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"This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq," Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi wrote after serving a prison sentence for "attacking" a foreign head of state. (Photo: CBS/Screengrab)
"This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."
Those were the words shouted in 2008 by Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi as he took off his shoes and--in an unforgettable and truly historic moment--hurled them one by one at former U.S. President George W. Bush.
"This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."
--Muntazer al-Zaidi, 2008
Now al-Zaidi is running for Iraqi parliament in an effort to help shape the direction of the country Bush and his cronies decimated with their illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, which ultimately led to the death of more than a million Iraqis.
"When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, George Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people," al-Zaidi wrote in an op-ed for the Guardian shortly following the end of his nine-month prison sentence for "attacking" a foreign head of state. "My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora."
Because it never gets old--and because, as one commentator noted, it "makes for one hell of a campaign ad"--here is the video of al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at Bush:
Little is known about al-Zaidi's platform, but as Buzzfeed notes, the former journalist created the al-Zaidi Foundation, a non-profit whose expressed mission is to "find a safe atmosphere for the children who lost their parents during the American occupation on Iraq" and "convict all who contributed in Iraq's occupation from western leaders and officials."
Here is al-Zaidi's official campaign announcement on Twitter:
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
"This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."
Those were the words shouted in 2008 by Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi as he took off his shoes and--in an unforgettable and truly historic moment--hurled them one by one at former U.S. President George W. Bush.
"This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."
--Muntazer al-Zaidi, 2008
Now al-Zaidi is running for Iraqi parliament in an effort to help shape the direction of the country Bush and his cronies decimated with their illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, which ultimately led to the death of more than a million Iraqis.
"When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, George Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people," al-Zaidi wrote in an op-ed for the Guardian shortly following the end of his nine-month prison sentence for "attacking" a foreign head of state. "My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora."
Because it never gets old--and because, as one commentator noted, it "makes for one hell of a campaign ad"--here is the video of al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at Bush:
Little is known about al-Zaidi's platform, but as Buzzfeed notes, the former journalist created the al-Zaidi Foundation, a non-profit whose expressed mission is to "find a safe atmosphere for the children who lost their parents during the American occupation on Iraq" and "convict all who contributed in Iraq's occupation from western leaders and officials."
Here is al-Zaidi's official campaign announcement on Twitter:
"This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."
Those were the words shouted in 2008 by Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi as he took off his shoes and--in an unforgettable and truly historic moment--hurled them one by one at former U.S. President George W. Bush.
"This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."
--Muntazer al-Zaidi, 2008
Now al-Zaidi is running for Iraqi parliament in an effort to help shape the direction of the country Bush and his cronies decimated with their illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, which ultimately led to the death of more than a million Iraqis.
"When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, George Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people," al-Zaidi wrote in an op-ed for the Guardian shortly following the end of his nine-month prison sentence for "attacking" a foreign head of state. "My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora."
Because it never gets old--and because, as one commentator noted, it "makes for one hell of a campaign ad"--here is the video of al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at Bush:
Little is known about al-Zaidi's platform, but as Buzzfeed notes, the former journalist created the al-Zaidi Foundation, a non-profit whose expressed mission is to "find a safe atmosphere for the children who lost their parents during the American occupation on Iraq" and "convict all who contributed in Iraq's occupation from western leaders and officials."
Here is al-Zaidi's official campaign announcement on Twitter: