A Broadband Beat-Down Due To Bush/Lack Thereof Policies:

[Jon8503]

New York Times - By DAN MITCHELL - Published: June 25, 2005

IT looked for a while as if the United States was firmly entrenched as the world's leader in Internet innovation. President Bill Clinton and Al Gore, his vice president, did much to encourage development of the country's technology infrastructure, writes Thomas Bleha in an article accessible on the Foreign Affairs magazine Web site (www.foreignaffairs.org).

From the 1960's until the day President Bush took office, he writes, "The United States led the world in Internet development."

No longer. The Bush administration's policies, or lack thereof, have since allowed Asia - Japan in particular - to not only catch up in the development and expansion of broadband and mobile phone technology, but to roundly pound us into the dirt. "The lag," he diplomatically asserts, "is arguably the result of the Bush administration's failure to make a priority of developing these networks." Japan instituted what used to be called an industrial policy, which provided incentives for expanding broadband and wireless technology to the masses. The United States, meanwhile, has done essentially nothing. Japan is now well ahead of us in the percentage of homes with broadband. And their broadband on average is about half the price and 16 times the speed of ours.

Japan is even further ahead in mobile telephony. "U.S. mobile phone service remains awful by European, let alone Japanese, standards," writes Mr. Bleha, who served as a Foreign Service officer in Japan for eight years and has a forthcoming book on the subject.Meanwhile, Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries are poised to leap ahead of the United States in any number of areas: teleconferencing, telecommuting, remote medical services, distance education, multimedia entertainment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/technology/25online.ready.html?

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Anyone surprised?

[ixion]

2. Technology is not a critical part of bringing on the Rapture

so it's not really high on BushCo's list. :grr:

It really angers me that we're losing our edge in science and technology because a bunch of religious zealots and a bunch or greedy Bilderbergers can't keep their twisted, little, small-minded, backassward worldviews to themselves.

[Jose Diablo]

3. Typical of Republicans

When the Democrats are in power, the country prospers due to people friendly programs that encourages development and progress. Then Republicans get in power to extract the wealth accumulated during the Democrat years.

The Republicans are parasites in society, wealthy parasites that produce nothing. It is they that are the 'eaters'.

[Deja Q]

4. The internet has been quite the tool in offshoring too. As for Japan,

their suicide rate is typically pretty high. That's what happens when you push people too fucking far too fucking fast.