text:
\section{Introduction}
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is fundamental to the diagnosis and management of a range of neurological conditions \cite{atlas2009magnetic}. For many of these (e.g., acute stroke, brain tumour, haemorrhage), early detection can lead to better outcomes by
increasing the likelihood that a patient will respond positively to treatment \cite{adams2005guidelines}\cite{kidwell2004comparison}. In recent years, however, a growing demand for head MRI examinations, along with a global shortage of radiologists, has led to an increase in the time taken to report head MRI scans around the world \cite{bender20192018}. In the UK, for example, the reporting time for out-patient head MRI scans has increased every year since 2012 \cite{NHS}, with only 2\% of radiology departments currently able to fulfill their imaging reporting requirements within contracted hours \cite{RCR}. Given the increasingly aging global population \cite{UN}, as well as additional backlogs created as a result of resource re-allocation in radiology departments during the global COVID-19 pandemic \cite{covid}, reporting times are likely to continue to increase in the coming years, putting a growing number of patients at risk.  \\

One solution to reduce reporting times for abnormal head scans is to develop an automated triage tool to identify abnormalities at the time of imaging and prioritize the reporting of these scans. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) show considerable promise for this purpose, having achieved remarkable success on a range of medical imaging tasks \cite{McKinney}\cite{Kamnitsas}\cite{Ding}. However, a bottleneck to the development of a CNN-based tool for triaging routine hospital head MRI examinations is the difficulty of obtaining large, clinically-representative labelled datasets to enable supervised learning \cite{hosny2018artificial}\cite{labels}. A number of strategies have been proposed to deal with this limited availability of labelled training data. Several studies have demonstrated a hybrid approach to neurological abnormality detection by combining deep learning with atlas-based image processing and Bayesian inference \cite{rauschecker2020artificial}\cite{rudie2020subspecialty}. Overall, however, unsupervised approaches have attracted the most attention, following the pioneering work of \cite{anogan}. The basic idea common to these studies is to train a generative model (e.g., a generative adversarial network (GAN) \cite{gan1}\cite{han2020madgan}, a variational autoencoder (VAE) \cite{chen2018unsupervised}\cite{vae2}\cite{vae3}\cite{vae4}\cite{vae5}\cite{vae6} or a combination of the two \cite{vae1}) to learn the manifold of normal anatomical variability, and at test time detect abnormalities by looking for outliers in either the latent feature space or the reconstruction loss. Importantly, only healthy images are needed for model training and these can be obtained from open-access research databases such as the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) \cite{petersen2010alzheimer} or the Human Connectome Project (HCP) \cite{hcp}. \\

  Despite showing considerable promise, several important limitations to these unsupervised studies can be identified. In the majority of cases, images had undergone computationally expensive pre-processing steps such as bias-field correction, skull-stripping and spatial registration \cite{chen2018unsupervised}\cite{han2020madgan}\cite{vae1}\cite{vae2}\cite{vae4}\cite{gan1}\cite{pawlowski2018unsupervised} which limits real-time clinical utility and, in the case of skull stripping, precludes the detection of important extracranial abnormalities (Fig. \ref{age_comp}) (e.g., orbital and sinonasal masses).  Furthermore, model evaluation was often performed using datasets containing only a single class of abnormality (e.g., brain tumours \cite{chen2018unsupervised}\cite{vae2}\cite{han2020madgan}\cite{vae5}\cite{vae6}, or white matter lesions \cite{vae1}\cite{gan1}\cite{vae4}), whereas a triage tool needs to detect a range of abnormalities, including subtle but clinically important vascular abnormalities (e.g., subarachnoid haemorrhage or venous sinus thrombosis). Finally, in a number of studies training was performed exclusively with images of healthy \emph{young} adults (i.e., 22 - 35 years) \cite{chen2018unsupervised}\cite{auto1}\cite{vae6}\cite{vae5}. This precludes learning the manifold of normal anatomical variability in the aging brain, particularly the appearance of small focal areas of increased signal intensity on $\text{T}_2$-weighted images scattered throughout the cerebral white matter which have been estimated to occur in $>90\%$ of patients between 60-90 years old \cite{aging2}\cite{wmi}, as well as involutional atrophic changes \cite{hippocampal}. A clinically useful triage system must be able to distinguish between changes which in a hospital setting are considered `normal for age' and those considered `excessive for age' (Fig. \ref{age_comp})  and it is likely that models trained only on images
of young (i.e. $\leq$ 65 years \cite{lemay1984radiologic}) healthy adults would fail to make this distinction.\\

 In this work, we pursue a different strategy to overcome the limited availability of labelled head MRI scans. Rather than attempting to learn without labels, we instead sought to convert archived hospital examinations into a large labelled dataset suitable for supervised learning by deriving labels from the accompanying radiology reports using a validated neuroradiology report classifier. A benefit of using large-scale historical clinical data is that the full gamut of abnormalities likely to be encountered in a real-world hospital setting are seen during training. Furthermore, findings which are `normal for age' can be distinguished from those which are `abnormal for age' simply by including the patient age as input to the model, since the accompanying radiology reports (from which image labels are derived) reliably make this distinction \cite{labels}.\\

\begin{figure}[h]
\vspace{-1em}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.65\textwidth]{wood_age_comparison.png}
\caption{(a) Small foci of increased signal intensity on $\text{T}_2$-weighted images scattered throughout the cerebral white matter occur naturally in the aging brain (top) but are considered abnormal in younger patients (bottom). (b) Atrophic changes are part of normal aging (top), but can indicate early-onset neurodegenerative conditions in younger patients (bottom). (c) Important extracranial abnormalities (bottom) are missed when skull-stripping is performed (top). Abnormality detection systems suitable for clinical settings should distinguish between normal and abnormal changes in the aging brain, and detect extracranial abnormalities.} \label{age_comp}
\vspace{-1em}
\end{figure}
\section{Methods}
\subsection{Data}
All 54,115 adult ($>$ 18 years old) axial $\text{T}_2$-weighted MRI head scans performed at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KCH) and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) between 2008 - 2019 were used in this study. The MRI scans were obtained on Signa 1.5 T HDX (General Electric Healthcare) or AERA 1.5T (Siemens), and were extracted from the Patient Archive and Communication Systems. The corresponding 54,115 radiology text reports produced by expert neuroradiologists were also obtained.\\

A subset of 5000 reports from KCH was randomly selected for annotation by 3 expert neuroradiologists in order to develop the neuroradiology report classifier (ALARM) described in \cite{wood2020automated}. Prior to report labelling, a complete set of clinically relevant categories of neuroradiological abnormality, as well as the rules by which reports were to be labelled, was developed (Appendix \ref{defs}). Broadly speaking, findings which would
generate a downstream clinical intervention were labelled `abnormal', as were those which would be referred for case discussion at a multi-disciplinary team meeting. ALARM achieved an AUC of 0.992 on a hold-out set of 500 manually-annotated KCH reports. However, differences in reporting styles could plausibly lead to poor performance (`domain shift') when classifying reports from an external hold-out set. To investigate this, 500 GSTT reports were randomly selected for annotation by the same 3 neuroradiologists. ALARM achieved an AUC of 0.990 on this external hold-out set of reports, demonstrating that it can be reliably used to label MRI examinations at both KCH and GSTT (Fig. \ref{gstt_roc}, Table \ref{confusion}). Following this important validation step, ALARM was used to assign labels to all 43,754 axial $\text{T}_2$-weighted scans obtained from the two sites between 2008 - 2018 for computer vision model development, and to all 4861 scans obtained between 2018 - 2019 for use in a simulation study (Table \ref{data_stats}). For computer vision model evaluation, a test set of 800 $\text{T}_2$-weighted scans with `reference standard image labels' was generated by randomly sampling 40 examinations from each site for each year between 2008 - 2018. Two neuroradiologists labelled these scans as `normal' or `abnormal' applying the same framework used for report labelling - but interrogating the actual images. Importantly, this dataset contains more than 90 classes of morphologically distinct abnormalities. Further dataset information is provided in Appendix \ref{test_set}.

