#freebassel

So I’ve been trying to get into music composition lately, and I finally finished an actual piece! I’m so excited, I hope you guys like it. Sorry it isn’t Undertale stuff. (It seems the music player doesn't show up on dashboard ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Here's the link to the piece in case the player isn't working: https://soundcloud.com/thefluffyslipper/square-skydisquiet0271

Here’s a little background for the piece:

Earlier this month I participated in a book sprint to raise awareness of the imprisonment of Bassel Khartabil by the Syrian government.  Now, it is rumored he has been sentenced to death.

You can read the book here but please, first:

1) sign this petition

2) retweet this tweet

3) email these Syrian embassies

Freedom comes with many costs, not least responsibility. Social, psychological, financial, bodily, emotional : known and unknown costs, often to bystanders, turn any strategy to gain and protect freedom into an ambiguous quest. Sometimes because it isn't clear what freedom means.

Considering the costs borne by millions to obtain, for example freedom from slavery or freedom to vote, free knowledge movements seem rather safe and straightforward. By contrast, to consider the costs of free culture, free software or open scientific research may look adventurous, or perhaps just presumptuous. But this is what we will attempt to do, with appropriate humility.

Many people use and produce bits of free knowledge but any serious attempt quickly runs into tremendous barriers, in every field. Participants receive unequal welcome due to gender, language, cultural or economic differences. Occasionally, the production of intangible assets may intersects with broader historical movements, redefining their meanings and exposing their participants to unlimited costs.