Giant Shoe Honors Journalist Who Targeted Bush 60
A town in Iraq has unveiled a giant monument in honor of the journalist who threw his shoe at former US President George W. Bush. The statue, unveiled in former dictator Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, depicts a bronze-colored shoe, filled with a plastic shrub. Fatin Abdul Qader, head of an orphanage and children's organization in the town, said the one-and-a-half-ton monument by artist Laith al-Amiri was titled "statue of glory and generosity." This statue is the least expression of our appreciation for Muntazer al-Zaidi, because Iraqi hearts were comforted by his throw." Mission accomplished.
Re:Fits (Score:3, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntadhar_al-Zaidi#Trial [wikipedia.org]
Torn down already (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Food for thought (Score:1, Informative)
You call that torture? Try: major fractures, deep burns by fire or corrosive products, amputations, eye-gouging, being thrown alive into an industrial-sized grinder... and don't bother with a trial at all.
Re:Food for thought (Score:5, Informative)
Well, Actually in America, assaulting a foreign official, official guest, or internationally protected person is subject to a fine plus three years imprisonment unless they use a uses a deadly or dangerous weapon, or inflicts bodily injury, then it becomes a fine plus ten years imprisonment in the US. If he would have been just harassing him, then it would be six months and a fine.
If the person is a US official, inside the US, then an assault could get fines and imprisoned for one year if it's a "simple assault" and up to eight year and a fine if it is more. If they use a dangerous or deadly weapon, it jumps to a fine and 20 years.
So yea, the US already has it covered quite well, the Iraqi government is a little strict but as the parrent said, what would the punishment of that country's former leader been like?
BTW, It is a fair comparison to look at the former leadership of a country when all of the current leaders have lived and suffered the penalties of the former leadership. It will take time and probably a few generations before people realize how strong laws and punishment don't need to be.
Re:Food for thought (Score:2, Informative)
According to a Mistress of Saddam's [people.com], he also liked to watch videos of his enemies being tortured. During the viewings he'd be smoking a cigar and wearing a cowboy hat while laughing out loud.
It's not much of a stretch to think that he did something similar when he gassed a lot of Kurds...
Re:almost always (Score:4, Informative)
what a shame he didn't have teh better aim.
From what I remember, he threw pretty well -- but Bush also did a good job of ducking.
Re:Freedom of speech? (Score:1, Informative)
"The Iraqi government was established by and exists at the sufferance of the US."
Sounds like the West German government after WWII.
Freedom and US Soldiers (Score:3, Informative)
Doesn't the same apply to Germans and Japanese? Yet IIRC there is still a large US military presence in both countries. And in Iceland. And in a bunch of other places.
I suspect many Iraqis prefer to have US soldiers than a civil war. I haven't taken a scientific poll, so I can't prove it.
Re:Torn down already (Score:3, Informative)
This has already been torn down by order of local authorities as of Jan 30th. They didn't even care that it was built with the help of orphans
The issue was that it was erected on the grounds of a state-run orphanage. Officials determined that overt political statements ought not be on government property.
Re:Food for thought (Score:2, Informative)
What the hell are you talking about? The journalist hasn't been tortured or beaten.
What the hell are YOU talking about? http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/22/iraq-georgebush [guardian.co.uk]
Bush shoe-thrower 'tortured into writing letter of apology'
The investigating judge in the case said last week that Zaidi, who will stand trial on 31 December, was beaten around the face and eyes.
So that's both torture and beating.