Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party, is a political party in Ireland. The party was founded as an Irish republican party on 16 May 1926 by Éamon de Valera and his supporters after they split from the anti-treaty wing of Sinn Féin on the issue of abstentionism in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War. Since 1927 Fianna Fáil has been one of Ireland's two major parties, along with Fine Gael; the party dominated Irish political life for most of the 20th century, since its foundation either it or Fine Gael has led every government. Between 1932 and 2011, it was the largest party in Dáil Éireann. Between 1989 and 2011, it led coalition governments with parties of the right. Fianna Fáil was last in government from 1997 to 2011 under Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, with a periodic high of 81 seats in 2002, reduced to 77 in 2007. In 2011, it was swept from power in the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state, falling to only 20 seats, the lowest in the party's history.

At the 2016 general election, Fianna Fáil won 44 seats and became the largest opposition party in both houses of the Oireachtas, with party leader Micheál Martin entering into a confidence and supply arrangement with a Fine Gael-led minority government at the beginning of the 32nd Dáil. Fianna Fáil is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and of Liberal International. Since 9 February 2019, Fianna Fáil has been in partnership with the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland. Fianna Fáil was founded by a former leader of Sinn Féin, he and a number of other members split from Sinn Féin when a motion he proposed—which called for elected members to be allowed to take their seats in Dáil Éireann if and when the controversial Oath of Allegiance was removed—failed to pass at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in 1926. His new party adopted its name on 2 April of the same year. While it was opposed to the Treaty settlement, it rejected abstentionism, instead aiming to republicanise the Irish Free State from within.

Fianna Fáil's platform of economic autarky had appeal among the farmers, working-class people and the poor, while alienating more affluent classes. The party first entered government on 9 March 1932, it was in power for 61 of the 79 years between and the election of 2011. Its longest continuous period in office has been 11 months, its longest single period out of office in the 20th century was four months. Seven of the party's eight leaders have served as Taoiseach. Fianna Fáil joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party on 16 April 2009, the party's Members of the European Parliament sat in the ALDE Group during the 7th European Parliament term from June 2009 to 1 July 2014; the party is a full member of the Liberal International. Prior to this, the party was part of the Eurosceptic Union for Europe of the Nations parliamentary group between 1999 and 2009, it was the largest party in the Dáil after every general election from that of 1932 until that of 2007. During the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, for which Fianna Fáil as governing party was seen to be responsible, its popularity crashed: an opinion poll on 27 February 2009 indicated that only 10% of voters were satisfied with the Government's performance.

In the 2011 general election, it suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state. This loss was described as "historic" in its proportions and "unthinkable"; the party sank from being the largest in the Dáil to the third-largest. Fianna Fáil uses; the basic unit was the cumann. At the party's height it had an average of 75 per constituency; the party claimed that in 2005 they had 50,000 registered names, but only an estimated 10,000-15,000 members were considered active. However, from the early 1990s onward; every cumann was entitled to three votes to selection conventions irrespective of its size. Another problem had arisen with the emergence of parallel organisations grouped around candidates or elected officials. Supporters and election workers for a particular candidate were loyal to a candidate and not to the party. If the candidate were to leave the party, through either resignation, retirement or defeat at an election, the candidate's supporters would depart.

Although this phenomenon was nothing new it increased from the early 1990s in the Dublin Region with former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's "Drumcondra mafia" and the groups supporting Tom Kitt and Séamus Brennan in Dublin South that were separate from the official party structure. Since the 2007 election, the party's structure has weakened; this was in part exacerbated by significant infighting between candidates in the run-up to the 2011 general election. The Irish Times estimated that half of its 3,000 cumainn were moribund; this fraction rose in Dublin with the exception of Dublin West, the former seat of both Brian Lenihan Snr

The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M. 15 was a heavy howitzer used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Austrian and Czech guns were taken into Wehrmacht service after the Anschluss and the occupation of Czechoslovakia as the 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 15 or; the M. 15 was adapted from a fortress turret howitzer called the 15 cm Turmhaubitze M15 designed to throw the same ammunition as the schwere Feldhaubitze M.14 some 3.5 kilometres further. It didn't breakdown for transport, but could be disassembled into four loads for transport in mountainous areas; the first five weapons were delivered in the first half of 1916. A total of 57 barrels and 56 carriages were completed by the end of the war; the Finns purchased twenty weapons after the end of the Winter War. They arrived on the SS Widor on 9 October 1940, they were issued to Heavy Artillery Battalions 21, 22 and 28. They were unpopular with the field artillery as they were thought to be too heavy and were withdrawn from field duty during the Continuation War.

