Hurrying, before Warren checks!

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 30 April 2005

Warren's always checking my blog to see what I'm up to. He's like my mother or something!

So last night while I'm talking to him on the phone at his office and he's still bitching (good naturedly) about my piece being late and all, he opens his browser to my blog and starts whining about, "Imagine that, here I am waiting on this piece in my office on a Friday night and where's my author? He's off blogging about how he can't finish it cause he's brain dead!!!!!!!"

He scared me for a bit there.

Anyway, I got off easy last night with Jerry. Only had to act out entire Sponge Bob movie (Jerry as Bob, I'm Patrick, who, quite frankly, isn't a good role for me).

Get up this a.m. and plug in some stuff I talk to Mark about last night and he's all "You should write that in the piece!"

He was right, of course, and they fit well.

Then I tried a para-too-far on this one thing, called my mentor Hank Gaffney on it, and decided to ditch the concept cause it was too hard to explain and didn't provide much power to the piece.

Then I got back to the beast and closed it out at just over 11k, adding the last 1k fairly tightly and getting in the last bits I really wanted to use.

Mark's got it now, and since I'm typing here instead of talking to him about it, I expect my cell to ring about 20 seconds after I hit the "save" button on Moveable Type.

I will spend afternoon bowling with boys, then probably swimming at Y tonight. Expect some assignments from between now and Monday morning on the piece, and will take them as they come.

Piece was fun but hard to write. Had to write like someone I'm not to a certain extent, because even though I know the material in my own way, I had to use what reporting I had, not insert my own thinking into the piece to the point where it stopped being a profile and started becoming my think piece.

Hard to explain, but I liked learning the lesson. I know I want to do more of this sort of writing, because the upside on learning is huge--as in, I am already plotting the content of Vol. III from this article and others I hope to write for Esquire this year.

Critt just tells me he has feature article for this week's digest and God love him for it. I just want to catch up on my Quicken and my travel vouchers and all those Ask Tom letters and . . . somehow fly my ass down to DC tomorrow night!

Still think I want to write on Pope selection, if only to make my Aunt Mary in AZ happy, and perhaps to trigger a call from my Mom, whom I can't seem to get ahold of lately. So I will target next week, maybe.

God I have to slow down. Just canceled gig in San Diego at end of month (Future in Review conference). No pay and they wanted me to fly myself and pay own hotel for the privilege. That just doesn't work when your kids beg you to spend time with them, so I have to say no. I get the feeling I'm going to have to get better at saying no a lot more in the future.

Off to the duck pins!

Brain dead

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 29 April 2005

Up at 0500 and writing for two hours. Then the 90 minutes on stage. Then another two hours of writing. Then two+ hours on flight home.

Then some bonding with family. Then I realize that the health insurance I bought is probably crap, thanks to some fine print I note on the first "this is not a bill" letter.

Then my five-year-old cries because I say I have to go upstairs to write more and can't play with his new Sponge Bob dolls.

Then I re-edit the entire 9.3k piece, hoping to gain momentum to finish it. When I get to the end of the editing, I am brain dead, realizing I have written and edited 7k of words today.

Beer, hugs, bed. Then up to kill this f--ker tomorrow morning.

Warren has three hairs left on his head waiting for this in NY. We have to get it edited for production by start of business on Monday. I expect to have one hair left by then.

Ooops!

Jerry just showed up and he's asked to write:

YOU PLAY WITH MY SPONGE BOB TODAY UPSTAIRS NOW--AND PATRICK AND THE PATTY CAR (PATRICK DRIVE IT).

The rest gets kind of confused . . .

Finding the groove . . .

Dateline: Omni Resort at Championsgate, Orlando FL, 29 April 2005

I was on this morning. Went 100 minutes like wild fire through the brief, really popping on all cylinders thanks to getting back in the saddle yesterday at SOCOM. Corporate audience was really into it.

Then back upstars to room where I swap out clothes and pack. Almost two hours on the Esquire text gets it up to 6,348 and I've got . . . oooow . . . maybe 2k to go. I am finishing this bubba on the plane for sure.

Sending off what I got now to Warren so he doesn't freak.

Weird, but BFA is outselling the paperback PNM on Amazon this morning

Dateline: Omni Resort at Championsgate, Orlando FL, 28 April 2005

PNM hardcover at around 1,400, but paperback sitting around 19,000.

BFA -- Blueprint for Action -- all the way down to 15,000-something.

Getting ahead of ourselves here.

And yeah, I do check obsessively. You would too if the market was issuing you several grades every hour.

Rolling, rolling, rolling . . .

Dateline: Omni Resort at Championsgate, Orlando FL, 29 April 2005

Up at 0500 and working the Esquire text. Feel good on how it's unfolding through 4400 words, but worry that I've spent too much time "getting inside the mind" and "the man" without getting enough exposition down on the storyline.

Gotta break now for breakfast with senior execs of the corporation hosting my talk today at 0800. After I'm done, I will spend two more hours on the beast before checking out (God I wish I could play golf just once at one of the fabulous resorts!), then the flight home.

I am getting optimistic that it will be done by COB today, but pessimistic that Mark and I will be editing like crazy right up to the last minute.

