February 23, 2011

"The Daily Show" brings a live camel to icy downtown Madison to do a comedy skit, and it gets entangled in a metal fence and falls down horribly.

This is difficult to watch...



Background and more video here. The show's comic actor John Oliver was on the scene. Obviously, the idea was to play on the comparison between Egypt and Wisconsin, which has been pushed by the local protesters.

Truly nauseating. The linked piece in the Isthmus says it "ends happily" because the animal is eventually able to stand up again. Ithmus is a newspaper of sorts. Let's see if — instead of smiling on camera and calling it a happy ending — the reporter finds out where the TV crew got the camel, who thought it was acceptable to bring a camel out in the ice and snow, who decided to put a collapsible metal fence around the animal, what training the handlers had, why the owners of the camel entrusted its welfare to these people, and what ultimately happened to the animal?

I kind of hate driving traffic to the Isthmus (and to the same reporter who wrote an article trashing me as an egotist because I declined to give him an interview), because it seems to be treating this as a kooky, quirky YouTube moment. It's not. It's animal cruelty.

I'd like an investigation. Should someone be prosecuted?

ADDED: The reporter, Jack Craver, apparently obliges John Oliver who tells him to shut off the camera. The animal struggles for 10 minutes, we hear in the final video, but there's no video of most of that — it seems because Craver bowed to the authority of a comedian. Craver refers to Oliver as a "correspondent." Hello? He's an actor.

In that final video, Craver turns the camera on himself right after the animal finally struggles to its legs. I realize he's happy that the animal has managed to stand up, but I find it hard to believe that is a face of a human being that just watched an animal suffer for 10 minutes.

You know, the world is real. And "The Daily Show" is fake.

IN THE COMMENTS: Jack Craver stops in and I respond:
Craver writes: "I did not oblige John Oliver's request to turn the camera off. As the video shows, I kept the camera on and shot two more videos."

You say, in the final video, that there were 10 minutes of the camel on the ground, but you do not show 10 minutes. The video with Oliver ends a few seconds after he asks you to stop, and the next video begins at some later point.

And I don't assert what I don't know. I say "apparently" and "it seems." If you have the full 10 minutes of the suffering camel on the ground. Please post it. Or send it to me and I will post it. And please tell me why your face looked so fresh after looking at that 10 minutes of torture. And why you wrote a cutesy post about it as if you were pleased that you got to see a celebrity and scoop some video.

"It's news to me that my article that you gave a generally positive review last year, and that your husband gave 'a solid A-" was meant to trash you.'"

Well, you need to think a lot harder about a lot of things. You are quite unsophisticated, and I don't particularly enjoy embarrassing you because you are or were a UW student and I am a teacher. See if you can figure out why we addressed your article like that. See? I'm a teacher. I'm trying to teach you to think better. I'm sure you know you were trying to trash me and I am sure your colleagues at the Isthmus knew that and I'm sure the folks around the law school saw it that way. Now, be a man and admit that, and then go back and think through why Meade and I patronized you the way we did.

170 comments:

TerriW said...

"As God as my witness, I thought camels could walk on ice."

TerriW said...

(Pardon the "as" for "is")

Joe Biden Is Corrupt said...

How much torment did the animal have to go through for Comedy Central to get its 'Gotcha moment?
We see some of it. Pathetic and sad.

Think of all the lousy travel, the lousy conditions, etc...
Leftiwngers don't care. It's all for the glory of the holy leftwinger.

Henry said...

@TerriW -- Funny! Brilliant skewer.

Fen said...

From the casual way this was mishandled, it sounds like its The Daily Show's SOP.

Makes you wonder what else goes into the sausage...

Alex said...

Anything for the greater glory of unions.

Irene said...

I hope a few of the protestors who are vegans (I know at least three) get a glimpse of this.

Anonymous said...

I like how the Daily Show "reporter" tells the person with the camera..."be gone, be gone" (at least that's what i think he said).

Not as funny when you're the one being shown in an unflattering light I suppose.

Kev said...

(the other kev)

Ooops! Time for Stewart to put the clown nose on and deflect!

Lincolntf said...

So pissed off that I can't compose a post. Long story short: Fuck you Daily Show, Fuck you protesting Madisonians and Fuck you to the yammering jackasses at the Isthmus.

Fen said...

Yup. And his viewers are the ones who filled the Colosseum while Rome rotted away.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Jeez, if you think this should be investigated, WTF would you recommend we do to the millions of horribly negligent parents in the country who are the cause of our lousy test scores on standardized tests?

reader_iam said...

Just. F***ing. Wow.

Fen said...

Hey now, its all for a good cause. Union leadership needs to upgrade the Penthouse jacuzzi.



[...]

/best new siggy:

"Hell hath no fury like a woman sick of sharia." — David French

Anonymous said...

Coupla problems with the Eqypt analogy:

1. The Wisconsin public union are privileged, well-to-do white people.

2. The outcome of this Eqyptian biz is unlikely to be something that these public union fools will find very palatable.

That is, unless the union ladies of Wisconsin would like to cut off their clitorises in solidarity with the ladies of Eqypt.

Be sure to sterilize those razor blades!

Timothy said...

