I covered the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia for MintPress News, where I was disturbed to discover that journalists’ cell-phone signals were routinely jammed at protests near the convention’s security fence. The jamming, which was experienced by both mainstream and independent journalists, was especially clear on the night Pres. Barack Obama spoke.
Author: Kit
Kit is a gonzo journalist from Austin, Texas.
UPDATE: British Judge Rules Alleged Hacktivist Lauri Love Can Be Extradited To US
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
Lauri Love, an alleged British hacktivist, faces extradition to the U.S. over charges of supporting deceased programmer and activist Aaron Swartz.
In an interview with MintPress News, Naomi Colvin, a U.K.-based campaigner for the Courage Foundation, which supports hacktivist and whistleblower political prisoners, says Love could suffer a similar fate to Swartz if he’s extradited.
“There’s a blatant and rather unpleasant irony in that for allegedly protesting against the prosecutorial conduct and coercive plea bargaining that took place in Aaron Swartz’s case, he’s now facing exactly the same kind of treatment himself,” Colvin told us.
Lawsuit Warns $234B In Aid To Israel Violates US Law Against Supporting Secret Nuclear States
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
A lawsuit warns that U.S. aid to Israel violates a law meant to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation, even as the United States prepares to increase the already massive Israeli aid program.
Filed Aug. 8 by Grant Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle East Policy, or IRMEP, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the suit alleges that U.S. aid to Israel violates two amendments to the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, known as the the Symington and Glenn Amendments, which collectively ban support for countries engaged in clandestine nuclear programs.
In the lawsuit, Smith alleges that violating these amendments means that Israel has received approximately $234 billion in illegal aid since the passage of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976.
‘Which Side Are You On?’ Rapper B. Dolan On Corporate Power & Making Racists Afraid Again
Posted in Austin, Journalism, and SXSW
B. Dolan was my favorite discovery of SXSW, an unabashedly political rapper from Rhode Island, and also an anti-corporate activist with Knowmore.org. I caught him during the same show where I saw Wheelchair Sports Camp and I knew we’d have to talk more.
It took until early last month before we finally connected with an interview, and then another month (thanks to the distracting spectacle of the election) before I finally put his words up on my site.
Thanks, B. Dolan, for taking the time to talk, and for your patience in seeing this published!
Kit O’Connell, Approximately 8,000 Words: Talk to me about what it’s like to play a huge commercial event like SXSW, especially the impact it can have good and bad on a community or your career. We had anti-gentrification protests at the event this year, in fact — is this something you take into consideration, as a politically aware musician?
Developed In Iraq, Deployed At the DNC?: Cell-Jamming Technology Is Being Turned On Journalists
Posted in Journalism, MintPress News, and Occupy Wall Street
Technology developed to jam cellphones during the Iraq War may be getting deployed against journalists reporting on protests against the political establishment in the United States.
While police and government surveillance of protests, including monitoring of cellphone use, is well-documented, efforts to block signals at protests remains an oft-repeated, but never proven, rumor.
It may be impossible to definitively prove that authorities are using cellphone “jamming” technology, but journalists working with both mainstream and independent media reported unusual difficulties accessing the internet during recent protests at the gates of the Democratic National Convention, consistent with the effects this very real technology could have.
‘Don’t Write Your Congressman’: Green Party Candidates On Third-Party Movement Building
Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News
Record-breaking dissatisfaction with the presidential candidates nominated by the two major political parties is leading to a new push for alternatives on the ballot.
However, building a third-party alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties won’t happen overnight.
“This process of making radical change in this country is a protracted one,” Ajamu Baraka, the Green Party candidate for vice president, said during a press conference with running mate Dr. Jill Stein, just after accepting the party’s nomination on Saturday.