title: German military rifles

text: By the late 18th century, these rifles had evolved to being shorter than earlier hunting weapons and were generally shorter than the typical military musket, with no provision for a bayonet. The shorter weapon was easier to load and more practical in skirmish combat. However, there was some loss of accuracy, and the shorter barrel used the powder charges less efficiently.


title: German military rifles

text: "Jäger" rifles typically had a length around , with a barrel, and weighed around . Frequently there was a scrolled brass trigger guard to provide a better grip and a raised cheek-rest for support when aiming. Most rifles had a butt-trap or patch box about six inches long for storing greased linen patches and tools. The patch box lids were generally brass and were hinged at the rear. Most of these rifles were the personal property of the soldier and could vary substantially in design and decoration.


title: German military rifles

text: The "Jäger" rifle concept was adopted by other nations including Britain, which imported German "Jäger" rifles for use by skirmishers and marksmen. Many of these were Hanoverian and when Britain standardized with its Pattern 1776 rifle, it was essentially a copy of a "Jäger" style from Hanover. Hessian mercenary troops who fought for the British in the US Revolution included "Jäger" rifle units.


title: German military rifles

text: During the early 19th century, Prussia began to standardize its military rifle. In 1810, as part of its strenuous effort to rebuild its army after the defeat at Jena-Auerstadt, the state officially adopted its first standard rifle, which was a combination of preferred features from previous weapons. It had a 28½" .58 caliber tapered and flared barrel, offering good balance. This was the only flintlock military rifle of a major military power to use set triggers, and was the first German rifle that could be fitted with a bayonet.


title: German military rifles

text: As with most early military rifles used by European forces, they were not designed to supplant the smooth bore musket, but meant to be a complementary weapon used by special units including light infantry, skirmishers, and snipers.


title: German military rifles

text: The 1811 Prussian Cavalry Rifle was almost a completely redesigned: it was a new pattern featuring a new lock and hardware. It had a 17" octagonal barrel firing a .60 caliber bullet, but was changed to a round barrel in 1823.


title: German military rifles

text: In 1835, the Germans converted most of the 1810 rifles to percussion and adopted a nipple safety, which is an arm that covers the percussion cap to prevent accidental discharge. This was also known as the Potsdam rifle. The barrel length is inches in .60 caliber.


title: German military rifles

text: The Dreyse needle-gun ("Nadelgewehr") was a military breechloading rifle, famous as the arm of the Prussians, who adopted it for service in 1848 as the Prussian Model 1848. Its name comes from its needle-like firing pin, which passed through the cartridge case to detonate a percussion cap at the base of the bullet. The Dreyse rifle was also the first breech-loading rifle to use a bolt-action to open and close the chamber.


title: German military rifles

text: The gun was the invention of the gunsmith Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse, who, beginning in 1824, had conducted multiple experiments, and in 1836 produced the complete needle-gun. From 1848 onward the gun was gradually introduced into Prussian service, then later into the military forces of many other German states. The employment of the needle gun radically changed military tactics in the 19th century.


title: German military rifles

text: The needle gun first made its appearance in street fighting during the May Uprising in Dresden in 1849. It also played an important role in the Danish–German War of 1864. The gun saw its heaviest use in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Because the breech-loader made it possible for a Prussian soldier to fire five (or more) shots, even while lying on the ground, in the time that it took his Austrian counterpart to fire one (and then reload while standing), it was seen as allowing the Prussians to sweep the field.


title: German military rifles

text: The cartridge used with this rifle consisted of the paper case, the bullet, the priming cap and the black-powder charge. The 15.4 mm (0.61 in) bullet was shaped like an acorn, with the broader end forming a point. It was glued in a paper case known as a Sabot. Between this inner lining and the outer case was the powder charge, consisting of 4.8 g (74 grains) of black powder. The upper end of the paper case was rolled up and bound together before the needle could strike the primer that was attached to the base of the bullet; its point then passed through the powder and hit the primer ahead. The theory behind this placement of the primer is that it would give more complete combustion of the charge.


title: German military rifles

text: In practice the needle-gun proved to have numerous deficiencies: its effective range varied a great deal, a significant amount of gas escaped at the breech when the rifle was fired, and a paper cartridge was used. An improved model, giving greater muzzle velocity and increased speed in loading, was introduced, but this was soon replaced by the Mauser rifle.


title: German military rifles

text: This percussion weapon combines French and German features with a browned barrel and a rear sight with windage adjustment. It is long, with a .69 caliber barrel. This is among the last military designs prior to adopting the Minie type ammunition.


title: German military rifles

text: This rifle was based on a Swiss pattern using Minie ammunition in .54 caliber. It was long, with a barrel. Most of these weapons were made in Liege or in the Württemberg state-run factory in Oberndorf.


title: German military rifles

text: This is a refinement of the Bavarian M1854 adopting Minie type ammunition and using simplified sights.


title: German military rifles

text: The Podewils gun was a 13.9mm calibre rifle used in the Bavarian army since 1858. It was the most common infantry weapon of the Bavarian army in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71. Originally a muzzleloader, it was converted to breechloading in 1867, the so-called Lindner conversion. In 1869 the Bavarian army started to replace it with the Werder breechloader, but due to budgetary constrains by 1870 most Bavarian troops still used the Podewils while only four infantry battalions had received the Werder (primarily Jäger units).


title: German military rifles

text: Bavaria was engaged in several central European conflicts during the late 19th century, opposing Prussia in the Austro-Prussian war in 1866; however it then joined Prussia against France in 1870–71. Bavaria remained an autonomous state bound by treaty to Prussia between 1866 and 1870 and was incorporated into the newly established German Empire in 1871.


title: German military rifles

text: In 1869, Bavaria adopted the Werder M1869 chambered for a rimmed centerfire metallic cartridge, the 11×50mmR, a rifle designed by Johann L. Werder based on the Peabody dropping block action, to replace the breech loaded Lindner. After Prussia and others adopted the Mauser M1871 as their standard rifle Bavaria modified their Werder rifles into the "M1869 Aptiertes Werder", chambered for the same 11×60mmR cartridge as the Mauser M1871 used. The Werder remained the primary Bavarian arm until replaced by the Gewehr 1888.


title: German military rifles

text: The Mauser Model 1871 adopted as the "Gewehr 71" or "Infanterie-Gewehr 71" ( I.G.Mod.71 first of many military rifles manufactured to the designs of Peter-Paul and Wilhelm Mauser of the Mauser company.


title: German military rifles

text: During 1870–71 trials with many different rifles took place; the "M1869 Bavarian Werder" was the Mausers' chief competitor. The Mauser was provisionally adopted at the end of 1871 pending the development of an appropriate safety. It was adopted by the German Empire, excluding Bavaria. The action was not based on its predecessor, the Dreyse needle-gun, which had been in service for 30 years.


title: German military rifles

text: The "Gewehr 71" is a conventional-looking bolt-action single-shot rifle that uses black-powder cartridges. The action included only a bolt guide rib as its single locking lug, locking forward of the receiving bridge. The now well-recognized Mauser "wing"-type safety lever was developed for the "Gewehr 71". The cartridge was a metallic 11 × 60R bottlenecked case, holding a charge of of black powder, capped with a round-tipped bullet.


title: German military rifles

text: The Russo-Turkish War impressed upon European powers the importance of repeating rifles. The Mauser brothers had been improving the "Gewehr 71" design while fulfilling contracts with Serbia. In 1881 Kaiser Wilhelm was impressed by a prototype of a "Gewehr 71" that featured an eight-round tubular magazine under the barrel, which was loaded while the action was open. The bullet was slightly flattened, to reduce the chance of jamming or the detonation of primers in the tube.


title: German military rifles

text: There was a lever on the receiver that isolated the magazine, so that the rifle could be fired and loaded one shot at a time, keeping the magazine in reserve.


title: German military rifles

text: Production ended in 1890 after which time the arsenals had produced nearly 950,000 rifles; however by 1888 the introduction of the French Lebel using smokeless powder and smaller diameter high velocity bullets, made this weapon obsolete.


title: German military rifles

text: The German Rifle Testing Commission initially tried to find a way to convert the many "Gewehr" 71/84 rifles into having a viable smokeless powder action; however the decision taken was to design a completely new weapon. The Commission chose not to involve or consult the Mausers. The result was the look of the Lebel, a Mauser-style action, Mannlicher magazine, a jacketed barrel, and a cartridge copied from the Swiss.


title: German military rifles

text: The "Gewehr 88" was designed to use the 7.9mm × 57J cartridge, which is considerably smaller than the 11 mm round of the "Gewehr 71".


title: German military rifles

text: Despite the choice of the Rifle Commission to not consult Paul Mauser in the late 1880s he kept developing better rifles and improved attributes for his firearms, which he sold to other countries. By the 1890s, his improved bolt design, the introduction of a stripper or charger clip loading configuration, and a fixed box magazine impressed Belgium, Turkey, and Argentina, enough for contracts to be signed.


title: German military rifles

text: Mauser went two steps further in 1892 when he again improved the bolt design by adding an extractor that prevented double feeding from the magazine and changed the single column box magazine to a staggered five cartridge box design. The magazine now fit in the rifle without any part of it protruding in front of the trigger making it less apt to be damaged while still easily and quickly loaded from the five round stripper clips. These improvements were embodied in the Model 1893 (adopted by Spain) and then slight improvements resulted in the 1895/96 model (adopted by Sweden, Mexico, Persia, and the Orange Free State).


title: German military rifles

text: In 1896 Mauser changed the firing pin distance facilitating faster lock time and accuracy; he also installed a cutout section in the left of the receiver, perfect for a thumb to fill while loading the ammunition from a charger/stripper clip. More impressively, he improved the bolt again by: 1), creating vector holes for gas from a ruptured primer; 2), a shrouded bolt head that protected the shooter from a ruptured cartridge; 3), the bolt head was designed to divert gas away from the face of the shooter; 4), a third bolt lug was added to keep the shooter safe if the two main bolt lugs should fail; and finally 5), a better designed extractor was added.


title: German military rifles

text: German troops were issued the rifle by 1899 and used them in the Boxer Rebellion of 1901. By 1912 the "Gewehr 98" replaced all other rifles for the regular army and first line reserve troops.


title: German military rifles

text: In 1905 the Patrone S cartridge was adopted by the German army. Whereas the previous cartridge was 7.9mm × 57, a bullet that had a diameter of .318" and a round blunt end, this new cartridge, 7.92mm × 57, featured a bullet of the 'spitzer' (pointed) type. The diameter was .323", which required the re-barreling of previously issued rifles, including the "Gewehr 98" and "Gewehr 88".


title: German military rifles

text: Mauser developed some carbine models in the early 20th century, including the "Kar 98" and "Kar 98A" ("Karabiner"). They were designed for the cavalry and other forces that needed a smaller weapon. Although it resembled a cut-down "Gewehr 98", with a turned-down bolt it was ungainly and had an intense recoil. But by 1908 the Kar 98AZ was introduced, which was very popular with the German forces fighting in the trenches of World War I.


title: German military rifles

text: In post World War I Germany the government redesignated the "Kar 98AZ" to be the "Kar 98a". This is because in 1923 the "Reichswehr" created another carbine by altering old "Gewehr 98"s. Designated the "Kar. 98b", they were given a turned-down bolt, a side-mounted sling system, and a newer style of magazine follower. The rear sight was simplified from the large rear sight and altered to a more appropriate target range of 100–2,000 meters. The "Kar 98b" remained the same length as the "Gewehr 98" but was still called a carbine.


title: German military rifles

text: The "Karabiner 98k" "Mauser" (often abbreviated ""K98k"" or ""Kar98k"") was adopted in the mid 1930s and would be the most common infantry rifle in service within the German Army during World War II. The design was developed from the "Karabiner 98b", one of the carbines developed from the Model 1898 mentioned before. The "K98k" was first adopted by the "Wehrmacht" in 1935 to be their standard issue rifle, with many older versions being converted and shortened as well as the design itself entering production.


title: German military rifles

text: In the name "K98k", the first "K" stands for "karabiner" (carbine) and the second "k" for kurz (short). The "98" is derived from the earlier rifle's year of adoption (1898), although the carbine itself was adopted in 1935. The "K98k" is often confused as being the earlier Model 98 design; however, there are notable differences between them. The easiest to spot are its shorter length, and bent, rather than straight bolt handle. Less obvious are that it has different, simpler sights. It was intended to be a "universal rifle" for all parts of the "Heer" rather than having both Carbine and full length versions.


title: German military rifles

text: The weapon has a bolt-action and uses 7.92×57mm ammunition (referred to as 8mm Mauser). It has an effective range of about 800 metres, but when fitted with a high-quality rifle scope, its range increases to 1,000 metres. The "K98k" has a five-round internal magazine and is loaded from a five-round stripper clip that is inserted into a slot in front of the opened bolt and pushed into the magazine with the thumb. The empty stripper clip is then ejected from the gun when the bolt is pushed forward into position. A trench magazine was also produced that could be attached to the bottom of the internal magazine by removing the floor plate, increasing capacity to 20 rounds, although it still required loading with the clips. Over 14 million of these rifles were produced by various manufacturers. However, this number includes versions of the weapon other than the "K98k", such as the Czech vz-24. From 1950 to 1965, Yugoslavia produced a near-carbon copy of the K98k called the Model 1948, which differed only from the German rifle in that it had the shorter bolt-action of the Model 1924 series of Mauser rifles. In addition, in 1943, the Spaniards were manufacturing a slightly modified version, but with a straight bolt handle.


title: German military rifles

text: By 1940, it became apparent that some form of a semi-automatic rifle, with a higher rate of fire than existing bolt-action models, was necessary to improve the infantry's combat efficiency. The "Wehrmacht" issued a specification to various manufacturers, and both Mauser and Walther submitted prototypes that were very similar.


title: German military rifles

text: The Mauser design, the G41(M), failed. Only 6,673 were produced before production was halted, and of these, 1,673 were returned as unusable. The Walther design, the G41(W), is in outward appearance not unlike the "Gewehr 43" (see below). Most metal parts on this rifle were machined steel, and some rifles, especially later examples utilized bakelite type plastic handguards. The Walther design was more successful because the designers had simply neglected the last two restrictions listed in the main article.


title: German military rifles

text: These rifles, along with their G41(M) counterparts, suffered from gas system fouling defects. These problems seemed to stem from the overly complex muzzle trap system becoming excessively corroded from the use of corrosive salts in the ammunition primers, and carbon fouling. The muzzle assembly consisted of many fine parts and was difficult to disassemble, keep clean, and maintain in field conditions.


title: German military rifles

text: G41(W) rifles were produced at two factories, namely Walther at Zella Mehlis and Berlin-Lübecker. Varying sources put production figures between 40,000 and 145,000 units. These rifles saw a high attrition rate on the Eastern front.


title: German military rifles

text: In 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union as part of Operation Barbarossa. Just prior to the opening of hostilities, the Red Army had started re-arming its infantry, replacing its older bolt-action rifles with the new semi-automatic Tokarev SVT38s and SVT40s. This proved to be something of a shock to the Germans, who ramped up their semi-automatic rifle development efforts significantly.


title: German military rifles

text: The Tokarev used a simple gas-operated mechanism, which was soon emulated by Walther, thus producing the "Gewehr 43" (or 'G43') from the handicapped G41. The simpler mechanism of the G43 made it lighter, easier to mass-produce, and far more reliable. The addition of a 10-round detachable box magazine also solved the slow reloading problem. The "Gewehr 43" was put into production in October 1943, and followed in 1944 by the "Karabiner 43" ('K43'), which was identical to the G43 in every way save for the letter stamped on the side. The G/K43 was issued in limited numbers in 1944 and 1945 to units of the "Wehrmacht".


title: German military rifles

text: Total production by the end of the war was 402,713 of both models, including at least 53,435 sniper rifles fitted with the "Zielfernrohr 43" ('ZF 4') scope with 4x magnification. The weapon was originally designed for use with the "Schiessbecher" device for firing rifle grenades (standard on the "Kar 98k" as well) and the "Schalldämpfer" suppressor. However these accessories were deemed unsuccessful in tests and were dropped even before the rifle entered serial production. It was also not equipped to use a bayonet. The "Gewehr 43" stayed in service with the Czechoslovak army for several years after the war.


title: German military rifles

text: Developed in Nazi Germany during World War II, the "Sturmgewehr" was a series of assault rifles that were the first to see major deployment. It is also known by the designations: "Maschinenpistole 43, Maschinenpistole 44" (MP43 and MP44, respectively), which denotes earlier versions of the same weapon.


title: German military rifles

text: MP43, MP44, and StG44 were different names for what was essentially the same rifle, with minor differences in production and dates. The various names were a result of the complicated small arms nomenclature in Nazi Germany. Developed from the Mkb 42(H) "machine carbine", the 'StG44' combined traits of carbines, submachine guns and automatic rifles. StG is an abbreviation of "Sturmgewehr". The name was chosen for propaganda reasons and means "assault rifle" as in "to assault a bunker". After the adoption of the StG44, the English translation 'assault rifle' became a common class description of this type of infantry small arm.


title: German military rifles

text: The rifle was chambered for the 7.92×33mm cartridge, also known as 7.92mm "Kurz" (German for "short"). This shorter version of the German standard (7.92×57mm) rifle round, in combination with the weapon's selective-fire design, provided most of the controllable firepower of a submachine gun at close quarters with much of the accuracy and power of a Karabiner 98k bolt-action rifle at intermediate ranges. While the StG44 had less range and power than the more powerful infantry rifles of the day, "Wehrmacht" studies had shown that most combat engagements occurred at less than 300 meters with the majority within 200 meters.


title: German military rifles

text: Contracts for rifles firing the "Kurz" round were sent to both Walther and Haenel (whose design group was headed by Hugo Schmeisser), they were asked to submit prototype weapons under the name "Maschinenkarabiner 1942" (MKb 42, literally "machine carbine"). Both designs were similar, using a gas-operated action, with both semi-automatic and fully automatic firing modes.


title: German military rifles

text: While the new version was under development in late 1942, infighting within the Third Reich was in full swing. Adolf Hitler was increasingly concerned with this, and after Hermann Göring had created the FG 42 ("Fallschirmjägergewehr" or Paratrooper Rifle) in a separate program from the army's similar "Gewehr" 41 efforts, Hitler cancelled all new rifle projects completely. This included the production of the MKb 42(H). One concern was that the new weapon used a new ammunition type that would further hamper an already daunting logistics problem.


title: German military rifles

text: In order to preserve the weapons development, a new project at Gustloff was started to produce a similar weapon using the original Mauser round, the Mkb 43(G). Whenever Hitler asked about the progress of the rifle, he was always shown one of these prototypes, although there was no intention of producing them. Meanwhile, the newest version of the original Mkb 42(H) was called the "Maschinenpistole 43" (MP43) to disguise it as an upgrade to existing submachine guns. Another change fit a rifle grenade launcher attachment from the earlier MKb 42(H) to the MP43/1.


title: German military rifles

text: Eventually the truth surfaced and Hitler ordered the project stopped once again. However, in March 1943 he allowed the run to continue for evaluation purposes, which then continued until September, and due to the positive combat reports it was allowed to continue.


title: German military rifles

text: In July 1944 at a meeting of the various army heads about the Eastern Front, when Hitler asked what they needed, a general blurted out "More of these new rifles!" This caused some confusion, but once Hitler was given a chance to test fire the MP44, he was impressed and gave it the title "Sturmgewehr". Seeing the possibility of a propaganda coup, the rifle was again renamed the StG44, to highlight the new class of weapon it represented, translated, it means "assault rifle, model 1944", thereby introducing the term.


title: German military rifles

text: By the end of the war, some 425,977 StG44 variants of all types were produced. The assault rifle proved a valuable weapon, especially on the Eastern Front, where it was first deployed. A properly trained soldier with an StG44 had an improved tactical repertoire, in that he could effectively engage targets at longer ranges than with an MP40, but be much more useful than the Kar 98k in close combat, as well as provide light cover fire like a light machine gun.


