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Holly Madison Insures Her Breasts for $1 Million

2011-09-30T13:13:00.000+05:00

Holly Madison is doing what's in her breast, er best, interest.
The reality star recently took out a $1 million insurance policy on her breasts with Lloyd's of London insurance company, she confirmed to WHO exclusively.
Gallery: Christina Hendricks' Busty Red Carpet Looks
Madison, 31, said she did it to protect herself and others who appear in her Las Vegas production, Peepshow.
"I've heard about people getting body parts insured and I thought, why not?, because if anything happened to my boobs, I'd be out for a few months and I'd probably be out a million dollars," she said. "I thought I'd cover my assets."
Literally.
Today's Hollywood Sex Symbols
Madison appears topless during segments of the Vegas show, which, in her mind, made the insurance policy necessary. She also comprehends the quirkiness of it all.
"I think it's kind of funny. I think they're getting the credit they deserve," she said. "They're my primary money makers right now."

Cain opens up, calls Obama a liar

2011-09-30T13:07:00.000+05:00

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Not everyone needs to go to Disney World to have fun in central Florida.
After one of Herman Cain's strongest showings yet at a Republican presidential debate Thursday, and two days with conservative activists in the state, he won the "Presidency 5" straw poll in Orlando over the weekend, beating front-runner Texas Gov. Rick Perry by more than 20 points.
While straw polls are not scientific and their results can be poor indicators of whether a candidate will win a party's nomination--the latest actual Florida poll put Cain near the bottom--they can help spark some momentum, especially for lower-tier candidates. For Cain, a 65-year-old businessman, mathematician, author and radio host from Atlanta, Georgia, his straw poll win could well be the high-water mark of his campaign. And by his own admission, the path that brought him this far wasn't an easy one. The morning before the straw poll, I met Cain for coffee in a hotel near the convention center that hosted the debate and straw poll. As we discussed the early phase of the Republican primaries, he told me that before coming to Florida, he had nearly called it quits on two occasions.
"The thing that I've learned about myself in this campaign--because I've never had this happen to me before on a single challenge--is that I've gone to the brink, ready to pull the plug, but came back, twice," Cain said. "I've only had two days where I personally felt, should I pull the plug? For different reasons. That's how frustrating a campaign can be."
When I pressed for details, he said he'd prefer to keep them to himself.
"I can't tell you what those two days are," he said. "But think about the number of days we've been on this campaign. Two ain't that bad."
Cain is certainly no stranger to adversity, having recently overcome Stage IV colon and liver cancer.
Even though he's known as the "pizza" candidate for his years as head of Godfather's Pizza, his background is much broader than that. After he graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in mathematics and a minor in chemistry in 1968, Cain landed a job as a ballistics analyst for the Department of the Navy, where he was responsible for the calculations that ensured battleship rockets hit their targets.
"It's not an easy thing to do," he said.
Cain later completed a master's degree in computer science and entered the business world where he led several companies--most recently Godfather's--and chaired the National Restaurant Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. His résumé--from mathematician and rocket scientist to restaurateur and now politician--isn't exactly a typical one for a presidential candidate. But Cain said that while his presidential run may look unlikely from the outside, it's actually part of his larger career trajectory of seeking out new ways to test himself.
"I'm bored if I don't have a challenge," he said.
Cain said the run for the White House is his toughest challenge yet--and it's been anything but boring. Despite the frustrations of running a national campaign, you can tell he's enjoying it. But it doesn't take much to get him riled up.
After a few caffeine-heavy refills at our corner table, I asked him about President Obama's new effort to raise taxes on the wealthy, and Cain just about blew a blood vessel--especially when I mentioned the part where Obama says it's about "math" not "class warfare."
"Can I be blunt? That's a lie," Cain said, before the sound of his voice began to rise noticeably higher. "You're not supposed to call the president a liar. Well if you're not supposed to call the president a liar, he shouldn't tell a lie. If it's not class warfare, it's highway robbery. He wants us to believe it's not class warfare, oh okay, it's not class warfare. Pick my pockets, because that's what he's doing!"
Cain paused, took a breath and looked at me.
"I'm not mad at you, I just get passionate about this stuff," he said. "I have to tell people because I get so worked up . . . . I'm listening to all this bullshit that he's talking about, 'fairness' and 'balanced approach' to get this economy going."
As anyone who watched the past couple of debates knows by now, Cain has his own plan that he says would steer the country out of its economic downturn. He calls it the "9-9-9 Plan," and it would replace the current tax code with three flat, nine-percent federal taxes on income, consumption and business.
"With 9-9-9 guess what? How many loopholes?" he said, tapping his fingers on the table like a drumroll. "None. Everybody gets treated the same. What a novel idea."
As the straw poll and his recent fundraising numbers suggest, Cain's message is resonating with the conservative movement's influential base of tea-party activists; for these supporters his status as a non-career politician with an extensive background in the private sector is nearly as strong a draw as his ideas and policy proposals. But despite his recent surge in support, few expect Cain's momentum to carry him on to victory at the Republican National Convention in 2012.
Cain insisted that the prognostications of a few pundits won't stop him from pressing on as far as his donors will carry him. At the same time, though, he said that this campaign will be his last foray into politics.
"I'm not planning to run for another public office," he said. But regardless, it's been "a hell of a challenge."

The hottest housing markets in America

2011-09-27T11:57:00.000+05:00

Living in a hot real estate market offers both home owners and home buyers some consolation amid this sustained economic downturn. But strong sales alone don't constitute a hot market - it takes rising prices, too.
Online real estate valuation and search company Zillow has calculated the U.S. metro areas that have experienced the largest gains in home values over the past five years, based on the company's home-value estimates and its Zillow Home Value Index, which is generated from those value estimates.
The five-year gains in estimated value range from 0.6 percent to 16.9 percent, while the estimated gains in dollar value range from $667 to $21,444.
See full report: 10 Metros with Greatest 5-year Gains Methodology: Zillow's Zestimate home valuations are the basis for the Zillow Home Value Index. A Zestimate is Zillow's estimate of the current market value for a home. The Zillow Home Value Index is the median Zestimate valuation for a given geographic area on a given day. Zillow generates valuations several times a week on more than 70 million homes, or roughly three out of four homes in the U.S., and calculates historical values dating back to 1997.
The statistical models underlying the Zestimates control for the mix of housing for sale by finding patterns in the types of homes that are selling and then applying these patterns to all homes. If only a few homes of a certain type sell in a given period, the models can extract the information from those sales and apply that information to all homes of that type.
Here are the top five hottest markets:

5. Yakima, WA

Photo: Atomic Taco | Flickr

July 2011 Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI): $132,263
ZHVI 5 years ago: $127,746
Value difference (by percent): 3.5%
Value difference (in dollars): $4,517

4. Tulsa, OK

Photo: Phan Ly | Flickr

July 2011 Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI): $111,398
ZHVI 5 years ago: $101,802
Value difference (by percent): 9.4%
Value difference (in dollars): $9,596

3. Oklahoma City, OK

Photo: Nicholas | Flickr

July 2011 Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI): $111,737
ZHVI 5 years ago: $101,532
Value difference (by percent): 10.1%
Value difference (in dollars): $10,205

2. Fayetteville, NC

Photo: Fang Guo | Flickr

July 2011 Zillow Home Value Index: $113,978
ZHVI 5 years earlier: $102,373
Value difference (by percent): 11.3%
Value difference (in dollars): $11,605

1. Jacksonville, NC

Photo: Doug Kerr | Flickr

July 2011 Zillow Home Value Index: $148,099
ZHVI 5 years ago: $126,655
Value difference (by percent): 16.9%
Value difference (in dollars): $21,444

Seeing Double: Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie

2011-09-27T11:53:00.000+05:00

Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston have a lot in common: They're A-list movie stars, they have dated Brad Pitt, and they can both stop traffic with their arresting good looks.
Now there's one more similar thread: The two are fashion doubles. The celebs were spotted on different continents dressed like they had called each other to plan their matching outfits. Each was found carrying similar styles of the Tom Ford "Carine" handbag that features shiny black leather, a chunky gold clasp, and a two-toned chain strap.
This luxe look doesn't come cheap: E! Online reports that the handbag runs a whopping $2,200. But it didn't stop there.
The pair also seem to be wearing the same oversized, gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses. And in addition to the matchy-match accessories, both also paired their pricey bags with loose gray tops and black high-heeled boots.
Sure, it may be a coincidence that each one chose such a similar look. But Angelina Jolie was seen in this outfit earlier this month in London, so she had dibs. Aniston sported her copycat arm candy this morning while pre-taping the "Today" show.

At fundraiser, Lady Gaga may or may not have chatted with President Obama

2011-09-27T11:49:00.000+05:00

“Mother Monster” Lady Gaga attended a $35,800-per-couple fundraiser for President Barack Obama in northern California over the weekend. The 25-year-old Grammy winner didn’t sing, but she reportedly asked Obama a question during the Q&A, thanked him for all he’s done for the country, and read a letter about her late fan Jamey Rodemeyer.

“[Lady Gaga] thanked Obama for hosting his anti-bullying conference with Michelle Obama, and then made a general plea to everyone in the room, including the president, to do what they can to prevent bullying,” a source told ABC.

Obama reportedly talked about “his administration’s anti-bullying campaign, and then more generally about the importance of values and who we are as Americans.”

Though ABC reports that the performance artist spoke with Obama for two whole minutes, the White House press pool report from the event states that it’s unclear whether the pop sensation and politician met up with each other.

“POTUS spoke for about 8 minutes, with Lady Gaga sitting front and center,” reads the report. “And although he never acknowledged her obvious presence, it seems likely the two crossed paths during greetings inside the house before the dinner.”

Also according to the pool report, Lady Gaga sported “sky-high heels (she towered over everyone, a good 2 feet taller than POTUS)…[and] a floor-length sleeveless lacy black dress.” At the presidential gathering, the “Born This Way” singer also had a bouffant hair up-do “with a black hair piece with a black veil down the back.”

If she and the president didn’t talk, she broke her word. Last week, the pop singer tweeted that she would meet with Obama to discuss the bullying issue.

“I am meeting with our President,” Lady Gaga tweeted following the suicide of bullied fan Rodemeyer. “I will not stop fighting. This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey.” (MORE: Lady Gaga: Bullying must become illegal)

After Rodemeyer’s tragic suicide, Lady Gaga wrote that she believes bullying should become a federal offense.

“Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 yrs old, took his life because of bullying,” Lady Gaga tweeted Wednesday. “Bullying must become be [sic] illegal. It is a hate crime.”

Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old gay male from Buffalo, made an “It Gets Better” YouTube video earlier this summer to urge outcasts and the bullied to keep going and brush off the mean kids.

“It gets better,” Rodemeyer advised YouTube users in May. “Look at me, I’m doing fine. I went to the Monster ball and now I’m liberated, so it gets better.”

Rodemeyer took his life a little more than a week ago. In his last blog posts he wrote about wanting to see his late great-grandmother, and thanked Lady Gaga.

Holly wood hottest sex symbol of today

2011-09-18T20:44:00.000+05:00

Christina Hendricks
The curvaceous Mad Men star has redefined what it means to be sexy in the 21st century, making it very clear that you don't have to bit stick thin to be utterly gorgeous.

Jennifer Aniston
She has been one of the most gorgeous women in Hollywood for more than a decade and she just seems to get better with age. Renowned for her glowing skin and toned physique Aniston's natural beauty has made her an absolute icon.

Scarlett Johansson
She is famous for saying that she doesn't have to be skinny to be sexy and she is absolutely right. Johansson has built a career on her show-stopping looks and enviable curves.

Salma Hayek
Never one to fit the mould Hayek has always stood out in Hollywood with her incredibly sexy curves, her delicious accent and her twinkling eyes. Her look is one for the ages.

Olivia Wilde
The actress has blossomed in the past few years, with few being able to deny the appeal of her spectacular eyes and lean figure, she is one of those beauties that you just can't take your eyes off.

Angelina Jolie
Tall, elegant and slightly mysterious, Angelina Jolie is without a doubt one of the most revered beauties in Hollywood and her status as sex symbol is well and truly permanent.

Mila Kunis
With her sexy role in the film Friends With Benefits Kunis showed the world that she is one sexy lady to be admired, idolised and lusted after.

Jennifer Lopez
The singer and actress is certainly not 'Jenny from the block' anymore, her beauty has become more pronounced over the years and her grace and style contribute to make her more than just gorgeous, she is simply stunning.

Cameron Diaz
With a pair of the longest and most admired legs in Hollywood it is no wonder Diaz is considered to be very sexy, but add to that her light-up-a-room smile and you have something quite extraordinary.

Jessica Alba
With a dancer's body and grace and mesmerizing dark eyes Alba is one of those women that any female would give anything to look like.

Mass nude photo shoot in Dead Sea

2011-09-18T19:39:00.000+05:00

DEAD SEA, Israel (AFP) - Dawn over the lowest spot on earth illuminated a Dead Sea very much alive on Saturday, as more than 1,000 floating nude Israelis posed for a mass shoot by US photographer Spencer Tunick.

The project, Tunick's first in the Middle East, is part of a bid to boost Israel's campaign to have the salt-saturated feature recognised as one of the world's seven natural wonders in a global online vote in November.

Experts warn that the Dead Sea could dry out by 2050 unless urgent steps are taken to halt its demise.

For Tunick, a Jewish American who has arranged naked human bodies over prominent landscapes and landmarks ranging from a Swiss glacier to the Sydney Opera House, a nude installation is an indicator of a host country's openness.

"In some places the work is a little bit more controversial, and then in other places the works are accepted as a litmus test for how free a country is, or how open a country is, and how full of rights a country is," he told a pre-shoot press briefing.

Orthodox Jewish politicians and rabbis had protested over what they termed the "Sodom and Gomorrah" nature of Tunick's work, and threatened to take legal action against the plan to strip in public.

The head of the local council in whose area the early-morning photo session took place had threatened to call police to disperse the shoot, which he said was offensive to local residents.

But organisers kept the location secret until the last moment to secure it, and there were no hitches to the two-hour session at the Mineral Beach complex, not far from where tradition says the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, irreparably overrun by sin, were destroyed by God along with their inhabitants. Tunick, who grew up in the largely Hassidic community of South Fallsburg, NY, said in the briefing that he could understand how religious people could find his work offensive.

"That's why I've decided to do the work on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), so no-one would be walking by and see a naked person half a mile away and be offended," he said.

The Dead Sea's surface level is plunging by about a metre (39 inches) each year, and the shoreline has receded by more than a kilometre (0.6 mile) in places, according to some estimates.

For Ari Frucht, who initiated the project and has toiled over its preparations for the past four years, a work by Spencer Tunick could help raise awareness of the sea's condition and galvanise Israel's government into action.

He believes there is another aspect, too, to the Jewish state hosting such a shoot.

"The world needs to know that Israelis are not religious extremists," he said ahead of the event.

Besides involvement in public disrobing, the installation provided Chai Amir, a 35-year-old resident of central city Bnei Brack, an opportunity to do something for a cause he believed in.

"I'm glad I was able to take part in an event aimed at saving the Dead Sea," he said as the shoot wrapped. "You can really see how the waterline recedes every year."

A jubilant Tunick praised the "brave" participants of his installation, some of whom flew to Israel especially for it.

"This could happen nowhere else in the Middle East," he said as the event wound down, and the men and women headed to the showers and buses.

"If you love freedom in New York, freedom in London, freedom in Italy... there's freedom in Israel, and I think this is very important for people to understand."

US eyes Asia from secret Australian base

2011-09-18T19:33:00.000+05:00

SYDNEY, Sept 18, 2011 (AFP) - - Deep in the silence of Australia's Outback desert an imposing American spy post set up at the height of the Cold War is now turning its attention to Asia's growing armies and arsenals.

Officially designated United States territory and manned by agents from some of America's most sensitive intelligence agencies, the Pine Gap satellite station has been involved in some of the biggest conflicts in modern times.

But its role in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, and in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, had been little recognised until one of its most senior spies broke ranks recently to pen a tell-all account.

Intelligence analyst David Rosenberg spent 18 years at the base, 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) south of Alice Springs, working with top-secret clearance for the National Security Agency (NSA), home to America's code-cracking elite.

Formally known as the "Joint Defence Space Research Facility", Pine Gap is one of Washington's biggest intelligence collection posts, intercepting weapons and communications signals via a series of satellites orbiting Earth.

Australia has had joint leadership at the post and access to all intercepted material since 1980, but the base's history is not without controversy.

Former prime minister Gough Whitlam was sensationally sacked by the British monarchy -- allegedly at American urging -- not long after he threatened to close Pine Gap in 1975, although other domestic political issues were also involved in his removal.

Its futuristic domes were originally built as a weapon in America's spy war with Russia, officially starting operations in 1970, but Rosenberg says it is now targeting the US-led "war on terror" and Asia's military boom.

"There's a large segment of the world that are weapons-producing countries who have programmes that the United States and Australia are interested in, and obviously a lot of Asia encompasses that area," Rosenberg told AFP.

The career spy is under a lifetime secrecy agreement with the NSA, meaning he cannot reveal classified information and is limited in what he can say about his time at Pine Gap, but said North Korea and China were among its targets.

"I think any country that has a large military, is a large weapons producer, is always going to be a focus for the intelligence community and China of course is growing and it's growing rapidly," he said.

"There are developments there that we are looking at."

India and Pakistan were also "very much of a concern", he added, with a surprise nuclear test by New Delhi in 1998 catching Pine Gap's analysts "blind".

The latter half of his time at the mysterious station known to locals as the "Space Base" was dominated by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and an intense focus on Al-Qaeda following the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Rosenberg recalls that day as his most sombre in the job, with analysts scouring the region for clues on what was going to happen next, knowing instantly that Al-Qaeda was responsible and fearing they would strike again.

"While these attacks were happening we of course were thinking how many other simultaneous or near-simultaneous actions are going to happen?" he said.

"We didn't know how many other attacks had been planned that day."

It was also a huge wake-up call to the fragmented spy community, he added, who soon realised all the signs had been there of an impending attack but they had failed to piece them together to perhaps prevent 9/11.

Delays also allowed Bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders to escape into hiding, a "significant intelligence failure" which left agents with a 10-year hunt Rosenberg was not around to see completed -- one of his few regrets.

It was "certainly possible" that Pine Gap was involved in the US mission which ultimately saw Bin Laden killed in Pakistan in May, he added.

He sees "cyber-warfare" such as state-endorsed hacking and increasingly portable technology allowing, for example, the remote detonation of a bomb with a mobile phone, as the next big front for the intelligence community.

Rosenberg's book offers a rare insight into the mysterious world of military espionage, discussing widespread doubts amongst spies about the since-debunked claims of weapons of mass destruction that presaged the invasion of Iraq.

It was screened 16 times before publication by four intelligence agencies -- three American and one Australian -- and has been altered or blacked out in sections through an arduous censorship process which saw him, at one point, taken into a vault in Canberra for interrogation.

Defence officials were also due to seize and destroy his computer hard-drive to ensure classified elements of the original manuscript were wiped out.

But the self-confessed "Mission: Impossible" fan said he had no regrets about telling his story.

"Imagine being in a job where secrecy surrounds everything you did for 23 years -- it's kind of like letting the cork out of a champagne bottle, all the secrets come flowing out," he said.

"It was quite a liberating experience for me."

Gen Y's $2 Million Retirement Price Tag

2011-09-18T19:25:00.000+05:00

Twentysomethings will need to save much more than their parents did for retirement

Retirement won't be impossible for Generations X and Y, but they will need to save considerably more than the baby boomers to make up for less employer and government help. Fewer young people have access to generous retirement benefits, including traditional pensions and retiree health insurance. And anyone born in 1960 or later must wait an extra year, until age 67, to claim the full amount of Social Security they are entitled to. Those who claim at the same age their parents did will get less. Here are some ways 20- and 30-somethings can get on track to retire comfortably.
Set a worthy goal. In a 2010 survey of 226 registered investment advisors commissioned by Scottrade Advisor Services, more than three-quarters (77 percent) suggested a retirement savings goal of at least $2 million for members of Generation Y, defined by the study to include those ages 18 to 26. Sixty-eight percent of the investment advisers said members of Generation X should also aim to save more than $2 million. "For a generation Y person who thinks she wants to retire at around age 70 who is going to have slightly above-average annual expenses, $2 million is probably the right number," says Michael Farr, president of the Washington, D.C., investment firm Farr, Miller, & Washington and author of A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire With the Money You'll Need. But he cautions, "Most people who have high incomes and the ability to set aside $2 million will likely have more expensive lifestyles."
However, other studies have found that young people may be able to get by on less in retirement. Human resources consulting firm Aon Hewitt calculated that Generation Y workers, who it defines as people ages 18 to 30, will need 18.7 times their final pay for retirement, including Social Security, traditional pension plans, and personal savings, to maintain their current standard of living after retirement at age 65. For someone whose final salary is $75,000, that's just over $1.4 million, and Social Security will provide part of that. For Generation Xers ages 31 to 45, Aon Hewitt estimates they will need 16.1 times their final salary to pay for retirement. "A higher earner will probably continue to spend more in retirement," says Janet Tyler Johnson, a certified financial planner and president of JATAJ Wealth Management in Fitchburg, Wis. "It's really dependent on how much you need in retirement."
Take advantage of employer help. Getting to $2 million will take some effort, even if you start saving early. A 25-year-old will need to save about $7,405 annually, or $142 per week, to get there over 40 years, assuming an 8 percent annual return. Retirement account contributions from your employer will make it much easier to hit your retirement savings goal. If your employer matches your 401(k) contributions with $2,000 per year, you'll only need to save $104 per week to have $2 million by age 65, again assuming an 8 percent annual return.
Control costs. Minimizing investment fees and expenses will help you to grow your nest egg faster. That's because high expense ratios on mutual funds can have serious drag on your long-term returns. Getting a 7 percent annual return instead of 8 percent over a 40-year career (because you are paying 1 percent in yearly fees) means you will need to save $2,255 more per year to still hit $2 million by age 65. Index funds generally charge much less in annual fees than actively managed mutual funds. "If I didn't manage my own money, I would buy a S&P 500 index fund because it is low cost," says Farr.
Get a Roth IRA or 401(k). Roth 401(k)s and IRAs allow young people, who are likely to be in a low tax bracket, to pre-pay taxes on their retirement savings. "Young folks are in a lower tax bracket now than they will be in the future, including when they begin to tap into their retirement savings," says Joe Alfonso, a certified financial planner for Aegis Financial Advisory in Lake Oswego, Ore. "You're giving up the current tax deduction, but you are basically getting tax-free retirement income that would otherwise be taxable in the future." Once your contribution is made with after-tax dollars, that money can continue to grow for the rest of your life without the drag of taxes. If you wait until age 59½ to withdraw the money, you won't have to pay taxes on any of the growth.
Maximize Social Security. Social Security provides a base level of income that your retirement savings should build upon. Take steps to maximize the amount you get by making sure you have at least 35 years of earnings under your belt before you sign up for payments, so that zeros won't be factored into your calculation. And carefully consider the age at which you begin to claim benefits. Payouts increase for each year of delayed claiming between ages 62 and 70.
Don't plan on retiring at 65. A male born in 1946 can expect to live 18 years after retirement at age 66, according to Social Security Administration projections. Men born in 1980 should plan for at least a 19.3 year retirement, after the higher retirement age of 67. For women, the average projected length of retirement jumps from 20 years for those born in 1946 to 21.2 years for those born in 1980. And these are just the averages. "Generation Y's life expectancy is going to be a lot longer," says Farr. "They have to fund more years of retirement than the old financial planning models built in."
Of course, you don't have to retire at age 65, or at what the Social Security Administration defines as the full retirement age, which is 66 for most baby boomers and 67 for younger people. Working a few extra years gives you more time to save, allows your investments a longer time to compound, and reduces the number of retirement years your savings must finance. If you're 25 now and willing to work until age 70, you could reach $2 million by saving just $95 per week, assuming an 8 percent annual return and not even counting the 401(k) match.
Don't get hung up on the number. How much you need to save for retirement largely depends on your expenses. If you're willing to pay off your mortgage before retirement, move to a smaller house or low-cost area of the country, and live a modest lifestyle, you may find a way to get by on less. Conversely, those who want a lavish retirement will need to save more. "If you've got a goal based upon assumptions about inflation and rates of return, it's actually counterproductive, because those numbers can be pretty big, especially for young folks," says Alfonso. "It's more important to focus on the things that you can control, such as the percent of your gross income that you save and to really focus on your career and moving up the salary chain."

Obama to propose "Buffett tax" on millionaires

2011-09-18T19:20:00.000+05:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in a populist gesture designed to appeal to voters, will propose a "Buffett Tax" on people making more than $1 million a year as part of his deficit recommendations to Congress on Monday.

Such a proposal, among suggestions to a congressional Super Committee expected to seek up to $3 trillion in deficit savings over 10 years, would appeal to his Democratic base ahead of the 2012 election but likely not raise much in revenues.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a tweet on Saturday the tax would act as "a kind of AMT" (Alternative Minimum Tax) aimed at ensuring millionaires pay at least as much tax as middle-class families.

The "Buffett Tax" refers to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who wrote earlier this year that rich people like him often pay less in tax than those who work for them due to loopholes in the taxcode, and can afford to pay more.

Obama will lay out his recommendations in White House Rose Garden remarks at 10.30 am on Monday and is expected to urge steps to raise tax revenue as well as cuts in spending.

But Congress is at liberty to ignore his suggestions and

Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have said that they will not agree to tax hikes.

The super committee of six Democrat and six Republican lawmakers must find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit savings before the end of the year to avoid painful automatic cuts, and is mandated to seek savings of up to $1.5 trillion.

These savings are on top of $917 billion in deficit reduction agreed in an August deal to raise the debt limit and Obama wants it to go further.

He has separately urged it to consider $450 billion in tax increases on top of this goal to pay for a jobs bill that he unveiled earlier this month.

The Buffett Tax could help energize Obama's base by highlighting a feature of the tax code that allows the super rich to pay lower rates of tax less wealthy Americans

because the bulk of their income is capital gains, dividends and the 'carried interest' earnings of hedge fund managers.

This is taxed at 15 percent, compared to rates of 10 to 35 percent on straightforward income.

China Consolidates Grip on Rare Earths

2011-09-18T19:16:00.000+05:00

BEIJING — In the name of fighting pollution, China has sent the price of compact fluorescent light bulbs soaring in the United States.

By closing or nationalizing dozens of the producers of rare earth metals — which are used in energy-efficient bulbs and many other green-energy products — China is temporarily shutting down most of the industry and crimping the global supply of the vital resources.

China produces nearly 95 percent of the world’s rare earth materials, and it is taking the steps to improve pollution controls in a notoriously toxic mining and processing industry. But the moves also have potential international trade implications and have started yet another round of price increases for rare earths, which are vital for green-energy products including giant wind turbines, hybrid gasoline-electric cars and compact fluorescent bulbs.

General Electric, facing complaints in the United States about rising prices for its compact fluorescent bulbs, recently noted in a statement that if the rate of inflation over the last 12 months on the rare earth element europium oxide had been applied to a $2 cup of coffee, that coffee would now cost $24.55.

An 11-watt G.E. compact fluorescent bulb — the lighting equivalent of a 40-watt incandescent bulb — was priced on Thursday at $15.88 on Wal-Mart’s Web site for pickup in a Nashville, Ark., store.

Wal-Mart, which has made a big push for compact fluorescent bulbs, acknowledged that it needed to raise prices on some brands lately. “Obviously we don’t want to pass along price increases to our customers, but occasionally market conditions require it,” Tara Raddohl, a spokeswoman, said. The Chinese actions on rare earths were a prime topic of conversation at a conference here on Thursday that was organized by Metal-Pages, an industry data firm based in London.

Soaring prices are rippling through a long list of industries.

“The high cost of rare earths is having a significant chilling effect on wind turbine and electric motor production in spite of offsetting government subsidies for green tech products,” said one of the conference attendees, Michael N. Silver, chairman and chief executive of American Elements, a chemical company based in Los Angeles. It supplies rare earths and other high-tech materials to a wide range of American and foreign businesses.

But with light bulbs, especially, the timing of the latest price increases is politically awkward for the lighting industry and for environmentalists who backed a shift to energy-efficient lighting.

In January, legislation that President George W. Bush signed into law in 2007 will begin phasing out traditional incandescent bulbs in favor of spiral compact fluorescent bulbs, light-emitting diodes and other technologies. The European Union has also mandated a switch from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient lighting.

Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is running for the Republican presidential nomination on a platform that includes strong opposition to the new lighting rules in the United States and has been a leader of efforts by House Republicans to repeal it.

China says it has largely shut down its rare earth industry for three months to address pollution problems. By invoking environmental concerns, China could potentially try to circumvent international trade rules that are supposed to prohibit export restrictions of vital materials.

In July, the European Union said in a statement on rare earth policy that the organization supported efforts to protect the environment, but that discrimination against foreign buyers of rare earths was not allowed under World Trade Organization rules.

China has been imposing tariffs and quotas on its rare earth exports for the last several years, curtailing global supplies and forcing prices to rise eightfold to fortyfold during that period for the various 17 rare earth elements.

Even before this latest move by China, the United States and the European Union were preparing to file a case at the W.T.O. this winter that would challenge Chinese export taxes and export quotas on rare earths.

Chinese officials here at the conference said the government was worried about polluted water, polluted air and radioactive residues from the rare earth industry, particularly among many small and private companies, some of which operate without the proper licenses. While rare earths themselves are not radioactive, they are always found in ore containing radioactive thorium and require careful handling and processing to avoid contaminating the environment.

Most of the country’s rare earth factories have been closed since early August, including those under government control, to allow for installation of pollution control equipment that must be in place by Oct. 1, executives and regulators said.

The government is determined to clean up the industry, said Xu Xu, chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters, a government-controlled group that oversees the rare earth industry. “The entrepreneurs don’t care about environmental problems, don’t care about labor problems and don’t care about their social responsibility,” he said. “And now we have to educate them.”

Beijing authorities are creating a single government-controlled monopoly, Bao Gang Rare Earth, to mine and process ore in northern China, the region that accounts for two-thirds of China’s output. The government is ordering 31 mostly private rare earth processing companies to close this year in that region and is forcing four other companies into mergers with Bao Gang, said Li Zhong, the vice general manager of Bao Gang Rare Earth.

The government also plans to consolidate 80 percent of the production from southern China, which produces the rest of China’s rare earths, into three companies within the next year or two, Mr. Li said. All three of these companies are former ministries of the Chinese government that were spun out as corporations, and the central government still owns most of the shares.

The taxes and quotas China had in place to restrict rare earth exports caused many companies to move their factories to China from the United States and Europe so that they could secure a reliable and inexpensive source of raw materials.

China promised when it joined the W.T.O. in 2001 that it would not restrict exports except for a handful of obscure materials. Rare earths were not among the exceptions.

But even if the W.T.O. orders China to dismantle its export tariffs and quotas, the industry consolidation now under way could enable China to retain tight control over exports and continue to put pressure on foreign companies to relocate to China.

The four state-owned companies might limit sales to foreign buyers, a tactic that would be hard to address through the W.T.O., Western trade officials said.

Hedge funds and other speculators have been buying and hoarding rare earths this year, with prices rising particularly quickly through early August, and dipping since then as some have sold their inventories to take profits, said Constantine Karayannopoulos, the chief executive of Neo Material Technologies, a Canadian company that is one of the largest processors in China of raw rare earths.

“The real hot money got into the industry building neodymium and europium inventories in Shanghai warehouses,” he said.

7 Kitchen Tricks You Should Know

2011-09-18T19:12:00.000+05:00

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. Ironically, many of the following tricks for fixing common kitchen dilemmas aren’t widely known. But tuck them in your proverbial apron and you’ll have a far easier time resolving the following problems next time you face them:

1. How to Open Stubborn Pistachios
Pistachios are way too expensive to waste. Yet many of the delicious roasted nuts arrived in shells with little to no opening. Rather than attempting to bite them open or ruin your nails in a struggle you can’t win, next time try this foolproof method for opening stubborn shells: Take one half of a shell, stick it into even the littlest opening of an unopened pistachio, and turn the shell half like a key. The pistachio will pop right open!

2. How to Easily Remove Egg Shells Dropped into Eggs

It happens to all of us: You crack open an egg and a tiny piece of its shell falls into the bowl along with the raw egg. If you’ve tried to get it out with your finger or a spoon, you know the slippery dilemma you face. Next time, wet your finger with water before attempting to fish it out. You’ll be shocked at how easily it can be grabbed and eliminated.
3. How to Make Burnt Pots Look New Again
Considering how much a nice set of pots and pans costs, you’d expect them to be easy to clean. But even the best stainless steel cooking gear gets black with use and cooked-on remnants. If you’ve attempted to scrub them clean you have probably succumbed to the notion that they will never glisten again. But, if you spray pots with oven cleaner and leave them for a couple of hours the grime will wipe right off! Likewise stainless kettles.

Gadgets That Make Cooking More Fun
4. How to Refresh Crystallized Honey

You know that jar or bottle of honey that’s hardened and crystallized on your shelf? It can easily be brought back to its easy-to-pour glory if you let it sit for 15 minutes in boiling water that has cooled for five minutes.

5. How to Soften Hardened Brown SugarBrown sugar hardens as its moisture evaporates over time in the cupboard. But you can easily re-moisturize it by placing the open sugar bag in a microwave with a cup of water next to it and zapping it on high for three minutes. Or you can place the sugar in a bowl, cover the sugar with a double layer of wet paper towels, and then cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and let it stand overnight.

6. How to Remove Stains from Wooden Cutting Boards
Can rings and wine and strawberries stains don’t help the style of your cutting board. To get out stains, try sprinkling the board with salt rubbing it with lemon. For more stubborn stains, try an abrasive antibacterial kitchen cleaner and scouring pad. For the toughest, reach for sandpaper! And of course wash thoroughly afterward!
Beautiful Clocks for Every Room
7. How to Salvage Overripe Fruit

Fruit is expensive, yet it goes bad so quickly and easily. But you don’t need to toss your bruised or overripe bananas, peaches, or strawberries. The minute you see your fruit going bad, wash it, slice it, peel it (in the case of bananas) and freeze it in sealable bags. Then you have instant smoothie or pie makings anytime!

10 Fastest Cars of 2011

2011-09-18T19:05:00.000+05:00

Every year, car manufacturers roll out new makes and models that push technology to the breaking point. Edmunds.com, an automotive-information Web site, evaluates these cars and explains what consumers are getting for their money. This includes engine design, cosmetic details, and, naturally, speed.
The evaluations are based on the opinions of Dan Edmunds, the site’s director of vehicle testing. He’s the one who actually test drives the cars, so CNBC.com spoke with him to get his thoughts on 2011’s 10 fastest models. ” I don’t think there’s a stinker in the bunch,” he said.
Some of the cars on this list are new models out this year, or rolling out the next. Others have remained mechanically unchanged for two or three years, but still pack a wallop that only a handful of other cars have managed to beat.
The cars are ranked on the rate at which they can go from zero to 60 miles per hour, not their top speed. After all, the average driver is unlikely to drive on U.S. highways at 215 mph, but is almost certain to get from zero to 60.

No. 10 Jaguar XFR (2010-2011) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $82,875
According to Edmunds, the Jaguar XFR is “one of those cars that people who like Jags just really like. They like them because of the way they look. They’ve definitely got that Jag styling that a lot of people are looking for.”

The car goes from zero to 60 in 4.5 seconds. It has a 510 horsepower engine, and is elegant and luxurious on the inside. “It’s probably one of the more deceptive cars on the list,” says Edmunds. “It doesn’t show what it’s got as overtly as the others, until you stomp on the pedal.”
No. 9 Ford Shelby GT500 (2011)

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $49,605
The Ford Shelby GT500 is a Mustang. It doesn’t say it is, but rest assured, it is. Of all the cars on this list, it’s the least expensive, with a base price of $49,605. The car has a 550 hp engine and it can go from zero to 60 in 4.4 seconds.

”This car has got a lot of things that hark back to Shelbys of old,” says Edmunds. “It has stripes down the center and Shelby badging on the trunk, but that engine and horsepower are what differentiate it.”

No. 8 Mercedes-Benz C-Class AMG (2007-2011) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $59,805
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class AMG can go from zero to 60 in 4.4 seconds. This is true of both the C63 AMG and the CLS63 AMG. There are differences between the two, however, that car buyers should know.

”The C63 AMG is basically a little car with a big engine,” says Edmunds. “It has a great exhaust note, a real nice ‘burble’ when it’s idling. It really sounds great. You want to stop the car and just listen to it go.”

The CLS63 AMG, on the other hand, is based on the same platform, but it’s more elegant and has four doors as opposed to two. It’s also priced at $99,050, as opposed to the $59,805 C63 AMG.

No. 7 BMW X6 M (2010-2011) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $90,375
According to Dan Edmunds, the BMW X6 M is “basically an SUV. It’s big. They made it look like a hatchback.” It can go from zero to 60 in 4.3 seconds.

BMW also offers the X5 M, which can go from zero to 60 in 4.5 seconds, just barely enough to stay on this list. However, while it operates at so lethargic a clip, it still offers “lots of horsepower, lots of tire, lots of brakes.”

No. 6 Cadillac CTS-V (2011) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $65,390
The Cadillac CTS-V comes as both a coupe or a sedan. Both cost $65,390, so they're ineligible for supercar status. However, they’re comfortably within the modest financial reach of mere mortals.

They also share the ability to go from zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds. The Cadillac is one of the least expensive cars on this list, and according to Edmunds, it’s “not a bad car at all.”

No. 5 Audi R8 (2011)
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $118,450
The Audi R8 has all-wheel drive and can go from zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds. ”It’s a really striking car,” Edmunds says. “It’s not quite as outlandish as something like a Lamborghini, but it’s still really impressive looking and the engine makes some really insane noises. It’s got a pretty spacious cabin for a two-seater, it’s got room behind the seats.”

Although Edmunds describes the R8 as “not impractical,” it’s still not the ideal car for taking one’s daughter to ice skating practice. “It’s not a daily driver,” Edmunds says.

No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette (2010-2011) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $113,500
The Chevrolet Corvette is an undisputed automotive classic. There are several varieties from which to choose and all will get the driver from zero to 60 with alarming speed. The Z06 will reach 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and the 430 hp Grand Sport will do the job in 4.4 seconds. However, both pale in comparison to the ZR1, which can reach 60 mph in 3.9 seconds.

The ZR1 has a 638 hp engine, but somewhat surprisingly has only rear-wheel drive. According to Edmunds, “that doesn’t matter for people who buy this car.” Those on a budget who don’t mind going from zero to 60 in a leisurely 4.4 seconds have the option of buying the Grand Sport for just $55,000. It has less horsepower than the ZR1, but according to Edmunds, it’s still “every bit a Corvette.”

No. 3 Bentley Continental Supersports (2010-2011) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $272,195
The Bentley Continental Supersports is by no means a subtle car. For one thing, it’s just plain big, and it weighs approximately two-and-a-half tons. With that kind of bulk, Edmunds says that it simply has “too much weight to be a ‘driver’s car.’ ” However, that’s beside the point. “This is for the kind of person who wants everybody to know what their last paycheck was,” he says.

The car costs $272,195, has all-wheel drive, and, despite its weight, it can go from zero to 60 in 3.8 seconds. It’s designed with the collector in mind, according to Edmunds. “The person who has this car has other cars in their garage and rotates through them by mood,” he says.

No. 2 Porsche 911 (2010-2011) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $136,450
The Porsche 911 is available in many flavors, all of which can go from zero to 60 at a terrifying clip. The GT3 will do it in 4 seconds and the GT2 RS will do the job in 3.6 seconds, but the 911 Turbo has them all beat, reaching 60 miles per hour in an almost unimaginable 3.2 seconds.

The 911 has all-wheel drive and a 500 hp engine, and while it retains the iconic shape of Porsches past, it has an improved engine placement that makes it easier to drive. “It’s quick around a racetrack and it can corner and turn fast,” says Edmunds.

No. 1 Nissan GT-R (2009-2012) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $90,950
The Nissan GT-R Black Edition is a 2012 model, but it was released early to the market and has been available for most of 2011. Previous models since 2009 have gone from zero to 60 in 3.6 seconds, but the Black Edition does the job in 3.1 seconds, earning its place at the top of this list.

Edmunds tested the Black Edition in February 2011, and was impressed on all counts. While the Porsche 911 is the Nissan’s closest competition in terms of reaching 60 miles per hour, he feels that the GT-R is quite simply the better machine. “On a racetrack, the GT-R is going to slaughter the 911,” he says.

The most 10 hated jobs in USA

2011-09-18T18:57:00.000+05:00

At one time or another, we have all known at least one person who has hated his or her job. That person may have suffered silently or vented constantly, but at the end of the day there was no question this person was truly unhappy with where they spent at least 40 of his or her waking hours every week, for 51 weeks a year.

The reasons for job dissatisfaction vary. Low pay, irregular hours, and lack of a window seat

are all assumed to be culprits, and to be sure they can all contribute to a bad attitude on the job. These are actually not the primary factors driving a worker to regard tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock sharp with dread and ill will, however, according to one resource.

CareerBliss is an online resource that bases job satisfaction on multiple factors, including workplace culture, coworkers, and the boss.

According a survey of hundreds of thousands of employees conducted in 2011, CareerBliss determined the 10 most hated jobs, rated on a scale of 1 to 10. In almost all cases, respondents reported that the factors causing the most job dissatisfaction were not lousy pay or a desk near the bathroom. CareerBliss found that limited growth opportunities and lack of reward drove the misery index up more than anything else.

Read about the 10 jobs with the highest levels of employee unhappiness. The results may surprise you.

1. Director of Information Technology
For all the press that teachers and nurses get for their long hours, low pay and thankless tasks, it may be surprising to see the most hated job was that of information technology director, according to CareerBliss. After all, the salary's pretty good and with information technology such a prevalent part of everyday business, an IT director can hold almost as much sway over the fate of some companies as a chief executive.

Still, IT directors reported the highest level of dissatisfaction with their jobs, far surpassing that of any waitress, janitor, or bellhop. Of those who responded to the survey, one simple, five-word response summed up the antipathy very well: "Nepotism, cronyism, disrespect for workers."

2. Director of Sales and Marketing
A director of sales and marketing plans implements efforts to promote companies and generate business. Responsibilities often include budget management, public relations, and employee training.

Sales and marketing directors reported the second-highest level of job dissatisfaction of all survey respondents. The majority who responded negatively cited a lack of direction from upper management and an absence of room for growth as the main sources of their ire.

3. Product Manager
"Product manager" is a wide-ranging job title that takes on many meanings, depending on the company and its sector. In some cases, the job requires simply evaluating what products are best suited to a company's business model, and in others marketing, resource management, and scheduling are involved.

The level of job dissatisfaction was very high for this position. One respondent complained that it restricted growth, saying that it was "very hard to grow up the ranks." Another was less polite and said "the work is boring and there's a lot of clerical work still at my level."

4. Senior Web Developer
Senior web developers design, maintain, and develop applications for the Internet. With every business expected to have some kind of Internet presence these days, developers are found working in every type of company, in a full-time, part-time, or freelance capacity.

A senior developer is expected to be fluent in client-side and server-side contexts, and know his or her way around Python, Ruby, or whatever other arcane technology requires taming. Senior developers reported a high degree of unhappiness in their jobs, attributable to a perception their employers are unable to communicate coherently, and lack an understanding of the technology.

[Click here to find an online degree program]

5. Technical Specialist
A technical specialist "leads the analysis, definition, design, construction, testing, installation, and modification of medium to large infrastructures," according to CareerBliss. This means that if a company wants to design a project, the technical specialist evaluates it to see what's possible and what isn't.

The job is a lead position that requires intimate knowledge of engineering; familiarity with Linux helps, too. However, technical specialists reported that for all their expertise, they were treated with a palpable level of disrespect. They cited a "lack of communication from upper management" and felt their "input was not taken seriously."

6. Electronics Technician
Electronics technicians maintain, troubleshoot and collect monthly measurement data for electronic systems. They work in every sector and can be employed with the phone company, a chain of fast-food restaurants, or the U.S. Navy. Whatever the case, technicians work on-site and off-site, have constant contact with clients, and must have an ability to quickly solve complex technical problems under intense pressure.

Employee dissatisfaction in this job is attributable to several factors. One respondent complained of having "too little control," while another had a litany of complaints: "Work schedule, lack of accomplishment, no real opportunity for growth, peers have no motivation to work hard, no say in how things are done, hostility from peers towards other employees."

7. Law Clerk
Clerkships are among the most highly sought-after positions in the legal profession. A law clerk assists judges as they write opinions, and the ones who get the job are almost always near the top of their class at law school. Six justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, including Elena Kagan and current Chief Justice John Roberts, were all law clerks early in their careers.

The job clearly beefs up a resume. Yet law clerks still report high levels of dissatisfaction. The hours are long and grueling, and the clerk is subject to the whims of sometimes mercurial personalities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported the job brings in a median salary of $39,780 a year—not exactly striking it rich—and those looking for advancement within the position simply will not find it.

8. Technical Support Analyst
Technical support analysts help people with their computer issues. This typically amounts to calmly communicating technical advice to panicked individuals, often over the phone, and then going on site to find the client simply hadn't turned the printer on.

Technical support analysts often work in a variety of environments, and they may be required to travel at a moment's notice, sometimes on holidays or weekends. After all, there's no telling when a client's computer-whiz nephew might make a minor tweak to his machine, with disastrous results.

In the words of one of the respondents, "You can do better, really."

9. CNC Machinist
CNC machinists operate computer numerical control machines. For the uninitiated, this is a machine that operates a lathe or a mill. On the upside, it renders obsolete processes that used to be performed by hand, at a slow pace and with high risk to the operator's life and limb.

Now that the CNC operator has had most of the physical hazards of manufacturing replaced by a machine, there's not a lot to do but push buttons and perform equipment inspections to make sure the coolant is at a safe level. Since it's a specialized skill, the job offers no room for advancement, which caused respondents to report a high degree of dissatisfaction.

10. Marketing Manager
A marketing manager is responsible for overseeing advertising and promotion. This involves developing strategies to meet sales objectives, based on the study of such factors as customer surveys and market behavior.

According to CareerBliss, respondents in this position most often cited a lack of direction as the primary reason for job dissatisfaction. The most optimistic respondent described it as "tolerable," and gave it the faintest praise possible by saying, "It's a job." (In this labor market, that's not such a bad thing.)

Why It's Called an Emmy

2011-09-18T18:52:00.000+05:00

Why do they call the Emmy Award "Emmy"?

"It's a feminization of 'Immy,' which is short for the image orthicon tube," explains John Leverence, senior vice president of awards for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The image orthicon, which revolutionized TV, was originally built to guide flying

explosive weapons in World War II. "The objective was the guided torpedo, but it ended up being used in television," said RCA engineer Paul Wymer. The 4,000 "Emmys," as engineers fondly called the devices, didn't win the war, because the weapons they were used in weren't quite reliable, but the orthicon later made TV feasible. It was called "the atomic bomb of television."

Is the West losing Africa to China?

2011-09-08T16:48:00.001+05:00

With Chinese yuan and Indian rupees increasingly finding their way into Africa's economies, Western powers are worried that they are losing influence in the resource-rich continent, according to analysts.
Driven by their appetite for natural resources, trade opportunities and political alliances, emerging powers such as China and India are moving from the sidelines to the center stage in Africa -- a region the West has long

considered to be its own trading partner.
While Western countries are still important players in Africa's energy sector, the deepening engagement of China in Africa's infrastructure, mineral sector and telecommunications is creating "deep nervousness" in the West, says David Shinn, the former U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

Asian giants scent opportunity in Africa

The competition in these areas, he explains, usually pits big Chinese enterprises that are financially backed by Beijing's deep pockets against Western companies that often have shareholders to consider and are by-and-large acting independently of their governments' desires.
"If the Chinese government wants to encourage an engagement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they can make it happen," says Shinn. "If the United States wants its companies to get involved in the DRC all they can do is say 'look, there's an opportunity there, why don't you go explore it' and if they want to explore it, they do and if they don't they don't."
According to Shinn, this different system of government "does create anxieties" because "the United States and the West see China filling all kinds of voids that it thought it would eventually fill."
China overtook the United States as Africa's biggest trade partner in 2009, according to OECD figures, whereas in 2000 the United States' trade with Africa was three times that of China's.
India's bilateral trade with Africa jumped from around $1 billion in 2001 to about $50 billion last year.
India bids to be Africa's 'new best friend'
The European Union still accounts for more than 40% of Africa's trade but the share of Africa's trade with the EU and U.S. fell from 77% to 62% over the last decade. At the same time, the share for new economic forces -- China and India but also countries like Brazil, Turkey and South Korea -- rose from about 23% to 39%.
China's first official aid project in Africa took place in the 1960s, and in 1975 it completed construction of the iconic Tanzania-Zambia railway. In the early 1990s, when headline-writers would often label Africa as the "failed continent," Beijing decided to step up its foray into the continent, filling the gap left by an exodus of Western investors.
"Just as Western companies were mothballing mines, walking away, certainly not bringing new investments, China plunged in and dared to go where the white man feared to trade," says Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society, based in London.
"It was quite amusing to see the Western mining companies, who'd been shrugging their shoulders at Africa and looking elsewhere, suddenly rushing back in."
The emergence of China as a major player in Africa has prompted many Western countries to change their strategies on the continent and emphasize the need for collaboration.
"Earlier on, you heard (U.S.) officials maybe talk about China as a threat or as a competitor in Africa," says Richard Downie, deputy director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "All the language from officials now is about Africa as a place where competition is good ... and all the efforts here (in the United States), at least in public, are about seeking areas for cooperation and collaboration with China -- so the language has shifted."
Yet concerns about China's role are still being voiced in public.
When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked about China's growing influence in Africa, during her visit to Zambia in June, she said that Africa must beware of a "new colonialism."
"We saw that during colonial times it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave," Clinton said from the mineral-rich country that has attracted heavy Chinese investment in mining.
Although Clinton avoided naming China specifically in her remarks, the suggestion that it could be fostering colonialism in Africa was immediately dismissed by Beijing.
Downie says Clinton's comments come at a moment when China's increasing role is creating "a sense of unease" in the United States which echoes a larger debate about America's declining influence as a world power and China's rising prominence.
"The U.S. is very sensitive about it at the moment," he says. "Africa is the corner of the world where that declining U.S. influence is most evident," he adds.
Ayo Johnson, director of Viewpoint Africa, a media organization dealing with news from the continent, says the growing influence of emerging players has left the West feeling "very rattled" and put African countries in a stronger bargaining position.
"It's becoming very difficult for the West to deal with Africa from their usual perspective," says Johnson.
"When you've been used to doing business in a particular fashion, when you've been used to dealing in a certain way and then there's an injection of a third or fourth player who risk the entire dynamic -- that's exactly what has happened with India and China and now made it so much easier for Africans and their leaders and their communities to choose among the various investors."
Shinn says that to the eyes of many African leaders China's capacity to move fast, coupled with its policy of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, often makes Beijing a more attractive partner than the West, whose policy in the continent is usually linked to conditions about good governance and human-rights reforms.
One of China's big advantages is that "the Chinese have no mission, no intention at all to change Africa," agrees Dowden.
He adds: "There's still a narrative in our minds in the West that Africa is backward and Africans have got to become like us -- 'we have got to change them' -- I think that Africans feel that and the young African generation that's coming through are now very resentful of that."

News Corp. Again Under Phone-Hack Spotlight

2011-09-08T16:38:00.000+05:00

LONDON—A former News Corp. executive said Rupert Murdoch was wrong to blame outside law firm Harbottle & Lewis LLP for the company's failure to properly investigate phone hacking at its now-closed News of the World tabloid.
But the executive—Jon Chapman, the former head of legal affairs at News Corp.'s U..K newspaper unit—told a parliamentary hearing that he thought the News Corp. chairman and chief executive hadn't been properly briefed on the issue.
Mr. Chapman spoke to the Culture, Media and Sport committee Tuesday alongside News International's
former head of human resources, Daniel Cloke. Also appearing before the committee Tuesday morning are the tabloid's former editor and former top lawyer—Colin Myler and Tom Crone, respectively—who have disputed recent testimony to the committee by James Murdoch, News Corp.'s deputy chief operating officer.
The politicians are focused on whether News Corp. executives have misled it in the past. In particular, the panel is focused on when executives became aware that voice-mail interceptions at the recently closed News of the World went beyond Clive Goodman, the former royals correspondent, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator on the paper's payroll. Both went to jail in 2007 after pleading guilty to illegally intercepting.
Another key area of interest: how thoroughly the company investigated alleged wrongdoing in the wake of those initial revelations of phone hacking at the paper. Depending on Tuesday's evidence, committee members have said they may decide to recall other former or current company executives.
News Corp. has said that its previous belief that phone hacking was limited to one reporter was based in large part on the Harbottle law firm's review of emails—stemming from an unfair-dismissal claim—that was overseen by Messrs. Chapman and Cloke. Mr. Chapman, in recent written evidence to the committee, said that the review couldn't be categorized as the type of wider internal investigation that was presented by Mr. Murdoch and his son James.
Messrs. Crone and Myler have said that in 2008 they made Mr. Murdoch aware of a crucial email that suggested that others at the paper beyond Mr. Goodman were aware of phone hacking. The email, sent in 2005 by a junior reporter to Mr. Mulcaire, contained a transcript of 35 hacked voice-mail messages tied to a former U.K. soccer-union official Gordon Taylor. At the top, reporter Ross Hall had written "for Neville," a reference to the tabloid's then chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck.
The email was a key piece of an evidence in a lawsuit brought by Mr. Taylor against the News of the World, which News International settled in 2008 with a payment of roughly £700,000 ($1.1 million). Mr. Murdoch told the parliamentary committee in July that he hadn't been shown that email in spring 2008, despite having authorized the settlement.
News Corp. also is facing law-enforcement probes in the U.K. and the U.S. into phone-hacking and other allegations of wrongdoing at the former tabloid. On Friday, London's Metropolitan police arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of intercepting voicemails and attempting to pervert the course of justice. A person familiar with the matter identified the man as Mr. Hall, the junior journalist who had sent the "for Neville" email. He is also the nephew of Phil Hall, News of the World editor from 1995 through 2000.
Also among the 16 people that the Metropolitan Police have arrested this year are Mr. Thurlbeck and two of the paper's former top editors, a long-serving managing director and other senior staff. None has been charged and the case against one of those individuals has been dropped.
Separately, in a memo to employees Tuesday morning, News International Chief Executive Tom Mockridge said the unit plans to reduce its staff by about 110 positions by the end of the financial year, out of a total of about 3,000.
"This has been an extremely testing time for everyone at News International," Mr. Mockridge said in the memo.

Israel Stock Index Declines Most in a Month on U.S. Growth Risk, Protests

2011-09-08T16:37:00.000+05:00

Israeli shares slumped the most in almost a month amid concern the U.S. economy may slip into a recession and after more than 400,000 people demonstrated against the high cost of living in the Middle East nation.
Perrigo Co. (PRGO), the maker of over-the-counter drugs, slid for a second day. Discount Investment Corp. (DISI), billionaire Nochi Dankner’s holding company, retreated 5
percent. The TA-25 Index dropped 4.4 percent, the biggest decline since Aug. 7, to 1,082.47 at the 4:30 p.m. close in Tel Aviv. In the U.S., the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled 2.5 percent on Sept. 2.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis rallied throughout the country yesterday to protest against rising costs for housing and consumer goods, urging the government to act to close social-welfare gaps. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to act on recommendations from a panel led by Manuel Trajtenberg, a Tel Aviv University economist, which aim to provide cheaper housing, daycare and transportation services and lower food prices.
The declines in Israeli stocks are triggered “80 percent from overseas and 20 percent from the protests,” said Saar Golan, a trader at Clal Finance Batucha Brokerage Ltd. in Tel Aviv. “The concern is that the protests will lead to a stricter regulatory environment for companies and higher taxes.”
U.S. Payrolls
U.S. stocks dropped last week as the S&P 500 posted its biggest monthly decline in more than a year and a report showing employment stagnated in August fueled concern the world’s largest economy may slip into a recession. Payrolls were unchanged, the weakest reading since September 2010, the Labor Department said Sept. 2.
Perrigo retreated 5.6 percent, the most since Aug. 7, to 319.2 shekels. Discount Investment declined to 31.43 shekels, the lowest level since Aug. 28.
Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL), the company that extracts minerals from the Dead Sea to make fertilizer, tumbled 5 percent, the most since Aug. 7, to 49.54 shekels. A Ministry of Justice official proposed imposing an excess profit tax on Dead Sea Works Ltd., a unit of the company, according to a legal brief released by the ministry.
Israeli government bonds rose. The yield on the benchmark 5 percent Mimshal Shiklit notes due January 2020 dropped nine basis points, or 0.09 percentage point, to 4.37 percent.
In the Persian Gulf, markets resumed trading after a Muslim holiday last week. Dubai’s DFM General Index (DFMGI) slipped 0.6 percent and Abu Dhabi’s gauge decreased 0.1 percent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose 0.8 percent after rallying 2.1 percent yesterday. Kuwait’s measure jumped 0.9 percent.
Qatar’s QE Index (DSM) advanced 1.1 percent and Bahrain’s BB All Share Index was little changed. In North Africa, Egypt’s EGX 30 Index added 0.5 percent.

Turkey suspends military ties with Israel

2011-09-08T12:01:00.001+05:00

Turkey has pursued its diplomatic offensive against Israel by confirming it is suspending defence industry contracts and threatening further sanctions, after Jerusalem's refusal to apologise for the deaths of nine activists on board the Mavi Marmara 14 months ago.
The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he was considering a trip to Gaza next week, where he would be assured of a hero's welcome. He repeated a warning that Turkish naval vessels would step up activity
in the eastern Mediterranean.
Since the release last week of the Palmer report of the UN investigation into Israel's deadly assault on the Gaza-bound Turkish vessel, Turkey has expelled Israel's ambassador, plunging relations between the two countries to a new low. Erdogan has also promised to lobby in support of Palestinian attempts to win recognition as a state at the UN later this month.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara on Tuesday, Erdogan said: "Trade ties, military ties, defence industry ties, we are completely suspending them," although his office later said he was referring to military and defence trade, not overall trade between the two countries, worth $3.5bn last year.
The UN investigation, chaired by the former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, concluded that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was justified but it had used "excessive and unreasonable" force when it stopped a flotilla of aid ships approaching the Palestinian enclave in May 2010.
The much-delayed report was published on Friday after months of delicate negotiations between Israel and Turkey on the wording of a proposed Israeli apology for the deaths of nine activists – eight Turkish citizens and a Turkish-American – and the payment of compensation to their families. Israel in the end refused to apologise, triggering fresh Turkish anger.
Israel's ambassador and other senior diplomats in Ankara have been ordered to leave by Wednesday, and diplomatic status has been downgraded to the lowest level.
On Monday dozens of Israelis were detained at Istanbul airport in what was perceived by Israel as punitive harassment. Passengers were questioned for up to two hours and some were strip-searched.Erdogan told reporters he planned to visit Cairo next week, and might go from there to Gaza. "We will make our final decision after consulting with our Egyptian friends," he said.
The Turkish prime minister would be guaranteed an emotional welcome by Gazans, who see him as a champion of their cause. Erdogan has been strongly critical of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and condemned its three-week military assault in 2008-9. A visit would make Erdogan the first world leader to officially visit Gaza since Hamas took control more than four years ago.
Alon Liel, a former senior Israeli diplomat who served in Ankara, said: "Israel and the US will do everything possible to stop a visit. [Erdogan] will be received there as a god."
Erdogan could attempt to persuade Egypt to downgrade its relations with Israel during his visit, Liel added. "Turkey may be ready to invest a lot of money and effort in building Egypt as

Obama to unveil jobs plan in a speech to Congress

2011-09-08T11:58:00.001+05:00

Washington-- President Barack Obama is preparing to roll out proposals Thursday totaling $300 billion or more to strengthen the shaky economy and stimulate new job growth, according to Democratic sources.
While some sources put the size of the package at roughly $300 billion, one Democrat familiar with the president's plan said Wednesday that the working figure was growing and could top $400 billion.
The plan would be paid for partly by closing corporate loopholes and raising taxes on the

wealthiest Americans in the future, one Democrat familiar with the plan told CNN.
Obama is expected to unveil his proposal -- focused largely on infrastructure spending, targeted tax cuts and aid to state and local governments -- during a Thursday evening address to a joint session of Congress.
"I'm going to propose ways to put America back to work that both parties can agree to, because I still believe both parties can work together to solve our problems," the president said in a Labor Day speech in Detroit.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday that the plan would comprise steps that are "reasonable, pragmatic and effective" by "any objective analysis." Carney also repeatedly insisted the package would be fully paid for, though he refused to provide details.
The measure could include $120 billion to extend the current payroll tax cut, according to the source familiar with the plan. The cut, which cost $112 billion so far, allows employees to pay 4.2% instead of 6.2% on their first $106,800 of wages into Social Security.
Obama's proposal could also include $50 billion to extend further unemployment benefits, which were lengthened to the current 99-week maximum in 2009. Top Democrats argue that such money will immediately be pumped back into the economy in the form of new consumer spending.
In addition, the plan could propose $100 billion for infrastructure development such as repairing roads and bridges.
The plan's prospects in a sharply polarized Congress entering a new presidential election season appear murky at best. Some Republicans have already dismissed it, saying any proposal from the president will amount to little more than a continuation of what they characterize as his failed 2009 stimulus plan.
Rep. Paul Broun, R-Georgia, is not planning on attending Obama's speech, choosing instead to comment on it via Twitter, according to his office.
Steve Bell, senior director of the bipartisan Economic Policy Project, said Wednesday that the scope of the plan is too small.
"It doesn't even sound good," he said, arguing instead for a $640 billion, 12-month payroll tax holiday for employers and employees.
Greater access to credit and more economic predictability is what's important to business owners, said Patty Briguglio, who owns a public relations firm.
"I want leadership that gives me an environment where I can plan for the future," she said.
Among the other options believed to be under consideration by the administration: $30 billion to refurbish schools, along with more money in state aid for both teachers and first responders.
Cash-strapped municipalities could receive federal assistance through a new version of the expired Build America Bonds program, which allowed state and municipal agencies to issue taxable bonds with the federal government subsidizing 35% of the interest payments. Money raised through a renewed version of the program could be used for a variety of infrastructure projects.
Obama's proposal could also include patent reform and the creation of an "infrastructure bank" started with as little as $10 billion to help spur new private-sector projects. Ultimately, interest paid on the loans would make the bank self-sufficient.
Meanwhile, small businesses could be targeted with a number of incentives designed to encourage hiring, including an employer payroll tax cut, tax cuts for hiring Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and tax credits for hiring the long-term unemployed.
Obama may also propose a new jobs training program modeled on a Georgia initiative that allows those receiving unemployment insurance to be placed at a local company for up to eight weeks of training.
In addition, a repatriation tax holiday has been under consideration. American corporations currently have more than $1 trillion stashed overseas to avoid paying the 35% corporate tax rate. If lawmakers were to pass a repatriation measure, companies may be allowed to bring that money back to the United States while paying a reduced tax rate.
Proponents of such a measure argue that corporations could use the funds to hire more workers.
Looking abroad, the president is considered likely to renew his push for congressional approval of stalled free trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. The measures, despite the congressional roadblock, have relatively broad bipartisan support.

