IRAQ: Shoe-tosser case causes parliamentary chaos

The aftershocks of Iraqi journalist Muntather Zaidi's tossing of his shoes at President George Bush  continued today in the Iraqi parliament chamber, where the parliament speaker, Mahmoud Mashadani, erupted in anger at lawmakers and said he was quitting over their obsession with the topic.

It was not immediately clear how serious Mashadani was. The speaker is known for his outbursts -- he slapped a legislator during a heated debate last year. He has been criticized by other lawmakers for yelling at parliament members during debates and surrounding himself with an aggressive posse of security guards.

The latest incident occurred as Iraq's parliament was due to hear the first reading of a bill that would mandate the withdrawal of British, Australian, El Salvadoran, Romanian and other non-U.S. foreign forces from Iraq next year. The bill calls for them to be out of the country by July 31, 2009. But members of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr's political bloc, known as the Sadr Trend, objected to the reading and said the priority should be Zaidi's case.

Words were exchanged. Voices were raised. Mashadani, who found himself at the center of a near-brawl involving the Sadrists during November's debate on a pact governing the future of U.S. forces, got fed up. "I can't work in such a situation!" he declared, according to other lawmakers in the session. They quoted him as saying that half the parliament members were loyal to the government, others were loyal to their parties, and hence no serious work could get done.

Sadrists have demanded Zaidi be freed. They also oppose any pacts allowing foreign troops to remain in Iraq past the end of this year and provoked chaos in the parliament during November debate on the pact that will permit American forces to stay in Iraq through 2011.

Zaidi, meanwhile, remains in custody, but it is unclear what he will be charged with. Lawyers in Iraq have said he could face two years in prison for assaulting a visiting foreign dignitary. However, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is facing pressure to release Zaidi, whom many across the Middle East have praised for his actions. The journalist hurled both his shoes at Bush during a news conference and called the U.S. president a "dog" before being wrestled to the ground and taken away.

Neither shoe hit Bush, who shrugged off the incident.

-- Tina Susman in Baghdad

Photo: Mahmoud Mashadani, Iraq parliament speaker. Credit: Courtesy of the U.S. military, by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Woody S. Paschall

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Comments

[steve rodriguez]

CNN says that "the journalist was beaten", well I hope so he attacked the United States of America!!!!!!

[jefflz]

Mr. al Zeidi is a Man of Courage

At a time when the Bush administration is trying their best to do as much damage to our nation as they can in the Gottedaemerung of their reign of terror, Mr. al Zaidi had the courage in the face of certain physical punishment to stand up in public and say what needed to be said. Bush is a dog who murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis, spilled the blood of countless US soldiers, squandered our national treasury for a war of choice on behalf of the oil industry. Bravo Mr. al Zaidi. you have done what the US media failed to do in the run up to the war: Speak the truth.

[SamRamada]

Arabs Asked to Release More Anger at Bush
This Time In “Cyberspace”

December 17, 2008 - Tripoli, Lebanon

NEW Web Site to Whack Bush designed to help Arabs experience what Al-Muntazar Al-Zeidi really felt by throwing the shoe at Bush.

It is professionally designed and includes Arab and English Vocal-Shouts as well. User can select the shoe of choice to whack at Bush including the appropriate-for-the-holidays Santa Clause’s Boots. The default selection is a Texan Shoe, the type of shoe Bush probably understands best, it also inflicts maximum damage.

The site is dubbed to be the Official Site to Yell at and Whack G.W.Bush with a Shoe: http://www.ShoeBushWorldwide.com

“This is not just a game” explains the site creator TEN24x.com who developed it in just 8 hours, “it is intended to help more angry Arabs release their anger at bush thru Cyberspace”. The creators attempted to create a very formal and serious set-up to the game to mimic the usual formality during a “presidential” press conference, where a “reporter” throws the shoe at the President. After being hit and bruised 3 times, on the fourth hit, Bush ducks and pulls out his white underwear as a sign of surrender.

PWEMA.com will track Participants, Whacks, Favorite Shoes and Favorite Yells. The Stats will also later display participating countries. The creators encourage Arabs and all foreign supporters to practice their Freedom of Expression by visiting the site and taking a Cyber Whack at Bush.

In a fun sequel, Ten24x intends to add new features such as Select the US Official you wish to Whack, and In case reporters are asked in the future to take off their shoes in Presidential Press Conferences, they plan to Increase the list of objects to throw at bush to include Cell Phones, Cameras, Tape Recorders, Pens, Lipstick, Wallets and just about anything else allowed by a reporter inside a Press Conference, additional multi-lingual shouts will also be supported.