\subsection{Models}\label{models}
We trained (1) a baseline classification model, and (2) a classification model with an additional `noise-correction' layer optimised for learning in the presence of label errors (Fig. \ref{network}). Both models utilize a 3D Densenet121 network \cite{huang2017densely}) for visual feature extraction, with the output of the final global average pooling layer concatenated with the patient's age and passed through a fully-connected layer (with softmax) to generate prediction probabilities for the two classes (for architecture details, see Appendix \ref{net}). \\

\begin{figure}[h]
\vspace{-3em}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.95\textwidth]{wood_network.png}
\caption{Baseline classification model and `noise correction' classification model. Both networks perform visual feature extraction using a 3D Densenet121, and concatenate this with the patient's age in order to generate class probabilities. The `noise-correction' model includes an additional layer which modifies the predictions during training to enable learning the true, rather than the noisy, label distribution.} \label{network}

\vspace{-1em}
\end{figure}
Because our neuroradiology report classifier is not a perfect model (i.e. it achieves AUC $<$ 1, Fig. \ref{gstt_roc}), some small fraction ($\sim5\%$) of the training images will be erroneously labelled `normal' when in fact they should be labelled `abnormal', and vice versa. Recent studies have shown that this `label noise' can significantly impact the performance of deep learning models \cite{noise1}\cite{noise2}. Following \cite{noise3} and \cite{noise4}, we seek to overcome label noise by adding a `noise-correction' layer to our network. To motivate this, we note that the probability that a given image $\textbf{x}$ with true (but unknown) label $y^*$  will be assigned a noisy label $\Tilde{y}$ can be written as
\begin{align}
  p(\Tilde{y}=j|\textbf{x}) &= \sum_{i}p(\Tilde{y}=j|y^*=i)p(y^*=i|\textbf{x})=\sum_{i}T_{ji}p(y^*=i|\textbf{x}), \label{noise}
\end{align}
where $T$ is a $2 \times 2$ `transition matrix' with diagonal elements that specify the probability of correct labelling and off-diagonal elements which specify the probability of label `flipping':
\begin{align}
T &=
  \begin{bmatrix}
p(\Tilde{y}=0|y^*=0) & p(\Tilde{y}=0|y^*=1)\\
p(\Tilde{y}=1|y^*=0)& p(\Tilde{y}=1|y^*=1).\\
\end{bmatrix}
\end{align}
In Eqn. \ref{noise}, $p(y^*|\textbf{x};\theta)$ is the distribution which we desire our model to learn (i.e., the probability distribution of the true label, conditioned on input image $\textbf{x}$), whereas $p(\Tilde{y}|\textbf{x},\theta)$ is the distribution that is \emph{actually} learned (e.g., by the baseline model) as a result of maximizing the cross entropy between the noisy labels $\Tilde{y}$ and the model predictions. However, we can force the model to learn the true distribution $p(y^*|\textbf{x};\theta)$ by weighting the predicted probabilities during training by the corresponding elements of $T$ implied by Eqn. \ref{noise} - an operation which can conveniently be recast as a matrix multiplication between the $2 \times 2$ matrix $T$, and the $2 \times 1$ softmax output. At test time, when reference standard image labels are available, $T$ is set to the identity matrix ($I_2$) to enable predictions on the basis of $p(y^*|\textbf{x};\theta)$.  \\

In general, $T$ is unknown and must be learned as part of model training. As described in \cite{noise4}, however, this often results in $T$ converging to $I_2$, in which case the baseline and `noise-corrected' models are identical. In the case of label errors resulting from imperfect text classification, however, an accurate estimate of $T$ is provided by the confusion matrix which is typically generated as part of NLP model validation (Table \ref{confusion}). A novel contribution of our work is to show the efficacy of this `estimated loss correction' procedure when training models on medical image datasets labelled using NLP.

\section{Experiments}
A number of models were trained using different subsets of the available NLP-labelled data. In each case, the data were split into training (80\%) and validation (20\%) sets, ensuring that no patient appearing in the training set appeared in the validation set. Final model evaluation was always performed on a test set of images of unseen patients with reference standard labels assigned by neuroradiologists on the basis of manual image inspection. Our DenseNet model was based on the Project MONAI \cite{MONAI} implementation, and all modelling was performed with PyTorch 1.7.1 \cite{paszke2019pytorch}. Minimal image pre-processing was performed; all raw axial $\text{T}_2$-weighted images were re-sampled to a common voxel size (1 $\text{mm}^3$), and then resized to (120 $\times$ 120 $\times$ 120). We applied histogram standardization to each image, but no spatial registration, bias-field correction or skull stripping was performed. ADAM optimizer \cite{kingma2017adam} was used with an initial learning rate 1e-4 which was reduced by a factor of 10 after every 5 epochs without validation loss improvement. Training was repeated 5 times for each model using different training/validation data splits in order to generate confidence intervals (test sets remained fixed). DeLong's test \cite{delong1988comparing} was used to determine the statistical significance of differences in ROC-AUC,
and occlusion sensitivity was used to interrogate model decisions.\\

To quantify the impact that our model would have in a real clinical setting, we performed a retrospective simulation study using all out-patient examinations performed at KCH and GSTT between 1/1/2018 - 31/12/2018 to determine what would have happened if our model had been used to suggest the order in which head MRI examinations were reported. Full details of the simulation are presented in Appendix \ref{sim}. We also conducted Patient and Public Initiative (PPI) meetings to gauge the attitudes of patients, their families, and  end-users (i.e. neuroradiology department personnel) to AI-assisted triage (Appendix \ref{ppi}).

\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.85\textwidth]{wood_queue.png}
\caption{Our classifier can be used to suggest the order in which head MRI examinations are reported by inserting images in real-time into a dynamic reporting queue based on the predicted likelihood of being abnormal (shown) or on the predicted category and time spent in the queue (what we do in this study). } \label{roc}
\vspace{-1.5em}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Results}
Accurate classification (AUC $>$ 0.9) was seen for both models for all training/testing combinations. However, `noise-correction' led to a small but statistically significant improvement in all cases (p $<$ 0.05)(Table \ref{results}).  When trained on scans from only a single hospital the models generalized to scans from the other hospital ($\Delta$AUC $\leq$ 0.02) (Fig. \ref{roc}). Occlusion analysis shows that true positive predictions are sensitive to salient image features (Fig. \ref{occlusion}). Table \ref{sim_results} shows the impact that the best performing model (AUC = 0.943) would have had if it was used to suggest the order that examinations were reported. At both hospitals, the reduction in reporting times for abnormal examinations, as well as the increased reporting times for normal examinations, was statistically significant (p $<$ 0.001) (Fig. \ref{triage}).
\begin{table*}[h]\centering
\vspace{-2em}
\tabcolsep=0.0cm
\setlength{\tabcolsep}{2pt}
\smaller
\ra{1.3}
\begin{tabular}{@{}lcrrrrcrrrcrrrcrrr@{}}\toprule

Train && \multicolumn{3}{c}{KCH} & \phantom{ab}& \multicolumn{3}{c}{GSTT} &
\phantom{ab} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{Pooled}\\
\cmidrule{3-5} \cmidrule{7-9} \cmidrule{11-13}
Test  && KCH & GSTT & Pooled && KCH & GSTT & Pooled && KCH & GSTT & Pooled  \\ \midrule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model\phantom{ab}}&Baseline & 0.921& 0.909& 0.915&& 0.903 & 0.918& 0.912&& 0.925& 0.920& 0.922 \\

&Noise-corrected &0.941& 0.925& 0.933 && 0.929& 0.931& 0.930 && 0.946& 0.939& 0.943 \\

\bottomrule
\end{tabular}

\caption{Classification performance (AUC) for the baseline and `noise-corrected' models. Both show accurate classification (AUC$>0.9$), but `noise correction' led to an improvement for all train/test splits (p $<$ 0.05).}\label{results}
\vspace{-0.5em}
\end{table*}
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.41\textwidth]{wood_comb_roc.png}
\caption{Receiver operating characteristic curve for the `noise-correction' model (1) trained/tested using images from both sites (purple), (2) trained on KCH, tested on GSTT (teal), and (3) trained on GSTT, tested on KCH (blue). Operating point used for the simulation study is also shown (dotted grey).} \label{roc}
\end{figure}

\begin{table*}[h!]\centering
\tabcolsep=0.0cm
\setlength{\tabcolsep}{2pt}
\smaller
\ra{1.3}
\begin{tabular}{@{}cccccc@{}}\toprule

&& \multicolumn{2}{c}{Time to report} \\
\cmidrule{3-4}
&& Normal & Abnormal  \\ \midrule
\multirow{2}{*}{GSTT\phantom{ab}}&Historical\phantom{ab} & 31 $\pm$ 21 days&28 $\pm$ 22 days  \\

&Our model\phantom{ab} &36 $\pm$ 40 days&14 $\pm$ 23 days \\
\multirow{2}{*}{KCH\phantom{ab}}&Historical\phantom{ab} & 10 $\pm$ 8 days&9 $\pm$ 7 days  \\

&Our model\phantom{ab} &15 $\pm$ 21 days&5 $\pm$ 7 days \\

\bottomrule
\end{tabular}

\caption{Results of the retrospective simulation study, demonstrating the impact that our model would have on reporting times for abnormal scans at KCH and GSTT. Data are mean delay $\pm$ standard deviation.}\label{sim_results}
\vspace{-1.5em}
\end{table*}

\begin{figure}[h]
\vspace{-3em}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.96\textwidth]{wood_sim_triage.png}
\vspace{-0.5em}
\caption{Retrospective simulation results for KCH (top) and GSTT (bottom). Historical reporting delays (a, e) are compared with what would have been observed if our model had been used to prioritize the reporting of abnormal scans (b, f) at the two sites. To test for statistical significance, the null hypothesis distribution was generated (c, d, g, h) by repeating the simulation 1000 times, assigning a random priority to each examination (blue). At both sites, a statistically significant (p $<$ 0.001) reduction in reporting times for abnormal examinations (solid red) compared with what was observed historically (dashed red) was seen.} \label{triage}
\vspace{-1em}
\end{figure}

\section{Discussion}
Our work builds on recent breakthroughs in natural language processing which have made it feasible to derive labels from radiology reports and assign these to the corresponding images \cite{vaswani2017attention}\cite{devlin2018bert}\cite{wood2020automated}, enabling the application of supervised learning at scale. Following \cite{giovanni}\cite{triage_1} and \cite{triage_2}, we have put our model into clinical context through a retrospective simulation, demonstrating that it would reduce the reporting times of abnormal examinations at two real-world hospitals. A consequence of this is that the time to report normal examinations will be increased, and this may present issues for the few false negative errors which our model makes. Our team of neuroradiologists have determined that mistakes primarily occur ($\sim88\%$) with findings which are most naturally described in terms of a `spectrum', but which we have elected to binarize to enable supervised learning. For example, `minor', `mild' or `modest' small vessel disease (SVD) is considered `normal', whereas `moderate' or `severe' SVD is considered `abnormal'. In most cases, our model was able to correctly classify SVD; however, equivocal cases (e.g., `mild-to-moderate', which had been labelled `abnormal' to encourage model sensitivity) were sometimes misclassified. Likewise, equivocal cases involving atrophy and enlarged perivascular spaces were sometimes misclassified. Given the degree of subjectivity involved (Fig. \ref{false_neg}), these errors are highly unlikely to have a significant clinical impact. Nonetheless, as future work we plan to investigate the use of regression, rather than binary classification, to model these particular abnormalities.  \\

A limitation of our model is that abnormalities which are not visualisable on $\text{T}_2$-weighted scans will not be detected. For example, microhaemorrhages and blood breakdown products are sometimes only visible on gradient-echo or susceptibility-weighted images. However, these sequences are not typically part of routine head examinations, so this is not a major issue in practice. A further limitation is that some abnormalities in our `abnormal' category require more urgent intervention than others. As part of future work, we plan to develop a third category of `emergency diagnoses' to finesse the triage process further. However, UK NHS hospitals require that all emergency MRI scans be reported within 24 hours. Therefore, the benefit of a third category in our healthcare system is likely to be modest.
\section{Conclusion}
 In this work we have presented a head abnormality classifier trained on 43,754 $\text{T}_2$-weighted head MRI scans labelled using a neuroradiology report classifier, and demonstrated accurate classification on a test set of 800 scans containing over 90 classes of morphologically distinct abnormalities. We have shown that the model would reduce the time to report abnormal examinations at two UK hospitals, demonstrating feasibility as an automated triage tool.

\midlacknowledgments{We thank Joe Harper, Justin Sutton, Mark Allin and Sean Hannah at KCH for their informatics and IT support, Ann-Marie Murtagh at KHP for research process support, and KCL administrative support - particularly from Alima Rahman, Denise Barton, James Bingham and Patrick Wong. \\

This work was supported by the Royal College of Radiologists, King's College Hospital Research and Innovation, King's Health Partners Challenge Fund, NVIDIA (through the unrestricted use of a GPU obtained in a competition), and the Wellcome/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Center for Medical Engineering (WT 203148/Z/16/Z)}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Nora Hamerman. An Early Setting of Schiller's "Ode to Joy"
"Fidelio" magazine. Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 1993
Many Americans may know Germany's national poet of fr eedom, Friedrich Schiller, only through the musical setting of a part of his most famous poem, the "Ode to Joy," as the choral finale of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's setting is so sublime - and Beethoven himself acknowledged that he consider setting the poetry of Schiller an almost impossible task - that any other music for this great hymn to universal human brotherhood under a benevolent Creator seems out of place today.
Yet, from the very year in which it was first printed, 1786, the "Ode to Joy" ("An die Freude") began to be sung to various musical accompaniments, in the enivronment of the "house music" that flourished around Schiller, his fellow poet Goethe, and their companions at the height of the German Classic period in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.
German lieder are today so much a part of the recital repertoire and the recording industry, that we forget that these songs were not mainly intended by the Classical composers for professional singers, but rather for the many ordinary citizens who shared a knowledge of beautiful singing and a basic technical command that are lost even to many professionals today.
Schiller's poem was set out with alternating verses and choral refrains, a format adhered to by most of the early composers, until Beethoven dared to reshape it. Written in 1785, the poem was published in Schiller's review Thalia in 1786; that same year, a composer named J. Chr. Müller set it to music. By 1800 there were at least twenty different composers whose versions of "An die Freude" survive today, and of these, some did several different variants.
In 1797 an otherwise unknown, Haydnesque composer with the name (or pseudonym) of Tepper von Ferguson published, in a limited subscription edition in Berlin, a grandiose choral version of "An die Freude" with fo ur soloists, chorus, and with each verse and its refrain set as a separate movement, complete with changes in key and tempo, and beginning with a bass solo - in these respects a curious and perhaps unique fo retaste of Beethoven's much later choral symphony. (The printed version has a keyboard accompaniment which might be a reduction of a lost orchestral score.)
Beethoven was already contemplating the task of setting the poem, as we know from a letter written in 1793 when he was only twenty-three. In November 1799, for Schiller's fortieth birthday, the Berlin composer and music publisher J. C. F. Rellstab put out a collection of six settings of "An die Freude," reprinted as the Intelligenzblatt of the Leipzig General Music Review. Besides a version of his own, Rellstab included one by J. Fr. Reichardt, a composer at the Berlin court who often antagonized Goethe and Schiller, but whose many songs setting Schiller's poems greatly helped to popularize Schiller in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The collection also included an anonymous tune which, before Beethoven, was destined to become the most famous setting, and continued to be sung throughout the last century.
Indeed, in 1805, when Beethoven first produced his opera Fidelio, he used the theme of the last line of that popular version of "An die Freude" as the basis for the choral finale, when the chorus of prisoners and townspeople unite to sing "Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, stimm in unserm Jubel ein" ("Who e'er a lovely wife has won, chime in with our jubilation!"). Any German listener of that era would have recognized the nearly identical words of the second stanza of Schiller's ode, "Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, mische seinen Jubel einl". This chorus in Fidelio can therefore be considered the first major attempt by Beethoven to set "An die Freude", which is highly appropriate, since the whole opera is a tribute to Schiller's ideals.
The anonymous tune was so popular that it was published again in Berlin in 1800 in English (!) as one of "Twelve Favorite Songs." Unfortunately, we were unable to inspect this edition and cannot comment on the quality of the translation.
Thirty years after Beethoven first mentioned his desire to compose the "Ode to Joy," and nearly twenty years after he began working on his opera Fidelio in 1803, there appears in his sketches for the Ninth Symphony, a line of music in the bass clef with the words, "this it is, Ha now it is found," followed by "Freude, schoner", under the opening notes of the choral theme. Beethoven had finally found exactly the right line of music to express the developmental possibilities of Schiller's concept of joy. Like the folk-tune which he had earlier adapted for the great choral finale of Fidelio, the melody is one of the utmost "popular" simplicity. By using such simple material and weaving it into higher and higher orders of complexity spanning the entire universe of human thought and feeling, Beethoven unfolded the message of human redemption which is implicit throughout Schiller's "Ode to Joy", and carries us, together with the cherub at the climax of the finale, until we "stand before God".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


You can watch all the live cricket streaming action from today's IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings by downloading the BT Sport app in the UK and the Hotsar app in the UK and India.
The last time the two teams met was at the Chepauk Stadium where Chennai won by eight runs, as they do on most occasions at their home ground. Now is the time for Rajasthan to have their revenge. Royals have been quite impressive in Jaipur and have beaten Chennai Super Kings four times out of six at the venue.
Chennai Super Kings have momentum on their side and are coming off consecutive wins. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals lost their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Rajasthan Royals bank on Jos Buttler to put some runs on the board as apart from Buttler and Sanju Samson, their batting has struggled. Their bowling department would be led by Jofra Archer, assisted by two quality spinners Krishnappa Gowtham and leggie Shreyas Gopal.
Chennai Super Kings would be led by MS Dhoni who has made it a habit to turn things into gold. Apart from the players on both sides, it is the captaincy of Dhoni which has a major influence on the match.
Chennai's batting would be opened by Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis while Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Dhoni will follow. Imran Tahir and Deepak Chahar would be their leading bowlers.
Probable playing XI of both teams.
You can follow all the action on and off the field for the entire Indian Premier League 2019 with IPL 2019 Live - Live Cricket Streaming Scores, Match Schedules, Points Table, News, Results, Twitter, Facebook and social updates from Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.


