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The gang tries some black cherry faygo, and keep talking about A6A6I5 of Homestuck, now with Muse!Calliope and Jasprosesprite^2. Calliope returns to the land of the living. Karkat and Kanaya visit the queen of monsters. The Freudian slips continue. This episode covers pages 7561 - 7671 of Andrew Hussie's Homestuck, which is best read on the Unofficial Homestuck Web Archive.Get in touch!Leave us a message at our tumblr: https://seriousbusinesspod.tumblr.com

Last time we spoke about the first Tientsin Incident. In September 1931, as tensions rose between China and Japan, Commander Zhang Xueliang enjoyed an opera in Beiping, unaware of the impending Mukden Incident. With senior commanders absent, Japanese forces quickly gained local support. Chiang Kai-shek ordered non-resistance, fearing conflict would ruin Northeast China. Meanwhile, Japanese officials plotted to install Puyi as a puppet emperor. Covert riots erupted in Tianjin, orchestrated by the Japanese, leaving the city in chaos as Zhang's forces struggled to maintain order against the well-armed attackers. In a tense standoff at Haiguang Temple, the Japanese military issued an ultimatum to Chinese security forces, citing threats to overseas Chinese. Wang Shuchang ordered a strategic withdrawal, but the Japanese escalated with artillery fire. Despite fierce resistance, the plainclothes attackers regrouped, leading to ongoing skirmishes. Amidst the chaos, Puyi was covertly extracted by Japanese forces, paving the way for the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo. Ultimately, Japan's aggression continued, deepening tensions in China.   #142 the Jinzhou Operation  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. When the Mukden Incident occurred, Zhang Xueliang was in Beiping serving in his capacity as the commander of the North China garrison. On the night of September 18, he was at the opera enjoying a performance by the famous singer Mei Lanfang. His deputies were also away from Shenyang: Wan Fulin was in Beiping, and Zhang Zuoxiang was attending his father's funeral in Jinzhou. With the absence of the senior provincial commanders during the Incident, the Japanese quickly gained cooperation from the acting commanders. In Shenyang, Yu Zhishan, the commander of the Eastern Borders Garrison, and in Changchun, acting provincial forces commander Xi Xia, both swiftly aligned themselves with the Japanese. Although the Northeastern Army had approximately 130,000 troops in the region compared to a Japanese force of 40,000 to 50,000, Chiang Kai-shek urgently issued a non-resistance order to the Northeastern troops, which Zhang Xueliang confirmed. It was actually his stance prior to September 18th, as there had been other incidents such as the Wanbaoshan Incident whereupon Zhang Xueliang sent a secret telegram to his subordinates starting on July 6, "If we go to war with Japan at this time, we will surely be defeated. If we lose, Japan will demand that we cede territory and pay compensation, and Northeast China will be ruined. We should avoid conflict as soon as possible and deal with it in the name of justice." A month after this Chiang Kai-Shek sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang on August 16th "No matter how the Japanese army seeks trouble in Northeast China in the future, we should not resist and avoid conflict. My brother, please do not act out of anger and disregard the country and the nation. I hope you will follow my instructions." As the tensions between China and Japan increased on September 6th Zhang Xueliang sent this telegram to his subordinates "It has been found that the Japanese diplomatic situation is becoming increasingly tense. We must deal with everything and strive for stability. No matter how the Japanese try to cause trouble, we must be tolerant and not resist them to avoid causing trouble. I hope you will send a secret telegram to all your subordinates to pay close attention to this matter." Thus the Manchurian commanders were already well versed in what their stance would be. Chiang Kai-shek's hesitation to engage in combat is understandable; he was concerned about factions opposing him in South China, the potential reformation of the alliance between Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan in North China, and the threat posed by the CCP in Jiangxi, leaving him unable to confront another adversary. Zhang Xueliang's situation was also not as advantageous as it might seem. Although he commanded nearly 250,000 men, only 100,000 to 130,000 were stationed in the Northeast, with the remainder in Hebei. Both Chiang Kai-Shek and Zhang Xueliang most likely believed the League of Nations or the Wakatsuki government in Tokyo would restrain the occupiers eventually, so they were biding their time. According to Nelson Johnson, the American Minister in China, Counselor Yano of the Japanese Legation in Beiping had informal discussions with Zhang, suggesting that Jinzhou would inevitably succumb to the Japanese and that “the Tokyo Foreign Office would gain prestige and be better able to shape events to China's advantage if the Chinese avoided a clash by withdrawing voluntarily.” It was also implied that some of Zhang's supporters might be reinstated in official roles in the new government in Shenyang. Johnson concluded, “Chang is believed to have been led to his present decision by these inducements, along with the bitter hostility toward him at Nanking and the lack of support from that quarter.” In essence, Zhang was effectively coerced into non-resistance by both sides. Certainly, in December 1931, with no hope for international intervention and the Nanjing government in turmoil following Chiang Kai-shek's temporary resignation, Zhang's options were severely limited. The Kwantung Army received clear instructions not to move beyond the South Manchurian railway zone, which hindered the plans of Lt. Colonel Ishiwara Kanji, the architect of the Manchurian invasion. After securing the region around the South Manchurian railway, Ishiwara focused his attention on Jinzhou. Following the fall of Mukden, Jinzhou became the administrative headquarters and civil government of Zhang Xueliang, making it a focal point for Chinese forces. Jinzhou is the southernmost part of Liaoning province, directly enroute to Shanhaiguan, the critical pass that separates Manchuria from China proper. It was the furthest point Zhang Xueliang could establish an HQ while still holding foot within Manchuria and thus became the defacto “last stand” or “guanwai” outside the Shanhaiguan pass for Zhang Xueliangs Northeastern army. Japanese sources indicate that Zhang Xueliang began covertly instructing local governments in Manchuria to comply with and pay taxes to Jinzhou. He also dispatched spies to Japanese-occupied territories and was conspiring to assassinate Japanese officials and those opposed to Chiang Kai-shek. Obviously Jinzhou had to be seized to control Liaoning and thus all of Manchuria. The Japanese first tried to bully Jinzhou into submission by bombing it. On October 8th, Ishiwara commanded five captured Chinese aircraft from the 10th Independent Air Squadron, flying from Mukden to conduct a raid on Jinzhou, claiming it was merely a reconnaissance mission. They flew over Jinzhou at approximately 1:40 PM and dropped 75 bombs weighing 25 kg each, targeting the barracks of the 28th Division, government buildings, and Zhang Xueliang's residence. Additionally, they took photographs of the Chinese defensive positions. The attack served two main purposes: to intimidate Zhang Xueliang and to send a message to Tokyo HQ. The bombing of Jinzhou caused an uproar in Tokyo and shocked the League of Nations, which had previously been indifferent to the situation. Consequently, Tokyo HQ felt compelled to retroactively approve the Kwantung attacks while simultaneously demanding an end to further actions. Rumors began to circulate that Ishiwara and his associate Itagaki aimed to establish an independent Manchuria as a base for a coup d'état against the Japanese government, intending to initiate a Showa Restoration. On October 18th, War Minister Minami Jiro sent a telegram to the Kwantung Army, ordering them to halt offensives in Manchuria and dispatched Colonel Imamura Hitoshi to ensure Ishiwara and Itagaki ceased their reckless operations. However, when Hitoshi met with the two men at a restaurant in Mukden, they dismissed him. In reality, Ishiwara and Itagaki's plans were in jeopardy, but in early November, they found a pretext for action after Ma Zhanshan's forces damaged the Nenjiang railway bridge. This hostility provided them with justification to invade Heilongjiang alongside their allies, led by General Zhang Haipeng. Following the occupation of the north, a new opportunity arose in the southwest. The "first Tientsin incident" erupted on November 9th, initiated by Colonel Doihara Kenji with assistance from some Anti-Chiang Kai-shek Chinese. A small contingent launched an attack on the peace preservation corps in Tientsin. Doihara devised this plan with the intention of creating chaos to kidnap the former Manchu emperor Puyi, allowing the Kwantung army to later install him as the ruler of a new Manchurian state. Although Doihara sought reinforcements from Tokyo HQ, his request was denied, prompting him to turn to the Kwantung army for support. They agreed to coordinate an attack on Tientsin but insisted that a pretext be established first. To execute this plan, they would need to capture Jinzhou initially. A second Tientsin incident occurred on November 26th, when Chinese soldiers attacked the Japanese barracks in Tientsin at 8:20 PM, marking another false flag operation orchestrated by Doihara. Upon hearing the news, General Honjo Shigeru chose to support the Tientsin army, which they believed was in peril. The 4th Mixed Brigade and the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Division, comprising 10,000 troops, advanced toward 13 armored vehicles stationed along the Peiping-Mukden railway. The Kwantung Army also requested assistance from the Korean Army, and Commander Hayashi organized a mixed brigade to cross the border. Of course in order to provide assistance at Tientsin meant heading through the Shanhaiguan pass and this meant going through Jinzhou. Tokyo General HQ was yet again thrown into consternation by the latest aggravation of the Manchurian crisis. Incensed by the Kwantung Army's “lack of sincerity in submitting to the discipline of Tokyo”. The force got within 30km of Jinzhou when War Minister General Jiro Minami ordered them to immediately withdraw to a line east of the Liao river. Ironically what actually made the Kwantung Army comply was not so much Tokyo's authority but rather the refusal or foot dragging of the Korea Army, who sent a message that they were unwilling to attack Jinzhou. The Kwantung army continued on getting into some skirmishes with Chinese defenders around the Taling River and Takushan as Tokyo HQ sent countless furious messages demanding they withdraw from the Jinzhou area and by the 28th they finally did. Facing the real possibility that the Jinzhou operation might devolve into a fiasco without reinforcements, Ishiwara relented, remarking at the time “Tokyo has collapsed before Jinzhou”. There was another factor at play as well. Some have speculated Ishiwara tossed his hand on the field initiative because he was playing for time, expecting the Japanese government to fall and the substitution of a new team at central army HQ, one perhaps more compliant to the aggressive Kwantung Army.    While the Japanese forces pulled back into the SMR zone, Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijiro began negotiations with Chiang Kai-Shek's Nanjing government, through the League of Nations, suggesting the Jinzhou area be declared a neutral area. The Chinese initially refused, and while the Kwantung Army declared they would not attack, they still sent aircraft to circle Jinzhou. The Chinese, British, American, and French governments were willing to withdraw their troops from Jinzhou to Shanhaiguan if the Manchurian incident was resolved and Japan committed to not infringing upon the area.    Consequently, Tokyo's headquarters supported this approach and instructed the Kwantung Army to withdraw. Although Zhang Xueliang had assured that his forces would leave Jinzhou by December 7th, this did not occur. As a result, the Japanese began discussions to establish Jinzhou as a neutral zone. The Kwantung army intercepted two Chinese telegrams indicating Zhang Xueliang was strengthening the defenses at Jinzhou and that Nanjing was requesting he not pull his men out. The telegrams were sent to Tokyo HQ who agreed the Chinese were acting in a treacherous manner. The Japanese ambassador then told US Secretary Henry Stimson  “it would be very difficult to withhold the army from advancing again.” Stimson replied “ such actions would convince the American public that Japan's excuse for her incursions, namely that she was combating bandit attacks, was a ruse to destroy the last fragment of Chinese authority in Manchuria. It would be extremely difficult to ask China to withdraw her army from her own territory.” Thus began the Jinzhou Crisis.   On the same day the Japanese ambassador was meeting Stimson in Washington, the Nationalist minister of finance, T.V Soong sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang advising “any Japanese attack on Jinzhou should be offered utmost resistance.” Also the American Minister in China, Nelson Johnson publicly expressed the view that Zhang Xueliang would resist at Jinzhou if attacked “if only to reassure the students and public in general, some of whom clamor for military action, despite the attitude of his old generals of the Fengtian clique who desire his resignation to enable them to sell out to the Japanese”.   It had become clear to all observers that the Japanese were intent on capturing Jinzhou, whether they were justified to do so or not. Their tactics of intimidation became even bolder as they began dropping air torpedoes on disused sections of railway track on December 10th, disrupting traffic along the Beiping-Shenyang rail route and hinting that the nearby populated areas might be next. Ishiwara's hopes came true on December 13th, whence Prime Minister Wakatsuki resigned on December 11th, having failed to control the Kwantung Army. A new cabinet was formed under Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, whom resumed negotiations with Nanjing, but then on December 15th, Chiang Kai-Shek resigned as chairman of the Nanjing government, leading Sun Ke to lead a weak interim government. Preoccupied with its own survival, the Nanjing government had no time to deal with the Jinzhou crisis.   Meanwhile War Minister Minami and Chief of staff Kanaya who had tried to moderate the Kwantung Army's aggressive initiatives had been replaced by Araki Sadao, a significantly more aggressive leader who happened to be the leading figure of the Kodoha faction. His counterpart was Prince Kan'in. With these new appointments, the atmosphere in Tokyo general HQ had changed dramatically. The new team elected to change the framing of the situation, they were not performing offensives against Chinese forces, but rather “suppressing bandits”. On December 15th, Tokyo HQ telegraphed Mukden instructing the Kwantung Army to “synchronize an assault on Jinzhou with an attack upon bandits”. Tokyo HQ even agreed to send some reinforcements from Korea and Japan. The 20th IJA division, the 38th mixed brigade of the 19th division crossed the border from Korea and the 8th mixed brigade, 10th division came over from Japan. With this the Kwantung army had been bolstered to around 60,450men.    On December 17th, the Japanese launched attacks on what they referred to as "soldier bandits" in Fak'u and Ch'angtuhsien, which was actually a precursor to their assault on Jinzhou. The following day, December 18th, Japanese aircraft bombed Daonglio, resulting in the deaths of three Chinese civilians and causing widespread panic in the city. The Japanese actions were all the more effective when concentrated with the absolute paralysis that had gripped China. Sun Ke was too preoccupied with the survival of his own government and had neither the time nor resources to spare for Manchuria. In addition, Stimson's strong words in private to the Japanese ambassador belied the State Department's public attitude toward interference in the conflict. On December 21st Hawkling Yen, the Chinese charge in Washington met with Stanley Hornback, the chief of the department of Far Eastern Affairs. Yen told Hornback that a Japanese attack on Jinzhou was imminent and asked the US to “protest in anticipate of it”. Hornbeck refused, stating the State Department was “already publicly on record with regard to the matter”. No other Western power was ready to advocate any strong measures against the Japanese either.   On the 22nd, the Japanese HQ at Shenyang announced they would soon begin an anti-bandit advance west of the Liao River and would remove any who interfered with said operation. They also added that if any Chinese forces at Jinzhou withdrew they would be left unmolested. By December 26th, all preparations for the assault on Jinzhou were finalized. On December 28th, Honjo initiated an "anti-bandit" campaign west of the Liao River. While Honjo publicly claimed they were merely "clearing the country of bandits,”. As the Japanese forces and their collaborationist allies spread across the South Manchurian railway area to eliminate remaining pockets of resistance, the 12th Division, led by Lt. General Jiro Tamon advanced from Mukden toward Jinzhou, supported by numerous bomber squadrons. Japanese intelligence estimated that Zhang Xueliang had 84,000 troops defending the city, along with 58 artillery pieces and two distinct defensive lines. The first line, located 20 miles north of Jinzhou, consisted of trenches designed to impede the Japanese advance at the Taling River Bridge on the Peiping-Mukden Railway. The second line was a series of earthworks and fortifications completely surrounding Jinzhou. The temperature was -30 degrees, and the Imperial Japanese Army troops were dressed in white winter camouflage uniforms. IJA reconnaissance aircraft reported approximately 3,000 Honghuzi were waiting to ambush them in Panshan County. Tamon's forces quickly overcame the alleged Honghuzi in a series of small skirmishes and continued their march toward Goubangzi, 50 km north of Jinzhou. It should be noted, many question whether the Honghuzi were real or simply local Chinese the Japanese coerced into action to justify their advance. By December 31, the Japanese vanguard had reached within 15 km of Jinzhou, along the banks of the Talin River. Tamon paused to allow the rest of the 2nd Division to catch up. Subsequently, Tamon's troops began setting up an intricate system of microphones to broadcast the sounds of the impending battle to Tokyo. This tactic appeared to be an attempt to demoralize the defenders, which proved effective as Zhang Xueliang's forces began to withdraw. On December 30, Zhang Xueliang had issued the order to retreat from Jinzhou. Two days later, the American Minister in China, Nelson Johnson, reported the following scene: “Jinzhou Railway station resembles beehive, every possible car being pressed into service and loaded with troops, animals, baggage, to last inch space.” The last Chinese troop train departed Jingzhou at 11 am on January 1st carrying away the final remnants of Zhang Xueliang's authority in Manchuria. The assault on Jinzhou occurred at a particularly inopportune moment for China. Chiang Kai-shek was temporarily out of office, lacking the full support of the Nanjing government and many generals. It is likely that Chiang Kai-shek understood that Zhang Xueliang's forces in Jinzhou would be significantly outmatched and could be annihilated. His priority was to prevent the situation from escalating into an official war, allowing him to strengthen China's military capabilities for a counteroffensive. Following the fall of Jinzhou, the northern China army retreated south of the Great Wall into Hebei Province. The Japanese then occupied Shanhaiguan, securing complete control over southern Manchuria. Despite the fall of Jinzhou there was still one last holdout in Manchuria. After Ma Zhanshan was driven out of Qiqihar by the Japanese, he led his troops northeast to establish a new HQ in Hailun where he was still technically ruling Heilongjiang province. Ma Zhanshan had gained international recognition as a resistance hero following his ill-fated battle at Qiqihar. The Kwantung Army took note of his fame and adjusted their strategies accordingly. Komai Tokuzo, the head of the Kwantung Board of Control, suggested that bringing Ma Zhanshan into their ranks would provide a significant propaganda advantage. To persuade him to negotiate with the Kwantung Army, they sent a local factory owner, Han Yunje. On December 7th, Colonel Itagaki Seishiro met with Ma Zhanshan in Hailun. Itagaki expressed that the Japanese aimed for two objectives: peace in East Asia and full cooperation between the Chinese and Japanese. He also mentioned that the officers of the Kwantung Army were impressed by Ma's remarkable bravery and were willing to grant him military command over Heilongjiang, provided they reached an agreement. In response, Ma Zhanshan stated that his forces had acted solely in self-defense and that he was bound by the orders of the Nanjing government. Itagaki then suggested Ma Zhanshan might be appointed military commander of the province under the provincial governor in Qiqihar, Zhang Jinghui. To this Ma Zhanshan replied “as Hailun is not very far from Harbin, he could consult with General Zhang Jinghui over the telephone or pay a call on the latter in person, and that a second trip to Hailun by the Japanese representative would not be necessary.” Despite Ma's position, Itagaki felt satisfied with the meeting, believing that Ma Zhanshan might align with them. However, he was constrained by anti-Japanese colleagues like his chief of staff Xie Ke and battalion commander Tang Fengjia. The situation shifted significantly for Ma Zhanshan when Zhang Xueliang withdrew his forces from Jinzhou. On December 7th, Itagaki and Ma met once more, during which Ma expressed his desire to serve as both the military leader and governor of Heilongjiang. