Support Human Rights in Iran

Via Powerline, the Journal of Democracy. The story of the brave ones who were murdered by Iran's terrorist regime, and their young successors today. A brave woman herself, Ladan Boroumand:

The women's rights movement is the most interesting and innovative wing of the push for civil rights in Iran today. At first, those who aspired to improve the dire lot of Iranian women became lawyers and journalists and started magazines. But as the proregime reformists failed to deliver, women's advocates followed much the same paths as students, setting up NGO's dedicated to helping individual women with their troubles, giving them legal aid, and promoting awareness of their problems. Faced with heightened repression, and barred from holding meetings and demonstrations, they devised a new grassroots movement against gender discrimination known as the One Million Signatures Campaign.

Since 54 activists launched this drive in August 2006, it has become one of the regime's toughest challenges---in part because its demands appeal to female members of the ruling elite.

Apparently some of the glitterati is on board, hey, we'll take it. The women's website is we-change.org but sadly and predictably it has been blocked by the Iranian authorities.

The Voice of America has stepped into the gap:

On Thursday, September 27, VOA's Persian News Network (PNN) launches Today's Woman, a one-hour daily television discussion program featuring influential women from around the world. The inaugural program will focus on the "One Million Signatures" campaign in Iran, a peaceful and civil effort to influence the country's Parliament to reform laws discriminating against women.

They campaign against stoning, and the execution of children. Such is the state of human rights in Iran, when its more vulnerable citizens are treated this way. We know it is worse for many there. Some Iranians have converted to Christianity, a substantial rise, some of them have been assassinated. And the regime imprisoned dual citizens visiting family to discredit them and force propaganda "confessions" as spies, Iranian-Americans among them.

This was the backdrop for Ahmadinejad's speech at Columbia, and that is why it was such a disgrace to allow him any kind of a forum at one of our institutions.

This coming week across the country many will gather on college campuses to call for Peace, not Prejudice. Monday night at DePaul.

OK, got very serious. Let's go now to Charles, LGF, who reports (with his own dramatic reading, also Laurence Olivier style) on the Kos Kidz view of Iran--it's Bush who's violent and crazy. Kos, the mainstream of the Democrat party.

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