Home > Jay Bookman > Archives > 2008 > December > 22 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USThe shoe-tosser as a gauge of Iraqi progress
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After that Iraqi journalist threw a couple of shoes at President Bush, more than a few commentators cited the protest as an encouraging sign of progress. As they pointed out, if Muntadhar al-Zaidi had tried something like that when Saddam Hussein was in power, the poor guy wouldn’t have survived the day.
That’s no doubt correct. In the bad old days, Zaidi probably would have been tortured, forced to sign a fake confession and then executed and dumped in the desert somewhere.
On the other hand, if Zaidi’s fate is indeed an accurate barometer of how much things have changed in Iraq, perhaps they haven’t changed as much as we might have hoped. Zaidi hasn’t been seen in public since his arrest, and a scheduled court date last week was canceled, raising fear among his family members.
One of his brothers was allowed to visit Zeidi in jail Sunday, and talked later with an AFP reporter.
“I met my brother for around an hour. He has been tortured while in detention for 36 hours continuously. He has been hit with iron rods and cables,” the brother said.
“There is very severe bleeding in his eye, and he has bruises on his feet and nose, and he was also tortured with electric shocks.
“He was forced to sign a statement confessing to receiving money from different groups and saying that he did not throw his shoes for the honour of Iraq. But Muntazer said I will not apologise for what I did — not now, not ever.”
According to AFP, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki confirms receipt of the alleged confession.
“Muntazer al-Zaidi has expressed regret in a letter I received from him in which he revealed that an individual persuaded him to commit this action and that this person is well-known for beheading people,” it quoted Maliki as saying.
Iraqi officials deny claims of abuse, but his brother’s not buying it
“If I am lying, let the judge show Muntazer on television for everyone to see,” he said.
Frankly, the notion that Zaidi was put up to his act by terrorists who behead people … I ain’t buying it. And the fact that he allegedly “confessed” to such nonsense adds considerable weight to his brother’s allegations. All in all, such incidents don’t bode well for the long-term survival of Iraqi democracy.
Comments
By Mrs. Godzilla
December 22, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this
Stampede for ‘Bush shoe’ creates 100 new jobs
Imagine the employment boom if he hadn’t missed!
By Copyleft
December 22, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
But it’s true—Zaidi wouldn’t have been treated so well under Saddam, so anything that happens to him only PROVES the invasion was a big, honkin’ success!
Bush and his puppet regime are marginally better than a corrupt, murderous tyrant! Yahoo—VINDICATION!
Truly, it’s a great moment for freedom and democracy. Now, how long till we can swear in the competent guy?
By Class of '98
December 22, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
Jay, one of these America-hating Arabs could say Elvis Presley is his pool boy and you would believe it, hook line and sinker.
And Bush or Cheney could say the sky is blue and you would not.
Oh well.
By getalife
December 22, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this
The shoe thrower should run for Iraqi office and probably win.
By demwit
December 22, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this
It’s so nice to see the AJC finally putting the well being of Iraqi’s ahead of it’s progressive agenda. Oh wait…
By Road Scholar
December 22, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this
Yeah life is alot better instead of torture, intimidation, and death; you now only get torture and intimidation! This was an oppertunity for Iraq to show the world how far they have come. There is still time to kill him!
By demwit
December 22, 2008 2:01 PM | Link to this
And why are we only talking about 1 of 4 Iraq journalists there that day? What about the other 3 Iraqi journalists Jay??
You know, the one in front that partially blocked the second shoe and the two behind Zaidi that dragged him down and pummeled him a bit. Seems to me that 3 out of 4 ain’t bad….
By Mr Snarky
December 22, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this
To be honest, I would be surprised if the Iraqi government was so stupid as to torture such a high profile prisoner…but you never know.
By The Corporal
December 22, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this
The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.
Lewis Carroll
By Mrs. Godzilla
December 22, 2008 2:36 PM | Link to this
Buying Ferragamos while New Orleans drowns -
Condi Rice
By v racer
December 22, 2008 2:37 PM | Link to this
Reading Bookman’s column or just seeing his photo is enough to make one puke.
By Redneck Convert
December 22, 2008 2:38 PM | Link to this
Well, if the Braves want a great pitcher cheap they should go after that guy that throwed the shoes. Them things were coming at My President hard.
