Image:Filippino Lippi 001.jpg

Allegory of Music, by Filippino Lippi

Image:Lorenzo Lippi 001.jpg

Allegory of Music, by Lorenzo Lippi

Definition of music

Main article: Definition of music

See also: Music genre

The broadest definition of music is organized sound. There are observable patterns to what is broadly labeled music, and while there are understandable cultural variations, the properties of music are the properties of sound as perceived and processed by humans.

A more conservative definition would be: Music is harmonious sound created by the playing of instruments as a whole or individually. It is a direct expression of human emotions designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music is designed to be felt unlike sound which is heard.

Greek philosophers and medieval theorists defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies, and vertically as harmonies. Music theory, within this realm, is studied with the presupposition that music is orderly and often pleasant to hear. However, in the 20th century, composers challenged the notion that music had to be pleasant by creating music that explored harsher, darker timbres. The existence of some modern-day genres such as death metal and grindcore, which enjoy an extensive underground following, indicate that even the harshest sounds can be considered music if the listener is so inclined.

20th century composer John Cage disagreed with the notion that music must consist of pleasant, discernible melodies. Instead, he argued that any sounds we can hear can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound,"[2]. According to musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1990 p.47-8,55): "The border between music and noise is always culturally defined--which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus.... By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be."

The composer Anton Webern stated "With me, things never turn out as I wish, but only as is ordained for means—I must", which sets out his view of the underlying generative process of music. The German philosopher Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe believed that patterns and forms were the basis of music; he stated that "architecture is frozen music."

TOKYO - Japan was morally responsible for forcing women to work in wartime brothels, a former Japanese leader said on Monday, in a veiled criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's comments on sex slaves.

Former prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, who made a landmark apology for Japan's wartime actions in 1995, also said efforts by politicians to justify World War Two were making Asian neighbours worry Tokyo was returning to its militarist past.

Abe sparked outrage overseas by saying there was no evidence that Japan's government or army had kidnapped the women to work as sex slaves, although he has also said he stands by a 1993 apology acknowledging official involvement in the brothels.

Murayama, who became Japan's first Socialist prime minister in 40 years when he was elected in 1994, said the debate over the degree of official involvement was meaningless.

"There is no point in debating that. There is no mistake that the military had set up and managed the brothels. In that sense, the government was responsible," Murayama, 83, said in a rare interview.

"That's why the government has apologised, and because it felt that that was not enough from a moral standpoint, began work to provide compensation and set up the fund," he said, referring to the government-sponsored Asian Women's Fund set up in 1995.

The fund -- headed by Murayama since 2000 -- has provided former comfort women 2 million yen ($17,000) each in compensation and medical support, along with a letter of apology signed by Abe's predecessors.

But many former "comfort women" have refused to accept the money, saying the Japanese government itself should provide the compensation in recognition of its responsibility.

MAKING ASIA NERVOUS

U.S. Congressman Michael Honda has introduced a resolution calling for Japan to make an unambiguous apology for the suffering of the sex slaves at the hands of its army.

Abe has said the resolution contains many factual errors and that Japan would not apologise again, even if it is adopted.

Murayama welcomed Abe's decision to stand by the 1993 apology, but added the 52-year-old Japanese leader might have made the situation worse with some of his comments.

"He said things he didn't have to say," Murayama said, referring to Abe's remark that he would not apologise anew.

Murayama said that in the years since he expressed "deep remorse" and a "heartfelt apology" to Asian countries for Japan's wartime actions, a growing number of Japanese politicians were trying to justify the conflict, making Tokyo's neighbours wary.

Abe has also pledged to revise Japan's pacifist constitution during his tenure, a stance that was long taboo.

"During my time, we couldn't even mention the idea of revising the constitution. Now they're talking about it in parliament. Times have changed," Murayama said.

"People in Asia are worried Japan may go back to the past," he added.

Murayama said the furore over the "comfort women" showed the activities of the Asian Women's Fund were not well known.

"I wonder if people overseas know that past prime ministers have sent a letter of remorse to each 'comfort woman' through the fund," said the white-haired Murayama.

Since 1995, the fund has handled nearly 565 million yen in private donations for compensation and about 750 million yen in government funds for medical welfare support to women from the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and the Netherlands.

Many of the thousands of sex slaves, which one academic has said numbered about 200,000, have died due to old age. Most of the survivors are in their 80s.

The fund is being wound up at the end of this month.

ULYANOVSKAYA MINE, Russia - A methane explosion killed 78 people in a Siberian coal mine on Monday in the deadliest accident in Russia's mining industry for at least a decade, local officials said.

More than 45 miners were still missing about 15 hours after the blast and rescue workers said the death toll could rise further.

Work to save the trapped miners was being hampered by thick smoke and roof collapses in horizontal shafts that stretched for up to 5 km (3 miles).

"Seventy-eight people have perished," a spokesman for the Kemerovo region -- the heartland of the coal industry where the pit is located -- told the Vesti-24 television news channel.

"The rescue operation is continuing but it is being made difficult by thick smoke and the continued presence of gas in the mine," the spokesman said.

President Vladimir Putin ordered his emergencies minister to fly to the Ulyanovskaya mine to oversee the rescue effort.

Helicopters were being used to take bodies from the pit to the local morgue and relatives were shown on state television weeping in the dark as they waited for news of relatives.

"The main task now is to find as many people as possible," Kemerovo governor Aman Tuleyev said in footage broadcast by the Rossiya television station.

When the blast occurred, the pit's management was underground inspecting a new safety system installed by a British company, Tuleyev said.

The region's spokesman said 200 people had been in the pit when the blast happened at about 0800 GMT. He said 75 of them had been safely evacuated, leaving 47 trapped underground.

Itar-Tass said the body of a British citizen, a contractor who was underground at the time of the blast, had been found.

"TOUGH SITUATION"

Television pictures showed rescue workers in breathing apparatus walking down a shaft into the pit. One miner, his clothes black with dirt, was motionless on a stretcher as he was put into an ambulance.

"It is a very tough situation down there," Rossiya television quoted ambulance worker Yuri Shchetinin as saying. "There are a lot of miners there. We will try to get them out."

It was the deadliest in a long line of fatal accidents in Russian mines, many of which are several decades old and lack modern equipment.

Last year, 25 Russian miners died in a fire at a gold mine in eastern Siberia. A gas explosion at a coal mine in Kemerovo in 2004 killed 45 people.

The mine belongs to the Yuzhkuzbassugol company, in which Russia's second-biggest steelmaker, Evraz, holds a 50 percent stake. Yuzhkuzbassugol's management owns the other 50 percent and has operational control of the company.

Evraz declined to comment on Monday. There was no marked change in its share price on the London Stock Exchange.

The Ulyanovskaya mine was opened in 2002, making it unusually new by the standards of Russia's mining industry.

In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating 8 March as International Women's Day. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. For the United Nations, International Women's Day has been observed on 8 March since 1975. The Day is traditionally marked with a message from the Secretary-General.

IWD today is an opportunity for women to come together and look back on a rich history of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development and to support this work in the present and future.

  The symbolic meaning of IWD

For the women of the world, the Day's symbolism has a wider meaning: It is an occasion to review how far the women have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change.

  The reason why the UN dedicates a day exclusively to the celebration of the world's women

In adopting its resolution on the observance of Women's Day, the General Assembly cited two reasons: to recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality and development of women; and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security.

   A brief chronology of the most important events:

1909
In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate it on the last Sunday of that month through 1913.

1910
The Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Women's Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women's rights and to assist in achieving universal suffrage for women. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, which included the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament. No fixed date was selected for the observance.

1911
As a result of the decision taken at Copenhagen the previous year, International Women's Day was marked for the first time (19 March) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than one million women and men attended rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded the right to work, to vocational training and to an end to discrimination on the job.

Less than a week later, on 25 March, the tragic Triangle Fire in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working girls, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This event had a significant impact on labour legislation in the United States, and the working conditions leading up to the disaster were invoked during subsequent observances of International Women's Day.

1913-1914
As part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War I, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with their sisters.

1917
With 2 million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again chose the last Sunday in February to strike for "bread and peace". Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on anyway. The rest is history: Four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. That historic Sunday fell on 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia, but on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere.

1975
During International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating 8 March as International Women's Day.

