079project 1.0.0

package/tests/test_FIrststep1.txt

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+
+= = = Trails and paths = = =
+
+The Overhill settlements were connected by a series of well @-@ established Native American trails :
+
+The Great Indian Warpath ran parallel to the base of the Appalachians , connecting the Overhill settlements to Cherokee villages in Georgia and Virginia .
+
+The Trading Path ( later called the Unicoi Turnpike ) connected the Overhill towns with the Middle settlements in North Carolina , the Lower towns in South Carolina , and extended to Charleston , South Carolina .
+
+The Warriors ' Path connected Hiwassee Old Town , Great Tellico , and Chota , which were the main villages along the three rivers in the Overhill country .
+
+A branch of the Tuckaleechee and Southeastern Trail connected the Overhill towns along the Upper Little Tennessee with the Kitawha towns in North Carolina via Tuckaleechee Cove , Cades Cove and Ekaneetlee Gap ( near Gregory Bald ) .
+
+The War Trace ran from the Upper Cherokee area , through southeast Kentucky , along Mason 's Creek or Mace 's Creek , and present @-@ day Viper , Kentucky , passing through the Overhill towns and reaching the Georgia Cherokee towns . It also had connections to the Warrior 's Path and the Cumberland Gap , Tennessee , area , and the Cherokee villages of Sullen Possum and Wildcat .
+
+= = History = =
+
+Early Euro @-@ American explorers in Southern Appalachia noted that the Cherokee were concentrated around three general regions . The " Lower Towns " were centered on the town of Keowee in the hills of South Carolina and northeastern Georgia . The " Middle Towns " were centered on Nequassee and Tassetchee amidst the Great Balsam Mountains and eastern Unicoi Mountains in western North Carolina . The Overhill Cherokee lived in settlements located between the Appalachian Mountains and the Tennessee Valley in what is now Tennessee . The Overhill capital , or " mother town , " shifted between Great Tellico , Tanasi , and Chota .
+
+The Overhill settlements were established sometime between the late 16th century and the late 17th century , although scholars disagree as to a more exact timeframe . The major towns were well settled by the time the first Euro @-@ American explorers arrived in the late 17th century . The Overhill Cherokee were recognized as speaking a dialect distinctive from that found in the Middle and Lower towns , although all the people identified as Cherokee .
+
+= = = Early accounts = = =
+
+For most of the 17th century , the British colonies on the Atlantic coast dealt with the Cherokee via representatives of other tribes acting as middlemen . As the fur trade expanded in importance with rising demand in European markets , traders and trappers went to the Overhill settlements for direct contact with the Cherokee and other western tribes . In 1673 , Virginia merchants sent agents James Needham and Gabriel Arthur on a trip west of the Appalachians , hoping to open a direct trade route . While Needham was killed on the return trip , Arthur stayed behind . He later claimed to have accompanied the natives ( possibly the Cherokee ) on raids of Spanish settlements in Florida .
+
+In 1725 , South Carolina sent Col. George Chicken on a diplomatic mission to the Overhill towns to address the issue of unlicensed traders , who were underselling merchants conducting business legally . Chicken arrived in Great Tellico in July . He described the village as " compact and thick settled ; " the town and tribe had long competed in the region with the Creek tribe . Chicken followed the Warriors ' Path north to the Little Tennessee River , where he met the " Head Warrior " of Tanasi and the chiefs of Citico and Tallassee .
+
+= = = Alexander Cuming , 1730 = = =
+
+Sir Alexander Cuming ( c . 1690 – 1775 ) arrived in Charleston , South Carolina in December 1729 . Although he lacked official diplomatic credentials , Cuming managed to convince several Charlestonians that he was an agent of King George II of Great Britain on a mission to gain the loyalty of the Cherokee . Cuming set out for the Overhill town of Tanasi in March 1730 , his stated goal being to gain the fabled " Crown of Tannassy . "
+
+Cuming moved quickly along the Trading Path , interacting briefly with Lower and Middle chiefs . In just under a month , Cuming had crossed the Unicoi Mountains into the Overhill country , a dangerous place at the time due to the Cherokees ' ongoing war with the Creeks .
+
+Years later colonial trader Ludovick Grant , who lived in Great Tellico and briefly accompanied Cuming during his tour , described the latter 's techniques . In each town , Cuming arranged a meeting with local Cherokee leaders . He arrived fully armed at the meeting at the town council house , in defiance of custom . There he made a prepared speech saying that he was a private citizen wishing only to see their country , and that if any Indians wished to return to England with him , he would take them . He asked them to join his party in a toast to the health of King George II , and to kneel in allegiance . He told his guides that he would have set fire to the townhouse and killed the assembled Indians if they refused .
+
+During his stay in Great Tellico , Cuming was impressed by the display of its chief Moytoy . He described the encounter in his journal ( referring to his party in third person ) :
+
+They arrived at great Telliquo in the Afternoon , saw the petrifying Cave , a great many Enemies Scalps brought in and put upon Poles at the Warriors Doors , made a Friend of the great Moytoy , and Jacob the Conjurer .
+
+Cuming learned that Moytoy was trying to gain control of the entire Cherokee people , who were highly decentralized , with power associated with regional settlements . Cuming agreed to help Moytoy if the chief would help him get the Crown of Tanasi . On March 30 , 1730 , Cuming followed the Warriors ' Path from Great Tellico to Tanasi , which he found " pleasantly situated " along the Little Tennessee . Cuming met with the Tanasi Warrior , whom he understood to be the de facto leader of the Overhill at the time . After gaining the Tanasi Warrior 's allegiance , Cuming returned to Great Tellico . He accompanied Moytoy back across the Unicoi Mountains to Nequassee , and helped the chief be crowned as " Emperor of the Cherokee . "
+
+Cuming returned to England on June 5 , 1730 , accompanied by several Cherokee and carrying a possum @-@ hair headdress , which he referred to as the " Crown of Tannassy . " Although he had planned to present the party and crown to King George II , a delegation from Charleston arrived claiming Cuming had defrauded them . While Cuming 's schemes led to his own downfall , his visit to the Overhill towns helped to solidify an alliance between the Cherokee and the English .
+
+= = = Christian Priber , 1730s = = =
+
+Around 1736 , Christian Priber , a German utopian idealist , reached Great Tellico . Although initially working as a French agent , Priber quickly abandoned his mission . He adopted Cherokee customs , learned the language , and quickly gained the tribe 's trust .
+
+Priber attempted to organize Cherokee society in accordance with early 18th @-@ century European idealism . He promoted the idea that all things should be held in common , including wives and children . Claiming the English were fraudulent and greedy , he suggested moving the Cherokee capital to modern @-@ day Alabama , where it would be closer to the French colonial territory of La Louisiane . The English tried to arrest Priber in 1739 , but were prevented by the Cherokee . He was finally captured by the Creek people in 1743 and turned over to South Carolina authorities .
+
+= = = Fort Loudoun , 1756 – 1760 = = =
+
+At the outbreak of the Seven Years ' War ( or the French and Indian War as it was known in North America ) , the Cherokee aligned with the British . The Overhill towns agreed to provide military support , but asked that a fort be built to protect the area 's women and children while the warriors were away . In 1756 , the colonies dispatched Captain Raymond Demeré and engineer John DeBrahm to the area with several wagon loads of supplies for the construction of a fort along the Little Tennessee River . The fort , named after John Campbell , 4th Earl of Loudoun , stood at the junction of the Little Tennessee and the Tellico rivers . The Cherokee village of Tuskegee developed in its vicinity .
+
+Shortly after the fort 's construction , relations between the English and the Cherokee soured . Several Cherokee returning home from battle were killed by settlers , and an increase in horse thefts created tension in Virginia . After a contingent of Cherokee chiefs were detained at Fort Prince George in late 1759 , the Cherokee , under Chief Standing Turkey , laid siege to Fort Loudoun . The fort 's garrison held out until August 1760 , when a lack of provisions forced them to surrender .
+
+= = = Timberlake Expedition , 1761 = = =
+
+The British colonies responded swiftly to the fall of Fort Loudoun . South Carolina sent Colonel James Grant against the Lower Towns , Virginia dispatched Colonel William Byrd to attack the Middle Towns in western North Carolina , and Colonel Adam Stephen detached from Byrd 's regiment and marched to Long Island on the Holston ( near modern @-@ day Kingsport , Tennessee ) with plans to attack the Overhill Towns . The Cherokee immediately sued for peace , which was granted . To help solidify the peace , Colonel Stephen dispatched Lieutenant Henry Timberlake and Sergeant Thomas Sumter to accompany a Cherokee delegation on a tour of the Overhill towns .
+
+After a five @-@ day journey down the Holston , French Broad , and Little Tennessee rivers , Timberlake arrived in the Overhill town of Tomotley . There he was greeted by Ostenaco and witnessed a ceremonial return of a Cherokee war party . After smoking a peace pipe with Ostenaco , Timberlake proceeded southward to Chota , where he was met by some 400 Cherokee . Timberlake smoked a peace pipe with several tribal leaders , and recorded the layout and design of the town 's large council @-@ house .
+
+The following day , Timberlake arrived in the town of Citico , where the residents greeted him with a long dance . After smoking a peace pipe with the town leader Cheulah , Timberlake proceeded southward to Chilhowee , where he gained similar assurances of peace . He returned via the trail to Long Island on the Holston . Timberlake 's journals , published in the 1760s , contain detailed descriptions of Cherokee councilhouses , residences , canoes , and other facets of everyday Cherokee life ; these were invaluable to historians .
+
+= = = American Revolution = = =
+
+At the close of the Seven Years ' War , Euro @-@ American settlers began trickling into east Tennessee from the eastern colonies . In 1772 , several pioneers negotiated a lease for Cherokee lands in northeast Tennessee and formed the Watauga Settlement . In spite of the agreement , tensions between the pioneers and the Cherokee rose steadily . By the outbreak of the American Revolution , the Cherokee were allied with the British against the rebellious American colonies , hoping to push the encroaching settlers out of their territory .
+
+In 1776 , the Cherokee initiated a plan to drive the settlers out of the Washington District , North Carolina and invade Virginia . Virginia merchant , Isaac Thomas — later a co @-@ founder of Sevierville — was warned of the invasion by Nancy Ward , a Cherokee Beloved Woman . Thomas passed on the warning to the settlers , who prepared their defenses . The first prong of the attack , led by Dragging Canoe , was defeated by colonists at Heaton 's Station . The second prong , led by Abraham of Chilhowee , was routed at Fort Watauga . In response to these attacks , several thousand militia led by William Christian invaded the Overhill towns and burned Tuskegee and Citico . The Cherokee made peace shortly thereafter , under the Treaty of De Witt 's Corner . Chiefs Dragging Canoe and Ostenaco refused to sign another treaty , and fled south with their followers to continue the armed struggle , in what became known as the Cherokee – American wars .
+
+In 1780 , while the North Carolina militia from the Washington District , often referred to as the " overhill militia " , were away at the Battle of Kings Mountain , the Cherokee launched sporadic raids against the settlers here . Upon returning , Colonel John Sevier , who had gained fame as a co @-@ commander at Kings Mountain , was dispatched , along with several thousand militia , to the south on a punitive expedition to the Overhill towns . After defeating the Cherokee in a fierce battle at Boyd 's Creek ( in modern @-@ day Sevier County ) , Sevier proceeded southward . He destroyed most of the remaining , lightly defended villages , including the capital of Chota .
+
+= = = Cherokee – American wars = = =
+
+After the Cherokee defeats at Heaton 's Station and Fort Watauga in 1776 , most Cherokee chiefs , including Attakullakulla and Oconastota , signed the Treaty of De Witt 's Corner . Dragging Canoe and Ostenaco refused to recognize this treaty , claiming the settlers were unlikely to abide by the treaty 's terms . Along with several renegade tribesmen from across the Cherokee tribes , they moved south to Chickamauga Creek , in the vicinity of what is now Chattanooga , and set up a series of villages .
+
+Settlers called them the " Chickamauga Cherokee " after their location and to distinguish them from the greater Cherokee tribe . The Chickamauga ( or " Lower Cherokee " as they were also sometimes called ) proceeded to carry on an unconventional war against the encroaching Euro @-@ American settlers , ambushing small patrols and attacking small settlements . After Oconastota 's death in the early 1780s , Chief Old Tassel was recognized as the leader of the Overhill Cherokee . He sought more distance from the Chickamauga . After an expedition by Sevier destroyed the Chickamauga towns in 1782 , Dragging Canoe moved the Chickamaugas southwest to modern @-@ day Marion County , Tennessee , where he continued his struggle .
+
+The end of the Revolutionary War released more energy for postwar settlement from the eastern states , and the Cherokee had to contend with new migrants in their territories . In 1788 , a renegade band of Cherokees massacred much of the family of John Kirk on Nine Mile Creek ( in modern Blount County , Tennessee ) , enraging the already uneasy settlers . Sevier rallied the militia at Hunter 's Station ( near Maryville ) and marched across Chilhowee Mountain to the Little Tennessee River . After capturing and burning Tallassee , Sevier entered Chilhowee and placed Abraham of Chilhowee and Old Tassel under arrest , while negotiating a truce . One of Kirk 's surviving sons got to the chiefs and tomahawked both of them to death . The killing of chiefs under a flag of truce was considered a grave insult by the Cherokee , and this event revived the dwindling power of the Chickamaugas for warfare .
+
+After the massacre at Chilhowee , John Watts ( Old Tassel 's son ) and Doublehead ( Old Tassel 's brother ) aligned with Dragging Canoe ; together they carried on a protracted series of attacks against the settlers . Sevier again marched south , capturing and burning several villages before being forced to turn back . Although Dragging Canoe died in 1792 , John Watt and Doublehead continued to make sporadic attacks against Euro @-@ American settlements . Such raids gradually shifted and were conducted against settlements in the Cumberland region .
+
+= = = Tellico Agency = = =
+
+After the assassination of Old Tassel in 1788 , Chief Hanging Maw was recognized as the leader of the Overhill towns . With violence spiraling out of control , Hanging Maw petitioned the territorial governor , William Blount , for a fort to protect the peaceful Overhill villages from vengeful settlers . In 1794 , Hanging Maw donated land at the junction of Nine Mile Creek and the Little Tennessee River to the U.S. government for the construction of the Tellico Blockhouse .
+
+Along with a small garrison of federal soldiers , the Tellico Blockhouse was the headquarters of the Tellico Agent , William Blountt , he official liaison between the U.S. and the Cherokee . On November 8 , 1794 , Blount met Hanging Maw ( representing the Overhill Cherokee ) and John Watt ( representing the Lower Cherokee ) to sign a treaty ending the Cherokee – American wars . Over the next ten years , the US made several other treaties with the Cherokee , persuading Cherokee leaders to cede large portions of land in East and Middle Tennessee , including the Overhill towns along the Little Tennessee , in an attempt to gain peace . With the cession of Overhill lands , the Cherokee Nation 's center of power shifted south to New Echota in Georgia . Settlers migrating throughout the Southeast kept up pressure to gain Cherokee lands .
+
+= = Overhill sites today = =
+
+In 1967 , the Tennessee Valley Authority began construction on Tellico Dam just above the mouth of the Little Tennessee . The impoundment created Tellico Lake and effectively flooded all of the original known Overhill sites along the Little Tennessee River . Before the flooding , the University of Tennessee conducted extensive archaeological excavations , identifying Chota 's townhouse and the grave of Oconastota . The site of Chota 's townhouse was covered with fill , raising it above water levels . A monument with eight pillars — one for the Cherokee Nation and each of its seven clans — was placed at the site along with the reinterred grave of Oconastota . Nearby , a small monument was erected marking the site of Tanasi , and recalling it as the root of the state 's name . Both sites are managed by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee .
+
+Further upstream , Chilhowee Dam was named after the now @-@ submerged site of Chilhowee . Tennessee Reservoir Development Agency ( TRDA ) boat ramps have been named after the submerged former sites of Toqua and Tallassee . Abrams Creek , which traverses Cades Cove and empties into the Little Tennessee , is named after chief Abraham of Chilhowee .
+
+In the 20th century , Fort Loudon was reconstructed by state teams , as well as a replica of a 17th @-@ century village dwelling of Tuskegee ; these are located within the Fort Loudoun State Park . The state park also manages the Tellico Blockhouse site , the foundations of which have been identified and marked . The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum , near Fort Loudoun in Vonore , is dedicated to the creator of the Cherokee alphabet . The Unicoi Trail , a cross @-@ country hiking trail , now connects the Sequoyah Museum with Murphy , North Carolina , roughly following the ancient Trading Path . The Frank H. McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee contains hundreds of Cherokee artifacts obtained from various excavations which the university has conducted in the Tennessee Valley over the past century .
+
+= = Prominent Overhill Cherokee figures = =
+
+Moytoy of Tellico ( c . 1687 – 1760 ) – headman at Great Tellico at the time of Cuming 's visit
+
+Old Tassel ( Onitositaii ) ( c . 1700 – 1788 ) — headman of Toqua
+
+Ostenaco ( c . 1700 – 1780 ) – head chief , Tomotley , at the time of Timberlake 's visit
+
+Attakullakulla ( c.1710 – 1777 ) – born in Chota
+
+Oconastota ( c . 1710 – 1783 ) – born and died in Chota
+
+Jacob the Conjurer ( fl. ca . 1730 ) – in Great Tellico at the time of Cumming 's visit
+
+Dragging Canoe ( c . 1738 – 1792 ) – born in Chota , onetime headman of Great Island Town
+
+Nancy Ward ( c . 1738 – 1824 ) – born in Chota
+
+John Watts ( 1753 – 1802 ) – nephew of Old Tassel , leader of the Chickamauga / Lower Cherokee after Dragging Canoe died in 1792 .
+
+Moytoy of Citico ( 1759 – 1761 ) - began the Anglo @-@ Cherokee War
+
+Sequoyah ( c . 1767 – 1843 ) – born in Tuskegee
+
+Savanukah ; participated in the 1776 offensive into the Washington District , North Carolina , served as headman of the Overhills 1780 – 1781 .
+
+Abraham of Chilhowee ( or Abram ) ( d . 1788 ) – led Cherokee assault against Fort Watauga in 1776
+
+= Least weasel =
+
+The least weasel ( Mustela nivalis ) , or simply weasel in the UK , is the smallest member of the genus Mustela and of the family Mustelidae ( as well as the smallest of the Carnivora ) , native to Eurasia , North America and North Africa , though it has been introduced to New Zealand , Australia , Malta , Crete , Bermuda , Madeira Island , the Azores , the Canary Islands , Sao Tome , the Falkland Islands , Argentina and Chile . It is classed as being of least concern by the IUCN , due to its wide distribution and presumed large population .
+
+Least weasels from various parts of its range vary greatly in size . The body is slender and elongated and the legs and tail are relatively short . The colour varies geographically , as does the pelage type and length of tail . The dorsal surface , flanks , limbs and tail of the animal are usually some shade of brown while the underparts are white . The line delineating the boundary between the two colours is usually straight . At high altitudes and in the northern part of its range , the coat becomes pure white in winter . Eighteen subspecies are recognised .
+
+Small rodents form the largest part of the least weasel 's diet , but it also kills and eats rabbits and other mammals , and occasionally birds , birds ' eggs , fish and frogs . Males mark their territories with olfactory signals and have exclusive home ranges which may intersect with or include several female ranges . Least weasels use pre @-@ existing holes to sleep , store food and raise their young . Breeding takes place in the spring and summer , and there is a single litter of about six kits which are reared exclusively by the female . Due to its small size , fierce nature and cunning behaviour , the least weasel plays an important part in the mythology and legend of various cultures .
+
+= = Taxonomy and evolution = =
+
+The least weasel was given its scientific name Mustela nivalis by Carl Linnaeus in his 12th edition of Systema Naturae in 1766 . The type locality was Westrobothnia in Sweden . As an animal with a very wide distribution , the morphology of the least weasel varies geographically . The species was reviewed by Reichstein in 1957 and again by van Zyll de Jong in 1992 and Reig in 1997 . Youngman ( 1982 ) placed it in the subgenus Mustela while Abramov ( 1999 ) considered it should be included in the subgenus Gale . Based on skull characteristics , Reig ( 1997 ) proposed that the taxon should be split into four species , M. subpalmata , M. rixosa , M. vulgaris and M. eskimo . Abrimov and Baryshinikov ( 2000 ) disagreed , recognising only M. subpalmata as a separate species .
+
+Within the genus Mustela , the least weasel is a relatively unspecialised form , as evidenced by its pedomorphic skull , which occurs even in large subspecies . Its direct ancestor was Mustela praenivalis , which lived in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene and Villafranchian . M. praenivalis itself was probably preceded by M. pliocaenica of the Pliocene . The modern species probably arose during the Late Pleistocene . The least weasel is the product of a process begun 5 – 7 million years ago , when northern forests were replaced by open grassland , thus prompting an explosive evolution of small , burrowing rodents . The weasel 's ancestors were larger than the current form , and underwent a reduction in size to exploit the new food source . The least weasel throve during the Ice Age , as its small size and long body allowed it to easily operate beneath snow , as well as hunt in burrows . It probably crossed to North America through the Bering land bridge 200 @,@ 000 years ago .
+
+= = = Subspecies = = =
+
+The least weasel has a high geographic variation , a fact which has historically led to numerous disagreements among biologists studying its systematics . Least weasel subspecies are divided into 3 categories :
+
+The pygmaea – rixosa group ( small weasels ) : Tiny weasels with short tails , pedomorphic skulls , and pelts that turn pure white in winter . They inhabit northern European Russia , Siberia , the Russian Far East , Finland , northern Scandinavian Peninsula , Mongolia , northeastern China , Japan and North America .
+
+The boccamela group ( large weasels ) : Very large weasels with large skulls , relatively long tails and lighter coloured pelts . Locally , they either do not turn white or only partially change colour in winter . They inhabit Transcaucasia , from western Kazakhstan to Semirechye and in the flat deserts of Middle Asia . They are also found in Morocco , Algeria , and Tunisia .
+
+The nivalis group ( average weasels ) : Medium @-@ sized weasels , with tails of moderate length , representing a transitional form between the former two groups . They inhabit the middle and southern regions of European Russia , Crimea , Ciscaucasus , western Kazakhstan , southern and middle Urals and montane parts of Middle Asia , save for Koppet Dag .
+
+As of 2005 , 18 subspecies are recognised .
+
+= = Description = =
+
+The least weasel has a thin , greatly elongated and extremely flexible body with a small , yet elongated , blunt @-@ muzzled head which is no thicker than the neck . The eyes are large , bulging and dark coloured . The legs and tail are relatively short , the latter constituting less than half the body length . The feet are armed with sharp , dark @-@ coloured claws , and the soles are heavily haired . The skull , especially that of the small rixosa group , has an infantile appearance when compared with that of other members of the genus Mustela ( in particular , the stoat and kolonok ) . This is expressed in the relatively large size of the cranium and shortened facial region . The skull is , overall , similar to that of the stoat , but smaller , though the skulls of large male weasels tend to overlap in size with those of small female stoats . There are usually four pairs of nipples but these are only visible in females . The baculum is short , 16 to 20 mm ( 0 @.@ 6 to 0 @.@ 8 in ) , with a thick , straight shaft . Fat is deposited along the spine , kidneys , gut mesentries and around the limbs . The least weasel has muscular anal glands under the tail , which measure 7 by 5 mm ( 0 @.@ 3 by 0 @.@ 2 in ) , and contain sulphurous volatiles , including thietanes and dithiacyclopentanes . The smell and chemical composition of these chemicals are distinct from those of the stoat . The least weasel moves by jumping , the distance between the tracks of the fore and hind limbs being 18 to 35 cm ( 7 to 14 in ) .
+
+Dimensions vary geographically , to an extent rarely found among other mammals . Least weasels of the vulgaris group , for example , may outweigh the smaller races by almost four times . In some large subspecies , the male may be 1 @.@ 5 times longer than the female . Variations in tail length are also variable , constituting from 13 – 30 % of the length of the body . Average body length in males is 130 to 260 mm ( 5 to 10 in ) , while females average 114 to 204 mm ( 4 @.@ 5 to 8 @.@ 0 in ) . The tail measures 12 to 87 mm ( 0 @.@ 5 to 3 @.@ 4 in ) in males and 17 to 60 mm ( 0 @.@ 7 to 2 @.@ 4 in ) in females . Males weigh 36 to 250 g ( 1 @.@ 3 to 8 @.@ 8 oz ) , while females weigh 29 to 117 g ( 1 @.@ 0 to 4 @.@ 1 oz ) .
+
+The winter fur is dense , but short and closely fitting . In northern subspecies , the fur is soft and silky , but coarse in southern forms . The summer fur is very short , sparser and rougher . The upper parts in the summer fur are dark , but vary geographically from dark @-@ tawny or dark @-@ chocolate to light pale tawny or sandy . The lower parts , including the lower jaw and inner sides of the legs , are white . There is often a brown spot at the corner of the mouth . The dividing line between the dark upper and light lower parts is usually straight but sometimes forms an irregular line . The tail is brown , and sometimes the tip is a little darker but it is never black . In the northern part of its range and at high altitudes , the least weasel changes colour in the winter , the coat becoming pure white and exhibiting a few black hairs in rare circumstances .
