Finland: Broadband Internet Access A Legal Right
Finland, whose high school students consistently rank smartest in the world, has just become the first country to make broadband Internet access a legal right:
Starting in July, telecommunication companies in the northern European nation will be required to provide all 5.2 million citizens with Internet connection that runs at speeds of at least 1 megabit per second.
In contrast, the United States is the only industrialized country without a national policy to promote high-speed broadband. In fact, 46% of rural American households do not subscribe to broadband Internet access.
On the other hand, most of those 46% of rural households do have access to Rupert Murdoch’s right-wing megaphone, the Faux News Channel, where they incur daily brain bathings in irrational conservative spin and lies — a bonafide danger to our national security (in 2003, 67% of Fox viewers believed that the “U.S. has found clear evidence in Iraq that Saddam Hussein was working closely with the al Qaeda terrorist organization” compared with 16% for NPR/PBS.)
While Red State Americans continue to nourish themselves on daily spoon-feedings from the high-pitched hissy fits of Glenn Beck, Hannity, and O’Reilly, the rest of the industrialized world tunes in to thought-provoking documentaries that connect the dots, like this Massimo Mazzucco masterpiece: The New American Century.
Tip of the hat to Indigobusiness for the documentary link.
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“…daily brain bathing…”
Love that phrase.
Astounding, disturbing, enlightening and highly informative video.
I’m rather fond of my dirty old brain…no bathing for me, thank you.
Dirty brains are nice. Dirty brains haven’t been brain-washed ;-)
Great. We’re even falling behind Finland now.
We have been for awhile.
Finland is the 8th top democracy in the world…and the USA is 18th
The Economist democracy index.
Yeah, global empires tend to return to mediocrity with a long protracted whimper (Rome, Spain, Great Britain…), and it takes a while after the fact before folks wake up one day and are surprised they’re no longer number one…I still think America is the best country to be in in a lot of ways, but if we don’t stop digging in our stubborn heels and start surfing the waves of the present a little more, we’re going to be too far gone…maybe already, but I still think there’s hope.
I still hope for the best, yet find myself fearing the worst.
Wow, eye-opening post. I feel like American arrogance– thinking the world revolves around them– has caused them to slow down and almost stop trying anymore. Why care about your citizens if their national pride can fill up hundreds of football stadiums daily- regardless?