1977
In December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions.

   Themes for International Women's Day

IWD 2006: "Women in decision-making"

IWD 2005: "Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future"

IWD 2004: "Women and HIV/AIDS"

IWD 2003: "Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goal"

IWD 2002: "Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunity"

IWD 2001: "Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflits"

IWD 2000: "Women Uniting for Peace"

IWD 1999: "World Free of Violence Against Women"

IWD 1998: "Women and Human Rights"

IWD 1997: "Women at the Peace Table"

IWD 1996: "Celebrating the Past, Planning for the future"

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/2006-03/07/content_539960.htm

Best Motion Picture: "The Departed"
最佳影片：《无间道风云》

Lead Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"
最佳男主角：弗雷斯特·惠特克《末代独裁》

Lead Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
最佳女主角：海伦·米伦 《女王》

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
最佳男配角：《阳光小美女》阿兰·阿金

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"
最佳女配角：珍妮佛·哈德逊 《追梦女郎》

Directing: Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"
最佳导演：《无间道风云》马丁·斯科塞斯

Foreign Language Film: "The Lives of Others," Germany
最佳外语片：《窃听风暴》

Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan, "The Departed"
最佳改编剧本：《无间道风云》威廉·莫那翰

Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"
最佳原创剧本： 迈克尔·阿尔恩特 《阳光小美女》

Animated Feature Film: "Happy Feet"
最佳动画长片：《欢乐的大脚》

Art Direction: "Pan's Labyrinth"
最佳艺术指导：《潘神的迷宫》

Cinematography: "Pan's Labyrinth"
最佳摄影：《潘神的迷宫》

Film Editing: "The Departed"
最佳剪辑：《无间道风云》

Sound Mixing: "Dreamgirls"
最佳音响效果：《追梦女郎》

Sound Editing: "Letters From Iwo Jima"
最佳音效剪辑：《硫磺岛家书》

Original Score: "Babel," Gustavo Santaolalla
最佳配乐：《通天塔》

Original Song: "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," Melissa Etheridge
最佳歌曲：《难以忽视的真相》中的《我要醒来》

Costume: "Marie Antoinette"
最佳服装设计:《绝代艳后》

Documentary Feature: "An Inconvenient Truth"
最佳纪录片:《难以忽视的真相》

Documentary Short Subject: "The Blood of Yingzhou District"
最佳纪录短片:《颖州的孩子》

Animated Short Film: "The Danish Poet"
最佳动画短片：《丹麦诗人》

Live Action Short Film: " West Bank Story"
最佳真人短片：《西岸故事》

Visual Effects: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
最佳视觉效果：《加勒比海盗2：聚魂棺》

Jean Hersholt Award (Oscar statuette): Sherry Lansing.
人道精神奖：雪莉·兰斯

Honorary Academy Award (Oscar statuette): Ennio Morricone.
终身成就奖:埃尼奥·莫里康内

Method

Pythagorean tuning is based on a stack of perfect fifths, each tuned in the ratio 3:2, the next simplest ratio after 2:1, which is the ratio of an octave. The two notes A and D, for example, are tuned so that their frequencies are in the ratio 3:2 — if D is tuned to 200 Hz, then the A is tuned to 300 Hz. The E a fifth above that A is also tuned in the ratio 3:2 — with the A at 300 Hz, this puts the E at 450 Hz, 9:4 above the original D. When describing tunings, it is usual to speak of all notes as being within an octave of each other, and as this E is over an octave above the original D, it is usual to halve its frequency to move it down an octave. Therefore, the E is tuned to 225 Hz, a 9:8 above the D. The B a 3:2 above that E is tuned to the ratio 27:16 and so on, until the starting note, D, is arrived at again.

In applying this tuning to the chromatic scale, however, a problem arises: no number of 3:2s will fit exactly into an octave. Because of this, the D arrived at after twelve fifths have been tuned up is about a quarter of a semitone sharper than the D used to begin the process. The table below (starting at E flat rather than D) illustrates this, showing the note name, the ratio above D, and the value in cents above the D for each note in the chromatic scale. The cent values of the same notes in equal temperament are also given for comparison (marked in the table below as "et-Cents").

In order to keep the ratios in this table relatively simple, fifths are tuned down from D as well as up. The first note in the circle of fifths given here is E flat (equivalent to D#), from which five perfect fifths are tuned before arriving at D, the nominal unison note.

Note	Ratio	Cents	et-Cents	Interval
Eb	256:243	90.22	100	minor second
Bb	128:81	792.18	800	minor sixth
F	32:27	294.13	300	minor third
C	16:9	996.09	1000	minor seventh
G	4:3	498.04	500	perfect fourth
D	1:1	0	0	unison
A	3:2	701.96	700	perfect fifth
E	9:8	203.91	200	major second
B	27:16	905.87	900	major sixth
F#	81:64	407.82	400	major third
C#	243:128	1109.78	1100	major seventh
G#	729:512	611.73	600	augmented fourth
[D#]	[2187:2048]	[113.69]	[100]	[augmented unison]

In equal temperament, and most other modern tunings of the chromatic scale, pairs of enharmonic notes such as E flat and D sharp are thought of as being the same note — however, as the above table indicates, in Pythagorean tuning, they theoretically have different ratios, and are at a different frequency. This discrepancy, of about 23.5 cents, or one quarter of a semitone, is known as a Pythagorean comma.

