Home » “Omissions of numbers”: Covid, war, planet, hidden data

“Omissions of numbers”: Covid, war, planet, hidden data

by admin
“Omissions of numbers”: Covid, war, planet, hidden data

The theme of this year’s Milanesiana are Omissions, and that of our evening, Numbers. It seems to me that the most obvious thing is therefore to speak of the Omissions of Numbers, and of the facts that hide behind the numbers. I will limit myself to three examples concerning the past, present and future, since the omissions are so ubiquitous that they constitute one of the four categories of sins of the Confiteor (along with thoughts, words and deeds).

As for the past, attention obviously goes to Covid-19, and to the cost in human lives that the pandemic has entailed. The media and governments of the West tell us that we live in a happy and privileged area of ​​the world, where the rights of citizens are guaranteed in theory, and protected in practice, unlike other parts of the world less fortunate than ours.

Now, is there perhaps a more fundamental right than human life? The famous beginning of the United States Declaration of Independence read in 1776: “All men are created equal, and have been endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights, including life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness”. And Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights repeated in 1950: “The right to life of every person is protected by law”.

Yet, if we look at the number of deaths of Covid-19 we realize that the nations that define themselves as democratic have had many more than the nations that we consider undemocratic: paradoxically, it was the latter that protected human life more than others. ‘economy: the United States, for example, at the end of 2021 officially declared 800,000 deaths from Covid, India 500,000 and China only 5,000

See also  Seven times prize: 'Oppenheimer' is a big winner at the BAFTAs

The Covid numbers have been systematically underestimated, but not in the way we might think at first glance: a comparison between the total deaths in the Covid years and the average in previous years shows that the real numbers in the countries mentioned were instead 5,000,000. deaths from Covid in India, 1,000,000 in the United States and 15,000 in China! In total, the declared deaths from Covid in the world are now 6,000,000, but those estimated to be more than 20,000,000!

As for the present, for four months the NATO countries have been involved in a war against Russia, which is accused of being a military superpower with global expansionist aims. Yet, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), updated to 2022, say that the world spends $ 2 trillion on weapons every year. Of this enormous figure, 40% (800 billion) are spent by the United States alone, and 16% (320 billion) by European nations: that is, one tenth of the world population (us) is responsible for more than 50% of the expenses. military of the whole world. Russia instead spends only 3% (60 billion): that is, almost 20 times less than NATO countries!

Nonetheless, over the past four months we have seen a frenzied arms race from European countries, including ours. Yet already today Italy alone spends half of Russia on arms! We are not talking about England, Germany and France, each of which already spends roughly as much as Russia.

As if that were not enough, the Pharisaic indignation for the invasion of Ukraine carried out by Russia had no analogue in the West for the invasion of Afghanistan carried out from 2001 to 2021 by NATO countries, including ours. As for the infamous “war on terrorism”, also fought in Iraq and dozens of other countries, it cost the United States 8 trillion dollars overall and caused 900,000 deaths, according to a report by Brown University.

See also  In Piovà Massaia a multimedia educational museum

Finally, as regards the future, assuming that we have a future, the numbers tell us that we are still doing everything possible to not have it. And not so much for the danger of an atomic war, towards which we are running at breakneck speed, as for the havoc we are waging on our planet, with our way of life and our model of development.

Oxfam (Oxford Committee for Famine Relief) reports annually strike the death knell for the hope that the world is moving towards a more humane and just place. Today there are 2,500 billionaires in the world, 500 of whom became billionaires in the two years of Covid! The 20 richest people in the world have the same wealth as all the inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa. And 1% of the world population has the same wealth as the remaining 99%.

As for the planet itself, a series of numerical simulations show that the environmentalist desire to return even to the resource consumption of 2000 is incompatible with the claim of governments and economists to preserve a positive level of growth. In fact, a report by the United Nations Environment Program shows that not even the most daring tools of the green economy, such as a super-tax on coal or a doubling of energy efficiency, could prevent a constant annual growth of 2% or 3%. to double or triple the level of resource consumption in 2000 by 2050.

In summary, looking at Covid, at war and at the planet, we realize that there is a very specific reason why the numbers and facts are omitted by the media and governments. And it is that if people knew them, they would really take up arms: but not to make war abroad, but to make a revolution at home!

See also  Twin knifes dressed in red

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy