title: History of Myanmar

text: After the war, King Mindon tried to modernise the Burmese state and economy, and made trade and territorial concessions to stave off further British encroachments, including ceding the Karenni States to the British in 1875. Nonetheless, the British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina, annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, and sent the last Burmese king Thibaw and his family to exile in India.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Konbaung kings extended administrative reforms first begun in the Restored Taungoo Dynasty period (1599–1752), and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. Konbaung kings tightened control in the low lands and reduced the hereditary privileges of Shan saophas (chiefs). Konbaung officials, particularly after 1780, began commercial reforms that increased government income and rendered it more predictable. Money economy continued to gain ground. In 1857, the crown inaugurated a full-fledged system of cash taxes and salaries, assisted by the country's first standardised silver coinage.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Cultural integration continued. For the first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley, with the Mon language and ethnicity completely eclipsed by 1830. The nearer Shan principalities adopted more lowland norms. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females). Monastic and lay elites around the Konbaung kings, particularly from Bodawpaya's reign, also launched a major reformation of Burmese intellectual life and monastic organisation and practice known as the Sudhamma Reformation. It led to amongst other things Burma's first proper state histories.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Britain made Burma a province of India in 1886 with the capital at Rangoon. Traditional Burmese society was drastically altered by the demise of the monarchy and the separation of religion and state. Though war officially ended after only a couple of weeks, resistance continued in northern Burma until 1890, with the British finally resorting to a systematic destruction of villages and appointment of new officials to finally halt all guerrilla activity. The economic nature of society also changed dramatically. After the opening of the Suez Canal, the demand for Burmese rice grew and vast tracts of land were opened up for cultivation. However, to prepare the new land for cultivation, farmers were forced to borrow money from Indian moneylenders called chettiars at high interest rates and were often foreclosed on and evicted losing land and livestock. Most of the jobs also went to indentured Indian labourers, and whole villages became outlawed as they resorted to 'dacoity' (armed robbery). While the Burmese economy grew, most of the power and wealth remained in the hands of several British firms, Anglo-Burmese people, and migrants from India. The civil service was largely staffed by the Anglo-Burmese community and Indians, and Bamars were largely excluded almost entirely from military service.


title: History of Myanmar

text: By around the start of the 20th century, a nationalist movement began to take shape in the form of the Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA), modelled on the YMCA, as religious associations were allowed by the colonial authorities. They were later superseded by the General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA) which was linked with "Wunthanu athin" or National Associations that sprang up in villages throughout Burma Proper. Between 1900 – 1911 the "Irish Buddhist" U Dhammaloka challenged Christianity and British rule on religious grounds. A new generation of Burmese leaders arose in the early 20th century from amongst the educated classes that were permitted to go to London to study law. They came away from this experience with the belief that the Burmese situation could be improved through reform. Progressive constitutional reform in the early 1920s led to a legislature with limited powers, a university and more autonomy for Burma within the administration of India. Efforts were also undertaken to increase the representation of Burmese in the civil service. Some people began to feel that the rate of change was not fast enough and the reforms not expansive enough.


title: History of Myanmar

text: In 1920 the first university students strike in history broke out in protest against the new University Act which the students believed would only benefit the elite and perpetuate colonial rule. 'National Schools' sprang up across the country in protest against the colonial education system, and the strike came to be commemorated as 'National Day'. There were further strikes and anti-tax protests in the later 1920s led by the "Wunthanu athin"s. Prominent among the political activists were Buddhist monks ("pongyi"), such as U Ottama and U Seinda in the Arakan who subsequently led an armed rebellion against the British and later the nationalist government after independence, and U Wisara, the first martyr of the movement to die after a protracted hunger strike in prison. (One of the main thoroughfares in Yangon is named after U Wisara.) In December 1930, a local tax protest by Saya San in Tharrawaddy quickly grew into first a regional and then a national insurrection against the government. Lasting for two years, the Galon Rebellion, named after the mythical garuda — the enemy of the nāgas (i.e., the British) – emblazoned on the pennants the rebels carried, required thousands of British troops to suppress along with promises of further political reform. The eventual trial of Saya San, who was executed, allowed several future national leaders, including Ba Maw and U Saw, who participated in his defence, to rise to prominence.


title: History of Myanmar

text: May 1930 saw the founding of the "Dobama Asiayone" ("We Bamars Association") whose members called themselves "Thakin" (an ironic name since "thakin" means "master" in Burmese, rather like "sahib"— proclaiming that they were the true masters of the country entitled to the term usurped by the colonial masters). The second university students strike in 1936 was triggered by the expulsion of Aung San and Ko Nu, leaders of the Rangoon University Students Union (RUSU), for refusing to reveal the name of the author who had written an article in their university magazine, making a scathing attack on one of the senior university officials. It spread to Mandalay leading to the formation of the All Burma Students Union (ABSU). Aung San and Nu subsequently joined the Thakin movement progressing from student to national politics. The British separated Burma from India in 1937 and granted the colony a new constitution calling for a fully elected assembly, but this proved to be a divisive issue as some Burmese felt that this was a ploy to exclude them from any further Indian reforms whereas other Burmese saw any action that removed Burma from the control of India to be a positive step. Ba Maw served as the first prime minister of Burma, but he was succeeded by U Saw in 1939, who served as prime minister from 1940 until he was arrested on 19 January 1942 by the British for communicating with the Japanese.


title: History of Myanmar

text: A wave of strikes and protests that started from the oilfields of central Burma in 1938 became a general strike with far-reaching consequences. In Rangoon student protesters, after successfully picketing the Secretariat, the seat of the colonial government, were charged by mounted police from the Indian Imperial Police wielding batons, which killed a Rangoon University student called Aung Kyaw. In Mandalay, the colonial police shot into a crowd of protesters led by Buddhist monks, killing 17 people. The movement became known as "Htaung thoun ya byei ayeidawbon" (the '1300 Revolution' named after the Burmese calendar year), and 20 December, the day the first martyr Aung Kyaw fell, commemorated by students as 'Bo Aung Kyaw Day'.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Some Burmese nationalists saw the outbreak of World War II as an opportunity to extort concessions from the British in exchange for support in the war effort. Other Burmese, such as the Thakin movement, opposed Burma's participation in the war under any circumstances. Aung San co-founded the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) with other Thakins in August 1939. Marxist literature as well as tracts from the Sinn Féin movement in Ireland had been widely circulated and read among political activists. Aung San also co-founded the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), renamed the Socialist Party after the World War II. He was also instrumental in founding the Freedom Bloc by forging an alliance of the Dobama, ABSU, politically active monks and Ba Maw's Poor Man's Party. After the Dobama organisation called for a national uprising, an arrest warrant was issued for many of the organisation's leaders including Aung San, who escaped to China. Aung San's intention was to make contact with the Chinese Communists but he was detected by the Japanese authorities who offered him support by forming a secret intelligence unit called the "Minami Kikan" headed by Colonel Suzuki with the objective of closing the Burma Road and supporting a national uprising. Aung San briefly returned to Burma to enlist twenty-nine young men who went to Japan with him to receive military training on Hainan Island, China, and they came to be known as the "Thirty Comrades". When the Japanese occupied Bangkok in December 1941, Aung San announced the formation of the Burma Independence Army (BIA) in anticipation of the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The BIA formed a provisional government in some areas of the country in the spring of 1942, but there were differences within the Japanese leadership over the future of Burma. While Colonel Suzuki encouraged the Thirty Comrades to form a provisional government, the Japanese Military leadership had never formally accepted such a plan. Eventually the Japanese Army turned to Ba Maw to form a government. During the war in 1942, the BIA had grown in an uncontrolled manner, and in many districts officials and even criminals appointed themselves to the BIA. It was reorganised as the Burma Defence Army (BDA) under the Japanese but still headed by Aung San. While the BIA had been an irregular force, the BDA was recruited by selection and trained as a conventional army by Japanese instructors. Ba Maw was afterwards declared head of state, and his cabinet included both Aung San as War Minister and the Communist leader Thakin Than Tun as Minister of Land and Agriculture as well as the Socialist leaders Thakins Nu and Mya. When the Japanese declared Burma, in theory, independent in 1943, the Burma Defence Army (BDA) was renamed the Burma National Army (BNA).


title: History of Myanmar

text: It soon became apparent that Japanese promises of independence were merely a sham and that Ba Maw was deceived. As the war turned against the Japanese, they declared Burma a fully sovereign state on 1 August 1943, but this was just another facade. Disillusioned, Aung San began negotiations with Communist leaders Thakin Than Tun and Thakin Soe, and Socialist leaders Ba Swe and Kyaw Nyein which led to the formation of the Anti-Fascist Organisation (AFO) in August 1944 at a secret meeting of the CPB, the PRP and the BNA in Pegu. The AFO was later renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). Thakin Than Tun and Soe, while in Insein prison in July 1941, had co-authored the "Insein Manifesto" which, against the prevailing opinion in the Dobama movement, identified world fascism as the main enemy in the coming war and called for temporary co-operation with the British in a broad allied coalition which should include the Soviet Union. Soe had already gone underground to organise resistance against the Japanese occupation, and Than Tun was able to pass on Japanese intelligence to Soe, while other Communist leaders Thakin Thein Pe and Tin Shwe made contact with the exiled colonial government in Simla, India.