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, Ma Zhanshan was secretly in discussions with another resistance leader, General Ding Chao. When Ma Zhanshan initiated his resistance against the Japanese, Ding Chao decided to take similar action in the northern city of Harbin. Harbin serves as the gateway to Northeast China and is the political, economic, and cultural hub of North Manchuria. It functions not only as the center of the Sino-Soviet co-managed Middle East Railway but also as an international marketplace where Chinese and foreigners coexist. The city houses the Special Administrative Region of the Three Eastern Provinces (with Daoli under this region and Daowai belonging to Jilin Province). Following the Mukden Incident, the Japanese army considered attacking Harbin; however, concerns about potential Soviet interference led to the plan being halted by Army Minister Minami Jiro. Harbin had largely remained peaceful, and the Japanese maintained control by appointing the puppet General Xi Qia as the governor of Kirin province. Together with Li Du, Xing Zhangqing, Zhao Yi, and Feng Zhanhai, Ding Chao formed the Kirin self-defense army to thwart the takeover of Harbin and Kirin province. Ma Zhanshan supported Ding Chao, and both generals kept in touch with Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek, who could only offer limited support. In November of the same year, the Jilin Provincial Anti-Japanese Government, chaired by Cheng Yun, was established in Bin County. Feng Zhanhai, the head of the guard regiment at the Northeast Frontier Defense Army's deputy commander-in-chief office in Jilin, refused to surrender to the Japanese forces. He rallied over 3,000 members of his regiment to resist the Japanese and rebel forces. They marched from Yongji County in Jilin Province to Shulan County, where they joined forces with the national salvation armies led by Gong Changhai and Yao Bingqian, which were based on green forest armed groups, to create the Jilin Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army, with Feng as the commander. On November 12, the Jilin Provincial Provisional Government was established in Bin County . Feng Zhanhai was appointed as the garrison commander and commander of the 1st Brigade. The units led by Gong and Yao were reorganized into cavalry brigades under Feng's command. This series of anti-Japanese actions significantly boosted the fighting spirit of the people in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. To launch an attack on Harbin, the Japanese Kwantung Army first needed to "punish" the anti-Japanese armed forces by force. To eliminate Feng's anti-Japanese forces, the Japanese puppet authorities dispatched Yu Shencheng, the commander of the Jilin "bandit suppression" unit, to lead the puppet army in an offensive aimed at seizing Harbin as a base to control the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Feng Zhanhai's troops strategically abandoned Shulan City to lure the enemy deeper into the area. The puppet army fell into a trap and launched a major assault on Yao Bingqian's brigade stationed in Shuiquliu, which fiercely resisted the attack. On the same day, Gong Changhai's brigade maneuvered around to the rear of the puppet army for a surprise attack, while Yao's brigade counterattacked from the front. The puppet army's Ma Xilin brigade retreated, unable to be halted by the Japanese supervisory team. At this point, Feng Zhanhai led another brigade into the fray, pursuing Ma's brigade. After another seven hours of intense fighting, Shulan was retaken. In this battle, the garrison inflicted nearly 1,000 casualties on Japanese and puppet troops, captured hundreds, and saw many puppet soldiers defect. The battles of Shuiqu and Shulan were thus victorious. On the 16th, Yu Shencheng's puppet forces were defeated by the 25th Brigade of the Northeast Army in Yushu. Due to the precarious situation in Shulan, Feng Zhanhai had no choice but to abandon Shulan City and retreat his troops north of Wuchang. On the 19th, seeking urgently needed funds for his troops, Feng Zhanhai led a battalion from Acheng to Lalinkang, where they were surrounded by a significant number of Japanese and puppet troops. The following day, with the help of reinforcements, they managed to repel the Japanese and puppet forces. However, the troops suffered over 200 casualties and were compelled to leave Lalinkang and return to Acheng. On the 25th, Feng and Li moved their forces to the eastern suburbs of Harbin, with the 22nd, 26th, and 28th Brigades announcing their support in succession.On the morning of the 26th, Feng and Li entered the city from four directions, forcibly disarming five police brigades and seizing more than 3,000 firearms along with a number of heavy weapons. They stationed the 26th and 28th Brigades and one regiment in the Shanghao area, while Feng Zhanhai's four brigades and two detachments were positioned in the Sankeshu and Nangang areas. The 22nd Brigade was assigned to Shuangchengbao, preparing to defend against a Japanese assault.  Meanwhile the Japanese were still trying to win over Ma Zhanshan. This prompted our old friend Doihara to ask Xi Qia to advance his new “Jilin Army” to Harbin and then to Hailun. However in their way was the Jilin Self-Defense force of General Ding Chao and General Li Du had deployed his forces between Xi Qia and Harbin. On the 24th, representatives from Li Du and Ding Chao participated in a meeting with Ma Zhanshan's officers, convincing them to attempt to retake Qiqihar and defend Harbin for the resistance. When Xiqia's "New Jilin Army" finally advanced to Shuangcheng on the 25th, Zhang Xueliang instructed Ma Zhanshan and Ding Chao to abandon negotiations and begin fighting on the morning of the 26th. Kenji Doihara ultimately failed to intimidate the Chinese further, as his ally Xicha's troops encountered stiff resistance from Ding Chao's troops. Later that afternoon, Japanese aircraft dropped leaflets over Harbin, openly demanding that the anti-Japanese forces withdraw from the city immediately. The Japanese Consulate in Harbin also issued a notice to various foreign consulates, stating that the Japanese army would enter Harbin at 3:00 PM on the 28th. As the New Jilin army advanced towards Shuangcheng, this signaled to the Chinese resistance fighters that an attack was imminent. Zhang Xueliang instructed Generals Ma Zhanshan and Ding Chao to halt negotiations and prepare to make a stand. By late January, the Kirin Self-Defense Corps had grown to 30,000 members, organized into six brigades. Ding Chao fortified defensive positions between General Xi Qia's advancing troops and Harbin. Xi Qia was caught off guard by the well-organized resistance forces, resulting in heavy losses for his army, which was unable to break through. In desperation, Xi Qia sought assistance from the Kwantung Army, but they needed a justification to intervene. Once again, Colonel Doihara Kenji orchestrated a false flag operation. He incited a riot in Harbin that resulted in the deaths of one Japanese individual and three Koreans. Using the pretext that Japanese citizens were in danger, the 2nd Division under Lt. General Jiro Tamon began its advance toward Harbin from Jinzhou on the 28th. However, severe winter weather delayed their transportation. To complicate matters further, the Soviets denied Japanese trains access to Harbin via their section of the Chinese Eastern Railway, citing a breach of neutrality. The entire Manchurian incident had escalated tensions between the USSR and Japan. When they invaded Heilongjiang, there were genuine concerns about potential Soviet intervention, especially with their presence in Harbin. However, at the last moment, the Soviets agreed to allow transit on January 30th. Back on the 26, 1932, Feng Zhanhai and Li Du, the commander of the Yilan garrison, entered Harbin. Early on the 27th, Yu Shencheng, the commander of the puppet Jilin "bandit suppression," ordered two brigades to attack the Shanghao, Sankeshu, and Nangang areas. Japanese aircraft bombed the Sankeshu and Nangang regions. The two brigades tasked with defending the area fought valiantly, resulting in intense combat. Soon after, Feng Zhanhai and his reserve team joined the fray, launching a political offensive alongside their fierce attacks. The puppet army struggled to hold its ground and retreated to Lalincang. The defending troops in Shanghao fought tenaciously, inflicting heavy casualties on both Japanese and puppet forces, shooting down one plane, and attempting to persuade puppet army commander Tian Desheng to lead a revolt. By evening, the puppet army had been driven back. On the morning of the 28th, the anti-Japanese forces advanced to the Jile Temple and Confucian Temple, capturing advantageous positions near Xinfatun with artillery support. The cavalry brigade flanked the puppet army and launched a vigorous assault, leading to the collapse and retreat of the puppet forces towards Acheng. Gong Changhai led the cavalry in pursuit for 15 kilometers, capturing a significant number of puppet troops. After two days of fierce fighting on the 27th and 28th, the initial invasion of Harbin by Japanese and puppet troops was successfully repelled. Due to the defeat of Yu Shencheng and other puppet forces, the Japanese Kwantung Army launched a direct assault on Harbin on the morning of the28th, under the pretext of "protecting overseas Chinese." They ordered Hasebe, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Kwantung Army, to lead the 4th Regiment, an artillery battalion, and two tanks on a train from Changchun to Harbin for combat. On the29th, another combat order was issued: the 2nd Division was to assemble in Changchun and then be transported to Harbin by truck. Part of the 4th Mixed Brigade was also moved from Qiqihar to Anda and Zhaodong by truck to support the 2nd Division from the north of Harbin. The 1st, 3rd, 8th, and 9th Squadrons of the Kwantung Army Flying Team were tasked with covering the assembly, advance, and attack of the 2nd Division. Hasebe's 4th Regiment departed from Changchun by train, but due to extensive damage to the railway caused by the Northeast Army, their train was attacked by the Northeast Army at dawn on the 29th as it reached the Laoshaogou area on the south bank of the Songhua River. The Japanese forces quickly shifted to an offensive strategy and, despite ongoing resistance, managed to reach Shitouchengzi Village north of the Sancha River that night. On the night of January 29, Zhao Yi's brigade received word of the Japanese assault on Harbin and immediately prepared for battle. At dawn on January 30, Brigade Commander Zhao Yi led six battalions in a light advance, launching a surprise attack on Shilipu, where they decisively defeated the puppet army's Liu Baolin Brigade, capturing over 700 soldiers and seizing more than 600 weapons. They then returned to Shuangchengbao to prepare for the annihilation of the advancing Japanese forces. Around 8:00 PM, the 3rd Brigade of the Japanese Army, along with the Changgu Detachment and two military vehicles, arrived at Shuangcheng Station, intending to camp there and attack Harbin the following day. Zhao Yi's troops set up an ambush in the area. As the Japanese forces disembarked and assembled to plan their attack on Harbin, the ambushing troops took advantage of their unpreparedness, launching a surprise attack from three sides. They unleashed heavy firepower, forcing the enemy back onto the platform before engaging in close combat with bayonets and grenades. The Japanese were caught off guard and suffered significant casualties. The next day, the Japanese dispatched reinforcements from Changchun, supported by aircraft, artillery, and tanks, to assault Shuangchengbao. Brigade Zhao found himself trapped in the isolated city, suffering over 600 casualties, including the regiment commander, and was ultimately forced to abandon Shuangchengbao and retreat to Harbin. With Shuangcheng captured, Harbin was left vulnerable. The Self-Defense Army stationed the majority of its troops in the southern, southeastern, and southwestern regions of Harbin, including Guxiangyuetun, Bingyuan Street, Old Harbin City, and Lalatun. On the same day, several commanders convened: Li Du, the garrison commander of Yilan and leader of the 24th Brigade; Feng Zhanhai, commander of the Jilin Provincial Security Army; Xing Zhanqing, commander of the 26th Brigade; Zhao Yi, commander of the 22nd Brigade; Ding Chao, acting commander of the Railway Protection Army and leader of the 28th Brigade; and Wang Zhiyou, director of the Jilin Police Department. They agreed to establish the Jilin Provincial Self-Defense Army, appointing Li Du as commander, Feng Zhanhai as deputy commander, and Wang Zhiyou as the commander-in-chief of the front line. They decided to utilize the 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 28th Brigades for the defense of Harbin, while Feng Zhanhai would lead the 1st Brigade and other units in a flanking maneuver against Jilin and Changchun to thwart the Japanese advance. On February 3, 1932, various units of the Japanese 2nd Division arrived in the Weitanggou River area. Under the command of Duomen, the division initiated an assault on the Self-Defense Army's outposts located outside Harbin. The 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Division, alongside Yu Shencheng, the commander of the pseudo-Jilin "bandit suppression" forces, led an attack with five brigades as the right flank against Chinese defenders in the Qinjiagang, Nangang, and Shanghao regions. Meanwhile, the 15th Infantry Brigade of the Japanese Army formed the left flank, targeting Guxiangtun via Balibao along the Songhua River. Following the conflict, all outposts of the Self-Defense Army were lost, forcing them to retreat to their primary positions. On the morning of February 4th, the Japanese forces launched a full-scale attack, engaging the Self-Defense Army in battle. By afternoon, the Japanese had positioned themselves on both sides of the railway, south of Guxiang Yuetun, Yongfatun, and Yangmajia. The 3rd Brigade was stationed east of the railway, while the 15th Brigade took position to the west. After a preparatory artillery barrage, the Japanese forces commenced their assault. The Jilin Self-Defense Army defended tenaciously, utilizing fortifications and village structures, and concentrated their artillery fire on the advancing enemy, inflicting significant casualties.   Despite their efforts, the Japanese attack was initially repelled, prompting them to adopt a defensive stance. By 16:00, the area from Yangmajia to Yongfatun had fallen to the Japanese. The Self-Defense Army continued to resist fiercely, but the Japanese intensified their assaults. The left flank launched a vigorous attack on Guxiangtun. The 28th Brigade of the Self-Defense Army, defending this area, utilized civilian structures and walls for their defense. However, brigade commander Wang Ruihua fled under pressure, leading to a loss of command and forcing the troops to abandon their positions and retreat into the city. Simultaneously, the Japanese right flank aggressively targeted the defense of the 26th Brigade of the Self-Defense Army. Despite the desperate efforts of brigade commander Xing Zhanqing and his troops, they were ultimately compelled to retreat to the river dam at Shiliudao Street due to inferior equipment. Around this time, the western and southern defense lines under Wang Zhiyou's command began to fall one after another. In this critical situation, Commander-in-Chief Li Du personally went to the front lines to organize the troops and establish a third defensive line on the city's edge. They fought until nightfall, successfully halting the Japanese advance. At dawn on February 5th the Self-Defense Army initiated a counteroffensive. The artillery first conducted preparatory fire, targeting the positions of the Japanese 3rd Brigade located east of the railway. Following this, the infantry launched their attack. The Japanese troops on the front lines found themselves in a precarious situation. In response, Jiro Tamon, the commander of the 2nd Division, urgently ordered artillery to intercept the Self-Defense Army's counterattack and deployed the tank and reserve units to assist. Four squadrons from the air force took off from a temporary forward airfield in Shuangcheng, alternating between bombing and strafing to support the ground troops. The battle was intensely fierce, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Lacking air support and facing significant threats from Japanese aircraft, the Self-Defense Army retreated to the area east of Harbin by the afternoon of the 5th. The Japanese forces then entered Harbin, leading to its immediate capture. On the 6th, the remaining self-defense forces learned of Harbin's fall and decided to abandon their original plan for a surprise attack against the Japanese army. Instead, they returned to Binxian and Fangzheng. During their retreat, they gathered some stragglers who had fled from Harbin and proceeded to Fangzheng County to regroup with Li Du. General Ding Chao's forces were compelled to retreat northeast along the Sungari River, while Japanese aircraft attacked them from above. After a grueling 17-hour battle, Ding Chao's army ultimately faced defeat. Following this loss, Ma Zhanshan made the decision to defect. On February 16, General Honjo held a conference for the Northeast Political Affairs Committee in Mukden, attended by senior Chinese officials of the new regime, including Zhang Jinghui, Ma Zhanshan, Zang Shiyi, Xi Qia, and others. The conference aimed to assign delegates to roles in the soon-to-be-established “Manchukuo.” On February 14, Ma Zhanshan was appointed governor of Heilongjiang province and received gold worth one million dollars. On February 27th, Ding Chao proposed a ceasefire, marking the official end of Chinese resistance in Manchuria. On March 1st, Puyi would be installed as the ruler of the new state of Manchukuo. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. With the fall of Jinzhou, Zhang Xueliang had effectively been kicked out of Manchuria. With the loss of Harbin, came the loss of any significant resistance to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan had conquered the northeast and now would enthrone the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty forming the puppet state of Manchukuo. 

Last time we spoke about how Zhang Xueliang lost Manchuria. In September 1931, the Mukden Incident ignited conflict in Manchuria as Japan executed a false flag attack, prompting a swift assault on Peitaying Barracks. Zhang Xueliang, urged by Chiang Kai-shek, chose not to resist, fearing a full-scale war. The Japanese invasion revealed deep political divisions in Manchuria, with some officials defecting, others sabotaging, and a few fighting back. Amidst chaos, Zhang sought to unify his forces, but rivalries and external threats complicated his efforts, setting the stage for prolonged conflict. In post-1929 Manchuria, nationalist activists joined the KMT, including Yan Baohang and his friends, who attended a 1931 conference in Nanjing. They aimed to resist Japanese influence while navigating local elite tensions and economic struggles. As Zhang Xueliang rose to power, he sought reform but faced distrust and challenges, including high military spending and a devastating depression. By 1931, Japanese aggression loomed, culminating in a coup that threatened the fragile nationalist aspirations in the region.   #139 Gokokujo and Collaborators  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters had hoped to localize the Mukden Incident and communicated their orders to Kwantung Command. However as we had seen, the Kwantung Command in chief General Shigeru Honjo, had his wrist twisted somewhat by certain culprits in the form of Ishiwara Kanji and Itageki Seishiro. Honjo thus ordered the forces to proceed with expanding operations along the South Manchuria Railway zone. On September the 19th, the 29th infantry regiment stormed Mukden, easily overwhelming the Chinese forces within the inner walled city. Simultaneously the 2nd battalion occupied Pei Ta Ying, where they were met with some fierce resistance before storming Tung Ta Ying. Afterwards the 2nd Division drove out the remaining Chinese resistance from the eastern area of Mukden. Meanwhile the 1st Battalion fought Chinese forces at Kuan Cheng Tze near Changchun. By this point Honjo's request for assistance from the Korea Army was confirmed. General Senjuro Hayashi ordered the 20th infantry division to divide itself, forming the 39th mixed brigade who marched into Manchuria, without any authorization from Tokyo nor the Emperor to do so. By the end of the 19th, the Japanese had seized Liaoyang, Shenyang, Yingkou, Dandong, Fushun, Changchun and Jilin.  On the 20th, Wan Shu Cheng, the commander of the Chinese 2nd army ordered a withdrawal of the 44th and 643rd regiments stationed at Taching to head for Tiantsin. On the 21st the Japanese took Jilin city, by the 23rd they captured Jiaohe and Dunhua, both within Jilin. On the 26th, the Governor of Jilin, Zhang Zuoxiang who was not there at the time, was overthrown by a newly formed provisional provincial government with Xi Xia as its chairman. By October 1st Zhang Haiping would surrender the area of Taonan, later in October Ji Xing surrendered the Yanbian Korean Autonomous prefecture area and on the 17th Yu Zhishan surrendered Eastern Liaoning. General HQ in Tokyo were flabbergasted at the news all of this was being done without their orders, in fact in most cases it was directly against their orders. The civilian government of Japan was in absolute disarray over what was an act of Gekokujo. Gekokujo directly translated meaning "the low overcomes the high",was when someone of a lesser position in the military or politics overthrew someone in a higher position to seize power. The term goes all the way back to the Sui Dynasty of China, for Japan during the Kamakura period, but its most prominently known for being used during the Sengoku period. It was through the chaotic political climate of the Sengoku period that Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose to power. During the Showa period, Gekokujo would occur often. Those of the Kodoha faction used it as a means to an end during the 1920s and 1930s, assassinating political opponents as they tried to press for a Showa restoration. Back to Manchuria, as Gokokujo ran rampant, with reports coming in after each quick victory and city taken by Japanese forces, Tokyo General HQ felt utterly powerless to stop it. There is also another facet to this, the role of Emperor Hirohito. Many of you might only have a vague idea of how much “actual power” Emperor Hirohito had during the Showa Era. The Meiji Constitution of Japan going back to 1889 remained in force until 1947. It was enacted after the Meiji restoration in 1868 and provided a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy. Thus in theory the Emperor governed the empire upon the advice of his ministers. In practice this meant while the Emperor was head of state, it was still the Prime Minister who was actually heading the government. Now this was all fine and dandy, however the constitution also stated the Emperor had direct control over the military. Imagine this scenario, you work for a company and take orders from the boss of the company. The father of the boss used to run the company and is seen as the face of it, but retired long ago and has no real authority. So you do the orders your boss gives you, but what about if that father figure suddenly shows up and gives orders? Many in the company would go ahead and do what the father says, feeling this obligatory need to. Now in the case of Showa Era Japan, the entire population of Japan saw the Emperor as a divine being, maybe you can call him the spiritual leader of Japan. He wasn't expected to intervene in political or military matters, but if he did, you but your ass people would follow his orders. Now since the Japanese navy and army knew the Emperor could directly control them, they actually used this as a tool. On many occasions in order to secure further funding or specific policy adjustment, military leaders would appeal to the Emperor or do things in the name of the Emperor, completely superseding the civilian government. Basically the military used the Meiji Constitution to earn a large degree of autonomy, case and point being the Mukden Incident. As long as they made it seem like they were doing everything they believed the Emperor wanted them to do, they believed they could get away with it. If the Civilian government came after them for their actions, they could appeal to the emperor, but how did Hirohito feel about all this? Rumors had emerged even before the Mukden Incident, to which Hirohito demanded the army be reigned in. Attempts were made, but the Mukden Incident went off on September 18th. The next day the imperial palace were given a report and Hirohito was advised by chief aide de camp Nara Takeji “this incident would not spread and if the Emperor was to convene an imperial conference to take control of the situation, the virtue of his majesty might be soiled if the decisions of such a conference should prove impossible to implement”.  As the Mukden incident was getting worse, the Kwantung officers began to demand reinforcements be sent from the Korea army. The current Wakatsuki cabinet met on the issue and decided the Mukden incident had to remain an incident, they needed to avoid a declaration of war. The official orders were for no reinforcements of the Korea army to mobilize, however the field commander took it upon his own authority and mobilized them. The army chief of staff Kanaya reported to Hirohito the Korea army was marching into Manchuria against orders. At 31 years of age Hirohito now had an excellent opportunity to back the current cabinet, to control the military and stop the incident from getting worse. At this time the military was greatly divided on the issue, politically still weak compared to what they would become in a few years, if Hirohito wanted to rule as a constitutional monarch instead of an autocratic monarch, well this was his chance. Hirohito said to Kanaya at 4:20pm on September 22nd “although this time it couldn't be helped, [the army] had to be more careful in the future”. Thus Hirohito accepted the situation as fait accompli, he was not seriously opposed to seeing his army expand his empire. If it involved a brief usurpation of his authority so bit, as long as the operation was successful.    It actually a lot more complicated, but to general sum it up, Emperor Hirohito cared about only one thing, the Kokutai. The Kokutai was the national essence of Japan. It was all aspects of Japanese polity, derived from history, tradition and customs all focused around the cult of the Emperor. The government run by politicians was secondary, at any given time the kokutai was the belief the Emperor could come in and directly rule. If you are confused, dont worry, its confusing. The Meiji constitution was extremely ambiguous. It dictated a form of constitutional monarchy with the kokutai sovereign emperor and the “seitai” that being the actual government. Basically on paper the government runs things, but the feeling of the Japanese people was that the wishes of the emperor should be followed. Thus the kokutai was like an extra-judicial structure built into the constitution without real legal framework, its a nightmare I know.    Emperor Hirohito was indoctrinated from a young age that the most important aspect of his reign was to defend the Kokutai. This is actually why Hirohito took so long to finally intervene during WW2 and call for Japan's surrender. I have taken far too long going down the rabbit hole of Showa Era Japan and Hirohito, if you are interested on the subject, over only my Youtube Membership or Patreon I did a two part exclusive podcast specifically on Hirohito's responsibility for the war.  The weeks following the Mukden Incident were marked by wide scale cooperation between the local Chinese leaders and Japanese invaders. In many places there was of course valiant resistance by Chinese forces, but it was not centrally coordinated and honestly amounted to little. The Kwantung army despite being vastly outnumbered was highly trained and highly mechanized in comparison to the Chinese. The Kwantung army had very few troops to conquer over 350,000 square miles, populated by over 30 million Chinese. Prior to 1931 the Kwantung Army numbered under 10,000, by late 1931 this would increase to 65,000 and by 1933 140,000. Yet during the initial invasion the army's behavior was heavily affected by the actions of the Chinese, or in many cases their inability to act. The only way Japan was going to do what they wanted to do was to encourage co-optation amongst the Chinese elites of Manchuria, typically at the provincial and local levels. This meant showering them with extravagant new positions in the new regime, promoting a policy of nonresistance and targeting prominent members of Zhang Xueliang's regime who were expected to oppose Kwantung rule.  When the Mukden Incident broke out, Zhang Xueliang was in Beiping acting in his new capacity as the North China Garrison commander. On the night of September 18th, Zhang Xuliang was enjoying an opera performance by the famous singer Mei Lanfang. His deputies also all happened to be away from Shenyang. Wan Fulin was in Beiping and Zhang Zuoxiang was attending his fathers funeral in Jinzhou. Within their absence the most senior provincial commanders were quickly pounced upon by Kwantung operatives who secured their cooperation. Within Shenyang the Eastern Borders Garrison commander Yu Zhishan and Xi Xia the acting provincial forces commander of Changchun both immediately defected to the Japanese. Although the Northeastern Army had roughly 130,000 troops within Manchuria, compared to the Kwantung and Korea army troops who together were roughly 50,000, Chiang Kai-Shek hastily issued a nonresistance order that was confirmed by Zhang Xueliang. The troops were to not fight back and instead await a negotiated settlement. While they waited, the Japanese secured high level provincial elite cooperation within a few weeks time. On November 10th, Zhang Zuolin's former civil affairs minister, Yuan Jinkai was made chairman of the committee in charge of Japanese controlled Liaoning. On December 16th, the formerly existing post of governor was re-established and a previous holder of this post under Zhang Xueliang, Zang Shiyi was appointed. Thus Yuan Jinkai's post as chairman was redundant. Meanwhile Xi Xia was made governor of Jilin.  Some of you might be wondering, why in the hell would Chiang Kai-Shek relay orders to not resist an invasion? Let us not forget the timeline here, during this exact time period, Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan formed an alliance in North China against the NRA; the Soviet of Jiangxi was running rampant and in the south the Old Guangxi clique was running amok. Even though Zhang Xueliang had 250,000 men on paper, only 100-130,000 of them were in Manchuria while the rest were scattered around Hebei. Chiang Kai-Shek had an expert understanding of the Japanese numbers, their training and equipment. To put it frankly, if the quote en quote “incident” escalated into a full-scale war, China would most likely lose. There was also another aspect to this, the role of the League of Nations and the current Wakatsuki government in Tokyo. Either of these bodies could potentially restrain what appeared to be renegade Japanese forces on the asia mainland.  Going a bit forward in time, the last redoubt during the invasion would be at Jinzhou where Zhang Xueliang would establish his HQ. When it was about to finally fall, Zhang Xueliang ultimately decided to withdraw his forces from Manchuria. According to the US minister to CHina, Nelson Johnson, Counselor Yano of the Japanese legation tam at Beiping had conducted informal discussions with the Young Marshal, in which he stated Jinzhou would inevitably fall to the Japanese and quote “the Tokyo Foreign Office would gain prestige and be better able to shape events to the advantage of China if the Chinese avoid[ed] a clash by withdrawing voluntarily.” He also advised Zhang Xueliang, that some of his followers might be reappointed to official positions within the newly emerging government in Shenyang. Nelson tells us “Chang is believed to have been led to his present decision by these inducements, along with the bitter hostility toward him at Nanking and the lack of support from that quarter.” Thus Zhang Xueliang was being blackmailed by both sides into nonresistance. By late December of 1931 it also seemed certain international intervention was not going to happen and Chiang Kai-Shek's resignation over Nanjing did not provide the Young Marshal with many options.  Now what about the Japanese government during all of this. When the Mukden Incident boke out, the government in Tokyo, headed by premier Wakatsuki Reijiro were appalled to hear the news of what was essentially a mutiny. The Kwantung officers disagreed with Tokyo's policies and kept Tokyo's consul in Shenyang under lock and key during the night of September 18th. If there had been more significant resistance to the invasion, Tokyo probably would have ordered the Kwantung army to withdraw. Without the co-optation of many Chinese elites, the Kwantung Army would have most likely not succeeded in taking all of Manchuria. The co-optation policy the Japanese took was also very much not an ad hoc measure. There had been elements within the IJA who had been working overtime to persuade cooperation with local power holders as part of their strategy. The Kwantung officers who launched the Mukden Incident, mostly working under Ishiwara and Itegaki had initially aimed to enact a simply military occupation in which “local Chinese officials would be granted a considerable degree of autonomy in exchange for their cooperation.” However, Tokyo HQ outright rejected annexation out of fear of Soviet reprisals and this led the mutiny leaders to  “the subterfuge of Manchurian independence.” The improvised nature of the original plan led to arguments between the different sections of those Japanese forces in Manchuria. Historian Akira Iriye noted “What emerges . . . is an almost total absence of ideology as a driving force behind military action.” While this sounds clearly dysfunctional, it actually aided the occupiers, because many areas of life in Manchuria were not immediately affected by the occupation and thus were more likely to cooperate.  The actual coordination of the occupation was placed in the hands of the Kwantung Army Special Affairs Unit “Tokumubu”, operating via the General Affairs Board of the Council of State under Komai Tokuzo. Komai Tokuzo had been born near Kyoto and from an early age was consumed with a desire to see China. He was trained as an agriculturalist, before he joined the SMR and worked for a company during the reign of Zhang Zuolin. He became acquainted with the Old Tiger and debated with him and other prominent leaders on questions such as Mongol land rights and the Guo Songling rebellion. During this time he befriended Yu Chonghan and Zhang Jinghui. After the Mukden Incident, he was appointed as a financial adviser to the Kwantung Army, a very senior post with direct access to Honjo Shigeru, the commander of the Northeast. As Akira Iriye also notes “in fact, [Komai] was a top-level adviser to the army on politics and economics in Manchuria.”Komai would become responsible for the strategies of co-opting local elite, and thus was essential to the power structure of the Kwantung Army going forward.  The Japanese utilized a lethal combination of violence and persuasion to take over. Many power brokers refused to cooperate and were forced into exile in North China. However, plenty of collaborators were found to quickly set up structures and controls within the new regime. The bulk of the Japanese forces moved into the principal cities of the SMR region first. Robert E Lewis, the adviser to the foreign affairs ministry in Nanjing sent a telegram declaring the Japanese had sent a large number of troops into Manchuria just prior to the 18th of September “On Friday night September eighteenth the Japanese Army sent from Korea into Manchuria through Antung seven army railway trains fully loaded with soldiers. On Saturday night September ninteenth [sic] Japanese army sent four additional trains loaded with soldiers in to [sic] Manchuria at the same point . . . Japanese occupied every Chinese public office in Antung excepting the customs house which has Europeans in it, also placed guard over Chinese customs superintendent to prevent his free action. [The Japanese] arrested superintendent of schools and forbad [sic] teaching of Dr Sun Yatsen's principles. Japanese army occupied Kirin seventy nine miles east of the south Manchuria railway zone on September ninteenth [sic] they seized and held the telegraph office telephone office wireless station provincial arsenal waterworks plant Bank of China Kirin Provincial Bank police headquarters and subdivisions Kuo Ming Tang [sic] Party headquarters and all other public offices. Search and seizure was conducted of non-military population. Troops and military cadets were disarmed when captured and the arms and munitions of the Chinese arsenal were removed by Japanese including modern rifles field guns heavy guns military motor trucks.”. The capture of Shenyang only took a single day. The Japanese military, their Chinese military collaborators and the local media all coordinated efforts to persuade the people to continue life as normal. Many businesses closed down temporarily within the first few days, worried about a breakdown of the social order or Japanese attacks. But a week after the initial occupation, reports came to the Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce in Shenyang that businesses were all operating normally again, public order was restored. On the second day of the occupation the Kwantung installed Colonel Doihara Kenji as the new mayor of Shenyang, yes that psychopath a mayor. However by October 20th, the mayorship would be handed over to Zhao Xinbo, who by that point became a legal adviser to the Kwantung Army.  The capture of Changchun took a bit longer than Shenyang. On September 23rd the Japanese demanded of the Jilin based forces their surrender. Their acting commander Xi Xia agreed to the demands so that in his words “the province fortunately to escape the horrors of war.” However there were some troops looking to resist. In some ensuing clashes, 200 Chinese soldiers and around 10 civilians were killed in combat. An eye witness reported “At 4 P.M. on the 23rd, the Japanese army made strong use of their armaments, causing Xi Xia concern. So that afternoon, he met [Japanese] commander Tamon, and said that the present situation was serious[;] . . . only he himself could take responsibility for removing the Jilin army's weapons . . . As a result, at 2 P.M. [the next day], they handed over 1,200 rifles, 11 machine-guns and 6 mortars.” Afterwards the city police were given permission to maintain public order, though they clearly were working under the Japanese. On September 24th, Xi Xia announced to the provincial assembly that the Chamber of Commerce of the old government was dissolved and that he would be leading the new Jilin governor's office. He also added that there would be no maintenance committees and that he would exercise complete control. Of course that was bullshit, he was nothing more than a Japanese puppet taking direct orders from Kwantung officers. Despite all of this, Jilin would not be fully dominated, for several months, northern Jilin was in control of rebel forces, based out of Bin county.  The Japanese occupation led to the removal of the Northeastern Governmental Affairs Council, the structure Zhang Xueliang used to nominally control the region. The Japanese did not seek to create a new cross-provincial authority until it seemed there existed popular demand for an independent state. While in the interim, the policy was to establish provincial authorities headed by prominent Chinese figures, secretly under Japanese control. Within Fengtian, the authority was originally only there to maintain public order, but by December it was declared to be a full provincial government. Within Jilin, Xi Xia declared an independent provincial government from the very start. Within the special Zone, Zhang Jinghui declared autonomy, but still stayed in contact with Zhang Xueliang for several months, fence sitting as it were.  At the provincial level, Zhang Xueliang had never really controlled Manchuria, it was honestly in the hands of his subordinates, many of whom already had close ties to the Japanese. For example, Yu Chonghan, a former foreign minister under Zhang Zuolin had for many years received a regular retainer as an “adviser” to the Japanese. He was retired in Liaoyuan when the Mukden Incident occurred and by November was persuaded to return to Shenyang to form a pro-Japanese statement. As far as Yu Chonghan was concerned “Zhang Xueliang squandered the regional assets on expanding their armies in a futile quest for national supremacy through military conquest”. The Japanese also made it apparent to various interest groups that cooperation with them would be advantageous. Take for example the imperial restorationists, yes they still existed. One was Zheng Xiaoxu, who would become the first Manchukuo prime minister. People such as him were persuaded by the prospect of restoring the Qing Dynasty, as batshit crazy as that sounds. There was also White Russians in Harbin persuaded they would be protected from KMT hooligans who had been assaulting them as of late.  In general a huge motivation for regional military leaders to collaborate was to minimize the effect that the Japanese occupation would impose on their spheres of influence. I mean lets be honest, if your choice was to collaborate and maintain some autonomy over your own little slice of Manchuria, or go into exile in North China, what would you choose? Many who opted to collaborate retained the same roles they had before the Mukden Incident. Zhang Shiyi who was acting governor of Liaoning prior became governor of Fengtian province. Zhang Jinghui was the commander of the Harbin Special Zone and this went unchanged. Xi Xia was deputy governor of Jilin, and since his superior Zhang Zuoxiang was exiled to Jinzhou, he simply succeeded his post. Through the initial cooperation, southern manchuria was taken over without wide-scale bloodshed, though there was of course some savage bombing of certain cities.  On September 24th, a Liaoning public order maintenance committee was set up and a Jilin provincial government followed on the 26th. Liaoning did not have a provincial government spring up immediately because the prominent elites such as Yuan Jinkai and Zang Shiyi at first had some qualms about turning against Zhang Xueliang. They of course believed it was possible Zhang Xueling could rally the Northeastern Army and recapture the occupied areas. Yet they chose immediately to maintain public order in a quasi neutral stance. To coordinate all of the newly formed collaborative bodies, the Kwantung Army set up a Control Bureau “Tochibu” with Komai Tokuzo in charge. He was given sole control over it  “so that if it were successful, then it would be the Kwantung Army's success, but if by some chance it should fail, then Komai alone could take the responsibility.” By far and large the Japanese wanted a cross-provincial administrative structure to appear organically created by the Manchurian lites. Therefore during the initial phase of the occupation the Japanese exercised control through the medium of public order maintenance committees, which had long been tradition in Manchuria to form organizations to deal with local social issues such as policing, fire fighting and so forth. Yuan Jinkai, the former chief secretary for military and civil affairs and governor of Fengtian, was now appointed by the Kwantung Army to lead their newly established public order maintenance committee. The committee's stated purpose was "to uphold local order and ensure that finance and businesses operate normally, as well as to establish police and militia forces responsible for maintaining public order." Additionally, other prominent local figures were recruited to various similar committees, including a Liaoning United People's Provisional Committee and a Northeastern Gentry and People's Committee for Discussing Solutions to the Current Situation. On September 28, both the Liaoning Committee and Xi Xia's Jilin administration issued a "declaration of independence" and created new government departments staffed by Chinese officials. It quickly became evident to the Japanese that Yuan Jinkai was not suited for the role of chairman. A contemporary Japanese commentator remarked that “his attitude appeared half-formed and confusing to those outside the provincial capital.” Specifically, Yuan was still reluctant to officially establish a Liaoning provincial government. Consequently, the Kwantung Army turned to the other remaining member of the triad of elders from Zhang Zuolin's administration, Yu Chonghan. From the early days following the Manchurian Incident, there had been indications that Yu was “moving toward participation.” Yu had a long history of collaboration with the Japanese, dating back to the Russo-Japanese War, during which he served as a spy for them. He would have been an obvious choice for the council from the outset if not for his recovery from a serious illness at his home in Liaoyuan. As it became apparent that local leaders had lost faith in Yuan Jinkai's judgment, consultations were held among the provincial heads, who recommended that Yu Chonghan be brought out of retirement to join the committee, provided his health permitted. On November 1, Morita Fukumatsu from the Fengtian Japanese Residents' Association visited Yu's home to assess his health. After Morita briefed Yu on the Committee's situation, they discussed a policy aimed at unifying the Northeast and the adoption of the Kingly Way (Wangdao) as a guiding principle for the new state. Yu agreed to come out of retirement, and on November 3, he traveled to Shenyang for a meeting with Honjo. During this meeting, Yu presented eight points he believed would foster a “paradise” of Sino-Japanese cooperation, which included reforms in local policing, tax and salary systems, and a commitment to non militarism. Subsequently, Yu was appointed head of the committee, with Yuan reporting to him. By the end of 1931, committee members who had previously hesitated to declare an autonomous government due to concerns that Zhang Xueliang might launch an attack to reclaim the Northeast were convinced to support the idea of separating from Nanjing's authority. Well Zhang Xueliang would try to face the Japanese with his northeastern Army. It would not only be him, other figures would emerge to lead resistance efforts against the Japanese, trying to claw back Manchuria from the Empire of the Rising Sun.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Yes thus far the episodes have been awfully heavy on the politics, schemes and dynamics of how Manchuria was invaded. Some of you must be clamoring for the battles, and for the next few episodes that's exactly what we will jump into. For the fight for Manchuria has only just begun.

