Shoelidarity forever: Support for Iraqi journalist detained after throwing shoes at Bush
December 14, 2008 - 4:10pm
A grainy video is already available on YouTube...
Iraqi journalist hurls shoes at 'dog' Bush
BAGHDAD (AFP) — An Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes and an insult at George W. Bush, without hitting him, as the US president was shaking hands with the Iraqi premier at his Baghdad office on Sunday.
As the two leaders met in Nuri al-Maliki's private office, a journalist sitting in the third row jumped up, shouting: "It is the farewell kiss, you dog," and threw his shoes one after the other towards Bush...
The dog part I get, but is there some special insult in throwing your shoes at someone that I'm not aware of?
Shoes or a bullet. I'm sure shoes don't lead to jail. If I were an Iraqi citizen I would want to do far more than throw shoes at the beast.
Not bad for a lame duck.
In case you are trying to make this look like the Iraqis don't like Bush, throwing shoes at someone is an Iraqi custom to show great appreceation for someone, reserved only for those they hold in the highest regard.
Bettter video here (bbc) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7782422.stm
This was no soft toss either, but a fastball (fastshoe?) directed at the cranium. Said reporter to sign with the RedSox next year.
As to why shoes were tossed: "In the Arab world, shoe flinging is a gesture of extreme disrespect. A notable occurrence of this gesture happened in Baghdad, Iraq in 2003. When U.S. forces pulled down a giant statue of Saddam Hussein during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, many Iraqi detractors of Hussein threw their shoes at the fallen statue.
This may be an ancient gesture from the Middle East; Psalms 60:10, speaking of some of the traditional enemies of Judah, says that "Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe...." (KJV)
The shoe represents the lowest part of the body (the foot) and displaying or throwing a shoe at someone or something in Arab cultures denotes that the person or thing is "beneath them." Showing the bottom of one's feet or shoes (for example, putting one's feet up on a table or desk) in Arab cultures is considered an extreme insult. "
check democratic underground for discussion on the incident .
The reporter was Muntazer al-Zaidi, a 29-year-old correspondent for the independent al-Baghdadiya television station. He was kidnapped in 2007.
Shoe flinging or showing the soles of shoes is disrepectful in most of Asia. Calling someone a dog is also big insult in South Asia.
Dude's got no aim.
Dude's got no aim.
The guy didn't do too bad. A shoe can be pretty awkward to throw, and he chucked it pretty hard and managed to make Bush have to duck. I probably wouldn't be able to do any better.
Although I wouldn't mind if he threw a knife or a bomb instead...
I think the shoe-thrower will become a folk hero of sorts.
More power, and shoes, to him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
http://LASIK-FLap.com ~ Website Created by Injured LASIK Patients
"Bush, Bush, listen well – Two shoes on your head," the protesters chanted in unison.
Newspapers across the Arab world printed front-page photos of Bush ducking the flying shoes and satellite TV stations repeatedly aired the incident, which provided fodder for jokes and was hailed by the president's many critics in the region.
"Iraq considers Sunday as the international day for shoes," said a text message circulating around the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Many users of the popular internet networking site Facebook posted the video of the incident to their profile pages, showing al-Zeidi leap from his chair as Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki were about to shake hands.
"This is a farewell kiss, you dog," al-Zeidi yelled in Arabic as he threw his shoes. "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
Al-Zeidi was immediately wrestled to the ground by Iraqi security guards. The incident raised fears of a security lapse in the heavily guarded Green Zone where the press conference took place. Reporters were repeatedly searched and asked to show identification before entering and while inside the compound, which houses al-Maliki's office and the U S Embassy.
Al-Zeid's tirade was echoed by Arabs across the Middle East who are fed up with U.S. policy in the region and still angry over Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.
Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the influential London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, wrote on the newspaper's website that the incident was "a proper goodbye for a war criminal."
The response to the incident by Arabs in the street was ecstatic.
"Al-Zeidi is the man," said 42-year-old Jordanian businessman Samer Tabalat. "He did what Arab leaders failed to do."
Ghazi Abu Baker, a 55-year-old shopkeeper in the West Bank town of Jenin said, "This journalist should be elected president of Iraq for what he has done."
Hoping to capitalise on this sentiment, al-Zeidi's TV station, Al-Baghdadia, repeatedly aired pleas to release the reporter Monday, while showing footage of explosions and playing background music that denounced the US in Iraq.
"We have all been mobilised to work on releasing him, and all the organisations around the world are with us," said Abdel-Hameed al-Sayeh, the manager of Al-Baghdadia in Cairo, where the station is based.
Al-Jazeera television interviewed Saddam's former chief lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi, who offered to defend al-Zeidi, calling him a "hero."
As one might expect, the Angry Arab is having a lot of fun with this.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
He's been making Arabs-and-their-shoes jokes for years. As he would ask, would it be considered an insult in Canadian culture if a reporter were to throw his shoes at Stevie-Boy Harper?
What would happen if every time one of these blankety-blank rightwingers were to advocate waging war on Arabs and occupying their lands, shoes were thrown in their general direction?
Hey...now I know what to do with all my old shoes!
What would happen if every time one of these blankety-blank rightwingers were to advocate waging war on Arabs and occupying their lands, shoes were thrown in their general direction?
Imelda Marcos would have a fit of jealousy?
Viva al-Zaidi! Viva Iraq!
This link in the The New York Times I found very interesting, as it has reaction from many individual Iraqis of all walks of life. I haven't gotten through reading it all, but it is fascinating.
It's like the biggest insult in the Arab/Islamic world. Because teh soles of your shoes touch the dirty ground, tehy are considered really unclean and offensive. I visited Egypt once for a medical conference and before meeting people I had this quick little session with my host about the cultural differences and was basically told that if I'm wearing shoes, the soles must be on the ground the whole time. Sitting cross-legged where the soles can be seen is like giving them the finger. And if you ever go into someone's house, it's jsut automatic that you take them off oat the door. To not do so would be like dragging feces through their home.
Remember when the Iraqis tore down the big Saddam statue? They immediately began hitting it with their shoes since this is the ultiamte sign of disrespect.
Bush throws a shoe at the world:
"BUSH: One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hoping to take-
RADDATZ: But not until after the U.S. invaded.
BUSH: Yeah, that's right. So what?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/15/bush-acknowledges-absence_n_151...
On a serious note, Muntadhar al-Zeidi is in serious trouble. He was handed over to the Iraqi military and has been beaten and tortured. An international campaign is being mounted for his release, but in the meantime he is being badly mistreated.
This is Bush's idea of bringing freedom and the rule of law to Iraq.
References for the campaign to support this heroic journalist, Muntadhar al-Zeidi?
Just saw this at Al-Jazeera - Free Bush shoe-thrower, Iraqis urge
"The two shoes narrowly missed the US president as he gave a news conference in Baghdad
Thousands of Iraqis have demonstrated in Baghdad's Sadr City in support of a journalist being held in custody after throwing his shoes at George Bush, the US president" (...)
"Free Bush shoe-thrower, Iraqis urge
The two shoes narrowly missed the US president as he gave a news conference in Baghdad
Thousands of Iraqis have demonstrated in Baghdad's Sadr City in support of a journalist being held in custody after throwing his shoes at George Bush, the US president.
Muntazer al-Zeidi was detained for what the Iraqi government on Monday said was a "barbaric and ignominious act" during a news conference the previous day.
The outgoing US leader, who was making a surprise visit to Baghdad, had just told reporters that while the war in Iraq was not over "it is decisively on its way to being won," when al-Zeidi got to his feet and hurled abuse - and his footwear - at Bush.
Bush, who had been giving a joint press statement with Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, ducked behind a podium as the shoes narrowly missed his head.
"Millions of Iraqis or rather millions of the people of the world wish to do what Muntadhar did," Uday al-Zeidi, Mundathar's brother, said on Monday.
"Thank God he had the guts to do it and avenge the Iraqi people and the country from those who plunder it and have killed its people."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/2008121514483444081...
I'll ask some people here in Iraq solidarity about a campaign to free Muntadhar and protect him from further abuse.
Mundathar is definitely a hero but we are deluding ourselves if we imagine that the puppet Iraki government will let him go free. They will want to make an example with the punishment meted out for the freedom he took.
martin, I don't think any of us have illusions about that, but it is our duty to support this heroic journalist.
The latest news I have (via a poster at Bread and Roses) on Mundathar's fate and protests in support of him:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m49624&hd=&size=1&l=e
"it is our duty to support this heroic journalist." Absolutely. Will do what I can.
Of course a petition isn't enough, but it can be a first step:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/iwffomuntatharalzaidi/index.html
So far it has garnered support from many continents.
It looks like Al-Zaidi is injured, but it's not clear if it's from when he was first jumped on by all the security people at the press conference or from later mistreatment. Neither source of the injuries would be a big surprise, but if it's the latter it pretty much proves in a way more visible than any other than the whole Iraq war with it's billions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost was for nothing.
Meanwhile, it seems the thrown shoes are becoming a much sought-after item. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7785338.stm
They'll prolly murder him some time down the road, like the purged Iraqi academics and scientists on this partial list of those murdered by the American inquisition All this warfiteering because of Crazy George I's vendetta with former CIA pawn Saddam
I'd love to see someone mobilize a huge group of people to gather across from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, and throw their shoes onto the White House lawn as a symbolic protest! And do it soon!
what do you think would of happened had he thrown it at Saddam?
I would venture to guess he would be dead and his head on a stick! possibly his entire family as well. I would propose it prooves that democracy is at the very least in its infancy in Iraq.
It proves that human spirit is alive and well in Iraq as it always has been. Nice to raise the spectre of Saddam. A man brought to kangaroo court, accused, convicted, and executed for war crimes by war criminals. The Iraqi people never did a thing more to Americans than throw a shoe at one president, and yet the Americans have murdered in the neighbourhood of 2.5 million Iraqis and have left another 4 million as refugees. Genocide by any count. Bush should share Saddam's fate with the same amount of dignity shown
Well said, FM.
FM
human spirit may be have been alive and well in Iraq but only as long as 2+2=5. nothing like exaggerating body counts to negate any credibility to a debate
FM
human spirit may be have been alive and well in Iraq but only as long as 2+2=5. nothing like exaggerating body counts to negate any credibility to a debate
You're absolutely right. I think it's possible that FM may be off by at least one or two bodies in the total overal body count attributable to the mass-murdering Bushler family regimes I through Clinton and herr Bushler II. I suppose some of us are more lumpers than splitters when it comes to exact numbers and details.
every single human life is more than something that should be "lumped" into a statistic. Since U.S. occupation in Iraq, Iraqii casualties is at the highest estimates 150,000. Previous conflicts are far fewer. Very large numbers I concede but nowhere near 2.5 million. Saddam on the other hand.....
2.5 million seems high. The Lancet study which broadly looked at all kinds of excess mortality due to the war and occupation came up with 655,000 as of mid-2006. Lots has happened since, but I don't see how the number gets that high.
However, spending a lot of time on these sort of numbers is a bit silly - either way it's a major disaster, just a matter of how major.
The problem with far too many brain-addled television viewers is that history begins and ends with the most recent after school special. The US and Britain, with the knowing consent of most of the Western world, for ten years before the illegal invasion and occupation, imposed illegal sanctions that killed about 1.5 million Iraqis with 500,000 of those being children. You might recall Clinton's Secretary of State, Madealine Albright, arisen like a vampire from her coffin for the Obama regime, saying of all those dead children, "it was worth it."
As well, not included in the body count, is all those tens of thousands of Iraqi infants born deformed, dying at birth if they're lucky, as they live the horrors of slow mass death- depleted uranium. A cruel and barbaric weapon not even the most vile torturers of the Spanish Inquisition could have imagined and all of the victims carrying the burden of original sin made in the USA.
Of the most recent murderous rampage against an ancient people, the best scientific evidence puts the figure at 1 million three years ago. The apologists and mother-fuckers who could try and rationalize murder, carnage, and the destruction of an ancient civilzation and the antiquities it held are the only ones to seriously dispute the numbers.
And, incredibly, they say with an appaling and shameless lack of compassion "democracy". As though democracy is made evident only when the streets are in ruins and running with blood - a la the Butcher Rumsfeld.
Only in Western civilization, where we gleefully trade our children's futures for the spittle of fast food grease on our chins, would we confuse mass murder, barbarism, and the transparent acts of plundering and looting with democracy.
...or a mere "disaster".
Shoe thrower tortured, Iraq to go up in flames?
by dday, dailykos
I think there's reason to be very concerned about the fallout from the shoe throwing incident in Iraq. It's fun to joke about and all ("Bush hasn't dodged anything that fast since the draft!"), but the consequences are likely to be grave. The act of defiance at an American President has galvanized opinion in the Middle East. I don't want to call him Munthadar the Plumber, but that's the basic dynamic.
Arab and Iranian TV stations have gleefully replayed the clip, sometimes in slow motion, of an Iraqi reporter calling Bush a dog" and throwing his shoes at him -- the Middle East's tastiest insults -- at a Baghdad news conference on Sunday.
The affront was a twisted echo of the triumphal moment for Bush when joyous Iraqis used their footwear to beat a statue of Saddam Hussein toppled by U.S. invading troops in 2003.
dday's diary :: ::
"It indicates how much antagonism he's been able to create in the whole region," former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told Reuters, adding that the incident was regrettable.
Bush had harmed America's reputation and the friendship many had felt for i. "Despite past mistakes in its policies, there was always a redeeming factor. In this particular case, there doesn't seem to have ever been a redeeming factor," Maher said.
Now we're learning that this guy, seen as a hero by a non-trivial segment of the Arab world, has been charged with assault (on the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, not Bush), thrown into Camp Cropper prison and
tortured.
Albaghdadia, the TV channel where the Iraqi Journalist Montather Al-Zeidi works, reports that an Iraqi MP (Ms. Zainab Al-Kanani) informed them that Montather's hand was broken in jail.
This confirms a lot of reports and rumors about Montather being subject to torture while the Iraqi authorities are interrogating and detaining him in some unspecified location. (...)
So the USians can congratulate themselves that their work of bringing democracy and freedom to Iraq is now done.
Sock and Awe
Hit Bush with your shoe
http://play.sockandawe.com/Fom that website - 22471398 shoes have successfully hit President Bush in the face so far! Well done!
An Egyptian man has offered his daughter as a bride to the shoe-thrower.
FM, you are attributing the murders by people other than the American military to the Americans. Various insurgent groups, rebels, and other from other countries are the main cause of death there at the moment.
Muntadar al-Zeidi: Hero, Martyr, Symbol of Resistance
Reach for your shoes… by Justin Raimondo
Can YOU throw a shoe at Bush?
Send shoes to Bush the genocidal maniac
Shoe attacker badly beaten
I'd love to see someone mobilize a huge group of people to gather across from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, and throw their shoes onto the White House lawn as a symbolic protest! And do it soon!
The group yelled, "This is a goodbye kiss from the people of America!" They also arranged along a curb about 120 pairs of shoes tagged with the names of Iraqis who have died as a result of the war.
The problem with far to many lefty, daily show followers is that they think just because they can stickhandle with the facts we are all supposed to bow down and revel in their arrogance. Do not give Bush the satisfaction of thinking he is single-handedly responsible.
It goes without saying that the last eight years have been an embaracement to the U.S. and we all look forward to a new approach. Do not be fooled into beleiving that everything was going along just fine.
One only has to look to the late eighties and the Al-Anfal campaign, culminating in 1988 with the Halabja poison gas attack. If there ever was a time when the streets were in ruins and running with blood, it was then and there in northern Iraq. How long should've we let that continue?
Haven't you been banned yet??
Shoe-throwing Right-hander Impresses Scouts
In their latest bid to beef up their pitching rotation for the 2009
season, the New York Yankees today signed Iraqi journalist Muntadar
al-Zeidi to a three-year deal worth $32 million.
The right-handed al-Zeidi, 28, impressed the Yankee scouts with his
performance in Baghdad yesterday when he threw both of his shoes at
President George W. Bush.
While neither of the shoes hit their target, both throws "had great
velocity and good movement," said Yankee owner Hank Steinbrenner.
"The first shoe was high and outside but the second one was right down
the middle," Mr. Steinbrenner said.
The Yankee boss said that he was also impressed with Mr. al-Zeidi's
fighting spirit when Secret Service agents tackled him.
"That could come in handy when we have a series with Boston," he said.
http://inchatatime.blogspot.com/
So it is your argument the US was justified in killing 2.5 million Iraqi, and laying waste to the nation, as well as genetically poisining large segments of the population because of a poison gas attack that occured when the US was providing Iraq with logistical support and, when informed of the gas attack, then president Ronald Reagan punished the regime of Saddam Hussein with additional trade. Because if that is your argument, then surely the Iraqis are entitled to kill some 35 million Americans as well as lay waste to the entire country. Do you agree? Or is it only white America that is priveleged to be judge, jury, and executioner and exempt from its own bloody standards?
One only has to look to the late eighties and the Al-Anfal campaign, culminating in 1988 with the Halabja poison gas attack. If there ever was a time when the streets were in ruins and running with blood, it was then and there in northern Iraq. How long should've we let that continue?
The US at the time blamed the Halabja attack on Iran, which fit with the position of the Reagan administration as an ally of Iraq in its war against Iran. This only became a problem for the US after Saddam Hussein had become a liability.
"One only has to look to the late eighties and the Al-Anfal campaign, culminating in 1988 with the Halabja poison gas attack. If there ever was a time when the streets were in ruins and running with blood, it was then and there in northern Iraq. How long should've we let that continue? "
Good grief man; the US was supplying Iraq with their poison gas at the time.
As the another US president said back then, "Well, heckuva job Saddami"
By the way, you can throw shoes of your own at:
http://play.sockandawe.com/
Overnight, Al-Zaidi became a hero to many Iraqis, Arabs, Bush haters, and anti-war activists. After the episode, Iraqis rallied in the streets with shoes in hand and demanded that their new hero be released (reports have now surfaced that Al-Zaidi’s wrist has been broken and he has been tortured in jail). That’s when I realized that Al-Zaidi did something much greater than throw two shoes at a war criminal, he (even if it will only last a week) single-handedly put Iraq back on the map.
After the heartwarming questions concerning Bush’s safety (given his popularity, he should have been happy it wasn’t a couple Molotov cocktails) and the curious, almost racist, fascination with the meaning of the throwing of a shoe in Arab culture, a few journalists were bitten by what can best be described as a fleeting bug in their industry: integrity. On air, a number of journalists began to question why Al-Zaidi threw the shoes in the first place. The New York Times interviewed his proud family, who spoke of the devastation Bush brought to Iraq over the last half decade. His brother, Maythem Al-Zaidi, said, “[h]e was provoked when Mr. Bush said [during the news conference] this is his farewell gift to the Iraqi people.” It doesn’t take someone with an IQ higher than the president to deduce why Iraqis are so pissed off: our government is responsible for the death of a million Iraqis, the country lacks proper access to electricity, and nearly five million people have been made refugees. Compound this with Bush cramming US victory chants down the throats of Iraqis, and one can understand the journalist’s tame gesture....
Remi Kanazi, December 17th, 2008
In a time when violence is everywhere in Iraq this man makes a statement which touches the whole world by throwing a shoe.
He managed to send VERY powerful message rallying not only Iraqi's but people all over hurting no one but himself. Well done.
I would have rather him actually hit Bush with the shoe but still.. I hope he gets a very light sentence, the lightest possible.As a reward for setting a good example to all those bad insurgents with bombs and RPGs... yeah, I see your point.
We are having a shoe action in Montréal in solidarity with Muntadar al-Zeidi and to say a last goodbye to Dubya... And in your town? (I'm also posting it in French for anyone who has to send it out here).
Subject: MONTREAL SHOE ACTION-
This is your last chance to bid a rousing shitty farewell to the criminal...take all the shoes you have........
"This is a farewell kiss, you dog!"
MONTREAL SHOE ACTION
In solidarity with Muntadar al-Zeidi
Bush out of Baghdad ... Canada out of Kandahar!
SATURDAY, 20 DECEMBER at 1pm
outside the US Consulate in Montreal
(1155 St-Alexandre, m?tro McGill)
Bring extra shoes and footwear to throw! Bring noisemakers!
We strongly encourage all journalists to join us in this action and to
throw their own shoes.
After our action at the US Consulate, we will march west along
Ste-Catherine Street to Bishop Street and the Canadian Armed Forces
Recruiting Station, where our shoe action will continue.
--> MAP: http://tinyurl.com/62s43k
Along with tens of millions around the world, we celebrate the recent
action of Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi who hurled two shoes at
US President George Bush while shouting, "This is a farewell kiss, you
dog! This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed
in Iraq."
We support the calls for al-Zeidi's immediate release from detention,
and denounce his abuse while in custody. And, in a simple gesture of
solidarity by local anti-war activists and independent media
journalists, we will gather outside the US consulate to hurl shoes in
continued opposition to the US occupation of Iraq, as well as the
already announced escalation of the US military occupation of
Afghanistan by the incoming Obama administration (a continuation of
"Operation Enduring Freedom", launched by George Bush after September
11, 2001).
We also continue to oppose Canada's complicity with the US-led "War on
Terror", with the Canadian Armed Forces' military presence in
Afghanistan. More Canadian troops in Afghanistan has effectively meant
that more American troops have been available to occupy Iraq.
Organized by: Block the Empire
INFO: 514-848-7583 or blocktheempire@gmail.com
--------
[veuillez diffuser largement]
*«C'est un baiser d'adieu, chien !»
ACTION DE LANCEMENT DE SOULIERS À MONTRÉAL
En solidarité avec le journaliste Muntadar al-Zeidi
Bush hors de Baghdad ... Canada hors de Kandahar!
CE SAMEDI, 20 DÉCEMBRE, À 13H
Devant le consulat des États-Unis à Montréal
(1155 rue St-Alexandre, métro McGill)*
*Apportez des souliers et bottes à lancer au consulat !
Apportez des tambours et autres instruments pour faire du bruit !
Nous encourageons fortement les journalistes à prendre part à cette action
de solidarité et à lancer leurs propres souliers.
Après l'action devant le consulat états-unien, nous prendrons la rue
Ste-Catherine vers l'ouest pour nous rendre jusqu'au centre de recrutement
de l'armée canadienne où d'autres souliers seront lancés.*
*--> Carte de l'endroit: http://tinyurl.com/62s43k*
Tout comme des millions de personnes à travers le monde, nous célébrons la
récente action du journaliste Irakien Muntadar al-Zeidi qui a projeté ses
deux souliers en direction du président américain George Bush en s'écriant
«C'est un baiser d'adieu, chien ! C'est de la part des veuves, des orphelins
et de tous ceux et celles qui ont été tués en Irak.»
Nous appuyons les demandes pour la libération immédiate d'al-Zeidi et
dénonçons les mauvais traitements dont il a été victime pendant son
incarcération. En solidarité avec les militants anti-guerre d'Irak et les
journalistes indépendants, cette action se déroulera en opposition à
l'occupation états-unienne en Irak ainsi qu'en opposition à
l'intensification de l'occupation militaire de Afghanistan. Avec
l'administration Obama, retirer les troupes d'Irak signifie envoyer
davantage de soldats occuper l'Afghanistan.
Nous nous opposons également à la complicité du Canada dans la sanglante
«guerre au terrorisme » menée par les États-Unis. Suite à l'occupation de
l'Irak par les USA, le nombre de soldats canadiens déployés en Afghanistan a
drastiquement augmenté, ce qui a permis de libérer des troupes américaines
qui ont alors pu être envoyés en Irak.
*Organisé par : Bloquez l'empire Montréal (un groupe de travail du
GRIPQ-Concordia)
Informations: 514-848-7583 ou blocktheempire@gmail.com
Terror", with the Canadian Armed Forces' military presence in
Afghanistan. More Canadian troops in Afghanistan has effectively meant
that more American troops have been available to occupy Iraq.
Awesome! I hope you cover the recruiting stations front door with shoes. You guys hould nab some shoes at various lost and found's.
Muntadhar is a secular socialist
As the Iraqi and Arab satellite stations switched from the live press conference to reporting reaction to the event, the stunned presenters and reporters were swept away by popular expressions of joy in the streets, from Baghdad to Gaza to Casablanca. TV stations and media websites were inundated with messages of adulation. The instant reply to any criticism of "insulting a guest" was: "Bush is a mass murderer and a war criminal who sneaked into Baghdad. He killed a million Iraqis. He burned the country down."
Expressions of support and demands for Muntadhar's immediate release have spread from Najaf and Falluja to Baghdad, and from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south. An impressive show of anti-occupation unity is developing fast, after being weakened by the sectarian forces that the occupation itself has strengthened and nourished, as Muntadhar himself used to stress.
No one asked after Muntadhar's religion or sect, but they all loved his message. Indeed, I have yet to come across an Iraqi media outlet or website that pronounced on his religion, sect or ethnicity. The first I heard of his "sect" was through US and British media.
The reality is that Muntadhar is a secular socialist whose hero happens to be Che Guevara. He became a prominent leftwing student leader immediately after the occupation, while at Baghdad University's media college. He reported for al-Baghdadia on the poor and downtrodden victims of the US war. He was first on the scene in Sadr City and wherever people suffered violence or severe deprivation. He not only followed US Apache helicopters' trails of death and destruction, but he was also among the first to report every "sectarian" atrocity and the bombing of popular market places. He let the victims talk first.
It was effective journalism, reporting that the victims of violence themselves accused the US-led occupation of being behind all the carnage. He was a voice that could not be silenced, despite being kidnapped by a gang and arrested by US and regime forces.
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush was beaten after the incident and had bruises on his face and around his eyes, a judge said Friday.
Judge Dhia al-Kinani, the magistrate investigating the incident, said the court has filed a complaint on behalf of journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, and added that court officials "will watch the footage to identify those who have beaten him."
- Associated Press
This just came in from the Canadian Arab Federation....
December 19, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Shoe-Rally
Free Muntazer Al-Zaidi, Shoe Bush out of Baghdad, Harper out of Kandahar "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." Muntazer Al-Zaidi, while tossing shoe at Bush
In shoelidarity with Iraqi journalist Muntazer Al-Zaidi and in support of the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, a rally will be held in downtown Toronto this weekend. Toronto journalists, students, and anti-war activists call on fellow Canadians to hold up a shoe and raise their voice to protest the detention of Al-Zaidi and the continued killing of civilians and destruction of communities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.
The rally will echo the demands of millions of people around the world calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a lift of the suffocating siege of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. Participants are encouraged to bring extra footwear and noisemakers, but additional shoes will be provided at rally.
Similar actions to this one are planned in Montreal and San Francisco.
WHAT: Shoe-Rally to free journalist and end occupation
WHEN: 3:00 p.m., Saturday December 20, 2008
WHERE: Across from U.S. Consulate, 360 University Avenue (Intersection: University and Dundas)
Media Contact: Journalists of Conscience Initiative Rep: Ahmed Habib, Tel: (647) 8926300, email: journaslistsofconscience@gmail.com
Background: Al-Zaidi, who is a reporter for the Cairo-based Al Baghdadi TV channel, is currently locked up and is facing possible imprisonment in Iraq for throwing a pair of shoes at George Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on December 14. Al-Zaidi was protesting the killing of over half a million Iraqis since the American invasion in 2003. His brother Dargham told the Associated Press that a Judge went to see Muntazer in custody instead of Muntazer appearing in court this week because he must have been severely beaten by security forces. The detention of Al-Zaidi has triggered a series of demonstrations around the world demanding his immediate release.
In shoelidarity - ha! :)
I do have some old shoes I could stand to get rid of...hmmm...
Judge Kinani said Zaidi's letter to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki could lead to a pardon rather than a two-year jail sentence, but Zaidi's brother Dirgham insisted in an interview with al-Jazeera that any apology could only have been written "under pressure".
If it is confirmed, Zaidi's remorse may not be appreciated by supporters such as the Egyptian who offered to marry his 20-year-old daughter to Zaidi, or the Palestinian from the West Bank town of Nablus who went further, pledging a daughter and $US30,000 ($A44,000) for the Iraqi's legal costs. A Bahraini admirer offered to buy him a luxury limousine.
It could also be a disappointment for the Saudi who reportedly said he would pay 10 million riyals ($A3.9 million) for the size 10 "freedom shoes".
