Things Fall Apart

I know I've been absent for a while. But there is so much going on in the world that I have to come out of hibernation. I have to transmit to you the kinds fo news stories, information, and experiences that I come across every day. Trust me: Some of this news is outrageous enough to scream about; the rest is simply depressing.

On the BBC World Service (on-line edition), sometime during the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 6, they had a report on a crime wave afflicting, of all places, Acapulco. Here is my paraphrase of the report:

There were two attacks, apparently, sometime in the last day or two, at two different government office buildings. In both, security guards and a secretary were shot by masked gunmen believed to have been members of rival drug gangs linked to coastal smuggling groups. There have been other such incidents and Mexican officials even speak of entire "lawless regions" in other parts of the country.

The incidents affect tourists as well. On Saturday, the BBC reported that two Canadian tourists were grazed by bullets shot at their hotel.

Despite a government crack down, in the month of January alone there were 190 deaths in Mexico.

No comments at the moment. I just shake my head and sigh.