Stories about Ethnicity & Race from August, 2009
Israel: For the Love of Food
With the Jewish High Holidays approaching, food seems to be on everyone's minds. The Jewish blogosphere is ripe with sumptuous tidbits and contemplations about the cultural implications of food, food and identity, and the history and culture of our favorite culinary delights.
Caucasus: Peace Corps blogs on Twitter
With most bloggers located in the capitals of the three South Caucasus republics, U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) have been indispensible in posting entries from the regions of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. However, with old PCVs being replaced by new ones when their service ends, it's often been difficult to...
Israel: Social Media Advances Jewish Identity
How can social media enhance identity? eJewishPhilanthropy reports: “For a people who have fretted over a loss of identity for generation after generation… innovations like Twitter and Facebook are nothing less than, dare we say, a godsend.”
Hungary: St. Stephen
Hungarian Spectrum writes: “Because there are so many references to St. Stephen nowadays in Hungary I thought I ought to write a post on what ‘Hungary’ looked liked in his days.”
Azerbaijan: Washington DC protest for detained activist bloggers (updated)
With detained video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli now facing an additional charge in their native Azerbaijan, The Collegian says that support for the two imprisoned youth activists yesterday transcended the digital world and spilled out thousands of miles away onto the streets of Washington DC.
India: We Are Also Indians
Partha Pratim writes an open letter to fellow Indians venting frustrations that the people of the seven states in the north-eastern part of India and their issues are often ignored and overlooked by the majority Indians.
China: Are Tibetan Bloggers Being Silenced?
Quite alarming to report that all of the most popular Tibetan language blog hosting sites (except one) have been inaccessible for almost three weeks now. Although it is fairly common practice for Tibetan language blog hosting sites to be taken down (sometimes for “maintenance”) at times deemed sensitive by the...
Russia: Nikita Mikhalkov's '12’
Poemless writes about Nikita Mikhalkov's 12, a Russian re-make of Twelve Angry Men.
Poland: Microsoft's Photoshopped Ad
Eternal Remont writes about Microsoft's photoshopped Polish ad, in which a black man's head of the original ad was replaced with a white man's head.
Slovakia, Hungary: More on the Tensions
Michal Hudec of Blogactiv.eu writes about the Slovak-Hungarian tensions.
Hungary: Update on Hungarian Guard
Hungarian Spectrum posts an update on the Hungarian Guard (more on it, in an earlier GV post by Marietta Le).
Poland: More on “Lemko Land”
Raf Uzar travels “down south to deepest, darkest Lemko Land.”
Armenia: Homophobia turns deadly
Even if homosexuality was decriminalized in Armenia in 2002, society remains largely intolerant and traditional in its values. With blogs providing LGBT activists with a medium through which to voice their concerns, such fears can now be highlighted more openly than before.
Armenia: Ultra-nationalist homophobic death threat
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on a death threat made against a prominent LGBT writer by an ultra-nationalist group in Armenia. The blog says that this latest development in what still remains a traditionally homophobic society marks a new move to create internal enemies and hopes that law enforcement agencies will...
Azerbaijan: Eurovision scandal continues
Despite attempts by the authorities to downplay the incident, news that the names and addresses of 43 citizens who voted for the Armenian entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest had been obtained by police in Azerbaijan continues to send out shock waves through the Internet.
Hungary, Slovakia: Newest Tensions
Hungarian Spectrum (here and here) and The Reference Frame report and comment on the Slovak-Hungarian tensions.
Caribbean: “Gold Rush” in Berlin
If there was doubt in anyone's mind that Jamaica can lay claim to having the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt's 19:19 win in the 200m final must have removed any skepticism. Once again, regional bloggers celebrate with their Jamaican counterparts.
Guyana: Curtains for PNC?
Guyanese blogger Imran Khan wonders whether the infighting over the PNC political party's leadership will signal “the complete and utter destruction of the party itself.”
Bosnia & Herzegovina: The Mostar Cross Controversy
Bosnia Blog writes about the controversy caused by the cross erected in Mostar in 2000.
India: Religious Profiling
Sidhusaaheb writes about a case of religious profiling he faced while staying in a hotel in Indore of Madhya Pradesh state in India: “they had specific instructions to inform the police, whenever a Sikh, Muslim or Tamil came to stay.”
Azerbaijan: Nationalism
The Poor Mouth comments on the latest scandal surrounding Armenia and Azerbaijan in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. The blog says that the interrogation of at least one Azeri who voted for the Armenian entry reminds it why nationalism should be loathed.
