Hunter...

 There was always someone in Joe Biden’s life to help him out with Hunter.  But little boys have little needs, while big boys have bigger needs.

Soon enough, directionless Hunter has a six-figure job at a bank run by Biden supporters. When Hunter grows bored, there’s another lucrative job under the tutelage of a former Biden staffer. When Hunter wants a house he can’t afford, he receives a loan for 110 percent of the purchase price. And when he goes bust, another friendly banker mops up the damage.

Then his brother Beau contracts fatal brain cancer, and the last wobbly wheels come off Hunter Biden’s fragile self. At this point,  much of the story is narrated by Hunter himself — of hallucinations, a car abandoned in the desert, maxed-out credit cards, a crack pipe, a strip club and a brandished gun.

 By the time the senator was vice president, there was a Chinese businessman who, Hunter said, left him a large diamond as a nice-to-meet-you gift. And a Ukrainian oligarch who hired Hunter at a princely sum to do nothing much. (Neither the firm nor Hunter Biden identified any specific contribution he made).  

Less privileged Americans can’t be faulted if they wonder why their addicted loved ones are on the streets or in the morgue. Multitudes locked up for years under Joe Biden’s crime bill might ask why the author’s son traveled the world scot-free. And sober working people making $50,000 a year may be skeptical of a system in which a vice president’s addicted son reportedly collected that sum every month.

Memories...

Shining light directly into areas of the brain damaged in Alzheimer's may reverse the the course of the disease, scientists believe.  

Researchers are trialling a headset mounted with LEDs that beams pulses of gamma waves into the hippocampus, the region responsible for memory.  

The daily treatment is said to boost mitochondria – the cell's batteries, which sweep away toxic proteins that build up in the brains of patients.

A 12-week trial into its effectiveness has just begun after early results saw patients regain their memory, as well as reading and writing skills, in three months.

With no known Alzheimer's cure in sight, the headset offers a ray of hope for around 850,000 sufferers in Britain and nearly six million in the US.

Deepfake...

Facebook says it is banning “deepfake” videos, the false but realistic clips created with artificial intelligence and sophisticated tools, as it steps up efforts to fight online manipulation.

The social network said that it's beefing up its policies to remove videos edited or synthesized in ways that aren't apparent to the average person, and which could dupe someone into thinking the video's subject said something he or she didn't actually say.

Created by artificial intelligence or machine learning, deepfakes combine or replace content to create images that can be almost impossible to tell are not authentic.

The U.S. tech company has been grappling with how to handle the rise of deepfakes after facing criticism last year for refusing to remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slurring her words, which was viewed more than 3 million times. Experts said the crudely edited clip was more of a “cheap fake” than a deepfake.

It Could...

Guy...

Key...

Image is not related.

The study, by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, looked at 15 healthy, non-smoking young men aged 20 to 27 years old with a normal body mass index (BMI).

The participants were asked to follow a diet set by the researchers for a two-week period. During the first week, they were provided meals based on  a diet high in cereals, bread, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, and low in fats and sweets, and includes a moderate amount of dairy, meat, fish, eggs and beans.

The findings, published online in PLOS Biology, showed that one-third of the participants had low sperm motility  at the start of the study. However, the team were surprised to find that by the end of the study, the sperm motility of all participants had become normal, with the most pronounced improvement becoming apparent after the first week.

The researchers added that, the increase of sperm motility might have been a direct result of the healthy diet, which could have persisted into the second week when participants were also eating more sugar.

Choice...

Sometimes the decision is agonising, and sometimes the decision is not actually theirs.

The question is just one part of the early-30s milieu. There is a distinct loss of ambition. People who have spent years striving and hustling are suddenly questioning it all. If they are not happy being defined by their job, then what do they want to be defined by?

Friends? Family? Apartment? Character? A job seems the easiest when you really start grappling with it. You don’t have to like the person you are if you are defined by your job.

Millennials have had a well-documented prolonged adolescence throughout their 20s, a lot longer to be self-centred. The hangover caused by the realisation life may not be going as it was supposed to is much more severe. They’re also stuck in unstable work and a difficult change in economics.

Suddenly the Millennials are consumed by whether to  live in the suburb,  have another baby, or start a new career.
It is a difficult choice.

Booze...

Would you like a pint with your popcorn?

Gov. Cuomo, in his latest State of the State, wants to allow the sale of wine, beer and spirits in movie theaters across the state.

Under the proposal, movie houses would be permitted to sell alcoholic beverages to adults attending movies rated PG-13 or higher and customers could then enjoy the drink at their seat. Past efforts to legalize liquor sales in theaters have stalled.

A similarly spirited measure from the governor that would have allowed beer and wine sales was shot down in 2017.

Theater owners toasted the booze-y move, saying it would be a boon for smaller operators and could boost craft brews and wines made in the Empire State.

It all about the taxes.

Art...

Image is not related.

Police responded to the victim’s home in Leverett shortly before 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve and were met by Hachiyangagi, who told them that she called 911 after finding her friend "lying on the floor of the residence barely breathing, semi-conscious and with a head injury," local media reported.

She said her friend had been attacked by an unknown assailant, the station reported.

The victim told officers at the hospital that the person who attacked her was Hachiyanagi, who was not a stranger. The woman thought she was going to die at Hachiyanagi's hands.

According to the paper, the woman said Hachiyanagi began attacking her after showing up uninvited on Dec. 23 and saying that she wanted to talk about her feelings.

Rie Hachiyanagi, an art professor at Mount Holyoke College, was charged with armed assault to murder, according to reports.

Pray...

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he remains “hopeful” that enough Republican senators will join Democratic calls for witnesses and documents in the forthcoming Senate impeachment trial.

“I hope, pray and believe there’s a decent chance that four Republicans will join us — if they do, we will have a fair trial,” Schumer said on ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” noting the minimum number of Republicans that Democrats will need to follow through on their request. “I am hopeful that our Republican colleagues will come forward.”

Praying to get the power back and defeat your opponent may not reach the One upstairs .    Just a thought.