Bush gets shoes thrown at him....

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Hear Again said:
too bad. i wonder where the statue will go?
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Nice!

I can imagine the future... "Here lies a statue of the shoe... Yes, I meant to say THE shoe... that America's President Bush unfortunately ducked from during the early 21st century."
 
VamPyroX said:
Nice!

I can imagine the future... "Here lies a statue of the shoe... Yes, I meant to say THE shoe... that America's President Bush unfortunately ducked from during the early 21st century."
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:laugh2:

maybe they can give it to bush so that he can have a "fond" reminder of his days in the presidency. :giggle:
 
Bush's "icy smile" enraged Iraq shoe-thrower

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – An Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush said in the past he had videotaped himself practising the Arab insult to use against the president whose "icy smile" had filled him with uncontrollable rage.

Muntazer al-Zaidi said on Thursday at the start of his trial in Baghdad on charges of assaulting a foreign leader that he took a recording of his shoe-throwing training two years ago and had hoped to accost Bush in Jordan but this did not take place.

Zaidi, who was hailed across the Middle East by critics of the Iraq invasion and who also called Bush a "dog," told the court he had acknowledged making a training film under interrogation after his arrest at a Baghdad news conference.

"I said this before the guards of the prime minister after I was beaten and after my body was devoured by electricity," said Zaidi, who added that his original plan had been to throw the shoes at Bush during a news conference in Amman.

But Zaidi, whose unusual protest overshadowed Bush's final visit to Iraq in December, insisted he had not planned to attack Bush this time.

Instead, he said Bush's smile as he talked about achievements in Iraq had made him think of "the killing of more than a million Iraqis, the disrespect for the sanctity of the mosques and houses, the rapes of women," and enraged him.

"He was talking and at the same time smiling icily at the (Iraqi) prime minister. He said to the prime minister that he was going to have dinner with him," Zaidi told a three-judge panel, a small army of 25 defence lawyers lined up next to him.

"Suddenly I saw no one in the room but Bush. I felt the blood of innocents was running under his feet while he was smiling coldly as if he had come to write off Iraq with a farewell meal."

Zaidi added: "After more than a million Iraqis killed, after all the economic and social destruction ... I felt that this person is the killer of the people, the prime murderer. I was enraged and threw my shoes at him."

At the time, Zaidi shouted at Bush that the shoe-throwing was a "goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."

The trial had barely begun at Iraq's Central Criminal Court in the heavily fortified Green Zone before the judges postponed proceedings until March 12 so it could be determined if Bush was truly on an "official" visit to Iraq as a head of state.

ZAIDI DRAPED WITH FLAG

When Zaidi appeared in court, family members waiting for him ululated wildly and draped an Iraqi flag across his shoulders.

Zaidi, 30, who faces up to 15 years in prison, has been detained for more than two months.

The reporter for an Iraqi television station based in Cairo became a hero in much of the Middle East and his protest was played by television stations around the world.

Bush, whose support of Israel and decision to invade Iraq in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein made him passionately disliked in the region, nimbly ducked out of the way of the first shoe and made light of the incident.

The second shoe also missed the American president.

The invasion plunged Iraq into six years of sectarian warfare and insurgency that killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Although some in Iraq condemned Zaidi for disrespectful behaviour, the incident resonated among many ordinary Iraqis.

Haider Ahmed, a government employee, called Zaidi a patriot. "He allowed us to hold our heads high," he said.

Zaidi's lawyers lost an appeal to have the charges reduced to insulting Bush. They argued he could not have hurt Bush with a shoe.

Zaidi himself said he could not be charged with assaulting a visiting head of state when that leader was also the chief of an occupation force. "How can he be a guest in an area that they themselves run?" he said.

"I did not intend to kill U.S. President Bush. But I wanted to express what is inside of me and what is inside all Iraqis, from north to south and east to west, the hatred we have for this man."
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Bush's "icy smile" enraged Iraq shoe-thrower

He's not the only one that doesn't like that 'smirk'.
 
Iraqi jailed for Bush shoe attack

An Iraqi journalist hailed as a hero in the Arab world for throwing his shoes at the then US President George W Bush has been jailed for three years.

Muntadar al-Zaidi had told the court his actions in December were "natural, just like any Iraqi" against a leader whose forces had occupied his country.

Shoe hurling is a grave insult in Arab culture, but Mr Bush - on a farewell trip to Iraq - shrugged off the attack.

Defence lawyers described the sentence as "harsh" and said they would appeal.

The head of Zaidi's team Dhiaa al-Saadi said the sentence was "not in harmony with the law" because his client had not meant to cause injury, but rather to express contempt for Mr Bush.

There has been no statement about the verdict from the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, which correspondents say suffered acute embarrassment over the incident.

'Response to occupation'

The BBC's Mike Sergeant who was at Thursday's court hearing says relatives and supporters of the defendant came to court expecting him to be released.

Asked by presiding judge Abdul-Amir al-Rubaie if he was innocent or guilty, Zaidi replied: "I am innocent. What I did was a natural response to the occupation."

After the final arguments by the defence lawyers, everyone was told to leave the room. The judges deliberated for a further 15 minutes, and an increasingly frustrated crowd gathered outside.

When news of the sentence filtered through, some relatives began to cry and scream insults at the judges.

They shouted "It's an American court", "He's a hero", "Down with President Bush" and "God is great".


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Footage of the shoe hurling incident

One report says Zaidi shouted "long live Iraq" as the verdict against him was read out.

In mid-December 2008, a news conference with Mr Bush and Mr Maliki was drawing to a close when Zaidi, of al-Baghdadiya TV, called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his shoes as "a farewell kiss" from Iraqis who had been killed, orphaned or widowed since the US-led invasion.

He was overpowered and arrested. His actions were condemned by the Iraqi government as "shameful".

But the shoe attack, at a the globally televised news conference, were celebrated across the world by critics of the the outgoing US president who ordered the 2003 invasion of the Iraq.

In an opinion poll carried out for the BBC and ABC - the full results of which appear next Monday - 62% of Iraqis considered Zaidi a "hero".

Twenty-four percent of the sample viewed him as "criminal", while 10% agreed he was a hero and criminal equally.

Lesser charge

Since his arrest, his lawyers say Zaidi has been beaten and tortured, although he appeared in good shape at court hearings.

Defence lawyers had argued that since the shoes did not hit Mr Bush, Zaidi should not be charged with assault against a foreign head of state on an official visit, under article of 223 of Iraq's penal code.

I had the feeling that the blood of innocent people was dropping on my feet during the time that he was smiling and coming to say bye-bye to Iraq with a dinner

Muntadar al-Zaidi

He faced five-to-15 years if jailed for that crime, but would only have risked one-to-five years if charged with attempted assault of a foreign leader.

There has been no confirmation from the court, but it appears Zaidi was found guilty of the lesser charge.

Judges adjourned the trial on 19 February to rule on whether Mr Bush's surprise arrival in Baghdad in December had constituted an official visit.

Judge Abdulamir Hassan al-Rubaie told the court that government ministers had declared the visit official.

Lawyers had unsuccessfully argued that Zaidi should be tried under article 227 of the penal code, covering public humiliation of a representative of a foreign country, which carries a two-year jail term.

At the earlier court hearing, Zaidi said he had been unable to control his emotions when Mr Bush had said in Arabic "thank you very much" to the assembled journalists.

"I had the feeling that the blood of innocent people was dropping on my feet during the time that he was smiling and coming to say bye-bye to Iraq with a dinner," he said.

In an interview afterwards, Mr Bush described the incident as "interesting", "weird" and "unusual", but he insisted he didn't harbour any ill feeling about it.

"It was amusing - I've seen a lot of weird things during my presidency, and this may rank up there as one of the weirdest," Mr Bush said.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraqi jailed for Bush shoe attack



3 years for shoe-thrower? :shock:




 
So the Chinese premier forgives his shoe-thrower. Will George Bush be as gracious in his new life?

'Education is the best help for a young student,' says Wen. If only our prison system felt the same way

Heartwarming news about the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. He has urged Cambridge University to forgive the German pathology student Martin Jahnke for hurling an athletic trainer at him and calling him a dictator while he was giving a speech last week.

No one seems to have been pleased with poor Jahnke. The audience shouted "shame", some of his fellow students wanted him dismissed, the university has apologised, Jahnke has apologised and gone into hiding - and his trainer missed Wen by about a yard. Perhaps he should have stuck to his important research into debilitating diseases.

"Education is the best help for a young student," Premier Wen now says, sensibly. "It is hoped that the university will give the student an opportunity to continue his studies ... As a Chinese saying goes, it is more precious than gold for a young person to turn himself around to redress mistakes."

