Thinking Upstream

Comment from a lecturer in Sarawak. Opinions in this blog are mine only.

14 June, 2009

Imprisoned Cuban Journalist Rolando Arroyo On Hunger Strike

Filed under:human rights— cmcallister @ 8:46 pmTags:Cuba,freedom,human,Journalist,rights Journalist Víctor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, one of 22 independent journalists imprisoned in Cuba,is on hunger strike, according to “Cuban journalist in second week of hunger strike.” María Salazar Ferro reports thatRolando went on hunger strike on 15th May 2009 to protest: lack of medical attention, bad sanitary conditions in his cell,cruel treatment, and the fact that he has not been allowed to practice religion. Rolando’s photo is fromImprisonedJournalists in Cuba, which reports that he has been imprisoned in Cuba since 18th March 2003, and is serving a 26 year sentence. Ironically, Cuba was home toErnest Hemingway (1899-1961), one of the world’s best known journalists, andthe Hemingway Museum on Cuba is a popular tourist attraction. “Latin America’s Brave New World:Cuba gets a vote of confidence from the OAS” criticises the recent addition of Cuba to the OAS (Organization of American States). Inclusionof a repressive Marxist-Leninist state into the OAS stretches the meaning of the word “democracy”. Organisations whichreport on threats to journalists and press freedom include theRSFand The World Association of Newspapers, whichorganises aWorld Press Freedom Dayinitiative to draw attention to the role of independent news and information insociety, and how it is under attack. In this 11 June 2009 post, “Intervencion en la 11° Sesion del Consejo de los DerechosHumanos“, José Gabriel Ramón Castillo appeals to the UNHuman Rights Councilfor the hundreds of known political prisoners suffering in Cuba.(This blog “Thinking Upstream” is based on various online news articles and photos that draw attention to some of thebloggers and journalists who remain unjustly imprisoned in several countries.)Comments (0)

28 May, 2009

Cuban Journalist Imprisoned for Disrespect

Filed under:human rights— cmcallister @ 5:11 amTags:Cuba,freedom,human,Journalist,rights,writer Another independent journalist, Alberto Santiago Du Bouchet has been imprisoned in Cuba. “AlbertoSantiago Du Bouchet, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 5/17/09“, as reported in the blogUncommon Sense. He was

sentenced to 3 years in prison for “disrespect,” one of theOrwelliancatch-all “crimes” the dictatorship uses to try to silenceand punish those who oppose it, according to thisRSF article. The organisationEnglish PEN, supporting writers around the orld, protests his arrest, and reportsthat he was denied a fair trial and access to a lawyer.Comments (0)

22 May, 2009

Havana’s Expanding Blogosphere

Filed under:Internet,human rights— cmcallister @ 2:19 am Tags:Blogger , blogging,Cuba,freedom,human rights,Internet Active blogger Yoani Sánchez (photo) expresses her joy about the expanding blogosphere inHavana, Cuba. In her blogpost “Arco iris en la blogósfera” (Rainbow in the blogosphere), she reports on the rapid growthof blogging since she started her blogGeneration Yin April 2007. In addition to being an inspiration to new bloggers, sheenjoys meeting them, and giving technical advice, such as: How to use Wordpress, and how to maintain a regular onlinepresence, where Internet connections are hard to obtain.In her blog post “Young Pro-Democracy Advocate Edgar Lopez Trapped in Cuba”, Yoani petitions for Edgar Lopez to bepermitted to travel to join his family in the USA. Foreign travel is one of the many activities that are restricted in Cuba. Thecountry is also tightening the net on bloggers: “Cuban bloggers, an endangered species?”. Only official governmentebsites are permitted to register on the “.cu” Cuban domain. Hotels are among the few places where it is possible to getInternet access in Cuba, but access cards are only provided to foreign tourists. Yoani is also under attack from an officialstate journalist who seems to be severely out of touch with how the Internet works.The “Petition to help Edgar Lopez” explains that Edgar López has been denied a travel visa because he is a member of apolitical group that does not support Cuba’s communist party.oani Sánchez is listed as Hero and Pioneer in theTime 2008 Top 100.Comments (0)

3 May, 2009

Is Equality Really Possible in an Unequal World?