And maybe they should think about going after My President as a pinch-hitter. He was ducking and diving so good no pitcher will ever be able to get him out of the batter’s box by hitting him with a ball. It was better than watching the Braves by a mile. And he was smiling while he was ducking. Like he didn’t have no fear at all.
By AJC/DNC Management
December 22, 2008 2:53 PM | Link to this
Oblahmasan admires China and rubs it in America’s face.
Need I say more?
By The Corporal
December 22, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this
I would have given a $100 to see President Bush catch that second shoe and throw it back to nail that knucklehead right between the eyes.
By Taxpayer
December 22, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this
I’m sure Bush and Cheney counseled the Iraqis on interrogation techniques that did not reach the generally accepted level of torture, per US standards. Hopefully, Bush will intervene before his time is up and ask the Iraqis to pardon the man. After all, it’s not like he dropped a bunker buster on Bush’s farm or something. I mean, let’s be fair about this.
By AJC/DNC Management
December 22, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this
By spankmonkey December 22, 2008 1:56 PM The wingnuts are worked up today… they probably stopped by Wasilla and picked up some crystal meth from Bristol Palin’s future mother in law.
Nah, we got a place closer than that-
Al Gore’s son was arrested early Wednesday. The deputies said they smelled marijuana and searched the car, Amormino said. They found less than an ounce of marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, he said.
By demwit
December 22, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this
Zaidi needs to come to Atlanta. No really.., even a cave man can parrot the progressive opinion.
By getalife
December 22, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this
“Bush moved pretty quickly… He reacted pretty good when you see him… Too bad he didn’t react that way with bin laden or Katrina…or the mortgage crisis …or Lehman Brothers…I don’t think Bush really has dodged anything like that, well, since the Vietnam War.” — Letterman
By The BlogFather of Scroll
December 22, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this
Fumble, Fumble, Foiled by Fumbles, Timeouts burned, and Vikings humbled.
Are there deep mystical forces working for the Falcons? Surely it would take a spell to make the football take flight from the scrimmage line and scramble backwards purposefully toward the Falcon’s end zone twice in just a few minutes.
Or do the Falcons have an angel? A mischievous angel with a sense of humor that harkens back to the keystone cop silent movie era. An angel who turned the vikings into bumbling fumblers. The multiple images of the vikings chasing the pigskin dozens of yards behind their line of scrimmage provides some of the lighter moments of the past 300 years of stooge history.
There can be only one reason that supernatural beings would favor our Falcons: The ghosts of Vicks Dogs will be avenged even if it takes an unholy aliance of witches, angels, and willful pigskins. OMG I just invented the cheerleader eligible play!
By sunshine and thunder
December 22, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this
JAY
Nice job of falling for the whole trick. Whoever put Zaidi up to this, or even if it was just Zaidi by himself, he’s got you and every other inner city left nut editor eating right out of his hand.
Almost like he planned it. Duh!!
By Taxpayer
December 22, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this
That so-called rebuke from the White House to the NYT reads more like a case of the pot calling out the kettle for being black. The only thing grossly negligent about the NYT and other reporters is their inability to get the truth out about the Bush administration and the Republican party sooner. Bush and Cheney: Don’t let the screen door…well, you know the drill. Put yourselves in voluntary exile and spare us any more grief.
By The BlogFather of Scroll
December 22, 2008 3:42 PM | Link to this
Kruschev did a trick with his shoes at UN meetings in the sixties. He also said to Jackie O: “We will bury U2”.
This Iraqi was merely stealing Kruschev’s act.
By Joey
December 22, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this
Well Jay you have had a successful day feeding your frenzied Choir.
You began with a tasty Breakfast of Cheney lied.
Follow up with a filling lunch of Bush failed in Iraq because the shoe thrower’s brother claims that the thrower was tortured.
Maybe for Dinner you could serve up this item: Governor Palin was voted Human Event’s Conservative of the Year.
The realization that Governor Palin is not going away; that she will be a factor for years to come will guarantee a sleepless night for most of your Choir.
And the name calling and other bitter but ineffective attacks from your Choir will be such a pleasure to read.
By GodHatesTrash
December 22, 2008 4:04 PM | Link to this
You kkkrazy RightWingnuts must really hate America if you plan on nominating that trailer trash Palin to lead your nation.
