Family Values II

ONE PARTICULARLY interesting and timely present, a gift of happenstance via the secondhand bookshelf at a Colac op shop, was a copy of esteemed foreign correspondent Paul McGeough’s Kill Khalid. The book is what you would expect from the man an impoverished Fairfax has not yet found the courage to send on his way, unlike all the other reporters, editors and gender equity officers it has let go for want of profits. It is, give him this, well written and nicely paced, although the pretence of even-handedness does not survive scrutiny for long. Israel spies may indeed be a bunch of inept, poison-squirting Keystone Koshers, but being reminded so often of the author’s perspective on their ham-fisted machinations does tend to create a very strong suspicion of authorial bias. Hamas fares somewhat better, aided in no small measure by McGeough’s habit of not making too much of a ratbag cult’s habit of sending bomb-laden adolescents into pizza parlours, bar mitzvah parties and the like.

It is not, however, McGeough’s blind eye that makes the book worthwhile. No, that would be the acknowledgements, in which the following passage appears:

"This writing business is unforgiving terrain, so a forgiving wife is a godsend. Pam Williams was patient, caring, and inspiring, even in the face of truculence. She generously does her own informal PhD on whatever the current assignment is. Kill Khalid could not have seen the light of day without her multi-skilling – dear wife, loyal friend, incisive colleague, and sound editor."

The “dear wife and loyal friend”, the AFR’s Pam Williams, did not last long after Kill Khalid came out, soon replaced by Palestinian activist Nadia Itraish, and in the most romantic circumstances.

Now it is not this blog’s purpose to adjudicate on the amorous affairs of others. Life is long, the heart fickle and many have left a spouse or two along the way, not to mention the odd web pioneer after a particularly festive post-budget lock-up party in swinging Canberra. That said, the informed reader cannot help thinking that Ms Itraish and the correspondent’s new father-in-law, scarred by the Zionist jackboot in Ramallah,  might colour his perceptions just a little bit.

Indeed, McGeough’s latest contribution to Fairfax’s mostimpecunious publication, the ever-shrinking Sun-Herald, rather suggests the need for a little biographical line at its conclusion. Something like this would do nicely, just to let readers know they are enjoying the handiwork of a partisan.

“Paul McGeough has married into the Palestinian cause. We continue to publish his dispatches because, quite frankly, there are no standards of fairness or disclosure Fairfax has not violated.”

Yes, a few lines of type would involve a typesetting expense Fairfax can ill afford at the moment.

But Gina and Singo will fix that – and, if they have any sense, a few other things besides.

UPDATE:  In July, the latest Mrs McGeough had the following letter published in the Washington Post:

Story about Iranian help is buried 

On Jan. 7, you carried a Page One article to announce the U.S. Navy’s rescue of an Iranian fishing boat in distress in the Persian Gulf [" U.S. rescues Iranian ship from pirates "]. On May 24, you buried a story about the Iranian navy rescuing a U.S. -flagged cargo ship in the Persian Gulf as a brief in the foreign news digest section ["Iranian navy assists American ship in pirate attack"]. The double standard is breathtaking.  Nadia Itraish , McLean