title: History of Myanmar

text: There were informal contacts between the AFO and the Allies in 1944 and 1945 through the British organisation Force 136. On 27 March 1945 the Burma National Army rose up in a countrywide rebellion against the Japanese. 27 March had been celebrated as 'Resistance Day' until the military renamed it 'Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) Day'. Aung San and others subsequently began negotiations with Lord Mountbatten and officially joined the Allies as the Patriotic Burmese Forces (PBF). At the first meeting, the AFO represented itself to the British as the provisional government of Burma with Thakin Soe as chairman and Aung San as a member of its ruling committee. The Japanese were routed from most of Burma by May 1945. Negotiations then began with the British over the disarming of the AFO and the participation of its troops in a post-war Burma Army. Some veterans had been formed into a paramilitary force under Aung San, called the "Pyithu yèbaw tat" or People's Volunteer Organisation (PVO), and were openly drilling in uniform. The absorption of the PBF was concluded successfully at the Kandy conference in Ceylon in September 1945.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The surrender of the Japanese brought a military administration to Burma and demands to try Aung San for his involvement in a murder during military operations in 1942. Lord Mountbatten realised that this was an impossibility considering Aung San's popular appeal.


title: History of Myanmar

text: After the war ended, the British Governor, Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith returned. The restored government established a political program that focused on physical reconstruction of the country and delayed discussion of independence.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The AFPFL opposed the government, leading to political instability in the country. A rift had also developed in the AFPFL between the Communists and Aung San together with the Socialists over strategy, which led to Than Tun being forced to resign as general secretary in July 1946 and the expulsion of the CPB from the AFPFL the following October.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Dorman-Smith was replaced by Sir Hubert Rance as the new governor, and almost immediately after his appointment the Rangoon Police went on strike. The strike, starting in September 1946, then spread from the police to government employees and came close to becoming a general strike.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Rance calmed the situation by meeting with Aung San and convincing him to join the Governor's Executive Council along with other members of the AFPFL. The new executive council, which now had increased credibility in the country, began negotiations for Burmese independence, which were concluded successfully in London as the Aung San-Attlee Agreement on 27 January 1947. The agreement left parts of the communist and conservative branches of the AFPFL dissatisfied, however, sending the Red Flag Communists led by Thakin Soe underground and the conservatives into opposition.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Aung San also succeeded in concluding an agreement with ethnic minorities for a unified Burma at the Panglong Conference on 12 February, celebrated since as 'Union Day'. U Aung Zan Wai, U Pe Khin, Myoma U Than Kywe, Major Aung, Sir Maung Gyi and Dr. Sein Mya Maung. were most important negotiators and leaders of the historical pinlon (panglong) Conference negotiated with Burma national top leader General Aung San and other top leaders in 1947. All these leaders decided to join together to form the Union of Burma. Union day celebration is one of the greatest in the history of Burma. The popularity of the AFPFL, now dominated by Aung San and the Socialists, was eventually confirmed when it won an overwhelming victory in the April 1947 constituent assembly elections. On 19 July 1947 U Saw, a conservative pre-war Prime Minister of Burma, engineered the assassination of Aung San and several members of his cabinet including his eldest brother Ba Win, while meeting in the Secretariat. 19 July has been commemorated since as Martyrs' Day. Shortly after, rebellion broke out in the Arakan led by the veteran monk U Seinda, and it began to spread to other districts.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Thakin Nu, the Socialist leader, was now asked to form a new cabinet, and he presided over Burmese independence which was established under the Burma Independence Act 1947 on 4 January 1948. The popular sentiment to part with the British was so strong at the time that Burma opted not to join the Commonwealth of Nations, unlike India or Pakistan.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The first years of Burmese independence were marked by successive insurgencies by the Red Flag Communists led by Thakin Soe, the White Flag Communists led by Thakin Than Tun, the "Yebaw Hpyu" or (White Band) People's Volunteer Organisation led by Bo La Yaung, a member of the Thirty Comrades, army rebels calling themselves the Revolutionary Burma Army (RBA) led by Communist officers Bo Zeya, Bo Yan Aung and Bo Yè Htut – all three of them members of the Thirty Comrades, Arakanese Muslims or the Mujahid, and the Karen National Union (KNU).


title: History of Myanmar

text: After the Communist victory in China in 1949, remote areas of Northern Burma were for many years controlled by an army of Kuomintang (KMT) forces under the command of General Li Mi.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Burma accepted foreign assistance in rebuilding the country in these early years, but continued American support for the Chinese Nationalist military presence in Burma finally resulted in the country rejecting most foreign aid, refusing to join the South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), and supporting the Bandung Conference of 1955. Burma generally strove to be impartial in world affairs, and was one of the first countries in the world to recognise Israel and the People's Republic of China.


title: History of Myanmar

text: By 1958, the country was beginning to recover economically, but was beginning to fall apart politically due to a split in the AFPFL into two factions. One faction was led by Thakins Nu and Tin, and the other was led by Ba Swe and Kyaw Nyein. And this was despite the unexpected success of U Nu's "Arms for Democracy" offer taken up by U Seinda in the Arakan, the Pa-O, some Mon and Shan groups, but more significantly by the PVO surrendering their arms.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The situation however became very unstable in parliament, with U Nu surviving a no-confidence vote only with the support of the opposition National United Front (NUF), believed to have 'crypto-communists' amongst them. Army hardliners now saw the 'threat' of the CPB coming to an agreement with U Nu through the NUF, and in the end U Nu 'invited' Army Chief of Staff General Ne Win to take over the country. Over 400 'communist sympathisers' were arrested, of which 153 were deported to the Coco Island in the Andaman Sea. Among them was the NUF leader Aung Than, older brother of Aung San. The "Botataung", "Kyemon" and "Rangoon Daily" newspapers were also closed down.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Ne Win's caretaker government successfully established the situation and paved the way for new general elections in 1960 that returned U Nu's Union Party with a large majority. The situation did not remain stable for long, when the Shan Federal Movement, started by Nyaung Shwe Sawbwa Sao Shwe Thaik (the first President of independent Burma 1948–52) and aspiring to a 'loose' federation, was seen as a separatist movement insisting on the government honouring the right to secession in 10 years provided for by the 1947 Constitution. Ne Win had already succeeded in stripping the Shan Sawbwas of their feudal powers in exchange for comfortable pensions for life in 1959.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On 2 March 1962, Ne Win, with sixteen other senior military officers, staged a coup d'état, arrested U Nu, Sao Shwe Thaik and several others, and declared a socialist state to be run by their "Union Revolutionary Council". Sao Shwe Thaik's son, Sao Mye Thaik, was shot dead in what was generally described as a "bloodless" coup. Thibaw Sawbwa Sao Kya Seng also disappeared mysteriously after being stopped at a checkpoint near Taunggyi.


title: History of Myanmar

text: A number of protests followed the coup, and initially the military's response was mild. However, on 7 July 1962, a peaceful student protest on Rangoon University campus was suppressed by the military, killing over 100 students. The next day, the army blew up the Students Union building. Peace talks were convened between the RC and various armed insurgent groups in 1963, but without any breakthrough, and during the talks as well as in the aftermath of their failure, hundreds were arrested in Rangoon and elsewhere from both the right and the left of the political spectrum. All opposition parties were banned on 28 March 1964. The Kachin insurgency by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) had begun earlier in 1961 triggered by U Nu's declaration of Buddhism as the state religion, and the Shan State Army (SSA), led by Sao Shwe Thaik's wife Mahadevi and son Chao Tzang Yaunghwe, launched a rebellion in 1964 as a direct consequence of the 1962 military coup.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Ne Win quickly took steps to transform Burma into his vision of a "socialist state" and to isolate the country from contact with the rest of the world. A one-party system was established with his newly formed Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) in complete control. Commerce and industry were nationalised across the board, but the economy did not grow at first if at all as the government put too much emphasis on industrial development at the expense of agriculture. In April 1972, General Ne Win and the rest of the Union Revolutionary Council retired from the military, but now as U Ne Win, he continued to run the country through the BSPP. A new constitution was promulgated in January 1974 that resulted in the creation of a People's Assembly ("Pyithu Hluttaw") that held supreme legislative, executive, and judicial authority, and local People's Councils. Ne Win became the president of the new government.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Beginning in May 1974, a wave of strikes hit Rangoon and elsewhere in the country against a backdrop of corruption, inflation and food shortages, especially rice. In Rangoon workers were arrested at the Insein railway yard, and troops opened fire on workers at the Thamaing textile mill and Simmalaik dockyard. In December 1974, the biggest anti-government demonstrations to date broke out over the funeral of former UN Secretary-General U Thant. U Thant had been former prime minister U Nu's closest advisor in the 1950s and was seen as a symbol of opposition to the military regime. The Burmese people felt that U Thant was denied a state funeral that he deserved as a statesman of international stature because of his association with U Nu.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On 23 March 1976, over 100 students were arrested for holding a peaceful ceremony () to mark the centenary of the birth of Thakin Kodaw Hmaing who was the greatest Burmese poet and writer and nationalist leader of the 20th century history of Burma. He had inspired a whole generation of Burmese nationalists and writers by his work mainly written in verse, fostering immense pride in their history, language and culture, and urging them to take direct action such as strikes by students and workers. It was Hmaing, as leader of the mainstream Dobama (Us Burma) Organization, who sent the Thirty Comrades abroad for military training, which became the origin of modern Myanmar Army, and after independence devoted his life to internal peace and national reconciliation until he died at the age of 88 in 1964. Hmaing lies buried in a mausoleum at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda.


title: History of Myanmar

text: A young staff officer called Captain Ohn Kyaw Myint conspired with a few fellow officers in 1976 to assassinate Ne Win and San Yu, but the plot was uncovered and the officer tried and hanged.


title: History of Myanmar

text: In 1978, a military operation was conducted against the Rohingya Muslims in Arakan, called the King Dragon operation, causing 250,000 refugees to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.


title: History of Myanmar

text: U Nu, after his release from prison in October 1966, had left Burma in April 1969, and formed the Parliamentary Democracy Party (PDP) the following August in Bangkok, Thailand with the former Thirty Comrades, Bo Let Ya, co-founder of the CPB and former Minister of Defence and deputy prime minister, Bo Yan Naing, and U Thwin, ex-BIA and former Minister of Trade. Another member of the Thirty Comrades, Bohmu Aung, former Minister of Defence, joined later. The fourth, Bo Setkya, who had gone underground after the 1962 coup, died in Bangkok shortly before U Nu arrived. The PDP launched an armed rebellion across the Thai border from 1972 till 1978 when Bo Let Ya was killed in an attack by the Karen National Union (KNU). U Nu, Bohmu Aung and Bo Yan Naing returned to Rangoon after the 1980 amnesty. Ne Win also secretly held peace talks later in 1980 with the KIO and the CPB, again ending in a deadlock as before.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Ne Win retired as president in 1981, but remained in power as Chairman of the BSPP until his sudden unexpected announcement to step down on 23 July 1988. In the 1980s, the economy began to grow as the government relaxed restrictions on foreign aid, but by the late 1980s falling commodity prices and rising debt led to an economic crisis. This led to economic reforms in 1987–1988 that relaxed socialist controls and encouraged foreign investment. This was not enough, however, to stop growing turmoil in the country, compounded by periodic "demonetisation" of certain bank notes in the currency, the last of which was decreed in September 1987, wiping out the savings of the vast majority of people.


title: History of Myanmar

text: In September 1987, Burma's de facto ruler U Ne Win suddenly cancelled certain currency notes, which caused a great down-turn in the economy. The main reason for the cancellation of these notes was superstition on U Ne Win's part, as he considered the number nine his lucky number—he only allowed 45 and 90 kyat notes, because these were divisible by nine. Burma's admittance to Least Developed Country status by the UN the following December highlighted its economic bankruptcy.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Triggered by brutal police repression of student-led protests causing the death of over a hundred students and civilians in March and June 1988, widespread protests and demonstrations broke out on 8 August throughout the country. The military responded by firing into the crowds, alleging Communist infiltration. Violence, chaos and anarchy reigned. Civil administration had ceased to exist, and by September of that year, the country was on the verge of a revolution. The armed forces, under the nominal command of General Saw Maung, staged a coup on 8 August to restore order. During the 8888 Uprising, as it became known, the military killed thousands. The military swept aside the Constitution of 1974 in favour of martial law under the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) with Saw Maung as chairman and prime minister.


title: History of Myanmar

text: At a special six-hour press conference on 5 August 1989, Brig. Gen. Khin Nyunt, the SLORC Secretary 1, and chief of Military Intelligence Service (MIS), claimed that the uprising had been orchestrated by the Communist Party of Burma through its underground organisation. Although there had inevitably been some underground CPB presence as well as that of ethnic insurgent groups, there was no evidence of their being in charge to any extent. In fact, in March 1989, the CPB leadership was overthrown by a rebellion by the Kokang and Wa troops that it had come to depend on after losing its former strongholds in central Burma and re-establishing bases in the northeast in the late 1960s; the Communist leaders were soon forced into exile across the Chinese border.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The military government announced a change of name for the country in English from "Burma" to "Myanmar" in 1989. It also continued the economic reforms started by the old regime and called for a Constituent Assembly to revise the 1974 Constitution. This led to multiparty elections in May 1990 in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory over the National Unity Party (NUP, the successor to the BSPP) and about a dozen smaller parties.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The military would not let the assembly convene, and continued to hold the two leaders of the NLD, Tin Oo and Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Aung San, under the house arrest imposed on them the previous year. Burma came under increasing international pressure to convene the elected assembly, particularly after Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, and also faced economic sanctions. In April 1992 the military replaced Saw Maung with General Than Shwe.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Than Shwe released U Nu from prison and relaxed some of the restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest, finally releasing her in 1995, although she was forbidden to leave Rangoon. Than Shwe also finally allowed a National Convention to meet in January 1993, but insisted that the assembly preserve a major role for the military in any future government, and suspended the convention from time to time. The NLD, fed up with the interference, walked out in late 1995, and the assembly was finally dismissed in March 1996 without producing a constitution.


title: History of Myanmar

text: During the 1990s, the military regime had also had to deal with several insurgencies by tribal minorities along its borders. General Khin Nyunt was able to negotiate cease-fire agreements that ended the fighting with the Kokang, hill tribes such as the Wa, and the Kachin, but the Karen would not negotiate. The military finally captured the main Karen base at Manerplaw in spring 1995, but there has still been no final peace settlement. Khun Sa, a major opium warlord who nominally controlled parts of Shan State, made a deal with the government in December 1995 after US pressure.


title: History of Myanmar

text: After the failure of the National Convention to create a new constitution, tensions between the government and the NLD mounted, resulting in two major crackdowns on the NLD in 1996 and 1997. The SLORC was abolished in November 1997 and replaced by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), but it was merely a cosmetic change. Continuing reports of human rights violations in Burma led the United States to intensify sanctions in 1997, and the European Union followed suit in 2000.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The military placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest again in September 2000 until May 2002, when her travel restrictions outside of Rangoon were also lifted. Reconciliation talks were held with the government, but these came to a stalemate and Suu Kyi was once again taken into custody in May 2003 after an ambush on her motorcade reportedly by a pro-military mob. The government also carried out another large-scale crackdown on the NLD, arresting many of its leaders and closing down most of its offices. The situation in Burma remains tense to this day.


title: History of Myanmar

text: In August 2003, Kyin Nyunt announced a seven-step "roadmap to democracy", which the government claims it is in the process of implementing. There is no timetable associated with the government's plan, or any conditionality or independent mechanism for verifying that it is moving forward. For these reasons, most Western governments and Burma's neighbours have been sceptical and critical of the roadmap.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On 17 February 2005, the government reconvened the National Convention, for the first time since 1993, in an attempt to rewrite the Constitution. However, major pro-democracy organisations and parties, including the National League for Democracy, were barred from participating, the military allowing only selected smaller parties. It was adjourned once again in January 2006.


title: History of Myanmar

text: In November 2005, the military junta started moving the government away from Yangon to an unnamed location near Kyatpyay just outside Pyinmana, to a newly designated capital city. This public action follows a long term unofficial policy of moving critical military and government infrastructure away from Yangon to avoid a repetition of the events of 1988. On Armed Forces Day (27 March 2006), the capital was officially named Naypyidaw Myodaw (lit. Royal City of the Seat of Kings).


title: History of Myanmar

text: In November 2006, the International Labour Organization (ILO) announced it will be seeking – at the International Court of Justice – "to prosecute members of the ruling Myanmar junta for crimes against humanity" over the continuous forced labour of its citizens by the military. According to the ILO, an estimated 800,000 people are subject to forced labour in Myanmar.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The 2007 Burmese anti-government protests were a series of anti-government protests that started in Burma on 15 August 2007. The immediate cause of the protests was mainly the unannounced decision of the ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council, to remove fuel subsidies, which caused the price of diesel and petrol to suddenly rise as much as 100%, and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase fivefold in less than a week. The protest demonstrations were at first dealt with quickly and harshly by the junta, with dozens of protesters arrested and detained. Starting 18 September, the protests had been led by thousands of Buddhist monks, and those protests had been allowed to proceed until a renewed government crackdown on 26 September.


title: History of Myanmar

text: During the crackdown, there were rumours of disagreement within the Burmese military, but none were confirmed. At the time, independent sources reported, through pictures and accounts, 30 to 40 monks and 50 to 70 civilians killed as well as 200 beaten. However, other sources reveal more dramatic figures. In a White House statement President Bush said: "Monks have been beaten and killed ... Thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been arrested". Some news reports referred to the protests as the Saffron Revolution.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On 7 February 2008, SPDC announced that a referendum for the Constitution would be held, and Elections by 2010. The 2008 Burmese constitutional referendum was held on 10 May and promised a "discipline-flourishing democracy" for the country in the future.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On 3 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated the country when winds of up to 215 km/h (135 mph) touched land in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division. It is estimated that more than 130,000 people died or went missing and damage totalled 10 billion US dollars; it was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history. The World Food Programme reported that, "Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out."


title: History of Myanmar

text: The United Nations estimated that as many as 1 million were left homeless and the World Health Organization "received reports of malaria outbreaks in the worst-affected area." Yet in the critical days following this disaster, Burma's isolationist regime complicated recovery efforts by delaying the entry of United Nations planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies. The government's failure to permit entry for large-scale international relief efforts was described by the United Nations as "unprecedented."


title: History of Myanmar

text: The 2011–2012 Burmese democratic reforms were an ongoing series of political, economic and administrative changes in Burma undertaken by the military-backed government. These reforms included the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and subsequent dialogues with her, establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, general amnesties of more than 200 political prisoners, institution of new labour laws that allow labour unions and strikes, relaxation of press censorship, and regulations of currency practices.


title: History of Myanmar

text: As a consequence of the reforms, ASEAN approved Burma's bid for the chairmanship in 2014. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Burma on 1 December 2011, to encourage further progress; it was the first visit by a US Secretary of State in more than fifty years. United States President Barack Obama visited one year later, becoming the first US president to visit the country.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, participated in by-elections held on 1 April 2012 after the government abolished laws that led to the NLD's boycott of the 2010 general election. She led the NLD in winning the by-elections in a landslide, winning 41 out of 44 of the contested seats, with Suu Kyi herself winning a seat representing Kawhmu Constituency in the lower house of the Burmese Parliament.


