Iraqi shoe thrower welcomed home

The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush at a news 
conference in Baghdad says he was tortured in jail.

Muntadar al-Zaidi was released on Tuesday after serving nine months. The 
BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad describes the day's unfolding events.

After leaving prison, Muntadar al-Zaidi went straight to al Baghdadiya - the 
TV station he was working for at the news conference where he threw the 
shoes.

Addressing his own news conference, he said he had been tortured: "At the 
very moment that the Prime Minister Mr al-Maliki was on TV saying he 
wouldn't rest until he was sure I was sleeping on a comfortable bed, I was 
being hideously tortured.

"I was being given electric shocks, and being hit with cables and steel 
roods... I was left handcuffed and immersed in water until dawn in cold 
weather. I demand that Mr al-Maliki apologise for concealing the truth."

An advisor to the prime minister told the BBC that the torture allegation 
should be investigated.

And a spokesman for the ministry of human rights told us they do not believe 
he was tortured in the jail where he spent the past nine months, as it is a 
"detention centre with acceptable human rights standards".

They concluded that, if he was tortured, it must have happened soon after he 
was arrested and before his trial.

At his news conference, Mr Zaidi offered an explanation for his 
shoe-throwing protest.

"I'm not a hero," he said, "but when I saw the war criminal Bush, I wanted 
to show my resentment - after six years of occupation, this killer came to 
my country smiling and bragging about victory."

He went on: "When I saw the pictures of the dead, it kept me awake at 
night."

He also addressed objections that journalists should throw questions at 
presidents, and not shoes: "If I gave the profession of journalism a bad 
name, I apologise," he said.

Emotional welcome

Arriving at the al Baghdadiya compound, a trumpeter and two drummers sounded 
a welcome for Mr Zaidi - and in his honour, three sheep were slaughtered 
live on his own channel.

At his modest central Baghdad flat, his family prepared an exuberant and 
emotional welcome home.

They danced, they put up balloons and posters, and his young nephews and 
nieces practised a celebratory song - roughly translated as "Bush Bush 
listen well, we said goodbye with a pair of shoes".

On the open corridor outside his flat, another sheep waited patiently for 
its end - six more were assembled down in the street.

As the day - and the heat - wore on, the family handed out soft drinks to 
waiting reporters.

Non-Muslims (and the non-observant) accepted eagerly - but for the rest it 
is Ramadan, and a fast is a fast, even if it is 40C (104F) in the shade.

But Mr Zaidi never turned up. Reporters dispersed, the family went back 
inside, and the six sheep in the street were taken away - leaving the one 
animal upstairs alone there again with its bowl of water.

Not all Iraqis admire him - may thought his gesture was rude and 
unjustified.

According to Arab tradition, throwing shoes and calling the intended target 
a dog was a double insult.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8257524.stm

"Kayid Al-Kuffar"  wrote in message
news:4aef1623$1@news.x-privat.org...
> Iraqi shoe thrower welcomed home
>
> The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush at a news
> conference in Baghdad says he was tortured in jail.
>
> Muntadar al-Zaidi was released on Tuesday after serving nine months. The
> BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad describes the day's unfolding events.
>
> After leaving prison, Muntadar al-Zaidi went straight to al Baghdadiya -
the
> TV station he was working for at the news conference where he threw the
> shoes.
>
> Addressing his own news conference, he said he had been tortured: "At the
> very moment that the Prime Minister Mr al-Maliki was on TV saying he
> wouldn't rest until he was sure I was sleeping on a comfortable bed, I was
> being hideously tortured.
>
> "I was being given electric shocks, and being hit with cables and steel
> roods... I was left handcuffed and immersed in water until dawn in cold
> weather. I demand that Mr al-Maliki apologise for concealing the truth."
>
> An advisor to the prime minister told the BBC that the torture allegation
> should be investigated.
>
> And a spokesman for the ministry of human rights told us they do not
believe
> he was tortured in the jail where he spent the past nine months, as it is
a
> "detention centre with acceptable human rights standards".
>
> They concluded that, if he was tortured, it must have happened soon after
he
> was arrested and before his trial.
>
> At his news conference, Mr Zaidi offered an explanation for his
> shoe-throwing protest.
>
> "I'm not a hero," he said, "but when I saw the war criminal Bush, I wanted
> to show my resentment - after six years of occupation, this killer came to
> my country smiling and bragging about victory."
>
> He went on: "When I saw the pictures of the dead, it kept me awake at
> night."
>
> He also addressed objections that journalists should throw questions at
> presidents, and not shoes: "If I gave the profession of journalism a bad
> name, I apologise," he said.
>
> Emotional welcome
>
> Arriving at the al Baghdadiya compound, a trumpeter and two drummers
sounded
> a welcome for Mr Zaidi - and in his honour, three sheep were slaughtered
> live on his own channel.
>
> At his modest central Baghdad flat, his family prepared an exuberant and
> emotional welcome home.
>
> They danced, they put up balloons and posters, and his young nephews and
> nieces practised a celebratory song - roughly translated as "Bush Bush
> listen well, we said goodbye with a pair of shoes".
>
> On the open corridor outside his flat, another sheep waited patiently for
> its end - six more were assembled down in the street.
>
> As the day - and the heat - wore on, the family handed out soft drinks to
> waiting reporters.
>
> Non-Muslims (and the non-observant) accepted eagerly - but for the rest it
> is Ramadan, and a fast is a fast, even if it is 40C (104F) in the shade.
>
> But Mr Zaidi never turned up. Reporters dispersed, the family went back
> inside, and the six sheep in the street were taken away - leaving the one
> animal upstairs alone there again with its bowl of water.
>
> Not all Iraqis admire him - may thought his gesture was rude and
> unjustified.
>
> According to Arab tradition, throwing shoes and calling the intended
target
> a dog was a double insult.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8257524.stm
>
>
>
# It seems the USA is not appreciated in Iraq (and Afghanistan) as it brings
Western culture and civilisation to the benighted heathen of the Ancient
Middle East.  Yes, the White Man's Burden ends up with shoes being hurled.
    Pack up, and go home?
    Easy enough to do, you'd think.
(1) Name a date by which all foreign troops will be out of the occupied
territories.
(2) Arm all civilians who want weapons.
(3) Let the inhabitants fight it out among themselves.
(4) Promise to deliver shock and awe if they don't get it right.
(5) Tell Israel to obey UN Resolutions; then make some.
  Middle East problems solved?  Maybe.

"Kayid Al-Kuffar"  wrote in message 
news:4aef1623$1@news.x-privat.org...
> Iraqi shoe thrower welcomed home
>
> The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush at a news 
> conference in Baghdad says he was tortured in jail.
>
So much for the idiots theory that America "Liberated" them.

