PUTIN MEETS TRUMP IN ALASKA

As I compose this posting, Donald Trump, with Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, is meeting with Vladimir Putin, and his two equivalents, Sergey Levrov and Yuri Ushakov, at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Results will enfold over the next few hours. Here is one video link.

The world seems cautiously optimistic, but not Time magazine, which today reported that Alaska Cannot End Putin's War in Ukraine and The Last Six Trump-Putin Meetings Failed.
Why is this summit happening in Alaska?

This Russo-Ukraine War:

Began in late February 2014 when Russia occupied and annexed Crimea.
Then in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and and at first it looked like they would soon overwhelm the country.

With help from the USA and NATO, this did not happen.
The current situation is a stalemate, with Russia occupying around an additional 20% of Ukraine land, and with the U.S. and NATO poised to continue to help Ukraine.

From most reports, Russia has suffered around a million casualties (deaths and injuries), with Ukraine at half that number. In comparison, the Israeli-Palestinian is approaching 200,000 casualties, with many Palestinians being civilians.

Here, it's only August, and the PGA season is close to ending. The FedEx Cup playoffs consist of three tournaments, the St. Jude Championship held last week, the BMW Championship now in play and the Tour Championship next week. It's a bit complicated, but the following came from Google AI Overview:

1. FedEx St. Jude Championship: Won by Justine Rose.

The top 70 players in the FedExCup standings after the regular season qualify.
It's a 72-hole stroke play event with a cut, meaning the field is reduced after 36 holes.

2. BMW Championship:

The top 50 players from the FedExCup standings after the FedEx St. Jude Championship advance.
This is also a 72-hole stroke play event with a cut.

3. Tour Championship:

The top 30 players in the FedExCup standings after the BMW Championship qualify.
The main change to the 2025 FedEx Cup is the elimination of "Starting Strokes" at the Tour Championship. Instead of the player-ranked No. 1 starting with a lead, the final event of the playoffs is now a traditional 72-hole stroke-play tournament where all 30 players begin at even par, offering a clean, level playing field to win the season-long title.

The winner will get $10 million at the Tour Championship tournament. The remaining 29 players will share $30 million based on how well they do. #30 will only get $355,00, with #2 winning $5 million.

This has been going on since 2007:

2007: Tiger Woods
2008: Vijay Singh
2009: Tiger Woods
2010: Jim Furyk
2011: Bill Haas
2012: Brandt Snedeker
2013: Henrik Stenson
2014: Billy Horschel
2015: Jordan Spieth
2016: Rory McIlroy
2017: Justin Thomas
2018: Justin Rose
2019: Rory McIlroy
2020: Dustin Johnson
2021: Patrick Cantlay
2022: Rory McIlroy
2023: Viktor Hovland
2024: Scottie Scheffler

I end this week with Awesome Nature, worth your viewing.

DAY 1 on the DIAMOND PRINCESS

But first, Sheraton Yokohama Bay highlights of our Sheraton Club eats/drinks and breakfasts. Breakfast stations. Then taxi off to the Diamond Princess. Fall colors. Approaching from the rear of the Diamond Princess. Departure of Diamond Princess from Yokohama, Departure snack of lamb, beef, penne pasta, Johnny Walker Gold and champagne. Leaving Yokohama. We then went to Kai Sushi for dinner, Sushi and sake dinner, Then, off to Fun Dance Class. That followed by karaoke. The night continued into some old time disco. Finally, after midnight, back to our stateroom. Walked 4127 steps today. -

ON THE MATTER OF PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Hawaii today celebrates King Kamehameha the First Day as a public holiday. Next Monday, June 19, or Juneteenth, is a Federal holiday. However, 22 states, including Hawaii, do not recognize this as a public holiday. Four of these will begin to honor this day next year, not Hawaii. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery. Here are the Hawaii holidays, and note three that only we have: New Year’s Day: 1st day in January Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: 3rd Monday in January Presidents’ Day: 3rd Monday in February Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day: 26th day in March Good Friday: Friday before Easter Easter: Calculating Easter Memorial Day: Last Monday in May King Kamehameha I Day: 11th day in June Independence Day: 4th day in July Statehood Day: 3rd Friday in August Labor Day: 1st Monday in September Veterans’ Day: 11th day in November Thanksgiving Day: 4th Thursday in November Christmas: 25th day in December There are 11 paid Fede...

HOW TO WATCH NETFLIX SHOWS

But first, maybe President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza Peace Plan is showing some progress . No one expects the Hamas to accept all of them, but they did agree to release all captives and the act of handing over administration to Palestinian technocrats. So far, in the Gaza Strip, 66,288 have been killed and 169,165 wounded. On 7October2023, almost two years ago, 1139 were killed in the initial Hamas-led attack. About my topic of the day, I've long been lamenting the overflow of watchable films and series available on Netflix and Prime. Why expand into the plethora of other streaming options when I can't keep up with what I have, which costs me around $30/month. And, of course, why venture out to a movie theater to end up watching a film that will cost me around that amount of money, when you add the popcorn, drink, gasoline cost, time it takes to get there and back, and the risk of a car accident or worse. Oh, also getting infected with ...

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