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Category: Occupy Wall Street

Interview with Black Tower Radio: Syrian No-Fly Zone, Booz Allen Hamilton
Vladimir Putin meets with Russian army soldiers. September 19, 2015. (Wikimedia Commons / Russian Presidential Press and Information Office)
October 13, 2016
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Interview with Black Tower Radio: Syrian No-Fly Zone, Booz Allen Hamilton

Posted in Journalism, MintPress News, and Occupy Wall Street

Both the Democrats and Republican party tickets are calling for a no-fly zone in Syria, even though this could provoke a nuclear war with Russia in a worst-case scenario. Meanwhile, the mainstream media, and even many “progressive” news outlets are beating the drums of war. And who is Booz Allen Hamilton, the NSA contractor linked in two significant leaks of classified information?

On Wednesday, I made my monthly appearance on Black Tower Radio to touch on overlooked or poorly reported news. Also mentioned in our discussion: Occupy Austin, independent journalist Vanessa Beeley’s reports from Aleppo, and Tim Shorrock’s reporting on the NSA’s “Private Spies.”

Read moreInterview with Black Tower Radio: Syrian No-Fly Zone, Booz Allen Hamilton
Developed In Iraq, Deployed At the DNC?: Cell-Jamming Technology Is Being Turned On Journalists
n July 27, 2016, activists, media and citizen journalists with smartphones surround a group of anticapitalist activists burning a U.S. flag. Journalists, including a MintPress News reporter, found it difficult or impossible to upload video of incidents like this one while near the entrance to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. (MintPress News / Kit O'Connell)
August 12, 2016
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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.

Read moreDeveloped In Iraq, Deployed At the DNC?: Cell-Jamming Technology Is Being Turned On Journalists
Wheelchair Sports Camp On SXSW, Music Festival Accessibility, & Occupy
Kalyn of Wheelchair Sports Camp with the rest of her band. (Facebook / Wheelchair Sports Camp)
August 4, 2016
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Wheelchair Sports Camp On SXSW, Music Festival Accessibility, & Occupy

Posted in Austin, Journalism, Occupy Wall Street, and SXSW

Wheelchair Sports Camp is one of the better-known bands in the “krip hop” movement, led by Kalyn, a self-described “MC/beat-maker/activist/educator/shit-talker.” Their music combines electronic sounds and hip-hop beats with live jazz instrumentation, and, of course, Kalyn’s rapid-fire words. Sometimes funny, sometimes experimental, I’ve enjoyed every performance I’ve seen since I first caught them in 2012 at Occupy Austin’s ambitious “Occupy SXSW” mini-festival.

After seeing Kalyn perform again at this year’s SXSW, I asked her to answer a few questions by email.

I’m looking forward to their upcoming album, “No Big Deal,” which Kalyn mentions below.

Read moreWheelchair Sports Camp On SXSW, Music Festival Accessibility, & Occupy
Advice For Bernie’s ‘Revolution’ & Other New Activists After DNC 2016
An activist in an "Anonymous" mask marches with a candle during a rally of Bernie Sanders supporters on July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, near the Democratic National Convention. (Kit O'Connell)
August 1, 2016
Kit
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Advice For Bernie’s ‘Revolution’ & Other New Activists After DNC 2016

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

I just got back from Philadelphia, where I was covering protests at the Democratic National Convention for MintPress News, so I spent a lot of time observing the activists taking the streets in America.

I’m impressed by the passion and righteous anger so many people are feeling right now, especially those of you who feel betrayed by the Democratic Party. Many of you may be taking the streets, attending nonviolent direct action trainings, and feeling the joy of holding a public space for a cause for the first time in your lives.

I don’t want the post that follows to sound like an “old man yelling at clouds,” but I’ve been an activist for a while now. I don’t claim to be the world’s greatest expert in street protest tactics, but I saw a few things that concerned me in Philly.

Read moreAdvice For Bernie’s ‘Revolution’ & Other New Activists After DNC 2016
How I Met Vermin Supreme At SXSW 2012
Vermin Supreme, wearing his trademark boot on his head (as well as a cape and two neckties) celebrates his "victory" at the New Hampshire Primaries on January 30, 2016. (Flickr / Marc Nozell)
March 7, 2016
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How I Met Vermin Supreme At SXSW 2012

Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, Occupy Wall Street, and SXSW

I didn’t officially attend SXSW 2012, but it was the first year I got into the convention center.

I had been invited to share my experiences with Anonymous at a panel about the documentary “We Are Legion” which played at the film festival. I had plenty to share — most notably, Anonymous helped us identify Austin Police officer Jason Mistric after he threatened me with pepper spray on the night Occupy Austin got evicted from its encampment in 2012.

Of course, the city had likely evicted our camp in order to make sure we weren’t cluttering up the city hall steps when Southby came to town, so what came next felt somewhat appropriate. After the panel, I gathered with two other occupiers that had found their way into the convention center and Mic Checked a speech by George Friedman, the CEO of Strategic Forecasting, a corporate intelligence agency which had helped infiltrate and spy on Occupy along with other activists groups, and helped send political prisoner Jeremy Hammond to prison.

Of course, security soon got involved.

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Leak Reveals Denver Police Use Undercover ‘Shadow Teams’ To Target Protest Leaders
In this November 12, 2011 photograph, a row of riot police block a path in Denver's Lincoln Park during the eviction of Occupy Denver. (Flickr / Daniel Holton)
February 4, 2016
Kit
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Leak Reveals Denver Police Use Undercover ‘Shadow Teams’ To Target Protest Leaders

Posted in Journalism, MintPress News, and Occupy Wall Street

A leaked police manual reveals how Denver police respond to marches and other forms of protest, including their use of undercover “platoons” of officers to pick out leaders for later arrest.

On Jan. 19, Unicorn Riot, an independent media collective with several members in the state, published a heavily redacted version of the 2011 edition of the “Denver Police Department Crowd Management Manual” obtained through a Colorado Open Records Act request. Days later, an anonymous source sent them an unredacted copy of the 2008 edition of the manual. The two editions appear to have few differences and the policies described in both versions match the behavior of police toward protests, according to activists and journalists interviewed by MintPress News.

“This manual has been a tremendous help to our reporting in terms of understanding the police apparatus that is deployed at protests,” representatives of Unicorn Riot told MintPress by email.

Read moreLeak Reveals Denver Police Use Undercover ‘Shadow Teams’ To Target Protest Leaders