Razor Wire on the Wall.

I've been arguing with the numbskull Wall Cheerleaders for the last couple of weeks, and finally realized that I haven't posted anything about the situation HERE. My impression is that many of the people across the country don't even know this has happened, so here we go.

Over the last few weeks, the Army has been stringing copious amounts of razor wire around various Points of Entry along the Mexican Border. Nogales first made the news, because their Mayor and City Council passed a resolution condemning it, and demanding its removal.

http://time.com/5523605/nogales-arizona-razor-wire-border/

[Nogales Mayor Arturo] Garino said authorities didn’t tell him why more wire was installed. He said he was most concerned that children and others could be injured now that it reaches the ground. The downtown area is also residential, and there are homes that stand a few feet from the border fence.

“Aesthetically pleasing — it’s not. It’s very bad. It’s not good for business, it’s not good for what we’re trying to create, a business-friendly community here in Nogales,” Garino told the AP.

Next, they came to Naco, probably the sleepiest Border Town along the line, (and hence, the location of several of the tunnels that have been discovered). Naco is about 4 miles from the south end of Bisbee. Several of my friends live there, or nearby Bisbee Junction. When I moved here, the fence was three strands of barbed wire, and some noise sensors. Later, a wall about 10 feet high was put up, made from old landing mat panels, left over from Vietnam. I took friends from out of town to see it.

Border Wall.jpg

This is the view from the Mexican side. Local artists have been crossing the Border, with paint, and helping the local children to decorate their side of the wall. That lasted about five years, and then it was torn down to put up a new wall.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ-TtTjn1yg]

The new wall is actually two fences...one, about 12 feet tall, of thick steel angle irons, and about 40 feet north of that, another, of tight wire mesh. A no-mans-land has been created between the two. By eminent domain, of course.

That one (Obama's Wall) was good enough, for a few years, but of course Trump had to "improve" it. Enter the Army, and the razor wire. Word went out that they were coming, and the Usual Suspects organized a quick protest, but the Army managed to get three rows of wire up before we even got there.

Naco razor wire1_0.jpg

Naco razor wire 2.jpg

Naco Razor wire 4.jpg

Naco Razor Wire 5.jpg

Note that this is not barbed wire, like you would use to fence in your cattle...this is coiled spring metal, with razor sharp edges. Like you would use to surround a base in some other country that you were occupying.

Notice also, that it is on this side of the fence.

The soldiers got two more rows up, the next day, so now we have five. It goes to the San Pedro River to the west (10 miles or so) and to the Douglas Port of Entry to the east, and a little beyond, to the Peloncillo Mountains. (about 30 miles)

The wire is going up only near the Ports of Entry, where there are already the tallest fences, the tallest light poles, the heaviest concentrations of Border Patrol, and roads...the easiest for the news media to get there. Thousands of miles of desert, with little to no roads, no easy access, have only a simple fence. This wire is not to keep anyone out...it is only a photo op, a sop to throw to the Trump supporters. "Hey, he's doing something to keep me SAFE!"

An illusion.

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gulfgal98's picture

Razor wire is what they put up around prisons. Since the razor wire is on the US side, anyone living near it must feel as though they are living in a prison. Your photographs tell the story very clearly.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Bisbonian's picture

@gulfgal98

Nogales Concertina Wire.jpeg

Not only a lovely view out your front window, but it really brings in those tourist dollars, too.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

dance you monster's picture

@Bisbonian

. . . the haphazard installation belies that (1) the military was told to put this shit up and did what it was told with no care what it looked like, and (2) the wall was not designed to have razor wire on it ever, or those reels would have a specified place to be. Which all means that this is a sham from the outset, a measure to enable DT to say, see, I did the wall thing, so let me get back to my burgers and golf. Not a single facet of this is anything but waste. Well, I guess the maker of the razor wire would say otherwise, as they're richer.

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mimi's picture

@Bisbonian
they are for sure bigger, denser, sharper, higher and completely superfluous too. Bravo. MAGA for sure.

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gulfgal98's picture

@Bisbonian This is horrifying. It is hard to believe that this is in the United States. Shok

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

gulfgal98's picture

@gulfgal98 This afternoon, after seeing these photographs, I realized that the razor wire and the walls are very symbolic of what we have allowed to happen to we the people of the United States. We have willingly allowed ourselves to become prisoners of the deep state that controls our government.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

WindDancer13's picture

For the rhythmists:

For the nostalgic:

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Azazello's picture

And stupid too. Meanwhile, the Tucson City Council backs Nogales in push to remove razor wire from border wall.

O/T Did you guys get a buncha' snow yesterday ?

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Bisbonian's picture

@Azazello , but it was really wet and sticky! Covered the trees, until an hour or two ago. Looked like a winter wonderland. Now I've started to shovel out.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

Azazello's picture

@Bisbonian
at our house in midtown, at 2400 ft. Unheard of. Big fluffy clumps, more snow than anyone around here can remember seeing.
It's all gone now, of course, but the front of the Catalinas is still all white, Rincons too.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

CS in AZ's picture

@Azazello

Yesterday our house, and my office building in the SE part of town, both got snow almost all day, and it built up several inches at least. People at work were having snowball fights and building snowpeople. (Not me, I stayed inside, had fun watching.)

We do go a bit crazy here over a layer of visible snow on the ground, don’t we? But it’s true, having lived most of my life in Tucson, I have never before seen snow falling for hours in the daylight or sticking that thick for so long.

Like you said earlier, fun for a day or two, but not something I’d enjoy on a regular basis.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@CS in AZ

Didn't really stick, but very bizarre.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Cassiodorus's picture

@Anja Geitz https://www.weathercentral.com/weather/us/maps/current_temperatures.html

Looks like it's centered in Alberta.

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Roy Blakeley's picture

@Cassiodorus The polar vortex is a high altitude low pressure center that is over the North Pole (there is actually one over the South Pole as well). If it is strong, there is a strong counter clockwise high altitude flow around the North Pole. The Jet stream stays north and the arctic is cold and the US is seasonable. This year the polar vortex has been unstable and has blebbed off high altitude lows. One over Quebec pulled arctic air down into the central and eastern US while warming up places like Baffin Island. I guess a new one has blebbed off and is over Alberta.

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dystopian's picture

@Azazello I love hearing about y'all's snow in SE AZ. Something about snow on Saguaro and Cholla that is especially beautiful. And seeing those local mountains with it, is spectacular. Great for a day a two. I suppose then the higher elevations of Huachucas and Chiricahuas got it good? Thanks for sharing the news...

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

CS in AZ's picture

@dystopian

I took this pic about 30 minutes ago, from my backyard. Snow on the Catalinas. Lovin’ it.

CC587C5E-E89A-4F2D-8753-BE2B4C04D597.jpeg

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dystopian's picture

@CS in AZ Awesome pic, TYVM for sharing! Beautiful. Who couldn't love Sabino Canyon? Is it Rose Canyon Lake or something like that, where the campgrounds up top? Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstarts, wonderful place.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Bisbonian's picture

@Bisbonian 4inchwetsnow.jpg

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

CS in AZ's picture

Razor wire. Ugly and dangerous to humans and animals. Totally unnecessary, huge waste of money, all so hair trump can say he’s doing something. Ugh...

On a somewhat happier note, I read this morning that the federal gov has again pulled the approval for that insane housing development near Benson, supposedly to have 28,000 houses, golf courses, parks... I think it’s a nutty project to begin with. Can’t imagine that many people would want to live there, in such a development.

But anyway, several environmental groups sued the government for not doing adequate environmental studies, so they’ve rescinded the go-ahead. Again. For now. Hopefully the developer will abandon this whole folly before it gets off the ground. They can’t seriously think it will succeed, do they? I keep thinking it must be a scam, or a tax write off, or something like that.

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Azazello's picture

@CS in AZ
Arizona Rep. Grijalva to push for permanent ban on new mining claims near Grand Canyon

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

dystopian's picture

Great pix of ugliness, but thanks! It sure is not the beautiful old Nogales I remember. It was a neat town. Besides being around it many times birding, I once worked there a few days, as a salesman (outdoor lighted signs to businesses) walking the streets of downtown and main drag businesses, about '89 I think. You really get a feel for a town walking working around amongst its people. It was a great place full of good people.

In the 60's and early 70's when a kid, often folks from socal would take Hwy 2. from Yuma to Lukeville as it was quicker to get to Organ Pipe Cactus N.M. that way than via Ajo. Plus, on the way, many would stop along the side of the road in Mexico when we saw the Cottonwoods of the spring, and climb through two regular ranch style barbed wire (or as they say in Texas, bobwar) fences to bird Quitobaquito Springs without having to take the slow dirt road in on the U.S. side. Return to car and head to Lukeville, or Yuma if going the other way. Hundreds of socal birders and such did this for decades there because the dirt road in was so slow on the U.S. side of the fence.

It really hurts to see this happening to our border there, and everywhere. Thanks again for showing us.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Bisbonian's picture

I have often been tempted to take Highway 2...what a great shortcut that would be to San Diego! But the Border crossing is too much of a hassle for it to be worthwhile.

A decade or more ago, a group of us went over to Ajo to play some music for a festival there. One carload on the way home to Tucson were having so much fun that they missed the turn at Why, and headed for Lukeville. They crossed the Border, late at night, thinking it was one of the checkpoints. It wasn't long before they realized their mistake, and did a U-turn, back to the Border. The US guys just laughed at them, threatened not to let them in because they had too many banjos.

Couldn't happen today.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

dystopian's picture

@Bisbonian @Bisbonian Too funny, yeah, if you have enough banjos on ya... that banjo privilege kicks in. Wink

A couple years ago there was a super mega rare Asiatic bird (White Wagtail) at the sewer treatment plant in Why, people came from all over to see it.

Yuma-Lukeville was an hour quicker on Hwy. 2, but crossing was practically slowing down to 20 and waving back then. We always burnt a couple hours at Quitobaquito, a quintessential desert spring in the middle of nowhere with Desert Pupfish and Sonoron Mud Turtle, big old Cottonwoods. I think there was a Jaguar record there once. The Organ Pipe N.M webpage had good pix of it IIRC.

edit: removed superfluous word

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

mimi's picture

to keep the socialists protected from evil capitalists, and Trump now has the same thing to protect the capitalists from evil socialists?

It's just so disgusting. It really looks like what we had as borders between East and West Germany.

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Bisbonian's picture

@mimi I've put up comparative pictures, elsewhere...our wall is taller, no mans land is wider, the East Germans used barbed wire vs. our razor wire...and they only put it on top, not all the way down to the ground.

We don't have the machine guns set up yet, though.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

@Bisbonian
Pretty soon, the gateways to "the Land of the Free" will look like the opening sequence of "Hogan's Heroes" complete with Trump as Colonel Klink.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Bisbonian's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmzsWxPLIOo]

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

@Bisbonian
Klink was an arrogant two-faced asshole.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Bisbonian's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness I just couldn't resist the classic line.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

Azazello's picture

@mimi
We all have our memories of the old days but those days are gone.
It's tragic.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

once battery tech rose to being able to use cut off wheels on portable grinders, razor wire is just a minor inconvenience, along with chains and locks.

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

Congratulations; we have reached peak Animal Farm.

They're not even trying anymore. It's might-makes-right and they're laughing in our faces like the sand-kicking bully from the Charles Atlas ads.

I'd rhetorically ask "am I the only one who thinks Osama was on to something", but I happen to know I'm NOT....

ON THE MORE ENCOURAGING SIDE: Speaking of Charles Atlas, has anyone else heard the gist of his life story? Poor immigrant boy, gets bullied by bigger kids, wants to turn the tables, can't afford gym membership or barbells or any of that crap, so he goes to his local public library, studies anatomy/biology/classical mechanics/etc, develops his "dynamic tension" method of bodybuilding, next thing you know he's got ads in every comic book saying "I went from 98-lb. weakling to the world's most perfectly-developed man, I can change YOUR body too!"

Now, I couldn't care less about bodybuilding, but...Is that not the most American story you have ever heard???

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!