War links roundup: (Warning: contents can be depressing)

After reading this article about what’s actually on Osama bin Laden’s tapes, I had a bit of a look myself. Unfortunately, the only unedited transcript of any of the tapes I can find is on indymedia, which, while a fine source of news, is not exactly unbiased on this issue. However, if this transcript is the same as the ones the establishment media and government have, it does put forward a much more moderate view than many would have you believe.

I am of the firm belief that the US’s current attempts to dictate to the rest of the world strike to the heart of what the US and other democracies are supposed to be about: the right of the people to self-determination. It’s true that, given the choice, many people will choose slavery and oppression over freedom, because freedom is about having the right to make your own choices, and the equal right and responsibility to live with the consequences.

Freedom will never work if you try to force people into it – indeed it’s a contradiction in terms. Freedom is only possible when it’s freely chosen. The only way that people will learn to value their freedom is if they are allowed to see the consequences of their choices not to be free.

Personally, I choose what laws I will obey. I fundamentally disagree with the idea of intellectual property and so treat laws designed to safeguard it with contempt. However, I will voluntarily support artists that I feel deserve my support by buying their books, games, and so on rather than copying them.

It’s the freedom in the heart that disappears first – the freedom that everyone has to say ‘No!’, whatever the consequences. Keep this, and you will be free no matter what happens in the world around you.