· August, 2010

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from August, 2010

Trinidad & Tobago: Not Yet

  31 August 2010

On the occasion of Trinidad and Tobago's anniversary of independence, Plain Talk says: “Forty eight years ago we may have left ‘Massa’, but we kept the shackles of our minds firmly intact. Looked at honestly, we are no where near independence yet.”

India: A Message To Pastor Jones

  29 August 2010

Raja Basu from New Delhi is shocked by the heinous plan of Pastor Terry Jones to burn The Quran to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 incident. The blogger has this message to the Pastor: “by instigating people to burn The Holy Quran, you have actually brought yourself down...

South Asia: Bloggers On The ‘Ground Zero Mosque’

  29 August 2010

The recent debate on the planned Islamic Center/Mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, USA has been reverberated in many blogospheres around the world. In this post we will look at snippets of some interesting conversations on this issue by a number of South Asian bloggers.

Russia: Mari Paganism and Charges of “Extremism”

  28 August 2010

OpenDemocracy.net reports: “In their remote forest republic 400 miles east of the Moscow, the pagan Mari people are once again being harassed by the authorities. […] Ethnically kin to the Finns and Hungarians, their profoundly ecological religious worldview challenges Russian-led designs on their republic’s natural resources.”

Ukraine: Anthem in 14 Languages

  28 August 2010

Ukraine's national anthem performed in 14 languages (Ukrainian, Greek, Tatar, Gagauz, Polish, Romanian, Georgian, Yiddish, Romani, Russian, Hungarian, Belarusian, Armenian, Azerbaijani) – at Ukrainiana.

East Timor: (Un)Dignified Sculptures of Women in Shangai World Expo 2010

  26 August 2010

In response to recent statements by a Timorese deputy, who reportedly implied that the statues of naked women at the Timor Leste Pavillion in Shanghai World Expo 2010 are not appropriate, João Paulo Esperança critically wonders [pt] if East Timorese women would be considered deprived of dignity in the past, when they...

Russia: “Where's Your Rabbi?”

RuNet Echo  26 August 2010

Oleg Klimov posts two photos from Birobidzhan in Russia's Jewish Autonomous Region – and shares this short conversation (RUS) with a guard at the local synagogue: “‘Where's your rabbi?’ – ‘He left for Israel a long time ago…'”

Azerbaijan: Lilit

  26 August 2010

Gulara Azimzadeh's blog [AZ/EN/RU] reflects on a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijani youth at an event in Georgia. In particular, she writes, although nationalists and a rhetoric of hatred exists on both sides, there are so many similarities between the two nations still locked in bitter conflict over the disputed...

Ghana: Is Mario Balotelli Italian or Ghanaian?

  25 August 2010

Is Mario Balotelli Ghanaian or Italian? That's the question that has created a heated debate online. Mario Barwuah Balotelli is a football striker playing for Manchester City and Italian national team. He was born to Ghanaian immigrants in Italy.

India: Onathallu Festival

  24 August 2010

Maddy writes about the Onathallu or Kayyankali festival which is celebrated by the Nairs of Pallassana Desham in the Chittur Thaluk in Palakkad district, in the southernmost state of Kerala, India.

Azerbaijan: Bloqosfer 2010

  24 August 2010

A site for Bloqosfer 2010 [AZ] to be held in Nabron, Azerbaijan, on 10-12 September has been launched at http://www.bloqosfer.com/2010. The hashtag #bloqosfer10 is used on Twitter.

Russia: More Bloggers Join Discussion on Russian Nationalism

RuNet Echo  23 August 2010

Paul Goble mentions [EN] the article of Valery Solovey on nazdem.info that predicts [RUS] the rise of new type of Russian nationalism tied to democratic ideas. LJ user ammosov says [RUS] that “Russians should re-invent themselves,” which will result in forming several Russian nations in different parts of the country.

France: Learn More about the Itinerant Community

  21 August 2010

Around the hot topic of the “gens du voyage” in France – the itinerant community – Léa Charles from suite101.fr, gives a few definitions to sport out any confusion; Les actualités du droit outlines the details of the law as they ought to be applied on this issue, Yann Savidan interviews...