Following the adage that success has many fathers, cobblers all over the Middle East have claimed they manufactured the loafers, though most footwear in Iraq is Chinese-made. The most convincing claim came from Turkey, where manufacturer Ramazan Baydan said he might change the name of the shoe, prosaically called "model 271", to "the Bush shoe" or "bye-bye Bush" model.
"Thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy," he said.
Ayatollah Jannati called for the shoes to be deposited in a museum in Iraq. But Judge al-Kinani revealed they had been destroyed by investigators trying to determine whether they contained explosives. Copycat footwear-hurling seems to have begun elsewhere, with a Ukrainian nationalist, as yet unnamed, throwing his boots at an Odessa speaker arguing in favour of NATO expansion.
Demonstrators in Montreal pelted a black-and-white presidential photograph with boots, shoes and slippers and denounced the U.S. war in Iraq and the NATO-led war in Afghanistan, before marching to a downtown Canadian Forces recruiting station….
Amir Khadir, who was elected to the legislature in this month's provincial election under the banner of the leftist party Quebec Solidaire, was one of the first to chuck a shoe. He said Mr. al-Zeidi's actions were simply an expression of rage at the hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by the war.
“I represent the deep sentiment of thousands of members of assemblies all over the world,” he said. “Bush has denied democracy and lied to millions of people. He deserves no respect.”
In Toronto, a dirty pair of sneakers was stuck toe up in a high pile of fresh snow, protesters clutched red and aqua-blue flip-flops with messages like “Shame on Bush” and “Bush out/Mass Killer” scrawled on the soles and embraced the comedic side of Mr. al-Zeidi's actions.
Dressed in a Santa Claus suit and white beard, Hicham Safieddine handed out the shoes as “gifts.”
“I thought I'd do something a little bit humorous, not every protest has to be serious,” he said. “It's a non-violent form of our protest against the fact we still have an occupation in Iraq, we still have people dying”.
Al-Zaidi has created 100 new jobs with his act of defiance. That's more than the millions that Bush has lost.
Interestingly, there was a bit of Psyops in the last few days with Maliki's spokesperson claiming that̀ ́Al-Zaidi had apologized which was broadcast in liberal blogs as if it was fact. However, the Guardian reports that Al-Zaidi was brutally beaten after his arrest, and is danger of losing his sight in one eye. His family also is skeptical of the government's claims, especially when a judge and police officer who accompanied Zaidi noted how badly he was beaten.
One police officer, who accompanied him to prison, said the journalist, a Baghdad correspondent for the Cairo-based Al-Baghdadia TV, had been subjected to violence throughout the journey. The officer, who asked not to be named, said he witnessed security forces beating Zaidi in the car with such force that his ribs were broken. "I felt sorry when I saw them beating him. His mouth was badly injured and he did not utter a single word throughout until one of the guards hit him in his left eye with a gun. Then he cried out that he couldn't see, and I saw blood inside his eye. I am a police officer but even I have to say I felt proud of what he did."
A doctor called to examine Zaidi said his right arm had been broken and he had haematomas - indicative of internal bleeding - all over his body, particularly on his left leg, shoulders, face and head. The doctor, who also asked to remain anonymous, said specialists called in to treat him warned security guards that they must make sure his eye was protected for fear of a further haemorrhage which could cause him to lose his sight.
It will take a long time for Canada to live down the shame of having supported the murderous U.S./Israeli regime in the Middle East, even when Mr. Harper's government was a minority one.
Investigating judge Dhiya al-Kenani rejected new allegations by the journalist's family that he had been tortured in custody that were levelled after a brother was allowed a first prison visit.
"The investigation phase is over and the case has been transferred to the Central Criminal Court," Kenani said. "The trial will start on Wednesday, December 31."
Muntazer al-Zaidi stands accused of "aggression against a foreign head of state during an official visit," an offence that carries a prison term of between five and 15 years under Iraqi law.
But the court could convict him of the lesser charge of an "attempted aggression" which carries a prison term of one to five years.
- AFP
Where's al-Zaidi's Pulitzer?
by John Ross
The imprisonment of the al-Baghdadia television reporter by the quisling Maliki government for allegedly assaulting a foreign dignitary has sparked renewed street demonstrations in Iraq where the unpopularity of the recently ratified Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that allows U.S. occupation forces to remain in country for at least three more years, is patent.
Protestors in Sadr City where the U.S. bombed without remorse earlier this year threw their shoes at American patrols in disgust. Al-Zaidi, a former leftist student leader who admires Che Guevara, covered the bombings for Al-Baghdadia television and colleagues pin his fury at Bush on the devastation wrought by the Americans in that Shiaa-controlled slum city. Black-clad supporters of Shiaa cleric Muqtada al-Sadr whose legendary father gave his name to Sadr City, disrupted parliament demanding al-Zaidi's release.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops who came under shoe attack in the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah fired on protestors, wounding one according to press reports.
Curiously, while Iraqis of all denominations rallied to the reporter's defense, the Baghdad press pack was unimpressed by al-Zaidi's shoe scoop. Indeed, one Iraqi journalist wrestled the al-Baghdadia correspondent to the floor while Maliki's goons beat on him, breaking his hand and fracturing two of his ribs. The Prime Minister, who apparently fancies himself a press critic, condemned the shoe toss as a "savage act which is unrelated to journalism in any way." Others in the Iraqi journalism community dissed al-Zaidi's performance as "unprofessional."
Even al-Jazeera, the powerful Qatar-based TV titan, was unusually standoffish in its reportage of the celebrated incident, which the powerful Arab network seemed to suggest, reflected poorly on the integrity of "responsible" Arab media. The New York Times, a paragon of corporate journalism, looked down its nose at the great shoe fling with its usual snottiness, disdaining Muntadhar al-Zaidi's credentials as a bona fide journalist and dismissing his activism as folkloric. Reporter Timothy Williams expressed surprise that the war in Iraq was "still unpopular."
The Times and its ilk have a hard time dealing with activist journalists. Josh Wolf, the young blogger who broke the U.S. record for being jailed for his journalistic efforts (over 200 days in the federal slammer for refusing to identify participants in a San Francisco anarchist march that was attacked by the police), was treated in the corporate press as just another drug-addled adolescent. Like al-Zaidi, Brad Will, the Indymedia photojournalist cut down by Mexican cops during the Oaxaca urban rebellion in 2006, was tarred as "unprofessional", a radical activist masquerading as a reporter. As an older activist reporter covering social turmoil in Mexico, I am regularly questioned by the representatives of the corporate press for my "lack of objectivity."
The "objectivity" so championed by j-school journalists is a weapon of class war that ascribes equal weight to the wronged and the wrongers alike. Held sacrosanct by "professional" journalists who are more attentive to their own career tracks than to the righteous indignation of the victims of Bush's war on the peoples of the earth, this vaunted "objectivity" neutralizes injustice and negates responsibilities….
Muntadhar al-Zaidi is a distinguished activist journalist. Like all those who practice this trade under the gun in the never-ending class and race war, he is painfully cognizant that you cannot cover injustice without taking sides.
Activist journalists do not grab a cab to Dachau to get the commandant's side of the story. Bush is that commandant and he deserves to be showered by our shoes for his repeated crimes against humanity. Muntadhar al-Zaidi's shoes told this story. He deserves nothing less than the Pulitzer Prize.
Pulitzer, Shmulitzer - al-Zaidi deserves to be in Rabble.ca's Top 10 on the Nice List!
Muntader al-Zaidi, the shoe assailant, isn't free at all. He sits in prison with a badly beaten body but it turns out that Laura Bush was absolutely right. Bush will leave office with an abysmally low approval rating of just 27%, but with a long list of checked off items on his agenda. Bush succeeded in radically changing nearly every facet of government, and always with the help of the Democratic Party. Foolish liberals sneer at Bush and think themselves triumphant when the November 2008 electoral victory is a hollow one at best.
Even as he entered his last few months in office, Bush did not stop to smell the roses and reminisce about the bygone days of 90% approval and an aura of invincibility. The implosion of the financial markets enabled him to strike gold when the Democrats in Congress handed over $700 billion to Wall Street and the financial services industry. The highway robbery was one of the biggest thefts ever committed in history and was carried out without resistance of any kind. Just three months later, half of that money is gone and unaccounted for, making the Bush desire to turn over public funds to wealthy individuals and corporations a dream come true.
"The implosion of the financial markets enabled Bush to strike gold."
Bush has every reason to spend his final days in the White House gloating. He can gloat because his Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, will keep his job in the Obama White House. Karl Rove, chief Bush henchman and architect of election theft, declared Obama's economic team to be "reassuring" while Joe Lieberman called the Obama cabinet "just about perfect."
In all likelihood, Bush wanted John McCain to prevail against Obama, but it just doesn't seem to matter that he didn't. Liberal bloggers snicker because Republican strategists don't know how to attack Barack Obama effectively. They can't attack him because they don't really have any reason to. Obama blessed the Wall Street giveaway and put the deregulation foxes like Larry Summers back in charge of the hen house. He is planning to enact bigger tax cuts than the Bush administration did. He promises an expanded war in Afghanistan and despite his anti-war image, always promised to keep American troops in Iraq.
Bush can be happy about his foreign policy piece de resistance. Israel first starved the people of Gaza and prevented them from escaping or receiving humanitarian aid and now bombs their cities and kills hundreds of civilians. The United States prevents the United Nations from even discussing the issue of Gaza and the American people are once again complicit in yet another violation of the Geneva conventions and international law.
"Obama blessed the Wall Street giveaway and put the deregulation foxes like Larry Summers back in charge of the hen house."
Barack Obama says nothing about Gaza, using the "only one president at a time" excuse to give permission for the carnage to continue into his presidency. Israel knows that when it comes to foreign policy, there is only one party in the United States. That party is joined at the hip with Israel, its partner in crime from one administration to the next.
Speaking of crime, it remains to be seen what form of pardon Bush will give himself, Dick Cheney and the rest of his top aides. Cheney's bold admission that he approved torture is a sign that a pardon is in the works and that no Obama administration investigation is forthcoming. Bush, Cheney, Alberto Gonzales, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell should all be wearing orange jumpsuits.
They aren't because the Democrats are their willing accomplices. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table because she should have been on trial alongside Bush. She and other top party leaders were briefed on torture and enthusiastically went along when these violations of human rights and the constitution took place. It is hard to see how Bush can be considered a failure when the so-called opposition aided him every step of the way.
If Bush seems nonplussed these days, it is because he has every reason to be relaxed and cheerful. He can go back to Texas and oversee his presidential library with a feeling of ease and great success. George W. Bush, who lost the popular vote in the 2000 election, is leaving office a very big winner with a successor he can trust to keep his most important policy priorities firmly in place.
Margaret Kimberley
SHOELIDARNOSC!
Is there anybody trying to free Muntader al-Zaidi? Where is Amnesty International or writers/journalist unions? Do they have any appeal?
Of course, I have no doubt that Reporters Without Borders is too busy with their Cuba and Venezuela campaigns to bother being the US intelligence assets that they are but surely there are legitimate groups trying to help release him.
"This is the man who killed our nation"
He explained his actions in an hour-long appearance on Thursday at the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. Asked if anyone pushed or motivated him to do this, al-Zaidi said he was spurred on by the "violations that are committed against the Iraqi people."
"I could only see Bush and feel the blood of the innocents flow under his feet, as he was smiling that smile -- as if he had come to bid farewell to Iraq and with the last support and more than 1 million martyrs," al-Zaidi said. "At that moment, I felt this is the man who killed our nation ... the main murderer and the main person responsible for killing our nation."
