Global Priorities - where the money goes...

This data on the annual global cost of providing the following goods and services is slightly dated (from 1998... and may not be exactly accurate either, perhaps), but I don’t think the proportions would have changed drastically:

$780bn: Military spending in the world

$400bn: Narcotics drugs trade in the world

$105bn: Alcoholic drinks in Europe

.$50bn: Cigarettes in Europe

.$35bn: Business entertainment in Japan

.$17bn: Pet foods in Europe and the United States

.$13bn: Estimated cost of basic health and nutrition worldwide

.&12bn: Perfumes in Europe and the United States

.$12bn: Estimated cost of reproductive health for all women globally

.$11bn: Ice cream in Europe

..$9bn: Estimated cost of water/sanitation worldwide

..$8bn: Cosmetics in the United States

..$6bn: Cost of basic education for everyone in the world

One can also add that India's military spending is $16.73bn

...it is always good to be aware of such trivial absurdities of our times - even if one can't do much about them :(