Category Archives: Viva!

Opinion | What a French Doctor’s Office Taught Me About Health Care – The New York Times

In France I can rest assured I will not be refused care for any treatable condition, including a painful bunion — or yes, even a recurrence of breast cancer. All the same, I’d rather have been able to get coverage without emigrating. Too many Americans do not realize how much better off they would be if they felt safer about access to medical care. Imagine what might happen if everyone felt safe — safe enough to talk about ailments in waiting rooms.

Parkland commission recommends teachers be allowed to carry guns

And after a teacher shoots a student – will they take responsibility for the death? No just prayers and good thoughts – fools kill peopel ith the best of intentions

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Commission unanimously approved 446-page report containing the proposed policy and other changes to ‘harden’ schools

The commission investigating the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida has included a recommendation in its preliminary report that classroom teachers who volunteer and undergo training should be allowed to carry guns in school.

Related: Parkland parents channel their grief at children’s deaths into advocacy

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Most Labour members believe Corbyn should back second Brexit vote

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Nearly 90% of party members would opt to stay in the EU in a ‘people’s vote’, finds survey

Labour members are significantly more opposed to Brexit than Jeremy Corbyn is, with 72% of them thinking their leader should fully support a second referendum, according to a study of attitudes in the party.

The polling, part of an ongoing wider academic study into attitudes in various parties, found that only 18% opposed Labour campaigning for a second referendum, while 88% would then opt for remain if such a vote was held.

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I thought online fakes would cause an infopocalypse | Alex Hern

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Turns out hoaxes and lies have always been with us. The internet just gave them a wider audience

Remember when Barack Obama called President Trump a “total and complete dipshit”? No, me neither. But if you search for it, there’s a video on YouTube where he appears to be saying just that. I used to think that “deepfakes” would change the world. These clips, created using off-the-shelf AI systems, take advantage of new capabilities to near-perfectly edit video, swapping faces, altering expressions and synthesising speech without any artistic expertise.

The technology burst into the public consciousness around Christmas 2016, when a small batch of perverts cottoned on to the possibilities of using it to insert their favourite celebrities into pornography. But others were quick to see the wider ramifications of the tech: a well-timed deepfake of, say, a world leader declaring war, or an FTSE100 chief executive openly discussing their company’s impending bankruptcy, could send shockwaves through the world’s media.

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May has run down the Brexit clock – so let’s stop it | Chi Onwurah

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The prime minister has deliberately wasted time. Extending article 50 now looks like the only responsible way out

Theresa May thought her Brexit deal was an offer MPs could not refuse. Not because it would bring our constituents anything useful. Quite the opposite – it will make us poorer, our economy less certain and our outlook less hopeful. Take the prime minister’s Brexit deal or crash out of Europe with no deal at all, she declared.

Related: Theresa May urges MPs to back Brexit deal in new year message

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Corbyn defies calls from within Labour to back second Brexit referendum

Take him out or change his mind!

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Party leader says Theresa May should return to Brussels to secure new deal with full customs union

Jeremy Corbyn will defy calls to change course on the party’s Brexit policy ahead of parliament’s vote on the deal, insisting that the government should secure a new deal with the EU if MPs reject Theresa May’s agreement.

Under increasing pressure from Labour members and MPs to reconsider his approach as preparations for the delayed “meaningful vote” ramp up over the next week, Corbyn said on Wednesday that the party’s policy remained “sequential” and that no decision could be made on a second referendum until parliament voted down the deal on offer.

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“It happened so quickly.  I’d just quit my job at an after…

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“It happened so quickly.  I’d just quit my job at an after school program. I’d been unemployed for three days.  I was waiting for my train at the 125th Street Station, and I noticed so much animosity.  It didn’t feel like a sharing and caring kind of place.  So I said to myself: ‘I’m going to help change the pace.’  I went to visit my high school chorus teacher, Mr. Williams, and I told him: ‘I want to sing on 125th Street.’  He thought it was great idea.  He said that he’d done the same thing when he was my age.  Together we found a cheap amp and microphone, and I gave it a try.  My first day was a Tuesday.  I stood on the downtown platform.  I’d never sung in public before.  I was so nervous that I couldn’t find my voice.  I wasn’t exactly mute, but I wasn’t fully singing either.  Then an old lady came up to me.  I’m pretty sure she was an angel.  She told me: ‘Sing Whitney Houston.’  Then she stood there, and kept saying: ‘Louder, louder, louder,’ until I was singing full volume.  I made $60 that day.  And I got so much positive feedback.  Now I’m singing four days a week and making enough to provide for me and my daughter.  And I get so much love.  So much love.  So, so much love.“