If one in every four Americans
Appears on television in his
Or her lifetime, and the amount
Of money spent on ice-cream
Each year is equal to the
Amount needed to secure
The reproductive health of women
Then 599,000 cattle, 1.8 million
Pigs, and 500,000 lambs will be
Slaughtered by the end of the week.
If the average annual income
For a cashier at Wal-Mart is $14,000
And the average life expectancy
In Zimbabwe is 31 years
Then production costs for reality
Television will be $800,000 per
Hour. If Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s
Wedding cost between $2-3 million
And total spending on health care
In Canada is $3,298 per person
Then the main occupation for the
Disabled will be begging. If a child
Dies of starvation every seven seconds
And over 150,000 people purchase
Stomach-shrinking surgery each year
Then farmers will be subsidized
$350 billion. If 24,000 people
Die from hunger each day
And Canadians spend $8,000 for
A face lift, $5,000 for a tummy-tuck
$4,000 for a brow lift, and $500
For a Botox injection, then every
Six seconds a woman will be raped.
If the same woman earns 77 cents
For every dollar her rapist earns
And a single person on welfare
In Canada lives on less
Than $6,000 a year, then 80% of
Global production will be controlled
By fewer than 1,000 corporations.
If aboriginal children in Canada
Are twice as likely to be poor
As non-aboriginal children, and
The total fur production increases
From 73, 522 pelts in 2002
To 115, 953 pelts in 2006, then
The incarceration rate will increase
From 129 per 100,000 in 2005
To 131 per 100,000 in 2006. If
The 900 million people who live
In the West consume 86% of global
Expenditures, and 300 tonnes
Of hazardous waste are
Produced each year, then the
Average world income per head
Will be $7,530. If printed
Matter and literature constitute
14.7% of global cultural exports
And 179 of the 500 largest corporations
In the world are located in the US
Then the Dept. of Defense will
Employ over 2 million people
In over 600,000 buildings, on over
30 million acres of land. If data
Shows a strong correlation between
American involvement in International
Situations and an increase in terrorist
Attacks on American tourists, and
The number of cars on the road
Increases three times faster than
The US population rate, then Canada
Will rank highest in the world
For internet penetration. If 81% of
Those polled agree that exercising power
Yields greater rewards than exercising
Compassion, and labour force
Participation by women increases
From 37.7% in 1960 to 57.3% in 1991
Then 286 million hens will be involved
In egg production in 2005. If the World
Bank defines the international poverty
Line as U.S. $1 per day, and a 90%
Cut in carbon emissions is needed
To stop temperatures rising by 2 degrees
Celsius by 2030, then 50,000 plant
And animal species will disappear
This year–Hic Rhodus, Hic Salta!
Works Cited
- Farr, Roger.
Hic Rhodus, Hic Salta.
Canadian Literature 206 (2010): 45–47. Print.20761
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