title: History of Myanmar

text: 2015 election results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the Burmese parliament, enough to ensure that its candidate would become president, while NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency. However, clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups continued.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016 and, on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president of the country since the Military coup of 1962. Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of the State Counsellor, a position similar to Prime Minister, on 6 April 2016.


title: History of Myanmar

text: The resounding victory of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in 2015 general elections has raised hope for a successful transition of Myanmar from a closely held military rule to a free democratic system. However, internal political turmoil, crumbling economy and ethnic strife continue to make the transition to democracy a painful one. The 2017 murder of Ko Ni, a prominent Muslim lawyer and a key member of Myanmar's governing National League for Democracy party is seen as a serious blow to the country's fragile democracy. Mr. Ko Ni's murder deprived Aung San Suu Kyi of his perspective as an adviser, particularly on reforming Myanmar's military-drafted Constitution and ushering the country to democracy.


title: History of Myanmar

text: There was a military crackdown against Rohingya that occurred from October 2016 to January 2017, and the second has been occurring since August 2017. The crisis forced over a million Rohingya to flee to other countries. Most fled to Bangladesh, resulting in the creation of Kutupalong refugee camp, the world's largest refugee camp.


title: History of Myanmar

text: At the general election on 8 November 2020 the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 396 out of 476 seats in parliament, an even larger margin of victory than in the 2015 election. The military's proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, won only 33 seats.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On February 1, 2021, Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw detained the state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other government members. The military handed power to the military chief Min Aung Hlaing and a state of emergency has been declared for one year.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On 2 February 2021, healthcare workers and civil servants across the country, including in the national capital, Naypyidaw, launched a national civil disobedience movement (), in opposition to the coup d'état. Protesters have employed peaceful and nonviolent forms of protest, which include acts of civil disobedience, labour strikes, a military boycott campaign, a pot-banging movement, a red ribbon campaign, public protests, and formal recognition of the election results by elected representatives.


title: History of Myanmar

text: On 20 February, two people were shot dead and at least two dozens more were injured in Mandalay by the military in violent crackdown. These people were residents of Maha Aung Myay Township guarding government shipyard workers involved in the civil disobedience movement from the police who were forcing them back to work. In addition to firing live rounds, the police and military personnel also beat, arrested, used water cannon, and threw various objects such as marbles and stones at civilians.


title: History of Myanmar

text: As of 26 March 2021, at least 3,070 people have been detained, and at least 423 protestors have been killed by military or police forces.


title: History of Myanmar

text: Armed insurgencies by the People's Defence Force of the National Unity Government have erupted throughout Myanmar. In many villages and towns junta forces attacks drove out tens of thousands of people at least. UNOCHA said that as of early September 2022, 974,000 people had been internally displaced since the coup. In addition, between the February 2021 coup and June 2022 over 40,000 people fled into neighboring countries, including many from communities close to the borders that came under regime attacks.


title: 2000 NFL season

text: The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants, 34–7, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.


title: 2000 NFL season

text: Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000. It would be the last NFL season to date to start on Labor Day weekend. It would also be the last time until 2015 that CBS televised the late afternoon games in Week 1, because both Week 1 of the NFL season and CBS's coverage of the U.S. Open tennis finals would take place on the same day beginning next season.


title: 2000 NFL season

text: The 2000 NFL draft was held from April 15 to 16, 2000 at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Cleveland Browns selected defensive end Courtney Brown from Pennsylvania State University. Taken by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the sixth round was Michigan quarterback Tom Brady. Tom Brady went on to win 3 NFL MVP awards, a record 7 Super Bowl titles and 5 Super Bowl MVP awards.


title: 2000 NFL season

text: This was the third year under the league's eight-year broadcast contracts with ABC, CBS, Fox, and ESPN to televise "Monday Night Football", the AFC package, the NFC package, and "Sunday Night Football", respectively.


title: 2000 NFL season

text: ABC fired Boomer Esiason, reportedly because he and Al Michaels never got along in the "MNF" booth. The network decided to go in a radical direction by hiring comedian Dennis Miller, along with Dan Fouts, to join Michaels.


title: 2000 NFL season

text: Dick Enberg joined CBS, becoming the #2 play-by-play commentator, alongside Dan Dierdorf, while Verne Lundquist returned to call college football for the network. Also, Mike Ditka joined "The NFL Today" as an analyst.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Local elections were held at Manila on May 9, 2022, as part of the Philippine general election. Held concurrently with the national elections, the electorate voted to elect a mayor, a vice mayor, thirty-six city council members and six district representatives to congress. Those elected took their respective offices on June 30, 2022, for a three-year-long term. 886,133 of 1,133,042 registered voters voted in this election.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Vice mayor Honey Lacuna and representative Yul Servo were elected to the mayoralty and vice mayoralty respectively, with Lacuna becoming the first woman to be elected to the office. The Asenso Manileño party became the only party represented in the city council after winning 34 seats in the legislature. The remaining two seats were won by independents Ninong Lacsamana of the 2nd district and Bobby Espiritu II of the 5th district.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Ernix Dionisio Jr., Rolan Valeriano, Joel Chua, Edward Maceda, Irwin Tieng and Benny Abante were elected to be the representatives for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth districts respectively.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Elections for mayor, vice mayor and for the six members of the House of Representatives are via first-past-the-post voting. For members of the city council, it is via multiple non-transferable vote, with the candidates with six highest votes winning.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Elections for mayor and vice mayor are done at an at-large basis. Elections for members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines and the Manila City Council are via the legislative districts of Manila.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: There are an additional two "ex officio" seats in the city council, for the city federation presidents of the Liga ng mga Barangay (village councilors league) and the Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council league). These were originally elected in 2018, and whose terms were extended until 2023. Separate elections for these bodies will be in October 2023.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Mayor Isko Moreno and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna are the incumbents; both are members of Aksyon Demokratiko and the local party Asenso Manileño. Moreno was elected in 2019, defeating incumbent Mayor Joseph Estrada, while Lacuna was elected in 2016, succeeding Moreno.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Moreno chose not to seek reelection as the mayor of Manila and will instead run for president of the Philippines in 2022. Asenso Manileño nominated Lacuna and incumbent 3rd district representative Yul Servo Nieto for mayor and vice mayor, respectively.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Lacuna's notable challengers for mayor are former Philippine National Police DICTM deputy director Elmer Jamias (People's Reform Party), former 5th district representative Amado Bagatsing (KABAKA), and Christy Lim-Raymundo (Reporma), the daughter of former mayor Alfredo Lim, who died in 2020. Bagatsing is the son of another former mayor, Ramon Bagatsing. In 2019, Jamias lost the vice mayoralty race, while Lim-Raymundo lost the city council election. Alex Lopez (Partido Federal ng Pilipinas), the son of former mayor Mel Lopez, later joined the mayoralty race on November 10, 2021, as a substitute to Calvin Punzalan. Lopez also lost the 2019 elections in the congressional race at the 2nd district. Bagatsing also joined the mayoralty race during the substitution period; he previously ran for mayor in 2001 and in 2016 but lost.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Meanwhile, in the vice mayoralty race, Nieto notably faced actor Raymond Bagatsing of Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. Bagatsing is the nephew of mayoral candidate Amado Bagatsing, making him a grandson of former mayor Ramon Bagatsing. Raymond Bagatsing was later chosen as the running mate of Alex Lopez.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Previous potential candidates for mayor included former president and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and incumbent 1st district representative Manny Lopez. Estrada lost to Moreno in 2019 and said in July of the same year that he would run again for mayor. However, he did not file his Certificate of Candidacy in October 2021. Meanwhile, Lopez, another son of former Manila Mayor Mel Lopez and the current chair of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, was chosen by the PDP–Laban–Cusi wing as its mayoral candidate but chose to seek reelection for representative instead, with his brother Alex taking his place in the mayoralty race.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: The incumbent mayor is Isko Moreno, who was elected in 2019 with 50.15% of the vote. Moreno is eligible for re-election but has opted to run for the presidency of the Philippines.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: The incumbent vice mayor is Honey Lacuna, who was re-elected in 2019 with 57.28% of the vote. Lacuna is eligible for re-election but has opted to run for mayor.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Manny Lopez is the incumbent. His opponents are Ernesto "Ernix" Dionisio Jr. and former Congressman Benjamin "Atong" Asilo.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Incumbent Yul Servo is not seeking reelection to run for Vice Mayor. His party's nominee is incumbent city majority floor leader and Councilor Joel Chua. His opponents are former Councilor and incumbent Barangay 299 Captain Ramon Morales and Clark Field Arroño III.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Edward Maceda is the incumbent. His opponents are former Congresswoman Trisha Bonoan-David and Christopher Gabriel, both happened to be his challengers in 2019.


title: 2022 Manila local elections

text: Alex Lopez filed an electoral protest against Honey Lacuna's mayoral victory, alleging “electoral frauds, irregularities, and anomalies” within the election. On October 6, 2022 The Comission on Elections dismissed the protest, citing the lack of evidence as well as the usage of baseless claims. Lacuna welcomed the decision.


title: Beginners

text: Beginners is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Mills. It tells the story of Oliver, a man reflecting on the life and death of his father, Hal, while trying to forge a new romantic relationship with a woman, Anna, dealing with father issues of her own. The film is based on the coming out of Mills' own father at the age of 75, five years before his death.


