Iranian immigrants protest in U.S. streets

The Washington Times ^ | June 21, 2009 | Suad Jafarzadeh

[Eric Blair 2084]

With Iranians demonstrating daily to protest their disputed presidential election, the Iranian-American community has also taken to the streets in major U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston and Washington.

Sheida Jafari was among several hundred Iranian-Americans who gathered last week in front of a Washington office that houses the Iranian Interests Section to protest what they viewed as rigged election results that gave a landslide victory to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

"For me, it's more about showing my solidarity with all my friends in Iran, my family in Iran, everyone who has to live under a regime that prevents them from living their lives freely," she said.

The Iranian-American community is estimated at more than 1 million. Many Iranians immigrated to the United States following the 1979 Islamic revolution; some came to escape the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war; others moved here in pursuit of economic opportunities and education.

Despite differences in political views, the community seems united in its concern for the fate of Iranians back home.

Pouya Gharehdaghi said he wished he could be in Iran right now.

"It's my brothers and sisters - literally, it is my family," he said. "They're in the streets, and I wish I could be with them."

Mr. Gharehdaghi said he moved to the United States as a teenager and recently returned to Iran to work with the children of Afghan refugees and to produce a documentary.

For Iranian-Americans, the scenes of massive protests in the streets of Tehran evoke powerful memories.

"I remember going to all the parts of the city, and I can only imagine that what's going on in those same streets right now," said Ms. Jafari, a designer who spent a year in Tehran recently.

[Cheerio]

You’d think eight years of Clinton would be enough to teach America

I am sure it had the proper effect. But never forget that Buba Klintoon taught an entire generation of yoots about what sex really was and wasn't - they loved him. Don't you remember how he was impeached because of his affair (completely ignoring the lying under oath)? AND an entire new generation of yoots voters didn't even know who Klintoon was. The dumbing down of American education institutions are partially to blame for this mess, along with MTV and its peers.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Judge Haller: Uh, two what? Uh, uh, what was that word?

Gambini: Uh, what word?

Judge Haller: Two what?

Gambini: What?

Judge Haller: Did you say “yutes”?

Gambini: Yeah, two yutes.

Judge Haller: What is a yute?

[Munz]

>>....so much for his “apology tour:”????<<

nawww ... his apology tour worked just great.
I know I’m sorry .... that so many people were foolish enough to believe him when he chanted his mantra of hope and change as he handed out the kool-aid

[linbiao123]

I disagree. I hope that oppressive rulers will rule as much of the muslim world as possible and take advice from Hugo Chavez. Thus making the muslim world poor and impotent.

Shame about Saddam. He spent much on security forces, expensive palaces and even a big, long war with Iran. If only the Saudis and Gulf States were more like him. *sigh*

[rlmorel]

It is difficult to do any maneuvering to keep your country when you have a knife in the back, placed there by an American president named Carter.

I have known a lot of Iranians. I met a few when I was in the USN back in the mid-seventies, and I went to college with quite a few.

If I had to choose one country over in the Middle East to be allied with (besides Israel) it would be Iran, if only they could get out from under that thugocracy.

I have found them to be smart, practical and in possession of a good sense of humor. To this day, I revile the Carter administration for what it did to the Shah of Iran. He wasn’t perfect, but at least he was attempting to pull Iran out of the 7th Century. And he was succeeding.

[Eric Blair 2084]

I disagree. I hope that oppressive rulers will rule as much of the muslim world as possible and take advice from Hugo Chavez. Thus making the muslim world poor and impotent. Shame about Saddam. He spent much on security forces, expensive palaces and even a big, long war with Iran. If only the Saudis and Gulf States were more like him. *sigh*

You have no idea how right you are. The ROP dominated Sunni State leaders give you a big bttt.

[South40]

[Eric Blair 2084]

Obama says: "No regime change for you. We don't like your face. I'm taking away freedoms here from Americans. I can't be bothered defending freedom abroad. Let me talk to whoever is in charge there. I can straighten them out. Just give me a teleprompter."

[Munz]

Sadly, as we sit here reading this, hoping for the best, wishing these people would want the “live and let live” attitude toward Israel. As we hope Obama will finally start acting like a CIC, knowing full well he won’t.
Something is going by the way side.

Our own people fought like this some 230 years ago. They died all over this land in battles with the British to become free.
The legacy is now that we as an nation (FReepers excluded) sit on our collective a55e5 watching television eating popcorn and wondering what our government is going to do for us next in the form of “gimmies”

Again, I am not talking about Freepers, but I am talking about the Peggy Josephs of the world. see
(http://tiny.pl/3nbl)

So many people died so that we could have the freedom to vote as we wanted to pray, be represented, live and go as we chose, to be what we wanted and to have the freedom to earn our way through life and enjoy the fruit of our labor.

All to be tossed away by a generation of people who want everything handed to them without breaking a sweat.

No, liberty is not free. We paid for it time and time again, not just in our country but all over the world for people we don’t even know so that they too could have the freedom that we enjoyed.

And it seems that this popcorn eating, channel changing gimmie gimmie gimmie generation of freeloaders that is more interested in “dancing with the stars” than the total corruption of our Republic will make those sacrifices all for nothing.

Somewhere, somehow we lost our way. We went from a country who valued our freedom to make ourselves better to “hope and change” also known as “I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know, if I help him, he’s gonna help me.”

Somewhere along the road we got deluded into what is really important and that has left us in the hands of a morally bankrupt despot who is more than happy to promise everything, smile, lie and take it all away.

I see our Republic on life support and only wish people understood how much was given up. How desperately people want freedom like us. They are dying in the streets of Iran right now. It wouldn’t take much to see how important freedom is, but Dancing with the stars is on right now and the popcorn is burning.

Ladies and gentlemen of FR, pray to god tonight for the freedom of those who deserve it. More importantly, pray for us not to suffer the justified wrath of god for having lost sight of what he gave us. And the forgiveness of our forefathers who died to ensure it for us.

[Army Air Corps]

Place the Image of Tony Hawk next to that of Neda passing from this life.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Amen....

[Deagle]

It’s after 10:00am in Iran... Has anyone heard any news today? There were suppose to be massive marches today...

[karnage]

Probably 1,000+ at the Federal Building in Westwood (LA, CA) today. I went to a screening of “The Stoning of Saroya M.” and it was packed.

[Shadow44]

I didn’t mean for that to sound critical of the Iranians, far from it. Had the Shah’s generals had their way in ‘79, Khomeini would have been dead in the streets like he should have.

Unfortunately Jimmy Carter rather pander and apologize to violent thugs who hate us, whether they be in Iran or the West Bank. If only more people in our government would have stood up to the idiot when he was president.

[rlmorel]

I see, I misinterpreted you. I was in the USN under Carter...that was sometimes a real pain, having to see his picture in government buildings and feel the effects of his cutbacks.

[sionnsar]

(A small part of) Bellevue, WA last Sunday, ca 2 PM PDT.

[nonliberal]

Not to mention, but many of them are also Christians who fled the Ayatollah.

[SunkenCiv]

...the Iranian-American community has also taken to the streets in major U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston and Washington. Sheida Jafari was among several hundred Iranian-Americans who gathered last week in front of a Washington office that houses the Iranian Interests Section to protest what they viewed as rigged election results that gave a landslide victory to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

[BunnySlippers]

Los Angeles, to Iranians, is known as “Tehrangelous”. I live just 3 miles from the Iranian enclave. They are wonderful people, have great bakeries, restaurants, stores [love those Persian carpets] and they are unfailingly nice.

I wish them well with all my heart.

[ElectronVolt]

Turkey-like secular state
///////////////
Not anymore. It needs to be free of islam

Turkey is a strange place. Yes, it's a Muslim country with Islamic laws, but it's also very secular in other ways. They have many European-style beaches (topless), something which is generally outlawed in the US.