text:
Category: Korea
Egypt: Preview of America in 2015
The rioting and looting taking place in Egypt is primarily a result of massive food inflation and shows what all major cities in the United States will likely look like come year 2015 due to the Federal Reserve's zero percent interest rates and quantitative easing to infinity. On December 16th, 2009, NIA named Time Magazine's 2009 'Person of the Year' Ben Bernanke our 'Villain of the Year', saying he created "unprecedented amounts of inflation in unprecedented ways" and "When it costs $20 for a gallon of milk in a few years, Americans will have nobody to thank more than Bernanke."
What started out a few weeks ago as protests in Algeria with citizens chanting "Bring Us Sugar!" and five citizens being killed, quickly spread to civil unrest in Tunisia which saw 14 more civilian deaths, and has now spread to riots in Egypt where 300 Egyptian citizens have been killed. Food inflation in Egypt has reached 20% and citizens in the nation already spend about 40% of their monthly expenditures on food. Americans for decades have been blessed with cheap food, spending only 13% of their expenditures on food, but this is about to change.
NIA was the first to predict the recent explosion in agricultural commodity prices in our October 30th, 2009, article entitled, "U.S. Inflation to Appear Next in Food and Agriculture", which said we have a "perfect storm for an explosion in agriculture prices". A couple of months later in 'NIA's Top 10 Predictions for 2010' we predicted "Major Food Shortages" and said, "Inventories of agricultural products are the lowest they have been in decades yet the prices of many agricultural commodities are down 70% to 80% from their all time highs adjusted for real inflation". Over the past year, agricultural commodities as a whole have outperformed almost every other type of asset, with silver being one of only a few other assets keeping pace with agriculture. (On December 11th, 2009, NIA declared silver the best investment for the next decade at $17.40 per ounce and it has so far risen 64% to its current price of $28.39 per ounce).
The world is at the beginning stages of an all out inflationary panic. Wheat, which NIA previously called on 'NIAnswers' its favorite investment besides gold and silver, is now up to a new 30-month high of $8.63 per bushel and has doubled in price since June of last year. Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat this past week, bringing their total purchases for the month of January up to 1.8 million tonnes, which was quadruple expectations. Saudi Arabia is also beginning to stockpile their inventories of wheat. Rice futures have gained 8% during the past few days with Bangladesh and Indonesia placing extraordinary large orders. Indonesia's latest rice order was quadruple its normal allotment and Bangladesh plans to double rice purchases this year. Meanwhile, the U.S., which is the world's third largest exporter of rice, is expected to cut production by 25% in 2011.
NIA considers rice to be one of the world's most undervalued agricultural commodities at its current price of $15.96 per 100 pounds and forecasts a move back to its 2008 high of $24 per 100 pounds as soon as the end of 2011. NIA believes cotton, at its current price of $1.80 per pound, may have gotten a bit ahead of itself in the short-term. In NIA's first ever article about agriculture on February 17th, 2009, we said that cotton's "upside potential is astronomical" at its then price of $0.44 per pound. NIA pointed to increasing sales to textile companies in China and the fact that cotton was down 70% from its all time high as reasons to be very bullish on cotton at $0.44 per pound. Early NIA members could have made 309% on cotton, but today we see much bigger potential in rice. The recent spike in cotton reminds us of the 2008 spike in oil. Although we believe cotton will ultimately rise above $3 per pound later this decade, we could see a dip to below $1.40 per pound first.
Many people in the mainstream media have criticized NIA's recent food inflation report, claiming that agricultural commodity prices have very little to do with prices of food in the supermarket. CNBC's Steve Liesman, in particular, claims that "rising commodity prices won't cause inflation". Liesman has it backwards. NIA has never claimed that rising commodity prices cause inflation. Soaring budget deficits that the U.S. government can't possibly pay for through taxation causes inflation when the Fed is forced to monetize the debt by printing money.
Rising commodity prices are only a symptom of inflation. The reason NIA was so bullish on agricultural commodities going back two years ago when we produced our first documentary 'Hyperinflation Nation', is because while gold is the best gauge of inflation and is often the best tool for predicting future money printing, agriculture is where the majority of the monetary inflation ends up going after the Fed's newly printed money trickles down to the middle-class and poor. With gold prices already surging two years ago when we produced 'Hyperinflation Nation', NIA said in the documentary "food prices have the potential to surge most during hyperinflation".
One thing NIA is almost 100% sure of is that come year 2015, middle-class Americans will be spending at least 30% to 40% of their income on food, similar to Egyptians today. As NIA warned in its latest documentary 'End of Liberty', if you don't have enough money to accumulate physical gold and silver, it is important to begin establishing your own food storage, and store enough food to feed you and your family for at least six months during hyperinflation. Many store shelves in Egypt are now empty after recent panic buying, with shortages of nearly all major staple items throughout the country.
The U.S. Treasury is getting ready to sell $72 billion in new long-term bonds next week, as the U.S. rapidly approaches its $14.29 trillion debt limit. The debt limit is now expected to be reached by April 5th and Treasury Secretary Geithner warned the U.S. will see "catastrophic damage" if it isn't raised. With the Federal Reserve now surpassing China and Japan as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, the real "catastrophic damage" ahead will be hyperinflation as a result of the U.S. government doing absolutely nothing to dramatically cut spending. It is an absolute joke that Obama during his State of the Union address announced $400 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, but then the very next day, the Congressional Budget Office increased its 2011 budget deficit projection by $400 billion to $1.48 trillion.
Not raising the debt limit would be a good thing, as it would force Washington to live within its means. Sure, the stock market would collapse and the U.S. economy would enter into its next Great Depression, but at least it would save the U.S. dollar from losing all of its purchasing power. In fact, the standard of living for middle class Americans might actually improve if the government allowed the free market to put our economy into a depression, because goods and services would get cheaper.
The U.S. economy has become a drug addict that is dependent on cheap and easy money from the Federal Reserve. While Wall Street bankers took home a record $135 billion in total compensation in 2010, up 5.7% from $128 billion in 2009, this money was stolen from middle-class and poor Americans through inflation. The more monetary inflation (heroin) the Federal Reserve creates to satisfy the (in the words of Gerald Celente) "money junkies" on Wall Street, the more middle-class and poor Americans become dependent on unemployment checks and food stamps just to survive. Millions of American students are graduating college with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt but no jobs. Luckily for them (but not holders of U.S. dollars), NIA is hearing reports from both unemployed and underemployed college graduates with student loans that the government is reducing their required monthly payments by sometimes 90% or more based on their current incomes.
China and Japan recently saw their credit ratings downgraded, while the U.S. credit rating remains at "AAA". NIA believes it would make far more sense for the world's largest debtor nation to be downgraded instead of the world's two largest creditor nations. The Federal Reserve's second round of quantitative easing has yet to even reach the halfway point and the Fed already holds about $1.11 trillion in U.S. treasuries. By the time QE2 is over at the end of June, the Fed will own $1.6 trillion in U.S. treasuries, about what China and Japan own combined. Shockingly, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig is already dropping hints about QE3. According to Hoenig, the Fed may consider extending treasury purchases beyond June 30th, 2010, (the scheduled completion date for QE2) if U.S. economic data looks disappointing.
With the Fed taking over as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, China is beginning to rapidly move away from the U.S. dollar and into gold. In just the first 10 months of 2010, China imported 209 metric tons of gold compared to 45 metric tons in all of 2009, a stunning five-fold increase. While the western world is downplaying the threat of inflation as much as possible, Asian countries understand that hyperinflation is the most devastating thing that can possibly happen to any economy. The demand for gold in Asia now is the most intense it has ever been, as they look to tackle rising inflation before it becomes hyperinflation.
The Chinese are so smart that families are now giving each other gold bullion as gifts instead of traditional red envelopes filled with cash. China is now on track to soon surpass India as the world's largest consumer of gold. The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently gave Beijing-based Lion Fund Management Co. approval to create a fund that will invest into foreign gold ETFs.
U.S. stock mutual funds saw $6.7 billion in net inflows during the past two weeks, the most in any two week period since May of 2009. The rioting, looting, and civil unrest in Egypt is now making the U.S. look like the safe haven of the world, even though it should be considered the riskiest place to invest. From the Dow's low in August until now, about $38 billion was actually removed from U.S. stock mutual funds, despite the stock market rising 20%. The Dow Jones has risen from September until now solely due to the Federal Reserve printing around $350 billion out of thin air. When central banks print money, stock markets often act as a relief valve due to there being too much inflation going into the hands of financial institutions.
The U.S. M2 money supply surged by $46.6 billion during the week ending January 17th to a record $8.8623 trillion, following a rise during the previous week of $7.6 billion. The rise in the M2 money supply over the past two weeks of $54.2 billion equals an annualized increase of 16%. The M2 multiplier now stands at 4.218 compared to a long-term average of 10. When QE2 is complete, the Fed's monetary base will likely stand at $2.59 trillion. A return to the long-term average M2 multiplier of 10 means we are due to see a 192% increase in the M2 money supply and that is not even including a possible QE3 and QE4.
The U.S. economic ponzi scheme could unravel very quickly in the years ahead, with the velocity of money increasing faster than anybody expects. As more Americans learn about NIA and become educated to the truth about the U.S. economy and inflation, a complete loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar could occur very suddenly. It is important for all Americans to prepare as if hyperinflation will be here tomorrow. At least in Egypt, their currency still has purchasing power and their citizens are trying to carry out a regime change before it is too late. By 2015 in America, it will already be too late and the civil unrest here has the potential to be many times worse.
It is important to spread the word about NIA to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, if you want America to survive hyperinflation. Please tell everybody you know to become members of NIA for free immediately at: http://inflation.us
Author lifeinmotionPosted on 2011-02-03 2011-02-03 Categories Barack Obama, China, Great Britain, Hillary Clinton, Issues, Japan, Korea, Personal Finance, Politics, Randomness, Ron Paul, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, WorkTags America, bernanke, commodities, egypt, food, inflation, Obama, tunisiaLeave a comment on Egypt: Preview of America in 2015
Arirang: The Korean American Journey
The documentary "Arirang: The Korean American Journey" traces the development of Korean Americans as they left Korea in the late 19th century first in search of new opportunities and later to escape Japanese imperialism. The documentary first starts off discussing Korean immigration to Hawaii due to increased demands for cheap labor and because it was also a way for Koreans to escape the turmoil in their country. In these immigrant communities in Hawaii, the Korean immigrants were able to create self-sufficient communities that protected their interests as well as teaching their children Korean ways and giving them a good education. This part of the documentary was interesting since it discussed the significance of Hawaii in shaping Korean American culture and as being another outlet for Koreans to contribute to the independence movement. Moreover, another interesting item the documentary brought up was that when Korean Americans went to visit Chosen for a baseball game, they were shocked that many Koreans were unable to properly speak Korean because of Japanese language policies on Koreans. This was very interesting since it highlights the degree that the Korean American community was able to preserve their customs and language while it was systematically destroyed in Korea.
