Posts
Another protest this week on Sunday was held near Nichols Fountain on the Plaza against Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad and his government. People from the mideast living in Kansas City have done a good job of holding solidarity protests alongside the overthrow of mid-eastern dictators over the past year.
2-26-12
On Sunday afternoon at Mill Creek Park on the Plaza in Kansas City, a rally was organized encouraging the protesters in Syria currently being fired upon by government forces of Bashar al-Assad.
Press releases were sent to the local KC news stations, but none showed up, backing up my own ongoing question of “what exactly would ya say the news stations do?”
Following up on the revolution in Egypt that resulted in a couple of photoblog postings on my part covering rallies here in Kansas City (One and Two), there is now a great deal of protesting and unrest in Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya, enough to bring out the local Libyan community and broader Arab American community in Kansas City for a rally at Mill Creek Park on the Plaza on Saturday. I met a man on Saturday who was actually the focal point in one of my Egypt photos who I learned was imprisoned by Gaddafi for nearly twenty years. The situation in Libya is not receiving the amount of press it should due to the tight reins Gaddafi’s regime keeps on journalists and the news media in Libya.
There aren’t a lot of ways to get information in and out of the country except through Internet social networking, and Gaddafi has been busy shutting off the Internet across Libya during the protests and clashes with Libyan citizenry. And I’m told a great deal of the world remains unaware of the killings of dozens or hundreds of protesters in Libya in recent days by Gaddafi’s military forces. There were some demonstrators present at this rally here in Kansas City living in exile from Libya who cannot return and see close family while Gaddafi is in power, so it is not hard to understand why Libyans would love to see Gaddafi gone.
1) Libyan and American flags flying on the Plaza
2) Gaddafi Sux
3) Libya's Turn - Fisheye Lens photo
4) Mubarak Awaiting Gaddafi
5) Streetscape on The Plaza during the rally.
6) Black and White with the Fisheye lens.
7) Holding a child.
8) Gaddafi's Atrocities - and this list only had room to cover the early part of his career as dictator.
On Sunday afternoon (Feb. 6, 2011) from 2 to 4 pm another large rally was held at Mill Creek Park on the Plaza for Egypt and against the Hosni Mubarak presidency currently under protest back in Egypt. This demonstration in Kansas City is the second in one week as the political situation in Egypt worsens. Those in attendance were primarily Egyptian Americans and other members of the Arab American community in KC.
1) Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 16-35 L II lens at 16mm, f/9.0, ISO 160, 1/160 sec.
2) Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100-400 L IS lens at 275 mm, f/9.0, ISO 160, 1/160 sec.
3) Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100-400 L IS lens at 190 mm, f/13, ISO 250, 1/50 sec.
4) Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100-400 L IS lens at 100 mm (cropped), ISO 250, f/8.0, 1/100 sec.
5) Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 15 mm Fisheye lens, ISO 250, f/8.0, 1/100 sec.
6) Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 15 mm Fisheye lens at ISO 500, f/8.0, 1/160 sec.
7) Canon 5D original version with Canon EF 85 mm prime lens (cropped) at ISO 50, f/1.8, 1/1600 sec.
8) Canon 5D original version with Canon EF 85 mm prime lens at ISO 50, f/4.5, 1/160 sec.
CLICK HERE for my posting from last week on this subject, if you missed it.
A large group of demonstrators came to the Nichols Fountain area on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday afternoon at 4 PM to demonstrate against the Hosni Mubarak regime in Egypt currently being protested in various forms back in Egypt itself. I am informed many of the group were Egyptian Americans, with good attendance by many other Arab Americans in general as well. As of drafting this post I’ve also heard that Internet access is widely shut down in Egypt at present. The demonstration and protest of Mubarak was organized by the Muslim American Society of KC with support from groups such as Citizens for Justice in the Middle East.
Here are seven photos from the event on the afternoon of Saturday January 29th, 2011. Because I used three different lenses for these seven photos I’m including pertinent lens info underneath each photo, shot with my Canon 5D Mark II camera. A tip of the hat to Heycameraman on twitter for informing me this demonstration/protest was taking place, serving as reminder to check my Facebook Events listings more often.
Demonstrations for Egypt #1, Canon EF 16-35 L II f/2.8 Lens at 16 mm
Demonstrations for Egypt #2, Canon EF 16-35 L II f/2.8 Lens at 16 mm
Demonstrations for Egypt #3, Canon EF 100-400 L f/4.5-5.6 IS Lens at 330 mm
Demonstrations for Egypt #4, Canon EF 100-400 L f/4.5-5.6 IS Lens at 285 mm
Demonstrations for Egypt #5, Canon EF 16-35 L II f/2.8 Lens at 16 mm
Demonstrations for Egypt #6, Canon EF 85 mm prime lens at f/1.8
Demonstrations for Egypt #7, Canon EF 85 mm prime lens at f/1.8
On Tuesday evening (07/13/10) out in south Overland Park, Kris Kobach, the UMKC law professor who helped draft Arizona SB 1070 appeared for a speaking engagement with Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaiobefore a supportive crowd. On the sidewalk out front, a large counter-demonstration was held in opposition to the Arizona law and the impetus to enact similar laws in Missouri, Kansas, and other states. There were some familiar faces as I photo-documented the counter-protest, as the KS/MO Dream Alliance helped organize the demonstration. I have met with them on the Plaza in KCMO two or three times in the past for photography of their demonstrations in favor of the Dream Act – which will help ensure a path to citizenship for the now-adult children of undocumented residents who find themselves also technically ”undocumented” despite having lived their childhood and formative years as Americans, geographically and culturally. It was unfortunate that later on in the evening, after I had left, there turned out to be a bomb scare, though luckily it was just an unattended briefcase. Below are several photos from the demonstration in front of the Ritz Charles meeting facility in Overland Park, Kansas where the Kobach/Arpaio event took place.