+
+= = Behaviour and ecology = =
+
+= = = Reproduction and development = = =
+
+The least weasel mates in April – July and there is a 34- to 37 @-@ day gestation period . In the Northern Hemisphere , the average litter size consists of 6 kits and these reach sexual maturity in 3 to 4 months . Males may mate during their first year of life , though this is usually unsuccessful . They are fecund in February – October , though the early stages of spermatogenesis do occur throughout the winter months . Anestrus in females lasts from September until February .
+
+The female raises its kits without help from the male . They are 1 @.@ 5 to 4 @.@ 5 g ( 0 @.@ 05 to 0 @.@ 16 oz ) in weight at birth . Newborn kits are born pink , naked , blind and deaf , but gain a white coat of downy fur at the age of 4 days . At 10 days , the margin between the dark upper parts and light under parts becomes visible . The milk teeth erupt at 2 to 3 weeks of age , at which point the young start to eat solid food , though lactation can last 12 weeks . The eyes and ears open at 3 to 4 weeks of age , and by 8 weeks , killing behaviour is developed . The family breaks up after 9 to 12 weeks . There is a single litter each year and least weasels can live for 7 or 8 years .
+
+= = = Territorial and social behaviours = = =
+
+The least weasel has a typical mustelid territorial pattern , consisting of exclusive male ranges encompassing multiple female ranges . The population density of each territory depends greatly on food supply and reproductive success , thus the social structure and population density of any given territory is unstable and flexible . Like the stoat , the male least weasel extends its range during spring or during food shortages . Its scent marking behaviour is similar to that of the stoat ; it uses faeces , urine and anal and dermal gland secretions , the latter two of which are deposited by anal dragging and body rubbing . The least weasel does not dig its own den , but nests in the abandoned burrow of another species such as a mole or rat . The burrow entrance measures about 2 @.@ 5 cm ( 0 @.@ 98 in ) across and leads to the nest chamber located up to 15 cm ( 5 @.@ 9 in ) below ground . The nest chamber ( which is used for sleeping , rearing kits and storing food ) measures 10 cm ( 3 @.@ 9 in ) in diameter , and is lined with straw and the skins of the weasel 's prey .
+
+The least weasel has four basic vocalisations ; a guttural hiss emitted when alarmed , which is interspersed with short screaming barks and shrieks when provoked . When defensive , it emits a shrill wail or squeal . During encounters between males and females or between a mother and kits , the least weasel emits a high @-@ pitched trilling . The least weasel 's way of expressing aggression is similar to that of the stoat . Dominant weasels exhibit lunges and shrieks during aggressive encounters , while subdominant weasels will emit submissive squeals .
+
+= = = Diet = = =
+
+The least weasel feeds predominantly on mouse @-@ like rodents , including mice , hamsters , gerbils and others . It usually does not attack adult hamsters and rats . Frogs , fish , small birds and bird eggs are rarely eaten . It can deal with adult pikas and gerbils , but usually cannot overcome brown rats and sousliks . Exceptional cases are known of least weasels killing prey far larger than themselves , such as capercaillie , hazel hen and hares . In England , a favoured prey item is the field vole ( Microtus agrestis ) . These have fluctuations in population size , and in years of abundance may form up to 54 % of the weasel 's diet . In years of scarcity , birds form a greater proportion of the diet and female least weasels may fail to breed .
+
+Despite its small size , the least weasel is a fierce hunter , capable of killing a rabbit five to ten times its own weight . Although they are commonly taken , the rabbits are usually young specimens , and become an important food source during the spring , when small rodents are scarce and rabbit kits are plentiful . Male least weasels take a higher proportion of rabbits than females , as well as an overall greater variety of prey . This is linked to the fact that being larger , and having vaster territorial ranges than females , males have more opportunities to hunt a greater diversity of prey .
+
+The least weasel forages undercover , to avoid being seen by foxes and birds of prey . It is adapted for pursuing its prey down tunnels , though it may also bolt prey from a burrow and kill it in the open . The least weasel kills small prey , such as voles , with a bite to the occipital region of the skull or the neck , dislocating the cervical vertebrae . Large prey typically dies of blood loss or circulatory shock . When food is abundant , only a small portion of the prey is eaten , usually the brain . The average daily food intake is 35 g ( 1 oz ) , which is equivalent to 30 – 35 % of the animal 's body weight .
+
+= = = Predators and competitors = = =
+
+The least weasel is small enough to be preyed upon by a range of other predators . Least weasel remains have been found in the excrement of red foxes , sables , steppe and forest polecat , stoats , eagle owls and buzzards . The owls most efficient at capturing least weasels are barn , barred , and great horned owls . Other birds of prey threatening to the least weasel include broad @-@ winged and rough @-@ legged buzzards . Some snake species may prey on the least weasel , including the black rat snake and copperhead . Aside from its smaller size , the least weasel is more vulnerable to predation than the stoat because it lacks a black predator deflection mark on the tail .
+
+In areas where the least weasel is sympatric with the stoat , the two species compete with each other for rodent prey . The weasel manages to avoid too much competition by living in more upland areas , feeding on smaller prey and being capable of entering smaller holes . It actively avoids encounters with stoats , though female weasels are less likely to stop foraging in the presence of stoats , perhaps because their smaller size allows them to quickly escape into holes .
+
+= = = Diseases and parasites = = =
+
+Ectoparasites known to infest weasels include the louse Trichodectes mustelae and the mites Demodex and Psoregates mustela . The species may catch fleas from the nests and burrows of its prey . Flea species known to infest weasels include Ctenophthalmus bisoctodentatus and Palaeopsylla m. minor , which they get from moles , P. s. soricis , which they get from shrews , Nosopsyllus fasciatus , which they get from rodents and Dasypsyllus gallinulae which they get from birds .
+
+Helminths known to infest weasels include the trematode Alaria , the nematodes Capillaria , Filaroides and Trichinella and the cestode Taenia . Least weasels are commonly infected with the nematode Skrjabingylus nasicola , adults of which are found in the nasal sinuses and can damage the skull . There is no evidence that this has serious detrimental effects on even heavily infested animals .
+
+= = Distribution and habitat = =
+
+The least weasel has a circumboreal , Holarctic distribution , encompassing much of Europe and North Africa , Asia and parts of northern North America , where it occurs mainly in places where the stoat is not found , though it has been introduced in New Zealand , Malta , Crete , the Azore Islands and also Sao Tome off west Africa . It is found throughout Europe and on many islands , including the Azores , Britain ( but not Ireland ) , and all major Mediterranean islands . It also occurs on Honshu and Hokkaido islands in Japan and on Kunashir , Iturup , and Sakhalin Islands in Russia .
+
+The least weasel occupies a similar type of habitat as the stoat but it less often frequents wet places . It can be found in fields , open woodland , bushy or rocky areas , parks and gardens , and at altitudes of up to about 3 @,@ 000 metres ( 9 @,@ 800 ft ) .
+
+= = Conservation status = =
+
+The least weasel has a very wide circumboreal range and a large total population and is therefore listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of " least concern " . Its chosen habitat is in areas of coarse vegetation and in some regions its numbers may be decreasing because of changes in agricultural practices , but altogether its population trend is thought to be steady . It is relatively common in Eurasia but less abundant in North America and is thought to be rare in the southeastern United States . It is subject to considerable variations in numbers in areas where its main rodent prey is liable to large population fluctuations . In years of rodent population booms , the least weasel numbers may rise by up to ten @-@ fold , only to slump again as prey becomes scarce again in the following years .
+
+= = In folklore and mythology = =
+
+The Ancient Macedonians believed that to see a least weasel was a good omen . In some districts of Macedon , women who suffered from headaches after having washed their heads in water drawn overnight would assume that a weasel had previously used the water as a mirror , but they would refrain from mentioning the animal 's name for fear that it would destroy their clothes . Similarly , a popular superstition in southern Greece had it that the least weasel had previously been a bride , who was transformed into a bitter animal which would destroy the wedding dresses of other brides out of jealousy . According to Pliny the Elder , the least weasel is the only animal capable of killing the basilisk ;
+
+To this dreadful monster the effluvium of the weasel is fatal , a thing that has been tried with success , for kings have often desired to see its body when killed ; so true is it that it has pleased Nature that there should be nothing without its antidote . The animal is thrown into the hole of the basilisk , which is easily known from the soil around it being infected . The weasel destroys the basilisk by its odour , but dies itself in this struggle of nature against its own self .
+
+The Chippewa believed that the least weasel could kill the dreaded wendigo giant by rushing up its anus . In Inuit mythology , the least weasel is credited with both great wisdom and courage , and whenever a mythical Inuit hero wished to accomplish a valorous task , he would generally change himself into a least weasel . According to Matthew Hopkins , a witch hunter general during the English Civil War , least weasels were the familiars of witches .
+
+= Aseroe coccinea =
+
+Aseroe coccinea is a species of stinkhorn fungus in the genus Aseroe . First reported in Japan in 1989 , it was not formally validated as a species until 2007 , the delay related to a publication error . The receptacle , or fruit body , begins as a partially buried whitish egg @-@ shaped structure , which bursts open as a hollow white stipe with reddish arms , then erupts and grows to a height of up to 15 mm ( 0 @.@ 6 in ) . It matures into a star @-@ shaped structure with seven to nine thin reddish tubular " arms " up to 10 mm ( 0 @.@ 4 in ) long radiating from the central area . The top of the receptacle is covered with dark olive @-@ brown spore @-@ slime , or gleba . A. coccinea can be distinguished from the more common species A. rubra by differences in the color of the receptacle , and in the structure of the arms . The edibility of the fungus has not been reported .
+
+= = Taxonomy = =
+
+The fungus was first described provisionally ( denoted by ad interim ) as Aseroe coccinea by the Japanese mycologists Yoshimi and Tsuguo Hongo in a 1989 publication with a Japanese description , based on a specimen collected on September 29 , 1985 in Utsunomiya , Tochigi Prefecture , Japan . The name , however , was not published validly ( nomen invalidum ) , according to Article 36 @.@ 1 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature , which requires that " in order to be validly published , a name of a new taxon ( algal and all fossil taxa excepted ) must ... be accompanied by a Latin description or diagnosis or by a reference to a previously and effectively published Latin description or diagnosis " . Taiga Kasuya reexamined the type specimen and validated the species in a 2007 Mycoscience publication . The holotype specimen is kept at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo .
+
+The specific epithet coccinea is derived from the Latin word coccineus , and means " bright red " . The mushroom 's Japanese name is Aka @-@ hitode @-@ take ( アカヒトデタケ ) .
+
+= = Description = =
+
+Like all Phallaceae species , A. coccinea begins its development in the form of a roughly spherical whitish " egg " that is 10 – 15 mm ( 0 @.@ 39 – 0 @.@ 59 in ) in diameter , lying on or partially submerged in the substrate . On the base of the egg is a white strand of mycelium . The exoperidium ( the outer tissue layer ) is white to cream @-@ colored with a fibrous surface . The inner layer is membranous , with a hyaline ( translucent ) endoperidium ( inner tissue layer ) . The slimy spore @-@ bearing mass , the gleba , is olive @-@ brown to greenish @-@ black , with a slightly fetid odor . When the mushroom is mature , it covers the upper surface of a disc on the top of the receptacle . The receptacle has a cylindrical stipe , 10 – 15 mm ( 0 @.@ 39 – 0 @.@ 59 in ) tall , 7 – 15 mm ( 0 @.@ 28 – 0 @.@ 59 in ) in diameter at the top , somewhat fusiform ( tapered at both ends ) or sometimes just tapered towards the base . The stipe is pale pink near the top , white to cream at the base , spongy in texture , and hollow . The top of the receptacle is flattened to form a disc that bears 7 – 9 , narrow , tapering " arms " . The arms consist of a single bright red tube @-@ like chamber , that is 4 – 10 mm ( 0 @.@ 16 – 0 @.@ 39 in ) long and 0 @.@ 7 – 2 mm ( 0 @.@ 0 – 0 @.@ 1 in ) thick .
+
+The thick @-@ walled spores are ellipsoid to cylindrical , and measure 4 – 5 by 2 – 2 @.@ 5 μm . They are hyaline ( translucent ) , have a smooth surface , and are sometimes truncated at the base . The peridium of the " egg " is divided into two distinct layers of tissue . The outer is up to 250 – 400 μm thick , and made of filamentous , interwoven hyphae measuring 2 @.@ 5 – 5 μm in diameter . These hyphae are thick @-@ walled , septate , and hyaline . Also present in this outer layer are thick @-@ walled pseudoparenchymatous cells ( angular , randomly arranged , and tightly packed ) that are 7 – 50 μm thick , spherical or nearly so , and yellowish @-@ brown to pale brown . The inner tissue layer of the peridium is 100 – 250 μm thick and made of elongated filamentous hyphae that are 2 – 5 μm in diameter . These thick @-@ walled hyphae are arranged in a roughly parallel fashion , septate , and hyaline . The receptacle consists of thick @-@ walled , roughly spherical pseudoparenchymatous cells 5 – 15 @.@ 5 μm thick , that contain intracellular pigment .
+
+= = = Similar species = = =
+
+A. coccinea closely resembles A. arachnoidea , but may be distinguished from the latter by its bright red arms , and its larger spores ( 4 – 5 by 2 @.@ 5 – 3 μm in A. coccinea compared with 2 @.@ 5 – 3 @.@ 5 by 1 @.@ 5 μm in A. arachnoidea ) . A. arachnoidea is known from Asia and West Africa . A. rubra is a relatively common pantropical species , and differs from A. coccinea in its reddish receptacle ( compared with pink to cream @-@ colored in A. coccinea ) and bifurcating arms that are typically multichambered .
+
+= = Habitat and distribution = =
+
+Although Kasuya did not explicitly define the mode of nutrition for A. coccinea , most Phallaceae species are suspected to be saprobic — decomposers of wood and plant organic matter . The fruit bodies of A. coccinea , known only from temperate regions of Japan ( Tochigi Prefecture ) , grow solitarily or in groups on rice husks , straw , or dung . They are found from summer to autumn .
+
+= Spit & Eggs =
+
+" Spit & Eggs " is the ninth episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars , and the fifty @-@ third episode overall . Written and directed by series creator Rob Thomas , the episode premiered on November 28 , 2006 , on The CW . The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars ( Kristen Bell ) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a private detective .
+
+In this episode , when the Greek system at Hearst College is suddenly reinstated , Veronica enlists the help of her friends in patrolling a party to look for date rape drugs . Eventually , she learns the identity of the Hearst serial rapist and puts herself in danger to catch him . In addition , Dean O 'Dell ( Ed Begley , Jr . ) acts increasingly erratically before he mysteriously appears dead in his office with a gunshot wound to the head . Meanwhile , Veronica and Logan ( Jason Dohring ) both deal with the emotional aftereffects of O 'Dell 's death .
+
+" Spit & Eggs " was the second episode to be both written and directed by Thomas , who included several camera and prop changes that were not originally in the script . Series regular Tina Majorino returns to the series beginning in this episode after an absence since " My Big Fat Greek Rush Week " , a hiatus which was due to her filming Big Love . In addition , during production , the crew decided to change their narrative plan for the season , maintaining two of the shorter story arcs but removing the planned third .
+
+The episode was viewed by 3 @.@ 44 million viewers in its initial airing , a series high . The episode received critical acclaim , with many critics praising the return of Mac and the increased role of peripheral characters , the resolution to the rape mystery , and the setup of the next major story arc . Eric Goldman of IGN praised the various plotlines converging , while Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club wrote that the plot twist " plays on everyone 's expectations . "
+
+= = Plot synopsis = =
+
+Beginning in medias res , while Piz ( Chris Lowell ) and Mac ( Tina Majorino ) are at a party , a bloodied Veronica stumbles to Piz ’ s door and collapses . The episode flashes back to two days earlier . As the Lilith House celebrates the end of the Greek system , Logan ( Jason Dohring ) abruptly breaks up with Veronica . Weevil helps Dean O ’ Dell ( Ed Begley , Jr . ) fix his TV . A man comes into the Dean ’ s office and implicitly threatens to remove his funding if the Greek system stays closed . The Dean tells Keith ( Enrico Colantoni ) to track his wife , and Veronica sobs in the shower due to her breakup with Logan . The Dean unexpectedly reinstates the Greek system , to the delight of Dick ( Ryan Hansen ) . The Dean and Veronica spot a classified ad that states that a mysterious person will find his next victim at a party . After receiving an A on her paper , she visits Tim Foyle ( James Jordan ) and sees an investigation board . Veronica enlists Wallace ( Percy Daggs III ) , Piz , and Mac for help in investigating an upcoming Pi Sig party .
+
+At the party , Veronica notices that the “ rape coasters ” which test for date rape drugs do not actually work . Veronica , Mac , and Piz test various peoples ’ cups and find nothing . After Keith tells Dean O ’ Dell that his wife is cheating on him with Veronica ’ s criminology professor , he pulls out a gun . Wallace and Piz find a drink that was tested positive for GHB , and Wallace and Piz dash to her dorm . Dean O ’ Dell finds and enters into the room in which his wife and the criminology professor are carrying on their affair as Veronica learns that they have tracked the wrong girl . Just as Mercer ( Ryan Devlin ) ( the actual rapist ) is about to rape his next victim , he abruptly learns that Veronica has changed places with his victim . Veronica tases Mercer , and they have a quick fight before Veronica escapes . She is let into Moe ’ s ( Andrew McClain ) room .
+
+Moe hands Veronica a drink . Immediately after discovering a picture of Mercer and Moe , Veronica experiences the effects of a date rape drug . She hides in the closet and struggles to remain conscious . Mercer and Moe enter the room and are about to miss her , but Veronica ’ s cell phone rings and they knock her out . Parker ( Julie Gonzalo ) calls attention to Mercer . In addition to a bomb threat against Hearst , Dean O ’ Dell notices his window being egged before a mysterious man enters and the Dean asks “ What are you doing here ? ” Keith arrests Mercer and Moe . Logan intentionally gets himself arrested so he can go into the cell with Mercer and Moe .
+
+= = Production = =
+
+= = = Development = = =
+
+The episode was written and directed by series creator Rob Thomas , marking his seventh writing credit and second and final directing credit for the series ( after " Donut Run " ) . Starting with this episode , Thomas and the crew 's plan for the season changed — while they had initially scheduled three major story arcs for the season , this number was now bumped down to two , while the last few episodes would be standalone . The creative team decided that their choices for major mysteries had not worked since season one ; Thomas elaborated , " One feeling is that the big mysteries keep away the casual TV viewers , and the other is the thing that has been the least successful since season one [ … ] the big mysteries . " Thomas also recalled that his major design for the first season that was because Lilly had been murdered , everyone had a stake in the solving of the mystery and that the crew were finding it impossible to keep the same amount of emotional involvement since the first season ; Thomas thought that the new format would be a way of trying to return to a more emotionally driven format .
+
+In addition , Thomas turned what was scheduled to be the third major mystery into a two @-@ episode storyline , with the last five episodes of the season being stand @-@ alone . He stated , " It seems like a good time to do it — a good fun test balloon . " Nevertheless , he confirmed that there would be ongoing stories in Veronica 's personal life . A week prior to the episode 's airing , Michael Ausiello received an advance screening of the episode , revealing several details that the network allowed him to divulge .
+
+= = = Writing and directing = = =
+
+On the Season Three DVD Commentary , Thomas remarks on his experience directing " Spit & Eggs " and shares his thoughts on several scenes of the episode . He called the scene in which Mercer attacks Veronica the one he was " happiest with for any number of reasons . " The scene was shot with 27 camera angles , the most for any Veronica Mars episode , and it took 10 or 11 hours to film . The scene also features a number of fake unicorns in various forms ; unicorns were an in @-@ joke among the cast and crew after one season 2 script involved Veronica calling a store " Unicornicopia . " While directing the scene , Thomas wanted to find an unusual weapon to be used , and " a unicorn struck [ him ] as funny . " The scene in which Moe removes the unicorn horn from Mercer 's leg was initially intended to be Moe bandaging Mercer , but Thomas thought that the final product would be more " interesting " while preparing for the scene .
+
+Thomas included Piz dancing humorously at the fraternity party because he " could watch it over and over " , and there were roughly fifteen minutes of footage of him dancing . The band that plays at the party , the Diamond Smugglers , is from Thomas 's hometown of Austin , Texas , and they played at Thomas 's wedding and 40th birthday party . The scene near the end with Logan smashing a police car to get intentionally thrown in prison confused the crew , who doubted its artistic and technical plausibility . However , Thomas was pleased with the final output , and producer Dan Etheridge called it " one of the most compact and interesting visual storytelling pieces in the episode . " The episode went over budget . In this episode , Mac wears a shirt that says " Ask Me About My STD " , something which several critics commended for its comedic value . Thomas came up with the idea for the shirt and hired one of the other guest actors in the scene for another episode , commenting " It 's funny , I actually made that up , and I now have one , too . " In addition , because Thomas was so pleased with the acting in the scene from the boy who hands Mac a whiskey , he hired the actor for a role in a subsequent episode as an important witness to Dean O 'Dell 's death .
+
+= = = Acting = = =
+
+" Spit & Eggs " features the return of series regular Tina Majorino , who plays Mac on the show , after an absence of six episodes . Majorino had not appeared since the second episode of the season , " My Big Fat Greek Rush Week " . At the time , Majorino was also a series regular on the HBO series Big Love , so her schedule was difficult to determine . She stated : " It 's a little tough , but Big Love and Veronica Mars have both been really great about juggling the schedule so I could do both shows . " On October 24 , 2006 , the cast and crew were filming the episode . Because of this other commitment , Majorino appeared in eleven episodes of the season instead of the scheduled twelve . On that same date , Majorino revealed that she would be returning in " Spit & Eggs " , that it resolved the Hearst rapist storyline , and that it would introduce the show 's next major story arc . On her role in the episode and in the season as a whole in light of the events in the second season finale , Majorino commented , " It 's not like all of the sudden she 's over everything that happened . "
+
+" Spit & Eggs " features the reveal that Mercer Hayes , played by Ryan Devlin , is the Hearst serial rapist . Devlin was unaware that he would be the perpetrator until reading the episode 's script ; he stated , " To tell you the truth , I 'm not even sure the writers knew where my story was headed . But I was happy to do it – it 's way more fun being bad than good ! " The episode also marks the final appearance by Ed Begley , Jr . , after his character is killed . The mystery surrounding his murder would be the next major story arc .
+
+= = Reception = =
+
+In its original broadcast , the episode received 3 @.@ 44 million viewers , marking a series high and ranking 88th of 97 in the weekly rankings . Thomas was very pleased by the ratings .
+
+The episode received critical acclaim , with many critics praising the return of Mac and the increased role of peripheral characters , the resolution to the rape mystery , and the setup of the next major story arc . Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode an 8 out of 10 , indicating that it was " great " . He wrote that " Spit & Eggs " was a welcome episode for longtime fans , as it involved several plots converging in a way that he found satisfactory . He praised the final few scenes , writing that the episode transitions well into the next mystery of Dean O 'Dell 's death by developing it slowly over the course of the season 's prior episodes , but he was more mixed towards the reveal of Mercer as the rapist , commenting " the ultimate revelation can 't help but be a little underwhelming , since not enough time has been spent on any of the credible suspects to really have a good handle on them or be invested in them one way or another . " Rowan Kaiser , writing for The A.V. Club , who was quite critical of the rape storyline in earlier episodes , said that the conclusion made the storyline slightly better overall . He praised the double reveal of Mercer and Moe as accomplices , stating , " That twist overall is effective because it plays on everyone 's expectations . The characters all believe there is a single culprit here . [ … ] It makes the revelations more plausible , while also making the need for those revelations less intense ( the two are related ) . "
+
+Television Without Pity gave the episode a " B + " . Alan Sepinwall , on his blog What 's Alan Watching ? , was also relatively positive towards the episode . While calling the reveal of the rapist " out of left field " , he noted that there was some material in " My Big Fat Greek Rush Week " that pointed to this conclusion . In addition , he praised Parker rescuing Veronica and the start of the Dean O 'Dell mystery , writing " Rob quite cleverly threw the start of the new mystery into the tail end of the first one . " However , there were several plot issues that he found as well as that the nine @-@ episode storyline didn 't fully do the reveal justice , opining that Thomas and the crew had to rush to give the audience important information in this format . Cortney Martin of the Houston Chronicle enjoyed the major roles played by Wallace , Mac , Weevil , Piz , and Parker in the episode , writing " the show belongs to Veronica 's sidekicks this week . " Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune gave praise as well . While being lukewarm regarding the season as a whole , she thought that " Spit & Eggs " was " appropriately suspenseful . " In addition , she enjoyed that Veronica was less sarcastic and contemptuous in the episode , in contrast to previous episodes of the season .
+
+Film.com praised the episode as well , lauding the in medias res opening scene , suspenseful tone , and Mac 's reappearance , and the setup for the next mystery arc , mong other aspects of the episode . Conversely , Keith McDuffee , writing for AOL TV , was more critical , calling it " way too fast for a partial season @-@ ender " , arguing that there were too many unanswered questions left after the episode 's conclusion .
+
+= United Nations =
+
+The United Nations ( UN ) is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co @-@ operation . A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations , the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict . At its founding , the UN had 51 member states ; there are now 193 . The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan , New York City , and experiences extraterritoriality . Further main offices are situated in Geneva , Nairobi , and Vienna . The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states . Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security , promoting human rights , fostering social and economic development , protecting the environment , and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine , natural disaster , and armed conflict .
+
+The United Nations Charter was drafted at a conference in April – June 1945 ; this charter took effect 24 October 1945 , and the UN began operation . The UN 's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies . The organization participated in major actions in Korea and the Congo , as well as approving the creation of the state of Israel in 1947 . The organization 's membership grew significantly following widespread decolonization in the 1960s , and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping . After the end of the Cold War , the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with varying degrees of success .
+
+The UN has six principal organs : the General Assembly ( the main deliberative assembly ) ; the Security Council ( for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security ) ; the Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC ) ( for promoting international economic and social co @-@ operation and development ) ; the Secretariat ( for providing studies , information , and facilities needed by the UN ) ; the International Court of Justice ( the primary judicial organ ) ; and the United Nations Trusteeship Council ( inactive since 1994 ) . UN System agencies include the World Bank Group , the World Health Organization , the World Food Programme , UNESCO , and UNICEF . The UN 's most prominent officer is the Secretary @-@ General , an office held by South Korean Ban Ki @-@ moon since 2007 . Non @-@ governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UN 's work .
+
+The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 , and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize . Other evaluations of the UN 's effectiveness have been mixed . Some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development , while others have called the organization ineffective , corrupt , or biased .
+
+= = History = =
+
+= = = Background = = =
+
+In the century prior to the UN 's creation , several international treaty organizations and conferences had been formed to regulate conflicts between nations , such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 . Following the catastrophic loss of life in the First World War , the Paris Peace Conference established the League of Nations to maintain harmony between countries . This organization resolved some territorial disputes and created international structures for areas such as postal mail , aviation , and opium control , some of which would later be absorbed into the UN . However , the League lacked representation for colonial peoples ( then half the world 's population ) and significant participation from several major powers , including the US , USSR , Germany , and Japan ; it failed to act against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 , the Second Italo @-@ Ethiopian War in 1935 , the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 , and German expansions under Adolf Hitler that culminated in the Second World War .
+
+= = = 1942 " Declaration of United Nations " by the Allies of World War II = = =
+
+The earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939 . The text of the " Declaration by United Nations " was drafted by President Franklin Roosevelt , British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , and Roosevelt aide Harry Hopkins , while meeting at the White House , 29 December 1941 . It incorporated Soviet suggestions , but left no role for France . " Four Policemen " was coined to refer four major Allied countries , United States , United Kingdom , Soviet Union , and China , which was emerged in Declaration by United Nations . Roosevelt first coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries . " On New Year 's Day 1942 , President Roosevelt , Prime Minister Churchill , Maxim Litvinov , of the USSR , and T. V. Soong , of China , signed a short document which later came to be known as the United Nations Declaration and the next day the representatives of twenty @-@ two other nations added their signatures . " The term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration . One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom , which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted . By 1 March 1945 , 21 additional states had signed .
+
+A JOINT DECLARATION BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND , THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS , CHINA , AUSTRALIA , BELGIUM , CANADA , COSTA RICA , CUBA , CZECHOSLOVAKIA , DOMINICAN REPUBLIC , EL SALVADOR , GREECE , GUATEMALA , HAITI , HONDURAS , INDIA , LUXEMBOURG , NETHERLANDS , NEW ZEALAND , NICARAGUA , NORWAY , PANAMA , POLAND , SOUTH AFRICA , YUGOSLAVIA
+
+The Governments signatory hereto ,
+
+Having subscribed to a common program of purposes and principles embodied in the Joint Declaration of the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Great Britain dated August 14 , 1941 , known as the Atlantic Charter ,
+
+Being convinced that complete victory over their enemies is essential to defend life , liberty , independence and religious freedom , and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands , and that they are now engaged in a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to subjugate the world ,
+
+DECLARE :
+
+( 1 ) Each Government pledges itself to employ its full resources , military or economic , against those members of the Tripartite Pact and its adherents with which such government is at war .
+
+( 2 ) Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto and not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies .
+
+The foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are , or which may be , rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism .
+
+During the war , the United Nations became the official term for the Allies . To join countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis .
+
+= = = Founding the UN 1945 = = =
+
+The United Nations was formulated and negotiated among the delegations from the Soviet Union , the UK , the US and China at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944 . After months of planning , the UN Conference on International Organization opened in San Francisco , 25 April 1945 , attended by 50 governments and a number of non @-@ governmental organizations involved in drafting the United Nations Charter . " The heads of the delegations of the sponsoring countries took turns as chairman of the plenary meetings : Anthony Eden , of Britain , Edward Stettinius , of the United States , T. V. Soong , of China , and Vyacheslav Molotov , of the Soviet Union . At the later meetings , Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden , Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong , and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov . " The UN officially came into existence 24 October 1945 , upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council — France , the Republic of China , the Soviet Union , the UK and the US — and by a majority of the other 46 signatories .
+
+The first meetings of the General Assembly , with 51 nations represented , and the Security Council took place in London beginning 6 January 1946 . The General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the United Nations , and the facility was completed in 1952 . Its site — like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva , Vienna , and Nairobi — is designated as international territory . The Norwegian Foreign Minister , Trygve Lie , was elected as the first UN Secretary @-@ General .
+
+= = = Cold War era = = =
+
+Though the UN 's primary mandate was peacekeeping , the division between the US and USSR often paralysed the organization , generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from the Cold War . ( A notable exception was a Security Council resolution in 1950 authorizing a US @-@ led coalition to repel the North Korean invasion of South Korea , passed in the absence of the USSR . ) In 1947 , the General Assembly approved a resolution to partition Palestine , approving the creation of the state of Israel . Two years later , Ralph Bunche , a UN official , negotiated an armistice to the resulting conflict . In 1956 , the first UN peacekeeping force was established to end the Suez Crisis ; however , the UN was unable to intervene against the USSR 's simultaneous invasion of Hungary following that country 's revolution .
+
+In 1960 , the UN deployed United Nations Operation in the Congo ( UNOC ) , the largest military force of its early decades , to bring order to the breakaway State of Katanga , restoring it to the control of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 1964 . While travelling to meet with rebel leader Moise Tshombe during the conflict , Dag Hammarskjöld , often named as one of the UN 's most effective Secretaries @-@ General , died in a plane crash ; months later he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . In 1964 , Hammarskjöld 's successor , U Thant , deployed the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus , which would become one of the UN 's longest @-@ running peacekeeping missions .
+
+With the spread of decolonization in the 1960s , the organization 's membership saw an influx of newly independent nations . In 1960 alone , 17 new states joined the UN , 16 of them from Africa . On 25 October 1971 , with opposition from the United States , but with the support of many Third World nations , the mainland , communist People 's Republic of China was given the Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the Republic of China that occupied Taiwan ; the vote was widely seen as a sign of waning US influence in the organization . Third World nations organized into the Group of 77 coalition under the leadership of Algeria , which briefly became a dominant power at the UN . In 1975 , a bloc comprising the USSR and Third World nations passed a resolution , over strenuous US and Israeli opposition , declaring Zionism to be racism ; the resolution was repealed in 1991 , shortly after the end of the Cold War .
+
+With an increasing Third World presence and the failure of UN mediation in conflicts in the Middle East , Vietnam , and Kashmir , the UN increasingly shifted its attention to its ostensibly secondary goals of economic development and cultural exchange . By the 1970s , the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its peacekeeping budget .
+
+= = = Post @-@ Cold War = = =
+
+After the Cold War , the UN saw a radical expansion in its peacekeeping duties , taking on more missions in ten years than it had in the previous four decades . Between 1988 and 2000 , the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled , and the peacekeeping budget increased more than tenfold . The UN negotiated an end to the Salvadoran Civil War , launched a successful peacekeeping mission in Namibia , and oversaw democratic elections in post @-@ apartheid South Africa and post @-@ Khmer Rouge Cambodia . In 1991 , the UN authorized a US @-@ led coalition that repulsed the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait . Brian Urquhart , Under @-@ Secretary @-@ General from 1971 to 1985 , later described the hopes raised by these successes as a " false renaissance " for the organization , given the more troubled missions that followed .
+
+Though the UN Charter had been written primarily to prevent aggression by one nation against another , in the early 1990s the UN faced a number of simultaneous , serious crises within nations such as Somalia , Haiti , Mozambique , and the former Yugoslavia . The UN mission in Somalia was widely viewed as a failure after the US withdrawal following casualties in the Battle of Mogadishu , and the UN mission to Bosnia faced " worldwide ridicule " for its indecisive and confused mission in the face of ethnic cleansing . In 1994 , the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda failed to intervene in the Rwandan Genocide amid indecision in the Security Council .
+
+Beginning in the last decades of the Cold War , American and European critics of the UN condemned the organization for perceived mismanagement and corruption . In 1984 , the US President , Ronald Reagan , withdrew his nation 's funding from UNESCO ( the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization , founded 1946 ) over allegations of mismanagement , followed by Britain and Singapore . Boutros Boutros @-@ Ghali , Secretary @-@ General from 1992 to 1996 , initiated a reform of the Secretariat , reducing the size of the organization somewhat . His successor , Kofi Annan ( 1997 – 2006 ) , initiated further management reforms in the face of threats from the United States to withhold its UN dues .
+
+In the late 1990s and 2000s , international interventions authorized by the UN took a wider variety of forms . The UN mission in the Sierra Leone Civil War of 1991 – 2002 was supplemented by British Royal Marines , and the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was overseen by NATO.In 2003 , the United States invaded Iraq despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization , prompting a new round of questioning of the organization 's effectiveness . Under the current Secretary @-@ General , Ban Ki @-@ moon , the UN has intervened with peacekeepers in crises including the War in Darfur in Sudan and the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sent observers and chemical weapons inspectors to the Syrian Civil War . In 2013 , an internal review of UN actions in the final battles of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009 concluded that the organization had suffered " systemic failure " . One hundred and one UN personnel died in the 2010 Haiti earthquake , the worst loss of life in the organization 's history .
+
+= = Structure = =
+
+The United Nations ' system is based on five principal organs : the General Assembly , the Security Council , the Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC ) , the Secretariat , and the International Court of Justice . A sixth principal organ , the Trusteeship Council , suspended operations in 1994 , upon the independence of Palau , the last remaining UN trustee territory .
+
+Four of the five principal organs are located at the main UN Headquarters in New York City . The International Court of Justice is located in The Hague , while other major agencies are based in the UN offices at Geneva , Vienna , and Nairobi . Other UN institutions are located throughout the world . The six official languages of the United Nations , used in intergovernmental meetings and documents , are Arabic , Chinese , English , French , Russian , and Spanish . On the basis of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations , the UN and its agencies are immune from the laws of the countries where they operate , safeguarding the UN 's impartiality with regard to the host and member countries .
+
+Below the six organs sit , in the words of the author Linda Fasulo , " an amazing collection of entities and organizations , some of which are actually older than the UN itself and operate with almost complete independence from it " . These include specialized agencies , research and training institutions , programmes and funds , and other UN entities .
+
+The United Nations obey the Noblemaire principle , which is binding on any organization that belongs to the united nations system . This principle calls for salaries that will draw and keep citizens of countries where salaries are highest , and also calls for equal pay for work of equal value independent of the employee 's nationality . Staff salaries are subject to an internal tax that is administered by the UN organizations .
+
+= = = General Assembly = = =
+
+The General Assembly is the main deliberative assembly of the United Nations . Composed of all United Nations member states , the assembly meets in regular yearly sessions , but emergency sessions can also be called . The assembly is led by a president , elected from among the member states on a rotating regional basis , and 21 vice @-@ presidents . The first session convened 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall Westminster in London and included representatives of 51 nations .
+
+When the General Assembly votes on important questions , a two @-@ thirds majority of those present and voting is required . Examples of important questions include recommendations on peace and security ; election of members to organs ; admission , suspension , and expulsion of members ; and budgetary matters . All other questions are decided by a majority vote . Each member country has one vote . Apart from approval of budgetary matters , resolutions are not binding on the members . The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN , except matters of peace and security that are under consideration by the Security Council .
+
+Draft resolutions can be forwarded to the General Assembly by eight committees :
+
+General Committee – a supervisory committee consisting of the assembly 's president , vice @-@ president , and committee heads
+
+Credentials Committee – responsible for determining the credentials of each member nation 's UN representatives
+
+First Committee ( Disarmament and International Security )
+
+Second Committee ( Economic and Financial )
+
+Third Committee ( Social , Humanitarian , and Cultural )
+
+Fourth Committee ( Special Political and Decolonization )
+
+Fifth Committee ( Administrative and Budgetary )
+
+Sixth Committee ( Legal )
+
+= = = Security Council = = =
+
+The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among countries . While other organs of the United Nations can only make " recommendations " to member states , the Security Council has the power to make binding decisions that member states have agreed to carry out , under the terms of Charter Article 25 . The decisions of the Council are known as United Nations Security Council resolutions .
+
+The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states , consisting of five permanent members — China , France , Russia , the United Kingdom , and the United States — and ten non @-@ permanent members — Angola ( term ends 2016 ) , Chad ( 2015 ) , Chile ( 2015 ) , Jordan ( 2015 ) , Lithuania ( 2015 ) , Malaysia ( 2016 ) , New Zealand ( 2016 ) , Nigeria ( 2015 ) , Spain ( 2016 ) , and Venezuela ( 2016 ) . The five permanent members hold veto power over UN resolutions , allowing a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution , though not debate . The ten temporary seats are held for two @-@ year terms , with member states voted in by the General Assembly on a regional basis . The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically each month .
+
+= = = Secretariat = = =
+
+The UN Secretariat is headed by the Secretary @-@ General , assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide . It provides studies , information , and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for their meetings . It also carries out tasks as directed by the Security Council , the General Assembly , the Economic and Social Council , and other UN bodies .
+
+The Secretary @-@ General acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the UN . The position is defined in the UN Charter as the organization 's " chief administrative officer " . Article 99 of the charter states that the Secretary @-@ General can bring to the Security Council 's attention " any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security " , a phrase that Secretaries @-@ General since Trygve Lie have interpreted as giving the position broad scope for action on the world stage . The office has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to global issues .
+
+The Secretary @-@ General is appointed by the General Assembly , after being recommended by the Security Council , where the permanent members have veto power . There are no specific criteria for the post , but over the years it has become accepted that the post shall be held for one or two terms of five years , that the post shall be appointed on the basis of geographical rotation , and that the Secretary @-@ General shall not originate from one of the five permanent Security Council member states . The current Secretary @-@ General is Ban Ki @-@ moon , who replaced Kofi Annan in 2007 and was elected for a second term to conclude at the end of 2016 .
+
+= = = International Court of Justice = = =
+
+The International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) , located in The Hague , in the Netherlands , is the primary judicial organ of the UN . Established in 1945 by the UN Charter , the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice . The ICJ is composed of 15 judges who serve 9 @-@ year terms and are appointed by the General Assembly ; every sitting judge must be from a different nation .
+
+It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague , sharing the building with the Hague Academy of International Law , a private centre for the study of international law . The ICJ 's primary purpose is to adjudicate disputes among states . The court has heard cases related to war crimes , illegal state interference , ethnic cleansing , and other issues . The ICJ can also be called upon by other UN organs to provide advisory opinions .
+
+= = = Economic and Social Council = = =
+
+The Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC ) assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social co @-@ operation and development . ECOSOC has 54 members , which are elected by the General Assembly for a three @-@ year term . The president is elected for a one @-@ year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC . The council has one annual meeting in July , held in either New York or Geneva . Viewed as separate from the specialized bodies it co @-@ ordinates , ECOSOC 's functions include information gathering , advising member nations , and making recommendations . Owing to its broad mandate of co @-@ ordinating many agencies , ECOSOC has at times been criticized as unfocused or irrelevant .
+
+ECOSOC 's subsidiary bodies include the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues , which advises UN agencies on issues relating to indigenous peoples ; the United Nations Forum on Forests , which co @-@ ordinates and promotes sustainable forest management ; the United Nations Statistical Commission , which co @-@ ordinates information @-@ gathering efforts between agencies ; and the Commission on Sustainable Development , which co @-@ ordinates efforts between UN agencies and NGOs working toward sustainable development . ECOSOC may also grant consultative status to non @-@ governmental organizations ; by 2004 , more than 2 @,@ 200 organizations had received this status .
+
+= = = Specialized agencies = = =
+
+The UN Charter stipulates that each primary organ of the UN can establish various specialized agencies to fulfill its duties . Some best @-@ known agencies are the International Atomic Energy Agency , the Food and Agriculture Organization , UNESCO ( United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization ) , the World Bank , and the World Health Organization ( WHO ) . The UN performs most of its humanitarian work through these agencies . Examples include mass vaccination programmes ( through WHO ) , the avoidance of famine and malnutrition ( through the work of the WFP ) , and the protection of vulnerable and displaced people ( for example , by UNHCR ) .
+
+= = Membership = =
+
+With the addition of South Sudan 14 July 2011 , there are 193 United Nations member states , including all undisputed independent states apart from Vatican City . The UN Charter outlines the rules for membership :
+
+Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace @-@ loving states that accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and , in the judgment of the Organization , are able and willing to carry out these obligations .
+
+The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council . Chapter II , Article 4
+
+In addition , there are two non @-@ member observer states of the United Nations General Assembly : the Holy See ( which holds sovereignty over Vatican City ) and the State of Palestine . The Cook Islands and Niue , both states in free association with New Zealand , are full members of several UN specialized agencies and have had their " full treaty @-@ making capacity " recognized by the Secretariat .
+
+= = = Group of 77 = = =
+
+The Group of 77 at the UN is a loose coalition of developing nations , designed to promote its members ' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations . Seventy @-@ seven nations founded the organization , but by November 2013 the organization had since expanded to 133 member countries . The group was founded 15 June 1964 by the " Joint Declaration of the Seventy @-@ Seven Countries " issued at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD ) . The group held its first major meeting in Algiers in 1967 , where it adopted the Charter of Algiers and established the basis for permanent institutional structures .
+
+= = Objectives = =
+
+= = = Peacekeeping and security = = =
+
+The UN , after approval by the Security Council , sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities . Since the UN does not maintain its own military , peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states . These soldiers are sometimes nicknamed " Blue Helmets " for their distinctive gear . The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988 .
+
+In September 2013 , the UN had peacekeeping soldiers deployed on 15 missions . The largest was the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( MONUSCO ) , which included 20 @,@ 688 uniformed personnel . The smallest , United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan ( UNMOGIP ) , included 42 uniformed personnel responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir . UN peacekeepers with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization ( UNTSO ) have been stationed in the Middle East since 1948 , the longest @-@ running active peacekeeping mission .
+
+A study by the RAND Corporation in 2005 found the UN to be successful in two out of three peacekeeping efforts . It compared efforts at nation @-@ building by the United Nations to those of the United States , and found that seven out of eight UN cases are at peace , as compared with four out of eight US cases at peace . Also in 2005 , the Human Security Report documented a decline in the number of wars , genocides , and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War , and presented evidence , albeit circumstantial , that international activism — mostly spearheaded by the UN — has been the main cause of the decline in armed conflict in that period . Situations in which the UN has not only acted to keep the peace but also intervened include the Korean War ( 1950 – 53 ) and the authorization of intervention in Iraq after the Gulf War ( 1990 – 91 ) .
+
+The UN has also drawn criticism for perceived failures . In many cases , member states have shown reluctance to achieve or enforce Security Council resolutions . Disagreements in the Security Council about military action and intervention are seen as having failed to prevent the Bangladesh genocide in 1971 , the Cambodian genocide in the 1970s , and the Rwandan genocide in 1994 . Similarly , UN inaction is blamed for failing to either prevent the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 or complete the peacekeeping operations in 1992 – 93 during the Somali Civil War . UN peacekeepers have also been accused of child rape , soliciting prostitutes , and sexual abuse during various peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Haiti , Liberia , Sudan and what is now South Sudan , Burundi , and Ivory Coast . Scientists cited UN peacekeepers from Nepal as the likely source of the 2010 – 13 Haiti cholera outbreak , which killed more than 8 @,@ 000 Haitians following the 2010 Haiti earthquake .
+
+In addition to peacekeeping , the UN is also active in encouraging disarmament . Regulation of armaments was included in the writing of the UN Charter in 1945 and was envisioned as a way of limiting the use of human and economic resources for their creation . The advent of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the charter , resulting in the first resolution of the first General Assembly meeting calling for specific proposals for " the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction " . The UN has been involved with arms @-@ limitation treaties , such as the Outer Space Treaty ( 1967 ) , the Treaty on the Non @-@ Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ( 1968 ) , the Seabed Arms Control Treaty ( 1971 ) , the Biological Weapons Convention ( 1972 ) , the Chemical Weapons Convention ( 1992 ) , and the Ottawa Treaty ( 1997 ) , which prohibits landmines . Three UN bodies oversee arms proliferation issues : the International Atomic Energy Agency , the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons , and the Comprehensive Nuclear @-@ Test @-@ Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission .
+
+= = = Human rights = = =
+
+One of the UN 's primary purposes is " promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race , sex , language , or religion " , and member states pledge to undertake " joint and separate action " to protect these rights .
+
+In 1948 , the General Assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights , drafted by a committee headed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 's widow , Eleanor , and including the French lawyer René Cassin . The document proclaims basic civil , political , and economic rights common to all human beings , though its effectiveness toward achieving these ends has been disputed since its drafting . The Declaration serves as a " common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations " rather than a legally binding document , but it has become the basis of two binding treaties , the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic , Social and Cultural Rights . In practice , the UN is unable to take significant action against human rights abuses without a Security Council resolution , though it does substantial work in investigating and reporting abuses .
+
+In 1979 , the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women , followed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 . With the end of the Cold War , the push for human rights action took on new impetus . The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was formed in 1993 to oversee human rights issues for the UN , following the recommendation of that year 's World Conference on Human Rights . Jacques Fomerand , a scholar of the UN , describes this organization 's mandate as " broad and vague " , with only " meager " resources to carry it out . In 2006 , it was replaced by a Human Rights Council consisting of 47 nations . Also in 2006 , the General Assembly passed a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples , and in 2011 it passed its first resolution recognizing the rights of LGBT people .
+
+Other UN bodies responsible for women 's rights issues include United Nations Commission on the Status of Women , a commission of ECOSOC founded in 1946 ; the United Nations Development Fund for Women , created in 1976 ; and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women , founded in 1979 . The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues , one of three bodies with a mandate to oversee issues related to indigenous peoples , held its first session in 2002 .
+
+= = = Economic development and humanitarian assistance = = =
+
+Another primary purpose of the UN is " to achieve international co @-@ operation in solving international problems of an economic , social , cultural , or humanitarian character " . Numerous bodies have been created to work towards this goal , primarily under the authority of the General Assembly and ECOSOC . In 2000 , the 192 United Nations member states agreed to achieve eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015 .
+
+The UN Development Programme ( UNDP ) , an organization for grant @-@ based technical assistance founded in 1945 , is one of the leading bodies in the field of international development . The organization also publishes the UN Human Development Index , a comparative measure ranking countries by poverty , literacy , education , life expectancy , and other factors . The Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) , also founded in 1945 , promotes agricultural development and food security . UNICEF ( the United Nations Children 's Fund ) was created in 1946 to aid European children after the Second World War and expanded its mission to provide aid around the world and to uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Child .
+
+The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) are independent , specialized agencies and observers within the UN framework , according to a 1947 agreement . They were initially formed separately from the UN through the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 . The World Bank provides loans for international development , while the IMF promotes international economic co @-@ operation and gives emergency loans to indebted countries .
+
+The World Health Organization ( WHO ) , which focuses on international health issues and disease eradication , is another of the UN 's largest agencies . In 1980 , the agency announced that the eradication of smallpox had been completed . In subsequent decades , WHO largely eradicated polio , river blindness , and leprosy . The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS ( UNAIDS ) , begun in 1996 , co @-@ ordinates the organization 's response to the AIDS epidemic . The UN Population Fund , which also dedicates part of its resources to combating HIV , is the world 's largest source of funding for reproductive health and family planning services .
+
+Along with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement , the UN often takes a leading role in co @-@ ordinating emergency relief . The World Food Programme ( WFP ) , created in 1961 , provides food aid in response to famine , natural disasters , and armed conflict . The organization reports that it feeds an average of 90 million people in 80 nations each year . The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ) , established in 1950 , works to protect the rights of refugees , asylum seekers , and stateless people . UNHCR and WFP programmes are funded by voluntary contributions from governments , corporations , and individuals , though the UNHCR 's administrative costs are paid for by the UN 's primary budget .
+
+= = = Other = = =
+
+Since the UN 's creation , over 80 colonies have attained independence . The General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960 with no votes against but abstentions from all major colonial powers . The UN works toward decolonization through groups including the UN Committee on Decolonization , created in 1962 . The committee lists seventeen remaining " Non @-@ Self @-@ Governing Territories " , the largest and most populous of which is Western Sahara .
+
+Beginning with the formation of the UN Environmental Programme ( UNEP ) in 1972 , the UN has made environmental issues a prominent part of its agenda . A lack of success in the first two decades of UN work in this area led to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , which sought to give new impetus to these efforts . In 1988 , the UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) , another UN organization , established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , which assesses and reports on research on global warming . The UN @-@ sponsored Kyoto Protocol , signed in 1997 , set legally binding emissions reduction targets for ratifying states .
+
+The UN also declares and co @-@ ordinates international observances , periods of time to observe issues of international interest or concern . Examples include World Tuberculosis Day , Earth Day , and the International Year of Deserts and Desertification .
+
+= = Funding = =
+
+The UN is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from member states . The General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member . This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each country to pay , as measured by its gross national income ( GNI ) , with adjustments for external debt and low per capita income . The two @-@ year budget for 2012 – 13 was $ 5 @.@ 512 billion in total .
+
+The Assembly has established the principle that the UN should not be unduly dependent on any one member to finance its operations . Thus , there is a " ceiling " rate , setting the maximum amount that any member can be assessed for the regular budget . In December 2000 , the Assembly revised the scale of assessments in response to pressure from the United States . As part of that revision , the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25 % to 22 % . For the least developed countries ( LDCs ) , a ceiling rate of 0 @.@ 01 % is applied . In addition to the ceiling rates , the minimum amount assessed to any member nation ( or " floor " rate ) is set at 0 @.@ 001 % of the UN budget ( $ 55 @,@ 120 for the two year budget 2013 @-@ 2014 ) .
+
+A large share of the UN 's expenditure addresses its core mission of peace and security , and this budget is assessed separately from the main organizational budget . The peacekeeping budget for the 2015 – 16 fiscal year was $ 8 @.@ 27 billion , supporting 82 @,@ 318 troops deployed in 15 missions around the world . UN peace operations are funded by assessments , using a formula derived from the regular funding scale that includes a weighted surcharge for the five permanent Security Council members , who must approve all peacekeeping operations . This surcharge serves to offset discounted peacekeeping assessment rates for less developed countries . In 2013 , the top 10 providers of assessed financial contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations were the United States ( 28 @.@ 38 % ) , Japan ( 10 @.@ 83 % ) , France ( 7 @.@ 22 % ) , Germany ( 7 @.@ 14 % ) , the United Kingdom ( 6 @.@ 68 % ) , China ( 6 @.@ 64 % ) , Italy ( 4 @.@ 45 % ) , the Russian Federation ( 3 @.@ 15 % ) , Canada ( 2 @.@ 98 % ) , and Spain ( 2 @.@ 97 % ) .
+
+Special UN programmes not included in the regular budget , such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme , are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments , corporations , and private individuals .
+
+= = Evaluations , awards , and criticism = =
+
+A number of agencies and individuals associated with the UN have won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their work . Two Secretaries @-@ General , Dag Hammarskjöld and Kofi Annan , were each awarded the prize ( in 1961 and 2001 , respectively ) , as were Ralph Bunche ( 1950 ) , a UN negotiator , René Cassin ( 1968 ) , a contributor to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , and the US Secretary of State Cordell Hull ( 1945 ) , the latter for his role in the organization 's founding . Lester B. Pearson , the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs , was awarded the prize in 1957 for his role in organizing the UN 's first peacekeeping force to resolve the Suez Crisis . UNICEF won the prize in 1965 , the International Labour Organization in 1969 , the UN Peace @-@ Keeping Forces in 1988 , the International Atomic Energy Agency ( which reports to the UN ) in 2005 , and the UN @-@ supported Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2013 . The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded in 1954 and 1981 , becoming one of only two recipients to win the prize twice . The UN as a whole was awarded the prize in 2001 , sharing it with Annan .
+
+Since its founding , there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations but little consensus on how to do so . Some want the UN to play a greater or more effective role in world affairs , while others want its role reduced to humanitarian work . There have also been numerous calls for the UN Security Council 's membership to be increased , for different ways of electing the UN 's Secretary @-@ General , and for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly . Jacques Fomerand states the most enduring divide in views of the UN is " the North – South split " between richer Northern nations and developing Southern nations . Southern nations tend to favor a more empowered UN with a stronger General Assembly , allowing them a greater voice in world affairs , while Northern nations prefer an economically laissez @-@ faire UN that focuses on transnational threats such as terrorism .
+
+After World War II , the French Committee of National Liberation was late to be recognized by the US as the government of France , and so the country was initially excluded from the conferences that created the new organization . The future French president Charles de Gaulle criticized the UN , famously calling it a machin ( " contraption " ) , and was not convinced that a global security alliance would help maintain world peace , preferring direct defence treaties between countries . Throughout the Cold War , both the US and USSR repeatedly accused the UN of favoring the other . In 1953 , the USSR effectively forced the resignation of Trygve Lie , the Secretary @-@ General , through its refusal to deal with him , while in the 1950s and 1960s , a popular US bumper sticker read , " You can 't spell communism without U.N. " In a sometimes @-@ misquoted statement , President George W. Bush stated in February 2003 ( referring to UN uncertainty towards Iraqi provocations under the Saddam Hussein regime ) that " free nations will not allow the United Nations to fade into history as an ineffective , irrelevant debating society . " In contrast , the French President , François Hollande , stated in 2012 that " France trusts the United Nations . She knows that no state , no matter how powerful , can solve urgent problems , fight for development and bring an end to all crises ... France wants the UN to be the centre of global governance . " Critics such as Dore Gold , an Israeli diplomat , Robert S. Wistrich , a British scholar , Alan Dershowitz , an American legal scholar , Mark Dreyfus , an Australian politician , and the Anti @-@ Defamation League consider UN attention to Israel 's treatment of Palestinians to be excessive . In September 2015 , Saudi Arabia 's Faisal bin Hassan Trad has been elected Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council panel that appoints independent experts , a move criticized by human rights groups .
+
+Critics have also accused the UN of bureaucratic inefficiency , waste , and corruption . In 1976 , the General Assembly established the Joint Inspection Unit to seek out inefficiencies within the UN system . During the 1990s , the US withheld dues citing inefficiency and only started repayment on the condition that a major reforms initiative was introduced . In 1994 , the Office of Internal Oversight Services ( OIOS ) was established by the General Assembly to serve as an efficiency watchdog . In 1994 , former Special Representative of the Secretary @-@ General of the UN to Somalia Mohamed Sahnoun published " Somalia : The Missed Opportunities " , a book in which he analyses the reasons for the failure of the 1992 UN intervention in Somalia , showing that , between the start of the Somali civil war in 1988 and the fall of the Siad Barre regime in January 1991 , the UN missed at least three opportunities to prevent major human tragedies ; when the UN tried to provide humanitarian assistance , they were totally outperformed by NGOs , whose competence and dedication sharply contrasted with the UN 's excessive caution and bureaucratic inefficiencies . If radical reform was not undertaken , warned Mohamed Sahnoun , then the UN would continue to respond to such crisis with inept improvisation . In 2004 , the UN faced accusations that its recently ended Oil @-@ for @-@ Food Programme — in which Iraq had been allowed to trade oil for basic needs to relieve the pressure of sanctions — had suffered from widespread corruption , including billions of dollars of kickbacks . An independent inquiry created by the UN found that many of its officials had been involved , as well as raising " significant " questions about the role of Kojo Annan , the son of Kofi Annan .
+
+In evaluating the UN as a whole , Jacques Fomerand writes that the " accomplishments of the United Nations in the last 60 years are impressive in their own terms . Progress in human development during the 20th century has been dramatic and the UN and its agencies have certainly helped the world become a more hospitable and livable place for millions . " Evaluating the first 50 years of the UN 's history , the author Stanley Meisler writes that " the United Nations never fulfilled the hopes of its founders , but it accomplished a great deal nevertheless " , citing its role in decolonization and its many successful peacekeeping efforts . The British historian Paul Kennedy states that while the organization has suffered some major setbacks , " when all its aspects are considered , the UN has brought great benefits to our generation and ... will bring benefits to our children 's and grandchildren 's generations as well . "
+
+= 12 Days =
+
+12 Days is a debut graphic novel / global manga written and illustrated by June Kim . Basing the plot partially on a story told to her by a stranger , Kim began an early version of 12 Days as a sophomore in college to help herself cope with the end of a relationship . After moving on emotionally with her break @-@ up , she stopped developing the comic and later left South Korea to attend the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan , New York , United States , from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in cartooning . Following her successful pitch of 12 Days to manga publisher Tokyopop , she resumed work on it in early 2005 and finished in the middle of August 2006 . 12 Days focuses on Jackie Yuen , who decides to drink the ashes of her former lover for twelve days in beverages as a way to cope with her grief over her death .
+
+Tokyopop published 12 Days in North America on 7 November 2006 , to generally positive reviews . Critics praised the manga for its mature portrayal of grief and relationships , and its realistic artwork , although the choice of print for the dialogue was considered distracting . Reviewers also discussed the comic 's treatment of the issues of love , loss , and lesbian elements . In May 2011 , Tokyopop shut down its North American publishing branch , with the status of its original , global manga titles left unclear .
+
+= = Plot = =
+
+For the first eight chapters , 12 Days centers on Jackie Yuen , a 29 @-@ year @-@ old part Cantonese and part Korean editor . After the death of her former lover , the Korean American school nurse Noah Yoon , she decides to drink her ashes over twelve days in beverages as a way of coping with her grief . Nicholas " Nick " Yoon , Noah 's younger half brother , steals some of Noah 's ashes for her to use , and soon joins her in mourning . She reminisces on how she met her and became involved in a lesbian relationship ; however , Noah ended their relationship to marry a man to appease her father , and died returning from her honeymoon in a car accident a month ago . As Jackie continues her ritual , she begins to feel ill and eventually faints . Nick takes her to the hospital , where she recovers . On New Year 's Day , she parts from Nick and returns to her apartment to find that he has taken the engagement ring she had wanted to give Noah , and unknown to her , he mixes it in with the remaining ashes . 12 Days concludes with " Chapter 0 " , set before the events in the rest of the comic : Noah finds Nick studying for exams , and they briefly discuss Artemisia II of Caria , an ancient Greek queen who drank the ashes of her husband . Noah then hints that she has found someone whose ashes she would drink .
+
+= = Style and issues = =
+
+June Kim , the author and illustrator for 12 Days , primarily drew the artwork in the realism style , although she occasionally rendered characters as super @-@ deformed versions of themselves . While the cover art incorporates red and silver coloring , the artwork primarily appears in black and white , with occasional gray shading . Kim used pen and ink as the artistic medium , then toned her art with the software application ComicStudio . For the narrative , she explores the characters ' pasts through dreams , and periodic , nonlinear flashbacks . Several character traits , such as Jackie 's chocolate allergy , are presented to the reader through inference rather than exposition . Additionally , Kim uses a brief , untranslated Korean song alongside the predominantly English text .
+
+Critics have focused on the issues of love and loss . 12 Days primarily deals with " a love affair and its aftermath , " according to Dirk Deppey of The Comics Journal . He considered it " a meditation on loss , " which explores " a relationship neither fully ended nor easily forgotten by either party . " Theron Martin of Anime News Network considered it a story about " trying to find a way to cope with a devastating loss " . According to Katherine Dacey , the former senior manga editor for PopCultureShock , 12 Days contains " lovely , quiet observations about the way we grieve , define family , express desire , and remember moments of hurt and betrayal . " Johanna Draper Carlson , a reviewer for Publishers Weekly , wrote that Jackie 's action of consuming the ashes serves as " a transition period , a way to indulge her grief and then a time to be able to be herself again . " AfterEllen.com 's editor @-@ in @-@ chief Karman Kregloe stated that the comic " explores the impact of loss , and how relationships are supported and broken in times of grief . "
+
+To a lesser extent , critics also discussed the lesbian aspect . Martin felt that the lesbian element of 12 Days had been addressed , without becoming overstated . Casey Brienza , a fellow reviewer for Anime News Network , suggested that the shame Jackie and Noah felt as lesbians " ultimately destroyed their relationship . " In her comparison of Alison Bechdel 's 2006 graphic memoir Fun Home and 12 Days , Erica Friedman , the founder of the lesbian @-@ themed anime convention Yuricon , considered neither story to be " lesbian narratives " , but rather " narratives of grief , of relationships and of missed opportunities for communication and closeness . "
+
+= = Production = =
+
+Partially modeled on a story told to Kim by a stranger , 12 Days began during her sophomore year in college as a way of coping with the end of a relationship . Kim soon abandoned the unfinished comic after moving on emotionally from the breakup , and considered the early concept " poorly built . " After completing her junior year in college in Seoul , South Korea , where she had been studying Japanese language and literature , Kim moved to New York , United States . There , she attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan , New York , for four years , and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in cartooning . In addition to illustrating the cover of Australian rock band Jet 's 2003 debut album Get Born , she had three of her short comics published in anthologies : " SheepSheepSleep " ( 2003 ) in Broad Appeal , " B @-@ 612 " ( 2003 / 4 ) in New Thing Vol.2 , and " Repeat " ( 2005 ) in SheWolf Vol.1.
+
+At the 2004 San Diego Comic @-@ Con International , she encountered now @-@ former Tokyopop editors Mark Paniccia and Lillian M. Diaz @-@ Przybyl , who helped to pitch 12 Days to their publisher . Kim later expressed surprise for her successful pitch of 12 Days , and commented : " It made me believe there is room for diverse stories . " Resuming work on 12 Days in early 2005 , Kim felt that her " slow speed , other projects and family matters " delayed its production . Additionally , the South Korean @-@ native Kim , who speaks Korean , English , and Japanese fluently , would think of ideas in Korean that did not translate well over to English , ultimately leading her to change her method of thinking for the comic . She considered her creation of a global manga " a bit ironic , " because she " wanted to do something different from manhwa or manga , " which she had grown up around . Completed in the middle of August 2006 , 12 Days was published by Tokyopop in North America in November of the same year . However , in May 2011 , Tokyopop shut down its North American branch , with the status of global manga titles left unclear . 12 Days is also published in Germany by Tokyopop Germany .
+
+= = Reception = =
+
+12 Days received generally positive reviews from critics . Caroline Ryder of The Advocate , a LGBT @-@ interest magazine , highlighted 12 Days as " a dark , deeply emotional graphic novel . " Brienza complimented Kim 's artistic attention to the background and setting 's details , and summed up the comic as " a sensitive depiction of lesbians that strives for literariness " . While not personally enjoying the comic , Friedman considered it " excellent and well worth reading . " Noting the potentially confusing flashblacks , Martin stated : " 12 Days doesn 't easily fall into any of the normal manga ( or manga @-@ like ) categories . It avoids any kind of sensationalism in providing a mature piece about a difficult topic , which may limit its appeal but certainly makes it worth reading . " While Deppey praised it as " an ambitious and partly satisfying work that very nearly succeeds , " he considered it not " as daring or complex a work " as Fun Home . Although Dacey disliked the backgrounds and the " self @-@ consciously literary " ashes @-@ in @-@ beverages aspect , she enjoyed the plot and Kim 's use of naturalism in her artwork . She later placed it on her list of the top ten global manga . Draper Carlson recommended it , commenting : " The emotions the book carries will be familiar to anyone who ’ s suffered a loss in love . It ’ s a work to meditate on . " Conversely , A. E. Sparrow of IGN wrote that the story sacrificed its coherency in its attempt " for a deeper level of understanding " ; Sparrow concluded : " 12 Days is simply trying too hard , burying some absolutely beautiful illustrations in a sea of chaotic storytelling . "
+
+= Salesforce Marketing Cloud =
+
+Salesforce Marketing Cloud ( formerly known as ExactTarget ) is a provider of digital marketing automation and analytics software and services . It was founded in 2000 under the name ExactTarget . The company filed for an IPO in 2007 , but then withdrew its filing two years later and raised $ 145 million in funding . It acquired CoTweet , Pardot , iGoDigital and Keymail Marketing . In 2012 , it raised $ 161 @.@ 5 million in an initial public offering , before being acquired by Salesforce for $ 2 @.@ 5 billion in 2013 . ExactTarget was renamed to Salesforce Marketing Cloud in 2014 after the acquisition by Salesforce .
+
+= = Corporate history = =
+
+Salesforce Marketing Cloud was founded under the name ExactTarget in late 2000 by Scott Dorsey , Chris Baggott , and Peter McCormick with $ 200 @,@ 000 in financing.Joanna Milliken , joined ExactTarget as the first employee in 2001 . It raised $ 10 @.@ 5 million in funding from Insight Venture Partners in 2004 . The firm grew from $ 11 @.@ 5 million in its second year of operations to $ 41 @.@ 1 million in 2006 , which was its first profitable year . In December 2007 , ExactTarget filed an intent for an initial public offering with the Securities Exchange Commission , but withdrew its filing in May 2009 . Instead , it announced $ 70 million in venture funding had been raised for international expansion , which was followed by another $ 75 million round later that year . An office was established in London with the acquisition of a UK @-@ based ExactTarget reseller , Keymail Marketing , in September 2009 . The company also hired 200 additional employees . In 2010 , ExactTarget acquired CoTweet , a company founded in 2008 that develops and markets software for managing multiple Twitter accounts .
+
+ExactTarget went public in March 2012 and raised $ 161 @.@ 5 million in funding on the New York Stock Exchange . In late 2012 , it acquired a marketing automation vendor , Pardot , for $ 96 million , and the developers of a product recommendation engine , iGoDigital , for $ 21 million . In 2012 , its revenues grew 40 percent over the preceding year . The following June , ExactTarget was acquired by salesforce.com for $ 2 @.@ 5 billion . A few months later , salesforce.com said it was laying off 200 staff due to overlaps after the ExactTarget acquisition . That September at the ExactTarget Connections conference , salesforce.com said it was integrating ExactTarget into a new division called Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud .
+
+In May 2014 , Scott Dorsey stepped down as CEO of ExactTarget and was replaced by Scott McCorkle . The company was renamed in October 2014 to " Salesforce Marketing Cloud " , removing " ExactTarget " from its name , as part of its integration with Salesforce .
+
+= = Software and services = =
+
+Salesforce Marketing Cloud develops marketing automation and analytics software for email , mobile , social and online marketing . It also offers consulting and implementation services . The software is sold primarily on a multi @-@ year subscription basis . The price of the subscription is based on what features are enabled , number of users and level of customer service .
+
+The software 's Interactive Marketing Hub was released in 2010 , when the software 's user interface was re @-@ done . It serves as the software 's primary user interface for managing communications and content through different mediums . The Salesforce Marketing Cloud software is offered in a hosted , online subscription model . The company owns the CoTweet , Pardot , and iGoDigital tools . Its mobile features , as well as many of its workflow and collaboration tools , were released in July 2013 .
+
+Salesforce Marketing Cloud was originally founded as an email marketing vendor . Its email management software maintains mailing lists and schedules and modifies email messages based on what recipients read , click @-@ on or forward .
+
+In September 2014 the company introduced the Journey Builder for Apps , which is intended to create customer lifecycle maps of mobile app users . That month , at the September 2014 ExactTarget Connections conference , they announced numerous updates to their software . This included integration with software products owned by Salesforce.com , such as Buddy Media and Social Studio , as well as improvements to workflow and content management tools .
+
+In November 2014 the company released a new version of Social Studio . This release expanded Social Studio beyond Salesforce ’ s Marketing Cloud , where it started , integrating it with the Service Cloud and the Sales Cloud . This enabled sending leads over to the Sales Cloud — the salesperson can see the full context of the company ’ s social media interactions with the lead .
+
+= = Operations = =
+
+As of December 2012 , about two thirds of ExactTarget 's 1 @,@ 500 employees were located in Indianapolis . The company hosts an annual user conference called the ExactTarget Connections Event ; the first Connections event in 2007 attracted 500 attendees , and it has since grown into one of the largest conferences on digital marketing . The event was located in Indianapolis from 2007 until 2014 , New York City in 2015 , Atlanta in 2016 and is planned for Chicago in 2017 .
+
+= Belgian ship A4 =
+
+Patrol vessel A4 ( French : Patrouilleur A4 ) was a small Mersey @-@ class naval trawler operated by Belgium during the Second World War . Originally built for the British Royal Navy , as HMS John Ebbs , the ship is notable for its role in evacuating Belgian gold reserves to England during the Battle of Belgium in May 1940 . The success of the operation not only allowed the Belgian government in exile to fund its operations but deprived the German occupiers of an important asset to support their war effort . After the Belgian surrender , the vessel and its crew interned themselves in neutral Spain . In 1946 , the vessel and its crew were released and the ship was scrapped soon afterwards .
+
+= = Background = =
+
+Pilote 4 ( later renamed Patrouilleur A4 ) was purchased by the Belgian Corps de Marine in 1920 , having previously served in the British Royal Navy during the First World War as HMS John Ebbs ( FY3566 ) . The vessel was a Mersey @-@ class naval trawler , built by Cochranes in Selby , North Yorkshire , and was launched on 2 October 1917 . Displacing 334 long tons ( 339 t ) , the vessel was 148 feet ( 45 m ) long , and had a draught of 4 @.@ 5 metres ( 15 ft ) . Fitted with engines that were capable of producing 600 horsepower ( 450 kW ) , it could travel at between 9 and 10 knots . With a complement of 27 , the Belgians armed the ship with two Maxim machine guns on the bridge and a 47mm gun at the stern . In 1939 , A4 was waiting to be scrapped , but the deteriorating international situation caused by German expansionism led to its reactivation by the Ministry of National Defence .
+
+Because of Belgium 's neutral status in the early stages of the Second World War , A4 had large Belgian tricolours painted on each side of its hull , as well as the word " BELGIË " ( Dutch for " Belgium " ) in white , to prevent it being mistaken for a belligerent ship . After Belgium was invaded by German forces on 10 May 1940 , it was not repainted .
+
+= = Evacuation of Belgian gold = =
+
+During the interwar period , Belgium had created a gold @-@ based currency , called the Belga , which ran parallel to the Belgian franc . The Belga was intended for international trading and meant that the National Bank of Belgium amassed considerable gold reserves , amounting to some 600 tonnes by 1940 .
+
+During the escalating international tensions in the 1930s , the Belgian government began moving large amounts of gold to the United States , Great Britain and Canada , but was forced to retain some gold in the country to maintain the Belga 's value .
+
+By the time the Germans invaded Belgium in May 1940 , there were still 40 tonnes of gold left in Belgium , held at the bank 's offices in the port of Ostend . The only ship available in the area was A4 , commanded by Lieutenant Van Vaerenbergh . On 19 May 1940 , the vessel was loaded with the gold and , avoiding Dunkirk which was being bombed by the Luftwaffe , headed for the British coast , accompanied by the ship P16 which was carrying refugees . After being transferred from port to port because of concerns for the safety of the cargo during unloading , the gold was landed at Plymouth on 26 May , two days before the Belgian surrender . The gold was finally deposited at the Bank of England . A4 also carried Hubert Ansiaux , the civil servant charged with overseeing the evacuation of the gold to England and the future Governor of the National Bank .
+
+The fact that so much Belgian gold had been rescued before the German occupation allowed the Belgian government in exile to finance its own operations , unlike most other exiled governments which had to rely on British financial support .
+
+= = Aftermath = =
+
+Since Belgium had officially surrendered on 28 May and no official Belgian government yet existed in England , the crew of A4 took their ship to Bilbao in neutral Spain to avoid having to return to Belgium and become German prisoners of war . They arrived in Spain on 26 June and spent the rest of the war interned . Control of the ship was returned to Belgium in 1946 and it was scrapped in 1948 .
+
+For his role in the evacuation of the gold , Lieutenant Van Vaerenbergh was awarded the Order of Leopold II .
+
+= Egypt at the 2012 Summer Olympics =
+
+Egypt competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London , from 27 July to 12 August 2012 , sending one of its largest delegations ever . A total of 110 Egyptian athletes participated in 83 events across 20 sports , with more women taking part than ever before . The nation 's flagbearer in the opening ceremonies was Hesham Mesbah , a judoka who was its only medalist from the 2008 Summer Olympics . Egypt won two medals in London : Alaaeldin Abouelkassem earned silver in the men 's foil , becoming the first competitor from an African nation to win a fencing medal , while Karam Gaber captured silver in the men 's 84 kg Greco @-@ Roman wrestling event . Among other achievements , Mostafa Mansour was the nation 's first competitor in sprint canoeing while fencer Shaimaa El @-@ Gammal became the first Egyptian female to appear in four editions of the Olympics .
+
+Prior to 2012 , Egypt had sent athletes to nineteen editions of the Summer Olympic Games , the 1906 Intercalated Games , equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics , and the 1984 Winter Olympics . Before the Games began , the Egyptian Olympic Committee distributed counterfeit Nike gear to its athletes , due to its financial troubles following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 . Nike , however , ended up donating legitimate equipment to the Egyptians . In addition to the success of the silver medalists , one weightlifter , Tarek Yehia , finished just off the podium in fourth in the men 's 85 kg event , while three others , Ibrahim Ramadan , Abeer Abdelrahman , and Nahla Ramadan , were fifth in their respective events . Tamer Bayoumi , a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and the nation ’ s most successful taekwondo practitioner at the 2012 edition , was chosen to carry Egypt ’ s flag at the closing ceremony .
