President Bush Farewell Trip To Iraq

President Bush ducked out of harm's way when a reporter threw his shoes at him during his farewell trip to Iraq. Bush was about 20 feet away as he ducked the shoes.
Both shoes narrowly missed their target and thumped loudly against the wall behind the leaders.In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt.
The man, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Iraqi-owned Al-Baghdadiya television based in Egypt, shouted "this is the end" as he hurled them at the American leader.
The moment was captured from different camera angles and shows the president's reaction afterwards.
When Bush met with reporters later aboard Air Force One, he had a joke prepared: "I didn't know what the guy said but I saw his `sole.'" Later, he said: "I'm going to be thinking of shoe jokes for a long time. I haven't heard any good ones yet."




UPDATE:
"the Bush shoe"

In times of global economic downturn, Turkish shoemaker has been swamped by orders from across the world, Guardian daily said.
Ramazan Baydan, the owner of Baydan Shoe Factory in Istanbul, was swamped by orders after insisting that his company produced the black-leather shoes which the Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi threw at US President George Bush during a press conference in Baghdad a week ago.
Baydan has recruited an extra 100 staff to meet orders for 300.000 pairs of Model 271 - more than four times the shoe's normal annual sale - following an outpouring support for Zaidi's act, which was intended as a protest, but led to his arrest by Iraqi security forces.Orders have come mainly from US and Britain and from neighbouring Muslim countries. A sharp rise in orders has been recorded in Iran, where the main shoemaker's federation has offered to provide Zaidi and his family with a lifetime's supply of shoes.To meet the mood of the marketplace, Baydan is planning to rename the model "the Bush shoe" or "Bye-Bye Bush".




UPDATE: 3 Jan 2009
Protestor Throws Shoe at Wen Jiabao at Cambridge University


A human rights protester was in police custody Monday after throwing a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a speech at Cambridge University.The shoe landed several meters from the premier and the man was quickly apprehended by security and handed over to police for questioning on suspicion of committing a public order offence, according to witnesses.
A student who witnessed the incident told CNN that the man had stood up and shouted, "Why are you prostituting yourself? How can you listen to the lies he is telling?"Cameras filming the speech remained fixed on Wen during the incident, but video images later showed an unidentified student being escorted out of the building by a university proctor.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said of the incident: "The Chinese side has expressed its strong feelings against the occurrence of the incident. The British side said that they are very sorry that the incident should have happened and the person will be dealt with according to law. Facts have shown that the despicable behavior of the perpetrator is extremely unpopular and can in no way stem the tide of the growing friendly relations and cooperation between China and Britain


UPDATE: 12 Mar 2009

Iraqi shoe thrower get 3 years

The attorney for an Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at then-President George W. Bush says his client has been sentenced to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader.
Defense lawyer Mohammed al-Abboudi says the decision against journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi comes after a short trial Thursday in which al-Zeidi pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Al-Zeidi says his action was a "natural response to the occupation" and shouted "long live Iraq" when the verdict was read.
Al-Zeidi has been in Iraqi custody since he hurled shoes at Bush during a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December. It has become one of the iconic images of the nearly 6-year-old war.