Stories about Ethnicity & Race from September, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Six Weeks
“It looks to me as if Obama peaked too early, and that America is reassessing him…of course a lot can happen in six weeks”: Notes from Port of Spain is afraid he might be staring down the barrel of the US electorate choosing McCain/Palin.
Poland: Poles return home from Britain
Polandian discusses how and why a growing number of Poles choose to return home from Britain to Poland.
Estonia: Russians calling for autonomy
Eternal Remont comments on a story in Vesti Dnya, reporting the birth of an organisation calling for territorial autonomy of ehtnic Russians in Estonia.
Kuwait and Ramadan
It has been a busy Ramadan in Kuwait, with the collapse of the Stock Exchange, social activities and artistic creativity. Abdullatif Al Omar digs into Kuwaiti blogs to bring us the latest.
The Balkans: Subotica Mosque; Balkan Muslims
Kakanien Revisited writes about the new mosque of Subotica, the first one in Serbia's Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, “built with funds from Novi Pazar […] and Turkey.” The 8th Circle jots down notes on the Balkan Muslims from a recent Reuters piece.
Pakistan: The sectarianism menace
Ambreen Kazmi writes in Chowrangi: “In Pakistan today there is discontent, envy, hatred and animosity and all uncharitableness. All these have resulted in economic down fall and social chaos.”
China: Full Transcript of Leaving Fear Behind
Woser posted the full transcript of an underground documentary, Leaving Fear Behind, produced by Tibetan.
India: Attacks on Christians
Kim writes in Desicritics on the recent communal violence in Mangalore and argues that the incident was not given proper coverage.
Russia: “Extreme and Absurd, Violence and Art”
Moscow Through Brown Eyes lists recent “extremist actions” in Russia, writes about one of the possible reasons for the ongoing South Park scandal, and posts a video of a “provocative performance” by art group “Voina”: “As a present to well-known xenophobic and homophobic Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, the artists acted out...
Turkey: “Armenian Istanbul”
Sundry Translations and Other Tangentialia translates Mark Grigorian's LJ entries (RUS – here, here, here) on Istanbul's Armenian dimension.
South Ossetia: A Photojournalist's Musings On the War
Firsthand reports from the conflict zone in the Caucasus continue to appear here and there in the Russophone blogosphere. On Sept. 8, one month since the beginning of the war in South Ossetia and Georgia, Russian photojournalist Oleg Klimov posted his musings on what the war looks like and what it smells like, on the media and propaganda, and on what seems like the universal nature of wartime looting.
Egypt: A Racist Video Game
Muslim Massacre is a video game that has been released lately, where gamers have to use all sorts of weapons to kill as many Muslims and Muslim figures as they can, including ALLAH Almighty. Egyptian bloggers react.
Estonia: Support of the EU equals Estonian part of the people
Babel Tallinn reports about a survey that gives 84% support to the EU among the total Estonian suffrage – coincidentally the same percentage of citizens who are Estonian by ethnicity.
Russia: Personal Responsibility
Estonian blogger Flasher T of AnTyx writes this in response to a post about Russia by the Economist's Edward Lucas: “I am disappointed in Edward Lucas for perpetuating this intellectual farce. They would have us believe that all the evil and injustice of Russia is down to the Chekists, or...
Russia: Thoughts on Magomed Yevloev's Murder
Window on Eurasia discusses a recent piece on Magomed Yevloev's murder: “Moreover, the West […] is too focused on talking to Moscow ‘about the interpretation of the third paragraph of the fourth point of ht Medvedev-Sarkozy plan’ to be concerned with such ‘details’ as a political murder, ‘lest it put...
Ukraine: Museums and Embroidery
MoldovAnn visits a few folk arts museums and tries her hand at Ukrainian traditional embroidery.
Serbia: Radical Party
A Fistful of Euros writes about Serbia’s Radical Party, which seems to be “breaking up”: “What makes the Radicals different from, say, “Attack” in Bulgaria or Vadim Tudor’s Greater Romania Party is Serbia’s unhappy recent history. While “Attack” and such may have a lot of members who fantasize wistfully about...
Japan: Street View's Missing Streets
The launch early last month of Google's Street View service in major Japanese cities brought with it considerable controversy and debate among Internet users. While that debate has since quieted down, another discussion has emerged in its wake, centered on a curious property of the new service that, as of yet, remains unexplained by the company that created it.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Outcome of Hasan Nuhanović's Case
Café Turco writes about the outcome of Hasan Nuhanović's lawsuit against the Dutch state: “We are here upon a scandalous case of the spirit of justice being distorted. The victims cannot ask the UN for responsibilities, because the UN has immunity, but the dutch state cannot be considered responsible because...
Sympathy and Support for Qatari student killed in the UK
A 16-year-old Qatari student visiting Britain died as a result of head injuries sustained when he was attacked by local youth. Mohamed Al-Majed was in Hastings, East Sussex, attending an English language course. The circumstances of the death are still under investigation but the police “are treating his death as a murder inquiry, and are investigating it as racially motivated at this time.” Reactions out of Qatar have been strong.
Bermuda: Race Relations
Bermuda's FreshieBlog examines the difference between racial equity and good race relations.