I do need to slow down.

Struggling on the piece

Dateline: Omni Resort at Championsgate, Orlando FL, 28 April 2005

Spent Wednesday writing and penned 3k. Didn't really work.

Submitted the offer on the house, took off on plane to Orlando, fixing the text some on plane and feeling pretty good after long talk with Mark (2300-0015), while I drove rental to Tampa and found my hotel there, provided by Special Operations Command (a nice La Quinta on Dale Mahbry Blvd up from MacDill AFB). Got to sleep about 0130 and then this am Tech Sgt picks me up in van and drives me onto MacDill and to SOCOM HQ.

Set up in same conference room we used to brief out to Deputy Commander last summer on Strategists' Panel. Then I spend 10 minutes just before I speak with my host, the Major General who runs ops and a bit more here. Very nice guy. Caught me at 0200 the night of one of the hurricanes down here while I was on CSPAN. He set me up for the day to brief his staff.

So I go about 100 minutes that morning, doing Q&A until they have to pull me off. The General and I catch retired Gen Jim Dozier's talk at U Tampa on terrorism. You might remember Dozier's ordeal at the hands of Red Brigade. Still used as a c-terror instruction case for US Gov travelers overseas. It was a real pleasure to talk with him.

Stuck in gate traffic on way back, had lots of time to speak with the MGen, who's just got his third star and would appear to be going places. He is a real fan of the book in the best way.

Back on base, I go another 100 minutes with senior staff from the General 's three op-oriented directorates. Great Q&A.

Got another nice Gen Doug Brown SOCOM command coin. This one will go to Kevin. It's one of the nicest I've ever received, with some of the center carved out to shape the specifics of the shield.

After long day with so many special operators, when I had to remind myself that whenever I referenced SOCOM, I was actually talking to SOCOM, I'm done at around 1700. Then back in car and drive to Orlando to drop off car. Then cab here.

Feeling beat. Will grab a bite and get up early to go again on text. Want to turn in bulk of it to Warren tomorrow when I get home. But think I'll be working it still Sat morning some.

But I feel somewhat better after last talk with Mark. Feel like I know what I want to write. The MGen today was helpful in that regard. He's briefed my subject a number of times and provided some good insights. My MGen did a lot of business in Afghanistan in OIF. Like everyone else here, a very impressive guy. I felt very honored to have him as a fan of the book. It was great to reconnect to a solid military audience all day long again.

No word yet on our house offer in Indy. Expecting a counteroffer.

Embedded Journalists

From our press release:

(Newport, RI) - Senior policy makers, defense officials, corporate leaders, and global strategists from coast-to-coast are set to convene in Newport, RI, May 31-June 2, 2005 for "The New Map Game: Investigating War and Peace in the 21st Century,(tm)" an unconventional war game where success is achieved if peace breaks out.

This three-day executive-level game will examine Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett's theories, pitting participants against each other in a realistic role-playing competition. The New Map Game will give players a unique experience and an intimate understanding of how global affairs and the global business environment are likely to unfold in the near future.

Participants will investigate how simulated world conditions could foster the rule of law, collective security, economic connectivity, political community, and free markets protected from destabilizing strife.

If you are a JOURNALIST who would like to embed with one of The New Map Game countries, please contact Steff Hedenkamp. The New Map Game media credentialing form and interview request form may be downloaded at http://www.newmapgame.com/press.htm

For more information or to register visit: http://www.newmapgame.com

Press Release: The New Map Game

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

"THE NEW MAP GAME(tm)" to Investigate War and Peace in Decades Ahead

Exploration to follow grand strategy of Thomas P.M. Barnett from his New
York Times bestseller, The Pentagon's New Map

(Newport, RI) - Senior policy makers, defense officials, corporate leaders,
and global strategists from coast-to-coast are set to convene in Newport, RI,
May 31-June 2, 2005 for "The New Map Game: Investigating War and Peace in the 21st Century,(tm)" an unconventional war game where success is achieved if peace breaks out.

This three-day executive-level game will examine Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett's
theories, pitting participants against each other in a realistic role-playing
competition. The New Map Game will give players a unique experience and an
intimate understanding of how global affairs and the global business environment are likely to unfold in the near future. Participants will investigate how simulated world conditions could foster the rule of law, collective security,
economic connectivity, political community, and free markets protected from destabilizing strife.

What: TUESDAY May 31, 6:00 PM - VIP Reception and Dinner with Thomas P.M.
Barnett at the Hyatt Regency Newport.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY June 1-2 - Participants will be divided into four teams,
each representing a country from one of the four geo-political segments
described in The Pentagon's New Map: the Old Core, New Core, Seam States, and The Gap. Each team will role-play the most powerful people in their
respective countries.

• Old Core - Established politically and economically, these
  countries create and maintain modern international structures (e.g., USA, EU, Australia, Japan)

• New Core - Emerging economic markets and centers of geo-political power (e.g., China, India, Russia)

• Seam States - Emerging, volatile countries, potentially
  infiltrated by agents from The Gap (e.g., Mexico, Brazil, Greece, Pakistan)
  

• The Gap - States that are disconnected from the international system, characterized by repressive regimes, chronic poverty, disease, and conflict (e.g., Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan)

The four player countries are the United States (Old Core), China (New Core), Brazil (Seam State), and Iran (Gap). The game will use the "four flows" concept from PNM (people, money, security, energy) to animate the moves and moves-within-moves.

