The city by the bay

I can't get anyone interested in the cable cars after the F-line debacle ("wrong-way Tom"), but I'm holding out for the bridge walk (Vonne hates heights but has scaled many steep mountain trails with us before ....) and the Muir ones hike.

Fingers crossed.

Rest of Twitter feed from yesterday:

Pretty good day overall. We plot day 2 to avoid obvious crowds. about 14 hours ago from txt

Movies tonight. Vonne and older pair catch "Spirit": supremely dispiriting. Younger pair and I catch "Bedtime Stories": nice enuf. about 14 hours ago from txt

Between planned Turkey, Kazakhstan, PRC trips in 09, feeling "rise of rest"! about 17 hours ago from txt

Between flat noodles last night and dim sum 2nite, nostalgic for Mainland. University invite in works; expect to go back this spring/su ... about 17 hours ago from txt

Huge posters in bakery from when Prez Clinton there in 96. about 17 hours ago from txt
Chinatown, Grant St.m Eastern Bakery: gigantic potstickers, pork buns the size of Big Macs, mini moon cakes. We gorge as we cruise. about 17 hours ago from txt

Love how old bldgs keep original names carved into edifaces. Often they're long-dead companies (avg in America is about 30 years). about 18 hours ago from txt

Realize my couture all wrong for Left Coast: 740th Mil Intell BDE coat and CENTCOM baseball cap (both gifts). Note in Ed Hardy store. about 18 hours ago from txt

This town creates such strong visual imprints that I experience strong deja vu a lot here, from past visits. about 18 hours ago from txt

I love all the "blonde" older stone buildings in this place. Remember in mid-90s looking out of bigh-rise office bldg in mid-90s and se ... about 18 hours ago from txt

Out and about Fin District/Chinatown: must be local laws/attitudes, but a number of homeless living prominently. Remember it from Oakland. about 19 hours ago from txt

Coolest: Disney Lost and Found. Artwork from never-made productions. about 19 hours ago from txt

Quite the gift shop, natch. about 19 hours ago from txt

Iron Man #1 cover 1968. about 19 hours ago from txt

Cute Rockwell homage: Colan paints Capt America while looking at self in mirror. about 19 hours ago from txt

Special exhibit on Gene Colan: Capt America, Daredevil, 76 B&W orig cover art Tomb of Dracula, Howard the Duck, Iron Man. about 19 hours ago from txt

85 Denace the Menace. B&W orig and colored. 24"x18". about 19 hours ago from txt

85 Lynn Johnston "For Better of For Worse." She aged her characters real-time. Pretty rare. Just quit. about 19 hours ago from txt

Herblocks too. Originals are like 12" across and 18" down. about 19 hours ago from txt
Lotta Bill Maudlin stuff. Original big stuff. about 19 hours ago from txt

Neat "giant" broadsheet (B&W) of original "Spirit" page by Will Eisner. about 19 hours ago from txt

Neat part of museum proper: original art 4-5 times larger, like original WSJ dimple of my face. Then shrunk down to size in paper/comic. about 19 hours ago from txt

Point (for me) of Miyazaki-inspired Totoro exhibit: few digitals among wide number of creations using various drwing techniques. about 20 hours ago from txt

All I can say: Miyazaki is loved the world over. This fan art stuff from dozens og countries. about 20 hours ago from txt

Point from daughter artist: most of exhibit is fan art based on Totoro movie. Sophisticated, but basically fan art. about 20 hours ago from txt

.Big Miyazaki "Totorro" exhibit. Selling stuff. about 20 hours ago from txt

Sorry. No alarm for 140 char limit. Trying. about 20 hours ago from txt

Museum of Comic Art, only one in America dedicated to preservation of art form. Teaches it. Charles Schulz a big early patron. On Mis ... about 20 hours ago from txt

So many beautiful older buildings here. I shoot plenty of photos. about 20 hours ago from txt

