Olympic Hopeful Selling Ad Space on Body

Herald Sun: Want to buy a piece of Claire Kelly? Want your business brand inked - forever - on her arm, potentially on show to the millions around the world who'll watch the London Olympics next year?

Top Aussie beach volleyballer Kelly is so committed to getting her and partner Carla Kleverlaan to the Olympics that she's selling tattoo space on her body for sponsors.

For $10,000 you can have a 2cm x 2cm piece of Kelly's toned and tanned left limb, while $50,000 buys 5cm x 5cm on her right arm or shoulder. There are other ... um, packages, for between $10,000 and $50,000 and an eBay auction.

The money will pay for the Gold Coast athlete and Melbourne-based Kleverlaan to join the internationally televised world pro tour, on which the pair must play at least 12 events to qualify for London

"It's taken me months to get the courage to do this and now I'm going through with it," Kelly said. "I was thinking, 'Tattoo my body with a business logo just so I can have a chance to play for my country at the Olympics? I'm crazy'!

"This is my dream and it seems crazy not to try to do something to realise the dream. We need to head off on the world tour before the end of July, we need financial backing, so I can't let fear stop me."

Kelly said she was not concerned about the criticism she'll cop for her "London Olymp-ink" campaign. "The tattoos mean much more than just the money or the business," said Kelly, who'll go through with the tattooing in early July. "The tattoos signify having the courage to have a crack at something bigger, having the guts to at least try."

Follow her on twitter: @DreamCntrlMedia or dreamcentralmedia.com.au

Truck Firm in Amtrak Crash Had Safety Violations

Chicago Sun-Times: A Nevada trucking company under scrutiny for a fiery crash with an Amtrak train that left at least six dead has been cited repeatedly by state authorities for crashes, unsafe driving and operating a truck with tires so bald the vehicle had to be taken off the road.

A driver working for John Davis Trucking Co. of Battle Mountain smashed through crossing gates and into two double-decker cars of an Amtrak train Friday, killing the driver and five people on the train.

Federal records reviews by the Associated Press on Sunday show the Nevada Department of Public Safety cited the company for two crashes in the last two years, including one in February 2010 that injured a person in Washoe County.

In a January inspection, authorities found tires on one company tractor-trailer so bald they deemed the rig an imminent hazard to public safety.

Meanwhile, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chuck Allen said Sunday that officials for the Churchill County Coroner Office continued to sift through the rubble of two rail cars gutted by the fire that burned extremely hot. Investigators also continued on Sunday to look over the scene for any clues as to why the truck driver plowed through the railroad crossing on Friday. It’s expected to take up to a year to pinpoint the cause of the crash.

“Just from handling or being on the scene of so many accidents, there are so many alternatives to consider,” Allen said.

“Not necessarily just drugs or alcohol, but fatigue, driver inattention. Did he have a CB [citizen band radio]? Was he talking to his buddies behind him? If so, was he looking in the side view mirror and not looking at the road ahead?” he said. “I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure.”

National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Sunday that the flashing lights at the crossing guard, which are set to blink for 25 seconds before a train approaches, would have been visible from a half-mile away if a motorist was driving at the highway’s 70 mph speed limit.

Plans for Bruce Lee Museum in Hong Kong Shelved

Hollywood Reporter: Plans to build a Bruce Lee museum at the late megastar’s former residence in Hong Kong have been abandoned. The Hong Kong government is unable to reach an agreement with the owner of the property, businessman Yu Pang-lin, for the last two years.

"Despite our efforts, we are unable to reach a consensus with the property owner over the scope of the restoration," the government said in a statement. Yu intends to restore the existing two-storey building in Kowloon Tong and to construct a new 20,000 sq. feet structure that would house facilities including a museum, an archive, a martial arts academy, and a screening room, according to local media reports. But the proposal of the new structure, five times the area of the existing building, has been rejected due to the low-density land use designation of the area.

Lee died at the Kowloon Tong residence in 1973 at the age of 32, due to swelling of the brain.

Over 100 artifacts of the late action icon of such kung-fu classics as Enter the Dragon and Fist of Fury that has been amassed by the Hong Kong Tourism Commission for the planned museum will be displayed in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in 2012.

A Bruce Lee museum is planned by Lee’s daughter Shannon in Seattle, where Bruce studied and taught martial arts.

Wisconsin Hotel Hunts for Ghosts

The Union Hotel in De Pere, Wisconsin

Green Bay Gazette: Mary Boyd has heard the sound of the skeptics. "I know some people think we're nuts," she said. "You either believe it or you don't, and I believe it."

She believes ghosts inhabit the Union Hotel in De Pere, the 128-year-old building that her family has owned at 200 N. Broadway since 1918. She and her siblings are bringing some paranormals to the popular restaurant Monday to see if the Union ghosts will make an appearance and verify what have been family stories for so long.

"They're even going to stay in my great-grandmother's room, the same place where she passed away," Boyd said. Asked if she ever slept there herself, Boyd said, "Heck, no."

Boyd's great-grandparents — August and Antonia Maternoski — purchased the hotel 83 years ago. Mary Boyd's grandmother, Bena, married Darland Boyd, and their son, Jim, managed the restaurant for years.

Growing up in De Pere, Boyd began hearing the ghost stories at a young age. "My mother would be up on the third floor and would be taking bed sheets home when she would notice some things," she said. "She never really told us much because she didn't want to scare us, but there were times she felt someone patting her on the back."

Then there was the time a few years ago that Boyd went to the hotel basement to get more beer and saw the hotel's bartender down there. She said something to him but he didn't answer so she ran upstairs to find him behind the bar, insisting that he hadn't been in the basement.

Or the time last summer when Boyd's sister, Ann, and brother, Patrick, were cleaning the restaurant and music started playing in a corner of the bar. It wasn't coming from the bar speaker. "Annie freaked out, and she and Patrick ran out of the building and locked it up," Boyd said.

There have been times in the kitchen when people have heard doors opening or closing and times when family members have been sure they saw someone walking past them only to find out that no one was there. "We don't know who it is but we assume it's relatives," Boyd said. "The whole generation of our family in my grandmother's generation lived there at one time."

The good news, she says, is these seem to be friendly ghosts. No one has reported any evil encounters. But the ghost stories have been regular conversation topics for people who sit around the bar, and some have even asked to go to the basement.

"They get an eerie feeling," Boyd said.

So what is she hoping to learn from the paranormals? "I hope they find something so it's not just in my head," she said. "I'm kind of nervous."

Certainly many of the Union Hotel regulars must be hoping they locate the ghosts.

Or not.

TSA Defends Pat-Down of Elderly Cancer Patient

New York Daily News: The Transportation Security Administration doesn't think its agents did anything wrong in asking an elderly woman with cancer to remove her adult diaper during an airport security screening.

The agency came under fire after Florida woman Jean Weber claimed her 95-year-old mother was forced to take off her diaper for a pat down at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport last weekend.

"It's something I couldn't imagine happening on American soil," Weber told the Northwest Florida Daily News.

"While every person and item must be screened before entering the secure boarding area, TSA works with passengers to resolve security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner," the agency said in a statement Sunday. "We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally and according to proper procedure."

The problem began when Weber and her mother were going through security and a TSA officer told them he "felt something suspicious" on the elderly woman's leg that needed to be checked in a private room.

During the private pat-down, Weber says, the agent came out of the room to tell Weber that her mother's adult diaper had been soiled and couldn't be checked properly, and they needed her to change it to finish the search.

Weber says watching her mother, who is battling leukemia, be subjected to the security screening drove her to tears.

"My mother is very ill," Weber told CNN."She had a blood transfusion the week before, just to bolster up her strength for this travel."

Weber, who says her mother is now doing "fine," is dedicated to making sure no one suffers the same treatment.

"Nobody should feel the way I felt that day," she told the Detroit News. "I'm not angry. The rules need to be changed."

Raves Give Rise to Electronica Fests

USA Today: In the early '90s, in abandoned warehouses scattered across the USA, the walls shook with the sounds of dance music. Inside, a small community of enthusiasts, who called themselves ravers, usually wearing wide-legged pants and neon colors, gathered to dance to the thumping basslines until well after the sun rose.

Fast-forward to now. That underground culture has burst into the open, glow sticks proudly in hand, with multimillion-dollar production budgets and massive venues.

This weekend's Electric Daisy Carnival (June 24-26) at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is just the first in a string of summer dance-music festivals, including Electric Zoo and North Coast Music Festival. Lollapalooza, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is including Deadmau5 as one of its headliners, a first in the electronic music world.

"It was an underground scene for years, making its way from small dance tents at festivals to now being the events themselves," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the touring trade publication Pollstar. "When you're selling out stadiums and making $100,000 in ticket sales, you can't really call electronica underground anymore."

Electric Daisy, making its move to Vegas after a 14-year run in Los Angeles, is expected to draw 200,000 revelers to take in 200-plus musicians, dancers, fire twirlers, aerialists and stilt walkers. "That's what Vegas is all about," Mayor Oscar Goodman proclaimed of the event at a June press conference at City Hall.

The carnival was booted from L.A. (satellite events have been held in Orlando, Denver, Dallas and Puerto Rico) after a 15-year-old girl died from a drug overdose in 2010, but Goodman stands behind his endorsement. "You do the best you can, but if people want to be idiots, you can't stop them," he says. "You can't make people necessarily behave by telling them to behave."

Getting an official blessing is a big change for the rebranded raves. "The drug connotation with electronic music often meant politicians stayed away from any association," says Bongiovanni. "That a public official is speaking on its behalf speaks to electronic music festivals as a growing trend."

Live Nation has invested in the IDentity Festival, the first electronica-focused tour boasting names like Kaskade and Pete Tong. The celebrations kick off on Aug. 11 in Noblesville, Ind., and wrap up on Sept. 10 in George, Wash.

"Electronica is bigger than it's ever been in America," says Scott Henry, the DJ who shaped the electronic music scene in Washington and Baltimore and founded Buzzlife Productions, which produced early U.S. raves such as Fever and Buzz. "Buzz started out in a loft space in Baltimore in the early '90s, with a 500-person capacity. We were inspired by the acid-house rave scene in England, where it all began. Now, you've got big-scale events like Electric Daisy and IDentity. It's very interesting to see the changing of the guard."

Despite its growing popularity, electronica is still a subculture at heart. "Even at big festivals like Electric Daisy, there are only two or three of us that are signed to major (record) labels," says Kaskade (aka Ryan Raddon), who is a headliner at IDentity Fest. "And it's not like you can just get into your car and hear it on the radio. You have to really dig to find the music.

"At its core, it's still an underground culture."

"Moving Platforms" Could Revolutionize Train Travel

The Independent: A revolutionary new design called "Moving Platforms" could allow high-speed trains to run across a country without slowing down, according to its designer.

The concept, which has been created by London-based design agency Priestmangoode and revealed this month, hypothesizes using tram-like trains to collect passengers, before speeding up and "connecting" to high-speed trains to allow passengers to move from one to the other. Travelers would be able to both board and disembark at speed, allowing seamless connections from almost any street to any other street in cities equipped with the docking trams.

In theory, the idea could also be used to connect high-speed trains, removing the need for getting off the train and changing, for instance, and could eventually be used for international services.

Priestmangoode's idea effectively removes the need for trains to ever slow down - something which Paul Priestman says is more appropriate for the technology travelers have access to today.

"The problem is we're trying to run a 21st century service on a 19th century infrastructure," he explains. "I think that stations are completely out of date. With the modern technology, the modern trains that we're building now, having to have them stop at stations is ridiculous. The railway system is almost like the telecommunications system before the internet arrived."

See the concept: http://www.priestmangoode.com/

Six Confirmed Dead in Amtrak Crash

CBS News: Two truck drivers and a train engineer watched helplessly as a semitrailer skidded the length of a football field before it smashed through crossing gates and into two double-decker cars of an Amtrak train at a Nevada highway crossing. The drivers were part of a three-truck convoy that saw the gates come down and the warning lights go off as the California Zephyr approached, National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Saturday.

They stopped, but the driver of the big rig in the lead did not, he said. "They were waiting for it to come to a stop."

The Churchill County Sheriff's office said Saturday that six people had died in the crash late Friday morning. Authorities earlier said the truck's driver was among the dead, and a transportation union confirmed that number included one of its members, the train's conductor.

Weener said 28 people were unaccounted for, but that the figure was "spongy" because some passengers may have gotten off the train before the crash or walked away from the scene without checking with officials. "This is not quite like you are used to when you get on an airplane. They record exactly who gets on, and what seat they sit in," he said. "On a train, you can get off without necessarily being tracked."

About 20 people were injured, and the United Transportation Union said on its website that the train's assistant conductor was among those seriously hurt. Weener said a passenger manifest counted 210 on board, but Amtrak spokeswoman Christina Leeds said 204 passengers and 14 crew members were on the train at the time.

"We are going to be working in the next several days to get more of that (unaccounted) number down the best we can," Weener said. At the time of the collision, Weener said visibility was excellent and that the crossing gates and warning lights were working.

The train's engineer saw the truck approaching the crossing about 70 miles east of Reno and realized the collision was inevitable, he said. The engineer slammed on the emergency brakes, but the train, which was going about 78 mph in an 80-mph zone, traveled another half mile before it finally stopped, he said. The engineer watched the truck smash into two of the train's 10 cars through the rearview mirror.

"He recalled the event clearly. He saw the truck approaching the train," Weener said. "At some point, he knew the impact was imminent. He in fact watched the collision in a rearview mirror. He was hoping the train was not going to derail." NTSB investigators were returning to the crash site on Sunday, partly to search for additional possible victims, as well as to try to rectify discrepancies in the passenger manifest.

The California Zephyr from Chicago was about 300 miles east of its destination in Emeryville, Calif., when the truck hit the two train cars, which burst into flames. Earlier witness accounts said the truck driver did not attempt to stop before it drove through the crossing, but Weener said the driver did try to stop because the truck skidded about 320 feet before it crashed. The speed of the truck hasn't been determined, but Weener said it was going "at a considerable speed" because the impact left the tractor embedded in one of the train cars.

Weener said the truck driver who died was a Nevada man in his mid-40s. The UTU identified the dead conductor as Laurette Lee, 68, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Churchill County authorities said they were working to confirm victims' identities and notify family members.

Weener said a team of 18 NTSB investigators were at the scene and expected to remain there for at least a week. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said they had not finished going through the wreckage yet, and Weener said they had yet to review video data taken from the train.

"We will not be determining a probable cause of this accident while we are here," Weener said.

Washington State Tourism Office Closing

KOMO News: Washington state just made another list, and it's not flattering. The state is dead last on the amount of money it spends on efforts to attract tourists.

And it may not get better soon. The state's tourism office shuts down next week. It died on the legislative floor in budget talks.

But on any given sunny day, Seattle's Pike Place Market is crawling with tourists from all corners of the world. So is it a big deal if the state's tourism office closes?

"It's just like a whole basket of marbles and all different colors. And everybody's trying to reach out to the same message. It doesn't really brand us properly as one cohesive group,' said Tom Waithe of Kimpton Hotels. Waithe said sure, people will still come to Seattle, but what about the rest of the state?

Zoe and Roland Bell provided the perfect example. They drove their RV from Texas to Seattle and went to the market only because they saw a travel show about it. "We were looking for information from the time we hit the state line, and we couldn't find anything, didn't know what to do. It's hurtin' you," Bell said.

"There really is a much broader effect than just the people employed by the tourism industry," said Tammy Blount with the Tacoma Regional Convention and Visitor Bureau. Blount said businesses scrambled to form a co-op to quickly replace the tourism office with the Washington Tourism Alliance.

"The power of Washington -- it is a beautiful place. But without marketing, we're going to lose that market share," she said. The alliance has grabbed the state's assets, including its website, marketing databases, stationery and trade show booths. So far, the group has also raised $300,000.

Washingtonians can also join the alliance. Membership levels start as low as $25.

Mexican Towns Working to Lure Tourists

Christian Science Monitor: Nogales, Mexico. The once bustling streets of jovial, persistent merchants beckoning tourists into their shops in this Mexican town, just over the Arizona border, are mostly quiet these days, the familiar mix of Spanish and English conversation a thing of the past.

Across the US-Mexico divide, brutal drug violence has badly bruised border tourism. Even here in Nogales, with a tourist district literally two blocks from the US, the center is empty.

So city planners are sponsoring yet another public event – this one a three-day tequila festival (this weekend) showcasing Mexico's traditional drink, along with mariachis, dance performances, and a classic car show – in an attempt to boost confidence, especially among Americans, that a visit to the town is indeed not a death sentence.

 “We’d like Americans to come see for themselves that maybe Nogales is not as bad as some people say,” says Jorge Valenzuela, who was hired as the city’s first tourism director late last year.

City officials are in many ways working harder than they ever have, dreaming of new events to promote the positives of Nogales. In late 2010, they began to revive the city’s ailing tourism sector in earnest with the opening of a visitors center, street improvements, the installment of security cameras, and the addition of police patrols. This year, the chamber of commerce launched a “Let’s speak well of Nogales” campaign to help burnish the city’s image.