Some went to equip the Maaselkä Fortification Artillery Battalions. Gander and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3 Ortner, M. Christian; the Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology and Tactics. Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7 Finnish howitzers on jaegerplatoon

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is a government-owned and controlled corporation of the Philippines under direct supervision of the Office of the President of the Philippines. It is mandated to do fund raising and provide funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, charities of national character; the raised collections goes to the President's Presidential Social Fund to improve the country's social welfare. Sweepstakes Draw National Lotteries Small Town Lotteries Scratchcard Online Keno Horse Racing Fifty-five percent shall be set aside as a prize fund for the payment of prizes, including those for the owners, jockeys of running horses, sellers of winning tickets. Prizes not claimed within one year from date of draw shall be considered forfeited, shall form part of the charity fund for disposition. Thirty percent shall be set aside as contributions to the charity/ social fund of the Office of the President. Fifteen percent shall be set aside as contributions to the operating expenses and capital expenditures of the PCSO.

All balances of any funds in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office shall revert to and form part of the charity fund. The disbursements of these allocations are subject to state auditing regulations. Lotteries was started in the Philippines in 1833. Under the auspices of private enterprises called the Empresa de Reales Loterias Españolas de Filipinas, the Spanish Government conducted loterias to generate revenues. Dr. José Rizal won 6,200.00 in the draw of 1892. He donated his winnings to an educational project; the loteria was forced to stop operations during the outbreaks of the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American War. In 1932, the first Sweepstakes draw after the last loteria was conducted by the American Insular government to raise funds to support sports projects for the Filipino youth through the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation – the beneficiary of the first draw. After the success of the PAAF Sweepstakes, the government decided to conduct more draws for the benefit of the Philippine Anti-Tuberculosis Society, now the Philippine Tuberculosis Society.

The draws were held under the auspices of an organization called the National Charity Sweepstakes. On March 1935 President Manuel L. Quezon approved Act No. 301 – the law passed by the Philippine Legislature in October 30, 1934 creating the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes, replacing the National Charity Sweepstakes. Under this law, the new organization was authorized to secure from the National Treasury a loan amounting to ₱250,000.00, the minimum amount required for organizing the office and printing the tickets for the draw. On September 8, 1935, the new agency held its first Sweepstakes draw; the loan was paid back in less than two months and shortly after the note was signed, proceeds from the sales started coming in. Among its beneficiaries were the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation, the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, the National Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Asociación de Damas de Filipinas, the Gota de Leche, the Associate of Manila and the Provinces, the Philippine Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Asilo para Invalidos de los Veteranos de la Revolución, the Child Welfare Center and other institutions and organizations engaged in charitable and health work, or work for the improvement of the conditions of the indigent Filipino masses.

Its corporate charter was enacted into law under Republic Act No. 1169 on June 18, 1954 by Ramon Magsaysay. It repealed Act No. 430, as amended by Commonwealth Act Nos. 301 and 546 and by Republic Acts Nos. 72 and 574. In September 1979, Batas Pambansa Blg. 42 was enacted to raise the fund allocation for the agency’s Charity Fund and for the use of unclaimed prizes. On January 1995, during the incumbency of Chairman Manuel Morato, the PCSO launched the first online lottery in the Philippines known as Lotto, the first draw was held on March 8, 1995. Similar to lotteries in the U. S. Europe and Australia, the automated gaming the Lotto 6/42, the player chooses any set of 6 numbers from 1 to 42 and wins when these numbers are drawn in any sequence during the draw date. An equipment lease was signed with Malaysia's Berjaya Sports Toto Berhad. On March 20, 2006, through the advise of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the PCSO launched the small-town lottery, it is intended to compete with jueteng, a popular but illegal numbers game, criticized as a major source of corruption in local government units.

