Why Is America Afraid Of Sweden?

February 28, 2010 by 5 Comments


by Elias Shams
This particular episode of The Daily Show is a year old. I can’t believe I had missed it. I have tried my best to keep up with all of The Daily show episodes. I guess I must have been out of country or something. So, here it is for those of you who also missed it.

In his show, Jon Stewart took a shot at the  socialism in response to our government who has been taking partial ownership of the auto industry, the banks and insurance companies. Not a surprise, such a move  made the folks at Fox shitting in their pants over how our country is turning into “socialist Sweden”. In his report called “The Stockholm Syndrome,” Jon made fun of our black-and-white view of the Nordic country’s famous welfare system. Read more…

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Apple The Greek VS Adobe The Trojan

February 27, 2010 by 3 Comments


by Elias Shams
Referring to one of my last post about Steve Jobs using iPad as his Trojan Horse, I am slowly beginning to believe that indeed he launched the iPad to revolutionize the Web by killing the Flash with HTML5 using the iPad as his Trojan Horse:

According to the recent poll conducted by Mashable, HTML5 handily knocked out Adobe Flash. With 3,891 votes, HTML5 garnered 61% of the polls. Adobe Flash was able to muster 1,779 votes (28%), while 660 said it was a tie (10%). Read more…

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An Evening Of Jazz Trio At The French Embassy

February 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment


by Elias Shams
Jazz lovers of DC, get ready for a great event in April. There is a rare delight of a live jazz performance by Vincent Lê Quang Jazz Trio, followed by French wine reception at the Embassy of France. This is a wonderful opportunity to make new friends whether you come by yourself or with friends.

The artists include:
Jean-Luc Landsweerdt, drums
Christophe Hache, double bass
Vincent Lê Quang, Jazz saxophone
Read more…

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Cherry Blossoms And Tulips…The Year I Fell In Love With DC

February 26, 2010 by 11 Comments


A DC Tale from a former Washingtonian – Diane Noboa

Ah!! Your freshman year in college…tell me, what could be more memorable than that? There are so many things capturing your attention, calling your name everywhere! New sights, new sounds, new friends, new experiences, new sense of freedom, it’s almost all too much to take in at once.

I picked Washington DC to go to school because it seemed to me like such a fantastic place to be. I applied to Trinity College from my home in Ecuador, South America, without ever visiting the city or the school. For some reason it just made sense to me to be there. Read more…

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Will America Be Saved By Intel

February 26, 2010 by 2 Comments


by Elias Shams
Just finished reading one of the recent press release by Intel from my morning heaven, Tryst café in the heart of Adams Morgan.  It looks like the day I was on my way back from London to DC, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini was in our town unveiling their latest initiative called the Invest in America Alliance.

Intel will join forces with two dozen venture capitalist firms to invest 3.5 billion dollars in innovative US businesses including wireless infrastructure over the next two years and secured pledges from 17 tech companies to get bright college graduates into technology jobs. The Invest in America Alliance intends to achieve the following objectives: Read more…

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From Russia And France With Love Again

February 25, 2010 by 2 Comments


by Elias Shams
This event was originally set for February 6th which was right around the first snow storm in DC. So, it was canceled. Here is  your chance again.

There is a private tour of Hillwood Museum and Gardens near Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC this coming weekend. Those of you into Russian and French Art, you DO NOT want to miss it.

As part of the tour, you will also celebrate the Museum 32nd anniversary. One of the most comprehensive collections of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Russian Imperial art outside of Russia, as well as an extensive collection of eighteenth-century French decorative arts will be on display.

