Breaking News- Journalist Throws Shoes at President Bush
 

good arm on that guy!

Apparently not as he went 0-2. Great reaction time for President Bush, not so much for the Secret Service.

In all seriousness, an Iraqi journalist attempted to assault the President of the United States. I can't begin to tell you how angry that makes me. I take solace in knowing that the journalists actions have embarassed President al-Maliki and his personal security detachment on an international stage. Im betting they will feel obligated to handle this matter quietly and internally.

Good post, Sun Tzu, but this probably would have been better suited for the "General Discussion" forum.

Too bad he didn't make contact ;)

Too bad he didn't use a pile of horse shit.

Where were the secret service? After the guy ran out of shoes, Bush was still just standing there. I didn't see any human shields leap into place.

That seemed rather odd to me.

We've known for years that Bush is good at dodging things.

+10 points.

We also would have accepted "Who throws his shoe? Honestly! You fight like a woman!" or "Gellin' like a felon."

wish i could make bhg's post my avatar...

Not impressed.
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7802/hs006ig6dx8.jpg
-----Added 14/12/2008 at 07 : 17 : 13-----
The irony of posting an Odd Jobs pic in response to a guy with a young Sean avatar just hit me. Unfortunately, it was unintentional.

younger sean with a cig in his mouth...

couth...

Dude, the Chinaman is not the issue here!

(I couldn't miss that opportunity)

Dude, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.

Honestly can't believe the guy had the balls to do it. But this is what we've become... sadly the vast majority of people think it's alright to throw shoes at the POTUS.

Im inclined to agree, though I wouldnt say "vast majority". Its confined to a select few, like this douchebag. And like this douchebag, their actions are largely self correcting. Saddams old torture chambers still exist...they are just under new management. Have fun, Fuck Face!

I'm going on world wide opinion polls. I don't think it's confined to a select few at all. I can't remember the last time I ran into someone from a country other then the US that didn't have something completely negative to say about Bush Jr. Hell, I'd say well over half of the US citizens I run across think very negatively of him. Personally though as long as he's POTUS I'm not in favor of this type of thing. Simply out of respect for the office and the country. Come Feb. 2009 people can throw sewage at him for all I care. If they do I certainly hope they don't miss.

dudes..

seriously..its the biggest insult to throw a shoe at someone in arabic culture. actually anything shoe related.

if you told someone that they arelower than your shoe, all hell's going to break loose.

doesnt make it right.. 2nd shot he had interference. it would have been 1-1 i think.

maybe some baseball team is looking for a pitcher?

gee, it's astonishing that someone from iraq would be a bit miffed at george w bush in late 2008.

i want to talk about why it is probably not ok to throw a shoe or two at the president of the united states. were it ok to throw a shoe or two at the president of the united states, then this particular action would have no meaning because anyone could throw a shoe or two at the president of the united states and so either most people wouldn't (because if you can, what's the point?) or most people would (because, well, you can)--either way, were it ok to throw a shoe or two at the president of the united states, this particular shoe or two would not be remarkable. so it has to be true that throwing a shoe or two at the president of the united states is not ok because otherwise this footage would not be remarkable, and regardless of what you think of it politically, that is pretty remarkable footage.

qed

im going to read this a few more times i think

why waste a good pair of shoes?

Has anyone looked at the good side?

At least this is proof that Iraq has freedom of the press. That's one step in the right direction to establishing a democracy.

So, which Western TV network will have his interview first? Do you think he will be seen like the Tiananmen Square Tank guy in Iraq?
http://pekingduck.org/archives/tiananmentankman2.jpg

At least it wasn't a gun. That would have been stupid and a really bad thing. And while this wasn't exactly a great thing, at least he expressed his (and many Iraqis) feelings without using an extreme form of terrorism.

For the next press conference in the US, he should have the secret service remove all of the press and media's shoes before they enter the room. :)

I am interested in finding out where he will be in 2 months.. 3 years? What does throwing a shoe at the president do to one's life?

George Bush will never look at Shoe Carnival the same way again.

No pun intended?

I think it could go one of two ways. Either a substantial prison sentence filled with unkind, unpleasant treatment. Or they pin a medal on him. Never know he could end up in Abu Ghraib or one of Saddam's old palaces. I don't think even al-Maliki thinks that much of Bush Jr. these days. But my guess is whatever they do will be under the radar and quite.

I hope he doesn't get in too serious of trouble over the incident. I think it was a well thought action that showed his disagreement with how President Bush has treated his country, that had no real possibility of causing lasting harm.

When the shoes start flying at BHO, I'll be back here to see if opinions have changed.

i don't see this as a routine occurance.
i don't see george w bush as being like alot of other presidents of the united states.
i'm kinda surprised that anyone does, even those few supporters which remain out there in the world.

I agree with this. Though I don't condone the attack, I can see why the guy did it. It may not have been diplomatic but I'd be inclined to give this journalist a break. Look on the bright side, at least it wasn't a loaded gun.

Apparently the journalist had a lot of close relatives die in the invasion. I think only throwing two shoes at him showed a hell of a lot of self restraint.

I am offended that someone who wasn't an American would show such disrespect for a leader of a foreign nation.

The BBC this morning is reporting 1000's demonstrated to have this journalist released from custody

BBC Reports

Don't think his feelings are in the minority by any means.

I think he lost family in the war and wasn't happy about-

I was on the phone last night with a friend and he much pretty parroted "The Dude" above. In that he hopes this guy gets throw in some Iraqi prison and tortured repeatedly for years. I find it ironic that the same people that seem to use the prisons, in part, as justification for the war are now advocating the use of these very prisons and torture rooms. So insult or cross Saddam, he throws you in prison, tortures you and it's wrong. Very, very wrong, so very wrong. Throw a couple shoes at Bush Jr.? Open them prisons doors up boys! We got fresh meat for ya! Hell ya! Hope they string him up by his balls*.

*direct quote from my phone conversation last night.

I think we should invade his country on false pretenses.

He only threw two shoes because he only had two feet.

;)

Given the tight security of the press conference (no doubt), I don't think a gun would have been an option. His shoes were probably all he had to throw at the president, other than maybe his tape recorder, notebook, or some other article of clothing. I think it was a pretty smart tactic of protest, given those constraints... essentially non-violent, but extremely symbolic given the local meaning of throwing one's shoes at someone you despise.

Yes, gawd yes! Let's do a little "shock and awe" on their asses... Hey! Wait just a minute. We already did that. Pfft- you're several years, tens of thousands of dead people and several hundred billion dollars behind the times with that idea.

Gez, seriously read a newspaper once and a while will ya?