The San Francisco Experience

January 2026 saw a series of strategic foreign policy moves in Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, the Board of Peace which will continue to reverberate throughout 2026 and beyond.

As American Universities opened campuses in China and the Middle East in the early 2000s the wish was that our values of free speech and freedom would take root there. But increasingly their standards of censorship and authoritarianism seem to be pressuring our universities. How did this expansion go wrong ?

The International Spy Museum is dedicated to the history of tradecraft and the contemporary role of espionage. It features the world's largest collection of spy artifacts, gadgets, disguises and code machines. Executive Director Chris Costa had a distinguished career as a US Army Intelligence Officer. He was inducted into the Commando Hall of Fame in 2013 for extraordinary and enduring service to Special Operations Forces. In 2017 he served at the White House.

Set in South Africa, this thriller is the latest novel by acclaimed author Deon Meyer. He writes about life in post Apartheid South Africa featuring the detective team of Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido. Inspired by a high profile case of graft and corruption, a team of former South African Special Forces soldiers scheme to pull of a high stakes heist with Benny and Vaughn in hot pursuit.

President Trump has stated that his Administration intends to purchase the Danish dependency Greenland. The US already has almost carte blanche to establish any military facilities in Greenland under the terms of a 1951 treaty. 3 times the size of Texas and the largest island in the world, Greenland's population is 57,000. NATO of which Denmark is a member, is siding with Denmark in opposing any forced annexation. The President plans to impose a 10% tariff on several NATO members who landed a small (less than 50 people) military delegation in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital over the past weekend.

The decline of America's middle class stems from stagnant wages, rising costs for essentials like housing, education and healthcare, technology shifts, globalization, increased income inequality and greater financial vulnerability. A New Deal to shore up the foundations of the Middle Class is long overdue.

Alex Bastian, the CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, has overseen a steady recovery of this sector from the depths of Covid shutdowns to robust financial performance. With the Super Bowl coming to the City and the Region next month and a surge in conventions and conferences coming to Moscone Center, demand for hotel rooms in 2026 is surging.

Aileen Teague is Assistant Professor at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service, Department of International Affairs. She reviews the recent action by the Trump Administration to end Nicolas Maduro's presidency of Venezuela. What happens next ?

A six month voyage of discovery for a recently retired College Professor driving the PanAmerican Highway from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego. Discovering the fauna, flora and rich cultural tapestry of South America. But also a personal journey of self knowledge to lay the groundwork for the next chapter of life.

New economic cooperation plans take shape between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Trump Administration proposes an international roadway through southern Armenia linking Azerbaijan to its Western Exclave, bordering Turkey.