Back to Fin District hotel for pit stop (after cab ride with chatty chinese driver): realize we can see Alcatraz from 30th-floor window. about 20 hours ago from txt

I could see being really rich and living here. Vonne could not, despite her Left Coast leanings. about 21 hours ago from txt

Lunch great but still haven't dethawed thumbs. about 21 hours ago from txt

Alioto's rep is warranted: great chowder. Followed w seafood crab salad. about 21 hours ago from txt

Chinese guy outside w sign (I was in Pursuit of Happiness!): he plays weird Chinese fiddle in street. Vonne intro's him to driver. about 21 hours ago from txt

Funny bit: Vonne asks about "Pursuit of Happiness" film shoot. Driver doesn't know. We stop Chinatown fortune-cookie factory and about 21 hours ago from txt

Tipped driver well. Native SF. about 21 hours ago from txt

Also Haight-Asbury area, all these mansions. 3 hour tour covered everything in blitz w great narration. Trip Advisor correct: great tour. about 21 hours ago from txt

Rest of Mr. Toad's tour (cold in open antique bus): Presidio, Fort Point under Bridge (another Vertigo moment), "painted ladies" Victorians about 21 hours ago from txt

Thumbs went numb. Now in Alioto's (fish restaurant) on Wharf warming up on chowder. about 21 hours ago from txt

Finish last one .... n Nob Hill from which Kim Novak's character drove her Jag from Nob Hill in "Vertigo.". about 21 hours ago from txt

I spotted (without prompt from driver) the apartment house on Nob Hill from which Kim Novak's character drove her Jag from Nob Hill in " ... 11:25 AM yesterday from txt

Listen all y'all it's a sabotage

ARTICLE: Young Muslims Build a Subculture on an Underground Book, By CHRISTOPHER MAAG, New York Times, December 23, 2008

Very cool and welcome to see. Hip Hop performs this function the world over (noted in both BFA and Great Powers), but additional forms always welcome.

Where are the Muslim comic books heroes in America (I remember an Egyptian in Egypt [?] trying to start this a while back and me blogging) and the Muslim bands (there have to be a bunch by now--just nothing big).

These are all hugely important social integration mechanisms--as American as apple pie and the Beastie Boys.

And I don't mean Bachelor of Science

ARTICLE: Suppliers Feeling the Sting of Oil Prices, By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann, Newsmax.com, December 15, 2008

Good analysis of the fix Ahmadinejad has put Iran in with his Chavez-like BS economic populism based on high oil prices.

(Thanks: Rob Johnson)

Voting with their year-abroad, students pick China

NATIONAL: "Study Abroad Flourishes, With China a New Hot Spot," by Tamar Lewin, New York Times, 17 November 2008.

Another sign of the future: all the big jumps in enrollment by U.S. students overseas is with New Core pillars, with Old Core Europe and Japan trailing.

Bosnia: still not done breaking up?

EUROPE: Fragile Bosnia: The break-up danger; Growing fears that fractious political leaders are jeopardizing Bosnia's future," The Economist, 8 November 2008.

There is the Republic of Srpska and the Croat-Bosnian Federation. The Srpska part is full of Serbs who still dream of connecting to Serbia--go figure.

So it's the usual deal that whenever a break occurs from a mother-state, there's always a subset of the breakaway province that wants to further breakaway and go running home to mamma.

Happens just about every time.

America's soft media power unabated

BUSINESS DAY: "Friend, Foe or Just a Fan: World Falls for American Media, Even as It Sours on America," by Tim Arango, New York Times, 1 December 2008.

Point being, we don't need to retool our "strategic comms."

We need to retool our policies and rejoin the world that misses us.

I left my heart...

Historic F-line streetcar down Market to Fisherman's Wharf.

Iron Man #1 cover 1968 by Gene Colan.

From: Army To: Obama

ARTICLE: Army Officials Say Many More Active-Duty Troops Are Needed, By Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post, December 25, 2008; Page A04

The Army begins its force structure politicking with the new prez.

