Slashdot Mirror
Giant Shoe Honors Journalist Who Targeted Bush
A town in Iraq has unveiled a giant monument in honor of the journalist who threw his shoe at former US President George W. Bush. The statue, unveiled in former dictator Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, depicts a bronze-colored shoe, filled with a plastic shrub. Fatin Abdul Qader, head of an orphanage and children's organization in the town, said the one-and-a-half-ton monument by artist Laith al-Amiri was titled "statue of glory and generosity." This statue is the least expression of our appreciation for Muntazer al-Zaidi, because Iraqi hearts were comforted by his throw." Mission accomplished.
This has already been torn down by order of local authorities as of Jan 30th. They didn't even care that it was built with the help of orphans- although maybe they were taking a tough stance against child labor.
Well, Actually in America, assaulting a foreign official, official guest, or internationally protected person is subject to a fine plus three years imprisonment unless they use a uses a deadly or dangerous weapon, or inflicts bodily injury, then it becomes a fine plus ten years imprisonment in the US. If he would have been just harassing him, then it would be six months and a fine.
If the person is a US official, inside the US, then an assault could get fines and imprisoned for one year if it's a "simple assault" and up to eight year and a fine if it is more. If they use a dangerous or deadly weapon, it jumps to a fine and 20 years.
So yea, the US already has it covered quite well, the Iraqi government is a little strict but as the parrent said, what would the punishment of that country's former leader been like?
BTW, It is a fair comparison to look at the former leadership of a country when all of the current leaders have lived and suffered the penalties of the former leadership. It will take time and probably a few generations before people realize how strong laws and punishment don't need to be.