Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Arab Shoe Thrower

What would have happened if the Arab so called journalist who threw his shoe at President Bush, as he claimed 'for all the mothers and orphans of Iraq?', had thrown his shoe at Saddam Hussein? For Saddam certainly made thousands of mothers mourn for their sons and thousands of Iraqis had become orphans as a result of Saddam's massacres.

If Muntazer al-Zaidi was critical of Bush's policies, as he had a legitimate right to, he could have posed them as questions during the press conference in a civilised manner, something he would have never dared under Saddam.

And it shows how twisted the values of some people are when as a result of throwing his shoe, Muntazer al-Zaidi becomes a hero and a poem on an Islamist website praises him as "a hero with a lion's heart".

After Syria, then led by Hafiz Assad, had invaded and occupied Lebanon, I remember a photograph which showed a Lebanese protester holding a placard which impressed me, it read 'Assad fi Lebanon, Far fi Jolan' - 'Lion in Lebanon - Mouse in the Golan Heights'. That's how I would sum up this new Arab hero, Lion in a press conference, mouse under Saddam.

35 comments:

Winston said...

Throwing a shoe is not so different than shooting a bullet towards the individual one may disagree with. It really goes to show the mindset of the middle-easterners. Throwing a shoe whenever they disagree with someone or executing their political opponents. Disgusting!

Anonymous said...

Well, you would be mislead if you thought that the public outcry in support of the shoe thrower had something to do with throwing a shoe.

Also, about asking the President a question instead of throwing a shoe - come on. The press might as well have been throwing shoes all along, we probably would have gotten some more info out of him instead of the usual lies and partisan bigotry.

Lets face it: President Bush doesn't answer questions, he ducks them. Which happens to be a delightful metaphor for the whole shoe throwing fiasco:)

be salamat,
barmakid

Anonymous said...

Wow- exactly!

Anonymous said...

Formercorpsman:

Nice site azarmehr. You are totally correct. It almost seems suicidal when contemplating the response from so many in the middle eastern countries who now hold this man on a pedestal.

As an American, I would hope there exists a level of rationale in which the arab street would recognize upon Saddam's death, his sons would have been 10 times worse.

I hope your wish for a secular Iran comes true. I was fortunate enough to see some pictures prior to the events of 1979, and it is obvious the country possessed a cosmopolitan style.

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree more.

Greetings from Iran,
H

Azarmehr said...

Well even if he ducks the question that in itself is a result. You could say so and so was asked such and such question but couldn't or didn't want to answer it and a point is then made.

Had this happened under Saddam Hossein, the entire family of the shoe thrower would have been incarcerated or wiped out.

Anonymous said...

Stop comparing Saddam Hussein to George Bush!! It's such a ludicrous cop-out to just say, "well under Saddam his whole family would have died." The shoe-throwing incident represents so much more than a shoe being thrown at a head of state - you clearly don't get that.

Number one: During George Bush's war, whole families HAVE died, but instead of being labeled as dissidents they are called collateral damage.

Number Two: The shoe thrower has been beaten savagely and kept in jail without bail or contact with his family.

Thirdly: You guys are so detached from human life in Iraq that when an Iraqi citizen throws a shoe at the person who is responsible for their war-torn country you have the insular audacity to defend G. Bush by saying "that guy would have been killed under Saddam." HA!

Even Americans aren't defending him!! Except for that formercorpsman who is so ethnocentric that he expects Arabs to be "rational" when his own government got him into the most irrational war since Vietnam.

George Bush deserves a lot more than a shoe being thrown at him. He is a war criminal and an opponent of American democracy - and he deserves to be treated as such.

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SEW.

be salamat,
barmakid

Anonymous said...

Azarmehr,

It's no longer effective to ask G. Bush a question, have him duck it, then publicize his dodging of questions. In fact, it never was effective, that's how we got into Iraq to begin with. And 5 years, 4,000+ lives, and one trillion dollars later, we have nothing to show for it. But hey, at least Saddam is out of power!(sense the sarcasm).

barmakid

Azarmehr said...

Barmakid,

I was going to refer you to some film footage that would show you a glimpse of Saddam's atrocities but since you are infested with Leftist ideology, reason and common sense alone can not persuade you and I would imagine you being so squeamish that you may even faint.

To remove Bush all that was needed was US voters, not an option for Iraqis.

But I want to ask you something, why do you think Iraqi Kurdistan by large is peaceful, prosperous and stable? Why do we hear so little about Iraqi Kurdistan in the Western media?

Anonymous said...

I'll answer that question, after you answer mine: Give me one example of Leftism I displayed. It's not a question, but nonetheless, give me one example.

Opposing G. Bush does not imply leftism. That's your warped inference. Are you sure you haven't been smoking Mexican weed? :))

Once you recant your accusation of leftism I will proceed pierce your illusion that Iraqi Kurdistan is peaceful and then explain to you why it is relatively peaceful compared to the rest of Iraq.

And, to be sure, it is not because they accept American initiatives and George Bush's leadership.

barmakid

Winston said...

barmakir, get a life baba jan

Bahramerad said...

To all G.W. Bush haters...
You can now suck your tombs as he came, he saw and he did what had to be done and took care of his business.
Now that he is gone (nearly) and you are left with your hateful ideas, what the hell are you going to do now?
You who never understood a thing about politics or the reason or the conduct of the Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and The War on Terror all over the world.
Statistics show that 98% of death in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere were caused by Jahadi Idiots bombs and not by the bullets and bombs of the coalition forces.
The Idiot shoe throw is in custody — by security forces trained by Americans to respect Human Rights and under the jurisdiction of a legally elected democratic Government of Iraq and his fate will be decided by the legitimate court system of the Iraqi Government.
Only a minority of Iraqi's sympathise with this Idiot pretending to be a journalist.
The majority of Iraqi's are ashamed of what he has done.
The President G.W..Bush deserves the gratitude of millions of people all over the world and specially The Iraqi's, Afghani's and American's for keeping them safe from the hands of the hated jahadist who were and still are willing (and waiting their time) to kill and mime innocent people all over the world.
Such a shame that Getmu is going to be closed now.
It should have been expanded and all you stupid haters and jahadist should have been sent there to spend the rest of your sorry life.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the shoe thrower could travel around the Arab world throwing shoes at leading political figures. I'm sure Ghadafi, Mubarak, Asad, etc. would take it in good part.

Anonymous said...

why doesnt he chuck one at Malaki in Iraq and see how much publicity it'd get and how different a shoe thrower will be treated from Saddam's time?

The Maverick said...

(By the way, you don't need to publish that message on the blog. Please email me at epicearthquake@rocketmail.com if you can get back to me.)

Anonymous said...

Good one Winston. Way to display your lack of intelligence. I really hope you don't have any children, cause if you do, they must be brain-dead like their father.

If you don't, I implore you NOT TO HAVE children, for the sake of the Iranian community. Please, don't spread your ignorance with your seed - no children. Deal?

barmakid

Anonymous said...

DNP: So you will publish Winston's attacks on me but not mine?

What happened to that nonsense you wrote on the other thread trying to calm Winston down? What happened to that philosophy? haha

Honestly though, it doesn't surprise me; any objective person can realize the hypocrisy of this blog and the people who post on it.

Sohrab said...

Oh really barmakid,

I can't wait to hear your reasoning. Did you ask Potkin to recant his characterization of you as a leftist to give you more time to dig through the web for shoddy evidence of whatever slanted bullshit you were going to argue for in the first place?

Well let me tell you why the Kurds are quiet: MAYBE, just MAYBE it's because since the fall of Saddam, they've been breathing a little easier knowing it's much less likely they will get gassed en masse?

Anonymous said...

or what if he had thrown his shoe at one of Iran's leaders? have you read the comments at VOA PNN website?

Anonymous said...

It's soooo funny how my views are "slanted," but yours are somehow straight?

Give me one example of me displaying leftism in this thread. I think you're confusing leftism for truthism.

And sure, Kurdistan's relative peace has nothing to do with their ethnic homogeneity, or their own security forces (peshmerga), or their 300+ year struggle for independence. Yea...

Why don't you tell me why it's so "peaceful." You tell me why Kirkuk is not a ticking time bomb. You tell me, because anything I say will be labeled as "slanted" or "leftist." YOU TELL ME.

Sohrab, you are the most biased ill-read person on the blogosphere. But I always respond to the garbage you right, I don't call it blind-puppy conservatism or label it with any other label - why don't you try the same.

barmakid

p.s. Azarmehr, maybe it didn't click, but DNP stands for DO NOT PUBLISH.For future reference. And stop picking and choosing which one of my comments you're going to publish.

Winston said...

barmakiri, get a life plz

Azarmehr said...

Barmakid,

I can not keep up with your instructions of what to publish and what not to publish. Leave your email and anything you dont want to publish just email me with.

I normally have a few minutes in the morning when I publish the comments and I don't have enough time nor enough alertness to go through each one and realise which ones I should publish and which one I should not.

Sohrab said...

Barmakid,

You're feistier than usual at any rate.

Anywho... I may well agree with you that the Kurdish security forces and their ethnic homogeneity are contributing factors to the relative peace in Kurdistan. However, the very fact that you won't acknowledge the removal of Saddam from power as a major factor in its own right raises the red flag of bias. So calling your views on this issue slanted was really just calling a spade a spade.

As for the leftist stuff, I never called you that. I just said that by asking Potkin to recant his characterization of you as such, you were buying more time, e.g. "I'll tell why Kurdistan is calm as soon as you take it back!" Please!

Anonymous said...

Sohrab,

Of course Saddam's removal was a major factor, but you're trying to imply something else when you say that - that's why I didn't mention it.

As far as buying time, would you like to read my undergraduate thesis on Iraq? You would enjoy it :))

But we're still waiting for Azarmehr to tell us why the Land of the Kurds is so peaceful.

barmakid

p.s. Winston, I really hope you have no children. But if you do, good God I feel sorry for them.

Anonymous said...

Mr Fartakid

Please tell us what you think of Chavez and Castro?

Anonymous said...

barmakir is a dickhead. LoL

Sohrab said...

Barmakid,

You're no leftist - just a dork. "Look at my thesis here [picks nose]!"

Anonymous said...

I'll take that as a compliment:))

Thank you Sohrab jon.

barmakid

Anonymous said...

sohrab, you are the other dork; but you think you are politically well positioned amongst your friends.
in fact i think barmakido has got a few advantages over you; for one, like you said he only picks his nose, you pick what suits :))

Sohrab said...

My anonymous friend,

I could give a rat's ass how "well-positioned" I am with you or anyone. I'm only interested in testing my ideas by engaging others, including barmakid, in honest debates here and elsewhere. If you feel I've been inconsistent on an issue (yes, I support Obama), please let me know and I will gladly clarify for folks.

Otherwise, thanks for detailing my "social standing" in this small corner of the web. What is this - fucking high school?

Anonymous said...

"Even Americans aren't defending him!! Except for that formercorpsman who is so ethnocentric that he expects Arabs to be "rational" when his own government got him into the most irrational war since Vietnam."


Formercorpsman: Methinks thou doth protest too much.

I was unaware my skin tone could derived from black and white text.

Wonder twin powers, activate.

Again, nice site Azarmehr, and a Happy New Year as well.

Sohrab said...

Okay Anonymous, it's clear you're crazy like a fox - I can't believe I wasted my time trying to reply on a rational basis...

Happy new year to you. Here's to hoping you can leave the drugs behind in '09!

Anonymous said...

Sohrab, I don't know if your last was intended for me or not. Nonetheless, I do not have a username & password, thus I post under Anonymous. Thereafter, I will place my name with Formercorpsman: & type what I have to say.

My quotation at the beginning of my last post, was in reference to barmakid's ability to determine my ethnicity, despite my never indicating such.

I stumbled upon this site from a link, it looked like a decent place, hence my gratitude toward the host.

Moreover, if your last post was not intended in repsonse, please accept my apology. I will admit, my humor can be very dry, and perhaps come off eccentric at times.

Sohrab said...

I did in fact intend my previous commment as a response to you "formercorpsman," because I thought we were engaged in a back-and-forth, and the "humor" in your last comment was so obscure and inside-jokish that it gave me the impression that you must be some sort of mentally ill political harasser. Seriously.

Now I know.

Louise said...

Bahramerad, do you have a source for the statistic you give about the proportionate cause/responsibility for the deaths in Iraq? If so, I hope you will post it here in the comments or post it in a comment at my blog. Thanks.