Predictable and good: Brazil the extra-regional military power

ARTICLE: "President of Brail Unveils Plan to Upgrade Military in Effort to Be Global Power," by Alexei Barrioneuvo, New York Times, 19 December 2008.

Lula is having his Alexander Hamilton moment: he wants rising Brazil to have a military commensurate with its global economic interests. Read Hamilton's 1791 "Report on Manufactures": he wanted a defense industry right from the start.

The problem with a nuke sub fleet, though (along with China's move toward a carrier) is that these are relics--by and large--of 20th-century naval power. They're simply copycatting our legacy force structure.

Not a bold step into the future in a technological sense (these guys aren't gearing up for Leviathan war and simply wouldn't survive that process politically as regimes). They want to create many-and-cheap SysAdmin forces to stabilize and pacify.

So the learning curve remains steep, even as the instincts here are dead-on.

But think about it for a second: what is the nuke sub scenario for Brazil that justifies a "fleet"? Maybe a couple two-three as a capability, but keep it real. These things are very expensive to operate.

The Economist on Russia/Putin

SPECIAL REPORT: "Enigma variations: A special report on Russia," The Economist, 29 November 2008.

Russia described as both "recovering world power" and "corrupt oligopoly with a market economy of sorts."

Sensible stuff.

Our endgame in Iraq is the start of the real game

BRIEFING: "Iraq: Is it really coming right? In most of Iraq, violence has plummeted and the Americans under a new president look set gradually to withdraw. But will the battered country hold together?" The Economist, 29 November 2008.

NEWS ANALYSIS: "Campaign Promises on Ending the War in Iraq Now Muted by Reality," by Thom Shanker, New York Times, 4 December 2008.

INTERNATIONAL: "Clash in Iraq Over a Plan For Councils Intensifies," by Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, 4 December 2008.

Good overview from the Economist, which says that the "biggest and currently the scratchiest division is between Arabs and Kurds."

As the NYT articles point out, there's a bit of push-coming-to-shove between the Kurds and Sunnis/Shiia, centering on Mosul and Kirkuk.

So as we shift from combat troops to just those that stay and keep the peace, I still predict it will ultimately make sense to leave trip-wire troops in the north.

The Chinese: they're everywhere, they're everywhere!

THE AMERICAS: "Latin American diplomacy: Friends of opportunity; China, rather than Russia, is the new partner that matters," The Economist, 29 November 2008.

A good reminder: Putin & Co may blow some smoke up America's rear-end now and then in the lower states, but the real emerging player in the southern Western hemisphere is Beijing--not Moscow. Medvedev peddles some arms--small business. China is peddling long-term contracts for raw materials.

Tom's trying Twitter

Follow/check it out if you like: http://twitter.com/thomaspmbarnett

So far:

Bank of America bldg, 50 stories. "Towering Inferno"!!!!! 7 minutes ago from txt

Vermont St is really most crooked street, over Lombard (7 turns to 8, but more length of curvage) 26 minutes ago from txt

43 official hills. 28 minutes ago from txt

1906 quake left 300k out of 400k homeless. 29 minutes ago from txt

Anything not a hill here is landfill, mostly from 1849 gold rush and 1906 earthquake. 30 minutes ago from txt

Got on F going wrong way (Castro) and so took scenic tour, then hopped off and caught cab to Wharf in time for Mr. Toad's guided tour of SF. about 1 hour ago from txt

Historic yellow streetcar F-line on Market to Fishermen's Wharf. about 2 hours ago from txt

Breakfast at new version of Mel's Diner, inspiration for "American Graffitti." Lots o' Lucas memorabilia. Got change for streetcar (ca ... about 2 hours ago from txt

Chinatown last night for dinner. Mission street diner for breakfast this morn. about 3 hours ago from txt

The rat bastard has to die someday

ARTICLE:
Mugabe a threat to unity, says US, BBC, 21 December 2008

I don't expect we'll force any issue security-wise, but I would expect a full-court diplomatic press under Obama (not that Bush hasn't tried, just harder).

