Shoeless shoe thrower throws shoe at ex-shoe thrower

Oh irony, you backstabbing rapscallion,
You devilish hairpin turn,
You are the shoe on the other foot,
You are the eternal guarantor of chaos.

Tuque Souq hero and Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, the man who launched a global movement when he launched his shoe at distantly remembered former US president George W. Bush one year ago, has been hit with a shoe.

What went around has, er, come around.

Mr. al-Zaidi was speaking at a conference in Paris when another Iraqi journalist, identified only as Khayat, threw a shoe at him, apparently in protest of Mr. al-Zaidi's anti-US presentation. The mysterious Mr. Khayat had spoken earlier in support of the US-led occupation of Iraq and accused al-Zaidi of advocating dictatorship.

The assailant was slapped and tackled after his shoe barely missed the head of its target. Then, as he was being escorted out of the room, another person--possibly al-Zaidi's brother--threw a shoe at him.



It is not known what will become of Khayat. After his attack last year, Mr. al-Zaidi spent nine months in prison for assault. After being attacked last year, Mr. Bush fled to Afghanistan. Whatever happens, you can be sure the press will tell us. The Tuque Souq tried to reach Mr. Bush for comment, but the former president is not aware of irony.

Global shortages threaten Shoe Intifada

Last month in Montreal, former US president George W. Bush survived another volley of missiles, as over a thousand demonstrators protested his $100,000-speaking engagement at the Queen Elizabeth hotel by throwing their shoes at or at least near him. The protesters bravely sacrificed their precious footwear to demean Mr Bush, in spite of the looming annual Quebec apocalypse known as hiver.

While the protest was important in that it kept Dubya from sneaking into Canada under the radar to collect a fat cheque from the Montreal Chamber of Commerce for speaking candidly about how he was proud of starting two wars against the Islamic world, the Tuque Souq couldn't help but notice that the actual volume of ammunition in the protesters' arsenal was noticeably less than at last winter's anti-Bush, shoe-throwing demonstration in Montreal.

This leads us to ask a critical and obviously underasked question of one of our most precious global resources: Has the world of protesting reached Peak Shoe?

As this blog has covered obsessively, the Shoe Intifada has leathered its way from a small press conference in Baghdad last December into a globally laced anti-war movement.

Tens of thousands, maybe billions, of shoes have flown, in opposition to everything from the global economic crisis to transit-fare hikes. But have we wantonly tapped out a resource that is not as renewable as we thought? Or perhaps is some conspiratorial counter movement trying to untie those shoes, to trip up the movement?

This man may know: A 48-year-old Egyptian man was recently released from prison after serving a year for stealing $1500-worth of shoes from a mosque in Qatar. While he committed his crime before the Shoe Intifada began, perhaps his conspirators knew that a worldwide shoe-throwing movement would start, and he was hoarding shoes for future sale on the black market.

Or this man: An amputee in Belgium was recently picked up for stealing only a left shoe from a store in the town of Maldegem. Is there a connection between him, shoes, and the Left?

If there is a conspiracy afoot to deplete protesters of their sole ammunition, the Tuque Souq is on the trail. Stay tuned.

[Keep current on all the shoe throwing at the Tuque Souq's Shoe Intifada bureau.]

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 heads to court

The trial of Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former U.S. president George W. Bush last December, resumes on Thursday after adjourning last month.

The shoe hurler is charged with assault and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The trial was postponed in February so the panel of three judges could determine if Bush's visit to Iraq was really an official state visit, which could affect the severity of al-Zaidi's punishment.

Mr. al-Zaidi remains unapologetic, which of course maintains his immense popularity, evidenced by the throngs who turn out just to see him go in and out of the courthouse in Baghdad.

[UPDATE MARCH 12: al-Zaidi was sentenced to 3 years in prison]

Meanwhile...

THE SHOE INTIFADA SPREADS AROUND THE WORLD
Hilary Clinton--or at least her mug--got a shoe in the face at a protest in Indonesia, as the new U.S. Secretary of State was making an official visit.

3 protesters tossed shoes at a former Israeli Defense Force (IDF) officer after he gave a lecture at an Amsterdam Hotel. A witness noted that they threw only left shoes (how deliciously appropriate!).

A judge dropped the case against a man who threatened a New York City transit official with a shoe after becoming enraged at a fare hike. [See earlier Tuque Souq post]

Brazil's president joked to reporters that he would not abide any shoe-throwing from the press.

Latvians protested their country's economic crisis by hurling shoes at photos of government officials and parliament.

Taiwanese commemorators of the infamous 228 Massacre planned to throw shoes as part of their memorial service.

The Chicago Tribune advocated the unlacing of shoes to protest the fallen pride of the Illinois state government.

The UK's Secretary for Scotland Jim Murphy faced a shoe-throwing protest from Scottish nationalists.

As always, keep up with all the coverage of the Shoe Intifada right here at the Tuque Souq.

'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.

'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.