Dieuwe de Boer

Before I tackle this week's column, I would like to start with a word of thanks to all the paying subscribers of The BFD and also to Juana, our amazing editor, and to the proofreaders who help her in the background.

Google released its new Gemini AI to the public this week, and the results were… worse than expected. The feature that everyone is immediately interested in when it comes to a new AI tool is the "safety" feature.

I've wanted to go ever since I found out it existed: the Lion and Tusk Museum of the Rhodesian Services Association.

Prior to the shoplifting allegations that led to her resignation, I'd almost forgotten about Golriz Ghahraman.

My paternal grandfather ("pake" in Frisian) passed away at home aged 76 in the early hours of December 22nd after a long illness. He had been diagnosed with terminal cancer eight years ago and was given nine months to live.

As part of public religious displays that Iowa allows in its state capitol, The Satanic Temple set up a display of Baphomet. This isn't the first time that has happened.

A few weeks ago, while the coalition was still negotiating, I wrote about the "measure of success" that the government would need to achieve. After its formation I started work on tracking their commitments.

We have a new government and they've made a lot of promises. The two documents between National-ACT and National-NZFirst contain a total of 213 different commitments with measurable outcomes.

Javier Milei in Argentina and Geert Wilders in The Netherlands both won big this week. What's in it for us?

The formation of a new government is in its final stage, perhaps even complete by the time you read this.