Attention Americans: apparently your financial media think we eat camels, and our PM is a serial killer

... otherwise known as WAHT o_0

http://business.theage.com.au/business/us-anchor-labels-rudd-serial-killer-over-camels-20090805-e9iy.html

Erin Burnett, an anchor on American financial news channel CNBC, launched a verbal attack targeting Mr Rudd after his Government's decision to spend $19 million to cull feral camels in the outback.

"There is a serial killer in Australia and we are going to put a picture up so we can see who it is," a stern-faced Burnett said during a segment on CNBC today.

A large photo of Mr Rudd was then shown.

"That would be the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd," Burnett said.

"OK, well, do you know what he is doing?

"He has launched air strikes - air strikes - against camels in the outback."

Burnett, with a stuffed toy camel in front of her, broke away from her usual analysis of stock movements on Wall St to vent about the camel cull.

She raised the issue during a segment with CNBC's colourful financial guru Jim Cramer.

Burnett said there were a million camels living wild in Australia and the animals would be shot.

"They are slaughtering them?" Cramer, looking shocked, asked Burnett.

"They are slaughtering them," Burnett replied.

She also complained the meat and milk from the camels would be wasted.

"Apparently there is a billion dollars of meat out there," Burnett said.

"Are they going to do anything with it?" Cramer asked.

"No. They're just slaughtering them," she said.

OK, who is this dimbulb? Does anyone know if she's regarded as any kind of serious anchor or is she just another cockswilling right wing batshit insane jokemaker? Does she seriously think FERAL CAMELS are worth eating, let alone protecting? They're not even a native animal! Thats why they're feral!

And I love the "airstrikes" touch. They probably shoot at them from helicopters - with GUNS - but let's not let detail get in the way.

I haven't laughed this hard at stupidity in media in a long time.

trayce how many camels have you eaten today?

I have no clue who Erin Burnett is, but nobody takes Jim Cramer seriously anymore

I'm not especially inclined to defend cable-news people, or anything, but umm Trayce my sense is they are mostly having a who-cares laugh about an event that is bound, to non-Australians, to sound a bit amusing

Obviously this is totally insensitive to the real and serious ecological and conversation issues pertaining to, you know, feral camels, but the stuffed camel can probably be taken as an indicator that they are "having a bit of fun"

I gave a camel the evil eye on the tram this morning, but I decided not to eat it. It smelled funny.

i visited the thirsty camel bottle shop on the way to work

nabisco - I'm sure that is what it is, and don't mistake my post as genunie outrage, its more the Alex in NYC kind... but what threw me is this is a financial analysis show. Why would they do a comedy omg item like this in the first place? I could understand it on a light morning show or something - its the context I found strange. Maybe your media are all like this all the time though, \o_0/

Is CNBC even a real network?

I thought it was Onion News for the irony-challenged.

If it is an Onion news article I'm going to feel a bit stupid, but the Age reported it as CNBC...

Also, I admit the "attention Americans" subject header was deliberately provocative. I wanted responses. I ADMIT IIIIT.

Haitch: I have a thirsty camel near me too! Or did, it's some other bottle shop chain now. I have a magnet on my fridge from Thirsty Camel that says "Evict the food - Make room for BOOOZE!". God bless australia.

btw I am totally insulted that you think there's anything insulting about eating camels

Trayce we have a lot of hours of 24-hour cable news, a lot of time to kill, and a lot of anchors aiming for "personality" -- some of these things may be shared by The Age, judging by this story

"we have a lot of hours of 24-hour cable news" = there are 24 of them, to be precise

times like 8 channels

also if you are not familiar with American financial-coverage personalities, you should know that Jim Cramer is part camel

I don't think there's anything insulting about eating camels, don't be disengenious! I think it's mad, thats all - theyre feral and they'd taste like shit.

yeah also people on cable news channels are usually former beauty queens or some other type of moron

not jim cramer though, he's the real deal and not a beauty queen

some of these things may be shared by The Age, judging by this story

As to this, this makes me sad, because the Age were (WERE) a respected broadsheet, until recent times. Their website makes them look like a stupid tabloid, which they aren't at all. It is monumentally frustrating.

it is pretty fucked up they'll be machinegunning the poor things tho :|

camels taste GREAT

haha the *milk* from the camels will be wasted. you guys go out in the morning and milk the feral camels too?

I can't tell who's being serious, now.

Australians called Palin a redneck for shooting wolves from a helicopter, but I guess camels are ok :(.

So how DO camel tacos taste?

Also I saw a thing on ABC last night, farmers in Sth Australia have the right to shoot wombats if they're damaging their paddocks.

And this couple have this wombat rescue program and they SLEEP with all this wombats. And one of them follows the dude around like a dog, it was the cutest thing ever.

xxpost

wolves in north america and camels in australia prob apples and oranges?

I think people would have called her a redneck for way more than shooting wolves, but whatever.

FWIW I'm all for shooting *feral* animals that are pests and destroying delicate ecosystems. Camels are not a native animal. They and wild boar were introduced by silly englishers and just left to fend for themselves in the outback which they did far too well. The boar are destroying large tracts of waterlands, and the camels are legion and probably eating everything in sight.

xp LOL Ned =)

Yummy.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9127/camel2my3.jpg

People get upset that we shoot/poison rabbits too, not understanding how much of a problem they are (and foxes, come to think of it).

Camels were brought over by Afghans iirc xxp

most states w/ deer here issue permits to cull the deer population too so it's like, pretty normal. except shooting them from planes, that's weird but i bet they had some good reason?

I just wish we were allowed to poison or trap possums, I'm sick of the fuckers shitting all over my backyard and eating my plants.

xpost you are right Mark, thought I got that bit rong.

They might not shoot them from planes - I just extrapolated that from her weird airstrikes comment, which was probably a lame attempt at a joek.

to be fair, the whole thing is way funnier if you imagine fighter jets bombing feral camels

only if i can imagine the camels with ground to air rocket launchers in their humps for balance

My kingdom for a Simpsons Bear Patrol plane jpg

ho-lee fuck

http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/0/Camel-Weapon--129.jpg

the internet wins all

nabisco did you just remember redneck t-shirts shop circa the Gulf War? I did.

everyone stay cool, rudd isn't actually a serial killa http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,28383,25890564-10229,00.html

lol xp

http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm390/popetaffy/incrediblyawesome.jpg

but mostly Trayce I just want to tell you that it's okay that Australia has a feral-camel problem! it's nothing to be ashamed of or sensitive about. we all have our embarrassing little ecological mishaps. it's good when we can all just laugh about it.

if feral animals aren't shameful why do they have to get rid of them????

cruel savages

Trayce I have always felt the rest of the world kind of majorly fucked up your fine continent's ecology fwiw. Can we train the camels to eat rabbits?

that bastard T-rex is culling those poor triceratops

The rabbits should eat the cane toads and then the foxes should eat the rabbits and then the camels should eat the foxes.

Then we can all have camforaboad roast, for dinner.

fuck this is what I meant to post

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f263/SolipsismX/TrexF14.jpg?t=1249517284

While Burnett appeared contrite, her co-anchor, Mark Haines, made light of the issue while she was speaking, holding a stuffed toy camel and making a sobbing sound.

"This one is crying," Haines chimed in.

I know this makes me part of the problem, but this does sound pretty funny

ur calvin

Yeah I know, although I imagine there have to be some animals that are either toxic or unpaletable due to their own diet or body chemistry.

Koalas, for example *eyes ned suspiciously*

people totally eat squirrels

Koalas, for example *eyes ned suspiciously*

C'mon, they're there.

Two words: Koala pudding.

i totally understand the non-horse eating thing. Humans have had an affinity w/horses for a very long time, not so w/cattle.

horses have personality

But I thought horse meat was v common in some contries!

Gah what is WITH my typing/spelling today, jesus.

yeah ok in "the western world" then maybe

but the idea that eating a cow is somehow meaningfully different from eating a horse has always amused me.

aside from anything else, horses are a bitch to catch compared to cattle.

it's sorta hard to think of any widespread animal type that isn't being eaten by someone, somewhere

xpost - dude Europe is surely part of "the western world"!

