[Odd] Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush during press conference

We have a guy from Iraq working here. He talks about how everyone was miserable under Saddam and now they act like the US hurt the country. You can't have it both ways. They wanted from under Saddam, now they have that as as a people are mainly killing each other. But somehow that is the fault of the US?

The people of Iraq were given freedom, no matter if giving that freedom was justified, they have it now. And with that freedom they choose to kill each other and throw shoes at the president of the US. If/when Iran does choose to invade a Iraq without US troops, I would who, if anyone will step up to help.

One thing that has happened atleast with people I have talked to, is "f--- Iraq" sentiment is growing. The reaction of the people hating the US over there while our soldiers die for them is sickening. So you know what? Pull out and let the civil war escalate. The reporter is mad because of Iranian influence in the country, what does he think is going to happen when there are no foreign troops in the country?

 

Ugh. The only thing one can glean from your post is that in the same time frame, your standards have not risen.

(Oh, and Muslim is capitalized.)

 

I find it really funny that this thread was reported to the moderator by basso AND because of basso.

In this forum, that makes complete sense.

 

So should be the first word in the sentence. Anyway, I think your bashing is misplaced though his words were a misguided joke. I'm sure if we made a white joke it would be hilarious right now. I'm sure, giving benefit of the doubt here, he was talking about extreme Muslims in which case, the joke was funny. Or, he could be ignorant and doesn't know the difference.

 

You know, I'm going no further in this thread.

I can't BELIEVE the disrespect that OUR PRESIDENT gets around here.

I will slap the god damn sht out of you with my god damn motorcycle boot if ever...

I'm so god damn mad.

FU all. If you don't like my president, GTFO...

never mind, this whole board is turning into a hate fest anyway.

tired of this.

 

Oh come on, just because he is elected President does not mean he is due respect, especially after all he has done.

The guy is the bozo of Presidents, the worst ever, led the country into near bankruptcy and has been responsible for the deaths of Americans as well as foreigners without just cause.

I have respect for the office, but not for Dubya, his respect card got lost along the way.

DD

 

I'm guessing if you were Iraqi and just got your country f***ed, you'd be throwing shoes too. From your post at least.

 

Yes my little homonym silp up is a good response.

 

What the hell are you talking about?

If you invade a country, you are responsible for the security of that country. This is a hallmark of international law. So the civil strife is the US's fault. Again, the occupying power is responsible for security.

As far as the rest of your post, I really have no idea what you're talking about. Iran has never invaded a country I don't think and the only reason that there is relative calm in Iraq is because of Iran's influence - not because of the surge. There is no doubt that Iran benefitted greatly from the US invasion, but they will excercise their influence and manipulate the situation using proxies not an overt military presence.

 

I think its close but is slightly faster than the Bush video and that the people taking the guy down are reporters adjacent to him. Also consider the secret service reaction protecting Reagan was when Reagan was no longer president and without the same level of Secret Service protection as a sitting president.. The other thing about the Bush video is that you don't see Secret Service moving to form a halo around Bush like you do around Reagan. Now they may have after the camera panned off of Bush but that would be slower than the Reagan video.

 

If you note the people that take him down are the reporters adjacent to him. I can understand not being able to stop the first shoe but as I noted in the response above what you don't see is a protective halo starting to be formed around Bush as you do in the Reagan video that I posted.

 

Are you making light of 9/11?

 

The problem though is freedom imposed by an occupying power actually freedom?

From our POV we view getting rid of a dictator as being a good thing but from the Iraqi POV while they may not have liked Saddam it galls them that it took an outside invasion to bring it about. Compare this to if the French instead of just supplying arms and a blockade actually invaded the Colonies and defeated the British in the Revolutionary war. While we might be glad the British are gone I don't think we would feel good that the French did it and even worse if they stayed around for years after.

 

'enry 'iggins.

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Ok...
So let's say some guys/girls, are going to "express their free speech" at...
let's say...
oh I got it!
Your son's soccer game...

...they throw cleats at your kids for the sake of free speech...

so as long as their cause is justified, it's funny?

Religion and "politics" have some of you lost.

Dont' let your hate of another man steer your thought process. It's business, never personal.