+
+Aside from the team sport of football , which had 16 participants , fencing and wrestling were the sports in which Egypt participated the most , sending 12 representatives to each . Of them , wrestling was almost exclusively male with only one female , Rabab Eid , taking part . The sport with the most Egyptian female participation was synchronized swimming , an all @-@ woman tournament at the Olympics , with eight , while the nation sent six women to fencing , the highest amount for a mixed sport . Among tournaments with the potential for both men and women to take part , Egypt qualified females , but not males , for badminton , and males , but not females , for track and field athletics , boxing , canoeing , equestrian , football , judo , and sailing .
+
+= = Medalists = =
+
+= = Background = =
+
+Prior to 2012 , Egypt had sent athletes to nineteen editions of the Summer Olympic Games ( three times as the United Arab Republic ) , the 1906 Intercalated Games , equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics , and the 1984 Winter Olympics . With the exception of the Soviet @-@ boycotted 1984 Summer Olympics , Egypt 's 2012 delegation was the largest ever , and chose Hesham Mesbah , a 2008 Olympic medalist in judo , as its flagbearer in the opening ceremony . A total of 110 Egyptians , 76 men and 34 women , travelled to London and competed in 20 different sports . It was the largest delegation of women in the country 's Olympic history . Prior the start of the Olympic Games , the Egyptian Olympic Committee ( EOC ) distributed counterfeit Nike gear from a Chinese distributor to its athletes , due to its financial troubles following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 . Nike ended up donating equipment to the Egyptians , despite the EOC 's eventual willingness to pay .
+
+= = Competitors = =
+
+Shaimaa El @-@ Gammal became the nation 's first female to appear in her fourth Olympic games , while former Olympic medalists Tamer Bayoumi ( taekwondo ) , Karam Gaber ( Greco @-@ Roman wrestling ) , and Hesham Mesbah ( judo ) returned to compete again . Middleweight boxer Mohamed Hikal and skeet shooter Mostafa Hamdy also made a fourth appearance at the Games , while Gaber , Mesbah , and six other athletes made their third Olympic appearance : discus thrower Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly , modern pentathlete Aya Medany , table tennis player El @-@ sayed Lashin , Greco @-@ Roman wrestlers Ashraf El @-@ Gharably and Mohamed Abdelfatah , and judoka Islam El Shehaby . Skeet shooter Mona El @-@ Hawary , aged 49 , was the oldest athlete on the team , while sprint freestyle swimmer Farida Osman was the youngest at age 17 . Bayoumi was selected as Egypt 's flagbearer for the closing ceremony .
+
+= = Archery = =
+
+Two Egyptian archers , one male and one female , qualified for the Olympics , both of whom earned their berths at the 2012 African Archery Championships . Ahmed El @-@ Nemr finished second at that tournament , behind Philippe Kouassi of Côte d 'Ivoire , and entered the men 's individual event . El @-@ Nemr had won three medals at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , gold in the individual recurve 90 metres and silver in the individual recurve FITA and the team event . In London he scored 644 points in the ranking round and placed 57th overall out of 64 competitors . In the round of 64 he defeated eighth @-@ ranked Crispin Duenas of Canada three sets to one and then faced Kuo Cheng @-@ wei , who was representing Chinese Taipei . El @-@ Nemr lost this round three sets to one and was eliminated from the tournament , leaving with a final ranking of 17th . Nada Kamel , who had earned seven medals at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , won the women 's event at the 2012 African Championships and entered the individual tournament . There she scored 611 points in the ranking round and placed 56th overall out of 64 participants . She was defeated by Ksenia Perova of Russia three sets to none in the opening round and finished the event joint @-@ 33rd and last .
+
+Key : W
+
+= Competitor won the match ; L =
+
+Competitor lost the match ; BM = Bronze medal match
+
+= = Athletics = =
+
+Seven Egyptian athletes , six men and one woman , qualified for the Olympics , although one did not compete . Noura Elsayed , the lone woman , was slated to run in the 800 metres , but withdrew due to injury . The only Egyptian to participate in more than one event was Amr Ibrahim Mostafa Seoud , a veteran of the 200 metre event at the 2008 Summer Olympics . Seoud , who had won gold medals in the 100 metres at the 2007 Pan Arab and 2011 All @-@ African Games , and the 200 metres at the 2007 Pan Arab and 2009 Mediterranean Games , as well as the 2010 African Championships , met the " A " qualifying standard for both the 100 metres and 200 metres . In the 100 he drew the same heat as world record @-@ holder and defending Olympic champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica and finished fourth , which was insufficient to advance . He had the same result in the opening heats of the 200 . Hamada Mohamed met the " A " qualifying standard for the 800 metres and won his opening heat in London , advancing to the semifinals . He was placed in the same heat as David Rudisha of Kenya , the world @-@ record holder and upcoming gold medalist , and finished eighth out of nine competitors , failing reach the final .
+
+The remaining Egyptians , all of whom qualified through the B standard , competed in field events . Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly , in the discus , was the most experienced of the quartet , with senior international medals going back to bronze at the 2002 African Championships in Athletics , in addition to past Olympic appearances in 2004 and 2008 . In London he finished 26th among 41 participants with a best throw of 60 @.@ 26 meters . Ihab El @-@ Sayed , in the javelin throw , had missed the 2008 Summer Olympics , despite having been a silver medalist at the 2007 Pan Arab Games , but had won the event at the 2010 African Championships and the 2011 Pan Arab Games . In London he placed 29th out of 44 competitors with a best throw of 77 @.@ 35 meters . Mostafa Al @-@ Gamel , in the hammer throw , was the gold medalist from the 2011 All @-@ African Games and a silver medalist from the 2008 African Championships and the 2011 Pan Arab Games . In London he was 29th among 41 participants with a best throw of 71 @.@ 36 meters . Mohamed Fathalla Difallah , who had come in fourth at the 2011 All @-@ Africa Games , was 37th out of 41 competitors in the qualifying round of the long jump in London , with a distance of 7 @.@ 08 meters , and did not advance to the final .
+
+Men
+
+Track & road events
+
+Field events
+
+Women
+
+Track & road events
+
+Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete 's heat only
+
+Key : Q
+
+= Qualified for the next round ; N / A =
+
+Round not applicable for the event ; DNS = Athlete failed to start the event
+
+= = Badminton = =
+
+One Egyptian badminton player qualified for the Olympics , Hadia Hosny El Said . A veteran of the 2008 Summer Games , she trained for London at the University of Bath , where she was a graduate student in bioscience . Ranked 102nd in the world , she qualified by being the top player on the African continent . In the women 's singles , she lost to Pi Hongyan of France and Chloe Magee of Ireland , finished in the bottom of her group , and was eliminated from the tournament .
+
+Key : L
+
+= Competitor lost the match ; BM =
+
+Bronze medal match
+
+= = Boxing = =
+
+Five Egyptian boxers qualified for the Olympics , all of whom were men and earned their spots at the 2012 African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament . The only Egyptian to win a bout in London was Hesham Yehia , in the flyweight division , who defeated Benson Gicharu of Kenya before losing to Jasurbek Latipov of Uzbekistan in the round of 16 . Yehia 's most successful major international tournament had been the 2011 Pan Arab Games , where he had been the flyweight runner @-@ up . The most experienced boxer was Mohamed Hikal , who had competed in the light @-@ middleweight , welterweight , and middleweight categories of the 2000 , 2004 , and 2008 Summer Olympics respectively . Among his international boxing distinctions , he was 1999 and 2003 All @-@ African champion , 2005 Mediterranean champion , 2007 and 2011 Pan Arab champion , and 2007 African champion , and won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships . In 2012 he was once again representing Egypt as a middleweight and lost his first bout to Soltan Migitinov of Azerbaijan . Ramy Helmy El @-@ Awadi , a bronze medalist from the 2007 Pan Arab Games , received a bye in the opening round of the light flyweight class and was defeated by Ferhat Pehlivan of Turkey in the round of 16 . Mohamed Ramadan and Eslam El @-@ Gendy lost their first bouts to eventual silver medalist Han Soon @-@ Chul of South Korea and Gyula Káté of Hungary in the lightweight and light welterweight events respectively .
+
+Men
+
+Key : W
+
+= Competitor won the match ; L =
+
+Competitor lost the match ; Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
+
+= = Canoeing = =
+
+Egypt 's first ever Olympic competitor in canoe and kayak , Mostafa Mansour , qualified for the 2012 Games . Having taken up the sport in 2007 , after abandoning his initial pursuit of rowing , Mansour qualified for the K @-@ 1 200 metres by coming in third in the event at the 2011 All @-@ Africa Games . The Olympic spots were originally meant to go to the top two finishers , Greg Louw of South Africa and Mohamed Mrabet of Tunisia , but South Africa did not select Louw for the Games . Mansour 's best time in the K @-@ 1 1000 metres earned him a spot in that event as a continental wildcard . He was eliminated in the opening round of both events in London , after finishing last in his heats .
+
+= = = Sprint = = =
+
+= = Equestrian = =
+
+One Egyptian equestrian qualified for show jumping for the Olympics . Karim El @-@ Zoghby , a veteran of the 2008 Games , qualified with his horse Wervel Wind due to his ranking at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games . In the months leading up to the Olympics , he trained full @-@ time in the Netherlands and won a silver medal in the team jumping event at the 2011 Pan Arab Games . In London , Zoghby survived the first qualifying course by finishing joint @-@ 53rd with five penalties , but was eliminated after placing 51st in round two with an additional five penalties .
+
+= = = Show jumping = = =
+
+Key : Q = Qualified for the next round
+
+= = Fencing = =
+
+Twelve Egyptian fencers , six men and six women , qualified for the Olympics . Both the men and women qualified their foil teams by being the top African nation in this category , while Ayman Mohamed Fayez and Salma Mahran were selected as the second highest @-@ ranked Africans in the men 's épée and the women 's sabre respectively . The final competitors , Mona Hassanein in the women 's épée and Mannad Zeid in the men 's sabre , won an African qualifier to earn their spots . Both foil teams lost their opening rounds against Great Britain and were eliminated from the tournament .
+
+In the men 's events , Alaaeldin Abouelkassem , who captured gold in the individual and team foil events at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , won a silver medal in the men 's foil , after the losing the final against Lei Sheng of China . To qualify for the final he defeated American Miles Chamley @-@ Watson , Germany 's Peter Joppich , Italy 's Andrea Cassarà , and South Korea 's Choi Byung @-@ Chul , and became the first African to win an Olympic fencing medal . One of his teammates , Tarek Ayad , who had also been part of the gold medal @-@ winning foil team at the 2011 Pan Arab Games and had won bronze individually , defeated fellow Egyptian Anas Mostafa in the opening round , before losing to Aleksey Cheremisinov of Russia in the round of 32 . Fayez , who won gold in the individual and team épée events at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , and Zeid were defeated in their opening rounds by eventual gold medalist Rubén Limardo of Venezuela and Malaysia 's Yu Peng Kean respectively . None of the women won any bouts in London , but Shaimaa El @-@ Gammal became the first Egyptian female to compete in four Olympics , having taken part in the 2000 , 2004 , and 2008 editions .
+
+Men
+
+Women
+
+Key : W
+
+= Competitor won the match ; L =
+
+Competitor lost the match ; BM
+
+= Bronze medal match ; N / A =
+
+Round not applicable for the event ; Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
+
+= = Football = =
+
+= = = Men 's tournament = = =
+
+The Egyptian national football team qualified for the Olympics after its third @-@ place finish at the 2011 CAF U @-@ 23 Championship . It was the nation 's first Olympic appearance since the 1992 Games and they chose Mohamed Aboutrika , Ahmed Fathy , and Emad Moteab as their three over @-@ 23 players . The squad was coached by Hany Ramzy . In the tournament , Egypt was drawn into Group C. It lost its first match against Brazil 3 – 2 , but tied New Zealand 1 – 1 and defeated Belarus 3 – 1 to advance to the knockout stage . This was their fifth time in eleven tournaments that Egypt progressed out of the group stage . Egypt met Japan in the quarterfinals and lost 3 – 0 , eliminating them from the tournament .
+
+Team roster
+
+The following is the Egypt squad in the men 's football tournament of the 2012 Summer Olympics .
+
+Coach : Hany Ramzy
+
+* Indicates that player was born prior to 1 January 1989 . According to FIFA regulations , only three such players are permitted on an Olympic squad .
+
+Group play
+
+Quarterfinal
+
+= = Gymnastics = =
+
+Four Egyptian gymnasts , three artistic and one rhythmic , qualified for the Olympics . Mohamed El @-@ Saharty , the lone male , was invited to London as the highest @-@ ranked African in the individual all @-@ around at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships . He was individual all @-@ around Arab Champion in 2011 and 2012 , African Champion in 2010 and 2012 , and Pan Arab Champion in 2011 . At the latter tournament , he had also taken gold in the horizontal bar , the pommel horse , the vault , and the team event . In London his best event was the vault , where he finished 12th . He was 52nd in the horizontal bar , 56th in the floor , 57th in the pommel horse , 61st in the rings , and 65th in the parallel bars . His final rank in the individual all @-@ around was 37th .
+
+Salma El @-@ Said and Sherine El @-@ Zeiny qualified for the Olympics as the second and third @-@ ranked Africans at the 2011 World Championships , with El @-@ Zeiny having been offered a spot after the highest @-@ placed African , Nicole Szabo of South Africa , turned down the invitation due to injury . El @-@ Said had taken a break from active competition while recovering from an injury of her own and came back shortly before the World Championships . Since then she had taken the individual all @-@ around title at the 2011 Arab Games and the 2012 African Championships . El @-@ Zeiny was a veteran of the 2008 tournament and both had been a part of Egypt 's victorious all @-@ around team at the 2012 African Championships . In London , El @-@ Said 's best event was the balance beam , in which she placed 42nd . She was also 63rd in the uneven bars , 69th in the floor exercise , and was ranked 41st overall in the individual all @-@ around . El @-@ Zeiny was 53rd on the balance beam , but finished 82nd and last in the floor exercise after suffering an injury . Yasmine Rostom , the rhythmic gymnast , qualified by being the top performer from Africa at the 2011 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships . In London she was 23rd in the ball and the hoop , 20th in the clubs , and last in the ribbon to finish 23rd out of 24 competitors overall .
+
+= = = Artistic = = =
+
+Men
+
+F
+
+= Floor exercise ; PH =
+
+Pommel horse ; R
+
+= Rings ; V =
+
+Vault ; PB
+
+= Parallel bars ; HB =
+
+Horizontal bar ; N / A
+
+= Round not applicable for the event
+
+Women
+
+F =
+
+Floor exercise ; PH
+
+= Pommel horse ; UB =
+
+Uneven bars ; BB
+
+= Balance beam ; N / A =
+
+Round not applicable for the event
+
+= = = Rhythmic = = =
+
+= = Judo = =
+
+Five Egyptian judoka qualified for the Olympics , all men , two of which advanced beyond the round of 32 . Ahmed Awad , who was the 2011 African and All @-@ Africa Games champion , as well as the runner @-@ up at the 2009 Mediterranean Games and a bronze medalist at the 2012 African Championships , earned a spot in the 66 kg event by being the highest ranked African in the division . He defeated Humaid Al @-@ Derei of the United Arab Emirates before losing against Tarlan Karimov of Azerbaijan in the round of 16 . Hussein Hafiz , who was the 2011 Pan Arab and 2012 African Champion , as well as the 2011 African runner @-@ up and a bronze medalist at the 2009 and 2010 editions and the 2011 All @-@ Africa Games , qualified for London by being ranked 18th in the world in the 73 kg class . He won his opening match against Osman Murillo Segura of Costa Rica before being defeated by France 's Ugo Legrand , an eventual bronze medalist . Hesham Mesbah , who was Egypt 's only medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics , returned to the 90 kg division by being ranked 13th in the world , but was eliminated his first match , against Timur Bolat of Kazakhstan .
+
+Islam El Shehaby had participated in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics and had international judo titles in the + 100 kg division as far back as the 1999 Pan Arab Games . He was most recentely African Champion in the + 100 kg and open classes at the 2011 African Championships , and was runner @-@ up in the former category at the 2012 edition . Coming into the 2012 Olympics he was ranked fourth in the world , but lost in the opening round against Ihar Makarau of Belarus . The final judoka , Ramadan Darwish , had won every African championship in the 100 kg class since 2009 , was the 2009 Mediterranean champion and 2011 All @-@ Africa Games runner @-@ up , and had earned a bronze medal at the 2009 World Judo Championships . He qualified for the 100 kg event at the Olympic Games by being ranked ninth worldwide , but was defeated in his first match by France 's Thierry Fabre .
+
+Key : W
+
+= Competitor won the match ; L =
+
+Competitor lost the match ; N / A
+
+= Round not applicable for the event ; Bye =
+
+Athlete not required to compete in round
+
+= = Modern pentathlon = =
+
+Three Egyptian athletes qualified for the Olympic modern pentathlon tournament , two men and one woman . Aya Medany , a veteran of the 2004 and 2008 Games , was the most experienced of the three , having competed internationally since 1999 at the age of 10 . She won the 2011 African Championships to earn her spot in London , which was her fifth title at the tournament since 2004 . In the women 's event in London , she won 20 of her fencing bouts and was ranked joint @-@ eighth after the first round . She was 18th in swimming , 19th in riding , and 21st in the combined running / shooting portion to finish 16th overall . On the men 's side , Yasser Hefny won the 2011 African Championships and entered the men 's event in London , where he won 17 of his fencing bouts and was ranked joint @-@ thirteenth after the first round . He was 19th in the swimming , 28th in riding , and 31st in the combined running / shooting competition to finish 28th overall .
+
+Amro El Geziry was a veteran of the 2008 Games , having won the 2006 and 2007 African Championships , and was following his brother Emad , who had participated in the 2000 edition . He won a bronze medal with another brother , Omar , at the 2009 World Modern Pentathlon Championships and eventually qualified for the 2012 Olympics by virtue of his world ranking . He received a berth during the second round of Olympic allocations , when spots won by nations who qualified more than the maximum two athletes were redistributed . In London he was victorious in 18 of his fencing bouts and was ranked joint @-@ 11th after the first round , but then won the swimming event with an Olympic record time of 1 : 55 @.@ 70 . He placed 33rd and 34th in the riding and combined riding / shooting competition , however , and finished 33rd overall .
+
+Key : MP Points
+
+= Points earned towards total score ; WR =
+
+World record ; OR
+
+= Olympic record ; NR =
+
+National record
+
+= = Rowing = =
+
+Five Egyptians in three events qualified for the Olympic rowing tournament , all of whom earned their places at the African Continental Qualification Regatta in November 2011 . A member of the national team since 2007 , Nour El Din Hassanein normally rowed in the double sculls and , with Moustafa Fathy , finished last in the " C " final and 15th overall in that event at the 2010 World Rowing Championships . In London , however , he competed in the men 's single sculls and placed second in the " D " final and 20th overall . In the men 's lightweight double sculls , Omar Emira and Mohamed Nofel , who were first in the " E " final and 25th overall at the 2011 World Rowing Championships , finished 20th overall and last . In the women 's version , Sara Baraka and Fatma Rashed , the latter of whom replaced Baraka 's regular partner Ingy Hassem El Din also finished last .
+
+Men
+
+Women
+
+Key : FA
+
+= Qualified for final A ( medal ) ; FB =
+
+Qualified for final B ( non @-@ medal ) ; FC
+
+= Qualified for final C ( non @-@ medal ) ; FD =
+
+Qualified for final D ( non @-@ medal ) ; FE
+
+= Qualified for final E ( non @-@ medal ) ; FF =
+
+Qualified for final F ( non @-@ medal ) ; SA / B
+
+= Qualified for semifinals A / B ; SC / D =
+
+Qualified for semifinals C / D ; SE / F
+
+= Qualified for semifinals E / F ; QF =
+
+Qualified for quarterfinals ; R
+
+= Qualified for repechage ; WR =
+
+World record ; OR
+
+= Olympic record ; NR =
+
+National record ; N / A
+
+= Round not applicable for the event ; Bye =
+
+Athlete not required to compete in round
+
+= = Sailing = =
+
+One Egyptian windsurfer qualified for the Olympics , Ahmed Habash , who took up the sport as a teenager , but quit prior to the 2008 Games due to a serious injury . He re @-@ entered competition in 2012 and won the Egyptian National Championships . This qualified him for the World Championships , where he performed well enough to earn a spot on the national delegation to London . In the sailboard , Habash finished last overall , with 334 net points , and was eliminated prior to the medal round .
+
+Men
+
+Key : M *
+
+= Medal race ; EL =
+
+Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race ; X = Points from this race were discarded as being the competitor 's worst race
+
+= = Shooting = =
+
+Egypt earned seven quota places for shooting events , five of which went to men and two of which were for women . Mona El @-@ Hawary , competing in the women 's skeet , was 17th and last in her event , but still ranked higher than any other Egyptian shooter . She was also a veteran of the 2008 Summer Olympics . The other woman , Nourhan Amer , was 41st of 56 competitors in the 10 metre air rifle . She had won three medals in team events at the 2011 Pan Arab Games . Egypt 's best @-@ ranked man was Mostafa Hamdy , a veteran of the 1996 , 2000 , and 2004 Olympic tournaments , who was 18th among 36 participants in the men 's skeet . Azmy Mehelba , the 2011 Pan Arab runner up , also competed in the skeet , but was last . Ahmed Zaher , in the trap , was 22nd of 34 competitors , while Karim Wagih was 38th of 44 participants in the 10 metre air pistol . Amgad Hosen , a team gold medalist from the 2011 Pan Arab Games , finished 29th out of 47 competitors in the 10 metre air rifle .
+
+Men
+
+Women
+
+Key : WR
+
+= World record ; OR =
+
+Olympic record ; NR = National record
+
+= = Swimming = =
+
+Three Egyptian swimmers , one female and two males , qualified for the Olympics . American @-@ born Farida Osman , the woman , was the youngest member of the 2012 national delegation and qualified for the Games based on having made the Olympic Standard Time in the 50 @-@ metre freestyle . In the lead up to the Olympics , she won seven gold medals at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , as well as the 50 @-@ metre butterfly title at that year 's All @-@ Africa Games and World Junior Championships . In London she was sixth in her heat in the 50 @-@ metre freestyle and was eliminated from the tournament , ranking 42nd overall . On the men 's side , Shehab Younis qualified for the 50 @-@ metre freestyle by meeting the Olympic Selection Time of 22 @.@ 88 at an international meet in Eindhoven , Netherlands , with a result of 22 @.@ 85 . Prior to the Olympics he had won a bronze medal in the event at the 2011 Pan Arab Games . In London he was third in his heat and 34th overall , failing to advance to the semifinals . Mazen Metwaly , a Saudi @-@ born Egyptian training and studying at Southern Illinois University Carbondale , made the team at an Olympic qualifier in Setúbal , Portugal in June 2012 , the second of his two opportunities ( his first having been the 2011 World Championships ) . At the Games , in the marathon 10 kilometre , he was 24th out of 25 competitors .
+
+Men
+
+Women
+
+Key : Q
+
+= Qualified for the next round ; WR =
+
+World record ; OR
+
+= Olympic record ; NR =
+
+National record ; N / A
+
+= Round not applicable for the event ; Bye =
+
+Athlete not required to compete in round
+
+= = Synchronized swimming = =
+
+Egypt 's synchronized swimming team qualified for the Olympics by being the top African nation at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships . It was the second time that the nation had qualified for the team event , having previously appeared in 2008 . Shaza Abdelrahman and Dalia El @-@ Gebaly , veterans of the 2008 tournament , represented Egypt in the duet , where they placed 24th and last . In the team competition , the nation finished seventh out of eight nations , ranking higher than Australia .
+
+Key : N / A = Round not applicable for the event
+
+= = Table tennis = =
+
+Six Egyptian table tennis players , three men and three women , qualified for the Olympics , four for the singles and an additional two for the team events . The four singles competitors , Omar Assar , El @-@ sayed Lashin , Nadeen El @-@ Dawlatly , and Dina Meshref , all qualified based on their achievements at the 2011 All @-@ Africa Games . At this tournament , Assar won the singles event , was part of the victorious Egyptian team , finished second in the doubles with Emad Moselhy , and placed third in the mixed doubles alongside Meshref . He also won silver in the singles and gold in the team event at the 2011 Pan Arab Games . In London he defeated Yaroslav Zhmudenko of Ukraine in the opening round , but lost to Greece 's Panagiotis Gionis in round two . Lashin was the runner @-@ up in the singles at the 2011 All @-@ Africa Games , as well as the winner of the doubles ( with Ahmed Saleh ) , a bronze medalist in the mixed doubles ( alongside El @-@ Dawlatly ) , and a member of the gold medal @-@ earning Egyptian team . His list of international medals stretched back to the 1996 African Championships , where he won a gold medal in the team event , and he had previously appeared in the Olympic Games in 2000 and 2008 . In London he defeated Pär Gerell of Sweden and Zoran Primorac of Croatia before losing to Japan 's Jun Mizutani in the third round . For the team event , Assar and Lashin were joined by Saleh , a 2008 Olympic veteran whose victories went as far back at the doubles event at the 1996 Arab Championships , but they were eliminated in the opening round .
