Monday, January 28, 2008

Kate McMillan: Really, stupid, hateful screech harpy.


Apparently, enforced malnutrition and/or starvation of children is just a hoot to "Canada's Best Blogger":


The New Media Math

The Boston Globe offers a shocking statistic;

Although Gaza daily requires 680,000 tons of flour to feed its population, Israel had cut this to 90 tons per day by November 2007, a reduction of 99 percent.

Martin Kramer;

You don't need to be a math genius to figure out that if Gaza has a population of 1.5 million, as the authors also note, then 680,000 tons of flour a day come out to almost half a ton of flour per Gazan, per day.

It could be worse! "It's a good thing the eeevil Zionists didn't cut off the essential Stay Puft marshmallow supply."

Whoo hoo, that is some seriously knee-slapping humour there, Kate -- cutting off a basic food supply to an imprisoned populace. So let's see what really happened here, shall we?

Of course
680,000 tons of flour a day is a ridiculous and clearly absurd amount. But let's follow Kate's own link to one Martin Kramer, where we read:


Note how an absurd and impossible "statistic" has made its way up the media feeding chain. It begins in an Egyptian newspaper, is cycled through a Palestinian activist, is submitted under the shared byline of a Harvard "research scholar," and finally appears in the Boston Globe, whose editors apparently can't do basic math. Now, in a viral contagion, this spreads across the Internet, where that "reduction of 99 percent" becomes a well-attested fact.

Yes, Martin, it's all an evil leftist, Arab-loving conspiracy. But keep reading:


What's the truth? I see from a 2007 UN document that Gaza consumes 450 tons of flour daily. The Palestinian Ministry of Economy, according to another source, puts daily consumption at 350 tons.

Ah, and suddenly it all makes sense, doesn't it, because one immediately suspects that someone mistakenly wrote "tons" instead of "pounds," since 680,000 pounds is equal to -- ta da! 340 tons. Well, how about that? And that took all of about 30 seconds to figure out.

In a nutshell, then, the original Boston Globe claim is, as you can see, absurd, but mere seconds of investigation is enough to deduce that the actual reduction in flour is from 340 tons to 90 tons, almost a 3/4 decrease, which is still enough to cause food shortages, as one can see if one had the fucking sense to simply Google for it.

But that would be too much like work for Kate and her brood of adoring acolytes, who would prefer to ignore the imminent humanitarian crisis in order to crack a few jokes about it. Because, as we've established by now, that's just the way they roll.

P.S. Feel free to read the comments section at that article, where there are currently 33 comments and not one of those imbeciles has demonstrated the sense God gave a urinal deodorizer disc to wonder if that figure should be "pounds" instead of "tons," which is the absolutely first thing that occurred to your humble correspondent.

How can an entire demographic be so appallingly stupid? Where did evolution go so hideously wrong?

THE AMUSEMENT NEVER ENDS: Not surprisingly, the vast majority of commenters over at Kate's place have studiously avoided discussing the starvation tactics of the Israelis, and have obediently concentrated on making this into a diatribe against the irresponsibility and innumeracy of the mainstream media.

Also not surprisingly, the same people who are currently howling over the unforgivable mistake of confusing pounds with tons will never express the same sort of outrage over the National Post's previous gaffe regarding Iran and Jews and badges.

Will they, Kate?

Now that's some mighty selective journalistic outrage, wouldn't you say?

26 comments:

rabbit said...

Let's look at this again...

Although Gaza daily requires 680,000 tons of flour to feed its population, Israel had cut this to 90 tons per day by November 2007, a reduction of 99 percent.

There's at least three problems with this paragraph:

1. The afore-mentioned 680,000 tons, a mistake having an obvious explanation.

2. The 99 percent, which I can't explain no matter how I mangle the numbers.

3. The comparing of apples and oranges - namely, what Gaza requires versus what Israel ships. This comparison is only justifiable if Israel shipments make up almost all of Gaza's consumption. Indeed, the paragraph reads as if Israel had cut Gaza's requirements.

That amount of sloppiness and poor writing in a single paragraph on such a hot-button issue from such a reputable source is noteworthy.

And mockery, not of the Gazians but of the Boston Globe, is justified.

E in MD said...

Simple.. humans have exempted themselves from natural selection by having things such as hospitals, drugs and laws that don't allow you to club someone to death for terminal stupidity.

CC said...

rabbit:

And an excellent demonstration that was of your journalistic proofreading skills. And now, feel free to move on and address the actual issue of the collective punishment of the entire population of the Gaza strip by the Israelis, an act which is in blatant contravention of the Geneva Conventions.

Or not. I'm sure you're a busy man. I'll understand if you suddenly found something better to do.

LuLu said...

Bravo rabbit on completely avoiding CC's point. No, really.

If you need some further work, here a just a few of the greatest hits in Kate's comments:

I tend to believe the flour use figures are real...this may be the second attempt by the diabolical Yiddish Militant Zionist scourge to kill the righteous hero workers of Palestine with over eating...flour is a formidable weapon...stuffing tons of Falafels down their necks until they explode without the help of a dynamite waist coat.
Evil bastards!
Posted by: WL Mackenzie Redux at January 28, 2008 10:48 AM

If flour is used in the fabrication of the hundreds of qassam rockets Palestinians shoot at Israel every week,
then ok,
I believe they have a "need" for half a ton of flour per day per Palestinian.
Posted by: Friend of USA at January 28, 2008 11:04 AM

I can see why this number is realistic...they like to eat really really big ham sandwiches --everyday! Yea, that's the ticket...
Posted by: Orlin at January 28, 2008 3:24 PM


Compassionate Conservatism at its best, wouldn't you agree?

rabbit said...

CC, Lulu:

My intent was to address the very same thing that CC spent 10 or so paragraphs addressing - which is to say, whether the offending sentence had an obvious fix or not. I'll try to stay more on topic.

Regarding the political situation, I know far more about proof reading than I do about the Middle-East. I think one of you should post a detailed opinion so that I can be better informed. Certainly the article in the Boston Globe didn't help me (or anyone) much.

Ti-Guy said...

Neither did KKKate's post. Why aren't you over there expressing your "concern?"

CC said...

rabbit:

There's this kick-ass new invention called the "Internet." Stop being such a lazy fuckwit and figure out how to use it.

Jeezus, do you get your mother to chew your food for you, too?

Southern Quebec said...

I read the comments over at Chez KKKate and I think I have figured out the evolutionary thingy. The commenters are all related! It's like cousins marrying cousins -- not real good for the gene pool. All these stooopid people breed with other stooopid people. That's the problem! Doesn't explain KKKathy, though...

Boy, nobody hates like the right.

CC said...

Yes, "insider," my literary intemperance is just like Kate and her drooling minions cackling hysterically over 1.5 million people being deprived of food.

Are there any other equivalences you'd like to draw while you're here? Really, we're all ears.

KEvron said...

heh. i've playing with the folks over at kkkate's for the last few days. buncha chumps!

KEvron

KEvron said...

"Wow, look in the mirror, fellas"

okay, i'm looking....

KEvron

LuLu said...

CC, if you're a bi-polar oddity ... what does that make me? I want to be psychoanalyzed, too.

Ti-Guy said...

You can get your point across more succinctly if you use the English language to a greater degree than sink to profanity (which is sometimes the mark of a lack of intellect). I think he does it because it draws a certain type of traffic, but that's a guess.

You can't be serious? Are you brain-dead? Have read the comments over at SDA?

...these people are having orgasms at the thought of people starving.

Compared to that, "cunt" is like saying the rosary.

Frank Frink said...

People are being starved but... but... but... but... you people are soooooo uncivil

Yes we are, KKKate is a KKKunt, and did you have any other fucking point?

KEvron said...

"One one hand.... then in the next moment...."

say: did you see kate's post commemorating the clenis? she followed up with a post commemorating the holocaust....

KEvron, cuntist

KEvron said...

heh.

KEvron

Frank Frink said...

Lol at that link, KEvron.

I played in a band that once opened for the Psychedelic Furs and can attest that 'anal cunt' would have been a fairly common muttered-under-the-breath assessment of Mr. Butler by most people on that tour, including all of the Furs' hired sidemen.

HankR said...

You can't be serious? Are you brain-dead? Have read the comments over at SDA?

As for profane commentors, Ti-Guy, you are probably the worst offender, left or right, so much to the point that I understand you have been banned from even left wing blogs.

That said, I was referring to this blog, not SDA.

What I find odd is the complete lack perception from some on the blogosphere, which I can only attribute to a low intellect, in which they criticize commentors of ideologically opposing sites in the worst possible terms, yet completely ignoring their own behavior.

Yes, there are some ignorant commentors on the right side. They're ignorant. Period. But this whole idea of moral supremacy where, especially you Ti-Guy, point out bad conservative behaviour, while totally igoring your own is, to put it mildly, an example of someone who's ideologial blinders are so effective that they can never be taken seriously about anything because they are unable to discern reality from opinion.

People who need profanity to get their point across just aren't very articulate or very smart, left or right.

KEvron said...

"As for profane commentors, Ti-Guy, you are probably the worst offender, left or right"

what am i, chopped cunt?!

KEvron

KEvron said...

"Lol at that link, KEvron."

tied a few things together rather nicely! found it while googling "richard butler" + "cunt". i have no doubt in my mind that the dour richard butler has more than occasionally uttered the word "cunt" in his time.

anyone provide a lyric?

KEvron

KEvron said...

'furs and cunt. i take you're a freudian, saskin, and not a jungian....

KEvron

KEvron said...

"People who need profanity to get their point across just aren't very articulate or very smart, left or right."

fuckin' a, bubba.

KEvron

KEvron said...

"profanity is the last refuge of the ingorant motherfucker."

KEvron

CC said...

Yes, "insider," you've made your point -- when an entire ideological demographic uses a journalistic misprint to make fun of starving an entire population, we should try to engage them in polite and civil discussion so as to show them the error in their thinking. Because calling them names is just counter-productive.

Got it, thanks. You can now return to SDA and report that you've delivered your message and it was received rudely.

Thanks for stopping by. Say hi to Kate for me.

E in MD said...

what am i, chopped cunt?!

KEvron

By Blogger KEvron, at 1:14 AM



Ewwww... Messy.

I could do without the foul language. You can get your point across more succinctly if you use the English language

By Blogger The Sask Insider, at 7:42 PM



Waaaa! Mommy! They're cursing again. Look pal, some people just talk that way. Just like some people like to be all upity and holier than thou and other people like to inject Jesus into every sentence at least once. Nobody is required to change for you. We don't see wingnuts suddenly dropping the 'Lefties are all traitors' rhetoric just because someone on the left doesn't like it so why the hell should we care what you think. If you don't like what you're seeing nobody is forcing you to stay. Change the channel, engage your V-Chip and move along to some blog where cursing is naughty but rejoicing in the pain and suffering of others is just peachy keen.

You know... if conservatives put as much energy into fixing the world's real problems as they do whining about foul language perhaps America's economy wouldn't be in the toilet, we wouldn't be blowing $9 billion a month in borrow Chinese money, we wouldn't have a reputation for torturing people and ignoring our own Constitution and there wouldn't be two hundred thousand homeless veterans.

900ft Jesus said...

chill! Five Feet of Crap says insults are good! Calling KKKate a cunt will help reduce the number of cunts, just like insulting fat kids results in fewer fat kids!