We are a few days away from our exciting adventure to the Orient.  One stop will be Taiwan.  However, Japan-China relations just deteriorated. Japan's first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on 31October2025.  All went well. But on November 7, Takaichi veered from Japan's policy of " strategic ambiguity " about Taiwan, suggesting that an attack on Taiwan could amount to a "survival-threatening situation" that would permit Japan to exercise collective self-defense. This drew the ire of China, which has maintained that Taiwan is part of China, and that they will someday, by force, if necessary, regain total control,  as was done with Hong Kong.  We also will visit that city, twice on this trip. Takaichi refused to retract her remarks. Usually, most of what happens is just tense talk, but this time, China urged their citizens to hold off on any trip to Japan this year. If the Chinese take this seriously, Japan will be si...

The story of the day is Super Hurricane Melissa.  Plus, that World Series game last night deserves a few comments.  But first, tracking President Donald Trump. Trump spent yesterday meeting with  Japan Emperor Naruhito , the nation's symbolic leader, at the Imperial Palace.  Naruhito is 5'8" and 65 years old and Trump is 6'3" and 79. Then today, he met with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.  A lot of flattery and gift-giving from Takaichi. She told him that Japan would be nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. I should mention, though, that Trump is getting nowhere with Putin. And seems to have lost influence over Netanyahu. Gave him a golf bag signed by Hideki Matsuyama, as well as a putter used by former PM Shinzo Abe. Trump announced approval for the first delivery of U.S. missiles for F-35 fighter jets, but which Japan purchased. Lunch was American rice and American beef. They did sign a deal on rare earth minerals, as well as a document heralding a new "...

But before I get into Sanae Takaichi, the first female prime minister of Japan, the latest news of the day. Did you know that the meaning of trumpery is worthless nonsense?  Term has long been in this dictionary: Trumpery   - as defined by Merriam-Webster:  "The meaning of   TRUMPERY   is worthless nonsense ."  Showy but worthless finery; bric-a-brac.   Nonsense; rubbish.   Deception; trickery; fraud. While the world turns with not much peace, and the U.S. still in government shutdown, Wall Street is breaking all time high records. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 82.92 points, or 1.23%, to end at 6,874.61 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 431.22 points, or 1.86%, to 23,636.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 333.87 points, or 0.71%, to 47,540.99 . However, last time I checked, gold prices today tumbled by 3% to just below $4000/ounce, a sign that there just might be a solution to sanity with China tariffs, while...