THURSDAY June 2, 2:30-4:30 PM - Debrief and Game Preliminary Results, with
Control Team commentary.

WHO: "The New Map Game: Investigating War and Peace in the 21st Century," is presented by Alidade Incorporated and The New Rule Sets Project, LLC, in collaboration with Alphachimp Studio Inc.

The New Map Game is sponsored by Enterra Solutions, LLC, whose Enterprise
Resiliency Management Solution* incorporates Tom Barnett's Pentagon's New Map rule-set principles to deliver a new strategic and operating paradigm for leading secure, compliant, adaptable, and high-performing critical
infrastructure entities within the third wave of globalization.

Confirmed as Keynote Speaker is Thomas P.M. Barnett.

Special guest and presenter Judy Pensabene, General Counsel, Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee, has been invited to speak as a Policy
Commentator. In addition, Stephen F. DeAngelis, President and CEO of Enterra
Solutions, will be a special guest and presenter at The New Map Game.

Also integrated into the gameplay will be several Cultural Ambassadors, who
will share their insights and intuitions regarding the decisions made within each Country Team. As participants seek to game the successes that need to occur, not just test the failures already imagined, they will benefit greatly from the fidelity that the Cultural Ambassadors' involvement will ensure. Confirmed Cultural Ambassadors include:

* Niu Ke (China Country Team) - Niu Ke is an associate professor at the Department of History, Peking University (PKU), and is also a researcher at PKU's Center for Studies of World Modernization Process. Presently he is visiting Harvard University as a Harvard-Yeching Visiting Scholar for the academic year 2004-05. He received his B.A. in 1992 and his Ph.D. in 1998, both from PKU.  His intellectual interests include development/modernization theories, Cold War history, U.S. aid/development policy to the Third World, and the interactions between U.S. social sciences and Government policy. While at Harvard, he is working to broaden his understanding of the American mind by focusing much of his work on the institutional and intellectual history of the U.S. Social Sciences.

* Geoffrey D. Schad (Iran Country Team) - Professor Schad has a Ph.D. and
M.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania in the fields of Modern
Middle Eastern history (post-1800); comparative colonialism; and comparative
industrialization. He also received an A.M. in regional Studies-Middle East from
Harvard University; completed advanced study of Modern Standard Arabic from the Middlebury College School of Arabic; and graduated from Hamilton College A.B. Magna Cum Laude in History. Currently a Professor in the Department of History at Villanova University, Professor Schad has taught Middle East history at, among other places, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of
Pennsylvania.

WHERE: The Hyatt Regency Newport, located at 1 Goat Island, Newport, RI.

WHEN: May 31-June 2, 2005

#####

If you are a JOURNALIST who would like to embed with one of The New Map Game countries, please contact Steff Hedenkamp.
The New Map Game media credentialing form and interview request form may be downloaded.
For more information or to register visit:
http://www.newmapgame.com Contact: Steff Hedenkamp, New Rule Sets Project, LLC

About Alidade Incorporated. Alidade
Incorporated is a leading provider of innovative Information Age research
services. Alidade researchers focus on complex systems science, process
innovation, strategic investment options, and scenario-based planning and war
gaming for both military and commercial clients. Alidade was the first company
to pursue the "new sciences" as they apply to the US military's future. As members of the prestigious Santa Fe Institute, Alidade also hosts programs and workshops that bring world class experts in contact with senior executives to identify and explore new sources of advantage in the Information Age.

About The New Rule Sets Project, LLC. The New Rule Sets Project, LLC, (NRSP) was formed around Thomas P.M. Barnett's vision for the world and his message of "A Future Worth Creating." In all its efforts, NRSP is determined to develop and implement Tom's concepts, working with others toward that goal. Tom's book, The Pentagon's New Map (Putnam, 2004), marks an historical crossroad of many highways. Tom has erected signposts to the future and the role of NRSP is to help direct traffic down the right road. NRSP works collaboratively and strategically with its clients to develop groundbreaking ways of thinking about and creating desired futures. The firm helps its clients discover the sets of rules that enable or impede them across organizational sectors and geographical boundaries. NRSP uses innovative scenario planning, lateral thinking, and active listening techniques to engage its clients - leaders and decision-makers in government, security, and industry - in a learning dialogue. The firm does this during "summiteering:" intensive, executive-level explorations of simulated futures, posited and positive.