In the second half of the documentary, the interesting parts concerned the Korean American contributions during the Second World War and in general. First, it was quite interesting that the United States actually classified Koreans as Japanese subjects and how the Korean American community was able to mobilize and lobby the US to recognize them as their own people. In addition, it was also interesting that the US made stamps commemorating Korea even though they knew little about it as seen by attempts by Soon Hyun's many attempts to convince his White classmates that Korea existed. In addition, it was also interesting that some Korean Americans even had to courage to fight alongside Japanese-Americans in the same Army unit and later make contributions by working in the occupied US military government in Korea. However, the most interesting thing was the role the Methodist churches had in assisting Korean immigrants, creating an environment for Korean patriots to work like Syngman Rhee, and most of all in preserving Korean culture.
Author lifeinmotionPosted on 2010-09-06 2010-09-06 Categories About me, College, comfort women, Discrimination, Issues, Japan, Korea, Politics, Racism, Rage, Randomness, Reviews, South Korea, Stereotypes, United StatesTags Arirang, Asian-American, Korea, Korean-American, South Korea, World War 2, World War II, WW2Leave a comment on Arirang: The Korean American Journey
Comedienne Esther Ku Reponds to Asian Critics
An e-mail from an Asian Zatch
by Esther Ku (notes) Today at 06:37
from Zatch Pouchprom
to ku@funnyku.com
date Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 10:41 PM
subject You should be ashamed of yourself.
Ms Ku,
Let me start out by saying that I'm a American man of Asian descent in my 20's. You and I are from the same generation so I'm sure that we grew up with the same media and the same cultural environment.
After seeing your act on Youtube and having had to tolerate the same garbagr from Bobby Lee on tv for the last 8 years, I feel it is important to write you this email.
You are continuing in the long tradition of Asian "step-n-fetch its" acts that started with Charlie Chan and then went from Charlie Chan to Hop Sing to Long Duk Dong to Wiliam Hung to Bobby Lee and now you.
I grew up in the South, from elementary school up into high school I was the only Asian face in the class. Everyday it was me having to punch another kid for slanting their eyes at me or doing the "Ching Chong Ching Chong" thing (I know you know what I'm talking about) then in high school it progressed to cracks about eating dogs and having a small dick.
I've been 6'1 220lbs since I was a freshmen, so I was able to kick the crap out of most of the asshats, most other Asians are small and I'm sure didn't have the recourse of kicking their bullies' asses and just had to live with it.
But you know as well as I do that this has happened to every Asian kid who has ever gone to school in this country.
Because of the type of stereotypical trash that Hollywood has shoved in our face about Asians (Especially Asian men) for the last 100 years.
But thats not the worst part the worst part is that they are helped in creating this image because people like you and Bobby Lee are willing to sell out not only your racial heritage but you're own brothers and fathers by embarassing yourselfs and re-enforcing these stereotypes with your pathetic attempts to get a few laughs from a predominately non-Asian audience.
Are you that desperate for fame? You do realize they are not laughing with you they are laughing at you.
You know what Ms. Ku one day you may have a son, and he will have to go to school and endure this type of racism because people like his mother helped create it.
You know how bad it is in hollywood for Asian Males? Jet Li once starred in a movie with a beautiful black pop Singer (Romeo must Die) who is suppose to be his "love interest", In the movie Jet goes through hell to rescue his "love interest" going so far as to have skin ripped from his hands in a fight scene. And in the end, you know what our hero gets? A freaking half-Hug!! Its so anathema for Hollywood to portray an Asian male as anything but a Sexless, weakling, computer nerd or screaming kung fu fool that even in his OWN MOVIE the Asian hero doesn't get a Kiss or anything.
People like James Shigeta, Bruce Lee, John Loan and Daniel Henney worked hard to force Hollywood to treat Asian Males with respect and as MEN.
People like you and Bobby Lee are doing everything you can to set the clock back even further on Asians.
You are a Disgrace.
You think that by throwing off on Asian Males that you are ingratiating yourself with non-Asian audiences but really your are just perpetuating stereotypes for yourself such as the iconic "Me Suckee suckee" or theever popular "Happy ending" bullshit.
Hollywood tells us:
Asian Men are Unattractive and "Sexless" (Even Asian Women are not attracted to them)
Asian Men have no physicality (other than kung fuing)
Asian Men are scared of all non-Asian men
Asian Men are meek and cowardly
Asian Men are silly excitable fools
Asian Men can be mocked with impunity.
Stop it Ms Ku
I know its hard to make it in show biz, but not at the expense of you degrading yourself and your heritage.
And don't give me this crap about you trying to subtley poking fun at stereotypes, you are doing nothing of the sort. You are reenforcing them.
I know your going to say
"But Chris Rock makes jokes a about black people and Carlos Mecia makes jokes about Mexican people." This is true, but the difference is there is always an element of pride in their humor, you can tell Chris Rock is proud to be a black man and Carlos is proud of his Hispanic Heritage. There is no pride in what you say about Asians, and the undertone of self-hate is loud and clear.
I hate to tell you but you will never be white, no matter how many white guys you date or how many times you degrade other asians.
Help empower your people not emasculate them. Asian Males have so few role models in the media to be proud of. They don't need sell-outs like you and Bobby Lee coming along and piling on with the ridicule.
One day your Son may want to get into show biz, but because of the stuff you are doing the only roles he'll be able to get are the William Hung type crap that Hollywood is still pushing. Is that really what you want? Because like it or not your son is going to look like the Asian guys you degrade in your act and not like those stud blond haired blue-eyed white guys you love to date.
I would suggest to you watching a documentary on Youtube called "The Slanted Screen" and how you are being part of the problem and not part of the solution.
I hope you read this Ms. Ku and I hope you think about how many people you are hurting with your "Comedy".
my response … but feel free to email your own response to Mr. Pouchprom.
Hi Zach. What kind of Asian is Pouchprom? hahahahahahahahah. Is this a real email or are you pranking me? I can't tell.
We may be from the same generation however, I come from a family that knows how to laugh. Laugh at people like you. Guys who feel it is important to write me this email that place me in the same category as Bobby Lee. Thanks! I've been trying to let him open for him at Caroline's for years. Would you mind if I used your email as a letter of reference?
Stop trying to blame me for having grown up in the south! Your parents were the retarded ones who moved to the south. Mine went straight to Chicago with several other families so that their children could form a gang and stick with each other from kindergarten. I don't know what you're talking about. In our school, the Asians were the ones doing the punching. Every time my brother punched a hole in the wall, we covered it up with a painting that translated to "harmony" or "love". Everybody was scared of the Asians in my school. You didn't mess with the Yang's, the Yoon's, and definitely not the Ku's. What I feel you maybe doing is projecting your regrets of not being able to stand up to your bullies onto me. And I refuse to stand for it.
So you're complaining that Hollywood has been oppressing Asian men for a mere 100 years? Compared to the thousands of years that Asian women have been oppressed by their male counterparts? Then sign me up Hollywood! It's reparations time! You guys have bound our feet, demanded hot food, clean clothes, polished nails, cute babies and happy endings for centuries. Get the fuck out of here. You're lucky we're not doing more damage. Oooh did we hurt your feelings? Wait. Let's work this out the old fashioned way. Why don't you give me your mom's phone number and I'll have my mom call your mom and yell at her for raising a six foot two hundred pound slanted pussy.
Is it also my fault that the audiences are predominately non-Asian? Man that's a good point. We should market to more Asians. Can you help out? There's a position for barker open at Stand-Up NY. I can totally get you a job so we can get that quota for Asians to match the current demographics of the US population.
Am I that desperate for fame? You think I'm famous? Yay! If you come to a show, I promise to take a picture with you afterward. Then you can tell people you met me and they will be impressed for moment if I am indeed as famous as you say I am.
So when I have my son, are you saying I should be a PTA mom? Because don't worry I would never join the PTA. When I have kids, I will be at home with my snugly bong and be wondering if little Jimmy from Occidental College ever graduated with a degree in Bio after I helped him with his anatomy assignment.
You keep referencing me and Bobby Lee in the same sentence. Do you think we should go on tour together? Cuz that'd be so much fun! Who do you think should drive? Me or Bobby?
Hollywood tells us that Asian men are silly excitable fools? I don't think anybody thinks that. Ever. hahahahah. Which is why Bobby Lee has a career. Don't you get it man? He's fighting the stereotype that you help perpetuate: the awfully boring, dorky nerd who takes himself way too seriously and whose parents thought it'd be a good idea to move in with a bunch of hillbillies.
You stop it Mr. Pouchprom. Seriously are you even Asian or are you half or something? Is your dad a pervert who only gets off on Asian porn? ew.
It is hard to make it in show biz and that's why I want to thank you for writing this letter because I think you've helped me seal the deal to become the next Kim of Comedy.
Esther Ku
Author lifeinmotionPosted on 2009-09-04 2009-09-04 Categories AZN, Discrimination, Issues, Korea, Politics, Racism, Randomness, Reviews, Stereotypes, United StatesTags Asian-American, Esther Ku, Humour, Racism, Stereotypes33 Comments on Comedienne Esther Ku Reponds to Asian Critics
The Chosun Dynasty was a period of "confucianization"
The Choson Dynasty is a period of "confucianization" according to Dr. Haboush's article. Discuss three particular aspects of confucianization by linking it to a film, sections from Korea Old and New, or by contrasting it to the Koryo Dynasty (using Duncan's article).
After overthrowing the Koryo Dynasty, Yi Songgye and his Neo-Confucian supporters founded the Chosun Dynasty, where a period of "Confucianization" began. The three particular aspects in Korea where confucianization occurred were in the government, in funerary practices, and in women's rights.
First, the government was heavily influenced by confucianization. Unlike the Koryo Dynasty, which drew its legitimacy from Buddhism, geomancy and marriage, the Chosun dynasty drew their support from Neo-Confucianism. However, the bureaucratic pres-sures exerted on the monarchy during the Koryo Dynasty were strengthened during the Chosun period because all government decisions had to be debated and justified by Con-fucian rhetoric, which led to a rivalry between the throne and the bureaucracy based on who can best realize Confucian ideals. Moreover, the Censorate gained greater influence in the government with its power of investigating corruption and confirming state ap-pointments, which brought accountability to the state while crippling the decision-making process (Eckert, Lee, 110). These struggles between the bureaucracy and the throne led to four literati purges that involved Chosun kings either removing or executing literati who accused the state of corruption or tried to impose Neo-Confucian norms that threat-ened the monarchy (Eckert, Lee, 136-139).
Another area of society that was affected by "Confucianization" affected were funer-ary practices, which were altered to suit Confucian norms. During the Koryo period, Koreans followed Buddhist funerary practices by cremating the dead, as depicted in "Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?" until it was outlawed by the Chosun government in 1474 since it was against Confucian norms. In 1401, the Confucian funeral rites and ancestor worship were codified into law to discourage non-Confucian traditions and proliferated when it was adopted by the yangban. Koreans eventually accepted these rituals because ancestor worship was compatible with the Buddhist belief that ancestors' souls needed continuous support by its descendants and because it was practiced by elites, which made Confucian funerary practices a status symbol.
