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Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words Posts

Fascist Journalists Attack The Poor: Laura Loomer & The Project Veritas CycleA broken, abandoned doll with blonde hair covered in dirt with a broken face in the ruins of Bosnia.
Laura Loomer: A candid photo. (Pixabay, public domain)
November 17, 2018
Kit
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Fascist Journalists Attack The Poor: Laura Loomer & The Project Veritas Cycle

Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism

It’s happened again. Fascist wannabe journalists attacked the most vulnerable, and as a result poor people will probably die.

Laura Loomer, a talking asshole fringed in blonde hair, is the latest to engage in a punch-down “sting operation” that’s targeted to hurt people with the most to lose.

In an investigative report that’s the talk of nazi rallies everywhere, Loomer went undercover in a refugee camp to expose the “shocking” fact that camp workers help refugees apply for aid in a way that minimizes.trauma and maximizes the likelihood that they’ll get help. Previously best known for spreading Islamophobic conspiracies about her Uber drivers, she’s now trying to graduate to the next level of far right pundit.

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U.S. Hemp Industry Thriving In 2018 Despite Legal BarriersRepresentatives of U.S. Hemp Roundtable and Hoban Law Firm discussed hemp's legal future at the 2018 Hemp Industries Association Conference in Los Angeles.
Representatives of U.S. Hemp Roundtable and Hoban Law Firm discussed hemp's legal future at the 2018 Hemp Industries Association Conference in Los Angeles. (Ministry of Hemp / Kit O'Connell)
November 7, 2018
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U.S. Hemp Industry Thriving In 2018 Despite Legal Barriers

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

The 2018 Hemp Industries Association Conference revealed a thriving industry that’s growing rapidly and passionate about the future of hemp.

Ministry of Hemp just returned from the Los Angeles Airport Hilton, where “HIACON 2018” took place from November 2 through 5. Hemp will be a billion dollar industry soon, even though this plant still exists in a legal gray area in the United States. Industry leaders and newcomers alike gathered at the conference to share their newest ideas, and get a better understanding of hemp’s future as those laws shift.

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Threat Modeling For Activists: Tips For Secure Organizing & ActivismThreat modeling helps activists anticipate and respond to police repression. A line of SFPD officers in riot gear block Occupy SF Protesters after clearing them from Market Street in San Francisco.
Police block a roadway during Occupy SF protests, December 7, 2011. Threat modeling helps activists anticipate and respond to police repression. (Flickr / Thomas Hawk, CC-BY-NC license)
October 22, 2018
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Threat Modeling For Activists: Tips For Secure Organizing & Activism

Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism

Threat modeling is a fancy term for “knowing how to protect yourself in different situations.”

The idea of “threat modeling” originated in the military before being adopted by security experts. While the field includes many advanced concepts that don’t interest us here, threat modeling can help us get a handle on our personal security choices. In an age of mass surveillance, choosing what steps to take can feel overwhelming. For a lot of people, it may be easier to do nothing at all than worry about protecting yourself online.

Unfortunately, even if you feel like “you’ve got nothing to hide,” many of us are still vulnerable: to government repression, to police brutality and surveillance, and to threats from fascist forces. Even if you’re completely safe, your social networks might be used to target other people close to you. You might not even be aware that someone near you is taking actions that make them a target for surveillance.

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Hemp Water Wars Won: Montana Hemp Farmer Earns Right To IrrigateA water bird flies over the blue waters of Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Montana, seen from the rocky and grassy shore. The blue sky is partly cloudy.
Montana Hemp Farmer Kim Phillips won the right to irrigate her crops using water from the Canyon Ferry Reservoir. (Flickr / Mark Holloway, CC-BY license)
October 17, 2018
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Hemp Water Wars Won: Montana Hemp Farmer Earns Right To Irrigate

Posted in Hemp Magazine, and Journalism

In late May, Montana hemp farmer Kim Phillips finally learned that her long struggle with the federal government was over: She had won the right to irrigate her crops with federal water.

“They tried every which way to stop it, but I lucked out and would not back down,” Phillips said.

On May 31, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation informed Phillips that they would allow her access to federal water for use on her hemp fields. The news came just in time, as hemp growing season was right around the corner.

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Don’t Just Vote: Embrace Your Rage & Fight Back (#GonzoNotes)
Lights held by Austin Overpass Light Brigade activists on a highway overpass spell out "Do More Than Vote." 2012. (Kit O'Connell, Creative Commons license)
October 13, 2018
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Don’t Just Vote: Embrace Your Rage & Fight Back (#GonzoNotes)

Posted in Gonzo Notes

Don’t just vote, get angry and fuck shit up.

The midterm election is quickly approaching and it promises to be a pivotal one. Understandably, many liberals are pouring their efforts into voter registration and voter drives with a fervor that hasn’t been seen in years. They’re hoping to channel all the popular anger at the state of things here in this hell nation back into the voting booth.

I want to tell you: don’t let them.

Read moreDon’t Just Vote: Embrace Your Rage & Fight Back (#GonzoNotes)
Dallas Man Fails Drug Test Over CBD Oil, Rejected For Organ TransplantA series of test tubes, some full of colored or clear liquid. CBD can actually cause people to fail drug tests, under rare circumstances.
A series of test tubes, some full of colored or clear liquid. CBD can actually cause people to fail drug tests, under rare circumstances. (Pixabay, Public domain)
August 22, 2018
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Dallas Man Fails Drug Test Over CBD Oil, Rejected For Organ Transplant

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

Doctors refused to give a Dallas-area man a liver-transplant after he failed a drug test, even though he only used hemp-based CBD oil, his family reports.

Contrary to popular opinion about drug tests and CBD, it is rare but possible to fail a drug test from using only hemp-based CBD supplements.

Rolando Rosa is in urgent need of a liver transplant. According to his daughter, Monica Garcia, her father had turned to over-the-counter CBD supplements to ease his chronic pain while reducing his use of his prescription opiate painkillers. Just when a transplant seemed within reach, doctors sent Rosa home due to testing positive for THC. Hospital officials suggested this reflected “noncompliance” with doctors’ orders.

Read moreDallas Man Fails Drug Test Over CBD Oil, Rejected For Organ Transplant