About Alphachimp Studio Inc.
Alphachimp Studio explores visual learning as a powerful tool in critical thinking, problem solving and strategic planning for business, education, governance and social enterprise. Their network of artists have used their talents to serve such diverse clients as the American Heart Association, Bayer Chemicals, Cap Gemini, the Alcoa Foundation, Ernst & Young, GM, GE, MIT, Fidelity Investments and Microsoft. Their skills at synthesizing ideas in a compelling and useful form have been used at major conferences for the Center for Business Innovation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Pop!Tech  and the Society for Organizational Learning.  The founder,
Peter Durand , has also been invited to contribute his talents to strategy sessions and war games sponsored by DARPA, USJFCOM and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including past Alidade conferences on Search Theory and the Co-Revolutionary Competition. Peter's interests have recently turned to the emerging field of social enterprise. The Pittsburgh Social Enterprise Accelerator asked Peter to
co-design a methodology for aiding non-profits in the design of revenue-generating business models. For more information about Alphachimp
Studio, please visit www.alphachimp.com

About Enterra Solutions, LLC.
Enterra Solutions pioneered the field of Enterprise Resilience Management* and
is helping critical infrastructure entities to establish resilient operations and value chains. Enterra's proprietary Enterprise Resilience Management Methodology* (ERMM*) combines a proprietary best-practices model and leading-edge technology solutions with tailored process improvement services and
resilient business process outsourcing. Enterra's unique offering codifies and
embeds new rule sets and governance standards into the organizational core. ERMM* allows organizations to adopt an integrated approach to the management of security risks, compliance concerns, performance improvement, and corporate intelligence. Enterra's customers and partners include NASA, SAIC, Macromedia, Oracle, and the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. For more information about Enterra Solutions and its Enterprise Resiliency Management* solutions, please visit
www.enterrasolutions.com or call (215) 497-3100.

Blueprint for Action lives . . . on Amazon!

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 26 April 2005

Got to Indy last night around 6pm. Drove with Gloria, our realtor, to the house. Way nice neighborhood. Outside of the house looked good. On end of cul-de-sac. Back yard has small creek with footbridge over to land going up step hill, all wooded. We would own to top of hill. One acre total, maybe . . . 100 or so tall thin trees. Back yard so shaded, grass barely grows. House is very unique in terms of layout and lotsa windows, but overpriced, especially for smallish 2-car garage. We will offer much less than asking, because they have not updated house much at all and it's a 1988-er. Still, those windows--everywhere and huge! Back of cathedral living room is wall of windows facing backyard forest. Stunning really.

So realtor works up offer and we'll submit this week. Owners are building and like that we don't want in until mid-July. We'll see what they say on the price. Their realtor has already warned them they have not updated and are pricing as if they did.

Meanwhile, my wife, looking for cover art of second book to have on my b-day cake, discovers the BFA entry on Amazon!

Here it is: Blueprint for Action : A Future Worth Creating by Thomas Barnett.

The entry reads:

Product Details

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Putnam Adult (October 20, 2005)

ISBN: 0399153128

Here's the funny thing: the also-boughts are mostly by authors I cite in BFA as being excessively "dark":

The Pentagon's New Map by Thomas P. M. Barnett

Pentagon's New Map, The by Thomas Barnett

Algeny: A New Word--A New World by Jeremy Rifkin

The Age of Access: The New Culture of Hypercapitalism, Where all of Life is a Paid-For Experience by Jeremy Rifkin

Entropy: A New World View by Jeremy Rifkin

The War in 2020 by Ralph Peters

The Island of Dr. Moreau (Bantam Classics) by H.G. WELLS

No kidding. I actually cite Peters and that book, Rifkin and (I think) that book, and I cited Wells for "Moreau" but then switched it to "Time Machine." That is SOOOOOOOO weird!

I mean it! I just did those entries on Sunday in the endnotes!

So here are all my real books on Amazon now:



1) PNM hardcover at 2,188

2) PNM paperback at 6,035

3) BFA hardcover at 789,904

4) Romanian and East German Policies in the Third World (my PhD diss) at 2,261,335.

I note that the same also-boughts are there. Apparently, my hard-core fans are not attracted by my optimism!

Finished my review of all the interviews (13) and the transcripts (about 250 pages) on the plane home today. I get up at 0600 tomorrow, plot it by 0900, and write 8 hours til I depart for airport. Hope to have 6k to Warren before I go wheels up. I am psyched. Piece will write itself, which is why I mowed lawn today and watched 16mm newsreels of WWI with Kevin. Needed to decompress just a bit and let my mind wander as I get tuned up.

Wish me luck tomorrow. Gotta be good.

Ask Tom

About this Newsletter

The Newsletter from Thomas P.M. Barnett comprises original material by Tom, commentary from his blog, Esquire contributions, and published books, as well as feedback received via email. It is written and published by request only, based on your feedback.

Ask Tom

You've read The Pentagon's New Map, Tom's blog, or perhaps a published article. You've seen him do the brief - in person, on CSPAN, or DVD. What happens next?

You've got questions.

Suppose, for instance, you have the following question, 'Tom, should we be concerned with China as a hegemonious power in Asia?' You can submit the question to:

asktom@thomaspmbarnett.com

The questions and suggestions you submit to Ask Tom drive the publication of this newsletter. Please know that Tom reads each email. Additionally, members of The New Rule Sets Project, LLC assist Tom, per his request. One or more of us will personally respond to your email. The submissions we find most useful to the general understanding of The Pentagon's New Map will be published in future issues of The Newsletter from Thomas P.M. Barnett.

As always, your feedback is appreciated.

