Why the Marvel Cinematic Universe will outpace and beat the DC Cinematic Universe easily

DC Cinematic Universe is Toast!

Send Zack Snyder to the Looney Bin!

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice was a waste of time, right? You are correct, because if you watch Justice League then you will feel literally crabby and feel like venting your frustrations out on Zack Snyder. The movie had a weak plot and it was really off.

Points:
Batman is a homicidal maniac played by an old man named Ben Affleck.

Why did Diana Prince awaken after the second world war into the 21st century to actually save the world?

Barry Allen’s a goof in the movie! Yuck!

Jason Momoa as Aquaman?! Is Zack Snyder out of his mind?! Armie Hammer or Scott Speedman should have been Aquaman!

A weak plot and a weak story line. So much fictitious mumbo jumbo out of the blue without any proper meaning and who in the heck is Steppenwolf?!

Where did the Aliens come from? Did Zack Snyder even watch the DC cartoons?

Jason Momoa used a redneck accent !! For God’s sake, someone tell him that Arthur Curry comes from a long line of Royals!!!!

Justice League sucked!

The DC guys only created a hype of the movie through marketing and the same marketing hype was displayed before the launch of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. It flopped and so did the Justice League! They both flopped!

So, does Marvel fare better? Yes!

This is the true gold standard

Marvel Cinematic Universe officially started with Blade way back in 1998. It became better with launches of 2 more parts of Blade and The Hulk’s first part containing Eric Bana. Christopher Nolan came up with dark versions of Batman with Christian Bale, featuring Liam Neeson, Heath Ledger, Javier Bardem and Aaron Eckhart as villains. Gary Oldman did a very good role of commissioner Gordon but George Clooney flopped in Batman and Robin. Val Kilmer is the true Batman of the 90’s and so is Michael Keaton.

But, it all began in 2008 with Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr. being the Hero and Title Character, Jeff Bridges being the true villain with Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard providing the best support roles ever. Ramin Djawadi’s music for the movie was Oscar nominated and the movie grossed loads of money!

The timeline of Marvel Cinematic Universe

Another timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe including the series

Robert Downey Jr. is a cult of a personality

Iron Man was directed by John Favreau, written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway, and produced by Avi Arad and Kevin Feige. The budget of an estimated USD$ 140,000,000 brought in a gross profit of USD$ 318,412,101 in the U.S.A for October 2008 and the Global Profit for same month of USD$ 585,174,222. That’s quite a lot for a movie at that time. Iron Man 2 was directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux (Yes!), released on May 7, 2010 and how much did it gross? USD$ 623.9 million! The Incredible Hulk grossed a modest USD$ 263.4 million whereas Thor grabbed USD$ 449.3 million against a budget of just USD$ 150 million (Kenneth Branagh’s a miracle mind behind it!) and Captain America: First Avenger drew a profit of USD$ 370.6 million against a 160 Million Dollars budget. Yes, for the years 2010 and onwards; these movies drew loads of bucks! Joss Whedon was the man for Marvel’s the Avengers (Director, Writer, Producer) and the profit: USD$ 1.519 billion! against a budget of USD$ 220 Million!

Staggering, Right? Yes it is!

Then comes phase two:

Iron Man 3 was directed by Shane Black, written by Drew Pearce and Shane Black, gross budget was of USD$ 200 million whereas the profit was of USD$ 1.215 billion. Despite wearing a touch of drama, the movie had to be like that because ‘it was the man that made the suit.’ That’s right, the suit never made the man but it was the man that made the suit. Thor: The Dark World had a gross budget of USD$ 170 million and a profit of USD$ 644.6 million, directed by Alan Taylor and written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely had a budget of USD$ 177 Million and a profit of USD$ 714.3 Million.

 

James Gunn wrote and directed Guardians of the Galaxy in collaboration with Nicole Perlman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and GLenn Close among the cast members,a gross budget of USD$ 223.3 million reaping a profit of USD$ 773.3 Million. Yes! Its True!

Joss Whedon again was the force behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and the budget was of USD$ 316 Million (Gross) reaping a profit of USD$ 1.405 Billion.

Ant-Man topped the icing of the cake with a budget of USD$ 142 Million and a profit of USD$ 519.3 Million, directed by Peyton Reed and written by Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay and lead actor Paul Rudd. Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stall and Evangeline Lilly.

Yeah, Marvel rocks for sure!

 

Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe:

Anthony and Joe Russo directed Captain America Civil War, budget of USD$ 250 Million and a profit of USD$ 1.153 Billion! No Wonder Batman vs Superman was the Yawn of Justice and a big flop.

Scott Derrickson directed Dr. Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch as the Hero, Budget of USD$ 165 Million and a Profit of USD$ 677.7 Million. Killer profit!

And the dimensional shifts in the movie freaked me out. But yet again, pretty cool stuff.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 had a budget of USD$ 200 Million with a profit of USD$ 863.6 Million. THe one man army behind it is James Gunn!

Spiderman Homecoming: Budget of USD$ 175 Million and a Profit of USD$ 880.2 Million!

Thor Ragnarok: Budget = USD$ 180 Million and a Profit of USD$ 844 Million.

Comedy, Action, Drama, Romance and All; The years 2016 and 2017 drew maximum profits for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What is the secret of Marvel’s success?

The directors, producers and writers have been revolved, they have been studying the comics, story lines and series as well as the characters for years before they could conceive a well balanced idea and when conceived; released as a well balance movie with budgets producing great profits.

Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Aaron Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Emily VanCamp, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Jon Favreau, Tom Holland, John Kani, Jeff Bridges, Michael Keaton, Josh Brolin among a host of so many others. They have helped illuminate Hollywood and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They have helped boost entertainment to new heights and have overpowered DC successfully.

The credit goes to the writers, producers and directors for studying the cartoons, characters and comics for years. Balancing the plots and choosing the right cast brought out the best in everyone coupled with a lot of public relations campaigns and hospital visits have boosted Marvel’s brand value to exceedingly sky like heights. Whats even more heartening that its not stopping! and is further gonna take even higher ground.

The careers of the aforementioned actors have taken off and are skyrocketing as well. They have now reached a respectable peak and have thus attained a legendary status. Things are for the better with Marvel and I say Marvel all the way!

What’s next? Black Panther of course!

Badass!

The weak storylines of Zack Snyder’s movies have cast a shadow of doubt over DC as well as Actor’s placement and selection. Weak storylines aren’t drawing interest in DC and Justice League was an evident flop. Yes, it was an evident flop!

Hence, Marvel wins!

TV Advertising in Pakistan: Are jingles necessary despite the fact that they are overly annoying.

I have added a link of Cookania’s ad featuring Sohai Ali Abro and Hamza Ali Abbasi. after I finished watching it more than 5 times, I asked myself a few questions: 1). Are jingles and dancing really necessary when they have become overly annoying. 2). I looked at the ad, I must ask. Who eats cake rusks at traditional South Asian weddings (especially Pakistani weddings)? 3). Multiple errors regarding amount of cake rusks on the plate. what did the creative team do? 4). Despite the target market, was this kind of ad even necessary? 5). Apart from this ad, are slang terms necessary to appeal to the people?.

Pakistan is currently embroiled in a political cum economic turmoil, where the incumbent Prime Minister is stuck in a scandal over overseas bank accounts and undeclared assets while the nation is heavily indebted with loans and stuck in an economic crisis. Despite tall claims from the Prime Minister, a never ending brain drain has taken place and is slowing down the brain gain.

Jingles and Models have always been part of advertising since ages, depending on the demographic group/market being targeted. Problem is, not only is advertising a costly job but also selective targeting (or precision targeting) can cost the firm more than what it has/had invested in other activities. To make it further worse, operating in one of the world’s largest consumer markets where socio-economic conditions are worse beyond that of Africa and taking an even worse turn instills the fear of uncertainty thus flight of intellect, capital and people is then rampant.

Our marketing minds today have been pegged to old tactics. They think innovation is being western when in fact innovation has nothing to do with regions, it only relates itself to creativity.

Nurpur, Pakistan’s oldest & most premium dairy products company recently produced an awesome commercial. Best part is, there were no fancy jingles. the music used was Pakistan’s traditional sitar tune with bit of traditional drum beats and mouth watering shots of milk, butter and yogurt. This ad is being praised by many and has won the hearts of the entire nation. I have added the video of the commercial so everyone can view it.

Even students of business administration, visual studies, communications, media and advertising are in admiration for Nurpur’s ad. Clearly, this ad has set a new benchmark and has given a new ray of hope for Pakistan’s beleaguered Advertising industry, beset by copy writing errors and mistakes in creativity. Nurpur has done good job in giving Pakistan’s advertising industry a new ray of hope and the same has also been done by Qmobile. We are hopeful that the advertising industry in Pakistan will rebound back from old methods and come up with much better ideas.

Advertising is, no doubt very costly. Bloggers, web posts are another way of boosting brands/firms/products/services and yes controversy does create cash. But what if, we choose not to show/produce anything controversial? what if, we decide not to run after ratings and what if, we produce something sensible, heart warming, soothing and aesthetic. What if, we found that in simplicity also lies creativity.

We all think out of the box means something new, what we do not know that modifying or adding more touches to old ideas is also innovative. Novelty is something that is not worth losing, in fact novelty is a must in all ads in order to win hearts and minds of consumers.

Why the ouster of Robert Mugabe is beneficial for Zimbabwe and for Africa as a whole

Before I start, I want you all to read the following carefully:

(Taken from the Facebook group “The Truth about South Africa”)

Bruce Brislin‎ posted to Rhodesians, Zimbabweans Worldwide Open group
Yesterday at 12:26pm ·

“We stand as spectators watching a continent tear itself apart and see the horror of it. Famines, droughts, floods and the epizootics that frequently follow them swallow uncounted numbers of people. They happened occasionally when we were there but strangely most people survived. Inter-tribal fighting and religion-driven genocides now mop up yet more and we shake our heads in wonder at what causes this. Some blame the Gods, others chance or luck, but few realize that the real culprit is the sense of entitlement that has been systematically inculcated into their psyche of today’s societies in Africa. Individuals are taught to believe that we have wronged them and must therefore be held responsible for all their ills; even the droughts and floods and the fact that they are being hunted down by their own countrymen; all the fault of the White man.

Well, we are gone now, for the most part anyway. We have been gone for nearly forty years. A huge percentage of the present populations never lived under a Colonial administration. Over a half of the entire population in some countries is under 17 years of age. We left everything behind, even some of our pets. We left our houses tidy, no litter on the streets, our gardens green and well-tended. There were dependable power supplies and clean water was taken for granted, all the hospitals functioned smoothly as did the schools – and the roads were safe and well maintained. The shops were full and no one needed to go hungry. Most able-bodied people had a job and earned money that had a real value.

I doubt these facts are recorded in the history textbooks of today. It wouldn’t do for the young to know that life was so good before we, the white men, the universal enemy, made our departure from the land we loved. It would be most inconvenient if this truth were known. In fact I doubt that most of under twenty years of age would be able to believe how good things were for their parents and their grand- parents; they have no experience of the plenty they enjoyed back then.

When bright faced charity workers stop me in the streets to beg for money to send to bail out the impoverished masses of Africa, I shall decline. To send any form of charity serves only to perpetuate the evil that is that omnipresent sense of entitlement.

Those societies that grew fast on the health our medicines provided them and on the food our farmers produced now double in number every twenty years. We were thrown off our productive land that now lies fallow or overrun with weeds. The orange orchards die for lack of care and water, and what grain there is, is now imported and expensive for individuals in a society where over seventy in every hundred people have no job.

Africa has chosen to do things ‘The African Way,’ to reject all that we brought with us, even our advice. It forgets that because of its expanding populations it needs our expertise more than ever; it has none of its own.

So be it. We are gone.”

That is the reality of Africa, where Anti White racism has destroyed most of the nations on the continent.

Robert Mugabe: The worst Black and a true African Asshole!

Let’s face it: Mugabe is going down the drain! It’s a blessing that Mugabe has been ousted!

Yes, the nigger is offensive and rude! (Sorry for using that word but I can’t help but feel happy that the offensive anti White nigger has finally been ousted with a huge kick on his grumpy corrupt black ass! 😀 )

Now I will tell you why I am happy that Black Bastard is on his way out.

Mike Campbell (left) and his spouse Angela Campbell (right) were savagely beaten by Blacks who invaded their farm and attacked them. The attackers belonged to ZANU-PF who tried to seize their farm illegally

Anti White sentiments are bullshit!

Yes, that is right and I will side with the WHite people. THey are the people who have helped improve our living standards: They invented the telephone, television, penicillin, medicines, Morse code, electricity, industrial revolution, computers, mobile phones, video games and so much more including the car and the aero plane.

A white Zimbabwean family facing worry after their farms were set for illegal seizure at the hands of Mugabe’s criminals!

Robert Mugabe had plundered the Zimbabwean economy! He had starved millions of Zimbabweans and has caused losses of billions of dollars to an impoverished economy. His anti WHite racism only fueled criminal activities and a hyper inflation driving Zimbabweans to the most critical levels of poverty, hunger, destitution, desperation, death and crime. Harare and Bulawayo have been turned into hellholes because Mugabe promised free lunch to the blacks.

Lets Face it: There is no such thing as a free lunch!

The Black Zimbabweans had been stereotyped as dumb and stupid, all because of the corrupt racist mentality of Robert Mugabe and his slutty wife Grace Mugabe. Zimbabwe is on the verge of extinction but Thanks to the Zimbabwean army the country has been saved!

Zimbabwean people want all White Zimbabwean farmers to return back and help raise the Zimbabwean homeland out of ruins.

Zimbabweans have awaken! and they have made the smartest choice! They have ousted the criminal Robert Mugabe!

Members of the central committee of ZANU-PF rejoice after sacking Mugabe. Anti White racism is now ending in Zimbabwe

I thank God that Zimbabwe has been saved and Thanks to the Zimbabwean army and its resolute stand: Jacob Zuma of South Africa has just shit his pants! 😀

Jacob Zuma is scared that his fat corrupt black ass is facing the slinger.

Thanks to the Zimbabwean Army, the country has been saved!

I also Thank the Zimbabwean army for saving Martha O’Donovan. She did the right thing in insulting that bastard Mugabe and his wife (The most obnoxious Black whore in Zimbabwe). She did the right thing insulting Mugabe and his family because of decades of corruption, fiscal mismanagement, murders, crime, rape, assault, racketeering, bribery, slavery, malnutrition, hunger and farm attacks that have also poured into neighboring South Africa.

Good Job Martha O’Donovan! You’re a hero! Kudos to ya’!

It’s high time that Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans take a stand against buffoons who spread anti White hatred! Its time that Zimbabwe rises back from the dead! Its time that Zimbabwe becomes an Agricultural Powerhouse and the heaven it used to be!

Time for Zimbabwe to be as strong as Rhodesia!

Bye bye Mugabe! We hope you are dead!

Time for Mugabe to die and burn in hell!

Time for Zimbabwe to arise!

Zimbabwean people all smiles!

Time for Zimbabwe to be diverse and accept both coloureds and Whites as their own

A Zimbabwean man showing support for his country and chanting against Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwean people marching on the streets of Harare demanding Robert Mugabe to step down

Zimbabweans and the Zimbabwe army have saved their nation!

Victoria falls in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was once a very rich nation.

Elephant rides at Zambezi National Park

Mugabe’s ouster will eventually bring back progress to the impoverished nation. The White farmers are not only the farming experts but also have fed the nation like a mother feeding its baby with love. The Zimbabwean people have awaken and have decided to save the nation from further tyranny.

Robert Mugabe is a cruel bastard! I am glad he’s out!

Zimbabwean Soldiers satisfied at ousting Robert Mugabe

Bye bye Robert Mugabe! Burn in hell you corrupt buffoon!

Robert Mugabe falls down!

You can kill Mugabe dude! He’s all yours! Shoot him between the eyes!

Even Gordon Ramsay hates Robert Mugabe!

Now, it is Jacob Zuma’s turn to fall down!

Of mice & men: Is Neymar’s price tag of 222 million Euros justified?

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this post are solely my personal views. If anyone wishes to challenge them, please do so but in constructive ways. Thank You

It made headlines in August 2017, Neymar leaves FC Barcelona and joins Paris St.Germain (PSG) for 222 million Euros!

Yes! Euros! 222 Million Euros!

Makes one wonder, No?
Well, it does make me wonder.

Yes, we do know that Nasser Al-Khelaifi owns Paris St.Germain through Oryx Sports Investment and that PSG has known to have purchased players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, David Luiz, Marquinhos and Lucas Rabiot as well as Angel, Di Maria, Blaise Matuidi, Marco Veratti, Thiago Motta, Kevin Trapp, Julian Draxler and Yohan Cabaye.

Ronaldinho? Well, he played there around 15 years ago before he joined FC Barcelona.

Point of discussion here is Neymar’s fee of 222 million Euros.
How is such a price tag justified?

