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SMOKE AND MIRRORS THE ILLUSION OF HIV & AIDS Statistics SMOKE MIRRORS AND & AIDS Statistics THE ILLUSION OF HIV Statistics on the spread of so-called HIV and AIDS worldwide should be analysed with their limitations as well as their sources in mind. s supposedly the rock-solid foundation of modern science, a science exclusively concerned with quantities, measurements and numbers, and used as indisputable proof. Unfortunately, it is easy to produce erroneous or biased results unintentionally by just overlooking certain complicated and specific rules for sam- pling or weighting the data. But the most fascinating thing about statistics is that a clever statistician can work magic with the numbers and quite intentionally create the illusion of proving or disproving almost anything. AIDS statis! showcase of illusionists at work. It is clearly manufactured to order, using several illusionist tricks to inflate the numbers to where they will inspire sufficient terror or panic in the population at large to enable those in power to introduce exceptional measures of control over the population by means of force, such as mandatory "medical" interventions and constraints in the freedom of movement and behaviour. It's somewhat like a curfew to control a situation of political upheaval or war. For the moment, let's ignore the possible reasons for such a power play and just look into the way AIDS statistics are de facto manipulated intentionally in order to convey a grossly distorted impression of the underlying reality, with unfounded alarmist projections for the future. What are the illusionist tricks I am talking about? First of all, a cumulative technique of reporting is used, which is not used for other illnesses and which has no rationale or utility other than to give the impression that the numbers are much greater than they really are, and are growing. So, instead of reports of how many new AIDS cases have been regis- tered in a particular year, you are likely to be fed the total accumulated number since the beginning of reporting. This gives more impact and, with luck, perhaps it makes you think of it as an annual figure. A second technique liberally used in AIDS reporting is now and then to change the basis for the numbers included, especially when the figures do not conform to expecta- tions. This has been done in various ways, the most important probably being the widen- ing of the definitions of what is diagnosed as AIDS. For instance, new so-called AIDS- defining illnesses have been added, so that now at least 29 different illnesses—all existing on their own before AIDS entered onto the stage—are considered as AIDS when they are accompanied by a positive so-called HIV test (actually, only a non-specific antibody test that may react to more than 60 different conditions that have nothing to do with either AIDS or HIV). It is easy to understand that the more illnesses are included, the greater the number of people affected by any of them. That is one of the ways by which AIDS can be shown to increase in numbers, when the dry, clean facts are showing the opposite. The fact is that the number of new AIDS cases in the USA peaked in 1992 and has steadily decreased since then. Not the impression you get from media, US authorities or UN agencies, is it? It is also important to be aware of the fact that, in Africa, no HIV test is required for an AIDS diagnosis. Any illness that lasts more than a month and has certain symptoms will automatically be diagnosed as AIDS. All those illnesses have existed always; they were common long before there was any such thing as AIDS. That is one of many reasons for the inflated number of AIDS c: in Africa. But even with this liberal definition, the real numbers fall far short of the numbers you see in the newspapers. The reason for this is that the figures you keep seeing are not based on facts but on generously creative "estimates", liberally spiced up with imaginative but unfounded "projections" for the future. Obviously, it is preferable to use "estimates" by Professor Jens Jerndal, MD (MA), DSc hc, MSc, BA, FWAIM © 2002 Apartardo 591 Arrecife Lanzarote, ES35500, Spain Email: paradocs@intercom.es Website: http://www .life-expansion.com by Professor Jens Jerndal, MD (MA), DSc hc, MSc, BA, FWAIM © 2002 Apartardo 591 Arrecife Lanzarote, ES35500, Spain Email: paradocs@intercom.es Website: http://www .life-expansion.com NEXUS + 19 AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2002 www.nexusmagazine.com