It's been a few years since my Criminal Law course, but I believe an act is not illegal if one's intent is making a joke (or social commentary).

Triangle Man said...

LOL Timothy!

Fen said...

Coupla problems with the Eqypt analogy:

In short:

The Eqyptians are fighting for self-determination, the Unions against.

foxtrot said...

Poor camel. This just adds to the circus environment that all of this crap has become on the Capitol Square.

garage mahal said...

Did Scott Walker Get Crank-Call Pwned?

Oh my.......sure sounds like Walker.

Anonymous said...

Well, no, that's not what I meant when I said "coupla problems." This is more what I meant:

While the media are kvelling about "freedom" in Egypt ("protesters" having finally persuaded Mubarak it was high time to am-scray), it behooves us to take a deep breath and consider this: the Egyptians are not like us. The Egyptian concept of "freedom" is an Islamic--not a Western--one. They still hate Jews/Israelis like poison. And you're talking about a country that is essentially a clitoris-free zone (9 out of 10 women in Egypt being the victims of Female Genital Mutilation).

So puh-leeze, knock it off with the romantic "freedom" stuff, 'kay, 'cuz it's a huge crock of shite.

Anonymous said...

The Eqyptians are fighting for self-determination, the Unions against.

No, I'm afraid not.

They're fighting for an Islamic state, and universal butchery of female genitalia.

Anonymous said...

garbage tries to change the subject.

reader_iam said...

@garage mahal: So, whatcha think about the camel?

For God's sake. Gimme a break.

Anonymous said...

Well, who knew? Sand? Snow? It's all pretty much the same to a modern metro-sexual.

Automatic_Wing said...

Typically thoughtless and inconsiderate move from the smug, pretentious hipster douchebags at The Daily Show.

Probably won't hear a peep from PETA and all the other animal rights nuts, either, since animal abuse is really alright if it supports a left-wing cause. You betcha.

Anonymous said...

So, are the union ladies ready to saw off their clits in solidarity with those Egyptians?

We know, it's exactly the same... what's happening in Egypt and Madison.

Exactly the same damned thing.

Fen said...

/sidebar

I disagree on this one ST.

American values champion self-determination, despite the realpolitik.

That means we support the right of Egyptians and Saudis to choose their own path, even if it means their next choice will be to wage total war against us.

We can't properly defend Western Civ with the American Left constantly nipping at our ankles. So I'm welcoming revolution in the ME. It will either wake them up or kill them off.

AllenS said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Triangle Man said...

This video is hard to watch. Poor creature.

Not nearly as hard to watch as those meat processing videos that graced your sidebar for months, mind you.

AllenS said...

They could throw the camel in the ditch, and someone would come by and butcher the animal and make soup or some other shit.

I'll bet that Stewart had a good laugh, and let's face it, that's all that matters. Oh, and plus all of the cool kids.

Freeman Hunt said...

That means we support the right of Egyptians and Saudis to choose their own path, even if it means their next choice will be to wage total war against us.

No, I don't agree with that. Believing in self determination means believing in it for everyone. You don't get to "self-determine" that you're going to murder or oppress someone.

Democracy without liberal rights is garbage. If they're going to have a democracy with protected civil rights, I support them. If not, I don't.

Joe Biden Is Corrupt said...

Every time I see an idiot lefty with a bumper sticker that says "Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert for President" I will think of this.

Freeman Hunt said...

As for the camel, shame on them. That's terrible.

Anonymous said...

In the abstract, I agree with you. And that "total war" is probably on the way.

The point is, the analogy between Egypt and Madison doesn't work.

These union workers have nothing in common with the Islamist in Egypt. Especially, the culture of Madison is at war with the Islamist culture of Egypt. If those Islamists ever get to Madison, they'll execute the gays and force the women into burkas.

So, the analogy is completely bogus.

Fen said...

Arthur Conan Doyle's Viceroy Galt

AFG said...

You people. I've brought up vegetarianism/animal rights on this blog before and have been greatly ridiculed for my silly liberal beliefs. This is horrible, but believe that every cow that has ever been slaughtered for meat has been put through much, much more pain than this camel, and for the fleeting pleasure you get from eating its meat. You can live healthy and well with a vegetarian diet, so spare any bs about needing how your desire to taste meat is anymore meaningful than the fleeting comedy attempted here.

Fen said...

ack, sorry ST. I see that I hijacked your point. Didn't mean to do that.

MadisonMan said...

Comedy is not Pretty. Steve Martin said it best.

It's not warm in the Desert at night, however, so I doubt the camel was cold. Disoriented by ice, perhaps.

They were Idiots to bring it here. Why not a pantomime horse instead?

Freeman Hunt said...

This is horrible, but believe that every cow that has ever been slaughtered for meat has been put through much, much more pain than this camel

How do you figure that. Herded in, bolt to the head. Not much suffering in that.

We're certainly the kindest, most thoughtful predators on the planet.

MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...

While the camel appears to be somewhat domesticated, the handlers never had full control of the animal from the very beginning of the clip. The dozen or so bystanders watching are in potential danger. Whoever approved the permit allowing a large animal to be used as a prop for a TV show in a pedestrian area ought to be made to sweat for exercising poor judgment.

