US funds dry up for Iran rights watchdog

Boston Globe ^ | October 6, 2009 | Farah Stockman

[Kaslin]

WASHINGTON - For the past five years, researchers in a modest office overlooking the New Haven green have carefully documented cases of assassination and torture of democracy activists in Iran. With more than $3 million in grants from the US State Department, they have pored over thousands of documents and Persian-language press reports and interviewed scores of witnesses and survivors to build dossiers on those they say are Iran’s most infamous human-rights abusers.

But just as the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center was ramping up to investigate abuses of protesters after this summer’s disputed presidential election, the group received word that - for the first time since it was formed - its federal funding request had been denied.

“If there is one time that I expected to get funding, this was it,’’ said Rene Redman, the group’s executive director, who had asked for $2.7 million in funding for the next two years. “I was sur prised, because the world was watching human rights violations right there on television.’’

Many see the sudden, unexplained cutoff of funding as a shift by the Obama administration away from high-profile democracy promotion in Iran, which had become a signature issue for President Bush. But the timing has alarmed some on Capitol Hill.

[rockinqsranch]

““I was surprised, because the world was watching human rights violations right there on television.’’”

NOT surprised here. Obama supports Islam, and those most beautiful of sounds.

He’s the new Lincoln, the new FDR, the new Truman, the new Kennedy, The new Johnson, but most of all he’s the new Jimmy Carter.

I was wondering the other day what he would be if he was himself, but then thought I probably don’t want to know.

[Armaggedon]

Why not give some of the money still going to Acorn to the people fighting for freeedom in Iran? Of course it may take years until our communist government ever realy cuts off funds to Acorn. Those funds are protected by the Constitution. Excuse me while I go and barf.