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In First 100 Days, Pres. Jill Stein Would Cancel Student Debt, End Middle East Wars
In this August 6, 2016 photograph, delegates and supporters stand and applaud during the Green Party National Convention at the University of Houston. (MintPress News / Kit O’Connell)
August 8, 2016
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In First 100 Days, Pres. Jill Stein Would Cancel Student Debt, End Middle East Wars

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party’s presidential candidate, has ambitious plans for her first 100 days in office.

“First thing we do is cancel student debt, working with the Fed,” Stein told MintPress News in an exclusive interview. “We will be fighting for that from day one.”

Stein would also immediately begin to implement her “Green New Deal” to redirect resources from the military-industrial complex into an economy based on renewable energy. She hopes her plan would put a stop to America’s endless energy wars.

“As the commander-in-chief, the president can also start a peace offensive in the Middle East to end these catastrophic wars for oil that are only making us more endangered rather than more safe.”

Read moreIn First 100 Days, Pres. Jill Stein Would Cancel Student Debt, End Middle East Wars
Standing Up ‘For The Greater Good’: Kit Will Report From Green Party Convention
In this Sept.17, 2012 photograph, Dr. Jill Stein speaks during a demonstration on Bowling Green, New York City, at the 1 year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. (Flickr / Paul Stein)
August 6, 2016
Kit
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Standing Up ‘For The Greater Good’: Kit Will Report From Green Party Convention

Posted in Journalism, Life, and MintPress News

As the Green Party’s Presidential Nominating Convention convenes in Houston, there’s renewed attention on the party’s presumptive nominee, Dr. Jill Stein, and increased interest in third-party alternatives to the American two-party duopoly.

On Saturday, MintPress News will be at the University of Houston, where Stein and her running mate, human rights scholar and activist Ajamu Baraka, are expected to accept the Green Party’s nomination for president and vice president.

Polls consistently show that Americans are deeply dissatisfied with the political status quo. Just 9 percent of U.S. residents voted for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the primaries, according to The New York Times. In a poll conducted in May by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, some 90 percent of voters expressed a lack of confidence in the American political system, while 40 percent said that the two-party system is “seriously broken.”

Read moreStanding Up ‘For The Greater Good’: Kit Will Report From Green Party Convention
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
Kit
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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
Third-Party, Independent Candidates Challenge Dems On Trans-Pacific Partnership Support
A surfboard standing by the beach reads "No TPP: Stop Secret Trade Deals." (Flickr / SumOfUs)
August 1, 2016
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Third-Party, Independent Candidates Challenge Dems On Trans-Pacific Partnership Support

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

The day after delegates inside the Democratic National Convention formally endorsed Hillary Clinton, activists gathered outside the convention site to express their opposition to a controversial trade deal that could be ratified later this year.

On Wednesday, about 150 people gathered under the trees of FDR Park, a public space just outside the massive security fence surrounding the Wells Fargo Center, to demand an end to U.S. support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a controversial trade deal that critics warn will devastate democracy and the environment and send health care costs through the roof.

“There’s not a single person this doesn’t impact, but in terms of health care it’s going to raise the cost of health care for everyone,” Dr. Margaret Flowers told MintPress News.

Read moreThird-Party, Independent Candidates Challenge Dems On Trans-Pacific Partnership Support
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
7 Arrested As Tensions Rise & Protesters Breach Security Fence At DNC 2016
An activist holds a "Still Sanders" sign during a candlelit vigil outside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, site of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, July 27, 2016. (Kit O'Connell)
July 28, 2016
Kit
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7 Arrested As Tensions Rise & Protesters Breach Security Fence At DNC 2016

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

From passing gas to burning flags to breaching a massive security fence, activists expressed their outrage at the Democratic Party on Wednesday night.

Dozens of police crowded around the entrance to AT&T Station, the subway stop closest to the site of the Democratic National Convention, to prevent a “fart-in” protest to highlight corruption in the American democratic system.

“When it comes to the continued racial discrimination in this country, when it comes to being in a state spends more on prisons than on education, something is wrong with this picture,” Cheri Honkala, the event’s organizer, declared. “It’s an absolute farce, and quite frankly, this whole thing reminds me of the Hunger Games, except for the sad thing is this is the real Hunger Games.”

Read more7 Arrested As Tensions Rise & Protesters Breach Security Fence At DNC 2016