I read today that the hero, reporter Muntadar al-Zaidi, is in the hospital, with a broken arm and broken ribs.... I wonder how it was that he 'slipped and fell on a stairway' ?

"The treatment of Women under the Taliban is due to conditioning and the enviroment under which those people grew up. It is due to THEIR minds being shaped by religous leaders from the day they are born wherein they are told women are less then men. Are they now blameless for believing what they are told and are people WRONG when they attack such belief systems?"

Yes they are blameless. They are oppressed. Are people wrong to attack such belief systems no? But to attack the people? YES!

You have to distinguish between leaders, governments, and the people they represent. Saddam Hussein was a wicked, wicked man (put into power by wicked, wicked American elites). Are we to assume then that the people of Iraq are just as wicked? NO. And even if they did absolutely love Hussein and support his tyrannical ways, I still wouldn't blame them.

"If we insist on being led around by the nose all the time, then we will be led around by the nose all the time."

But the American people don't insist on that. They may be led that way for a time, but again, the truth comes out and they stop. There wouldn't be such a rich history of dissent in America if her people always insisted on being led down the primorose path. And to suggest that Americans are all mean little lemmings is to give up hope. Why even bother then? Why protest? Why argue? Let's just allow the elites to have their way.

I can't give up. I know that there's a groundswell. I can feel it. We have momentum here.

"And if we are being led around by the nose it hardly speaks well of us to point to the person pulling the chain and saying 'Dont blame me..he is the one who tells me where to go.'"

Not if they don't know where to go. That's part of the problem. The people do know something's wrong, but they have poor direction.

"The truth was ALWAYS out there. If *I* knew the truth of what was going on then why could all those Americans not know it?"

No, it's not always out there. Is this site a household name? How about informationclearinghouse.info?

"Failure to acknowledge that truth and to seek that truth is due to blind patriotism and the conviction that the United States is "the One indispensable nation" The reason Americans are so easily duped is because of Hubris and conditioning."

See, now what you are doing is making Americans out to be Orwellian. That's not really the case. The polls have demonstrated that our patriotism is not blind. Once the truth came out and became more widespread, support for the war and this presidency dwindled. It happened with Vietnam also, and it has always been the have-nots who have shown an aversion to war.

"The 'no one is to blame arguement.'"

I never said that no one is to blame. It is the elites that are to blame, not the majority of Americans who are struggling.

"One can use this to excuse away any thing. If YOU are able to realize you are being duped by the elites and have been, then what of all the other Americans?"

The truth hadn't bled into the mainstream media. When just a little of it did, the tide turned.

"Again if I could figure out that GW Bush was LYING when he was fabricating the rationale towards war against Iraq why could not those 87 percent of Americans who supported him?"

Because again, the truth hadn't become widespread.

"There is a duty we all have to question authority."

We also have a duty to be good parents to not rob each other, etc. It's not always the fault of the people when they can't live up to their "duties." You're letting the real criminals off the hook by blaming the American people as a whole and you're spitting on those who have questioned authority, who stood against certain things when it was unpopular.

"You can not stick your head in the sand then claim your hands clean by pleading ignorance."

What if it isn't willful.

"What I find difficult to reconcile in your statement is you on the one hand claiming Americans have been duped for centuries by the Elite, and then on the other CONDEMNING people for pointing that fact out."

What I'm doing is saying that it is rather rude, crass, and unfair to CONDEMN the American people because of the actions of their leaders. The elites are already condemning us economically, ecologically, militarily, and every which way imaginable. So why should people on the Left, the side that is supposed to be on the sides of workers and the poor, CONDEMN those very same workers and poor. Sites like CD should be where the rank and file can find solace, can find people who are looking out for them. It angers me greatly when I come here, read the smug comments and see people like you instead browbeating them, when they are already being browbeaten! People on the Right will tell them that they are slothful, dumb, and untalented. People on the Left will tell them that they are complicit in crimes against humanity, past and present! You're almost suggesting that they deserve to be disenfranchised and kicked around, and they don't. They don't deserve their plight anymore than the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan deserved the destruction that was visited upon them.

Do you see why many ordinary people run to the arms of The Right? You play into the Right's hands by acting as if you are special and moral and that the rest of them are banal and immoral. They won't trust you. If you display such contempt for them, then why should they trust that you'll look out for their best interests or even try to improve conditions in this country? Do you see?

I'm sorry. I can't be that angry at people who are merely shuffling along, trying to pay their bills, and stay above water.

Too bad the guy didn't have a better arm, huh?

Mordechai - I'm with ya on the T-shirts!

And I find it hilarious that this article has already generated 202 comments.

So, Bush gets a symbolic assassination. I think we better haul this guy in soon for his own protection. Time to assign that special investigator to the Bush administration.

US general Smedly Butler - i believe, stated in his memoirs:

"US FOREIGN POLICY HAS ALWAYS BEEN GEARED TOWARDS GATHERING AS MUCH OF THE WORLD'S RESOURCES UNTO OURSELVES AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER PEOPLES........THE REAL PURPOSE OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY IS TO MAKE THE WORLD SAFE FOR OUR BUSINESS EXPLOITATION AND OUR CULTURAL ASSAULT....IT IS NOT ABOUT FREEDOM OR DEMOCRACY...I WAS ITS CHIEF ENFORCER".

FORMER CIA "ECONOMIC HITMAN" , JOHN PERKINS , WHO "worked" the south american theatre of american imperialism revealed:

"America is an EMPIRE...the largest and most successful the world has known............we called ourselves economic hitmen...our job was to UNDERMINE economies and render them subjugated to our business chamber of commerce demands...first , knowing that poorer nations need money to improve...we offer them loans at usurious rates...when time comes for calling in the payment and they can't pay even interest...we offer them deals -- in which they must open themselves to our assaults...if they refused -- we resorted to blackmail, torture, kidnappings, assassinations, if they refused -- we fomented revolutions to topple them and their institutions and then blame them for mismanagement...that's what we did in central america...if still they refused ..that's when we send in the army..that's what you're seeing in Iraq right now...I WAS PART of that Empire Project".

Sorry for the typos, but I'm using a $5 keyboard that sticks while my regular one is being cleaned. (I did mean 'uninformed' - not 'uniformed')

This heinous government is our monster - we allowed it. Americans allowed such miscreants not only to come to power, but to remain in power. We are no different than the 'good Germans' who either supported or tolerated Hitler and his Nazis. No one can say we didn't know - if so many of us knew, and millions around the world protested the invasion of Iraq, then everyone knew. They just didn't care, for whatever reason.

But we must also look to the rest of the world - to all those government complicit, either by their own participation in this heinous crime against humanity, or those who did not speak out loudly and repeatedly against it. Those who sought to appease the monsters - just as they appeased Hitler and the Nazis - those who did not insist that international law and international treaties be observed. This is not just an American problem - it is the whole world's problem - and everyone is responsible, to some degree.

What did your parents do when the Nazis were murdering millions? (Mine fought them, risking their lives and the lives of their families to do so.) What did your government do when the Nazis were on the rampage? Heinous monsters like these - warmongering murderous micreants who commit unspeakable atrocities - are with us, every day, every year, every decade, every generation. After WWII, many said 'never again' - and then they approved the invasion and occupation of Palestine. Imagine how that atrocious 'remedy' struck the mind of a young child whose family had suffered under the unspeakable Nazi occupation. Blowhards, one and all. And yes, I am bitter. I have good reason to be bitter. We have forsaken our humanity when we allow such events to transpire without even so much as a verbal protest. The blood is on our hands - all of us, all over the world. All those murdered 'commies' were people too - with families, hopes, dreams, and lives they wanted to live. And the so-called 'free world' sanctioned their assassination. My parents hopes - my family's sacrifices - were for nought if we still commit the same atrocities today that plagued their world 50-odd years ago. They sacrificed and died for nothing.

Americans don't want to know about Iraq, Afghanistan, or Palestine. They didn't want to know about East Timor either. Or Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Iran. Or all those Latin American countries persecuted by the 'free world' - namely the US. But the rest of the world tolerated these atrocities. They also knew. And in this day and age, there is no reason to be uniformed - it is a choice. There is no excuse - certainly no excuse for ignorance of the law. The UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions, even the Magna Carta are now little more than a joke. And we are all to blame, if you must fix blame. Better to get on with solving the problem, than casting aspersions, when so many are responsible for so much misery. But I hold the Anglos and the Europeans most responsible - they know, or they should have known, because of their recent experiences. And they did NOTHING. After all, it was happening to 'those other people' - and that's always different, isn't it?

Colin Powell should have been thrown out of the UN. He wasn't. Who is to blame?

Let's hope that eventually the Iraqis erect a statue to al-Zaidi, shoe in hand and all. That could replace the Saddam statue that was toppled on television.

WOW!!!190+ comments. This says alot about how many of us feel about the times we find ourselves living in. Some Iraqi news person throws his shoes at the President of the United States and at the same time manages to unite the people of the world in our outrage at all this President has come to represent.. His simple action expressed the anger and frustration that many of us here at CD have felt for the past eight years. (And counting)

I was just wondering if anyone happened to get this journalists email address or the address to the news service he represents? I would like send him or his news agency an email supporting his immediate release from custody.

Although we enjoyed many amusing comments since this incident occured I cannot help but to recognize the courage displayed by this solitary journalist. This man literally risked his life to publically express that which we all feel.

Some of you need to get a new tune.

One or the other of these points may be redundant, since I haven't read all the comments, but...

First, the article said “Bush smiled uncomfortably and Maliki looked strained.” It seems to me he smiled like he was having fun… like he felt, for a moment and with relief, that he was back in a college frat party or something.

And, more importantly, the piece stated deceptively: “The U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein triggered years of sectarian bloodshed and insurgency in Iraq, killing tens of thousands.”

That would be HUNDREDS of thousands—perhaps over a million—caused by the US invasion/occupation, NOT simply by the “sectarian bloodshed and insurgency” as the language of the statement implies.

I noticed that the MSM left out the rest of what the reporter said:" THIS IS FROM THE WIDOWS, THE ORPHANS AND THOSE WHO WERE KILLED IN IRAQ ". Also, not all the press in Iraq condemned the reporters actions, only the U.S. puppet,sychophantic and punic press in Iraq.

I actually like Bush's comments for once. "All we know is he was a size 10."

Actually pretty funny.

Seriously things are getting better when they throw shoes instead of bombs.

If this guy ever runs for office himself, he's a shoe in.

Too bad the guy missed! Where's the shoe bomber when you need him? Give Bu-Shr fillet of sole for dinner. The guy's braver and did more than any American reporter - they just take stenography. Long live December 14 and the Shoe Man. My sentiments exactly.

What a shame the guy missed!

We have not all been fooled from the beginning. I and my anti-war buddies have been on the streets of Louisville, KY since before the war with Iraq and continue to be there in this occupation.

My contribution to our bumper sticker parade was "PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION, QUESTION AUTHORITY", very early on and I continue to see them around town.

One of our difficulties in this nation is that we are so blessed with the best of things, we also tend to think we have little or no responsibility beyond voting - or that normal 50% or so who do. It was a bit different this election in numbers, and I hope it continues.
HOWEVER, our wish or expectation or assumption or whatever it is that says to us, "I have done my duty and now it is up to those elected to do theirs..." is a very large part of our problem.

Watch the numbers and see how many beyond the totally paranoid conservatives who actually question Obama in his decision-making processes and results. Our press is a muddle and cannot or will not adequately question anyone - except for perhaps Stephen Colbert in his fantastically sardonic ways.

The point is we should know this by now. If we expect to be represented in government, THEN WE HAVE TO STAY INVOLVED beyond voting. HOW we do this is very difficult for many and most obvious wish to just let these politicians do what needs to be done.

What we forget is that those elected get isolated from the real problems and perspectives and then get swamped by those who are PAID to lobby their decisions.

As another writer here has suggested, "There is a duty we all have to question authority. You can not stick your head in the sand then claim your hands clean by pleading ignorance."

WE MUST QUESTION AUTHORITY - NO MATTER WHO WE HAVE MADE THAT AUTHORITY.

It goes beyond that to ACCOUNTABILITY, and we all know where this is going. UNLESS we are willing to make those elected to our public offices, ACCOUNTABLE, THEN NONE OF US ARE ACCOUNTABLE.

FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. STAY ACCOUNTABLE BY MAKING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE AS WELL.

Much has been said, except how poor the coverage of this incedent has been particularly what the journalist said, his brutal beating, and his employers, Al-Baghdadia Television, full support of him and calls for release. Excerpt below:

The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi television station, stood up about 12 feet from Mr. Bush and shouted in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” He then threw a shoe at Mr. Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it.

As stunned security agents and guards, officials and journalists watched, Mr. Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” That shoe also narrowly missed Mr. Bush as Prime Minister Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president’s face to help shield him.

Mr. Maliki’s security agents jumped on the man, wrestled him to the floor and hustled him out of the room. They kicked him and beat him until “he was crying like a woman,” said Mohammed Taher, a reporter for Afaq, a television station owned by the Dawa Party, which is led by Mr. Maliki. Mr. Zaidi was then detained on unspecified charges.

Other Iraqi journalists in the front row apologized to Mr. Bush, who was uninjured and tried to brush off the incident by making a joke. “All I can report is it is a size 10,” he said, continuing to take questions and noting the apologies. He also called the incident a sign of democracy, saying, “That’s what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves,” as the man’s screaming could be heard outside.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/world/middleeast/15prexy.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=al...

---USAn---

Damm, now we can't wear our shoes to News (propaganda) Events!

teddy -- why don't you open your own website ? You have so much to say. You could set up a link between Common Dreams and your site.

Meanwhile, about the shoes ... i was going to say something, but i think it has been pretty well covered in the 172 wonderful comments that came before ....

peace ..................

Fantastic response, the man show more courage than the vast majority of American. Can we declare a national Holiday to honor him. Perhaps offer some training in a major league baseball camp to improve his aim. Hope the next pair are steel toed and more on the mark. Thanks for your courage whoever you are bush is the most despicable of dogs.

"Hip Hip - Hooray!!! Bush got the Shoe Thrown at him". I wish it had been a size 12

To strike someone with a shoe is one of the direst insults in the Islamic world. It denotes the person struck as lower than dog dirt, not even qualifying as sub-human. Remember the staged footage of the toppling of Saddam Hussien's statue? The bit where the face of the statue was being slapped with shoes and slippers? That was those people demonstrating their utter contempt for Hussien.

And now it has happened to Bush.

Wonderful. Brilliant. Epic.

That brave man will be remembered with more honor than the the entire Bush family's whole history.

Walk in peace.

Funniest damned thing to happen in well over eight years. I only wish the shoe would've connected to Bush's cranium. ROFLMAO!

The most eloquent and expressive use of shoes since Kruscev banged one of his on the table at the UN long, long ago. He didn't need to hit Bush, the point was well enough made without that. I loved it.

SHOO!
SHOO!

THE TERRIBLE MAN WITH
HIS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH

HIS BOOTS IN THEIR SAND -
THEIR BLOOD ON HIS HANDS!

WAS OUR HERO ACTING ALONE -
OR ARE THERE MORE SHOETERS?

THROW YOUR SHOES AT THE DUCKER -
LET THEM KISS THE KING OF DEATH.

www.poetreefree.us

Each of us are all part of the whole. What we do to others is what we do to ourselves.

