Shoe Flinger Gets Statue

[Aaron]

Link

BAGHDAD - When an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at George W. Bush last month at a Baghdad press conference, the attack spawned a flood of Web quips, political satire and street rallies across the Arab world.

Now it's inspired a work of art.

A sofa-sized sculpture - a single copper-coated shoe on a stand carved to resemble flowing cloth - was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

Officials and visitors walked around the outdoor sculpture during the brief ceremony, pondering on its eccentricities - such as a tree poking up from the shoe's interior.

Its sculptor called it a fitting tribute to the shoe hurler, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, and his folk hero reputation in parts of the Muslim world and beyond.

The Baghdad-based artist, Laith al-Amari, said the work honors al-Zeidi and "is a source of pride for all Iraqis." He added: "It's not a political work,"

But its location in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, about 80 miles north of Baghdad, is a point of reference for prewar nostalgia among some Iraqis.

The sculpture also includes an ode to al-Zeidi and mentions the virtues of being "able to tell the truth out loud."

Al-Zeidi had shouted in Arabic as he pulled off his shoes and heaved them at Bush during the news conference. "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq," screamed al-Zeidi, who was working for a Cairo-based television station.

Bush dodged both shoes, but the image was extremely powerful in Arab culture, where throwing shoes at someone is a sign of extreme contempt. Iraqis whacked a toppled statue of Saddam following the U.S.-led invasion with their shoes and slippers.

"This monument ... will remain a present for the forthcoming generations," said Fatin Abdul-Qadir al-Nasiri, director of a Tikrit orphanage whose children helped fashion the sculpture. "(They) will remember the story of the hero (al-Zeidi) who bid farewell to the U.S. president ... in such a way.

Al-Zeidi was scheduled to face trial last month on a charge of assaulting a foreign leader, but the court date was postponed after his attorney filed a motion to reduce the charges.

On Monday, Swiss lawyer Mauro Poggia said al-Zeidi planned to seek political asylum in Switzerland, but one of al-Zeidi's brothers denied the report.

I mostly posted this for laughs, cause there isn't much else to say but that it's funny.

[Lazar]

Check out this gif.

[Mikey]

"Hero?" Come on - the guy maybe made a statement in some incredibly small way, but it's not like he actually affected anything.

[Aaron]

"Hero?" Come on - the guy maybe made a statement in some incredibly small way, but it's not like he actually affected anything.

Considering that Iraq is now a violence ridden hell-hole with no real redeemable value for the near future, I'll cut them a little slack in their hero selection. If I were in their shoes, I'd be looking for something to latch onto to make myself feel better.

[Mikey]

I'd call the folks eking a living day-to-day and busting their humps to rebuild their nation heroes before this guy.

[Aaron]

I'd call the folks eking a living day-to-day and busting their humps to rebuild their nation heroes before this guy.

So would I but I understand that most would not consider anyone a hero for doing what is expected or required to survive.

[Captain Seafort]

Personally I wouldn't call anyone a hero for either day to day graft or lobbing shoes at Bush. Still, anyone who can raise a smile and a cheer, given the current state of the country, deserves commemoration.

[Granitehewer]

"Hero?" Come on - the guy maybe made a statement in some incredibly small way, but it's not like he actually affected anything.

Considering that Iraq is now a violence ridden hell-hole with no real redeemable value for the near future, I'll cut them a little slack in their hero selection. If I were in their shoes, I'd be looking for something to latch onto to make myself feel better.

then you'd throw them too...lol

[Mikey]

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Shoe Flinger Gets Statue

But what does a professional Iraqi shoe-flinger make? Statues are nice but they don't pay the bills.

[Sionnach Glic]

Throw a shoe at George W Bush, and suddenly you become the most famous man in the Middle East.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

"Hero?" Come on - the guy maybe made a statement in some incredibly small way, but it's not like he actually affected anything.

Considering that Iraq is now a violence ridden hell-hole with no real redeemable value for the near future, I'll cut them a little slack in their hero selection. If I were in their shoes, I'd be looking for something to latch onto to make myself feel better.

then you'd throw them too...lol

Perhaps you know the Russian epic of Cinderalla: if shoe fits, throw it.

Throw a shoe at George W Bush, and suddenly you become the most famous man in the Middle East.

He does still have a ways to go to master the supposed effectiveness of - Random Task - though

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That's all my material right now, but you've been a great audience. I'll be here every day.

[Mikey]

"Who throws a shoe?! Honestly!"

[Mark]

Who'd want to throw there phone away, after all.

[Sonic Glitch]

Who'd want to throw there phone away, after all.

"The old call forwarding from the shoe phone to the cell phone so you don't know where I'm calling from then I appear on the roof behind you and surprise everyone trick." Have you seen the movie yet?