I'd add the person who approved the permit to the list of people that have some 'splainin to do.

Issob Morocco said...

Welcome to the warped world of Liberalism!

Automatic_Wing said...

They were Idiots to bring it here. Why not a pantomime horse instead?

Yeah, I agree, Stewart and Colbert inside a camel suit would have been much funnier.

Anonymous said...

This is horrible, but believe that every cow that has ever been slaughtered for meat has been put through much, much more pain than this camel, and for the fleeting pleasure you get from eating its meat.

You're a city boy, aren't you?

Freeman Hunt said...

To those who would push the comparison between Egypt and Madison, who, pray tell, would be the Madison Lara Logan?

Drew said...

Ithmus is a newspaper of sorts.

Ann wins the thread!

Hoosier Daddy said...

Democracy without liberal rights is garbage. If they're going to have a democracy with protected civil rights, I support them. If not, I don't.

Well that's the $69 question although I'll stand by my assumption that even if the MB stays out of the political arena, Egyptian society probably won't change all that much. They'll still hate us, the Israelis and I doubt we'll see any liberalization that Westerners would applaud.

The flipside is whether we cut the fiscal spigot off to the Egyptians and then we'll see how long its military remains its most 'respected institution'. Maybe they'll turn to China which may be the best thing for us.

woof said...

Jon Stewart has been mocking news reporters comparing the events in Madison to the event in Egypt. Hence the camel.

Ann Althouse said...

"You can live healthy and well with a vegetarian diet.."

I was a vegetarian for 2 or 3 years, but I had physical symptoms that I won't describe. I started eating meat again and the symptoms (which had been chronic) went away and never came back. I don't eat a lot of meat. Probably an average of 2 ounces a day, but I believe I need to eat meat for my health. I do care about the humane treatment of animals in the meat industry. I think some vegetarians are troubled that the animals are killed at all. That is a separate moral question from how they are treated and whether they are subjected to fear and pain.

Hoosier Daddy said...

This is horrible, but believe that every cow that has ever been slaughtered for meat has been put through much, much more pain than this camel

Slaughtering a cow for food is quite different than mistreating an animal for kicks or comedy. One is a necessity for survival. The other is just barbarism.

Freeman Hunt said...

I can't imagine any sort of hoof is useful on ice. Am I wrong?

I remember a kid in elementary school telling us a story after returning from days off for ice. The ice this time had been extremely thick and dense. His family had a cow farm, and they woke up to the sound of very loud mooing. They ran to the windows in time to see all the cows sliding downhill toward a little grove of trees. They'd woken up, stepped on the ice, and had no traction at all.

Roger J. said...

Oh yeah--this is fucking funny--liberals assholes brutalizing animals to make their political points

line up the fuckers against a wall and shoot them

PaulV said...

The plow trucks did not spread enough sand because of complaints from public.

Fen said...

Jack Craver, speaking truth to power. What a farce.

This is why "journolists" are so despised.

Unknown said...

Exactly, Issob, their world is indeed warped. They could have killed that animal. FOR SARCASM.

Ann Althouse said...

"Jon Stewart has been mocking news reporters comparing the events in Madison to the event in Egypt."

I'm glad to hear he's *mocking* the exaggerations and bad analogies of the protesters. I was going to check out the show to see what he's saying. I record it every night, but I rarely watch anymore. I just got tired of listening to Stewart yell with that strained look of amazement on his face. I just can't bring myself to click on the recording anymore.

Fred4Pres said...

It was cruel, in a sort of clumsy unintentional but totally foreseeable way. Like people who ride horses who have no idea what they are doing. Who do they think they are Michael Cimino?

Gwen said...

I'm not a regular Daily Show viewer, but I have seen a couple of clips which ridicule the Madisonians for comparing themselves to protesters in the ME.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-22-2011/wisconsin-budget-protests

http://www.sockroll.com/Jon-Stewart-on-the-Union-Demonstrations-in-Wisconsin/x/d99q83

I'm thinking the camel was brought in to make fun of the protesters, not to highlight the supposed parallels between the two situations.

Regardless, it was a stupid and heartless thing to do to the poor animal.

AllenS said...

Animals do about as good on ice as we do.

No class, I've butchered animals before on my farm and I can assure you they did not suffer.

Now go to McDonalds and have a happy meal.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Sorry but being a vegetarian is a nice luxury where popping over to the local Piggly Wiggly will sustain your lifestyle. Insisting that the rest of the population follow such a diet plan is a recipie (no pun intended) for massive starvation.

Its eerie how many liberal dogmas tend to result in mass population decreases.

Hoosier Daddy said...

I just got tired of listening to Stewart yell with that strained look of amazement on his face.

Some schticks just lose their effect over time.

Palladian said...

"I just got tired of listening to Stewart yell with that strained look of amazement on his face."

Funny, I stopped watching Barack Obama for a similar reason, having grown tired of that strained look of competence on his face.

MayBee said...

Compare this to the caution for the lobster in Julie&Julia that Althouse drew to our attention.

Roger J. said...

yuck yuck yuck--liberals are SO funny

bagoh20 said...

