‘Shoe monument’ in Iraq taken down one day after it was unveiled

[sabra]

Source: CNN

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The monument commemorating the journalist who
hurled his shoes at President Bush was taken down a day after it was erected,
local officials in Tikrit told CNN.

A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush last year
during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled at the Tikrit Orphanage complex during
a Thursday ceremony.

Assisted by kids at the home, sculptor Laith al-Amiri erected a brown
replica of one of the shoes hurled last month by journalist Muntadhir al-Zaidi
during a press conference in Baghdad at Bush and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

But officials from Salaheddin province told CNN that the monument was
removed after a request from the central government, which has charges pending
against al-Zaidi — now in an Iraqi jail.

Read more: http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/30/shoe-monument-in-iraq-taken-down-one-day-after-it-was-unveiled/

[blueclown]

1. They hate us because of our freedom! n/t

[truthisfreedom]

2. Someday.

Big Oil still has their sticky fingers in Iraq.

[Arctic Dave]

3. So much for freeedom of speech.

I wonder which other freedoms we gave them that we are supressing?

[ensho]

7. they can still display the shoe Art but not on govt. property

same as here.

[Arctic Dave]

12. There are plenty of pieces of art displayed on gov't proprty here.

I think this is the puppet gov't of Iraq not wanting to give a large portion of Iraqis an artistic outlet for their displeasure of *. If this was a complimentary view of *, do you think they would have made them remove it?

[bdab1973]

18. It's Iraq, not the United States...

We didn't have anything to do with the shoe monument, that was a direct request from Maliki, who's leadership was embarrassed by the incident. In Iraq, saving face is a big deal, and that's why the monument was removed.

Just FYI, they have a democracy, but nothing in the word "democracy" implies freedom of speech. That freedom is protected in the US by the Bill of Rights, something the Iraqis do not have.

[Arctic Dave]

19. You must understand the irony of this entire Iraq debacle.

After all they hate us for our freedoms, that is why we had to kill a bunch of them so they could have "our" freedoms too. As for the save face part, if Maliki wants to do that, he should jump off a bridge. Or maybe blame a woman and cut her throat. FYI.

[bdab1973]

21. I think you're mixing events together...

We didn't invade Iraq because "they hate our freedoms"...it was Saddam's purported WMD program that could potentially fall into the hands of terrorists...as for the "they hate us for our freedoms" speech, that was in reference to al Qaeda, and why we had to go after them in Afghanistan.

I work here in Iraq, and have done so for over 7 months. I work alongside Iraqis every day, and strangely enough, they do not hate us. They are all glad Saddam is gone...Sunni, Shia, Assyrian, Chaldean and Kurd alike. Some look forward to us leaving, others don't want us to leave, but we all get along just fine, for the most part. For what it's worth, the guys I work with said the "shoe thrower" is an embarrassment to Iraq...not because of his political views, but because he insulted a visitor. Strangely enough, Iraqis (and most Arabs) view politeness towards visitors as a virtue. They are always buying us gifts, making us tea, and doing all sorts of things for us because we're "the guests". You don't turn down the tea, gifts or things like that because to them, it's an insult.

Very different culture to ours, and to even try and take our western mindset and look at their actions through those glasses will always result in the wrong perception.

[Arctic Dave]

22. Uh, you are not a visitor. You are an occupier.

And yes, Iraq was balled into the same BS propaganda as Al Qaeda. To say any differently is to swallow the same the BS line now as people did in 2003. Hope you are having fun over there, I had my 19 years ago.

[bananas]

4. earlier story with photos and videos

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4938700

[Lorien]

5. Can't President Obama intervene on al-Zaidi's behalf?

Keeping him in jail for throwing a shoe is absurd-and not the kind of "freedom" that America wants (I hope) for Iraqis.

[ensho]

6. viva! political Art. and Art money should be left in the bill

nt

[Javaman]

8. "removed after a request from the central government"

aka remaining rightwing green zone sycophants.

[Piewhacket]

9. Iraqi kids: Creative little bastards, aren't they?

Who says they aren't just like us?

I want one of these 'shoe sculptures' in my town.
We need a monument honoring GWB, and someone already
did the sewer plant thing.

[rosesaylavee]

10. Great democracy in the making there.

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

11. I want to erectg a statue like that in front of W's house

[underpants]

13. Police Order Statue Dedicated to Bush Shoe-Thrower Removed

Source: Fox News



BAGHDAD — The director of an orphanage in Tikrit says she must remove the shoe sculpture set up to honor the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Fatin al-Nassiri says Iraqi police told her the statue had to be removed because government property should not be used for something with a political bias.

She says the statue was taken down on Saturday.

A sofa-sized shoe statue was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486225,00.html

[lisainmilo]

14. What happened to free Democratic policies we have instilled in Iraq? n/t

[L0oniX]

15. Ah yes ...spreading freedom and democracy n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. There's hope for Iraq after all.

:)

[THUNDER HANDS]

17. combined

it was that late-breaking, so it was squished with this one. Thanks.

TH

[IndianaGreen]

20. Perhaps we should move the Shoe Monument to US

and place it at a prominent place along the Washington Mall.