“We never really had to promote the city before but now we do,” said chamber director Marcela Freig Couvillier before that campaign began.

Special events continue to push the notion that Nogales is a safe place. In late May, about 500 people raced through Avenida Obregon in a 5-kilometer run dubbed “Go with confidence.”

Mona Mizell, who lives in Green Valley, Ariz., was among a handful of Americans who took part in the race. Ms. Mizell, who took first place among female runners older than 60, says she has always felt safe in Nogales.

“I really feel sorry for the business people here,” she said at the time.

And she should. Until recently, Americans strolling the main drag, Avenida Alvaro Obregon, were as ubiquitous as the vendors who hawked silver bracelets, sombreros, and leather belts.

Then Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared war on organized crime and the historically tranquil Nogales gradually began to feel the impact of drug-related violence, including public shootouts and kidnappings. In 2006, the city recorded 35 homicides. By the end of last year, the official body count totaled 202, although the local press tallied a higher count. Killings appear to be down this year but activists say the violence has touched more people with no known ties to drug trafficking.

The tourism district close to the international line remains well patrolled and largely free of violence, Mr. Valenzuela points out. But it is something that officials can no longer take for granted. Instead, they have to continue hammering out the message, be it in the form of tequila festivals and other events, and hope that Americans are hearing.

Live Rounds Used in Wild West Reenactment

KOTA Radio: At a news conference Friday afternoon, Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said investigators have identified the actor who fired live rounds during an Old-West-style cowboy shootout on Hill City's Main Street last Friday.

Three people were injured: Jose Pruneda, 52, Alliance, Nebraska; Carrol Knutson, 65, Birchwood, Minnesota; and John Ellis, 48, South Connellsville, Pennsylvania.

Thom says investigators from his office, the Rapid City Police Dept, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation were able to re-create the shooting on Wednesday by analyzing information gathered early in the investigation.

They identified the trajectory paths of the projectiles and located three lead bullets in different locations at the scene. The rounds were traced back to a .45 caliber handgun used in the shootout.

Investigators say they were able to determine that the bullets were fired from a .45 handgun fired by Paul Doering, 49, Somerset, one of the actors in the cowboy shootout.

Two .45 caliber live rounds and four .45 caliber spent casings, believed to be associated with the shooting, were located near the scene this afternoon by investigators, according to Thom.

Thoms would not speculate on whether the incident was an accident or done on purpose. But he did say it was lucky no one was killed. "I think we are very fortunate ... when three live rounds go into a crowd of people. We did have some injuries but no fatalities, and no more than three people injured, I definitely think we were fortunate."

Thom says the results of the investigation will be handed over to the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office for possible criminal charges.

The victims are also being briefed on the details of case.

Five Killed, Dozens Injured in Amtrak Crash

MyNews4:  Five deaths and multiple injuries were reported after a tractor trailer crashed into a Amtrak train on Friday near Reno, according to Nevada Department of Transportation. The driver of the truck is confirmed dead and 3-to-4 more on-board the train are dead, said Nevada State Trooper Dan Lopez. Bodies are being recovered from the wreck and an exact head count of all on-board has not been confirmed, he added.

Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno say they received nine injured passengers from the Amtrak crash. And of those nine, two are in critical condition, four in serious, and three in fair condition, according to Dan Davis of Renown.  There was no word on the ages or genders of the patients. Davis noted that the hospital may be receiving 4-to-6 more throughout the night.

Friday at about 11:20 a.m. the Amtrak’s California Zephyr train carrying 204 passengers and 14 crew members running from Chicago-to-Emeryville, Calif. collided with a tractor trailer on US-95. Multiple emergency personnel agencies arrived at the scene of the incident near the Trinity Rest Area, Southwest of Lovelock in Churchill County, Nevada.

Care flight, REMSA, Reno Police, Reno Fire Department, US Navy personnel from Fallon Naval Air Station and Churchhill County Sheriff's are also at the location.

About 150 passengers were walking around with minor or no injuries, said Kurt Althof spokesperson for Care flight. And further described the incident as a multiple casualty incident which means 20 or more plus people have been hurt pretty bad.

US-95 is closed in both directions, according to Nevada State Trooper Chuck Allen. An Amtrak spokesperson in an emailed statement said, “We are saddened by any injury and appreciate the emergency response by local and state agencies.”

And added that persons with questions about their friends and family aboard this train have a special number to call for information: 800-523-9101.

'Taste of Chicago' Begins Quietly

Chicago Tribune: The thousands of visitors to the first day of Taste of Chicago on Friday found the famed fare that their taste buds have come to expect — roasted corn, falafel, pierogi and fried catfish. But what stood out to many was how different the city's biggest festival is this year.

For instance, instead of hearing such marquee acts as Elvis Costello, as in years past, those arriving later Friday caught Los Horoscopos de Durango, and other lesser-known bands that drew smaller crowds.

On Columbus Drive, the street appeared noticeably less cluttered, and cleaner. Instead of high-energy rap and rock concerts, there were kids and parents watching a female acrobat performing high-altitude stunts as part of a newly introduced "Midnight Circus."

All those and other changes were part of what the Chicago Park District hopes will be a more relaxed Taste this year, after taking over the 10-day event for the first time from the Mayor's Office of Special Events.

As the crowds began trickling in Friday morning, the early results appeared promising. "People are happier, not as hot and sweaty," marveled Roselle Monsalud of Tinley Park, while she and her 12-year-old daughter shared a plate piled high with homemade potato chips. "We don't usually come to the Taste; we avoid the crowds."

Following a recent series of Near North Side beatings and robberies that led to anxieties about safety downtown, city officials also employed another fundamental change: more cops. Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said earlier this week that there would be more plainclothes officers in and around the Taste this year, working at train stations and other areas with high pedestrian traffic.

In addition, police officials positioned uniformed officers and private security guards around the festival to promote a quieter experience than in years past, when some Taste events ended with violence erupting on nearby streets.

That change was apparent, though not unnerving for those who appreciated that the festival launched in 1980 was returning to its roots, away from large-scale entertainment events and back to family-oriented activities.

"We got here right at 11 o'clock, and there were more police walking around than regular people," Dave Eddy, of Valparaiso, Ind., said appreciatively. "It seems like there is more police presence this year."

Summer nights at the Taste will go by without many big-name musical acts, instead merging entertainment from four of the city's smaller festivals. To some, that is a bittersweet change to swallow.

Uche Omoniyi remembers the excitement of seeing Stevie Wonder in concert at the 2008 Taste. "I remember the fireworks too," said Omoniyi, recalling the happy nights sitting on the lawn in Grant Park amid throngs of other Taste-goers. "There would be a million people here."

Omoniyi, who lives on the South Side, has also been a faithful patron of the city's Gospel Festival, usually held a few weeks before the Taste in June. Omoniyi said he will miss the event, which was incorporated into the Taste this year.

But, he added begrudgingly, "I'm glad they kept it free."

Starbucks Adds Calories to UK Menus

The Telegraph: Its move follows a deal struck by the Department of Health and the food industry to give more information to customers when they were eating outside of the home.

The information will alarm and reassure customers in equal measure, depending on what their drink of choice is at Starbucks. A simple, small – or "short" – black filter coffee contains a mere 3 calories, but a large – or "venti" – hot chocolate with whole milk and topped with whipped cream contains an astonishing 690 calories, more than a double cheeseburger and french fries from McDonald's.

The coffee company offers similar information in most of its stores in America, where is a legal requirement in some states to give calories on menus. A study by Stanford University indicated that following the introduction of calorie menu boards, Starbucks customers chose to reduce their calorie intake by 6 per cent by choosing lighter options.

Tim McCoy at Starbucks said: "We offer people the chance to personalise their drinks. So if they want to take calories out by choosing sugar-free syrups, or skimmed milk, they can do so. Although the menu boards illustrate the most popular drinks, you can change them in pretty much any way you want."

Fast food chains, including Subway and Burger King signed up to a scheme run by the Food Standards Agency two years ago to give customers more information, but most companies quietly dropped the project saying it was too bureaucratic. Under the new link up with the Department of Health, a greater number of big chains have agreed to put calories on menus or boards above the counter. McDonald's will do so from September.

Paris Air Show Reveals Boeing/Airbus Strategies

Seattle Times: The Paris Air Show has unexpectedly made starkly clear that the rivalry between Airbus and Boeing is playing out very differently in the two major airplane categories. In sales of narrow body jets, Airbus is clearly on the ascendant.