Pleople have the right to eat whatever they wish, within reason, but I simply can't imagine eating one of my beloved house plants. I've watched them grow, and cared for them every day. They have always been there for me. Vegetables are murder.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

If you want to see how a camel should move, check out this

AllenS said...

Every once in a while, I have this urge to waterboard my tomatoes.

Automatic_Wing said...

This is horrible, but believe that every cow that has ever been slaughtered for meat has been put through much, much more pain than this camel, and for the fleeting pleasure you get from eating its meat.

This is moral relativism at its purest. Is it OK if I come over to your house and kick your dog a few times? Cause that's certainly less traumatic than being made into hamburger meat.

TosaGuy said...

Yes, bringing a large skittish animal near a crowd of screaming people with drums is an excellent idea.

This would not have happened if they would have had puppets.

Ann Althouse said...

My post says "Obviously, the idea was to play on the comparison between Egypt and Wisconsin, which has been pushed by the local protesters." That does not presume that the show itself endorsed the comparison. People who are saying the show made fun of the protesters are no correcting anything I put in the post. I hope everyone realizes that. I try very hard not to make assertions about things I don't know. As I said above, I have not been watching the show. I watched it all the time for many years, but I am tired of it.

Meade said...

Probably won't hear a peep from PETA

No no no. Write the whole thing out:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Anonymous said...

No class, I've butchered animals before on my farm and I can assure you they did not suffer.

An important but seldom made point is that the animal husbandry practices vegetarians often object to exist almost exclusively in the propaganda they read and in their minds. I’ve never met one pushing this “suffering of beef cattle” claptrap that had ever even been to a farm or abattoir, much less grown up on or around one. I’m not saying slaughtering animals for meat is gumdrops and rainbows, but it’s not done by gleeful budding serial killers with dull pocketknives and baseball bats, either.

And don’t even get me started on what these idiots think you have to do to keep a dairy cow in production.

Ann Althouse said...

"Yes, bringing a large skittish animal near a crowd of screaming people with drums is an excellent idea."

The camel was predictably going to attract a crowd, including children. It could easily have gotten scared and broken free. It's a big strong animal and it very easily might have hurt or even killed children. The people who brought it to the Capitol Square were criminally stupid.

aronamos said...

Waiting for the liberal defense: but, but, but, Faux News!!111!!

Andrea said...

Wow, what's next in our Hipster Overlords' bag of tricks, bear-baiting?

KCFleming said...

Too bad they couldn't get a Madison plow to spread some sand there.

Prolly busy off somewheres else, honking n' stuff.

KCFleming said...

Stewart is like most vegans.

Don't know a damned thing about animals, except pets.

Sorry, animal companions.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

I’m not saying slaughtering animals for meat is gumdrops and rainbows, but it’s not done by gleeful budding serial killers with dull pocketknives and baseball bats, either.

Damn... I've been doing it wrong all this time, and no one told me. Sigh.

Raul said...

Suddenly...The Queen is a member of PETA?

And she frames the situation as if PETA should be up in arms because of this...as if the camel was being mistreated in some way? (How many animals, camels included, do you think have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan?)

The hypocrisy rages on...

Raul said...

Pogo - So now you know Stewart personally?

Duh.

Joe Biden Is Corrupt said...

So you can only care about the welfare and treatment of animals if you belong to PETA? What an odd paradigm. I think plenty of healthy eaters/meat eaters prefer to eat animals that were treated decently before they were killed. Who wants to eat the meat of an animal who was treated badly, kept in shit conditions, stressed out, and pumped with mystery meds?

Raul said...

Andrea - "Hipster Overlord???"

Duh.

Lincolntf said...

I have the good fortune of spending a lot of time around horses, so maybe I'm a bit too sensitive on the topic. But if I ever saw anyone putting an animal through that ordeal, PETA would be the least of his worries.

KCFleming said...

Raul said..."I'm Jeremy/Michael/Lucky's 52nd incarnation."

Same dull wit, new faux diversity tag!

KCFleming said...

It's all fun and games until the camel bites, kicks and shits on you.

Then it's hilarious.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Who wants to eat the meat of an animal who was treated badly, kept in shit conditions, stressed out, and pumped with mystery meds?

Depends. Can I get fries with that?

aronamos said...

I actually have worked around camels at an outdoor religious play. They can kick in any direction, including sideways; I once saw one break a kid's armby shooting a leg out perpendicular to the ground and to its side. In addition they can spit very accurately. So yes, it was ill-advised, for both the camel and for anyone who might have gotten near it.

KCFleming said...

Or as Barney Fife said, "Why don't you go up to the old folk's home and wax the steps?"

Jason said...

Talk about helping your cause.

I'm sure Walker looked at that and thought, "You know, maybe I should compromise with those people."

The far left in this country right now is an utter joke.

Timothy said...

If Craig Kilborne were still the host of "The Daily Show", this kind of thing would never have happened. Where are you now, Craiggers?

roesch-voltaire said...

While the camel was down, Walker got caught in his own comedy scene as he was punked into believing his was talking to his main backer David Koch-- must hear tape on YouTube.

Chris said...

Why do people talk about the Daily Show as though it's a news program?

William said...