> Muntadar al-Zaidi was released on Tuesday after serving nine months. The 
> BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad describes the day's unfolding events.
>
> After leaving prison, Muntadar al-Zaidi went straight to al Baghdadiya - 
> the TV station he was working for at the news conference where he threw 
> the shoes.
>
> Addressing his own news conference, he said he had been tortured: "At the 
> very moment that the Prime Minister Mr al-Maliki was on TV saying he 
> wouldn't rest until he was sure I was sleeping on a comfortable bed, I was 
> being hideously tortured.
>
> "I was being given electric shocks, and being hit with cables and steel 
> roods... I was left handcuffed and immersed in water until dawn in cold 
> weather. I demand that Mr al-Maliki apologise for concealing the truth."
>
> An advisor to the prime minister told the BBC that the torture allegation 
> should be investigated.
>
> And a spokesman for the ministry of human rights told us they do not 
> believe he was tortured in the jail where he spent the past nine months, 
> as it is a "detention centre with acceptable human rights standards".
>
> They concluded that, if he was tortured, it must have happened soon after 
> he was arrested and before his trial.
>
> At his news conference, Mr Zaidi offered an explanation for his 
> shoe-throwing protest.
>
> "I'm not a hero," he said, "but when I saw the war criminal Bush, I wanted 
> to show my resentment - after six years of occupation, this killer came to 
> my country smiling and bragging about victory."
>
> He went on: "When I saw the pictures of the dead, it kept me awake at 
> night."
>
> He also addressed objections that journalists should throw questions at 
> presidents, and not shoes: "If I gave the profession of journalism a bad 
> name, I apologise," he said.
>
> Emotional welcome
>
> Arriving at the al Baghdadiya compound, a trumpeter and two drummers 
> sounded a welcome for Mr Zaidi - and in his honour, three sheep were 
> slaughtered live on his own channel.
>
> At his modest central Baghdad flat, his family prepared an exuberant and 
> emotional welcome home.
>
> They danced, they put up balloons and posters, and his young nephews and 
> nieces practised a celebratory song - roughly translated as "Bush Bush 
> listen well, we said goodbye with a pair of shoes".
>
> On the open corridor outside his flat, another sheep waited patiently for 
> its end - six more were assembled down in the street.
>
> As the day - and the heat - wore on, the family handed out soft drinks to 
> waiting reporters.
>
> Non-Muslims (and the non-observant) accepted eagerly - but for the rest it 
> is Ramadan, and a fast is a fast, even if it is 40C (104F) in the shade.
>
> But Mr Zaidi never turned up. Reporters dispersed, the family went back 
> inside, and the six sheep in the street were taken away - leaving the one 
> animal upstairs alone there again with its bowl of water.
>
> Not all Iraqis admire him - may thought his gesture was rude and 
> unjustified.
>
> According to Arab tradition, throwing shoes and calling the intended 
> target a dog was a double insult.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8257524.stm
>
>
>

On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:22:00 +1100, Seon Ferguson wrote:

> "Kayid Al-Kuffar"  wrote in message
> news:4aef1623$1@news.x-privat.org...
>> Iraqi shoe thrower welcomed home
>>
>> The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush at a
>> news conference in Baghdad says he was tortured in jail.
>>
> So much for the idiots theory that America "Liberated" them.

So much for the idiot who believes everything he reads.

"Horry"  wrote in message 
news:hcosau$2cn$1@news.datemas.de...
> On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:22:00 +1100, Seon Ferguson wrote:
>
>> "Kayid Al-Kuffar"  wrote in message
>> news:4aef1623$1@news.x-privat.org...
>>> Iraqi shoe thrower welcomed home
>>>
>>> The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush at a
>>> news conference in Baghdad says he was tortured in jail.
>>>
>> So much for the idiots theory that America "Liberated" them.
>
> So much for the idiot who believes everything he reads.

Like the right and WMD's?

On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:34:28 +1100, Seon Ferguson wrote:

> "Horry"  wrote in message
> news:hcosau$2cn$1@news.datemas.de...
>> On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:22:00 +1100, Seon Ferguson wrote:
>>
>>> "Kayid Al-Kuffar"  wrote in message
>>> news:4aef1623$1@news.x-privat.org...
>>>> Iraqi shoe thrower welcomed home
>>>>
>>>> The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush at a
>>>> news conference in Baghdad says he was tortured in jail.
>>>>
>>> So much for the idiots theory that America "Liberated" them.
>>
>> So much for the idiot who believes everything he reads.
> 
> Like the right and WMD's?

Yes.  And like YOU TOO, Seon.

"Horry"  wrote in message 
news:hd9ids$bj8$1@news.datemas.de...
> On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:34:28 +1100, Seon Ferguson wrote:
>
>> "Horry"  wrote in message
>> news:hcosau$2cn$1@news.datemas.de...
>>> On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:22:00 +1100, Seon Ferguson wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Kayid Al-Kuffar"  wrote in message
>>>> news:4aef1623$1@news.x-privat.org...
>>>>> Iraqi shoe thrower welcomed home
>>>>>
>>>>> The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush at a
>>>>> news conference in Baghdad says he was tortured in jail.
>>>>>
>>>> So much for the idiots theory that America "Liberated" them.
>>>
>>> So much for the idiot who believes everything he reads.
>>
>> Like the right and WMD's?
>
> Yes.  And like YOU TOO, Seon.

I would have missed your reply. I think for myself and don't believe 
everything the media says. I'll bet you still believe Iraq had WMD's in 
2003.