By daniel
December 22, 2008 4:17 PM | Link to this
If Sadam had an international press conference and the same thing occurred his reaction would have been the same . Whisk the guy away, beat him ,get the confession and send him to prison . When the WORLDS press is not looking you make him disappear . So what has changed ? There are people on this post who still dont understand that the USA and our allies created Sadam . We put him in power and with great expense kept him there for decades . I remember Senator Bob Dole going on and on in the senate about Sadams virtues back in the late 80s. Politicans including the VP were only too happy to do business with Sadam . Please check the history .
By Mike
December 22, 2008 4:20 PM | Link to this
So says the partisan hack who also said in regards to the Surge:
“”President Bush and others are proposing to escalate our effort in Iraq…It is a futile gesture, a vain attempt to salvage what is already lost…”
Bookman’s analysis is useless. He will always root for failure in Iraq because he is a partisan hack first and foremost.
By Paul
December 22, 2008 4:41 PM | Link to this
Mrs Godzilla
[[Buying Ferragamos while New Orleans drowns -Condi Rice]]
So how does buying shoes with her own money fit it? But she’s on her way out. Perhaps you’d like to fast forward to the present and discuss Pres-elect Obama vacationing in a $9million property rental while last month over half a million Americans lost their jobs?
Not that I care where he vacations - just pointing out that buying habits or spending habits generally don’t amount to diddly.
But I do wonder - Condi bought her own shoes. Did the Obamas pay for their own vacation? Oh, how quickly we become enamored of the privileges of public service!
By Chad Harris
December 22, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this
Just for the recordBristol Palin’s now called off? wedding (shotgun staged for the campaign goshdarnit and also dontcha know ‘cause Sarah was too dumb to know what a birth control pill is or a rubber is and too dumb to teach or it was Sarah’s illigitmate baby from a passtime Wingnuts love best—“for the family” ectopic schtuping”) and her mother in law now not to be was busted for Oxycontin, the same thing Rush Limpballs was dealing in.
I like this one from your local soon to be Washington Bureauless AJC ‘casue Sandy Schwartz thinks the JawJaw Rednecks is jist too dumb to unnerstan all thet Washington stuff:
VIPERs strike back at criminals Recently formed unit proves itself effective at catching Cobb’s most wanted By DERRICK MAHONE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, December 22, 2008
When the driver of the black Mercedes-Benz nervously engaged them in small talk, Cobb police officers Nick Leone and Patrick Gray had a hunch this would not be an ordinary traffic stop.
Their suspicions proved correct when they found a loaded gun, 10 packages of cocaine, 200 prescription pills, a bag of marijuana and two loaded gun clips in the car.
And on the back seat: a Dick Cheney mask.
“I think Dick Cheney is a good man,” the suspect offered, drawing laughs from the officers.
It was a rare light moment for officers in Cobb’s Violent Incident Prevention and Early Response (VIPER) unit.
Ah think Dick Cheney is a good man is a terrific serum marker for 4+ stoopid.
By Taxpayer
December 22, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this
Those half million jobless Americans would not fit in that 9 million dollar rental but most of them might have fit on that Crawford ranch. The ingrate could have at least offered them some fresh beef cooked on an open pit.
By Paul
December 22, 2008 4:51 PM | Link to this
Taxpayer 4:46
[[The ingrate could have at least offered them some fresh beef cooked on an open pit.]]
I think they use pork, not pig. And it’s buried in a pit, not cooked in the open. Something to do with Hawaiian tradition.
By Mrs. Godzilla
December 22, 2008 4:55 PM | Link to this
Paul
Lighten up dude!
The ferragamo comment was playing off of one of corporal’s quotes……
as far as obama’s rental….its a rental!
is he paying for it? no, silly he is taking it out of the social security lock box drawer with your name on it!
is he paying for it? no, silly, he selling sea shells on the sea shore for rent.
is he paying for it? no silly, he’s found the pallets of cash (8 or 9 BILLION)lost in iraq!
is he paying for it?
I imagine he’s doing what he is legally and morally required to do!
is he paying for it? you just had to assume the worst.
now, please have a damned good christmas. you are paying for it aren’t you?
By Mrs. Godzilla
December 22, 2008 4:57 PM | Link to this
taxpayer
what’s the square footage at kennebunkport or hyannis port, i wonder?
no rental those…..
