Only in America Iraq: Big Jump in Sales of Shoe Style Thrown at Bush

Nick Gillespie | December 22, 2008

Sales of the shoes made famous by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi have soared, with requests pouring in to the Turkish shoemaker from across the world, media reports said Monday.

As a result, Istanbul-based Ramazan Baydan has had to recruit an extra 100 staff to meet orders for 300,000 pairs of the "Model 271 brogues," Britain's Daily Mail said.

More here. Not sure if they still come with the optional exploding toe.

Who says the Arab mind is different from the Euro/North American mind? After O.J. Simpson's Bruno Magli shoes became a big issue in his original trial for the murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, the shoemaker saw huge increases in sales (even though O.J. denied owning a pair and derided them as "ugly-ass shoes").

Comments

Nigel Watt|12.22.08 @ 9:56AM|#

Like Sarah Palin's glasses?

ed|12.22.08 @ 10:15AM|#

Muntadhar al-Zaidi:

He's Iraq's very own Shoe Guevara !

Abdul|12.22.08 @ 10:18AM|#

"Model 271 brogues,"

Were these shoes named by some bureaucratic department of footwear labelling?

|12.22.08 @ 10:20AM|#

After O.J. Simpson's Bruno Magli shoes became a big issue in his original trial for the murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, the shoemaker saw huge increases in sales (even though probably because O.J. denied owning a pair and derided them as "ugly-ass shoes").

|12.22.08 @ 10:23AM|#

But do knives come out of the toe when you click your heels together? If so, sign me up.

EJM|12.22.08 @ 10:24AM|#

Has it now been definitively established that the shoes were made by Ramazan Baydan? A few days ago, Muntazer al-Zaidi's brother insisted that they were Iraqi-made...

Suggestions have been made that they came from cobblers in Turkey or Lebanon -- or, like most of the shoes in Iraq, are Chinese-made. But on Wednesday, the brother of Zaidi dismissed such reports:

"One hundred percent they are Iraqi-made shoes," Udai al-Zaidi told Reuters. "His shoes are not Chinese, nor Turkish."

Udai said they came from the Baghdad factory of Iraqi shoemaker Alaa Haddad, viewed as among the country's best.

|12.22.08 @ 10:32AM|#

Sales of the shoes made famous by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi have soared, with requests pouring in to the Turkish shoemaker from across the world, media reports said Monday.

As a result, Istanbul-based Ramazan Baydan has had to recruit an extra 100 staff to meet orders for 300,000 pairs of the "Model 271 brogues," Britain's Daily Mail said.

Now thats what I call an economic stimulus package. Though it may be more problematic if we try that for the auto industry (Bush would really need his reflexes working in that case).

ed|12.22.08 @ 10:52AM|#

al-Zaidi probably doesn't realize how fortunate he is that Bush evaded his footwear frenzy. Had one of those malodorous projectiles found its mark, al-Zaidi would be slurping goat-shit shakes in a Baghdad basement.

Gabriel!|12.22.08 @ 11:07AM|#

BUsh WaS ProTectEted by my ANGeL PoWErS!

|12.22.08 @ 11:29AM|#

Scene: an Iraqi man and a shoe salesman in a shoe store.

Man: You call that a shoe? I would not throw that at a flatulent camel!

Salesman: All right, all my friend, try this.

Man: Hmmm...not bad, but I'm looking for something special. I'm not going to throw this as the paperboy, you know.

Salesman: I see. I think I know what you're looking for. Mansoor! Bring the 271...Here you go.

Man: Hey! Hey, that's nice.

Salesman: Very nice. You feel how the heel fits snugly against the thumb? You can control the torque.

Man: Yes, this will do nicely.

Cut to footage of Bush dodging shoes.

Voiceover: Ramazan Baydan - when not just any shoe will do.

cunnivore|12.22.08 @ 11:41AM|#

Arab yuppies. I've lived too long.

thoreau|12.22.08 @ 12:25PM|#

I may have to order a pair...

gmatts|12.22.08 @ 12:42PM|#

Clearly, this is a sign that Bush's decision to invade Iraq has been vindicated. After all, when a journalist attempts to hit the president in the face with a shoe from close range, while screaming "You dog!", and then the there is a noticeable spike in the demand for that same type of shoe, it just confirms that freedom truly isn't America's gift to the world, but God's gift to mankind. And this is what God wanted to happen, by way of the free market, in the footware business.
It would not be unlike a similar demand in the US after JFK was shot for the same type of bullets that Oswald used. Both would be signs of a healthy society.

Janell Carter|12.22.08 @ 12:56PM|#

For a look behind the scenes of the 1995 Simpson trial and the dynamics at play that led to the not-guilty verdicts, and the profound long-term impact that trial has had and continues to have on judges, the media and public understanding of the courts, please read Jerrianne Hayslett's new book, "Anatomy of a Trial: Public Loss, Lessons Learned from The People vs. O. J. Simpson" (www.anatomyofatrial.com ), just released by the University of Missouri Press.

NeonCat|12.22.08 @ 1:55PM|#

@ gmatts

Yes, if only Oswald had used a more popular type of gun instead of a WW2 surplus Mannlicher Carcano. Maybe a nice Weatherby instead…

TallDave|12.22.08 @ 3:30PM|#

Hmm, I wonder what that Iraqi who told Eason Jordan his teeth were knocked out by Udai for looking at him wrong thinks of this?

BTW, the guy who threw the shoe was formerly a Baathist and is now a Sadrist, both of which groups are hated by large majorities of Iraqis.

gmatts|12.22.08 @ 5:25PM|#

"Hmm, I wonder what that Iraqi who told Eason Jordan his teeth were knocked out by Udai for looking at him wrong thinks of this?"

Why not take the Iraqi man you speak of(but really any Iraqi man age 14-65 will do), hook wires up to his genitals, have an inbred MP(maybe named Lindie) throw her panties on his face(complete with fake menstrual blood), try his hand at gymnastics by asking him to make a pyramid with several of his most naked and blindfolded associates, and have an attack dog placed inches from his face if he gets squeamish. Maybe then drag him to a base in Cuba, lock him in a cell with only his feces to keep him warm, bombard him with loud music and deprive him of sleep, maybe pour water over his face, depriving him of oxygen, clear him of any wrongdoing, and yet still keep him locked in a cell. After all that, maybe then we can begin taking on the courageous stand of criticizing Uday fucking Hussein and pretending that American lives were in danger so long as Uday was running amok in Iraq. Because God knows that if the head of the Iraqi Olympic teams is torturing Iraqi athletes and Iraqis in general, it clearly means that me and my loved ones can only be next.

gmatts|12.22.08 @ 5:27PM|#

"Yes, if only Oswald had used a more popular type of gun instead of a WW2 surplus Mannlicher Carcano."

Then I'll revise my statement for you:
It would not be unlike a similar demand in the US after JFK was shot for the same type of bullets that LBJ used when he pulled the trigger from the grassy knoll.