US President Barack Obama seems to be learning from other people's mistakes.
In Philadelphia for campaign appearances on Monday with Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak, Obama made an unannounced stop at the popular Reading Terminal Market and ordered two cheesesteaks - with the usual Cheez Whiz topping.
He also ordered a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone on the way out.
Obama lately has been trying to convince people unhappy with the economy that he knows what they're going through.
During the 2004 presidential campaign, Democratic Senator John Kerry ordered a Philly cheesesteak with Swiss cheese.
Critics used that to portray the wealthy Kerry as out of touch. He lost the election to Republican George W Bush.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/2-cheesesteaks-to-go-for-obama-20100921-15k8d.html
Monday, September 20, 2010
Google hits wall in China
Google is hiring dozens of marketing and technical employees to defend a shrinking market share after closing its Chinese search engine six months ago in a dispute over censorship.
Mainland users usually can reach Google’s Chinese-language site in Hong Kong, which has helped Google retain its rank as China’s second-most-popular search engine.
But Hong Kong access is occasionally blocked and some users have defected to local alternatives, mostly to Baidu.com.
Google has kept a research centre and advertising sales offices in China and is promoting its Android operating system for mobile phones. It launched what it says is a “large-scale recruiting campaign” for at least 40 posts, from marketing manager to software designer.
“Our engineering teams in Beijing and Shanghai continue to focus on bringing a steady stream of innovation to our services in China,” the company said.
High-Speed Rail Stalls
Opposition from freight railroads is threatening the Obama administration's multibillion-dollar push to make high-speed passenger trains an integral part of the U.S. transportation network.
The standoff demonstrates the difficulties of introducing new passenger service to a rail network that is at least 90% owned by freight railroads and outfitted for slower trains.
To save time and money, government officials want new high-speed rail routes to operate on the vast system of train corridors that already crisscross the U.S., unlike European and Asian countries that have built dedicated tracks for high-speed rail.
But Norfolk Southern Corp., Union Pacific Corp. and other railroad companies are balking at sharing their tracks or rights-of-way with trains that would run between 90 and 200-plus miles an hour. They argue that mixing high-speed passenger trains with slower freight trains would create safety risks, prevent future expansion and cause congestion.
Cargo would be pushed to their competitors—trucking firms—the railroads argue, just as freight loads are picking up after the recession. Weekly average carloads in August were the highest since November 2008, according to the Association of American Railroads, the industry's main trade group.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703305004575504180006530598.html?mod=rss_US_News
The standoff demonstrates the difficulties of introducing new passenger service to a rail network that is at least 90% owned by freight railroads and outfitted for slower trains.
To save time and money, government officials want new high-speed rail routes to operate on the vast system of train corridors that already crisscross the U.S., unlike European and Asian countries that have built dedicated tracks for high-speed rail.
An artist's rendering of California's proposed high-speed passenger service. Disputes are slowing progress.
Cargo would be pushed to their competitors—trucking firms—the railroads argue, just as freight loads are picking up after the recession. Weekly average carloads in August were the highest since November 2008, according to the Association of American Railroads, the industry's main trade group.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703305004575504180006530598.html?mod=rss_US_News
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