The web comments on Ed Miliband’s election to leader of Britain’s Labour party

ED MILIBAND, NEW LABOUR LEADER

On Saturday, former energy secretary Ed Miliband was elected as the new leader of Great Britain’s Labour Party. Ed Miliband was seen as the rising star of the Labour Party and succeeds Gordon Brown. There has been wide coverage of the election on the British web.

Ed Miliband wanted to send his electors a message via the web. On his web site, he thanks all those who supported him throughout the campaign, and emphasizes the fact that a new generation has now taken over Labour and it is time for change.

Miliband’s online campaign was indeed centered on change and targeted young voters in particular, as we see in these videos available to view on the candidate’s Youtube channel. In these clips students and young workers praise his drive and passion for politics.

But this victory is also raising numerous questions amongst web users. This blogger recalls that some people have given Miliband the nickname “Red Ed” in reference to his supposed political positions and wonders if the Labour Party could win the next elections with a man who is often seen as extremely left wing.

This other web user utterly disagrees. He thinks Ed Miliband has no left wing characteristics, quite the contrary. He even says that Miliband is probably more right wing, notably as far as the economy is concerned, than the majority of European Christian democracies.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010

Building delays, unhygienic facilities and a terrorist threat. The blogosphere is expressing its concerns over the smooth running of this sporting event as with just several days to go before the start of the Commonwealth games in New Delhi on the 3rd October, there are many problems to overcome.

Problems that affect the sportsmen and women: Phillips Idowu, the triple jump world champion is just one of the many athletes who have forfeited their place in the competition. He explained on Twitter, his decision was due to safety reasons, and that he did not want to risk his life for a medal.

Indian bloggers are wondering about the country’s capability of hosting the event. This web user thinks there are too many costs involved in organizing this type of event. He thinks the government would have been better off spending the money invested in the games on improving living conditions in the slums of New Delhi.

Members of this Facebook group created to denounce corruption within the organization committee share the same point of view. They are inviting web users to join their campaign by wearing or displaying a black ribbon or this sticker, as a sign of protest throughout the games.

But despite this criticism, many web users are extremely proud their country is organizing the games and are convinced the event will be a success.

And the Canadian field hockey team has posted these photos on social networks to show that the conditions of the athletes’ facilities are not as bad as has been reported over the past few days.

CARLES PUYOL AND FACEBOOK

Spanish defender Carles Puyol who plays for Barcelona FC has decided to place his future in the hands of web users. The 32 year old footballer has announced he will continue playing until the age of 40 if 250 000 members join a specially created Facebook group. He could quickly grow to regret this idea because the Facebook group in question already has over 175 000 fans.

OPEN PLANET IDEAS

Japanese company Sony and environmental organization WWF have teamed up to save the planet. They want to encourage innovation in the field of environmental protection using new technologies. And the method they have chosen to achieve their goals is rather original seeing as they are inviting web users to submit their ideas to openplanetideas.com, a site created especially for the occasion.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Here is a film from a couple of young Russian amateur film makers that is just as good as any Hollywood production. Largely inspired by the American blockbuster “Transformers”, the creators have imagined what would happen if their mobile phones could transform into fighting robots. This short film is full of particularly well made special effects!