You may think you have nothing to worry about, if you are a supporter of the "war", but maybe next time it will be you who are not following the politically correct party line.

Think about it!

GREEN PARTY USA COORDINATOR DETAINED AT AIRPORT PREVENTED BY ARMED MILITARY FROM FLYING TO GREENS MEETING IN CHICAGO

"I was targeted because the Green Party USA opposes the bombing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan." --Nancy Oden

(The Green Party USA statement on the war against Afghanistan is at http://www.greenparty.org/911.html

PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL MEDIA AND LISTSERVES. THANX (Mitchel Cohen) > > The Greens / Green Party USA 226 South Wabash, 6th floor PO Box 1406, Chicago, Illinois 60690 Toll-free Phone: 1-866-GREENS-2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 2, 2001

> > MEDIA ALERT: >>>>>>>>>>>>>

GREEN PARTY USA COORDINATOR DETAINED AT AIRPORT PREVENTED BY ARMED MILITARY FROM FLYING TO GREENS MEETING IN CHICAGO

Armed government agents grabbed Nancy Oden, Green Party USA coordinating committee member, Thursday at Bangor International Airport in Bangor Maine, as she attempted to board an American Airlines flight to Chicago.

"An official told me that my name had been flagged in the computer," a shaken Oden said. "I was targeted because the Green Party USA opposes the bombing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan."

Oden, a long-time organic farmer and peace activist in northern Maine, was ordered away from the plane. Military personnel with automatic weapons surrounded Oden and instructed all airlines to deny her passage on ANY flight. "I was told that the airport was closed to me until further notice and that my ticket would not be refunded," Oden said.

Oden is scheduled to speak in Chicago Friday night on a panel concerning pesticides as weapons of war. She had helped to coordinate the Green Party USA's antiwar efforts these past few months, and was to report on these to The Greens national committee. "Not only did they stop me at the airport but some mysterious party had called the hotel and cancelled my reservation," Oden said.

The Greens National Committee -- the governing body of the Green Party USA -- is meeting in Chicago Nov. 2-4 to hammer out the details of national campaigns against bio-chemical warfare, the spraying of toxic pesticides, genetic engineering, and the Party's involvement in the burgeoning peace movement.

"I am shocked that US military prevented one of our prominent Green Party members from attending the meeting in Chicago," said Elizabeth Fattah, a GPUSA representative from Pennsylvania who drove to Chicago. "I am outraged at the way the Bill of Rights is being trampled upon."

Chicago Green activist Lionel Trepanier concluded, "The attack on the right of association of an opposition political party is chilling. The harassment of peace activists is reprehensible."

For further information, please call 1-866-GREENS-2 (toll-free)

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), November 05, 2001

Answers

Folks, after posting this, I found out that there may be more to the story than meets the eye; according to the "authorities", Oden objected to being screened by the guards, and did indeed make a "ruckus". I'm hoping to learn more about this as time goes by.

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), November 06, 2001.

Actually, it all would have met the eye had that eye sought information from an uninterested and unbiased source rather than from a group with a well-known and biased agenda.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), November 08, 2001.

"from an uninterested and unbiased source"

.... and that would be?

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), November 08, 2001.

As an interesting side note, I just heard that the Federal Election Comittee has recognized the Green Party and they will now be eligible for the same benefits during elections that the other national parties have. It will be interesting to see if access to bigger money changes their outlook on campaign finance reorm any.

-- ray s (mmoetc@yahoo.com), November 09, 2001.

Joy, that would be me. I thought you'd have already known that.

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), November 09, 2001.

Joy, to answer your question, I might start by looking for some source other than the group with an axe to grind. As I read the text of the original post I not only notice there's absolutely no mention of an official version of the event but also see there was no effort to get one. Something like "Officials were unavailable for comment," would at least indicate such an effort was made.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), November 09, 2001.