title: German military rifles

text: The "Karabiner S" is a German manufactured Russian SKS semi-automatic carbine, which was designed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. It is formally known as the "Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova" (Russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова), 1945 (Self-loading Carbine, Simonov's system, 1945), or SKS 45. It was originally planned to serve as the standard issue weapon for the Soviet military forces, alongside the new AK-47. As mass production of AK-pattern rifles increased, the SKS carbine was soon phased out of service. It was quickly replaced entirely by the AK-47, but it remained in second-line service for decades afterwards.


title: German military rifles

text: The AK-47 is a gas-operated assault rifle used in most Eastern bloc countries including East Germany during the Cold War. Adopted and standardized in 1947, it was designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov and originally produced by Russian manufacturer Izhmash. Compared with most auto-loading rifles of World War II, the AK-47 is compact, of comparable range, moderate power, and capable of selective fire. It was one of the first true assault rifles and remains the most widely used, known as the "Best Automatic Assault Rifle". More AK-type rifles have been produced than of any other assault rifle type.


title: German military rifles

text: East German AK copies served with the National People's Army throughout its existence. The MPi-K and MPi-KS were derived from the original AK-47 and AKS, the MPi-KM, MPi-KMS-72 and MPi-KMS-K were derived from the AKM and AKMS, and the MPi-AK-74N, MPi-AKS-74N, and MPi-AKS-74NK, were derived from the AK-74 and AKS-74.


title: German military rifles

text: The StG-940 was procured in 1985 for testing as a possible replacement for the MPi-AK-74N rifle (AK-74). It was designated the "Sturmgewehr 940" ("Assault Rifle 940"), or StG-940. It was cancelled with the end of the Cold War in 1989.


title: German military rifles

text: The first German FALs were from an order placed in late 1955/early 1956, for several thousand FN FAL so-called "Canada" models with wooden furniture and the prong flashhider. These weapons were intended for the "Bundesgrenzschutz" (border guard) and not the nascent "Bundeswehr" (armed forces), which at the time used M1 Garands and M1/M2 carbines.


title: German military rifles

text: In November 1956 West Germany ordered 100,000 additional FALs, designated the G1, for the army. The G1 is distinguished from other FAL weapons by a pressed metal handguard with horizontal lines running almost the entire length, and a unique removable prong flash hider.


title: German military rifles

text: G1s served in Germany for a relatively short time in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were replaced in 1959 by the Heckler & Koch G3, based on the Spanish CETME Modelo 58, partly because the Belgians would not grant a license for production of the G1 in Germany. Many G1 FALs were passed on to Turkey after the weapon's withdrawal from German service.


title: German military rifles

text: The SG 510 was procured in 1956 for testing as a possible replacement for the G1 rifle (FN FAL). It was designated the "Gewehr 2" ("Rifle No.2") or G2. It lost out to a modified version of the CETME rifle by Heckler & Koch designated the G3.


title: German military rifles

text: The G3 (which stands for "Gewehr 3", or Rifle No. 3) is a family of select fire battle rifles manufactured by Heckler & Koch. It was adopted as the standard service rifle by the "Bundeswehr" in 1959 as a replacement for the G1, a modified version of the Belgian FN FAL, and served until 1997 when it was replaced by the G36. The G3 was chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.


title: German military rifles

text: After World War II the Spanish state arms company CETME (founded 1949) employed the German arms designer Ludwig Vorgrimler. Vorgrimler had worked for Mauser before and during the war, and was the designer of the experimental German assault rifle known as ""Gerät 06"" or Stg.45(M). The design evolved into the CETME rifle, later adopted in 1958 by the Spanish Army as the Assault Rifle Model 58.


title: German military rifles

text: In 1956 the German Army bought 400 CETME rifles. After extensive testing, they requested numerous changes in the CETME design. After these were incorporated, Heckler & Koch obtained a license for further production.


title: German military rifles

text: The G3 rifle has been widely praised for its relatively compact size and sturdy stamped steel construction, which also enabled lower production costs compared to many other 7.62 mm NATO rifles. Heavy weight and stiff trigger pull have been cited as the weapon's chief disadvantages, along with a rather sharp recoil and less-than-ideal pointing and handling characteristics.


title: German military rifles

text: The G3 has served as the basis for a wide variety of other H&K firearms, including weapons in different calibers and various sniper rifles. The HK 33 and G41 are related firearms, and are essentially a G3 scaled down to 5.56×45mm NATO.


title: German military rifles

text: The G3 and its variants have been used by the armed forces and police in a wide variety of countries. As a result, it has seen use in a number of conflicts during the late 20th century. Its first known combat use was by Portuguese Armed Forces during their war in Africa. Portuguese forces were unable to carry large quantities of heavy 7.62 mm NATO ammunition on long patrols, the resulting lack of firepower was occasionally a handicap when encountering enemy forces equipped with the AK-47. G3 rifles also saw action with the West German police during the failed rescue attempt of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. The situation prompted development of the PSG-1 sniper rifle (substantially derived from the G3).


title: German military rifles

text: The AR-10 was procured in 1958 for testing as a possible replacement for the G1 rifle (FN FAL). It was designated the "Gewehr 4" ("Rifle No.4"), or G4. It lost out to a modified version of the CETME rifle by Heckler & Koch designated the G3.


title: German military rifles

text: Heckler & Koch started designing the G11 in the 1970s, when the "Bundeswehr" asked them to develop a new weapon system to replace the 1950s vintage 7.62 × 51 mm G3 rifle. It was to be used by commandos and special forces. It was cancelled when the Cold War ended in 1989.


title: German military rifles

text: Heckler & Koch also began designing the G41 in the 1970s, when the "Bundeswehr" asked them to develop a new weapon system to replace the 1950s vintage 7.62 × 51 mm G3 rifle. It was an update of the HK33 designed to use NATO STANAG accessories. It too was cancelled when the Cold War ended in 1989.


title: German military rifles

text: The 'G36' (company designation, "Bundeswehr" designation "Gewehr G36") is an assault rifle designed in the early 1990s and manufactured in Germany by Heckler & Koch. It is the current service rifle of the German and the Spanish Armed Forces among others. A family of variants exists, many of which have been adopted by police or military forces. The G36 replaced the G3 as the main infantry weapon of the "Bundeswehr" in 1997, a process that is now considered complete.


title: German military rifles

text: Heckler & Koch started designing the G36 in 1990. The "Bundeswehr" needed a replacement for the 1950s vintage G3 that would be cheaper than the proposed G41 and G11. Two earlier Heckler and Koch designs, the revolutionary G11 (it was designed to fire caseless ammunition) and the more conventional G41, were both rejected in 1989 due to the end of the Cold War.


title: German military rifles

text: On September 15, 2020, the Bundeswehr initially selected the Haenel MK 556 to replace the HK G36 as their new service rifle, but after alleged irregularities in the selection process an investigation was launched. The BAAINBw concluded in 2021 that "The rifle offered by Haenel infringed the patents of other businesses", which resulted in their exclusion from the procurement procedure. As the competing offer from H&K was not excluded so far and was deemed by now as "more economically advantageous" the contract was awarded to Heckler & Koch in favor of the HK416 A8.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Leslie Parrish (born Marjorie Hellen; March 13, 1935) is an American actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer. She worked under her birth name for six years, changing it in 1959.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: As a child, Parrish lived in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. At the age of 10, she finally settled in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14, Parrish was a talented and promising piano and composition student at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. At the age of 16, Parrish earned money for her tuition by working as a maid and a waitress, and by teaching piano. At the age of 18, to earn enough money to be able to continue her education at the Conservatory, her mother persuaded her to become a model for one year.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: In April 1954, as a 19-year-old model with the Conover Agency in New York City, Parrish was under contract to NBC-TV as "Miss Color TV" (she was used during broadcasts as a human test pattern to check accuracy of skin tones). She was quickly discovered and signed with Twentieth Century Fox in Hollywood. In 1956, she was put under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Because acting allowed her to help her family financially, she remained in Hollywood and gave up her career in music.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Parrish co-starred/guest-starred in numerous films and television shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She first gained wide attention in her first starring role as Daisy Mae in the movie version of "Li'l Abner" (1959), where she changed her name from Marjorie Hellen to Leslie Parrish at the director's request. She appeared in the film "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962), playing Laurence Harvey's on-screen fiancée , Jocelyn Jordan. Other film credits include starring opposite Kirk Douglas in "For Love or Money" (1963) and Jerry Lewis in "Three on a Couch" (1966), among others.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Parrish amassed an extensive résumé of television credits. Among many other credits, Parrish appeared in guest starring roles on episodes of "The Wild Wild West", "My Three Sons", "Perry Mason", "Family Affair", "Bat Masterson", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "Adam-12", "Good Morning World", "Police Story", "Batman" and "McCloud". In 1967, she guest-starred on "" in the season two episode entitled "Who Mourns For Adonais?" She portrayed Lt. Carolyn Palamas, the love interest of the character Apollo, played by Michael Forest. In February 1968, she played opposite Peter Breck in an episode of "The Big Valley" entitled "A Bounty on a Barkley". The following month, Parrish made her first guest appearance on "Mannix" in the episode "The Girl in the Frame."


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Parrish was the Associate Producer on the film version of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (1973). Among other things, she hired the director of photography Jack Couffer—who later received an Academy Award nomination for his efforts—and she was responsible for the care of the film's real-life seagulls, which she kept inside a room at a Holiday Inn for the duration of the shoot. When the relationship between author Richard Bach and director Hall Bartlett disintegrated and a lawsuit followed, Parrish was appointed as the mediator between the two men. However, her final credit was demoted from Associate Producer to "Researcher".


title: Leslie Parrish

text: In 1975, Parrish appeared in the low budget B-Movie "The Giant Spider Invasion" which is now regarded as a cult film.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: While acting provided financial stability, her main interest was in social causes including the anti-war and civil rights movements and, as far back as the mid 1950s, the environment.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Parrish's interests and activities in social movements and politics grew to become her main work. She was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War, a member of the Jeannette Rankin Brigade, a group of notable women who fought against the war and for civil rights. In 1967, she participated in a peace march in Century City (near Beverly Hills) where she and thousands of other protestors were attacked and beaten by police and the National Guard. President Lyndon Johnson was present at the Century Plaza Hotel and helicopters were flying overhead with machine guns pointed at the marchers.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Parrish started to make speeches in the Los Angeles area, telling residents what the media did not report and speaking out against the war. Impressed with her speaking abilities, several professors from UCLA aligned with the anti-war movement asked her to organize more like-minded actors and actresses who would be willing to speak out. Two weeks later Parrish had created "STOP!" (Speakers and Talent Organized for Peace), an organization of two dozen members ready to engage the public. Shortly thereafter, the organization grew to 125 speakers, and many more subsequently.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: On August 6, 1967, Parrish helped organize a protest march of 17,000 people on the "Miracle Mile" of Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, which received extensive media coverage and national attention. She also created a popular bumper sticker: 'Suppose they gave a war and no one came'. Parrish and her friends distributed hundreds of them from their vehicles. Walter Cronkite reported that Bobby Kennedy had one in his plane. Someone later published the bumper sticker, changing the original wording to 'WHAT IF they gave a war and no one came' but to Parrish, the important thing was spreading that message.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: In October 1967, a private meeting was arranged between Parrish and Bobby Kennedy by mutual friend and well-known Kennedy photographer, Stanley Tretick. She begged Kennedy to run for president, telling him that huge, influential organizations opposed to the war in Vietnam were ready to support him were he to run. Kennedy refused again and again, saying he could not oppose Lyndon Johnson, a sitting president. On November 30, Eugene McCarthy, a little-known senator, declared he would run against the war and challenge Johnson. Parrish was elected chair of his speaker's bureau and utilized STOP! to develop support for McCarthy. On March 12, 1968, McCarthy almost defeated Johnson in the New Hampshire primary winning 42% of the vote. On March 16 (four days later) Bobby Kennedy announced that he would run for president. Two weeks later, on March 31, Johnson declared that he would not run for re-election. Parrish remained loyal to McCarthy and was elected a delegate to represent him in August at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: On April 4, 1968, Parrish and Leonard Nimoy (who was a STOP! member and supporter of Eugene McCarthy) flew to San Francisco to open McCarthy's new headquarters there. After they left, they learned of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Nimoy and Parrish cried during the speeches they gave that evening.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: In August, during the Chicago Democratic Convention, McCarthy delegates, including Parrish, spent little time on the convention floor. The real work on the night of the nomination, August 28, was outside the Hilton Hotel where violent actions by police against anti-war demonstrators and spectators were being covered by live television and thousands of people chanted "The whole world is watching".


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Hubert Humphrey was nominated by the convention but lost the election to Richard Nixon. While still in Chicago, the peace movement began working toward the 1972 election, hoping to elect George McGovern. McGovern did win primaries and Parrish served as a delegate at the 1972 Democratic Convention in Miami, Florida. But McGovern lost to Richard Nixon.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: During this era of political activism, Parrish worked in numerous political campaigns (presidential, gubernatorial, senatorial, congressional, mayoral) and with many different organizations, producing public events and fund-raisers for them. Her last major production was the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE) held November 16, 1969 at San Francisco's Polo Grounds.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: In 1969, Parrish joined many in an effort to remove Los Angeles mayor Sam Yorty from office. She supported and campaigned for a former police lieutenant named Tom Bradley who was then the city's first black city councilman. Despite high polling numbers prior to the election, Bradley lost to Yorty, giving rise to what was later known as "The Bradley Effect." Next day, he decided to run again, and over the next four years Parrish worked with him closely to help secure his victory in the next mayoral election. In 1973, Tom Bradley became Los Angeles's first black mayor. Parrish was one of forty activist citizens who served on Bradley's Blue Ribbon Commission to choose new Los Angeles Commissioners. Over the next 20 years, Tom Bradley brought massive development to the city and was reelected five times, setting a record for length of tenure. Parrish and Tom Bradley remained friends for many years.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: The lack of media coverage during the Century City riots in 1967 prompted Parrish to think of a new way to cover such events live to prevent suppression and/or manipulation of the news. In 1969, she began to create a television station that would devote itself to covering public events and provide in-depth analysis and discussions of important developments in the world. In 1974, KVST-TV (Viewer Sponsored Television, Channel 68, Los Angeles) went on the air as part of the PBS system of stations. Film notables, business people and local activists formed the board of directors and provided support for the unique station. After a difficult start, KVST was receiving positive reviews in Los Angeles and nationwide attention. However, by 1976, internal dissension on the board of directors led to the demise of the station. The signal was turned off and KVST-TV was never heard from again.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Parrish's concern for the environment dates back to the 1950s when Los Angeles’ severe smog, and the reason for it, worried her. In 1979, she and her then-husband, Richard Bach, built an experimental home in southwest Oregon using 100% solar power with no cooling or heating systems, in order to prove it could be done.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: While living in Oregon, Parrish saw devastated forests managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and decided to protest a local timber sale. With two neighbors, she and Richard established an organization called "Threatened and Endangered: Little Applegate Valley" (TELAV). They worked for two years researching and writing a 600-page legal and scientific protest of BLM's logging of forests which would not regenerate, which was illegal. The BLM assistant state director eventually agreed, telling the Medford "Mail Tribune" that ..."The sale involves enough improprieties in BLM rules and procedures that it can’t be legally awarded. In order to comply with our own procedures we had no choice but to withdraw the sale and reject all bids." The TELAV protest document served as the basis for many future timber sale protests in the U.S. and Canada. TELAV continues to fight for the environment to this day and the Little Applegate Valley has never been logged.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: In 1999, Parrish created a 240-acre (97 ha) wildlife sanctuary on Orcas Island (in the San Juan Islands, Washington State) to save it from normal development techniques which include logging. She named it the "Spring Hill Wildlife Sanctuary". For seventeen years, she carefully developed the ridge-top property by creating nearly a dozen small, hidden home sites on 25% of the land while preserving the remainder in perpetuity within the San Juan Preservation Trust. While the property is now fully developed there are no breaks in the heavily forested ridge line. The developed land is invisible from the island community and the forest is intact.


title: Leslie Parrish

text: Parrish married songwriter Ric Marlow in 1955; the couple divorced in 1961. In 1981, she married Richard Bach, the author of the 1970 book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", whom she met during the making of the 1973 movie of the same name. She was a major element in two of his subsequent books—"The Bridge Across Forever" (1984) and "One" (1988)—which primarily focused on their relationship and Bach's concept of soulmates. They divorced in 1999.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar () is a 1978 Indian drama film produced and directed by Prakash Mehra, and written by Kader Khan, Vijay Kaul and Laxmikant Sharma. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, in his fifth of nine films with Prakash Mehra to date, along with Vinod Khanna, Raakhee, Rekha, Ranjeet, Amjad Khan in pivotal roles, while Nirupa Roy, Kader Khan gave special appearances. The film tells of the story of Sikandar (played by Amitabh Bachchan), an orphan raised in the slums of Bombay. The film's plot is loosely inspired by the Bengali novel "Devdas" (1917).


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar" was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1978, and the biggest Diwali blockbuster of all time. It was also the third highest-grossing Indian film of the decade, after "Sholay" and "Bobby". "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar" was also an overseas blockbuster in the Soviet Union.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: At the 26th Filmfare Awards, it was nominated for nine Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, but did not win in any category. It was remade into the Telugu film "Prema Tarangalu" (1980), and in Tamil as "Amara Kaaviyam" (1981). The movie was the last movie of Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: An orphan boy (Mayur Raj Verma) begins working in the house of a wealthy man named Ramnath (Shriram Lagoo). Ramnath does not like him. It is later revealed that another orphan had killed his wife, hence his animosity. Ramnath's young daughter Kaamna, however, empathizes with the boy and they form a friendship. Eventually, the boy is adopted by a Muslim woman named Fatima (Nirupa Roy) who also works for Ramnath, and who names him Sikandar (meaning "Conqueror"). On the occasion of Kaamna's birthday, Sikandar is refused entry to the party, and when he breaks into Kaamna's room to deliver her gift he is caught and accused of trying to rob the house. He and his mother are banished from Ramnath's home. Shortly thereafter, Fatima dies, leaving young Sikandar with the responsibility of looking after her daughter, Mehroo. A fakir, Darvesh Baba (Kader Khan) advises the mourning Sikandar to embrace the woes of life and find happiness in sadness, for then he would become the conqueror of fate.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: The film cuts to grown up Sikandar (Amitabh Bachchan), revealing he has amassed a fortune by turning in smugglers and thieves to the police and receiving the reward payouts. With all his wealth, he has managed to build an impressive house for himself and Mehroo, along with setting up a profitable business. He still has not forgotten Kaamna (Raakhee). She and her father have fallen on hard times, but they snub all offers from Sikandar to become reacquainted. When Sikandar tries to speak to Kaamna she demands that he never speak to her again. Sikandar is upset by this and becomes a heavy drinker. He also begins to visit Zohra Begum's (Rekha) "kotha" (brothel) on a regular basis. Zohra falls into an unrequited love with Sikander and begins to refuse other clients.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: One night in a bar, Sikandar is introduced to Vishal Anand (Vinod Khanna), a down-on-his-luck lawyer. A friendship is formed when Vishal risks his own life to save Sikandar from a bomb blast. Vishal and his mother move into Sikandar's house.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: A criminal named Dilawar (Amjad Khan) is in love with Zohra, and learns about her love for Sikandar. Dilawar confronts Sikandar and in the ensuing fight is thrashed by him. He swears to kill Sikandar.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: At length Ramnath and Kaamna, who have been struggling financially, discover that Sikandar has been anonymously paying their bills. Ramnath goes to thank him. The two households become friendly, and Vishal begins to work with Ramnath. Encouraged, Sikandar tries to profess his love to Kaamna through a love letter. Because Sikandar himself is illiterate, Vishal transcribes the letter for him, but the plan backfires when Kaamna mistakes the letter as actually being from Vishal. Vishal is unaware that Kaamna is the girl Sikandar loves, and they begin to date. Sikandar, upon learning this, struggles with his emotions but decides he must sacrifice his love for the sake of his friendship with Vishal. He covers up any evidence of his feelings toward Kaamna, and at his urging, Vishal and Kaamna plan to marry.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: Meanwhile, the marriage of Mehroo is at risk of being cancelled; her fiancé's family have learned about Sikandar's frequent visits to Zohra, and they object to the union on these grounds. Vishal, knowing Sikandar won't change, visits Zohra and offers to pay her if she agrees to abandon Sikandar. Zohra, upon learning the reason, refuses the money but promises Vishal that she would rather die than let Sikandar visit her again. Later, Sikandar arrives at Zohra's. When she is unable to stop his entry, she kills herself by consuming poison hidden in her diamond ring, and dies in his arms.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: Dilawar in the meantime has formed an alliance with Sikandar's arch enemy, J. D. (Ranjeet), and upon learning of Zohra's death hatches a plan to destroy Sikandar and his family. Kaamna and Mehroo are both preparing for their weddings; J. D. and his henchmen kidnap Mehroo but Vishal follows them and rescues her. Dilawar kidnaps Kaamna, but Sikandar follows him. He rescues Kaamna and sends her home while he fights Dilawar. In the final battle, both Dilawar and Sikandar are mortally wounded and Dilawar is surprised to learn that Sikandar never loved Zohra. A dying Sikandar reaches the wedding of Kaamna and Vishal. Just as the wedding ceremony is completed, Sikandar collapses. His dying words inadvertently reveal his love for Kaamna, and Vishal sings him a reprise from the movie's theme song: "Life is going to betray you someday... Death is your true love as it will take you along..." Sikandar's entire life flashes before him and he dies in Vishal's arms just as the song is completed. The film ends with the wedding having become a funeral.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: The Soundtrack was composed by the duo of the brothers Kalyanji Anandji, with the lyrics by Anjaan and Prakash Mehra (Salaam-e-Ishq).


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: Beside Kishore Kumar and Mahendra Kapoor, Mohd. Rafi's voice was used in the movie for the Kishore Kumar song "Rote Hue Ate Hain Sab". Mohd. Rafi wanted Kishore Kumar to sing the sad version, but as insisted by Music Director Kalyanji Anandji, that his voice suited the sad version best, Mohd. Rafi had agreed to sing the song "Zindagi to Bewafaa Hai". The song was picturised on Vinod Khanna during the Amitabh death scene.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: Produced on a budget of , the film grossed in India. It was the highest-grossing film of the year, as well as the third highest-grossing film of the decade, after "Sholay" (1975) and "Bobby" (1973). The film was a blockbuster, according to Box Office India. The film was such a huge hit, that people used to stand in queues, waiting endlessly, to buy the film's tickets. Sometimes the crowds slept in front of the cinema halls overnight in their wait for the tickets. Its Indian gross is equivalent to in 1978. Adjusted for inflation, its Indian gross is equivalent to () in 2017.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: It was also an overseas blockbuster in the Soviet Union, where the film grossed 6.3million rubles (25.2million ticket sales, at average 25kopecks ticket price), which was () in 1984. Adjusted for inflation, its overseas gross is equivalent to () in 2017.


title: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

text: In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated 170/(2.22*0.68+3.26*0.32) round 0million tickets in India, and 25.2million tickets in the Soviet Union, for an estimated total of 67+25.2 round 0million tickets sold worldwide.


title: Megan Gale

text: Megan Kate Gale (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian model and actress. Born in Perth, Western Australia, Gale won a model contest when she was 18 in her home town. In 1999 she was cast in a series of commercials for the Italian telecommunications company Vodafone. This led to wide exposure in both Italy and her homeland Australia, and she appeared in those advertising until 2006. Gale has also appeared in Italian movies and television shows, and as an actress, Gale recently played "Fatma" in Russell Crowe's "The Water Diviner" (2014) and "Valkyrie" in George Miller's "" (2015).


title: Megan Gale

text: In 2005 Gale became the national ambassador for "Kids Help Line" and in 2009 she was appointed the first official "National Ambassador" for "The Red Cross".


title: Megan Gale

text: Born in Parmelia, Western Australia, Gale's father is English and her mother is part Maori. She is the youngest of three children with two older brothers.


title: Megan Gale

text: Gale won a modelling competition in Perth at 18. After several years of modelling, Gale rose to fame when in 1999 was cast to appear in a series of advertisements for an Italian telecommunication company, Omnitel (now Vodafone Italy); she appeared in the company's advertising until 2006. She was also retained by the Australian Tourist Commission in 2003 as 'their face of Australia in Italy'. Gale has graced the covers of Australian "Marie Claire", "Grazia", "Gioia", Italian and Australian "GQ", Italian "Maxim", Australian "InStyle" and featured in editorials for Australian "Cosmopolitan" and "Vogue Italia".


title: Megan Gale

text: Gale has modeled for Italian fashion houses including Gianfranco Ferré, Genny, Gai Mattiolo and runway work for Mariella Burani and Angelo Marani at Milan Fashion Week. Gale also favours many Australian designers, such as Colette Dinnigan, Kirrily Johnston, Lisa Ho, Willow and Alex Perry. In 2006, she was the fashion commentator for the Australian television awards, the Logies.


title: Megan Gale

text: In January 2008, Gale announced her retirement from runway modelling after 15 years and walked the catwalk for the last time just weeks later at a David Jones winter collection launch in Sydney. Her final outfit was the Wonder Woman outfit she was to wear in the still-shelved film "Justice League of America". In March 2011, Gale returned to the runway and closed Alex Perry's 2011 Melbourne Fashion Festival show.


title: Megan Gale

text: August 2011 marked Gale's 10th anniversary with department store David Jones, the longest held fashion contract in Australia.


title: Megan Gale

text: That same month, Gale became an ambassador for L'Oréal Paris, joining Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. Gale appeared in a L'Oréal shampoo commercial in Australia, New Zealand and Italy.


title: Megan Gale

text: Megan Gale has appeared in the Italian movies "Vacanze di Natale 2000", "Body Guards" as herself in both movies, and in "Stregati dalla luna" ("Bewitched by the Moon" in Italian) as "Vivianna". She also had a cameo part in the 2005 movie "Stealth" where she played Dr. Orbit's secretary. In January 2008, it was announced that she had been offered the part of Wonder Woman in the upcoming George Miller movie version of "Justice League of America", before the project was put on hold and eventually cancelled. In August 2009, Gale completed filming a role in her first Australian feature film, the romantic comedy "I Love You Too", where she played Italian supermodel "Francesca Moretti". Gale also appeared in 2014 Russell Crowe's drama film "The Water Diviner" in the role of "Fatma", and in 2015 Miller's post-apocalyptic action film "" in the role of "Valkyrie".


title: Megan Gale

text: In 2010, Gale launched a swimwear label, "Isola". The line is carried at department stores, including "David Jones".


title: Megan Gale

text: In 2005, Gale became a guest reporter for Nine Network travel show "Getaway" from October 2005 to June 2006. She also worked with Mike Munro as co-host of the nine-episode Australian documentary TV show "What a Year", which first aired on the Nine Network on 2 October 2006. Gale also appeared briefly on "Australia's Next Top Model, Cycle 4" in episode 4. She also appeared in cycle 6 (2010), in which the girls of that cycle were featured in Isola's first fashion show.


title: Megan Gale

text: Gale also became the National Ambassador for Kids Help Line in February 2005. In 2009, she was appointed the first official National Ambassador for The Red Cross.


title: Megan Gale

text: In early 2011 Gale became the new host of "Project Runway Australia" where she would also serve as judge and executive producer of the design-based reality show. The new season premiered on 4 July 2011 on Arena TV. In 2016, Gale became a permanent judge on "Australia's Next Top Model".


title: Megan Gale

text: In January 2011, Gale began a relationship with Richmond footballer Shaun Hampson. On 20 July 2017, the couple announced their engagement. They have two children, a son and a daughter.


title: Fredric Lehne

text: Acting since 1978, he has appeared in more than 200 films, mini-series, and television episodes, as well as stage productions across the United States, from Broadway to Portland, Oregon. He is best known for his role as the demon Azazel on the long-running television show "Supernatural", he also appeared as Marshal Mars on "Lost", as Eddie in the original television series "Dallas", and as Frank McCann on "American Horror Story".


title: Fredric Lehne

text: Lehne appeared in such miniseries/television movies as the original "Billionaire's Boy's Club", "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Coward of the County". His film credits include "Ordinary People", "Being There", "Men in Black", "Con Air", "Zero Dark Thirty", and "The Dark Knight Rises".


title: Pinaceae

text: The Pinaceae, or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly known as Coniferales. Pinaceae are supported as monophyletic by their protein-type sieve cell plastids, pattern of proembryogeny, and lack of bioflavonoids. They are the largest extant conifer family in species diversity, with between 220 and 250 species (depending on taxonomic opinion) in 11 genera, and the second-largest (after Cupressaceae) in geographical range, found in most of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority of the species in temperate climates, but ranging from subarctic to tropical. The family often forms the dominant component of boreal, coastal, and montane forests. One species, "Pinus merkusii", grows just south of the equator in Southeast Asia. Major centres of diversity are found in the mountains of southwest China, Mexico, central Japan, and California.


title: Pinaceae

text: Members of the family Pinaceae are trees (rarely shrubs) growing from tall, mostly evergreen (except the deciduous "Larix" and "Pseudolarix"), resinous, monoecious, with subopposite or whorled branches, and spirally arranged, linear (needle-like) leaves. The embryos of Pinaceae have three to 24 cotyledons.


title: Pinaceae

text: The female cones are large and usually woody, long, with numerous spirally arranged scales, and two winged seeds on each scale. The male cones are small, long, and fall soon after pollination; pollen dispersal is by wind. Seed dispersal is mostly by wind, but some species have large seeds with reduced wings, and are dispersed by birds. Analysis of Pinaceae cones reveals how selective pressure has shaped the evolution of variable cone size and function throughout the family. Variation in cone size in the family has likely resulted from the variation of seed dispersal mechanisms available in their environments over time. All Pinaceae with seeds weighing less than 90 milligrams are seemingly adapted for wind dispersal. Pines having seeds larger than 100 mg are more likely to have benefited from adaptations that promote animal dispersal, particularly by birds. Pinaceae that persist in areas where tree squirrels are abundant do not seem to have evolved adaptations for bird dispersal.


