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Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words Posts

Bernie Supporters, Green Party, & Peace Activists ‘March For Our Lives’ Against DNC 2016

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

The Democratic National Convention opened on Monday amid a heat wave, but soaring temperatures didn’t stop activists from heating up the City of Brotherly Love.

MintPress News was there as protesters gathered outside of Philadelphia City Hall to chant, carry signs, or cool off in the shade of the building’s stone arches as temperatures reached 96 degrees, tying a previous record and keeping medics and volunteers busy treating heat stroke and handing out bottled water.

In the early afternoon, one group marched in honor of Berta Cáceres, a Honduran environmental activist and indigenous leader who was assassinated in March. Carrying a giant puppet made in her likeness, they chanted: “Berta didn’t die, she multiplied!”

See You In Philly: Kit Will Report Live From DNC 2016 Protests

Posted in Journalism, Life, and MintPress News

While delegates rally and Hillary Clinton turns on the charm at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, the streets will be full of activists demanding justice.

MintPress News reporter Kit O’Connell will be there as supporters of Green Party candidate Jill Stein demand that she have access to the voting ballots and the debates. He’ll be at a march to end the war on cannabis users and growers. And he’ll talk to other activists representing diverse causes as they protest, march and rally outside the Wells Fargo Center from July 25 to 28.

Hundreds Gather To ‘Wall Off Trump’ & Police Arrest 18 In Flag-Burning Demonstration At RNC 2016

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

In response to a proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall that Donald Trump’s turned into a hallmark of his presidential campaign, activists at the Republican National Convention built a wall of their own on Wednesday.

Using a combination of banners and brick wall-patterned costumes, activists surrounded the Quicken Loans Arena for about two-and-a-half hours to highlight the harm caused by the GOP nominee’s immigration policies.

Hundreds of people took part in the Wall Off Trump action, including many undocumented immigrants as well as a group of veterans who protected the demonstrators from interference. About 150 people came together to create the wall, which stretched for about 2,000 feet around the arena.

$6B Spent Fighting ISIS, 50,000 Bombs Dropped In Iraq & Syria, And Still No End In Sight

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

After two years of bombing, the U.S. recently marked a horrendous milestone in a war with no clear end in sight.

Vocativ reported that the American-led coalition in the Middle East has now dropped 50,000 bombs in the ongoing campaign against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group commonly known as ISIS or ISIL in the West) that began in August 2014.

The analysis noted that bombing has increased with time, peaking in June when coalition forces dropped 3,167 bombs on Iraq and Syria.

From Anti-Trump Activists To Open Carry Advocates: RNC 2016 Opens With A Day Of Peaceful Protest

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The tense political landscape and presence of open carry activists didn’t dampen a day of peaceful protest for demonstrators gathered outside the Quicken Loans Arena for the opening day of the 2016 Republican National Convention.

MintPress News was present outside the arena on Monday, where attendance by protesters seemed somewhat lower than anticipated. Even during an unpermitted march led by a musical “supergroup” featuring members of Public Enemy, Cypress Hill and Rage Against the Machine, no arrests were reported.

On Saturday, Cleveland police swore in hundreds of temporary officers recruited from forces around the country in anticipation of intense protest and potential unrest. Police and FBI agents were also reported to be visiting Cleveland activists at their homes in advance of the convention, apparently in an attempt to intimidate or discourage protests.

In Dallas & Baton Rouge, Media Ignores That Veterans Pulled The Trigger

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

In the wake of shocking, deadly acts of violence, many in the media have been quick to tie the recent slayings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to the Black Lives Matter movement, which advocates for the civil rights of those disproportionately affected by police violence.

Reporters even asked the family of Alton Sterling, the black man whose death at the hands of Baton Rouge police on July 5 ignited days of protests around the country, to condemn violence against police, a move widely criticized on social media.

But while the killers in Dallas and Baton Rouge were both black men who had expressed anger over police violence prior to their deaths, they had something else in common: Both were U.S. military veterans.