{"id":14201,"date":"2022-12-17T08:49:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-17T08:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/?p=14201"},"modified":"2022-12-14T10:56:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T10:56:32","slug":"saturday-17th-december-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/?p=14201","title":{"rendered":"Saturday 17th December 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although I&#8217;ve been photographing protests in London for many years it was only after I left a full-time teaching job in 2000 that I was really able to photograph more than the occasional event, and only after I began to use a digital SLR camera at the end of 2002 that pictures from them appeared regularly in My London Diary. For a couple of years after that I was still using both film and digital, largely because I only had one Nikon lens and it was a few years before I got a real wide-angle for digital, but the on-line posts were almost entirely from the digital images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0676.jpg\" alt=\"Saturday 17th December 2011\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the huge growth in internet use as people organising protests more and more began to put details on their web sites, use e-mail and Facebook meant that with a few hours searching each week I was able to find more and more events to photograph. Before it had only been easy to find out about the protests organised by groups I was a member of and major national organisations. Some I found from fly-posted notices in parts of London, and others from a little intelligent guesswork based on events in the news, anniversaries and other significant dates. And back then and still now, if I&#8217;m in London I&#8217;ll take a look at places like Trafalgar Square, Downing Street, Parliament Square and find things I had now prior knowledge of taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0233.jpg\" alt=\"Saturday 17th December 2011\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By 2011 there was a great deal of information on-line and I think I took the train to London with a list of all the events I managed to cover that day, three by UK Uncut, Kurds and Congolese protesting at Downing<br>St, Iraqis, Syrians and supporters of Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning at the US Embassy, and Egyptians at their Embassy. I sent pictures on each to Demotix (no longer with us) along with a story and later wrote a total of nine posts on My London Diary, possibly a record for any single day for me &#8211; peak protest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0892.jpg\" alt=\"Saturday 17th December 2011\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With so many protests I&#8217;m not going to write much about any of them today &#8211; but you can click any of the links to read the roughly 2700 words I wrote about the nine events in 2011. All of the pictures in this post are from Saturday 17th December 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UK Uncut Santa Calls on Dave Hartnett &#8211; HMRC, Parliament St<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0047.jpg\" alt=\"Saturday 17th December 2011\" width=\"450\" height=\"291\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UK Uncut brought a Christmas present to Dave Hartnett, the UK&#8217;s top tax man, shortly to retire with a massive pension despite a huge series of blunders. And he had also let major companies off paying huge amounts of tax they owed &#8211; including \u00a34.75 billion for Vodaphone and around \u00a38 million for Goldman Sachs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#hmrc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">UK Uncut Santa Calls on Dave Hartnett<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UK Uncut Xmas Protest At Topshop &#8211; Oxford St<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0272.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A group from UK Uncut protested briefly inside the Oxford Circus Topshop at the failure of Arcadia group to pay UK tax on its UK earnings, continuing their protest with others on the pavement outside until cleared away by police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#topshop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">UK Uncut Xmas Protest At Topshop<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UK Uncut Xmas Protest At Vodaphone &#8211; Oxford St<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0333.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UK Uncut moved to Vodaphone to protest about their dodging of UK tax. Police kept them a few yards from the shop but otherwise did not interfere with the peaceful demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#vodaphone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">UK Uncut Xmas Protest At Vodaphone<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kurds Call For A Stop To Syrian Massacres &#8211; Downing St, Whitehall,<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0859-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Syrian Kurdish community protested at Downing St as massacres continue in Syria, calling for Britain to help to stop them. They want freedom for Syria and also for Kurds in Syria in a federation to replace the Assad regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#kurds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kurds Call For A Stop To Syrian Massacres<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Congolese Election Protests Continue &#8211; Downing St, Whitehall<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0637.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congolese continued their protests in London against the election fraud, rapes and massacres and called on the British government to withdraw its support from the immoral regime of President Kabila responsible for the atrocities and voted out by the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#congolese\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Congolese Protests Continue<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Iraqis and Syrians Protest At US Embassy &#8211; Grosvenor Square<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0722.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iraqis met to celebrate their defeat of the occupation on the day US troops left Iraq, and called for the mercenaries to go too, as well as for proper coverage of Iraq by the BBC. They were joined by Syrian supporters of President Bashar al-Assad, at the embassy to demand no US intervention in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#iraq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Iraqis and Syrians Protest At US Embassy<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bradley Manning Birthday Demo &#8211; US Embassy, Grosvenor Square<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d1000.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Supporters of Bradley Manning (now Chelsea Manning) held a vigil at the US Embassy on Saturday afternoon, his 24th birthday, and on the second day of his pre-trail hearing, calling him an American Peace Hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#bradley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Bradley Manning Birthday Demo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Egyptians Protest Against Attacks on Protesters &#8211; Egyptian Embassy, Mayfair<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/17\/20111217-d0850.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">News of the deaths and injuries in Cairo as armed forces attacked protesters prompted Egyptians to protest at the London Embassy, calling for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to halt the attacks and hand over power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mylondondiary.co.uk\/2011\/12\/dec.htm#egyptians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Egyptians Protest At Embassy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although I&#8217;ve been photographing protests in London for many years it was only after I left a full-time teaching job in 2000 that I was really able to photograph more than the occasional event, and only after I began to use a digital SLR camera at the end of 2002 that pictures from them appeared &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/?p=14201\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Saturday 17th December 2011<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[10656,3275,3276,10652,10649,10648,10643,1044,10646,3271,10650,3262,255,17,3268,2056,83,628,10655,10653,16,10654,10651,4023,10647,3263,3185,2686,3265],"class_list":["post-14201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-own-work","category-political-issues","tag-american-peace-hero","tag-bradley-manning","tag-chelsea-manning","tag-congolese-election-protests","tag-corporate-tax","tag-dave-hartnett","tag-digital-photography","tag-egyptian-embassy","tag-egyptians","tag-election-fraud","tag-goldman-sachs","tag-hmrc","tag-kurds","tag-london","tag-massacres","tag-oxford-st","tag-peter-marshall","tag-police","tag-president-bashar-al-assad","tag-president-kabila","tag-protest","tag-rapes","tag-syrian-massacres","tag-syrians","tag-tax-blunders","tag-topshop","tag-uk-uncut","tag-us-embassy","tag-vodaphone"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14201"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14203,"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14201\/revisions\/14203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-photo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}