To get around this problem, Pythagorean tuning uses the above 12 notes from E flat to G sharp shown above, and then places above the G sharp another E flat, starting the sequence again. This leaves the interval G#—Eb sounding badly out of tune, meaning that any music which combines those two notes is unplayable in this tuning. A very out of tune interval such as this one is known as a wolf interval. In the case of Pythagorean tuning, all the fifths are 701.96 cents wide, in the exact ratio 3:2, except the wolf fifth, which is only 678.49 cents wide, nearly a quarter of a semitone flatter.

Wolf fifth.ogg (33.1KB) is a sound file demonstrating this out of tune fifth. The first two fifths are perfectly tuned in the ratio 3:2, the third is the G#—Eb wolf fifth. It may be useful to compare this to Et fifths.ogg (38.2KB), which is the same three fifths tuned in equal temperament, each of them tolerably well in tune.

If the notes G# and Eb need to be sounded together, the position of the wolf fifth can be changed (for example, the above table could run from A to E, making that the wolf interval instead of Eb to G#). However, there will always be one wolf fifth in Pythagorean tuning, making it impossible to play in all keys in tune.

Because of the wolf interval, this tuning is rarely used nowadays, although it is thought it was once widespread. In music which does not change key very often, or which is not very harmonically adventurous, the wolf interval is unlikely to be a problem, as not all the possible fifths will be heard in such pieces.

Because fifths in Pythagorean tuning are in the simple ratio of 3:2, they sound very "smooth" and consonant. The thirds, by contrast, which are in the relatively complex ratios of 81:64 (for major thirds) and 32:27 (for minor thirds), sound less smooth. For this reason, Pythagorean tuning is particularly well suited to music which treats fifths as consonances, and thirds as dissonances. In classical music, this usually means music written prior to the 16th century. As thirds became to be treated as consonances, so meantone temperament, and particularly quarter comma meantone, which tunes thirds to the relatively simple ratio of 5:4, became more popular. However, meantone still has a wolf interval, so is not suitable for all music.

From around the 18th century, the need grew for instruments to change key, and therefore to avoid a wolf interval, this led to the widespread use of well temperaments and eventually equal temperament.

In a speech which one US senator said smacked of Cold War rhetoric, Putin told a security conference in Munich on Saturday the United States was making the world a more dangerous place by pursuing policies aimed at making it the "one single master."

A White House spokesman said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the comments and some Europeans said it was a wake-up call from a tougher Russia, newly empowered by a sharp rise in the prices of its oil, gas and metals exports.

But despite their concerns, the White House and Gates underlined the need for cooperation with Moscow.

"Many of you have backgrounds in diplomacy or politics," Gates, a former CIA director, told the same Munich conference.

"I have, like your second speaker yesterday (Putin), a starkly different background -- a career in the spy business. And, I guess, old spies have a habit of blunt speaking.

Gates raised concerns about Russian arms transfers and its "temptation to use energy resources for political coercion" which he said could threaten international stability.

But he said: "We all face many common problems and challenges that must be addressed in partnership with other countries, including Russia."

"One Cold War was quite enough," he added.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, addressing the conference, also underlined the potential for cooperation between the old foes to fight the new threat of terrorism.

"We need to use all the efforts of the world community in countering terrorists and to concentrate our efforts at the most vulnerable spots," he said. He proposed cutting off militants' financial channels and preventing them recruiting.

US-Russian Disagreements

The Kremlin has for several weeks been dropping hints that Putin, who steps down next year after two terms in power, was preparing a major foreign policy speech that would point the way for his successor.

His remarks coincide with disagreement between Russia and the United States over the Iraq war and the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

Russia is also concerned by US plans to deploy an anti-missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Washington says it is needed for defense against rockets launched by Iran and North Korea but Moscow rejects this argument.

Putin attacked the concept of a "unipolar" world in which the United States was the sole superpower, saying this meant "one single center of power, one single center of force and one single master."

"People are always teaching us democracy but the people who teach us democracy don't want to learn it themselves," he said.