Everything is gone. Everyone is Dead. In the ruins, John, Roxy, and Terezi gather to try to find a solution. Terezi gets some new footwear. Alt!Calliope is glimpsed. John finally does the windy thing and frees the fireflies. This episode covers pages 6944 - 7098 of Andrew Hussie's Homestuck, which is best read on the Unofficial Homestuck Web Archive. Also discussed are the Paradox Space comics, which can be read here! To anyone who has read this far, I would like to apologize for a mistake in this episode. Yiffany Longstocking Lalonde Harley is actually ROSE and Jade's daughter, not Kanaya and Jade's daughter. I would correct this in a future episode, but it's Homestuck^2 content, and frankly, I don't care about it enough to do that. Get in touch! Follow Serious Business on twitter: https://twitter.com/SeriousBusPod Leave us a message at our tumblr: https://seriousbusinesspod.tumblr.com

Men's Golf: Takumi Kanaya Named Most Valuable Player of 2024 Japan Tour Season

Men's Golf: Kanaya Wins ACN Championship for 7th Japan Tour Title

Comprenant très vite que le salariat n'était pas fait pour elle, Coraline s'est tournée vers l'entrepreneuriat pour changer de voie.Avec des associés, elle lance alors Kanaya, une marque de patchs innovants à base de CBD pour soulager les douleurs menstruelles.Grâce à cette aventure entrepreneuriale Coraline développe un vrai mindset de girlboss !

The gang dunk on Taylor Swift and try a new faygo flavor. Also there's more Homestuck. John nearly messes up the story. Terezi goes clown hunting. Kanaya buys some potions. Jake has a breakdown.  This episode covers pages 6382 - 6474 of Andrew Hussie's Homestuck, which is best read on the Unofficial Homestuck Web Archive. Get in touch! Follow Serious Business on twitter: https://twitter.com/SeriousBusPod Leave us a message at our tumblr: https://seriousbusinesspod.tumblr.com

Hablamos en este episodio un poco del sindrome del impostor, te ha pasado? Has sentido que todo lo que hiciste no es NADA? Tambien Miros nos comparte un sentimiento similar pero desde el punto de vista de Mama! Recomendamos no caer en la rutina y no dejar que el proximo reto le quiete valor al reto que acabas de superar. De esto y más platicaremos hoy y queremos saber tu qué opinas al respecto, recuerda darnos like y seguirnos en elbaniomx.com, activando la campanita de notificaciones y si quieres en en vivo lo que estos locos hacen recuerda visitar el canal de youtube que es https://www.youtube.com/c/ElBañoMX

Coraline a 23 ans, c'est la cofondatrice et présidente de Kanaya, des patchs à base de CBD pour atténuer vos douleurs de règles. Elle a fait une licence de biologie, un bac scientifique, son truc c'était la biologie cellulaire. Elle n'est pas prise là où elle voulait étudier.  Elle décide donc de chercher un travail de coordinatrice de projet en recherche clinique.  Elle a démissionné il y a un an pour démarrer cette aventure entrepreneuriale. Coraline n'est pas seule dans cette aventure, elle a deux associés et c'est d'ailleurs l'un deux qui a eu l'idée. Ne venant pas du tout d'une famille entrepreneuse, quel a été le déclic pour Coraline ? Qu'est-ce qui lui a réellement donné envie d'entreprendre? Quelles ont été les étapes de la création du produit.  Quels sont les réels effets de ces patchs sur nos douleurs de règles ?  Quel est le rôle de Coraline dans ce projet?  Comment vit-elle sa place de jeune femme dans l'univers de l'entrepreneuriat?  Comment a-t-elle réussi à s'imposer?  De quoi a t'elle eu le plus peur en se lançant dans ce projet?  Quelles ont été les étapes de lancement de ce projet?  Quel serait son objectif ultime avec Kanaya? On découvrira aussi dans cet épisode, le mindset de winneuse de cette très jeune entrepreneuse. Et pour vous donner encore plus envie d'écouter cet épisode, j'ai eu envie de mettre en lumière 5 phrases prononcées par Coraline Plus nos désirs sont profonds, plus on a peur et c'est chimiquement normal Ils en sont capables alors pourquoi pas moi ? Savoir prendre des décisions rapidement Développer son intuition pour en faire un super pouvoir Être le leader de sa vie

[EXTRAIT] Pour ce nouvel épisode, on aborde un sujet majeur qui touche toutes les femmes : les menstruations et leurs douleurs, avec l'excellente Coraline Faure, cofondatrice et CEO de Kanaya, qui répond aux questions de Yacine Sqalli.

[EXTRAIT] Pour ce nouvel épisode, on aborde un sujet majeur qui touche toutes les femmes : les menstruations et leurs douleurs, avec l'excellente Coraline Faure, cofondatrice et CEO de Kanaya, qui répond aux questions de Yacine Sqalli.

[EXTRAIT] Pour ce nouvel épisode, on aborde un sujet majeur qui touche toutes les femmes : les menstruations et leurs douleurs, avec l'excellente Coraline Faure, cofondatrice et CEO de Kanaya, qui répond aux questions de Yacine Sqalli.

[EXTRAIT] Pour ce nouvel épisode, on aborde un sujet majeur qui touche toutes les femmes : les menstruations et leurs douleurs, avec l'excellente Coraline Faure, cofondatrice et CEO de Kanaya, qui répond aux questions de Yacine Sqalli.

[EXTRAIT] Pour ce nouvel épisode, on aborde un sujet majeur qui touche toutes les femmes : les menstruations et leurs douleurs, avec l'excellente Coraline Faure, cofondatrice et CEO de Kanaya, qui répond aux questions de Yacine Sqalli.

« Quand j'étais petite, je voulais être médecin : j'ai toujours eu en moi la volonté d'aider les autres. » « Être heureux ce n'est pas une finalité, c'est un chemin, et ce qui se trouve dans tous les détails du quotidien. » EPISODE COMPLET Pour ce nouvel épisode, on aborde un sujet majeur qui touche toutes les femmes : les menstruations et leurs douleurs, avec l'excellente Coraline Faure, cofondatrice et CEO de Kanaya, qui répond aux questions de Yacine Sqalli.

Hallo Semuanyaa.. Pada podcast Lollipop Talk kali ini yang dibawakan oleh Cavasha, Karina, dan Faradina, dengan guest star Zulekhaa Neysa, Talitha, Kanaya, Shalfa, akan membahas mengenai salah satu topik yang sering dibahas oleh kalangan Gen-Z yaitu Love Language. Topik ini merupakan tipe-tipe bagaimana seseorang akan mengekspresikan kasih sayangnya.  Enjoooyyy....

Dr. Alka Kanaya joins Yumlish to talk about the correlation between obesity and diabetes. Dr. Kanaya is a primary care doctor and a clinical researcher at UCSF. She has focused her research on understanding why there is a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease among South Asians. “[S]leep is very highly associated with craving centers and Satya centers in the brain and in the gut…” Question of the Day: How are you managing diabetes in your life? In this episode you will learn: The correlation between fatty liver and heart diseases The Masala study Factors that make communities of color predisposed to chronic diseases Plant-based diets and the South Asian community How the Masala research will help understand diabetes YouTube Key Points: 00:00 Intro with Shireen! 00:18 Welcome Dr. Alka Kanaya 01:56 How weight increases the chance of becoming diabetic 03:24 Factors that relate to increasing rates of diabetes and obesity 06:33 Heart disease and fatty livers 09:27 Dr. Kanaya's work with the Masala study 11:53 Why communities of color have a predisposition to chronic diseases 13:56 Plant-based diets and the Masala study 18:59 How the research from the Masala study is to be used 21:34 Connect with Dr. Kanaya and learn more about the Masala study 25:00Outro with Shireen! Connect with Dr. Alka Kanaya: Website Facebook Twitter Connect with Yumlish: Website Instagram Twitter Facebook LinkedIn --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yumlish/message

Episode 2 of the Ramen in Japan podcast with my very special guest Frank aka 5 AM Ramen. We talk about the latest ramen bowls that we had in Japan and bowls or shops that impressed us in the recent time. Make sure to check out Frank's website www.5amramen.com. Todays covered shops are: Kanaya https://goo.gl/maps/iYuduLMjpvVGRxtj8 Ramen Don https://goo.gl/maps/8CnXQfPGxbPmrTri8 Gonokami Suisan https://goo.gl/maps/H8sNcRdKfiMURbdP7 Ramen Nagi Golden Gai Honkan https://goo.gl/maps/8jCwjbyETSjx4E8HA This podcast is produced by Nama Japan. Check out our ramen website Namajapan.tv and our ramen YouTube channel Nama Japan. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rameninjapan/message

This transmission is super soul opening and soothing, helping with feeling into self- sincerity and releasing density from the higher heart space. Embrace your totality. Live Life Fully. Step by step, melt into the whole acceptance of every little golden particle that composes your being. Build a wonderful r3lationship with yourself. First. Begin again. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/transmissionsoflight/message

The post Podcast 050: Matcha Kanaya first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea.I was contacted by a new online tea store: Matcha Kanaya. Osami Ogai and the owner Tsutomu Sugiyama tell us about Shimada city in Shizuoka prefecture, their matcha, and how... Continue reading The post Podcast 050: Matcha Kanaya first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea.

(3:00) Bizarre Thursday afternoon hoops game but a dub's a dub! (11:00) Trio of prep enrollees step to mic -- big fan of Kanaya! (19:00) NCAA constitution being reworked, don't know what it means but the new world is setting in (28:00) What's up with coaches turning down jobs going public? (32:00) Favorite (recent) FSU moment, not counting beating Auburn (49:00) Tate and Duffy enough (1:03:00) The one rule we could change... Music: Muse - Won't Stand Down Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(3:00) Bizarre Thursday afternoon hoops game but a dub's a dub! (11:00) Trio of prep enrollees step to mic -- big fan of Kanaya! (19:00) NCAA constitution being reworked, don't know what it means but the new world is setting in (28:00) What's up with coaches turning down jobs going public? (32:00) Favorite (recent) FSU moment, not counting beating Auburn (49:00) Tate and Duffy enough (1:03:00) The one rule we could change... Music: Muse - Won't Stand Down Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pga tour stays out in paradise, while TheMoJoKing's back goes out on his throne. No matter, Mo is always digging deep for hidden gems. Included in this weeks picks is a strong recommendation for a player priced at $6300 on DraftKings. Is he loopy off pain meds? Or has he found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? No way to know unless you check out the quick paced pod. Let's Go!!!!!

This week's episode features a panel discussion in regard to Covid-19. Please join authors Kathryn Larson, Christopher deFilippi, James de Lemos, and Biykem Bozkurt as they discuss their articles regarding temporary myocarditis and Covid-19 vaccination. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Welcome to Circulation on the Run, your weekly podcast summary and backstage pass to the journal and its editors. We're your co-hosts, I'm Dr. Carolyn Lam, associate editor from the National Heart Center and Duke National University of Singapore. Dr. Greg Hundley: And I'm Dr. Greg Hundley, associate editor, director of the Pauley Heart Center at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Greg Hundley: Carolyn, this week, oh my goodness. It's a forum, almost a triple or quadruple feature, and you know what we're going to be discussing? COVID-19 vaccinations and their relationship potentially to myocarditis. We're going to have our associate editors and our deputy editor involved, be really interesting. But before we get to that, how about we start in with the papers in the issue. Would you like to go first? Dr. Carolyn Lam: Absolutely. And my first paper is so interesting. It identified a novel underlying mechanism of graft arteriopathy, or otherwise known as coronary allograft vasculopathy, a devastating development of heart transplant in which arterial intimal thickening limits coronary blood flow and could lead to transplant failure. Dr. Greg Hundley: Oh wow, Carolyn. So, what did they find? Dr. Carolyn Lam: Well, this was Dr. Martin from Yale Cardiovascular Research Center and colleagues. What they did is they used both human coronary allograft vasculopathy and renal transplant samples as well as murine models, basically, and found that TET methylcytosine dioxygenase 2, or TET2, is a critical negative regulator of vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis in graft arteriopathy and vascular injury. Enhancing smooth muscle TET2 activity with a high dose of ascorbic acid rescued donor vascular smooth muscle cells apoptosis and intimal thickening in murine transplant vasculopathy. Furthermore, TET2 expression and activity were repressed in arterial vascular smooth muscle cells in human and mouse graft arteriopathy compared to controls. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Interferon gamma signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells resulted in TET2 repression. Preventing donor vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis with high dose ascorbic acid may therefore represent a safe and cost-effective therapeutic strategy for limiting graft arteriopathy in patients undergoing solid organ transplant. Neat, huh? Dr. Greg Hundley: You bet, Carolyn. Really an interesting article on limiting graft arteriopathy. Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, Carolyn, my next paper comes to us from Dr. Greg Stone and colleagues at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. It involves the randomized COAPT trial. Remember that in the COAPT trial, there were 614 heart failure patients with 3+ or 4+ secondary mitral regurgitation and had trans-catheter mitral valve repair with the MitraClip, reduced mitral regurgitation, heart failure hospitalizations and mortality as well as improving quality of life compared with guideline directed medical therapy alone. So the authors here, Carolyn, sought to examine the prognostic relationship between mitral regurgitation reduction and outcomes in trans-catheter mitral valve repair versus guideline directed medical therapy alone. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Wow, okay. So, what did they find, Greg? Dr. Greg Hundley: Right, Carolyn. So, among patients with heart failure and severe, grade 3+ or 4+ secondary mitral regurgitation randomized to trans-catheter mitral valve repair with the MitraClip versus guideline directed medical therapy, the reduction of MR to 2+ was strongly associated with subsequent two year freedom from death and heart failure hospitalization and improved quality of life regardless of whether this reduction to 2+ MR was achieved by trans-catheter clip or guideline directed medical therapy alone. And the improvement in long term prognosis was similar after this mitral regurgitation reduction to grade 2+ compared with grade 0 or 1+ in both arms, although the mitral regurgitation reduction was a little more durable over time after the trans-catheter mitral clip. Dr. Greg Hundley: So Carolyn, the take-home message is that substantial benefits are realized even if mitral regurgitation is reduced to only 2+. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Nice, Greg. Thanks. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Now, this next paper, oh, close to my heart. We know that individuals of South Asian ancestry actually represent 23% of the global population, corresponding to 1.8 billion people, and that they have a substantially higher risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease compared with most other ethnicities. However, what is the magnitude of that enhanced risk, the extent to which it is captured by existing risk estimators, and what are its potential mechanisms? Dr. Carolyn Lam: This was studied in this beautiful paper. Dr. Khera from Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues used data from the large UK Biobank prospective cohort study to investigate the relationship between South Asian ancestry and incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease within the context of contemporary medical care. Their findings confirmed an approximate doubling of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk among South Asian compared with European individuals that was not captured by the pooled cohort equations. The higher risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease persisted despite adjustment for a broad range of potential clinical, anthropometric, and lifestyle mediators. Hypertension, diabetes, and central adiposity explain a greater proportion of risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in South Asian compared with European individuals. Dr. Greg Hundley: Wow, Carolyn. So, a lot of data here. How do we take all this and put it together clinically? Dr. Carolyn Lam: Well, the results confirm and extend the current guidelines that consider South Asian ancestry a risk-enhancing factor in assessing future risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Residual risks that persisted after accounting for a range of potential mediators may relate to differences in social determinants of health, unmeasured risk factors and genetics and so on, that this warrants further investigation. Whether a targeted intervention can attenuate the outsized impact of diabetes or central adiposity among South Asian individuals also warrants further attention. Dr. Carolyn Lam: This is accompanied by a beautiful editorial entitled The South Asian Enigma: Solving a Puzzle of Global Importance, love that, from Drs. Kandula from Northwestern University Medical Center and Kanaya from University of California San Francisco. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice, Carolyn. I just want you to know, after being quizzed last week on phospholamban, I went and did a little bit of studying, okay? So I get to bring to you, Carolyn, this week, a paper on phospholamban. But I'm going to spare you from the quiz. Dr. Greg Hundley: All right. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Yay! Dr. Greg Hundley: This comes to us from Professor Fadi Akar from Yale University. Carolyn, arginine 14 deletion is the calcium regulatory protein phospholamban, so hPLN R14 deletion. It has been identified as a disease-causing mutation in patients with an inherited cardiomyopathy, and mechanisms underlying the early arrhythmogenic phenotype that predisposes carriers of this mutation to sudden death with no apparent structural remodeling really remain unclear. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Interesting, Greg. So, what did they find? Dr. Greg Hundley: Right, Carolyn. Adverse electrophysiological remodeling was evident in the absence of significant structural hemodynamic changes, and the R14 deletion hearts exhibited increased arrhythmia susceptibility compared to their wild-type counterparts. Underlying this susceptibility was preferential right ventricular action potential prolongation that was unresponsive to beta-adrenergic stimulation. A steep repolarization gradient at the LV/RV interface provided the substrate for inter-ventricular activation delays and ultimately local conduction block during rapid pacing. This was followed by the initiation of macroreentrant circuits supporting the onset of ventricular tachycardia. And then once sustained, these circuits evolved into high frequency rotors, which in their majority were pinned to the right ventricle. Importantly, these rotors exhibited unique spatio-temporal dynamics that promoted their increased stability in the R14 deletion compared to the wild-type hearts. Dr. Greg Hundley: So Carolyn, in summary, this research found the crucial role of primary electrical remodeling caused by the hPLN R14 deletion mutation. These inherently arrhythmogenic features form the substrate for adrenergic-mediated VT at early stages of the PLN R14 deletion induced a cardiomyopathy. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Oh, and ties up very nicely about how we mentioned that this dilated cardiomyopathy is associated with lots of ventricular arrhythmias that we discussed last week. Really cool. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Well, let's do a little tour around what else there is in today's issue. Tracy Hampton presents from the literature discussing how excessive exercise may damage mitochondria and impair glucose control in a publication from Cell Metabolism. Data on an oral antisense oligonucleotide for PCSK9 inhibition was published in Science Translational Medicine. Dr. Carolyn Lam: And there's a paper on structuring clinical text with AI. How very interesting, published in Patterns. There's an On My Mind paper by Dr. Berger on summoning strength to question the placebo in reducing. Dr. Greg Hundley: Right, Carolyn. Also in the mail bag, there is a reply to the Quintao and Cazita from Professor Brunham entitled High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein and Sepsis. And then finally, from Dr. Goldstein, an ECG challenge. Does this ischemia pattern look right? Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, Carolyn, this is going to be a really interesting feature forum discussion today on COVID-19 vaccinations and myocarditis. How about we get on to that discussion? Dr. Carolyn Lam: Yep. A really important issue now. Yup, let's go. Dr. Greg Hundley: Welcome, listeners. We have a very exciting, really series, of feature discussions. We're going to call it a forum, and focusing on COVID-19 vaccine associated myocarditis. We really have four manuscripts to discuss today. We have Dr. Kathryn Larson from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. We have another author, Dr. Chris deFilippi from Inova Health, really in the Washington DC metro area. We have our executive editor, Dr. James deLemos from UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. And then also one of our senior associate editors, Dr. Biykem Bozkurt from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Welcome to everyone. Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, first, listeners, we're going to start with Dr. Larson. So, Kathryn, can you tell us a little bit about the background and the hypothesis that you were testing in your research project, and then a little bit about your study design and what were the results of your study? Dr. Kathryn Larson: Absolutely. Well, first off, thank you so much for having me, Greg. It's a pleasure to be here and in such good company. My study really grew out of a clinical interest in a number of patients that had presented to our institution and other institutions that we had been in discussion with of really young male patients with no significant past medical history who were coming in two to three days after receiving their COVID vaccines, most often the second dose, and presenting with laboratory and clinical findings consistent with myocarditis. I think in a lot of arteriosity and what the course of their illness may be and what the best course of treatment may be, that really drove our hypothesis to try and describe other cases that were coming up and that we had heard about from a lot of our colleagues around the country and around the world. Dr. Kathryn Larson: Our paper really grew out of a case series of eight patients, and they're from the United States and from Italy, and they're of eight patients who were diagnosed with laboratory and clinical and imaging findings consistent with myocarditis after receiving their COVID-19 vaccines. Our patients had received either the Pfizer BioNTech or the Moderna vaccines, the mRNA vaccines. Really, only two of our patients had previously been infected with COVID at all, and so most of these patients were coming in with really no relevant medical history. They were really young in age, between 21 and 56 years old, and basically all patients except for one developed their symptoms after receiving the second dose of the vaccine. Dr. Kathryn Larson: The timeline was generally about two to three days after that dose and was often accompanied by other symptoms which we have seen and heard about things like myalgias, subjective fevers, chills, and kind of a general malaise. They presented really with very typical features of myocarditis, chest pain, one of the patients had a more pleuritic type of chest pain, and had ECG changes, troponin elevations, elevated inflammatory markers, and most importantly cardiac MRI findings that were significant and really diagnostic of myocarditis. Dr. Kathryn Larson: There was a good amount of investigation into other potential causes and none other identified in any of those eight patients. All thankfully had a relatively unremarkable course clinically and all are currently doing very well. There was mild reductions in LV function, no clinically significant heart failure, and at last known contact, those patients really had recovery of LV function and are essentially back to baseline. Dr. Greg Hundley: Excellent. Well, listeners, we're going to move to another part of the country, and again, Dr. Chris deFilippi is in the Washington metro area. Chris, you also have a case series. Can you describe for us what you were looking at with your study, and then what were your study results? Dr. Chris deFilippi: Greg, first, thank you for having me here today. As a regular listener to Circulation on the Run, it's really a privilege to actually be able to participate and contribute to it. First, I would have to say was a little bit of serendipity. We recognized one case out of the ordinary with respect to suspected myocarditis in early March, and given our location around Washington DC, some of our faculty were former active military and serve in the reserves and one returned and said, "The military is beginning to find a small series of cases." Dr. Chris deFilippi: We've worked hard within our academically oriented independent health system to develop a research clinical trials network, and we called upon our cardiologists and cases started coming forward actually fairly rapidly, drawing upon five hospitals in our network. Combining our efforts with UT Southwestern, we identified seven individuals. They were all men or young adults in their 20s and 30s. Six out of seven had received the mRNA vaccines. Most of them had developed symptoms between three to seven days after their second vaccination. Dr. Chris deFilippi: Very similar to Kathryn's presentation, we did an extensive evaluation, of course including advanced imaging with MRI using the Lake Louise criteria, but also did a lot of serologic measurements. I think it was remarkable that troponin values using still a conventional assay ranged from mild elevations, 0.34 to as high as 44 milligrams per milliliter. Dr. Chris deFilippi: All patients fortunately had resolution of symptoms within several days and returned back to normal life and then all return follow-ups seemed to remain symptom-free. Again, we looked for multiple other etiologies including autoimmune disease, other respiratory infections, and these were all effectively negative. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. Well now, listeners, we're going to head south, down to Dallas, Texas and bring in Dr. James deLemos. James, you also have a case report and did some extensive study, I believe, in your patient in terms of investigating perhaps mechanisms. Could you share with us your study and some of your findings? Dr. James deLemos: Yeah. Thanks, Greg. Ours was like Kathryn and Chris's experience, purely serendipitous. I was on service in late January at our university hospital and we had a case that came in three days after receiving the Moderna vaccine with what appeared to be clearly myocarditis in temporal association with the vaccine. At that time, we reported it to the CDC, but there was really not much, if anything, and so what we decided to do was pull together a translational team. We brought together clinical pathologists, immunologists, infectious disease experts, and a panel of folks to think about how we might get at a potential mechanism, obviously in a highly exploratory fashion because this was one case and at this point we really didn't know whether this was a true causal association or just circumstance. Dr. James deLemos: What we did was really a broad exploratory analysis, comparing our index case with a number of vaccinated controls, COVID infected controls, and normal controls. We did autoantibody panels, cytokine panels. We looked at flow cytometry for cell fractions, and really tried to see if there was a signature for our case that distinguished it from these other control groups. Dr. James deLemos: I think one important thing we didn't see was an exuberant or over exuberant response in terms of the spike antibody. That was also not seen in several other cases from Chris and Kathryn. The antibody response seemed to be in the normal range of what would be expected after the vaccine. We also didn't see broad spread inflammation in our case compared to controls. There were several cytokines that were upregulated, some of which have been reported in myocarditis, and there were some natural killer cell subsets that would seem to be upregulated, and then several autoantibodies as well that have been reported in myocarditis. But interestingly, none of the poor prognosis autoantibodies that had been reported, which may in part, we think, explain why these cases seem to be doing quite well. Dr. James deLemos: I'd emphasize it's one case, so we recognize this is purely exploratory and hopefully will set the stage for other people as they try to investigate this in more depth. Dr. Greg Hundley: Thank you, James. Well, Biykem, you've been spending a large segment of time, the last year, really year and a half, trying to put together for us at the American Heart Association what may be operative in these patients receiving these vaccines, and also really studying COVID-19. It sounds like what we're hearing amongst all three of these, young men, really a myocarditis that develops after the second vaccine. We have typically elevated troponins, there's MRI findings. You've put together a review. Maybe you could start to share with us what have you learned over this past year and a half? Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: Thank you, Greg. As my colleagues have alluded to, the characterization of the presentation is pretty concordant. What I did in the review was to review all the case reports and case series published to date, which summed up to 61 cases. Additionally, I looked at what has been reported by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System by the CDC and their internal analyses, and also looked at the reports that came from Israel as well as the US military, which is a large cohort and population base reporting. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: The messages for the clinicians, number one, the presentation in most of these reports have been pretty unified in the sense that most patients presented day two or day three after the second dose of mRNA vaccination. Secondly, most if not all had cardiac troponin elevation along with chest pain on presentation. The majority of the patients, more than 90, 95 in the case series, had EKG abnormality, usually with ST elevation. When we're to examine the echo findings, about two thirds or sometimes in the case series about 40% of abnormalities and only a small percentage had LV systolic dysfunction with EF less than 50. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: When done as was the case in all the case series and case reports, cardiac MRI was always abnormal. They were very self-limited. Important concepts are, these were very self-limited cases. All of them recovered and were discharged and had resolution of their symptoms, biomarker findings as well as imaging findings. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: Now, let's look at the benefits versus risk concept that was examined at the CDC level. The current reporting in the VAERS system, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, is about 12.6 cases per million doses of vaccination. This is after 300 million doses being given in the US and about 170 million individuals being vaccinated in the US. Of those, when compared to what we have been expecting in the population, there appears to be a temporal association that the CDC has confirmed. If we were to look at the risk versus benefits ratios, it's very clear that COVID-19 is a deadly disease. It results in mortality even amongst the younger population, somewhere at the order of 0.1 to 1% per 100,000 people being infected. So for 12 to 39 years old, where the myocarditis risk is felt to be higher, still we need to keep in mind, that risk is very low. 12 per million doses, compared to about 0.1 to 1 death for about 100,000 infections. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: And of course, if we were to add the number of hospitalizations, ICU stays, cardiac involvement, which we know is seen in about 12 to 20% of hospitalized patients by cardiac troponin elevation, as well as multisystem inflammatory syndrome that is seen in young populations, the benefits significantly outweigh the risks. In terms of mechanisms which James has alluded to, the things that are coming as potential signals or hypothesized mechanisms include the following. There could be molecular mimicry between the spike protein and the self-antigens. Currently, that experimental data, antibodies against spike protein have been reported to cross react with human proteins including alpha myogen. Other mechanisms could be vaccine and it making a response triggering a pre-existing dysregulated immunopathological pathway in predisposed patients. But mind you, we don't right now have a pattern of who's predisposed to myocarditis. It doesn't look like comorbidities as we have seen with COVID-19 infection. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: And in James' case, there was no predisposition to cardiomyopathy identified by a gene variant that are known to be associated, so those were negative in the case reports that James had mentioned. There was increased frequency of autoantibodies in that case report that James had published. Again, this may be in reaction to the inflammation or injury rather than being the cause. It may be the outcome, but still it raises a concern whether autoantibody formation is one of the mechanisms. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: Male predisposition is a known risk for myocarditis. We've known this even before the vaccine related myocarditis cases. In the experimental as well as population based studies in the past, young males have a higher predisposition than females or older age, and it's thought to be due to the differences related to sex hormones, especially testosterone, being pro-inflammatory. But of course, in the passive vaccine adverse event reporting, we also do know that the chest pain presentation did not appear to be as different among males compared to females and the imaging and studies were done in less frequency in females, so there may be also a bias toward work-up in females which needs to be further examined. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: The most important message we'd like to put out there is the benefits highly outweigh the risks, but there needs to be recognition that there is such a risk for clinicians, and definitely do an appropriate work-up for patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency room or to the clinical setting for an appropriate work-up to be carried out including EKG, cardiac troponin in all patients, followed by imaging, such as cardiac MRI and/or other imaging as necessary depending on the symptomatology, the age, as well as the findings on the troponin and EKG. And cardiology moment is essential for those ones who are diagnosed with myocarditis. The treatment strategies in the case reports range all the way from non-steroidal colchicine to IV steroids to intravenous immunoglobulin. Probably the way to approach these cases is if it's very self-limited with resolution of symptoms and biomarkers within two or three days, they may not need to resort to very intensive therapy, but if the case is with unrelenting symptoms, persistent biomarker abnormality, an imaging finding higher level of intense geo-treatment with intravenous steroids or IV immunoglobulin may be considered. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: So far in the published reports, there have not been any bad outcomes such as death and/or requirement for mechanical circulatory support, but again, further research is needed. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice, Biykem. Well, listeners, we're going to go back through our authors and just really quickly, Kathryn, Chris, James, Biykem, what study, maybe in 15 seconds, do you think might need to be performed next in this sphere of research? And then second, what's the one point that you think we ought to emphasize as we close out going forward? So, both questions for each author. Kathryn, we'll start with you. Dr. Kathryn Larson: Okay, cool. I think I'll bring a little bit of an imaging bias as that's my personal interest. I'd really like to see a lot of the data that's already out there from these patients both at their baseline studies, and I'd really like to see their follow-up studies in terms of what happens to things like LV function and in terms of their MRI findings. I think that could be really helpful given the amount of weight that imaging has in the diagnosis of these patients. Dr. Kathryn Larson: I think the biggest take-away for me in a lot of these discussions that we were having is, these are very rare issues and incidents when patients are presenting with these, and I think the vast majority of the information we have at hand is that these are self limited, there's good recovery of any decline in LV function, and that I think overall the clinical course is favorable. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. Chris? Dr. Chris deFilippi: First, I shouldn't be promoting my colleague's work, but I've got to say that Biykem's review was terrific. I know I did a lot of background reading in this case presentation. I've gone through that review a couple times and it's clearly, I think, helped my thinking on this topic. As Biykem mentions in that review, the recording of myocarditis can have a number of biases either under or over reporting, basically what's available in the public and what sort of people are thinking about. I think looking at it from a population health standpoint, the risk benefits are so favorable for the benefits of vaccination. We knew that even a month ago, we know that even more today. But I think it would be great to get an understanding, recognizing that there may be cases of unrecognized myocarditis, myocardial fibrosis, at a population level in what we would assume would generally be very healthy, young adult males, do we see more cardiac related hospitalizations over time? Do we see more sudden death? I think we should just affirm that, hopefully we can affirm that isn't the case and keep moving forward. Dr. Chris deFilippi: That being said, I'm still really a big advocate for vaccination and the benefits of vaccination combined with these very small risks. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. James? Dr. James deLemos: I'd say really two avenues for research. I'd echo Kathryn's point that we need longer term follow-up data for patients that have this syndrome. To do that we're going to have to collaborate, because each of us individually see very few cases, because fortunately this is rare, and we're going to need registries that look at longer term follow-up of patients with vaccine associated myocarditis. And then really getting to Chris' point on the front end, I think that's what's needed are prospective studies measuring high sensitivity troponin and cardiac MRI in younger individuals who get vaccinated, so we study them not once they get the disease, but trying to determine whether there might be even less severe versions of myocardial injury that are occurring after the vaccine and try to understand why that's the case, because mRNA vaccines are here to stay. They're remarkable advances. And let's understand what this apparently self limited myocarditis is all about. Dr. James deLemos: The take-home message I'd echo is that this is important and all of us even had angst about recording and talking about this, because we don't want this ever to be misconstrued to suggest that these vaccines, which are absolutely remarkable, don't have a favorable risk benefit, even for our cardiac patients. These data in no way affect the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, even in people with underlying cardiac disease, who are some of the ones that have the greatest priority to get vaccinated. Dr. Greg Hundley: And finally, Biykem. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: I think I echo all my colleagues' sentiments in the necessity for prospective and imaging and biomarker. The way to do that, as James alluded to, is we should right now develop a consortium for a registry, and we should have a bioregistry. I would urge us to not solely consider it for vaccine related entity, but also COVID-19. So I think we need to straddle the whole concept of COVID-19 itself, the infection plus the vaccinated individuals and follow them in a prospective manner with the known biomarkers, the cardiac biomarkers as well as imaging, but also the thing that is lacking right now is to characterize them with a specific immune cell populations as to what is rising, what kind of response we've seen, with the changes that we're seeing in males and others, and capture further mechanistics, perhaps signaling. Quite a few of this phenotyping is needed in these individuals as well as perhaps a genotyping characterization and maybe a tissue characterization. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: I think the consortium will need to entail pathologies as well as immunopathology along with biomarkers and imaging. And of course, prospectively following these individuals. As was done in certain other vaccines in the past may give us a totally different signal and prevalence. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: Take-home message, I fully agree. Being able to get a message of the risk is low compared to benefit. While we're calling for, the necessity for further research is a delicate balance of what the scientists have to straddle. Yes, the vaccine is very safe. It's been shown in numerous, several randomized clinical trials. Current data actually validates that because it's a few cases in millions of doses of the safest vaccine. But for those very few cases, for those very few cases we need to be on the alert and treat them appropriately and not miss those diagnoses. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt: One other message I'm going to share is the rapidly evolving conceptualization of myocarditis. The lymphocytic myocarditis concept that historically was the gold standard characterization of myocarditis with other viruses is, I think, rapidly changing now with the recognition of what we saw with COVID-19 itself, as well as now with the vaccine. It does not seem to be the classical characterization of myocarditis, so again, understanding of myocardial injury, cardiomyocyte injury is now a continuum beyond what we used to call the path to MI and injury, now straddling all the way to a concept of injury that is much different than the lymphocytic myocarditis we've seen with other viruses, which we need to embrace. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. Well, listeners, we want to thank Dr. Kathryn Lawson, Dr. Chris deFilippi, Dr. James deLemos, Dr. Biykem Bozkurt, for this wonderful forum discussion on COVID-19 vaccine associated myocarditis. Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, thank you so much and on behalf of Carolyn and myself, we want to wish you a great week and we will catch you next week On the Run. Dr. Greg Hundley: This program is copyright of the American Heart Association 2021. Dr. Greg Hundley: The opinions expressed by speakers in this podcast are their own and not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association. For more, visit AHAJournals.org.  

