Reporter throws shoes at Bushes head

...and calls him a dog.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=33662
In many parts of the Arab/Muslim world, the owner of that high-flying footwear has quickly become something of a hero.

Bush turned all red in the face and nervous.
I am suprised the shoe did not blow up and kill everyone in the room.

The whole thing is on video.

That's insane. It seemed to take a few seconds for secret service to arrive. That's scary and I'm glad he was only throwing shoes. Not a very secure situation.

Can you imagine if an American journalist were to throw a shoe at a leader of any other country?

it would not be that big of a deal in any other couuntry but in Iraq it is viewed as the supreme insult of all insults. They also threw their shoes at the statue of Saddam when his end came.

It would not surprise me if someone does attempt to harm or kill him in his retirement.

You missed my point. I meant if an American journalist were to go to ANY other country, including Iraq (or even if it happened here) - and throw a shoe - or ANYTHING - at the leader of another country (or even this one) during a press conference or other meeting -it would be a huge international incident, an national embarrassment, and would clearly be at least assault. He would probably lose his job, possibly his career (maybe not - some Hollywood jerk might pay him for movie rights), and also possibly go to jail.

You missed my point. I meant if an American journalist were to go to ANY other country, including Iraq (or even if it happened here) - and throw a shoe - or ANYTHING - at the leader of another country (or even this one) during a press conference or other meeting -it would be a huge international incident, an national embarrassment, and would clearly be at least assault. He would probably lose his job, possibly his career (maybe not - some Hollywood jerk might pay him for movie rights), and also possibly go to jail.

Last I heard, the Iraqi reporter was charged with assault and is facing 2 years in jail. He may have gotten more if he had thrown a deadly weapon or a bomb, of course. But according to his brother, his sole purpose (which he accomplished) was to humiliate Bush with the mother of all Iraqi insults: a shoe.

You missed my point. I meant if an American journalist were to go to ANY other country, including Iraq (or even if it happened here) - and throw a shoe - or ANYTHING - at the leader of another country (or even this one) during a press conference or other meeting -it would be a huge international incident, an national embarrassment, and would clearly be at least assault. He would probably lose his job, possibly his career (maybe not - some Hollywood jerk might pay him for movie rights), and also possibly go to jail.


i get your point but none of that matters because it was done in Iraq. the shoe in the face only works in iraq to get a point across.

he will probably get beheaded because bushes oil buddies are over there. arab world does not care about certain things like you mention because they have different agendas & customs, so it would not matter if he were put to death for throwing the shoe. To some that is like blowing yourself up & taking others with you.

I am sure american journalists have done their share of dumb things too.

but i hardly consider a shoe at someone that big of a deal. they looked like soft shoes:)

Last I heard, the Iraqi reporter was charged with assault and is facing 2 years in jail. He may have gotten more if he had thrown a deadly weapon or a bomb, of course. But according to his brother, his sole purpose (which he accomplished) was to humiliate Bush with the mother of all Iraqi insults: a shoe.


exactly. he did not care what politics did to him. he got his point across & in that area, that was a big deal. to most of us a shoe is not that big of a deal.

sometimes it goes that way when you least expect it.

If Bush didn't get us into Iraq I wonder just what this reporter would be doing at this time. He would probably be watching his kids getting tortured while we would be a trillion dollars wealthier with over 4000 of our military personal still with us and several thousand more wounded wouldn't be wounded.

I think the low life with the shoes should think about that serving 2 years in jail with 3 square meals and a bed instead of Sadam's acid shower on his naked body.

The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody.

Muntadar al-Zaidi has allegedly suffered a broken arm, broken ribs and internal bleeding, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC.

Mr Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr Bush at a news conference, calling him "a dog".

A spokesperson for the Iraqi military says the journalist is in good health and said the allegations were untrue.

It is unclear whether the reporter may have been injured when he was wrestled to the floor at the news conference, or at a later point.

The head of Iraq's journalists' union has asked the government for clemency towards the journalist who is still in custody.

A spokesman for Iraq's High Judicial Council said that Mr Zaidi, accompanied by defence and prosecution lawyers, had been brought before the investigating judge, Reuters news agency reported.

Abdul Satar Birqadr said Mr Zaidi had been charged with aggression against a president.

"He admits the action he carried out," the news agency quoted Mr Birqadr as saying.

Earlier, Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Baghdad he believed his brother had been taken to a US military hospital in the Iraqi capital.

Hero figure

A second day of rallies in support of Mr Zaidi were held across Iraq, calling for his release.

Meanwhile, offers to buy the shoes he threw are being made around the Arab world, reports say.

Mr Zaidi told our correspondent that despite offers from many lawyers his brother has not been given access to a legal representative since being arrested by forces under the command of Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser.

The Iraqi authorities have said the 28-year-old will be prosecuted under Iraqi law.

Iraqi lawyers had earlier speculated that the charges could include insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, who was standing next to President Bush during the incident.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.

Our correspondent says that the previously little-known journalist from the private Cairo-based al-Baghdadia TV has become a hero to many, not just in Iraq but across the Arab world, for what many saw as a fitting send-off for a deeply unpopular US president.

As he flung the shoes, Mr Zaidi shouted: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."

Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC that his brother deliberately bought Iraqi-made shoes, which were dark brown with laces. They were bought from a shop on al-Khyam street, a well-known shopping street in central Baghdad.

However, not everyone in Iraq has been supportive of the journalist's action.

Speaking earlier in Baghdad, Mouyyad al-Lami described Mr Zaidi's action as "strange and unprofessional", but urged Mr Maliki to show compassion.

