the frig blig

Will the US invade Iran? Is the US trying to provoke Iran to retaliate by ordering the occupying US army to shoot Iranian citizens in Iraq? After the US encouraged closer relations between Iraq and Iran by deposing the predominantly Sunni Baathist government and replacing it with the current predominantly Shi’ite government (Iran is Shi’ite)? What is the US ruling class’s geopolitical strategy here? Or is it all a sideshow to the real goal, of privatizing the Iraq oil biz via the new “hydrocarbon law”?

Nakayama Noriyuki pro 6 dan announced at the last US Go Congress that he would not be returning next year due to family health considerations. Nakayama taught, lectured and entertained at each US Go Congress. He will be sorely missed in coming years.

The sketch of Mr. Nakayama above is by my friend Akira Sato.

Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of U.S. security assistance.
* The United States has pledged $1.5 billion of Foreign Military Financing to Pakistan from 2005-2009.
* The United States supports Pakistan’s defense needs through sales of advanced systems.
* Last year, the President also announced the United States’ intention to move forward with the possible sale of F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan.
— White House press release, March 2006

Western diplomats [in Afghanistan and Pakistan] and Pakistani opposition figures say that Pakistani intelligence agencies — in particular the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence — have been supporting a Taliban restoration, motivated not only by Islamic fervor but also by a longstanding view that the jihadist movement allows them to assert greater influence on Pakistan’s vulnerable western flank.
…
One former Taliban commander said in an interview that he had been jailed by Pakistani intelligence officials because he would not go to Afghanistan to fight. He said that, for Western and local consumption, his arrest had been billed as part of Pakistan’s crackdown on the Taliban in Pakistan.
…
“The Pakistanis are actively supporting the Taliban,” declared a Western diplomat in an interview in Kabul. He said he had seen an intelligence report of a recent meeting on the Afghan border between a senior Taliban commander and a retired colonel of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence.
— NY Times reporter Carlotta Gall, January 21, 2007

I was uninformed at the time, but discovered via last week’s NYTimes Magazine that Syd Barrett died in august. Ummagumma was a huge influence on me during my highschool years, and I followed the band closely for several years, seeing them live in Atlanta around 1978 shortly after the release of DSOTM (coincidentally, the same night my long-lost godson Temuchin was born). Of course I never saw Syd but was a big fan of PATGOD and found his solo releases amusing. Syd be piping on the other side now.

I have fathered no children but am currently the go instructor of 5 elementary-school kids — 4 4th-graders and 1 5th-grader. I know the subject about as well as any 8k go player, but have learned that knowing a subject does not mean I can effectively impart this knowledge to others. For instance: last Monday I gave my kids 2 tsume-go problems. It’s common knowledge among go players that studying life and death problems helps your reading ability and makes you stronger; I have seen this happen in myself. So giving my kids problems is a great idea eh? But I gave them problems #21 and #22 from Maeda Nobuaki’s book. For instance, here’s problem #21:
These took me 10 minutes to solve…and my kids couldn’t get them at all. Mistake! I should give them much easier problems. Just one example of how much I have to learn about teaching. Next class I plan to show them a joseki (they know none); maybe the taisha!

I wondered occasionally when folks would leave comments…I discovered a few minutes ago that people have been leaving them for over a week now. Apparently the notification didn’t work and I just randomly stumbled into them during other admin tasks. So my apologies for approving everyone’s comments so tardily. I’ll try to pay more attention in the future.

My mother-in-law Mimi hand-shells genuine southern pecan nuts and then sends them to me in a box. What a terrific woman! Here’s the result: