VIA PROGRAM DIRECTOR

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: STANFORD PROGRAMS DIRECTOR

Stanford Programs is a division of VIA (formerly Volunteers in Asia), an independent, non-profit, educational exchange organization that provides US-Asia public service and educational exchange opportunities.

For 45 years, VIA has sent young American volunteers to work within Asian institutions. VIA's Stanford Programs evolved from VIA's growing connection with Asian institutions and for over 30 years has served as the mirror image of the volunteer program by providing in-depth, personal, and provocative cross-cultural experiences for Asians.

The Stanford Programs division develops and coordinates short-term, focused, cross-cultural study programs for students of Asia's top universities. These programs focus on specific themes such as health care, poverty & homelessness or volunteerism and also expose students to the diversity of the American society. In 2008, over 200 students from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China participated in five short-term programs. VIA's summer programs are multi-national while spring programs are currently focused on students from Japan.

VIA has offices at Stanford University and in San Francisco and the Stanford Programs Director will split time between these offices.Major Responsibilities of the Program Director• Design, plan and lead 2 programs (American Language & Culture Program and Exploring Health Care Program) per year• Create and manage program budgets • Act as liaison with various Stanford University departments and offices• Arrange transportation, lodging, meals, and other logistics for programs• Develop marketing campaign for programs, including production of brochures, flyers, and advertisements• Recruit, manage, and train Stanford student program coordinators in cross-cultural, leadership, and organizational skills• Travel to Asia to recruit participants and meet with partner institutions• Initiate and develop programs with Asian institutions, Asian university faculty, and participants• Participate in VIA-wide meetings, strategic planning, and trainingsQualifications• Commitment to cross-cultural education and public service; teaching experience highly regarded• Sensitivity to Asian culture and communication style; language ability a plus• Experience in Asia, especially Taiwan, Japan, Korea, or China• Demonstrated leadership ability, attention to detail, experience with budgets, strong organizational skills, dedication and ability to work evenings/weekends during programs• Program expertise highly regarded, i.e., knowledge and interest in issues surrounding health care, volunteerism; service-learning; curriculum development• Native speaker level English skills, including effective written and verbal communication skills• Desire and ability to work in a small, consensus-based organization• Familiarity with the San Francisco Bay Area preferred• Knowledge of computers (Microsoft Office, Joomla, Salesforce, and graphic design)• Willingness to obtain Class B Commercial Driver's license (for 15-passenger vans)•

Willingness to make a three to four-year commitment to working at VIA Salary/Benefits• Starting salary of $37,983 with annual increases based on length of service and cost of living adjustments• Full health, dental and vision insurance for employee and spouse/domestic partner and dependents • Disability insurance for the employee only• A 403(b) plan•

Full-time, exempt position with approximately 5 weeks of paid vacation, plus 2 weeks of office closure• Limited access to Stanford University libraries, athletic facilities, and other facilitiesTo ApplyPlease send the following:• Resume and cover letter• Three references (please state nature of your relationship and attach complete contact information)•

Program Proposal:You are interested in developing a new multi-national program focusing on health care issues. Write a two-page brief to be submitted as a "letter of inquiry" to a foundation. In your proposal, explain the goals and objectives, target population, the structure of program, study themes and activities to be implemented. You may include any other information you consider important.

Application Deadline: March 31, 2009

Interviews to be arranged in mid to late April, 2009. Expected Start Date: mid to late May, 2009For more information or to submit an application, please contact:Kazutoh Ishida, Senior Stanford Programs Director,VIA, P.O. Box 20266, Stanford, CA 94309Tel 650-723-3229Fax 650-725-1805Email kazutoh@viaprograms.orgWeb http://www.viaprograms.org--


Lillian Forsyth

Vietnam Program Director
VIA-Volunteers in Asia
965 Mission Street, Ste 751
San Francisco, CA 94103
Tel: 415-904-8033
Fax: 415-618-0509

SCAM ARTIST AND LOAN MODIFICATION

SCAM ARTISTS USING FORGED LETTERHEAD TO CON CALIFORNIANS

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. is warning consumers that scam artists are using the forged letterhead of major lenders to con worried Californians into paying thousands of dollars for non-existent loan modification services."Californians should be deeply skeptical of anyone who demands money up front and makes extravagant promises that they can save their home," Brown said.