You know what's really nice? Baby camel served in its mother's milk.

i wasn't aware the majority of countries in europe ate horse tbh

not until the recession

haha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_meat#Horse_meat_in_various_countries

ha yeah ok. It's not like it's the most favouritest slaughtered dead animal going tho

tbh I like where this thread's gone, kudos youse.

wow: I have just learned that "subtracting the skin, feet, head and tail, hares and cats are practically identical" and that "Dar gato por liebre ('to pass off a cat as a hare') is an expression common to many Spanish-speaking countries, equivalent to 'to pull the wool over someone's eyes'"

ironically there a horse abbatoir up the road from where i work!

*is a

Horsemeat's used as pet food isnt it? Or am I imagining that.

Yeah I think so. A lot of throughbreds who don't cut it as gallopers :(

And this couple have this wombat rescue program and they SLEEP with all this wombats. And one of them follows the dude around like a dog, it was the cutest thing ever.

I know those guys. We looked after a couple of baby wombats for them when I was growing up. They are gorgeous, but very strong (as in the baby wombat would squeeze behind the fridge, then sort of bulge out its muscles and push the fridge away from the wall). They are also quite leapy, but very short sighted, so when we watched TV at night the wombats would leap vaguely into the air near the coach, miss it, then fall on their arses, which was very funny.

coUch

!!!!!

We were watching last night going 'AW!' basically the whole way through.

They do have that effect. Though once you've given them their milk, they can be a bit bitey--I still have a scar on my chest from one of them. Big front teeth to gnaw through roots.

I've actually got a videotape somewhere of one of them chasing me up and down the passageway, trying to jump up and bite me. I'd better find it and put it online somewhere.

abbott some relatives of mine got involved with an emu farming scheme back in the '90s too... i think it went bust, nobody was buying any of the emu products and the bottom fell out of the market really quickly!

apparently there was also an incident where some were being driven to a market in the back of a truck - they were doing the natural emu thing and sticking their heads out the side of the truck, then road train came too close in the opposite direction and lopped off all their heads ;__;

"Dear Erin. Guess what? That shrimp we throw on the barbie? IT'S DEAD SHRIMP! WE KILLED IT! Mwahahahaah! We're Australian. We shoot things. Get over it. Kthxbye"

(psst no-one tell her about the whole tasmania vs aborigines thing...she'll flip her wig)

You know, looking at the stupid clip, I don't think they're joking. They're too stupid to do an ironic news story.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1204777023&play=1 (story starts at 3.18)
Also LOL at how half the camel story is comprised of camel racing footage.

I'm sorry haitch but that emu beheading story is making me laugh. I cant help it.

ITS NOT SHRIMP, ITS PRAWNS DAMMIT PRRAWWWWNNNNS.

Also, I vote that "We're Australian. We shoot things. Get over it. Kthxbye" should be the next mongrels thread title.

can I counter suggest: "IT'S NOT SHRIMP, ITS PRAWNS DAMMIT PRRAWWWWNNNNS."

lolollol

Hmmm....camel venison....TASTY!

http://image03.webshots.com/3/0/20/5/24502005saPjvZXnrc_ph.jpg

I'm sorry haitch but that emu beheading story is making me laugh. I cant help it.

i know, it's terrible isn't it!!

You can buy horse meat in ordinary supermarkets in the north of Italy and in the Paris metro area. In fact I saw it in a Paris market this morning; the booth had an awesome sign with a lovely silhouette of a horse with a long mane. I'll take a photo next time I'm there.

I have a vague memory that there was a place in Darwin selling roast camel legs, calling them "Jurassic lamb shanks".

the prophecies are coming true: keep an eye out for Rudd

LOL:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/police-shoot-roo-in-front-of-children-20090807-ecfk.html

You can't make this shit up. I love this country.

Shooting kangaroos, throwing quokkas, strafing emus... the things we do in this country could inspire a thousand indie band names.

Oh so that was the origin of Machine Gun Fellatio.

Then there's the salmon hating, the shark baiting, and of course the koala plating.

And the sheep mating.

Wait no, thats over the pond.

I heart NSW RSPCA for their apologetic understatement: "Having looked at the footage, it is our belief that the police did their level best to destroy the animal as well as they could given the circumstances they were in. The destruction of any animal is never a pretty scene."

Roughly translated:"It was a gimpy fucken roo for chrissakes. It's not like they killed Skippy."

You would think rural town kids would know better than to be shocked by it too.

though on second thoughts, Armidale's a pretty big, if rural, city.