Download as Word 7.0 document (442 KB):

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Download as PDF (308 KB):

/journals/barnett_25apr2005.pdf

Weekly Digest and Newsletter 25 April 2005

Download as Word 7.0 document (442 KB):

/journals/barnett_25apr2005.doc

Download as PDF (308 KB):

/journals/barnett_25apr2005.pdf

The Pile Reduced ...

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 23 April 2005

Vonne on the phone this morning: fairly depressed about what she's seeing south of Indy: smaller yards (than we have now), houses in same range (with substantial fixes looming), and the cost being around the same. She actually raised the issue of Terre Haute, where her mom lives. It would put me about 75 minutes from the airport riding on US70. I am a bit ambivalent about that, not because I don't want to be close to Nona. I will not fight the logic of the only daughter and the aging parent, and I don't want to anyway. Frankly, whatever makes her happy will work for me.

Got the notes down to 32 last night, watching a bunch of "Night Gallery" episodes from season 1 with Em late in the morning hours, while Jerry and Vonne Mei slept on the big sectional with us. Hope to finish tonight and then spend Sunday going back over the articles, finding homes for those I really want to include but didn't scoop up in the first go-around. Then deliver first thing Monday morn to Neil Nyren.

Today: the drill goes on and on. Have base pass and will look to do all haircuts except Em, then drop Em off at basket class over on mainland, catching second viewing of "Robots" with other kids. Then shoot for 5pm mass and swimming after that.

Reducing my pile of old newspapers:

Nice to see Rice work that charm some on Putin ("Rice Tells Putin U.S. Is No Threat in Region: Mixing Pressure with Moscow with Words of Mutual Respect," , by Steven R. Weisman, NYT, 21 Apr 05, p. A6.). Her conversation seemed very heavy on investment laws relating to foreign companies and energy. Good call. She continues to impress on her choices.

Waiting . . . waiting . . . there it is!

Koizumi issues biggest apology in a decade on Japan's WWII activities vis-a-vis China ("Japan's Chief Apologizes for War Misdeeds: 'Deep Remorse' Voiced as an Asia-Africa Summit Meeting," by Raymond Bonner and Norimitsu Onishi, NYT, 23 Apr 05, p. A3). The Japanese PM knows when something has gone too far, as do the Chinese ("China Moves To Crack Down On Protests Against Japan," by Jim Yardley, NYT, 23 Apr 05, p. A3). Point made. Everyone knows where this relationship is going.

China is just too important to the likes of Honda and Toyota. Already, a senior DaimlerChrysler exec startles the industry by announcing the company will build cars in China to export to US! ("China Looms As the World's Next Leading Auto Exporter," by Keith Bradsher, NYT, 22 Apr 05, p. C1). Think the Japanese don't want some of that cheap labor (right now about 1/18th the cost of US)?

I say, get it while it's hot, because the Chinese are getting used to this wealth thing far faster than most imagine. They want more, more, more. And all that more will require higher wages,etc. Already you have a middle class bitching about stock prices there ("As China Rises, Sinking Stocks Spark Middle-Class Protests: Investors Accuse Comunists of Hyping Market Outlook; Dilemma on State Shares," by James T. Areddy and Peter Wonacott, WSJ, 21 Apr 05, p. A1). You gotta love it when the Commies are accused of hyping stocks!

The Pace-to-Giambastiani scenario comes true on Chairman: Peter Pace steps up from Vice to Chairman in Joint Chiefs, the first Marine to hold the position. Rules say he has two more years available to him, although you never know with Rumsfeld, who likes to change personnel rules more than any other sort in his never-ending transformation quest. Ed Giambastiani, the Navy admiral, moves up from Joint Forces Command and will likely become Chairman in two years, following Pace ("A Marine on Message: Peter Pace," by David S. Cloud, NYT, 23 Apr 05, p. A10.). Pace is on message. He is one of the band of brothers that rules in the much tighter civil-military style of Rumsfeld. Expect more changes, not less, under him. Not because he's a push-over, but because he believes . . ..

Polio back in Yemen! More examples of why firewalling the Core off from the Gap's worst exports is a necessary thing. Also proof of why vaccines are the way to go (pay them now or charge yourself later). This is a bad sign, but it's indicative of the challenges ahead ("Polio Back in Yemen After 6-Year ABsence: Again Immunizing Against a Disease Thought Nearly Gones Just a Year Ago," by Donald G. McNeil, Jr., NYT, 22 Apr 05, p. A8). You shrink the Gap or you fear the Gap. That is the essential choice.

That's why my discomfort over Benedict as pope remains: to me, it's totally a fear-the-Gap call--a circling the Core wagons mentality displayed. Catholicism isn't all about "us" anymore, and hasn't been for a very long time. I had a bit in BFA I thought I would have to rewrite with John Paul's death. Now I just need to jack up the wording to make it more pointed.

I hear screaming in the background. Better go before something expensive gets broken--like one of my kids!

Recovery mode . . .

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 22 April 2005

Let me see . . . Emily, now a teenager . . . Kevin, bit of a Nintendo freak . . . Jerry . . . man can he talk all of a sudden . . . Vonne Mei, getting more beautiful by the minute as that black hair comes in (though we worry on the speech).

Everyone up. Everyone needs to be fed, including pets. Out the door in time for Kev's physical. Take paperback for family doc (just got the box from Putnam--nice).

