NEW DYNAMIC MINDS

Society and the Pressures to Conform

2015-05-08T18:35:00.000+01:00

Go to Dubai and see the amazing buildings there; the scale of the real estate industry there is just mind blowing for a place with such a small population. It is actually a well known fact right now that the Dubai Police Force have a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and other ultra-luxury cars among their fleet; and their reason,… “ For high-speed chases”.

Go to Abu Dhabi…and see the unscrupulous display of wealth (conspicuous consumption at its highest). A prince celebrating his graduation at Disneyland at an eye popping cost of $30,000,000…yes, you read that right. The aim of this article is not to talk about my discontent with the spending habits of the Gulf States, I’ll leave that for a subsequent article.

And also, conspicuous consumption is not limited to the Gulf States, it is everywhere. Is it Roman Abrahamovich’s $500,000,000 yacht, or is an $80,000 a night bedroom at one of the most luxurious hotels in the world…you get my point.

At this point in human history, we might think we are at the peak of greed, but I strongly believe the worst is still to come. Corporations have gotten big, gotten mega, and now are getting ultra-large. And worst still, they have gotten powerful too, really powerful. This phenomenon is not limited only corporations, but nations too. Consider the $845 billion valuation of Apple Inc, or the valuation of Time Warner.

Corporations and nations are just a minor focus of this article. The prime focus is on the unwritten rules of personal success that have been written by society and imposed on individuals. You see, society has a way of policing individuals to conform to certain laid don principles. One of those areas where principles have been imposed on individuals is the area of success.

SUCCESS. What does it even entail? In order to answer that question, let’s just consider this hypothetical example. In a hypothetical town, there are two guys, Lyonga and Penn. Growing up, Lyonga always wanted to become an astronaut, but his family pressures him into going to Business School because they feel he might not make it into the field of Astronomy. He bows to their pressure and is accepted at an elite business school. Due to this decision, he is separated from his first love (the love of his life). He later gets a lucrative job at an investment bank through his family connections with a very huge salary, plus bonuses. He meets a nice girl at a seminar and two years later, they get married and have two kids, live in a nice big house with four cars and large bank account. They live a comfortable life.

Now consider Penn, he always wanted to become an artist, so he enrolls into a state university to study art. He graduates after 3 years and opens up a small art gallery. He is barely managing (financially), but goes ahead to marry the love of his life and they have five children he can barely afford to send to school. He lives in a small house with his family (his parents included) and doesn’t even on a car. They live a very happy and thrilling life.

Now if you were asked which of these two guys is more successful, at first glance, most of us would choose Lyonga because of the big pay cheque, big house and four cars. But that is not a very easy question to answer; it goes deeper than that. Some countries have decided that the calculation of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) does not tell the full story of the economic situation of a country.

Some of these countries have come up with the Happiness Index, which measures the level of happiness and satisfaction with the state among the citizens of that country. At this point in time, the Scandinavian countries rank very high on the “Happiness Index” scale, unsurprisingly. These countries are not actually among the 10 richest countries in the world, but they are happy, at least according to the Happiness Index scale.

This brings us back to our two friends Penn and Lyonga. It would be premature to say that either of them is clearly happier than the other; and there comes the reason why I wrote this article in the first place – society has fashioned its notion of happiness and sadness along very rigid lines of rich and poor, children or childlessness, educated or illiterate, just to name a few. I have heard many an argument whereby one person would say that rich people are all very sad; or that childless people are also very sad and of course also, that poor people rarely smile because they cannot afford to be happy. That is exactly my point of contempt – it’s not as rigid as you might think.

I have seen so many rich and happy people, poor and happy, childless but happy people and the other way round. Happiness is relative. I won’t go into the psychological nuances of what makes for a happy living, but I can only assume you get the point I have been trying to make ever since. Let’s just consider the two variables inherent in each of their lives. For Lyonga, he’s financially successful (money), and for Penn, he’s doing what he always dreamed of (career satisfaction).

But each of them lacks something. For Lyonga, it is career satisfaction, and for Penn, it is money. Lyonga can boast of peacefully going to bed everyday without worrying about what he and his family would eat the next day, or if he would be able to take care of the bills, but the same cannot be said of Penn. He is under financial pressure, and I’m sure that sucks some of the happiness out of he and his family.

Happiness is relative, and has always been. What one person considers as happiness may not be seen as happiness by other members of society. Take wealth for example, I have seen cases where a family was very happy when they had but little; but the moment they became rich, the happiness disappeared. Each member of the family became solely concerned about their own business or affairs and no longer had time for the rest. At the same time, I have seen families that were happy in riches, but as the riches faded, so did the happiness…it is relative.

With my argument set, I now rest my case.

HOW IT ALL BEGINS

2015-04-08T19:49:00.001+01:00

Whenever I have a discussion with most of my friends, I can't help but notice how they talk about succesful people as though they were made differently from the rest of us. You can almost immediately get the feeling that they worship these music superstars, actors, business moguls and tech innovators.

But my Humble opinion is that whatever achievement has ever been made began with an idea. And how do ideas come about? It is usually in silence and meditation. I believe that if we all observed some calm and silence very often, e too could be the next Kanye West or Bill Gates.

Another common trait of these people is their courage. These people are fearless especially when it comes to taking advantage of opportunities and chances. They usually don't think of what they could loose, but rather hat they would gain....

I'll have a full fleshed article on this topic in a subsequent post.

Here`s what happens when we graduate from university

2015-01-24T23:47:00.000+01:00

Here`s what happens when most of us graduate from university…

During the university graduation period of December 2014, I wrote a facebook post that gained some form of attention from some of my friends both on and ofline…

That post centered more on what happens when the boys graduate, but the truth is this my dear friends; when we graduate, both boys and girls, life changes…life begins. Things become a lot different in almost every aspect of our lives…

On graduation day, everyone is all smiles and jovial, there`s lots of food and drink for everyone, new clothes and shoes, probably a gift from a loved one; taking pictures everywhere (even with your enemies)…just a lot going on that day. And above all, there`s lots of cash in your pocket; but here`s what`s about to happen…

For the girls (ladies)…

You start thinking marriage, and you`ll likely jump on any opportunity to get married, even when it means mercilessly dumping your boyfriend.

You probably start getting fat because you`ll be sitting at home a lot more, watching tv

You no longer get as much attention from the guys as before, because you`re `old school`, and there`s `younger and better` out there. Don`t worry, we both know that you had your days, let the newbies enjoy theirs.

You begin going to church more, more likely a `born again` church, and you try to look your possible best on every outing or invitation (even when going for a kid`s birthday, or even a funeral…like seriously).

For the boys…

You probably got dumped by your girlfriend around graduation time, because she`s looking for a `real relationship` with a `real man` with a `real job`. Don`t worry, most of them return after touring the world and not finding what they were in search of.

You start acting desperate because you think you`re running out of time. Should you continue looking for a job, should you continue with your education, should you travel abroad? Your head is bombarded with ideas.

If you`re a driven individual, you get so consumed with your concerns for your future that your concerns for fashion, leisure, relationships, social activities and even personal hygiene almost fades. May be this is actually a good sign.

Amidst all these changes, I have come to realize that what matters is not how fast you go in life, but how far you go. Take for example the girl who dumps her `small boy` boyfriend for the `real man`, only to realize that the realize that it was just a sneaky guy taking advantage of her situation; only to return to her `small boy`

boyfriend to find out he`s moved on…

What about the guy who get`s so desperate that he decides to travel to the most available country that grants him a visa, say Uzbekistan; he could have had a better life at home, but we`ll never know, since he`s gone to Uzbeki…I can`t even pronounce the name.

So my dear sister, be patient with `small boy`, you don`t know what the future holds. And you brother, you`re just 22 (or may be 23), if you`re still jobless at 36, the you would have failed then, but not right now

WHY OUR OBSESSION WITH CELEBRITY CULTURE IS REALLY BAD

2014-07-22T19:26:00.002+01:00

Visit the social media profile of any young girl or boy, and you'll be sure to see that one of their Facebook Likes or Twitter Followers is a celebrity, be it a musician, actor, model or some other famous person.

Liking a famous person in itself is not inherently bad, but obsession over what Kim Kardashian is wearing, or who Ryan Reynolds is dating etc has become a very big obsession for many youngsters, even grown-ups. Never before has celebrity gossip been so popular, and nevr before has there been so much interest in the private lives of celebrities. At a particular period in my life, I was caught up in this whole 'celebrity mania', and that was at the expense of more useful information that could prove to be very useful.

It is difficult to place the blame on any particular person for this surge in in celebrity mania. On one hand, you have the media outlets who in the true spirit of capitalism, would do just about anything to return value to their shareholders, one another hand, you have the internet which came to make life easier for us and has given a voice to so many, and yet on the other hand, you have the readers who are being misled into thinking that celebrity gist adds any value to anybody's life.

You just need to see some of the headlines of any 'celeb-focused' publication: 'Omotola caught sun bathing', 'Ini Edo poses naked for photoshoot', 'Jay-Z caught f***ering Beyoncé in public'...and all that sort of irrelevant headlines.

And of course, we sometimes think the celebrities are overwhelming benefactors of this madness. True to a certain extent, because it only makes sense that the more you are on the front pages, you become a household name and the more movie roles or album sales, or more modelling contracts etc
But the sad side of the story is that all this comes at the cost of the person's personal freedom and privacy; and at the expense of society's sanity.

The effects of this celebrity culture on society have been profound. Some sociologists believe that society's obsession with celebrities is detrimental to the success of democracy (mostly in developed countries), arguing that celebrity news always trumps political or other 'hard' news stories, which prevents the developement of an informed citizenery who can vote for leaders who can make the right decisions, and "demagoguery which depends on mass ignorance".

This argument is particularly true when you consider the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governer of the American State of California. The decision turned out to be a bad one in many respects. Another case in point is the election campaigns of Barack Obama and the number of celebrities who came out to endorse, support and donate money to his campaign...from Oprah to Ellen Degeneres.

Most of these celebrities are people with a huge fan base, usually of hardcore fans who worship and idolize them; so if Oprah says it's Obama, her fans automatically go to the polls to vote Obama without taking into consideration his policies or plans for the nation. That probably explains the level of frustration with Obama's term of office, because the army of celebrities made him seem like a demi-god, or The Messiah come to take away the troubles of America.

To top it all, many of these celebrities are simply bad influences on young people and on cultural values. Take for example Lady Gaga's song "Judas" which openly attacks christianity, or the open nudity which they often propagate in their music videos, or the explicite sex scenes in their movies. What do all these teach the younger generation?

After the leaked sex tape of Kim Kardashian that shot she and her family to fame, the 'leaking' of sex tapes soared off the roof, as everyone was now coarageous enough to sacrifice their dignity for their own 15 minutes of fame. Some reporters and paparazzi are now prepared to break the law as long as they can get a store or a picture.

Here's my take: The celebrity culture is itself 'not that bad', take for example Omotola Jalade of Nigeria who has used her fame and influence to change mind sets about teenage marriage in Nigeria. In fact, she was pretty vocal in her criticism when a bill was introduced to the Nigerian Senate to legalize it. Now also look at the work which other celebrities are like Angelina Jolie are doing in Africa, not forgetting the #BringBackOurGirls movement spearheaded by celebrities (though it has had little or no effect so far).

But other celebrities promote exactly the wrong message. A good example is Cameroonian singer Dencia who promotes an aggressive skin lightening product which some health experts say could cause harm to women.

If we could find a balance, it would be such do so much good. And if celebrities became the role models they are expected to be to their fans, it would be even better.

IF RUSSIA HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE TAKE DOWN OF MH17, THEY SOULD BE PUNISHED

2014-07-19T14:36:00.001+01:00

The crisis in Ukraine has re-ignited a lot of bad blood between Russia and the West, each trying to be the moral authority over the other. Putin's Russia eventually gained Crimea for itself, and the Eastern provinces of Ukraine which are mostly pro-Russian threatened to follow in the footsteps of Crimea and seek a referendum.

Up to this moment, Putin has been hailed by many as a master tactitian, and deservingly so. He had managed to outsmart the West (but not the sanctions of course), and was (and still is) in the process of building strong alliances with other 'not-so-west-friendly nations'.

The downing of Malaysian flight MH17 is certainly a big problem for his government and his power base. On board the plane were 285 civilians,

154 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 23 Malaysians, 11 Indonesians
Six Britons, four Germans, four Belgians, three from the Philippines and one Canadian
All 15 of the crew were Malaysian

I'm just wondering how the authorities of the countries whose nationals died in the crash would react. They would probably join the anti-Putin camp (if it is confirmed that his people had anything to do with it).

The plane went down in rebel controlled area, so it's difficult not to assume that they were behind thye plane's take down.

Here's why the 'BRICS Bank' could change the world order.

2014-07-16T19:28:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, after the conference of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, we got exciting news that had been long overdue. The BrRICS nations are going to set up a developement bank. The BRICS nations, who account for a fifth of the global economy and some 40% of global population have been negotiating this project for some time now, but the final agreement seems to have been reached.

The Indian Prime minister whose country is to head the bank proposed the name by which the bank is to be referred to: New Developement Bank.

With an intitial capitalization of $100 billion, and a subscribed capital of $50 billion, the bank is expected to aid in infrastructural projects and shave off future economic crises. The bank was set up to counter Western monopoly on financial markets and capital.

The Washington-based World Bank is increasingly seen as an arm of the West, and the IMF doesn't seem to represent the inrterests of emerging markets.
In a press confrence, the presdident of Brazil, Dilma Roussef said, "These initiatives show that, despite our diversity, our countries are committed to a solid and productive association,". Russian president Vladimir Putin certainly agreed with the Brazilian president when he said when he said the agreement was "a very powerful way to prevent new economic difficulties."

The so-called BRICS bank came as a necessity to manage the outflow of capital from emerging markets that camme as a result of the stimulus measures proposed by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. This led to falling currencies in BRICS countries.

The bank is set to start lending in 2016 with an initial total of $10 billion in cash put in over seven years and $40 billion and open it's doors to other countries, but the share of the BRICS countries can't drop below 55%. The contingency currency pool will be held in the reserve of each BRICS nation. China, holder of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, will contribute the bulk of the contingency currency pool, or $41 billion. Brazil, India and Russia will chip in $18 billion each and South Africa $5 billion.

Having won the bid to host the bank, China will be the last to hold the revolving office of head of the New Development Bank.

Here's why I think the success of this bank has the potential to change the World Order.
First of all, Russia just signed a $400 billion gas deal with China which aimed at countering the effects of western sanctions over it's annexation of Crimea. In addition to that, India and China did not support sanctions on Russia at the UN Security Council. These two also vetoed war crimes resolutions on Syria, still at the UN Security Council.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Take a look at the list of countries that have issues with the West besides the BRICS nations: Argentina, Iran, Syria...These are all countries that would line up to offer their allegiance to the BRICS exchange for their support; not to mention the resource rich but financially poor African countries that are weary of extremely high interest rates offered by western banks on bank loans.

This for them is a 'The Messiah' come to take their financial misery away, and they would lmine up at the doors of the bank to create ties in order to seek financing on 'fairer terms'.

Consider this too. The IMF recently imposed cut in oil subsidies on a number of countries, which they had little or no say in, and this has been the practice for decades; imposed reforms on countries even when they are not ready for them. The 1997 Indonesian riots were blamed on the IMF.

The western monopolisation of global financual markets and financial power also means that the West can easily impose sanctions on Countries that do not 'toe the line', like Russia and Iran. If this power moves West, it becomes easier for such countries to dodge these sanctions by simply looking West. Do I need to remind you that Iran has been labelled The Next China?

In case you haven't noticed, I have above given four reasons why the institution of the New Development Bank should raise western eye brows. But the one most important reason I haven't mentioned, The Rise of China.

China, the second largest economy in the world, and poised to overtake the U.S., has finally found a way to gain more control over the 'rest'. Let's be reminded that China is the largest contributor to this bank. Of course the West fears the Rise of Putin's Russia too, but that in no way compares to a China that could grow beyond the West's ability to control it.

Tke a look at China's territorial disputes in Asia, and you get a sense of where China is headed. If this China should gain more influence over rising countries like Iran, Nigeria, Indonesia and even some of the European countries hit with recession, it's certainly bad news for the West.

11 CLOTHING ITEMS EVERY CLASSY MALE SHOULD OWN

2014-07-14T18:08:00.001+01:00

I have always respected the saying 'Money can't buy class', and being a guy with very little income myself, I have always lived by it. In the quest for class, many men have gone out of the way to acquire some of the most expensive items (cars, mansions, hyper expensive designer clothes and shoes, even the latest technological gadgets). The sad truth is that this trick hasn't always worked.

After consulting with some of the people I believe are the most classy I know, and also by applying my own intuition, here's the list of the 11 'must have's' of every classy man at this point in time. The definition of class is constantly changing, so a few of these items may not feature on this list same time next year.

1. Cotton White shirt.

A white shirt always does the trick. It is mature, classy and stylish. It could be worn with jeans, troussers and even shorts. And above all, it presents a man neatly. It shows him as a man who can take care of himself.

2. Wrist Watch

A wrist watch is one of the most defining fashion accesories of the Twenty First Century. It doesn't have to be a Rolex, or Tissot like the one in the picture; not even a fossil. Even metal hands (which are more expensive) would do the trick. If someone asks you for the time, you don't need to take out you cellphone.

3. Espadrilles

These shoes are stylish, classy and comfortable. But most importantly, they're affordable. They are highly versatile too. They could be worn with jeans, troussers, shorts, suits... Bottom line, you need a pair.

4. Black Suit

Forget the funny colours of suits you see on the streets. Black is the new green. Only the mature can pull it off. You can then substitute the troussers for any colour, be it red, green, blue, ash or even shorts...why not jeans? The good thing about a black suit, it will go with a shirt of any colour.

5. Loafers
A solid pair of loafers never hurt. It would work best if they are black, brown or dark blue. However, there are other colours that work too.
PICTURE COURTESY OF globalblue.com

6. Plain white t-shirt

A plain white t-shirt is a must have for every man. Just like the plain white shirt, it distinguishes the wearer from the 'rest of the population'. It could be a v-neck t-shirt; but forme, I'd go for the round neck.
IMAGE COURTESY OF dailycal.org

7. Blue jeans

Every man must own at least a pair of blue jeans. They could be light blue or dark blue, plain or ripped. Bottom line is, you must own a pair. Jeans come in handy in casual accasions or outings

8. Dress shoes
Dress shoes are the ultimate symbol of maturity. You can't go to an important event in sneakers. They could either be black or brown. Some people prefer brown, but black would be more universal
PICTURE COURTESY OF menofcolours.blogspot.com

9. Tie

Ever been invited to an important event and you don't have a tie to wear? It's really frustrating. A tie should always be in every man's closet. My favorite pick would be a black tie because of it's versatile nature; but there are other great colours like dark blue and grey.
PICTURE COURTESY OF www.polyvore.com

10. White sneakers

A classy dude doesn't need a very flamboyant pair of sneakers in order to look good. Rather, most of them look childish. However, a pair of Jordans or Yeezy's never hurt
PICTURE COURTESY OF GQ

11. Khaki Troussers

Everybody (or anybody who's stylish) knows that khaki is one of the most universal colours for troussers. If you didn't know I'm telling you now. Try it on with shirts, t-shirts, pullovers...
PICTURE COURTESY OF opticsplanet.com

So there you have them, my pick for the 11 clothing items every classy man should have. Of course there are other things which are important, but these to me are the top 11.

If you disagree, let me have your perspective on the comments section.

DO NAMES HAVE ANY EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE? ASK THESE 32 WORLD CUP TEAMS.

2014-07-10T19:39:00.001+01:00

The World Cup has brought with it so many surprises. The various teams have given us their possible best, and we have been entertained. These teams have different names that identify them.

I sat in church on Sunday as the priest delivered the sermon on the way we humans approach the issue of respect and honour. He then related it to the World Cup, specifically the names of the worst performing teams. He tried to create a link between team performance and the name of the team, emphasizing the fact that a mojority of the teams with the most aggressive name are the worst performing. I sought to clarify that, and that's why I decided to write this article.

Let's take a look at the names of the various teams.

Brazil
'Seleçao' meaning 'the selection' or 'Verde-Amarela' meaning 'green and yellow' representing the colours of their previous jersey.
Reached semi-finals

Croatia

Croatia - 'Vatreni' translated as 'The Blazers'. Probably because the croatians had been hard to beat for years.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF sdgpr.com

Cameroon

'The Indomitable Lions'. Probably a reflection of the teams succeses in the 70's and 80's.
Eliminated at Group Stage (No match won)
PICTURE COURTESY OF NILE SPORTS

Mexico

'El Tri'. This represents the three traditional colours (white, green and red)
Reached Roung of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF BET THE WORLD CUP

Holland

'Oranje' meaning 'Orange', which is the colour of the dutch national team attire.
Reached Semi-Finals.
PICTURE COURTESY OF WORLDCUPZONES.COM

Spain

'LA Fluria Roja' which means 'Red Fury', and probably represents the colour of their outfit.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF THE BLEACHER REPORT

Chile

'La Roja' which translates as 'The Reds' and is also reflected in their national ootfit and flag.
Reached Round of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF CYPRUS-MAIL.COM

Australia

'Socceroos' which is in homage to the 'kangaroo' which is an animal almost unique to Australia
Elimited at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF bestino.streetwise.co

Japan

'Blue Samurai' in respect of ancient japanese legend and the colour of their outfit too is blue.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE OF worldinfo4u.com

Greece

'The Pilattes Ship'. They got this name from their 2004 European Championship win.
Reached Round of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF www.tovima.gr

Ivory Coast

'Les Eléphants' meaning 'The Elephants'. The elephant is one of the strongest animals in the wild.
Reached Round of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF www.bgr.com

Colombia

'Los Cafeteros' which loosely translates into 'coffee maker' or 'someone who makes coffee'.
Reached Quarter Finals
PICTURE COURTESY OF conmebol.com

Italy

'Azzurri' meaning 'The Blues', and also the colour of their jersey.
Reached Round of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF CITY PEOPLE NEWS

England

'The Three Lions' which makes allusion to the three lions on the logo of the English FA logo.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF www.ronaldo7.net

Costa Rica

'Los Ticos' which is a more shortened term for 'Costarincencces' or 'Native Costa Rican people'
Reached Quarter Finals
PICTURE COURTESY OF COSTA RICAN TIMES

Uruguay

'La Celeste' which translates 'The Sky Blues', referring to the team's sky blue uniform
Reached Round of 16 PICTURE COURTESY OF www.ronaldo7.net

France

'Les Bleus' which translates into 'The Blues' and olso the colour of the national team outfit.
Reached Quarter Finals
PICTURE COURTESY OF www.mlsoccer.net

Switzerland

'La Nati' meaning 'The National Team'. Very short and straight to the point.*
Reached the Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF ABC.NET.AU

Honduras

'Los Catrachos' which is a name used to refer to native hondurans.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF CONCACAF.COM

Ecuador

'La Tricolor' which refers to the ecuadorian flag: yellow, blue and red
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF worldcupbrazil.net

Argentina

'La Albiceleste' which translates 'The White and Sky Blue', referring to their national team outfit.
Reached Finals

Iran

'Team Melli' which simply translates 'Nationa Team'.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF theiranproject.com

Bosnia and Herzegovina

'Zmajevi' which translates into 'Warrior'. The name was given by a commentator in 2004.
Eliminated at Group Stage

PICYURE COURTESY OF tipsontits.co.uk

Nigeria

'Super Eagles' which they adopted after loosing to 'The Indomitable Lions' in the 1988 ACN finals.
Reached Round of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF cheeronnigeria.blogspot.com

United States of America

'The Yanks' which as of now is still just an unofficial name
Reached Round of 16

PICTURE COURTESY OF heavy.com

Germany

'Die Mannschaft' which translates as 'The Team'.
Reached finals and is favourite to win.
PICTURE COURTESY OF tsmplug.com

Portugal

'Seleçao das Quinas' meaning 'The Selection of The Shields' refers to the five shields and five dots within each shield on the country's flag.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY OF www.footballgate.com

Ghana

'The Black Stars' which is in reference to the sole black star on Ghana's flag.
Reached Round of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF THE GUARDIAN

Russia

'Sbornaya' a powerful word which simply means 'National Team'.
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICYURE COURTESY OF THE MOSCOW TIMES

Belgium

'The Red Devils' with respect to the colour of their jersey.
Reached the Quarter Finals
PICTURE COURTESY OF sol.pt

South Korea

'Taegeuk Warriors'. The South Korean fans also refer to themselves as 'Red Devils'
Eliminated at Group Stage
PICTURE COURTESY www.abc.net.au

Algeria

'Les Fennecs' in honour of the national animal of Algeria (small nocturnal foxes native in North Africa.)
Reached Round of 16
PICTURE COURTESY OF en.qantara.de

This priests thesis was that the teams with the most 'powerful names' didn't go far while those with those with soft names did go far in the tournament.

When all is considered, there are a number of areas where the priest was right: For example, the African teams had some of the most 'powerful names', particularly Cameroon, but failed to go far. The same could be said of Asian teams like Japan and South Korea. All three of these teams were eliminated in the Group Stage. Secondly, as seen above, the teams that reached the semi finals have the 'softest names'.

But the thing is that he considers there to be a correlation between team name and team performance which is totally false. First of all, consider the fact that some of these 'powerful-name-poor-performance' teams were once football greats, like Cameroon (check Cameroon's past records).

Secondly, some of the soft name teams still did not go anywhere, like Australia.

So my verdict is that there's no correlation between a team's name and it's performance, Russia, Australia and Iran would have reached the semi-finals, and the Ivory Coast and Ghana would not have done as good as they did.

HOW CAN YOUNG ADULTS PLAN TO BE MILLIONAIRES?...ADVICE FROM AN EXPERT.

2014-07-08T15:45:00.002+01:00

We all dream of becoming succesful some day, at least 98.5%
of us do, and being able to buy all those things we've always dreamt of, but could only see on TV (be they Rolls Royce cars, Gucci shoes, private jets, exotic hotels and resorts)...or may be so just want to stay above the poverty line ($1.5/day).

The truth is, you'll find several people on the internet who would give you general advice like work hard, be puctual..., rarely do you get advice which is as specialised as the one given below. And meanwhile it would mostly be applicable to those in the Western world at this point in time, it is good to remember that the world has now become a small box due to the internet and due to the interconnectivity of financial markets. In that light, those in non-western nations should also take this advice seriously. You can do most of the things below if you have a credit card.

Over at Quora, one of our members posed a question: How can young adults plan to be a millionaore? The responses he got were all fascinating; but one particular response caught my eye and the eyes of many others. It was the response given by Eric Scott, another one of our members. Here's Eric's answer.

Four Steps:

Live below your means

Build a cash buffer for the unexpected

Pay off debt

Invest

The above shows one possible path to $1M in just under 26 years assuming a $50k base salary, annual cost of living raises, investing 20% of your gross salary, and 7% investment returns. You can also download the Lifetime Investment Returns Google sheet and play with all the assumptions yourself.

Live Below Your Means
First you’ve got to start generating as much free cash flow as possible. Free cash flow = monthly money you earn and don’t spend . A solid goal for everyone is saving 10% of their gross salary, monthly. I know a few college grads that focus on it and free up 20% to 30% of their gross or more. 20% isn’t bad if you haven’t grown accustomed to spending your after college income yet. 30% requires a bit more dedication and sacrifice.

Average US college grads earn $45k. Assuming 15% for taxes, you’ll need to live off of roughly $2800/month at 10% saved, $2500 at 20%, and $2000/month at 30% saved. Example: You earn $45k. You pay 15% in taxes. You have $38,250 left. You invest 20% of your gross = $9k. You’re left with $29,250 which works out to $2438/month to spend on everything from rent and food, to laundry, vacations, and beers with your friends.

Build a Cash Buffer
Once you’ve freed up a chunk of money you’re not spending, you’ll want to save up until you have 3 - 6 months of cash on hand. Bad things happen. You’ll break your car, break your leg, or find out what “right sizing” means first hand. You need cash laying around so you can handle those bad things without panicking and liquidating investments.

Pay Off Debt
Mostly this refers to high interest rate debt. What qualifies for “high interest rate” can be a matter of discussion. With interest rates where they are today, anything over 7% like credit cards, and some car and school loans should be paid off before investing. Those loans are equivalent to high yield, no risk investment, which are tough animals to find in the wild. Catch them when you can. The middle ground loans in the 3% - 7% range I’d probably advocate putting a little extra towards to pay them off early. Anything under 3% is probably best paid using whatever minimum you can that still pays them off in 10 - 30 years.

Invest
Once you’ve created free cash flow, used it to save 3-6 months for a rainy day, and paid off your high interest rate debt with it, all of a sudden you’ll have a stream of money you need to do something with. Now it’s finally time to invest.

Take free money first. Many companies have some sort of 401k or retirement package where they match some portion of your contribution. Matching funds are FREE MONEY. Take that money by maxing out whatever your employer will match on.

It’s highly likely that after you’ve collected all your free money, you’ll still have a stream of free cash every month to invest on your own. There are three keys to wealth creation:

other people’s companies (stocks and other equity deals)

real estate

your own company

Stocks are the easiest to get started with using small, monthly amounts.

open a low cost brokerage account like Scottrade or Fidelity

invest in a broadly diversified, low fee fund like SPY or VTI

invest regularly and don’t touch it - try to keep your trading fees around 1% which means with Scottrade’s $7 trade, you’ll invest every time you accumulate at least $700 - usually monthly or every other month

The main key here is to stick with it, through the stock market ups and downs, and don’t touch the money. Understand that earning a strong return often requires that money to be left alone for 20 or 30 years.

While you’re getting all this rolling, I’d also recommend reading a few books on investing. Start easy with The Millionaire Next Door, The Wealthy Barber, and Rich Dad Poor Dad and if anything strikes your fancy, dig into those topics deeper. Rental properties, commercial buildings, individual stocks, and starting your own business can all be strong wealth builders and fun too. Once you’ve got a solid base using the above 4 steps, you should have a reasonable amount of investing knowledge, and a growing pool of capital to start branching out with.

As a final note, the above assumes a fairly average, college grad in the US. The averages certainly favor getting a college degree, and there’s a lot to be said about not getting into too much debt without a good reason while in school. Both seem like solid prerequisites to the above 4 step plan.

View Answer on Quora
Sounds very much like easy advice to follow, eventhough vit may get a bit tough during the process.
My final jusdgement is that all in all, it's great advice that all of us young people should follow.

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EDWARD SNOWDEN'S LATEST REVELATIONS...JUST SIMPLY ABSURD

2014-07-07T20:25:00.001+01:00

After the shocking revelations of spying by the US National Security Agency leaked by former employee Edward Snowden, and the international fury caused by the fact that they were spying on their allies such as Angela Merkel, we thought we had seen the end of that whole mess. Then came the revelation that the NSA was collecting 5 billion cell phone location records everyday everyday, and many more revelations, we thought that could possibly have been it.

Not untill the Washington Post obtained the latest bombshell from the rogue NSA contractor. In their article concxerning the latest Snowden revelations (gotten from documents they obtained from Snowden himself), they give a view of NSA spying that seems to have gone out of control. Included in the data was information about America's secret overseas nuclear project, double-dealing by one of America's allies, a military setback that was faced by one of America's unfriendly counterparts and the identities of aggressive intruders into U.S. computer networks. At the request of The CIA, the Washington Post is not revealing any more details for the sake of not interfering or comprimising 'un-going investigations'.

Apparently (according to the documents), the NSA now collects data for ordinary people, American and non-American. This is not the worrying part of the revelations, the worrying parts being the fact that 9 out of 10 of the victims of this out-of-control data collection were not the targets of whatever the NSA was after.
Also worrying is the nature of the data being collected by the NSA. Here's an extract from the Washington Post:

“None of the hits that were received were relevant,” two Navy cryptologic technicians write in one of many summaries of nonproductive surveillance. “No additional information,” writes a civilian analyst. Another makes fun of a suspected kidnapper, newly arrived in Syria before the current civil war, who begs for employment as a janitor and makes wide-eyed observations about the state of undress displayed by women on local beaches.
By law, the NSA may “target” only foreign nationals located overseas unless it obtains a warrant based on probable cause from a special surveillance court. For collection under PRISM and Upstream rules, analysts must state a reasonable belief that the target has information of value about a foreign government, a terrorist organization or the spread of nonconventional weapons.
Most of the people caught up in those programs are not the targets and would not lawfully qualify as such. “Incidental collection” of third-party communications is inevitable in many forms of surveillance, but in other contexts the U.S. government works harder to limit and discard irrelevant data. In criminal wiretaps, for example, the FBI is supposed to stop listening to a call if a suspect’s wife or child is using the phone.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Among the information gathered, the article describes, were highly private and sensitive details of people's lives.
The article goes on to describe the nature of these privacy violations. Take for example the love story between an Australian woman and her muslim lover who leaves her to go fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“Im putting all my pride aside just to say that i will miss you dearly and your the only person that i really allowed myself to get close to after losing my ex husband, my dad and my brother.. Im glad it was so easy for you to move on and put what we had aside and for me well Im just soo happy i met you. You will always remain in my heart. I know you left for a purpose it hurts like hell sometimes not because Im needy but because i wish i could have been with you.”

Also included in their 'file' is a recount of an 'unorthodox' sexual encounter between them, and the man's unscrupulous demand onher, like asking to have control over her Facebook profile.

Also collected were other very private data.

"medical records sent from one family member to another, résumés from job hunters and academic transcripts of schoolchildren. In one photo, a young girl in religious dress beams at a camera outside a mosque. Scores of pictures show infants and toddlers in bathtubs, on swings, sprawled on their backs and kissed by their mothers. In some photos, men show off their physiques. In others, women model lingerie, leaning suggestively into a webcam ..."

According to the article, the daily lives of more than 10,000 ordinary people who were in no way strategic to the nationary security protection duties of the NSA are unscrupulously collected.

In one case, a woman who's private details were collected was actually contacted by a Wahington Post reporter.

Now here's my take: I was actually a believer in the fact that the NSA needed to massively collect data for the sake of keeping Americans safe. I even wrote an article on this blog that tended to be in support of them. But the most recent revelations have made me begin to rethink my stance on the issue. For example, this same article recounts information "described as useless by the analysts but nonetheless retained" when in fact, such information should have been destroyed immediately. And what is this information about? They "tell stories of love and heartbreak, illicit sexual liaisons, mental-health crises, political and religious conversions, financial anxieties and disappointed hopes. The daily lives of more than 10,000 account holders who were not targeted are catalogued and recorded nevertheless."

In my humble opinion, the NSA has taken it too far and needs to be stopped.

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IT TURNS OUT OTHER COUNTRIES ARE FOLLOWING IN CAMEROON'S PATH

2014-07-05T18:55:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, we reported that the Cameroonnian government had announced bold new cuts on oil subsidies which had pushed up the price of fuel by 14% and 15% for diesel and petrol respectively. And we also reported that there was a planned strike action by the Cameroon Taxi Drivers Union. We can now confirm that the strike is scheduled for Monday (assuming the whether would permit it).
It turns out Cameroon is not the only country struggling with the oil subsidies dilemma.

Egypt, under the guidance of the newly elected president Sissi has just cut oil subsidies, a move that sees the price of oil go up by up to 78%. The cuts take effect from midnight.
The price of 92-octane petrol would be 2.60 Egyptian pounds (21p) a litre, up 40% from its current price of 1.85 pounds, while 80-octane petrol would rise to 1.60 pounds a litre, up 78%.
Diesel will rise to 1.80 pounds a litre, an increase of 63%, while the less commonly used natural gas for vehicles will rise by 175% to 1.10 pounds a cubic metre.

It turns out Camerron is not the only country struggling with the 'oil subsidy dilemma'. It has recently been reported that the new Indian Government led by the newly elcted Narendra Modi is expected to cut gradually cut oil subsidies over the next few years. Moody's Investor Service reports that these measures are necessary to improve the credit worthiness of India's oil marketing companies.

Currently, there is an intense debate in the Indian Parliament with regards to the new proposal to cut fuel subsidies. On one hand, the newly elected government fears it could infuriate the general public that just put it into power, and on the other hand, it seeks to better India's budget, improve it's credit rating and better it's Balance of Payment situation.

In case you still have not noticed what these two countries have in common, let's inform you - they both have very new governments, in the case of Egypt, less than a month old, while Indi's government has been in power barely a month.

So why would a very young government adopt such a controversial and potentially dangerous move? Well for the case of Egypt, food and oil subsidies traditionally consume a quarter of the state budget, but the government is now taking steps to significantly reduce that inorder to revive the country's crippling and budhet deficit budget deficit which has come as a result of 3 years of civil unrest.
However, the mere fact that such a serious law is being passed is a clear sign that there's now a serious person in control.

As for India, it still remains to be seen if this law will be passed. But if it is indeed passed, it will be as a result of the sluggish growth of recent years that has led to a huge Balance of Payments deficit.

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SARKOZY COULD GO TO JAIL

2014-07-04T20:37:00.001+01:00

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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was brought in for questioning in connection with the 'influence peddling' charges brought up against him. The 59 year old is accused of throwing his weight at the time unto the justice system for in formation.
It is alleged that Sarkozy was worried about the behaviour of his parties elite, as there was an investigation into some of the practices of he and his party mates.

Prosecutors were seeking to establish whether Sarkozy promised a top-level job to a magistrate in Monaco in return for information as to whether corruption charges brought up against him would go to trial. As usual, Sarkozy denies any wrong doing and says the interrogation was a 'political probe'. Sarkozy was subjected to 15 hours of questioning, the first of it's kind for any French President.

Sarkozy was hoping for a comeback in 2017, after losing to Francois Hollande in what was seen by many as a disgraceful defeat. The sudden interrogation comes after Sarkozy's lawyer and two magistrates were arrested and put under formal investigation just a few hours earlier. Under French law, being sent before the court would be the next step before a possible formal investigation against a suspect, but this step almost always never leads to trial, especially against high-ranking individuals like a former president.

Sarkozy had been hoping to benefit from the disfunctional state of his party, and it's lack of leadership to be their presidential candidate for 2017. It should be noted that his centre-right UMP party is itself involved in several allegations. He also saw the dismal approval ratings of current president Francois Holland (last poll put him at 17% overall approval) as an opportunity to re-take the Palais de l'Elysées. This probe has obviously tarnished his road to the presidency.

Over the years, Sarkozy hof scandals. First was the scandal l'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt where it is alleged Sarkozy received envelopes full of cash (illegal donations) from the Mme Bettencourt to the tune of tens of thousands of euros.

There is also the Gaddafi scandal where he is accused of having received up to the sum of $70mn (the amount differs according to the source) from the late Lybian leader for his campaign. French law prevents any candidate from receiving cash payments above £6300. It was information concerning the investigation of this case that he sought when he allegedly 'abused' his power. He may have just proven himself. Ghadafi's payment is alleged to have come through bank accounts in Switzerland and Panama.

It is alleged that in formation aobtained by tapping the former president's phone and listening to his conversations with his lawyer Thierry Herzog showed that he'd been 'abusing his power'. Investigators were looking to gather evidence to support allegations he received money from gaddafi for his 2007 campaign. When he discovered his phone had been compromised, he acquired another name under the pseudonym Paul Bismuth to safely communicate with his lawyers.

Ever since the interrogation, his supporters have come out in support of him.

IMF blamed for Cameroon's fuel price increase

2014-07-04T17:26:00.000+01:00

Cameroon has cut subsidies on petroleum and diesel prices under pressure from international donors such as the IMF. The IMF alleges that the move is necessary for the country's long-term economic sustainability. Let's remember a similar situation was responsible for the 2008 protests when the government cut fuel subsidies leading to nationwide protests.

Such a situation is not unique to Cameroon. The IMF was also blamed for riots in Indonesia during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis which turned deadly in some parts of the country. Similarly, the IMF put pressure on the Nigerian government to cut oil subsidies in 2011. The Nigerian government however put off the cuts till 2012, when it finally cut fuel subsidies, causing the price of petrol to increase from N65 to N140 ($1.5 per gallon). This move sparked violent protests all over the country so much that the government was forced to keep the price low at just under N97 per gallon. Unofficial word is that the government plans to re-introduce the issue of subsidy cuts again in 2015 after the general elections.

Back in Cameroon, the price of petrol has risen by 14% while the price of diesel has risen by 15% all due to the subsidy cuts. This puts the price of a litre of petrol at 650FCFA ($1.36) and the price of a litre of diesel at 600FCFA. In a statement, the IMF claims it is a necessary move to try to cut the approximately $600 million the government spends on subsidies. The statement did nort say exactly how much the government is going to save as a result of these measures.

In May, the IMF said Camerron's 2014 fiscal deficit woulmd be 5.5% of it's GDP mainly due to fuel subsidies. For the first six months of 2014, the subsidies have already cost Cameroon 157 billion FCFA, and so the IMF looks to see Cameroon and many other sub-saharan African countries balance their budgets by scaling back on subsidies. The main concern is that considering Nigeria's failed attempt to cut fuel subsidies and the violence surrounding it, would Cameroon succeed where others have tried and failed?

But now another question looms. Why has it taken so long?
There could be three different answers to this question.
First of all, there's the fact that Cameroon's leaders have a history of postponing neccesary changes. The same was the case with former president Ahmadou Ahidjo who kept postponing the neccesary structural adjustments that were needed to contain the global financial crisis of the 1980's untill he no longer could; and how did he do that? By extensive subsidisation. When Paul Biya came to power and could no longer keep pace with the economic pracices of the previous administration, the currency was devalued.

Secondly, the government has been cautious not to re-ignite the flames of the 2008 crisis that threatened to shaken the power base of the ruling elite. The riots provided a platform for people to vent their anger and frustration towards the government of Paul Biya who has been in power since 1982 (32 years), and the deteriorating economic situation that has come along with his regime. Cameroon is by no means the poorest country in Africa, but the growing gap between the various classes of society has angered many.

Lastly, part of the subsidy money comes from international donors, and not from government coffers. This provides an opportunity for many of those handling the funds to enrich themselves seriously. So the longer the funds flow, the richer they become.

The population of Cameroon have not welcomed this move, and the Union of Taxi Drivers is planning a strike action. In a bid to calm down tensions, the government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said in a press conference,. “I call upon our people to accept these adjustments with responsibility, understanding and civic-mindedness…,". The government has also promised to open talks about increasing the minimum wage angd other measures to try and console the Cameroonian people.

It's only left to be seen how the Cameroonian people finally react.
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25 MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES YOU NEED TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE

2014-07-02T18:26:00.000+01:00

They say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder...true, but there certain forms of beauty with which if anybody disagrees, they must be out of their mind. They also say that when you reach your prime, the only things you'll have will be the memories...so I guess you should make those memories worth the while. Here's a my pick of the 20 most beautiful places you absolutely need to visit before you join your Maker. Trust me, they'll blow your mind, and give you the most amazing memories...

They are in no particular order...no explanations needed.

25. Marrakech, Morroco

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24. Islands of Copperfield Bay, Bahamas

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23. Tuscany, Italy

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22. Aogashima Volcano, Japan

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21. Split Pinnacle, China

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20. Mt Kilimanjaro, Kenya

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19. Machu Pichu, Peru

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18. Antelope Canyon, Arizona USA

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17. Bazaruto Island, Mozambique

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16. Great Blue Hole, Belize

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15. Kribi, Cameroon

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14. Maldives

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13. Pueblos Blancos, Spain

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12. Sossuvlei Namib Desert National Park

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11. Great Barrier Reefs

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10. Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway

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9. Valley of Kings, Egypt

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8. Cinque Terre, Italy

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7. Lavender Fields, France

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6. Zanzibar

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5. Bora Bora, France

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4. Stonehenge, England

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3. Seychelles

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2. Santorini, Greece

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1. Venice

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So there you have them, the 25 places you should vieit before you answer to the Call of the Creator. If you miss just one of them on the list before that day, not a big deal. But if you miss two or more, you would have missed out a lot...
What would you tell your grandchildren when they ask you 'Why didn't you visit...?'

THE RISE OF AFRICA'S SUPER RICH

2014-07-01T16:04:00.000+01:00

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As far back as we can remember, there have always been those who were extremely rich and those who were extremely poor. The only difference is that at some point back in time, there was no middle class, but now, the middle class seems to be at the centre of every sound economic policy.

Think of Victorian times and the aristocratic nature of the English Society back then, the rich were very rich and the poor very poor. Think of the ancient Roman Empire: Marcus Crassus, whose wealth was calculated as being roughly equal to the empire's total government treasury, had an annual return on his wealth equal to the annual income of 32000 Roman citizens combined. In more recent times (right now), think of Carlos Slim who is responsible for the sustainability of more than 400,000 Mexicans.

The truth is that the number of Super rich has grown exponentially during the last century, both in the West, but particularly in the East. The growth of the super rich in the East, particularly Russia, India and China has been exponential. Take for example a country like Russia; it's most popular city Moscow holds the record for the city with the most number of billionaires (79) and their wealth keeps growing.

That is simply to show a specific case in point. That doesn't imply that there are no other cities with billionaires. Many other cities in the world are home to several billionaires, like New York City, Hong Kong, Shangai...and even Johannesburg and Lagos.

Ever tasted a £32 hamburger, or slept in a £7500 a month flat? If not, then you probably haven't visited Luanda, Angola; the most expensive city in the world and also home to Isabel Dos Santos. With a net worth of oner $1 billion, she is the richest woman in Africa and daughter of the president of one of Africa's largest oil exporters...yes you guessed right Angola. I don't kno about you, but I'm not surprised. Luanda hosts some of the world's most influential people, especially those in the oil and tech sectors, as the come to take advantage of Angola's massive oil resources.

Victora Island, Lagos Nigeria...if you were blindfolded and dropped there, you'ld think you were in the South of France. Well planned streets, luxury apartment buildings, expensive sports cars...no absence of Rolls Royce's and at the watershores, luxury yachts; all belonging to Nigeria's elite. Just a few kilometers inland, Ermenelgildo Zegna, one of the world's most prominent luxury designer goods brand just came in and set up shop. Their suits retail from $2000 - $2800 at least. And why are they here? Because they know that the Niherian elite has the money, loves to spend, and loves to be seen spending.

VICTORIA ISLAND LAGOS. IMAGE COURTESY OF OYUNGAPALA.COM
Just down the road, there's a Porsche dealership, and Rolls Royce is coming soon. Go to any major airport around the world, especiall in London, which has beome the 'playground for Nigeria's rich', and you'll notice that the best-dressed men are Nigerians, in their expensive designer clothes and shoes. On one side of the Lagos waters you find the luxury boats of the rich and affluent...

Luxury boats at Victoria Island: Disclaimer- Image is property of NAIRALAND

Federal Hotel in Lagos. Image cortesy of hotels.com

And on the other side of the Lagos waters...

These poor fishermen make mostly less than $1.29 a day

Another country that has also seen a rapid surge in the number of ultra rich people is South Africa.
Sandton, Johannesburg; one of Africa's most prestigious shopping centers, and home to some of the richest people in South Africa (mostly white), and with some of the highest property values in the country. Paid domestic staff, designer clothes and sports cars are the order of the day. Women with designer shades, covering the faces heavy laden with Botox, carrying bags of designer clothes they just bought from one of the lusury shpos down the road. Their next stop, coffee at one of the exclusive cafés on Nelson Mandela Square. That's the life of SA's rich

NELSON MANDELA SQUARE, Sandton City. Image courtesy of sandtoncity.com

Of the 50 Richest People in Africa, 14 individulas hail from South Africa and 10 from Nigeria, as of 2013. There were 55 world class billionaires in Africa as of January 2014, a 2250% increase from 2003 when Forbes counted only 2 billionaires. The growth has not only been at the level of billionaires. The number of mutli-millionaires, or ultra-rich (defined by Wealth-X as individuals with a networth of $30 mn and above after accounting for shares in public and private companies, residential and investment property, art collections, aeroplanes, cash and other assets) increased 5.1% in 2012 to 2535 individuals with a combined wealth of $539 bn.

A 2012 Wealth-X report claimed that the rise in the number of Africa's ultra-wealthy was mainly driven by South Africa's growing rich population, which is in turn deiven by the growth in the trade in resources such as mining activities and gold. Here's a list of the countries with the highest number of ultra-rich people in Africa.

Nigeria also has seen a surge in the number of ultra-rich mainly due to it's oil sector, but also because of the astoniushing in sectors such as banking, telecommunications, real estate and manufacturing. Northern African countries too, despite the push-back of the Arab Spring have for the most part experienced a rise in domestic consuption due to increases in oil prices and more inclusive and distributive policies.

The entire African continent has seen a rapid increase in the living standards of individuals, which is reflected (slightly) in an increase in per captia GDP, and hence a greater purchasing power. This means that the demand for many goods and services has increased, thereby enriching the people who provide these services.

Also, the increase in trade with China, which is largely seen as being on more favourable terms has lifted so many people up. China is now the single largest trading partner of Africa. Let's not also forget that the increase in transparency, which is relected in increased democracy in Africa has given opportunities to many more people.
Here's the number of ultra-rich people in the top 5 countries in Africa by number of ultra-rich.

1. South Africa    - 785 Combined wealth   $100bn
2. Egypt               -   490       Combined wealth   $65bn
3. Nigeria             -   450       Combined wealth   $60bn
4. Kenya              -   130       Combined wealth    $16bn
5. Tanzania          -    105     Combined wealth   $14bn

FIGURES FROM A 2012 SURVEY.

At the same time, the number of millionaires in Africa has greatly increased.
Here's a list of the African countries with the most number of millionaires (defined as individuals with a networth of at least $1 million excluding the value of primary residence).

1. South Africa - 48,800
2. Egypt    - 23,000
3. Nigeria    - 15,900
4. Kenya -    8,400
5. Angola              -    6,400
6. Tunisia              -    6,500
7. Lybia    -    6,400
8. Tanzania -    5,700
9. Morocco -    4,900
10. Algeria             -    4,100

All this growing wealth despite the fact that 48% of Africans still live below the poverty line (less than $1.25 a day).

ANOTHER MISSING PLANE...THIS TIME IN CAMEROON

2014-06-30T15:11:00.000+01:00

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Malaysian flight MH370 has not yet been solved monthe after the plane allegedly crashed into the Indian Ocean. With the hundreds of hours, tens of millions of dollars and most cutting edge technology that have been used in the search, no positive nexs yet. Yet another plane seems to be missing, but this time a world away...in Cameroon.

A four-sitter plane that left Kano in Northern Nigeria at 6:00 a.m on Monday June 24th and was scheduled to land at Lebreville at 11 p.m after a stopover at Douala never made it there. Apparently, the plane got missen in Cameroon's airspace after it was handed over to the Cameroon Air Traffic Controllers by their Nigerian counterparts.

Cameroon's aviation authorities have said they did not see the plane on their territory, and all efforts to find the plane have produced no positive results. The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority Abdulsalam Ibrahim told the press "The plane has gone out of Nigeria. We handed it to the Cameroon airspace". However, the Cameroonian authorities do not fully agree with his comments, as they claim the plane didn't make it to Douala.

The Cameroonian authorities say the last signal or contact they got from the plane was over the Mungo which is two hours of flight away from Douala. The Cameroonian Search and Rescue (SAR) have not had any sign of the plane yet. The plane is owned by the American company Global Aviation and had only the American pilot on board.

Fally Ipupa allegedly posts nude pictures of Samuel Eto's ex online

2014-06-28T19:49:00.000+01:00

Congolese superstar Fally Ipupa may not be that gentle a guy afterall. He is accused of posting nude pictures of Hélène Nathalie Koah online without her permission.

Hélène Nathalie, who was previously in a 7 year long relationship with Cameroonian football superstar has been fired from her job at Cameroon's flagship airlines CAMAIR CO. Reports say she is so distressed by the whole incident and the negative publicity that she has been hospitalised.

Nathalie's break up with was a far from peaceful one, and she had been seeing Fally Ipupa for a while. Samuel Eto'o allegedly claimed to have 'picked her from the gutters and made her who she is today', and so was very bitter when she decided to end their long relationship; so he too is not innocent until the mystery as to who actually posted those pictures online is solved. Many people believe it could be his own way of getting his revenge on Nathalie for leaving him.

Meanwhile, Fally Ipupa has been demonized by the Camerronian media, and even by a prominent Camerronian gospel singer for hurting one of their 'sisters'. Gossip sites in Cameroon claim he put up the pictures days before it created any buzz, before deleting it.

Neither Nathalie, Fally or Eto'o have given any comments

THE 15 MOST STYLISH AFRICAN MALE MUSICIANS

2014-06-27T17:00:00.001+01:00

Africa is a continent on the rise. Forget all the wars and the incidences of poverty you see on the news every now and then about Africa. Beneath it all, there's a silver-lining in Africa...it's fashion and style. And, at the forefront of it all is the music industry. This post seeks to explore the 10 most stylish of them all. Of course the list could be a lot longer, but for the sake of convenience, we would not look at them all.

15. Banky W

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Call him Mr LAGOS PARTY. Few people work a suit-and-tie outfit better than Banky W. The best thing about this Nigerian R&B singer is that his style is mature and sharp.

14. Lynxx

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This guy has got some cool style. The best thing about his fashion sense is that he picks his outfits to pefectly suit his huge physique.

13. Iyanya

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This Calabar native has got some serious style. To couple with that are his incredible dance moves. His style goes beyond his music videos.

12. Ice Prince

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Ice Prince has been dressing well since his debut hit 'Oleku', but since the money started flowing in in large chunks, his style soared.

11. AKA

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Style and swag are two different things, and Suoth African bad boy rapper sure has both. This guy, whom J Cole refers to as his 'brother from another mother' combines style and swag with a sass.

10. Darey

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Mr Darey has been fashion faced off with Kanye West (the King of Style) on more than one occasion. Everything about him is tylish, even his polished accent is stylish.

9. Connell Cruise

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This rising South African music star was named one of the top five up and coming fashion stars to watch out for by a South African magazine, and they were right. He's got style.

8. Da Les

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Da Les is the perfect party guy. His annual white party attracts hundreds of people from all over South Africa. His music videos are some of the most fashionable of any Southern African musician. He does everything in style.

7. Naeto C

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"The only MC with an MSc" is certainly the MC with one of the most fashion sense. And meanwhile his style may not be '10 over 10' (at least not like the people on the remainder of the list belo), he does possess a rare fashion sense.

6. Wizkid

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Starboy in person has come a long way since his 'Holla at your boy' days and so has has his style. From his humble beginings, the kid from Surulere wearing tight check shirts and skinny jeans with nothing else but a dream to make it big, to now wearing versace glasses and Martin Margiella shoes...no need to say more.

5. Lino Versace

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This Abidjan native has been in the spotlight since 2005 and so has been his style. He is known for his extremely well-tailored suits and stylish glasses. If you don't know him, then may be you're watching to many Nigerian Music Videos or watching too many episodes of 53 Extra. After all, it is often said that French Africa has the best dressed people in Africa.

4. Burna Boy

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Burna Boy has only really been in the spotlight for a couple years, but you can't ignore his style. His music videos are to die for. Whoever it is that styles him and the cast of his videos is doing a really good job

3. D Banj

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The Koko Master himself comes in second on our list. I'll admit I used to doubt his style myself, but ever since he got signeg on to GOOD MUSIC, the record label run by Kanye West ( the King of Style), his style skyrocketed and erased every doubt in my mind. Keep it up bro...

2. Fally Ipupa

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If I need to say anything about this DRC native, it is that the only reason he's not Number One on this list is because of one his elder brothers...

1. Koffi Olomide

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And the winner is....
Growing up as a young boy, we were often told that Koffi Olomide had worn every single kind of clothing there could be. He is so stylish, he doesn't need to follow trends anymore...he sets them. He is the first man I ever saw wearing a skirt, and a huge one for that matter...but it still looked good on him.

We've come to the end of our list. You may not agree with this list, so let me here your suggestions.

WHAT AFRICA NEEDS MORE THAN FOREIGN AID

2014-06-25T20:26:00.000+01:00

NOTE: All the WORDS in BLUE are links to sources and references.
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In the article on The Case Against Foreign Aid for Africa, we presented the various arguments both for and against foreign aid for Africa. We looked mostly at the arguments usually presented in criticism of foreign direct aid for Africa.

It is easy to be blindfolded by the huge amounts of money being thrown into Africa, and not realise the fact that little has changed in Africa since the introduction of foreign aid some six decades ago. But also, the 'bits' of positive change that have come as a result of foreign aid should not also be forgotten, like the thousands of children who now have access to education in poor communities, and the communities that now have access to clean drinking water as a result of World Bank sponsored programs. In my own country Cameroon, the Kumba-Mamfe road is an example of a World Bank sponsored program that has the potential of benefitting hundreds of thousands of people. The thing is, it also has the potential of enriching a select few, and not even being completed like many other internationally sponsored projects.

Now here's my take: We have given the various arguments presented by some of the loudest voices agains foreign aid for Africa, and if you are not conviced yet by these voices, you really should let us know what you think about foreign aid to Africa. In my opinion, the very fact that certain countries depend to such a large extent on foreign aid for their budgets and to finance government spending is an indication of a wider problem within receiving countries, and this is their inability to cash in on their own endowed potential. Why do I say this? Because many of the countries receiving huge amounts of aid are resource rich countries.

We also pointed out in our last article that aid is sometimes given to countries that are highly corrupt, and could do without it. Take Nigeria for example, a country that accounts for 21% of the total GDP of the African continent ($510 billion), and has a mature space program with four satellites launched into space in recent years; and also sitting on one of the world's largest oil reserves...70% of the population of Nigeria live under the poverty line and many more lacking access to the basic neccessities of life. Now $510 GDP would normally assume that a per capita GDP of $3000 for every Nigerian, but that would be a lie. The elite of Nigeria, mostly government officials, their relatives and affiliates luxury and affluence while struggle just to get by.

Since Nigeria's independence in 1960, it has received $400 billion in aids, that's six time the amount spent by the US in post World War II reconstruction of Europe. The sad truth is that most of this money has been stolen. It is estimated that between 2009 and 2011, 136 million barrels of oil (worth $11 billion) were stolen.
As far back as the nineties, when military dictator Sani Abacha led Nigeria, the government was receiving huge amounts in foreign aid, probably part of the massive $4 billion dollar fortune he made for gimself at the expense of the Nigerian people. Most recently, the the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria alleged that $20 billion of oil revenue had gone missing, and for that, he was suspended. This just goes to show how foreign aid money is given to inefficient and corrupt governments, that do not have the interest of the people at heart.
In 2012, the UK government gave £86.8 million to 'help' the people of Somalia, which at the time was the most corrupt nation in the world. You'll be forgiven for assuming that money never went to the hard hit people of Somalia, and the UK government knew it wouldn't.

SEE ALSO: A COUNTRY SO CORRUPT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO BURN OUR AID MONEY

Foreign aid also makes countries reluctant to carry out structural changes and reforms to make their economies better. Take Cameroon in the late 1970's for example, when the first signs of the global economic crisis had started showing face. Instead of the then president, Ahmadou Ahidjo implementing such reforms as forcing state run companies to make changes that made them more efficient, he began to carry out a massive subvention scheme that made inefficient firms more inefficient and shut the inflation rate through the roof. So in essence, he was using foreign aid money, along with money from the sale of natural resources to finance consumption. The eventual result was a devaluation of the currency.

Going back to the point of dictators, foreign aid has only empowered dictators in certain places, like it did empower Sani Abacha more. It also breeds more corruption, as power becomes more appealing due to the control of funds that come with aid; and when people get into power, what happens, they don't want to leave...they become dictators, and that could easily lead to civil war, like in the Central African Republc, Mali and Chad. The World Bank reports that in 2009 and 2010, $130mn in foreign aid money given to the Somali transitional government went missing. This explains the frequent power struggles in that area.

SEE ALSO: BRITAIN 'SPENDS £500MN ON FOREIGN AID FOR MOST CORRUPT COUNTRIES

With all this, what is a better option for Africa?
- A fair price for the sale of it's resources.
- Foreign aid packages should be tied to a set of structural,
econmic and social reforms. For example, governments could be
asked to reduce the level of poverty or child deaths in exchange
help any sort.
- Aid should be reduced significantly, and where deemed necessary,
suspended for governments seen as corrupt or dictatorial.
- Foreign governments should stop taking sides in conflicts in
African nations that are driven merely by greed.
- International sanctions and asset freezes for African leaders or
government officials who misuse or misappropriate aid money.

With these and more, Africa may not even need foreign aid in the future, and where it is imperative that it be given, it would be properly used.

AFRICA'S ECONOMIC UPRISING

2014-06-18T18:41:00.001+01:00

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Africa is largely seen today as the next big thing. It is the fastest growing continent; and has a largely youthful population, about 75% of which is under the age of 35. Four of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are found in Africa, and an African Development Bank report forecasts the average growth rate of African countries for 2014 to stand at 4.8%, a 0.9% increase from 2013. That's actually not a bad improvement when you consider the scale of economic activity it represents. And if you belong to the 'School of Thought' that this has all come due to trade in natural resources, you are wrong, at least not entirely right. Sure exports of natural resources have helped enhance this growth, but the most part of this growth has been as a result of a boom in less traditional business such as retail, transportation, insurance, telecommunications and manufacturing. All this is very good news in the ears of investors who desperately look for havens to throw their money. And one more thing, the average African economy is expected to grow at the rate of 5.7% in 2015.

This shows how far Africa has come in such short time. There was a time when Africa was only known for civil wars, corruption, embezzlement, extreme poverty and ruthless dictators like Sani Abacha of Nigeria, Mobutu Sese Seku of the DRC and Idi Amin of Uganda. These people put Africa in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, and brought untold suffering to their people. It would be unrealist at best, but stupid at worst to assume that Africa has resolved all these issues, at least not with Boko Haram's abduction of hundreds on Nigerian teenage girls, the severe brutality of Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kenya, or the sectarian violence in Lybia and the Central African Republic. However, it does give africans a glimmer of hope that these horrible incidents do not dominate African headlines as much as before.

But individually too, African countries have been improving on many indices of development like the Corruption Perception Index, Gender Equality, Infant Mortality Index, Human Development Index and many others. To add to this, Africa has a young and increasingly educated workforce that promises to be a big asset as Africa continues on it's path of development. However, some have raised questions about whether this youthful population (Africa has more people under the age of 20 than anywhere else in the world) is an asset or a risk.

In recent years, investors and businesses in general have had good cause to invest, or even move to Africa. This was evident with the visit of US president Barack Obama to Africa. The visit was largely seen as the US trying to catch up with China on the issue of trade with Africa, which has come to be known as the most untapped market. China's trade with Africa currently stands at more than $200 bn annually, double that of the US which stands at just above $109 bn. This highlights how strategic this continent has become. China recently launched a $2 Billion African Development Fund through the African Development Bank at a conference in Kigali to further strengthen it's ties with Africa, and to ensure transparency and ethics.

Trade with Africa has not only been with China and the US. Brazil, India and the EU have also been making serious advances in trade with Africa in recent years. India for example, expects it's trade with Africa to reach $100 billion by 2015, and Vrazil recorded a serious jump in trade with Africa in 2012. In that year, trade between Brazil and Africa reached $26.5 billion and is expected to have grown further. The EU has ben trying in recent years to negotiate with Africa, in order to re-ignite trade ties. It definitely shows that Africa is on its way to a brighter future.

Here's my perspective. In the past, we were always told of the huge amounts of foreign aid that African governments receive from Western governments and International Organizations, the figure stands at about $60 billion a year. Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo in her 2009 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal argued that foreign aid is actually hurting Africa, and she makes a very strong case; for example pointing out that the the number of Africans living on less than $1 a day has doubled in the last 20 years. But her opinion could be contradicted by looking at a country like Rwanda that has come to be known as a 'foreign aid success story'. The thing is, it's not that straight forward - Rwanda relies on foreign aid for about half of it's budget, so in the end, Moyo has apoint.
The point here is not to argue for or against foreign aid (we'll leave that for a later article), but to highlight the fact that Africa in the past took the wrong 'path to development', reliance on foreign aid. That didn't work.
With the failure of the 'foreign aided economy', African countries took used another model, the 'export of raw material reliant economy'. This was also a tragedy, and the IMF raised a red flag on African countries. It was this model that created the disparity in income that exists in many countries today, like South Africa, Angola and Nigeria; and with the recent discovey of one of the world's largest natural gaz reserves in Mozambique, the same fate may befall it. In the back of all this, western companies and economies were the big winners.
African countries seem to have learned a lesson, and are now advocating for 'win win' trade terms, and rightfully so. Finally, a growth model that seems to let the benefits reach the common people in the form of higher disposable income. Unless African governments continue to pursue benevolent economic models, Africa would contine being just the 'black continent'.

A CULTURE THAT HATES WOMEN?

2014-06-14T16:05:00.002+01:00

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The image above shows the body of a pakistani woman stoned to death by her own family for marrying the man she loved against their will in what is commonly referred to as 'honour killings'.

We have been constantly updated by the media in recent months, of the unthinkable discrimination and marginalization being faced by women in certain parts of the world. Two months ago, it was the kidnapping of hundreds of girls in Northern Nigeria by the radical islamist group Boko Haram. These innocent girls were taken from their boarding school and have been in the custody of the radical group for more than two months now. And why were they kidnapped, because the were being educated western-style, which to Boko Haram is a double crime - Boko Haram stands for 'western education is evil' in the local hausa language, which means anybody receiving western education is a criminal (Crime 1), and secondly, the hardcore sharia law which Boko Haram seeks to implement does not seem to accept any form of education for women, which means any female being educated is going against the law (Crime 2).

We have also been told of the pregnant sudanese woman, Meriam Ibrahim, given 100 lashes publicly in the sudanese capital Khartoum, and later sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of adultery and apostacy by a radical Islamic court. Her real crime, marrying a christian, one of which she is. Her father was a muslim, but he abandoned her with her mother, who raised her as a christian. She was jailed when her half-brother filed a complaint against her, and eventually led to criminal charges being filed against her. Her appeal was rejected, and she eventually gave birth to her second child in jail. Her case has sparked an international outcry and much fury against the sudanese justice system. Meriam's lawyers have also filed an appeal with the African Commission, which has no jurisdiction over Sudan. Sudanese leaders had hinted she might be freed, but most recently, they seem to have changed their minds about letting her go.

In Pakistan, a pregnat woman was beaten and stoned to death by members of her own family for marrying the man she love, against their will.. Farzana Parveen, 25, had married Mohammad Iqbal after being engaged to him for years, aginst the wishes of her family. This eventually led to her father filing abduction charges against Iqbal, which the couple was planning to challenge in the courts. The so-called 'honour killings' are very common in Pkistan and the entire Middle East. A Human Rights group operating in Pakistan reports that 869 women were murdered in 'honour killings' in Pakistan in 2013.
The incident all began when one of Parveen's brothers tried to shoot her, and then a crowd of family members, himself included attacked her with sticks and battons, while her father merely stood by and watched, probably with delight.
All this happened just in front of a pakistani High Court, and no one cared to do anything about it, not any of the people in the busy Lahore court premises, not even the policemen guarding the court. Some reports say, the police just stood watching, and her attackers escaped. Only her unappologetic father was arrested.

Apart from the most conservative islamic countries, India is probably the country with the highest rate of brutality against women. Rape and murder of women has become more of an epidemic. First was the 2012 Delhi Gang Rape where a psychotherapy intern was beaten and brutally gang raped in a private bus in which she was travelling with a male friend. The crime spread anger and anguish across the country and across the globe. The woman died thirteen days later of her wounds, while undergoing emergency surgery in Singapore.
In January of this year, a 51-year-old Danish tourist was robbed, beaten and gang raped after she asked for directions. This all happened in the afternoon while she was returning from India's National Museum on foot. Still in January, a tribal leader in east India told a group of 13 young men "go enjoy yourselves," as a young woman accused of having an affair with a muslim was about to be tied to a tree. The 20-year-old woman was 'sentenced to gang rape' by the village court, which left her in intensive care.

The situation in India has gone so out of control, that a woman was raped in a police station by four police officers a few days ago after failing to pay a bribe to secure the release of her husband.
In the past two weeks, three women have been raped and hanged in India. This leaves us asking a number of questions: Why has this been going on for so long? What are the authorities doing about it?

The world seems to have turned a blind eye to the plight of women in many parts of the world. You may think that because such stories cause an uproar on social media, it means the situation is being dealt with by governments, you may be wrong. If that were the case, such a horrible incident as the 2012 Delhi gang rape would not have repeated itself in 2014.

So here's my view: We can't change entire cultures at a go, but there are things we can do. In the Arab World for example where religious clerics are extremely influential, they create the mindsets of those they teach, and those they teach accept what these clmerics say as gospel truth. If we can get these clerics to be more modern and less radicalised, while still having their religion. A point in case is Saudi Arabia, where muslim clerics were very instrumental in enforcing the ban on driving for women, and 25 public lashes for an woman who does. These clerics exert enormous influence on lawmakers, so if we can get them to add a modern twist to tradition, it would do much good.
In a country like India were a huge number of lawmakers are convicts, it is more difficult. This is one of the cases where international sanctions or restrictions may be needed, to force the government to protect its citizens.

SEPP BLATER: MAN OF CONTROVERSY

2014-06-11T18:10:00.000+01:00

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There are not many people as controversial as FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The 78 year old has had a long but turmultuos reign as president of football's governing body. Blatter seems to stir up some sort of controversy whenever he opens his mouth at a press conference. He's been involved in so many scandals, many people wonder how on earth he manages to stay in office trem after term after term.

Blatter is no stranger to controversy. He has sparked so much controversy, it is hard to keep track of all of them.

Let's go back to 2004 when Blatter made known his plans to boost female football. When asked how he intended to do that, he said women could wear skimpier and more revealing outfits. ''Let the women play in more feminine outfits,'' he said. ''They could for example have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they have different rules from men - such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?'' he added.
These comments created a lot of global outrage in the media, on the streets and among female football players.
Pauline Cope, Charlton and England goalkeeper responded to the comments saying they were ''typical of a bloke.''

SEE ALSO: SEPP BLATTER'S TOP TEN OUTRAGEOUS QUOTES

In 2011, the first signs of trouble emerged concerning Qatar's bid to host the 2020 FIFA Woprld Cup and Blatter was not far from the punch line. This all came about as a result of a leaked email in which FIFA secretary general wrote that Qatari Mohamed Bin Hammam thought he could buy the FIFA presidency in the same way that Qatar bought the World Cup. Both Bin Hammam and his accuser, Jack Warner were suspended.
Around the same period, allegations arose, that FIFA demanded money and other incentives in exchange for backing England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Blatter was eventually cleared of all the allegations, but his reputation, and that of his darling FIFA were both seriously tarnished.

Blatter is also remembered for slamming Ronaldo as the type of paleyer who would spend to much money on his hair shampoo as compared to Messi. If you think this was in praise of Messi, you may not get the point. He was probably also slamming the Argentinian for not spending enough on his looks.

Most recently in June of 2014, the 2011 rumours re-surfaced, with a British reporter claiming he has credible evidence to support claims that millions of dollars were paid in bribes to FIFA officials by now former FIFA executive Mohamed Bin Hammam to support Qatar's bid to host the FIFA World Cup, and Blatter seems to be right at the center of the allegations. In response to the intense media coverage and scrutiny of the issue, Blatter has lauched and astonishing attack on British media, claiming their allegations of corruption around Qatar's World Cup bid are being driven by ''racism and discrimination''.
He also claimed there is a plot to 'destroy FIFA', which a representatives for FIFA were quick to clarify that this last accusation wasn't targeted at the British.

Like I said at the beginning of the post, Sepp Blatter's scandals are so many that it's really difficult to keep track of them. These are just the more prominent among them. Only one question comes to mind ''How has Blatter managed to hold on to power so long?''.

THE MOST DEADLY TERRORIST ORGANIZATION IN THE WORLD...AND IT'S NOT AL-QUAEDA

2014-06-11T13:44:00.000+01:00

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The recent wave of violence across Iraq has been unprecedented even for a country like Iraq which in recent years has been seriously plagued by violence. It has been so deadly that many residents have fled their homes and moved to other areas. And the culprits,... ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The faction of this group in Syria is called ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

On Tuesday, ISIS overran Iraq's second largest city Mosul and as they advanced, security forces fled, leaving civilians to the mercy of the insurgents, some even dropping their weapons as they fled. Militants seized the airport, TV stations, governor's office and other important buildings. They now control almost all of the city and many other parts of Iraq. And of course, that wasn't the only part of the country they seized on Tuesday, other parts closer to the national capital Baghdad were also stormed. This comes as a serious blow to shia Iraqi PM Nuri Al-Maliki who has been under serious pressure to contain the violence in Iraq in recent years. If anything, the violence is only getting worse.

All this violence has its origin, the sectarian divide of sunni and shia in Iraq. The sunni led government, has highly neglected and ignored the sunni parts of the country both economically and politically. In fact, a large quantity of Iraq's massive oil reserves are found in sunni areas, yet they do not see much of the benefits. This has led to huge resistance against the shia led government. It has also led to empathy from gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar who seek to counter the influence of Iran on the Iraqi government. Most analysts say that a large part of funding for ISIS comes from these states.

The civil war in Syria also greatly enhanced the mission of ISIS. They are the most violent rebel group in Syria. This latest wave of violence in Iraq is more of a spillover of the violence in Syria. They have carried out some of the most brutal acts of violence in Syria. They are so violent that even Al-QAEDA has cut off ties with them. ISIS has re-awakened fears that Iraq could be split along sectarian lines into Sunni, Shia and Kurdish areas. This wave of violence has also raised serious questions over the Iraqi Prime Minister's ability to hold on to the country.

Here's my perspective on this group^and its activities. Agroup that is too violent and extreme even for Al-Qaeda is certainly one to be feared, and considering the fact that they have a huge and strong presence in Syria, they really need to be dealt with. The question is, How? How do you deal with such a group? Considering the gains Assad of Syria has made in his fight against the rebels, isn't it time for the West to work with him to end the spillover on neighbouring nations? In my opinion, this is one situation where international assistance is badly needed.

OPINION POLE

2014-06-10T18:57:00.002+01:00

In an attempt to find solutions to one of the most puzzling social or economic problems of all time, THE ISSUE OF INEQUALITY, were are doing an opinion poll. In order to take part in this pole, simply go to the bottom of the homepage and leave your response. Your response is in reaction to the question 'WHAT IN YOUR OPINION DO GOVERNMENTS NEED TO DO INORDER TO FIGHT THE ISSUE OF INEQUALITY?'. Thank you in advance.

EGEOGHON CARLSON KIMBI

WHY THE NSA WOULD WANT TO SPY ON AMERICANS

2014-06-06T19:23:00.001+01:00

As a result of the revelations made by Edward Snowden, the world witnessed a ton of outcry and furor over the activities of the US National Security Agency. The outcry came not only from within the US, but also from foreign countries that were being spied on, like Brazil, France, Germany and many other nations, even those that are allies to the US. The NSA even went as far as spying on the leaders of Brazil and Germany, by tapping into their mobile phones aand listening to their private conversations. These revelations about Nsa spying threatened to shaken the alliance between the US and its allies.

I perfectly understand why Angela Merkel and Dilma Russef would be so furious, and I clearly understand the anger of every American citizen too. Afterall, if the NSA were just left to continue spying on the rest of the world as it wants, things would get way out of control. It's not yet clear to me exactly what about the NSA's spying caused so much outcry, was it the scale and span of the spying, or the mere fact that the NSA was collecting call records of Americans. In its defence, the NSA argues that the collection of personal data on Americans is necessary to protect american interests around the world, maintaining peace and stability worldwide, and above all, protecting americans and american soil from terrorist attacks. So it's not all bad news.

Here's my take: Since the failure of the US government and the NSA to prevent the America from the 9/11 attacks, there has been a lot of consciousness on the part of those tasked with the enormous task of keeping America safe, to prevent such an attack. Sometimes, you need to do something bad, in order to do something good, even if that entails spying on your own citizens. It is true that NSA snooping went too far, by spying on personal interactions of foreign leaders, but in some way, it is a part of the game today. Almost every nation spies, eventhough not all of them do it as massively as the US.
And it can indeed be accepted, when the NSA says it collects all that data for security purposes. Sometimes, in order to get something, you have to sacrifice some other thing. So if a good night's sleep, free of the threat of a terrorist comes at the expense of your personal data, that to me is a small price to pay.

The crucial thing the NSA needs to do, is balance personal data collection for security purposes data collection for the thrill of it, and the capability to do so. If that balance is found, the NSA to me, would be doing an amazing job.