Filed under:Philosophy,human rights— cmcallister @ 11:24 pm Tags:Equality,Feminism,Philosophy,Pragmatism,Richard Rorty that is the question asked by Josephine on thePhilosophydiscussion group onFriendster.com. My contribution to the online discussion is: Your question requires an answer more subtle than Yes - Possible or No – Impossible. It is not simplya philosophical question, as it has been posed many times in the realms of religion, science, law and politics. There are asmany ideals of Equality as there are branches of Philosophy, and these can be applied according to the situation. APostmodern approach (Foucault

) may help in analysing Equality within culture, and an Existentialist approach (Sartre)might be more useful in a one-on-one meeting. Rousseau in his 1762Social Contractrecognises the natural inequalitiesthat you mention and frames his response in that context. The pragmatist view (Richard Rorty) would favour actiontowards progress rather than unproductive discussion. Your question has encouraged me to do some further reading. IsuggestEquality (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Rather than just talking about equality in an abstract sense, I’llsuggest one of the many websites documenting struggles for equality:www.meydaan.org, in this case equality for womenin Iran. A 2007 Spiegel article describes how difficult this struggle is:Tehran Cracks Down on Feminist Movement. For amore philosophical discussion, I refer you to the book Philosophy and Social Hopeby American philosopher Richard Rort

(1931 - 2007). How a person should best practice equality is different for each situation. It is refreshing to observe thatthose struggles for equality persist and succeed even when they are oppressed.Comments (0)

2 May, 2009

Relief Volunteers Still in Prison One Year After Cyclone Nargis

Filed under:human rights— cmcallister @ 2:24 amTags:Asia,Burma,Cyclone Nargis,human rights,Irrawaddy Delta,Journalist,Myanmar ,Political Prisoners The 2008 storm Cyclone Nargis caused devastation in the Irrawaddy Delta. TheAssistance Association for PoliticalPrisoners(Burma) marked the one year anniversary of the disaster by releasing a report:AAPP_Cyclone_Nargis_Anniversary_Report.pdf . The report includes details of some of the twenty one cyclone relief olunteers who are still in prison. Those imprisoned were: fund raising, providing relief supplies, burying the victims and,as journalists, reporting from the disaster zone. Some of the volunteers had been involved with theSaffron Revolutionandhad come out of hiding to help with the relief efforts. The military government’s indifferent attitude to the 2008 disaster,and its frustration of relief efforts was extensively reported in:BURMA: Cyclone Nargis Exposes Junta’s Anti-PeopleAttitudeand in newspapers around the world. Residents of the delta still face acritical shortage of drinking water because of the salt water surge from the cyclone. Aid groups (French INGO) that assist in distributing drinking water arecomplaining about red tape, and appealing for better cooperation from authorities.Comments (0)

26 April, 2009

Martial Scorpion Stings Frog of Freedom

Filed under:Philosophy,human rights— cmcallister @ 1:38 pm Tags:China,Democracy,film,freedom,Hong Kong,Jackie Chan,movie,Taiwan Martial arts star Jackie Chan appears to have delivered a verbal sting to freedom lovers everywhere. At an economicconference in China,he proclaimed“I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not. I’m gradually beginning to feel thate Chinese need to be controlled. If we are not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.” This English translation of his speech, has shocked many around the world. ACNReviews article“Jackie Chan Said ‘Chinese Need To BeControlled’, Or Did He?” appeals for more finesse in translating his speech and castigates Westerners for making aninstinctive defence of freedom. We were not present at the meeting, so we are limited to discussing the symbolic value of his speech. I compare Chan’s comments to the fable of The Scorpion and the Frog. As a successful actor in the U.S., JackieChan has travelled on the frog of freedom and democracy. His films are freely shown in democratic countries, but his latestfilmShinjuku Incidenthas been banned in China. Like the scorpion who stings the frog that gave him a safe crossing,Jackie Chan seems to have attacked the principles of democracy and personal freedom. He specifically criticisedTaiwan andHong Kongwhere there have been long struggles for less authoritarian control. Perhaps he was not appealing for theChinese people to be undemocratically “Controlled”, the world he used could have been translated as “Managed”. We wishthat he had appealed only for “self control”, an admirable trait of martial artists like Jackie Chan. This verbal attack reawakened my appreciation of personal freedom, and reminds me to take responsibility for my own life.Comments (0)

14 April, 2009

Journalists and Activists at Risk in Vietnam’s Prisons