06 Sep 2007
Justice Dept. Opposes Net Neutrality, Wants Priority Web Fees

Well, I can't let this opportunity slip past to take a poke at vulgar libertarians and their unbelievable blind spot when it comes to regulatory regimes like the proposed Net neutrality legislation.

Foremost of the vulgar libertarian think tanks is the Cato Institute, which had this to say about Net Neutrality:

Network operators also have property rights in their systems that need to be acknowledged and honored. Net neutrality mandates would flout those property rights and reject freedom of contract in this marketplace.

Are the scholars who wrote this so blind as to not see that there is no free market, or anything resembling it, in the communications industry? By "network operators" here, we're talking about AT&T, Comcast, Sprint and other telecom and cable companies. Every single one of which is a government sanctioned and sponsored monopoly. If I don't like my cell phone provider, I cannot just waltz out, purchase some equipment and set up a competitor. Oh, no. The Federal, state and local governments would be on me like stink on shit to get licensed, and pay the (millions of dollars) in fees and taxes required. It'd be even worse if I wanted to set up a land line phone or cable company.

Network neutrality regulations would be completely unnecessary if there was, in fact, a free market in telecommunications. There is not. The real regulatory nightmare here is the one that perpetuates these monopolys, not a timid and half hearted attempt like the proposed Net neutrality mandate that tries to hold them in check.

Justice Department tells FCC that Internet service providers should be allowed to charge a fee for priority Web traffic. DOJ says it's opposed to "Net neutrality," the principle that all Internet sites should be equally accessible to any Web user.

(link) [Wired Top Stories]

19:29 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

After 10,000 Years, Farming No Longer Dominates

And there will be a price to be paid - not today, and probably not tomorrow, but at some point the disconnection will have become so top heavy it will no longer be sustainable. You can bank on it.

As reported widely in business and mainstream press, the ILO recently released world market employment statistics. Most outlets focused on US economic competitiveness vs. China and Europe. Few noticed the gem hidden away in the ILO report: for the first time since the invention of agriculture, farming is not the biggest sector of the global economy — services is.

(link) [Slashdot]

06:31 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link