+
+El @-@ Dawlatly had been fourth in the singles at the 2011 All @-@ Africa Games , as well as third in the doubles and mixed doubles ( with Meshref and Lashin respectively ) , and was a member of the gold medal @-@ winning Egyptian team . She had also earned gold in the team event and the doubles and silver in the singles at the 2011 Pan Arab Games . In London she was defeated in the opening round by Denmark 's Mie Skov . Meshref had the same results as El @-@ Dawlatly at the 2011 All @-@ African Games , except for being fifth in the singles , and took gold in the singles , doubles , and team events at the 2011 Pan Arab Games . In London she defeated Offiong Edem of Nigeria and Yana Noskova of Russia before being overcome by Romania 's Elizabeta Samara . For the team event , El @-@ Dawlatly and Meshref were joined by Raghd Magdy , who had been third in the doubles and mixed doubles , as well as runner @-@ up in the team competition , at the 2003 All @-@ Africa Games . The Egyptian women were defeated by the Dutch in the first round .
+
+Men
+
+Women
+
+Key : BM
+
+= Bronze medal match ; N / A =
+
+Round not applicable for the event ; Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
+
+= = Taekwondo = =
+
+Four Egyptian taekwondo practitioners , two men and two women , qualified for the Olympics , all of whom finished first at the African Qualification tournament , except for Abdelrahman Ossama in the men 's 80 kg class , who was second behind Morocco 's Issam Chernoubi . Tamer Bayoumi , a bronze medalist from the 2004 Olympics , was the most successful of the quartet . In the 58 kg class he defeated Nursultan Mamayev of Kazakhstan in the round of 16 before losing in sudden death to Lee Dae @-@ Hoon of South Korea , the eventual silver medalist , in the quarterfinals . In the repechage he was defeated by Thailand 's Pen @-@ Ek Karaket . The only other Egyptian to win a match was Hedaya Malak , in the women 's 57 kg , who overcame Robin Cheong of New Zealand before being defeated by Marlène Harnois of France , an eventual bronze medalist . In his first bout , Ossama lost to Tommy Mollet of the Netherlands in sudden death , while Seham El @-@ Sawalhy , the 2010 and 2012 African champion , was eliminated by Sweden 's Elin Johansson in the round of 16 of the women 's 67 kg class .
+
+Key : Bye
+
+= Athlete not required to compete in round ; SDP =
+
+Decision by sudden death point
+
+= = Weightlifting = =
+
+Five Egyptian men , Ahmed Saad , Mohamed Abdelbaki , Ibrahim Ramadan , Ragab Abdelhay , and Tarek Yehia , qualified for the Olympic weightlifting tournament by ranking seventh overall after the 2010 and 2011 World Weightlifting Championships , and three women , Esmat Mansour , Abeer Abdelrahman , and Nahla Ramadan , by ranking fourteenth . For the women , Ramadan , a gold medalist at the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships and the 2011 Pan Arab Games , bronze medalist at the 2002 World Championships , and veteran of the 75 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics , finished fifth in the + 75 kg class . Abdelrahman , another gold medalist from the 2011 Pan Arab Games and veteran of the 69 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics , was fifth in the 75 kg division . Mansour , contesting the 69 kg class , was ninth in her event .
+
+For the men , Yehia , a silver medalist at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , bronze medalist at the 2010 World Championships , and veteran of the 69 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics , had the nation 's best result , with a fourth @-@ place finish in the 85 kg division . His countryman Abdelhay , the gold medalist from the 2011 Pan Arab Games , was sixth in the same event . Saad , a silver medalist at the 2011 Pan Arab Games who had taken part in the 56 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics , was ninth in the 62 kg event . Abdelbaki , another gold medalist from the 2011 Pan Arab Games and a veteran of the 62 kg event at the 2008 Summer Olympics , was tenth in the 69 kg class , while Ramadan , also a gold medalist at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , was fifth in the 77kg event .
+
+Men
+
+Women
+
+Key : WR
+
+= World record ; OR =
+
+Olympic record ; NR = National record
+
+= = Wrestling = =
+
+Thirteen Egyptian wrestlers , twelve men and one woman , qualified for the Olympics . In the men 's freestyle tournament , only Hassan Madany in the 60 kg class defeated an opponent , winning his bout against Didier Pais of France in the round of 16 before losing to North Korea 's Ri Jong @-@ Myong in the quarterfinals . Madany was a veteran of the 2008 tournament , where he lost his first bout against eventual bronze medalist Morad Mohammadi of Iran , and qualified for the 2012 Games by winning the African and Oceania qualification tournament . Among numerous honors , he was a seven @-@ time African champion ( 2002 , 2005 – 2009 , and 2012 ) and also won gold medals at the 2005 and 2009 Mediterranean Games and the 2011 Pan Arab Games . The only other Egyptian freestyle wrestler to take part in more than one bout was Ibrahim Farag in the 55 kg class , who lost against eventual silver medalist Vladimer Khinchegashvili of Georgia in the qualification round and Bulgaria 's Radoslav Velikov in the repechage . He was African senior champion in 2010 and junior champion in 2009 .
+
+Farag , along with Abdou Omar in the 66 kg class , Saleh Emara in the 96 kg class , and El @-@ Desoky Ismail in the 120 kg class , qualified by winning the African and Oceania qualification tournament . Omar , the 2009 and 2010 African champion and a gold medalist at the 2011 Pan American Games , and Emara , who won gold medals at the 2007 All @-@ Africa Games , the 2009 Mediterranean Games , and the 2011 Pan Arab Games , were disqualified after arriving late for their events , while Ismail , a four @-@ time African Champion and bronze medalist at the 2011 Pan Arab Games , was eliminated in the opening round by Tervel Dlagnev of the United States . In women 's freestyle wrestling , Rabab Eid qualified for the 55 kg class by coming in second at the African and Oceania qualification tournament , behind Marwa Amri of Tunisia . At the Games , she was defeated by Ukraine 's Tetyana Lazareva in the round of 16 .
+
+In Greco @-@ Roman wrestling , Karam Gaber , the gold medal winner in the 96 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics , won a silver medal in the 84 kg class after losing the final to Russia 's Alan Khugayev . Along the way he defeated Nenad Žugaj of Croatia , Mélonin Noumonvi of France , and Damian Janikowski of Poland . He qualified for the Gamea after winning the African and Oceania qualification tournament . The only other Egyptian wrestler to win a bout was Ashraf El @-@ Gharably in the 66 kg class . Gharably , who qualified for the Games after coming in second in the African and Oceania qualification tournament , behind Mohamed Serir of Tunisia , had held numerous international titles since 1997 , when he first won the African championships , and had participated in the 60 kg class at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics . In 2012 he defeated Ecuador 's Orlando Huacón in the round of 16 before losing to eventual bronze medalist Manuchar Tskhadaia of Georgia in the quarterfinals .
+
+Sayed Abdelmoneim , competing in the 60 kg class , and Abdelrahman El @-@ Trabely , competing in the 120 kg class , both lost in the first round against one of the eventual finalists and were defeated a second time in the repechage . Abdelmoneim had been the 2010 African champion and had qualified for the Olympics by winning the African and Oceania qualification tournament . In London he lost to Georgia 's Revaz Lashkhi and Russia 's Zaur Kuramagomedov , eventual silver and bronze medalists respectively . El @-@ Trabely was the 2011 African runner @-@ up and was second in the African and Oceania qualification tournament behind Tunisia 's Radhouane Chebbi . At the Games he lost against 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion Mijaín López of Cuba and Guram Pherselidze of Georgia . Mohamed Abouhalima , Islam Tolba , and Mohamed Abdelfatah all lost their opening bouts and were eliminated without appearing in the repechage . Abouhalima , competing in the 55kg class , was the 2011 junior and 2012 senior African champion and won the African and Oceania qualifying tournament . Tolba , competing in the 74 kg class , was the runner up at the 2011 African Championships , 2011 Pan Arab Games , and the African and Oceania qualifying tournament , behind Tunisia 's Zied Ayet Ikram of Tunisia all three times . Abdelfatah had accrued numerous international honors since winning the 83 kg class at the 1997 Pan Arab Games and was a veteran of the 85 kg class at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 84 kg class at the 2004 edition . In London he competed in the 96 kg class and qualified by coming in fifth at the 2011 World Championships .
+
+Men 's freestyle
+
+Men 's Greco @-@ Roman
+
+Women 's freestyle
+
+Key : BM
+
+= Bronze medal match ; VT =
+
+Victory by Fall ; PP
+
+= Decision by Points – the loser with technical points ; PO =
+
+Decision by Points – the loser without technical points ; Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
+
+= Siege of Sidney Street =
+
+The Siege of Sidney Street of January 1911 , also known as the Battle of Stepney , was a gunfight in the East End of London between a combined police and army force and two Latvian revolutionaries . The siege was the culmination of a series of events that began in December 1910 , with an attempted jewellery robbery at Houndsditch in the City of London by a gang of immigrant Latvians which resulted in the murder of three policemen , the wounding of two others , and the death of George Gardstein , the leader of the Latvian gang .
+
+An investigation by the Metropolitan and City of London Police forces identified Gardstein 's accomplices , most of whom were arrested within two weeks . The police were informed that the final two members of the gang were hiding at 100 Sidney Street in Stepney . The police evacuated local residents from the environs , and on the morning of 3 January a firefight broke out . Armed with inferior weapons , the police sought assistance from the army . The siege lasted for about six hours . Towards the end of the stand @-@ off , the building caught fire ; no single cause has been identified . One of the agitators in the building was shot before the fire took control . While the London Fire Brigade were damping down the ruins — in which they found the two bodies — the building collapsed , killing one of the firemen , Superintendent Charles Pearson .
+
+The siege marked the first time that the police had requested army assistance in London to deal with an armed stand @-@ off . It was also the first siege in Britain to be caught on camera , as the events were filmed by Pathé News . Some of the footage included images of the then Home Secretary , Winston Churchill . His presence caused a political row over the level of his operational involvement . At the subsequent trial in May 1911 of those arrested for the Houndsditch jewellery robbery , all but one of the accused were acquitted ; the sole conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal . The events were fictionalised in film — in The Man Who Knew Too Much ( 1934 ) and The Siege of Sidney Street ( 1960 ) — and novels . On the centenary of the events two tower blocks in Sidney Street were named after Peter the Painter , one of the minor members of the gang who was probably not present at either Houndsditch or Sidney Street . The murdered policemen and the fireman who died are commemorated by memorial plaques .
+
+= = Background = =
+
+= = = Immigration and demographics in London = = =
+
+In the 19th century Tsarist Russia was home to about five million Jews , the largest Jewish community at the time . Subjected to religious persecution and violent pogroms , many emigrated and between 1875 and 1914 around 150 @,@ 000 arrived in the United Kingdom , mostly in England . The influx reached its peak in the late 1890s when large numbers of Jewish immigrants — mostly poor and semi @-@ skilled or unskilled — settled in the East End of London . The concentration of Jewish immigrants into some areas was almost 100 per cent of the population , and a study undertaken in 1900 showed that Houndsditch and Whitechapel were both identified as a " well @-@ defined intensely Jewish district " .
+
+Some of the expatriates were revolutionaries , many of whom were unable to adapt to life in the politically less oppressive London . The social historian William J. Fishman writes that " the meschuggena ( crazy ) Anarchists were almost accepted as part of the East End landscape " , although the terms " socialist " and " anarchist " had been conflated in the minds of the British press , who used the terms interchangeably to refer to those with revolutionary beliefs . A leading article in The Times described the Whitechapel area as one that " harbours some of the worst alien anarchists and criminals who seek our too hospitable shore . And these are the men who use the pistol and the knife . "
+
+From the turn of the century , gang warfare persisted in the Whitechapel and Aldgate areas of London between groups of Bessarabians and refugees from Odessa , and various revolutionary factions were active in the area . One event , the Tottenham Outrage of January 1909 , by two revolutionary Russians in London — Paul Helfeld and Jacob Lepidus — was an attempt to rob a payroll van , which left two dead and twenty injured . The event used a tactic often employed by revolutionary groups in Russia : the expropriation or theft of private property to fund radical activities .
+
+The influx of émigrés , and the rising rates of violent crime associated with it , led to popular concerns and comments in the press . The government passed the Aliens Act 1905 in an attempt to reduce immigration . The popular press reflected the opinions of many at the time ; a leading article in the Manchester Evening Chronicle supported the bill to bar " the dirty , destitute , diseased , verminous and criminal foreigner who dumps himself on our soil . " The journalist Robert Winder , in his examination of immigration into Britain , opines that the Act " gave official sanction to xenophobic reflexes which might ... have remained dormant " .
+
+= = = Latvian émigré gang = = =
+
+By 1910 Russian émigrés met regularly at the Anarchist Club in Jubilee Street , Stepney . Many of its members were not anarchists , and the club became a meeting and social venue for the Russian émigré diaspora , most of whom were Jewish . The small group of Latvians who became involved in the events at Houndsditch and Sidney Street were not anarchists — although anarchist literature was later found among their possessions . Members of the group were probably revolutionaries who had been radicalised by their experiences in Russia . All had extreme left @-@ wing political views and believed the expropriation of private property was a valid practice .
+
+The probable leader of the group was George Gardstein , whose real name was likely to have been Poloski or Poolka , although he used the aliases Garstin , Poloski , Poolka , Morountzeff , Mourimitz , Maurivitz , Milowitz , Morintz , Morin and Levi . Gardstein , who probably was an anarchist , had been accused of murder and acts of terrorism in Warsaw in 1905 before his arrival in London . Another member of the group , Jacob ( or Yakov ) Peters , had been an agitator in Russia while in the army and later as a dockyard worker . He had served a term in prison for his activities and had been tortured by the removal of his fingernails . Yourka Dubof was another Russian agitator who had fled to England after being flogged by Cossacks . Fritz Svaars was a Latvian who had been arrested by the Russian authorities three times for terrorist offences , but escaped each time . He had travelled through the United States , where he undertook a series of robberies , before arriving in London in June 1910 .
+
+Another member was " Peter the Painter " , a nickname for an unknown figure , possibly named Peter Piaktow ( or Piatkov , Pjatkov or Piaktoff ) , or Janis Zhaklis . Bernard Porter , in a brief sketch in the Dictionary of National Biography , writes that no firm details are known of the anarchist 's background and that " None of the ... biographical ' facts ' about him ... is altogether reliable . " William ( or Joseph ) Sokoloff ( or Sokolow ) was a Latvian who had been arrested in Riga in 1905 for murder and robbery before travelling to London . Another of the group 's members was Karl Hoffman — whose real name was Alfred Dzircol — who had been involved in revolutionary and criminal activities for several years , including gun @-@ running . In London he had practiced as a decorator . John Rosen — real name John Zelin or Tzelin — came to London in 1909 from Riga and worked as a barber , while another member of the gang was Max Smoller , also known as Joe Levi and " Josepf the Jew " . He was wanted in his native Crimea for several jewel robberies .
+
+= = = Policing in the capital = = =
+
+Following the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 and the City of London Police Act 1839 , the capital was policed by two forces , the Metropolitan Police , who held sway over most of the capital , and the City of London Police , who were responsible for law enforcement within the historic City boundaries . The events in Houndsditch in December 1910 fell into the purview of the City of London service , and the subsequent actions at Sidney Street in January 1911 were in the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan force . Both services came under the political control of the Home Secretary , who in 1911 was the 36 @-@ year @-@ old rising politician Winston Churchill .
+
+While on the beat , or in the course of their normal duties , the officers of both the City of London and Metropolitan forces were provided with only with a short wooden truncheon for protection . When they faced armed opponents — as was the case in Sidney Street — the police were issued with Webley and Bull Dog revolvers , shotguns and small @-@ bore rifles fitted with .22 Morris @-@ tube barrels , the last of which were more commonly used on small indoor shooting galleries .
+
+= = Houndsditch murders , December 1910 = =
+
+At the beginning of December 1910 Smoller , using the name Joe Levi , visited Exchange Buildings , a small cul @-@ de @-@ sac that backed onto the properties of Houndsditch . He rented No. 11 Exchange Buildings ; a week later Svaars rented number 9 for a month , saying he needed it for storage . The gang were unable to rent number 10 , which was directly behind their target , 119 Houndsditch , the jeweller 's shop owned by Mr H S Harris . The safe in the jeweller 's was reputed to contain between £ 20 @,@ 000 and £ 30 @,@ 000 worth of jewellery , although Harris 's son later stated the total was only around £ 7 @,@ 000 . Over the next two weeks the gang brought in various pieces of necessary equipment , including a 60 foot ( 18 @.@ 25 m ) length of India rubber gas hose , a cylinder of compressed gas and a selection of tools , including diamond @-@ tipped drills .
+
+With the exception of Gardstein , the identities of the gang members present in Houndsditch on the night of 16 December 1910 have never been confirmed . Bernard Porter , writing in the Dictionary of National Biography , considers that Sokoloff and Peters were present and , in all likelihood , were two of those that shot the policemen who interrupted their burglary . Porter opines that Peter the Painter was probably not at the property that night , while the journalist J P Eddy suggests that Svaars was among those present . Donald Rumbelow , a former policeman who wrote a history of the events , considers that those present consisted of Gardstein , Smoller , Peters and Dubof , with a second group in case the work needed to continue into the following day , which included among their number Sokolow and Svaars . Rumbelow considers a third group on standby , staying at Hoffman 's lodgings , to have comprised Hoffman , Rosen and Osip Federoff , an unemployed locksmith . Rumbelow also considers that present at the events — either as lookouts or in unknown capacities — were Peter the Painter and Nina Vassilleva .
+
+On 16 December , working from the small yard behind 11 Exchange Buildings , the gang began to break through the back wall of the shop ; number 10 had been unoccupied since 12 December . At around 10 : 00 that evening , returning to his home at 120 Houndsditch , Max Weil heard curious noises coming from his neighbour 's property . Outside his house Weil found Police Constable Piper on his beat and informed him of the noises . Piper checked at 118 and 121 Houndsditch , where he could hear the noise , which he thought was unusual enough to investigate further . At 11 : 00 he knocked at the door of 11 Exchange Buildings — the only property with a light on in the back . The door was opened in a furtive manner and Piper became suspicious immediately . So as not to rouse the man 's concerns , Piper asked him " is the missus in ? " The man answered in broken English that she was out , and the policeman said he would return later .
+
+Piper reported that as he was leaving Exchange Buildings to return to Houndsditch he saw a man acting suspiciously in the shadows of the cul @-@ de @-@ sac . As the policeman approached him , the man walked away ; Piper later described him as being approximately 5 feet 7 inches ( 1 @.@ 70 m ) , pale and fair @-@ haired . When Piper reached Houndsditch he saw two policemen from the adjoining beats — constables Woodhams and Choate — who watched 120 Houndsditch and 11 Exchange Buildings while Piper went to the nearby Bishopsgate Police Station to report . By 11 : 30 seven uniformed and two plain clothes policemen had gathered in the locality , each armed with his wooden truncheon . Sergeant Bentley from Bishopsgate police station knocked at number 11 , unaware that Piper had already done so , which alerted the gang . The door was answered by Gardstein , who made no response when Bentley asked if anyone was working there . Bentley asked him to fetch someone who spoke English ; Gardstein left the door half @-@ closed and disappeared inside . Bentley entered the hall with Sergeant Bryant and Constable Woodhams ; as they could see the bottom of his trouser legs , they soon realised that someone was watching them from the stairs . The police asked the man if they could step into the back of the property , and he agreed . As Bentley moved forward , the back door opened and one of the gang exited , firing from a pistol as he did so ; the man on the stairs also began firing . Bentley was shot in the shoulder and the neck — the second round severing his spine . Bryant was shot in the arm and chest and Woodhams was wounded in the leg , which broke his femur ; both collapsed . Although they survived , neither Bryant or Woodhams fully recovered from their injuries .
+
+As the gang exited the property and made to escape up the cul @-@ de @-@ sac , other police intervened . Sergeant Charles Tucker from Bishopsgate police station was hit twice , once in the hip and once in the heart by Peters : he died instantly . Choate grabbed Gardstein and wrestled for his gun , but the Russian managed to shoot him in the leg . Other members of the gang ran to Gardstein 's assistance , shooting Choate twelve times in the process , but Gardstein was also wounded ; as the policeman collapsed , Gardstein was carried away by his accomplices , who included Peters . As these men , aided by an unknown woman , made their escape with Gardstein they were accosted by Isaac Levy , a passer @-@ by , whom they threatened at pistol @-@ point . He was the only witness to the escape who was able to provide firm details ; other witnesses confirmed they saw a group of three men and a woman , and thought one of the men was drunk as he was being helped by his friends . The group , which included Peters , went to Svaars ' and Peter the Painter 's lodgings at 59 Grove Street ( now Goldring Street ) , off Commercial Road , where Gardstein was tended by two of the gang 's associates , Luba Milstein ( Svaars ' mistress ) and Sara Trassjonsky . As they left Gardstein on the bed , Peters left his Dreyse pistol under the mattress , either to make it seem the wounded man was the one who had killed Tucker , or to enable him to defend himself against a possible arrest .
+
+Other policemen arrived in Houndsditch , and began to attend to the wounded . Tucker 's body was put into a taxi and he was taken to the London Hospital ( now the Royal London Hospital ) in Whitechapel Road . Choate was also taken there , where he was operated on , but he died at 5 : 30 am on 17 December . Bentley was taken to St Bartholomew 's Hospital . He was half @-@ conscious on arrival , but recovered enough to be able to have a conversation with his pregnant wife and answer questions about the events . At 6 : 45 pm on 17 December his condition worsened , and he died at 7 : 30 . The killings of Tucker , Bentley and Choate remain one of the largest multiple murders of police officers carried out in Britain in peacetime .
+
+= = Investigation , 17 December 1910 – 2 January 1911 = =
+
+The City of London police informed the Metropolitan force , as their protocol demanded , and both services issued revolvers to the detectives involved in the search . The subsequent investigation was challenging for the police because of the cultural differences between the British police and the largely foreign residents of the area covered by the search . There was a lack of foreign language skills in the police , who did not have any Russian , Latvian or Yiddish speakers on the force .
+
+In the early hours of the morning of 17 December Milstein and Trassjonsky became increasingly concerned as Gardstein 's condition worsened , and they sent for a local doctor , explaining that their patient had been wounded accidentally by a friend . The doctor thought the bullet was still in the chest — it was later found to be touching the right ventricle of the heart . The doctor wanted to take Gardstein to the London Hospital , but he refused ; with no other course open to him , the doctor sold them pain medication and left . The Russian was dead by 9 : 00am that morning . The doctor returned at 11 : 00 am and found the body . He had not heard of the events at Exchange Buildings the night before , and so reported the death to the coroner , not the police . At mid @-@ day the coroner reported the death to the local police who , led by Divisional Detective Inspector Frederick Wensley , went to Grove Street and discovered the corpse . Trassjonsky was in the next room when they entered , and she was soon found by the police , hastily burning papers ; she was arrested and taken to the police headquarters at Old Jewry . Many of the papers recovered linked the suspects to the East End , particularly to the anarchist groups active in the area . Wensley , who had extensive knowledge of the Whitechapel area , subsequently acted as a liaison officer to the City of London force throughout the investigation .
+
+Gardstein 's body was removed to a local mortuary where his face was cleaned , his hair brushed , his eyes opened and his photograph taken . The picture , and descriptions of those who had helped Gardstein escape from Exchange Buildings , were distributed on posters in English and Russian , asking locals for information . About 90 detectives vigorously searched the East End , spreading details of those they were looking for . A local landlord , Isaac Gordon , reported one of his lodgers , Nina Vassilleva , after she had told him she had been one of the people living at Exchange Buildings . Wensley questioned the woman , finding anarchist publications in her rooms , along with a photograph of Gardstein . Information began to come in from the public and the group 's associates : on 18 December Federoff was arrested at home , and on 22 December Dubof and Peters were both captured .
+
+On 22 December a public memorial service took place for Tucker , Bentley and Choate at St Paul 's Cathedral . King George V was represented by Edward Wallington , his Groom in Waiting ; also present were Churchill and the Lord Mayor of London . The crime had shocked Londoners and the service showed evidence of their feelings . An estimated ten thousand people waited in St Paul 's environs , and many local businesses closed as a mark of respect ; the nearby London Stock Exchange ceased trading for half an hour to allow traders and staff to watch the procession along Threadneedle Street . After the service , when the coffins were being transported on an eight @-@ mile ( 13 km ) journey to the cemeteries , it was estimated that 750 @,@ 000 people lined the route , many throwing flowers onto the hearses as they passed .
+
+Identity parades were held at Bishopsgate police station on 23 December . Isaac Levy , who had seen the group leaving Exchange Buildings , identified Peters and Dubof as the two he had seen carrying Gardstein . It was also ascertained that Federoff had been witnessed at the events . The following day Federoff , Peters and Dubof all appeared at the Guildhall police court where they were charged with being connected to the murder of the three policemen , and with conspiracy to burgle the jewellery shop . All three pleaded not guilty .
+
+On 27 December the poster bearing Gardstein 's picture was seen by his landlord , who alerted police . Wensley and his colleagues visited the lodgings on Gold Street , Stepney and found knives , a gun , ammunition , false passports and revolutionary publications . Two days later there was another hearing at the Guildhall police court . In addition to Federoff , Peters and Dubof , present in the dock were Milstein and Trassjonsky . With some of the defendants having a low standard of English , interpreters were used throughout the proceedings . At the end of the day the case was adjourned until 6 January 1911 .
