Quit ChatGPT: right now! Your subscription is bankrolling authoritarianism | Rutger Bregman As a historian, I’ve studied the major consumer boycotts of history. We can take down ChatGPT and send a powerful signal to Silicon Valley, says author and historian Rutger Bregman

@rutgerbregman.com on ChatGPT
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A Melbourne venue's $157,000 insurance bill could reshape how Australia protects live music Pride of Our Footscray is a 200-capacity, community-owned venue in Melbourne’s inner west that hosts drag, comedy, poetry, live music and theatre. It’s owned by roughly 200 local shareholders, holds a...

More evidence of Australia’s massive insurance problem - beat.com.au/a-melbourne-...

Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover

The richest man owns X.

The second and third richest men control Google.

The fourth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The fifth richest man owns The Washington Post.

And now the sixth richest could soon take over both Paramount and Warner Bros.

See the problem here?

Hundreds of jobs in jeopardy as BBQ chain collapses Hundreds of jobs are at risk after one of the country's best-known barbecue chains, Barbeques Galore, collapsed this week.

Blimey - Hundreds of jobs at risk as BBQ chain collapses www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/cons...

‘I had Clive Palmer do the … ads’: Trump lieutenant’s Australian election claim revealed in Epstein files Trump ally Steve Bannon told paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2019 he had influenced an omnipresent election advertising campaign by the mining billionaire.

Steve Bannon interfered in the 2019 Australian federal election, as part of a global effort to stifle climate action.

He should face investigation under Australia’s foreign interference laws.

#auspol

www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

Australia spends more on tax breaks for landlords than social housing, homelessness and rent assistance combined Exclusive: Acoss report shows property investors received $12.3bn in tax concessions in 2025, while the share of social housing dropped to a record low

Australia spends more on tax breaks for landlords than social housing, homelessness and rent assistance combined

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Is Said to Consider Merger With Tesla or xAI SpaceX is considering a potential merger with Tesla Inc., as well as an alternative combination with artificial intelligence firm xAI, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign billionaire ...

My former colleagues at Bloomberg reporting Tesla is in play, too

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Masked thugs, sneering elites and terrified citizens: a picture of the US today. We used to have a name for this | Marina Hyde Truly, I am the country’s biggest fan. But in the spirit of free speech its leaders apparently love, here’s a few things the rest of the world needs them to know, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

Perfect - Marina Hyde speaks for the rest of humanity here
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?

Single frame. Top left fade-out vignette of Alex Pretti; bottom right fade-out vignette of the ICE agents crowding (from recent footage of them murdering Alex Pretti). Text in seriffed font: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Hand corrected in red pencil to say: “The only thing that stops a good guy with eyes + a phone is a bunch of armed federal goons with absolute impunity.”

Bad guys with guns.
My @smh cartoon.

Analysis: EVs just outsold petrol cars in EU for first time ever - Carbon Brief Sales of battery electric vehicles (EVs) overtook petrol cars in the EU for the first time in December 2025.

Like the rest of the world, the EU is accelerating the shift away from gasoline vehicles to EVs.

The US is being left behind.

"Australia is the loser from this emerging Victorianisation of the whole country, in which a poor government can glide through debacle after debacle because its opponents are much, much worse" @keanebernard.bsky.social in today's @crikey.com.au www.crikey.com.au/2026/01/22/s...

"And we now have María on the line who would like to swap a Nobel Peace Prize for the presidency of Venezuela..."

I will forever be amused that Meta could spend $77 billion and still end up with nothing better than this shit. Indeed, it took them two years to get legs. www.vox.com/recode/2022/...

The Mercator projection is 100% why Trump wants Greenland

US Congress threatens eSafety commissioner with contempt charges Online safety tsar Julie Inman Grant has been accused of harassing American companies over Australia’s under-16 social media ban.

www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...

We’ve had a skinful: drinks to toast the end of the political year | Jess Harwood For most of these tipples, one is one too many

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I do wonder how some people
Sleep at night -

I am sure this has enhanced her reputation. FFS.

Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

We should be ashamed our ourselves as a global population

www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...

Eileen Higgins becomes Miami’s first Democratic mayor in 30 years In stunning upset victory, Higgins also becomes first woman in post and first non-Hispanic candidate since 90s

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Australia’s kids are saved! The social media ban is here and all the teens are outside touching grass | First Dog on the Moon (Vaping, shoplifting Labubus and getting bullied in person)

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Hilarious. Clearly LNP ran a focus group to address their 'Women won't vote for us because we are dominated by White Males' problem & somehow ended up with 'Replace them with White Blonde Females' as the solution. I'm guessing the 'LNP policies sucked' being the cause didn't get evaluated.
#auspol

Don’t read this amazing story - listen to it on the rabbit holes podcast. No one tells a cycling story like @iaintreloar.bsky.social @escapecollective.bsky.social

An Institution Betrayed GH on the State Library's post-literate plans

Mr Gideon Haigh on why the ongoing, incompetent and dull-witted enshittification of the State Library of Victoria is so heartbreaking, so stupid, and so dangerous. Please share. www.cricketetal.com/p/an-institu...

This is cool.

I suppose if it’s automated there’s no Driver 8 for us to say “take a break” to.

Interesting that ABC 7:30 and Jacob Greber chose “4th leader in 5 years” rather than “3rd in 11 months” to comment on VIC Lib spill. Some good PR work there (or showing a bit of bias).

Nazis who rallied at parliament want to enter politics. They think NSW is their best shot Neo-Nazis are on a recruitment drive in a bid to register as a mainstream political party, and they believe a NSW upper house position could be their best bet.

Nazis reckon NSW is best chance to run successful electoral campaign for Senate.

www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw...