Columns
Paul writes a weekly column on current affairs for the New Zealand Herald and is the New Zealand Listener’s sports columnist.
The articles below are presented with permission from (and thanks to) those organisations.
Charlie Hebdo and the But Brigade
Writer Salman Rushdie calls them the “But Brigade”: those who deplored the Charlie Hebdo massacre, but then watered down their condemnation with context, caveats, extrapolations and warnings against “over-reacting.”
Best Films of 2014
“Best of” lists are a silly season staple.
Cultural Appropriation
Another week, another racism row.
Royal Tour
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 corner of its domain.
Sir Don McKinnon
That Sir Don McKinnon must be feeling pretty silly right now.
Sore Losers who Seethe with Rage
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.
Santorum: A Word for all Sorts of Nastiness
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 presidential election. Well, yes and no.
Reality Check for Politicians Completely out of Touch
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.
Mid Life Crisis in Land of the Free
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.
My Favourite Sports Books
Back in the days before all sporting events of any significance and some of no significance at all were accorded live television coverage (or, in my case, before television itself), the young sports fan had to make do with books.
The Shoes The World Couldn’t Dodge
This week life imitated art when President George W. Bush dodged shoes hurled at him by an Iraqi journalist.
Duped by a Celebrity Dream
As a UK newspaper put it, her rise from small-town girl to global icon demonstrates “the endless possibilities of the American Dream.”
Hannibal the Cannibal has Crime Fiction for Breakfast
Evelyn Waugh described him as ‘the greatest living American novelist.’ T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden were equally big fans.