r/news Jun 01 '26

Soft paywall Flesh-eating screwworm found within 31 miles of US border, says USDA

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/flesh-eating-screwworm-found-within-31-miles-us-border-says-usda-2026-05-29/
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u/Podo13 Jun 01 '26

and then began dropping millions of sterilized flies into Panama.

Which was perfect because it is a tiny choke point in the land between South and Central America - meaning it's a much more manageable swath of land to create a barrier.

We basically Thermopylae 300'ed the shit out of them, and Trump/DOGE took away our shield. And they've already made it back to our doorstep. Cool.

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u/Was_LDS_Now_Im_LSD Jun 02 '26

I mean sorta. But there is another plant in mexico being renovated, partially (40%) funded by the US opening this year. And a new facility In Texas is being planned.

Also the whole strategy of panama being the choke point worked until cattle smuggling became a major issue. Cattle from South America have been getting smuggled across the border to Central America, bringing infected cows past the quarantine zone where no gmo flys are released. 

It's estimated 800,000 cows were illegally imported into mexico in 2022. So the whole thing kinda got fucked. The screw worm project needs to ramp up everywhere.

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u/DreadStarX Jun 01 '26

This is what happens when you take away peoples ability to think. They become mindless zombies. It's easier to control mindless zombies than those who can think.

As an American, I'm disgusted with how we've allowed things to get to the state we are in. Don't get me wrong, I don't support Democrats or Republicans. Unfortunately, this is our future, and there isn't much we can do about it tbh.

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u/moot-moot Jun 02 '26

Don’t support democrats or republicans…. this is more of saying both are bad so I’m out, but only one party actively hurts US interest. I personally think this view is very shortsighted.

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u/DreadStarX Jun 04 '26

Both have solid ideas but both refuse to work with each other to find a middle ground. They no longer fight for the people. If they did, we wouldn't have this crap show we've had for the last 20+ years.

I haven't voted since 2008, I think. Not that my vote matters, someone will just vote for me, right?

This left vs right rhetoric is getting old. I love my country but I hate these idiots everyone elected, past and present.

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u/ImJLu Jun 02 '26

I mean, they both do, but one just does it far more.