[F14 Pilot]

Freedom For Iranians, Safety for World, Peace in the Middle East!

[F14 Pilot]

PING!

[Leisler]

"So I finally encountered hostility.... — from a table full of young Europeans."

My daily fantasy.

[Kozak]

At the bookshops, Hillary Clinton gazes out from three different pirated editions of her autobiography. `It's a best seller, though it's not selling as well as Harry Potter," said Heidar Danesh, a bookseller in Tehran.

I thought they liked us....

[ArrogantBustard]

"We've learned to interpret just the opposite of things on TV because it's all lies," said Odan Seyyid Ashrafi, a 20-year-old university student. "So if it says America is awful, maybe that means it's a great place to live."

Mr. Ashrafi would have no trouble deciphering the ravings of Tom Rather, Dan Jennings, and Peter Brokaw ...

[Valin]

Then I stopped to chat with one of the Revolutionary Guards now based in the complex. He was a young man who quickly confessed that his favorite movie is "Titanic." "If I could manage it, I'd go to America tomorrow," he said wistfully.

He paused and added, "To hell with the mullahs."

Oh Oh! Some rulers are in a whole lot of trouble.
If the Revolutionary Guards are turning against them, they're days are numbered.

[KellyAdmirer]

Sure, they are friendly now. But wait until we get tough with the regime and actually take some action. I have a feeling that suddenly the locals won't be so friendly anymore. But I do know that there is a worldwide desire to get to the US. I once had a chat with a Buddhist monk, wearing the saffron robes and all that, in Bangkok and I asked him what he wanted to do with his life. His response was that his dream was to go to California and become a hotel clerk. ;)

I've had my own experiences with Eurotrash, btw, and that last vignette rings very true. They can be openly rude for no reason and then sort of sit back and smile to themselves, as if patting themselves on the back for taking on the horrible Americans.

[ThanhPhero]

Sounds like Viet Nam. I met only courtesy and enthusiasm for America and Americans last summer, and I was not spending money.

[thoughtomator]

Okay, what's going on here? This is the NY Times - where's the ulterior objective?

[Eala]

"Just as you keep saying" ping!

[Smartass]

Great post. Like Eastern Europe, the Iranians are hungry
for freedom from oppression. In due time, it will come to
pass.

[happygrl]

To quote from that last scene in Casblanca, I think this is going to be the beginning of a very good friendship.

[Valin]

Latenight bump