heroes and villains

Heroes and Villains throughout history that have defined their industries and workflow as we know it today. Those we look up to, and those we learn mistakes from.

Why The Great Amazon Web Services Outage Was Unsurprising (And Will Likely Happen Again)
On October 20, 2025... Tens of Millions of People and Thousands of Companies were Horribly Surprised to Discover... Nothing on the Internet was Working.
By Dr. Cody Dakota Wooten, DFM, DHM, DAS (hc)4 months ago in Journal
South Sudan’s Endless Dawn
The South Sudanese Civil War is an armed conflict that erupted in December 2013 between factions of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), pitting government forces under President Salva Kiir—predominantly from the Dinka ethnic group—against opposition forces led by former Vice President Riek Machar, mainly from the Nuer ethnic group, amid a power struggle that rapidly devolved into ethnic massacres and militia warfare. Triggered by Kiir's dismissal of Machar and accusations of a coup attempt, the fighting quickly spread from Juba nationwide, exploiting pre-existing clan rivalries and competition over oil revenues in a state lacking robust institutions just two years after independence from Sudan. The war has caused an estimated 400,000 deaths, including from direct violence, famine, and disease, while displacing over 4 million people internally or as refugees, devastating the economy and infrastructure. Both sides have perpetrated atrocities, including targeted killings, rape as a weapon, child soldier recruitment, and scorched-earth tactics, with no faction holding a monopoly on culpability. A Revitalized Agreement in 2018 established a unity government and power-sharing, but implementation stalled due to distrust, constitutional delays, and sporadic clashes, culminating in Machar's house arrest and treason charges by 2025. As of 2025, escalating inter-communal violence and opposition-government skirmishes have displaced hundreds of thousands more, postponed elections to 2026, and heightened risks of collapse into full-scale war again, underscoring the fragility of elite bargains in a resource-cursed, ethnically fragmented polity. International efforts by IGAD, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and regional actors like Uganda have mediated ceasefires but failed to address underlying governance failures or militia proliferation.
By HearthMen4 months ago in Journal
The Great AI Gold Rush: Why Microsoft, Google, and Meta Are Spending Billions to Control the Future of Intelligence
The Billion-Dollar Bet Begins In 2025, the world’s biggest tech companies aren’t just competing for users — they’re competing for intelligence.
By Shakil Sorkar4 months ago in Journal
Xi Jinping’s Trade Pledge at APEC 2025: What Trump’s Absence Reveals About Global Power Shifts
A Stage Without America The 2025 APEC Summit, hosted in Kuala Lumpur, was meant to be a stage for collaboration and progress. Instead, it became a mirror reflecting shifting global power. As dozens of world leaders gathered to discuss trade and digital economies, one chair remained empty — that of U.S. President Donald Trump.
By Shakil Sorkar4 months ago in Journal
Should a Canadian Write about London?
Dear London, I owe you an apology. I think I had better explain myself. I was sent to visit relatives there in the summer of 1988. I was fourteen and a serious pain in the neck, but I was in good company. I remember that from the ride from airport to the flat that I would be staying in, I heard nothing but complaints. My very West Indian relatives pointed out how difficult it was to get ahead due to their race and class, even pointing out different buildings and places where they recalled insults and proved that they had a point. Later that same night, the relative I was staying with would get into a shouting match with a drunk in the street who was slapping a woman around (fortunately, this was from a balcony several stories up in the East End). Plaistow had its charms.
By Kendall Defoe 4 months ago in Journal
ChatGPT Meets PayPal: The Dawn of In-Chat Payments
Your digital assistant just got a wallet — and it’s about to change how you buy everything. For years, we’ve been talking to machines. We ask Siri for directions, Alexa for weather updates, and ChatGPT for everything from recipes to resumes. But now, for the first time, those conversations can lead directly to transactions.
By Shakil Sorkar4 months ago in Journal
The Quiet Deal That Could Reshape the World: Inside Trump and Xi’s Surprising Trade Truce
When two of the world’s most powerful leaders sit down together in a near-secret meeting, the headlines tend to shout. But in the case of the October 30, 2025 meeting in Busan, South Korea, the change was more subtle than sensational. What emerged was less a loud victory and more a quiet shift.
By Shakil Sorkar4 months ago in Journal
The Art of Automation: How AI Is Quietly Replacing Creativity with Code
When machines start making art, what happens to the artists who taught them? A few years ago, “artificial intelligence” was a buzzword — something futuristic, fascinating, but distant. Today, it’s everywhere. It edits our photos, writes our headlines, paints our portraits, and even suggests how we should feel about the world. For many of us, that shift happened so smoothly we didn’t even notice it.
By Shakil Sorkar4 months ago in Journal
“Trade, Power, and Rare Earths: What Trump and Xi’s Busan Meeting Really Means”
When two of the world’s most powerful leaders sit down together in a near-secret meeting, the headlines tend to shout. But in the case of the October 30, 2025 meeting in Busan, South Korea, the change was more subtle than sensational. What emerged was less a loud victory and more a quiet shift.
By Shakil Sorkar4 months ago in Journal
Difference Between Micro Entity Accounts and Full Company Accounts: My Journey as a Small Business Owner
Running a small business in the UK comes with countless decisions — some exciting, others more administrative. One of the most confusing yet crucial choices I faced early on was determining whether to file Micro Entity Accounts or Full Company Accounts. This seemingly simple decision had major implications for compliance, transparency, and even how potential partners perceived my business. Over time, I learned that understanding the Difference Between Micro Entity Accounts and Full Company Accounts is not just an accounting formality — it’s a strategic necessity.
By Munnazir Zarin4 months ago in Journal
Amazon Layoffs 2025: How the Tech Giant Is Reshaping Its Workforce
When Amazon announced it would cut around 14,000 corporate jobs in late 2025, many in the tech and retail industries sat up and took notice. The move underscores a shift in the company’s long-term strategy—and raises serious questions for employees, investors, and the broader U.S. job market.
By KAMRAN AHMAD4 months ago in Journal
Dear Diary in Late October 2025
Dear Diary, I've been reading both AI generated articles and real articles written by contributors here at Vocal.media and of course taking in the various topics jumbles up inside my mind like a math formula summing up for some conclusion. That's what this diary entry is - all those words mixing up together in my mind for an opinion, a summation. "Add it Up" sang The Violent Femmes, a band that I enjoyed listening to in my teens. Well, I do. I always do. I used to pride myself on being an excellent critiquer, until I started noticing that most contributors (whether they are serving you food, a product, a service, or some entertaining or educational reading material) want praise, not critique. And now, with AI generated articles, most of the contributors feel that there is nothing to critique because AI is perfect, right? I don't think so. I've read some of the AI generated articles. The format is shiny, the grammar and spelling mistakes absent, and the presentation is pretty --- like those photos of the perfect hamburger complete with decorative garnish. But when you go order the REAL hamburger, it doesn't look exactly like the photograph. Why not? Oh, that's right, there is a difference between REAL and Photo-Shopped. Like the difference between a real mother who breast feeds her children and a mother who would never let a baby suck on her breasts because that's "disgusting".
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman4 months ago in Journal