Austin Archives - Page 8 of 9 - Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words

Protesting Gentrification & Blue Cat Cafe At #SXSW

A young girl with a rainbow stick smashes a piñata shaped like a mixed-used condominium, topped with a dollar sign, at an anti-gentrification protest in front of the Austin Convention Center,in this March 13, 2016 photograph. (Kit O'Connell)

March 14, 2016

Kit

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Protesting Gentrification & Blue Cat Cafe At #SXSW

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and SXSW

Yesterday I was sitting outside the Austin Convention Center eating some macaroni and cheese when I heard the sounds of a protest.

Strangely (for me), my initial reaction was mild annoyance. Usually I love a good protest, but just a few minutes before I’d witnesses a few dozen SXSW badgeholders march past while chanting about sheep and dreams. It wasn’t real activism, but actually a promotional event for a movie premiering at the film festival.

So when I heard another group of marchers, I assumed it was more corporate faux-grassroots astro turf.

Then, as the group drew nearer, I realized it was the genuine article, a small march organized by Defend Our Hoodz – Defiende El Barrio, a local group struggling against gentrification and inequality in east side Austin.

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

Kit

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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.

Alex Jones Is ‘No Better Than ISIS’: How The Infowars Host Spreads Fear For Profit

Alex Jones speaks into an Infowars-branded megaphone at a February 28, 2014 event in Dallas, Texas. (Flickr / Sean P. Anderson)

December 29, 2015

Kit

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Alex Jones Is ‘No Better Than ISIS’: How The Infowars Host Spreads Fear For Profit

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and MintPress News

Allying himself with figures like Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, infamous talk show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is spreading misinformation about Muslims online and in his weekly radio program.

This tactic is Jones’ latest effort to use fear to generate clicks for his popular website and weekly radio program, “Infowars,” and to boost profits for his advertisers.

In a Dec. 8 broadcast, Jones defended Trump’s plan to close U.S. borders to Muslims. According to the talk show host, “upwards of 25 percent (of Muslims) who’ve been polled say they sympathize with ISIS and want to conduct violent attacks in Europe and the United States.”

University of Texas Professor Compares Palestinian Activists To Terrorists After Tense Protest

File: Activists on the University of Texas at Austin campus hold a banner that reads "Free Palestine. End The Occupation." (Flickr / Mishal A)

November 21, 2015

Kit

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University of Texas Professor Compares Palestinian Activists To Terrorists After Tense Protest

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and MintPress News

A planned walkout at a University of Texas at Austin event earlier this month erupted into a violent confrontation with the college’s professor of Israel Studies and another audience member. Now Palestinian activists say they feel unsafe on campus after the professor accused them of having ties to terrorism.

The incident began at a Nov. 13 public lecture on the military culture of the Israeli Defense Forces. Twelve members of UT Austin’s Palestine Solidarity Committee planned to stage a short disruption to voice their objections to Israel’s occupation of Palestine and apartheid policies, then leave the event. Instead, as the students unfurled a banner and the group’s organizer, Mohammed Nabulsi, began to read a brief statement, the event dissolved into chaos and even physical violence.

Nabulsi told MintPress News that he no longer feels safe on campus. “I’m not going to let this prevent me from continuing with my political work, but for now I’m really exhausted. I don’t want some vigilante to take the word of a professor,” he explained, adding: “People are calling us a ‘sleeper cell’ [of terrorists] now,” referring to some of the threatening comments they’ve received.

It’s Not Just Roads And Bridges: US Courthouses Are Crumbling, Too

The Travis County Courthouse photographed on October 18, 2008. (Flickr / Chris Vreeland)

October 22, 2015

Kit

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It’s Not Just Roads And Bridges: US Courthouses Are Crumbling, Too

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and MintPress News

Just as many American roads are crumbling and bridges are badly in need of repair, the legal infrastructure of the country — specifically, its courthouses — is also endangered by age and overcrowding.

Starting this week, early voters in Travis County, Texas, are deciding on a bond that would fund the construction of a new family courthouse to replace an existing 84-year-old structure in downtown Austin, the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, with a larger and more modern facility. And, like Austin, cities from Seattle to Miami have struggled with how to accommodate aging buildings alongside other budget issues like the growing cost of policing.

MintPress News spoke with Tyler Buckingham, assistant campaign manager from New Courts For Families, the campaign in support of the $287,275,000 bond that would fund the construction of a new courthouse complex on a downtown lot already owned by the state’s capital city. Buckingham explained that while accessible, safe courthouses are crucial to a democratic society, the issue can sometimes go overlooked by the media or politicians.

‘Police Lives Matter’ March In Austin, Texas, Hosted By Ex-Cop Accused Of Violence

An activist's sign reads "Demilitarize the Police" at a protest in solidarity with Ferguson. October 22, 2014. (Flickr / Johnny Silvercloud)

September 8, 2015

Kit

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‘Police Lives Matter’ March In Austin, Texas, Hosted By Ex-Cop Accused Of Violence

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and MintPress News

An Austin, Texas, police constable with a violent past as an officer is organizing a “Police Lives Matter” march in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, which police supporters blame for the recent death of a Houston-area sheriff’s deputy.

Shannon J. Miles was arrested on Aug. 29 and charged with fatally shooting Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth on Aug. 28. Miles allegedly shot Goforth 15 times, including in the head and back, after sneaking up on him from behind. In response to the incident, pro-police marches are planned to take place in Houston on Sept. 12 and Austin on Sept. 19.

Although Miles has no known connection to the Black Lives Matter movement and was once found mentally unfit to stand trial for a 2012 assault charge, police officials were quick to make the connection. The Associated Press quoted Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman as saying that the “dangerous national rhetoric that is out there today … has gotten out of control.”