Thursday, July 22, 2010
Don't Panic Is Hezbollah infiltrating the U.S. from Mexico?
Posted by Andisheh Nouraee on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 1:40 PM
- Illustration by Andisheh Nouraee
1) “That must suck.” 2) “I really could use some help painting my soffits.” 3) “These illegals are taking jobs away from all the hardworking REAL Americans who are eager to help me mulch my azaleas for $8/hour. 4) “These Mexicans are threatening our way of life in some vague way I can’t describe except to assure you that I’m totally not a racist and I resent you for implying I’m a racist just because I’m constantly voicing my anger about nonwhites and, in fact, I think you’re racist for calling me a racist.”
I would like you add a fifth reaction to your emotional repertoire.
Try pointing at the men and screaming, “Terrorist!”
If North Carolina Republican Congresswoman Sue Myrick has her way, we’ll all be yelling “terrorist!” soon.
Myrick (the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management) has recently been peddling the flimsy notion that Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party, militia and terrorist group backed by Iran, is infiltrating the U.S. via our border with Mexico.
I’ve tried to track down as a many of her statements as I can on the subject and they’re all flimsy. Myrick is a demagogue who thinks placing two proper nouns in the same sentence is ipso facto proof of a collaborative link between the two proper nouns.
Here’s Myrick on Fox News on July 14, talking up the Hezbollah-via-Mexico threat: “When you just put the pieces together and start looking at what’s happening all throughout, you know, South America and into Mexico on our border, it really became obvious that there are so many signs that Hezbollah is very active.”
The host, sympathetic to Myrick, mentioned one case of a Hezbollah member entering the United States from Mexico. He doesn’t mention the man’s name, but from the details he’s talking about Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, a Lebanese national who pleaded guilty in 2005 to raising money for Hezbollah in Michigan. Kourani entered the U.S. from Mexico.
“And that’s what so disturbing,” Myrick responds. “Because it’s been continuing and it’s something people choose to ignore. I thank you for covering it because the rest of the media doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Myrick’s right, of course. The rest of the media doesn’t want to talk about it. Perhaps because THEY ALREADY TALKED ABOUT IT WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY NEWS. Kourani entered the U.S. in February 2001 and pleaded guilty in 2005. They call it news because it’s supposed to be new, Sue.
Myrick also claims Iranian agents are learning Spanish in Venezuela, then traveling to Mexico and getting into the U.S. with forged papers. (For some reason, Myrick’s imagined Iranian agents can’t learn Spanish in Mexico.) Myrick’s proof of this phenomenon? I kid you not: Farsi language tattoos in California prisons.
Myrick again. “And the other thing that we’re seeing, and we’re seeing it in particular in the prisons [in California], is Farsi tattoos. Farsi is basically a Persian language, which Iran is, and we know we’ve seen Arabic tattoos in our prisons for a long time, but we haven’t seen Farsi tattoos in a long time. That’s a pretty good indication that these people coming across our border are not just coming from Mexico and other countries that are looking for work. And that’s what scares me.”
Myrick’s logic is flawless. A Farsi language tattoo makes someone an agent of Iran who got here from Venezuela and Mexico. You know, just like having a Yin Yang tattoo means you’re a Taoist who came here from China and a rose tattoo means you’re secretly a really good gardener.
It apparently hasn’t occurred to Myrick that the recent and growing presence of Farsi tattoos in California might be “linked” to the recent and growing presence of Iranian-Americans in California — a group comprised almost entirely of families fleeing the very same Iranian regime Myrick is so scared of.
Comments (19)
Showing 1-19 of 19
Channel 2 Action News anchor Justin Farmer traveled to Arizona to view a detention center near Phoenix. He viewed records that show illegals in custody from from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen.
http://www.wsbtv.com/2investigates/2343438…
Arizona appears to be a favorite location for entering the United States from Mexico by these illegal aliens. Federal officials believe that many of those from Middle Eastern and African nations first arrive in South America, where they learn Spanish. They then follow a pipeline, possibly with help from drug cartels, through Mexico into the U.S.. Farmer interviewed an Arizonan rancher, anonymously, who should the Atlanta anchorman some Muslim prayer rugs he found on his property near suspected infiltration points.
While much of the focus over the recent passage of a new illegal immigration law in Arizona has been centered on those of Mexican nationality, the WSBTV series of reports shows the problem may be far deeper and more dangerous. The recent crime wave spurred by Mexican drug lords, resulting in thousands of deaths and kidnappings along the border region is bad enough. These new revelations show that something even bigger may be happening. If Justin Farmer’s reports are accurate, hundreds, if not thousands, of terrorists are now in the United States.
Andisheh - With unemployment near 10% I feel bad for people who have lost thier jobs especially when I see them actively pursuing work. Then I think how blessed I am to have work - work is meant to be a blessing not a curse. Large groups of human beings hanging out anywhere looking for work typically make me feel unsafe. These Home Depot stores with this issue have heightened Security and try to enforce Loitering Laws so that these people are not directly near the Store. The additional Security is for the safety of customers and employees.
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I don't think she is a Commie. Myrick is a far-right Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd…
Andisheh - are you trying to make the Journolist? LOL!
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/0…
Wat in the hell is an iranian american? Can we become an american iranian? Then why in the hell do they get to be iranian American? That goes to show how stupid america is, these people want to aquire nuclear weapons! Ok let me ask the iranian americans do u want america to blow up iran and destroy the whole country and kill hundreds of thousands of iranian people? if no, Then u dont think like an american!
Weird. I went to clatl.com to read news comments and somehow ended up at ajc.com. I'll have to speak to the network admins about this.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/m…
Thankfully I believe very little of what I read in the media these days and find it necessary to look at a variety of internet based news sources to get a more rounded picture of the news. I know enough now to confirm that this author is very biased against conservative thinking and bases his writings solely on his own opinion with little thought given to fact finding.
Andisheh - I think you are on to something here. Communism/Socialism doesn't look so bad. I found some great Pictures of everyday life under that type of Government. I think it looks it fantastic! I am looking forward to it! I think our current Administration is doing the best job possible to hurry us along down the path in these pictures!
http://www.spiegel.de/international/german…
My favorite photo is #9! What is yours?
@pete
United Farm Workers are giving out jobs anyone who wants the jobs that undocumented workers are doing.
Seriously. From the website: "Farm workers are ready to welcome citizens and legal residents who wish to replace them in the field. We will use our knowledge and staff to help connect the unemployed with farm employers."
http://www.ufw.org/toj_play/TOJNEW_12_JAL.…
pistol pete - your specious arguments would be laughable if you weren't waving your ignorance like a flag.
it's true that life in e. germany was far from ideal, but your photos from 25-30 years ago don't exactly resonate. how about some photos from a free society like ours taken within the last several months?
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2009/…
this is just one of many examples of how any society fails to treat/protect/enable it's people.
typical that you'd be wearing an alabama hat in your pic -
Wyatt back in the day people would do any job to avoid being on the teet of Government. Nowadays our generous unemployment benefits in some states pay for up to 99 weeks and ususally pays better than migrant farm jobs.
We need immigration reform to allow all people to work here. I would like us to be more like Australia and most of the world and allow the best and brightest to enter. It is complicated but we need to do something.
In the mean time how about a "Shovel Ready Program" using some of that pent up Stimulus Money to Seal the Border?
Ida - I am wearing a Braves Hat!
The people in those photos look happy and well fed to me. They look like a very happy and content family. The poorest of the poor in America live pretty well here compared to the rest of the world thanks to our genorosity and caring attitudes. America is a great country where anyone can succeed by working hard.
Ida - communist East Germany not ideal? Hmmm...not IDEAL?? The people in the photos you show are much happier that the people in those photos from East Germany.
I am sorry Ida - but I at one time lived muych worse than the people in the photos you are referencing.
The guys standing near Home Depot looking for work makes someone feel unsafe? wow.
Immigrants built this country and will continue to do so no matter what laws are passed.
My grandparents and great-granparents on my father's side were immigrants (Germany and Sicily). My mother's family goes back a little further to great-great-granparents immigrating from the UK. They all worked shitty manual labor jobs and had ass-loads of kids when they got here.
It's funny to me that people who support market based economics can't realize what's going on. The market demands cheap labor, so it will always exist without comprehensive labor movements to keep it in check. Trying to stop illegals from getting in is as useless as trying to stop cocaine getting in the country. Too much demand for it.
Think we'd have illegals picking fruit if the International Brotherhood of Fruit Pickers (IBFP) existed and demanded high wages with good benefits? Illegal immigrants (Eastern European Jews) working in textile sweatshops created the first labor unions in the country.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Yo Smitty - What is a "comprehensive labor movement?" It is unions screwing the rest of us and driving jobs overseas. If you don't support market based economics, what do you support? Government planning based economics? That worked out great in all those socialist paradises I hear so much about. The market doesn't "demand cheap labor." A market based economy means compensation for labor is set at what it's worth to the employer to get the job done. No more, no less. In this day and age, the union movement, especially in the government sector. is a dangerous anachronism that threatens the overall economic health of the nation.
Also, if terrorists aren't trying to get here through Mexico, then they are really stupid because it is really easy.
Dave
"A market based economy means compensation for labor is set at what it's worth to the employer to get the job done."
A market based economy will always set labor costs as cheaply as they can be had. The only way to alter the market's natural demand for cheap labor is through collective bargaining or government regulation of the labor market.
Who exactly do you think this The Market person is and how do you think he sets what a job is worth if not through basic supply and demand?
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