Pepper spray, Tasers, beanbags — just a few of the “nonlethal” weapons that injured or killed while increasingly being used as crowd control in 2011.
This is why police agencies that have their heads screwed on straight have switched to the term “less lethal”, implying that they’re still potentially deadly, and should be considered as “we’d kinda actually like to be firing bullets instead, but we’re nice and this is also not Soviet Russia”.
To call these “non-lethal” or “less-than-lethal” implies that you’re basically throwing Beanie Babies at people. Filled with lead shot. Out of a shotgun. For this reason, many departments refuse to issue their officers Tasers, simply because they feel like they would be used way too often and could create a liability. (Even though officers primarily cite budget as the reason they don’t have Tasers here in Blacksburg and Virginia Tech, the existence of a large student population has also played a role in this decision.)
Unfortunately, it seems that many of these departments tasked with handling local branches of the Occupy Movement never got this lesson in non-lethal vs. less-lethal. It’s only a matter of time, I think, until legal action against these offending departments takes place. That, or the Occupy Movement and the general public will figure out that traditional riot police containing such an activity is simply keeping the peace. Use of lethal force, however, may constitute a “police state” or whatever the popular term for it may be. And that, to the average American, who proudly trumpets the values of freedom and democracy, is something worth fighting back against, although not necessarily in a direct confrontation either.
Qamar Hashim is an 8-year-old Iraqi photographer. He tours famous streets to picture Baghdadis with his single camera and is the youngest Iraqi photographer to win several local awards, according to the Iraqi Society Photographic (ISP).
Below, Qamar responds to a series of questions.
- When did you take your first photograph and what did it show?
I do not remember exactly the first picture but I had been mimicking my father since I was 4 or 5 years-old and started to take pictures of the Tigris river, the gulls, birds, old houses and heritage places.
- Why do you think photography is important?
Photography is very important. It documents life and pauses time. We can show the city, life and the people.
- What do you want to show people about Iraq?
I want to say through my pictures that Iraq is precious and Iraqis are very kind. Iraq is peaceful and has a great history.
- How do you feel about the U.S. troops leaving Iraq?
I am afraid of the U.S. soldiers, they destroyed the house my family rented in 2003, when I was a fetus. Thank God my family survived and I am happy now for their departure. I am free and not afraid of their tanks.
- What do you want to be when you finish school?
I like to act and I would like to be a child-activist.
- Which is your favorite photo you have taken and why?
My favorite picture is of a man sleeping who sells books at al-Mutanabi street. Also a picture of a bee on a rose, I ran a lot to follow the bee until I got this picture.
- Are there any photographers you look up to?
There a lot of good photographers and I learned from them (Adel Qassim, Fouad Shakir, Kareem al-Ba’aj, and Hameed Majeed).
- Are there any photos you wish to take but haven’t been able to yet?
The dangerous pictures like fire, blasts, other incidents but I have been sent off the site. They say I am a child. Also I wish to get a picture of the triangle of migrant birds.
- What does the future of Iraq look like?
I see a flourishing future for Iraq especially when my family owns a house. I love Iraq, my home, and it is more precious than anything else.
My life is worthless now.
#PartyLikeAJournalist: Journalists in Rixos hotel in Tripoli work in the hallway. The hotel is still under the control of Gaddhafi loyalist forces. Dozens of journalists remain inside, unable to leave. Photo Credit: Dario Lopez-Mills/AP via the LA Times
There’s been a lot of photos of journalists in Libya. And in a disturbing number of them, they’re not wearing a single scrap of body armor. It’s good to see that they’ve come to their senses.
The Beacon Theater reminds me a lot of the Jefferson in Charlottesville. However, Hopewell cannot get the funds together to restore it to what it needs to be. Kinda sad, but realistically, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Fireworks over Colonial Heights on the 5th were pretty lackluster. There really isn’t anywhere photogenic to shoot from, considering how low and small they were, and the suburban sprawl in the area.
I wish I had gotten a photo in the 20 mph whiteout conditions I had to drive through on July 4th on my way to canceled fireworks in Colonial Heights
More Petersburg Generals action, this time against the Martinsville Mustangs. Led by 3 at one point, and then lost 5-7.
Sorry I haven’t been posting regularly, there’s neither wireless or an available hardline connection for me at work, so all my Internet use is on a dinosaur Dell at my desk. This makes it a supreme pain in the ass to post regularly at work. Never fear, I have tomorrow off and have several updates ready to post.
Does anyone know if there’s a tumblr script that can read exif? Would make captioning immensely easier and less time consuming.
A new take on firespinning photos. Traditionally, people want to get low to the ground, partially I think due to an instinct to use the ground as support. I got two stories up and shot downwards.
