Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The journalist and the sho(e)ws

The last headline about the "famous" journalist and his "famous" shoes: "The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President Bush during a press conference in Baghdad has received offers of a job and $10 million for one of the shoes". (AllHeadlinesNews-AHN)
Maybe he had reasons to do so, as George W. Bush had his owns to enter Iraq. At this level, everything could find a justification - WMD, anger, nostalgia. Deserve this journalist so much fame? He is having the right to write or report. It's not too much, but during Saddam is was quite impossible - as well as to imagine such an unique form of protest; you could imagine how many prizes for the defense of human rights and freedom of speech he would get, even unable to enjoy it, because shortly executed, without trial, following his boldness.
Of course, they were many abuses and bad planning from the American side - Abu Ghraib, the impossibility to cope with an increasing tribal violence and the lack of human resources. As the Iraqi side was not prepared in political terms to assume the government of a country. But, what's in fact the advantage of the last years: no more dictatorship. What these people wanted? To bring a ready made US government especially for Iraq? Or to continue holding hands with Saddam and his clan?
Muntadhar al-Zeidi is calling himself a journalist. He could make an infinite number of news, breaking news all over the news channels, by daily reporting about his country. But his choice was obviously the show-biz.

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