On way out door I jump into conference call on my cell, putting my kids in the car with Scooby Doo DVD and having them use the headphones. Long talk with Alidade and Alphachimp and my people in NRSP about THE NEW MAP GAME. Attendance looking okay for now, expecting the bulk to register in next 2-3 weeks. But here's something that catches my eye: we already have an embedded reporter of some serious national stature. Hope he can actually make it. Then I hear we have offer from national TV news show to have me on after the game to talk about it. That's pretty stunning since we haven't even sent out a press release. Oh, and a corporate sponsor is steppng up, which is way cool and very validating.

Now I am getting psyched.

Then to Game Stop to trade in about 30 old Gameboy and Nintendo games. Kev's guessing $200+ in credit. I just laugh.

Kev is off by about 20$. I am stunned. We have $225 in credit.

We buy a whole bunch of new ones.

Then I get calls that ADT went off--that damn side door I let Bailey out of in the morning. Either you dead bolt it or the wind can push it slightly ajar.

So we had Portsmouth's finest checking the place out while we were gone.

On way home I pick up the usual stuff to start putting in window AC units (I am waaaaaay behind). That and some other stuff kills the afternoon.

Thank God Vonne already made the spaghetti sauce and even cooked the spag.

We'll watch DVDs tonight and I'll try to get the notes under 40. I want to turn them into Putnam on Monday. Then Mon-Wed I wail on the Esquire piece. Almost all the transcripts are in.

God! Did I forget to ask boxers or briefs?

I hear glass breaking in the kitchen. Better go.

Big fish finally nabbed

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 21 April 2005

Yesterday, around 11am, as I was gearing up for trip to interview the Man, I get call, saying it's pushed off and I can meet the Alter Ego instead today, with promises of the Man tomorrow.

I meet and interview the Alter Ego, and he's very good, so that's cool. Plus I get to work the digital recorder (stereo capture) and it's fantastic. Download to Mac and send in chunks to Esquire overnight by email.

Meanwhile, plugging on notes til 2 am this morning.

Up at 0800 and back on notes til noon. Then, as scheduled, head to The Building and it goes down as promised. Biggest damn office I've ever seen--about the layout of my house's first floor, and we've got a LOT of room. Great interview. Going to be great piece. Will write it early next week.

This weekend: remembering my kids' names.

Oh, and notes now under 60 to go, with about . . . I dunno, mabye 350-400 done. Total volume over 20k words. Think it will weigh in just under 25k.

My Decision on the E-Journal

Dateline: Grand Hyatt Washington DC, 20 April 2005

Our production effort on the first subscription-only version of the e-journal has fallen apart due to a scheduling crunch for our editor. Events beyond Bob Jacobson's control have set the timing of the journal back so much that it forced us to think about what we had really gotten ourselves into by setting this whole thing up.

That reality, plus the emerging load of stories I am doing or plan to do with Esquire, plus the growth in consulting relationships between myself and a number of outside organizations, has pushed me to reconsider this whole operation and decide to abort it before the subscriptions kick in with this first paying issue.

What does that mean?

First, it means I send a check for a bunch of money to my business manager to cover her (Steff Hedenkemp) sending a refund check to everyone who signed up for the journal. You should all have those checks before the end of the month. If you haven't paid, don't bother.

Second, it means we go back to the original concept of the newsletter. It's free. It's a compilation of "greatest hits" blogs from the past, grouped by content by my webmaster Critt Jarvis. It also includes my email exchanges with readers. If people want to send in their own short pieces for consideration, we'll consider them and perhaps publish, so long as they fit and reference the vision of PNM and BFA (otherwise, get your own blog!). I will try to write original stuff for the newsletter, but won't promise to always do so (although we have one lined up for the April newsletter issue which we hope to have out by the end of the month (my webmaster Critt is in charge of that, so send your cards and letters to him)).

I am very happy with this decision. While ginning up the first two issues was a neat exercise and I thought my partners did a nice job, it was just too much effort given all the offers and opportunities we're trying to manage at the same time. This way it's free and easy and we keep it eminently simple.

As part of that simplification process, partner Bob Jacobson departs from the New Rule Sets Project team following our effort with Alidade and Alphachimp on the New Map Game in Newport at the beginning of June. The focus of the consultancy is going to get quite exact: if the relationship in question doesn't involve me directly, we don't do it.

When we originally set up New Rule Sets Project, we had some dreams of making it a fully functioning partnership of several consultants, in effect replicating my vision through others. I thought, and still think, this is a viable path. I'm just not willing to pursue it right now, given all that's transitioning in my life with the books, leaving the War College, setting up my own stuff, moving to the Midwest, writing for Esquire, giving plenty of talks through my speaking agency, etc. Trying to build the NRSP empire beyond me as the principal is just a bridge too far right now, and frankly, it may always be given the range of opportunities and my desire to keep the infrastructure as lean and simple as possible.

So, in effect, I no longer market Barnett Consulting as my one-man shop and market NRSP as my one-man shop, with business manager Steff Hedenkemp to negotiate all and keep my trains running on time, and webmaster Critt to do whatever the hell it is that he does (and make the newsletter happen). This way, I don't pick up ambitions I can't meet, I don't lose track of events, and I dial down the shturm und drang of empire-building to a level where my kids and wife seem a whole lot happier than they've been in the past few weeks.

