Re:Wrong Pitch
« Reply #1 on: 2008-12-15 20:48:17 »
Quote:
Posted by: Walter Watts Posted on: Today at 18:01:44 I'm thinking a slider would have gotten him right in the kisser......
[Fritz]A coworker that travels through Dubai several times a year told me that there are signs at the Airport advising to keep the soles of your shoes on the ground since facing a sole of a shoe at someone is a serious insult example would be when you sit and rest a leg up on your knee; when in Rome I guess. So throwing a shoe has insult able significance apparently over there ..... amazing how nibble GW is dogging yet another one
Re:Wrong Pitch
« Reply #2 on: 2008-12-15 21:45:00 »
Considering that he didn't actually hurt anyone (or maybe even in spite of that sad fact), I'm completely on the side of the shoe thrower on this one. The Iraq invasion has been the worst foreign policy disaster of the US bar none, and Bush deserves all the derision for it (even though he had friends to help him). He should be relieved that he only has to duck a couple of shoes. He's been responsible for the needless and heedless deaths of thousands. My hat and shoes are off to this reporter for his brave showing. GWB deserves much worse.
Excerpt from AP: Family: Shoe thrower hates both US, Iran role December 15, 2008 9:48 PM EST BAGHDAD - The Iraqi TV reporter who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush was kidnapped once by militants and, separately, detained briefly by the U.S. military.
Over time, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a 28-year-old unmarried Shiite, came to hate both the U.S. military occupation and Iran's interference in Iraq, his family told The Associated Press on Monday.
Al-Zeidi's act of defiance Sunday transformed an obscure reporter from a minor TV station into a national hero to many Iraqis fed up with the nearly six-year U.S. presence here, but also fearful that their country will fall under Iran's influence once the Americans leave.
Several thousand people demonstrated in Baghdad and other cities to demand al-Zeidi's release. The attack was the talk of the town in coffee shops, business offices and even schools - and a subject across much of the Arab world. A charity run by the daughter of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi bestowed a medal of courage on al-Zeidi, calling on the Iraqi government to free him.
Al-Zeidi was held Monday in Iraqi custody for investigation and could face charges of insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi prime minister, who was standing next to Bush. Conviction carries a sentence of up to two years in prison or a small fine - although it's unlikely he would face the maximum penalty given his newfound cult status in the Arab world.
Bush was not hit or injured in the attack, and Iraqi security guards wrestled al-Zeidi to the ground immediately after he tossed his shoes. White House press secretary Dana Perino suffered an eye injury when she was hit in the face with a microphone during the melee.
But Bush took a drubbing later as Arab satellite TV networks repeatedly broadcast images of him ducking the shoes at the Baghdad press conference. The sight of an average Arab standing up and making a public show of resentment was striking - especially against a leader widely blamed for a litany of crimes including the turmoil in Iraq, where tens of thousands of civilians have died in the war.
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