Spot on. If only the British prison system felt the same and all inmates were educated and turned round. But lucky Jahnke probably won't get near a prison. Shoe- throwing over here is only a public-order offence, maximum penalty six months and a £5,000 fine, and today he'll be appearing at Cambridge magistrates court. But what about that poor fellow, Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw a shoe at George Bush in December? He's due to face trial next week for assaulting a foreign leader, maximum possible sentence 15 years. Will Bush follow Wen's shining example and be urging forgiveness?

I'd have said no. December was a long time ago, Bush wasn't particularly bothered about the shoe-thrower then, so why now? He had no hard feelings about the incident, said a White House spokesperson; he thought, "It was just a shoe; people express themselves in different ways." And Bush is a busy man now. He's about to move into his new 8,501-sq-ft Dallas home with its cabana, storage building, detached garage and detached servant quarters at 10141 Daria Place, Preston Hollow. He and Laura will be backwards and forwards between there and their Crawford ranch - and, don't forget, they've both got memoirs to write; and Dubya has his permanent office space to sort out not far from former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, who he might want to play with; then another neighbour has invited him over for trout fishing; and they'll both be dashing into Pershing Elementary school near the new mansion, to talk with or read to students.

So someone might have to remind the ex-pres about al-Zaidi, and mention Premier Wen's magnanimous gesture, and give him a little prod in the right direction. Of course, it's much harder for George. His shoe was worse than Wen's. It was the first insulting shoe, payback for Bush's calamitous legacy in Iraq, for tens of thousands of dead Iraqis. The shoe-thrower is now a hero, promised free shoes for the rest of his life. Then Jahnke threw his; then a 35-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman threw a shoe and a book at the Israeli ambassador to Sweden, Benny Dagan, who was lecturing at the University of Stockholm; meanwhile, the web is stuffed with throw-shoes-at-Bush games. In the face of all this, will Dubya be able to show similar humanity?

I reckon not a chance in hell, but then people are always telling me I'm wrong about George W. "He's not as stupid as you think," they say. "He's not that bad." So I ask my American Cousin. She ought to know. And yes, it's good news. Don't give up yet Al-Zaidi, there is hope. She thinks Bush may want to clear off without stinking up the air. He was so gracious and accommodating at the presidential handover, he may want to continue to be seen as gracious and accommodating by urging Iraq to forgive Al-Zaidi for throwing that shoe. So go on, George. Prove my Cousin right. It was only a shoe. For one whole country.

• A little dream of mine has come true. Mr Z-Un Noon has been paid
£20,000 by Tower Hamlets council for the emotional distress he had suffered, caused by four parking penalty charges. Fabulous news. I knew this would happen one day. Someone would realise that penalty charges cause mental breakdown, and now they have.

Because it isn't just the actual ticket that does it. That might be the final straw, but it's the long build-up that weakens you and grinds you down - the worry that every time you leave your car, you may somehow, despite your best efforts, have done something wrong: filled in the wrong day, not scratched the ticket clearly, placed it upside down. Or the wind may have blown it out of place as you shut the door. Or you may have done nothing wrong at all, but the warden thought you had, or pretended that you had, or you hadn't spotted the secret parking-suspension notice hidden in the trees, so that every absence from the car is filled with anxiety, until the day - and there may be several such days - when you get an unjust ticket, and that will tip you over the edge.

It did me. There was my mother, dying at home with something horrible called terminal itching, when the itch becomes so bad that it turns to pain, so I had driven to the chemist for some soothing cream, ran in, got it, ran out, in three minutes. Ticket. I fell on the pavement wailing. I appealed. I lost. And I have heard far worse stories than mine. So I am thrilled to hear of Mr Noon's success.

Sadly, Tower Hamlets has appealed, and won, but Mr Noon has spent all the money. I hope they never get it back. But whatever happens, it's a step in the right direction. I'm hoping that millions of distressed motorists will sue councils for trillions in damages for giving them tickets that have nothing to do with keeping the traffic moving and parking under control, and everything to do with trickery and greed.

This week Michele saw Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire: "Best film I've seen for years. It deserves all its Baftas." She is reading Perdita: The Life of Mary Robinson, by Paula Byrne: "It isn't always sensible to be the Prince of Wales's mistress."

Michele Hanson: Chinese premier forgives his shoe-thrower. Will George Bush be as gracious in his new life? | Comment is free | The Guardian


German student throw a shoe to Chinese PM Wen last month.

 
What does Mr. Noon have to do with the shoe throwing? :confused:
 
Shoe thrower cleared of offence

A protester who threw a training shoe at Chinese premier Wen Jiabao at Cambridge University has been cleared of committing any offence.

