Hypernova, Iranian band banned.

Hypernova is an Indie-Rock band based in Iran.

They illegally play in underground rock concerts. Every concert that they play in their country is dangerous. Numerous times they have come close to getting raided by the police.

The message they are trying to convey is that rock and roll has no boundaries.

Hypernova- "Fairy Tales"

There's a little girl that I am madly in love with


She's only seventeen and she's testing my patience


She knows what I want and I know what she needs


But we both know that we should not proceed
Father please forgive me for I've sinned again


And again and again and again and again



She's a victim of the times daddy's tryin' to find
A way to keep his baby in line


He's got it all figured out, hell keep her locked in the house


And wont let her see or hear no evil


Don't you know the more you push the more she runs?


Run away run away run away run away



These are the fairy tales that don't have happy endings


These are the fairy tales that never ever ever end


These are the fairy tales that don't have happy endings


These are the fairy tales that never ever ever end



I promised her the world and she ate every word


She left her life in a sudden urge


She came along for the ride, now she's lost she starts to cry


The big bad wolf is at her door


Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest mother f*cker of all?


It ain't me it ain't me it ain't me it ain't me



There's no going back now, it's way too late


Her innocence is lost now nothing remains



These are the fairy tales that don't have happy endings


These are the fairy tales that never ever ever end


These are the fairy tales that don't have happy endings


These are the fairy tales that never ever ever end



These are the fairy tales that don't have happy endings


These are the fairy tales that never ever ever end


These are the fairy tales that don't have happy endings

These are the fairy tales that never ever ever end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_sxsKBVJDE

Freedom of Expression Video

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION!

Video Created By:

Youth for Human Rights International

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5312655319111025063&ei=Mh0dS-fRGJTiqgL2sty8DA&q=freedom+of+expression&hl=en#

"It's not just the banning of music, but it is the competition between different kinds of music"

This article was put up on FREEMUSE, Freedom of Musical Expression, to understand why the Taliban has a campaign against music.

Here is an excerpt from the interview-

"You know, the Taliban like to invoke the hadith, that, you know, the person who listens to music will, on the day of judgment, have molten lead poured into their ears and you can read the rest of it for yourself. But there is one interesting point here to make, and that is how the Taliban actually define music, and it isn't actually correct to say that the Taliban have banned music. They have banned musical instruments and any kind of music-making that involves musical instruments, quite possibly with one exception, and that exception is the frame drum -- the duff -- because there are hadiths in which the Prophet Muhammad appreciates or allows the frame drum to be used in connection with celebrations of weddings and so on." - Radio Libery correspondent Abubakar Siddique

file:///Users/dbrown9740/Documents/Freemuse:Afghanistan%20and%20Pakistan:%20Understanding%20the%20Taliban's%20campaign%20against%20music.webarchive

Freedom of Speech Comics

Frederica Jansz

Here is a link to an interview conducted by Reporters Without Borders with a Sri Lankan journalist who received multiple death threats after becoming editor in chief of the Sunday Leader.

FREDERICA JANSZ

Protecting Our Free Speech

Not all hope is lost when it comes to our right to free speech all around the world. There are many organizations protecting our human right to the freedom of information and opinion and the journalists who are speaking out. Here is a list of some of the most prominent:

• American Civil Liberties Union: www.aclu.org
• Committee to Protect Journalists: www.cpj.org
• Society of Professional Journalists: www.spj.org
• Reporters Without Borders: www.rsf.org
• Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org

These are just a few organizations that with support and involvement from students alone can continue to thrive and make a difference in the realm of human rights and free speech.

In the United States, while these organizations are also prominent, the first amendment protects our free speech and many court cases throughout history are used as precedent for issues of free speech. Based on the 2009-2010 Mass Media Law book the most famous trials used on the issues of free speech and censorship are:

• The Trial of John Peter Zenger: more info
• Tinker vs. Des Moines: more info
• Ladue vs. Gilleo: more info
• Schneck vs. U.S.: more info

There are many more cases, these are just the most prominent, and by educating the public of the United States we can further fight for our first amendment rights in the United States.

Top 10 Most Censored Countries

The Committee to Protect Journalists released a list of the 10 Most Censored Countries in 2006. Here is the list of the top 5 and why the countries made it on the list.

1. NORTH KOREA: This country has no independent journalists and all radio stations and television receivers are locked to government specified frequencies. They use the "Big Lie" tactic only positive news to be shown. According to the media of North Korea the country has never experienced poverty or famine and all citizens would sacrifice themselves for their beloved leader above all else.

2. BURMA: This country has total control of print and electronic media and citizens risk arrest for listening to networks such as the BBC in public. They stifled coverage of the tsunami that hit the country in December 2004. International journalists are more often than not denied visa entry unless the government wants to positively showcase something.

3. TURKMENISTAN: This country constantly displays their president's golden image on the bottom of the screen. In 2005 the state closed all libraries except for ones that held the president's books and the president owns all domestic media ethics. Those who are local and foreign correspondents have minimal freedom to report.

4. EQUATORIAL GUINEA: There is one private broadcaster in this country and it is owned by the president's son. Private newspapers do exist but based on financial and political pressure are not often published. There are no longer bookstores or newsstands and foreign correspondents are often denied visas or expelled without official explanation.

5. LIBYA: This country has no independent broadcast or print media, the government owns and controls everything. The internet holds some avenues for independent writers and journalists, however the risks are extremely high as those who have written critical things on the internet have been jailed and even found shot in the head.

The list of Top Ten rounds out with ERITREA, CUBA, UZBEKISTAN, SYRIA, and BELARUS.

The full article and more explanation of the lists can be found here.