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Dubya Dodges A Shoe-ing
Episode 161

Dubya Dodges A Shoe-ing

<p>When George W Bush flew to Baghdad for a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14th December, 2008, he had hoped the headlines would reflect his triumphant appraisal of his deployment of American troops. Instead, it became known as the day he got some shoes thrown at him.</p><br><p>The man throwing the shoes was Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who yelled in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!”. The president ducked, and Zaidi let his other shoe fly. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!”. Bush ducked that one too.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the episode inspired a brief moment of Zaidi-Mania in the Arab world, including various offers of marriage; reflect on the torture he endured as a result of his protest; and investigate the copycat attacks around the world… </p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘Raw Video: Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoe at Bush’ (AP, 2008): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U</a></p><p>• ‘Why I threw the shoe, by Muntazer al-Zaidi’ (The Guardian, 2009): <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/17/why-i-threw-shoe-bush" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/17/why-i-threw-shoe-bush</a></p><p>• ‘The Iraqi Journalist Who Threw His Shoes at George W. Bush Has Thoughts About Milkshaking’ (Mother Jones, 2019):<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/the-iraqi-journalist-who-threw-his-shoes-at-george-w-bush-has-thoughts-about-milkshaking/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/the-iraqi-journalist-who-threw-his-shoes-at-george-w-bush-has-thoughts-about-milkshaking/</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.</em></p><br><p><em>#2000s #Person #Politics #War #Strange #Iraq #US</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Today In History with The Retrospectors

December 14, 202112m 0s

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Show Notes

When George W Bush flew to Baghdad for a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14th December, 2008, he had hoped the headlines would reflect his triumphant appraisal of his deployment of American troops. Instead, it became known as the day he got some shoes thrown at him.


The man throwing the shoes was Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who yelled in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!”. The president ducked, and Zaidi let his other shoe fly. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!”. Bush ducked that one too.


In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the episode inspired a brief moment of Zaidi-Mania in the Arab world, including various offers of marriage; reflect on the torture he endured as a result of his protest; and investigate the copycat attacks around the world… 


Further Reading:

• ‘Raw Video: Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoe at Bush’ (AP, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U

• ‘Why I threw the shoe, by Muntazer al-Zaidi’ (The Guardian, 2009): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/17/why-i-threw-shoe-bush

• ‘The Iraqi Journalist Who Threw His Shoes at George W. Bush Has Thoughts About Milkshaking’ (Mother Jones, 2019): https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/the-iraqi-journalist-who-threw-his-shoes-at-george-w-bush-has-thoughts-about-milkshaking/


For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors


The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.


#2000s #Person #Politics #War #Strange #Iraq #US


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