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After hurling his black dress shoes at President George Bush last week, Muntader al-Zaidi, a journalist for an independent Iraqi television station, is being hailed as somewhat of a hero. (Word is that he was given an award for courage in Libya.) Also, according to Tim Redmond over at SFBG, just after tossing his heels, Muntader al-Zaidi had the proverbial crap kicked out of him.
Iraqi security forces have beaten him pretty badly -- 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. You can hear him howling on the YouTube video; it's almost painful to listen.
While saying it's dead wrong to throw anything at a president, Redmond goes on to suggest that we "call on Bush to ask the prime minister of Iraq to pardon Muntader al-Zaidi" (which, really, would be a much-needed gentlemanly gesture on Bush's part.) And we agree, but only because anyone who provides such top-notch entertainment should be pardoned.
But what say you? Take our poll to find out if you're a pinko commie tool or an apologist for tortured journalists.
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Come on, you run a poll on this in San Francisco? What response do you think you're going to get? Forget pardoning the guy. I say give him a crown, a pony, and a beach house.
4 more years 4 more years
To quote Michael Wilbon quoting Chris Rock (IIRC):
I don't condone this behavior, but I understand.
As much as I hate Bush, physically attacking our president, any president, is dead wrong. Period. (I did laugh though.)
A pardon? Hell, there should be a national holiday dedicated to him.
I've heard ideas from various sources that Americans show their support for the president by chucking their own shoes over the White House gate. Or, better yet, by trading a decent pair of shoes to a homeless person for their stank-ass shoes and chucking THOSE over the gate (gotta assuage that liberal guilt, duh).
polldaddy.com sounds dirty.
Frankly, this guy is very lucky that the Secret Service did not respond more aggressively. We can chuckle now that we know that the weapon in question was a relatively innocuous "Size 10". However, it very easily could have been a much more dangerous (but not necessarily prohibited) item such as a heavy camera or tape recorder. Such an object certainly could have injured the President if thrown at full force.
Had he thrown his shoes at Saddam he would already be dead. Look at the video: Bush is laughing as the first shoe flies over his head. I say the US just forgets the whole incident. As the saying goes, no harm no foul.
Had this happened to any other U.S. President it would have been shocking. But there's very little reverence for Dubya left in world let alone the U.S. I say pardon the shoe chucker.
What kind of response is this: if he had done it to Saddam he'd be dead. Is this our standard? At least we don't kill people? Of course this guy isn't dead (but who knows exactly what is happening to him. extraordinary rendition perhaps), but I think getting a shoe thrown at him is the very least Bush should expect, what with invading a sovereign nation, murdering/injuring hundreds of thousands of civilians and whatnot. Some people don't take kindly to that kind of behavior. good for this guy for getting past the "free speech zones" that Bush has used in his own country to shield him from the anger of his own citizens.
blue canary is right the reporter not getting shot shouldn't be a pat on the back moment, but neither should we celebrate such an inarticulate violent protest. WTO anyone?
we should be better than that.
Yes it is our standard. If a US reporter threw his shoe at a briefing in the White House he would not get the shit kicked out of him and he certainly would not be put to death for it. Bluecanary go to the Middle East and pick a country and throw your shoe at a politician and see what treatment you receive.
to funny
http://blog.zanorg.com/index.php?perm=370
I don't have to go to the middle east and throw a shoe at a leader. Because middle eastern leaders are not invading my country and murdering my friends and family. Get it?
Bluecanary I'm not arguing the shoe thrower was wrong on throwing his shoes at the President. He has every right to be pissed off at what the Americans have done. I'm saying that if someone threw a shoe at Bush in the White House the way they would be treated would be 180 degrees from what would happen if you threw your shoe at Saddam.
Now you tell us.