Featured Archives - Page 40 of 51 - Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words

Social Media Ban Could Curb Free Speech Behind Bars

Outside the walls of Huntsville prison. January 26, 2008. (Flickr / Mark)

April 20, 2016

Social Media Ban Could Curb Free Speech Behind Bars

Posted in Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Prison reform activists are concerned that a new state social media policy could be used to infringe on the free speech rights of both incarcerated people and and those who support them by sharing their stories, thoughts and experiences online.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) “Offender Orientation Manual,” updated in early April, “Offenders are prohibited from maintaining active social media accounts for the purposes of soliciting, updating, or engaging others, through a third party or otherwise.”

Under the updated manual, prisoners can be penalized for infractions in a number of ways, including by receiving extra work duties or being confined to their cells.

‘Orange Sunshine’: Tune In, Turn On With 100 Million Hits Of LSD (#SXSW)

1969: Ron Bevan, a core member of The Brotherhood Of Eternal Love, during a drug-buying trip to Afghanistan. (Orange Sunshine)

April 19, 2016

Kit

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‘Orange Sunshine’: Tune In, Turn On With 100 Million Hits Of LSD (#SXSW)

Posted in Journalism, and SXSW

LSD is back in the news, as scientists begin to study this intriguing substance again.

After spending years banished to the realms of forbidden science, a study published in March from The Proceedings of the National Academy Of Sciences USA used neural imaging to examine the areas of the brain activated by the psychedelic drug. David Nuitt, a lead researcher, told Nature that he thinks LSD has potential to treat addiction and depression.

In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists and psychotherapists were fascinated by the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms), even as everyday Americans experienced their effects firsthand by the thousands. A politically-motivated surge in the war on drugs sent both research and psychedelic culture underground.

“Orange Sunshine,” which premiered at SXSW in March, tells the story of The Brotherhood Of Eternal Love, the hippie surfer cult that fueled America’s LSD boom. In the name of helping the country “turn on,” they created and distributed millions of hits of acid to celebrities and festival-goers alike.

In ‘Ovarian Psycos,’ Women Use Bikes To Claim Space & The Streets (#SXSW)

The Ovarian Psycos ride their bikes through East L.A. (Ovarian Psycos documentary)

April 18, 2016

Kit

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In ‘Ovarian Psycos,’ Women Use Bikes To Claim Space & The Streets (#SXSW)

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and SXSW

There’s a particular liberation found on two wheels, gliding through a night time city street.

That feeling becomes simultaneously even more liberating and powerful in a group of cyclists, reasserting our right to take up space normally dominated by cars.

But cycling culture is notoriously sexist — just ask almost any woman who has tried to purchase a bike or get repairs at a shop, and group rides are often male-dominated and unwelcoming to women and the gender-nonconforming.

The Ovarian Psycos are a women-of-color cycling crew from East Los Angeles and the Boyle Heights neighborhood. Beyond simply spreading the joy of the ride to more people, their work is directly situated in a historic tradition of feminist and Xicana activism.

“Ovarian Psycos,” a documentary from directors Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle that premiered this year at SXSW, brings the crew’s politics and passion to the screen, where it can hopefully inspire other women like them to take up more space on the streets and in their everyday lives.

As Cannabis Becomes Big Business, Who’s Getting Smoked?

Activists hold an inflatable marijuana joint that reads "Obama, Deschedule Cannabis Now!" during the #Reschedule420 rally on Apr. 2, 2016 at the White House. (Flickr / Stephen Melkisethian)

April 14, 2016

Kit

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As Cannabis Becomes Big Business, Who’s Getting Smoked?

Posted in Journalism, MintPress News, and SXSW

Hundreds of people marched to the White House early this month to show their support for less restrictive federal marijuana regulations and nationwide legalization.

In an act of peaceful protest, many at the event organized by DCMJ, a local legalization group, smoked marijuana, puffed on vaporizers containing hash oil, or consumed cannabis edibles. Although the activists at the April 3 rally were prepared to risk arrest, CNN reported just two citations.

Although possession of up to 2 ounces of pot has been decriminalized within Washington, D.C., smoking marijuana could be considered an act of civil disobedience because public consumption remains prohibited.

As the group staged their 4:20 “smoke in,” they briefly inflated a 51-foot inflatable joint emblazoned with a clear message: “Obama, deschedule cannabis now.”

At UN Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia Supports Right To Torture & Execute LGBT People

In this Aug. 10, 2010 photograph, Vancouver residents protest to bring attention to countries, like Saudi Arabia, which imprison or execute LGBT people. (Flickr / DragonWoman)

April 13, 2016

Kit

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At UN Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia Supports Right To Torture & Execute LGBT People

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

At the most recent session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia objected to a resolution that condemns the use of torture by law enforcement and reaffirms the human rights of LGBT people.

The resolution, passed during the council’s 31st session, which closed on March 24, condemns the use of torture “and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” and urges nations to prevent torture by police or during pre-trial detention.

While the report is primarily focused on police and governmental use of torture, it briefly references the latest report by Juan Mendez, the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, which was issued during the session.

According to a U.N. press release, Saudi Arabia protested because Mendez’s report “included 65 references to sexual orientation and was an attempt to use the eradication of torture to promote other issues, which lacked any ground in international law.”

SXStreetcrash: A Tribute to David Bowie In The Streets At SXSW (Photo Gallery)

March 17, 2016. SXstreetcrash: The Man Who Fell To Earth. A drunken spaceman lays on the ground of 6th street, Austin's downtown club district. (Kit O'Connell)

April 11, 2016

Kit

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SXStreetcrash: A Tribute to David Bowie In The Streets At SXSW (Photo Gallery)

Posted in Journalism, and SXSW

2016 marked the 7th “SXStreetcrash,” an interactive, guerrilla performance event held in the center of 6th Street, Austin’s downtown nightclub district, during the massive SXSW Music festival. It’s hosted every year by Crash Alchemy, a local arts collective.

This year’s SXStreetcrash was a tribute to David Bowie, in honor of his recent passing. For the first time, the local chapter of the Decentralized Dance Party joined in, providing sound through their synchronized boomboxes. The DDP is a movement that originated in Canada which believes in promoting world peace through partying, and they use a portable FM transmitter to create a dance floor in the streets.

The idea of the Streetcrash is that the participants, including many community volunteers, gather ahead of time to create characters for the performance and practice a set of dance moves. Then, the group filters out into the 6th Street crowds, acting strangely and attracting as much attention as possible before, suddenly, coming together in a grand performance that “crashes the party.”