So ... having shoes thrown at him. Was it all he lacked?

[Oblivious]

I just come here for the stereotypes.

[AlDaja]

Originally Posted by Oblivious

I just come here for the stereotypes.

YOU TOO!!

[Granyaski]

Originally Posted by random_soldier1337

You've got to be kidding me.... you're acting no different than the extremists you seek to purge. Where does that get us to in the end? Of course, if it all was jokes and sarcasm then I take my comment back.

not sure about the first quote but the second one is definately(i hope) sarcasm
But seriously why is Bush so badly criticised?Yes he has done ALOT of stupid things but then like everything the good things that are done are never appreciated...

[Jeff]

In Muslim culture the foot is a dirty smelly thing. To step or walk on something is regarded as the ultimate insult and act of defiance. It's why when you see anti-american videos people walking over the flag before/after burning it.

Throwing a shoe at someone there is about the same in the US as someone walking up to someone elses face and flipping them the middle finger.

[crisissuit3]

ah, i forgot where i heard the foot thing.

[Chemix2]

Correction: It was not one shoe, it was two, TWO SHOES OF INFINITE DOOM
-thankfully they were not actual weaponized shoes.

As for Asheekay: I have a feeling they're/ you're just baiting pro-war posters. A quick look in this forum shows a good deal of Bush hate, anti-americanism, and along with various other topics.

As for Bush vs. Putin: saying Bush is worse than Putin is similar to saying poison is better to drink than a big steaming pile of poo. Putin is ex KGB, the USSR intelligence agency that also acted as secret police, silencing political dissidents when asked. Furthermore, he was the leader of the KGB, and was/ might still be the leader of the FSB, which replaced the KGB during the 90's. Putin just barely falls short of openly silencing people who stand against his agenda. Last I recall, people who spoke against Bush didn't drop dead a few weeks later. He transferred his power from the seat of president to his current seat as prime minister and isn't likely to let go, ever; Bush has till early next year to pack up and leave.

G.W.Bush might have done some stupid shit, been irresponsible, been this and that, but he wasn't a pseudo dictator, the people chose Bush, at least the second time round.

As for Iraq: We probably went there for selfish reasons, like making ourselves look better by knocking over a dictator that wouldn't stand a chance against the American warmachine, and oil, oh the oil, that we could sap to pay for the whole thing, maybe a little economy boost too.

The result was chaos, which is preferable to ordered slaughter under a Nazi esque regime, but falls short of democracy in the middle east, by a couple of light years. It's not pretty, but I think that most would prefer a fighting chance to stay alive than a death squad that you have no chance of evading short of leaving the country, and most of your family, and getting a new job, learning a new language, yatta yatta yatta.

Better planning could have saved lives and made for a real transition.

The country is consumed now by people that are hurt and vengeful, only Saddam is dead and there was only one to go around, so they attack the people that weren't hurt as much and they strike back. Ultimately they're pawns, one side being backed by Alqueida and the other being backed by Iran.

On "whites" and their value, racism is as much an issue as people make it to be; it really exists in some places, but not nearly as many as it is claimed to be in. I try to see people as people, and I can, unless people make themselves a stereotype and push it. Basically, stop throwing up the race card when it has as much to do with Iraq as your left hind cheek. The problem in the media, is nationalism, Americans and then the rest of the world, which is probably common for many countries (simply insert country name and then the rest of the world), or maybe it's not; it's something stupid that the media does to catch the attention of the apathetic masses as they await the lottery numbers to come up and free them from lives bound by work and bills and taxes and bullshit and give them real freedom, like it was promised in the constitution.

[Warborg]

Originally Posted by Asheekay

... I was so astonished to see no thread about that.

I think even Bush haters are tired of talking about him...he's only got a month left.

[Lyon]

He dodged them. Awesome.

You suck, Iraqy shoe-throwing guy.

[Afterburner]

Originally Posted by n0e

In Muslim culture the foot is a dirty smelly thing. To step or walk on something is regarded as the ultimate insult and act of defiance. It's why when you see anti-american videos people walking over the flag before/after burning it.

Throwing a shoe at someone there is about the same in the US as someone walking up to someone elses face and flipping them the middle finger.

Yes well I think having shoes thrown at you is a big insult anywhere. I'd take having shoes pelted at me a lot more seriously than getting flipped the bird.

Really though, big deal. Bush handled the whole thing incredibly well too. He dodged both shoes, kept smiling, joked about it afterward, and even waved off one of his secret service agents. The aftermath in Iraq shows how stupid they are, to be honest. They want the man released? You can't expect someone who tossed shoes at a world leader to be released like that. Even if it wasn't a world leader he could be charged with assault here in the U.S. and that happens to be a felony.

Ironically the other Iraqi journalists tackled the man before U.S. agents could do anything, and as far as I know it is the Iraqi government holding him.

[AlDaja]

Right, and good point Afterburner, so to the original post/thread. Guess we can sum this up with a big….WHO GIVES A F’CK…

There are bigger issues to deal with, which is probably why this particular story didn’t hang around much with the media, because Bush handled it with dignity despite the embarrassment, and the Iraqi people also seem to have filed this incident under "what the f'ck-ever”.