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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...
Not bad for a lame duck.
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.
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.
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http://LASIK-FLap.com ~ Website Created by Injured LASIK Patients
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?
Imelda Marcos would have a fit of jealousy?
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.
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.
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
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