Ill will toward the United States, consider yourself engendered:

The Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at then-President George W. Bush was convicted Thursday of assaulting a foreign leader and sentenced to three years in prison, provoking outrage among some Iraqis who consider him a hero.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi's bold act in December electrified many across the Middle East who hailed his defiant act against a president who was widely reviled for his policies in the region, including the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

The 30-year-old journalist pleaded not guilty to the assault charge, telling the three-judge panel that "what I did was a natural response to the occupation."

Still, I can't get myself to feel too sorry for the guy. He's going to prison in Iraq, after all. Iraqi prison is like Disneyland on a beach.

I hear the food is made out of water slides.