Freed Iraqi Shoe-Thrower laments global lag in shoe throwing

The shoe is still on the same foot!

That's what Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi--the man who famously threw his shoes at George W. Bush last December--had to say to the world and especially his former captors when he was released from incarceration yesterday.

Mr. al-Zaidi was released after serving nine months of a three-year sentence for assaulting the former U.S. president. He says he was tortured in prison, and not with shoes--a fact which has led Mr. al-Zaidi to wonder, What was it all for?

Indeed, although Mr. al-Zaidi's unique act of defiance against the occupation of his country initially touched off a fledgling worldwide movement of shoe-throwing demonstrations (which the Tuque Souq has punfully chronicled here and here), research shows that this non-violent form of protest still lags behind other methods.

As the above chart clearly indicates, while it's true that shoe-throwing demonstrations have taken on a global character, the anticipated universal adoption of hurling one's shoes as a leading means of protest has failed despite Mr. al-Zaidi's best efforts.

In related news, the United Nations is slated to hold a series of conferences next month on combating piracy. Coffee will be served promptly at 9a.m.

'Shoe Intifada' sweeps Iraq; Bush flees to safety in Afghanistan

A day after receiving the first blow in the Shoe Intifada now sweeping Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush fled to Afghanistan where he is reportedly safe and taking refuge in the company of that country's one-time hope for a successful president, Hamid Karzai.

Back in Iraq, that country is ablaze in a firestorm of flying shoes, as Iraqis react to Sunday's incident in which Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi through his shoes at Dubya while the latter was giving a press conference with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki.

Expressing a version of free speech with a gesture known to be a terrible insult in Islamic culture - being the target of a shoe missile means one is lower than the dirt beneath one's feet - al-Zaidi shouted invective at Bush on behalf of the many thousands of Iraqis killed since the U.S.-led occupation began in 2003. He was quickly wrestled away from the press conference and jailed.

While reaction across Iraq was mixed - some Iraqis felt the incident brought shame on the country by disrespecting a guest, while others called it a modest gesture of frustration directed at the man who plunged Iraq into 5+ years of chaos - the experts felt the attack was prudent.

The AFP caught up with one such expert - a Cairo shoe-shiner named Ahmad Ali - who noted: "As far as I'm concerned, as he long as he hit him using a shoe it's perfect."

Meanwhile, Khalil al-Dulaimi, one of the lawyers who defended Saddam Hussein, has agreed to represent al-Zaidi as defence counsel in what is sure to be nothing more than a farcical Shoe Trial.

Bigot sues military for right to hate Islam, cites Bush as precedent

Bigot Jesse Nieto, whose son was among the 17 U.S. soldiers killed in the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Aden, Yemen in 2000, is suing for the right to display hate speech on his car.

The man's license plate reads "USS-COLE" but the offensive decals on his windows exclaim "Islam = Terrorism," "We died, they rejoiced," and "Disgrace my flag and I will sh*t on your Koran."

Nieto is suing the U.S. military because it has asked him to remove the decals when he's on military property, such as at Camp Lejeune where he works as a civilian contractor, and at Arlington National Cemetery where his son is buried. The U.S. military is apparently against treating Islam with disrespect.

In his lawsuit, Nieto actually claims that "the Commander in Chief, President George W. Bush, himself used the terms inscribed on the offending decals, including 'Islamic terrorists' and 'Islamic militants' and that therefore Nieto has the right to express the same sentiment."

Quote of the day, courtesy of CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, conceding the bigot's right to free speech: "I don’t think anyone is saying he can’t be an anti-Muslim bigot in public, but [just not on] military sites."