A third area influenced by confucianization was women's rights. According to native Korean tradition, daughters were considered full-fledged heirs, women can remarry and Koryo-era women have equal claim to property. However, under the Kyongguk Taejon, only sons from wives or concubines were considered ritual heirs, the ritual heirs gets one and a half times more property than his siblings, and children of remarried women were denied state positions. Additionally, the state not only created laws that restricted women to the domestic sphere, it glorified women who conformed to Confucian values and pro-moted literature that taught them to be submissive, diligent, frugal, and devoted to their in-laws. One of the most popular Confucian stories is "Chunhyang", a morality play that was used to indoctrinate women to adhere to Confucian values by glorifying the heroine for upholding Confucian values under adversity and for attacking un-Confucian ideals.
In short, confucianization had significant impact on the state, on funerary practices, and on women's rights. First, the bureaucracy was strengthened which empowered the literati at the expense of threatening the monarchy. Second, funerary practices had to be changed, which also altered Korean attitudes towards the dead. Last, women's rights were gradually phased out as Confucianism gained greater prominence in society.
Author lifeinmotionPosted on 2009-04-16 2009-04-16 Categories Issues, Korea, Politics, Randomness, South Korea, Stereotypes4 Comments on The Chosun Dynasty was a period of "confucianization"
Thank You Amy Tan: Support the Joy Luck Club!
By Captain Livingston
Asian doll. Tight, submissive, exotic, mysterious and sultry. She shrieks at the sight of a mouse. She takes insults as a reminder to improve upon her flawed self. She is the survivor of abuse by Asian men from her past, just as she watched her mother abused by the hands of her father. She endures. She sits quietly alone, waiting for her White knight to sweep her away from generations of misery. Who is she?
She is a fantasy Asian woman created by Amy Tan to get Asian girls into the hands of the White guys like us.
My campaign, or better put, my goal is simple: to promote Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club in the reading lists of high schools and universities across the nation to get more White guys like myself with Asian girls. Right now, the Joy Luck Club (JLC) is currently used by academic institutions in the US and is known by us White guys as a novel that is "Draws Asian girls to [us]". Through Amy Tan and her novel, the images of self-loathing Asian women and abusive, wicked Asian men have reached the millions across the nation, much to our favor.
In my campaign to promote JLC for schools, I have enlisted the support of Asian-American women's groups, fraternities, pornographers, the Republican Party, and any Asiaphile group of every feasible nature. I am not looking to wipe out all Asian males nor am I looking to ignore White women. I just want more Asian girls to learn about Amy Tan and her wonderful novel so more White guys like me can enjoy them.
What I love most about her is the way she plays upon all of the Asian stereotypes. Asian women are depicted as lonely miserable characters whose ultimate salvation comes when united in marriage with a White male (us). Furthermore, she mercilessly smears all of the Asian male characters, confining them to the role of the wife-abuser, pervert, weakling or the nit-picking egomaniac, which is partly true from my own observations. This novel really represents the Asian American experiences and it is loved by critics, in addition to being popular with Asian girls and us White guys.
Amy Tan (who in real life was swept away by a white man) said herself that she would never date Asian men because she would not date her father or her brother, and this only helps our cause. I truly respect and believe her as a major figure of the collective voice of Asian-Americans and I really don't think it's right to question her thinking because that would be racist.
When chatting with Asian girls of every background online, they all said that the story is a major reason why they only date White guys. I must confess that there were parts to JLC that I could relate to, such as the generational and cultural gap the main characters felt with their parents. Nevertheless, alongside these anecdotes came, what I felt, were interesting generalizations that brought back memories of the abusiveness and arrogance that I faced from Asian nerds and thugs in high school.
So long as JLC and Amy Tan are the only widely recognized products of Asian American literature, Asian girls will date us more. I hope others will enjoy reading Amy Tan because she is both a very engaging writer and gives us a the truth at what Asian women had to suffer from in her pages.
Author lifeinmotionPosted on 2009-01-08 2013-09-27 Categories AZN, China, Discrimination, Issues, Japan, Korea, Politics, Racism, Randomness, Romance/ Love, South Korea, Stereotypes, Taiwan, United States8 Comments on Thank You Amy Tan: Support the Joy Luck Club!
Head of Japanese Air Force (ASDF) sacked for public denial of Japan's wartime aggression
Earlier this week, the head of the Japanese air force wrote in a prize-wining essay describing Japan as the aggressor during World War II is a "false accusation."
The government stripped ASDF Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami, 60, of his title after deeming his claim deviated from the government's official view that Japan's invasions and colonial rule caused great damage and pain to the peoples of its Asian neighbors.
Tamogami wrote the essay titled, "Was Japan an aggressor nation?" and submitted it for an essay contest organized by the APA Group, a hotel and condominium operator. His essay won the grand prize, and the original Japanese version and an English translation were posted on the company's Web site on Friday.
In his essay, Tamogami says "Our country was a victim, drawn into the Sino-Japanese War by Chiang Kai-shek."
He then justifies Japan's wartime colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and the former Manchuria. "Through the efforts of the Japanese government and Japanese army, the people in these areas were released from the oppression they had been subjected to up until then, and their standard of living markedly improved."
Below is the English translation of the essay taken directly from APA Group, who sponsored the essay contest and posted his winning essay. The URL to the Japanese and English version is here
Was Japan an Aggressor Nation?
Tamogami Toshio
Under the terms of the US-Japan Security Treaty, American troops are stationed within Japan. Nobody calls this an American invasion of Japan. That is because it is based on a treaty agreed upon between two nations.
Our country is said to have invaded the Chinese mainland and the Korean peninsula in the prewar period, but surprisingly few people are aware that the Japanese army was also stationed in these countries on the basis of treaties. The advance of the Japanese army onto the Korean peninsula and Chinese mainland from the latter half of the 19th century on was not a unilateral advance without the understanding of those nations. The current Chinese government obstinately insists that there was a "Japanese invasion," but Japan obtained its interests in the Chinese mainland legally under international law through the Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and so on, and it placed its troops there based on treaties in order to protect those interests. There are those who say that Japan applied pressure and forced the Chinese to sign the treaty, thus invalidating it, but back then – and even now – there were no treaties signed without some amount of pressure.
The Japanese army was subjected to frequent acts of terrorism by Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (KMT). Large-scale attacks on and murders of Japanese citizens occurred many times. This would be like the Japanese Self-Defense Forces attacking the US troops stationed at the Yokota or Yokosuka military bases, committing acts of violence and murder against the American soldiers and their families – it would be unforgivable. Despite that, the Japanese government patiently tried to bring about peace, but at every turn they were betrayed by Chiang Kai-shek.
In fact, Chiang Kai-shek was being manipulated by Comintern. As a result of the Second United Front of 1936, large numbers of guerillas from the Communist Party of Comintern puppet Mao Zedong infiltrated the KMT. The objective of Comintern was to pit the Japanese army and the KMT against each other to exhaust them both and, in the end, to have Mao Zedong's Communist Party control mainland China. Finally, our country could no longer put up with the repeated provocations of the KMT, and on August 15, 1937, the Konoe Fumimaro Cabinet declared that "now we must take determined measures to punish the violent and unreasonable actions of the Chinese army and encourage the Nanking Government to reconsider." Our country was a victim, drawn into the Sino-Japanese War by Chiang Kai-shek.
The bombing of Zhang Zuolin's train in 1928 was for a long time said to have been the work of the Kwantung Army, but in recent years, Soviet intelligence documents have been discovered that at the very least cast doubt on the Kwantung Army's role. According to such books as Mao: The Mao Zedong Nobody Knew by Jung Chang (Kodansha) 「マオ(誰も知らなかった毛沢東)(ユン・チアン、講談社)」, Ko Bunyu Looks Positively at the Greater East Asian War by Ko Bunyu (WAC Co.) 「黄文雄の大東亜戦争肯定論(黄文雄、ワック出版)」, and Refine Your Historical Power, Japan edited by Sakurai Yoshiko (Bungei Shunju) 「日本よ、「歴史力」を磨け(櫻井よしこ編、文藝春秋)」, the theory that it was actually the work of Comintern has gained a great deal of prominence recently.
Similarly, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, immediately prior to the start of the Sino-Japanese War, had been considered as a kind of proof of Japan's invasion of China.
However, we now know that during the Tokyo War Trials, Liu Shaoqi of the Chinese Communist Party told Western reporters at a press conference, "The instigator of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident was the Chinese Communist Party, and the officer in charge was me." If you say that Japan was the aggressor nation, then I would like to ask what country among the great powers of that time was not an aggressor. That is not to say that because other countries were doing so it was all right for Japan to do so well, but rather that there is no reason to single out Japan as an aggressor nation.
Japan tried to develop Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan in the same way it was developing the Japanese mainland. Among the major powers at that time, Japan was the only nation that tried to incorporate its colonies within the nation itself. In comparison to other countries, Japan's colonial rule was very moderate. When Imperial Manchuria was established in January 1932, the population was thirty million. That population increased each year by more than 1 million people, reaching fifty million by the end of the war in 1945.
Why was there such a population explosion in Manchuria? It was because Manchuria was a prosperous and safe region. People would not be flocking to a place that was being invaded. The plains of Manchuria, where there was almost no industry other than agriculture, was reborn as a vital industrial nation in just fifteen years thanks to the Japanese government. On the Korean Peninsula as well, during the thirty-five years of Japanese rule the population roughly doubled from thirteen million to twenty-five million people. That is proof that Korea under Japanese rule was also prosperous and safe. In postwar Japan, people say that the Japanese army destroyed the peaceful existence in Manchuria and on the Korean Peninsula. But in fact, through the efforts of the Japanese government and Japanese army, the people in these areas were released from the oppression they had been subjected to up until then, and their standard of living markedly improved.
Our country built many schools in Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan, and emphasized education for the native people. We left behind significant improvements to the infrastructure that affects everyday life – roads, power plants, water supply, etc. And we established Keijo Imperial University in Korea in 1924 as well as the Taipei Imperial University in 1928 in Taiwan.
Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government established nine imperial universities. Keijo Imperial University was the sixth and Taipei Imperial University was the seventh to be built. The subsequent order was that Osaka Imperial University was eighth (1931) and Nagoya Imperial University was ninth (1939). The Japanese government actually built imperial universities in Korea and Taiwan even before Osaka and Nagoya.
The Japanese government also permitted the enrollment of Chinese and Japanese citizens into the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. At the Manila military tribunal following the war, there was a lieutenant general in the Japanese army named Hong Sa-ik, a native Korean who was sentenced to death. Hong graduated in the 26th class at the Army Academy, where he was a classmate of Lt. General Kuribayashi Tadamichi, who gained fame at Iwo Jima.
Hong was a person who rose to lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army while retaining his Korean name. One class behind him at the academy was Col. Kim Suk-won, who served as a major in China at the time of the Sino-Japanese War. Leading a force of roughly 1,000 Japanese troops, he trampled the army from China, the former suzerain state that had been bullying Korea for hundreds of years. He was decorated by the emperor for his meritorious war service. Of course, he did not change his name. In China, Chiang Kai-shek also graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and received training while attached to a regiment in Takada, in Niigata.