I want to keep my work life very focused, in part so I can jump on big opportunities as they arise, and in part because I want to keep my home life as focused as possible. I am unwilling to burn my village to save the world, and I am always congnizant of my wife's point that I sometimes act like I owe strangers more than my kids--or her. When I'm old and hoping someone will help me off my death bed to do this or that, no one's going to be there except my immediate family, just like I helped my Dad shave for the last time in his life. My Dad died a very rich man, with his loving wife and several of his kids at his side. That is the only end point I seek, and I will structure my other life and all that it entails to make sure it happens. Because when you lie on your death bed, no one ever says, "I wish I made more money," or "I wish I held more important jobs with bigger titles." No, they ask for loved ones, and if the life they've led denies them that outcome, not much else matters on your way out the door. I try not to forget that.

Perhaps a bit much to explain why the e-Journal is late, but that's thomaspmbarnett.com-within-the-context-of-everything-else. You want to be a strategic thinker? That's what it's all about then. Never losing the big picture.

Go Figure on Iran!

Dateline: Grand Hyatt Washington DC, 20 April 2005

Iran is not trying to shut itself out from the world. It can't afford to. India, China and the rest of developing Asia can't afford to bypass all that oil and gas. This is a match made in heaven, despite our concerns on WMD in Iran. We can either use that economic connectivity to our advantage or try to squash it, which will fail as a strategy. But Iran's not stupid. They know what their leverage is and they know the global marketplace favors them for some great length of time. If the US wants a transformed Middle East, we need to find a way to bring Iran into the fold somehow, taking into account their security desires straight up and not pretending that economic sanctions or carrots will seal any deal with the mullahs, even as economic connectivity woould strengthen the reformists in the government.

Here's the piece's first paras:

Facing Sanctions, Iran Uses Oil to Seek Allies
By JAD MOUAWAD
New York Times
April 19, 2005

TEHRAN, Iran - As it faces the threat of global sanctions from the United States and Europe because of suspicions that it is turning its nuclear program to weapons production, Iran is fighting back with a powerful weapon of its own: its vast oil and gas resources.

Iran's ruling clerics are meticulously arranging energy sales and building partnerships with influential countries, including China and India, as a way to win stronger friendships around the world.

Here's the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/business/worldbusiness/19tehran.html?th&emc=th

Didn't have to wait long for that article on the Navy's force structure woes!

Dateline: Grand Hyatt Washington DC, 20 April 2005

Remember yesterday when I spoke of the inevitable slew of articles (all relating to the reality of the FY06 defense budget and looming release of Quadrennial Defense Review that explains it and those to come in terms of Pentagon's acquisition priorities), well NYT ran one on the Navy to go with the WP's on the F-22 and the Air Force.

The trainwreck on ship construction is finally arriving, after we've been told about it for about 15 years in the defense community. Why arrive now? Because the definition of the future of war favored by the Pentagon is changing (QDR) from a focus on the big one to realizing that failed states (those lesser includeds of yesterday) are not just the bulk of the workload (they have been for a very long time) but the new competing force-sizing standard thanks to the operational realities displayed by our long-running efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That world can't afford having the U.S. buy carrriers that cost 12$B or subs in the 2-3$B range. We need the many and cheap, and so the few and the absurdly expensive will drop in buy numbers and get--no doubt--even more absurdly expensive. We will buy some, but far fewer than imagined just a few years--or even months--ago.

This is the big tipping point being reached on transformation.

Navy of Tomorrow, Mired in Yesterday's Politics
By TIM WEINER
New York Times
April 19, 2005

The Navy's new destroyer, the DD(X), is becoming so expensive that it may end up destroying itself. The Navy once wanted 24 of them. Now it thinks it can afford 5 - if that.

The price of the Navy's new ships, driven upward by old-school politics and the rusty machinery of American shipbuilding, may scuttle the Pentagon's plans for a 21st-century armada of high-technology aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines.

Shipbuilding costs "have spiraled out of control," the Navy's top admiral, Vern Clark, told Congress last week, rising so high that "we can't build the Navy that we believe that we need in the 21st century."

The first two DD(X)'s are now supposed to total $6.3 billion, according to confidential budget documents, up $1.5 billion. A new aircraft carrier, the CVN-21, is estimated at $13.7 billion, up $2 billion. The new Virginia-class submarine now costs $2.5 billion each, up $400 million. All these increases have materialized in the last six months.

Here's the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/business/19navy.html?th&emc=th

Basically a coup d'etat for Pope selection

Dateline: Grand Hyatt Washington DC, 19 April 2005

Ratzinger, John Paul II's enforcer, basically pulled off an insider succession. This is such a bad thing for the Catholic Church, I am almost speechless.

What an amazingly bad pick. Ratzinger is the Chernenko coming on the heels of enfeebled Brezhnev. Complete step backward that history will blame on John Paul II and his sorry management of church in 1990s and 2000s until his death. The regent assumes the throne.

Until a real New Core or Gap pope succeeds Ratzinger (he should just go with Pope Ratzinger I), the papacy will declline in global relevancy to an amazing degree. I blame JP II for this outcome. That man's intransigence will end up costing us plenty, and him most of his legacy.

So that the SysAdmin may live . . .

Dateline: Grand Hyatt Washington DC, 19 April 2005

Another Post story of note:

Military Jet Faces A Fight to Fit In
Changing Defense Needs Likely to Limit F/A-22 Raptor Production

By Renae Merle

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, April 19, 2005; Page E01

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- Thirty minutes after punching through the clouds over the Chesapeake Bay, Lt. Col. James Hecker reared up the nose of his F/A-22 Raptor fighter jet, like a snake preparing to strike, and skidded across the sky. The novel move gives the Raptor an advantage in the close-in dogfights the Air Force wants to avoid.

"We prefer shooting and killing them before they know we're there, but that [maneuver] works too," said Hecker, also known as "Scorch," the commander of Langley's 27th Fighter Squadron, after the recent training flight.

The Raptor is a fighter pilot's dream. It is nearly impossible to detect by radar and its cruising speed is more than 1,000 miles an hour, twice that of most potential rivals. Most fighters have sensors to spot the planes in front of them. The cockpit of the Raptor is reminiscent of a video game, taking a 360-degree picture and splashing it on an eight-inch screen while an onboard computer helps the pilot decide what to strike first.

"It's like having a God's-eye view of what's out there," Hecker said. "There is not a pilot who has flown the Raptor that isn't in love."

The question facing the Pentagon and Congress is whether the Raptor's superior abilities, and the affection of pilots and Air Force leaders, is enough to justify a more than $70 billion investment at the same time the military is stretched thin by ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Critics contend that the Air Force, long dominated by fighter pilots, is exaggerating the threat it faces from enemy fighters at a time when warfare has changed and low-tech weapons such as shoulder-fired missiles are a greater threat. The service, they say, should be deploying more unmanned aircraft and replacing an aging bomber fleet.

There is no question it's a great jet, and that we need some to maintain the Leviathan, but we'll never buy the numbers the Air Force wants, and we'll not buy those numbers in order to grow the SysAdmin force.

You will read a lot of these articles in coming months and years.

Full article found here

Torn between two lovers . . .

Dateline: Grand Hyatt Washington DC, 19 April 2005

I don't what it is about sad, sappy 70's love songs and me lately. Don't hate me for my childhood.

Up and working on the notes, waiting for the call. Check my email and see the following story from Post:

Japanese Official's Trip to China Fails to Break Political Deadlock

By Edward Cody

Washington Post Foreign Service

Tuesday, April 19, 2005; Page A10

BEIJING, April 18 -- A two-day fence-mending visit by the Japanese foreign minister ended Monday with no sign China and Japan are prepared to back away from the political and territorial disputes that have pushed their relations to a postwar low.

"I don't know the reason why we would have to change our policies with regard to China," said Hatsuhisa Takashima, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura.

The unyielding positions of both countries appear sharpened by a sense of strategic rivalry as China's power expands across Asia and Japan redefines its regional military role in close cooperation with the United States. In the newly adversarial atmosphere, China has opposed Japan's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, saying it is unfit for such leadership until it faces its past.

"Since the normalization of relations in 1972, this is the most difficult of the difficult, the most serious difficulty," said China's deputy foreign minister, Wu Dawei. "And it has lasted a relatively long time."

Watching the China-Japan tussle work itself out is really interesting. Everyone knows the outcome: China will get big, Japan will align its stars increasingly with Beijing in the region, and the US will have to go along with that. But everyone is working against that outcome now in an almost knee-jerk fashion: US thinks it's going to contain China (sucking up to India, which knows better, and pulling Japan on security issues with China like Taiwan), Japan thinks it'll use US to balance Beijing (as if it isn't already so deeply in bed with China economically to render that option fairly moot--as is the US, BTW), and China thinks it's going to single-handedly adjust it's tone with Japan without triggering a backlash (knowing full well how well Tokyo deals with such ultimatums).

Here's what Japan and the US need to remember: China and India realize their collective heft, and so do most in the Middle East, Russia and the EU--not to mention the rest of Asia (ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand). We need to be looking downstream to solutions, not dicking around with the pressure points of today. The US should be pushing Japan on its WWII history-rewriting. This stuff is really cheesy and offensive and should be stopped (what good is it?). If Japan wants to be taken seriously like Germany is, it has to put that crap aside finally, and waiting for similar maturity from China on its own recent history is stupid. That's like my ten-year-old comparing his behavior to my five-year-old: China's just not that grown up yet and Japan can't wait on that process if it wants to get (UNSC permanent seat, etc) what it wants to get NOW.

If the US is not taking a big, in-everyone's-face role on this, then Rice is asleep at the wheel, and if anyone in the Pentagon or White House thinks this war of words is in our long-term interests, they should have their heads examined. I have heard nothing from the US in the press on any of this, and that's not right. We're missing in action on this and there's no good reason for it. What we do today we don't have to catch up on tomorrow. Name calling is fine and fun for a while, but what's emerging right now between China and Japan is just plain wrong.

Full article found here