+
+On New Year 's Day 1911 the body of Léon Beron , a Russian Jewish immigrant , was found on Clapham Common in South London . He had been badly beaten and two S @-@ shaped cuts , both two inches long , were on his cheeks . The case became connected in the press with the Houndsditch murders and the subsequent events at Sidney Street , although the evidence at the time for the link was scant . The historian F G Clarke , in his history of the events , located information from another Latvian who stated that Beron had been killed not because he was one of the informers who had passed on information , but because he was planning to pass the information on , and the act was a pre @-@ emptive one , designed to scare the locals into not informing on the anarchists .
+
+The posters of Gardstein proved effective , and late on New Year 's Day a member of the public came forward to provide information about Svaars and Sokoloff . The informant told police that the men were hiding at 100 Sidney Street , along with a lodger , Betty Gershon , who was Sokoloff 's mistress . The informant was persuaded to visit the property the following day to confirm the two men were still present . A meeting took place on the afternoon of 2 January to decide the next steps . Wensley , high @-@ ranking members of the Metropolitan force and Sir William Nott @-@ Bower , the Commissioner of the City Police , were present .
+
+= = Events of 3 January = =
+
+Just after midnight on 3 January , 200 police officers from the City of London and Metropolitan forces cordoned off the area around 100 Sidney Street . Armed officers were placed at number 111 , directly opposite number 100 , and throughout the night the residents of the houses on the block were roused and evacuated . Wensley woke the ground floor tenants at number 100 and asked them to fetch Gershon , claiming that she was needed by her sick husband . When Gershon appeared she was grabbed by the police and taken to the City of London police headquarters ; the ground floor lodgers also evacuated . Number 100 was now empty of all residents , apart from Svaars and Sokoloff , neither of whom seemed to be aware of the evacuation .
+
+The police 's operating procedure — and the law which governed their actions — meant they were unable to open fire without being fired upon first . This , along with the structure of the building , with a narrow , winding stairwell up which police would have to pass , meant any approach to the gang members was too perilous to attempt . It was decided to wait until dawn before taking any action . At about 7 : 30 am a policeman knocked on the door of number 100 , which elicited no response ; stones were then thrown at the window to wake the men . Svaars and Sokoloff appeared at the window and opened fire at the police . A police sergeant was wounded in the chest : he was evacuated under fire across the rooftops , and taken to the London Hospital . Some members of the police returned fire , but their guns were only effective over shorter ranges , and proved ineffective against the comparatively advanced automatic weapons of Svaars and Sokoloff .
+
+By 9 : 00 am it was apparent that the two gunmen possessed superior weapons and ample ammunition . The police officers in charge on the scene , Superintendent Mulvaney and Chief Superintendent Stark , contacted Assistant Commissioner Major Frederick Wodehouse at Scotland Yard . He telephoned the Home Office and obtained permission from Churchill to bring in a detachment of Scots Guards , who were stationed at the Tower of London . It was the first time that the police had requested military assistance in London to deal with an armed siege . Twenty @-@ one volunteer marksmen from the Guards arrived at about 10 : 00 am and took firing positions at each end of the street and in the houses opposite . The shooting continued without either side gaining any advantage .
+
+Churchill arrived on the scene at 11 : 50 am to observe the incident at first hand ; he later reported that he thought the crowd were unwelcoming to him , as he heard people asking " Oo let ' em in ? " , in reference to the Liberal Party 's immigration policy that had allowed the influx from Russia . Churchill 's role during the siege is unclear . His biographers , Paul Addison and Roy Jenkins , both consider that he gave no operational commands to the police , although a Metropolitan police history of the event states that the events of Sidney Street were " a very rare case of a Home Secretary taking police operational command decisions " . In a subsequent letter to The Times , Churchill clarified his role while he was present :
+
+I did not interfere in any way with the dispositions made by the police authorities on the spot . I never overruled those authorities nor overrode them . From beginning to end the police had an absolutely free hand . ... I did not send for the Artillery or the Engineers . I was not consulted as to whether they should be sent for .
+
+Shooting between the two sides reached a peak between 12 : 00 and 12 : 30 pm , but at 12 : 50 smoke was seen coming from the building 's chimneys and from the second floor windows ; it has not been established how the fire was started , whether by accident or design . The fire slowly spread , and by 1 : 30 it had taken a firm hold and had spread to the other floors . A second detachment of Scots Guards arrived , bringing with them a Maxim machine gun , which was never used . Shortly afterwards Sokoloff put his head out of the window ; he was shot by one of the soldiers and he fell back inside . The senior officer of the London Fire Brigade present on the scene sought permission to extinguish the blaze , but was refused . He approached Churchill in order to have the decision overturned , but the Home Secretary approved the police decision . Churchill later wrote :
+
+I now intervened to settle this dispute , at one moment quite heated . I told the fire brigade officer on my authority as Home Secretary that the house was to be allowed to burn down and that he was to stand by in readiness to prevent the conflagration from spreading .
+
+By 2 : 30 pm the shooting from the house had ceased . One of the detectives present walked close to the wall and pushed the door open , before retreating . Others police officers , and some of the soldiers , came out and waited for the men to exit . None did , and as part of the roof collapsed , it was clear to onlookers that the men were both dead ; the fire brigade was allowed to start extinguishing the fire . At 2 : 40 Churchill left the scene , at about the time the Royal Horse Artillery arrived with two 13 @-@ pounder field artillery pieces . When the firemen entered the property to douse the flames , they soon located Sokoloff 's body , which was extracted . A wall collapsed on a group of five firemen , who were all taken to the London Hospital . One of the men , Superintendent Charles Pearson , had a fractured spine ; he died six months after the siege as a result of his injuries . After shoring up the building , the firemen resumed their search of the premises . At around 6 : 30 pm the second body — that of Svaars — was found ; it was taken to the mortuary .
+
+= = Aftermath = =
+
+The siege was captured by Pathé News cameras — one of their earliest stories and the first siege to be captured on film — and it included footage of Churchill in attendance . When the newsreels were screened in cinemas , Churchill was booed with shouts of " shoot him " from audiences . His presence was controversial to many and the Leader of the Opposition , Arthur Balfour , remarked , " He [ Churchill ] was , I understand , in military phrase , in what is known as the zone of fire — he and a photographer were both risking valuable lives . I understand what the photographer was doing , but what was the right hon . Gentleman doing ? That I neither understood at the time , nor do I understand now . " Jenkins suggests that he went simply because " he could not resist going to see the fun himself " .
+
+An inquest was held in January into the deaths at Houndsditch and Sidney Street . The jury took fifteen minutes to reach the conclusion that the two bodies located were those of Svaars and Sokoloff , and that Tucker , Bentley and Choate had been murdered by Gardstein and others in the course of the burglary attempt . Rosen was arrested on 2 February at work in Well Street , Hackney , and Hoffman was taken into custody on 15 February . The committal proceedings spread from December 1910 — with Milstein and Trassjonsky appearing — to March 1911 , and included Hoffman from 15 February . The proceedings consisted of 24 individual hearings . In February Milstein was discharged on the basis there was insufficient evidence against her ; Hoffman , Trassjonsky and Federoff were released in March on the same basis . The case against the four remaining arrested gang members was heard at the Old Bailey by Mr Justice Grantham in May . Dubof and Peters were accused with Tucker 's murder , Dubof , Peters , Rosen and Vassilleva were charged with " feloniously harbouring a felon guilty of murder " , and for " conspiring and agreeing together and with others unknown to break and enter the shop of Henry Samuel Harris with intent to steal his goods . " The case lasted for eleven days ; there were problems with the proceedings because of the language difficulties and the chaotic personal lives of the accused . The case resulted in acquittals for all except Vassilleva , who was convicted of conspiracy in the burglary . She was sentenced to two years ' imprisonment , although her conviction was later overturned on appeal .
+
+After the high levels of criticism aimed at the Aliens Act , Churchill decided to strengthen the legislation , and proposed the Aliens ( Prevention of Crime ) Bill under the Ten Minute Rule . The MP Josiah C Wedgwood objected , and wrote to Churchill to ask him not to introduce the hard @-@ line measures " You know as well as I do that human life does not matter a rap in comparison with the death of ideas and the betrayal of English traditions . " The bill did not become law .
+
+= = Legacy = =
+
+The inadequacy of the police 's firepower led to criticism in the press , and on 12 January 1911 several alternative weapons were tested . The trials resulted in the decision by the Metropolitan Police to replace the Webley revolver with the Webley & Scott .32 calibre MP semi @-@ automatic pistol later that year ; the City of London Police followed suit with the same choice in 1912 .
+
+The members of the group dispersed after the events . Peter the Painter was never seen or heard from again . It was assumed he left the country , and there were several possible sightings in the years afterwards , although none were confirmed . Jacob Peters returned to Russia , rose to be deputy head of the Cheka , the Soviet secret police , and was executed in Joseph Stalin 's 1938 purge . Trassjonsky had a mental breakdown and was confined for a time at Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum . Her eventual fate and date of death are not known . Dubof , Federoff and Hoffmann disappeared from the records , although Vassilleva remained living in the East End for the remainder of her life and died at Brick Lane in 1963 . Smoller left the country in 1911 and travelled to Paris , after which he disappeared ; Milstein later emigrated to live in the United States .
+
+The siege was the inspiration for the final scene in Alfred Hitchcock 's original 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much , while the whole story was heavily fictionalised in the 1960 film The Siege of Sidney Street . The siege has also been the fictional inspiration for two novels , The Siege of Sidney Street ( 1960 ) by F Oughton and A Death Out of Season ( 1973 ) by Emanuel Litvinoff .
+
+In September 2008 Tower Hamlets London Borough Council named two tower blocks in Sidney Street , Peter House and Painter House , even though Peter the Painter was only involved in a minor capacity in the events , and was not present at the siege . The name plaques on the buildings call Peter the Painter an " anti @-@ hero " . The decision angered the Metropolitan Police Federation , although a council spokesman said that " There is no evidence that Peter the Painter killed the three policemen , so we knew we were not naming the block after a murderer . ... but he is the name that East Enders associate with the siege and Sidney Street . " In December 2010 , on the centenary of the events at Houndsditch , a memorial plaque for the three murdered policemen was unveiled near the location . Three weeks later , on the anniversary of the siege , a plaque was unveiled in honour of Pearson , the fireman who died as the building collapsed on him .
+
+= Delaware Route 41 =
+
+Delaware Route 41 ( DE 41 ) is a highway in northwestern New Castle County , Delaware . Its southern terminus is at DE 2 and DE 62 in Prices Corner . From DE 2 , the road passes through suburban areas along Newport Gap Pike , intersecting DE 34 in Brandywine Springs and DE 48 in Hockessin . Its northern terminus is the Pennsylvania state line just north of Hockessin , and it continues on as Pennsylvania Route 41 ( PA 41 ) to Gap .
+
+DE 41 was originally chartered as the Gap and Newport Turnpike in the 19th century . In the 1920s and 1930s , this road was upgraded to a state highway . DE 41 was designated by 1936 to run from U.S. Route 40 ( US 40 , now DE 9 / DE 273 ) in New Castle north to the Pennsylvania border in Hockessin . In the 1950s , DE 141 became concurrent with the route from New Castle to north of Newport . DE 41 was removed from the DE 141 concurrency in the 1970s and was realigned to follow DE 2 east to an interchange with DE 141 in the 1980s , with the old alignment south of DE 2 becoming DE 62 . In 2015 , the southern terminus was cut back to its current location , removing the concurrency with DE 2 .
+
+= = Route description = =
+
+DE 41 begins at an intersection with DE 2 in Prices Corner , heading northwest along Newport Gap Pike . South of DE 2 , Newport Gap Pike continues southeast as DE 62 . DE 41 is a two @-@ lane divided highway before it crosses the Wilmington and Western Railroad and the Red Clay Creek . The route becomes an undivided road and continues through a mix of residential neighborhoods and woodland . The road comes to an intersection with DE 34 ( Faulkland Road ) in Brandywine Springs . Past this junction , DE 41 continues northwest , with stretches alternating between divided and undivided highway , towards Hockessin .
+
+In Hockessin , DE 41 meets the western terminus of DE 48 ( Lancaster Pike ) , onto which it merges . The Lancaster Pike alternates between a divided highway and a two @-@ lane undivided road . DE 41 turns to the west @-@ northwest and passes to the northeast of the Sanford School befoee it enters business areas and becomes a three @-@ lane divided highway with one northbound lane and two southbound lanes . The median turns into a center left @-@ turn lane as the road runs past more development and crosses the Wilmington and Western Railroad again . The southbound direction narrows to one lane at the Yorklyn Road intersection . The road briefly becomes a divided highway at the Valley Road junction . After leaving the center of Hockessin , the route becomes a three @-@ lane undivided road , with two northbound lanes and one southbound lane . The road passes homes , eventually narrowing back to two lanes . DE 41 reaches the Pennsylvania border , where Gap Newport Pike continues northwest as PA 41 .
+
+DE 41 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 20 @,@ 665 vehicles at the Yorklyn Road intersection to a low of 12 @,@ 611 vehicles at the McKennans Church Road intersection . The entire length of DE 41 is part of the National Highway System .
+
+= = History = =
+
+What is now DE 41 was originally chartered as the Gap and Newport Turnpike on January 30 , 1808 , an extension of the 1807 @-@ chartered turnpike in Pennsylvania that was to run from Gap , Pennsylvania southeast to Newport , Delaware . By 1920 , this road was maintained by the county . The road north of Lancaster Pike was proposed as a state highway four years later . A year later , a state highway was completed on what would become DE 41 between New Castle and Prices Corner . Plans were underway in 1927 to replace the outdated swing bridge over the Christina River in Newport . Contracts for this project were awarded the following year . The replacement bridge over the Christina River , a bascule bridge , opened on December 1 , 1929 . In 1927 , plans were made to replace the grade crossing at the Pennsylvania Railroad line ( now Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor ) in Newport with an underpass under the tracks . Work on this underpass began in 1929 . The crossing under the Pennsylvania Railroad was finished and opened to traffic in June 1930 . In 1929 , the Gap Road was upgraded to a state highway .
+
+DE 41 was designated to run from US 40 ( now DE 9 / DE 273 ) in New Castle north to PA 41 at the Pennsylvania border in Hockessin by 1936 . It followed Basin Road north to Newport , James Street through Newport , and the Newport Gap Pike north of there . By 1952 , DE 141 was designated to run concurrent with DE 41 from New Castle to north of Newport . In 1954 , plans were made to replace the intersection with US 13 / US 40 in Basin Corner with a modified cloverleaf interchange in an effort to reduce traffic congestion . Construction on the interchange began in September of that year . The interchange between US 13 / US 40 and DE 41 / DE 141 was completed in 1956 .
+
+In April 1954 , work began to improve DE 41 between the DE 48 intersection and the Pennsylvania border . These improvements constructed a bypass of Hockessin and added truck lanes on steep grades . This project was scheduled for completion in July 1955 . The new northbound lanes of DE 41 / DE 141 through the I @-@ 95 interchange opened in November 1962 , at which point construction on the southbound lanes began . The southbound lanes of DE 41 / DE 141 opened in June 1964 , enabling directional flow of DE 41 / DE 141 through the interchange .
+
+The southern terminus of DE 41 was truncated to DE 141 north of Newport by 1971 , eliminating the concurrency with that route . By 1981 , DE 41 was realigned to follow DE 2 to end at an interchange with DE 141 , with DE 62 being designated along the former DE 41 south of DE 2 . In 2015 , the Delaware Department of Transportation proposed cutting back the southern terminus of DE 41 from the interchange with DE 141 to the intersection with DE 2 and Newport Gap Pike , eliminating the concurrency with DE 2 . This change was made in order to reduce sign clutter and also reduce truck traffic along the southern portion of DE 41 . A public workshop on the proposal was held and changes were made in summer 2015 .
+
+= = Major intersections = =
+
+The entire route is in New Castle County .
+
+= In Marge We Trust =
+
+" In Marge We Trust " is the twenty @-@ second episode of The Simpsons ' eighth season . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 27 , 1997 . It was written by Donick Cary and directed by Steven Dean Moore . The episode guest stars Sab Shimono as Mr. Sparkle , Gedde Watanabe as the factory worker , Denice Kumagai and Karen Maruyama as dancers , and Frank Welker as the baboons . In the episode , Marge replaces Reverend Lovejoy as the town 's moral adviser while Homer explores the mystery of why his face appears on a Japanese @-@ language detergent box .
+
+= = Plot = =
+
+Reverend Lovejoy 's sermon on " constancy " almost sends the entire congregation to sleep . After church Homer takes Bart and Lisa to the Springfield dump to dispose of their old Christmas tree , where they find a box of Japanese dishwasher detergent known as Mr. Sparkle . The face of the character on the box of the detergent strongly resembles Homer . Meanwhile , Marge becomes concerned with Lovejoy 's lack of enthusiasm about helping people . He explains to Marge that he was enthusiastic about the ministry and helping his fellow man when he first arrived in Springfield . However , his passion for helping people gradually degraded as he dealt with Ned Flanders and his constant complaints over trivial and common issues . Marge begins working for the Church as " The Listen Lady " , listening to people 's problems and helping solve them . Reverend Lovejoy soon realizes his inadequacy and begins to feel depressed . While he is alone in the church the stained glass images of saints appear and chastise him for doing little to inspire his congregation .
+
+Homer , disturbed by the box of Mr. Sparkle , contacts the manufacturer in Hokkaidō , Japan for information . He is sent a promotional video for Mr. Sparkle , which consists of a TV commercial . At the end of the video , the mascot is shown to be a result of a joint venture between two large Japanese conglomerates , Matsumura Fishworks and Tamaribuchi Heavy Manufacturing Concern . Their mascots , a smiling anime fish and light bulb , merge to form Mr. Sparkle . Thus , Homer discovers the similarity was a mere coincidence .
+
+Ned Flanders calls Marge for help . Jimbo , Dolph , and Kearney are hanging around outside the Leftorium , making Ned worried that they will start causing trouble . Marge suggests that he shoo them away . The trio are about to leave , but when he goes and asks them to , they decide to harass him instead . Ned calls Marge again , whilst he is standing on a chair with the three boys circling him on their minibikes , so she suggests that he " lay down the law " , and when one of the boys snips the phone cord , Marge assumes that Ned has hung up and that everything is fine .
+
+The next morning , Maude informs Marge that Ned is missing , having been chased around by the boys throughout the night . Marge realizes that she may be partially responsible for his disappearance . Marge goes to Reverend Lovejoy for help , and the two of them track Ned to the zoo , where Japanese tourists think Homer is Mr. Sparkle . Jimbo , Dolph , and Kearney have abandoned their pursuit , but now Ned is trapped in the baboon exhibit . While the Simpson family looks on , Reverend Lovejoy rescues Ned in the baboons ' food cart . Now that he feels useful again , Reverend Lovejoy rediscovers his passion for his job , regaling his congregation with the tale of Ned 's rescue .
+
+= = Production = =
+
+By season 8 , the show had begun to explore episodes revolving around secondary characters . Reverend Lovejoy was selected for this episode because , aside from being noted as " the priest who didn 't care " , he had not had much character development . This was the first episode that Donick Cary wrote for The Simpsons . He was disappointed that his first story was about " Marge 's crisis with faith . " The trip to the dump was inspired by Donick Cary 's youth , in which he would often go " dump picking " . This led to the writers deciding to have Homer 's face on a discarded box , which became the Mr. Sparkle subplot . To help create the advertisement , the writers watched videos of many Japanese commercials . An original scene from Lovejoy 's flashback showed that Jasper Beardley preceded him as minister of the First Church of Springfield . The solution for how Mr. Sparkle resembles Homer was written by George Meyer , after hours of time had been spent trying to come up with a realistic ending . Matsumura Fishworks was named after Ichiro Matsumura , a friend of David X. Cohen .
+
+= = Reception = =
+
+In its original broadcast , " In Marge We Trust " finished 25th in ratings for the week of April 21 – 27 , 1997 , with a Nielsen rating of 10 @.@ 1 , equivalent to approximately 9 @.@ 8 million viewing households . It was the third highest @-@ rated show on the Fox network that week , following The X @-@ Files and King of the Hill . The authors of the book I Can 't Believe It 's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide , Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood , said : " A rare case of both storylines being worthy of full episodes in their own right , this is a cracking episode which highlights the unduly neglected Rev. Lovejoy and makes you realize Homer isn 't the only one ready to kill Ned Flanders ! Great stuff . " In a 2000 Entertainment Weekly article , Matt Groening ranked it as his fifth favorite in the history of the show . Josh Weinstein described it as one of the best of the season , as well as being one of the most underrated episodes of all time . He also described the Mr. Sparkle commercial as his all @-@ time favorite sequence . The fake Fruity Oaty Bar commercial from the film Serenity was partially inspired by the Mr. Sparkle advertisement . Since 2009 , the show 's new opening sequence includes Mr. Sparkle detergent with Marge 's supermarket purchases .
+
+= George Brett ( general ) =
+
+George Howard Brett ( 7 February 1886 – 2 December 1963 ) was a United States Army Air Forces General during World War II . An Early Bird of Aviation , Brett served as a staff officer in World War I. In 1941 , following the outbreak of war with Japan , Brett was appointed Deputy Commander of a short @-@ lived major Allied command , the American @-@ British @-@ Dutch @-@ Australian Command ( ABDACOM ) , which oversaw Allied forces in South East Asia and the South West Pacific . In early 1942 , he was put in charge of United States Army Forces in Australia , until the arrival of Douglas MacArthur . Brett then commanded all Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area . In November 1942 , he was appointed commander of the US Caribbean Defense Command and remained in this post for the rest of the war .
+
+= = Early life = =
+
+George Howard Brett was born in Cleveland , Ohio on 7 February 1886 , the second of five children of William Howard Brett , a notable librarian , and his wife Alice née Allen . George 's older brother Morgan graduated with the United States Military Academy at West Point class of 1906 , and served for many years as an ordnance officer , retiring in 1932 as a colonel . The family was unable to secure a second West Point appointment , so George Brett graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1909 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Philippine Scouts on 22 March 1910 . While in the Philippines he transferred to the US Cavalry on 10 August 1911 , joining the 2nd Cavalry .
+
+Brett returned to the United States in May 1912 and was first stationed at Fort Bliss . In December 1913 , he moved to Fort Ethan Allen where he became friends with a fellow lieutenant of the 2nd Cavalry , Frank M. Andrews , who was engaged to the daughter of Brigadier General James Allen . While serving as one of Andrews ' groomsmen , Brett met Mary Devol , one of the bridesmaids , and the daughter of another Army officer , Major General Carroll A. Devol . Brett married Mary Devol in Denver on 1 March 1916 . Influenced by Allen and Andrews , Brett transferred to the Aviation Section , U.S. Signal Corps on 2 September 1916 . He attended aviation school and on graduation in 1916 was assigned to the office of the Chief Signal Officer in Washington , D.C. where he was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916 and captain on 15 May 1917 .
+
+= = World War I = =
+
+Brett departed for the Western Front in November 1917 but suffered a case of appendicitis , resulting in the loss of his flight status . After making a partial recovery , he served in France as senior materiel officer under Brigadier General Billy Mitchell , attaining the temporary rank of major on 7 June 1918 . After briefly returned to the United States to serve in Office of the Director of Military Aeronautics in Washington , D.C. from 1 August to 23 September 1918 , Brett went to England to command the United States Army Air Service Camp at Codford .
+
+= = Between the wars = =
+
+Brett was posted to Kelly Field , Texas , in December 1918 , where he commanded the Aviation General Supply Depot until February 1919 , when he became the maintenance and supply officer at the Air Service Flying School . He commanded the Air Service depot in Morrison , Virginia for a month in October 1919 before being assigned to the office of the Director of the Air Service in Washington , DC , where his rank of major became permanent in 1920 . That year he took command of Crissy Field . His first son , the future United States Air Force Lieutenant General Devol " Rock " Brett , was born at nearby Letterman Army Hospital at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1923 .
+
+From 1924 to 1927 Brett was stationed at the intermediate depot at Fairfield , Ohio , where he was the officer in charge of the field service section . Starting in June 1927 he attended the Air Corps Tactical School at Langley Field , Virginia , after which he was selected for the two @-@ year Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . He commanded Selfridge Field , Michigan for time before returned to Fort Leavenworth as an Air Corps instructor from 1933 to 1935 . After 16 years as a major , he was finally promoted to lieutenant colonel and was selected to attend the Army War College . On graduation , he became commander of the 19th Wing , then stationed in the Panama Canal Zone , with the temporary rank of brigadier general . While he was stationed there , his eldest daughter Dora married his aide , the future general , Bernard A. Schriever .
+
+On his return from Panama , Brett reverted to his permanent rank of lieutenant colonel . He was briefly stationed in Menlo Park , California , before moving to Langley , Virginia , where he became chief of staff to his old friend Frank Andrews , now the commander of GHQ Air Force . In February 1939 Brett moved to Wright Field as assistant to the chief of the United States Army Air Corps , also serving as commandant of the Air Corps Engineering School and the chief of the Materiel Division . Once again he held the rank of brigadier general before being promoted to major general on 1 October 1940 .
