A View From Vietnam with Dr. Kim Ninh

Date: June 25, 2009 (Thursday)
Time: 5:30 PM
Merchant's Exchange Building, San Francisco


Vietnam is experiencing growth pains and is striving to bring its physical and financial infrastructure up to speed. It faces daunting prospects as climate change threatens the fertile, highly populated Mekong Delta region, which is also facing threats from upstream dams and diversions. Learn more about Vietnam's institutional capacity to respond to these 21st century challenges from The Asia Foundation's Vietnam Country Representative, Dr. Kim N. B. Ninh. Very limited space and reservations needed today. Hosted by The Asia Foundation. non members: call 415 743-3357

Job Opening at Santa Clara County

Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS) seeks qualified candidates for the position of Environmental Advocate. The Advocate will promote the mission of SCVAS by advancing our goals with local governments and the public, cooperating with other local environmental groups, and interacting with colleagues at Audubon California in Sacramento . The Advocate reports to the Executive Director. This is a 3-year / 32-hour per week position.The mission of SCVAS--a local chapter of the National Audubon Society—is to preserve, restore, and foster public awareness of native birds and their ecosystems, with a focus on Santa Clara County . Santa Clara County is at the southern tip of San Francisco Bay and may best be known as a world leader in electronic technology. Affiliated with the National Audubon Society, SCVAS is a separate nonprofit entity withits own staff, programs and Board of Directors.

GENERAL DUTIES

1. Represents SCVAS at government meetings and hearings; works with the SCVAS Environmental Action Committee and other volunteers. • 40%

2. Coordinates conservation projects and campaigns, arranges And participates in meetings with community activists, and keeps The organization abreast of issues of interest to SCVAS.• 20%

3. Prepares background materials, talking points, and recommendedcourses of action for issues or projects SCVAS may wish to pursue, and supports SCVAS fundraising efforts.


Skills and Abilities:

1. Passion for conservation campaigns, environmental policy, community organizing.
2. Demonstrated experience in environmental advocacy.
3. Bachelor' s degree: environmental studies, planning, public policy, and/or conservation biology.
4. Ability to successfully represent SCVAS to the public in a professional manner, especially in public speaking.
5. Demonstrated ability to communicate complicated issues to a lay audience, both orally and in writing.
6. Knowledge of the California Environmental Quality Act, and ability to apply that knowledge to preparation of comments on Environmental Impact Reports

COMPENSATION:This is a 4/5ths time position, funded for a minimum of 3 years. Salary will be based on relevant experience and will be competitive with comparable positions in the field. We offer medical, dental, sick and vacation leave. SCVAS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To apply, email a cover letter and resume to Bob Power at: bob@scvas.org.

US Congressman Cao Can Raise Money

Despite the last two fund raising failures (even with the help of State Assemblyman Van Tran and his powerful political machine) in California, Congressman Cao is determined to raise at least $300,000 in the next one month. He will have better luck later next week in Houston. An expected crowd of over 300 people have already signed up for the fund raising event. The organizer there feels confident that they could raise at least $20,000 for him. That should be 10x more than the last time Cao was able to manage in Orange County

Can Congressman Joseph Cao raise money?

For a second time within 3 months, US Congressman Joseph Cao visited Orange County to raise money with the help of State Assemblyman Van Tran. The first time, it was during the Tet's Celebration and Van Tran was the main host organizer along with Chieu Le (Lee's Sandwiches) and Frank Jao (the wealthiest and most powerful real estate developer in Little Saigon). The media was all over for this was afterall the first Vietnamese-American Congressman ever. Yet the event was so pathetic that no newspapers in Little Saigon even bother to report it. Less than 60 people showed up for the fund raising in a posh restaurant with seating arrangement for hundreds. One interesting observation at the event was Tran and his gang (of 5 now instead of 7 ) made a point of not seating together.

Two weeks ago, Joseph Cao came again for fund raising and also to discuss about human rights issues in Vietnam. Van Tran was once again on the host committee. Tran did not show up and he was not happy that Quang X. Pham was also asked to help with the event. Whatever the politics, the event was worse than the first attempt. Joseph Cao came away with about $2,000, enough to cover his travel expenses. However, he did stay long enough to receive an achievement award given out by VANG at their biannual gala in Beverly Hills. VANG is an acronym for Vietnamese-American National Gala. It organizes as national annual celebration of Vietnamese heritage and pride.
The event was not well attended this year after its controversy 2 years ago in Houston. To many people in the community, the event was nothing more than snobbish get together to flaunt the wealth of the few rich people in the community.

Both Assemblyman Van Tran and Supervisor Janet Nguyen declined to attend the event despite receiving invitation months in advance.

On a more successful note, a fund raising event titled : "Thank you the Vietnamese Veterans" was held in San Jose 3 weeks ago. The event attracted about 10,000 people and raised $440,000 to help the Vietnamese veterans who are still in Vietnam. This was the third time that it was organized.

The only Vietnamese-American elected official in San Jose City Council - Councilwoman Madison Nguyen- was not invited. Instead, Councilwoman Rose Herrera and Supervisor Dave Cortese- came and received recognitions from the community.

Also, thank God that Congressman Joseph Cao was not invited for he might jinx the whole event.
Cao might be considered to be the symbol of GOP party's future as House Minority Leader John Boehner had touted; but in the Vietnamese-American community, his political future is unclear. "The Future is Cao" slogan needs to be revised for 2010 election.

Career Workshop at SJSU

Discussion About Career Paths in Globalization Era
If you are a parent, a student, a professional who cares about the followings:
How to prepare and land on a right job for the future
How to advance in the current employment
Select the right career path suitable for the globalization trend
Case studies in career handling situations
Tour of state-of-the art labs at SJSU

And more …
You are cordially invited to join us in the
Q&A and Panel Session
Organized by the Youth Development Group and VietMentor with the following

Speakers and Panelists:
Tuoc Vinh Luong – Senior VP, Yahoo! Search – Keynote Speaker
Tri Tran – Senior Advisor, Department of Energy, USA
Nga Vu –President 2007-2008, Cisco Asian Affinity Network; Senior Manager, Cisco Systems Inc.
Kim Anh Vu – Director of Student Services, Oak Grove School District, San Jose
Huyen-Nhung Le – Adjunct Faculty of Vietnamese Language, SJSU & K-12 Educator,
Parkview School
Luc T. Nguyen – Sr. Manager National Technical Services, Tellabs & Adjunct Faculty, SJSU
Antoine Duong – Sr. Strategic Alliances Manager, Sun Microsystems, Inc.


LOCATION & TIME
San José State University, Room E-345, third floor, Engineering Building
(corner of 6th and San Fernando Street)
Sunday June 7, 2009
1:30pm: Reception 2pm: Event begins
FREE Parking available at garage structure at the corner of 4th St. and San Fernando St.

The Organizing Committee:

Christopher Hoang Pham, Nhan Van Luu (SJSU) – Bick Nguyen (P. Bick Nguyen & Associates) – Gam Vu Nguyen (EVC) – Trung Ngoc Ngo, Trung Khuong Huynh, Ha Thanh Nguyen, Cao Trung Nguyen, Viet Dai Hoang (YDG) – Michelle Mai (Asian American
Recovery Services) –Lena Pham-Tran (UC Santa Cruz) –Canh Van Nguyen (Stanford University, Founder & Advisor YDG)

Sponsored by:
Youth Development Group & VietMentor, San Jose State University, Professor Thuy Trong Le,
EE/SJSU, Vietica Inc., San Jose Library

The Media Changes in The Original Little Saigon

So here is the latest of the changing landscape of Vietnamese-American media in OC.

Dinh quang Anh Thai is leaving Little Saigon Radio to be with Nguoi Viet Newspaper. Nguoi Viet's Bao Anh is losing her grip further of the newspaper (She was never in control to begin with and she was hoping her husband would be able to. But they both are now "one foot in another foot out"). NV also lost two brightest reporters to a new start-up. This new daily newspaper will directly challenge Nguoi Viet with its multimillion dollars backing. It will take about $400,00 to $500,000 (first year) to start a decent newspaper. Whether Hao Nhien will join them or not will depend on the Hao Nhien's independent streak.

Viet Weekly keeps promoting that they will become Viet Daily soon but the controversial newspaper is just hanging on. Their dream of challenging Nguoi Viet is all but gone. Their 5 ads from Vietnam is dwindling down. Majority of the ads are from Vietnam government owned enterprises (i.e., Vietnam Airline, Vinamilk). The ads were attained from Nguyen cong Khe, the ex- editor in chief of Thanh Nien Magazine, the second largest magazine in Vietnam and of course Communist Party owned. At that time, Khe took it upon himself to help Viet Weekly when the anti-communist supporters decided to take issue with Viet Weekly's articles praising the communist government. With Khe being out of favor(as the Communist Party recently shook up the political power in Ho chi Minh City) and lost his position, Viet Weekly also feels the affect.

Little Saigon Radio in Little Saigon is not doing too well in the economic downturn. There will be benefits cut back since Mai Khanh's escrow business is also hurting and she cannot afford to support both media enterprises (Viet Tide and LSR). Viet Tide is on the block again. The money losing weekly newspaper has not made a single dime since its inception more than a decade ago.

Both Viet Bao and Nguoi Viet are making money still. Viet Bao's husband and wife team of course are much smarter by staying out of controversy. Vien Dong News paper is marching on with no financial worry since the owner has so much money leftover from the stint at Nguoi Viet.


And life goes on in Little Saigon whether it is good time or bad time. This community has seen it all in the last 34 years. Nevertheless, LSI do wish Quynh Trang would be back in the media for she could have done something great. " Time it was, and what a time it was. A time of innocence, a time of confidences..."

SCHOLARSHIP

YOUTH TASK FORCE SEEKS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS!

The Santa Clara County Youth Task Force (YTF) is offering $500 scholarships for high school seniors going to college this fall. The YTF is an advisory body to the Board of Supervisors and Human Relations Commission and strives to provide youth with civic leadership opportunities and access to education.

The Deadline to apply is May 29. For full description and application please For additional information regarding the Youth Task Force scholarship, contact Raji Bains (408) 792-2315.




The Santa Clara County Youth Task Force (YTF) is a group composed of young people, from the ages of 12 to 18, empowered to make a difference. They serve as an advisory body to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the Human Relations Commission. They address the issues that teens face on a regular basis. They work to educate teens about the harms that affect their community and strive to find solutions and policies that will make better the lives of young people today. In doing so, they promote youth activism and advocacy, establishing a firm belief in the importance of youth speaking to youth. From that connection they hope will stem an inspiration in teens to embrace the culture and diversity around them, to work together, to contribute in making a positive change and to inspire others to become civically engaged.