How Joe Rogan and Mel Gibson turned a metaphor into a reality.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 27th December 2025

I asked Grumblr, the local AI bot
What is democracy what’s it not
Democracy is about Sharing
With Fairness and Justice
The machine pointed out smiling
Sharing demands Peace
Peace needs Respect see
Respect fosters Decency
Honest decency is hard
Because you know nothing
And I'm a lazy bastard
‘Cuz I can fudge everything
Asian share markets are very mixed with local shares not moving while Japanese shares surge following the late 2025 BOJ rate hike as the volatility from the Trump regime’s “special military operation” into Venezuela only really upsetting commodity markets so far. The USD is seeing a surge against the majors, particularly Euro while the Australian
The post Macro Afternoon appeared first on MacroBusiness.
I’m not going to wade into the usual MSM garbage about the rights and wrongs of El Trumpo’s Venezuelan gambit. Nicolas Maduro was an unpleasant and destructive post-Chavezian leader who has cost his country dearly in tumbling living standards. Minimum wages look terrific under Maduro. Until you discount for inflation. The latest reading, which is
The mild weather sure isn’t saving your current energy bills, which will be going literally through the roof thanks to Albo’s incredibly mismanaged Ukraine War power shock and bill rebates. However, the mild summer weather has triggered hope that a better year is ahead for bill relief. According to this analysis, wholesale prices in NSW
The post Weather saves your electricity bill appeared first on MacroBusiness.
One of the biggest questions for Australia going forward, both socially and economically, is how many additional homes can be built each year. The Albanese government’s National Housing Supply and Affordability Council expects the housing deficit to continue growing until at least mid-2029, if forecasts hold true. However, there is hope that home building may
The latest national accounts, which show the economy grew by just 0.4% and contracted marginally in per capita terms, provided further confirmation of the increasingly significant risk of effective stagflation for the Australian economy. Meanwhile, despite relatively weak headline growth and per capita stagnation, inflationary pressures were resurgent in the first full monthly CPI release

President Donald Trump has threatened Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, with a “bigger price” than the one paid by her recently captured predecessor Nicolas Maduro.
With its great view of fireworks, New Year’s Eve at Williamstown is a robust affair. This year was a bust. Police in every uniform and mounted on every conveyance outnumbered a crowd perhaps 20% the size of last year. Bikes, motorbikes, quads, horses, and jackboots corralled desultory revellers. Reveller in name only. Official violence stomped
Last week’s Cotality’s daily dwelling values index, which tracks home values across Australia’s five major capital city markets, ended 2025 with momentum stalling. At the aggregate 5-city level, Cotality’s daily dwelling values index rose 0.5%, down significantly from the 1.0% growth recorded in November. Today, we get the release of PropTrak’s competing series, which shows
Risk markets will pivot this week on the volatility around the Trump regime’s invasion of Venezuela as 2026 accelerates the new global order of “take what you want around you”. Watch out Cuba, Columbia, Canada and Greenland! Wall Street remains somewhat in holiday mode but will wake up with a bang tonight with stock markets
The post Macro Morning appeared first on MacroBusiness.

As public concerns over the AUKUS alliance rise – with expanding US bases in Australia and Donald Trump’s belligerent conduct, FOI documents reveal the Government is secretly expanding its ‘US Department of War Protest’ Force. Rex Patrick reports.
Most people won’t be aware that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has established a new command.
TL;DR Not good. Taking account of economic failure, nothing Trump has done – rape, war crimes, corruption, insurrection, ICE or trashing the constitution – has cost him a single vote on balance.