One year below Kim Suk-won at the academy was the man who would be Chiang's staff officer, He Yingqin. The last crown prince of the Yi dynasty, Crown Prince Yi Eun also attended the Army Academy, graduating in the 29th class. Crown Prince Yi Eun was brought to Japan as a sort of hostage at the age of ten. However, the Japanese government treated him respectfully as a member of the royal family, and after receiving his education at Gakushuin, he graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. In the army, he was promoted and served as a lieutenant general. Crown Prince Yi Eun was married to Japan's Princess Nashimotonomiya Masako. She was a woman of nobility who previously had been considered as a potential bride for the Showa Emperor. If the Japanese government had intended to smash the Yi dynasty, they surely would not have permitted the marriage of a woman of this stature to Crown Prince Yi Eun.
Incidentally, in 1930, the Imperial Household Agency built a new residence for the couple. It is now the Akasaka Prince Hotel Annex. Also, Prince Pujie, the younger brother of Puyi – the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who was also the emperor of Manchuria – was married to Lady Saga Hiro of the noble Saga house.
When you compare this with the countries that were considered to be major powers at the time, you realize that Japan's posture toward Manchuria, Korea, and Taiwan was completely different from the colonial rule of the major powers. England occupied India, but it did not provide education for the Indian people. Indians were not permitted to attend the British military academy. Of course, they would never have considered a marriage between a member of the British royal family and an Indian. This holds true for Holland, France, America, and other countries as well.
By contrast, from before the start of World War II, Japan had been calling for harmony between the five tribes, laying out a vision for the tribes – the Yamato (Japanese), Koreans, Chinese, Manchurians, and Mongols – to intermix and live peacefully together. At a time when racial discrimination was considered natural, this was a groundbreaking proposal. At the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I, when Japan urged that the abolition of racial discrimination be included in the treaty, England and America laughed it off. But if you look at the world today, it has become the kind of world that Japan was urging at the time.
Going back in time to 1901, in the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, the Qing Empire signed the Boxer Protocol in 1901 with eleven countries including Japan. As a result, our country gained the right to station troops in Qing China, and began by dispatching 2,600 troops there. Also, in 1915, following four months of negotiations with the government of Yuan Shikai, and incorporating China's points as well, agreement was reached on Japan's so-called 21 Demands toward China. Some people say that this was the start of Japan's invasion of China, but if you compare these demands to the general international norms of colonial administration by the great powers at the time, there was nothing terribly unusual about it. China too accepted the demands at one point and ratified them.
However, four years later, in 1919, when China was allowed to attend the Paris Peace Conference, it began complaining about the 21 Demands with America's backing. Even then, England and France supported Japan's position. Moreover, Japan never advanced its army without the agreement of Chiang Kai-shek's KMT.
The Japanese army in Beijing, which was stationed there from 1901, still comprised just 5,600 troops at the time of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident thirty-six years later. At that time, tens of thousands of KMT troops were spread out in the area surrounding Beijing, and even in terms of appearances it was a far cry from being an invasion. As symbolized by Foreign Minister Shidehara Kijuro, our country's basic policy at the time was one of reconciliation with China, and that has not changed even today.
There are some who say that it was because Japan invaded the Chinese mainland and the Korean Peninsula that it ended up entering the war with the United States, where it lost three million people and met with defeat; it committed an irrevocable error. However, it has also been confirmed now that Japan was ensnared in a trap that was very carefully laid by the United States in order to draw Japan into a war.
In fact, America was also being manipulated by Comintern. There are official documents called the Venona Files, which are available on the National Security Agency (NSA) website. It is a massive set of documents, but in the May 2006 edition of "Monthly Just Arguments" 「 月刊正論」, (then) Assistant Professor Fukui of Aoyama Gakuin University offered a summary introduction.
The Venona Files are a collection of transmissions between Comintern and agents in the United States, which the United States was monitoring for eight years, from 1940 to 1948. At the time, the Soviets were changing their codes after each message, so the United States could not decipher them. From 1943, right in the middle of the war with Japan, the United States began its decryption work. Surprisingly, it took thirty-seven years to finish the work; it was completed just before the start of the Reagan administration in 1980. However, since it was the middle of the Cold War, the Americans kept these documents classified.
In 1995, following the end of the Cold War, they were declassified and made open to the public. According to those files, there were three hundred Comintern spies working in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who took office in 1933. Among them, one who rose to the top was the number two official at the Treasury, Assistant Secretary Harry White. Harry White is said to have been the perpetrator who wrote the Hull note, America's final notice to Japan before the war began. Through President Roosevelt's good friend, Treasury Secretary Morgenthau, he was able to manipulate President Roosevelt and draw our country into a war with the United States.
At the time, Roosevelt was not aware of the terrible nature of communism. Through Harry White, he was on the receiving end of Comintern's maneuvering, and he was covertly offering strong support to Chiang Kai-shek, who was battling Japan at the time, sending the Flying Tigers squadron comprised of one hundred fighter planes. Starting one and a half months prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States began covert air attacks against Japan on the Chinese mainland.
Roosevelt had become president on his public pledge not to go to war, so in order to start a war between the United States and Japan it had to appear that Japan took the first shot. Japan was caught in Roosevelt's trap and carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Could the war have been avoided? If Japan had accepted the conditions lain out by the United States in the Hull note, perhaps the war could have been temporarily avoided. But even if the war had been avoided temporarily, when you consider the survival of the fittest mentality that dominated international relations at the time, you can easily imagine that the United States would have issued a second and a third set of demands. As a result, those of us living today could very well have been living in a Japan that was a white nation's colony.
If you leave people alone, someday someone will create the conveniences of civilization, such as cars, washing machines, and computers. But in the history of mankind, the relationship between the rulers and the ruled is only determined by war. It is impossible for those who are powerful to grant concessions on their own. Those who do not fight must resign themselves to being ruled by others.
After the Greater East Asia War, many countries in Asia and Africa were released from the control of white nations. A world of racial equality arrived and problems between nations were to be decided through discussion. That was a result of Japan's strength in fighting the Russo-Japanese War and Greater East Asia War. If Japan had not fought the Greater East War at that time, it may have taken another one hundred or two hundred years before we could have experienced the world of racial equality that we have today. In that sense, we must be grateful to our ancestors who fought for Japan and to the spirits of those who gave their precious lives for their country. It is thanks to them that we are able to enjoy the peaceful and plentiful lifestyle we have today.
On the other hand, there are those who call the Greater East Asia War "that stupid war." They probably believe that even without fighting a war we could have achieved today's peaceful and plentiful society. It is as if they think that all of our country's leaders at that time were stupid. We undertook a needless war and many Japanese citizens lost their lives. They seem to be saying that all those who perished actually died in vain.
However, when you look back at the history of mankind, you understand that nothing is as simple as that. Even today, once a decision is made about an international relationship it is extremely difficult to overturn that. Based on the US-Japan Security Treaty, America possesses bases even in Japan's capital region of Tokyo. Even if Japan said they wanted those bases back, they would not be easily returned. In terms of our relationship with Russia as well, the Northern Islands remain illegally occupied even after more than sixty years. And Takeshima remains under the effective control of South Korea.
The Tokyo Trials tried to push all the responsibility for the war onto Japan. And that mind control is still misleading the Japanese people sixty-three years after the war. The belief is that if the Japanese army becomes stronger, it will certainly go on a rampage and invade other countries, so we need to make it as difficult as possible for the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to act. The SDF cannot even defend its own territory, it cannot practice collective self-defense, there are many limitations on its use of weapons, and the possession of offensive weaponry is forbidden. Compared to the militaries of other countries, the SDF is bound hand and foot and immobilized.
Unless our country is released from this mind control, it will never have a system for protecting itself through its own power. We have no choice but to be protected by America. If we are protected by America, then the Americanization of Japan will be accelerated. Japan's economy, its finances, its business practices, its employment system, its judicial system will all converge with the American system. Our country's traditional culture will be destroyed by the parade of reforms. Japan is undergoing a cultural revolution, is it not? But are the citizens of Japan living in greater ease now or twenty years ago? Is Japan becoming a better country?
I am not repudiating the US-Japan alliance. Good relations between Japan and the United States are essential to the stability of the Asian region. However, what is most desirable in the US-Japan relationship is something like a good relationship between parent and child, where they come to each other's aid when needed, as opposed to the kind of relationship where the child remains permanently dependant on the parent.
Creating a structure where we can protect our country ourselves allows us to preemptively prevent an attack on Japan, and at the same time serves to bolster our position in diplomatic negotiations. This is understood in many countries to be perfectly normal, but that concept has not gotten through to our citizens.
Even now, there are many people who think that our country's aggression caused unbearable suffering to the countries of Asia during the Greater East Asia War. But we need to realize that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War. In Thailand, Burma, India, Singapore, and Indonesia, the Japan that fought the Greater East Asia War is held in high esteem. We also have to realize that while many of the people who had direct contact with the Japanese army viewed them positively, it is often those who never directly saw the Japanese military who are spreading rumors about the army's acts of brutality. Many foreigners have testified to the strict military discipline of the Japanese troops as compared to those of other countries. It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation.
Japan is a wonderful country that has a long history and exceptional traditions. We, as Japanese people, must take pride in our country's history. Unless they are influenced by some particular ideology, people will naturally love the hometown and the country where they were born. But in Japan's case, if you look assiduously at the historical facts, you will understand that what this country has done is wonderful. There is absolutely no need for lies and fabrications. If you look at individual events, there were probably some that would be called misdeeds. That is the same as saying that there is violence and murder occurring today even in advanced nations.
We must take back the glorious history of Japan. A nation that denies its own history is destined to pursue a path of decline.
The last sentence of his essay is ironic given that Japan has been in economic and social decline since the late 1980s, which happens to be around the same period when fringe ideologies were becoming part of the mainstream political and historical discourse in Japan.
Author lifeinmotionPosted on 2008-11-01 2008-11-02 Categories About me, China, Issues, Japan, Korea, Politics, Randomness, Sino-Japanese, South Korea, Stereotypes, Taiwan, United States, World War II, 中文网志(Chinese Blog)2 Comments on Head of Japanese Air Force (ASDF) sacked for public denial of Japan's wartime aggression