(Thanks: Rob Quayle)

Pirates: it's asymmetrical until you decide otherwise

ARTICLE: "Pirates in Skiffs Still Outmaneuvering Warships Off Somalia," by Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times, 16 December 2008.

So long as it's our big warships versus skiffs, expect frustration, Maritime frontier integration more logically features mother ships that host attacking swarms--both manned and unmanned.

Obviously, that's a big job for a stressed Leviathan--hence the need for lotsa friends and encouraging those friends to evolve their own force structures toward this common goal.

This would be a great conversation to have with the People's Liberation Army-Navy.

KKR looking to buy the cow and sell the milk in China

WORLD NEWS: "KKR Invests In Chinese Dairy Farm," by Rick Carew, Wall Street Journal, 2 December 2008.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, a legendary private-equity firm (aka hedge fund) is "betting around $100 million that it can help clean up China's scandal-tainted dairy industry by teaming up with the country's No. 1 milk producer to invest in a dairy-farm company."

Solid bottom-of-the-pyramid thinking by a firm famous for bottom feeding in tough times, and China's dairy industry certainly qualifies there.

The prize? That huge future dairy consumption market that is China's rising middle class consumers. China's consumption of dairy has skyrocketed several fold in the last decade, and still sits at less than one-third that of the U.S.

The underlying, quite Marxian fear in Beijing with the financial crisis

FRONT PAGE: "China Fears Restive Migrants As Jobs Disappear in Cities," by Shai Oster, Wall Street Journal, 2 December 2008.

Back in the day, we called them "proletariat"--as in, just off the farm and disoriented by industrial life and thus inclined to be pissed off in general and downright nasty during an economic downturn.

China may not be a Marxist state anymore, but it's got Marxist issues all right.

"Germany aims to protect its [economic] interests"! The deuce you say!

INTERNATIONAL: "Germany Aims to Protect Its Interest by Guiding the West's Ties to Russia," by Nicholas Kulish, New York Times, 2 December 2008.

CANYOUBELIEVEIT! A great power puts it own economic/energy interests over punishing an energy supplier for its recent, highly-negative behavior. I mean, it's not like Russia produced . . . oh, a dozen-plus suicide bombers who launched the deadliest terror attack on German soil ever.

And yet, Germany has the temerity to ask the West to respect its energy interests over the desires of some to punish.

Good thing America would never turn such a blind eye . . . .

Merry Christmas!

Flew our crew out this a.m. to San Francisco for a long weekend.

We like to play tourists during this week and have now for several years. Southwest Rapid Rewards and an online hotel booking can make for an inexpensive but neat getaway (esp. In SF, where none of the big attractions shut down), so I am excited to show everyone the town. I spent a lot of time here in the mid 1990s doing base-closure community activism in a weird Center for Naval Analyses's project for then Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Bill Owens. There I was, organizing and plotting with activist groups and local pols in Oakland, Alameda, and S.F.--truly a bizarre detour in my career, but a neat one that taught me a lot. I also spent a week at Berkeley in 2005 as the Chester Nimitz lecturer--another cool memory.

Enjoy your holidays!

Wicked cool present from reader

Michal Shapiro had three of her paintings from early 60s (maybe late fifties?) rented by the AMC show "Mad Men" for use in the first season. In season two they simply made a high-end copy of one to hang in Don Draper's office. Michal had them make three small repros and sent one to Vonne and I in recognition of our intense passion for the show.

Vonne, who is beyond an aficionado (like beyond Trekkie-equivalent) was thrilled to get it.

I got it out of my box late afternoon Xmas eve.

Way cool!

Many thanks to Michal.

[Ed. Michal's a woman of many talents. Remember that she has a song in Midnight Cowboy (scroll down to comments)?]