Just hope he isn't dead. BTW where do I send these ratty, worn, holey sneakers? They're size 12 will that do?

Help reduce the National Debt - TAX CHURCHES!

"Im not suggesting we/i hate them. It seems pretty ridiculous that all this vitriol is directed towards one mutt (with quick reflexes) while 50 million Americans (republicans) who placed him there despite a mountain of evidence against him, get away scot free from liberal ire."

I get angry at these people too, but look at the man's approval ratings for God's sake. Again, once the truth has come out, his support has gone way down.

"I find it extremely disingenuous to cast the Republicans as victims. They are/were the perpetrators. Like someone said above, they along with a host of Democrats were ardent cheerleaders for both the wars and became disillusioned when we got our asses handed to us. Im not Jesus or Gandhi. I cant forgive or forget that easily."

Thing is, they are also ordinary people, and those same Democrats and Republicans have been waging war against them also.

Now the people in power? The ones who are actually elected officials, CEO's, war-profiteers, hell yeah, I hate them too.

But it's hard for me to hate a guy who lives in a trailer because he voted Bush for fear he would lose his right to own a gun or some other crap. I might get frustrated with him, but I can't put him into the fire with George Bush.

Although I will agree with you that we do need to train our sights on all architects and beneficiaries of all wars, not the grunts who are tricked into fighting and supporting them.

You also have to keep in mind. Bush is still the big cheese. He's an easier target, and I suppose there's a feeling that if we take him down, all the others will fall with him. It's not necessarily a correct assumption, but it's an assumption nonetheless.

I dunno. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe I just feel that working and poor people across the globe American and Arab alike need to have some solidarity. We all need to realize that as common people we have a common enemy. The Grand War Machine chews up and spits out 99% of us in some way or another.

"87 percent of Americans supported the invasion of Iraq. I was a lone voice being ripped from every side when I said that Bush was cooking the intel for the war on Iraq, and that it would be a war crime and a disaster if the US Invaded. (This on some other boards)

I predicted THEN That all those people supporting the invasion would be back in about 3 to 4 years pretending they never supported him.

You ask the question On why America turned against Iraq only when they started losing. It the same thing as Vietnam. Overwhelmingly for it. Most Americans did not really think the number of dead Vietnamese amounted to anything. They were just COMMIES. It was when all those Americans started coming back in body bags that the people started turning against it.

Had the war went smoothly in Iraq, and the insurgency not happened. Had it cost only 100 billion rather then the three trillion. Had American Corporations got hold of that Oil 5 years ago, Americans would have overwhelmingly supported an attack on Iran ."

I think people are letting emotion and hyperbole run wild here. You're slandering and essentially demonizing the American people and forgetting how they were lied to and how the trauma of 9/11 was used to garner support for the invasion.

Yes, support has withered away since. Why? Not because they are rotten people who love bloodshed and hate losing, but simply because the truth came out.

The American story has been one of a minority of haves vs. a majority of have-nots.

How dare people blame the majority of the American people when that majority has been exploited and duped for centuries. How dare people ignore the spirit of dissent that has survived and thrived for the same amount of time and continues to do so. If you have that much contempt for the majority of working and poor Americans, none of whom have benefitted from any war, you might as well stand right next to the elites whose actions speak for themselves.

Also, anyone who believes that The War on Terror and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have been failures are painfully naive. They instead have been brutal, terrible successes for THE ELITES and THE ELITES only.

"We are a pathetic nation, composed of two parts, those who support U.S. barbarity, aggression, abuses, and atrocity, and those cowardly citizens who unwilling to act upon our anger and indignation (if in fact we are even morally capable of feeling such sentiments). We are also an ignorant nation, somehow believing that the product of the most recent two-party ruling class charade called U.S. elections will be capable of producing anything other than the slogan "Change". The fact that Obama has willingly, quickly and decisively surrounded himself with members of the U.S. political elite and retreads from previous U.S. administrations is clear indication we will see continuity of U.S. capitalist imperialism and the two-party ruling class consensus."

No we are not pathetic and we are not ignorant. If we were, we would have voted for McCain and the polls would show no disillusionment with the direction our country is headed towards.

How can people act on their "anger and indignation" when they're worried about where their next meal will come from or where they will sleep?

I didn't vote for Obama, and I have never supported Bush. However, people such as Nader (whom my vote went to) and McKinney do not have the money to get the kind of exposure needed to win an election. They are shut out of debates, television, print, you name it. It's not that people have faith in the two-party system, they feel that they have no choice because the options aren't made clear to them.

I am an American. I am not a barbarian and neither are the majority of us. The minority of barbarians among us are distracted, decieved, and desperate. I get angry at them also. I've risked losing my job, personal injury, and possible imprisonment in confronting some of these people.

Despite that, to bathe in bitterness, not to mention a form of self-righteousness, as many here on CD are wont to do is really to wave the white flag.

Cynicism = Surrender

And again, if you're villifying Americans, you are a mirror image of Dubbya and all his ilk. After all, the cases for the Iraq and Afghan invasions were partially made by suggesting (*cough*lying*cough*) that those countries harbored terrorists and endorsed terror wholesale.

I hope this happens to him whenever he's in public for the rest of his life, no matter where he's at, in the US or abroad. People should unite together and chuck shoes at Bush, or even his image.

It is a symbol of hope in my eyes. Humanity is not done in by Bush, we are resilient as the guy who chucked the shoes! Keep chucking people! We're not through yet.

So I guess now all journalists will have to check their shoes at the door.

Oh, too bad, he missed!!
The idiot-in-chief is much better at ducking than at putting two words together.

Btw, CD really needs to fix the quote on the comments page. I can never tell who's quoting who unless they mention a username. :)

"All this hatred towards a single individual and never a mention of the 50% of Americans who placed him there for 8 years."

Because they're victims too by and large. If we were all to despise our neighbors for voting Republican there'd be another civil war, and wouldn't the elites be drooling at the prospect of that.

No, blame propaganda, voter disillusionment, election fraud, and cronyism. Don't hate the people. It puts us all on a dangerous road, the kind that blames all Muslims for terrorist acts and justifies the War on Terror, torture, etc.

Speaking of which, I am one of those people who think that Bush and Co. were criminally complicit in the 9/11 attacks and should be executed for about 9 kinds of treason before, during, and since.

That guy was more patriotic and ballsy than any right-wing flag-waving red-stater. I just hope he doesn't end up in Guantanamo.

I haven't read all these posts yet, so excuse me if this is redundant. I'm a little concerned about Muntadar al-Zaidi. Is he going to be ok? We should e-mail Amnesty International and make sure Maliki's cops know that Mundadar speaks for millions of us.

This is amazing. All this hatred towards a single individual and never a mention of the 50% of Americans who placed him there for 8 years.

A couple of years ago, Bush was interviewed by some well coiffed stuffed shirt from the MSM. He was asked something like "what is the worst downside of the presidency?". You would think that the first thing he would have said, reflexively, was about the American dead and wounded in Iraq. But no, he said "No one likes to be called names." That's very telling. This human version of Joe Btsflk, the Li'l Abner character who walks around with a dark, rainy cloud always over his head, becomes absolutely furious when criticized or mocked or reminded that his miserable life has been a constant failure. Now, hundreds of millions of people around the world will see this video, understand both the righteous anger and insult behind those flying shoes, and stand up and cheer. No one is going to remember this last bullshit trip to Iraq. They'll just remember the brave Iraqi hurling his shoes at The Wanker. No doubt, there will be editorial cartoons of winged shoes landing on an aircraft carrier but make no mistake: George Wanker Bush is in the dumps tonight. He'll want that Iraqi journalist sent to a CIA torture hole somewhere and pulled apart the way Bush used to pull the wings off flies when he was a kid. I hope the Iraqis maintain custody of him and then simply let him go as a gesture to his bravery and the size of his stones.

