A strange thing happened today !
I have a Lenova G2 laptop running Phoenix Windows XLite 10. It is used for work only, and is very reliable. For some time it has displayed two grumpy faces in the Start Menu. Today I installed the latest version of Rufus, and pinned it to the Start Menu (so I thought). I pinned it to "Start" by mistake. When Rufus didn't show in the Start Menu, I realised my mistake, removed it from "Start" & pinned it to the Start Menu -no problem. 
To my surprise the grumpy faces vanished. 

It looks as though the reward for information may have paid off, if it has then I hope he has the sense to give himself up so the kids are safe & aren't traumatised by him refusing to do so.

Quote:https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/police-checkpoints-set-up-around-marokopa-as-tom-phillips-search-intensifies
Police have set up checkpoints around the rural town of Marokopa in the search for fugitive Tom Phillips and his three children.
At least four checkpoints are in place at intersections outside the Waikato township and a police command centre has been set up at the local community centre.
At one checkpoint, 11km from Marokopa, police were stopping all motorists and checking their driver licenses.
Police said earlier today they had received emails, calls and visits after offering an $80,000 reward for information on Phillips and his three children, Ember, 8, Maverick, 9, and Jayda, 10.
The family has been on the run since December 2021, and police believe they are in the western Waikato or near Marokopa.

These apparently conscience-less MP's are merrily claiming up to $45 thousand a year to live in their own homes...

I think its time for change when it comes to their perks.

Quote:https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/3503045...rs-expense
At least 20 MPs are claiming up to $45,000 a year allowance to stay in their own Wellington homes, a perk that sees the taxpayer help politicians pay off their mortgages.
Four ministers (Duncan Webb, Jan Tinetti, Deborah Russell and Willie Jackson) claimed the capped allowance, of up to $45,000 a year, to cover living costs in the city. They then use it to pay rent on property they already own.
Four Government MPs (Arena Williams, Jenny Salesa, Jamie Strange and Sarah Pallet) claim an entitlement of up to $31,000 per year.
Twelve National Party MPs, including leader Christopher Luxon, do the same. They are: Andrew Bayly; Gerry Brownlee; Judith Collins; Jacqui Dean; Barbara Kuriger; Melissa Lee; Ian McKelvie; Mark Mitchell; Simon OÔÇÖConnor; Stuart Smith; Louise Upston and Michael Woodhouse.
ACTÔÇÖs Simon Court also claims the allowance and owns property in the Capital, but the party did not respond to a request for comment.
No current Green Party or Te Pāti Māori MPs from outside of Wellington listed a property on their pecuniary interest register.
The arrangements are entirely within ParliamentÔÇÖs rules. And neither Labour nor National have plans to change them. In fact, MPs may soon be in line for a boost to their pay and perks.
The Remuneration Authority, the independent body which sets the rates, is required to review politiciansÔÇÖ pay within three months of the official outcome of SaturdayÔÇÖs general election.

Another little delight from our wonderful govt, Bryan Bruce....

Quote:https://bryanbruce.substack.com/p/uninformed-policy-making
Something I have noticed about government policies over the years is that while they claim to be evidence based, when you actually ask for that evidence you discover it is not there.
The answer I received yesterday by email from Energy Minister Simeon Brown was:
ÔÇ£To date, the Government has not undertaken any analysis on the use of solar panels as a power generation option in the manner you refer to. Therefore, I am refusing your request under section 18(e) of the Act, that the information requested does not exist.ÔÇØ
So, the CoalitionÔÇÖs energy policy is not informed by evidence because they simply have not bothered to collect the data and do the analysis.
Yet Simeon Brown is one of the three Cabinet Ministers who will have the power to do whatever he likes without consultation if the Fast Track Bill becomes law.
Even when the data┬áis┬áavailable ÔÇô as in the effect of repealing our world-leading Smoke- Free legislation ÔÇô this government has chosen politics and donor support over the well-being of people.

This is what happens when a small economy is mismanaged by unfocused, uncaring incompetent governments in the new reality facing us:

https://buenosairesherald.com/economics/...evastation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck55l4rk8z1o

Now approaching close to goat island marine reserve.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala...-time.html

OpenAI Insider Estimates 70 Percent Chance That AI Will Destroy or Catastrophically Harm Humanity
"The world isnÔÇÖt ready, and we arenÔÇÖt ready."

https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-ins...rcent-doom

Link to Reddit thread on this topic. Well worth a look, there are some clever well informed people on Reddit with interesting opinions.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comm...ance_that/

She doesn't pull any punches...

Quote:https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/06/09/anne-salmond-undermining-democracy/
Comment by Dame Anne Salmond :┬áCorruption has long been recognised as the enemy of democracy.┬á As the Greek playwright Aristophanes once said, ÔÇÿLook at the orators in our republic; once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy.ÔÇØ
In New Zealand, some Cabinet ministers need to remember that they have been elected to serve the public interest, rather than those of industries involved in mining, quarrying or drilling for fossil fuels; fishing; selling tobacco or carbon farming; or former Cabinet colleagues, for that matter.
On the collusion between politicians and corporations, Adam Smith, ÔÇÿthe father of capitalism,ÔÇÖ wrote:
ÔÇ£The proposal of any new law or regulation which comes from this order ought never to be adopted till after having been examined with the most suspicious attention. It comes from an order of men whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public, who have generally an interest to deceive and even to oppress the public, and who accordingly have, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it.ÔÇØ
The ÔÇÿFast-trackÔÇÖ bill, with its history of wining and dining, campaign donations and letters of invitation, and its exclusion of community interests, is a case in point.
Although New Zealand has long enjoyed an enviable reputation for governance that is relatively free of corruption, this is in danger of being lost, as well as our ÔÇÿclean greenÔÇÖ reputation.┬á
Thomas JeffersonÔÇÖs advice is timely: ÔÇ£The time to guard against corruption and tyranny is before they have got hold on us.┬á It is better to keep the wolf out of the fold, than to trust to drawing his teeth and talons after he shall have entered.ÔÇØ
In New Zealand, itÔÇÖs the Prime MinisterÔÇÖs job to discipline errant colleagues, and to set high standards for integrity.┬á Instead, we are seeing in this Bill a concerted effort to roll back ministerial accountability to the electorate.

The reporter asked him about his personal fortune and this was his answer - One of Steve IrwinÔÇÖs last interviews before he died while Filming a documentary in 2006.

https://old.reddit.com/r/interestingasfu...l_fortune/