First, lets take a look at the most expensive transfers in the history of football:

Pos.	Player	Clubs	Year	Fee
1	Neymar	Barcelona – PSG	2017	€222m
=2	Ousmane Dembele	Dortmund – Borussia Dortmund	2017	€105m (+€45m)
=2	Paul Pogba	Juventus – Manchester United	2016	€105m
4	Gareth Bale	Tottenham – Real Madrid	2013	€100.8m
5	Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United – Real Madrid	2009	€94m
6	Gonzalo Higuain	Napoli – Juventus	2016	€90m
7	Neymar	Santos – Barcelona	2013	€86.2m
8	Romelu Lukaku	Everton – Manchester United	2017	€84.8m
9	Luis Suarez	Liverpool – Barcelona	2014	€82.3m
10	James Rodriguez	Monaco – Real Madrid	2014	€80m
11	Alvaro Morata	Real Madrid – Chelsea	2017	€78.9m
12	Zinedine Zidane	Juventus – Real Madrid	2001	€77.5m
13	Kevin De Bruyne	Wolfsburg – Manchester City	2015	€75m
14	Angel Di Maria	Real Madrid – Manchester United	2014	€74.6m
15	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	Inter – Barcelona	2009	€69.5m
16	Raheem Sterling	Liverpool – Manchester City	2015	€69.1m
17	Kaka	AC Milan – Real Madrid	2009	€65m
18	Edinson Cavani	Napoli- PSG	2013	€64.5m
19	David Luiz	Chelsea – PSG	2014	€62.5m
20	Angel Di Maria	Manchester United – PSG	2015	€61.6m
21	Oscar	Chelsea – Shanghai SIPG	2016	€60.3m
22	Luis Figo	Barcelona – Real Madrid	2000	€60m
23	Fernando Torres	Liverpool – Chelsea	2011	€59m
24	Hulk	Zenit – Shanghai SIPG	2016	€58.6m
25	Benjamin Mendy	Monaco – Manchester City	2017	€58.2m
26	John Stones	Everton – Manchester City	2016	€58m
27	Kyle Walker	Tottenham – Manchester City	2017	€56.7m
28	Hernan Crespo	Parma – Lazio	2000	€55m
29	Alexandre Lacazette	Lyon – Arsenal	2017	€52.4m
30	Gianluigi Buffon	Parma – Juventus	2001	€52m
31	Eliaquim Mangala	Valencia – Manchester City	2014	€51.7m
=32	Alex Teixeira	Shakhtar Dontesk – Jiangsu Suning	2016	€50m
=32	Bernardo Silva	Monaco – Manchester City	2017	€50m
34	Anthony Martial	Monaco – Manchester United	2015	€49.3m
35	Gylfi Sigurdsson	Swansea – Everton	2017	€49.2m
36	Christian Vieri	Lazio – Inter	1999	€49m
37	Gaizka Mendieta	Valencia – Lazio	2001	€48m
38	Mesut Ozil	Real Madrid – Arsenal	2013	€47m
=39	Juan Sebastian Veron	Lazio – Manchester United	2001	€46m
=39	Rio Ferdinand	Leeds – Manchester United	2002	€46m
=39	Ronaldo	Inter – Real Madrid	2002	€46m
=39	Juan Mata	Chelsea – Manchester United	2014	€46m
=39	Douglas Costa	Bayern Munich – Juventus	2017	€46m
44	Christian Benteke	Aston Villa – Liverpool	2015	€45.8m
=45	James Rodriguez	Porto – Monaco	2013	€45m
=45	Joao Mario	Sporting CP – Inter	2016	€45m
=45	Granit Xhaka	Borussia Monchengladbach – Arsenal	2016	€45m
=45	Tiemoue Bakayoko	Monaco – Chelsea	2017	€45m
49	Nemanja Matic	Chelsea – Manchester United	2017	€44.7m
50	Leroy Sane	Schalke – Manchester City	2016	€44m
51	Andriy Shevchenko	AC Milan – Chelsea	2006	€43.9m
=52	Robinho	Real Madrid – Manchester City	2008	€43m
=52	Radamel Falcao	Atletico Madrid – Monaco	2013	€43m
54	Alexis Sanchez	Barcelona – Arsenal	2014	€42.5m
=55	Rui Costa	Fiorentina – AC Milan	2001	€42m
=55	Javier Pastore	Palermo – PSG	2011	€42m
=55	Thiago Silva	AC Milan – PSG	2012	€42m
=55	Jackson Martinez	Atletico Madrid – Guangzhou Evergrande	2016	€42m
=55	Henrikh Mkhitaryan	Borussia Dortmund – Manchester United	2016	€42m
=55	Mohamed Salah	Roma – Liverpool	2017	€42m
=55	Leonardo Bonucci	Juventus – AC Milan	2017	€42m
=62	Lilian Thuram	Parma – Juventus	2001	€41.5m
=62	Corentin Tolisso	Lyon – Bayern Munich	2017	€41.5m
64	Andy Carroll	Newcastle – Liverpool	2011	€41.3m
=65	Pavel Nedved	Lazio – Juventus	2001	€41.2m
=65	Shkodran Mustafi	Valencia – Arsenal	2016	€41.2m
=65	Sadio Mane	Southampton – Liverpool	2016	€41.2m
=68	Roberto Firmino	Hoffenheim – Liverpool	2015	€41m
=69	Marc Overmars	Arsenal – Barcelona	2001	€41m
=70	David Villa	Valencia – Barcelona	2010	€40m
=70	Paulinho	Guangzhou Evergrande – Barcelona	2017	€40m
=70	Sergio Aguero	Atletico Madrid – Manchester City	2011	€40m
=70	Radamel Falcao	Porto – Atletico Madrid	2011	€40m
=70	Hulk	Porto – Zenit	2012	€40m
=70	Axel Witsel	Benfica – Zenit	2012	€40m
=70	Javi Martinez	Athletic Club – Bayern Munich	2012	€40m
=70	Eden Hazard	Lille – Chelsea	2012	€40m
=70	Fernandinho	Shakhtar Donetsk – Manchester City	2013	€40m
=70	Ederson	Benfica – Manchester City	2017	€40m
=70	Federico Bernardeschi	Fiorentina – Juventus	2017	€40m
81	David Luiz	PSG – Chelsea	2016	€39.6m
=82	Michy Batshuayi	Marseille – Chelsea	2016	€39m
=82	Antonio Rudiger	Roma – Chelsea	2017	€39m
84	Didier Drogba	Marseille – Chelsea	2004	€38.5m
=85	Michael Essien	Lyon – Chelsea	2005	€38m
=85	Fernando Torres	Atletico Madrid – Liverpool	2007	€38m
=85	Dimitar Berbatov	Tottenham – Manchester United	2008	€38m
=85	Gonzalo Higuain	Real Madrid – Napoli	2013	€38m
=85	Diego Costa	Atletico Madrid – Chelsea	2014	€38m
=85	Eric Bailly	Villarreal – Manchester United	2016	€38m
=85	Mats Hummels	Borussia Dortmund – Bayern Munich	2016	€38m
=85	Andre Silva	Porto – AC Milan	2017	€38m
=93	David Beckham	Manchester United – Real Madrid	2003	€37.5m
=93	Luke Shaw	Southampton – Manchester United	2014	€37.5m
95	Jackson Martinez	Porto – Atletico Madrid	2015	€37.1m
=96	Filippo Inzaghi	Juventus – AC Milan	2001	€37m
=96	Wayne Rooney	Everton – Manchester United	2004	€37m
=96	Edin Dzeko	Wolfsburg – Manchester City	2010	€37m
=96	Mario Gotze	Borussia Dortmund – Bayern Munich	2013	€37m
=96	Arturo Vidal	Juventus – Bayern Munich	2015	€37m

I know right! Pretty Expensive!
How much will Neymar earn at Paris St.Germain? 45 Million Euros per season.
Seriously?!

This is what it is. Sadly, the gap between different continents of the world exists. While more people die of drought, hunger, starvation, political lapse and conflict in Asia and Africa, the world of football is dancing and bathing in millions and billions of Dollars!

Manchester United made a big mistake of buying back Paul Pogba from Juventus Turin for 120 Million Dollars, and they received backlash from journalists over the amount of money paid, which should have gone to charity. Furthermore, with footballers earning insane amounts of money, they do pay taxes and pay money in charity and have given back a lot to their community. BUT, there are many whose families have been quite greedy and have never paid attention to anything but their greed. Take Emmanuel Adebayor’s case: He gave his family a mansion in Lome, Togo but when some greedy siblings started phishing money from him through lying, he had to shift his innocent younger siblings to England and France, and by helter skelter means, he either had to give them small businesses, pay for their education or keep them under his care. In short, greed is a killer indeed.

But what about Neymar’s case? FC Barcelona are suing him for a breach of contract. Will the transfer money shut them up?

NOT JUSTIFIED AT ALL!!

The fee is insane!! It will not only drive the football inflation up! Merit will be dead! Ticket prices will shoot up and since Neymar comes from a 3rd world country, his family cannot live in Brazil peacefully.

Current state of Neymar’s Brazilian fans

Have a look at Adriano Leite Ribeiro, what happened to him? Greed!

Neymar will no doubt perform well at PSG but he is now a traitor. Leaving FC Barcelona behind for no reason, even if Neymar will earn good, he has to pay taxes and for charity. In short, he can’t have it all because the greedy agents of football players and other intermediaries involved will actually cause the economic balloon of football to inflate til insane heights. Once it pops up, it will cause a meltdown of football clubs. All the big names, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris St. Germain, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Glasgow Rangers, Celtic, Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax Amsterdam, AS Roma, Lazio, Liverpool, Chelsea, Napoli, CSKA Moscow, Sporting Lisbon, FC Porto, Galatasaray etc. will all face the economic meltdown.

Clubs cannot cover up the additional expenses that come afterwards. If most of that money went into just a transfer, then the agents will definitely be wanting more, tax authorities want more as well and that, intermediaries will charge their fees as well (Banks!).

What does UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations say about that? The regulations were made in 2011 as an effort to inhibit spending, stating that a team cannot spend too much more than what it earns, without facing any sanctions.

Paris St. Germain club president and owner Nasser Al Khelaifi believes his club won’t have an issue turning a profit.

“When you consider Neymar as a brand, maybe it won’t seem so expensive. I’m sure we’ll make more money than we’ve paid,” he stated in a press conference when Neymar was unveiled, referring to ticket revenues, championship earnings and new sponsorship opportunities.

His transfer fee in USD$ is 263 million

Like Seriously? can a welfare dependent Frenchman be able to buy front row tickets at Parc Des Princes just to watch Neymar play? Maybe Al Khelaifi forgot economics or is simply abusing his wealth.

Marc Ganis, co-founder of Sportscorp (a sports business firm), is skeptical about Neymar’s transfer and money associated with it. He believes that it does not make any financial sense. Though, these superstars are outliers regarding their high value, but is their value really worth a value? or is it just an inflated price tag sellers put on to earn huge amounts? Metrics like a player’s performance, statistics, age, business appeal and reputation help collect data points that can really quantify the true price of a player, but since perception matters more than reality, the only measure of worth that counts is what someone is willing to pay, as put by Rory Smith in The New York Times.

 

Smith cited the case of the French midfielder Moussa Sissoko. When he was playing at Newcastle United last season, the club believed he was worth around USD$20 million. When La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid suggested that they were prepared to pay twice that amount, Newcastle increased its valuation and later transferred him to Tottenham Hotspur for close to USD$40 million.

Another example is that of Anthony Martial. Manchester United agreed a USD$ 46 million deal in 2015 for the former AS Monaco sensation, with options reaching a total of USD$ 75 million. Though he had to prove himself a lot, at the age of 19, he had 15 goals across the last two seasons at Old Trafford. Despite the fair statistics, that amount of money wasn’t justified either, and even former Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal acknowledged the risk and labelled the price tag as “ridiculous” and a “reflection of the crazy world we live in.”

 

Neymar’s transfer fee is economically dis-balancing, and sorry to say, the Sheikhs of the G.C.C nations are very unethical. The money they paid could have saved a country, a continent, a million lives and even the world.

 

I’m not saying I hate the Arab Sheikhs, I am saying that they should spend that kind of money ethically and in much generous ways to help bring equality and equity in the world.