"Everything that lives is holy." And that includes broccoli. Mammal chauvinists pull these poor creatures from their beds without even a minimal effort to reduce the trauma. And what about brussel sprouts? These are the baby seals of the vegan world. Millions slaughtered just so some vegan can have his fiber and vitamin C.....It is time for vegans to evolve further. Dung beetles can live on horseshit. Vegans have taken the preparatoy steps, but it is now time for them to go all way and live on nothing but horseshit

Anonymous said...

Vegans have taken the preparatoy steps, but it is now time for them to go all way and live on nothing but horseshit.

I believe this would violate the First Law of Thermodynamics.

William said...

And do they ever think about all the caramels that are slaughtered just so their kids can have candy?

MadisonMan said...

The people who brought it to the Capitol Square were criminally stupid.

Stupidity is not a crime. (Thank goodness!)

(and You, a Law Professor!)

KCFleming said...

I hear The Daily Show skit where they throw puppies in the paper shredder is now on hold.

jr565 said...

Michael Vick is wondering if he could have a camel fighting ring and not get blasted for animal cruelty, since apparently the usual parties that are normally outraged over cruelty to animals are in fact mum on the subject.

Kensington said...

Why do people talk about the Daily Show as though it's a news program?
When they're not vulnerable to criticism, they pose as a news program.

Dustin said...

Are they asking if the animal broke its leg? It sounds a bit like that.

If so, they may have euthanized the animal. Certainly, that is a foreseeable consequence of their decision to brutalize it with this stunt. I've never heard a camel make sounds of misery, but that is clearly what you hear from the animal in the video.

I can only imagine if some right wing political comedian like Crowder or whoever did something like this. It isn't the biggest deal in the world right now, but it's still quite f'ed up.

That the camera shut off is disgusting.

Number Six said...

There is a real similarity between the Egyptians and the Wisconsin Unions. Just remember the outcome of the Persian Revolution when we had President Peanut.

The Egyptians are fighting to create another brutal, Islamic theocracy. The Wisconsin Unions are fighting . . to preserve a brutal Union monopoly. Both will be anti-freedom and anti-democracy.

Anonymous said...

I'd walk a mile to kick the shite out of someone abusing a camel.

Dustin said...

"so spare any bs about needing how your desire to taste meat is anymore meaningful than the fleeting comedy attempted here."

Um, I need meat to survive, just as you do. There is no way to get all the protein chains I need without animals. That's why vegans are either eating some animal products (often in pill form supplements) or very unhealthy.

Eating is a good example of something called a 'need'. It's a lot different than seeing a camel in misery for a comedy routine. That you conflate them shows you are unserious about animal welfare.

You want to be better than other people rather than improve the lot of animals.

pst314 said...

"tooclass 9:47am: You people. I've brought up vegetarianism/animal rights on this blog before and have been greatly ridiculed for my silly liberal beliefs."

That's because you are silly.

Radish said...

punked into believing his was talking to his main backer David Koch

Looks like you just admitted Walker had never spoken with David Koch before. Oops!

bumpylight said...

Camels are notoriously bad-tempered and mean and prone to biting with warning, leaving nasty wounds that fester for weeks.

Obviously, camels are no match for leftists.

mrs whatsit said...

Camels are seriously dangerous animals. They are huge and they are perfectly willing to do harm when they feel like it. I once saw two of them fighting at a zoo, ripping bloody ribbons of skin off one another; the keepers were trying to find ways to stop them from outside the cage since they would have risked their lives by entering it. Apart from the sheer cruelty of bringing a desert animal into an icy Wisconsin winter, it was mind-bogglingly stupid to bring a camel into a downtown area crowded with human beings -- especially since whoever did it apparently did not know enough about the animals to understand how they should be handled.

M. Simon said...

Come on folks.

It was a mechanical camel.

Real camels are expensive and require snow shoes.

traditionalguy said...

It can always be said this is climate change related. Egyptian camel's are nearly extinct in the frozen north country due to global warming induced cold air sent south by the increased warming in the North Pole sea ice cap areas. Just trust me and James Hansen on this one. Either that or AlGore has made an incognito trip to Madison this week.

M. Simon said...

BTW I didn't find it hard to watch. I just hit "play" and it worked perfectly. Maybe it doesn't work well on old browsers.

M. Simon said...

Fen said...

Hey now, its all for a good cause. Union leadership needs to upgrade the Penthouse jacuzzi.


Penthouse is running a camel of the month spread?

Who knew?

Oh. I get it. A Penthouse PET.

It is so HARD to get camels to spread. BTW what was the camel's name? If it is Bruce I'm going to be pissed.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Camels are seriously dangerous animals. They are huge and they are perfectly willing to do harm when they feel like it

True story. This is why the sheep herds in our area always include several Llamasfor protection.

A llama will kill a coyote, dog, bobcat and even try to take on a mountain lion. Llamas are mean mothers when they don't like you.

blake said...

To those who would push the comparison between Egypt and Madison, who, pray tell, would be the Madison Lara Logan?

The camel?

Trooper York said...

The problem with a camel in Wisconsin is that you do not have enough jockeys there. This would never have happened on Atlantic Avenue.

M. Simon said...

Vegans have taken the preparatoy steps, but it is now time for them to go all way and live on nothing but horseshit

Horseshit has bacteria. You can't tell me bacteria aren't alive. And what is the deal about using a camel as a go-between?