A judge said there was insufficient evidence to prove Martin Jahnke, 27, caused harassment, alarm or distress.

District Judge Ken Sheraton sitting at Cambridge Magistrates' Court found Mr Jahnke not guilty after two days.

Mr Jahnke had told the court he was "inspired" by an Iraqi who attacked George Bush in the same way.

The Cambridge University medical researcher said he objected to Chinese government human rights abuses and viewed his protest as an "iconic" defiance.

Mr Jahnke, from Darwin College at the University of Cambridge, disrupted the Chinese premier's speech in Cambridge on 2 February.

He denied using words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to Wen Jiabao or others.

His lawyer complained that the Chinese government had pressurised police and prosecutors into charging the researcher.

They argued that such acts of protest were normally handled internally by Cambridge University.

The Crown Prosecution Service denied that Chinese government officials influenced any decision-making.


I think it really became symbolic throwing a shoe - a symbol of defiance against a regime or authority that is not accountable to anybody

Martin Jahnke
Prosecutors told the district judge that Mr Jahnke blew a whistle, then called the premier "a dictator" and complained that university bosses were "prostituting" themselves.

The court heard he then threw a trainer, which landed a few yards from the Chinese leader.

Prosecutors said the throwing of the shoe was an action which went beyond lawful protest.

"It was a symbolic protest against the presence of the Chinese premier," Mr Jahnke told the court. "My aim was to show solidarity with the Chinese people not represented."

'Shoe thrower'

Mr Jahnke said he had thought there would be a larger scale protest at the lecture and had planned to join in.

He told the court that a shoe had been thrown at Mr Bush in Iraq a short time earlier and he had considered making a similar protest.

"I was inspired by the Iraqi shoe thrower," he said.

"I didn't want to hit the premier personally. I thought just placing the shoe on the stage would be universally understood. What it was meant to be was a symbolic protest. I didn't intend to hurt people."


BBC NEWS | UK | England | Cambridgeshire | Shoe thrower cleared of offence
 
Updated

Iraq shoe thrower release delayed

Relatives of the Iraqi journalist jailed for throwing shoes at former US President George W Bush have been told he will now be released on Tuesday.

The family of Muntadar al-Zaidi, whose act made him a hero in the Arab world and beyond, had expected him to be freed from a Baghdad prison on Monday.

Zaidi's brother told journalists he had waited five hours at the jail before being told of the delay.

Family members said they would stage a sit-in until he is released.

Officials have blamed the delay on processing paperwork, his relatives said.

Zaidi, who called Mr Bush "a dog" during last December's attack, was convicted of assault in March.

His three-year prison sentence was reduced to one because he had a clean record. He is due to be released three months early for good behaviour.

Zaidi's family is preparing to hold a party for him and he has received offers of money, jobs and even marriages from sympathisers across the Arab world.

Hero's welcome

His brother, Dargham al-Zaidi, says the journalist was beaten while in prison, suffering a broken arm, broken ribs and internal bleeding. Those allegations have been rejected by the Iraqi military.

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 some saw as a fitting send-off for a deeply unpopular US president.

As he flung the shoes, Zaidi shouted: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

His action was celebrated in internet games and on T-shirts and some people have offered him their daughters in marriage.

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

A senior official at the channel said his salary had continued to be paid during his prison term and that a home had been bought for him in the capital.

In his work as a reporter, Zaidi was abducted by insurgents and twice held for questioning by US forces in Iraq.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq shoe thrower release delayed

 
I find interesting that Iraqi people consider shoe thrower as a hero. I saw them on TV yesterday that they have welcome party for him.

I personally can understand where he come from. He was doing for victims and their families and also thousands innocent people who lost their lives in an illegal war.

What happened to the Iraqi people and their country was inhumane.
 
Liebling:-))) said:
I find interesting that Iraqi people consider shoe thrower as a hero. I saw them on TV yesterday that they have welcome party for him.

I personally can understand where he come from. He was doing for victims and their families and also thousands innocent people who lost their lives in an illegal war.

What happened to the Iraqi people and their country was inhumane.
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Yeah...Iraq was never involved in the terrorist attack 8 years ago. There was NEVER any points proven to WHY we went to war against Iraq.

Bush totally fucked it up. bad.
 
Steel X said:
Yeah...Iraq was never involved in the terrorist attack 8 years ago. There was NEVER any points proven to WHY we went to war against Iraq.

Bush totally fucked it up. bad.
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The only reason Bush went after Saddam was because he tried to have his dad (Bush Sr.) killed when he visited the troops at Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War while Bush Sr. was President at the time.

The whole 9/11 thing is a sham. I don't even think a Terrorist actually even attacked America to begin with. There's too many questionable actions that took place, such as if the WTC was actually hit by a commercial airline, how come the planes did not have any windows?

And where are the tail section for both planes that went down? 95% of every airline that goes down, the tail section always remains intact upon a crash. Neither tail section was present at the Pentagon or in the field of PA.

The size of the hole is too small to even be considered as a plane crash at the Pentagon. There were witnesses who testified that they saw what appeared to be a cruise missile flying by prior to the so called plane crash at the Pentagon.

As for the light poles that was knocked down during a low altitude flight, they're too cleanly cut, not jagged if it was ripped down by the wings of the airline.

As the claims that the terrorists could have been using a flight simulator much like Microsoft's FS, there's too many details on operating a airline left out on that game for security reasons. No one can just hop on the cockpit and automatically just fly it. Too many variables such as turbulence, wind factors and so on to operate a plane.

A big factor is the guy who designed the WTC and oversaw the construction of the buildings sent via snail mail with a certified return receipt to the White House stating that there is no way that a jet fuel could take down tons of steel beams from a one single airplane. He got fired from the company after that mail was sent.

Lastly, I don't have the link to the video, but apparently the Feds missed one video tower that captured the WTC coming down, showing what appears to be demolition charges going off on the sides of the blding and people on the ground heard "BOOM! BOOM!" as the WTC was coming down.

People from the ground and lower floors remember seeing men coming in and working on the building 2 weeks prior before the WTC came down and security who worked there remember that the alarm systems was turned off the day before the bldings came down.

So when I saw what was on TV came up red flags because alot of things I saw didn't look right.

I think Bush set this whole thing up, using Bin Laden as a smoke screen for the real goal is to go after and get revenge on Saddam.

Bush is a murderer and I also believe Clinton murdered Vincent Foster.

When you give the keys of power to a politician, bad things could happen and those two guys, Bush & Clinton are perfect examples of that.

Yiz
 
It's funny thou...that we NEVER really heard of bin laden until he was mentioned since 9/11 and he was NEVER captured...now the real question is, does bin laden REALLY exist?

That could explain why Saddam was caught and bin laden was NEVER captured for 8 years since.

Something ain't right...but of course, going to war against Iraq was all about Bush's little childish revenge for his daddy. His dad is FINE! But he still won't get over it until he gets the pleasure to take out Saddam and his sons, even thou they may have been our enemies for years, but NEVER were involved in the terrorist attacks.
 
yizuman said:
The only reason Bush went after Saddam was because he tried to have his dad (Bush Sr.) killed when he visited the troops at Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War while Bush Sr. was President at the time.
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Emphasis: George H. W. Bush was the President in office at that time. They tried to assassinate a President of the United States, not kill someone's "daddy".

The whole 9/11 thing is a sham. I don't even think a Terrorist actually even attacked America to begin with.
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If that is true, then why is Obama keeping it a secret? Certainly he would love to bash Bush if he had any proof. Obama enjoys blaming George W. for everything else.


A big factor is the guy who designed the WTC and oversaw the construction of the buildings sent via snail mail with a certified return receipt to the White House stating that there is no way that a jet fuel could take down tons of steel beams from a one single airplane. He got fired from the company after that mail was sent.
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The builders of the Titanic said that it could never sink, too. So? Engineers and builders can be wrong.


I think Bush set this whole thing up, using Bin Laden as a smoke screen for the real goal is to go after and get revenge on Saddam.
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So now Obama is covering up everything?


When you give the keys of power to a politician, bad things could happen and those two guys, Bush & Clinton are perfect examples of that.
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Now Obama has the keys of power. What do you suppose will happen?

Either Obama is part of the conspiracy OR THERE WAS NO CONSPIRACY.

Which is it?
 
Guys and gals, thanks for bringing up important issues about the Presidency of the last 8 years... I saved this page of the thread to my desktop, as I found it very shocking.

When I came across this thread, I laughed during the first few pages and I found that Reba bought up good points about why it's not funny (I've came to my senses, that's why). However, As other people in Arab, I do celebrate the shoe-thrower [thinking as I type...] and I hope that President Barack Obama will reverse the changes that happened since the last 8 years. Maybe it won't happen (or it will never happen) in the future, but I wish I could go back to the 90s. :(

Anyway, thanks.
 
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