On July 26, 2019, in a speech, President Rodrigo Duterte declared PCSO games as "illegal" due to corruption allegiations and closing down the lotto outlets by the PNP, temporarily suspending the gaming operations after the speech, Lotto operations was resumed on July 31, 2019 and small-town-lottery operations on August 22, 2019. On July 26 to August 26, 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte has suspended the STL operations around the country due to allegations of corruption. Official website Philippine Racing Club Manila Jockey Club Daily Lotto results website

Francis Bulmer Lyon Bowley was a Hong Kong solicitor and member of the Sanitary Board. Bowley went to Hong Kong in 1903 as an associate at Henry Lardner Dennys Senior's solicitors firm, he became a partner of the firm in the name of Dennys & Bowley. When Dennys retired in 1913, his son Henry Lardner Dennys Junior, Charles Bulmer Johnson became partners of the firm with Bowley, he acted as the Crown Solicitor from around 1899 during the absence of Henry Lardner Dennys. He subsequently held the post for many years. Bowley was elected member of the Sanitary Board in the 1912 election, he was interested in subjects such as factory legislation and the conditions of the employment of women and children. He involved in the church affairs and had served on the Church Body and acted as Treasure of the St. John's Cathedral. Bowley returned to England by RMS Empress of Russia on 28 April 1921

Phanerochaete salmonicolor is a fungal plant pathogen which has become a serious problem in Brazil. P. salmonicolor is a member of the Corticiaceae family, a paraphyletic group classified based on their basidiocarps. This pathogen causes Pink Disease, most in citrus, although P. salmonicolor has a wide host range including rubber and cacao trees. Pink Disease causes stem die-back due to canker formation; the cankers are recognizable by gum longitudinal splitting of the bark. Phanerochaete salmonicolor has a broad host range; the host plants of greatest importance include rubber, coffee, grapefruit, nutmeg, apple and kola. Pink Disease can cause heavy losses including individual branch death to the loss of the whole tree in cases where the main stem or several branches are affected. P. salmonicolor causes girdling cankers which prevent the normal function of some physiological processes leading to defoliation and die-back of outer branches. On rubber trees, initial stages of infection appear as drops of latex and silky-white mycelial growth on the bark surface.

In black pepper plants, sterile pink to white pustules 1 mm in diameter appear on young green stems. In citrus trees, sterile pustules may appear first, in some cases the trees may have oozing sap or gum. In cacao trees, first symptoms of infection present as a sparse white mycelium on the bark surface, which can be overlooked. Trees are most susceptible in areas with high levels such as tropical rainforests. Diagnosis of Pink Disease is achieved through the use of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to observe sporulation of the pathogen. Management of P. salmonicolor and Pink Disease can be difficult given its wide host range, making cross-infection a concern. Cultural control can be implemented by pruning and burning any infected branches removed; this is effective when the disease can be recognized in the earliest stages, but it is most effective when performed concurrently with fungicide application. The encrustation and conidial pustules are able to remain functional for a period of time after the infected branches have been removed from the tree.

Fungicide use varies among countries affected by the disease. In India, pre- and post-monsoon application of fungicides directly on the trunk and branches of cocoa or rubber trees prevented the disease, while application of a sulphur-lime slurry to tea shrubs worked best in Kalimantan in Borneo, Validamycin A was found to be the most effective means of control on rubber trees in Vietnam; the use of fungicides prevents the basidiospores from causing infection. Phanerochaete salmonicolor is of particular importance in areas such as Colombia, China, or Thailand that rely on the export of globally important crops like coffee, tea, or rubber respectively. In cocoa, there have been reported losses of 80% or more in Western Samoa. Young trees are affected by the disease, as Pink Disease does not kill mature trees it infects. in citrus trees in Brazil, P. salmonicolor has been shown to be responsible for reduction of citrus production by up to 10%. List of cacao diseases List of citrus diseases List of coffee diseases List of mango diseases List of tea diseases USDA ARS Fungal Database