What is a clown? A whimsical pile of mistreatment at the hands of the narrative? Something more? Find out in this installment of the “How to Find a Character” series! Also, sorry that Bucky sounds congested; it's because they have the plague and are horribly congested. Learn more about Will it Homestuck at https://willithomestuck.com/ Bucky: https://radicallydifferent.space/ Daft: https://twitter.com/a_halcyon_e/ and ko-fi.com/daft_class Cheat Sheet on How to Find a Gamzee: https://twitter.com/WillItHomestuck/status/1388547218169233409?s=20 Watch the original YouTube version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nou18IhqOI Media and Writing featured in this video: alpha Halcyon epsilon: https://mspfa.com/?s=27878&p=1 shyeinks: https://shyeinks.tumblr.com/post/647930272606715904/gamzees-face-with-and-without-makeup-im-working childshgamzeeno: https://twitter.com/childshgamzeeno DJ Terezi: https://djterezi.bandcamp.com/album/where-have-u-been and https://twitter.com/witchspinach The Color of Corruption by Razbuten: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L51xc6iqeaU Purple Girls R Like: https://twitter.com/tmblrusrgmz/status/1338064452025905157?s=20 “Lord English is England and Homestuck is America” - a thread on Homestuck and clowns: https://twitter.com/tmblrusrgmz/status/1333293568581009408 Daft on why Hussie should have stayed away from Kanaya and Gamzee: https://eat-a-dicker.tumblr.com/post/171380331844/i-strongly-believe-that-hussie-should-have-stayed Gamzee “Wow!!” comic: https://meteor-star.tumblr.com/post/190134880848/just-gonna-leave-this-here “Wait, Gamzee's the Anthy?”: https://twitter.com/tmblrusrgmz/status/1282755378242101253?s=20 Kill Six Billion Demons (which you should read): https://killsixbilliondemons.com/ Daft and Momo on how to potentially write Gamzee respectfully: https://curiouscat.qa/tmblrusrgmz/post/1136336846 The Narrative Hates That You Like Gamzee: https://twitter.com/tmblrusrgmz/status/1257214600157687808?s=20 All of Act 8: https://mspfa.com/?s=14278&p=1 The Egg Route: https://the-egg-route.tumblr.com/ or https://tapas.io/series/The-Egg-Route

Episode 9 of Abhay Dandekar's talk show, "Trust Me...I Know What I'm Doing".

A Bixby-fueled early morning recording begins with a discussion of fast food preferences and an analysis of more dumb officespeak before addressing any golf. The shhhedule for the week begins with a lengthy chat on the Zozo Championship -- namely, the field, the Kanaya hype, and some features and traits of this week’s venue,Sherwood Forest, home of Friar Tuck and Little John. The Joey D Match Play Championship on the Minor League Golf Tour results in a 10-minute chat on all things MLGT, including the Estates Course at PGA National, the all-time money list, and the potential for playing three rounds in one day at the same course. The LPGA event of the week leads to another mispronunciation adventure and there’s some intel on significant overhead power line problems at the Euro Tour event. News hits on the cancellation of the Hero World Challenge and Wyndham bailing on the rewards chase.

This episode was originally published on October 22, 2019. Also, to get the show uploaded in time, TUR will be posting four times a week! === Get ready for the most anime-tastic episode of Oban as Molly races a smug robot catgirl who controls her ship by playing DDR. Mary says she sucks, David says she's a lovable rapscallion. Which of us is correct? Tune in and give us YOUR take! (Keep in mind there is only one right answer.) Join us as well for the long-awaited (by like two people) return of the SNA, Ben and David's time-honored points of contention like Vriska and giant sea isopods, and, just in time for Halloween, the legend of XXX SATAN. Also toilets. Perhaps the scariest thing of all. === Click here for an adorable Rose and Kanaya: https://twitter.com/dd46415021/status/1177536604488921088 === Follow us on Twitter at @super_nuclear, or send us your feedback at supernucleargroup@gmail.com! Or you can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/supernucleargroup . Cover art by Zhampy! Find more of their work at http://rainydayskies.bigcartel.com or @zhampip. Our intro/outro is "Race to the Skies" by Matt of Avana Music! Find more of Matt's work at https://soundcloud.com/avanamusic.

Floral takes over as host of the show to discuss friendship as the driving force of Homestuck with Pip. Topics: Waste of Space. The epilogues as a failure of community. Jasprose off the leash. Homestuck’s revolutionary portrayal of online friendship. Hannah Arendt. Sollux and Kanaya’s friendship. Honk. Eating hot chip. Fraud.Music by James Roach from the album “Hiveswap Friendsim”Check out upcoming live showsSupport the show on Patreon and get access to the exclusive bonus [I]ntermission podcastwww.perfectlygenericpodcast.comFollow the podcast on Twitter.Join the podcast Discord.

Hey! Almost caught up! Sorry this is so short, I'm trying to get back on track. Anyway! I talk about Karkat and Kanaya's route!If you're on Spotify and want all these sweet sweet links, swing over to jdh.buzzsprout.com!Playthrough video.Domi's Soundcloud----My links:WebsiteDiscordPodcast TwitterPersonal TwitterFanstuck Interest FormPodcast: Itunes, Spotify and more!YoutubeTumblrCuriousCatRedbubblePatreonKo-fiSupport the show (https://patreon.com/sociallyanxiousdragon)

In which I analyze Kanaya's gay relationships.Youtube video for this episode.----My links:WebsiteDiscordPodcast TwitterPersonal TwitterGet on an episode!Podcast: Itunes or GooglePlay or Spotify and more!YoutubeTumblrCuriousCatRedbubblePatreonKo-fiSupport the show (https://patreon.com/sociallyanxiousdragon)

Nell joins Kate for a character study on Kanaya. Topics also include Kate meeting a dude, Eridan again (ugh), auspisticism, authorial care vs. scorn, and the Mom Zone.Music by Goomy, President-for-Life of the Perfectly Generic Music Team (Bandcamp), and Kate.Pgenpod Live from Burbank, CA on March 24, 2019www.perfectlygenericpodcast.comFollow the podcast on Twitter.Follow the podcast on Tumblr.Join the podcast Discord.

