The Columnist Manifesto

My first day in Warsaw, we encountered a demonstration by the coals miners, on our way home from the park. Nina explains that the coal miners were a favored class of workers under communism, and now, under capitalism, they are finding their job security under attack.



The riot police waited down the street:



But this is really a post about how cool Nina is. Here she confronts the riot police head on:



I overdramatize, since the police seemed pretty benign (if you ignore their black uniforms and full riot gear), but Nina’s willingness to face down danger to get the shot reminded me of the photographer in The Unbearable Lightness of Being during the Prague Spring. For the photographic fruit of Nina’s effort, click here.

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