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.

Mainstream Media Ignores Mass Hunger & Work Strikes By Prisoners Nationwide

‘The repression is very real,’ one union advocate for the incarcerated said. The advocate also reported that a guard in a Wisconsin prison has encouraged other inmates to beat and rape an elderly hunger striker.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
An inmate stands at his cell door at the maximum security facility at the Arizona

AUSTIN, Texas --- As hunger strikes and sporadic work stoppages continue at prisons across the country, the historic prison movement and the brutal retaliation inmates have faced because of it remain largely unreported in the mainstream media. The media blackout continues even though tens of thousands of inmates are believed to have taken part

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Debate Protesters Forced To Walk Miles To ‘Free Speech Zone’ Across A Highway From Clinton & Trump

Journalist Abby Martin told MintPress News that many activists were forced to walk miles to reach the free speech zone. “It seems like there was a purposeful tactic to deter people from finding the protest site.”

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Jill speaks to MSNBC before being escorted off Hofstra’s campus. (Twitter/Jill Stein)

AUSTIN, Texas --- Protesters at the first presidential debate last night found themselves forced into a “free speech zone” about a quarter mile away and separated from the actual event site by a 6-lane highway. Many others had difficulty even making it that far, thanks to extensive police roadblocks and “an absurd level of security,” according

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Nestle Spent $11M Lobbying Congress To Control Water, Cocoa & Trade Since 2013

Nestlé is also a funder of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the controversial corporate think tank which produces model legislation that’s later introduced by the state legislators it sponsors.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestle, attends a press conference. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

AUSTIN, Texas --- Nestlé’s political influence in the United States is backed by a generous war chest which funds the often controversial company’s efforts to lobby against the types of trade, labor, and environmental regulations which might impede its profits. The Swiss multinational has been accused of using slave labor in the seafood and

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Brazilian President Michel Temer: Dilma Rousseff Impeached Because She Didn’t Support Neoliberalism

Rousseff rejected a proposal by Temer’s party which included ‘cuts to health and education spending, reduced welfare benefits, a raised retirement age, new private sector partnerships and decreased market regulations,’ according to a journalist at The Intercept Brasil.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Soldiers stand guard outside Planalto presidential palace where protesters have projected the word "Impeachment" on the building, as they call for the impeachment of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, March 21, 2016. (AP/Eraldo Peres)

AUSTIN, Texas --- During a recent appearance at a corporate think tank, Brazilian President Michel Temer admitted that his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached because she refused to implement a neoliberal reform plan published by Temer’s party. Rousseff was formally removed from office on Aug. 31 after the Brazilian senate voted to

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Most Americans Would Rather See $38 Billion Invested In Vets & Education Than Israeli Military Aid

According to a recent poll, 81 percent of American internet users would rather see aid to Israel channeled toward efforts to address domestic issues, like caring for vets, improving education, paying down the national debt or rebuilding infrastructure.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Homeless Korean War veteran Thomas Moore, 79, left, speaks with Boston Health Care for the Homeless street team outreach coordinator Romeena Lee on a sidewalk in Boston. M (AP/Steven Senne)

AUSTIN, Texas --- The announcement of a massive new aid package recently offered to Israel isn’t sitting well with many Americans, who would rather see the money used domestically, according to a new online poll. On Sept. 14, the White House announced a Memorandum of Understanding under which the United States will provide Israel with an

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What’s Behind The Surge In US Pipeline Construction?

Native American activist Winona LaDuke explained that the US would rather ‘create this filthy infrastructure’ through the Dakota Access Pipeline and other domestic fossil fuel projects than do business with Venezuela.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2010, file photo, a natural gas line lies broken on a San Bruno, Calif., road after a massive explosion. The blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air in a neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes.

AUSTIN, Texas --- The Dakota Access pipeline is just one of several major fossil fuel projects underway as part of U.S. efforts to dominate the global energy market and crash the oil-dependent economies of American nemeses like Venezuela and Russia. On Monday, a federal charge officially halted construction around Lake Oahe, the site of a

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British Judge Rules Alleged Hacktivist Lauri Love Can Be Extradited To US

Lauri Love, who remains free on bail until September 16, has threatened to take his own life if U.K. courts send him to the U.S. to stand trial under the controversial Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Lauri Love arrives at Westminster Magistrates court in London, Monday, July 25, 2016, where final extradition arguments took place for Love, accused of hacking into US government computer networks.

Update (Sept. 16, 2016): On Friday, a British judge granted a U.S. court’s request to extradite Lauri Love, the alleged British hacktivist, despite an outpouring of support from those who hoped he would be able to remain in England. Love, who is accused of taking part in a hacking operation associated with Anonymous, fears he’ll face treatment

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