Behind the Headlines by Justin Raimondo  December 24, 1999   As
the shadow of terrorism, both real and imagined, looms over us
this Christmas season, the hysteria continues, stoked by the
corporate media and government officials (or do I repeat
myself?). The past 24 hours have seen the rapid escalation of
official alarmism: mail-bombs are expected from Germany, to hear
the FBI tell it: D.C.; New York City, and Seattle are touted as
the most likely terrorist targets; and a couple with alleged
links to an Algerian terrorist organization – the Armed Islamic
Group, mentioned in yesterday's column – were arrested at the
Vermont border. The charge is smuggling an illegal alien and
having a phony passport, but the flood of illegals pouring over
the Mexican border needn't get too worried – they're only doing
it to Algerians.   My own favorite tale of alarmism run amok is
the one in the New York Times, that tells the story about the
hapless American arrested at the Bahamas airport, who  "was
found to be carrying wires