 

Very true most of that. But its not about if the action was justifiably done. Or how vile and dispicable the person comitting the act is.

rocketsjudoka is commenting strictly on the level of protection for our president and commander in chief. Maybe in a way Bush "deserved it". But the president also deserves maximum protection from any threat.

You might not like Peyton Manning, but you cant say its okay for the opposing team's defensive end to just purposely roll on his knee and give him a career threatening ACL tear cuz of all his years of being a jerk. And think its reasonable for his line to not block for him and leave him open for that kind of attack cuz he "had it coming to him".

 

As you probably know, alot of times FREE SPEECH =
letting myself act like a butthole freely and openly with nothing really productive to say, but I'm protected cuz its "expression".

There's a lot of people who'll read what you wrote and think "lighten UP". Cuz they value their freedom to be safe from feeling and seeing anything "serious". More than calling on even 1% of their conscience to come into play.

Thats just how it goes though...you getting in a big street fight cuz someone made fun of your loved one, serious event for you but its possible enjoyable youtube content for anyone else not involved.

 

code pink gets called out on the shoe thrower incident by the iraqi ambassador to the US.

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The Shoe Heard Round the World

Thursday 18 December 2008

by: Aaron Lake Smith

As with any event that pushes history forward, when you click the play button over and over to watch Muntanzer al-Zaidi mumble something in Arabic that we now know meant "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog!," the question inevitably arises - Why hasn't this happened before? Watch al-Zaidi rise from the back of the room. See the glimmer of recognition in Bush's eyes and the animal instinct take over as he avoids the shoes coming at his head. The incident is like a deep whiff of smelling salts, causing the degradations of the past five years to flood back. Remember when the antiwar movement puttered to a halt after Bush declared Mission accomplished? How easily we were fooled into complacency.

It is at this juncture where our antihero appears. Bush had opened the press conference by saying, "The American people have sacrificed a great deal to reach this moment. The battle in Iraq has required a great amount of time and resources" to a crowd of Arab journalists - is it any wonder that shoes were thrown? There is only so much unreality people will put up with before frustration bubbles to the surface, breaking through the veneer of civility. Watching the footage over and over again, the video quenches some thirst I didn't know I had. There is a spectacular power in al-Zaidi's visceral response: the spectacular bleary front-page photos of the smooshed face of the president. Bush's deft and effortless dodge out of the way, like a character in "The Matrix." Who isn't haunted by that bemused smile plastered on his face as al-Zaidi is dragged out of the room and beaten? When the front row of reporters apologize, Bush shrugs it off, seeming put off by their servility: "So what if a guy threw a shoe … it doesn't bother me. And if you want some - if you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw … Do not worry about it."

But rather than move on and pretend it never happened, amazingly, Bush returns to the shoe throwing. He turns it into a parable, crams it into his deluded concept of democracy, "That's what happens in free societies, where people try to draw attention to themselves. And so I guess he was affected, because he caused you to say something about it."

But while Bush lauds civil dissent with one hand, he crushes it with the other. In an opinion piece by the editorial board, The New York Times said: "Mr. Zaidi had been severely beaten by security officers on Sunday after being tackled at the press conference and dragged out. While he has not been formally charged, Iraqi officials said he faced up to seven years in prison if convicted of committing an act of aggression against a visiting head of state. No doubt he must face the charges - and punished if found guilty."

"No doubt he must face the charges - and punished if found guilty." Shame on The Times' editors for giving such a de rigueur shrug for centrism instead of taking a stand. Al-Zaidi is looking at seven years in an Iraqi oubliette in the face. When will The Times have the courage to make the same call for Bush? True democracy requires us to be active participants. The lesson that can be gleaned from al-Zaidi's rage is that the jelly-like stasis of the present can always be shattered; with a single act, all avenues of possibility widen. Outside of the week's news stream talking points, many things are still possible. But al-Zaidi is not, as he has been lauded, a "folk hero."

He's just a guy who threw his shoes. It could have been any of us. And like all rebels who walk away from the cotillion of civility, he will be rewarded and punished by history. The biggest barrier to democracy is the fear of social transgression, the idea that democracy can be passively observed. We must be constant, active participants in our fates, rather than waiting for others that we can cheer on from the sidelines, to act on our behalf.

http://www.truthout.org/121808A