Happy New Year from the space cadet!

Happy New Year, y’all! Another year, the same cadet!

The bad

2023 was a geopolitical mess and has shown us that media literacy, critical thinking skills, and international cooperation are needed more than ever. I posted my two cents about Israel-Palestine a couple of years ago. My points remain very firm on this. This has only become more polarized thanks to social media and AI misinformation. Antisemitism and Islamaphobia are on the rise. Far-right governments will be in power partly thanks to TikTok activists proving the horseshoe theory and the far right being themselves.

Armenians suffer at the hands of Azerbaijan and indirectly from Turkey. Artsakh was stolen in 2023. The Congo, Yemen, and Sudan are suffering. You can follow this excellent organization called the Lemkin Institute of Geocide for more information on this. Iranians are victims of their government. Not enough people care because anything that stands against the West gets a pass. The Kurds once again have had the world turn their backs on them. Russia continues to wreak havoc in Ukraine. The United States can’t seem to put anyone out there that isn’t 80 years old.

The good

Although there were some excellent signs regarding European unity, The Czech Republic and Poland decided to return to reality. Relations with the US and China are not as bad. There is still a lot to be going in these directions. Let’s see what happens.

2023 was a good travel year for the cadet. I went to Suriname, the Guyanas, Central Asia, Scandinavia, the Balkans, the Emirates, Crete, the US, Basque country, and Portugal to watch one of my best friends get married. I also got to explore some parts of Slovenia and appreciate its beauty.

2024 Plans

The first trip planned for 2024 is to Vietnam and Cambodia next month. I’m also eager to visit Kurdistan and Algeria and want to see more of Scandinavia. Many other places also call my name, but I’m not sure how many places I can fit in one year.

I wish you all a better 2024 and hope the world realizes we need more cooperation instead of war. Stay tuned for my next posts about my Silk Road travels that I’m behind on, and a post regarding media literacy.