2008年元旦，闻名于世的第119届美国帕萨迪纳玫瑰游行顺利举行。无数游人从世界各地飞往美国加州的帕萨迪纳参与这一盛会。以“同一个世界，同一个梦想”为主题的北京奥运花车在游行中盛装亮相，赢得公众一致喝彩，一举夺得最佳主题大奖。全球媒体对玫瑰游行盛况争相报道。许多人不知道，一贯逢中必反、逢节必闹的“法轮功”邪教组织，在这次巡游中再次扮演了不光彩的角色。美国当地主流媒体大都对“法轮功”企图阻挠奥运花车活动不予理会，或以“失败、应者廖廖”一笔带过，还有一些海外媒体则对其在玫瑰游行上的丑行进行一一揭露。
主流媒体冷对“法轮功”
尽管事前“法轮功”扬言要组织1000人在参与玫瑰花车游行时，呼吁人们在北京奥运花车所到之处，背对奥运花车，以此玷污奥运花车。但所有海外主流媒体报道一致表明，来自世界各地的玫瑰游行参观者对此应者廖廖。AHN媒体集团以《抗议者玫瑰游行未获支持》（Protesters Fail To Gain Support During Rose Parade）为题，称“法轮功”抗议2008年北京奥运会花车，但几乎没有观众认可他们。而对游行进行转播的KNBC电台第四频道的解说员对抗议者不予理睬，同时未给示威者任何画面。
当地警方保护花车严阵以待
为北京奥运花车设立的安全防备措施可谓相当可观。由于“法轮功”早先声称要对奥运花车举行抗议活动，并鉴于“法轮功”的闹事记录，警方对“法轮功”分子的行为密切关注。大约有1200名执法人员被分派到巡游队伍中，在花车游行前及巡游期间均已到位，以应付任何可能发生的干扰。
sbsun.com以《玫瑰游行未受“08年中国奥运”抗议者影响》（Parade untouched by protesters of '08 China Olympics'）为题报道一名39岁来自威尼斯男子安德鲁·科尼希（Andrew Koenig）因涉嫌高举标牌，阻挡其他游人观看，被警方逮捕。CBS同时也报道了安德鲁被捕一事，报道称安德鲁已被传讯，他承诺将在法庭出现，而后获释。
KNBC/NBC 称有几百名“法轮功”示威者在游行线路沿线进行示威活动。但美联社报道称，实际上仅有20名“法轮功”分子沿着游行线路打坐冥想，以此抗议奥运花车。
游人们对奥运花车抱以欢呼
帕萨迪纳花车游行活动总导演、好莱坞资深导演Ron Miziker兴奋地表示，北京奥运花车非常漂亮，所有的表演者的表现都非常好，他甚至用“好得不能再好了”来形容。他还强调说，最佳主题奖是20多个奖项中最重要的一个奖项，能得到这个奖非常好。
洛杉矶时报报道了来自上海的王凯（音译Wong Kai）对奥运花车充满骄傲之情：“我为奥运花车能参与如此著名的玫瑰游行而自豪。”
美联社报道来自美国路易斯安娜州阿卡迪亚55岁的玛西娅·希普（Marcia Thoop）一直关注着奥运花车，车上装饰着奥运吉祥物，两侧围绕着进行精彩表演的京剧演员、杂技演员。
南加州华人社团联合会主席张素久说：“百年奥运的梦想将于今年实现，我们在美的华人华侨赞助北京奥运花车参加今年1月1日的花车游行，就是想表达海外华人华侨对北京奥运会的支持和期盼。2008年帕萨迪那玫瑰花车游行的主题是‘通向世界庆典的护照’，可以说北京奥运花车比任何一个花车更适合这个主题。最终我们得到最佳主题奖，这是一件令人欢欣鼓舞的事。”
“法轮功”寻衅滋事令人生厌
据美联社报道，许多来自伊利诺斯州的参观者在观看了下午的玫瑰杯足球赛后称，对于一些观看者的行为非常失望。游行的参与者对示威者在游行中的举动报以嘘声。来自佛罗里达63岁的玛丽·菲切尔（Mary Feichtel）认为，在这个场合举行抗议活动并不合时宜。
当奥运花车进行巡游时，一些游人听到了关于中国人权记录及中国是否能与举办2008年奥运会相配的讨论。sbsun.com报道中称，来自帕市的John Schwarzenbach说：“我认为没有清除法轮功是中国的耻辱，也是奥林匹克的耻辱。”
而来自瓦伦西亚（Valencia）的布赖恩·麦克德玛特（Brian McDermott）在听到相关争议后表示，示威者“对玫瑰游行上纲上线”是可耻的。他说：“我理解有些人与中国政府存在问题，但人们应该考虑的是它究竟是什么？这是玫瑰游行的一辆参赛花车！”
“法轮功”黔驴技穷
美联社报道，1月1日早上，“法轮功”举办了一个赛前记者招待会，加州理工学院法轮功发言人李建中（John Li）在会上宣布“法轮功”将计划起诉帕萨迪纳市，控告不明身份的公职人员和秘密个人侵犯了他们的公民权利，以及帕市警察拒绝他们沿游行路线组织抗议活动的计划。
不过，这种诉讼到底能给法轮功带来什么后果还很难说。有一点可以肯定，随着“法轮功”不断滥诉和扰乱当地公众正常生活，这个组织日益被主流社会所反感。美国《威特每日新闻》2007年12月29日的一篇报道，就对法轮功把诉讼作为一种工具来保护其利益并不引以为耻，以及法轮功动辄对批评者施以威胁和人身攻击的做法进行了揭露。
AP: Thousands cheer giant Rose Parade floats
A giant blossoming rose, a pickup truck that morphed into a spacecraft, and a Chinese dragon undulating in the breeze brought cheers from thousands of spectators as those floats and others rolled by Tuesday in the Rose Parade.
Those who spent New Year's Eve camped curbside were joined at dawn by giddy visitors arriving by car, bus and train. The city estimates more than a million people visit Pasadena during the parade and Rose Bowl game festivities.
Gail Paulson was drawn to the parade route, although she is blind.
"There's a lot a blind person can appreciate at this parade. There's electricity in the air, the smell of the flowers, the clomping of the horses," Paulson, 64, of Oxnard, said as her guide dog, Alton, led her to a seat.
The 119th edition of the Tournament of Roses began as sunshine bathed the 5 1/2-mile parade route. This year's theme was "Passport to the World's Celebrations."
One of the biggest crowd pleasers was American Honda's "Passport to the Future." It featured a pickup truck that changed in a cloud of smoke into a spaceship.
"It was awesome - what it looked like after it transformed. It looked like it was a rocket ship," said Noah Herndon, 10, from Glendale.
Some 1,200 law enforcement officers were assigned to the parade to deal with any disruptions. Twenty-three people were arrested, many during the night for drunk-in-public violations, police said.
Two groups were protesting at the parade. Dozens of war protesters led by "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan staked out spots across from television cameras, hoisting signs reading "Impeachment is Patriotic." The protesters were booed by parade watchers sitting in the grandstand.
"This is not the occasion for this," said Mary Feichtel, 63, of Florida.
One protester was arrested for holding up a sign and obstructing others' view of the parade, Pasadena Police Department Lt. Keith Jones said.
After the parade finished, a group of more than 100 war protesters marched down the route. Sheehan spoke to a gathering of protesters at Pasadena City Hall.
"We are all here for accountability," Sheehan said. "You didn't ruin anybody's parade, they got to see the truth."
Members of the Chinese Falun Gong spiritual movement protested a float honoring the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Demonstrators wanted people to turn their backs on the float as it rolled along the route, though few appeared to join in the protest.
"I don't know enough about it to turn my back," said Marcia Thoop, 55, of Arcadia as she watched the float, adorned with Olympic mascots and flanked by plate-twirling acrobats, drive by.
Many in the crowd were from Illinois to watch the afternoon Rose Bowl football game, which ended in disappointment for the visitors. No. 6 Southern California beat No. 13 Illinois 49-17 in a lopsided game.
Illinois native Jenny Sweer, 43, cuddled up in a sleeping bag in a beach chair waiting for the parade to begin.
"I'm cold and tired. I didn't get much sleep. It's a good year to be here because we're from Illinois," Sweer said.
(Associated Press, Jan 1, 2008)