but I did it because you asked.

You da man. But I wasn't asking just for me. At least I hope not.

Though what would Obama do? Catch the shoes one handed, basketball twirl and sky hook them back?

LOL

Though what would Obama do? Catch the shoes one handed, basketball twirl and sky hook them back?

There is always a large crowd and interestingly it is often…

perhaps we should be saving our plaudits for actual journalists in the Middle East for whom committing journalism is a very dangerous task indeed

That's kinda what I thought you meant, although you were a little obsure...That we should not mistake the sizzle for the steak, right?

It is a…

You're amused

By what – Muntazar al-Zaidi's actions? If you must know, I admire his apparent courage – insofar as I'm able to understand the situation that gave rise to it. At east I'm trying, rather than delivering snottily schoolmarmish lectures on colonial protocol.

Stack the sanctimony as high as…

I'll be fine if you don't want to address it.

More I don't think it's necessary.

Wait, Craig is having a go at other people for being passive-aggressive? Umm, OK.

Yes, Kyle —

Tying yourself into a hopelessly convoluted knot of pretension over your squeamishness at the lèse-majesté shown to…

How anyone could do that confuses me. I pack the laptop before underwear or a toothbrush

I'd take my PDA as the very minimum, which reads my camera cards, has a functional keyboard, and wifi. Also GPRS for such low bandwidth tasks as reading the news or blogs, and making…

Yeah. Craig, care to explain that sidestep?

No, because I've got my doubts you're really interested in the answer.

I take your point about it being nice to leave your day job behind. When I travel, I write to everyone. But I sure don't pull out my laptop and start hitting the code (my day job).

And I missed the line from Damien about leaving his laptop behind. How…

Bring some woolies.
We're not talking Great Lakes cold by any stretch, but sultry it is not. 8 degrees and raining today, not so good for sightseeing (or getting out of bed to face the obligatory crowded train commute).…

I take your point about it being nice to leave your day job behind. When I travel, I write to everyone. But I sure don't pull out my laptop and start hitting the code (my day job).

On…

Iran? What am I missing here?

Yeah. Craig, care to explain that sidestep?

The main issue will be access to the internet I suspect, yes.

I think you'll find most cafes, internet or not, have free wi-fi. It's pretty standard in Asia.

. . . it would be nice if we at least knew the names of Iraqi journalists who have died, or been imprisioned without due process or fair trails, for doing their jobs.

Tying yourself into a hopelessly convoluted knot of pretension over your squeamishness at the lèse-majesté shown to…

But passive-aggression never goes out of style.

Wait, Craig is having a go at other people for being passive-aggressive? Umm, OK.

LOL nice one.

Too facetious, to be honest, but I'm doing my best.

I guess one man's "that's far short of being treated like a human being" is another man's "that's better than being beaten to death."

LOL nice one. I wonder which side this guy actually falls on?

There will certainly be tales and photos galore when I get back, but you’ll forgive me if I end up waiting until then, yeah?

Am I going to be the only one to not forgive?

I don't expect 2000 words a day or anything. But c'mon man, isn't when you…

Ooh yes! Moral equivalence is so last week. Let's have a worthy dissident peeing-up-the-wall contest.

But passive-aggression never goes out of style.

BTW, various news outlets are currently reporting Al Zaidi as having a broken hand, broken arm, broken ribs, internal bleeding, an eye injury, and signs of torture on…

You'll excuse me if I consider the real Profiles in Courage in a part of the world where press freedoms are fragile — when they exist at all — Muntadar al-Zaidi is well down a tragically long list.

Well, maybe; not that I ever claimed the opposite. Mind you, the…

Can you tell me who Diyar Abbas Ahmed is without recourse to Google? Adel Hussein? Shawan Dawodi? Esmail Jafari?

Ooh yes! Moral equivalence is so last week. Let's have a worthy dissident peeing-up-the-wall contest.

Think I'll pass on that

Iran? What am I missing here? Fingering the loathsome John Banks-on-steroids Ahmedinejad in an attempt to draw some kind of moral equivalence seems to spring from the same school of thought as blaming Saddam for 9/11.

Joe: I'm going to open a virtual swear box if anyone tries playing the…

I still don't see what's actually been achieved

Not much.

In terms of symbolism, rather a lot. Bush, you might recall, is pretty big on symbols.

I still don't see what's actually been achieved

Not much.

Although he appears to have rather neatly summarised, in an eaily digestible less than 10 second clip, the feelings of a good portion of the world outside the borders of the US towards the last 8 years of US foreign…

And wouldn't it be kind of cool if human rights abuses, persistent allegations of political and police corruption, violations of due process and sectarian violence in Iraq actually got as much attention of someone flinging his brogues?

Amen to that. I still can't help thinking that Al Zaidi has done…

Get back to me when Ahmadinejad has lied, bullied and manipulated his way into an unjust war causing the deaths of upwards of a million of your countrymen, -women, children & babies, displacing millions etc. etc.

3410: Get back to me when I'm safer being an out gay man in Tehran…

Bush seems kinda likeable in his comments after the shoe-throwing.

Meh... I thought it was utter bemusement myself, but either works. Considering that eight out of forty-three Presidents died in office — four of them assassinated — and two others were seriously injured in attempts on their lives, dodging a…

Bush seems kinda likeable in his comments after the shoe-throwing.

Finally, under stress, he becomes articulate. Who knew?

Probably the high point of his presidency.

I heard someone say this morning that they need to imprison the Sole Man so as not to set a precedent…

Or so as not to upset a president?

Are they really expecting this to take off? Next time I walk down a Baghdad street the last thing I’ll be worrying about is getting a shoe thrown at…

You'll have to join the Dunedinista for a beer when we next meet.

You'd better be careful there Grant, or we'll be sending you "Cease and Desist!" emails...

Craig.... I was talking about the Presidents armed bodyguards (whether from the USA or iraq) not over-reacting on the spot....

Still kind of a silly crack. I believe there's a certain degree of security involved, and the only people who are going to respond to ugly shoes with lethal force…

Or in this case, shoes.

I was wondering more why one of his goons didn't leap over to take the second shoe for him – in the line of duty of course.

Yeah, it wasn't exactly "In the Line of Fire" was it? Maybe they've got low motivation levels after 8 years, with only 35…

I did not mean to suggest that I thought he might be dragged out of the room and then summarily executed once any present and imminent danger had clearly passed....…

and I could have written about scootering around this great city

I was unaware you lived in Dunedin, Damien. You'll have to join the Dunedinista for a beer when we next meet.

I'm somewhat surprised (but also relieved) that the shoe thrower isn't full of bullet holes now...

Wow... always spectacularly endearing when we express amazement that the savages can be trusted in the drawing room after all. Meanwhile, we just have our mixed nut assortments posting white powder to the Prime…

But before I go, I'd like to at least acknowledge this guy, because he is awesome. Shame about his intended victim's cocaine-quick reactions.

Makes me wish the journalist was a quadraped. Or maybe a centipede.