Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

When the Russo-Ukrainian War first broke out, the battlefield success of Ukrainian drones in blowing up Russian armored vehicles made me wonder whether columns of armored vehicles still have their place in modern warfare. Three years since then, the power of the drone has proven to be far more potent and game-changing in the blood-soaked fields of Donbas. Ukrainians have managed to smuggle them into Siberia, launching them against Russian strategic bombers located thousands of miles from the frontlines. And in exchange, Russians have pummeled Ukrainian cities, even without established air superiority.

Israel's latest attack on Iran was entirely unprovoked. Even as American and Iranian diplomats prepared for the next round of nuclear weapons negotiations in Oman, Israeli airstrikes lit up the night sky across the country, hitting not just suspected nuclear weapons facilities, but also government and residential compounds, in a bid to simultaneously damage military hardware but also take out its military, political, and scientific leadership in one fell swoop. The surprise attack was followed by Israeli government announcements that, confusingly, also called on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the regime.

A few days ago, a marathon held in Beijing marked the first time that specifically designed humanoid runner robots participated alongside actual human runners. Rather than a display of technological prowess, the publicity focused on just how much the humanoids lagged behind the humans, with the fastest robot finishing more than an hour after the human winner, and three-quarters of the robot entries dropped out of the race. The event became a testament to just how difficult it remains for robotics to fully mimic such basic human actions as running, despite advancements in AI and precision manufacturing.

If there is anything consistent about the inconsistent Trump administration so far, it has been a belief in self-importance. Amidst the endless threats and flip-flops of tariffs on other countries, the vague words around peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza, and the winding road of the domestic war against left-wing wokery, the administration has never stopped believing in one underlying principle: that the other countries fundamentally need the US more than the US will ever need them, and that in the face of the administration's agreessions, its enemies cannot credibly muster effective counterattacks.

I was surprised to realize I had never read  The Great Gatsby  until last week. The 1925 novel is almost a required reading for high schoolers across the US and is consistently deemed one of the greatest American novels ever written. A recent article in the Economist extolling the relevance of the novel's overarching theme on the permanence of class differences and the meaninglessness of wealth finally piqued my curiosity enough for me to pick up the book and finish it in two days. Let's call it a belated gift to my high school self. 

A piece of news from a few days ago gave a group of cynical netizens a good laugh. An Air India flight bound for Delhi was forced to turn back less than five hours after it took off from Chicago. The cause was a widespread blockage of toilets on the flight, leading to 11 of the 12 lavatories onboard being out of service despite the flight being less than a third of the way to the destination. Anxious passengers, upon return to Chicago, were provided with accommodation and booking on alternative airlines on their way, as one can assume, home.

My wife and I have become habitual feeders of the stray cats in our neighborhood. Several plastic bowls sit on the few stone steps to the narrow street below the front door. Filled with dry food throughout the day and wet food in the colder evenings and overnight hours, the impromptu feeding station can sometimes attract up to a dozen cats. Many have become comfortable enough to run into the house for a quick petting when we open the door to refill the bowls. We are comfortable doing so because all the neighbors also put out food, as if competing for the cats' attention.

The Pakistani man from Germany was ceaselessly inquisitive about the state of business in Malta. "I'm looking to start a new business here, maybe a shawarma shop, maybe an Indian restaurant. What do you think about the possibility of success?" He asked before proudly explaining the scale of his import-export business in Germany and the good pay his nephews are getting in Malta as signs that he has a pretty good shot at making it as a business owner in Malta too. 

I recently noticed that there is something that I have begun to do without fail every time I travel to mainland Europe from Malta. Whenever I order anything in a restaurant in the city I visit, I always (secretly, of course) complain about the small portions, barely enough to fill me until the next meal, much less have anything left to take home. Combined with the high prices that almost always define traveling in tourist hotspots, it becomes a foregone conclusion that the meal ends with an expected praise for the Maltese restaurant scene.

"That's just wishful thinking," the old gentleman slowly shook his white-hair-topped head as I mentioned the plan for the Maltese government to construct an island-wide modern subway system to alleviate the ever-worsening traffic on its clogged roads. It is a largely expected answer given that the government has already announced the plan's cancellation to much dismay of the population that is looking for alternatives for being stuck in the country's narrow roads that are unable to cope with the increasing population and the proportionate number of cars.

A few days ago, global tech news was suddenly taken over by the emergence of DeepSeek AI, a previously unknown Chinese startup that released an AI chatbot that claimed to have the capabilities of the best that the likes of OpenAI can offer, but developed with a fraction of the cost. The firms providing the tools to the global AI race, most notably semiconductor designer Nvidia, saw their share values tank in response, driven by investors fearing that future improvements in AI can be done without the constant increasing number and sophistication of chips and equipment that their producers previously claimed.

Milan is not a cheap city for tourists who want an "authentic" experience. The "Milanese" restaurants near the city's famed cathedral and canals exchange beautiful views, beautiful interiors, and beautiful food in exchange for small portions and prices that can easily hit 35-40 Euros for a moderately hungry person. In the well-trafficked old city, even a takeout sandwich can be as much as 9 Euros. With entrance fees, public transport, and hotels, a visitor can easily spend 200 Euros per day without tasting any proper luxury.

In the remote western corner of Gozo, the three-street village of Gharb (population: 1,549) is, like every town and village in the country, centered on a gigantic church. But right around the corner from the church is a primary health clinic, in the familiar light green and red livery that also coats its siblings dotted around the island. Next to the clinic is an elementary school and nursery complex, flanked by a soccer field and playground, the grass and equipment looking well-maintained despite their clear age. 

There is a big poster hanging above the big intersection right in front of Baghdad's Green Zone, the fortified government compound created by the American occupation forces. Underneath the pictures of Ismail Haniyeh and Qasem Solemani are the words "We will never forget the blood of our martyrs." Haniyeh is the leader of Hamas assassinated by Israel in Iran, and Solemani is the leader of Iran's elite military unit the Quds Force, assassinated by America in Syria. It is clear from the poster what the government's stance is on the matter of these assassinations.

As someone who attended a regular elementary school in Japan, I have always found it questionable when mainstream media extol how it is a microcosm of Japan as an unusual safe and ordered society. A recent feature from the Economist took the same approach. The article spoke of how students are shaped to be responsible and independent from a young age through collaborations to clean their classrooms, commuting by themselves on public transport, and discussions in ethics class. The article argues that this education creates adults who adhere to laws out of social responsibility rather than fear of persecution.

Forests of citrus trees, towering mountains in the distance, and expressways as far as eyes can see... These were the first sights of Sicily, a much larger island just north of Malta. I, the first-time visitor, was surprised how the two islands could look so different despite having the same climate and coastal geography. Malta's rocky interior is filled with rocks and stone buildings, without the lush vegetation that the Sicilian hinterlands are filled with. Even with that first sight, it is no wonder that Sicily is an agricultural powerhouse that exports to Malta and beyond after filling the stomachs of its 5 million people.

The storyline was almost reminiscent of the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a couple of years ago. A young man, with no history of violence, was driven to gun violence by a deeply held grievance, a perceived unfairness shared by millions. But this time, it was not the Unification Church and its forced donations that bankrupted families in Japan. Instead, it was the perennial shortcomings of the medical care system in America. Should the ongoing investigations shed more details on the storyline, the American assassin will likely elicit as much sympathy as the Japanese one.

"I cannot believe that people would keep all these ornaments at home for this time of the year." Until my wife uttered these words at the sight of the average Maltese residential area lit up in preparation for Christmas, I had never thought about the material side of the year-end holiday. Indeed, many houses are putting up more than cheap colorful lights. Many are putting up sculptures of Santa Claus, Baby Jesus, the nativity scene, and much else alongside a substantial tree so densely packed with ornaments that the green leaves are barely visible.

"Hey, do you want to grab a seat?" The middle-aged black man tapped on my shoulder as I walked to the back of the bus, resigned to the reality of having to stand for the hour-long ride. He gestured toward an empty seat on the window side in a four-seat configuration facing one another. With the other three seats occupied by fairly large men with long legs, cramping another man into the midst was hardly ideal. Indeed, when the black man announced his intention to have me scootch in, his two seatmates only reluctantly shuttled their feet to make room.

What do you think of when you hear the word "prostitute"? What about "a Russian bodyguard"? The chance is that the former is imagined as a cunning power player, using sex to get money, information, and whatever resources they need to get out of the dire, impoverished environment that they are in. The latter is the opposite, a mindless brute who follows the orders of the rich boss, bestowing violence upon enemies without a hint of remorse or compassion. Thanks to the mainstream media, particularly the depiction of Hollywood movies, accepting such stereotypes has almost in itself become a social norm.