Results tagged “iraq”

Kathryn Bigelow's directorial visions have spanned genres, from the freewheeling surfing bank robbers of Point Break to heady science fiction voyeurism in Strange Days, from the police thriller Blue Steel to submarine intrigue in K-19: The Widowmaker. We spoke with the former painter this week about her new movie, the Venice Film Festival Grand Prize-winning The Hurt Locker, which is set in a land that Americans seem increasingly inclined to look away from: Iraq.

The Iraqi journalist who threw both of his shoes at President George W. Bush last December received a reduced sentence from Iraq's highest court yesterday. Mutandhar al-Zeidi was sentenced to three years in prison last month, but now a court spokesman said he will face one year, "he's still young and doesn't have any previous convictions." Plus he could be free in five months with good behavior, according to the Daily News. al-Zeidi's family and lawyer are happy with the decision; al-Zeidi had explained the incident as a reaction to Bush's smiling and joking as "a whole people are saddened because of his policy... I was blind to anything else. I felt the blood of the innocent people bleeding from beneath his feet and he was smiling in that way... So I reacted to this feeling by throwing my shoes."

President Obama arrived in Iraq earlier today unexpectedly. The Caucus reports, "Air Force One landed at Baghdad International Airport at 4:42 pm, according to a pool report from reporters traveling with the president," and Politico says, "White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, speaking to reporters aboard the president’s plane, said Obama chose to visit Iraq instead of Afghanistan for three reasons: because of its closeness to Turkey, where he was thought to have concluded his week-long trip; to discuss the country’s post-war progress with Iraqi officials; and to thank American troops." There are sand storms, so Obama will only be able to speak with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by phone. Yesterday, Obama discussed his opposition to the war to an audience in Turkey, adding, "Now that we're there, I have a responsibility to make sure that as we bring troops out, that we do so in a careful enough way that we don't see a complete collapse into violence."

The Iraqi journalist who threw both of his shoes at President George W. Bush last December was sentenced to three years in prison. Mutandhar al-Zeidi's lawyer said the decision came after a short trial today. Al-Zeidi said last month that he spontaneously decided to throw his shoes after being enraged by Bush's jovial demeanor during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, "A whole people are saddened because of his policy, and he was talking with a smile on his face …and he was joking with the prime minister and saying he was going to have dinner with him after the press conference... I was blind to anything else. I felt the blood of the innocent people bleeding from beneath his feet and he was smiling in that way... So I reacted to this feeling by throwing my shoes."

The shoe-ing that former President Bush received during a trip to Iraq has inspired an Iraqi artist to create a large "sofa-sized" copper and fiberglass shoe statue. The shoe also seems to double as a planter, given the greenery inside it. The Post reports, "Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari described [it] as a homage to the pride of the Iraqi people. The statue also has inscribed a poem honoring Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his footwear at Bush." The statue was unveiled in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. al-Zeidi is reportedly seeking asylum in Switzerland and is interested in becoming a journalist for the United Nations.

First Lady Laura Bush spoke to Fox News's Chris Wallace and she wasn't very happy with the shoe-y reception her husband got on his surprise trip to Iraq two weeks ago. Wallace said though many Americans thought it was a joke, the First Lady didn't, which she confirmed, "Of course I wasn't amused. It was an assault. And that's what it is. And it would be an assault to anyone for -- if anybody had been there. And the president laughed it off. He wasn't hurt. He's very quick. As you know, he's a natural athlete. And that's it. But on the other hand, it is an assault, and I think it should be treated that way." She said whatever happens to the Iraqi reporter who threw the shoes is up to the Iraqis, "But I know that if Saddam Hussein had been there, the man wouldn't have been released. And he probably wouldn't -- you know, would have been executed. So it is -- as bad as the incident is, in my view, it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot freer to express themselves."

Governor David Paterson headed to Iraq for a surprise visit to deliver gifts and say thank you to the troops. The Daily News reports, "Paterson, joined by Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn,Queens) and Steve Israel (D-L.I.), arrived in Iraq with Yankees andMets baseball caps for the soldiers."

Naturally the double shoe-throwing attack that put President Bush under siege during a press conference in Iraq is a gold mine for the tabloids. The Daily News explains that when Muntather al-Zaidi threw the first shoe, he yelled, "This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog!" And, casting the second shoe, Zaidi said, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

    

In the twilight of his presidency, President Bush made a surprise trip to Iraq today--and he had to deal with a journalist who threw shoes at him. Seriously. During a press conference of Iraqi Prime Minister Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Al Baghadadia reporter Muntadar al-Zaidi, seated 12 feet away, threw both his shoes--one right after the other--at President Bush while yelling "This is the end!" See the video:

Playwright Michael Weller, who made his big theatrical debut in 1972 with a play about America's convulsions during Vietnam, is again dramatizing our deeply dysfunctional national psyche during yet another catastrophic war. His new play Beast is described by Weller as "a fever dream in six parts." And while some of those parts are definitely less compelling than others, Weller's "fever dream" is staged vividly here by director Jo Bonney. It's also brutally funny, in the tradition of other dark, absurd war stories like Full Metal Jacket. (If you're going to see it and hate spoilers, here's where you'll want to stop reading.)

The city spent five years and an estimated $1 million, give or take, fighting off a lawsuit brought by a group of 52 activists who were arrested en masse during an Iraq war protest in April 2003 outside the offices of the Carlyle Group, an investment firm with ties to the Bush family and major holdings in the military-defense sector. And that “bonfire of legal expenses,” as the Times puts it, is just the cherry on top of the $2,007,000 settlement that will now be paid by the city to end the suit.

Mike Bartlett’s modest drama Artefacts, in town as part of the Brits Off Broadway festival, peers into the abyss of post-war Iraq society through the eyes of the aptly named Kelly, an indifferent English teenager played with nervy brio by Lizzy Watts. Kelly’s ordinary life with her single mom (Karen Ascoe) is upended by the sudden appearance of the father she never knew, an erudite Iraqi named Ibrahim (Peter Polycarpou) who runs the National Museum of Baghdad. Ibrahim has just an absurd ten minutes to introduce himself before catching a flight back to his war-torn home, but the eventful encounter climaxes when Kelly callously smashes his reconciliation gift: a priceless Mesopotamian vase he “borrowed” from the museum.

Speed Racer, from the mysterious sibling filmmakers behind the Matrix trilogy, is opening to well-deserved critical derision. It’s a 135-minute insipid, soulless commodity that lifts some of the Japanese original’s storyline but absolutely none of the charm. The movie opens with a 34% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes; perhaps J. Hoberman’s pan gets it best: “Ideologically anti-corporate, previous Wachowski productions aspired to be something more than mind-less sensation; Speed Racer is thrilled to be less. It's the delusions minus the grandeur.”

Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris was on hand last night for a Tribeca Film Festival screening of his new documentary Standard Operating Procedure, a nuanced exploration of the detainee abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Those familiar with Morris’s innovative oeuvre won’t be surprised to hear that, far from a tendentious indictment of the perpetrators, his film is a circumspect consideration of some of the factors that contributed to those infamous photographs of humiliation. [Today, the NY Times' movie critic Manohla Dargis calls it a "blockbuster of a documentary."]

Who knew that Laura Bush and daughter Jenna Bush's children's book tour would prompt violence? The Post reports a wheelchair-bound girl was assaulted by a Bush protester after the Bushes' 92nd Street Y appearance on Tuesday.

Five years ago today, the U.S.-led "coalition of the willing" invaded Iraq. Some $600 billion later, with over 4,000 dead U.S. soldiers, more than 6,000 U.S. casualties, and some some 82,000 dead Iraqi civilians, the U.S. continues to occupy the country. A Nobel prize-winning economist has calculated that the war will ultimately cost the U.S. more than $3 trillion. On Monday, during Dick Cheney's visit to Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed 43 people in Karbala.

Five years ago today, President George Bush announced the start of the Iraq War. Some $600 billion later, with over 4,000 dead U.S. soldiers, more than 6,000 U.S. casualties, and some some 82,000 dead Iraqi civilians, the U.S. continues to occupy the country.

On Tuesday night at St. Ann's Warehouse, David Byrne, longtime advocate of bikes, big suits, lamp dancing and PowerPoint, will be joining a who's who list of New York performers to observe the fifth anniversary of the official start of the Iraq invasion. Called Speak Up!, the sold-out show is raising money for United for Peace and Justice and Iraq Veterans Against the War. If you don't have tickets, you might want to skip over the list of artists you'll be missing: Laurie Anderson, Antony, Lou Reed, Blonde Redhead, Bill T. Jones, Norah Jones, Moby, Damien Rice, Scissor Sisters, DJs MEN. Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism will be a featured speaker, among others. But before the concert, from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Klein and a other activist groups will host a free forum, book signing and art exhibit at the nearby Powerhouse Arena bookstore [37 Main St, DUMBO, Brooklyn].

Yesterday, The Daily News printed an article that began, "A cop-bashing art exhibit at a taxpayer-funded museum in Brooklyn portrays the city's Finest as trigger-happy racists who have put bull's-eyes on the backs of black New Yorkers."

Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off for the 20th time last night in Cleveland, Ohio, as they head towards the big March 4 primaries next week. The rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination "traded insults," as they accused each other of negative attacks regarding their health care policies.

Some dogs traveling to the U.S. from Iraq weren't dogs of war or trained to sniff explosives. Instead, they provided a little comfort and unconditional love to soldiers stuck in a war zone. With the help of the International SPCA's Baghdad Pups program, two dogs named Liberty and K-Pot have been adopted by soldiers' families.

A total no-brainer: The family of 17-month-old boy who was shot in the arm by an off-duty police officer has filed a notice of claim against the city. The Porcellini family will also pursue action against the NYPD and 24-year-old police officer Patrick Venetek.

Actor Roy Scheider died yesterday at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, after battling multiple myeloma for several years and suffering complications from a staph infection. He was 75 and had been living in Sag Harbor, New York (after moving out his house in Sagaponack that Billy Joel purchased).

Patrick Venetek, the cop whose service weapon wound up shooting through the ceiling of his downstairs neighbors' apartment and striking an 18-month-old's arm, gave further details on how the incident occurred. Perhaps to the relief of Porcellini's six brothers and sisters, Venetek has been stripped of his badge and gun at this time and is on modified duty.

MOVIE: Tonight the Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series delivers two very different films. First up is The French Riviera, described as "a road documentary that follows a truck driver on a mission to earn enough money selling ice cream in the Icelandic countryside to go on a vacation on a French beach."

Yesterday, the Daily News and Newsday offered editorials endorsing Hillary Clinton for Tuesday's NY State Democratic Primary. While the News calls both Clinton and Barack Obama are "compelling choices," disagrees with both candidates' strategies for ending the war in Iraq and finds Obama inspirational, the News ultimately finds Clinton to be the "stronger" of the two, because of her experience. There are concerns about Bill Clinton's recent involvement - and potential involvement if his wife is elected:

Based on her experience and her service on behalf of New York, The News backs Hillary Clinton in the full expectation that from here on out she and her husband will abide by standards of fairness - and, more important, that she intends to draw firm, clear lines should she make it to the White House.

In early 2007, The New Yorker writer George Packer published an enthralling article about the desperate plight of Iraqis who had assisted the American effort in their country and were being hunted down as a result, with little or no U.S. protection. Betrayed, Packer's first play, is based on interviews conducted while in Iraq for the sixth time to research his article; the fictionalized account concerns three young Iraqis – two men and a woman – whose willingness to risk their lives to help the Americans is rewarded with an indifference bordering on contempt. Following tonight’s performance, Pulitzer Prize winner (and My Trip to Al-Qaeda playwright) Lawrence Wright will join Packer for conversation about the war in Iraq. Betrayed continues through March 16th at Culture Project; ticket prices vary.

Slice took the photo here and wondered what the story was behind this sign, which is part of a series of alternating signs in the window of a Union Street home in Park slope. Well, our buddy at the NSA owed us a favor, and we tracked down the man behind the cryptic signage.

• Perhaps the big surprise (besides Juno getting nominated for Best Director and Best Picture) was Ruby Dee for her work in American Gangster (its only other nomination was for art direction)

With the South Carolina's Democratic primary on this coming Saturday, the three leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards gathered together at a Martin Luther King Day Jr. debate in Columbia, S.C. When Clinton addressed the crowd, she said, "We have come so far together. Barack Obama, an extraordinary, young African-American man with so much to contribute. John Edwards, a son of the South — in fact, a son of South Carolina. And a woman — all of us running for president of the United States of America!”