Finland's right to broadband, the Pentagon's 400-dollar-a-gallon gas bill

GOOD DAY FOR: Universal surfage, after Finland became the first nation to name broadband Internet access as legal right. Finland already has 95 percent Internet connectivity, but come July 2010, every citizen will be connected at no less than 1 megabit per second. “We think it’s something you cannot live without in modern society,” said communications ministry official Laura Vilkkonen, “like banking services or water or electricity.” (CNN)

BAD DAY FOR: Filling the Hummer, after the Defense Department said it spends about $400 per gallon of fuel to fill combat vehicles and aircraft in Afghanistan. The cost is so high because the fuel has to be trucked or flown in from Pakistan, and some fuel is lost to roadside bombs. “It is a number that we were not aware of and it is worrisome,” Rep. John Murtha (D, Pa.). (The Hill)

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Latest Videos FromThe Week