…in which we look at Liz, in color and in the later years (during which I think she was at her most beautiful):
And with Hubby #Whatever:
Matchless, sexy… oh yeah, all that.
Just don’t get her mad at you…
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Classical Interlude
I have often marveled over the astonishing virtuosity of Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili in posts of yore, so there’s no need to add yet another video to her collection here.
However, I would be remiss in not pointing out that she was dazzling (in every sense of the word) in her Wiesbaden concert back in 2012, at age 25.
In the dozen or so years since then, however, she got married and had a sprog — and the effect on her appearance, so to speak, has been quite remarkable.
AND: apparently she now has an OnlyFans account.
No need to thank me; I like to keep everyone abreast of great developments in classical music.
And she’s still blowing the lid off her piano.
Too Merciful
In any organization, when the head guy issues a policy directive (or a budget change which requires a policy directive ), the general reaction from his subordinates is to implement that directive within the time frame allocated.
Failure to do so generally results in a reprimand or eventual termination; active resistance to the directive — or the undermining thereof — generally results in immediate termination, the latter being very definitely “cause” for termination, and few agencies or indeed even labor unions can quibble too much with the outcome.
Which is what happened here, in an agency of our beloved federal government:
President Trump has ordered as many as 60 senior bureaucrats in the US Agency for International Development placed on indefinite leave for taking actions to evade his executive orders. A memo from acting USAID administrator Jason Gray says, “We have identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the president’s executive orders and the mandate from the American people.“ As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions.”
Enter Director of Employee and Labor Relations Nick Gottlieb, stage left. He countermanded the order placing senior staff on administrative leave, by flat-out refusing an order to terminate contract employees:
Today, representatives of the Agency’s front office and DOGE instructed me to violate the due process of our employees by issuing immediate termination notices to a group of employees without due process. I refused and have provided Acting Administrator Gray with written notification of my refusal. I have recommended in that written notification that his office cease and desist from further illegal activity.
It is and has always been my office’s commitment to the workforce that we ensure all employees receive their due process in any of our actions. I will not be a party to a violation of that commitment.
…so then this happened:
I was notified moments ago that I will be placed on administrative leave, effective immediately.
LOL. This is what happens when you try to fight against the CEO. Whether you agree with his directive or not, you are bound to implement it — that, or resign.
Now here’s my problem with all this.
This rebellious little apparatchik should have been shit-canned outright. Instead, he’s been placed on “administrative leave”, which continues all his benefits and perks until such time as he’s finally terminated. What bullshit. Outright insubordination deserves no such forbearance.
And yes, I know: our beloved federal government employees are somehow spared such treatment because it’s forbidden by their union, which is another fucking travesty: why should government stooges be protected when their employment is regarded as “service” and not a commercial contract?
At some point, I hope that POTUS/DOGE casts a baleful eye at this nonsense, and gets Congress to outlaw public-sector unions outright.
There is plenty of precedent for this action, by the way, going back all the way to the Founding Fathers. Even liberal icon Franklin D. Roosevelt said this:
“All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service…. The very nature and purposes of government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with government employee organizations.”
Yet somehow this nonsense managed to get traction, especially during the 1960s, thanks to an Executive Order by none other than John F. Kennedy (quelle surprise).
If POTUS / DOGE achieve nothing else, the elimination of public-sector trade unions will be a signal victory for the people of this country — not that the well-being of our citizens has ever been a concern to government workers.
No, government agencies such as the State Department and the aforementioned USAID have always been far more concerned about the welfare of foreigners — in the latter case, to the tune of over $20 billion.
That, it seems, is about to change and not a moment too soon.
Fire away, Mr. President.
Oh Boo Frigging Hoo
I know that this happened in Socialist Britishland [/redundancy alert], but still:
A university has been accused of bullying its neighbours by preventing them from getting out of their back gardens.
Residents in Gloucester are fuming after the University of Gloucestershire put a 6ft high metal fence up against the edge of their properties, ahead of an expected sale of the land.
It means people can’t get out of their gates and use the field for a stroll, to walk their dogs or let their children play, as they have done for many years.
Residents believe the move has affected their right to roam across the land and say it was done without warning.
Uhhhh it’s called “private property”, you idiots, and your previous use of the land was a privilege or favor granted by the land’s owner, and not one of your “rights” (especially a “right to roam”, which is a peculiar British custom anyway).
From the landowner:
A University of Gloucestershire spokesperson said: ‘We have put a fence around our site because, like any landowner, we do need to ensure our private property is secure and that our rights over the land are clear.
‘While the land is private property with no right of access or ‘right of way’ in place, we are keen to ensure that we maintain a positive relationship with our neighbours, so we have arranged drop-in sessions for residents to meet with senior members of our team so we can understand their concerns and answer any questions they may have.’
Wait till these privileged neighbors learn that the uni is selling the land to a developer who’ll most likely put up one of those ghastly Brit-style developments which resemble a low-security Scandinavian prison…
Welcome To OUR World
In this report about a kid caught driving at some ridiculous speed, the article’s author complains:
Sadly, authorities did not provide a photo of or details on the specific make and model Corvette, but the teenager ran for approximately 20 miles (or 10 minutes), according to a release issued by state police.
Yeah, we gunnies have the same problem. While we applaud and congratulate hero citizens for whacking some bad guy in the act of larceny, we are never told what gun was used to send the goblin to join the Choir Invisibule (/Monty Python).
Hell, all we are told is generic shit like “handgun” or occasionally “shotgun”, which is fine, but we would really like to know the important stuff like type of gun, caliber, ammo type (e.g. whether FMJ or hollowpoint), and even more accurately, what brand or type of bullet — Remington Gold Dot 200gr, Hornady Extreme Defense 185gr, SIG Elite V-Crown 124gr, etc. This is important information, because then we can see for ourselves how well or otherwise the boolets affect the ungodly, instead of just having to rely on the usual “ballistic gel” so beloved of ammo testers.
Equally important is where said goblin was ventilated, along with pictures of said wound. (Okay, maybe that’s a Pic Too Far, but you get my drift, right?)
If the Jackals Of The Press (JOTP) can’t be bothered to do any research, or even push the officials for details, what’s the point of even pretending to “inform” the public?
More Like This, Please
We need a great deal more of this:
Entering 2025, community colleges are expanding apprenticeships and other experienced-based learning programs to address America’s labor shortage crisis and meet a growing demand for alternative forms of higher education.
“Community colleges are going beyond their traditional role of instruction, helping to organize, register, and assist companies in running their apprenticeship programs,” John Colborn, executive director of Apprenticeships for America, told The College Fix.
“By expanding these services, they reduce barriers for employers to offer apprenticeships,” he said in a phone interview earlier this month.
A recent report by Colborn’s organization shows the number of community colleges with active apprenticeships has grown from just 30 to over 200 between 2016 and 2023.
I’d be happier if it was two thousand community colleges, but I’ll take what I can get.
Seriously: considering how colleges’ traditional educational courses have been debased into (essentially) Marxist wokism, there is a profound rationale for colleges, especially community colleges, to start turning some of their classrooms into workshops.
And I don’t even want to hear that government (of any kind) needs to get involved in this initiative, for any reason. No; this belongs entirely in the purview of businesses who would benefit from having a ready pool of trained workers in their trades, as opposed to the usual escapees from the grease pit at JiffyLube, no-hoper high school “graduates” or illegal immigrants.
There are not many instances where I’d want to copy the Germans, on anything; but I’ve always been a huge fan of their clinical observation — that not everyone should go to college, but an awful lot of the people left over would benefit greatly from trade schools — and it deserves comprehensive implementation on this side of The Pond.
Honestly, nobody loses in this operation; not the workers, nor the companies and especially not the colleges who participate.
Having said that: so beneficial an opportunity is bound to fail, because OMG every child is special and shouldn’t have to get their precious little hands soiled by working at Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs (or Victor Davis Hanson’s “Muscular Jobs”, if you prefer).
Fach.