tuque /tūk/ n Canadian English, var. toque [19th c. Canadian French, from the French toque, from the Basque tauka] 1 A close-fitting knitted cap, often with a long tapering end or tassel or pompom. 2 fig Something quintessentially Canadian.
souq /sūk/ n from the Arabic سوق var. souk 1 An open-air marketplace. 2 fig A central meeting place for the circulation of news and ideas.

Monday, January 12, 2009

'Shoe Intifada' update: Not just the sole means of protest

Since last month's aerial bombardment of George W. Bush by an Iraqi journalist, both shoe-throwing and shoe-related puns have taken on global proportions not seen since little Nikita Krushchev bared his sole at the United Nations in 1960.

For starters, here are some photos of demonstrators in Montreal throwing shoes at a picture of George W. Bush (and an article about the protest, complete with unavoidable puns).

Protesters threw shoes at the Egyptian embassy in Beirut protesting Egypt's lack of assistance to Palestinians during the Israeli assault of Gaza. Egypt was willing to lend a hand, but apparently not...

A shoe-throwing bonanza was underway in Iran, as demonstrators threw shoes at caricatures of Bush. Was that the sole means of protest?

Shoe-throwing was planned at a peace rally in Johannesburg, South Africa: A crowd was planning to throw shoes at a picture of George W. Bush to celebrate his forthcoming retirement, but then someone burned the picture before the shoe-ing could commence.

A member of the Turkish parliament declared that Israeli PM Ehud Olmert deserved a pair of shoes hurled at his mug after what Israel did to Gaza. Turkish shoes? (Actually, a Turkish company claims it made the shoes that Iraqi journalist Muntazir al-Zaidi threw at Bush).

A man in New York City threatened a city official with a shoe in a protest over the high cost of transit fare. Guess he's tired of hoofing it.

A Seattle blogger is trying to encourage demonstrators to donate their shoes to charity after throwing them; apparently there's a move afoot to throw shoes at the Federal Building on Obama's inauguration day.

In Los Angeles, a celebrity shoe-throwing drive is being organized. Bush has been invited and might participate, but certainly Paris Hilton is a shoe-in.

An op-ed from Africa proposes testing all future world leaders for their shoe-ducking acumen. (Or perhaps sandal-ducking, for this former Senate candidate.)

A retail shoe store in China was giving a discount to customers who could hit an image of Bush with a shoe. Hey, if the shoe fits...

Some of the political cartoons satirizing the event [d'oh, the link is gone] have met with angry letters from pro-Bush readers, such as this guy and this gal. Well, we've all got to follow our own sole.

And finally, the website Sockandawe.com offers you, the blogreader, a chance to throw your own virtual shoe at Bush. More than 78 million have hit him so far.

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