Skip to content

Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words Posts

A New Look For Approx. 8,000 Words
Tthe sun rises over the Colorado River as seen from Longhorn Dam in Austin, Texas, in this October 11, 2011 photograph. (Flickr / Marcus Calderon)
February 12, 2016
Kit
Leave a Comment

A New Look For Approx. 8,000 Words

Posted in Journalism, Life, and Website

If this isn’t your first visit, you may notice that my website changed in the past month.

I created this website when I finally got tired of keeping a LiveJournal and decided it was time to launch a real online identity. I’ve been a writer in various genres since my teens, but 8 years ago I was mostly focused on writing fiction. In 2008, I designed Approximately 8,000 Words to look like an old-fashioned manuscript format submission that a writer might send to an editor.

It’s halfway through a new decade, and I’m now working full time as a journalist. My homepage was overdue for a new look. I’m still fine-tuning things, and slowly crossposting most of my reports for MintPress News and other sites, but I hope you enjoy what you see.

Read moreA New Look For Approx. 8,000 Words
Despite Anti-War Claims, Sanders Endorses President Obama’s Foreign Policy
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a crowded rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Behind the crowd hangs the U.S. and Arizona flags. (Flickr / Gage Skidmore)
February 11, 2016
Kit
Leave a Comment

Despite Anti-War Claims, Sanders Endorses President Obama’s Foreign Policy

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

On Sunday, Bernie Sanders endorsed President Barack Obama’s violent, expansive foreign policy in an effort to distance himself from accusations of inexperience in matters of war.

At the beginning of an interview on CBS’ “Face The Nation” between John Dickerson and the Vermont senator, Dickerson noted:

“Senator, while you were in New York, North Koreans launched a long range missile. As President, you’d face that kind of thing all the time, very often. And what Secretary Clinton is saying is that you don’t have the experience to be ready for those kinds of challenges on day one.”

Sanders responded:

Read moreDespite Anti-War Claims, Sanders Endorses President Obama’s Foreign Policy
Stopping America’s Endless Wars Could ‘Sink The Ship Of State,’ Fmr. Bush Official Warns
Soldiers with the 12th Mechanized Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF) prepare to disembark from a helicopter during an operation in Afghanistan on August 23, 2012. (Flickr / Defence Images /Sergeant Andy Reddy RLC)
February 9, 2016
Kit
Leave a Comment

Stopping America’s Endless Wars Could ‘Sink The Ship Of State,’ Fmr. Bush Official Warns

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Disgusted by the infamous Abu Ghraib torture photos, an assistant to the Bush administration now speaks out against the excesses of American empire.

“I knew that the United States had been involved in heinous activities,” explained retired U.S. Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, during a Dec. 11 interview with journalist Abby Martin on her TV show, “The Empire Files.”

“I never knew in any time in our history where those bad things had not only been authorized by the highest levels in the land, but encouraged by the highest levels in the land.”

Read moreStopping America’s Endless Wars Could ‘Sink The Ship Of State,’ Fmr. Bush Official Warns
Jewish Voice For Peace Helps New Yorkers Imagine A More Balanced New York Times
The front cover of the parody edition of The New York Times created by Jewish Voice For Peace and Jews Say No! One top headline includes the news that Hillary Clinton is quitting the presidential race to focus on fighting human rights abuses. (JVP / Jews Say No!)
February 5, 2016
Kit
Leave a Comment

Jewish Voice For Peace Helps New Yorkers Imagine A More Balanced New York Times

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Big Apple commuters may have been a bit bewildered by the headlines in their morning copies of The New York Times on Tuesday.

The New York chapter of Jewish Voice For Peace, a progressive Jewish group opposed to Israel’s occupation and oppression of Palestinians, collaborated with local group Jews Say No! to create a parody edition of the Times. They distributed over 10,000 copies of the free “special edition” of the newspaper to New York transit customers on Feb. 2.

The Times has been criticized for its support of Zionism, including overlooking Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians and attacking the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to put economic pressure on Israel to end its apartheid policies.

Read moreJewish Voice For Peace Helps New Yorkers Imagine A More Balanced New York Times
Netanyahu Demands Additional US Foreign Aid After Iran Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos. (YouTube screenshot)
February 5, 2016
Kit
Leave a Comment

Netanyahu Demands Additional US Foreign Aid After Iran Deal

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Israel receives billions of dollars in military aid from the United States each year, and it may start receiving even more next year, according to widely quoted statements from the nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Apartheid Israel currently receives $3.1 billion in aid annually which, together with Egypt, accounts for 75 percent of all U.S. foreign military aid. Israel also receives additional U.S. funds for other projects, including its Iron Dome missile defense system.

Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Netanyahu insisted that Israel will need even more funding over the next 10 years to maintain its military edge in the wake of the nuclear deal with Iran.Agence France-Presse reported on Jan. 21:

Read moreNetanyahu Demands Additional US Foreign Aid After Iran Deal
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
2 Comments

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