenes. The only male character in the film is Edie's baby boy, born in the final scene of the film.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: The film received a significant negative response from critics. It holds a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 148 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The critical consensus states: ""The Women" is a toothless remake of the 1939 classic, lacking the charm, wit and compelling protagonists of the original."


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" was one of the few critics who enjoyed the film. He awarded it three out of four stars and commented,


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" rated the film one out of four stars, calling it a "misbegotten redo" and "a major dud." He added, "Everyone...struggles with a script that resists being crowbarred into the 21st century." Richard Schickel of "Time" called the film "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett Smith each garnered a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress.


title: The Women (2008 film)

text: Despite the mostly negative reviews, the film was a moderate box office success. On its opening weekend, the film earned $10,115,210, ranking fourth behind "Righteous Kill", "The Family That Preys", and "Burn After Reading". The film eventually grossed $26,902,075 in the U.S. and $23,105,471 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $50,007,546.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien (Jawi: ; 23 September 1914 – 7 September 1986) was the 28th Sultan of Brunei, reigning from 4 June 1950 until his abdication from the throne on 5 October 1967.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: He was also Brunei's first Minister of Defence after the country's independence. He was known as "The Architect of Modern Brunei", "The Royal Poet", and "The Father of Independence". During his reign, 3 chief ministers was appointed according to the Constitution. They were Ibrahim Mohammed Jaafar, Marsal Maun, and Yura Halim.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Pengiran Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien was born at Istana Kota, Kampong Sultan Lama, Brunei Town on 23 September 1914. He was the second son of Muhammad Jamalul Alam II and Raja Isteri Fatimah. Omar Ali Saifuddien, under the behest of his British mentor and father-figure Sir Roland Evelyn Turnbull, studied at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) in Perak, British Malaya from 1932 to 1936. As a result, he was the first of the Brunei sultans to receive formal education in a foreign institution.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: After completing education in Malaya, he returned to Brunei in 1936 to work in the Forestry Department, as a Cadet Officer. In 1937, he was transferred to the Judiciary Department, also became an administrative officer in 1938. During the Japanese occupation of Brunei from 1941 until 1945, Omar Ali Saifuddien worked under State Secretary Ibrahim Mohammad Jahfar. After the Second World War, in 1947, he was subsequently appointed a member of Brunei State Council and chairman of the Syariah Court. He had the title "Pengiran Bendahara Seri Maharaja Permaisuara" conferred on him by his brother, Ahmad Tajuddin on 15 July 1947.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Upon the sudden death of his brother in Singapore, who left no male heirs, on 4 June 1950, he was proclaimed the next Sultan on 6 June 1950. Omar Ali Saifuddien was crowned as the Sultan Dan Yang Di-Pertuan in the Old Lapau on 31 May 1951. In conjunction of the coronation, he was conferred with the Honorary Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) by Queen Elizabeth II. In September 1951, upon becoming Sultan, he performed his first pilgrimage to Mecca. He also attended the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, London on 2 June 1953. On 9 June 1953, he was conferred with the Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG) by Queen Elizabeth II.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: In 1952 the Sultan worked for the implementation of the constitution as the foundation of governance and the achievement of independence from the United Kingdom.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: In July 1953, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III formed a seven-member committee named Tujuh Serangkai to find out the citizens’ views regarding a written constitution for Brunei. In May 1954, a meeting attended by the Sultan, the Resident and the High Commissioner was held to discuss the findings of the committee. In March 1959 the Sultan led a delegation to London to discuss the proposed constitution. The British delegation was led by Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton who was the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The British Government later accepted the draft constitution.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: On 29 September 1959, the Constitution Agreement was signed in Brunei Town. The agreement was signed by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III and Sir Robert Scott, the Commissioner-General for Southeast Asia. Some of the points of the constitution were:


