Celebrity Shoe Thrower Gets New Footwear

While the “Baghdad clogger,” Muntazer al-Zaidi, awaits his final verdict for throwing two size 10 loafers at President Bush last month, a monument in his honor has been erected in Tikrit. The small statue, appropriately of a large bronze shoe, is one indication of the groundswell of support the Iraqi journalist has attracted since his action. On Facebook, al-Zaidi has 19,091 fans rallying in his defense and the Free al-Zaidi web shop asks customers to “Stand up to a pathetic corporate sycophant and parasite who has catastrophically made the world a worse place for our children.” (They’re referring to Bush, we presume.) The 29-year-old Al-Zaidi is staying in an undisclosed Baghdad jail at the moment as he awaits a hearing. Rumors have circulated that he has been tortured since the shoe incident. Do Big Thinkers foresee a fair trial for Al-Zaidi?