+
+= = World War II = =
+
+= = = Middle East = = =
+
+When his immediate superior , Major General Henry H. " Hap " Arnold , was temporarily transferred to the Army General Staff in November 1939 , Brett acted as Chief of the Air Corps . In May 1941 , he formally became Chief of the Air Corps for a four @-@ year term , but the June 1941 reorganisation that made Arnold the Chief of United States Army Air Forces made the post of Chief of the Air Corps somewhat redundant . Brett was sent to the United Kingdom to determine how the Army Air Forces could better support Royal Air Force Lend @-@ Lease requirements . His recommendation that American labor and facilities be established in the United Kingdom to handle the repair , assembly , and equipping of American aircraft created a stir on both sides of the Atlantic , and was ultimately disapproved by Arnold on the grounds that the personnel and equipment were not available . Brett next paid a visit to the Middle East where his outspoken criticism of arrangements there antagonised his hosts to the extent that the British Ambassador to Egypt , Sir Miles Lampson , complained about him to the Foreign Secretary , Sir Anthony Eden . Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder noted that " the charms of General Brett ’ s company were beginning to pall . After a talk with him on the afternoon of 25 September I wondered in my journal how he and all the American visitors could lay down the law about things of which they knew next to nothing . " As a result , Brett was ordered to return to the United States in December .
+
+= = = East Indies = = =
+
+The outbreak of war between the United States and Japan in December 1941 changed things and Brett received new orders . He first flew to Rangoon and then , in the company of the Sir Archibald Wavell , the British Commander @-@ in @-@ Chief , India , on to Chungking where the two met with Generalissimo Chiang Kai @-@ shek . They obtained a promise of Chinese troops to assist in the defence of Burma . Near Rangoon , Wavell 's and Brett ’ s aircraft was attacked by Japanese aircraft and they were forced to make an emergency landing at a friendly aerodrome in Burma . The area was then bombed by the Japanese , but neither general was harmed . Brett was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander of the American @-@ British @-@ Dutch @-@ Australian Command ( ABDA ) , under Wavell , on 1 January 1942 , and was promoted to lieutenant general on 7 January 1942 . He arrived in Darwin on 28 December 1941 . In January he moved to Lembang in West Java , where Wavell established his headquarters . The rapid advance of Japanese forces through South East Asia had soon split the Allied @-@ controlled area in two . Brett departed Java for Australia on 23 February 1942 , reaching Melbourne the next day , where he resumed command of US Army Forces in Australia . ABDA was formally dissolved on 25 February .
+
+= = = Australia = = =
+
+Already , General Douglas MacArthur had also been ordered to Australia . Brett received warning from the Chief of Staff , General George Marshall that MacArthur would call on him to send a flight of long @-@ range bombers to Mindanao . The only aircraft that Brett could find were B @-@ 17s of the 19th Bombardment Group which had seen hard service in the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies campaigns . Brett approached Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary , the commander of naval forces in the Anzac Area , to ask for a loan of some of twelve newly arrived navy B @-@ 17s . Leary refused . Brett therefore sent four of the 19th Bombardment Group 's old planes . Only one , a B @-@ 17 with no brakes piloted by Lieutenant Harl Pease , made it to Mindanao ; two turned back with engine trouble , while a fourth ditched in the sea , its crew managing to escape . MacArthur was incensed and sent a message to Marshall . A message from Washington , D.C. persuaded Leary to release four new B @-@ 17s to Brett and these aircraft reached Mindanao on 16 March 1942 and managed to bring MacArthur and his party to Australia . Despite the lack of brakes , Pease also made it back , carrying sixteen refugees .
+
+It fell to Brett to telephone Prime Minister John Curtin and inform him of MacArthur 's arrival . Although Curtin was unaware of MacArthur 's impending arrival , and had expected that Brett would command American forces in Australia , he was persuaded to issue a recommendation that MacArthur be made Supreme Commander South West Pacific Area . While Brett considered that he was on " very friendly terms " with Curtin , Brett felt that Curtin was " more interested in keeping the party line on wages , hours and working conditions than in the threat posed by the Japanese . " General George Kenney later recalled that
+
+I think he [ Brett ] made his initial mistake in sort of spurning this Labor government crowd and taking up with the conservative crowd , who had been ousted by the Labor Party and who were not going to get back into power . But Brett figured they were , so he accepted entertainment from them and entertained them in return and became quite close to them . They , in turn , kidded him along and told him they knew he was going to be the commanding general of all the Allied Forces in Australia ... Yes , and he believed it , which was too bad .
+
+The April 1942 reorganisation that established the Southwest Pacific Area reduced the United States Army Forces in Australia to a supply and administrative organisation that would soon be renamed the Services of Supply . Brett instead became commander of Allied Air Forces , Southwest Pacific Area , with his headquarters in Melbourne . One of MacArthur 's first orders to Brett was for a bombing mission to the Philippines , an order which was delivered personally by MacArthur 's chief of staff , Major General Richard K. Sutherland . Brett protested that his planes were worn out , his men were tired , losses might be high , and the Philippines were lost anyway . Sutherland told him the MacArthur wanted the mission carried out . Brett delegated it to Brigadier General Ralph Royce , who led the mission in person . Brett awarded Royce the Distinguished Service Cross . Henceforth , communications with Sutherland would be handled by Brett 's chief of staff , Air Vice Marshal William Bostock . MacArthur personally wrote a reprimand to Brett . Further disagreements between MacArthur and Brett followed . On 6 July 1942 Marshall radioed MacArthur to offer him Major General George Kenney or Brigadier General Jimmy Doolittle as a replacement for Brett . MacArthur selected Kenney . Brett returned to the United States in his B @-@ 17 , " The Swoose " , on 4 August 1942 . The day before , General MacArthur awarded him the Silver Star " for gallantry in action in air reconnaissance in the combat zone , Southwest Pacific Area , during the months of May , June and July 1942 . "
+
+= = = Panama = = =
+
+After a time with no command , Brett was appointed commander of the US Caribbean Defense Command and the US Army 's Panama Canal Department in succession to Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews in November 1942 . In 1945 , the Inspector General , Lieutenant General Daniel Isom Sultan , investigated a series of allegations against Brett regarding the misuse of Army funds and property . He reported to the General Marshall that most of the charges were distortions of mission @-@ related events and expenditures , that the remaining allegations had no basis in fact , and that no further action be taken . Brett requested voluntary retirement and retired on 30 April 1945 with the rank of major general , only to be immediately recalled to active duty the next day as a temporary lieutenant general and as Commanding General of the Caribbean Defense Command and Panama Canal Department . On 10 October 1945 , Brett handed over command to Lieutenant General Willis D. Crittenberger . For his service in Panama , Brett was awarded a second Distinguished Service Medal . The citation noted " his broad grasp of military strategy and superior knowledge of air and ground tactics " and that " he succeeded admirably in impressing the republics of Central and South America with the importance and necessity of hemispheric solidarity , imbued them with American ideals , coordinated their use of arms and equipment and indoctrinated them with American training methods — all of which fostered continued improvement in the relations between all America republics . " After spending time as a patient in Brooke General Hospital , he reverted to retired status on 10 May 1946 but was later advanced to the grade of lieutenant general on the United States Air Force retired list by an Act of Congress on 29 June 1948 .
+
+= = Post @-@ war = =
+
+The B @-@ 17D , " The Swoose " , which Brett used extensively for his personal transport during World War II , and which he often piloted , is today the oldest , intact , surviving B @-@ 17 Flying Fortress and the only " D " model still in existence . It was transferred from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to the National Museum of the United States Air Force on 15 July 2008 .
+
+Brett served on several committees and Air Force boards , including Flying Pay Board , the Air Force Association Board , and the President 's Service Academy Board between 1949 and 1950 . When his son Rock Brett was deployed in the Korean War , George Brett took in his daughter @-@ in @-@ law and grandchildren and cared for them . Brett lived in Winter Park , Florida until his death at age 77 . He died of cancer on 2 December 1963 at the hospital at Orlando Air Force Base . Survived by his wife , children , and grandchildren , he was buried in Winter Park , Florida .
+
+= Pale crag martin =
+
+The pale crag martin ( Ptyonoprogne obsoleta ) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family that is resident in northern Africa and in southwestern Asia east to Pakistan . It breeds mainly in the mountains , but also at lower altitudes , especially in rocky areas and around towns . Unlike most swallows , it is often found far from water . It is 12 – 13 cm ( 4 @.@ 7 – 5 @.@ 1 in ) long , with mainly brown plumage , paler @-@ toned on the upper breast and underwing coverts , and with white " windows " on the spread tail in flight . The sexes are similar in appearance , but juveniles have pale fringes to the upperparts and flight feathers . It was formerly considered to be the northern subspecies of the rock martin of southern Africa , although it is smaller , paler , and whiter @-@ throated than that species . The pale crag martin hunts along cliff faces for flying insects using a slow flight with much gliding . Its call is a soft twitter .
+
+This martin builds a deep bowl nest on a sheltered horizontal surface , or a neat quarter @-@ sphere against a vertical rock face or wall . The nest is constructed with mud pellets and lined with grass or feathers , and may be built on natural sites under cliff overhangs or on man @-@ made structures such as buildings and bridges . It is often reused for subsequent broods or in later years . This species is often a solitary breeder , but small groups may breed close together in suitable locations . The two or three eggs of a typical clutch are white with brown and grey blotches , and are incubated by both adults for 16 – 19 days prior to hatching . Both parents then feed the chicks . Fledging takes another 22 – 24 days , although the young birds will return to the nest to roost for a few days after the first flight .
+
+The pale crag martin is caught in flight by several fast , agile falcon species , such as hobbies , and it sometimes carries parasites , but it faces no major threats . Because of its range of nearly 6 million km2 ( 2 @.@ 3 million sq mi ) and a large and apparently increasing population , it is not seen as vulnerable and is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List .
+
+= = Taxonomy = =
+
+The pale crag martin was first formally described in 1850 by German ornithologist Jean Cabanis as Cotyle obsoleta , using a specimen collected from near Cairo , Egypt . It was moved to the new genus Ptyonoprogne , created by German ornithologist Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach , in the same year . The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek ptuon ( φτυον ) , " a fan " , referring to the shape of the opened tail , and Procne ( Πρόκνη ) , a mythological girl who was turned into a swallow . The specific name obsoleta means " worn " in Latin .
+
+The Ptyonoprogne species are members of the swallow family of birds , and are classed as members of the Hirundininae subfamily , which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins . DNA sequence studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae , broadly correlating with the type of nest built . These groups are the " core martins " , including burrowing species like the sand martin ; the " nest @-@ adopters " , which are birds like the tree swallow that utilise natural cavities ; and the " mud nest builders " . The Ptyonoprogne species construct open mud nests and therefore belong to the last group . Hirundo species also build open nests , Delichon house martins have a closed nest , and the Cecropis and Petrochelidon swallows have retort @-@ like closed nests with an entrance tunnel .
+
+The genus Ptyonoprogne is closely related to the larger swallow genus Hirundo , and is sometimes included within it since the nests of the Ptyonoprogne crag martins resemble those of typical Hirundo species like the barn swallow . However , a DNA analysis showed that if Hirundo is enlarged to contain the crag martins , it should include all the mud @-@ builder genera . Conversely , if the Delichon house martins are considered to be a separate genus , as is normally the case , Cecropis , Petrochelidon and Ptyonoprogne should also be split off . The pale crag martin 's nearest relatives are the other members of the genus , the dusky crag martin P. concolor of southern Asia , the rock martin P. fuligula of Southern Africa , and the Eurasian crag martin P. rupestris .
+
+The pale crag martin was formerly often treated as the small , pale northern subspecies of the rock martin , but it is now usually considered to be a separate species . The changes in size and colour are continuous , so the evidence for separate species is not strong , although some rock martins can weigh more than twice as much as the smallest subspecies of the pale crag martin . The average weight for P. o. fusciventris is 22 @.@ 4 g ( 0 @.@ 79 oz ) against 10 g ( 0 @.@ 35 oz ) for P. o. obsoleta . There do not appear to be any intermediate forms where pale crag martins and rock martin populations breed close to each other in Somalia and Ethiopia .
+
+In areas of Pakistan where its range overlaps with that of the dusky crag martin , the pale crag martin breeds at a higher altitude . Its range does not overlap there with the Eurasian crag martin , which is found high in the Himalayas , but where both occur in Iran , the pale crag martin favours more arid habitats . In North Africa , the Eurasian species is again found at a higher level . The separation by altitude and aridity means that it is not known whether the closely related Ptyonoprogne martins could hybridise . If they were shown to do so , it would cast doubts on their specific distinctness .
+
+= = = Subspecies = = =
+
+There are several subspecies differing in plumage shade or size , although the differences are clinal , and races interbreed where their ranges meet .
+
+= = Description = =
+
+The pale crag martin of the nominate subspecies P. o. obsoleta is 12 – 13 cm ( 4 @.@ 7 – 5 @.@ 1 in ) long with light brown upperparts , becoming paler on the lower back , and a short square tail that has small white patches near the tips of all but the central and outermost pairs of feathers . It has a pale grey throat , upper breast and underwing coverts , and the rest of the underparts are a dirty white . The eyes are brown , the small bill is mainly black , and the legs are brownish @-@ pink . The wing length averages 1 @.@ 3 cm ( 4 @.@ 55 in ) and the tail averages 4 @.@ 8 cm ( 1 @.@ 9 in ) . The sexes are similar in appearance , but juveniles have pale edges to the upperparts and flight feathers . The other subspecies differ from the nominate form as detailed in the table above .
+
+This martin moults early , with adults having completely replaced their feathers by late August . Juveniles moult somewhat later , and their old primary feathers are retained even when the body has mainly adult plumage .
+
+The pale crag martin 's flight is slow , with rapid wing beats interspersed with flat @-@ winged glides , and it is more acrobatic than the larger Eurasian crag martin . It is a quiet bird ; the song is a muffled twitter , and other calls include a trrt resembling the call of the common house martin , a nasal vick , and a high pitched twee contact call .
+
+The pale crag martin is much drabber than most African swallows , and confusion is unlikely except with other crag martins or with sand martins of the genus Riparia . It is 15 % smaller , paler and greyer than the Eurasian crag martin , and has smaller tail spots . It is smaller , paler , and has a more contrasting throat than the rock martin . In the far east of its range , the pale crag martin always has lighter underparts than the dusky crag martin . Although only slightly larger than the sand martin and brown @-@ throated sand martin , the pale crag martin is more robust , has white tail spots , and lacks a breast band . Separation of similar species in flight may be complicated by the difficulty of judging colours accurately in strong desert light , particularly with juveniles . The fast flight of the brown @-@ throated sand martin also makes identification more difficult .
+
+= = Distribution and habitat = =
+
+The pale crag martin breeds in suitable habitats throughout northern Africa and through the Middle East as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan . It is largely resident apart from local movements or a descent to lower altitudes after breeding . In addition , there is some short @-@ range movement , including martins from southern Arabia crossing the Red Sea and wintering alongside the local breeding birds in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa , and non @-@ breeding P. f. spatzi and P. f. presaharica joining rock martins in Mali and Mauritania . In Pakistan , the breeding range of the subspecies P. f. peloplasta overlaps with that of the dusky crag martin , although that species breeds at much lower levels , and in North Africa P. f. obsoleta occupies desert habitats whilst the Eurasian crag martin is found in the mountains . The pale crag martin has been recorded as a vagrant in Bahrain , Qatar , Kuwait , and Sri Lanka , although its occurrence in the last country is treated as unproven in a 2011 field guide . The martin has been claimed to visit Turkey , but this is also disputed .
+
+The natural breeding habitat is hilly or mountainous country with cliffs , gorges and caves up to 3 @,@ 700 m ( 12 @,@ 000 ft ) above sea level , but this martin also breeds in lowlands , especially if rocks or buildings are available , and may be found far from water . This species readily uses man @-@ made structures as a substitute for natural precipices , and has bred on houses in southern Israel since the 1970s . In Egypt it may breed near monuments like Abu Simbel or in desert towns such as Aswan . It uses towns , bridges and cliffs in Ethiopia , and tower blocks in Arabia . In the breeding season , the martin needs mud or wet soil to construct its nests , and this is normally readily found near human habitations . This species appears to be scarce in some forested and coastal areas with high humidity , in which the red @-@ rumped swallow tends to be the common hirundine .
+
+= = Behaviour = =
+
+= = = Breeding = = =
+
+Pale crag martin pairs often nest alone , especially in the Sahara , although where suitable sites are available small loose colonies may form . This martin aggressively defends its nesting territory against conspecifics and other species . In Africa breeding dates vary geographically and with local weather conditions , but in northwest Africa February to April is normal , and in Asia nesting is from April to June . Two broods are common , and three have been raised in a season .
+
+The nest , built by both adults over several weeks , is made from several hundred mud pellets and lined with feathers and soft , dry grass , hair , sheep ’ s wool or plant down . It may be a half @-@ cup when constructed under an overhang on a vertical wall or cliff , or shaped as a bowl like that of the barn swallow when placed on a sheltered ledge . The nest may be built on a rock cliff face , in a crevice or on a man @-@ made structure , and is re @-@ used for the second brood and in subsequent years . Caves are found in limestone formations and in the lava flows which cover much of western Saudi Arabia , and their ceilings are a favoured location for nesting pale crag martins , red @-@ rumped swallows , and the little swifts which may appropriate the hirundines ' nests . In buildings , nests are usually constructed against concrete , which provides adhesion similar to that of rock , but metal walls are sometimes used , and nests may be supported on beams or other horizontal supports . Birds sometimes breed in occupied buildings , and there is a record of a pair nesting in a busy restaurant kitchen . Artificial nests are readily used , and halved coconut shells have been successfully occupied in Abu Dhabi .
+
+The clutch is usually two or three buff @-@ white eggs blotched with sepia or grey @-@ brown , particularly at the wide end . The average egg size for Asian birds was 19 @.@ 3 x 12 @.@ 9 mm ( 0 @.@ 76 x 0 @.@ 51 in ) with a weight of 1 @.@ 7 g ( 0 @.@ 06 oz ) . Both adults incubate the eggs for 16 – 19 days prior to hatching and feed the chicks about ten times an hour until they fledge and for several days after they can fly . The fledging time can vary from 22 – 24 days to 25 – 30 days , though the latter estimates probably take into account fledged young returning to the nest for food . If a nest is destroyed , or the breeding attempt otherwise fails , a replacement clutch may be laid , typically with fewer eggs . Two nests in Arabia were used in spring and again in the autumn , but it is not known if the same pair were involved .
+
+= = = Feeding = = =
+
+The pale crag martin feeds mainly on insects caught in flight , although it will occasionally feed on the ground . Breeding birds often feed close to their nesting territory , flying back and forth along a rock face catching insects in their bills . Cliff faces generate standing waves in the airflow which concentrate insects near vertical areas . Crag martins exploit the area close to the cliff when they hunt , relying on their high manoeuvrability and ability to perform tight turns . When not breeding , they may also hunt low over open ground . The insects caught depend on what is locally available , but may include mosquitoes , flies , Hymenoptera , ants and beetles . This martin often feeds alone , but sizeable groups may gather at grass fires to feast on the fleeing insects , and outside the breeding season flocks of up to 300 may form where food is abundant , such as agricultural areas , wetlands and sewage works . The pale crag martin drinks in flight as it skims the water surface , although at least some of its water requirement is obtained from the insects it consumes . Wintering hirundines of other species are not normally found in the dry , rocky areas in which the pale crag martin nests , so there is little competition for food .
+
+= = Predators and parasites = =
+
+Some falcons have the speed and agility to catch swallows and martins in flight , and pale crag martins may be hunted by species such as the peregrine falcon , Taita falcon , African hobby and wintering Eurasian hobby . Pale crag martins often share their nesting sites with little swifts , which sometimes forcibly take over martins ' nests .
+
+The argasid tick Hyalomma marginatum was found in pale crag martin nests on a sarcophagus and an ancient tomb in Egypt . This tick has been implicated in the transmission of Bahig virus , a pathogenic arbovirus previously thought to be transmitted only by mosquitoes . Another argasid tick , Argas africolumbae , was found in a nest of the closely related rock martins in Kenya . The nasal mite Ptilonyssus echinatus was found in a pale crag martin in the Tibesti Mountains of northern Chad .
+
+= = Status = =
+
+The pale crag martin has a very large range of 5 @.@ 9 million km2 ( 2 @.@ 29 million sq mi ) . The total population is unknown , but the bird is described as very common in Jordan and common in Egypt . It has an expanding range and increasing population . Its large range and presumably high numbers mean that the pale crag martin is not considered to be threatened , and it is classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List .
+
+This species is locally common in Algeria , scarce in Morocco , and scarce in Pakistan . It has colonised southern Israel , where it breeds on houses , in the 1970s , and large numbers may occur outside the breeding season in Saudi Arabia and Oman . Population estimates include 10 @,@ 000 to 100 @,@ 000 pairs breeding in Egypt , 10 @,@ 000 pairs in the United Arab Emirates , and an Arabian winter population of up to 150 @,@ 000 birds in flocks that sometimes contain 300 – 500 birds . A large breeding range expansion in the Arabian Peninsula has been aided by the use of high @-@ rise buildings as nesting sites , and possibly a greater supply of insects from agricultural land . Breeding is now regular in Abu Dhabi , and Qatar 's tall buildings may be the next site for colonisation . The pale crag martin first bred in Iraq in 2009 .
+
+= Grus ( constellation ) =
+
+Grus ( / ˈɡrʌs / , or colloquially / ˈɡruːs / ) is a constellation in the southern sky . Its name is Latin for the crane , a type of bird . It is one of twelve constellations conceived by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman . Grus first appeared on a 35 @-@ cm ( 14 in ) diameter celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius and was depicted in Johann Bayer 's star atlas Uranometria of 1603 . French explorer and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille gave Bayer designations to its stars in 1756 , some of which had been previously considered part of the neighbouring constellation Piscis Austrinus . The constellations Grus , Pavo , Phoenix and Tucana are collectively known as the " Southern Birds " .
+
+The constellation 's brightest star , Alpha Gruis , is also known as Alnair and appears as a 1 @.@ 7 @-@ magnitude blue @-@ white star . Beta Gruis is a red giant variable star with a minimum magnitude of 2 @.@ 3 and a maximum magnitude of 2 @.@ 0 . Six star systems have been found to have planets : the red dwarf Gliese 832 is one of the closest stars to Earth to have a planetary system . Another — WASP @-@ 95 — has a planet that orbits every two days . Deep @-@ sky objects found in Grus include the planetary nebula IC 5148 , also known as the Spare Tyre Nebula , and a group of four interacting galaxies known as the Grus Quartet .
+
+= = History = =
+
+The stars that form Grus were originally considered part of the neighbouring constellation Piscis Austrinus ( the southern fish ) , with Gamma Gruis seen as part of the fish 's tail . The stars were first defined as a separate constellation by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius , who created twelve new constellations based on the observations of the southern sky by the Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman , who had sailed on the first Dutch trading expedition , known as the Eerste Schipvaart , to the East Indies . Grus first appeared on a 35 @-@ cm diameter celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by Plancius with Jodocus Hondius . Its first depiction in a celestial atlas was in the German cartographer Johann Bayer 's Uranometria of 1603 . De Houtman included it in his southern star catalogue the same year under the Dutch name Den Reygher , " The Heron " , but Bayer followed Plancius and Hondius in using Grus .
+
+An alternative name for the constellation , Phoenicopterus ( Latin " flamingo " ) , was used briefly during the early 17th century , seen in the 1605 work Cosmographiae Generalis by Paul Merula of Leiden University and a c . 1625 globe by Dutch globe maker Pieter van den Keere . Astronomer Ian Ridpath has reported the symbolism likely came from Plancius originally , who had worked with both of these people . Grus and the nearby constellations Phoenix , Tucana and Pavo are collectively called the " Southern Birds " .
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+The stars that correspond to Grus were generally too far south to be seen from China . In Chinese astronomy , Gamma and Lambda Gruis may have been included in the tub @-@ shaped asterism Bàijiù , along with stars from Piscis Austrinus . In Central Australia , the Arrernte and Luritja people living on a mission in Hermannsburg viewed the sky as divided between them , east of the Milky Way representing Arrernte camps and west denoting Luritja camps . Alpha and Beta Gruis , along with Fomalhaut , Alpha Pavonis and the stars of Musca , were all claimed by the Arrernte .
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+Grus is bordered by Piscis Austrinus to the north , Sculptor to the northeast , Phoenix to the east , Tucana to the south , Indus to the southwest , and Microscopium to the west . Bayer straightened the tail of Piscis Austrinus to make way for Grus in his Uranometria . Covering 366 square degrees , it ranks 45th of the 88 modern constellations in size and covers 0 @.@ 887 % of the night sky . The three @-@ letter abbreviation for the constellation , as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922 , is " Gru " . The official constellation boundaries , as set by Eugène Delporte in 1930 , are defined as a polygon of 6 segments . In the equatorial coordinate system , the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 21h 27.4m and 23h 27.1m , while the declination coordinates are between − 36 @.@ 31 ° and − 56 @.@ 39 ° . Grus is located too far south to be seen by observers in the British Isles and the northern United States , though it can easily be seen from Florida or California ; the whole constellation is visible to observers south of latitude 33 ° N.
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