The United Nations reported that in 2007, the opium harvest in Afghanistan rose 38 percent over the previous year. 8,200 metric tons of opium was harvested in 2007, up from 6,100 tons in 2006.
Author: havocscope
Portion of Afghanistan's GDP Based on Opium
The black market opium trade represents approximately one-third of Afghanistan’s GDP, according to the 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.
Piracy on YouTube
Academics and media executives estimate that the percentage of content that is posted on YouTube without the studios’ consent could “be anywhere from 30 percent to 70 percent.”
Internet piracy risks increases with online video
In a sign of the potential for increase in Internet piracy, 150 companies were created in 2006 to host online videos.
Online videos to overtake p2p traffic
The Associated Press writes that videos distributed online are ” poised to overtake peer-to-peer file sharing as the dominant form of Internet traffic.”
Reason AK-47s Are Produced Worldwide
According to Larry Kahaner, author of AK-47:The Weapon That Changed The Face Of War, counterfeit production of AK-47s stems from the fact that the inventor of the AK-47 Mikhail Kalashnikov “never patented the rifle’s design – the thought had never occurred to him or anyone else under the Soviet regime.”
Percentage of Fake Watches in Total Watch Sales
Counterfeit watches made up 5 percent of sales of the total watch market, according to a 1998 report by the OECD.
Watches Share in the Counterfeit Industry
Up to 10 percent of the total counterfeit goods market is made up of counterfeit watches.
Nintendo's losses to pirated video games
An official with Nintendo was quoted stating that Nintendo and its game developers and publishers may have lost $762 million to pirated video games in 2006.
International Trade in Waste is rapidly increasing
A 2005 report by the European Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL) found that ” international trade in waste is rapidly increasing.” The report mentions the financial profit involved in trash smuggling creates a ” strong incentive for those in the waste chain to avoid controls over the movement and treatment… Continue reading International Trade in Waste is rapidly increasing