Airbus announced more than 700 A320 sales in Paris, compared to less than 90 Boeing 737 sales.Airbus CEO Tom Enders said even he has been surprised by the wild success of the upgraded A320neo, which now has more than 1,000 orders and commitments following blockbuster sales in Paris.

"When I went to the board for approval, I promised strong sales," said Enders. "I didn't think it would be such a best seller only six months after the launch."

But in the market for bigger widebody jets, Boeing has the upper hand. Airbus has to fix problems with its now-delayed A350 family. As a result, Boeing can look forward to a bonanza of 777 and 787 sales for several years with some sales campaigns almost uncontested because Airbus won't have a competitive jet to offer.

Pat Shanahan, head of airplane programs at Boeing, said that with the 787 Dreamliner soon to enter service and the 777 without any viable competitor until 2017 at the earliest, Boeing's position in the large jet market is "better than good."

Airbus has set its strategy for narrow body jets. It will put new fuel-efficient engines on its A320, to create the A320neo. Sales in Paris provided strong evidence this is a winning approach.

Worryingly for Boeing, Airbus sales chief John Leahy said that all those A320neo sales in Paris were new; none were conversions of existing A320 orders. In contrast, Boeing doesn't yet have a narrowbody strategy. It wants to decide by year-end whether to follow Airbus and put new engines on the 737 or to design an all-new small airplane to replace it around 2020.

Boeing's leadership insists it isn't floundering, but it doesn't look good right now.

Rumors swirled in Paris that Leahy may by year-end convince a major U.S. carrier -- American and Delta are most often mentioned -- to defect to Airbus and order the neo. Airbus's Enders said "737 customers are very interested in what we are offering."

Boeing's head of sales Marlin Dailey said Airbus is "peppering the marketplace with A320 proposals." That puts his sales team in a difficult position. As they consider a purchase, customers want to know what Boeing will have to offer.

"They want some certainty," said Dailey. "We need to move with velocity."

Yet he, like all top Boeing executives, insists that year-end is time enough and that the momentous decision of whether to launch a new small airplane that would be produced for 30 or 40 years can wait six months. "I see nothing but opportunity," in the future narrow body market, Dailey said.

That seems like whistling in the dark to Airbus's Leahy. He thinks skyrocketing neo sales will force Boeing executives to back away from a new plane and follow Airbus by re-engining. And if they don't, he said, it'll be a mistake.

He said he believes Boeing cannot get enough of an efficiency boost by 2020 to make the plane significantly better than the neo. "I'd really break out the champagne if I heard that they just invested $12 billion to come out in 2020 with an airplane that is essentially an A320 wannabe," said Leahy.

Yet on the wide body front, Leahy is the one in a difficult position, though of course he doesn't admit it. Airbus announced in Paris on the eve of the Le Bourget show that it will delay two models of the three-jet A350 family and change the largest model radically. That tore the veil from a program in trouble.

"They stretched that family to cover the 787 and the 777," said Boeing's Dailey. But spanning that range of aircraft sizes -- roughly 240 seats to 350 seats -- has turned out to be too difficult to do with a single wing size.

Now Airbus must make serious alterations to the wing of the larger A350-1000, and give it heftier landing gear and more powerful engines. With that model pushed out until 2017, Boeing can look forward to a bonanza of 777 sales in the interim. The 777 currently has no viable Airbus competitor. In addition, Airbus customers are migrating away from the smallest and weakest A350 model, the A350-800.

 
And Airbus chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier conceded that getting the middle-sized A350-900 delivered on time is "a heavy challenge" and "a race against the clock." That's the only model not formally delayed.

With that outlook, the rival Boeing's Dreamliner family now looks certain of further sales too, provided Boeing can get production running well in Everett and at its supplier plants. If Boeing goes ahead with the 787-10, that will strengthen the family even more.

In Paris, Airbus CEO Enders insisted that all will be fine when the A350s finally arrive. But until then, he conceded Boeing's first-mover advantage with the Dreamliner. "When you start programs earlier, for a while you are better positioned," he said. Then Enders went off on a rationale to defend the extra time spent on the A350 that eerily resembled what Boeing is saying about its narrow body problem.

"It's most important we get the concept right," he said. "That takes a bit more time. That may be unfortunate, but it's worth waiting."

As Airbus and Boeing separately wonder if their customers will wait for them, they are feeling the pressure in different places.