Lawmakers on Wednesday observed a minute’s silence in a show of support for Iraqi television reporter Muntazer Zaidi who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush earlier this week. The action was taken following a proposal by MP Tayseer Shdeifat, who also asked House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali to issue a statement demanding his release, a motion supported by several MPs. [source]
Even Ammon has joined in on the fun, making a list of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, i.e. who stood up and who sat down during the moment of silence.
If the parliament is going to be concerned about anything being tossed these days, what about that stapler!
Your tax money at work folks.
I find their support disingenuous and lackey ,while “our” government is tacitly training and supporting the puppets Iraqi troops ,which allied, supported and provided all kind of logistic support and training to help keep the occupation of Iraq. for the last 6 years we have not heard any objection on the behalf of PM members,where was their outrage and disgust to this policy???? what a bunch of opportunistic losers!
You know the term sha77ad o btsharra6? they are sha77ad o bt3antar..I wonder what would happen to their benifits if the 700 million stopped flowing our way..
“I wonder what would happen to their benifits if the 700 million stopped flowing our way..”
Mohanned,,I don’t know where did you come up with this number of 700 millions that it is flowing “our” way?
According to the American Embassy in Amman ,[the]”$450 million in supplemental economic and security-related assistance to Jordan for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.” source US Embassy in Amman. In any case, the assistance we receive basically is “security” related and have nothing to do with the benefit of the PM members and it’s sort of bribery or a hush hush money and by the way, the so called assistance “we” receive is not in cash but credits that Jordan has to purchase weapons and hardware from United States.
I just want to clarify some misleading information Mohanned provided in his comment.
Sorry Mohanned ,there is something called Google search , and Iam afraid you are aware of it.
I think that you are the one that need to revive his reading skills…It says 450 mil in ADDITIONAL aid…And no, your info is the misleading.. In my alrai copy I now see the 650 mil figure..Furthermore a big percentage of the aid is directed ttoward what they call budget support….
Oh and by the way are you suggesting that the US aid to jordan is not that significant or important?
All of our officials are on their toes praying that the new US adminstration won’t change their aid policy.
So Mr urduni, without the US of A the jordanian economy will crumble..
Oh from the same source that you referenced:
In a sign of the enduring strength of the Jordanian-American partnership, the United States will substantially increase its economic assistance to Jordan in fiscal year 2008. The 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress and signed by President Bush last week provides $363.5 million in Economic Support Funds and $300 million in Foreign Military Financing. This represents a sizeable increase from last year.
Plus, ya urduni, there is an unofficial commitment to keep the aid at this level for the next 4 years.Now for the math part: 300+363=663. I was off by 37 mil, but If we dig deeper I think we can reach a number that is higher than 700 mil, if we include aid that is not US-government provided.
Well there is kind of confusion in this whole shoe throwing story.
Also I want to stress that I dont support the coalition forces violence in Iraq in any way.
Take a minute just to think, if someone tried the same stunt during the Saddam Hussein era what would be the result? I think the thought of throwing anything at Saddam would not even come into his mind…I am sure that the reporter would be dead by now and in addition to all of the reporters in the room alongside his PM…
So basically this is democracy and the guy he is throwing the shoe at is the same person who gave him that chance to excercise his freedom of expression…
Leaders, officials and any authority should be aware that what happened is in fact a standpoint that enough is enough…and more incidents will occur as finally we are making our voices heard…
I love the fact that someone threw a shoe at Bush but on the otherhand people should realise that without the invasion of Iraq this level of democracy or freedom of expression would not have been possible…peoples minds are changing…lets hope that it does not evolve to another level of thinking…
Despite the fact that US are after oil or not, there needed to be a change in Iraq how that change was implemented is the vital question regime change cannot be implemented through peacefull means especially with a dictator so war was inevitable, war means death…
Those who say that Iraq was in a better situation during Saddam era should rethink and not to take whats going on now as the result…Iraq after 10 or even 20 years will start to show the results of this war it has the potential and will become one of the best and most flourishing countries in the Middle East….Inshallah…
peace over’n’out
Yazan: while I enjoyed similar debates about the freedom of expression that bush blessed iraq with and the whole ‘this would’ve never happened during saddam’s period’, i feel compelled to note one thing.
while it’s fun to look at this from a theoretical perspective, which can be taken from various points of view, at the end of the day, i highly doubt that this man was thinking about the consequences of what happen to him. he was overcome with emotions at what he recently saw in iraq and was in a room with the man deemed to be the causation of that destruction, and reacted emotionally. the footage that everyone keeps looking at certainly prove that.
i doubt he had a rational mental discussion about how wonderful his new-found freedom of expression is and how best to utilize it in this moment of glory.
it is not simply the action that defines the expression but also the reaction. what will happen to him will come to define the freedom of expression you and others are talking about.
Isn’t that a bit hypocritical? I mean, what would have happened to this guy if he had thrown his shoes at King Abdullah or any other Arab leader? I don’t say the reaction by the Iraqi security was correct (and I think Bush himself should have interfered to make sure nothing happens to Zaidi), but I’m quite sure that none of those who stood up for him would act the same way if he got a shoe thrown at his face.
Yes totally understand that Nas and this is why I say that he would of never been able to carry out or even think to do what he done in the Saddam era.
Well at the end of the day democracy is apparent regardless of what will be the reaction to his actions…just the mere fact that there will be a court case is a big difference between old Iraq and new Iraq. In old Iraq there would not have been a thought of a court case…
I also believe that akeed he knew he wouldn’t be excecuted again unlike in the Saddam era. Which infused an extra dose of confidence.
good for him he made his point…
Simon: well Jordan is a whole other story as it’s not the same context. we are talking about an iraq, where the argument centers on this incident being a form of the free expression that was promised the iraq a la bush invasion of that country.
furthermore, the reaction thus far is that the journalist was beaten by malki’s security, jailed, has reportedly been severely beaten in jail, is being held without trial, is not allowed visitations by either family or legal representation. his fate is arbitrarily decided by a judge who may charge him for offending the head of a foreign state, which is a seven year sentence.
i’m sure in a democracy built on entrenched values of free speech and expression there is something about not being beaten and the right to attorney and the right to a hearing.
Yazan:
I am neither absolutely pessimistic nor absolutely optimistic about Iraq’s future, however, I am cautious of calling it a democracy and it is a fallacy to assume so. Just because an authoritarian regime no longer exists does not mean the subsequent reality is necessarily a democracy by all means. it’s like saying, communism fell overnight in country A….country A is no longer a communist state…therefore, country A is a democracy.
ok yes you have a point, however I believe it is a positive step towards democracy and like a said in my first comment true results are not going to be apparent for a long time yet
@Nas of Course the US have promised much and have not succeeded in guaranteeing freedom to the Iraqi people (though I think throwing shoes at Saddam would have caused an even more dangerous reaction).
But, and I think that is important, that should not be an excuse for any politician, Jordanian or whatever, to demand human rights to be guaranteed by the US while themselves disrespecting them every day.
Nobody should dare to call for the freedom of Muntazer Zaidi if he would not let somebody go free who threw a shoe at him.
Moreover using the word fallacy to describe my opnion is a bit deep. As I am not trying to be deceptive, my reasoning and belief have no major errors, it is not a false statement it is my opinion furthermore my statement is not based on false or invalid inference it is based on what I see going on around me what I read and how I analyse and conclude my own opinion…There is no true democracy in any country in the world, but at least what happened in Iraq puts thems one step ahead of any other country in the Middle East in terms of democracy or freedom.
I am sure that the reason why this man threw a shoe at Bush was for the very reason that this man has failed him where democracy and freedom is specifically concerned. An advocate of democracy and freedom that sold the Iraqis a pseudo-democracy, a non-working system of state, a corrupted freedom and a torn-apart nation! Again, this incident only shows the level of frustration with what Bush has offered the Iraqis, a message of dis-satisfaction with the given “democracy†or “freedom†that the Iraqis pinned their hopes on.
I would question what the Iraqis might throw at Saddam NOW “if he was resurrected and came back to lifeâ€, but I am guessing a shoe would be at the bottom of their lists for sure!
Worth mentioning I think is David Letterman’smaking fun of the shoe incident; which was pretty disrespectful of the Iraqi people, and their current state of freedom and democracy, no?!
On emotions going high:
“He said he did not believe his brother planned to throw the shoe, but it might have occurred to him when he was asked to cover the news conference, because his brother changed from foreign-made shoes into Iraqi-made ones beforehand. ”
LOOOOL
Source: CNN website.
According to Iraqi authorities Al-Zaidi should have written an apology to president Maliki…..
النواب لدينا مجرد وظائ٠شاغرة تملأ ÙÙŠ مطلع كل اربع سنوات Øتى يتسنى لهم الØصول على المبالغ المالية المخصصة من قبل الموازنة العامة وبذلك يكون دورهم قد انتهى الى غير رجعة.
While I loved the courage of Zaidi for throwing the shoe. I feel this is so childish act of our parliament members. The guys is respected because he reflected the emotions of so many people in not only Iraq and the Arab world but the whole world as well, but we should all acknowledge that what he did is wrong in terms of professionalism and journalism ethics. He sure should be punished for it, the talk about 7 to 15 years is stupid! That is pure injustice no matter how important is the guy who the shoes been shot at! In Jordan women get literally KILLED and people get sentenced merely 3 years in prison! How fair this world can be?!
Yazan, very well said.
What would happen in Jordan if someone threw their shoes at a high ranking governmental official or the King?
Lass,
Thanks to seeing the videos of Iraqis hitting statues of Saddam Husein I know the significance of shoes in Arab culture. Still, to most westerns this is culture shock… and therefore funny.
Are there not things in western culture that Arabs find strange and therefore funny?
Austin we find voting for Bush TWICE extremly funny in the arab world, so funny its actually a SICK joke….
Mohanned,,,You still missing the point even thought I have shown that your figures were wrong By “37” millions ,and your initial argument that money from US that is” flowing our way” is going to effect the benefit of PM members. you really have to read critically or you will have lots problem in school.
“So Mr urduni, without the US of A the jordanian economy will crumble..” I don’t think so Mohanned ,most of the Aid goes to secure and bolster their loyal customers to stay in power and do their betting, if you know what I mean..
Dear Londoner,
“Austin we find voting for Bush TWICE extremly funny in the arab world, so funny its actually a SICK joke….”
I voted for Gore and Kerry.
If you want to laugh at those red states voting for Bush a second time, I totally support this. I am a New Yorker… a proud blue stater.