But first:  MOSCOW/WASHINGTON/KYIV >> President Donald Trump said today that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations” toward a ceasefire and an end to their three-year-old war, speaking after he held a call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Photos and a video about our departure from Vancouver on Air Canada. Air Canada Lounge cuisine of soup with beer, Bloody Mary, Johnny Walker Black Label on rocks and sparkling rosé. Our plane, showing snow still on Vancouver mountain on May 18. Airline meal. Final view of Canada. This is a weird photo of our plane right over Diamond Head. Returned home at 9:15PM.  Walked 3641 steps. Great night sleep.  So anyway, our 33-day trip was wonderful. We went to the Osaka Expo twice.   Amazingly enough, we won the lottery on both days, for we got to use their motor scooter each day.  FREE!!!  Four for four.  The odds of this happening had to be 100 to one for this to occur.   We st...

 The USA would not have amounted to much if we had not acquired all those territories to the west, north and south.  Maybe President Donald Trump's manifest destiny for Greenland, Panama Canal and Canada might well be visionary.  Make American Even Greater! Original size of U.S. in 1789 = 864,746 square miles. We then grew to 3,531,905 square miles through territorial acquisitions. 1803 Louisiana Purchase from France, 828,000 ( almost the same size as originally ) square miles (sm) for $15 million, now worth $389 billion. 1818, British Cession, 45,417 sm. 1819, Florida, $5 million, Spain, 72,101 sm. 1845, Texas cession, 389,166 sm. 1846, Oregon territory, UK, by contested occupation, 286,541. 1848, Mexican Cession from Mexico, $15 million, 529,189. 1853, Gadsdend Purchase from Mexico, $10 million, 29,670. 1857-1858, Islands in the Pacific, 16 sm. 1867, Alaska, $7.2 million from Russia, 591,000. 1967-1947, islands mostly in the Pacific, like Hawaii, small sums, about 120,0...

My intention today was to provide the great Russia story.  However, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky have already accomplished this feat, so was inspired at lunch to instead introduce you to the Aleutian Islands.  How was I so influenced?  Let me start by going back to yesterday when Adam Tanner lectured on Russia. Nice talk, but nothing new.  So I thought anything I could add about this country would be prosaic.  Anyway, dinner was at the Polo Grill, a steakhouse. Started with a Caesar Salad, and then into a ribeye steak with baked potato, cream of spinach, etc. I'll skip the steak photo and go into the petit fours.  Saw the dessert menu.  But passed.  Some enticing delectables, but I'm eating too much. Went on the the Riviera Lounge for a Broadway Show spectacle. Then went dancing in Horizons and closed the place down. Which leads to today, lunch and why my topic of the day will focus on the Aleutian Islands. Started with soup and salad, but th...