Shoe-thrower gets three years

By GottaLaff

So many mixed messages, so little time.

"Freedom is untidy and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things." -- Donald Rumsfeld, 2006.

The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at George Bush, gaining instant hero status in much of the Arab world, has today been sentenced to three years in prison.

Muntazer al-Zaidi, 30, who worked for the al-Baghdadiya television channel, shouted "Long live Iraq" when the sentence was read out.

Zaidi had earlier pleaded not guilty and said his actions were a "natural response to the occupation".

He was given the three-year sentence for assaulting a foreign head of state during an official visit.

Of course, that would be after a foreign head of state assaulted his entire country.

After the verdict was announced, his relatives erupted in anger, shouting that the decision was unjust and unfair. Some collapsed and had to be helped from the court. Others were forcibly removed by security forces as they shouted "Down with Bush" and "Long live Iraq".

"This judiciary is not just," Zaidi's brother Dargham said. Another brother, Uday, said the verdict was politically motivated. The journalist's sister, Ruqaiya, burst into tears, shouting: "Down with Maliki, the agent of the Americans," referring to the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

There's that newborn democracy rearing its Bushy little head again. See? See how they're honing the politicization of their justice system? BushCo, meet Mini-BushCo... all while fomenting even more resentment toward the United States.

Zaidi's lawyers said he would appeal against the sentence. [...]

Zaidi, who seemed nervous throughout, began to restate his defense from the first session of the trial, saying that he had not "intended to kill Bush or humiliate him." He explained that when he saw "the occupiers' president" smiling, he "imagined millions of Iraqis killed every moment at Bush's orders." His testimony was then interrupted by the judge, who told him to keep quiet unless he had anything new to say. [...]

The trial began on 19 February but was adjourned until today as the judges considered a defense argument that the charge was not applicable because Bush was not in Baghdad on an official visit, having arrived unannounced without an invitation.

However, Rubaie read a response from the prime minister's office that said the visit had been official.

The chief defense lawyer, Dhia al-Saadi, demanded that the charge be dismissed, saying his client's action "was an expression of freedom and does not constitute a crime".

Makin' progress! Let freedom reign! Wait a minute... Didn't the Bushies say "they hate us for our freedoms"? Does this mean...? Could it be...? Is it possible... that they now... hate themselves?! Will Iraq be the new central target of terrorists... because they're so free?

Irony isn't dead. That was just a rumor.

"I thought about what the achievements were -- killing about a million Iraqis," Zaidi said. "I saw only Bush and it was like something black in my eyes." [...]

A poll released today, commissioned by ABC News and the BBC, suggests 62% of Iraqis regard the shoe-thrower as a hero. Twenty-four percent of respondents saw him as a criminal who had assaulted a visiting head of state. [...]

Prior to the start of the trial, Zaidi claimed he had been beaten and tortured while in custody.

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose.

Shoe-In

By GottaLaff

Bush's laces have been untied for years:

About 20 people have protested the war in Iraq by tossing shoes at a fellow demonstrator wearing a prison uniform and mask of President George W. Bush outside the White House.

The group yelled, "This is a goodbye kiss from the people of America!" They also arranged along a curb about 120 pairs of shoes tagged with the names of Iraqis who have died as a result of the war.

Medea Benjamin, of the national peace group CODEPINK, says the protest was organized as a show of solidarity with Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi (MOON'-tuh-dahr ahl-zay-EE'-dee), who was jailed after throwing his shoes at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday.

The protesters on Tuesday delivered a letter to the Iraqi embassy calling for al-Zeidi to be released from jail.

The shoe episode is the image Bush is stuck with now. How fitting for someone who walks all over his own country.

So who was the shoe-thrower?

By GottaLaff

I'm sure they're treating Zaidi very well since the incident, because, you know, Iraq is a model of freedom and democracy now that Bush's war has knocked some sense into them. Here's a little insight into who he is:

Muntathar Al Zaidi is a 29-year-old Iraqi reporter for the Cairo-based Baghdadiyah Television. According to friends, Zaidi covered and was "emotionally influenced by" the American bombings of Sadr City in Baghdad earlier this year and was also kidnapped by Shiite gunmen in 2007 and held for three days. "This is a goodbye kiss, you dog," Zaidi shouted as he threw his shoe at Bush. He shouted "killer of Iraqis, killer of children," from the bottom of the secret-service scrum that engulfed him, and then, "my hand, my hand." Zaidi's television network demanded his immediate release.

I guess this is expresses how he felt after Bush sent people to his town to kill his friends and family. In their society, per Thom Hartmann, this is considered a non-violent way to hurl an insult (literally) at someone.