By Paul
December 22, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this
Mrs. Godzilla
Hey there! You sound like you’ve been listening to one of my favorite Billy Crystal routines - it’s a rental! I actually used that line on a less than reasonable person who wanted to block traffic while I was trying to leave a parking spot - I yelled “I don’t care - it’s a rental!” as I backed up. He moved!
Al Gore gave me the lockbox! Cool! Obama said he’s keeping his hands off it for ten years so I’m gonna have fun with it. Anything I can get for you?
The Iraq billions aren’t lost, silly. Those Iraqis and Swiss bankers know exactly where the dollars are! Hey, we just adapted to their way of doing business. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do instead of imposing American values on them?
:-)
I didn’t assume anything, just asked an innocent little question…. golly, you can be so cynical!
Yeah, I’m paying for it. I keep looking at my VISA bill and wondering when the bailout’s gonna kick in. Those guys in Washington can’t do anything right!
By Chad Harris
December 22, 2008 5:09 PM | Link to this
It becomes easy once you understand that every Bush move is designed to end up in an unparalleled incompetent clusterf*ck.
Bush never had to work for a living. “You don’t want anyone who never had to work for a living managing anything complex.”
——Ben Franklin House of the 7 Gables or was the author the fat nebish Rick Warren? I’ll have to google.
By Paul
December 22, 2008 5:21 PM | Link to this
Chad Harris
[[Bush never had to work for a living. “You don’t want anyone who never had to work for a living managing anything complex.”]]
I guess that kinda knocks Carolyn Kennedy out of consideration for the Senate, doesn’t it?
By AmVet
December 22, 2008 5:25 PM | Link to this
Looks like the “compassionate conservatives” are just chock full of that baby Jeebus spirit this week.
Wassup, neoliths?
Something crawl up there and die?
Looks like all the bad little Republican boys and girls are not going to get a visit from Santa this year.
Hi Paul, saw your hello and good wishes downstairs.
Thanks.
And a very Happy Kwanzchristmakuh to all…
By Chad Harris
December 22, 2008 5:26 PM | Link to this
Uncle Bush had an MRI @ Walter Reed this morning—because he had a sore shoulder. Maybe no one told the moron that MRI’s miss torn rotator cuffs and other lesions a high percentage of the time ‘cause there is this big bone in the way called the humerus.
It was probably sore secondary to flinging so much b******.
By Paul
December 22, 2008 5:33 PM | Link to this
Chad Harris
[[Maybe no one told the moron that MRI’s miss torn rotator cuffs and other lesions]]
Yeah, those military doctors are totally incompetent, aren’t they? I shudder to think what they’re doing to our wounded vets.
AmVet
Kwanzchristmakuh. I like that. Kinda sounds like a new cereal -
By Dusty
December 22, 2008 5:39 PM | Link to this
Well, I am sure the Iraqi shoe tosser journalist will now get a PULITZER PRIZE for his actions against Bush.
Cynthia Tucker got a PULITZER for knocking Bush every weeek every year.
Luckovich got A PULITZER for drawing Bush with big ugly ears every week every year.
That is all it takes. Lean left, talk ugly, and write it, draw it or get in the news big time.
That Iraqi journalist caught on quickly to the American news media. Rumor has it that he is coming here to work for AJC. Maybe he likes torture.
By AJC/DNC Management
December 22, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this
Government provided health care, good call Chad.
ew
By Taxpayer
December 22, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this
Paul,
The bailout did kick in. Take a closer look at that VISA bill — your credit limit has been lowered.
By Chad Harris
December 22, 2008 5:47 PM | Link to this
With most ballot challenges settled, Franken leads by 48 That is down from a 251-vote lead that Franken had at the end of the day Friday, before the Secretary of State’s office allocated votes from ballot challenges that the two sides had previously withdrawn. Updated 24 minutes ago
By Paul
December 22, 2008 5:56 PM | Link to this
Taxpayer
Credit limit lowered. Interest rates up. I guess that’s what they call “balanced.”
Jay
Time for a comment on the column.
[[such incidents don’t bode well for the long-term survival of Iraqi democracy]]
I’ve thought a while about the implicit assumption that democracy = respect for the individual. One can likely make a pretty good case, as democracy is ‘of the people.’
But, in this case I think it is more of a case of not boding (boding? is that a word?) well for certain areas in the Middle East to come anywhere approaching Western thought on respect for the individual. Tribalism, slights against honor, sexism, all mired in a 10th century religious outlook makes me think we should keep them at arm’s length for a long, long time.
By The Corporal
December 22, 2008 5:56 PM | Link to this
To JAY
On additional thing:
You’re forgetting the Iraqi Constitution states “nothing in this Constitution shall violate the tenets of Islam”.
That means according to Ali Baba, Section 3, Article 5, that he will have whichever hand he used to throw the shoe cut off. And probably both feet since that’s where the shoes were.
They’re tough over there ……….
By The Corporal
December 22, 2008 5:58 PM | Link to this
Mrs. Godzilla
See Fresh Thread at 3:52 ……
P.S. Is you husband’s handle Rodan?
By Taxpayer
December 22, 2008 6:19 PM | Link to this
It seem as though it were only yesterday when… The Pentagon “wasn’t so horrified by Iraq’s use of gas,” said one veteran of the program. “It was just another way of killing people — whether with a bullet or phosgene, it didn’t make any difference,” he said. Former Secretary of State Shultz and Vice President Bush tried to stanch the flow of chemical precursors to Iraq and spoke out against Iraq’s use of chemical arms, but Mr. Shultz, in his memoir, also alluded to the struggle in the administration. “I was stunned to read an intelligence analysis being circulated within the administration that `we have demolished a budding relationship (with Iraq) by taking a tough position in opposition to chemical weapons,’ ” he wrote.
By The BlogFather of Scroll
December 22, 2008 6:22 PM | Link to this
Dusty is a member or close associate of the Cox family! (or a relative of Bookmans).
Gotcha!
By AJC/DNC Management
December 22, 2008 6:28 PM | Link to this
Interesting story on the crime that is taking place in Minnesota
They don’t even care, it’s like a bunch of Soviets at work.
ew
By getalife
December 22, 2008 6:36 PM | Link to this
A comedian whooping a gop Senator to win is the perfect irony.
That has to hurt.
By RW-(the original)
December 22, 2008 6:45 PM | Link to this
Paul,
The underground Hawaiian oven is called an Imu and the Imu ceremony is when you uncover the pork and take it to the kitchen for shredding.
By Paul
December 22, 2008 6:59 PM | Link to this
RW-(the original)
Another good day, when I learn something. I’m sure you noted the smooth transition from the Bush-beef barbecue attack to the response acting as if it was really about Obama’s Hawaiian vacation?
Hey, Libs aren’t waiting for the inauguration to redistribute wealth!
Link: Huffington Post Slammed for Content theft to Boost Revenue
“The Huffington Post, a venture-capital-backed new media site that mixes links to other sites content with hundreds of celebrity and volunteer blogger posts, is being accused of slimy business practices by a handful of smaller publications who say the site is unfairly copying and publishing their content.
Whet Moser, an editor at alternata]ive weekly Chicago Reader wants to know why The Huffington Post’s newly formed Chicago-focused venture is stealing their copyrighted concert reviews and reprinting them in whole in order to get search engine traffic.”
By Taxpayer
December 22, 2008 7:39 PM | Link to this
Smooth transition - A transition lacking conflict.
In other words, Paul, your remark simply wasn’t worthy of conflict. You didn’t really think that you snuck something by, did you. Now, play nice.
By Paul
December 22, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this
Taxpayer
Conflict? ‘Tis the holiday season!. With all the early celebrants (and many on this blog celebrate really early) I just didn’t want my holiday tweak to go unnoticed by the many lurkers and perusers!
By Chad Harris
December 22, 2008 8:48 PM | Link to this
The people tending to Bush and the moron Cheney are super-competentent.
The bell shaped curve VAH patient is getting far from the level of care Bush and Cheney and Congress can get, and the outpatient facilities for vets accross the country are underfunded and underperforming and they always have and always will be.
The actual votes to improve medical, mental health, education, and employment opportunities for vets as you know have not been there, and this gets articulated well on KO and Rachel Madow night after night by vets who lead organizations for them.
By Copyleft
December 23, 2008 8:23 AM | Link to this
Corporal: Thanks for the reminder of our “huge success” in Iraq—overthrowing a secular government to set up another Islamic theocracy in its place.
Yay, Bush! Way to spread that democracy!