It would be like using my mate as a go-between between me and a lesbian. Hey. Now there is an idea. Meat eating might not be so bad after all.

WV: hymarmi - Uh. Oh. Hym and what armi? The lesbian is not going to like that.

Lyle said...

Class action lawsuit against the Daily Show (everyone who has viewed this has been harmed and thousands could sue). Get on it lawyers.

M. Simon said...

whoever did it apparently did not know enough about the animals to understand how they should be handled.

Foreplay is the key. Dry humping can chafe you and the camel. You will never get a date with that camel again.

Trooper York said...

Camels are smelly, ugly and disgusting beasts notorious for bad tempers, biting and spitting. Anyone who has spent any time in the Middle East knows this.

Hasn't Jon Stewart ever have Helen Thomas on his show?

He should have known better.

M. Simon said...

This is horrible, but believe that every cow that has ever been slaughtered for meat has been put through much, much more pain than this camel, and for the fleeting pleasure you get from eating its meat.

I grew up butchering meat. Cows, chicken, pigs. You haven't had fun until you have seen a chicken run around with its head cut off in the back yard.

From the time I left college until I joined the Navy I worked in a packing house. Meat everywhere. And all the pork rinds you can eat. When I worked 12 hour shifts I looked forward to lunch and supper. You haven't lived until you have taken fine steak meat (dehydrated for the US Military) and put it in a vat of 350 F pig grease. And then eaten it. Fleeting pleasure? Not if you do it every day.

But I do agree on one thing. If you haven't at least taken the packing house tour and visited the killing floor you shouldn't be eating meat. You ought to know where your lunch comes from. Pig sticking is bloody business.

KCFleming said...

Troop, no need to insult camels like that.

The Sconz said...

I did not oblige John Oliver's request to turn the camera off. As the video shows, I kept the camera on and shot two more videos.

It's news to me that my article that you gave a generally positive review last year, and that your husband gave "a solid A-" was meant to trash you.

Jack Craver

harkin said...

Considering the level of humor I've seen on TDS, a camel experiencing panic, slipping on ice and under severe distress should be right down their alley.

tim maguire said...

I don't see how this reflects badly on the Daily Show. Some producer had a great idea "let's bring in a camel! Won't that be funny!" He doesn't know much about camels, why should he?

An intern calls around and finds a camel handler, who brings it downtown for a stunt that goes wrong.

Whose fault?

Obviously, the handler's. He's the one who knows camels. He's the one who's responsible for this camel's safety. And he's the one with the responsibility to say "ummm...no. It's not safe to bring a camel out in this weather."

M. Simon said...

I have the good fortune of spending a lot of time around horses

How was the meat?

888 said...

The camel was all, 'I go a week without water, so should teachers.'

Ann Althouse said...

Craver writes: "I did not oblige John Oliver's request to turn the camera off. As the video shows, I kept the camera on and shot two more videos."

You say, in the final video, that there were 10 minutes of the camel on the ground, but you do not show 10 minutes. The video with Oliver ends a few seconds after he asks you to stop, and the next video begins at some later point.

And I don't assert what I don't know. I say "apparently" and "it seems." If you have the full 10 minutes of the suffering camel on the ground. Please post it. Or send it to me and I will post it. And please tell me why your face looked so fresh after looking at that 10 minutes of torture. And why you wrote a cutesy post about it as if you were pleased that you got to see a celebrity and scoop some video.

"It's news to me that my article that you gave a generally positive review last year, and that your husband gave 'a solid A-" was meant to trash you.'"

Well, you need to think a lot harder about a lot of things. You are quite unsophisticated, and I don't particularly enjoy embarrassing you because you are or were a UW student and I am a teacher. See if you can figure out why we addressed your article like that. See? I'm a teacher. I'm trying to teach you to think better. I'm sure you know you were trying to trash me and I am sure your colleagues at the Isthmus knew that and I'm sure the folks around the law school saw it that way. Now, be a man and admit that, and then go back and think through why Meade and I patronized you the way we did.

Wince said...

The Mubarak supporters were the ones with the camels, right?

Anonymous said...

As an animal lover, I share your outrage. As a north American I believe that camels and Arabs belong in the middle east and nowhere else.

Dave Justus said...

It is obviously unfortunate that the Camel got tangled in the fence, but that strikes me as an accident, not some sort of nefarious act.

Generally speaking, Camels do fine on ice and snow and while they are a large herbivore and thus can be dangerous they are also domesticated and have been safely in close proximity to people (even children!) for centuries.

It was an accident, perhaps caused by careless on the part of the handlers, or perhaps just bad luck. Nothing more.

howzerdo said...

This is awful.

Ann Althouse said...

"It is obviously unfortunate that the Camel got tangled in the fence, but that strikes me as an accident, not some sort of nefarious act."

People are held responsible for accidents all the time.

comatus said...

Editor's note on manuscript: "You have spelled the Arabic name of your racing camel three different ways."

"Yes. She was a magnificent beast."
--TE Lawrence.

This gag lay dormant for two years, and all of a sudden I'm getting calls for it all over the place. Wisdom has a multitude of pillars.

Dave Justus said...