"Even if he has made a mistake, the government and the judiciary are broad-minded and we hope they consider his release because he has a family and he is still young," he told the Associated Press news agency.

"We hope this case ends before going to court."

Abducted by insurgents

The shoes themselves are said to have attracted bids from around the Arab world.

According to unconfirmed newspaper reports, the former coach of the Iraqi national football team, Adnan Hamad, has offered $100,000 (£65,000) for the shoes, while a Saudi citizen has apparently offered $10m (£6.5m).

The daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Aicha, said her charity would honour the reporter with a medal of courage, saying his action was a "victory for human rights".

The charity called on the media to support Mr Zaidi and put pressure on the Iraqi government to free him.

Mr Zaidi, who lives in Baghdad, has worked for al-Baghdadia for three years.

Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for the channel, described him as a "proud Arab and an open-minded man".

He said that Mr Zaidi was a graduate of communications from Baghdad University.

"He has no ties with the former regime. His family was arrested under Saddam's regime," he said.

Mr Zaidi has previously been abducted by insurgents and held twice for questioning by US forces in Iraq.

In November 2007 he was kidnapped by a gang on his way to work in central Baghdad and released three days later without a ransom.

He said at the time that the kidnappers had beaten him until he lost consciousness, and used his necktie to blindfold him.

Mr Zaidi never learned the identity of his kidnappers, who questioned him about his work before letting him go.

http://www.rense.com/1.imagesH/shoe_dees.jpg

Shoe thrower 'beaten in custody'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7785338.stm

Play the game: http://www.sockandawe.com/


Join the protest: (I don't know who began this, but I think it is a great idea)


Please forward to all your lists and join the campaign.


Demand the release of the Iraqi journalist Muntazer Al-Zeidi and flood the White House with old shoes. Speaking Shoes to Power Campaign!


Via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=39966318314&ref=nf


In solidarity with and in support of the brave Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zeidi, I am organizing a flood the White House with your Smelly Old Shoes campaign. From today until his last day in office, we should send Mr. Bush every smelly old shoe that we can find at home or in the street to express our true feelings to a "Job Well-Done!"


With his shoes, Muntazer al-Zeidi spoke for millions of people and he stands as a hero for speaking Shoes to Power.


Below is the address and make sure to send it immediately:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500-Edgar Steele

http://www.rense.com/general84/muntathershoe.jpg

Where is your outrage today, America, at the travesties that are Afghanistan and Iraq and the bogus Global War on Terror? Where is your collective understanding or moral rightness and indignation that the nation you live in has murdered close to 4 million people for oil and gas so you can live the pretend life of Riley, in the nightmare of the American Dream?...The entire world now knows that George W Bush and Tony Blair willfully lied to invade Iraq again in 2003. What part of 'lied' do you not understand? About 2 million Iraqis are now dead at the hands of the US and UK, so what part of 'LIED' do you not understand? On his recent trip to Baghdad, Bush was put forth as quote:"A great friend of Iraqis, who delivered them from tyranny." Of course, that was while he was dodging two shoes thrown at him because the Iraqi reporter apparently knew what a vile lie looks like and smells like.

Are the deaths of about 2 million human beings in a foreign land OKAY with you? As long as it is not your family, your children, is that OKAY with you? Can you possibly imagine that killing about 2 million people in Afghanistan and 2 million in Iraq has made you less safe in America, not safer? Can you get those numbed brain cells to make that connection at all?

Think, also, about the fact that 1 million US troops have been exposed to depleted uranium, crappy DoD vaccines and will never again have normal lives. Is that OK with you, too?-By Karl Schwarz

If Bush didn't get us into Iraq I wonder just what this reporter would be doing at this time. He would probably be watching his kids getting tortured while we would be a trillion dollars wealthier with over 4000 of our military personal still with us and several thousand more wounded wouldn't be wounded.

I think the low life with the shoes should think about that serving 2 years in jail with 3 square meals and a bed instead of Sadam's acid shower on his naked body.

actually it is just the opposite.

The reason he threw the shoes is because after bush started his war, the guy was taken a prisoner by taliban or al qaeda or one of those freak groups (so I am told). He was beaten & tortured because of the war. If bush had never started his personal war agenda with a vendetta against saddam, those people would not be in Iraq & would have stayed more in pakistan & afganastan.

Bush is no better than Saddam upon departure & that is the point he made.

Bush did his share of torture & invasion of privacy as well. Dont kid yourself.

http://www.rense.com/1.imagesH/shoe_dees.jpg

Shoe thrower 'beaten in custody'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7785338.stm

-Edgar Steele



-By Karl Schwarz

it is a bogus war. I love that pic. LOL!

They made a game where you can throw snowballs at Bush. and a skit is supposed to be on saturday night live of the incident.

according to BBC, it is true. Insurgents would not be there if it were not for Bush.


Mr Zaidi has previously been abducted by insurgents and held twice for questioning by US forces in Iraq.

In November 2007 he was kidnapped by a gang on his way to work in central Baghdad and released three days later without a ransom.

He said at the time that the kidnappers had beaten him until he lost consciousness, and used his necktie to blindfold him.

Mr Zaidi never learned the identity of his kidnappers, who questioned him about his work before letting him go.

Bush seems to have great reflexes, who knew?

Bush seems to have great reflexes, who knew?

LOL...If I were Bush I would definatley be looking for things being thrown & shot at me & be prepared to duck & run at all times.

LOL...If I were Bush I would definatley be looking for things being thrown & shot at me & be prepared to duck & run at all times.

lol, I would be the same way to.

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http://www.sockandawe.com/ :cool:

Bandit & Pinoy, please come click & see who win game below please:


http://www.sockandawe.com/ :cool:

That's awesome!