Department of Culture

The media has been full of looping images of shoes flying at President Bush’s head and gloomy economic forecasts.  Maybe the solution to our economic woes lies somewhere between the two: 

“Ramazan Baydan, owner of the Istanbul-based Baydan Shoe Company, has been swamped with orders from across the world, after insisting that his company produced the black leather shoes which the Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi threw at Bush during a press conference in Baghdad last Sunday.

Baydan has recruited an extra 100 staff to meet orders for 300,000 pairs of Model 271 - more than four times the shoe’s normal annual sale - following an outpouring of support for Zaidi’s act, which was intended as a protest, but led to his arrest by Iraqi security forces.”

While every other manufacturer is cutting back on inventory and workforce, Mr.Baydan has just hired 100 more workers!  There seems to be potential for huge growth and return for investors on items that celebrate the end of super-right wing heads of state.  I wonder what sorts of object will become associated with the inevitable heave-ho that is coming up here?  Prorogation snow globes?  Tainted meat 10-packs of cold cuts?  Environmentally retro-fitted homes that you spent your child’s tuition on?

Just don’t invest in Stephane Dion limited edition Coalition Videos.  The orders always ship late and the production values are so terrible you’ll finish wondering how someone could ever make a such good idea seem so bad.