The selective soapbox

Today marks a dismal day for Metro, the company behind running Melbourne’s train system, with a power outage at Southern Cross Station delaying 15 of the 16 train lines running in Victoria.

Not surprisingly commuters are not happy at all, with The Age publishing an article online containing a few choice comments sent in to them.

The gentleman’s website?

I’d imagine that Playboy has a special place in the childhood of many guys around my age – back in the day when we were still single-digit in age, rummaging around in the study and stumbling upon a stack of glossy magazines with some very interesting… articles.

Being connected is a right, not a privilege

Yesterday (or the day before, I don’t really remember) the BBC reported that Finland had become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for each citizen.

From the 1st of this month, people in Finland have the right to a 1Mbps connection, with an aim for each person to have access to a 100Mbps broadband line by 2015.

This means that telecommunication companies would have to offer at minimum 1Mbps broadband connections to customers.

In explaining the decision, Finland’s communication minister Suvi Linden said this:

“We considered the role of the internet in Finns everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment.”

I’m feeling fairly lazy (had a night out last night, zzz) so please pardon the lower quality of writing and shorter length, but I’ll just say a few words on this.

Hopefully this decision paves the trail for other countries to follow. I especially hope that Australia takes note – our broadband infrastructure s horribly behind compared to our Asian friends, for one…

It also touches on how the Internet has now become a part of our lives. It is integrated into our routine – wake up in the morning and check your e-mails and news online. Look up movie times, public transport timetables. Talk to relatives overseas. Even do your shopping.

We’re only just beginning to really tap into using the internet to the best of its ability as a communication platform. The possible implications of Finland’s decision are big, especially for news. I honestly hope things go well for them, and I look forward to some decent broadband back here at home in a few years.

They’re only eating burgers

I don’t mean to continue on with the theme of food, but burgers are in fact related to what this post will be about.

Today the New York Times posted a news story online, covering the US President Barack Obama having a meal with Russian counterpart (aka. President of Russia) Dmitri A. Medvedev at a local hamburger joint.

I'm hungry

Writer Elisabeth Goodridge briefly discusses where they ate – Ray’s Hell Burger in Washington, for those of you playing at home – what they ordered and what they talked about whilst chowing down on some proper American feed.

A typical soft news story; good chance for a photo-op. Nothing substantial – right?

Well not so, according to the 138 comments on this story.

“Yet another example of out of control government spending under the Obama adminstration,” says one commenter.

“A carefully choreographed lunch… Does reporting that our world leaders eating slaughtered cow really instill us with some false sense that they’re masculine or alpha in some way?” writes another.

The oil spill even manages to come into the discussion with someone asking “meanwhile the oil keeps coming a shore. Hope he asked if Russia has any ideas on how to cap that well?”

One commenter even busts out a list of issues with America today (unemployment rate, housing issues etc etc) before finishing off by saying “it’s apparent to us all that Obama has simply given up on his Presidency. He’s gone on a burger run.”

Now, I don’t know if these people are being overtly sarcastic or the like, but I think they are just reading too much into the picture; making something out of nothing.

Look at the comments of a similar story last year, in which President Obama takes Vice President Joe Biden to the same burger spot for a meal. You’ll find nothing as vindictive. Just people praising the President for being a ‘normal guy’ – which is what I thought today’s story was trying to portray.

I’m not too sure what exactly is wrong with going out for a quick bite to eat – whether you be the President or not. You gotta eat, right? (Right, Christine Nixon? Haha.) Or maybe these online commenters are just trying to stir the pot and rile things up a bit, all in the name of friendly discussion.

Well whatever they’re trying to do, it’s kinda annoying to me.

I guess I could go on to talk about the strengths and weaknesses that the online medium offers for news, but I think I’m going to end it here. After all, I’m just talking about two guys eating burgers…