US Senator Joseph Lieberman said the speech was provocative and marked by "rhetoric that sounded more like the Cold War."

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said: "We have to have a dialogue with Russia but we must be hard-nosed and realistic. We must stand up for our values."

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg made clear his country's concerns, saying Putin's remarks showed the importance of expanding the NATO transatlantic military alliance.

"We have to thank President Putin, who not only took good care (to create) great publicity for this conference, greater than we expected, but who clearly and convincingly argued why NATO should be enlarged," he told the Munich conference.

Policy Signal To Successor

Putin denies seeking to confront the West. He says US domination in the post-Cold War world has not made the world a safer place and the global order should be reviewed to take account of new centers of power such as China, India and Russia.

Political analysts said Putin wanted his successor, due to be elected in March 2008, to follow his course and was trying to set out long-term foreign policy guidelines.

Russia's grudges against the post-Cold War world have been piling up for years and his strong language will strike a chord among Russians who feel either ignored or unfairly targeted.

"This indicates that Russia is mature enough to say 'yes' and 'no' in the world," Gleb Pavlovsky, a political analyst closely connected to the Kremlin, told Interfax news agency.

Houston - Lisa Nowak chose a juggling act of dauntingly high difficulty: to be an astronaut and a mother of three.

Her background -- high school valedictorian, Naval Academy graduate, test pilot -- seemed to equip her for the challenge. Yet as she and some of her acquaintances acknowledged, the stresses on her and her family were extraordinarily intense.

On Wednesday, transformed from space hero to criminal suspect, Nowak returned to Houston for a medical assessment, a day after she was charged in Florida with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping in what police depicted as a love triangle involving a fellow astronaut.

The woman viewed as a role model by the schoolchildren she often addressed was met on the tarmac by police and escorted into a waiting squad car after her release on bail. Her head was covered by a jacket. She faced a medical exam at Johnson Space Center.

NASA, at a loss to explain what went wrong, said it would revamp its psychological screening process in light of Nowak's arrest. The review will look at how astronauts are screened for psychological problems and whether Nowak's dealings with co-workers signaled complications.

Nowak's children were with her husband, Richard, who works for a NASA contractor. She was being replaced as a ground communicator for the next space shuttle mission in March, a job in which she would talk to the astronauts from Houston during their flight.

Some part of any breakdown may defy rational explanation, but those who know Nowak and NASA could sense the stress she was under.

Dr. Jon Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon who lost his wife, astronaut Laurel Clark, in the 2003 Columbia disaster, said Nowak provided invaluable support to his family then, at the cost of losing time with her own family.

"She was the epitome of managing a very hectic career, making sacrifices to accommodate her family," Clark said in a telephone interview. "All those stresses can conspire to be overwhelming. ... Clearly she suffered a lot of mental anguish.

"There is a lot of marital stress in the astronaut corps in general, a huge amount," Clark said. "It's not unheard of for things to change into relationships that are beyond professional."

Clark also said there can be extra pressure on NASA's female astronauts -- and the men, like himself, who marry them.

"They made more sacrifices than the 'Right Stuff' guys," he said, comparing women astronauts to the original all-male astronaut corps. "They have to balance two careers -- to be a mom and wife and an astronaut. ... You don't come home at night, like most of the male astronauts, and have everything ready for you."

If the Chinese currency were seriously undervalued, the ratio of the trade surplus to the overall trade volume should be very high, which was not the case, Lin explained in an article published on the CCER website.

In 2005, the ratio was 7.2 percent. During the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, when there was strong pressure for the yuan to be depreciated, the figures were 12.4 and 13.4 percent.

From another perspective, if the yuan were seriously undervalued, the ratio of the trade surplus to the gross domestic product (GDP) should also be much higher than that in other Asian countries.

But China's ratio is much lower than in Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand or Japan.

Lin said that international speculators hope the Japanese and US governments pressure China to revalue the yuan so that they could profit from speculative deals.

A large-margin revaluation would not reduce China's trade surplus or foreign exchange reserves, as the value of the renminbi is not the reason, Lin said. Instead, it will lead to increased imports and decreased exports, which will exacerbate China's overproduction.

It may, in turn, lead to deflation, lower corporate profits, increased bad loans and "could even trigger a financial crisis," he said.

He suggested that China stick to its principle that the yuan's appreciation be independent, flexible and affordable and make it clear that the pace of the revaluation would remain at about 3 percent a year.

The yuan is expected to appreciate by 5-6 percent this year.