Muntadar al-Zaidi has become something of a hero in both the Middle East and on the internet for his tirade against Bush on his final visit to the Middle East before he left office. Even though he was punished for the outburst, many agree with what he said at the time and love the fact that he had the courage to stand up for what he believed.

The Cairo-based journalist had been held captive before, both by terrorist groups and the US armed forces, and decided to register his, and many others, discontent while Bush gave a press conference.

Shouting: “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq”, he almost hit the then-current US President with his shoe. This has spawned numerous internet games and videos, a notoriety which is sure to go on for some time.

Originally sentenced to 3 years in prison, later commuted to 12 months, he has been released 3 months early due to good behaviour.