"People are held responsible for accidents all the time."

Sure, but usually we have standards about that. This post seems to imply that the very idea of a Camel in Madison is negligent behavior, either because it is to snowy for Camels there or there were too many people around. Neither seems to track with actual facts about Camels.

As I said, perhaps the handlers were negligent (difficult to tell) or perhaps even the person hiring them didn't ensure they were qualified (unlikely, but possible) but to imply that the very idea of having a Camel in Madison for entertainment value was obviously a bad idea strikes me as unsupportable.

Meade said...

"...to imply that the very idea of having a Camel in Madison for entertainment value was obviously a bad idea strikes me as unsupportable."

You saw what happened. Was that predictable? Yes. Why? Because the streets and sidewalks of Madison were covered in frozen slush, there were hundreds of people who were successfully trying to make noise, and the handler was clearly inept.

Was it an accident? It doesn't appear to have been deliberate. Was it negligent? It certainly could have been prevented.

"Entertainment value?" Is that what these protests are about? Jokes and pranks?

orbicularioculi said...

This was truly outrageous. Whoever thought that putting Figure Skates on a camel would be entertaining should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Animal Cruelties Act.

Camels do not learn to skate on ice in their natural environment. Maybe toboggan down a sand dune but this was just over the top cruel. For Shame!

Martin L. Shoemaker said...

I do have to agree that the handler bears the largest responsibility. I want the experts to tell me when my "brilliant" idea is a dumb one.

But speaking of my brilliant ideas: I've long thought that responsibility is not a zero-sum game. You can have multiple people who are all 100% responsible for a mistake. The handler here was 100% responsible. The show people, though, were pretty close to 100% responsible as well.

I know courts need to apportion responsibility as a way to determine who must pay for reparations and damages, and that's a zero-sum game. But morally, I think that every person who has a reasonable chance to observe and not prevent an incident has responsibility for that incident, possibly 100%. And in this case, I blame the handler first, but the other participants as well.

cbinflux said...

Turn those cameras off!!! The gag backfired on us.

Anonymous said...

To report this or any animal abuse depicted on the internet, of television, email the FBI or DOJ (same thing really )Milwaukee office at milwaukee@ic.fbi.gov

cbinflux said...

Chris said...
Why do people talk about the Daily Show as though it's a news program?
~~~~~~~~~~
It's more believable than MSNBC

cbinflux said...

Yoopers Unite!

Jum said...

It's all relative: can anyone even make an argument that PETA and the usual leftist groups wouldn't have been on this like Chicken Little with the sky report if it had been conducted by, say, Glenn Beck ?...I thought not.

Anonymous said...

Animal abuse depicted on the internet has to be reported to the local, in this case, Milwaukee office of the FBi. milwaukee @ic.fbi.gov. Special Agent in charge is Nancy McNamara. This cannot be chalked up to bad taste. It is abuse.

Dave Justus said...

"You saw what happened."

Actually, I didn't. The video start with the camel's foot somehow tangled in the fence. I didn't see what caused that, and I certainly didn't see the camel slip on the snow, which is unsurprising because a Camel's leathery, hoofless feet get pretty good traction.

However, I'm not a camel expert, so perhaps the fences should have been different to prevent that or perhaps it startled at the noise, I couldn't say. It seems plausible to me that this exact scenario could have taken place with a camel that was just being properly handled at a ranch or something.

Also, while the Camel was obviously distressed, it didn't seem to me to be in pain and the handlers did a very good job of keeping it calm and, presumably, extracting it.

Sometimes a properly handled animal get in trouble. This happens, and I don't think anyone here has any evidence that something else happened here.

bagoh20 said...

Martin, I like your multiple 100% responsibility theory, which allows me to hold Althouse 100% responsible for Obama, and him 100% responsible for this camel, since he could have talked the protesters out of the last week's circus. So that makes Althouse 100% responsible for the camel.

I don't like camels much, and I do like Ann, but the logic tells me: Poor animal, bad lady.

bagoh20 said...

"if it had been conducted by, say, Glenn Beck ?"

But also, the thing is, we all know Beck would never do such a thing and The Daily show would. So libs, why do you like the wrong guy, the nasty one.

bagoh20 said...

And another of the many strange inconsistencies: Why do "environmentalists" like and listen to Al Gore and hate G. W. Bush, when it would probably take W. Ten lifetimes to equal Gore's carbon footprint.

roesch-voltaire said...

David your post is much too rational an explanation-- best you get with the program.

KCFleming said...

"Sometimes a properly handled animal get in trouble. "

True, although what moron thought it was a good idea to put a desert animal on ice?

That's what doesn't fit with 'properly handled'.

Like making a pig walk a tightrope.

Trooper York said...

"Sometimes a properly handled animal get in trouble. "

I know. That's why always get nervous when Hillary has a press conferance. Just sayn'

Methadras said...

Why are leftards breathing the same air that I do. These people are fucking batshit crazy. That poor camel. Damn that was painful to watch. This is bullshit. I'm not a PETA guy, but I can't stand to watch an animal suffer and be treated this way. It's unnecessary and cruel and all for a publicity stunt that has failed because leftards value symbolism over substance. Fuck you leftards and your bullshit ideology and ideas. They are FUBAR. All of them.

Methadras said...

garage mahal said...

Did Scott Walker Get Crank-Call Pwned?

Oh my.......sure sounds like Walker.


Keep stabbing in the dark you fucking idiot. That's all you got left.

BJM said...

I forwarded the video to Stewart's key advertisers, we'll see how funny they think it is to be associated with animal cruelty.

Trooper York said...

The problem is never the crime it is the cover up.

The problem is never the camel it is the camel toe.

Palladian said...

Television and movie industry people are among the most calloused, amoral, rude and entitled individuals in the world. I can assure you, the only thing that upset any of the "Daily Show" people involved in this is the fact that their skit was spoiled.

Darlene said...

I had the idea for the Potato Protection League many years ago. "Consider the poor potato, ripped from the soil while still alive, and then plunged into hot water, or fried in hot grease, or even NUKED in a microwave..." Must add broccoli and brussel sprouts to the list of vegetables dying horribly just for the fleeting pleasure we get from eating them!

Unknown said...

This wasn't animal cruelty. This was an accident plain and simple.

mrs whatsit said...

People who think this isn't animal cruelty are just clueless. This desert animal was brought into a downtown area in the winter, on ice, pavement, and snow, for no legitimate reason, and handled so clumsily and thoughtlessly that it was allowed to entangle itself in what should have been an obvious hazard.

Yes, it was an accident: an accident that would not have happened if those responsible had shown a little forethought and respect for the animal -- not to mention concern for the safety of the people downtown (camels can be absolutely vicious, and those long legs can kick a long way.) I have lived on farms for most of my life and am no animal rights activist, but it burns me up to see people treating an animal so callously, and then minimizing it by claiming it was an accident -- as though the camel had been struck by lightning instead of hurt because it was taken into a place it did not belong, by people who should have known better, for no better reason than the entertainment of a bunch of effete hipster fools.

Palladian said...

"This was an accident plain and simple."

Yes, just like when you decide to make a video for "America's Funniest Home Videos" and take your child to a freeway and put them in the middle of the road and they get hit by a car. Simply an accident! You were just trying to make a comedy video!

There's a such thing as negligence. It can be observed in this video.

Irene said...

Craver's Facebook Wall posting declares, "Yes, The Daily Show brought a camel to Madison, Wisconsin and almost killed it."

Clever? Clueless.

Fen said...

I hope Carver at least got an autograph.

Methadras said...

mrs whatsit said...

People who think this isn't animal cruelty are just clueless. This desert animal was brought into a downtown area in the winter, on ice, pavement, and snow, for no legitimate reason, and handled so clumsily and thoughtlessly that it was allowed to entangle itself in what should have been an obvious hazard.


What are you? A fucking magician? In one sentence you claim this isn't animal cruelty and then in the next you make the case that it inherently is? Misdirection or just stupid? It was cruel to put an animal that had no business being there in the middle of a drama that was done as a skit by leftards who where trying to show how stupid conservatives are. Ooops? Irony much.

Synova said...

Should I read through all this?

It was obviously an accident. That sometimes happens. And when you're dealing with a powerful animal that can't understand "turn your foot so we can get this off you", it's going to take quite a long time to get it all straightened out.

Was someone being mean to the camel on purpose? No. The stupid little fence might have been a mistake, and maybe it won't be made again.

Are camels actually domestic animals? Yes, they are. So arguing that the majestic beast was being harmed simply by being treated like a domestic animal is silly.

Palladian said...

Methadras said... "What are you? A fucking magician? In one sentence you claim this isn't animal cruelty and then in the next you make the case that it inherently is? Misdirection or just stupid?"

I know you like to bellow and screech at the slightest provocation, and that such proclivities do not usually accompany a thoughtful, circumspect and careful reader, but let me attempt to parse a key sentence from mrs whatsit's comment:

"People who think this isn't animal cruelty are just clueless."

So... she's saying that people who think that the camel incident ISN'T animal cruelty are just clueless. See what she said there? Let me go over it once again: her opinion is that the ones who think that the camel incident isn't animal cruelty are simply clueless. In other words, to think that the camel incident is animal cruelty means you have a clue, to think that it isn't animal cruelty means you don't have a clue. Get it?

Methadras said... "Misdirection or just stupid?"

I'd go with "just stupid" on your part.

Palladian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Palladian said...

For example: Synova, according to this formula, is "just clueless".

tim maguire said...

Here's a summation to save you the trouble, Synova: we know virtually nothing about camels and lack critical information about this event but we have very strong opinions on whether this is negligence and what should be done about it.

And most of us have apparently never heard of circuses, zoos or actor animals.

Old Patriot said...

Anne - actually, camels do quite well in Mongolia, which is a lot colder in winter than Wisconsin.

Anonymous said...

Ann, why so smug and condescending? When people are mean, I hear a deficit. Surely this is not the case with someone as educated and self-assured as yourself.

Meade said...

Surely it's not even the case with someone less educated and self-assured as she is, nice Robert.

Unknown said...

Wow, you guys act like you actually know what you're talking about. You don't know what was going on there, and you need to get a life. Pathetic that you have to bash people online instead of saying it to their faces. XD