Sorry to say, today’s world of football has become quite unstable. Whatever happens next, billionaire owners investors will take notice and will try bargaining as well. When the time comes for them to spend their own money on players, they will continue to try to determine what counts as a fair price and even if they have to bargain, they will because no one wants to blow money away without any sense.

Dara Khosrowshahi named new Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) of Uber

With Uber facing a real mash up between brand image, finances and ethics, its former CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down following differences in his style of management as well as bungling ethics and management policies. Dara Khosrowshahi, 48, has joined Uber as it’s new Chief Executive Officer, and is the sole force driving Expedia from ground zero to the Galaxy.

Khosrowshahi has been CEO of Expedia for 12 years, which is based in Bellevue, Washington & Khosrowshahi himself has spent his tech career as part of the Seattle’s technology arena instead of that of the famed Silicon Valley. Since both regions are powerhouses in the tech industry, there’s also an obvious rivalry existing between them.

But first of all, let’s all see who Dara Khosrowshahi is and where he comes from? =)

Dara Khosrowshahi as a young boy

Dara Khosrowshahi was born on May 28, 1969, in Tehran, Iran to a prominent family that established the Alborz Investment Company, a diversified conglomerate dealing in pharmaceuticals, food, distribution, trading, packaging and services. Iranian Canadian billionaire Hassan Khosrowshahi is his relative. Dara’s family emigrated to the United States in 1978, prior to the Islamic Revolution of Iran which saw most of his family’s assets get illegally seized by the new Iranian government. He eventually settled with his family in Tarrytown, New York and graduated from the Hackley School at the age of 18 with a high school diploma. In 1991, he graduated with a B.A in electrical engineering from Brown University.

Dara Khosrowshahi recalls how he and his family had to emigrate: “Our family escaped Iran on the eve of the Iranian Revolution in 1978, when I was 9. We moved in with my uncle in Tarrytown. For the grown-ups, it was a difficult transition. The kids were able to party together, so it was fun.”

He also recalled about his father going back to Iran to care for his grandfather and returning back after a long time: “My father had to go back to Iran to take care of his father when I was 13 and was detained for six years before returning. My mom was raising three kids without a dad.”

Dara Khosrowshahi on extreme right, visiting London with his cousins in 1973

Dara Khosrowshahi began working as an Analyst at Allen & Company, an Investment bank and he left that in 1998 to work for one of his former clients Barry Diller, first at USA Networks and then at IAC as it’s Chief Financial Officer. It was in 2001 that IAC Travel acquired Expedia & in August 2005, Khosrowshahi was promoted as the CEO of Expedia. It was during his tenure that Expedia grew and expanded presence in more than 60 countries around the globe, Hotels.com, Hotwire online booking brands, and the travel community sites of TripAdvisor Media Network. In 2015, Expedia awarded him USD$ 90 million in stock options as a part of a long term employment agreement, where he stated that he would stay until 2020. Dara Khosrowshahi has had quite an impressive and respectable tenure at Expedia, growing revenues from USD$ 2.1 billion in 2005 to USD$ 8.7 billion in 2016, turning Expedia in one of the biggest online travel agencies in the U.S.A and owning sites like hotels.com, Orbitz, Trivago, HomeAway, Travelocity as well as other sites for vacation rentals, car rentals as well as other travel & vacation related sites as well.

The Economist revealed that during Khosrowshahi’s tenure, the gross value of Expedia’s hotel and travel booking related services multiplied more than 5 times and the pre tax earnings multiplied as well. In 2016, He was one of the highest paid CEO’s in the U.S.A, and is a board member from BET.com, Hotels.com, New York Times Company, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and other companies as well. He has been praised by the New York Times company for his competitive tech based mindset and for his comprehensive digital & international experience coupled with his financial expertise. He has also been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s anti immigrant policies and rhetoric.

Dara Khosrowshahi & his wife, Sydney Shapiro-Khosrowshahi in Las Vegas

He married Sydney Shapiro in 2012, in Las Vegas and is father to four children with her. In his words: “My wife and I got married on 12/12/12 in Las Vegas, and she was wearing a Slayer T-shirt. That tells you what kind of woman I’m lucky enough to be with. We have four kids.”

In June 2013, Ernst & Young recognized Dara Khosrowshahi as a Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year award recipient. He is among the U.S State Department’s List of Prominent Iranian Americans.

Dressed as Superhero Flash at an Expedia party, in 2014

Given the controversies, unethical practices and problems Uber is currently mired in, We are hopeful that Dara Khosrowshahi will turn the company around =)

All the best Dara!

 

My views on Fossil is betting big on fashion-focused Android Wear watches in 2018 (via TechCrunch)

Written by Darrell Etherington:

Fossil Group is doubling down on its Android Wear smartwatch investment with a range of new wearables, many of which feature full-round AMOLED displays, which offer perfectly circular touchscreen interfaces without any cutouts like those found on previous generations. Some of the new watches are on display at IFA this year, and will go on sale in time for both fall and holiday shopping season this year.

Fossil says it’s going to add to the brands under its umbrella that offer Android Wear smartwatches in 2018, too, in addition to adding new models to its existing smartwatch brand lineup. At the show, it’ll be displaying its new 2017 designs from Diesel, Emporio Armani, Fossil, Michael Kors and Misfit all offering Android Wear, and more Android Wear and hybrid smartwatches under the Armani Exchange, Chaps, DKNY, kate spade, Marc Jacobs, MICHELE, Relic, Skagen, and Tory Burch will also be made available this coming fall and holiday.

The news that it’s expanding its offerings to cover even more brands next year is a sizeable vote of confidence in a market that has proven quite challenging for traditional tech and gadget companies. Apple seems like the only major player that has managed to gain any significant ground with its smartwatch offerings – without resorting to giveaways or other deep discounts to clear inventory. Embattled Pebble finally gave up the ghost last year, resulting an a fire sale of its assets to Fitbit – which used those resources to produce the ugliest piece of wristwear you can currently get for $300.

The new full-round AMOLED models for 2017 were revealed earlier this year, and offer additional improvements on top of better displays, including slimmer, sleeker cases. This is part of an intentional strategy to market more to female buyers, Fossile says, who have presumably shied away from the bulky smartwatches that marked Fossil’s earliest connected wrist hardware.

By the end of this year alone, Fossil Group will have launched over 300 distinct connected watch styles across 14 brands, the company points out. That’s a bonkers number, but proof that the future of wearables probably won’t belong to tech – but to fashion brands eager not to be shouldered out of the watch market generally, and willing to offer the kind of stylistic variation and range that appeals to fashion conscious consumers.

My view:

Fossil definitely has the upper hand, especially in wristwatches. The company has not only been improving profits but has definitely been improving the product line, market and brand image. Furthermore, with most of its stuff made in America, Fossil is truly an All American brand.

My view on Renault-Nissan and Dongfeng partnering to build electric cars for China (Via TechCrunch)

I’ve never liked China that much, regardless of situation.

Written by Darrell Etherington:

Another major automaker is setting up a dedicated joint venture to build EVs for the growing demand in China, joining Ford and Volkswagen: This time, it’s Nissan-Renault, which will work with China’s Dongfeng Motor, an automaker it partnered with last year to open its first factory in China.

Automakers from outside China basically need a local dancing partner in order to make and sell vehicles in the country, without incurring huge import taxes that would basically render their operations unsustainable. Previously, automakers were limited to setting up two joint ventures with Chinese partners to produce cars in-country, but Beijing has allowed the creation of a third joint venture – provided it’s dedicated entirely to EVs.

Renault-Nissan’s new partnership with Dongfeng is called eGT New Energy Automotive Company, and it’ll be split between Nissan with 25 percent ownership, Renault with another 25, and Dongfeng with the remaining 50, according to Reuters. The first vehicle from the JV will be a new electric vehicle based on one of Renault-Nissan’s subcompact crossover SUV platform designs.

Automakers are racing to build out their EV construction and sales capacity in China thanks to strong incentives put in place by the Chinese government for the market. China is also enforcing strict quotas on overall vehicle sales, requiring that a full 8 percent of any automaker sales in the country be either pure electric or plug-in hybrid by 2018, with incremental increases in that percentage every year after that.

This could end up helping with electrification abroad, too, since it’ll help automakers reconfigure their operations to focus on developing EV tech and electric-specific vehicle designs.

My View:

Electric specific sounds futuristic, but let us reflect on the old days, especially the days of our schooling when we were told about CFC’s and their deadly effects on the Ozone layer as well as the carbon footprints from fossil fuels. Carbon footprints will be everywhere, whether we drive a car with fossil fuel, whether we use an LED TV or whether we drive a hybrid Toyota Prius.

Carbon footprints from fossil fuels contain carbon that is beneficial for the earth’s atmosphere and for the ozone layer as well. Carbon footprints from modern devices produce carbon that is not beneficial at all, and in fact can harm the atmosphere in serious ways. Of course, the world is advancing but these advances will render humans unemployed, hungry, desperate and destitute. Should we advance in technology? Let’s keep the new machines as simply drawing board concepts!

People’s Republic of China however, is in need of electric vehicles, given the fact that the level of pollution in the country is way out of bounds and way beyond normal levels. Another problem is that, the Chinese have recently discovered their new found wealth and that will cause a lot of problems. From ugly women rebranding their looks to women remaining single and independent, the mindset of the Chinese is clearly cloudy, murky and damaged. With the Communist Party of China remaining holed up in power, it is likely that China will turn into the world’s largest dump.

Via TechCrunch: Aston Martin’s vehicle lineup will be 100% hybrid by the mid 2020s

Written by Darrell Etherington:

Another automaker is vowing to turn its entire lineup a little more green: Aston Martin told the Financial Times that it’ll offer vehicles exclusively with hybrid and electric cars by the middle of next decade.

It’s not as audacious a goal as it might’ve seemed even just a few years ago; Volvo has committed to selling only hybrid or electric cars by 2019, and Britain and France have both outlined plans to ban the sale of non-electric or hybrid vehicles by 2040.

Aston Martin’s announcement is significant because it’s a high-end luxury performance car maker, however, whose target demographic is precisely motoring enthusiasts. Aston Martin had previously announced plans to launch its first fully electric car, the Rapid-e, by 2019.

Don’t expect news of automakers intending to focus solely on hybrids and electrics to stop anytime soon; the writing is on the wall, now it’s just a question of in what order the dominoes fall.

My View:

Hybrid cars are certainly the future, but I am still quite skeptical about whether Hybrid cars will be easy to repair or not given the fact that advancements in technology are not keeping up with the intellectual, educational and human development of many nations worldwide. Secondly, with many in the United Kingdom reliant on welfare, welfare dependent households are most likely to produce blue collar kids who may not be able to easily fix hybrid cars if they decide to become mechanics. Though the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf Cooperation Council (G.C.C) Economies are becoming advanced, technical, educational, academic and intellectual gaps persist and that too in larger margins.

Hybrid vehicles have a dangerous carbon footprint and traditional fossil fuel based cars were much better. Reason being, the carbon footprint they produce is beneficial for the atmosphere and for the ozone layer. Sadly, liberal politicians are just looking for ways to gain political foothold and embezzle cash at the lives of the common people.

It would be wise for Aston Martin not to go completely hybrid, regardless of circumstances.

 

Read original article: https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/29/aston-martins-vehicle-lineup-will-be-100-hybrid-by-the-mid-2020s/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

How bad is Erdogan for Turkey?

The heading is simple, and sensible. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, or Rotten Tyrant Erdogan as I would like to call him, is a controversial Turkish politician and incumbent President of Turkey, a full blown Islamist, an idiot and a turncoat who has now been blocked by both The Netherlands and Germany for his impractical political views and his so called Islamization of a great country like Turkey is putting Turkey in harm’s way.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s incumbent president and a rotten cum authoritarian ruler

It is pretty evident that he is NOT the architect of Turkey’s economic miracle, and the Islamist rooted AKP Party, to which Erdogan belongs to, has launched scathing attacks on Turkey’s secular constitution and values, which can compromise the safety and sanity of Turkey.

A graphical depiction of Erdoganism, a threat to Turkey’s character.

Erdogan rose from Councillor to Prime Minister through a controversial decision of the Turkish Supreme Court which allowed Abdullah Gul to become President. With Turkey reeling from 1.6 million Liras per 1 U.S Dollar, his finance minister Kemal Unatikan (late) took an I.M.F bailout package that helped eliminate 6 zeros from the Turkish Lira meaning 1.6 Lira per U.S Dollar for three years upto 2008. In the year 2010, the Turkish Lira was 1.3 Lira per U.S Dollar, and the conversion of Gecekondus (Slums) into decent Apartment complexes as well as new investments across an array of industries rose his popularity. Due to new found economic wealth, Turks were in the mood for compromising secularism but now its turned worse.

Erdogan went to maximum lengths to ban social media in Turkey, especially Twitter.

The Turkish people are now divided and the recent coup attempt sparked fears over the loss of power of the Turkish Army. Many analysts accused Erdogan of fooling the Turkish nation using false coup attempts, falsehood and bribing army officers. Last year, 11 terrorist attacks took place in Turkey, a bomb blast at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, A blast in Izmir and two blasts in Ankara perpetrated by the ISIS raised concerns over Turkey’s security. With the army unable to do much in Syria and tensions with Russia, Syria, Iran, The Netherlands and Germany rising where Erdogan was taking out rallies in his favor causing the European Union to ban him, Turkey is now in increased isolation.

Another Graphical Depiction of Erdoganism. Erdogan must fall

#ErdoganMustFall at all costs. With rising number of terrorist attacks, with the Turkish army being attacked by Erdogan and his Islamist goons (especially incumbent Prime Minister Binali Yildrim, who literally has no clue about his position), Erdogan is increasingly becoming authoritarian and the Turkish people are behaving like sheep. Moreover, the business climate in Turkey has taken an uncertain turn with the Turkish Lira falling against Euro, U.S Dollar, Pound Sterling and Swiss Franc. Moreover, with Turks concerned about personal safety, internet censorship has taken an authoritarian stand as well Thanks to Erdogan, Turkey’s most rotten ruler in its modern day history.

The failed coup attempt of 2016 was a hoax, a lie and a drama orchestrated by Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself

May God Almighty save Turkey

Erdogan made matters even worse by shutting down family planning centers, saying it was the order of our Prophet to raise more descendants. Na’uzu billah, this is actually blasphemy and Erdogan himself is a fundamentalist who is actually turning Turkey into an Islamist garbage dump. Moreover, rights of women and children are at stake in Turkey whereas number of tourists visiting Turkey have fallen down and now, more Turks are thinking of leaving rather than returning.

Erdogan’s increasing lust for power and authority will move Turkey towards oblivion and isolation.

Erdogan must fall, his Islamist ideas are ruining the society and economy of Turkey and furthermore, he is NOT a saint. he is an alleged blasphemer and is not even a proper Muslim. His idea of reconciling Islam and Democracy is resulting in authoritarian power and if he tries to compromise the secular ideology of Turkey then I will shoot him.

I hope the Turkish army rises up and overthrows him. I hope he and the entire AKP party are executed for what they have done to Turkey.

#DownWithErdogan #ErdoganMustFall #DownWithErdogan #SaveTurkey #ShootErdogan #ErdoganOut #ByeByeErdogan

Via TechCrunch: Uber rival Grab expands its engineering team with new offices in India and Vietnam

Grab, the main rival to Uber in Southeast Asia, is expanding its engineering footprint after announcing new development centers in India and Vietnam.

The company last month announced plans to open an engineering center in Jakarta, Indonesia, so the addition of bases in Bangalore, India and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, will take it to six R&D locations worldwide. The others are Singapore, Grab’s HQ, Beijing and an office in Seattle which was opened last year.

Despite the new office plans, Grab said it will not expand into India. The move is a bid to suck up new talent to fuel its rivalry with Uber in Southeast Asia, a region of over 600 million consumers where the market for on-demand rides is tipped to grow from $2.5 billion in 2015 to $13.1 billion in 2025, according to a report co-authored by Google.

“These two [new] locations are growing in terms of local talent and they understand what it is like to live in these parts of the world,” Grab co-founder Hooi Ling Tan told TechCrunch in an interview. “There are a tonne of parallels between India and Southeast Asia, especially around payments.”

Tan said Grab is looking to hire around 200 staff in Bangalore, where it will focus on developing its payments service, over the next two years. The other two offices will be focused on more local innovation. In Jakarta, Grab wants to hire 150 people while in Vietnam it will initially start with a team of 25.

Grab has a total of 2,000 staff, Tan said, but it plans to add 800 more developers to its six R&D offices. Currently there are around 20 in Seattle, where Grab just moved into a new office to house plans to expand to 60 people. The Beijing office, she added, has 40-50 employees, with the remainder of the rest mostly based in Singapore.

Grab isn’t the first from Southeast Asia to look to India for talent. Go-Jek, its $1.3 billion-valued rival in Indonesia, set up a development office in Bangalore last year via two acquisitions. It has since acquired another startup to grow its engineering chops in India. Uber, meanwhile, has an engineering team in India but it doesn’t have a dedicated team in Southeast Asia. Its Hyderabad-based facility, however, does develop technology for other emerging markets beyond India.

Today, Grab claims 710,000 drivers across 39 cities in six countries in Southeast Asia. It said it has seen 36 million downloads of its mobile apps. There’s precious little data to compare marketshare in Southeast Asia, but anecdotally Uber and Grab seem to be fairly well matched across the region. Indicators suggest that Go-Jek is ahead of both in Indonesia, however. That’s significant because Indonesia is the region’s largest economy and its top ride-sharing market, too, according to the Google report.

Read original article here: https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/14/grab-india-vietnam-offices/?ncid=rss