DescentBB

I guess that Bush still has fast reaction times in his old age! Sorry about this coming from MSNBC, but they had the clearest video of the incident. There's also an ad you have to sit through first. Sorry @^$#@%^&*!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 9#28223089

I hate that people disrespect our president, but on the other hand I don't this one's very good. It's sad but it's about time someone gives him the boot.

Duck and cover, looks like a shoe sale in Baghdad.

Don't the Iraqi's consider being hit with a shoe the ultimate insult! Remember what they did to Saddam's statue when it was taken down?

No. Those were sandals. Different rules apply.

Sandals, smandals! What you wear on your feet still counts.

tunnelcat wrote:Don't the Iraqi's consider being hit with a shoe the ultimate insult! Remember what they did to Saddam's statue when it was taken down?

That could be true, but I know that seeing the sole of one's shoe is a serious cultural faux pas, as related by one of Bill Richardson's many visits to the Middle East where he sat with one leg crossed over the other.

I need to start emailing porn to that side of the world...

I guess that Bush still has fast reaction times in his old age!

That is exactly what I thought. But to be fair, he has had more experience dodging stuff then many of our previous presidents

I like bush’s smirk…like bring it on biatch!

hahaha

not a half bad throw either.

That second shoe might have hit if the guy had better aim.

Wouldn't have hurt my feelings to see a big red shoe print on Bush's forehead

Well, I guess now press conference attendees will have to be barefoot. The terrorists win again!

LOL! Nice footage of the animated gif.

Back on topic, I think this is one of the most hilarous scenes i've seen on the news ever!

He really has the ability to duck & evade very well!

Spidey wrote:I like bush’s smirk…like bring it on biatch!

He may have shown that he has balls, but what if the next object thrown had been something more solid, like a rock for example, and it had connected with it's intended target? I noticed that Bush didn't keep his head down after the first throw, he stood right back up and smirked. I also noticed that the Secret Service seemed slow to react as well. Maliki at least put out his hand to try and deflect things.

Dana Perino, Bush's press secretary, got smacked in the face with a microphone in all the ruckus that ensued though. Poor baby!

There is talk that this guy could get 6 years in an Iraqi prison for this.

I think it would be a nice symbolic gesture for Bush to ask for his release.

When you are hopped up on coke, your reactions are pretty quick.

Gooberman wrote:There is talk that this guy could get 6 years in an Iraqi prison for this.

I think it would be a nice symbolic gesture for Bush to ask for his release.

And then the Iraqies could say "ok, but he's not getting totally off the hook after disrespecting the President of the United States", and they could shorten his sentence by a few years out of respect for Bush's wishes. A public flogging would be more appropriate, really.

I wonder if the guy had a just cause... The American media really cheapens stuff like this, either way.

I don't think he did. While I'm no supporter of President Bush, I have to ask, if he isn't giving Iraqis what they want, then what do they want -- civil war?

Everybody want in on the act - apparently there is now an internet game called \"sock and awe\" where you can throw a shoe at Bush yourself in an attempt to knock him out - which 1.4 million people have already done. I don't have a link to the game, but here's the news item that mentioned it:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/699501 ... ush-online

As for the sole of the shoe thing ...Kyouryuu and Tunnelcat are correct - in Arab cultures, showing someone the sole of your shoe (or sandal) is possibly the greatest insult you can deliver. (Saddam's statue being the perfect example) Beating them over the head with it - well that's just rubbing it in!

Shows just how low a bar can be set, this guy has become a hero………HE MISSED!!!

http://gawker.com/5110129/what-will-...d-shoe-thrower

What Will Become of the Baghdad Shoe Thrower?

By Hamilton Nolan, 10:56 AM on Mon Dec 15 2008, 32,389 views
Muntader al-Zaidi will probably never again do something as awesome as hurling his shoes at the US President during a press conference. But was it worth it, considering what came next?
Al-Zaidi is a 28-year-old journalist for Al Baghdadia, and Iraqi TV station. So what exactly is the penalty for throwing a shoe at Dubya?

[Iraqi Prime Minister] Maliki's security agents jumped on the man, wrestled him to the floor and hustled him out of the room. 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, which is led by Mr. Maliki. Mr. Zaidi was then detained on unspecified charges.

Okay! And you can only imagine how his day is going today. It can only get worse. Sure, making Bush hit the deck twice on live TV is worth an ass whupping. But probably not worth a dozen years in an Iraqi prison while being tortured. Luckily, our hero president found a way to turn this into a teaching experience:

[Bush] also called the incident a sign of democracy, saying, \"That's what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves,\" as the man's screaming could be heard outside.

I think it's stupid funny the way people are feeling sorry for this guy, and trying to portray him as unjustly treated. You don't throw your shoes at the leader of a major nation when they're visiting the leaders of your nation. Unsanctioned foreign relations at best. Is it the sign of a democracy? Maybe, but that's a far cry from democracy at work. This guy essentially said \"screw all of you\", and did what he wanted.

I bet he did scream like a woman... They should'a kept right on until he stopped screaming like a woman.

Really, I'd like to say that perhaps the President should have dusted himself off and graciously asked the man up to discuss his concerns, but I honestly doubt it would be worth the effort. To suppose that there is that much reason behind the man's strong feelings is a little too optimistic in this warped-media-driven day and age.

...Don't TAze me Bro!!....

Given the barbarism that is sometimes conducted around the world in the name of political protest, I really don't have a problem with someone throwing a shoe ...it's pretty harmelss by comparison.

Mind you - it didn't have its desired effect either. No one changed their mind or reassessed their position, so as political protests go it was pretty impotent. More an act of frustration than anything else.

You'd think he'd consult a pitching coach first...

http://churchof.poisonedminds.com/comics/pm20081217.gif



\" This guy essentially said \"screw all of you\", and did what he wanted. \" Fits W to a tee.

Bush must get a lot of practice, cause his ducking skills are 1337

Gekko71 wrote:Given the barbarism that is sometimes conducted around the world in the name of political protest, I really don't have a problem with someone throwing a shoe ...it's pretty harmelss by comparison.

Mind you - it didn't have its desired effect either. No one changed their mind or reassessed their position, so as political protests go it was pretty impotent. More an act of frustration than anything else.

You'd think he'd consult a pitching coach first...

That wasn't the point. It was the equivalent in our society of hocking a full loogey into someone's face. You guys don't appreciate the intent here. It was a supreme insult.

That Is the point though Shak. We don't consider their insult ..er.. insulting ... which is insulting in itself!

so we say \"meh\" to their shoe throwing angst.

What is missed though is the respect that is due a foreign head of state. It used to be that an act like this was unquestionably punishable by death ... immediately.

Protest is one thing. That is allowed by our law as long as it's peaceful (not slanderous, not pernicious). Assault, regardless of how \"harmless\" it may seem, is completely unacceptable. Our feelings can not and do not usurp decorum or just proper behavior.

How come Maliki didn't even flinch? He may have even deflected the second shoe throw slightly away from Bush's head. Bush would really come off looking magmanimous if he pardoned this guy.