title: Pinaceae

text: Boreal conifers have many adaptions for winter. The narrow conical shape of northern conifers, and their downward-drooping limbs help them shed snow, and many of them seasonally alter their biochemistry to make them more resistant to freezing, called "hardening".


title: Pinaceae

text: Classification of the subfamilies and genera of Pinaceae has been subject to debate in the past. Pinaceae ecology, morphology, and history have all been used as the basis for methods of analyses of the family. An 1891 publication divided the family into two subfamilies, using the number and position of resin canals in the primary vascular region of the young taproot as the primary consideration. In a 1910 publication, the family was divided into two tribes based on the occurrence and type of long–short shoot dimorphism.


title: Pinaceae

text: A more recent classification divided the subfamilies and genera based on the consideration of features of ovulate cone anatomy among extant and fossil members of the family. Below is an example of how the morphology has been used to classify Pinaceae.


title: Pinaceae

text: The 11 genera are grouped into four subfamilies, based on the microscopical anatomy and the morphology of the cones, pollen, wood, seeds, and leaves:


title: Pinaceae

text: A revised 2018 phylogeny places "Cathaya" as sister to the pines rather than in the Laricoidae subfamily with "Larix" and "Pseudotsuga".


title: Pinaceae

text: Multiple molecular studies indicate that in contrast to previous classifications placing it outside the conifers, Gnetophyta may in fact be the sister group to the Pinaceae, with both lineages having diverged during the early-mid Carboniferous. This is known as the "gnepine" hypothesis.


title: Pinaceae

text: Pinaceae is estimated to have diverged from other conifer groups during the late Carboniferous ~313 million years ago. Various possible stem-group relatives have been reported from as early as the Late Permian (Lopingian) The extinct conifer cone genus "Schizolepidopsis" likely represent stem-group members of the Pinaceae, the first good records of which are in the Middle-Late Triassic, with abundant records during the Jurassic across Eurasia. The oldest crown group (descendant of the last common ancestor of all living species) member of Pinaceae is the cone "Eathiestrobus", known from the Upper Jurassic (lower Kimmeridgian, 157.3-154.7 million years ago) of Scotland, which likely belongs to the pinoid grouping of the family. Pinaceae rapidly radiated during the Early Cretaceous. Members of the modern genera "Pinus" (pines), "Picea" (spruce) and "Cedrus" (cedar) first appear during the Early Cretaceous. The extinct Cretaceous genera "Pseudoaraucaria" and "Obirastrobus" appear to be members of Abietoideae, while "Pityostrobus" appears to be non-monophyletic, containing many disparately related members of Pinaceae.


title: Pinaceae

text: External stresses on plants have the ability to change the structure and composition of forest ecosystems. Common external stress that "Pinaceae" experience are herbivore and pathogen attack which often leads to tree death. In order to combat these stresses, trees need to adapt or evolve defenses against these stresses. "Pinaceae" have evolved a myriad of mechanical and chemical defenses, or a combination of the two, in order to protect themselves against antagonists. "Pinaceae" have the ability to up-regulate a combination of constitutive mechanical and chemical strategies to further their defenses.


title: Pinaceae

text: "Pinaceae" defenses are prevalent in the bark of the trees. This part of the tree contributes a complex defensive boundary against external antagonists. Constitutive and induced defenses are both found in the bark.


title: Pinaceae

text: Constitutive defenses are typically the first line of defenses used against antagonists and can include sclerified cells, lignified periderm cells, and secondary compounds such as phenolics and resins. Constitutive defenses are always expressed and offer immediate protection from invaders but could also be defeated by antagonists that have evolved adaptations to these defense mechanisms. One of the common secondary compounds used by "Pinaceae" are phenolics or polyphenols. These secondary compounds are preserved in vacuoles of polyphenolic parenchyma cells (PP) in the secondary phloem.


title: Pinaceae

text: Induced defense responses need to be activated by certain cues, such as herbivore damage or other biotic signals.


title: Pinaceae

text: A common induced defense mechanism used by "Pinaceae" is resins. Resins are also one of the primary defenses used against attack. Resins are short term defenses that are composed of a complex combination of volatile mono- (C) and sesquiterpenes (C) and nonvolatile diterpene resin acids (C). They are produced and stored in specialized secretory areas known as resin ducts, resin blisters, or resin cavities. Resins have the ability to wash away, trap, fend off antagonists, and are also involved in wound sealing. They are an effective defense mechanism because they have toxic and inhibitory effects on invaders, such as insects or pathogens. Resins could have developed as an evolutionary defense against bark beetle attacks. One well researched resin present in "Pinaceae" is oleoresin. Oleoresin had been found to be a valuable part of the conifer defense mechanism against biotic attacks. They are found in secretory tissues in tree stems, roots, and leaves. Oleoresin is also needed in order to classify conifers.


title: Pinaceae

text: The topic of defense mechanisms within family "Pinaceae" is a very active area of study with numerous studies being conducted. Many of these studies use methyl jasmonate (MJ) as an antagonist. Methyl jasmonate is known to be able to induce defense responses in the stems of multiple "Pinaceae" species. It has been found that MJ stimulated the activation of PP cells and formation of xylem traumatic resin ducts (TD). These are structures that are involved in the release of phenolics and resins, both forms of defense mechanism.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Janoris Jermain Jenkins (born October 29, 1988), nicknamed "Jackrabbit", is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Alabama and Florida and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Jenkins also played four seasons for the New York Giants, two seasons for the New Orleans Saints, and one season for the Tennessee Titans.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins attended Pahokee High School, and he played for the Pahokee Blue Devils football team and was teammates with Richard Ash and Merrill Noel. In his senior year, Pahokee went 14–0, beating Newberry 53–14 at the Florida Citrus Bowl for the 2008 FHSAA Class 2B State championship. Jenkins was recognized as a first-team Class 2B All-State selection and a "Parade" magazine All-American.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jenkins was listed as the sixth-best cornerback prospect in the nation.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2008 to 2010. He became just the second true freshman in school history to start at cornerback in the season opener. He was named to "College Football News" and "Sporting News′" Freshman All-American teams. Despite his strong on-the-field performance for the Gators over three seasons, Jenkins was kicked off the team after he was charged with possession of marijuana in April 2011.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins subsequently transferred and attended the University of North Alabama for his senior year, after signing an athletic grant-in-aid to play for the North Alabama Lions football team under head coach Terry Bowden.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Coming out of North Alabama, Jenkins was projected to be a second round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. Prior to the combine, NFL analyst Mike Mayock ranked Jenkins as the second best cornerback in the 2012 NFL Draft. Jenkins received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed nearly all the combine drills, choosing to only forgo the bench press due to a shoulder injury. On March 9, 2012, he participated at North Alabama's pro day and opted to only perform positional drills for team representatives and scouts. Jenkins was ranked as the third best cornerback in the draft by NFL analyst Mayock and was ranked as the fourth best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com He received positive reviews for his coverage skills, athletic ability, explosiveness, and ability to read and react to plays. Scouts cited Jenkins' past personal off the field issues, small stature, and possible ability to adapt to the physicality of the pro game as concerns and liabilities.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On July 24, 2012, the St. Louis Rams signed Jenkins to a four-year, $4.99 million contract, that included $2.93 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.06 million.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins competed with fellow rookie Trumaine Johnson, veteran Cortland Finnegan, and Bradley Fletcher for the Rams' starting cornerback job throughout training camp. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Jenkins the Rams' starting cornerback for the start of the regular season.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: He earned his first career start in his professional regular season debut during the Rams' season-opening 27–23 loss to the Detroit Lions and finished with six combined tackles and a pass deflection, and had his first career interception after picking off Matt Stafford's pass, returning it for 34 yards. In Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals, Jenkins collected two solo tackles and returned two interceptions for touchdowns after picking off fellow rookie Ryan Lindley. He became the first Rams player to ever return two interceptions for touchdowns in a single regular-season game and helped the Rams defeat the Cardinals, 31–17. On December 16, 2012, Jenkins recorded a season-high eight solo tackles during a 36–22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins finished his rookie season with a total of 73 combined tackles (64 solo), 14 pass deflections, four interceptions, and four touchdowns in 15 games and 14 starts. Jenkins also appeared as the Rams' punt returner, finishing the season with nine returns for 46 yards and three fumbles. His four defensive touchdowns (3 INTs, 1 fumble recovery) led the NFL that season. Jenkins won the team's Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award for his record-setting season. Jenkins also tied an NFL rookie record with three interceptions returned for touchdowns, and tied Chicago Bears' cornerback Charles Tillman for the league lead.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins returned as the St. Louis Rams' starting cornerback alongside Cortland Finnegan in . During the Rams' season-opening 27–24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, he collected four solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections. On October 13, Jenkins made three combined tackles and had the first sack of his career, on Houston Texans' quarterback T. J. Yates. The following play, Jenkins intercepted Yates for his only pick of the season, helping the Rams defeat the Texans, 38–13. In Week 15, he made a season-high six solo tackles during a 27–16 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Jenkins finished the 2013 season with 61 combined tackles (55 solo), 14 pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 16 games and 16 starts.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins resumed his starting cornerback position, teaming up with E. J. Gaines to start the 2014 season. On September 21, he made five solo tackles and intercepted Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo, returning it for a 25-yard touchdown as the Rams lost to the Cowboys, 34–31. In Week 7, Jenkins had a season-high nine combined tackles, as the Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 28–26. He missed Weeks 8 and 9 due to a knee injury. On November 23, Jenkins recorded four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble, and intercepted a Philip Rivers' pass for a 99-yard touchdown. The Rams went on to lose to the San Diego Chargers, 27–24. He finished the season with 59 combined tackles (55 solo), five pass deflections, a forced fumble, two interceptions, and two touchdowns in 14 games and 13 starts. Jenkins, along with teammate Tavon Austin, was named a Pro Bowl Alternate.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On September 27, 2015, Jenkins made a season-high nine combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during a 12–6 loss. The following game, he accumulated five solo tackles and two pass deflections, and intercepted as pass off of Arizona Cardinals' quarterback Carson Palmer during a 24–22 victory. In Week 12, Jenkins had three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception of Andy Dalton, as the Rams lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 31–7. He finished his final season with the St. Louis Rams with a total of 64 combined tackles (56 solo), 16 pass deflections, and three interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts. Pro Football Focus ranked Jenkins as the 25th-best cornerback in the NFL in 2015 with an overall grade of 80.2. At one point late in the season, Jenkins was ranked as high as the 11th-best cornerback in the NFL.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On March 9, 2016, Jenkins signed a five-year, $62.5 million contract with the New York Giants. The contract included $28.80 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $10.00 million.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins was the New York Giants' "de facto" starting cornerback to begin the regular season, joining a highly touted defensive back field featuring the likes of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Eli Apple, and Landon Collins.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: In his debut with the Giants, Jenkins earned three combined tackles and held Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Dez Bryant to only one catch for 8 yards in the Giants' season-opening 20–19 victory. The following week, he recorded a season-high eight combined tackles and two pass deflections against the New Orleans Saints, while also returning a blocked field goal for a Giants' touchdown. He earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his game against the Saints. On October 9, 2016, Jenkins intercepted Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice, made two tackles and had three pass deflections. Jenkins became the first person to intercept Rodgers twice in just one game at Lambeau Field. On November 14, 2016, Jenkins made six tackles and a pass deflection against the Cincinnati Bengals. He finished the season with 49 combined tackles (44 solo), a career-high 18 pass deflections, one sack, and three interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts. The New York Giants finished the season with an 11–5 record, earning a playoff berth. On January 8, 2017, he played in his first career playoff game, making only one tackle during the Giants' 38–13 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the .