WV contends with uneasy dreams about the duty that faces him. Tavros faces his destiny. Jade learns about her role in the completion of the game. Kanaya resolves to save her people. And Luke makes Ashley wretch with disgust.

Vriska helps John get into some new gear. John catches up with his best friend. Kanaya is worried that Rose is dangerous, but she's not quite sure who she's a danger to.

John get re-acquainted with his now destroyed room as Vriska is a little worried about cleaning supplies. Rose shows off some new skills, and Kanaya does her best to outsmart and outwit the LaLonde Human.

Karkat and Kanaya talk some things out. A few troll girls are made to pay. We move forward to the end, to the inevitable finish. Jules needs a nap.

It's hard, Kanaya. Being a kid, and growing up. It's hard, and nobody understands.

Sollux changes his mind about playing Sgrub and has an unfortunate mind honey-fueled incident. Kanaya confronts Aradia. Nepeta gives Tavros some bad news, and we learn about the Team Charge Incident. Also, Aradia prototypes herself?!?

Tavros plays some card games with Tinkerbull. Terezi meets her lusus for just a moment. Kanaya is living in a familiar land. Vriska trolls Tavros, Karkat continues showing off his leadership skills, and we learn of a Demon who is Already Here.

Roxy and Callie have some alone time as they figure out the mysteries of space, void, spikey balls and being Space Gay. Dave finally opens up about his life with Bro and he and Dirk wade through the murky waters that they find themselves in. Kanaya gets a helping hand from a friend. Vriska tears herself down as a relationship collapses. Jane meets Nana and Jake wonders if this is it. Tavros eats a button.

Gather round everyone!!! We've got a final battle to prepare for. Everyone gets their assignment. Calliope meets an other her. Rosesprite gets a big hug. Karkat and Kanaya have a talk. Dave and Dirk finally meet. Vriska has a talk with herself.

Tavros and Kanaya get some advice from Rose and Dave. John's Present has gone missing. PM? and AR? get into some trouble. A deal is struck.

After making it back to his house, John decides to start checking up on his friends, starting with Rose. Turns out, she's been busy since their last chat way back in Act 4! Mastering her eldritch majyyyyyks, tearing the game apart in search of clues, and most of all, getting to know a certain jade-blooded troll a whole lot better.

We are given the illusion of choice once again, but sadly the glitches have messed even that up. Dave is confronted by Jade who say he must be the one to kill Lord English. When Dave refuses a mayoral threat is made. Kanaya gets very mad at Jane before succumbing to unfathomable bloodlust. Dave is confronted by Jade who say he must be the one to kill Lord English. Then John comes in and makes things awkward. Rose and Kanaya try to have a talk and Terezi goes clown hunting. Dave is confronted by Jade who say he must be the one to kill Lord English. John is confronted by John who tells him to meet a girl. John meets a girl and tells her about Homestuck

John continues his pirate adventure as Vriska's crew pulls a mutiny. John realized Vriska is dangerous and that when the opportunity for her to come back to life is in his hand her refuses. Rose is only getting drunker and Kanaya is very disappointed in her. Caliborn starts loving his lepercauns, but not in that way. Spade Slick gets a different gang back together and returns to an apartment with a view. After Hussie tries to stop her Vriska reveals the ultimate weapon. John lends an arm, goes fuzzy and travels the worlds.

Vriska shows John and Tavros how tough it is to hunt for treasure in the Furthest Ring and how the giant reality destroying monster following you can be your biggest help. Meenah talks to the last of her pals and we learn about a secret relationship that can only cause problems. Dave works on his raps, Kanaya turns on the dark and Rose makes a move.

Things are going about as badly as they could for our troll friends. Karkat is on the run from multiple murderers. Kanaya, Feferi and Tavros are all dead. Terezi vendetta against Vriska is making her miss real danger. Gamzee has gone on a murderous rampage. Eridan is somewhere in the meteor and one of them seems to have developed a taste for blood. It's not all doom and gloom. John meets WV and they have a great time in a flying car. John and Jade talk about sinking ships and Vriska opens up about her thoughts on killing.

Andrew Hussie reveals himself as not Lord English and takes us on another recap that Ashley doesn't read. Jade learns some stuff about herself by talking to herself and a Karkat that seems much nicer. WV has a nightmare that shows his darkest fears. Aradia finally explodes after saying goodbye to Sollux, but that doesn't mean she's dead. Vriska and Tavros finally have their showdown and they have a bad time. Kanaya talks to Jade about the mysterious breeding Space players must do and how their universe works. Eridan gets into an argument over meeting up with Bec Noir and there are deadly consequences as we start to enter a dark period of Homestuck.

After finally learning Kanaya's name Rose then asks if she knows anything about the mysterious and capitalized "Green Sun." Kanaya tells Rose that she can't see her in the future. Terezi starts looking at a cool kid and gets paid. Jade falls on a bed and instantly falls asleep. John gets a nifty new outfit and starts to learn some troll names. Dave cries and then commits fraud on the stock market with himself. Karkat gives romance advice and learns about incest. WHAT AN EP!

We're back! Someone wrote Mike a mean email asking where the next episode is and then he yelled at me to stop dicking around and put it up already. It turns out we are incredibly susceptible to bullying! This episode continues to dive into Rose's fledgling steps as a Seer of Light, while also introducing GallowsCallibrator, the troll Seer of Mind.

After a, what, 6 month break? Dang. Anyway, Mike and I are back! John continues to explore the Land of Wind and Shade while Rose takes her first steps into a land of her own and Dave and Jade struggle through the opening parts of SBURB, and the Peregrine Mendicant executes the final stages of a time-twisting quest to recover John's birthday presents for him.

Act 4 is upon us. Mike and I descend to the land beneath the clouds, a world soaked in oil, with the fireflies trapped in the overcast skies overhead and friendly salamanders glubbin' all over the place about their desecrated frog monuments. This is a land... IN NEED OF A HERO! But to ascend, we must first Descend. Also draw a picture of Charles Dutton.

It's a double-sized episode this week as we dive into the webcomic-within-a-webcomic, The Midnight Crew! Mike and I boggle vacantly at their shenanigans as Spades Slick and his crew take on the nefarious Felt. Y'know, we never actually did see Lord English during any of that... Bahhhh I'm sure it's not important. Nothing that happened in this itnermission probably means anything actually.Music used in this episode:Jade Dragon from The FeltLivin' it Up from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadSwing of the Clock from The FeltThe theme from Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?How Do I Live (Bunny Back in the Box Version) from Homestuck Vol. 5Humphrey's Lullaby from The FeltWacky Antics from Homestuck Vol. 6Bye Bye Blues by Bing Crosby and Louis ArmstrongSburban Jungle from Homestuck Vol. 1-4Baroqueback Bowtier (Scratch's Lament) from The FeltApocryphal Antithesis from The FeltMoonshine from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadOctaroon Rangoon from Homestuck Vol. 5Blue Noir from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadWalk-Stab-Walk (R&E) from Homestuck Vol. 6: Heir TransparentHollow Suit from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadCarbon Nadsat/Cuestick Genius from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadFrustracean from Homestuck Vol. 9 (not available for online streaming)Joker's Wild from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadLitrichean Rioghail from The WanderersHearts Flush from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadOmelette Sandwich from The FeltTrails from The FeltRuins Rising from The Wanderers English from The FeltAnte Matter from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadTime Paradox from The FeltCairo Overcoat from Homestuck Vol. 9Hauntjelly from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadThree in the Morning from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadVariations from The FeltDead Shuffle from Midnight Crew: Drawing DeadMaplehoof's Adventure from Homestuck Vol. 7: At the Price of Oblivion (not available for online streaming)Let's All Rock the Heist from Homestuck Vol. 7: At the Price of OblivionThe Carnival from Homestuck Vol. 7: At the Price of OblivionElevatorstuck from Homestuck Vol. 6: Heir TransparentHorsechestra from Homestuck Vol. 6: Heir TransparentScratch from The FeltThe Deeper You Go from Mobius Trip and Hadron KaleidoI'm a Member of the Midnight Crew by Eddie Morton

Mike and I return from a brief 2 week break to finish out Act 3. We did it you guys! THREE ACTS DOWN, THREE TO GO. THAT MEANS WE'RE HALFWAY DONE, RIGHT?

Mike and I continue to plow through Act 3. Jade checks on John's sleeping dream-self while the Aimless Renegade showers the other exiles in bullets. John founds the holiday of Gristmas, and Dave and Rose reminisce on the heartfelt letters he sent them for their birthdays.

WE'RE BACK. After over a year of deep slumber, our dreamselves have at last awoken on our Quest Beds, ready to dive back into Homestuck. Mike and I get reacquainted with the world of HS Jade explores a golden dreamscape, John gets down to Serious Business, Rose works to escape the encroaching forest fire, and WV keeps being the best mayor there ever was.

​John's dad isn't all that into clowns! Betty Crocker owns Gushers! Jade's grandfather is dead and her dog is some kind of crazy devilbeast! Rose's mother is a scientist that's been trying to time-clone her dead cat! Abooooouut 75% of stuff you remember from Act 3 happens in this episode, and I flagrantly ​abuse that record scratch sound effect.

​We wake up from a six week nap to watch Bro lay the smackdown on Dave, some ogres lay the smackdown on John, John and Nanna lay a retaliatory smackdown on the ogres, PM lay the smackdown on a worm robot, and carcinoGeneticist lay the first of many, many verbal smackdowns to come.

As we enter a new Act in LMTYAHS, we gain a new member on our podcast: Faith! She'll be handling the female characters' dialogue from now on, sparing us from Mike's awful Jade voice. Speaking of female characters, we finally start getting acquainted with Jade as Faith and I tell Mike all about rambunctious fruit, Green Slime Ghosts, Squiddles, and Jade's wide variety of fursuits I MEAN PURSUITS

It's a double-header this week! Get outta the way Dave, Mike's got a new BFF. I give Mike a tour of the Mayor's resplendent municipality, and then we take a few moments to reflect on our progress so far

John's furniture levels up, we learn a little more about Dave's fucked up home life than any of us really wanted to, and mike and I get taught some important lessons on the mechanics of punch card alchemy, courtesy of Mike Caveny.

Dave begins to face some harsh truths about his brother's... interests, while John grinds out some more imps and Mike begins to realize that I wasn't joking when I told him that literally everything in Homestuck is simultaneously foreshadowing and a callback.

Nannasprite gives us the lowdown on what this crazy game's all about, while Rose gives us some insight into her fucked up relationship with her mother. Meanwhile Mike and I show off our voice acting chops. No, we didn't get some girls to voice Jade and Nanna; that's all us baby.Songs used in this episode: Aggrieve (Violin Refrain), Aggrieve, Showtime (Imp Strife Mix), Nannaquin, and Skies of Skaia from Homestuck Volumes 1-4, and Gamebro (Original 1990 Mix) from Homestuck Volume 6: Heir Transparent.

Rose begins to make her way through the house to get to her emergency back-up generator, while I introduce Mike to his webcomic soulmate. Also, Mike and I have one of the worst rap-offs in the history of Paradox Space.Songs featured in this episode: Space Prankster, Pumpkin Cravings, and Phantasmagoric Waltz from Homestuck Volume 5; Anbroids V2.0 and Trepidation from Homestuck Volume 9; Flare from Homestuck Volume 8; The soundtrack from Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff: The Moive; and Tall, Dark and Loathesome and Hearts Flush from Midnight Crew: Drawing Dead, along with the samples from Dave's Phat Beat Machine and an audio clip from the film Little Monsters.

Do you know what is great for the health of a burgeoning podcast? A two week break. Mike and I come back from sick leave so that I can introduce him to Rose Lalonde as she works to save John from a meteor the size of Texas (or maybe just Rhode Island), sending him to a strange new world where he's pestered constantly by a voice in his head.This episode features the songs Switchback, Clockwork Melody, and Space Prankster from Homestuck Vol. 5, Ohgodwhat, Aggrieve (Violin Refrain), and Sburban Countdown from Homestuck Volumes 1-4, and The Deeper You Go from Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido.

Mike and I continue to descend into the screaming void of Homestuck. John STRIFEs with his father, puts a bunny back in the box, and starts playing SBURB with his internet friend tentacleTherapist, while Mike comes down with his first case of The Homestucks.This episode features the songs Harlequin, Showtime (Original Mix), and Sburban Jungle from Homestuck Volumes 1-4, along with sound clips from the films A Time to Kill and Con Air.

So a whole lotta chumps on the internet seem pretty into this Homestuck thing. But normal people, with lives and rich interpersonal relationships? They can't be bothered with bullshit like this: I mean, what the fuck am I even looking at here? A bunch of god damn nonsense, that's what.Well, okay. That's not true. I know exactly what I'm looking at. Lord English the time-traveling billiards-themed pimp demon is descending in his magical sarcophagus onto a Time Quest Bed in a dream bubble collusion of The Felt's mansion, The Land of Heat and Clockwork, Skaia, one of Alternia's moons, Prospit, and Derse, somewhere out in the void of the Furthest Ring. This is a sentence that makes perfect sense if you're reading Homestuck.See, the terrible truth is that I'm a can of grey body paint and a pair of fake horns away from being the most wretched and disgusting Homestuck fan you can find. My knowledge of this convoluted nonsensical 6000 page long clusterfuck of a webcomic is nigh on encyclopedic. Thankfully, not everyone is like me. Most people don't have time for this shit. You know someone who doesn't have time for this shit? Mike Blais, Internet Mogul Extraordinaire. But what Mike Blais DOES have time for is fleeting evanescent internet popularity. And these days the king at the heaping shit-pile of internet fame is Homestuck.And so, Mike Blais has entered into a dark contract with me. I will proceed to read him the entirety of Homestuck over Skype, and he will record my narration and his reactions to it in the vain hope that the resultant audio files will lead to a treasure horde of retweets and followers, and desperately try to maintain his sanity as we spiral into the bottomless depths of MS Paint Adventures.This episode features the song Homestuck from Homestuck Volume 5, and Showtime (Piano Refrain) from Homestuck Volumes 1-4.

This week's guest is retired U.S. Army Colonel Jimmie Kanaya, a recipient of the Silver Star for actions while serving with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. A combat medic during the war, Kanaya's story was featured in the acclaimed HISTORY documentary, "WWII in HD."