Haiku 031309

rabbit tracks
to the spirea bush
winter meal

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Recently, we read the following:

An Associated Press RSS feed said: "Iraqi Who Threw Shoes at Bush Jailed for 3 Years"

"A court convicted an Iraqi journalist of assault Thursday for hurling his shoes at George W. Bush and sentenced him to three years in prison, prompting an outburst from his family and calls for his release from Iraqis who consider him an icon for a nation decimated by war.

"Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, defiantly shouted, 'Long Live Iraq!' when the sentence was imposed, according to defense lawyers…. Al-Zeidi's brazen act during a Dec. 14 press conference by Bush and al-Maliki in Baghdad's Green Zone turned the young reporter into a folk hero across the Arab world, where the former U.S. president is reviled for invading Iraq in 2003 and for other policies….

"Many Iraqis interviewed after the verdict believed the sentence was too harsh and that al-Zeidi was a hero for standing up to the American president. Supporters defended his act as a political statement in Arab culture, where throwing shoes at someone is considered an especially serious insult…."

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And we thought:

.... Despite the jail sentence, the Iraqi journalist -- a folk hero to many -- remains defiant in his stance: against the continued occupation of his country (Is it for democracy or oil?) and against so-called atrocities committed even on Iraqi civilans during the Bush-Cheney administration ....