From A Journalist's Feet To Our Frustrations

Muntadar al-Zaidi, a journalist for the Cairo-based Al-Baghdadia TV, threw his right shoe at George W. Bush's head.


As he set the loafer aloft, he shouted, "This is a farewell kiss, you dog!" Bush ducked, narrowly avoiding impact. Al-Zaidi proceeded to throw his left shoe: "This is for the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq!" The second shoe missed, as well, and al-Zaidi was wrestled to the ground and kicked and beaten out of the hall in which the press conference with Bush and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki provided the scene for this dramatic act.

Al-Zaidi is still being held by Iraqi officials on unspecified charges. His network has issued a statement demanding his release and likening his continued detention to "the time of the dictator era when violence, random arrests, mass graves, and ignoring of general freedoms existed".

Al-Zaidi's shoes missed G.W., but they have hit the frustrations of millions around the world on the head. A symbolic action; a real and outraged reaction. This action resonates with the fantasies of so many, aggrieved and apalled by the catastrophes inflicted by one ruthless man's administration. I think a lot of us have wondered what we would say, how we could express adequately our contempt for this man, if we found ourselves in the same room with him. I've also often wondered how those who do find themselves in a room with him (like journalists) contain their rage. And if they couldn't, what could they say that would represent the magnitude of grief inflicted? Nothing would be enough. Shoes are as good as anything.

We'll be following al-Zaidi's case, adding our voices to the demand that he be released.

Sources for this piece are Democracy Now! and the NY Times.

Homeless People + Peopleless Homes = People at Home

Bill pointed this out on Common Dreams and I thought I'd cross-post it. This project, undertaken by a single activist in Florida, achieves the visionary with simplicity and immediacy. Basically, it's just a project of setting up squats in foreclosed homes for homeless families. The activist, Max Rameau, says "Homeless people across the country are squatting in empty homes. The question is: Is this going to be done out of desperation or with direction?" Read about it here.

Give A Damn

Very sad news this morning: legendary folk singer and civil rights activist Odetta has passed away at the age of 77. I just became aware of and inspired by Odetta and her music over the past couple of years. Some friends and I were lucky enough to get the chance to see her perform two summers ago when she stepped in to replace an ill performer at the Prospect Park bandshell's summer series. She was captivating. And energizing. She had been ill herself, but perched there on a stool at the edge of the stage like a graceful bird, swaying and clapping to her songs about everything from human rights to riding the Rock Island Nine, she exuded energy. And just a kind of contagious excitement about being here, together, making music.

At 76, Odetta was still speaking out for the rights of oppressed people. She was generous with her experiences at her concert, speaking and singing about reproductive rights and honoring the history of her music with covers of Lead Belly and other blues pioneers. She got everybody singing, just like a good folk legend. When the audience was a little shy about their participation, she stopped singing and remarked in her deep unmistakable voice: "You cannot almost sing," to a burst of laughter, followed by a much stronger chorus.

So here's to a life devoted to making joyful and critical music, years of work for the liberation of the oppressed, and the kind of generosity that makes you "give a damn about your fellow man" as Odetta sang it.