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Sunday 
14 December 2008
sole man
no one ducks trouble more adroitly than george bush.
the guy has tipped the world off its axis about as many ways as one person can, and yet he’s allowed to walk amongst respectable people. go figure.
still, he must’ve been surprised when he found himself staring down the barrel of twin loafers fired at him from close range.
On an Iraq trip shrouded in secrecy and marred by dissent, President George W. Bush on Sunday hailed progress in the war that defines his presidency and got a size-10 reminder of his unpopularity when a man hurled two shoes at him during a news conference.
“This is a farewell kiss, you dog!” shouted the protester in Arabic, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
totally uncalled-for. i can’t imagine why the man would insult dogs this way.
In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt. Iraqis whacked a statue of Saddam with their shoes after U.S. marines toppled it to the ground following the 2003 invasion.
throwing a shoe at someone is a sign of contempt pretty much anywhere, isn’t it? there aren’t many cultures that consider firing a pair of doc martins at someone a sign of affection.
Bush brushed off the incident, comparing it to political protests at home. “So what if a guy threw his shoe at me?” he said.
really? so, it’s okay with george if we americans put him behind a podium and throw our shoes at him? can we arrange a coast-to-coast tour here at home? where do i sign up? more importantly, where can i buy some track spikes?
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update: a translation of what journalist muthathar al zaidi said…
First Shoe: “This is the gift from the Iraqis…this is the farewell kiss, you dog.
Second Shoe: “This is from the widows, the orphans and those killed in Iraq.”
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It appears that spaceneedl, like this Iraqi reporter, lacks the intelligence to make a case against Bush, and is also resigned to helplessly throwing shoes, or at least applauding those who do - which may be even more sad than actually doing it.
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And what are your creditials Will.I.AM? Are you surprised that there is someone in Iraq who disapproves of our occupation there?
You want to call spaceneedl unintelligent. Does that make you smart? Are you saying there’s no cause to disapprove of Bush?
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I just appreciate the irony of a JOURNALIST complaining about these things when his profession did not exist under the previous regime. However a poor decision it was to invade from the US’ standpoint, from the standpoint of freedom for Iraqi journalists, and Iraqis in general, things have worked out fairly well.
As for spaceneedl, remember this is someone who thinks the best way to express displeasure with a world leader is throwing a shoe-with spikes. When an adult (which spaceneedl presumably is) says childish things, they should expect to be called out on their silliness.