Bush in Baghdad - 2 Shoes, Size 10

[devil-fire]

Perhaps in the future the dress code for Press Conferences will be Crocs only for footwear?

I think it is much more likely they will just not let in people who are hostile toward the official answering question.

 

[mgb_phys]

I think it is much more likely they will just not let in people who are hostile toward the official answering question.

Could be a bad move - jackboots don't have good aerodynamics, but they hurt when they hit.

 

[LowlyPion]

I think it is much more likely they will just not let in people who are hostile toward the official answering question.

Maybe just not let in newspeople that have been kidnapped off the streets and tortured?

 

[WarPhalange]

BREAKING NEWS:

Iraqis are OUTRAGED over the shoe incident!


They want the shoe thrower freed!

Back home, people see this as either hilarious or inspiring:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-view-george-bushs-shoe-trouble/4059529494/?icid=VIDURVENT06

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#28285861 (it's the first video)

 

[LURCH]

Did anyone see the Fox News Alert on this? "Many people are already claiming that there's no way the journalist in custody could have taken off both shoes and thrown them in tha three seconds the incident took. Some have begun to speculate about a 'second assailant' throwing shoes from off-camera, possibly from the nearby graasy knoll..."

"This year's winner of Iraq's 'Throw a Shoe at the Head of State' contest has been announced. This year also marks the first year in which the winner will not be torured and killed..."

 

[wildman]

Do you think he is going to be a reporter after this? No, he will get fired. Because he crossed the line. Where's the problem?

His immediate employer may fire him for political reasons, but he is going to be a hero in most of the Arab World. After he gets out of jail (where he will be a hero among the inmates), he has a great future as a speaker. I bet he will make tens of thousands of dollars per speach. Bush is VERY unpopular in much of the World.

 

[LowlyPion]

It's an ill wind indeed that blows no good. At least Bush's incompetence has led to something positive for the Turkish economy. (Just 28 more days.)

Shoe Hurled at Bush Flies Off Turkish Maker’s Shelves (Update1)
By Mark Bentley

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The shoe hurled at President George W. Bush has sent sales soaring at the Turkish maker as orders pour in from Iraq, the U.S. and Iran.

The brown, thick-soled “Model 271” may soon be renamed “The Bush Shoe” or “Bye-Bye Bush,” Ramazan Baydan, who owns the Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic., said in a telephone interview today.

“We’ve been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy,” he said. “We’ve even hired an agency to look at television advertising.”

Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi hurled a pair at Bush at a news conference in Baghdad on Dec. 14. Both shoes missed the president after he ducked. The journalist was jailed and is seeking a pardon from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Baydan has received orders for 300,000 pairs of the shoes since the attack, more than four times the number his company sold each year since the model was introduced in 1999. The company plans to employ 100 more staff to meet demand, he said.

“Model 271” is exported to markets including Iraq, Iran, Syria and Egypt. Customers in Iraq ordered 120,000 pairs this week and some Iraqis offered to set up distribution companies for the shoe, Baydan said.

Baydan has received a request for 4,000 pairs from a company called Davidson, based in Maryland. He declined to provide further details.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=auI050ptHyPg

 

[BobG]

It's an ill wind indeed that blows no good. At least Bush's incompetence has led to something positive for the Turkish economy. (Just 28 more days.)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=auI050ptHyPg

Maybe. There's conflicting claims as to the make of shoe. The brother claims the shoes were made in Iraq by Alaa Haddad. A Lebanese company and a Chinese company are claiming they made the shoes, as well.

I haven't actually seen any pictures of a Bucati Model 271 either - the Turkish shoe company seems to have a different numbering scheme with 4 digit model numbers starting with 28. Since the shoemaker claims the shoe is a 1999 model, maybe they had a different numbering scheme back then.

Since the shoes may have been destroyed by Secret Service and/or Iraqi Security, and since al-Zaidi hasn't been available, I don't think the brand will be confirmed for a while.

 

[LowlyPion]

I haven't actually seen any pictures of a Bucati Model 271 either - the Turkish shoe company seems to have a different numbering scheme with 4 digit model numbers starting with 28. Since the shoemaker claims the shoe is a 1999 model, maybe they had a different numbering scheme back then.

Maybe the 3 digit series starting with 27 are the models of shoes designed to exploit any news worthy opportunities?

 

[LowlyPion]

This is the reported picture of the shoe in question. Apparently it is not a Bugati model.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Nb8DOoLyFwk/SU_dpMuiPAI/AAAAAAAALu4/CthopMLxX48/s1600-h/shoe.jpg

Shoe Model 271 Brogues by Ramazan Baydan

 

[jostpuur]

http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iDoc/1639000-400_kenkapatsas.jpg



I haven't found anything about this in English with google yet. The picture is from a non-English website. Apparently some kind of a sign of respect to the shoe thrower, anyway?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Heh, here you go.

A sculpture of an enormous bronze-coloured shoe has been erected in Iraq to honour the journalist who threw his shoes at ex-US President George W Bush.

The sofa-sized artwork was formally unveiled in Tikrit, hometown of late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

Artist Laith al-Amari insisted it was not a political work, but a "source of pride for all Iraqis"...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7859444.stm

 

[LowlyPion]

The shoe sculpture has been removed.
Looks like it is now being used as a Size 280-W plaything by the kids at the orphanage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxQKergico

 

[mgb_phys]

What happened to the thrower in the new free and democratic Iraq?
Wonder what will happen to this guy in the UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7865868.stm

 

[LowlyPion]

Throwing shoes is certainly on the up turn.

Maybe a marketing opportunity for the GoodWill to package up bags of mismatches and unrepairables and sell them as protest props?