Even though I am in the middle of a renovation project and don't have time, when I heard about a demonstration in support of the Iraqi shoe-throwing journalist in front of Berkeley's Marine Corps Recruiting Station, I decided to go a little out of my way to a hardware store in the area so I could take a look.

Here's how the demonstration was reported:

BERKELEY -- CodePINK anti-war activists marched in front of the U.S. Marine recruiting station in Berkeley on Wednesday to support an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush on Sunday.

Members of the group held shoes in the air and hung them from an overhead line in solidarity with Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who hurled two size-10 loafers at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.

In many Arab countries, showing the sole of one's shoes, much less throwing shoes at another person, is considered extremely disrespectful.

"We are here in solidarity with the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at Bush in response to some of the outrageous statements Bush was making
about (the journalists') country and about the terror and occupation the troops are reigning on his country," said CodePINK activist Zanne Joi. "We are here to say that we also do not accept our country's policies in Iraq."

Organizers said their demonstration was also to show support for the Iraqi people who have been killed, tortured or maimed and U.S. soldiers who have died since the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq nearly six years ago.

Anyway, I went down there during the noon hour (supposed to be their peak moment) expecting to see something bordering on an angry demo, and instead I felt that my trip was wasted.

Only two lousy demonstrators!

And old ones, at that. They look all tuckered out. If you look closely, you can see that the man obviously didn't like my photographing him -- not while he wasn't holding his sign and his partner was holding pictures of shoes!

So he got it and held it up:

Then they both yelled "PEACE!" at me as I left in disgust to go to the hardware store.