Wadi
If number of attendees and their active participation in a program is the litmus test of an event’s success then OPEN Forum 2008, Silicon Valley Chapter of Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America’s annual event, held on June 14, 2008, was hugely successful.
Here you see evening keynote speaker Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaking on ‘Leadership and Empowerment.’
See more pictures and report on
http://karachiphotoblog.blogspot.com/
After a long and full weekend at TiEcon 2008 and HDF events. Not to mentioning the wonderful and enjoyable time I spent with CalFriends in San Francisco it wasn’t easy hitting the laptop, and getting some work done. So I decided to venture out to Palo Alto. Ended up at the University Cafe where I was received by a cold and rude manager. Following is my review cross- posted on Yelp:
The establishment is severely overrated. No denying, the food is great here though over priced for the low-quality service you get. The waiters here are poorly trained, can barely speak a word of English. Not to mention their manager could do with a little training in the social graces as he was extremely rude, almost trying to order me around, telling where I can’t site. What the F***, how dare he tell me what I can and cannot do. I am the customer and have a right to pick my ideal seating. I came here for an elegant and classy place to sit and get some work done.
Rating:
Shame on Uncle Sam, give hard working American’s hope of an economic stimulus tax rebate, only to surprise them on their tax return - how sly is that?
According to US News & World Report:
The IRS estimates that payments will start going out in early May, in amounts generally ranging from $300 to $600 for individuals and up to $1,200 for couples filing a joint return—plus up to $300 more for each dependent younger than 17.
What they fail to mention, is higher-income tax payers will have their rebate reduced, or eliminated. According to TurboTax,
If you adjusted gross income is above $75K ($150K if married and filling jointly), the rebate is reduced by 5% of the AGI.
What if you had no income in 2007, take a look at the message TurboTax flags:
Unfortunately, you don’t qualify for the tax rebate for 2008 because you didn’t have enough eligible income….your qualifing income is less than $3.000 and you didn’t owe any taxes. Qualifying income includes:
- Earned Income, such as wages
- Social Security benefits
- Veteran’s disability benefits
- Railroad Retirement benefits
- Survivor pension benefits
- Nontaxable combat pay
Given this, one can’t help but ask what was the intent behind the Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate? What about folks who had no income, such as students who don’t qualify as dependents, not to mention are pilled up high in student loans? Or, perhaps TurboTax has got it wrong - whats the truth? Is the Economic Stimulus rebate meant for all, regardless of economic status, or what?
Shame on Uncle Sam for giving hardworking American’s hope, only to pull back. What about the Silicon Wadi denizen’s, who’s per-capita income, though may be higher than the National average, have to suffer the excruciating rising cost of living in in the Wadi - from increasing Rents to rising gas prices how are the Wadiwalleh to cope?
The Silicon Valley silhouette…BOOMing or BUSTing
The Silicon Valley, the High-Tech hub of the world. Technology is what drive the Valley from the individual contributors to the multi national corporations, all reap the harvests of a BOOMing economy. The Valley’s back engine is kept running by a select group of smart engineers and entrepreneurs. Things seem to be abuzz again here with Web2.0 startup’s popping up in every corner of the Valley with the backing of the whose who in the Valley’s private equity circle.