12.20.2008

WINTER BREAK XTRA CREDIT!

hello students.

as promised, here is the extra credit assignment that is to be done this break...if you choose.

read the entire article below. respond to the question at the end. post your answers in the comments, including your name.

enjoy. ms. mack

*This past week, something very interesting happened to president Bush. While giving a speech in Iraq, one of the audience members threw a pair of shoes at him. In Iraqi culture, showing the bottom of your shoes to a person is a sign of disrespect and deep hatred. Read the article below and then look at the cartoon. then write the two paragraphs*

Shoes thrown at Bush on Iraq trip

A surprise visit by US President George Bush to Iraq has been overshadowed by an incident in which two shoes were thrown at him during a news conference.

An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.

The US president has now continued to Afghanistan to inspect troops there. He arrived before dawn at Bagram air force base, and is due to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai

In the middle of the news conference with Mr Maliki, Iraqi television journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi stood up and shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," before hurling a shoe at Mr Bush which narrowly missed him.Showing the soles of shoes to someone is a sign of contempt in Arab culture.With his second shoe, which the president also managed to dodge, Mr Zaidi said: "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."Mr Zaidi, a correspondent for Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV, was then wrestled to the ground by security personnel and hauled away."If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw," Mr Bush joked afterwards.Al-Baghdadiya's bureau chief told the Associated Press that he had no idea what prompted Mr Zaidi to attack President Bush, although reports say he was once kidnapped by a militia and beaten up.Correspondents said the attack was symbolic. Iraqis threw shoes and used them to beat Saddam Hussein's statue after his overthrow.

http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/z/W/2/throwing-shoes-sac1217cd.jpg

Write two paragraphs in which you respond to the question: What is the cartoonist trying to say in this political cartoon?