Will a full page picture of Muntada al-Zeidi be appearing on the front page of TIME Magazine anytime soon?

I think as a Parting gift to the ignomius rein of George W. Bush everybody in the world should send the White House a pair of Old, Dirty smelly shoes as a Xmas gift to the scum and a way to show our support to this courageous journalist, I want to see that smirk wiped of the face of that bastard!!! I really like the idea of doing it as a parting shot to the shrub!!!

SHOW YOUR SHOES!

I just hung a shoe in my house window as a sign of solidarity for the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes on behalf of us all, Muntadar al-Zaidi.

For a start, we don't know what will happen to him, now that he's in the hands of the Iraqi security forces - or worse, the US (this IS a possiblity). We must show we are watching.

Secondly, by 'showing your shoes' you are expressing your feelings about the whole Iraq war.

Show your shoes!

Three Cheers For Muntadar al-Zaidi!

i have no idea why i thought of this, but! look at the video a little closer and you can catch a glimpse of that STUPID bush grin almost daringly saying, ha- ha you missed! the other point was how slow any security reaction appeared to be by the secret service. yes we saw what i think were the iragi security responding. but, how is this scenario? think of the many devious ways al qaeda and other radicals have used for assassinations. think of the shoe bomber. the president ducks from the two shoes which apparently fell harmlessly behind him. secret service and white house staff are in the adjoining room. a time lag from when the first shoe flies. 'ok, fellas, no explosion! i guess it is safe to open the door and come to the rescue!' i suppose this proves that the 'surge' surely is working, because the president's security and staff are hiding in another room! they draw straws and send someone out to see what is going on. no one seemed in a hurry to put their life on the line for this fool. very telling! 'he will be gone in 38 days anyway!'
just some silly rambling. sorry about that, chief! every time i see that stupid smirk....... oh well! peace to all! only 38 days left!

THIS IS THE BEST piece of journalism I have seen in the last EIGHT YEARS !!

THIS journalist needs to be protected first and then rewarded as I know we will.

Email, call or write Amnesty International to get on this NOW ! He needs protection.

If he does not get killed first, he will get the media attention and hopefully the notoriety he deserves for showing the murderer-in-chief what the real world thinks of him and his policies.

It's perfect that he decided to throw his shoes. It's perfect. There should be no call for killing or hurting the "ducker" ( which rhymes with _______ ) or anyone else.

The statement is made and will be made over and over in the press for days to come thanks to this guy. He has given us our opportunity to make our point that the ducker needs to face the consequences of his actions. Impeachment is not out of the room - just off the table.

There are other methods to make him accountable and we should be going full throttle toward them with the energy, zeal, intention, enthusiasm and commitment of this journalist. He knew what he was doing. He knew he would reap some consequences, unlike the ducker. Let's reward both.

Give your shoes to the homeless in the name of this journalist and send notice to the local newspapers, your church, etc. Work your ass off to convict Bush and Cheney of the crimes they have committed and continue to commit.

I am no fan of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and all their treasonous torture freak pals that have just about destroyed our country's economy, re-distributed the middle classes wealth up to the rich elite,and stolen our freedoms by replacing them with the Patriot Acts, but , that said, throwing anything at anybody will not solve our problems.

Hell, people in this country have spoken words or stood in War protest lines and have been punished by right wing republican gang stalking spy freaks just because they were using their freedom of speech.

This man is guilty of assault,by our laws, and should be arrested and brought to court for judgment.

But , in Iraq, he will either become a hero, or a martyr , or just disappear.

He will have no peace or justice, he will be tortured or made an example of what not to do in Iraqs new democratic country.

I doubt he will be walking down the streets of Baghdad after serving time for the crime of attempted murder on a US president enjoying his new found popularity.

I know, being hit in the head with a shoe should not kill you, but stranger things have happened, heck , George Bush got two terms as president.

Has it really come to this, the whole world and all of America could do nothing to stop these ego maniacs in the White House from tearing up the world, that we all might feel some momentary feeling of joy at a shoe being thrown at George Bush's head.

