HAS THE WORLD FINALLY LOST ITS MARBLES?

Corruption and its close companion, murder, know no bounds -- especially in Mexico, where one's life is as cheap as a Tijuana hooker. Violence from drug cartels have become daily news the last few years, and there are more murders in Mexico than virtually any other developed country in the world (El Salvador tops the list). Political figures, police, even American citizens have been slaughtered at unprecedented levels as the cartels exert their power over the entire country.

Now, you can add crimes against the environment to the list of casualties. Things are getting pretty bad when you have a person who is the conservator of a vital part of the living fabric of the environment apparently thrown into a well because he is in the way of illegal activity (see story below).

I used to dismiss people's claims that the world was going to hell in a hand-basket, but after reading this story and considering a number of other stories in the news of late, I'm inclined to join in. Overall, incidents of crime and lawlessness across the world and in our own country are teeming and there seems to be no relief in sight.

The current Mexican president has maintained a "hugs, not drugs" policy has only made the cartels bolder. Likewise, numerous "hands off" policies in our own country have emboldened lawlessness and criminal behavior where it didn't exist before. Nutjob judges and loony politicians have stood in the way of law and order at an increasing rate and the results are not hard to see. This all adds up to an indication that human monsters are on the loose. I remain guardedly optimistic...

Homero Gómez González, prominent butterfly activist in Mexico, found dead in a well
By Amanda Woods |January 30, 2020 | 8:22am | nypost.com

A man known as Mexico’s most prominent butterfly activist was found dead in a well, and his family fears he may have been a casualty of cartel violence, according to new reports.

Homero Gómez González, a former logger who transformed into one of the most vocal defenders of central Mexico’s monarch butterfly population, disappeared on Jan. 13 — alarming environmental activists throughout the country and the US, The Washington Post reported. Rights groups immediately suspected that angry loggers or criminal groups in the town of Ocampo in Michoacán state — known for its violent gangs — may have targeted González, according to the report.

His body was found floating Wednesday in a well not far from the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve he managed. His cause of death was not immediately known, and his body showed no obvious signs of trauma, authorities told the paper.

But González’s family told local media an organized crime gang had threatened the conservationist, according to the BBC. His relatives also said they received calls from people claiming to have kidnapped him and demanding ransom, according to The Washington Post.

González was last seen attending a meeting in the village of El Soldado on the afternoon of Jan. 13, and relatives reported his disappearance the next day, the BBC reported.

More than 200 volunteers helped search for González — and entire police forces in Ocampo as well as neighboring Angangueo were detained for questioning last week, according to the report.

González opened his sanctuary in November, an effort to stop illegal logging in the area — a key habitat for monarch butterflies, according to the report. In a Twitter video published shortly before his disappearance, González is shown surrounded by a cloud of butterflies as he encouraged people to visit the sanctuary.

The Mexican government has outlawed logging in the region, allowing the monarchs to flourish — but the move has fueled tensions between local loggers and conservationists.

“It’s been a fight to maintain it,” González told The Washington Post last month. “And it hasn’t been easy.”

UPDATE:


And to further emphasized the point, yet another monarch butterfly conservationist has been found murdered. From The New York Post:

Second butterfly activist Raúl Hernández found dead in Mexico
A butterfly conservationist in Mexico was found dead just days after another prominent activist’s body was discovered in a well — sparking fears that the two deaths are linked.

Raúl Hernández, a tour guide at the largest monarch butterfly sanctuary in Michoacán state, vanished Jan. 27, and his body turned up Sunday on top of a hill in the sanctuary.

Forensic experts said Hernández had a deep wound to his head and his body was covered in bruises.

Authorities are still probing his death — but local conservationists fear it may be linked to the recent death of the sanctuary’s manager, amid conflict between the activists and local illegal loggers.

Homero Gómez González disappeared in the same region Jan. 13, and his body was found two weeks later floating in a well, not far from the El Rosario monarch-butterfly preserve.

Investigators initially said González’s body showed no signs of trauma, but it was later revealed he had suffered a blow to the head before drowning, the BBC reported, citing autopsy results.

Conservationists immediately suspected that angry loggers — or criminal groups tied to them in the town of Ocampo — may have targeted González, who was known as Mexico’s most prominent butterfly activist.

González’s family told local media an organized-crime gang had previously threatened him. His relatives also said they received calls from people claiming to have kidnapped him and demanding ransom, according to The Washington Post.

More than 200 volunteers helped search for González — and entire local police forces in Ocampo and neighboring Angangueo were detained by prosecutors for questioning last week, the BBC reported.

González opened his sanctuary in November in an effort to stop illegal logging in the area — a key habitat for monarch butterflies, according to the report.

The country’s government has outlawed logging in the region, allowing the monarchs to flourish — with millions of the butterflies returning each winter in giant clusters to hillsides in central Mexico, where trees shield them from harsh weather. But protecting their retreats to preserve dwindling populations has created tensions between illicit timber-fellers and conservationists.


“It’s been a fight to maintain it,” González told The Washington Post last month. “And it hasn’t been easy.”

And, on the lighter side (with a liberal dose of satire), this from the BABYLON BEE:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As President Trump began addressing the nation Tuesday evening, he said, "Good evening" to the camera, drawing an immediate flurry of fact checks from publications all across the country.

The New York Times pointed out that the meaning of the phrase was vague and that Trump could have meant any one of several things by the statement. Finally, they concluded that since Trump stubbornly insists on existing in our plane of reality, the statement that the evening was "good" in any way couldn't possibly be true:

CNN, meanwhile, fact-checked the concept of "good" altogether. "Hold it right there," one anchor said, pausing the broadcast to interject his comments. "What is this hateful, absolute, objective idea of good that Trump's talking about here? Correct me if I'm wrong, Brian, but it seems to me that Trump is advocating for a national religion and the execution of all Muslims with this statement."

"This is a very grave day in America," he added solemnly. "We rate this statement 'Pants on Fire.'"


Fox News rated the statement as a "mixture" of truth and falsehood, since with Trump in the White House, "it's actually a GREAT evening!"