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EU Piracy Estimates — Just How Inaccurate?
Last week we discussed news that a US government report questioned the reliability of piracy statistics from the media industry. Reader superapecommando sends in a follow-up written by Glyn Moody that examines a similar problem in Europe. Quoting:
"As far as I know, no similar analysis has been carried out for European reports. So I thought it might be interesting to look at one particular European report on the subject — not least because I've heard that its findings influenced some of the MPs voting on the Digital Economy Act. ... the net result of this 68-page report, with all of its tables and detailed methodology, is that four out of the top five markets used for calculating the overall piracy loss in Europe draw on figures supplied by the recording industry itself. Those apparently terrifying new figures detailing the supposed loss of money and jobs due to piracy in Europe turn out to be little more than a re-statement of the industry's previous claims in a slightly different form. As a result, as little credence can be placed in the report as in those criticised by the US GAO."
Just like government services, half the people expect everything for free, the other half foot the bill. Pirates are just following the example their society has laid out for them.
You know, I wish Climate Scientists would understand this.
Because to them, AGW science is settled.
If they actually took them time to quantify there error margins it would look like:
95% Certainty .1 degree celcius
+- 25 for computer modeling
+- 20 for temperature stations 1000km away.
+- 50 because tree ring data diverged form actual readings about 30 years ago
+- 30 because thermometers 100 years ago are far from being accurate to
+- 25 for pretending to take into effect the UHI effect
+- 25 for not being able to predict el nino and el nina effects into the future
etc... etc...