Cable Modems There is more to globalization (and the mindset behind it) than allowing poor people to sell their stuff to rich people. There is also the beleif that decisions should be made to benefit consumers, not producers, and that consumers should be free to make their own decisions. This is not a widespread beleif, and the world is rife with all manner of paternalistic softheadedness and monopolistic greed. Exhibit A: The American Cable Industry.

Currently, cable in the US is undergoing some scrutiny as the court looks carefully at the proposed AOL Time Warner merger as being potentially anti-competitive. But there are deeper problems afoot. Cable companies want to control the content that comes into peoples homes, and clueless courts are supporting this position.

Content and technology are intertwined in ways that make analytical seperability difficult and perhaps unwise

is one of the more choice quotes from the court, a remark so profoundly moronic that I shall let it damn itself. Clay Shirky has some good thoughts on why corporate controlled content is a bad idea, although I warn you, the site is awful and page 2 did not come up when clicked on. If you want to read the whole article, you may have to click the "print this article" link.