Portas e Travessas.sa

a Cab Stand on Madison Square in New York. The picture was taken in 1900. It amazes me the elegance and peacefulness captured in the scene. Yes, I do long for the old days, where life happened at a slower pace.

December 13, 2013

Ukraine Protests

Protests continued today in Kiev after President Viktor Yanukovych decided not to sign a pact with the European Union. Yanukovych's meeting with opposition leaders today yielded no real progress on the issues that have brought massive demonstrations to the country for the last three weeks. -- Lloyd Young ( 30 photos total )

A Ukrainian protester waves a European flag during a pro-European protest rally on Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 8. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian anti-government protesters demanded that President Viktor Yanukovych step down for his decision to back away from an association agreement with the European Union, a decision that has sparked a political crisis. Braving freezing temperatures, the demonstrators held pro-EU placards and sang the national hymn in Kiev's Independence Square. (Anatoly Maltsev/EPA)

Protesters face riot police near the Presidential office building in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 9, where thousands of demonstrators continued to demand the Ukrainian government's resignation. The Ukrainian opposition said that it would defend its encampment on Kiev's Independence Square after reports that the Interior Ministry was sending extra troops to the capital. World heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, whose Udar Party (Punch) is the smaller opposition faction in parliament, called supporters to come to the square. The Interior Ministry said that protesters risked criminal persecution if they broke the law. (Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA) #

Riot police faces protesters near the Presidential office building in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 9. (Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA) #

A protester breaks apart a statue of Lenin at a monument in his honor after it was pulled down during a mass rally called "The March of a Million" in Kiev's Independence Square on Dec. 8. Ukrainians protesting against the government's rejection of a key pact with the European Union today toppled the statue of Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin in central Kiev, police said. (Anatoli Boiko/AFP/Getty Images) #

A protester holds a stick over a drum bearing the printed portrait of Ukraine's President as he takes part in an opposition protest against the current Ukrainian government in the western Ukrainain city of Lviv on Dec. 6. Protesters have since Dec. 1 controlled Kiev's main Independence Square in response to Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to bow to Russian pressure and reject a historic deal with the European Union that would have pulled Ukraine out of Moscow's orbit for the first time. Yanukovych held unannounced talks in Russia on Dec. 6 with Vladimir Putin on a new strategic partnership treaty with Moscow, a move that risks further galvanizing mass pro-Western demonstrations against his rule. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/Getty Images) #

Local resident Mikhail Demchenko watches a TV broadcast showing Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivering his annual state of the nation address in the village of Verkhniaya Biryusa in Taiga area, 84 km (52 miles) south of Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, on Dec. 12. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters) #

Arseny Yatsenyuk (L), a Ukrainian opposition leader, gestures as he speaks to the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Volodymyr Rybak in parliament, in Kiev on Dec. 3. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) #

An pro-European protesters carry a firewood during another day of protest at Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 10. (Anatoly Maltsev/EPA) #

Pro-European integration protestors gather at a barricade as people walk past a check point in central Kiev, on Dec. 13. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he would propose an amnesty for those detained at recent mass street protests, a key demand of opposition leaders. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) #

Protesters practice tactics to defend themselves from possible police scuffles during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in central Kiev, on Dec. 8. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) #

A Ukrainian woman, a pro-European Union activist, sits during the protest in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 11. Police in Ukraine pulled back as protesters claimed victory after an overnight face-off in which authorities removed some barricades and tents and scuffled with demonstrators occupying Kiev's main square. (Sergei Chuzavkov/Associated Press) #

Pro-European Union activists shout toward a bus carrying riot police outside Kiev's City Hall, Ukraine, on Dec. 11. (Sergei Chuzavkov/Associated Press) #

A pro-EU Ukrainian protester waving his national flag shouts slogans behind riot policemen standing guard in Independence Square in Kiev on Dec. 9. Pro-EU Ukrainian demonstrators kept up their protest against President Viktor Yanukovych as the authorities sent internal troops and riot police into central Kiev in an increasingly tense showdown. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

A Ukrainian protester in a homemade protection equipment as his friend has a rest on the Mikhaylivska Square in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, on Nov. 31. Supporters of Euro integration continue their protests in the capital. Riot police dispersed demonstrators with tear gas and truncheons from Independence Square in a pre-dawn action. Protestors re-grouped early in the day, with around 1,000 converging on St. Michael's Cathedral. (Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA) #

Pro-European integration protestors wave flags in Independence Square in Kiev, on Dec. 12. (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters) #

Pro-European integration protesters take part in a rally in Independence Square in Kiev on Dec. 11. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters) #

A teenager waves a national flag over a crowd of Pro-European Union activists gathered during a rally in the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 8. Over 200,000 angry Ukrainians occupied a central Kiev square to denounce President Viktor Yanukovychís decision to turn away from Europe and align this ex-Soviet republic with Russia, as massive protests continued for a third week. (Sergei Grits/Associated Press) #

People supporting an EU integration attend a rally at Independence Square in Kiev on Dec. 4. Ukraine's government faced a tightening blockade of key buildings by protesters in the capital Kiev amid a crisis over its rejection of closer ties with the European Union that has piled pressure on the creaking economy. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) #

A man plays a trumpet as he call protesters to be ready for police attack at Kiev's City Hall on Dec. 10. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will hold emergency talks in Ukraine on Dec. 10, amid growing international concern at the political crisis which has pitted the security forces against pro-EU demonstrators. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

Anti-government protesters sleep on the floor of the occupied Kiev City Hall on Dec. 7, in Kiev, Ukraine. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) #

A priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church celebrates mass in a tent church on Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine on Dec. 12. (Zurab Kurtsikidze/EPA) #

A protestor waves the Ukrainian National flag during a mass demonstration on Independent Square in Kiev, Ukraine on Dec. 2. (Anatoly Maltsev/EPA) #

A man swings a chain as protesters try to break through police lines near the presidential administration building during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev on Dec. 3. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) #

A Pro-European Union activist holds a rose, a symbol of revolution and a small poster reading "Do not to anger Maidan (Independence Square )!" during a rally in the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine on Dec. 11. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press) #

Pro-European Union activists gather around a huge poster of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, bottom, during a rally in the Independence Square in KIev, Ukraine on Dec. 8. (Sergei Grits/Associated Press) #

Protesters clash with police outside the presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 1. (Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press) #

Security forces early Wednesday stormed the central plaza in Kiev where protesters have been rallying against the government of President Viktor F. Yanukovich. Protesters scuffled with riot police officers at Independence Square early on Dec. 11. (Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times) #

Pro-European integration protestors sing during a rally at Independence Square in Kiev, Dec. 13. (Marko Djurica/Reuters) #

Young protesters wait at the barricade on Independence Square in Kiev on Dec. 13. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images) #

Students wave flags of the European Union and Ukraine as they shout slogans during a rally of the opposition in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Dec. 5. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/Getty Images) #