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Cylinsier
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 Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:03 pm Post subject: Fast Internet access becomes a legal right in Finland |
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/15/finland.internet.rights/index.html
| Quote: | (CNN) -- Finland has become the first country in the world to declare 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.
The one-megabit mandate, however, is simply an intermediary step, said Laura Vilkkonen, the legislative counselor for the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The country is aiming for speeds that are 100 times faster -- 100 megabit per second -- for all by 2015.
"We think it's something you cannot live without in modern society. Like banking services or water or electricity, you need Internet connection," Vilkkonen said.
Finland is one of the most wired in the world; about 95 percent of the population have some sort of Internet access, she said. But the law is designed to bring the Web to rural areas, where geographic challenges have limited access until now.
"Universal service is every citizen's subjective right," Vilkkonen said.
Should fast Internet access be everyone's legal right?
It is a view shared by the United Nations, which is making a big push to deem Internet access a human right.
In June, France's highest court declared such access a human right. But Finland goes a step further by legally mandating speed.
On the other hand, the United States is the only industrialized nation without a national policy to promote high-speed broadband, according to a study released in August by the Communications Workers of America, the country's largest media union.
Forty-six percent of rural households do not subscribe to broadband, and usage varies based on income, the study found.
In February, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to submit a national plan to Congress. The FCC says that expanding service will require subsidies and investment of as much as $350 billion -- much higher than the $7.2 billion President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package has set aside for the task. |
I'm putting this here in the hopes we make it a couple pages before the word "socialism" starts getting thrown around.
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ellipses
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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I thought of you when I read this earlier 
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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 I may blog on it later. Still not feeling particularly upbeat or communicative.
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Brant
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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People without pets really don't understand what you're going through. I do. Hang in there.
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks. You would think it would be easier since I only had her for a week, but it was so unexpected. I had become more attached than I realized.
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Brant
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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It seems almost instantaneous, the attachment that you form. The two dogs I have now are my all-time favorites, and I can't imagine losing one of them.
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amom
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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I'll come home sometimes and alab will be so soundly asleep he won't move. My heart sinks until I can see his ribs moving. Then I wake him up for scaring me!
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ellipses
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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It's an attachment that is hard to describe... and it stems from them being entirely dependent on you and you being a willing participant in that dependency (ie, they aren't a burden)... and when something happens that is inexplicable, it's like you failed them...
It still bothers me that I wasn't able to protect Puppi Diogi from getting hit by a car... even though it really was his own damn fault.
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amom
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:48 pm Post subject: |
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My mum recently lost her 7-year old dog to what the doggie hospital feels was a blood clot. Mum just can't fill the void. We're going to wait a bit, then take her to the Humane Society to rescue a senior dog.
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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I want to get another kitty, but I don't think I can yet. If I go now, I'll just be looking for Freya again.
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ellipses
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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Ok, so I know you guys rent... do you have any sort of a lawn?
What do you... you know... DO with her? Did you have a place to bury her?
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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We briefly talked about a back yard burial, but I opted for cremation at the local 24/7 vet. We went pretty much right after finding her. I didn't want to wait. We took her and paid 40 bucks and they've since cremated her. We could have paid more and got the ashes, but I don't feel any attachment to physical remains. The cremation felt more honorable than the hole in the ground.
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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I forgot about that option...
That's sad... like Sudden Infant Kitten Syndrome 
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, no symptoms, then boom. We're a little worried about the older one now. Hopefully what killed her isn't communicable. I might have a nervous breakdown if I go from 2 cats to 0 in a span of a few days or weeks.
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