Steps consumers can take to protect themselves from loan modification fraud are available at http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1697&.

Complaints may be filed with the Attorney General's Office at:

Office of the Attorney General - Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244,

or online at http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php.

Stock Market Bottom Out and Opportunity Abound

Last week, LSI sat down with some of the small to medium size VC firms in the Bay Area to measure the investment beat. These are the firms that managed to raise funds before the market crash last fall so they are still looking for opportunities since everything is on the cheap. With deflated valuation and and a very dead equity market , the firms are looking very very hard to find value. If LSI is holding to the kind of money that they have, LSI would invest in stock market for there are many solid and yet undervalued companies in the market.

Being a professional in the industry and had experienced the ups and downs of the market before returning to a private life, LSI thinks that these are the best of times as well as the worst of times. And the shrewd investors like Warren Buffet will make his billions more by the time the market crisis is over.

As a disclosure so to not violate any SEC regulations (and as if people care), LSI is no longer a stock broker or financial analyst. Nevertheless, LSI's relative is a head of a boutique hedge fund with real returns. Last year, he managed to neither gain nor loss any money. And that is how a real hedge fund should be if they practice the fundamental of managing risk. Of course, if one is Bernie Madoff then in this market, he still would make at least 10% for his investors who are at the top of the Ponzi pyramid.

With the Viet politics both in Southern and Northern California taking a break until the fall, LSI will try to entertain the readers with LSI's own stock portfolio. Unlike Warren Buffet, LSI does not believe in holding a position for 10 years or more. So here are the 18 stocks LSI bought within the last 3 months, most with exceptional dividends (some from 7% to 8%):

Energy and Commodity Porfolio

1. Apache (bought at $60). Currently at $60.94
2. Helix (bought at $4.25). Currently at $4.46
3. Monsanto (bought at $80). Currently at $79.11
4. Mosaic (bought at $35). Currently at 42.08
5. Conoco Phillips ($36). Currently at $36.41
6. Anadarko (bought at $34). Currently at $36.38


Biotech & Pharma

1. Life Technology (bought at $28). Currently at 29.38
2. Sigma Aldrich (bought at $40). Currently at $34.60
3. Glaxo Wellcome (bought $35). Currently at $29.12
4. Astra Zeneca (bought $37). Currently at $33
5. Pfizer (bought $15). Currently at $14.54
6. Elan (bought $7). Currently at $5.35
7. United Healthcare (bought at $20). Currently at 21.36

Infrastructure

1. Fluor (bought at $39). Currently at $39.85
2. KBR (bought at $14). Currently at $14.23
3. GE (bought at $7). Currently at $9.62
4. OFC (bought at $25). Currently at $23.70
5. VNQ (bought at $23). Currently at $25.81


LSI cannot predict the short term future but these are stocks that LSI would go to bed safely know that they would not go away at least in 2009. One cannot go wrong in healthcare no matter. Also with a bulk of the stimulus package going to infrastructure, these are profitable companies that will further benefit despite economic hardship. The goal is to make 30% return by year end

Joseph Cao: " I think race might be the issue.."

In facing a recall attempt by the African American community in his New Orleans district, Congressman Joseph Cao stated in the an interview with the local ABC affiliate that race may play the role in the recent recall attempt. A Republican freshman congressman in a district where 65% are African Americans and 85% are Democrats, Joseph Cao is facing a recall effort initiated by two African American ministers for failing to vote for the stimulus package.

The recall effort is deemed to be unconstitutional by the state attorney general and now is being challenged in federal court.

Cao is facing a tough race in 2010 and the odds are against him to win his seat.

Negotiation in Good Faith

San Jose City has records of violating Brown Act in recent memory. Well, here we are at the closing chapter of Little Saigon and the loose end is the lawsuit that still needs to be resolved.

See an update of the lawsuit from the lawyer representing the community (VACNORCAL, a nonprofit group). He is a very well known lawyer in his field.

The community wants to move on and has asked the city to settle the lawsuit but why should the city budge on it. There is no advantage at all.

Many people believes the Brown Act is the corner stone of government. If this is the case, it should be settled not by politics but by legal expert and the court system. Of course, being a poor community, the longer the city drags it out, the better chance the community will not have enough money to carry it through. But on the other hand, the lawyer is doing pro bono as much as possible while not charging his is usual rate of $500 - $600 an hour.



LAWSUIT UPDATE:
VACNORCAL is seeking to take the depositions of San Jose City Councilmembers Madison Nguyen and Forrest Williams in February 2009. VACNORCAL has also sent a Request for Production of Documents to the City of San Jose.VACNORCAL previously noticed the depositions of Councilmembers Madison Nguyen and Forrest Williams in November 2008. But the City indicated it was interested in negotiating a settlement of the lawsuit. As taking a lawsuit through to trial or judgment is extremely costly (for both VACNORCAL and the taxpayers of San Jose), VACNORCAL felt it would be best to hold settlement discussions with the City.

Unfortunately, VACNORCAL ultimately felt the City Council was not participating in settlement negotiations in good faith and was just trying to waste VACNORCAL's time. VACNORCAL canceled further settlement conferences, and began discovery by noticing depositions for Madison Nguyen and Forrest Williams in February 2009, and propounding Requests for Production of Documents.

The Winners and Losers of the Recall Election

It was no doubt a historical fight for the community. It was a political battle of David vs. Goliath. A group of political novices vs. the entire San Jose political establishment. In the end, Nguyen with her theme of "I am a misunderstood woman and I am a victim" and the recall will cost the city " $1 million dollar" got her the votes of Caucasians and Hispanics to win with the margin of 55% to 45%. The turn out was unprecedent high at almost 13,000 votes (38% of the total registered voters). The Vietnamese-American community is only 28% of the total registered voters but they made up almost 47% of the absentee ballots.

From exit polls, the Vietnamese-Americans were overwhelming against Nguyen (80% to 20%). However, the high turn-out went against them. So here are winners and losers of the election

1. It was a must win for Labor as they started the campaign working with Nguyen 4 months before the election. With massive manpower and money behind Nguyen, it would be unthinkable if they had lost.

2. Mayor Reed escaped a political nightmare if Nguyen had lost. First it was Hon Lien and now Madison Nguyen. Even though his reputation is damaged for the political mess, he came out with enough capital gain to fend off any challenger in 2010.

3. Nguyen with the support of the media, every elected officials (as the Mercury News mentioned because none of them wanted to set precedent for people to recall them if they made bad decision) and almost 2x the amount of money of the Recall Team, she was fighting for her political life. She won but she was damaged forever within her community.

4. The 5,700 votes against her. These are votes against Nguyen. The 7,000 votes against the recall are not really for Nguyen but against what they perceived the right and wrong of using the recall process. This is where Nguyen is weaken with the 5,700 votes of no confidence against her. Any challenger in 2010 will always have an automatic base against Nguyen.

5. The Recall Team took up the task assigned by the community. A team of all volunteers of professional young people who spent time working the campaign against tremendous odds. They attracted a young generation of Vietnamese-Americans to politics and the experience they learned are valuable. Never before the community have flexed it political muscle in such scale. They don't have enough votes to win an election but they have shown to be a very important swing votes for any candidates to win an election.

The final analysis - it will take a long time to heal since Nguyen has shown in the past to be vindictive with her political enemies. This is still small town politics with mini mayor system. She escaped the political batte of her life. Whether she will gain anything from it long term wise, only time can tell. The 5,700 votes of no confidence against her is still the jury to be convinced.

Nguyen is Predicted To Win

With 9,700 absentee ballots already in, Nguyen is ahead by 851 votes. This is too much of the lead for Recall Team to catch up with only about 1,800 votes left to be counted. It was a hard fought battle and the community is looking forward to the next election. In District 7, with 30% of the registered voters as Vietnamese-Americans, they will always be there to voice their influence in 2010 election and beyond.

The breakdown of the absentee ballots is 50% Vietnamese-Americans, 20% Hispanics, 25% Whites and 5% others.

Conventional wisdom predicted Nguyen to win since she has the most money (almost 3 times) and the mainstream media support.

This is a vote of no confidence against Madison Nguyen. She is an incumbent with all the support of Labor, powerful wealthy developers and lobbyist and yet it was a tough race for her against a movement ran by political novices. In 2010, she is weaken and will have challengers.