Fwd: Re: [ChicoLeft] Green party leader barred from flight by federal troops

[Tim Bousquet <chicoexaminer@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- "Jeffrey St. Clair" <sitka@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 10:12:44 -0800
> From: "Jeffrey St. Clair" <sitka@xxxxxxxx>
> To: Tim Bousquet <chicoexaminer@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [ChicoLeft] Green party leader barred
> from flight by federal troops
>
> tim--
>
> i find your letter self righteous and appalling.
>
> please desist from publishing any more counterpunch
> pieces in your pathetic paper.
>
> jsc
> counterpunch
>
> Tim Bousquet wrote:
>
> > UGGGH!!!
> >
> > This is article is irresponsible-- I too received
> it
> > about twenty times now through various email lists
> and
> > individual emails, and was outraged by it, so did
> some
> > elementary research. The article first appeared on
> > Indy Media, here is my post to that web site:
> >
> > I contacted Jeff Russel, who is with airport
> security
> > at Bangor International Airport, and asked him
> about
> > this article. Here is his response:
> >
> > "Tim:
> >
> > "Thank you for writing. Ms. Oden's version of
> events,
> > while certainly exciting, are far removed from
> > reality. We are unaware of any role Ms. Oden's
> status
> > as a Green may have played. The passenger in
> question
> > was asked to undergo additional screening (i.e. a
> hand
> > wand examination) because the manner in which she
> > purchased the ticket triggered a concern under the
> new
> > Federal screening guidelines post September, 11.
> She
> > refused to cooperate. It is illegal for an airline
> to
> > fly an unscreened passenger. Accordingly, the
> airline
> > denied her boarding. She never got near a plane.
> She
> > never went through security. No screen, no fly--it
> is
> > as simple as that. The situation was entirely of
> her
> > own making. What's sad is that she refuses to
> admit to
> > and take responsibility for her own inappropriate
> > behavior, looking only for somebody else to blame
> for
> > her own inability to cooperate with reasonable
> > expectations under the circumstances. 99.9% of
> people
> > selected are very understanding and cooperative
> and
> > the process only takes an extra minute.
> >
> > "Again, thanks for writing to express your
> concerns
> > and we appreciate your efforts to objectively view
> the
> > circumstances."
> >
> > Luis Lingg (the author of the article) really has
> done
> > a dis-service to Indy Media, which can be a
> wonderful
> > resource. A fundamental tenet of responsible
> > journalism holds that at least an attempt to
> contact
> > the subject of an article should be made. It took
> me
> > less than thirty seconds' worth of a Google search
> to
> > find Bangor Airport's contact info, and thirty
> more
> > seconds to fire off an e-mail asking about the
> > allegations. They responded about ten minutes
> later. I
> > don't think it's asking too much for somebody
> writing
> > an article with such allegations to at least make
> the
> > same effort.
> >
> > As good as Indy Media can be, the two stories that
> > stay in my mind are this one and the story that
> CNN
> > film footage of Palestinians celebrating in the
> > streets after the World Trade Center attacks was
> in
> > reality old footage from some previous year. The
> > Palestinian story was as false as the Bangor
> Airport
> > story, and had the same flaw: the author did not
> even
> > attempt to contact any one at CNN for comment.
> >
> > This is Journalism 101, and until submitters to
> Indy
> > Media start abiding by basic ethical standards,
> the
> > entire Indy effort will be discredited.
> >
> > In the meanwhile, we readers will have to act as
> > editors, responding to mistakes when we find them.
> >
> > **
> > There has been some discussion on the site to the
> > effect of the cops are lying, or whatever, but
> from my
> > vantage point, the very fact that nobody sought to
> ask
> > the cops in the first place discredits the
> article,
> > regardless. And the fact that the Green Party is
> > continuing to distribute this article, without
> doing
> > any followup, without asking the feds about any
> > alleged political hit list, without trying to find
> any
> > eyewitnesses of the incident, and so forth-- well,
> the
> > whole thing is just propaganda, and the truth be
> > damned.
> >
> > I don't know-- maybe the incident occurred exactly
> as
> > Odin says it did, but certainly nobody has made
> any
> > indepedent attempt to objectively report on this.
> >
> > And, now that I'm emailing this response to
> everyone
> > who sends it to me, I have little doubt that not
> one
> > of the people who sent the piece to me in the
> first
> > place will forward this response to the people
> they
> > got it from. It's a sad day for Progressives when
> they
> > have to resort to this sort of behavior.
> >
> > Tim Bousquet
> > Editor
> > Chico Examiner
> >
> > --- Carey Wilson <careyw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > If you didn't have enough evidence that our
> rights
> > > of dissent are
> > > disappearing at an alarming rate check this out:
> > > www.counterpunch.org/oden1.html
> > > Carey
> > >
> >
> > =====
> > Check out the Chico Examiner listserves at:
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DisorderlyConduct
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChicoLeft
> >
> > Subscribe to the Chico Examiner for only $40
> annually or $25 for six months. Mail cash or check
> payabe to "Tim Bousquet" to POBox 4627, Chico CA
> 95927
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
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> > http://careers.yahoo.com
>


=====
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