Ilhan Omar speech proved to be mistranslated but outrage continues spread

stopthatgirl7@kbin.social to politics @lemmy.world – 263 points –
Ilhan Omar speech proved to be mistranslated but outrage continues spread
theguardian.com

Republicans, rightwing figures and foreign politicians have seized upon the video despite proof the lawmaker was misquoted

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The Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, has gone furthest in her response to the clip, calling Omar a “foreign agent in our government”. Greene, a leading supporter of Donald Trump, who also attempted to censure the Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib in November, called Omar a “terrorist sympathizer” on X last week, adding: “Somalian first. Muslim second. She never mentions America.”

I vote we should be allowed to see ALL donors of ALL politicians. full disclosure. And ban super-PACS altogether. We'll see whose the foreign agent.

We already voted on that bill. The Republicans voted against it, for some reason.

https://www.opensecrets.org/

People in our government are required to financially disclose their finances, and anyone who doesn't should absolutely be investigated.

How many book sales are a form of getting around suspicious reporting, though? They write (or have shadow writers write) a book; sell them in bulk to... "super pacs" or whatevers; which are entirely funded by... russians, chineese, american oligarchs, etc.

They also report late, or not at all. (Mike Johnson doesn't have a bank account? interesting.)

Even if she did say "Somalians first..." how many White Americans call themselves Irish or Italian? And have parades celebrating how Irish or Italian they are?

Right, but Irish and Italian people aren't black. Or Muslim.

It’s weird for any white American to say they are “Irish” first

this is a bs comment. I have never known anyone to make a comment that their nationality first over america. Total pride in it sure and maybe something close like we are not just americans but X americans but not like it takes priority. Granted this comment is based on yours saying if she did say it so because moot in reality.

You heard em folks, burn all the "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirts for being un-American

Those shirts aren't being worn in the halls of Congress.

Because you have to wear suits there...

And yet Ilham Omar calls for genocide of Israelis in Congress...

When did she do that? Please show us the source that makes this claim.

Straight from the source: https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-introduces-resolution-block-weapons-sale-used-fund-war-crimes-gaza

In my mind, interference in Israel's ability to secure itself from terrorist attacks is calling on Israelis to roll over and die.

interference in Israel's ability to secure itself

So we shouldn't interfere then, and let them buy their own weapons with their own money?

We continued to fund UNRWA right up until we found out they were literally terrorists. I have no problem continuing to fund Israel with my tax dollars because they are most certainly not.

Wasn't it about 0.04% of UNRWA who were accused of being involved in the terror attack? Even if the accusations turn out to be true*, your claim that "UNRWA are literally terrorists" is about as accurate as saying that all Israelis are terrorists. Because some Israelis most certainly are.

I'm not trying to convince you, because you clearly haven't used rational thinking to arrive at your perspective. But you could at least try to make your argument a little bit more credible.

*They're not true. According to Channel 4, the intelligence report "contains no evidence to support Israel's claim."

Huh. Crazy that the US would defend UNRWA without evidence. So either the entire US government is wrong, or you're spreading misinformation.

Would love to see credible source backing up your outlandish claims.

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nice whataboutism, still didn't answer the question though

because they are most certainly not

lol, lmao even

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I have never known anyone to make a comment that their nationality first over america.

Cool. That includes Ilhan Omar.

Maybe. The article does not give the "correct" translation so who knows. One side says omar said this and the other said no its not that.

It absolutely does give the correct translation. Literally the third paragraph of the article:

According to the Minnesota Reformer, a Minnesota-based news outlet, which worked with two independent Somali translators, Omar said: “We are people who know that they are Somali and Muslim”, not that she was “Somalians first” as the video suggested.

How many Somali translators did "the other side" use?

How many Somali translators did "the other side" use?

Several, but lots of other intermediates were involved. At one point, they actually arrived at exactly this!

I was looking for that but somehow I thought that was the initial translation and not the corrected one. I guess they just did not give the initial one used outside of politician comments. So my bad but I really wish news articles were written differently.

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This is the best summary I could come up with:


A week after a mistranslated clip of Ilhan Omar sparked outrage online, some far-right House Republicans are still following through with calls for the progressive lawmaker to be censured.

Greene, a leading supporter of Donald Trump, who also attempted to censure the Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib in November, called Omar a “terrorist sympathizer” on X last week, adding: “Somalian first.

The preliminary deal, termed a memorandum of understanding, would see Somaliland lease Ethiopia a naval base on the Gulf of Aden and grant it widened access to its Berbera port.

Omar defended her comments in the days that followed, saying the subtitles in the video were “not only slanted but completely off”, as she expressed her support for the government of Somalia, where she was born, as it finds itself embroiled in standoff with Ethiopia.

Omar vowed to thwart the deal, which the US has also expressed concerns over, telling people at the gathering in Minneapolis: “For as long as I am in Congress, no one will take over the seas belonging to the nation of Somalia and the United States will not support others who seek to steal from us.”

Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, criticised the move as a “frivolous censure resolution, designed to inflame and castigate and further divide us”.


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