title: Beginners

text: "Beginners" premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, where the "Los Angeles Times" heralded it as a "heady, heartfelt film" with a cast who have "a strong sense of responsibility to their real-world counterparts". Christopher Plummer received numerous accolades for his performance, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.


title: Beginners

text: Set in 2003 in Los Angeles, following the death of his father Hal from cancer, Oliver reflects on their relationship during the almost five years following the death of Oliver's mother, Georgia, also from cancer.


title: Beginners

text: Shortly after her death, Hal came out to his son and began exploring life as an openly gay man. He becomes active in the gay community, finds love with Andy, a much younger man and becomes more honest with himself and with his son.


title: Beginners

text: Oliver discovers that, although his parents were married for 44 years from 1955, theirs was not a romantic love. Good friends, and officially boyfriend and girlfriend in high school, as it was the custom to negate gayness, after the war she asked him to marry her. During Oliver's childhood, he had detected a lack of passion in his parents' marriage so, he says he has never settled for a passionless relationship.


title: Beginners

text: As a result, Oliver and Hal become closer during the last years of his life. Oliver helps him during his treatment, observes as he refuses to face his diagnosis and to tell Andy that the cancer progresses to stage IV.


title: Beginners

text: Two months after Hal's death, Oliver meets Anna, a French actress, at a party. They instantly connect and end up kissing, and he asks if he can just sleep at her place. The next day, she has to go away for a film shoot but wants to see him again. Inspired by his father's attitude towards the end of his life and their relationship, Oliver decides to pursue a romance with her.


title: Beginners

text: When Anna comes back, Oliver finally feels he can open up to her. Periodically as they interact, he get flashbacks to his mother as she reminds him of her. His dad's terrier Arthur, who he can rarely leave, takes very strongly to her. Talking, they both realize they find ways of running from relationships.


title: Beginners

text: Oliver invites Anna to move in with him, she does but then he is unhappy when she doesn't embrace it. After a very short time she announces she's moving back to New York City. He soon misses her, as she doesn't return his calls, so Oliver leaves Arthur with Andy and flies to see her in New York City.


title: Beginners

text: Anna finally answers her phone, but she's still in Los Angeles. She gives Oliver a tour via mobile. He apologizes, then returns to Los Angeles, where they start over.


title: Beginners

text: With cinematography by Kasper Tuxen, "Beginners" was filmed using the Red One digital camera. Much of the film is autobiographical, and is based on director Mike Mills' experiences after his own father came out of the closet following his mother's death.


title: Beginners

text: The "Siedem Razy Kobieta" poster on the wall in Oliver's dining room is from the Polish language version of the 1967 Shirley MacLaine film "Woman Times Seven".


title: Beginners

text: , the film holds an 85% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 162 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Wearing its twee heart on its sleeve, "Beginners" explores the depths of modern, multi-generational romance with wit and depth." At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film holds an average score of 81 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: Beginners

text: Calvin Wilson from the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" wrote, "A lovably quirky comedy drama with a rhythm all its own." Diego Costa from "Slant Magazine" wrote, "One of the most distinct pleasures of "Beginners" is the way it puts together fragments of someone's life — presumably the filmmaker's, although little does it matter — with humility, and without vying for some complete whole." Lisa Schwarzbaum from "Entertainment Weekly" wrote, "The movie darts, dreams, and sometimes seems to dance. The great Plummer, meanwhile, creates an inspiring, fully rounded man in late bloom, and McGregor responds with a performance to match."


title: Beginners

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying, "It's a hopeful fable with deep optimism and a cheerful style that kids itself." Peter Debruge from "Variety" said the film is "deeply poignant and disarmingly personal".


title: Beginners

text: "Beginners" won the Gotham Award for Best Feature, shared with "The Tree of Life", in 2011. For his performance, Christopher Plummer won the British Academy Film Award, Denver Film Critics Society Award, Golden Globe Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, National Board of Review Award, Online Film Critics Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, all for Best Supporting Actor.


title: Beginners

text: In addition, Plummer was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor and the film was also nominated for Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay, and won for Best Supporting Male (Plummer). At the 84th Academy Awards, Plummer won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.


title: Brian Gunn

text: Brian Gunn (born August 23, 1970) is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri.


title: Brian Gunn

text: Gunn has four brothers — filmmaker James, actor Sean, actor and political writer Matt, producer and former Executive Vice President of Artisan Entertainment Patrick — and a sister, Beth. Their parents are Leota and James F. Gunn, a lawyer. Gunn and his brothers all attended Saint Louis University High School, where he graduated in 1988.


title: Brian Gunn

text: As a writer, producer, and actor, Gunn is best known for "" (2012), "Bring It On Again" (2004), and "2gether" (2000).


title: Rolex Submariner

text: The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner is a line of sports watches designed for diving and manufactured by Rolex, resistant to water and corrosion. The first Submariner was introduced to the public in 1954 at the Basel Watch Fair. It was the first watch to be waterproof up to 100m. The Rolex Submariner is considered "a classic among wristwatches", manufactured by one of the most widely recognized luxury brands in the world. Due to its huge popularity, there are many homage watches by well-established watchmakers, as well as illegal counterfeits. The Rolex Submariner is part of Rolex's Oyster Perpetual line.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: Today, the Submariner and Submariner Date models are equipped with Rolex Calibres 3230 and 3235, respectively, and feature luminescent hour markers, a unidirectional rotatable bezel with Cerachrom ceramic insert, and a solid-link Oyster bracelet. They are water resistant up to 300 metres (1000 ft).


title: Rolex Submariner

text: The Submariner model went into production in 1953 and was showcased at the Basel Watch Fair in 1954. The assigned case reference number of this first Submariner was either 6204 or 6205. It is unclear which model came first; in any event, the two watches are nearly identical.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: Neither has the distinctive "cathedral" or "Mercedes" hands now so strongly associated with the Submariner line. Rather, both of these early submariners have straight "pencil" style hands.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: Few, if any, of the 6205 watches bear the name "Submariner" on the dial, a major distinction of modern Submariners. Some 6204 models have the Submariner logo printed below the center pinion, while others have the logo blacked out. It is believed that there were unexpected trademark issues connected with the name "Submariner" at the time the 6204 and 6205 were released, accounting for the inconsistent use of the Submariner mark on these early Submariners. Trademark irregularities notwithstanding, both the 6204 and 6205 are designated Submariner models in Rolex product literature.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: In 1954, Rolex also produced a small number of ref. 6200 Submariners. This was the first Submariner (although not the first Rolex) to make use of the Mercedes hand set, a feature of all subsequent Submariners. The 6200 also featured an oversized winding crown compared to the 6204 and 6205 models. Within a few years, Rolex revised its Submariner line, producing the 6536 (small crown) and 6538 (oversized crown) models. These watches had "improved" movements (the cal. 1030), including a chronometer version in some 6536 models (designated 6536/1), the now-familiar Mercedes hands, and the Submariner logo and depth rating printed on the dial.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: By the early 1960s, these models had given way to the 5508 (small crown) and 5510 (large crown) models. All of these early Submariners used either gilt (6200, 6204, 6205) or gilt/silver gilt (6536, 6538) printing on glossy black dials. Radium paint was used for the luminous indices.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: The next wave of Submariners, the 5512 (chronometer version) and 5513 (non-chronometer), marked a significant change in the appearance of the popular Rolex design. "Shoulders" were added to the crown side of the case to provide protection for the winding/setting mechanism. In early watches—until 1964 or so—these shoulders were pyramid-shaped and ended in points. Later watches were manufactured with rounded shoulders. The 5512 and 5513 were both fitted with the oversized crown, which thereafter became a standard feature of the Submariner line. In the early 1960s, Rolex discontinued the use of radium paint for the luminous indices, switching to safer tritium-infused paint.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: In 1965–1966, Rolex discontinued use of gilt/silver gilt dials on the Submariner watches, switching to white printing. A final important change came with the introduction of the 1680 model in the late 1960s: the 1680 was the first Submariner to be equipped with a date function, marking the completion of the transition of the Submariner line from specialist tool watch to mass market fashion accessory. While many professional and military divers used—and continue to use—Submariners in the most demanding underwater environments, by the late 1960s, the watch had undeniably become a mass market product as well.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: Throughout the next 40 years, the Submariner was updated with improved water resistance, new movements, and numerous small cosmetic changes. In 2003, Rolex celebrated the Submariner's 50th anniversary by launching the Rolex Submariner-Date anniversary edition (16610 LV), with distinguishing features such as the green bezel and Maxi dial; its production ended in 2010 with the final watches being issued with the new "random" serial number. In 2008, a new case from the GMT II was introduced for the Submariner-Date, featuring heavier lugs and crownguard; a Cerachrom bezel and updated clasp featuring a quick adjust function were also added. The 14060M did not have these modifications.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: A new Submariner-Date, model 116613 (not to be confused with model 16613), based on the "supercase" used in the GMT Master II, was presented at the 2008 Basel show. The first Submariner-Date models offered were a yellow gold with blue face and bezel and a new white gold with blue face and bezel. The stainless steel case model was presented at the 2010 Basel show. Its reference is 116610.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: At the 2012 BaselWorld watch show, an updated Submariner ref 114060 was introduced. It replaced the 14060M, with newer "Maxi Case" with "Chromalight" hour markers, ceramic bezel, blue Parachrom hairspring and bracelet with "Glidelock" extension system.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: The Rolex Submariner watch case has a diameter of  mm and a thickness of (crystal thickness 2 mm (0.08 in), and the case and bracelet weigh .


title: Rolex Submariner

text: Also in 2020, two new movements became available for new "41 mm" models. For No - Date model caliber 3230 and for date models, the caliber is called 3235. Both are COSC certified.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: From 1970 onwards, the French diving company COMEX received a special version of Rolex Submariner 5513 featuring a helium release valve for their saturation divers. This version of the Submariner was based on the Sea Dweller and not the other way around as often claimed. In 1974, the first double-signed dials featuring the Comex logo were introduced followed by changing the reference number to 5514, thus creating an exclusive reference for Comex. These watches were never available to the public.


title: Rolex Submariner

text: The Rolex Sea-Dweller, developed in 1967 but introduced to the general public in 1971, is a heavier-duty steel version of the Submariner, with a thicker case and crystal, as well as a date feature, sans cyclops magnifier. The Sea-Dweller incorporates a helium escape valve for use when decompressing and helium is in the gas mixture of a pressurized habitat; this model (ref 16600) has a guaranteed waterproof depth of .


title: Rolex Submariner

text: The Sea-Dweller was superseded by the DeepSea Sea-Dweller in late 2008, with the last 16600 Sea-Dwellers produced running into the V-series (late 2008). The DeepSea features a 44 mm case that guarantees a depth of (ref. 116660).


title: Rolex Submariner

text: The Rolex Submariner has appeared in a number of James Bond movies. Sean Connery wore a reference 6538 in his first four movies. In "Dr. No". and "From Russia with Love", the watch was used with a leather strap, favored by real life spy, Matt West while in "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball" the strap had been swapped for an undersized NATO type nylon band (The Ministry of Defence "G10" strap not being commissioned until 1973, and then only in admiralty grey without stripes). George Lazenby wore a reference 5513 with an oyster bracelet in parts of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", as did Roger Moore in his first two movies "Live and Let Die" and "The Man with the Golden Gun", but with a 7206 "riveted"' bracelet. Timothy Dalton is so far the last Bond actor to wear a Rolex in the Bond franchise. He is seen wearing a Submariner with a date window in his last film "Licence to Kill". The watch is arguably a 16800 or 168000, as the movie was shot in the summer of 1988. From "GoldenEye" onwards, James Bond wears Omega Seamasters.


title: Pedro Avilés Pérez

text: Pedro Avilés Pérez, also known as "El León de la Sierra" (English: "The Mountain Lion"), was a Mexican drug lord in the state of Sinaloa beginning in the late 1960s.


title: Pedro Avilés Pérez

text: He is considered to be the first generation of major Mexican drug smugglers of marijuana. He was also the first known drug lord to use an aircraft to smuggle drugs to the United States.


title: Pedro Avilés Pérez

text: Second-generation Sinaloan traffickers such as Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo would claim they learned all they knew about drug trafficking while serving in the Avilés organization. Killed in a shootout with the Federal Police in September 1978, some people believe Avilés was set up by Fonseca Carrillo, the cartel's treasurer. Caro Quintero, Aviles' foreman in Chihuahua, began acquiring marijuana and poppy plantations. Corruption of state officials was brokered by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, an emerging capo who had spent time in Sinaloa working as a Sinaloan State Police trooper and serving as bodyguard to Leopoldo Sánchez Celis, governor of Sinaloa.


title: O.P.P. (song)

text: "O.P.P." is a song by American rap group Naughty by Nature. It was released in August 1991 as the lead single from their self-titled second album, "Naughty by Nature" (1991). It was one of the first rap songs to become a pop hit when it reached No. 6 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart. Its declaration, "Down wit' O.P.P", was a popular catchphrase in the US in the early 1990s.


title: O.P.P. (song)

text: The song was a hugely successful single; "Spin" magazine named it one of the greatest singles of the 1990s, offering a brief verdict with the rhetorical question, "Ever wonder where Puffy came from?" It also made some media outlets' lists of one of the best rap songs of all time: including "The Source", VH1 (No. 22), and "Rolling Stone" (No. 80). The song was also ranked No. 20 on VH1's 40 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of the '90s.


title: O.P.P. (song)

text: The song samples Melvin Bliss' "Synthetic Substitution" and The Jackson 5's "ABC". Its lyrics concern sexual infidelity, with "O.P.P." standing for "other people's pussy" and "other people's penis".


title: O.P.P. (song)

text: Jesse Ducker from Albumism wrote, "It’s one of the most light-hearted songs about infidelity this side of Clarence Carter’s “Back Door Santa”, as Treach gleefully lists the virtues of engaging in sexual congress with someone else’s girl." Stanton Swihart from AllMusic said it's "a song that somehow managed the trick of being both audaciously catchy and subversively coy at the same time." He added, "Its irrepressible appeal was so widespread, in fact, that it played just as well to the hardcore heads in the hood as it did to the hip-hop dabblers in the suburbs."


title: O.P.P. (song)

text: Larry Flick from "Billboard" noted that the act "drops samples of the Jackson Five's "ABC" onto a rousing hip-hop beat-base. Anthemic rhymes are icing on the cake. Have a taste." James Bernard from "Entertainment Weekly" described it as "a sly, body-rocking tune with a melodic pop hook and plenty of cute double entendres". A reviewer from "Music & Media" commented, "It's further proof of the new direction in rap heading more towards a normal pop song. The combination of the piano hook and the female backup makes this funky rhyme memorable."


title: O.P.P. (song)

text: A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Rodd Houston and Marcus Raboy. It begins with a man removing his wedding ring and dropping it. The group raps at a club behind a fence and people dance behind them. The video was uploaded to Naughty by Nature's YouTube channel on July 13, 2010.


title: O.P.P. (song)

text: The song has been used as a soundtrack to various films as well as television series, including the TV sitcoms "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "The Office", and the films "La Haine", "Jarhead", and "Up in the Air". In the video game "Minecraft", the phrase "Down with O.P.P.!" was used as a splash text which appeared on the game's menu screen. The splash was added on February 7, 2010 in Java Edition version Indev 20100207-1 but was later removed in version 1.16 Release Candidate 1 on June 18, 2020.


title: Church of Norway

text: The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church became the state church of Norway around 1020, and was established as a separate church intimately integrated with the state as a result of the Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway which broke ties with the Holy See in 1536–1537; the King of Norway was the church's head from 1537 to 2012. Historically the church was one of the main instruments of royal power and official authority, and an important part of the state administration; local government was based on the church's parishes with significant official responsibility held by the parish priest.


title: Church of Norway

text: In the 19th and 20th centuries it gradually ceded most administrative functions to the secular civil service. The modern Constitution of Norway describes the church as the country's "people's church" and requires the King of Norway to be a member. It is by far the largest church in Norway; until the mid 19th century the state church had a near-total monopoly on religion in Norway. It was the only legal church in Norway, membership was mandatory for every person residing in the kingdom and it was forbidden for anyone other than the official priests of the state church to authorise religious meetings. After the adoption of the 1845 Dissenter Act, the state church retained its legally privileged position, while minority religious congregations such as Catholics were allowed to establish themselves in Norway and were legally termed "dissenters" (i.e. from the government-sanctioned Lutheran state religion). Church employees were civil servants from the Reformation until 2017, when the church became a legal entity separate from the state administration. The Church of Norway is mentioned specifically in the 1814 constitution and is subject to the Church Act. Municipalities are required by law to support activities of parishes and to maintain church buildings and church yards. Other religious communities are entitled to the same level of government subsidies as the Church of Norway.


title: Church of Norway

text: The church is led by ordained priests, traditionally and primarily divided into the ranks chaplain, parish priest () who was traditionally the head of a parish (; literally area that owes allegiance to a priest), provost () and bishop. Today more priests may hold the title parish priest, while some priests who work directly under a provost are known as provostship priest (). All priests were appointed by the King-in-Council until the late 20th century and thus held the status of (higher civil servant appointed by the King). Prior to 2000 ordination required the theological civil servant examination (cand.theol.) that required six years of university studies, but from 2000 other equivalent degrees may also be accepted for certain applicants over the age of 35 with relevant experience.


title: Church of Norway

text: Norway was gradually Christianized beginning at the end of the Early Middle Ages and was part of Western Christianity, acknowledging papal authority until the 16th century. The then Roman Catholic Church exercised a significant degree of sovereignty in Norway and essentially shared power with the King of Norway as the secular ruler. The Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway in 1536–1537 broke ties with the Holy See, around two decades after the start of the Protestant Reformation. It later resulted in the separation of the Catholic Church dioceses in Norway and throughout Scandinavia and establishment of a state church intimately integrated with the state and completely subject to royal authority, with the King as Head of the Church on Earth instead of being headed by the Pope/Bishop of Rome. This action followed the example set earlier in the reformation of the Church of England (Anglican Church) begun by the intense political action and requests for an annulment by King Henry VIII. This was followed in later centuries by a worldwide movement of the Anglican Communion which later recognized in the 20th and 21st century and declared intercommunion with several other denominations such as the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Reformed, Methodists, etc. Until the modern era, the Church of Norway was not only a religious organisation but also one of the most important instruments of royal power and official authority, and an important part of the state administration, especially at the local and regional levels.


title: Church of Norway

text: The church professes to be "truly Catholic, truly Reformed, truly Evangelical" in the Evangelical Lutheran tradition of Western Christian faith, with its foundation on the "Bible"s "Old" and "New Testaments" and occasionally including the "Apocrapha", along with the three historic creeds of faith in the Apostles', Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, Luther's Small Catechism, Luther's Large Catechism, the Smalcald Articles and the Augsburg Confession of 1530, (presented to Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire at the Diet (synod / parliament) in Augsburg that year.) All of which these statements of faith along with several other seminal documents in the "Book of Concord: Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church" presented in 1580. All Evangelical Lutheran clergy (bishops, priests/pastors, deacons and other ministers) along with the teaching in classes for the Rite of Confirmation for young people and those considering full adult membership are required to read and understand with clergy swearing faithfulness at their ordination. The church is a member of Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe, having signed the Leuenberg Agreement with other Lutheran and Reformed churches in 1973. It is also a member of the Porvoo Communion with 12 other churches, among them, the Anglican churches of Europe. It has also signed some other ecumenical texts, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church and the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan in the city of Lund, Sweden in 2016.


title: Church of Norway

text: As of 2017 the church is legally independent of the government. According to the constitution it serves as the "people's church" in the Kingdom of Norway. Until 1969, the church's name for administrative purposes was simply the "State Church" or sometimes just "the Church", whereas the constitution described it as the "Evangelical-Lutheran Church". A constitutional amendment of 21 May 2012 designates the church as "Norway's people's church" (), with a new provision that is almost a verbatim copy of the provision for the Danish state church () in the Constitution of Denmark; the Minister of Church Affairs Trond Giske stressed that the reform meant that "the state church is retained", On 27 May 2016 Stortinget (Parliament of Norway) approved a new legislative act to establish the Church of Norway as an independent legal entity rather than a branch of the civil service, and the law took effect on 1 January 2017. The church remains state funded.


title: Church of Norway

text: Until 1845 the Church of Norway was the only legal religious organization in Norway and it was not possible to end membership in the Church of Norway. The Dissenter Act () was an act approved by the Storting on 16 July 1845 that allowed the establishment of alternative religious bodies. This act was in 1969 replaced by "."


title: Church of Norway

text: Until 2012 the constitutional head of the church was the King of Norway, who is obliged to profess himself a Lutheran. After the constitutional amendment of 21 May 2012, the church is self-governed with regard to doctrinal issues and appointment of clergy.


title: Church of Norway

text: The Church of Norway was subject to legislation, including its budgets, passed by the Storting, and its central administrative functions were carried out by the Royal Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs until 2017. Bishops and priests were civil servants also after the 2012 constitutional reform. Each parish has an autonomous administration. The state itself does not administer church buildings; buildings and adjacent land instead belong to the parish as an independent public institution. The Minister of Church Affairs, Trond Giske, was responsible for proposing the 2012 amendments, explaining that "the state church is retained".


title: Church of Norway

text: An act approved in 2016 created the Church of Norway as an independent legal entity, effective from 1 January 2017.


title: Church of Norway

text: The church has an episcopal-synodal structure, with 1,284 parishes, 106 deaneries, 11 dioceses and since 2 October 2011, one area under the supervision of the Preses. The dioceses are, according to the rank of the five historic sees and then according to age:


title: Church of Norway

text: The General Synod of the Church of Norway, which convenes once a year, is the highest representative body of the church. It consists of 85 representatives, of whom seven or eight are sent from each of the dioceses. Of these, four are lay members appointed by the congregations; one is a lay member appointed by church employees; one is a member appointed by the clergy; and the bishop. In addition, one representative from the Sami community in each of the three northernmost dioceses, representatives from the three theological seminaries, representatives from the youth council. Other members of the national council are also members of the general synod.


title: Church of Norway

text: The national council, the executive body of the synod, is convened five times a year and comprises 15 members, of whom ten are lay members, four are clergy and one is the presiding bishop. It prepares matters for decision-making elsewhere and puts those decisions into effect. The council also has working and ad hoc groups, addressing issues such as church service, education and youth issues.


title: Church of Norway

text: The Council on Ecumenical and International Relations deals with international and ecumenical matters, and the Sami Church Council is responsible for the Church of Norway's work among the country's indigenous Sami people.


title: Church of Norway

text: The Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway convenes three times a year, and consists of the twelve bishops in the church (the 11 diocesan bishops and the Preses). It issues opinions on various issues related to church life and theological matters.


title: Church of Norway

text: The church also convenes committees and councils both at the national level (such as the Doctrinal Commission (), and at diocesan and local levels, addressing specific issues related to education, ecumenical matters, the Sami minority and youth.


title: Church of Norway

text: There are 1,600 Church of Norway churches and chapels. Parish work is led by a priest and an elected parish council. There are more than 1,200 clergy (in 2007 21% were women ministers) in the Church of Norway. The Church of Norway does not own church buildings, which are instead owned by the parish and maintained by the municipality.


title: Church of Norway

text: The focus of church life is the Sunday Communion and other services, most commonly celebrated at 11:00 a.m. The liturgy is similar to that in use in the Roman Catholic Church. The language is entirely Norwegian, apart from the Kyrie Eleison, and the singing of hymns accompanied by organ music is central. A priest (often with lay assistants) celebrates the service, wearing an alb and stole. In addition, a chasuble is worn by the priest during the Eucharist and, increasingly, during the whole service.


title: Church of Norway

text: The Church of Norway baptises children, usually infants and usually as part of ordinary Sunday services.


title: Church of Norway

text: (If there is no Communion, i.e., the Eucharist, the service concludes with the Lord's Prayer, an optional Offering, the Blessing and a moment of silent prayer)


title: Church of Norway

text: The Church of Norway traces its origins to the introduction of Christianity to Norway in the 9th century. Norway was Christianized as a result of missions from both the British Isles (by Haakon I of Norway and Olaf I of Norway), and from the Continent (by Ansgar). It took several hundred years to complete the Christianization, culminating on 29 July 1030 with the Battle of Stiklestad, when King Olaf II of Norway was killed. One year later, on 3 August 1031, he was canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, and few years later enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral. The cathedral with its shrine to St. Olav became the major Nordic place of pilgrimage until the Lutheran reformation in 1537. The whereabouts of Saint Olaf's grave have been unknown since 1568.


title: Church of Norway

text: Saint Olaf is traditionally regarded as being responsible for the final conversion of Norway to Christianity, and is still seen as Norway's patron saint and "eternal king" ("Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae"). The Nordic churches were initially subordinate to the Archbishop of Bremen, until the Nordic Archdiocese of Lund was established in 1103. The separate Norwegian Archdiocese of Nidaros (in today's Trondheim) was created in 1152, and by the end of the 12th century covered all of Norway, parts of present Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, the Isle of Man, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, the Faroe Islands, and the Hebrides.


title: Church of Norway

text: Another site of medieval pilgrimage in Norway was the island of Selja on the northwest coast, with its memories of Saint Sunniva and its three monastery churches with Celtic influence, similar to Skellig Michael.


title: Church of Norway

text: The Reformation in Norway was accomplished by force in 1537 when Christian III of Denmark and Norway declared Lutheranism as the official religion of Norway and Denmark, sending the Roman Catholic archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson, into exile in Lier in the Netherlands (now in Belgium). Catholic priests were persecuted, monastic orders were suppressed, and the crown took over church property, while some churches were plundered and abandoned, even destroyed. Bishops (initially called superintendents) were appointed by the king. This brought forth tight integration between church and state. After the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660 all clerics were civil servants appointed by the king, but theological issues were left to the hierarchy of bishops and other clergy.


title: Church of Norway

text: When Norway regained national independence from Denmark in 1814, the Norwegian Constitution recognized the Lutheran church as the state church.


title: Church of Norway

text: The pietism movement in Norway (embodied to a great extent by the Haugean movement fostered by Hans Nielsen Hauge) has served to reduce the distance between laity and clergy in Norway. In 1842, lay congregational meetings were accepted in church life, though initially with limited influence. In following years, a number of large Christian organizations were created; they still serve as a "second line" in Church structure. The most notable of these are the Norwegian Missionary Society and the Norwegian Lutheran Mission.


title: Church of Norway

text: During World War II, after Vidkun Quisling became Minister President of Norway and introduced a number of controversial measures such as state-controlled education, the church's bishops and the vast majority of the clergy disassociated themselves from the government in the "Foundations of the Church" () declaration of Easter 1942, stating that they would only function as pastors for their congregations, not as civil servants. The bishops were interned with deposed clergy and theological candidates from 1943, but congregational life continued more or less as usual. For three years the Church of Norway was a church free of the State.


title: Church of Norway

text: Since World War II, a number of structural changes have taken place within the Church of Norway, mostly to institutionalize lay participation in the life of the church.


title: Church of Norway

text: Norwegians are registered at baptism as members of the Church of Norway, and many remain members, using services such as baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial, rites which still have cultural standing in Norway.


title: Church of Norway

text: 68.7% of Norwegians were members of the state Church of Norway as of the end of 2019, a 1.2% drop compared to the year before and down about 11% from ten years earlier. However, only 20% of Norwegians say that religion occupies an important place in their life (according to a recent Gallup poll), making Norway one of the most secular countries of the world (only in Estonia, Sweden and Denmark were the percentages of people who considered religion to be important lower), and only about 3% of the population attends church services or other religious meetings more than once a month. Baptism of infants fell from 96.8% in 1960 to 51.4% in 2019, while the proportion of confirmands fell from 93% in 1960 to 54.4% in 2019. The proportion of weddings to be celebrated in the Church of Norway fell from 85.2% in 1960 to 31.3% in 2019. In 2019 85.5% of all funerals took place in the Church of Norway. A survey conducted by Gallup International in 65 countries in 2005 found that Norway was the least religious among the Western countries surveyed, with only 36% of the population considering themselves religious, 9% considering themselves atheist and 46% considering themselves "neither religious nor atheist".


title: Church of Norway

text: In spite of the relatively low level of religious practice in Norwegian society, the local clergy often play important social roles outside their spiritual and liturgical responsibilities.


title: Church of Norway

text: By law all children who have at least one parent who is a member, automatically become members. This has been controversial, as many become members without knowing, and as this favours the Church of Norway over other churches. This law remained unchanged even after the separation of church and state in 2012.


title: Church of Norway

text: In 2000, the Church of Norway appointed the first openly partnered gay priest. In 2007, a majority in the general synod voted in favour of accepting people living in same-sex relations into the priesthood. In 2008, the Norwegian Parliament voted to establish same-sex civil marriages, and the bishops allowed prayers for same-sex couples. In 2014 a proposed liturgy for same-sex marriages was rejected by the general synod. This question created much unrest in the Church of Norway and seems to serve as a trigger for conversions to independent congregations and other churches. In 2015, the Church of Norway voted to allow same-sex marriages. The decision was ratified on 11 April 2016. The first same-sex marriage ceremony in the church occurred on 1 February 2017 just after midnight.


title: Church of Norway

text: On 21 May 2012, the Norwegian Parliament passed a constitutional amendment for the second time (such amendments must be passed twice in separate parliaments to come into effect) that granted the Church of Norway increased autonomy, and states that "the Church of Norway, an Evangelical-Lutheran church, remains Norway's people's church, and is supported by the State as such" ('people's church' or "folkekirke" is also the name of the Danish state church, ), replacing the earlier expression which stated that "the Evangelical-Lutheran religion remains the public religion of the State." The constitution also says that Norway's values are based on its Christian and humanist heritage, and according to the Constitution, the king is required to be Lutheran. The government will still provide funding for the church as it does with other faith-based institutions, but the responsibility for appointing bishops and provosts will now rest with the church instead of the government. Prior to 1997, the appointments of parish priests and residing chaplains was also the responsibility of the government, but the church was granted the right to hire such clergy directly with the new Church Law of 1997. The 2012 amendment implies that the church's own governing bodies, rather than the Council of State, appoints bishops. The government and the parliament no longer have an oversight function with regard to day-to-day doctrinal issues, although the Constitution states that the church is to be Evangelical-Lutheran.


title: Church of Norway

text: After the changes in 1997 and 2012, until the change in 2017, all clergy remained civil servants (state employees), and the central and regional church administrations remained a part of the state administration. The Church of Norway is regulated by its own law () and all municipalities are required by law to support the activities of the Church of Norway and municipal authorities are represented in its local bodies. The amendment was a result of a compromise from 2008. Minister of Church Affairs Trond Giske then emphasized that the Church of Norway remains Norway's state church, stating that "the state church is retained. Neither the Labour Party nor the Centre Party had a mandate to agree to separate church and state." Of the government parties, the Labour Party and the Centre Party supported a continued state church, while only the Socialist Left Party preferred a separation of church and state, although all parties eventually voted for the 2008 compromise.


title: Church of Norway

text: The final amendment passed by a vote of 162–3. The three dissenting votes, Lundteigen, Ramsøy, and Toppe, were all from the Centre Party.


title: Church of Norway

text: Though still supported by the state of Norway, the church ceased to be the official state religion on 1 January 2017 and its approximately 1250 active clergy ceased to be employed by the Norwegian government on 1 January 2017.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: Great Wolf Resorts (formerly known as Great Wolf Lodge) is a chain of indoor water parks. The company owns and operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge brand. In addition to a water park, each resort features restaurants, arcades, spas, and children's activities. Great Wolf Resorts is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: Great Wolf Lodge began as a small indoor water park resort called Black Wolf Lodge which was founded in 1997 by brothers Jack and Andrew "Turk" Waterman, the original owners of Noah's Ark Water Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Black Wolf Lodge was purchased by The Great Lakes Companies Inc in 1999. In 2000, president and founder, Craig A. Stark, and the team changed the name to Great Wolf Lodge and the company headquarters were established in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2001, the company built a second location in Sandusky, Ohio, and named it Great Bear Lodge. When a third location opened in 2003, the decision was made to place all future parks under the Great Wolf Lodge banner. The name of the Ohio location was changed to Great Wolf Lodge in 2004. The chain has since added sixteen additional locations and has one under construction.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: On May 1, 2012, Great Wolf announced they were adding a new amenity or attraction to each of their resorts in time for the summer season. In addition, they spent over $4 million renovating the company's first two locations – Wisconsin Dells and Sandusky.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: On March 13, 2012, Apollo Global Management announced an agreement to acquire the company for $703 million. Following the announcement, an investor group filed a complaint in Delaware Chancery Court stating that the deal, in which Apollo would pay $5 a share, undervalued the company. On April 12, 2012, KSL Capital Partners made an unsolicited offer of $6.25 a share, and Apollo followed suit raising its bid to $6.75 a share. KSL then raised its cash offer to $7 a share on April 8, 2012, beginning a rare public bidding war. After Apollo upped its offer again to $7.85 a share on April 20, 2012, KSL Capital Partners later announced it would not be making additional offers. The company's shares traded as low as $2.18 in October 2011, but they climbed above $5 following the announcement in March 2012 and reached a 52-week high of $7.50 during trading in April 2012.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: On March 24, 2015, Centerbridge Partners reached an agreement with Apollo to acquire the Great Wolf chain for $1.35 billion. The acquisition was finalized on May 12, 2015.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: In September 2019, Blackstone Group made a deal to purchase 65% controlling interest in Great Wolf Resorts from Centerbridge Partners. The two firms agreed to form a $2.9 billion joint-venture to own the company.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: Great Wolf's previous CEO Kim Schaefer was featured in the U.S. version of TV's "Undercover Boss", which included visits to several lodges where she worked alongside a lifeguard supervisor, front desk clerk, and restaurant waitstaff as well as participated in the children's program.


title: Great Wolf Resorts

text: Great Wolf Entertainment and 6 Point Harness produced a flash animated film, called "The Great Wolf Pack: A Call to Adventure", which premiered at Great Wolf Resorts on Labor Day, September 5, 2022. The film follows the adventure of five newly-redesigned versions of mascot characters Wiley Wolf, Violet Wolf, Oliver Raccoon, Brinley Bear and Sammy Squirrel.


title: Shibe Park

text: Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1909, it became baseball's first steel-and-concrete stadium. In different eras it was home to "The $100,000 Infield", "The Whiz Kids", and "The 1964 Phold". The venue's two home teams won both the first and last games at the stadium: the Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox 8–1 on opening day 1909, while the Phillies beat the Montreal Expos 2–1 on October 1, 1970, in the park's final contest.


title: Shibe Park

text: Shibe Park stood on the block bounded by Lehigh Avenue, 20th Street, Somerset Street and 21st Street. It was five blocks west, corner-to-corner, from the Baker Bowl, the Phillies' home from 1887 to 1938. The stadium hosted eight World Series and two MLB All-Star Games, in 1943 and 1952, with the latter game holding the distinction of being the only All-Star contest shortened by rain (to five innings). In May 1939, it was the site of the first night game played in the American League.


title: Shibe Park

text: Phillies Hall-of-Fame centerfielder and longtime broadcaster Richie Ashburn remembered Shibe Park: "It looked like a ballpark. It smelled like a ballpark. It had a feeling and a heartbeat, a personality that was all baseball."


title: Shibe Park

text: In the early years of the 20th century, the Philadelphia Athletics were so popular that team president Ben Shibe found his team regularly turning away customers from their cramped Columbia Park ballpark even though it was just a few years old. When as many as 28,000 showed up to fill the 9,500 wooden bleacher seats, Shibe and manager/part-owner Connie Mack decided the A's needed a new place to play.


title: Shibe Park

text: He searched for a site for his new park and found one on Lehigh Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets, five blocks west of Baker Bowl, straddling the neighborhoods known as Swampoodle and Goosetown. It was still primitive at the time, an area of "high clay bluffs, rain-washed gullies, quagmires, open fields, even ponds" where chickens pecked and pigs rooted. Although a grid of streets was planned for the area, few actually existed. The area was already served by public transportation: trolleys ran up and down Broad Street and back and forth along Lehigh, and both the Pennsylvania and Reading railroads had major stations nearby. The area had "underachieved" thus far due to the presence of the city's Hospital for Contagious Diseases (the "smallpox hospital") a block west on Lehigh, but Shibe's privileged connections in town brought him word that the city would be closing the facility. Without the hospital, the area's stigma would eventually dissipate, but at the time, the land was still a bargain.


title: Shibe Park

text: Shibe quietly assembled title to his square block of land early in 1907, picking up parcels "through a complicated series of acquisitions, preventing price inflation by masking his intentions," even using straw buyers to keep his name out of the dealings. He spent a total of $67,500 ($ in dollars) on seven land packages totaling , and in February 1908, he arranged to have two projected streets running through his block dropped from the city plan.


title: Shibe Park

text: For the design and its execution, Shibe hired William Steele and Sons. Their engineering staff had worked with the new technology of steel-reinforced concrete, and designed and built the city's first skyscraper, the Witherspoon Building at Walnut and Juniper Streets. The Steele design for the Shibe façade was in the ornate French Renaissance style, including arches, vaultings, and Ionic pilasters. The grandstand walls were to be of red brick and terra cotta and featured elaborate decorative friezes with baseball motifs, while cartouches framed the Athletics' "A" logo at regular intervals above the entrances. The souvenir program on Opening Day called it "a fetching combination of color." Gabled dormer windows on the upper deck's copper-trimmed green-slate mansard roof looked out over the streets below. Presiding over all were terra cotta busts of Shibe and Mack above the main entrances on Lehigh and 21st.