The Great American Songbook Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the music of the Great American Songbook. Located on the campus of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, the Songbook Foundation's administrative offices are located on the Gallery level of the Palladium, a 1600-seat concert hall that opened in January 2011; the organization was known as the Michael Feinstein Foundation for the Education and Preservation of the Great American Songbook and the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative. Michael Feinstein's lifetime interest in, immense knowledge of, the music of the Great American Songbook led him to found the organization in 2007. Upon Feinstein's appointment as Artistic Director of the Center for the Performing Arts in 2009, the organization committed to locating its headquarters and archives on the Center's campus in Carmel, Indiana; the Great American Songbook Foundation's administrative headquarters houses a reference library and listening rooms for researchers, archival storage space, the Songbook Exhibit Gallery, an exhibit space featuring rotating interactive presentations about the music, its creators and the performers of the Great American Songbook.

The long-term goal of the Great American Songbook Foundation is to construct a free-standing museum on the campus of the Center with additional exhibit and programming space. The Great American Songbook Foundation is staffed by four full-time employees, they are assisted by a volunteer group of docents who serve as guides for the Songbook Exhibit Gallery and a team of collections assistants who assist the archivist with the Songbook Foundation's ongoing preservation efforts. The Songbook Foundation's national board of directors has twenty-two members; the Great American Songbook Foundation offers a variety of programs about the history and significance of the Great American Songbook that are accessible to the public and appeal to music enthusiasts of all ages. The Songbook Exhibit Gallery welcomes over 3500 visitors each year; these rotating exhibits provide guests with a view of the Songbook, both educational and entertaining, helps them to place the music of this era in context with the significant events and major cultural shifts that occurred in the United States during the twentieth century.

The Songbook Foundation offers corresponding educational programs and guided tours for school groups and professional organizations, members of the general public. The Songbook Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm, one hour before all Jazz and Songbook Series performances at the Palladium. Since 2011, the Songbook Foundation has presented the following exhibits: "The Great American Songbook", "G. I. Jive: The Music and Entertainers of World War II", "Blast from the Past: Roaring Hot'20s Jazz", "A Change Is Gonna Come: 1960s Broadway Musicals", "Gus Kahn: The Man Behind the Music", "The Great Indiana Songbook: Two Centuries of Hoosier Music"; the exhibit now on display is "Ella Sings the Songbook", celebrating Ella Fitzgerald's 100th birthday and commemorating her more than fifty-year career, much of, spent performing music from the Great American Songbook. In particular, the exhibit highlights the series of eight albums of Songbook music sung by Ella under the direction of Norman Granz and issued by Verve Records.

These exhibits focus on different time periods and artists. In addition to the interactive display which houses clips and short biographies of over four decades of singers and songwriters, artifacts from the Songbook Archives that relate to the music and musicians being highlighted in the Songbook Gallery exhibits are displayed. In 2014, the Great American Songbook Foundation partnered with four other institutions to form the Exhibit Alliance, a group of organizations that presented concurrent exhibits on the 1960s; the Exhibit Alliance continues to grow and now includes the Great American Songbook Foundation, the Indiana Historical Society, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, the Indianapolis Public Library, the Carmel-Clay Historical Society and the Carmel-Clay Public Library. The Songbook Academy Summer Intensive known as the High School Vocal Academy and Competition, originated in 2009 and is held annually in July; the program is "the only vocal competition based on music from Broadway, Hollywood musicals and the Tin Pan Alley era."

Over the past several years, the scope and visibility of the program has grown significantly. The competition involved only Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio. In 2011, Chris Lewis, an educator and musician, joined as director, four additional states were added. In 2013, the number of states doubled to twenty-two; the Songbook Academy continued expanding its national reach in 2014 with the addition of nine states, for a total of thirty-one states and six regional competition events. Following the 2014 Songbook Academy, the regional component of the audition process was eliminated. Judges and mentors for 2017 included program founder Michael Feinstein, broadway actress and singer Eden Espinosa, jazz singer and educator Ly Wilder, television writer and producer Marc Cherry, internationally renowned soprano Sylvia McNair. In past years, prominent artists including Laura Osnes, Jarrod Spector, Sandi Patty, Jane Monheit, Janis Siegel, Jim Caruso