Speaking in his first public appearance since his arrest two months ago, al-Zaidi told the court he "got emotional and threw the shoe at him" and "the second one was involuntary."
"I had no intention to kill the commander of the occupying forces ... even if I had a weapon ... I was expressing my inner feelings and those of all the Iraqi people from east to west and north to south and the feelings of hatred they hold for him," he said.
Al-Zaidi told the judge that he had intended to humiliate Bush in the past. As Bush listed the gains made in Iraq during the mid-December news conference, al-Zaidi said he was thinking about the millions of civilians who had been killed, widowed or displaced. He talked about the sanctity of mosques being violated, the rape of women and daily humiliations.
"I don't know what accomplishments he was talking about. The accomplishments I could see were the more than 1 million martyrs and a sea of blood," al-Zaidi said. "There are more than 5 million Iraqi orphans because of the occupation. ... More than a million widows and more than 3 million displaced because of the occupation."
Al-Zaidi also said he was beaten up in front of the prime minister and the world when he was taken from the room where the press conference was held.
The trial will resume March 12 while the court asks the Cabinet to clarify whether Bush's visit was official or not. Al-Zaidi is charged with "assaulting a foreign head of state on an official visit to Iraq."
In December, al-Zaidi's defense team filed an appeal requesting the charge be changed from "assaulting" to "insulting." According to the Iraqi penal code, anyone who assaults a foreign head of state is punished by "imprisonment for a term of years," with the court deciding the sentence.
The democracy America has delivered unto the Iraqis: Muntazer al-Zaidi sentenced to three years in prison
Muntazer al-Zaidi, 30, who worked for the al-Baghdadiya television channel, shouted "Long live Iraq" when the sentence was read out.
Zaidi had earlier pleaded not guilty and said his actions were a "natural response to the occupation".
He was given the three-year sentence for assaulting a foreign head of state during an official visit.
After the verdict was announced, his relatives erupted in anger, shouting that the decision was unjust and unfair.
Some collapsed and had to be helped from the court.
Others were forcibly removed by security forces as they shouted "Down with Bush" and "Long live Iraq."
"This judiciary is not just," Zaidi's brother Dargham said. Another brother, Uday, said the verdict was politically motivated.
The journalist's sister, Ruqaiya, burst into tears, shouting: "Down with Maliki, the agent of the Americans," referring to the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.
Zaidi's lawyers said he would appeal against the sentence.
eta: Can a moderator fix the horrible formatting that somehow got implemented between post #59 and 60?
Hmm. I got rid of the post just before the sidescroll started and that helped a bit, since I wasn't able to fix the HTML within the message.
Here's the post, by M. Spector:
Quote:Protesters staged a shoe protest outside the US embassy in London on Friday, demanding the release of the Iraqi journalist held after throwing his footwear at US President George W. Bush.
Demonstrators voiced support for "courageous" journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who has been in custody in Baghdad since Sunday's dramatic shoe protest which made him an instant sensation in the Arab world.
Representatives of a group called Media Workers Against The War delivered a letter to the US embassy urging authorities to "guarantee his safe treatment and affect his immediate release from custody."
"We as journalists believe that our colleague Muntadar al-Zaidi... is guilty of nothing but expressing Iraqis' legitimate and overwhelming opposition to the US-led occupation of their country," it said. - AFP
And now I just got rid of Slumberjack's post earlier in the thread which seemed to be the culprit for the sidescroll after his post...
Here's what he had originally posted:
Quote:
Mr Bush tried to brush off the incident. "All I can report is it is a size 10," he said. He also called the incident a sign of democracy in the country, saying, "that's what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves", as Zaidi's screaming was heard outside.
A Sign Of Democracy
Quote:
Witnesses said that Zaidi had been severely beaten by security officers on Sunday after being tackled at the press conference and dragged out. One of his brothers, Maythem al-Zaidi, said Monday that the family had not heard from Zaidi since his arrest, and that a police officer who picked up Zaidi's cellphone at midnight on Sunday had threatened the family.
Journalist Severely Beaten
Thanks!
A new ABC-BBC-NHK [poll] of 2,228 Iraqis found widespread support for al-Zeidi. Overall, 62 percent said he is a hero for echoing the views of many Iraqis; 24 percent referred to him as a criminal for attacking a visiting head of state.
As on many topics in the country, opinions fray along sectarian and ethnic lines: 84 percent of Sunni Arabs said al-Zeidi is a hero, that number drops to 56 among Shiites and all the way to 38 percent among Kurds.
BEIRUT: Around 30 member of the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth (ULDY) demonstrated outside the Iraqi Embassy Thursday afternoon carrying shoes and chanting slogans in solidarity with jailed Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi. "Mr. Obama, remember the shoe that Bush got, and we have another one ready for you," the demonstrators shouted as they made their way toward the embassy holding signs and waving flags.
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
Shortly after his release from nine months in a Baghdad prison, Muntadar al-Zaidi demanded an apology - and said he would name the officials later.
Iraqi officials told the BBC his claims should be investigated.
His protest last December made him a hero for many Arabs. He was convicted of assaulting a foreign leader.
Initially, he was sentenced to three years in jail.
But he had the term reduced to 12 months on appeal and was released three months early for good behaviour.
After his release on Tuesday he told journalists: "I am free again, but my homeland is still a prison."
Reuters news agency reported he was slurring his speech because of a missing tooth.
He went on to say he had suffered beatings, whippings, electric shocks and simulated drowning at the hands of officials and guards.
BBC
My Flower to Bush, the Occupier: The Story of my Shoe
http://www.counterpunch.org/zaidi09152009.html
"not much different from what happened to the Native Americans at the hands of the colonialists.."