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Mike Alexander
Mike Alexander has led a varied life including working as a commercial diver, a horticulturist and at the hard news end of the television business. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and among other things crewed an ocean going yacht and hitchhiked from New York to California and back.
Mike writes for a number of journals, magazines and web sites. He covers a diverse range of subjects from food to lifestyle and from gardening to environmental issues. His writing seeks to use each subject to reflect the culture, folklore and way of life in this country.
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A Murmuration of Starlings
The Alien Invasion How invasive
Kestrel Kindergarten
Lovely Legs and All
PALM OIL IS KILLING THE PLANET
IGNORING INSECT ARMAGEDDON
Bleeding for the Environment
THE PILGRIM'S CHOICE
THE SCENTED EMPEROR
The Royal Madikwe Lodge
Mike Alexander Bordeaux, France
© 2013 Mike Alexander. All Rights Reserved.


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Ring tones remain dead in Jaffna mobile phones
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 01:09 GMT]
Officials of Dialog GSM and Mobitel, the two mobile telephone companies providing cellular telephone service in Jaffna Peninsula, denied widespread rumors Monday that the wireless service, disconnected in August, are to be restored soon, sources from Jaffna said.
More than 40,000 people who had mobile telephone facilities lost the facilities when the Sri Lankan Military cut-off the wireless services following the break out of fresh violence on 11 August.
Dialog GSM, which owns 90 % of the connections and Mobitel, a collaborative company of Sri Lankan Telecom, have their main relay station to the Peninsula in the Palaly Military Base.
Sri Lanka Military consulted neither the wireless carriers nor the customers before suspending the services, according to sources.
The affected customers when complained to the service providers were told that the decision was taken by the Military and they will be able to resume operation only with the permission of the SLA.


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Neo Sidirochori () is a village and a former municipality in the Rhodope regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Komotini, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 120.488 km2. Population 2,778 (2011). The majority of the residents of the village descend from Greek refugees who had to flee from the village of Samakovo in Eastern Thrace after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War

References

Populated places in Rhodope (regional unit)

el:Δήμος Κομοτηνής#Δημοτική ενότητα Νέου Σιδηροχωρίου

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia