Counterpoint

Crossing the line

A Doctor Who series broadcast in the mid-70s titled The Ark in Space depicted a space station where a remnant of humanity was to be preserved in the wake of catastrophic solar flares burning the Earth. The purifying event would lead to the renewal...

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By ABK

27 Sep 2023

Counterpoint

Resource mining

Once upon a time, anyone wanting a job would pop into a business, talk to the boss and hand over a CV. The boss would quickly decide whether the person could fit their operation. Sometimes they’d let a subordinate handle the process, but it was...

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By ABK

20 Sep 2023

Counterpoint

End of the rainbow

There has been some stiff competition in Australia’s Most Hated Man contest, but the recently departed Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce AC is leading the pack. Customer frustration over luggage being left behind – or going on its own little...

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By ABK

13 Sep 2023

Counterpoint

Defenestrations

Anyone who watches Westerns will have probably seen someone thrown through a saloon window. It’s long been a trope of the genre. Fortunately saloons are on the ground floor, so death is often avoided. But things are different when the window is...

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By ABK

06 Sep 2023

Counterpoint

No time to die

Walter Davis joined the British army in 1915 and was sent to the Western Front. In his diary, the corporal wrote fatalistically that “one of these days I shall get it, but I am more used to it now and I don’t care what comes. If I am to die...

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By ABK

30 Aug 2023

Counterpoint

In plane sight

A disappearing plane makes the news since it is the very embodiment of the expression to “vanish into thin air”. Nearly a decade ago Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 captured the world’s attention when it did just that. The mystery continues to...

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By ABK

23 Aug 2023

Counterpoint

Guerrilla gardens

It’s hard to think of a more serene and healthful activity than pottering around the garden. Gentle exercise, fresh air and sunshine with a dash of mental health. Sublime! Even those who don’t believe they have a green thumb might benefit after...

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By ABK

16 Aug 2023

Counterpoint

We’re done to a T

Western medicine has noted a steady decline in testosterone among men across all age ranges, with studies finding T levels shrinking by 1% or more a year. Scientists won’t know for certain that today’s men have lower testosterone levels than...

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By ABK

09 Aug 2023

Counterpoint

No flap over UFOs

The theory was that any alien visitation should be kept secret to avoid unleashing chaos. It was believed that it would cause crises of faith and that mass panic would ensue. Those days of innocence must have passed because the news last week –...

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By ABK

02 Aug 2023

Counterpoint

Barbenheimer

When Hollywood releases multiple blockbusters at the same time, public opinion is often divided, including the public within a household. Deciding which movie to see can cause arguments and outbreaks of sookiness. That could have been the case when...

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By ABK

26 Jul 2023

Counterpoint

All that glitters…

Bling has been a thing since prehistoric times. Flakes of mica embellished 30,000 year old cave paintings and prehistoric humans used powdered hematite as a sparkly cosmetic ingredient. We know all this because glitter is forever. If anyone in your...

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By ABK

19 Jul 2023

Counterpoint

Winter of content

The coronavirus pandemic was pretty wild. According to many it still is. The virus persists, but at least we are no longer at risk of arrest for watching the cricket outside without a mask and kids’ playgrounds are no longer surrounded by police...

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By ABK

12 Jul 2023

Counterpoint

Knife versus nuke

This week marks the end of preparations by Belarus to receive a deployment of Russian nuclear weapons. Sixteen months into the largest land war in Europe since WW2, Belarusian president Lex Lukashenko said he wouldn’t hesitate to use them if...

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By ABK

05 Jul 2023