Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Critique.
Father's Day
So, another Father's Day without you Dad. I know you are still looking out for me even from that special place you are now. For I know you and mom are looking out for me for when I am cutting grass in this hot and humid weather there seems to be a cool breeze that blows when I most need it, and I can push on with whatever I need to do. I see you in the clouds with mom and know that you are at peace and feeling your old self and still as mentioned looking over me now.
By Mark Graham7 months ago in Critique
UN peaceful intentions face Washington's anger
After initiated by Hamas attack on Israel in October, 2023, Israel Defense Forces conducted extensive aerial campaigns and ground operations in the Gaza Strip. By January 2025 a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has been reached, bringing an end to a protracted fifteen-month conflict. Nevertheless, in March 2025, Israel resumed its military offensive with a significant campaign across key areas, including Gaza City, cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. The two-month blockade on humanitarian aid imposed by Israel has resulted in severe famine-like conditions and has exacerbated the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As of January 2025, 1.9 million Gazans—about 90 percent of Gaza’s population—have been displaced and are categorized as facing acute or catastrophic food insecurity.
By Adomas Abromaitis7 months ago in Critique
AI's end of an era ? Midjourney vs disney
A historic legal dispute between Disney and Universal against Midjourney AI image generator threatens to transform artificial intelligence regulations. The lawsuit filed on Wednesday claims Midjourney trained its AI model with copyrighted images to enable users to create unauthorized perfect copies of Shrek and Darth Vader and Buzz Lightyear images.
By Melvin Savage7 months ago in Critique
🧀 Society of the Human Rats
I feel that society increasingly resembles a house of rodents, in which the luckiest and most fortunate rats —whether due to effort and dedication (because yes, there are rats that truly fought and worked hard to get a good chunk of cheese that allows them to live well and happy in their rat world)— have their place. But there are others who simply had a smart daddy rat who accumulated and accumulated —sometimes selfishly— a great amount of cheese. And there they are, just roaming, eating and spending, and spending, jumping from trap to trap, because they know that the biggest piece is already in their burrow. And they’re not satisfied with the scraps offered in the traps set out for rats in the world.
By Leonardo Alberca7 months ago in Critique
‘Very big force’: Will the news media be attacked for not showing Trump’s military parade?
The question is absolutely appropriate. Ask the folks at the Associated Press what happened for refusing to use the name Gulf of America in every instance without qualification.
By Lenny Cohen7 months ago in Critique
Israel Attacks Iran
Israel Attacks Iran – June 2025 Overview In the early morning hours of June 13, 2025, Israel launched a massive, coordinated military operation—codenamed Operation Rising Lion—targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, military leadership, and strategic infrastructure. The assault marks the largest Israeli attack on Iran since the Iran–Iraq War and represents a dramatic escalation in Middle East tensions, with the world now bracing for further retaliation and regional instability.
By M Irfan Zafar7 months ago in Critique
The Collapse of a Climate Mascot:
Let’s not act like this came out of nowhere. Greta Thunberg was always a symbol first. The world put a teenager on the global stage and decided she was the solution to a crisis rooted in decades of corporate corruption, policy decay, and public inertia.
By Dr. Mozelle Martin7 months ago in Critique
Wishing on a Star......
I know the image really does not match the title, but they are kind of close in a way. Lately I have been wishing that I could receive more reads and comments on my work here on Vocal. I do have two to three people who read my writings, but it seems that only a few months ago I had quite a few more other writers commenting on my writings of such. It has also been quite a while since I was on the leaderboard or even had a top story. Where has everyone gone that read my work here.
By Mark Graham7 months ago in Critique
What Comes After Exposure? Reclaiming Memory and Repair
It starts with a spark—a documentary, a conversation, a sudden reckoning. Maybe someone posts about stolen African artifacts sitting in European museums, or you read that the wealth of a global power was built on slave labor. At first, it feels like outrage. But soon, a deeper question emerges:
By David Thusi7 months ago in Critique
Be Sure to Say Please
'Be Sure to Say Please' is a very young children's story where to very young children learn the various ways in being helpful around the house and even the community in which they live. Saying "Please." is a way of showing politeness to others too. This is a tiny board book with bright and colorful pictures and the words describe them as well. This is a great book to just read the pictures and ask some basic questions or could be used as a short pre-primer reader. It is a picture book that is part of 'My Teeny Tiny Books'.
By Mark Graham7 months ago in Critique
Final Destination. Content Warning.
Final Destination: Bloodlines released May 16, 2025 and is the sixth film in the franchise. Streaming service HBO Max (more recently known as Max before reverting to its original name) decided to stream all five of the previous films in case audiences wanted to watch or rewatch them before or after seeing the new movie. I’d never seen any of them, so I decided to give them a viewing.
By David Pilon7 months ago in Critique
