by Paul Thomas | Jan 16, 2015 | The Age of Terror
Paul Thomas2015-01-16 Writer Salman Rushdie, who knows a thing or two about attacks on freedom of expression, calls them the “But Brigade”: those who deplored the Charlie Hebdo massacre, but then watered down their condemnation with context, caveats, extrapolations...
by Paul Thomas | Jan 9, 2015 | Strange Days Indeed
Paul Thomas2015-01-09 “ Best of ” lists are a silly season staple. You may think it’s just a matter of listing the ten best books or films or TV shows of the recently concluded year; if so, you couldn’t be more wrong. There’s no fun in compiling such lists if they...
by Paul Thomas | Aug 30, 2014 | Americana
Paul Thomas2014-08-30 Another week, another racism row. Last week Taylor Swift’s new video was the issue. Rapper Earl Sweatshirt didn’t even need to watch it to know (and tell the world) that it’s “inherently offensive and ultimately harmful.” Swift wears hip hop gear...
by Paul Thomas | Apr 19, 2014 | Kiwiana
Paul Thomas2014-04-19 I think we can all agree the royal tour went rather well. A Herald editorialist had to de-mothball the words “glorious” and “triumph” to do it justice, and went on to suggest that it surpassed all previous House of Windsor forays to this distant...
by Paul Thomas | Apr 12, 2014 | Kiwiana
Paul Thomas2014-04-12 That Sir Don McKinnon must be feeling pretty silly right now. No sooner had the former Deputy Prime Minister asserted the inevitability of New Zealand ditching the monarchy than Kiwis of all ages, stages, shoe sizes, star signs, income brackets,...
by Paul Thomas | Oct 5, 2013 | Americana
Paul Thomas2013-10-05 The leaders of America and Iran are talking to each other for the first time since 1979, but US domestic politics remain mired in communication breakdown. Obviously we can’t attach too much significance to the contact between Barack Obama and...
by Paul Thomas | Feb 25, 2012 | Americana
Paul Thomas2012-02-25 You’d think that if you googled “santorum”, you’d be inundated with stuff about Rick Santorum, the US religious right’s flavour of the month now being touted as a serious contender to be the Republican Party’s candidate in this year’s...
by Paul Thomas | Jan 1, 2012 | Excerpt
Paul Thomas2012-01-01 PROLOGUE WARREN GREYTOWN THIRTEEN YEARS AGO Females had always found him hard to resist. When he was small, his aunts and cousins cooed and fussed over him, telling him how gorgeous he was. His older sister was like a second mother: she...
by Paul Thomas | Nov 19, 2011 | Americana
Paul Thomas2011-11-19 The line between politics and entertainment just got even more blurred with the news that the search for a Republican candidate to take on President Barack Obama next year will double as a reality TV show. Speaking exclusively to the New Zealand...
by Paul Thomas | Sep 4, 2010 | Americana
Paul Thomas2010-09-04 Observing American politics these days is a bit like watching an old family friend go through a mid-life identity crisis: he’s dumped his wife for a pole-dancer, become a Buddhist, and got himself a tattoo and a ponytail. You wonder: what next?...
