Sunday, December 30, 2012

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



14 comments:

  1. Given that a non-Muslim cannot marry a Muslimah, is Paul McGeough now Abdullah McGeough?

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    1. Old bloke, in certain cases that ruling seems to be somewhat relaxed. Check out Hillary Clinton's bff and assistant Huma Abedin. She's up to her eyeballs in Muslim Brotherhood business yet married the politician Anthony Wiener without any sort of repudiation.

      If it advances the agenda then I suspect it's okay.

      Or else, yes, he converted.

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    2. Thanks Nilk. Yes, the doctrine of al-Taqiyya does allow Moslems to lie or to engage in Haraam activities (such as marrying a Jew in Abedin's case) as long as it advances the cause of the Ummah.

      If McGeough's case, his conversion ("Reversion" in Islamic thought) would have been a mere formality as his anti-Semitism meant he was 99% already there.

      Delete
  2. "Keystone Koshers"?
    Really Prof, phrases like that need to be preceded by a Nanny Roxon type health warning!

    The Irish Lion

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  3. Very timely Prof. The recent death of Norman Schartzkopf prompted reflection on Gulf War One. I remember the anti-US luvvies, led by McGeogh, desperately wanting Uncle Sam to get a bloodied nose (or worse). He was predicting that Norman's boys would be whupped good by Saddam's "elite Republican Guard" hardened by years of intra-teatowel warfare against Iran. Much to the disappointment of the luvvies, Norman routed Saddam's finest in about three weeks.

    The Irish Lion

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  4. The most satisfying article about this piece of (Fairfax) work I have read.


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

    A real award (as in not a "wa(n)kely") goes to Prof. Bunyip for the above template (if that's the right word).

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  5. Paulie should be careful about name calling with the Israeli security types. All Security Services have their little hiccups but inefficient is not a label I would put on the Israelis. They have a rather impressive track record in removing those who would damage the State of Israel. Still Paulie and his missus are pretty small potatoes really

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  6. You only have yourself to blame Prof.
    No good ever comes of stopping the car in Colac.

    The Irish Lion

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  7. Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.December 30, 2012 at 11:53 PM

    Prof, it is indeed noble of you to contribute your skills to Fairfax in their time of need, even if in such a small matter as an explanatory template advising a certain caution regarding the provenance of their political guiding star. But I think you should charge a fee for quality. They claim to pay for that and it would be novel for them to see how much they have been dudded when the real thing turns up.

    You words do ring home Prof:

    "Life is long, the heart fickle and many have left a spouse or two along the way"

    I am the absolute soul of the non-censorious, Prof, and like you have no wish to truck with the fickle in a manner implying a superior fortune or fortitude in matters marital (well, yes, I do really - I think we should try to learn from our mistakes). But these leftie types do not seem to be much good at reflecting back and then making a go of marriage, do they? Even after quite a few tries, they keep on racing along the road to disaster, antennae tuned in for the next recreational pit stop. Thus they make a mess of things. They behave as children, rather as they do with anything else they turn their talents towards.

    Ah, perhaps my current reading is giving me a jaundiced view: Paula McLain's 'The Paris Wife', is the story of Hadley, Ernest Hemingway's first wife, who sought love, a baby and security in the 1920's from Hemmingway, a twenty-one year old rising star, while Paris was busting out all over. She was relegated by the cultural cliques to a nappy-changing also-ran, taking solace about constancy in love from reading the letters of Heloise and Abelard, while he drank Absinthe late into the night with the increasingly fancy and fancied dames; a toxic mix for all concerned.



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  8. McGeogh (The Joe Btfsplk reporter of every US and Australian step in the fight against Islamic terrorism) married a real revolutionary with real revolutionary credentials: “Freddie Mac manager”. This stood out to show that Ms Itraish enjoyed the pre-GFC wealth along with the usual suspects of the Left (Jamie Gorelick for one).

    They must be really squealing now that this teat has been turned off.

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  9. I feel sorry for the McGeek - first he's a Plastic Paddy, now he's a Plastic Pally. What a Wally. JakartaJaap

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  10. What part of "embedded journalist" don't you understand?

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  11. Reading Marilyn Shepherd's entries in Webdiary, one may develop some theories about the real-life inspiration of Alene Composta.

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  12. The Old and Unimproved DaveJanuary 1, 2013 at 8:44 AM

    In Fairfax's constant and profit-sapping march ever leftwards, they're now discovering that, as in exploring the Infernal Regions, the difficulty lies not so much in the setting out as in the returning.

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