In many parts of the world, especially poorer ones, internet access is barely available, and if it is at all, it’s expensive and slow. There also isn’t much in the way of in-home entertainment options as cable TV is non-existent as people cannot afford it. To get their news and entertainment, many people in the world turn to the sky, especially in oppressive regimes.

In places like China, Cuba and Iran, satellite receivers and dishes are illegal. Police even conduct regular raids of homes suspected of using satellite, still people’s thirst for freedom of information persists. In a story from last year about Iran destroying 100,000 siezed satellite dishes and receivers, Al Jazeera reported:

Iranian police regularly raid neighbourhoods and confiscate dishes from rooftops, and under Iranian law, satellite equipment is banned and those who distribute, use, or repair them can be fined up to $2,800…”Reforming this law is very necessary as using satellite is strictly prohibited, but most people use it,” he said. “This means that 70 percent of Iranians violate the law” by owning satellite dishes.

At the destruction “ceremony”, General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, the head of Iran’s Basij militia, explained the dangers of freedom of information via satellite:

“The truth is that most satellite channels… deviate the society’s morality and culture…What these televisions really achieve is increased divorce, addiction and insecurity in society…Most of these satellite channels not only weaken the foundation of families but also cause disruptions in children’s education and children who are under the influence of satellite have improper behaviour” (emphasis added)

Yes, he really used the phrase, “under the influence of satellite”! Besides his fearmongering, Naghdi is not admitting the real reason oppressive governments crack down on freedom of information.

Information, in this case delivered via Free-to-Air satellite, is a clear danger to the authoritarian state. They spend so much effort brainwashing their people via state schools and controlling local broadcast media, they can’t just allow all that to be undone by signals they can’t control coming from the sky!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the message of liberty, cryptocurrency, and peace beamed down to the people under the boot of oppressive regimes worldwide?

The good news is it’s been happening 24/7 for most of this decade, thanks to LRN.FM’s Free-to-Air satellite channels over North and Central America and Sub-Saharan Africa! LRN.FM features dozens of liberty-oriented shows, both in live and podcast form, uncensored, streamed 24/7 online and broadcast internationally via Free-to-Air satellite. Free-to-Air means that no subscription is needed to receive the channels. They are TV or radio channels broadcast “in-the-clear”, direct-to-home.

As you can see here on our new satellite funding Patreon, we’re already making an impact on people in places like Cameroon, Africa. (Number 130 on the press freedom index for 2017.):





For a while, the Free Talk Live AMP program was helping fund these satellite channels, but recently we decided to separate the fundraisers for Free Talk Live and LRN.FM, and so this Patreon was created. We’d previously done Indiegogo fundraisers in 2015 and 2016, but the Patreon allows the fundraiser to be ongoing, unlike the 30-60 day window of the Indiegogo. Plus, Patreon allows supporters to receive exclusive content.

If you think broadcasting the ideas of liberty and peace to the globe 24/7 is worth at least $2 a month, please sign up here. With enough support, we can expand to more satellites than we already have, including one covering Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Become a Patron!

You can also give via bitcoin to this address: 1AkZUyVHtVsU6ZmAu1iSDhYiXbqFgKqzbt or use an altcoin via ShapeShift.io:



Finally, thanks for taking the time to read, and please share this article or the Patreon link anywhere people are who care about liberty, peace, cryptocurrency, and freedom.