(no subject)

[hatman]

In case you haven't seen the video with the Iraqi reporter doing his Random Task impression...

(The other shoe, which you can barely see as the camera zooms out, followed a similar course.)

The trip is Bush's farewell. His last visit to Iraq as president (and, let's face it, it's not likely that he'll be back afterwords, either...).

It should be noted that in Arabic culture showing someone the soles of your shoes (covered as they are in dirt) is a grave insult. Simply crossing your legs so that the sole faces them is highly offensive and supremely disrespectful.

In my eyes, he's earned quite a bit of disrespect, but this is carrying it too far. The other reporters in the room apologized for their colleague, and I'm glad of that.

And, as orangebeaver mentioned, he did a good job of avoiding the projectiles. Whaddya know? His duck isn't quite so lame, after all. ;) (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Comments

[acbshada.livejournal.com]

Holy cow. He narrowly missed that...

[theblackshadow.livejournal.com]

"Bush, uninjured, laughed off the incident: 'All I can report is it is a size 10.'"

I had to chuckle at this line that everyone reported. :P

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

lol, yeah. That's good. :)

[beansideirae.livejournal.com]

(i watched it with the sound off.)

i wonder what they did/will do to the guy.

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Not much significant on the soundtrack. Bush was just starting his speech. The guy said something which has been translated as "This is a farewell kiss, you dog!" And, of course, there was the general noise and hubbub.

He was arrested, beaten (off camera), and thrown in a cell, where he awaits trial. Massive protests across the country and beyond have called for his release and lauded him as a hero. Recently, he requested a pardon from the Iraqi prime minster, claiming that (despite his previous claims that he'd spent "months" planning the insult) he regretted his actions.

He's a reporter who's spent a lot of time in Sadr City, one of the poorer, rougher areas of Baghdad, and he's had a bad time of it in the last few years. He's been kidnapped, arrested and held for questioning by US troops, and something happened to his wife and child (I think they were killed, but I'm getting fuzzy on the details).