Meta plans to lay off up to 5% of its employees based on performance ratings. “I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, said in an internal memo to workers.
Bullet Points:
** What about North Carolina? Crickets?
** If you want to thank me for my service, vote for candidates who put veterans before illegal aliens.
** The White House on Monday extended the deadline for Japan’s Nippon Steel to cancel plans to acquire U.S. Steel to mid-June, potentially giving the Japanese company an opening to advance a deal that President Joe Biden blocked on national security grounds. The $14 billion deal—halted earlier this month by the Biden administration, which cited national security concerns—is also opposed by President-elect Donald Trump. However, the delay will give courts time to review a legal challenge to the executive order in question and an opportunity to negotiate new terms potentially.
** It may surprise you that California took 38 days to count the votes in the 2024 general election – and that same state was unprepared for wildfires.
** Aspire to be the man you’re pretending to be when trying to get laid.
** The Commerce Department announced Monday that it would impose significant export restrictions on computer chips and other components critical for artificial intelligence projects, covering most countries worldwide. The regulations impose quotas on the sale of computer chips, known as GPUs, and restrict American companies from sharing the technical details of advanced AI models. The actions are seen as attempts to consolidate American control over emerging technologies, especially concerning China’s attempts to circumvent export controls and develop its chip and AI industry.
** Arresting Islamic pedophiles in the UK is considered to be Islamophobic. Even talking about Islamic pedophiles (and their gangs) can get you locked up in Old Blighty.
** Los Angeles should not host the Olympics. If they can’t keep fire hydrants charged with water, the IOC must move the venue to Texas or Florida, where competent leadership can appropriately host it.
** Associated Press: Country star Carrie Underwood will perform at Trump’s inauguration.
** “Los Angeles police have arrested four people on arson charges for allegedly trying to ignite new fires as firefighters continue to fight the Palisades and Eaton blazes that have killed a combined 25 people so far. The four were arrested in separate arson incidents that occurred outside the wildfire zones, police officials announced Tuesday as the death toll rose to 25, according to an update from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.” Since their pictures weren’t posted, one may safely assume that they were either inner-city people or they were illegal aliens.
TV Series Review – ON CALL (Prime)
I stumbled onto this TV Series by accident. Usually, I avoid these. I worked a lot with Long Beach PD, and I have good friends who worked there and are now retired. It’s a kick-ass department. So you can imagine that I was reluctant to watch the show.
On Call is an American procedural drama television series created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf that premiered on Prime Video. Initially set up at IMDb TV, eight episodes were officially ordered in April 2023. It is the first series from Dick Wolf to be set in a half-hour format, with the running time being 24 minutes. The episodes move quickly.
Premise
The series follows Long Beach Police Department veteran training officer Traci Harmon and her rookie partner Alex Diaz as they respond to emergency calls on the streets of Long Beach, California, while also navigating the fallout of the loss of a fellow officer.
Review: Remarkably well done. It’s a TV show made by Hollywood, so no, it’s not “real,” but it is well done. I enjoyed it.
Maps
Professional Trust
Gallup’s annual survey assessed Americans’ views on the honesty and ethics of US professions, finding that overall trust remains historically low. Nurses continue to lead as the most trusted profession, with 75% of Americans saying they rate their honesty and ethics as high or very high. Grade-school teachers follow with 61%, while 57% say they trust military officers. Pharmacists and medical doctors are tied at 53%.
At the other end of the spectrum, professions such as lobbyists, members of Congress, and TV reporters rank the lowest. Over half of Americans rate their ethics as low or very low, with advertising practitioners (10%) and car salespeople (8%) also ranking poorly.
Key findings from the survey include:
- Medical doctors have dropped 14 points in trust since 2021, reaching their lowest rating (53%) since the mid-1990s.
- Now at 28%, judges have fallen 10 points in three years, reflecting a broader decline in confidence in the judicial system.
- Clergy have seen a 26-point drop since the early 2000s, with trust now at 30%, continuing their long-term downward trend.
- Police officers’ trust has declined to 44%, down from majority levels in 2020 and 2021.
- TV reporters have experienced a 9-point drop since the 2000s, reflecting ongoing skepticism toward the media.
These findings underscore declining trust in public institutions, with judges, TV reporters, and clergy seeing some of the sharpest declines in ratings. Meanwhile, professions such as daycare providers, pharmacists, nurses, and nursing home operators enjoyed heightened trust during the pandemic but have since returned to or fallen below pre-pandemic levels.
Auto mechanics stand out as a rare exception, with public trust rising from 24% in the early 2000s to 33% today. This makes them the only profession on Gallup’s list to show long-term improvement in trust over the past two decades.
Gallup surveyed 1,021 adults between December 2 and December 18, 2024, with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.
For more details, read the full Gallup report here.
Where is Big Mike?
Washington CNN — Former first person Michelle (Big Mike) Obama will not attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, his office said Tuesday, without explaining his decision.“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former First Person Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” a statement from the Office of Barack and Mike Obama said.
The decision to forgo attendance at Trump’s formal swearing-in is a break from the tradition of the ceremony, in which former presidents and their partners typically participate. Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush will attend the inauguration, his office said, and sources familiar told CNN that former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton also will be there.
The male pattern of baldness is becoming more apparent, and Big Mike may feel some shame about it. However, he needs to rethink his decision. Many men his age share the same situation. Male pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia, is a common type of hair loss in men that affects the top and front of the scalp. A combination of genetics and hormones causes it. America wants to see Big Mike standing tall next to his husband there on this day of days.
Identify the Aircraft
1
It’s not an RAF Andover; it’s a knockoff.
2
3
Identify the Armor
4
5
A waste of money? You be the judge.
6
Parting Shot
End
>Even talking about Islamic pedophiles (and their gangs) can get you locked up
Yes. It’s not about pedophiles per se[1], it’s about Noticing a particular (ethno)religious group committing excess pedo sex crimes relative to the rest of the population. This is of course utterly shameful, but not novel. There is precedent for punishing Noticing of all sorts.
[1] So far as I can tell, it is still permissible to disapprove of pedo-rape. Though if Harris had been installed, and if Twitter was still Twitter (instead of X) I honestly think that we’d be much further down the road to normalizing child-rape. Maybe not “rape rape” but sex with children (if one party is not capable of giving consent, then isn’t it all rape, violence or no?) And those forces are still out there. Not clear to me if they are merely biding their time, or if they’re genuinely in disarray.
—
Armor #5
It’s a big music box. The faster it rolls, the more sprightly the tune. Those aren’t guns, those are horns. And the thing up top is a steam whistle that goes “toot toot”.
https://youtu.be/dcM3s1df3Fw?si=IUJGSxyNyS0r50vh&t=30
—
The RKBA map and the COVID vaxx maps would be fun to see overlaid on top of each other.
—
Trusted Professions: I’d like to know how each profession rates itself. For example, how do physicians rate their own, and how do they rate nurses. And vice versa. Do news reporters trust their peers? I genuinely don’t know. Most of my physician friends (and I) are more cynical about MDs and nurses than gen pop appears to be, because we know what shits we are. That’s one possibility. The other is that members of the “in group” have a shared delusion about their own goodness, and have created a culture wherein They are pure, noble, and altruistic, and the only reason anyone might oppose (or even hate) Them is because of jealousy. They are a unique victim group, and bad things are done to Them for No Reason At All. This sort of culture can actually be highly effective, despite, or maybe because, it being a mass delusion. But nothing is ever learned, because They already know the reason for any negative interaction.
I am grateful that our rating was omitted and spared the lessor inhabitants the pain and suffering that Truth can cause.
The shame and jealousy that our rating would undoubtedly give all of the lessor categories and professions would be terrible to see even if it is earned and deserved (especially for the MSM and Politicians who rate well below used car salesmen).
I close on the Wonderful anthem of Meteorologist everywhere…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTrMuZOZvM
MSG Grumpy
You are humble and proud of it, MSG Grumpy. However I will say that there are a LOT of attractive females who are meteorologists on the evening news, so maybe there is something to it.
Thanks LL,
I must admit that is my only fault, I am far too humble.
(Please disregard any and all evidence to the contrary provided by my Wife).
MSG Grumpy
Professional Trust
I agree with your point sir.
As a retired medical “ professional” in various capacities, I am sorely saddened how quickly it seems the majority have forgotten the lies, deceptions, etc. the “ medical professionals” etc imposed these last 5+ years!
Juan
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Antonov An-26 Curl
2. Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot
3. Blackburn Roc
Identify the Armor:
4. K30 Biho SPAAG
5. M247 Sergeant York
6. IS-2
Excellent
About the York Museum – stopped at the Forbus General Store mid-afternoon on the way home once upon a time. Got lots of fudge there, but the restaurant part was closed for the day. Picked up some fliers and read them on the way home. That was when we found out about the museum. Would like to head back up there sometime and look through it.
Was the picture of #5 taken at the Alvin C. York State Park and Museum in Tennessee? If you are ever up in the Wolf Creek area, it is worth an afternoon to visit; nice little state museum.
The problem with performance ratings in the bureaucracy of corporations is those rating employees may not have qualifications to pour piss from a boot. While cutting costs, the best can be culled by the worst.
Normally if you’re a threat to your boss by being smarter and more competent, they dump you quickly.
Tell me about it.
Corporation despise star players, especially union shops.
North Carolina; Mercury One Charity, i.e. Glen Beck, just funded an extension on payment for motel housing due to the termination of FEMA funding. Are Amish garden sheds still being used for temporary housing? Back in April 24, TESLA supplier Piedmont Lithium obtained a state mining permit to develop an open-pit mine that would become one of the largest US sources.
There is abundant Lithium in the USA. Look at where it sits on the periodic table. Lots of minable lithium. I think that the Amish garden sheds are being used to house families. Better than a tent.
Sooo… the Magical Mr. O’s “other half” will again not attend an important event, the Inauguration being more important for the country than the last one he/she didn’t attend. I’m devastated. (The male pattern baldness….really funny, might be true.)
–
No different than the Dem’s hyperventilating over APDJT (5 days to lose the ‘A’)demanding the flag be flown dully an not half staff…guess they may be in mourning, We The People are not. The Dem’s are flailing about, yesterdays asinine hate-filled bloviation by them might be proof they know they are losing yet have no idea why. Gillibrand looks “old” in four years…evil rots from the inside out and head down. Yet “love your enemy”…as they drive off the cliff by their own hand.
Gillibrand looks old and hag-like. I was surprised but as you note the evil tends to seep out.
LA etc…solutions matter: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCHmfTpIbcw/?igsh=MWZ3M2Z3eWo1czNzMw==
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As APDJT witnessed firsthand in Finland there are ways to mitigate, first and foremost is proper woodland management on both private and public lands, public being the larger acreage offender when the USFS doesn’t do its actual founding charter but instead manages by feelings. While practical here, or not, watering down forests helps tremendously in arid areas or seasons.
The long-term solution to drought-stricken areas is desalinating ocean water using SMRs and pumping it into areas where it’s needed. That may not be able to mitigate fire hazards fully, but it does lend itself to crops, including hay. In many places, freshwater availability limits the number of alfalfa cuttings. It would also allow the US to grow table crops in areas where they can’t now and make us less dependent on Mexico.
Get a few more [proper] R’s in the Statehouse and your plan would be an “in the pipeline” business opportunity. Funny this wasn’t a problem 30-40 years ago.
even my bride is believing big mike is a dude…. i would assert that the covid map is spurious. i know some folks got multiples, many got none. some are still getting them, some are still hawking them on the airwaves. covid killed my trust in anybody, the clergy most of all. they should have stood up. generals too, but they were bought decades ago. even though the facts are coming out many still believe. sad days for humanity…. for the first time ever i’ll be watching the inauguration, to see what rabbit they pull out of the hat. i got fake iranian terrorist attack for 200. side bet on alien drone swarm for 50. i’ll be praying i’m wrong…..pistol pete gave em hell at the hearing, making the idiots look even dumber somehow. inspired a couple of congresscritters to grow balls and fire back at the dimwits. that’s a leader.
X2…
No clot shots in this household, MrsPaulM almost lost her corporate job over that Marxist crap. But for those who did get the Ppppfffftizer or Moderna version within the family et al, lots of associated medical problems thereafter (that no one except our side will correlate). And yes, i have heard more PSA style commercials to get the “vaccine”…there being NO “vaccine” for any coronavirus, a tiny detail they fail to recognize, so it’s propganda.
You’ve given me today’s Fun Fact. The population of Greenland is smaller than the city where I live in Florida. The population of 56,523 in the graphic compares to the 2020 census of 84,678 here.
If you look at the True Size site and move Greenland south, it covers the eastern seaboard of the US, from the southern tip of Florida to northern Maine. That’s a lot of unpopulated space.
Making Greenland mineable at a profit will require the placement of Small Nuclear Reactor-Generators (SMR) and the development of the infrastructure, which Denmark is unable to do.
I’m sensing a theme: SMR’s to the Rescue! ™
Clean, abundant, safe, affordable energy 24/7 with no carbon footprint.
Maybe you’ll get a call from APDJ…how cool would that be.
Things are in the works.
We can’t have that! BAN THEM!!
We should let the people in North Carolina’s mountains determine
the size and speed of LA relief efforts and dollars.
*
– Kle.
+1
X100, great thinking outside the box, include Lahaina and East Palestine, OH.
2025 Honesty & Ethics…………..
Thirty years ago car salesmen were next to last. Does that mean the public perception has risen or that other professions have managed to piss off more people?
I blame the improved perception on the presence of Banner.
** how do the troops at Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base in Greeenland) manage? how do the people at McMurdo, Palmer, and Amundsen-Scott South Pole Stations manage?
I have a daughter doing her fifth tour as a PA in Artarctica says she loves it, though it can get boring every so often. “people adapt to the cold – or they don’t” says she who dances with bears (in Montana)
** can heated SNR coolant be pumped through lead (Pb) pipes for residential heating or are we still anti-lead no matter what (will hungry Amish children chew on lead pipes?)
** we (that’s almost everybody in th e U.S.) have been taking or have been given adjuvant (if I’m using the term correctly) vaccines since – oh! I don’t know since when. I know I was given my shots to attend kindergarten back in ’45-46. to put a fine point on it, there was minimal research done on the long term effects of mRNA vaccines, but adjuvant COVID vaccines J&J (Jannsen) and Novavax (neither available at present) should not have presented a problem (other than politically).
In my personal opinion Anthony Fauci should be put on trial for “Crimes Against Humanity” – I’d like to volunteer for the 12.
** A Trump Tower would be a thing of architectural beauty if (when) added to landscape, though I’d prefer to see it erected parallel to the prevailing winds.
** Big Mike: I wonder if (s)he’s being given chemotherapy (for ?); I noticed this type of chemotherapy‐induced alopecia in several black women (though most wore turbans) when doing RCT on maxillaary molars
“I’d like to volunteer for the 12.” That’s always a disqualifier at voir dire.
Best to not say anything and lie when they ask.
I trust lawyers more than doctors.
My lawyer works for me. “My” doctor works for someone else. He doesn’t work for me.
I am not saying that I don’t trust doctors to act ethically in any matter other than their profession.
But I have seen, and heard of, doctors who would not do the right thing because their employment was on the line.
Cops also.
Pastors, even.
I trust my physician. when I requested an Rx for Ivermectin a number of years back, he told me were he to give me one, he’d prefer to keep his position. I still trust him and understand his predicament, though when I required a Whipple, I did my own (surgeon) research and politely declined his recommendation (a surgeon from within the group).
as a kid in the ’40s, my dad told me, “if you need help, go to a policeman”: I didn’t tell my son that in the ’70s – things had changed a bit: not for the better
one of the last people I’d trust is a grade school teacher: they’re given a syllabus and told how to “perform” it. my other daughter is a grade school teacher – and she votes “Conservative”
over the years I’ve gotten to know (as friends) too many lawyers too well (too many drinks later); out of the five who call me a friend (not the reverse), I am aware that each has cheated on his wife, each has been divorced at least once, each has been involved in at least one “shady” business deal and been very proud of (boasted about) it; I’d sooner trust a stock broker (and I call myself an optimist).
👌
Doctors who go against the Fed Government wishes can and do lose their ability to write prescriptions. Quite a gun to their head, no? And the FedGov can lean on the various licensing boards to remove doctors’ licenses if said doctors get too stroppy.
–
The conversations we’ve had with our doctors since the Wu Ping Cough have all changed for the worse. To the point that we have lost faith with them. All doctors have gone down the ‘We are Borg’ route after the few that stuck their heads out got really whacked by FedGov.
–
Here’s hoping RFKJ can fix that. Else it will be back to doing all our doctoring ourselves as much as possible, even more than we do it now.
** Karen Bass: will she be held accountable? will there be a trial? held in a venue from which 12 can be picked? Is she criminally responsible? even though Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has backed away from (sort of apologized) his former endorsement, is he (the Los Angeles Times) in any way legally liable?
Hahahahahahahaaaa (snort) No. She won’t be held accountable other than leaving office with a fat retirement.
–
She should be criminally responsible but that’s usually only something that happens to Republicans. Divert money from actual useful purposes into shell corps for diversity purposes that all can be traced back to her merry band of lesbos? Nah, no crime there. That’s like trying to criminally indict a democrat politician from New Orleans.
R.e. M247 Sgt York. From what I’ve read, was pretty much a total disaster. Requirements kept being lowered to allow the project to move forward. IIRC, the thing that metaphorically killed the program was when it misfired, and nearly took out a bunch of observers at a demonstration. Not a good thing to happen.
There are several demilled Yorks in the Dixie Valley (B-17 Range complex) east of NAS Fallon, north of Project Shoal. Some M151 Sheridans in similar condition in the area if you know where to look. For those who know the area, the “Taco Bell” and Horse Canyon…
Reasons for the improved perception of auto mechanics:
People no longer know enoug to question their recommendations.
Mechanics no longer know enough to give a fake recommendations.
Computers do all the diagnosing now.
Cars, for the most part are much better quality now.
———–
Will our opinions of doctors improve when AI’s do the diagnoses?
Robodoc…sort of like the pod in the movie PROMETHEUS – or more of a walking and talking robot?
Much more primitive than that. A car gives a warning light, the auto repair guy reads the code, fixes the car and gives you the bill. For a doctor, he’ll input the vitals and symptoms and the AI will give the diagnosis and treatment. I’m just wondering if that alone will improve our opinions of doctors. Pods and robots will happen when we totally trust the machines.
Regarding the Olympics, we here in Florida don’t want that garbage. Super Bowl or World Series or such sportsmoneyball are bad enough. But the requirements to be an Olympic Host are just completely stupid.
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And, well, I hate the Olympics. Haven’t watched one in years. If I wanted to watch leftwing faggots harrange me, I’d watch network news.