Kit O'Connell

A gonzo journalist from Austin, Texas and Staff Writer for MintPress News, Kit O'Connell's writing has also appeared at Truthout, the Texas Observer, and The Establishment.

‘The Wild West Of Money In Politics’: Dakota Access Pipeline Builder Spends Millions To Influence Elections

Energy Transfer Partners’ PAC spent over $869,000 in the 2014 and 2016 federal election cycles, but CEO Kelcy Warren has spent far more influencing politics at the state level in Texas.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners who's PAC has helped bankroll campaigns of some of America's most fervent climate change deniers.

AUSTIN, Texas --- The corporation behind the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline also operates its own political action committee that has a record of donating to the campaigns of candidates who support the company’s pro-corporate, pro-fossil fuels agenda in Congress. However, the political war chest of the Energy Transfer Partners PAC

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Amid Opioid Overdose Epidemic, DEA Wants To Ban A Popular Plant-Based Treatment For Addiction

‘When I found kratom, it was kind of like a miracle,’ one user told MintPress News of the herbal remedy that helped relieve chronic pain and depression caused by a severe back injury.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Green Bali Kratom powder is displayed next to it's packaging. Kratom, which is widely available in gas stations and other shops, is set to be banned by the DEA.

The Drug Enforcement Administration appears set to schedule kratom, a plant used in traditional medicine in Southeast Asia that has gained popularity in the United States as a chronic pain management tool and a way to kick opiate addiction. On Aug. 31, the DEA announced the impending kratom ban, due to take effect on Sept. 30. At that time,

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Boycott, But Then What? CodePink Wants You To Build A New, Local Peace Economy

CodePink’s Local Peace Economy initiative encourages ‘divesting from the values that support the extractive system we live in and building and growing the values that create regeneration.’

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Members of CodePink stand behind Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2009, prior to his testifying before the Congressional Oversight Panel hearing on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

AUSTIN, Texas --- Boycotts are a powerful tool in the arsenals of those seeking justice and a better world. And while financial divestment from corporations can successfully pressure them to change their most harmful practices, divestment represents just the beginning of the long, difficult work of building a new, alternate economy that puts

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‘WikiLeaks Did Not Disclose “Gays” To The Saudi Govt’: Whistleblower Site Fires Back Against Media Attacks

‘We expect many more recycled attacks like AP’s today as our leaks continue,’ WikiLeaks tweeted, suggesting the U.S. mainstream media wants to repair its relationship with Hillary Clinton ahead of the election.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
A figure depicts Julian Assange on a cross on top of a supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a vigil outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. (AP /Sang Tan)

AUSTIN, Texas --- WikiLeaks has filed a formal complaint accusing The Associated Press of violating journalistic ethics in a recent report that claimed the transparency site was responsible for “outing” private data belonging to Saudi citizens. The Aug. 23 investigation by AP reporters Raphael Satter and Maggie Michael accused WikiLeaks of

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European Governments Want To Combat Terrorism With Prison Segregation, Solitary Confinement

‘Prisons will never provide the solution to the problem’ of terrorism, The Guardian warns in an editorial. ‘But it is right to expect the prisons not to make the problem worse.’

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Guantanamo Hunger Strike

AUSTIN, Texas --- British and French prisons may soon employ controversial methods like solitary confinement and 'terrorist-only' units in an effort to curb radicalization efforts in prisons and to keep inmates from turning to terrorism. Compared to their overall populations, England, Wales and France disproportionately imprison Muslims. A study

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Israel And Honduras Enter New, Blood-Soaked Military Alliance To Support State-Sponsored Terrorism

Israeli arms deal and military training have fueled the most repressive elements in Central American politics since the 1980s, and profits from a new deal with Honduras will fund apartheid Israel’s ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell

AUSTIN, Texas --- Israel and Honduras announced a new security agreement this month in which Israel will supply weapons and training to the Honduran military. Honduras is ruled by an oppressive and murderous regime that took power after a 2009 coup, and the agreement marks just the latest chapter in Israel’s long, bloody history of arming

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Trump Stokes Hate Against Journalists, Clinton Attacks Whistleblowers & Press Freedom

The GOP presidential nominee has openly encouraged voters’ contempt for the media, but his Democratic opponent has a history of supporting prosecution of whistleblowers and backing repressive regimes in the Middle East that oppress journalists.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Trump supporters 'boo' the media after a Black Lives Matter protester was removed as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke during a campaign stop in Birmingham, Ala.

AUSTIN, Texas --- Donald Trump is known for voicing his negative opinions of the media, and the Republican nominee’s supporters are increasingly reflecting those sentiments with bizarre and sometimes threatening behavior toward reporters covering his rallies. Hillary Clinton also has a history of attacking press freedom, though more through

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