Like a freak show at the circus, he ducks, and we all thought it was funny. Or, maybe we all wished both shoes had hit him in the head.Some Americans might have unleashed holy hell and killed thousands of Iraqs for that single action.
Thank God these right wing nut jobs have no real power.

For a moment, that's how I felt, and then I realized how much damage George Bush and his thugs had done to me, America and the world.

Lets let the rule of law take this one, charge the man, let him serve his sentence, and then get him into anger management counseling.

I was once told by a marriage/divorce counselor , for every 5 years of marriage it takes 1 year of recovery to get over a divorce.

Its going to take America and the rest world two years to get George Bush and his thugs out of our lives, assuming the USA does not pursue war crimes trials and torture trials.
The wounds will stay fresh for years if we do that.

I am just great full it was not a world leader with his finger on a nuke rocket button that was equally tired of the Bush Regime Empire.

Ducking would not have helped.

BornFreeMen

Muntadar al-Zaidi speaks for me.

DavidG. Has the right idea. I would heartily support it. Do you think a-lickers like Williams, Gibson et. al. would have the moral decency to throw a shoe at the great decider?

You don't have to walk a mile in this guy's shoes to get the impression that The Surge hasn't worked.

Happiness is a big fat shit-kicking shoe thrown at Bush's face.

The shoe thrower should be nominated Man of the Year. He's definitely part of my pantheon of great human beings.

I reckon the Shoe Thrower should be given the Nobel Peace Prize! His brave action said more about Bush and America than a trillion comments on C.D. or endless articles ever could.

Perhaps he could lead the U.N. It needs someone who will stand up to the vested interests, show a bit of courage.

Well done, my man!

P.S. To liken Bush to a dog is a deep insult to all dogs!

www.dangerouscreation.com

All the rest of the reporters, etc.in that room should hang their heads in shame.
they are so gutless and a$$ kissing, too cowardly to stand up and join this hero in a demonstration of what the world feels.
Of course if it were allowed the bastard would probably be voted back in office again with a ringing majority.

"Shoes for Industry!
Shoes for the Dead!
Shoes for Industry!
What chance does that returning deceased war veteran have for a job, a mule, ...
Think about it. Now turn in your shoes!
For Industry!"

--Firesign Theatre, as best I could remember it, off of their "Shoes for Industry" compilation of earlier material. This entire incident was obviously staged to boost flagging sales for the aging comedy group.

mtidwell
A picture of a shoe, while less showy, could save money and time.

I wonder where that guy is now, and what kind of shape he is in. You can hear him screaming just before the camera gets snuffed out. And by the way, notice the slow reaction time of the secret service dude up front.
That man got in the room and emotionally said what many thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of people feel.
Murder and war is not the answer.
Bush makes me sick, and I am so glad it's almost over.

Peace, Peace. Peace.

As a photojournalist friend in Lebanon just remarked on FB, "There is no one more loved in the world today than one shoeless Iraqi journalist"

I think I would have thrown a dog at him and told him to shoo!

Bush deserves way worse than a shoe thrown at him, and too bad the reporter missed, but he did come very close. The Reuters reporter apparently didn't see the video. Missed by 15 feet? The first volley missed the murderous prick by mere inches. "It doesn't bother me," Bush said. There's an understatement, seeing how his ordering the slaughter of over a million defenseless Iraqis has never bothered him in the least. Bush is a sociopath's sociopath, the model all the world's sociopaths seek to emulate. He kills for pleasure, and we've done nothing about it. Not that "we" can, or could have when he might have been stopped from executing his killing spree. Lacking any true democracy, we are powerless to move this complicit Congress to lift a finger against Bush and Cheney. Nor will Obama, no matter how much pressure he gets from any of us to bring some justice to Bush's bloody door. Looks like we'll have to settle for a better aimed shoe from another disgruntled Iraqi. Hopefully, it will have a grenade stuffed inside it.