Turkish PM announces additional sanctions on Israel

2011-09-06T19:49:00.004+05:00

Istanbul -- Turkey's fiery prime minister ratcheted up rapidly-escalating tensions with Israel on Tuesday, comparing Ankara's once-close middle eastern ally to a "spoiled boy" and announcing additional sanctions would soon be imposed.
"We are completely suspending all of these, trade relations, military relations, related with the defense industry," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, according to the semi-official Anatolian

Agency. "All of these are completely suspended and other measures will follow this process."
Asked to clarify whether this meant Turkey will halt more than $3 billion in bilateral trade, an official in the Turkish prime ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity under government protocol, insisted Erdogan was not referring to trade relations.
"He was referring to the defense industry," the official said. "Nothing more than the measures that have been announced so far."
Last week, Turkey declared it was downgrading relations with Israel, suspending all military agreements between the two countries and giving senior Israeli diplomats less than a week to leave Turkish territory.
"If the current steps are regarded as 'plan B,' there will be a 'plan C,'" Erdogan said on Tuesday in his first public comments on the matter since Ankara imposed sanctions on Israel.
Erdogan's government is incensed that Israel refuses to apologize or pay compensation for eight slain Turks and one Turkish-American. The humanitarian workers and activists were shot dead by Israeli commandos in a botched 2010 raid on an aid convoy that was trying to bust Israel's sea blockade of Gaza.
But "Israel does not want to see a further deterioration in the relationship with Turkey," said a senior Israeli government official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. "There have been a number of proposals on the table to prevent a deterioration and unfortunately they have not been successful, but from our point of view a deterioration in the relationship serves neither side's interests."
Multiple Israeli sources said they are doing what they can to be responsible and reverse the negative dynamic. Some Israeli officials believe the current troubles between the two countries are minor bumps that can be smoothed out with time and the proper diplomacy.
Others believe the deteriorating relationship has little to do with Israel and more to do with a reorientation of Turkish foreign policy towards the Muslim world.
A possible Erdogan trip to Gaza is contributing to that school of thought. Diplomats in Cairo and Ankara tell CNN that Erdogan is tentatively scheduled to visit Cairo next week. There is growing speculation in local media that the Turkish prime minister may try to visit Gaza via Egypt's Rafah border crossing.
"This is a process that will continue until the last moment," Erdogan said Tuesday, according to Anatolian, when asked about a trip to Gaza. "We will make the final decision there, talking to our Egyptian friends and brothers. According to that, there may be a trip to Gaza."
Despite deteriorating political relations between Jerusalem and Ankara, trade has grown substantially between the two countries over the last year, according to Turkish government statistics.
On Monday, Stanley Fischer, governor of the Bank of Israel, gave a speech in which he highlighted the importance of Israel's economic ties with Turkey. He noted that Turkey's economy was the largest in the region, with a gross domestic product in excess of $700 billion, and that Turkey is becoming a key player in regional trade.
Turkey is a significant Israeli trading partner, Fischer said, and damage to the trade relationship between the two countries could have serious consequences for Israel.
Prior to the report about Erdogan's comments Tuesday, Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defense official, told Israeli radio that despite the reports, Turkey is not disengaging from Israel. Contrary to what is being reported, he said, the Israeli military attache to Turkey is continuing his work there.

U.S. Failed to Complete Counterterrorism Actions After 9/11, Report Says

2011-09-06T19:43:00.000+05:00

NEW YORK – In the decade since the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. has failed to make sufficient progress on nine counterterrorism actions, ranging from border screening to terrorist-detention standards, according to the former leaders of the commission that investigated the hijackings, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Areas of success include reducing impediments to intelligence-sharing and airline-passenger screening, according to

former 9/11 Commission co-chairmen Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, who plan to issue a report Wednesday on the commission's recommendations.

"We're better off than we used to be," Kean said Tuesday. "But there are glaring gaps."

Nine of the 41 recommendations have not been fully implemented, the report says. They require urgent attention "because the threat from Al Qaeda, related terrorist groups, and individual adherents to violent Islamist extremism persists."

Among the greatest continuing threats to the U.S., they say, is a pattern of increasing terrorist recruitment of U.S. citizens and residents. They also warn of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure such as electrical, financial and communications systems, saying that defending against such attacks "must be an urgent priority."

The unfulfilled recommendations include the failure to establish an entry-and-exit system using biometric technology. While the Department of Homeland Security has built an entry system that checks fingerprints and other data against terrorist databases, it does not check people as they exit the country.

Another unresolved issue is establishing a standardized secure form of identification, the report says. The creation of a civil-liberties board to ensure that government actions are monitored for their privacy has also stalled out, the report says.

The report highlights insufficient progress on several other items: Policies on terrorist detention are still fuzzy, and there is a limited ability to provide unified command among responders in an emergency.

Husband fined $13k for not having sex

2011-09-06T19:23:00.000+05:00

A French woman was so fed up with her sexless marriage that she decided to sue her husband. And she won.

The former couple, known only as Jean-Louis and Monique, had been married for 21 years and had two children when Monique decided to take her husband to court.

Jean-Louis, 51, was fined 10,000 Euro ($13,370) under a civil code that states married couples must agree to a

"shared communal life", Britain's The Telegraph reported.

"A sexual relationship between husband and wife is the expression of affection they have for each other, and in this case it was absent," the judge said.

"By getting married, couples agree to sharing their life and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other."

Jean-Louis' job and ill-health prevented him from fulfilling his matrimonial duties, the court was told.

Giant croc weighing more than 1000 kg captured alive

2011-09-06T19:18:00.000+05:00

Manila: Villagers and veteran hunters have captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they plan to make the star of a planned ecotourism park in a southern Philippine town, an official has said.

Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said dozens of villagers and experts ensnared the 21-foot (6.4-meter) male crocodile along a creek in Bunawan township in Agusan del Sur province after a three-week hunt.

It could be one of the largest crocodiles to be captured alive in recent years, he said

, quoting local crocodile experts.

Elorde said the crocodile killed a water buffalo in an attack witnessed by villagers last month and was also suspected of having attacked a fisherman who went missing in July.

He said he sought the help of experts at a crocodile farm in western Palawan province.

"We were nervous but it's our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers," Elorde told The Associated Press by telephone. "When I finally stood before it, I couldn't believe my eyes."

After initial sightings at a creek, the hunters set four traps, which the crocodile destroyed. They then used sturdier traps using steel cables, one of which finally caught the enormous reptile late on Saturday, he said.

About 100 people had to pull the crocodile, which weighs about 1075 kilograms, from the creek to a clearing where a crane lifted it into a truck, he said.

The crocodile was placed in a fenced cage in an area where the town plans to build an ecotourism park for species found in a vast marshland in Agusan, an impoverished region about 830 kilometers outheast of Manila, Elorde said.

"It will be the biggest star of the park," Elorde said, adding that villagers were happy that they would be able to turn the dangerous crocodile "from a threat into an asset."

Despite the catch, villagers remain wary because several crocodiles still roam the outskirts of the farming town of about 37,000 people.

They have been told to avoid venturing into marshy areas alone at night, Elorde said.

Kill or be killed' for Carl's killer

2011-09-06T19:11:00.000+05:00

It was a matter of kill or be killed.

So Matthew Charles Johnson got in first before Carl Williams got to him, launching a "pre-emptive strike", fearing he would become the latest victim of the four-time murderer, his trial heard on Tuesday.

Johnson believed he was a marked man and there could be no running and no hiding from the underworld killer.

The day before Williams was killed in Barwon Prison in April last year, Johnson had been told by his cellmate Tommy Ivanovic that Williams planned to kill him by bashing his head with pool balls in a sock

, his barrister Bill Stuart said.

His actions the following day were shown to jurors on Tuesday as Johnson's Victorian Supreme Court murder trial opened with graphic closed-circuit television footage of the killing.

As Williams sat reading the Herald Sun newspaper at a small table on the sunny April morning, Johnson approached from behind and struck him on the right side of the head with the stem of an exercise bike, knocking him to the ground.

He then struck Williams a further seven times to the head before dragging him by his ankles back into his cell.

After the killing, Johnson walked laps of the exercise yard with Ivanovic before telling a prison officer about half an hour later that Williams had hit his head.

Williams could not be revived by medical staff.

Johnson has pleaded not guilty to murdering Williams, arguing it was self-defence.

Prosecutor Mark Rochford SC described it as a planned and "premeditated" murder - a murder, evidence will suggest, which occurred because Williams was making statements to police.

Williams had told his ex-partner Roberta that Johnson and Ivanovic were aware that he was giving evidence against two people.

The newspaper Williams was reading when he was murdered contained a front-page story that taxpayers were to pay $8000 for the private-school fees for his daughter Dakota and another $750,000 for a tax bill of his father George Williams.

Carl Williams had told his father he knew he was setting himself up as a target by giving information to the police from within the prison, but wasn't concerned, Mr Rochford said.

"The crown case is that this was a deliberate intentional killing done with the requisite intent to kill or do really serious injury, and done without lawful justification or excuse," he said.

Mr Stuart gave a vastly different reason for the killing.

He spoke of the two sides of Carl Williams.

One side was the round-faced, cherubic, smiling-faced, devoted family man, and the other was his business side, "one of utter ruthlessness", a man who employed assassins.

"He called the shots, when he was out of jail and when he was in jail," Mr Stuart said.

"Matthew Johnson learnt the night or the afternoon before that he was a marked man and as such he killed Carl Williams in self-defence.

"There could be, as you will hear, no running from Carl Williams. There could be no hiding from Carl Williams."

Johnson will describe the killing in his own words when he gives evidence in the trial, Mr Stuart said.

Jurors were told Williams was jailed for 38 years in 2007 for the murders of Lewis Moran, Michael Marshall, Jason Moran and Mark Mallia, a conspiracy to murder Mario Condello and drug trafficking.

The trial before Justice Lex Lasry continues on Wednesday.