Kit, Author at Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words

Science Explains Why CBD Oil Could Help Ease Your Chronic Pain

A graffiti stencil of the silhouette of feminine face in pain. (Morguefile)

February 23, 2017

Science Explains Why CBD Oil Could Help Ease Your Chronic Pain

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

If you believe everything you read on the internet, CBD oil can cure almost any disease and replace every painkilling drug. Unfortunately, there’s just too much hype online.

The good news is that, for conditions ranging from epilepsy to chronic pain, CBD oil is an extremely beneficial extract of the cannabis plant that, for some people, can indeed be life-changing.

Psychoactive cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, has been frequently used to relieve the suffering caused by everything from migraines to menstrual cramps. CBD oil has almost no THC, the main mind-altering chemical in cannabis, and therefore offers many of the same benefits without making users “high.”

Climate Change Is Choking The Oceans & Trump’s EPA Will Make It So Much Worse

A dolphin swms in shallow waters by the shore of a beach. (Morguefile)

February 22, 2017

Kit

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Climate Change Is Choking The Oceans & Trump’s EPA Will Make It So Much Worse

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

Oxygen. You and I need it, and so do the fish in our planet’s oceans.

Unfortunately for the fish, there’s a little less oxygen in the oceans every year, according to a new study.

Climate scientists have long suspected that a warming planet would lead to the loss of oxygen in the ocean, because cold water can hold more dissolved gas than warm water. In an analysis published last week in Nature, three researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany found that the ocean has lost about 2 percent of its total oxygen since 1960. However, some parts of the ocean are suffering more than others.

Rebecca Solnit’s ‘Hope In The Dark’ Is An Antidote To Leftist Doom & Gloom

A handful of yellow flowers grow in a barren field full of dried up, dead plants. April 27, 2013. (Flickr / Ankur Sohoni, CC NC ND license)

February 17, 2017

Kit

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Rebecca Solnit’s ‘Hope In The Dark’ Is An Antidote To Leftist Doom & Gloom

Posted in Creative Commons, and Radical Media

“Things don’t always change for the better, but they change, and we can play a role in that change if we act. Which is where hope comes in, and memory, the collective memory we call history.” — Rebecca Solnit, “Hope In The Dark”

The left has a problem with winning.

We — and while I identify as radical, not leftist, but it’s fair to lump me in with the group for now — are losing bigly, at least from the simplest perspective. A white nationalist regime occupies the White House, while the GOP simultaneously controls most of the country’s legislatures. It’s a dark time, and we’re faced with the prospect of a daily fight just to preserve basic human rights. We need to figure out some way to keep going, despite these losses.

How To Survive Hurricane Donald (Gonzo Notes 05)

Volunteers wearing Occupy Sandy safety vests work out of a pickup truck bed. July 18, 2013. (Flickr / Not An Alternative, CC NC license)

February 10, 2017

Kit

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How To Survive Hurricane Donald (Gonzo Notes 05)

Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

Resilient communities are more resistant.

Strong communities survive and strong communities resist.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, radical activists and community organizers created Common Ground Relief to step in where the government and traditional NGOs like the Red Cross failed. They organized both the immediate needs of the community, like food and rebuilding, while also enabling long term political organizing. Today, the Common Ground Health Clinic still remains in New Orleans, offering “solidarity not charity.”

Occupy Sandy was a more recent, well known response to disaster. With their skills honed by Occupy Wall Street, activists created an ambitious network of neighborhood relief centers offering supplies of all kinds and connecting people with builders and other volunteers after Hurricane Sandy.

February 8, 2017

Kit

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The REALLY Hateful 8: Global Inequality & The World’s 8 Richest Men (Fucked Fact)

Posted in Act Out!, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

We are the 99 percent!

These words made famous by Occupy Wall Street helped bring new attention to the problem of systemic inequality. The chant isn’t just some hyperbole made up by hippies however: it’s backed by actual economic truth — you know, facts as opposed to alternative facts.

According to Credit Suisse in their 2015 Global Wealth Report, “the lower half of the global population collectively own less than 1% of global wealth, while the richest 10% of adults own 88% of all wealth and the top 1% account for half of all assets in the world.” HALF OF ALL ASSETS on planet earth. ——- And now, this latest report from Oxfam reveals that an already grim picture is actually even more dire. According to their research, the world’s 8 richest men collectively possess more wealth than the poorest 50 percent of the world. That’s right, 8 multi-billionaires have as much money as about 3 billion, 370 million of the world’s poor.

Welcome to this week’s Fucked Fact.

The Military-Industrial Complex Wants Endless War No Matter Which Party Leads The Country

A U.S. Army soldier watches as members of the Afghan National Army set up a traffic check point in a desolate valley in Afghanistan. (Flickr / U.S. Army / Sgt. Ken Scar)

February 8, 2017

Kit

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The Military-Industrial Complex Wants Endless War No Matter Which Party Leads The Country

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

Although President Donald Trump faces criticism for a recent botched raid on Yemen, it would be more accurate to blame the military-industrial complex and the Wall Street investors who support the endless profitable expansion of U.S. warfare.

The Jan. 28 raid, the first military action carried out under the Trump administration, left one Navy SEAL and 15 women and children dead, according to Yemeni sources. The Pentagon claims the attack, carried out with the help of Emirati military forces, killed 14 militants, but the soldiers failed to capture or kill their main target, al-Qaida leader Qassim al-Rimi.

Among the dead was 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen accused of working as an al-Qaida propagandist. The elder al-Awlaki had the dubious distinction of being the first U.S. citizen killed by a U.S. drone strike, back in September 2011.