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Thinking Upstream 
Comment from a lecturer in Sarawak. Opinions in this blog are mine only.
6 July, 2009
Testimonies of The Dire Human Rights Situation in Cuba 
Filed under:human rights— cmcallister @ 12:23 amTags:Cuba,freedom,human rights,Journalist  According to various testimonies in June, 2009, the human rights situation in Cuba continues to deteriorate. TheCommitteeto Protect Journalists urged European leadersto ensure that Cuba releases imprisoned journalists and permits freedom of expression and information. The journalists live in inhumane life-threatening conditions, and no international humanitarianorganizations have been permitted to visit. Recent prisoners includeAlbert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernández, director of thenews agency Habana Press. In “Alarming Statistics of Human Rights Violations in First Half of 2009“, democracy activistsin Cuba report “over 500 political arrests, at least 26 trials and prison sentences of peaceful opposition activists and a highprison mortality rate”. The daughter of one prisoner, Yenysel Díaz Sánchez, pleas for his releasefrom the Castro gulag.Former prisoner of conscience José Gabriel Ramón Castillotestified before the UN Human Rights Council, appealing for ustice for the thousands of Cubans who have been repressed and tortured.
This blog post is based on recent online sources as indicated by the hyperlinks.
 Comments (0) 
26 June, 2009
Thinking Upstream About Ideas and Human Rights 
Filed under:human rights— cmcallister @ 1:15 amTags:Blogger ,freedom,human rights
 
,Internet,Journalist  This blog
Thinking Upstream
, about ideas and human rights, is based on online news of some of the bloggers andournalists who remain unjustly imprisoned in several countries. As one blogger among many, I hope to draw attention tothe people mentioned, urging that we each seek peaceful ways to secure their freedom. They have been hurt byauthoritarianism and its cruel repression, and by those who execute that repression or gain from it. I have no experience of the countries mentioned, but am convinced of the accuracy of the news, by the variety of reputable publications, to which Irefer in the hyper-links of my posts. I blog about human rights because: all freedoms and rights are fragile, and at risk of being lost, if we are even a little careless.
Thinking Upstream
is now aPDF file on Scribd.comfor easy offline reading,even in places where Friendster is blocked. I usedGoogle Translateto machine-translate it into various languages, also inPDF format on Scribd.com.
Thinking Upstream
is at:http://cmcallister.blog.friendster.com/. Your comments are welcome.Comments (0) 
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 Political
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