They Beat the Man Who Gave Bush a Fond Farewell

As the Butcher of Baghdad, George W. Bush, made his final visit to Iraq. Muntadar al-Zaidi decided to send him, just a tiny taste, of the sentiment towards him. He threw both of his size 10 Iraqi-made shoes at the disgraced President. Fortunately for Bush, he managed to dodge the bullet; which is more than I can say about the countless Iraqis who have been killed by the senseless war.

Bush is a disgrace to the united States of America, and to the human race in general, as is his entire family; all the way back to their Nazi-banker grandfather Prescott Bush. Under the Bush family’s influence, we’ve witnessed our once great nation crumble to the brink of collapse. Now even the most die-hard Bush loving blowhards admit that the man is a disgrace.

Now they see that the Bush regime truly is communist at its very heart. This family is not here to protect the American people; instead they are here to scuttle the ship and then profit from the demise of the republic.

I know that Bush is proud of himself, because this was his goal from the start. I also know that the sell-outs who backed him from the start are proud of themselves as well.

All of these cowards will pay for their indiscretions tenfold, that is the law of karma that has held true for all of time; there is no escaping divine justice.

Shoe thrower ‘beaten in custody’

BBC News

The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody.

Muntadar al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC.

Mr Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr Bush at a news conference, calling him “a dog”.

The BBC tried to contact Iraq’s top security official but he was not available for comment.

Meanwhile, offers to buy the shoes are being made around the Arab world, reports say.

Mass rallies in support of Mr Zaidi have also been held across Iraq, calling for his release.

Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt in Baghdad he believed his brother had now been taken to a US military hospital in the Iraqi capital.

Hero figure

Mr Zaidi told our correspondent that despite offers from many lawyers his brother has not been given access to any since being arrested by forces under the command of Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security adviser.

The Iraqi authorities have said the 28-year-old will be prosecuted under Iraqi law, although it is not yet clear what the charges might be.

Iraqi lawyers have speculated that he could face charges of insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki, who was standing next to President Bush during the incident. The offence carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.

Our correspondent says that the previously little-known journalist from the private Cairo-based al-Baghdadia TV has become a hero to many, not just in Iraq but across the Arab world, for what many saw as a fitting send-off for a deeply unpopular US president.

As he flung the shoes, Mr Zaidi shouted: “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog.”

Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC that his brother deliberately bought Iraqi-made shoes, which were dark brown with laces. They were bought from a shop on al-Khyam street, a well-known shopping street in central Baghdad.

However, not everyone in Iraq has been supportive of the journalist’s action.

In Baghdad, the head of the Iraqi Union of Journalists described Mr Zaidi’s action as “strange and unprofessional”, but urged Mr Maliki to show compassion.

“Even if he has made a mistake, the government and the judiciary are broad-minded and we hope they consider his release because he has a family and he is still young,” Mouyyad al-Lami told the Associated Press news agency.

“We hope this case ends before going to court.”

Abducted by insurgents

The shoes themselves are said to have attracted bids from around the Arab world.

According to unconfirmed newspaper reports, the former coach of the Iraqi national football team, Adnan Hamad, has offered $100,000 (£65,000) for the shoes, while a Saudi citizen has apparently offered $10m (£6.5m).

The daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Aicha, said her charity would honour the reporter with a medal of courage, saying his action was a “victory for human rights”.

The charity called on the media to support Mr Zaidi and put pressure on the Iraqi government to free him.

Mr Zaidi, who lives in Baghdad, has worked for al-Baghdadia for three years.

Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for the channel, described Mr Zaidi as a “proud Arab and an open-minded man”.

He said that Mr Zaidi was a graduate of communications from Baghdad University.

“He has no ties with the former regime. His family was arrested under Saddam’s regime,” he said.

Mr Zaidi has previously been abducted by insurgents and held twice for questioning by US forces in Iraq.

In November 2007 he was kidnapped by a gang on his way to work in central Baghdad and released three days later without a ransom.

He said at the time that the kidnappers had beaten him until he lost consciousness, and used his necktie to blindfold him.

Mr Zaidi never learned the identity of his kidnappers, who questioned him about his work before letting him go.