Hillwood Museum

The Tour

Exhibition Fragile Persuasion: Russian Porcelain and the Fine Art of Propaganda, on view at Hillwood Museum and Gardens examines the role that porcelain played in commenting on Russia’s tumultuous history, from the late 19th century through the Revolution, the Cold War, and up to the present day. Read more…

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Create Five Jobs In America and Get A Green Card From Uncle Sam

February 25, 2010 by 26 Comments


by Elias Shams
A bill called the StartUp Visa Act was introduced yesterday in the Senate by both Democrats and Republicans that proposes a new type of visa for immigrants who create startups and jobs in the U.S. If passed, I hope the Congress makes sure it does NOT lead to more off-shoring of jobs – Five jobs in US that create 200 jobs in China or India. Not good for the US economy.

The two senators to thank for this bill are Democrat John Kerry busy with the ladies in the photo and the Republican Richard Lugar. I think it is encouraging that both a Democrat and a Republican introducing the bill. Let’s hope it makes it through.

Assuming the bill makes it all the way through and is enacted, here is what you need to do to get the Green Card: Read more…

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Celebrate The International Women’s Day At The Residence Of The Ambassador Of Burkina Faso

February 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment


by Elias Shams
A rare opportunity for an intimate evening at the residence of the Ambassador of Burkina Faso. Sample delicacies from Burkina Faso; meet other internationally like-minded professionals!

You are invited for an evening of rich culture, exquisite art, and authentic cuisine to celebrate Burkina Faso, and the efforts of women to enrich their lives in commemoration of International Women’s Day.

You will be welcomed to the residence by Mrs. Araba Kadidiatou Yonli, the ambassador’s wife, who will talk about Burkina Faso and women’s achievements in the country. Then, get a chance to bid on a variety of luxurious items made by the women of Burkina Faso in our silent auction. Afterwards, enjoy a short movie presentation about Burkina Faso, and feast on a dinner buffet featuring traditional delicacies prepared by the ambassador’s chef. Conclude your evening in the company of other attendees and relaxing atmosphere of the art and culture. Read more…

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Is iPad Apple’s Trojan Horse?

February 22, 2010 by 12 Comments


by Elias Shams
Blogging this post from Heathrow Airport, London as waiting for my flight to head back to my Awesome Washington, DC.

Referring to one of my earlier posts, most likely,  iPad will be like your hot partner you won’t be able to shag. I was just reading this new article in one of my favorite coffee shop at Heathrow about iPad battery life time down to 1.5 hours from 10 hours if using Flash. Why didn’t Apple disclose such critical information before the launch of  iPad last month? Does Steve Jobs have a dark side? It’s hard to believe a guy like him had no previous knowledge of getting Flash to work on iPad would significantly reduce iPad’s battery life.

I am not really a Microsoft fan, but, funny how Apple busted Microsoft’s balls for telling people to update their PCs with the release of Vista. It sounds like Apple is becoming the new Microsoft, Microsoft has already become the old IBM. And, of course, IBM is still IBM. Perhaps, lack of support for Flash in iPad was just Apple’s  Trojan horse strategy hoping to achieve one the following:

a) Either, to get the entire market to dump Adobe’s Flash for  HTML5, a new version of the programming language that will enable websites to stream video and display rich graphics without Flash.

b) Or, to get people continue buying from iTunes.  If  iPad had Flash, people would listen to music, watch TV, play games not created or sold by Apple. It sucks, but he’s not going to risk losing all of that revenue. Read more…

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Bloomberg Also Moves To DC

February 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment


by Elias Shams

They acquired the local research firm, Eagle Eye Publishers last week as their first strategic move into the blossoming government market. The Fairfax-based Eagle Eye which was founded by Paul Murphy back in 1986, has been providing data and analysis on contracting and grants actions by government agencies. Users are charged a subscription fee to access such data. Eagle Eye also provided the data for the 2009 Washington Technology Top 100 rankings of the largest government contractors.

Thanks again to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other financial companies two years ago, Indeed, our Government is growing as the Wall Street companies shrinking. Otherwise, why would a company like Bloomberg, provider of critical financial data to Wall Street investors acquires Eagle Eye Publishers. Based on Bloomberg’s aggressive sales goals, I think this is just the beginning of their expansion in our region and the Government market. Read more…

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