NFF: We owe Keshi, so what?

                             

 

Nigeria Football Federation president Aminu Maigari has admitted that the football body's financial troubles run deep.

Nigeria Football Federation president Aminu Maigari has admitted that the football body's financial troubles run deep.
Super Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi made headlines recently when it was revealed that he was still owed salaries dating back to the end of the African Cup of Nations in February.
The NFF boss admitted to financial trouble but emphasised that Keshi will not be treated differently to everyone else.
"Yes we are owing Keshi, so what?" Maigari told reporters after collecting his Sports Administrator of the Year award.
"Keshi is not the only employee in the NFF who has not got his salary. We have about 11 national teams and all have coaches.
"It is only fair that we treat them equally. My management staff have not received their salaries for over a year and nobody is making noise about it.
He added: "We have to be very careful the way we amplify this Keshi salary issue. If this is unduly amplified we will be downgrading our country.
"Apart from salary, Keshi doesn't pay for anything. The house he lives in is paid for by NFF, the food he eats is NFF, his movement (transport) is NFF. So what are we talking about?"

Imoke Flags off Calabar Carnival

                

 

Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River has flagged off the 2013 Carnival Calabar at Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort with the promise that this year’s edition will be bigger and better.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Calabar Festival began in 2000 as a Christmas celebration for residents of Cross River, while its carnival component was introduced in 2005.
Calabar festival is easily the largest event of its kind and its carnival component acclaimed as Africa’s Biggest Street Party with no less than 500,000 visitors and 50,000 costumed revelers.
Imoke, who was speaking at the press conference to flag-off the event, said that this year’s carnival with the theme "Ain't no stopping us" would be bigger and better than other editions.
Imoke told participants, including Nollywood stars and major corporate sponsors, at the conference that Nigerians and the global community were duly invited to ``Africa’s Biggest Street Party’’.
He said that the 32-day festival would kick-off on Nov. 30 with a tree lighting ceremony, building up to its climax on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27.
He explained that the line-up of events had been informed by audience feedback and a desire to further increase the reach and range of the event.
"Calabar Festival 2013 will be fresher, greener and most importantly meet the expectations of the audience and spectators. The traditional international partners Brazil (featuring Beija-Flor - Brazil's most successful band at the Rio Carnival) and Trinidad and Tobago will be joined by Rwanda and France," he said.
He said that the addition of these participants would add a fresh flavour to the festivities.
According to the governor, the presentation of James Ene Henshaw's play ``This is our chance’’ will herald a welcome return to theatre.
"Others include “Kakadu” the musical, a first time appearance of “Les Grandes Personnes” - a collection of storytellers, craftsmen and puppeteers, who create large-scale effigies and locally-based story line for street drama.
"They gained worldwide attention at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa," he said.
He said that all musical performances would be by Nigerian artistes because the festival planning committee observed that Nigerian musicians pulled larger crowds than their international counterparts at previous festivals.
"Many of these artistes like P-Square and D’Banj have significant worldwide presence. The support today of major Nollywood stars, is therefore particularly significant," the governor said.
He said that the festival village had been moved from the Cultural Centre to a larger space at the Calabar Municipality Grounds on Marian Road.
"Festival Village 2013 will feature the return of the popular Guinness Village for `over-18s' and a new First Bank-sponsored Children's Village and Santa's Grotto for family fun. The Dangote Group will again be the main sponsor of the Children’s Carnival,” the governor said.
Imoke said that various charity events to raise money for youth empowerment programmes and the under-privileged would be part of the activities.
"For the first time this year, there will be a Green Ball, a charity event with an environmental conscious theme," he said.

P square to have wedding same day

This comes after one of the identical twin brothers, Peter recently had his traditional wedding.
His brother, Paul said they couldn't have their traditional weddings on the same day because of cultural differences.
Paul's fiancé, Anita Isama, is from Kogi and Peter's wife is Yoruba.
Paul said, "So because im dey marry Yoruba woman, wey dem go do am here, if my own na from Kogi, all of us go do am for Lagos? Make una chill. That's why it's a traditional marriage. You do it in a girl's home. When I go do my own, I will do it in her home."
Paul added, "If na for white wedding, I will answer you" prompting speculation that their white wedding will be on the same day.

Angola Denies Banning Islam

 

Angola's government on Tuesday denied it had banned Islam and closed mosques in the country, after speculation that sparked outrage among Muslims worldwide.

"There is no war in Angola against Islam or any other religion," said Manuel Fernando, director of the National Institute for Religious Affairs, part of the ministry of culture.
"There is no official position that targets the destruction or closure of places of worship, whichever they are," Fernando told AFP.
Reports that Angola, a traditionally devout Catholic nation, would crack down on Muslims had drawn condemnation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and others.
In Egypt, mufti Shawqi Allam said such a move would be "a provocation not only to Angolan Muslims but to more than 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world".
The oil-rich southern African nation has a population of about 18 million people, several hundred thousand of whom are Muslim.
Religious organisations are required to apply for accreditation in Angola, which currently recognises 83, all of them Christian.
In October the justice ministry rejected the applications of 194 organisations, including one from an umbrella Islamic community group.
David Ja, a spokesperson for local Muslims, challenged the government's account and said that a number of mosques had already been closed.
Ja condemned what he described as "political persecution" and "religious intolerance".
"A mosque was closed last week in Huambo (in the south) and we have been subjected to pressure this week regarding a mosque in Luanda," he said.
According to the ministry of culture, these closures were related to a lack of necessary land titles, building licenses or other official documents.
Analyst Alex Vines said the rumours followed Culture Minister Rosa Cruz e Silva's announcement last week that the government would crack down on "sects".
The measure "was targeting mostly Brazil-style evangelical groups that have mushroomed across Angola", according to Vines, Africa programme head at UK-based think-tank Chatham House.
Brazilian religious groups "have particularly worried establishment churches that have seen their congregations dwindle", he wrote on Chatham's website.
The headlines were the result of the government's "clumsy policy" and "poor communication", he said, warning they "might not only radicalise Muslim communities in Angola but could make Angola a legitimate target for jihadists".
Copyright AFP

Goat Delivers Human Baby

Image: Associated Press

 

Before now, it has always been in Greek Mythology and folklores that you hear of animals giving birth to human beings although occasionally you hear of human beings giving birth to lower animals and even lifeless objects.

The sleepy town of Ogotu-Ekiti in Ekiti SouthWest Local Government Area was on Tuesday thrown into confusion when its residents found out that a goat had delivered a human-like baby goat.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident, which allegedly occurred in the Lori Oke settlement, a village that is about 10 kilometres from Ogotun town, drew the attention of hundreds of residents and travellers.
The spokesman of the community, Sunday Ogunmeji, who spoke with NAN correspondent on behalf of the Baale (community head), Ganiyu Adetoun, said a pastor, Mr Daniel Odedele, helped to deliver the goat's baby.
"After watching the goat labour for several hours, the pastor took pity on it and courageously pulled the baby out, only for it to turn out to be human-like.
"The 'baby' had all the features of a human being  such as human face, head, hair, female genitals, two legs and two arms with hooves.
"However, the human-like baby died at about noon as a result of lack of care as the crowd merely trooped there to watch rather than to attempt to save its life," Ogunmeji said.
A resident, Mr Saidi Oladepo, who is a commercial motorcycle (Okada) operator, told NAN that immediately after the goat delivered the 'human-like baby', it took to its heels.
Oladepo added that it took more than two hours to capture the goat.
The traditional ruler of Ogotun-Ekiti, Oba Samuel Oyebode, could not be reached for comment as he was said to be in a meeting of the Traditional Council.
Copyright NAN

Paul Okoye and Anita Planning an elaborate marriage

Paul Okoye, the other half of P-Square is finally being more open about his relationship to fiance and the mother of his son, as they attended his twin brother's wedding together. In a recent interview, Paul says the he and Anita are already planning their traditional marriage which will hold at her hometown. He also said there is still the possibility that the couple along with Peter and Lola may have a joint white wedding.

Why I dont read comments on blogs- Seyi Shay

Here is an interview granted by Seyi Shay to Vanguard

Oluwas Seyi Deborah Joshua known as Seyi Shay in the music terrain left a promising Sony Music deal in order to conquer new territories in the world starting from Nigeria. Born and raised by Nigerian parents in London UK , Seyi  began performing at the age of six. Known for her amazingly vocal strength and stage craft, she   has shared the stage with some of Nigeria’s biggest music stars   as well as international acts like Rick Ross , Chris Brown.  e.t.c.
Her latest single, ‘Chairman’ featuring Kcee had over seven hundred thousand downloads on one platform in over a week. The stylish songstress who was  formerly a member of the girl group ‘From Above’ that toured with Beyonce in  2009/2010, speaks on how she’s married to her music, why she left Flytime Music, what her greatest fear is, and why she doesn’t read comments on blogs.
How did music begin for you?
My interest   in music  started from my very young age. I remember being five years old living in a house full of different musical   influences. My mum  was a chorister in choir , my brother was a radio and club DJ, my sister use to compose songs  for TV.I remember my interest in music started growing from there .I was in my secondary school choir,  and a community choir outside of school.
My choir went to Japan    at a time, and I was the youngest member   . I was given the opportunity to perform as the lead   vocalist .The response from the choir in Japan was so high that i said ‘If it‘s like this now, imagine what it can be in   the future’. So I decided to come back to London and tell my mum   about my interest in music.
She supported me but she wanted me to finish school .I continued my education but I studied music at A levels college   .  I went to  the university where I studied music business  management .So it’s always been music for me really. I understand the business side of music too, so I can
read through my own contracts,  do my own deals,  and know what is good for me and what is bad for me.

*Seyi Shey

How has your music business knowledge helped you in your music career?
Fast forward some years later am in Nigeria now, am not signed to any record label,  am not part of any camp or any team . I do have my own team, a team I employed .I carefully selected  the people that I wanted to manage me, I checked  out their credentials  and what they do. I selected my own road manager, manager, my own producers, my own PR .I told them what I wanted i.e. website, branding, logos,  the kind of PR I wanted  and they went out  and they sourced everything .That kind of decision can only come from  a knowledge of what it takes in the music industry to become  a brand or  a success.
Why did you leave Flytime Music?
In the beginning I was with Flytime as an independent artiste that Flytime will be promoting, because Flytime promotes that is what they do. So I joined them  with the intention of being promoted by them  solely, but I was still in control of sourcing my own management,  my own production, sourcing my own PR and so on and so forth. They did a really great job of putting me on different platforms and shows.
The reason our working relationship ended is because I did not have the team that I have now, then. That is my road management, my management, my team   , my engine .I didn’t have that. So I spoke to Flytime this is what I need,  this is what I want, that I would like to be my own brand, .So how do you feel about that? And they said:’ Fine we will still support you, we will still promote you, we will still go out and source things for you .
If you want to do things your own way, you are free to do that.’ It’s not that we don’t have a relationship any more; we still do .But we don’t work together as
record company and artiste. I think   that is the general misconception people didn’t actually understand.
So what defines your style of music?
I don’t like to pigeonhole myself .I don’t like to say that this is the kind of demographic I belong to, I don’t like to give my age either, because of prejudice. And the same thing applies to music, I don’t like to say am R n b , am soul, of course by nature I am a soulful artiste in person. The music that comes out of me , comes out of my camp is mainly  whatever it is that is inspiring us at that present time.’

Chairman ‘ featuring Kcee which is one of  my latest singles was inspired by  the fact that Kcee was in the studio  and my producer Del B had already composed the music, and it sounded like what a Kcee  or a flavour could have flowed on. So we were inspired by that .We said  we need one of this tracks .So I jumped on the mic  and I just started singing, and then Kcee  jumped on the mic and he did his thing that was after asking him to join me.
That’s how that came about.‘ ’Irawo    was inspired by a particular mood I was in at a time. I felt that at that time everybody needed to be encouraged , just to let everybody know that there is enough space in the sky for all of these stars that we see .In our industry, if you are a star, and I am star let us just shine together and shine bright .So there are different inspirations.
‘Killing me softly’ was written and produced by Del B.As soon as he played it to me, I knew that it was something that I needed to have. He played it to me and said this is what I made do you like it? and I said yes. I have always been interested in Timaya, he is the king of the dance floor. Just like everybody else in Nigeria will agree that he can make you dance.
Because ‘Killing me softly’ is a mid tempo song, I wanted it to have some ginger and at that time Del B  played me something that he and Timaya had done,  and  I asked him if he could get Timaya to come on my own song  and he said yes .I remember  asking and begging for a few weeks he complied. Eventually he came to the studio and I trapped him. I took his car keys and told him  :’You are not leaving the studio until you do my song’ and he did it because he wanted to go home  .  He got on the mic and did his freestyle .That is how ‘Killing me softly’ came about.
Why did you relocate to Nigeria?
I moved to Nigeria because the time I had spent with my former girl group” From Above”  that was managed by Matthew  Knowles  Beyonce’s dad had come to an end. We amicably broke up. Some of the girls didn’t want to be in the group anymore .I was the only one that really wanted to do the music. Sound Sultan was in London that year, he heard some of my demos  and said:’ You are really good why don’t you come and try this out in Nigeria” .
I had an opportunity to go to New York that year  and continued being managed by Matthew Knowles and sign a record deal with Sony, but after  like a week of fasting and prayer the answer was so clear because just after that, Flytime Music  called and said:” Sound Sultan has spoke highly of you, this is what we would like to do with you. Why not try and break into the rest of the world from Africa?, and do something different”. I am a believer in evolution, revolution,  and change. I like to set trends. I said lord! after the fasting and prayer and I got a call from Flytime Music  , it’s not a coincidence.
How has it been penetrating the music industry in Nigeria?
It’s not easy because there are so many female  artistes and female artistes really don’t have that recognition , that power that male artiste do yet .But hopefully, it will change soon. It’s not been easy   but thank God  I have been blessed enough to bring something  a bit different to the table which is my performances on stage. It’s been bumpy, I have had to  do so many shows for free, had to fight for my voice to be heard .People think I just came and just started doing this. It’s because I am a proactive person .I get up and do what I have to do.
With the influx of female artistes in Nigeria, what stands you out?
I don’t know if I can answer that question .I think  the public are the only ones that can answer that question .I am a female and I sing and perform  and I record and write songs, My intention is to go into the world prosper and multiply the music and all kinds of entertainment related  things. What sets me apart from the other females?
I don’t know if it will be fair for me   to say, because I don’t know what the other females are like really. Musically, I feel like I always try and   go into different sounds and styles of music, because I think that most females just stick to that one sound that they know is good for them. For me, I do different types of music .At the moment, Nigeria has only heard the afro-pop of me, but very soon they will hear the western , R n B, soul  contemporary  work part of me to .Because that is really where I come from
Whose advice has been instrumental to your career?
First of all, my mum before she died   she said don’t let any man stop you or hold you back from your dreams. And by ‘Man’ she meant Men .Matthew   Knowles, my former manager, he used to say things like: ’Practice makes permanent’ and he used to put us through extensive training –dancing, choreography, vocal classes and so on and so forth. He taught me the importance of tenacity , and faking it until you make it .
If it hurts just keep going until you’ve arrived .Sound Sultan taught me and told me  to make sure I know and identify who my real family   are in the industry. That way you will never get lost. He always tells me that I need to always remember God and pay my tithe and also  sing from my heart not what everybody else is singing so that I will be a seasoned long standing artiste not just come and go.
What was your growing up like and how has it helped to shape   your music career?
I grew up with  two elder brothers and one older sister  .I am the youngest and by the time I was born , my mother raised us as a single parent .My dad was back in Nigeria, she worked two three jobs, at the same time in the U.K to make sure she could provide everything I needed .Very much grounded in the church, I had everything I needed and had a lot of love around me .But I felt like a single child a lot because I happen to be the last born and between myself and my brother before me were nine years so I felt like a single child a lot.
But thank God for my mum she is strong and  hardworking .She exercised tenacity .The way I was raised with a single mother that worked so well and worked so hard helped me to understand how important it is to work well not just hard but work well. For the fact that she ran a good race, it inspires me to run the good race too. I am clearly somebody that works very hard, that comes from my mum and it helped me to be grounded because I wasn’t born into a wealthy home .I was born into a humble modest home. No matter how many people know my name or know my song, I am just an ordinary girl trying to reach out to every other ordinary girl.
What are your favorite   qualities in a man?( wonder why every interview in Nigeria must include qualities in the opposite sex)
He has to be funny, he has to be handsome, and he has to be intelligent.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I haven’t achieved my greatest yet, but so far  I have done some pretty amazing things like I have toured with Beyonce in 2009/2010 in her ‘I am” tour, I have won some pretty cool awards so far, City people, Next rated Silverbird awards, I have performed on the Big Brother  Africa stage in front of over hundreds of thousands of people across Africa and the world. I have shared the stage with some of the world’s biggest superstars and am in my middle twenties and I can say that. I am a Nigerian black girl like how many of us can really say that? I have done some pretty cool things but God has done some pretty cool things for me.
What is that one thing people hardly know about you?
People don’t really know that I am still finding myself not only as a girl, but as an artiste. I think that am leaving this experience with my fans and they are helping me   identify who I really am. Sometimes we have to look in the eyes of others, to see our own reflection. I feel that   that is what is happening with me right now. I  am looking at the eyes of my fans, I am reading their comments, their appraisals, their critique and am taking it onboard .It’s a great time to be alive, and it’s  a great time to have so many people appreciate what you do.
For example my song ‘Chairman’ featuring Kcee has reached 700,00 downloads on one  platform in  over a week .I feel like people are listening now and so the people that downloaded the song are showing some interest whether it’s in me, the song, Kcee, whatever .The fact is they have  shown an interest so my duty is to become bigger. So people don’t know that about me that I haven’t really found myself. Also people don’t know that I will choose Amala  and Ewedu ,Gbegiri and Fresh fish  over  any food on this planet. They also don’t know that I crave to be in love with someone. That’s it.
How do you handle stardom? (another silly question)
It’s pretty cool, fine. Like I will go into Shoprite or Ikeja shopping mall and hear my song playing and some people look at me , some people come up to me  saying :’Can I have a picture?’I like it am enjoying it.
How about the downside of stardom?
I don’t pay attention to negativity.  I don’t read comments on blogs .I only read the comments of my fans on Twitter, Instargram because they are the ones that are important to me. I read the blogs but I don’t read the comments on the blogs. They can be very negative at times; in order to prevent yourself from being hurt you just avoid that. There hasn’t been much negative stories written about me basically and that’s just God’s grace. I try to behave myself as much as I could.
What do you consider your greatest fear?
My greatest fear would be the feeling of not wanting to do music anymore.
Are you in a relationship?
I am not in a relationship at the moment. Marriage for me is definitely in the plan. It’s   in my three years plan. So between now and the next three years I hope to get married. At the moment, I am married to my team-J management and married to music basically.

Kanye West Features a Topless Kim Kardashian in his new Music Video

Kanye West featured a topless Kim Kardashian - his fiance and the mother of his child - in the new video for his single “Bound 2” which premiered on the Ellen show yesterday. With that, they are among the celebrity couples that star in each other's music videos. There are reports that his popularity ratings are going down but their love is above all that it seems, all the best to them :)

Omotola on the Cover Page of the New African Magazine

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde is the latest celebrity to cover the New African Woman magazine for their December Edition. Tagged, "Keeping up with Omosexy". Absolutely stunning photos!

Was Kim Kadashian Actually without a bra?

Kim Kardashian was photographed this weekend wearing a mesh see through top with nothing under at first glance. But she is really wearing a nude or skin colored bra. The bra matches perfectly with her skin tone and the blouse making it difficult to know where one starts and the other begins. One thing we learnt as girls growing up is what color bras to wear under what color and style blouses and tops.


The gospel then was bras were never to be seen, a black bra was best, never a white bra under a white top, or was it the other way around? And those pesky bra straps, hide them by all means including pinning them to the narrow sleeves of your blouse. These days, most of those rules are out of the window.

Going by those rules, do you think Kim Kardashian got her look together or not?

No time like Family time

celebrity families , mommy time , oluchi onweagba-orlandi

Oluchi's TV show, the African Next Top Model Premiered a week ago, but no matter how busy that keeps her, she's tries to spend time with her sons whenever she can. Here she's on a play date with her sons and their friend. Cute picture.

Celebrity Parents Take son on the Red Carpet

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt took their first son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt on the red carpet at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science’s Governors Awards on Saturday night. The 12-year-old wore a tuxedo and bow tie and had his hair combed to the side just like his dad.


Maddox is the first son of Angelina Jolie who adopted him from Cambodia back in 2002 when he was just 7 months old and brought him back to the US in 2003 after sorting out the legal issues. Since they got together, Brad Pitt has also adopted Angelina’s adopted children as his own.

Meet four of Ghana's Celebrity Beauties

Juliet Ibrahim, Sandra Ankobiah, Joselyn Dumas and Belinda Baidoo are all high profile personalities in the Ghanaian entertainment industry - actresses, models, TV presenters and professionals. They are working together for the Ghana edition of the Ovation Red Carol coming up December 14th. Keep flying, ladies.

LOVE MADE IN HEAVEN

I hope some bloggers would stop spreading false information about these two love birdsJim Iyke and Nadia Buari are currently touring some cities in Europe as part of the celebrations for her birthday which was last night - the 21st. The couple who are now in Spain marked the day with a private dinner at DI Costa while a Mariachi band serenaded the birthday girl. Jim Iyke says Nadia cried all through, I think he looked emotional too.

what to expect on Tiwa's traditional Marriage

Image: Sunday Alamba/Associated Press

11 hours ago By Pulse

 

 

 

 

Star couple Tiwa Savage and Tee-Billz (Tunji Balogun) are set to wed in style. The 'Eminado' singer will be marrying her heart throb and manager in a lavish event that we can't wait to see.

Unfortunately the couple have kept a tight lid on the plans of the wedding and of course the wedding will only be attended by guests who have received invitations.
Though the preparation for the wedding and the actual wedding is set to be a surprise, here are a couple of golden nuggets to help you envision the grandeur that will be their wedding ceremony.
1. Legendary musican King Sunny Ade will be performing at their traditional wedding.
2. The traditional wedding will be held this weekend on 23 November.
3. She will be wearing a white wedding dress as hinted when she posted a picture on Instagram while shopping for her wedding dress in London.
4. The venue of the wedding is The Ark Vicinity located on Okunade Bluewater Zone, off Remi Olowude Street, Lekki. The nuptials will kick off at 09:00 and last four hours followed by a reception at the same venue.
5. The selected colours for the traditional wedding are fuchsia and gold, as stated on the invitation.
6. The organization of the entire event will be handled by Funmi Victor-Okigbo’s The Wedding Compan, the same lady who put together Basketmouth and  Bella Adenuga's wedding.
7. The decoration of the wedding and reception will be done by Newton and David which is owned by Uche Majekodunmi.
8. The white wedding which will be held in February 2014 will be a destination wedding in the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean.
9. The entire wedding is planned by the bride-to-be's best friend, Elohor Aisien
10. The wedding aso-ebi costs N30,000 for 5 yards.
Read more on Pulse Entertainment News

Big Butt means smarter

First of all, Victoria Hammah was WRONG to have made a statement that Oye Lithur is somehow intelligent than her—since according to a recent study by the University of Oxford, women with big buttocks are far smarter and healthier…
The review which was published by researchers at the University of Oxford and Churchill Hospital in the United Kingdom suggests that people who carry their body fat in their thighs and backside aren’t just carrying extra weight, but also some extra protection against diabetes, heart disease and other conditions associated with obesity.
The researchers who wrote in the most recent issue of the Journal of Obesity are reported to have added that; having a big butt requires an excess of Omega 3 fats, which have been proven to catalyze brain development.
The researchers also found that the children born to women with wider hips are intellectually superior to the children of slimmer, less curvy mothers. And so, women with big buttocks are very smart—many have included.
Remember, the study did not include FAKE butts!
- See more at: http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/#sthash.B0BFqqQj.dpuf

Assasisination Market

There's nothing one would not see. Everyday new markets are springing up, today its the Assasination market where people collectively fund the killing of public office holders. Thpugh I hate an attempt on anybody's life, I think the market would be better suited for Nigerians as corrupt public office holders would watch as the poor masses they steal from fund their would be assassins for the ultimate task of ending their lives.  Heres a cull from forbes.


As Bitcoin becomes an increasingly popular form of digital cash, the cryptocurrency is being accepted in exchange for everything from socks to sushi to heroin. If one anarchist has his way, it’ll soon be used to buy murder, too.
Last month I received an encrypted email from someone calling himself by the pseudonym Kuwabatake Sanjuro, who pointed me towards his recent creation: The website Assassination Market, a crowdfunding service that lets anyone anonymously contribute bitcoins towards a bounty on the head of any government official–a kind of Kickstarter for political assassinations. According to Assassination Market’s rules, if someone on its hit list is killed–and yes, Sanjuro hopes that many targets will be–any hitman who can prove he or she was responsible receives the collected funds.
For now, the site’s rewards are small but not insignificant. In the four months that Assassination Market has been online, six targets have been submitted by users, and bounties have been collected ranging from ten bitcoins for the murder of NSA director Keith Alexander and 40 bitcoins for the assassination of President Barack Obama to 124.14 bitcoins–the largest current bounty on the site–targeting Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve and public enemy number one for many of Bitcoin’s anti-banking-system users. At Bitcoin’s current rapidly rising exchanges rate, that’s nearly $75,000 for Bernanke’s would-be killer.

Sanjuro’s grisly ambitions go beyond raising the funds to bankroll a few political killings. He believes that if Assassination Market can persist and gain enough users, it will eventually enable the assassinations of enough politicians that no one would dare to hold office. He says he intends Assassination Market to destroy “all governments, everywhere.”
“I believe it will change the world for the better,” writes Sanjuro, who shares his handle with the nameless samurai protagonist in the Akira Kurosawa film “Yojimbo.” (He tells me he chose it in homage to creator of the online black market Silk Road, who called himself the Dread Pirate Roberts, as well Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.)  ”Thanks to this system, a world without wars, dragnet panopticon-style surveillance, nuclear weapons, armies, repression, money manipulation, and limits to trade is firmly within our grasp for but a few bitcoins per person. I also believe that as soon as a few politicians gets offed and they realize they’ve lost the war on privacy, the killings can stop and we can transition to a phase of peace, privacy and laissez-faire.”
I contacted the Secret Service and the FBI to ask if they’re investigating Assassination Market, and both declined to comment.
Like other so-called “dark web” sites, Assassination Market runs on the anonymity network Tor, which is designed to prevent anyone from identifying the site’s users or Sanjuro himself. Sanjuro’s decision to accept only Bitcoins is also intended to protect users, Sanjuro, and any potential assassins from being identified through their financial transactions. Bitcoins, after all, can be sent and received without necessarily tying them to any real-world identity. In the site’s instructions to users, Sanjuro suggests they run their funds through a “laundry” service to make sure the coins are anonymized before contributing them to anyone’s murder fund.
As for technically proving that an assassin is responsible for a target’s death, Assassination Market asks its killers to create a text file with the date of the death ahead of time, and to use a cryptographic function known as a hash to convert it to a unique string of characters. Before the murder, the killer then embeds that data in a donation of one bitcoin or more to the victim’s bounty. When a target is successfully murdered, he or she can send Sanjuro the text file, which Sanjuro hashes to check that the results match the data sent before the target’s death. If the text file is legitimate and successfully predicted the date of the killing, the sender must have been responsible for the murder, according to Sanjuro’s logic. Sanjuro says he’ll keep one percent of the payout himself as a commission for his services.
Just reading about that coldly calculative system of lethal violence likely inspires queasy feelings or outrage. But Sanjuro says that the public’s abhorrence won’t prevent the system from working. And as a matter of ethics, he notes that he’ll accept only user-suggested targets “who have initiated force against other humans. More specifically, only people who are outside the reach of the law because it has been subverted and corrupted, and whose victims have no other way to take revenge than to do so anonymously.”
Even setting aside the immorality of killing, doesn’t the notion of enabling small minorities of angry Bitcoin donors to assassinate elected officials sound like an attempt to cripple democracy? “Of course, limiting democracy is why we even have a constitution,” Sanjuro responds. “Majority support does not make a leader legitimate any more than it made slavery legitimate. With this market the great equalising forces of capitalism have the opportunity to work in politics too. One bitcoin paid is one vote closer to a veto of whatever legislation you dislike.”
Sanjuro didn’t actually invent the concept of an anonymous crowdfunded assassination market. The idea dates back to the cypherpunk movement of the mid-1990s, whose adherents dreamt of using encryption tools to weaken the government and empower individuals. Former Intel INTC +0.41% engineer and Cypherpunk Mailing List founder Tim May argued that uncrackable secret messages and untraceable digital currency would lead to assassination markets in his “Cryptoanarchist’s Manifesto” written in 1992.
A few years later, another former Intel engineer named Jim Bell proposed a system of funding assassinations through encrypted, anonymous donations in an essay he called “ Assassination Politics.” The system he described closely matches Sanjuro’s scheme, though anonymity tools like Tor and Bitcoin were mostly theoretical at the time. As Bell wrote then:

If only 0.1% of the population, or one person in a thousand, was willing to pay $1 to see some government slimeball dead, that would be, in effect, a $250,000 bounty on his head. Further, imagine that anyone considering collecting that bounty could do so with the mathematical certainty that he could not be identified, and could collect the reward without meeting, or even talking to, anybody who could later identify him. Perfect anonymity, perfect secrecy, and perfect security. And that, combined with the ease and security with which these contributions could be collected, would make being an abusive government employee an extremely risky proposition. Chances are good that nobody above the level of county commissioner would even risk staying in office.

Bell would later serve years in prison for tax evasion and stalking a federal agent, and was only released in March of 2012. When I contacted him by email, he denied any involvement in Sanjuro’s Assassination Market and declined to comment on it.
Sanjuro tells me he’s long been aware of Bell’s idea. But he only decided to enact it after the past summer’s revelations of mass surveillance by the NSA exposed in a series of leaks by agency contractor Edward Snowden. “Being forced to alter my every happy memory during internet activity, every intimate moment over the phone with my loved ones, to also include some of the people I hate the most listening in, analysing the conversation, was the inspiration I needed to embark on this task,” he writes. “After about a week of muttering ‘they must all die’ under my breath every time I opened a newspaper or turned on the television, I decided something had to be done. This is my contribution to the cause.”
Assassination Market isn’t the first website to suggest funding murder with bitcoins. Others Tor-hidden websites with names like Quick Kill, Contract Killer and C’thulhu have all claimed to offer murders in exchange for bitcoin payments. But none of them responded to my attempts to contact their administrators, and all required advanced payments for their services, so they may be scams.
And how do Assassination Market’s users know that it’s not a similar fraud scheme designed to steal users’ bitcoins? “You don’t,” Sanjuro admits. But he argues that if it were a scam, it would be a very complex and risky one, given that even threatening to harm the president of the United States is a felony.

Other than that, “I can but appeal personally,” Sanjuro writes. “I live a comfortable, albeit somewhat spartan life, and the only thing that really pains me is the increasing attacks on the liberties I enjoy in my daily life, mainly my personal privacy. I cannot buy that with money, so I have no need of it. There is nothing I want more than to see this project succeed, and for that I need dead politicians.”
If the system does prove to work, the launch of Assassination Market may be ill-timed for Sanjuro, given law enforcement’s recent crackdown on the dark web. In August, the FBI used an exploit in Tor to take down the web hosting firm Freedom Hosting and arrest its founder Eric Eoin Marques, who is accused of offering his services to child pornography sites. And just last month, the FBI also seized the popular Bitcoin- and Tor-based black market for drugs known as Silk Road and arrested its alleged creator, Ross Ulbricht.
Sanjuro counters that in addition to Tor, Bitcoin, and the usual encryption tools, he has “measures in place to prevent the effectiveness of such an arrest. Naturally these will have to be kept secret.”
He adds that, like an earlier generation of cypherpunks, he puts his faith in the mathematical promise of cryptography to trump the government’s power to stop him. “With cryptography, the state, or any protection firm, is largely obsolete…all activity that can be reduced to information transfer will be completely out of the government’s, or anyone’s, hands, other than the parties involved,” he says.
“I am a crypto-anarchist,” Sanjuro concludes. “We have a bright future ahead of us.”

Highest paid musicians

Forbes has released its latest list called "Word's Highest Paid Musicians 2013". I was hoping one of our Nigerian artiste would make the list but disappointingly none did not even one African based artiste. These Musicians are really something else in a world of their own

Lady Gaga and Madonna have a superstar rivalry made in gossip-blog heaven. The former burst onto the scene five years ago with a provocative pop sensibility reminiscent of the latter’s. Last year, Madonna accused Gaga of ripping off one of her songs; this year, the “Born This Way” singer insisted she doesn’t want the Material Girl’s throne.
From an earnings perspective, however, there’s no question over the winner of this battle’s latest round. The honor goes to Madonna, who pulled in $125 million over the past year, making her the highest-paid musician in the world. The bulk of Madge’s millions came from the tail end of her MDNA Tour, which grossed $305 million. She augments her income with heady merchandise sales at concerts, as well as her Material Girl clothing line and Truth or Dare fragrance.

                        

Gaga ranks second with $80 million; she grossed over $160 million on her latest tour before succumbing to a hip injury. Had she been able to finish, she would have likely topped $200 million. Her ARTPOP album was released after the end of our scoring period, but should give her a boost on next year’s list. She could easily reach the No. 1 spot with a successful set of concerts, the main driver for most major artists’ earnings.
“With touring being the biggest revenue stream, if there’s an opportunity for an artist to go out, if there’s an opportunity for a promoter to curate a festival, people are doing it, said Kevin Liles, founder of KWL Enterprises and manager of artists including Big Sean, Trey Songz and Young Jeezy.
A look at the rest of the list underscores the importance of live performances in today’s music world. Bon Jovi ranks third with $79 million, most of it from the appropriately named Because We Can tour. Road warrior Toby Keith pulled in $65 million to land the No. 4 slot, while Coldplay parlayed seven-figure nightly grosses into a $64 million payday.
Of course, product extensions can provide a major boost to an artist’s bottom line as well, and few do it better than Keith. Country’s cash king has his own record label, mescal line and restaurant chain; each outlet has its own stage.
“The beauty is where it synergizes with my label,” he explained to FORBES earlier this year. “I don’t have to look for a place [for my acts] to play … they’re in Toby’s house. They’re drinking Toby’s liquor. That’s Toby’s act. And then we’re moving to the next town.”
A few of the musicians on our list, however, generate nearly all their income to sources other than music sales, record labels and touring. Sean “Diddy” Combs, who ranks No. 11 with $50 million (making him hip-hop’s highest-paid act), earns the bulk of his bucks from his wildly successful Ciroc vodka deal. His Revolt TV network, launched in October, should provide a big boost to future earnings.
Diddy and fellow hip-hop moguls Jay Z (No. 18, $42 million) and Dr. Dre (No. 20, $40 million) are the genre’s lone representatives, while Keith is one of four country acts—Taylor Swift (No. 7, $55 million), Kenny Chesney (No. 9, $53 million) and Tim McGraw (No. 24, $33 million). The rest of the list is made up of pop divas and arena rockers, with the exceptions of Tiësto (No. 25, $32 million) and Calvin Harris (No. 13, $46 million), the world’s two highest-paid DJs.
“The rise of dance music has been astronomical in the last three years and I happened to be in the right place at the right time,” he told FORBES earlier this year.
In order to form our list, we looked at income from June 1st, 2012 through June 1st, 2013, using data sources including Pollstar, the RIAA, Nielsen SoundScan, managers, lawyers and many of the artists themselves. We took into account concert ticket sales, royalties for recorded music and publishing, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and other business ventures.
Our estimates reflect pretax income before deducting fees for agents, managers and lawyers; only living artists are eligible for the list.
That last criterion may seem trivial, but were it removed, the list would have a new champion: Michael Jackson, who pulled in $160 million.

Top 10 Richest African Musicians

Been long I last came online. Today I stumbled on an article with the caption top ten richest African Musicians and I know the controversy this would cause especially in Nigeria
Richest African Musicians

Top 10 Richest African Musicians