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins was selected to be a starter in the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career as well as receiving second-team All-Pro honors. He was ranked 54th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017. Jenkins was the first former North Alabama Lions player to be selected to the Pro Bowl since Harlon Hill in 1956.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On October 15, 2017, Jenkins made five combined tackles and intercepted Denver Broncos' quarterback Trevor Siemian, returning it for a 43-yard touchdown in a 23–10 win. On October 31, Jenkins was suspended indefinitely by the Giants for violating team rules. He was reinstated on November 7, 2017, after missing just one game. On November 29, 2017, Jenkins was placed on injured reserve after having ankle surgery, ending his 2017 season. In nine games, he finished with 31 combined tackles, three interceptions (of which two were returned for a touchdown), nine passes defensed, and one forced fumble.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: In the 2018 season, Jenkins appeared in all 16 games and recorded 70 combined tackles, two interceptions, 15 passes defensed, and one forced fumble. The Giants finished with a 5-11 record and missed the playoffs.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: In Week 4 against the Washington Redskins, Jenkins recorded two interceptions off rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins in the 24-3 win, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. In Week 6 against the New England Patriots, Jenkins intercepted a pass from Tom Brady and returned it for 62 yards in the 35-14 loss. In Week 8 against the Detroit Lions, Jenkins recorded his fourth interception of the season off Matthew Stafford in the 31-26 loss.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On December 13, Jenkins was waived/injured by the Giants after calling another user a "retard" on Twitter. He finished the 2019 season with the Giants with 54 tackles, 14 passes defended, and four interceptions.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On December 16, 2019, Jenkins was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Saints. In Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers, Jenkins recorded an interception off a pass thrown by Kyle Allen during the 42–10 win. This was Jenkins' first interception as a member of the Saints. In the NFC against the Minnesota Vikings, Jenkins recorded eight tackles and forced a fumble on wide receiver Adam Thielen which was recovered by teammate Vonn Bell during the 26–20 overtime loss.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: In Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jenkins recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Tom Brady and returned it for a 36-yard pick six during the 34–23 win. In Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons, Jenkins intercepted a pass thrown by Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter to help secure a 24–9 win. In Week 12 against the Denver Broncos, Jenkins intercepted a pass thrown by wide receiver Kendall Hinton during the 31–3 win.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On March 19, 2021, Jenkins signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the Tennessee Titans. He played in 14 games with 13 starts, recording 54 tackles, six passes defensed, a forced fumble and an interception.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On June 1, 2009, Jenkins was arrested near a bar by Gainesville police for fighting and resisting arrest after punching a man in the head at approximately 2:00 a.m. Police were forced to use a taser on Jenkins after fighting escalated. When asked why the fight started, Jenkins told police it was because he thought someone was going to steal the gold chain from around his neck.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On April 23, 2011, Jenkins was cited by a Gainesville police officer and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. He was cited for the same violation in January 2011, and paid a $316 fine. Jenkins was arrested in May 2009 during a downtown Gainesville fight that resulted in probation and community service. On April 26, 2011, he was dismissed by the Florida Gators football team, due to his second drug related arrest in three months.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: On June 26, 2018, a dead body was found in the basement of Jenkins' New Jersey home, identified as a family friend who had been living at the house. Jenkins' brother was identified as a person of interest.


title: Janoris Jenkins

text: Jenkins is the cousin of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Pernell McPhee. He goes by the nickname "Jackrabbit".


title: Liar's Poker

text: Liar's Poker is a non-fiction, semi-autobiographical book by Michael Lewis describing the author's experiences as a bond salesman on Wall Street during the late 1980s. First published in 1989, it is considered one of the books that defined Wall Street during the 1980s, along with Bryan Burrough and John Helyar's "", and the fictional "The Bonfire of the Vanities" by Tom Wolfe. The book captures an important period in the history of Wall Street. Two important figures in that history feature prominently in the text, the head of Salomon Brothers' mortgage department Lewis Ranieri and the firm's CEO John Gutfreund.


title: Liar's Poker

text: The book's name is taken from liar's poker, a gambling game popular with the bond traders in the book.


title: Liar's Poker

text: One thread is autobiographical: it follows Lewis through his college education, his hiring by Salomon Brothers (now a subsidiary of Citigroup) in 1984, and his training at the firm. It is a first-person account of the personalities, workplace practices, and culture of bond traders. Several high-ranking Salomon Brothers employees of the era, such as arbitrageur John Meriwether, mortgage department head Lewis Ranieri, and firm CEO John Gutfreund, feature prominently.


title: Liar's Poker

text: The book's other thread gives an overview of Wall Street history before focusing on the history of Salomon Brothers in particular. This thread is less dependent on Lewis' personal experience and features quotes drawn from interviews. It is primarily concerned with how the Salomon Brothers firm almost single-handedly created a market for mortgage bonds that made the firm wealthy, only to be outdone by Michael Milken and his junk bonds.


title: Liar's Poker

text: Lewis was an art history student at Princeton University who wanted to break into Wall Street to make money. He describes his almost pathetic attempts to find a finance job, only to be roundly rejected by every firm to which he applied. For example, in 1982 Lehman Brothers had rejected his employment application. He then enrolled in the London School of Economics to gain a master's degree in economics.


title: Liar's Poker

text: While in England, Lewis was invited to a banquet hosted by the Queen Mother, where his cousin, Baroness Linda Monroe von Stauffenberg, one of the organizers of the banquet, purposefully seated him next to the wife of the London managing partner of Salomon Brothers. She hoped that his intelligence might impress her enough for her to suggest to her husband that Lewis be given a job with Salomon Brothers. The strategy worked, and Lewis was granted an interview and subsequently received a job offer.


title: Liar's Poker

text: Lewis then moved to New York City for Salomon's training program. Here he was appalled at the sophomoric, obtuse and obnoxious behavior of some of his fellow trainees as they were indoctrinated into the money culture of Salomon Brothers and the Wall Street culture as a whole.


title: Liar's Poker

text: From New York, Lewis was shipped off to the London office of Salomon Brothers as a bond salesman. Despite his lack of knowledge, he was soon handling millions of dollars in investment accounts. In 1987 he witnessed a near-hostile takeover of Salomon Brothers but survived with his job. However, growing disillusioned with his work, Lewis quit the firm at the beginning of 1988 to write this book and become a financial journalist. The first edition was published October 17, 1989.


title: Liar's Poker

text: The book is an unflattering portrayal of Wall Street traders and salesmen, their personalities, their beliefs and their work practices.


title: Liar's Poker

text: During the training sessions, Lewis was struck by the infantilism of most of his fellow trainees. Examples included: yelling at and insulting financial experts who talked to them; throwing spit balls at one another and at lecturers; calling phone sex lines and then broadcasting them over the company's intercom; gambling on behavioral traits (such as how long it took certain trainees to fall asleep during lectures); and the trainees' incredible lust for money and contempt for any position that did not earn much.


title: Liar's Poker

text: Lewis attributed the bond traders' and salesmen's behavior to the fact that the trading floor required neither finesse nor advanced financial knowledge, but rather, the ability and desire to exploit others' weaknesses, to intimidate others into listening to traders and salesmen, and the ability to spend hours a day screaming orders under high-pressure situations. He referred to their worldview as "The Law of the Jungle".


title: Liar's Poker

text: He also noted that, although most arrivals on Wall Street had studied economics, this knowledge was never used. In fact, any academic knowledge was frowned on by traders.


title: Liar's Poker

text: Lewis also attributed the savings and loan scandal of the 1980s and 1990s to the inability of inexperienced and provincial small-town bank managers to compete with Wall Street. He described people on Wall Street as masters at taking advantage of an undiscerning public, which the savings and loan industry provided in abundance.


title: Liar's Poker

text: Despite the book's quite unflattering depiction of Wall Street firms and many of the people who worked there, many younger readers were fascinated by the life depicted. Many read it as a "how-to manual" and asked the author for additional "secrets" that he might care to share.


title: Puli dog

text: The Puli is a small-medium breed of Hungarian herding and livestock guarding dog known for its long, corded coat. The tight curls of the coat appear similar to dreadlocks. A similar-looking, but much larger breed – also Hungarian – is the Komondor.


title: Puli dog

text: The Puli is a solid-colored dog that is usually black. Other less common coat colors are white, gray, or cream (off-white or "fakó" in Hungarian). A variety of the cream-coated dogs have black masks. The white Pulis are not albino, nor do they have blue eyes. They commonly have dark pigment, black pads, black noses and black pigment inside the mouth. The white gene is recessive to the pure black gene. The breed standard for females is about 16.5 inches (42 cm) at the withers and 17 inches for males. Females weigh 23-25 pounds and males slightly more. The coat of some Puli dogs can be different with either thinner or thicker cords which can be flat or round depending on the texture of the coat and the balance of undercoat to outer coat.


title: Puli dog

text: The coat is the result of a controlled matting process. Thin, rope-like corded coats are desired and the grooming should control the coat towards the forming of thinner ropes. The Puli's coat needs considerable grooming to keep its cords clean, neat, and attractive. With age, the coat can become quite long, even reaching the ground. Alternatively, the coat can be trimmed short regularly for easy maintenance although the corded coat is what attracts many people to the breed. Contrary to some beliefs, the coat of a healthy puli will grow out again after trimming. This breed has little to no shedding.


title: Puli dog

text: The Puli is an intelligent and active dog. It needs obedience training while still young. If a Puli gets enough exercise, it can live in the city,


title: Puli dog

text: but they do best when not kept indoor pets in small living spaces. Pulis kept indoors need a lot of exercise to use up their energy, or they can become either shy or overactive. They need to get the kind of exercise they were created for. Pulis are best kept in a house with a garden. Cozy and very friendly especially towards children, they are sensitive and prone to resentment.


title: Puli dog

text: Pulis are intelligent, agile dogs. Despite their bulky appearance and very thick coat, they are very fast, agile, and able to change directions instantly and are obedient enough to train for athletic competition. They are devoted and form close bonds with their owners.


title: Puli dog

text: The breed is intelligent and can do well in obedience training if begun early. Traditionally, the Puli dog breed was used as a herding dog and sometimes even as a livestock guarding dog, as well. They make very good guard dogs, since they are very protective of their masters and territory. The Puli is sensitive, fun-loving, courageous, but also, at times, tough and headstrong.


title: Puli dog

text: They are loyal to their owners and wary of strangers. They are highly active and keep a playful, puppy-like behavior their entire lives. They need a lot of exercise and free space, preferably outdoors. They can be trained and housebroken, but Pulis are generally not very well suited as city or indoor pets. When restricted to closed spaces for long periods of times, they grow restless and may develop unwanted personality traits, such as becoming hyperactive or, instead, increasingly aloof and lazy.


title: Puli dog

text: As a working dog, the Puli is very obedient, focused and determined when assigned a task. Some of them are used as police dogs. As a livestock guarding dog, they are fiercely protective of their territory and flock, and, despite their relatively small size, will fearlessly try to scare and drive any intruder away; however, they very rarely inflict any real injuries.


title: Puli dog

text: As a family dog, they make good security dogs and faithful family guardians. They can be very friendly and playful, even in old age. They regard their family as their flock, and will keep their distance until they are sure a stranger is not a threat. When annoyed, they may attack without warning, so a considerable distance may be advisable for strangers. They can be extremely independent and obstinate, and only accept strong-willed individuals as master.


title: Puli dog

text: Pulis can compete in dog agility trials, obedience, Rally obedience, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Pulis exhibiting basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.


title: Puli dog

text: Pulis are valued for their energy and determination which is a result of their sheepdog history. Every Puli is a natural shepherd and instinctively knows how to herd a flock of sheep or livestock even if they have been raised as a family dog and have never been trained to do it. It is advisable to start training the Puli early in age, especially in obedience. They are very independent, strong-willed, and difficult to train in adulthood.


title: Puli dog

text: The Magyars probably brought the Puli to Hungary in the 9th Century when they invaded westwards from Siberia, and it has been a sheepdog on the Hungarian plain since then. It is the ancestor of the Poodle. The breed was first studied by Dr Emil Raitsitz from Hungary's veterinary college in the 1920s.


title: Puli dog

text: The Puli would commonly work together with the much larger, white Komondor, a Hungarian breed of (solely) livestock guardian dog. The Komondor is a large, solidly built dog, around 30 inches tall. The Komondor (or several Komondors if there was a large amount of livestock) guarded the sheep or cattle mostly at night, while the Puli herded and guarded them during the day.


title: Puli dog

text: When wolves or bears attacked the livestock, the Puli would alert the pack and the Komondors would come and fight the intruders. Pulis can be good at fighting off wolves, because the thick coat protects their skin from being bitten. The Komondors usually rested during daytime but at night walked around the flock, constantly moving, patrolling the area.


title: Puli dog

text: Nomadic shepherds of the Hungarian plains valued their herding dogs, paying as much as a year's salary for a Puli.


title: Puli dog

text: Although the coats may look slightly similar, the Puli has never worked in water and the Puli's coat does not grow continuously in the same fashion as a corded Poodle's coat once the cords are formed.


title: Puli dog

text: Possibly the Puli's ancestors are ancient Hungarian shepherd dogs. Travelers brought the Puli with them to the Carpathian basin, to help organize the flocks and herd the stallions of the area. Large Komondor or Kuvasz were used for guarding the flock. The Puli was also a suitable guard for flock protection but was primarily used for herding the animals. Around the beginning of the 20th century, a real turning point for the breed came when it was rediscovered but no longer used much as a sheepdog; extensive shepherding was replaced by intensive farming. The Puli's role was reduced in the life of the flock. Although their traditional duty was kept, they started to fulfill jobs that were convenient in the circumstances of their owner: they became house dogs. After World War II, the breed became a less popular pet; even now, the breed has not been able to regain the popularity it previously enjoyed.


title: Puli dog

text: The U.S. Department of Agriculture imported four purebred Pulis in 1935 to Beltsville, Maryland as part of an experiment when trying to help American agriculturists concerned with the problem of herding dogs which sometimes killed the animals to which they had been entrusted to control. The Pulis were bred among themselves and crossed with the German Shepherd, the Chow Chow and perhaps with two Turkish sheepdogs which were quartered there at the time. On the tests given by researchers there, Pulis scored, on the average, between 75 and 85, where other herding breeds, scored in the range of 12 to 14. Because tests were inconclusive, they were never published. When WWII broke out, the Pulis were auctioned off to professional breeders, and, it is thought that, it is from these four dogs and their progeny that history of the Puli in the United States began.


title: Puli dog

text: In 1978, a Puli called Cinko Duda Csebi won the world exposition organized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. The Mexican-born dog was owned by breeder Roberto Hernández Ávalos.


title: Puli dog

text: The dog known as "The Auditor" is assumed to be a Puli. It lived in the contaminated Berkeley Pit copper mine in Butte, Montana. Notable for being one of the few things that could live and thrive in such a place, in time it became a sort of mascot for the town. After The Auditor died, several memorials were erected celebrating its existence.


title: Puli dog

text: In the 1960s, writer Harlan Ellison adopted a Puli named Ahbhu and wrote about him in the 1975 Hugo-winning novelette "The Deathbird" (part of the 1975 collection "Deathbird Stories"). In addition, Ahbhu appeared in the 1969 short story "A Boy And His Dog" as a predecessor to the main character's telepathic dog Blood.


title: Puli dog

text: American novelist T.C. Boyle used to own several Pulis and still has one. One of them, named "Kutya" (Hungarian for "dog"), is commemorated in his novel "The Harder They Come".


title: Ocean Ranger

text: Ocean Ranger was a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Canadian waters on 15 February 1982. It was drilling an exploration well on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, east of St. John's, Newfoundland, for Mobil Oil of Canada, Ltd. (MOCAN) with 84 crew members on board when it sank. There were no survivors.


title: Ocean Ranger

text: "Ocean Ranger" was designed and owned by Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company, Inc. (ODECO) of New Orleans. The vessel was a self-propelled large semi-submersible design with a drilling facility and living quarters. It was capable of operation beneath of ocean water and could drill to a maximum depth of . It was described by ODECO as the world's largest semi-submersible oil rig to date.


title: Ocean Ranger

text: Constructed for ODECO in 1976 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Hiroshima, Japan, "Ocean Ranger" was long, wide, and high. It had twelve anchors. The weight was 25,000 tons. It was floating on two long pontoons that rested below the surface.


title: Ocean Ranger

text: The vessel was approved for 'unrestricted ocean operations' and designed to withstand extremely harsh conditions at sea, including winds and waves. Prior to moving to the Grand Banks area in November 1980, it had operated off the coasts of Alaska, New Jersey and Ireland.


title: Ocean Ranger

text: On 26 November 1981, "Ocean Ranger" commenced drilling well J-34, its third well in the Hibernia Oil Field. "Ocean Ranger" was still working on this well in February 1982 when the incident occurred. Two other semi-submersible platforms were also drilling nearby: "Sedco 706", NNE, and "Zapata" "Ugland", N of "Ocean Ranger". On 14 February 1982, the platforms received reports of an approaching storm linked to a major Atlantic cyclone from NORDCO Ltd, the company responsible for issuing offshore weather forecasts. The usual method of preparing for bad weather involved hanging-off the drill pipe at the sub-sea wellhead and disconnecting the riser from the sub-sea blowout preventer. Due to surface difficulties and the speed at which the storm developed, the crew of "Ocean Ranger" was forced to shear the drill pipe after hanging-off, after which they disconnected the riser in the early evening.


title: Ocean Ranger

text: At about 19:00 local time, the nearby "Sedco 706" experienced a large rogue wave which damaged some items on deck and caused the loss of a life raft. Soon after, radio transmissions were heard from "Ocean Ranger", describing a broken portlight (a porthole window) and water in the ballast control room, with discussions on how best to repair the damage. "Ocean Ranger" reported experiencing storm seas of , with the odd wave up to , thus leaving the unprotected portlight at above the water line vulnerable to wave damage. Some time after 21:00, radio conversations originating on "Ocean Ranger" were heard on "Sedco 706" and "Zapata Ugland", noting that valves on "Ocean Ranger"'s ballast control panel appeared to be opening and closing of their own accord. The radio conversations also discussed the winds and waves up to high. Through the remainder of the evening, routine radio traffic passed between "Ocean Ranger", its neighboring rigs and their individual support boats. Nothing out of the ordinary was noted.