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: The First National Development plan was introduced in 1953. A total sum of B$100 million was approved by the Brunei State Council for the plan. E.R. Bevington from the Colonial Office in Fiji. A $14 million Gas Plant was built under the plan. In 1954, survey and exploration work were undertaken by the Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) on both offshore and onshore fields. By 1956, production reached 114,700 bpd. He had launched the first delivery of 10-inch oil pipeline from the seabed off the coast of the Seria oil field on 28 October 1964.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Developments on education were also made. In 1952, a written policy on education was made. By 1958, expenditure on education totaled at $4 million. Communications were also improved with new roads built and reconstruction works at Berakas Airport being completed at 1954.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: The Second National Development Plan was launched in 1962. A major oil and gas field was discovered in 1963, with this discovery, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) became important. Developments in the oil and gas sector has continued actively and oil production has steadily increased since then. The plan also saw an increase of production of meat and eggs. The fishing industry increased its output by 25% throughout the course of the plan. A deepwater Muara Port was also constructed under the plan. Power requirements were met and studies were made to provide electricity to rural areas. Efforts were made to eradicate malaria, with the help of the World Health Organization, under the plan. Efforts were successful, bringing the down the cases of malaria from 300 cases in 1953 to only 66 cases in 1959. The death rate was also brought down from 20 per thousand in 1947 to 11.3 per thousand in 1953. This has been attributed to public sanitation and improvement of drainage and the provision of piped pure water to the population.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Brunei's first state election was held on 30 and 31 August 1962. This was to elect members to sit in the Brunei Legislative Council. These elected members would then be involved in discussions of governmental policies. However, beside this, the Sultan still held the absolute power and authority in the government.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Among the political parties which contested in the election were Brunei People's Party (PRB), Barisan Nasional Organisation (BNO), and Brunei United Party (BUP). The polling went on for two days on 30 and 31 August 1962. The Brunei People's Party won the election.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: When Tunku Abdul Rahman, the prime minister of the Federation of Malaya announced his proposal for a merger of Singapore, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddien saw this as an opportunity for Brunei to achieve independence from British influence. He sent a congratulatory telegraph to Tunku Abdul Rahman, showing his support for the merger. For him, Brunei as a small country, still needed a protection of a larger country; the only way to achieve this was by merging with Malaysia and the rest of the states. This view was also shared by Lee Kuan Yew, the then-prime minister of Singapore.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: The PRB, including its leader, A.M. Azahari was against the merger. According to them, if Brunei was to join the Federation, Brunei would not have achieve full independence. Instead, it was only transfer of power from Britain to Malaya. This was called as neo-colonisation. On 8 December 1962, the PRB led a rebellion against the government. With British military aid deployed from Singapore, the rebellion was later crushed and PRB were defeated.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: After the rebellion, the discussion of joining the proposed North Borneo Federation continues. Omar Ali Saifuddien sent a delegation to attend meetings of the Malaysian Solidarity Consolidation Committee (MSCC). The views of the people were sought by the committee, which was chaired by Marsal Maun, Chief Minister of Brunei at that time.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: In 1963, a meeting was held to discuss the prospect of Brunei joining Malaysia. They failed to reach an agreement on the issues of Brunei's oil revenue and federal rights to taxation. Even the initial date for the federation (which was 31 August 1963) was postponed to 16 September, no agreement was reached between the two sides.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Upon his ascension to the throne, Omar Ali Saiffudien also became the head of the Islamic religion in the country. One important contribution of the Sultan was to regularise Islamic administration in Brunei. In 1948, a religious council, comprising the Mohammedan Religious Advisers was formed. Due to the Sultan's initiative, the council met for the first time on 31 January 1948. He himself was appointed chairman of this council. After examining several laws on Islamic affairs in the Malay Peninsula, the board made new proposals regarding the religious administration in Brunei.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: He was also responsible for the formation of the Department of Religious Affairs on 1 July 1954. The department was responsible for all the important decisions made on Islam in Brunei. All aspects of Islamic activities such as community life, laws, education, missionary activities and social administration were supervised by these two religious bodies.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: After ruling for 17 years, on 4 October 1967, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien willingly abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Hassanal Bolkiah. At the time of the announcement, the Crown Prince was in England, training as a cadet at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. The Prince returned immediately to Brunei.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: After his abdication, his eldest son, Crown Prince Hassanal Bolkiah ascended the throne to become the 29th Sultan of Brunei on 4 October 1967. It was then he was referred to as "Seri Begawan Sultan" (Retired Sultan).


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: The coronation ceremony began with the flying of the yellow flag at Bukit Panggal and the red flag at Bukit Sungai Kebun in February 1968. The announcement was also made throughout the country by Radio Brunei. The new Sultan rode to his coronation at the Lapau Building on 1 August 1968, on a royal carriage drawn by fifty specially selected soldiers of the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Omar Ali Saifuddien placed the crown on the head of his son, and handed him the Keris si-Naga, symbol of supreme royal power in Brunei. Following this he removed his ceremonial sabre, swearing loyalty to his son as head of state and religion. Like his father before him, the new Sultan took vows to maintain peace and prosperity of the nation. He also promised to improve the standard of living of his subjects through various development projects and the protect and uphold Islam and Brunei's customs and traditions. After the crowning ceremony, the new Sultan proceeded in procession through the capital, passing lines of school children cheering "Daulat Tuanku" (Long live my King).


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Among the foreign dignitaries who attended the ceremony were, the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, the Malaysian prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and the British High Commissioner to Brunei, A.R. Adair, who represented Queen Elizabeth II.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: After his abdication from the throne at the age of 53, he took the title of "Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan" (referred to the former sultan after the abdication), a title he held until his death in 1986. He was conferred with the Honorary Grand Commander of the Victorian Order (GCVO) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Brunei on 29 February 1972.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: At the stroke of midnight on 31 December 1983 in a public event held at the Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien Park, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah officially proclaimed that Brunei Darussalam had achieved its independence and sovereignty after 97 years of British protection. Soon after the reading of the declation, Omar Ali Saifuddien was honoured by the Sultan to lead the masses of people chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) three times. This was followed by the singing of the national anthem, a 21-gun salute by the Royal Brunei Land Forces and a prayer was read by the State Mufti to give God's blessings to the newly independent nation.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Although he had abdicated 17 years ago and Brunei had achieved its independence, he continued to play an important role after his appointed by the Sultan as Minister of Defence in Brunei's first cabinet ministers and consequently conferred the rank of Field Marshal in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: He also welcomed the arrival of Yasser Arafat, the Chairman of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on his official visit to Brunei on 26 July 1984.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: Omar Ali Saifuddien died on 7 September 1986 at the age of 71. It was reported that he has been sick for weeks prior to his death.


title: Omar Ali Saifuddien III

text: A Surah Yassin book was published with the consent of Hassanal Bolkiah, to mark the 40th day of the passing away of his late father.