Hi everyone,

Please see important events and announcements below.

 

First, to start off on a lighter note….

You know you’re Irish when…
There isn’t a huge difference between losing your temper and killing someone.
You swear very well.
You have no idea how to make a long story short.
Much of your food was boiled.
You have never hit your head on the ceiling.
You’re strangely poetic after a few beers.
You don’t know the words but that doesn’t stop you from singing.
You can’t wait for the other guy to stop talking so you can start talking.
“Irish Stew” is the euphemism for “boiled leftovers from the fridge.
You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are, but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency.
You do the total opposite to what the doctor told you.
You know what a culchie, a langer and a bogger is.
Your first communion makes you more money than your first months salary.
You understand what someone means when they say come over at half 8, it actually means half 9. (That one gave me some troubles after I came back to Germany :D)
The person that you insult most is probably your best friend.
Tea is the solution to every problem.

And last but not least… Being Irish means… your attention span is so short that … oh, forget it.

And now on to more serious business….

 

The walk for MS below is a great opportunity for our new arrivals, who might be here at the end of April, to quickly assimilate into New York life by supporting a very worthy cause. It’s a great way to meet new people easily, and who knows, it may even lead to a job or job referral.

We also like to remind our new arrivals that they should always have a personal business card at hand to give to people when out networking for jobs,  and always have your elevator speech prepared. This is simply a 30 second speech should someone ask you about your career and what your future plans are. When given the opportunity by a potential employer who you might casually meet at an event, you don’t want to be unprepared and stumble your way through your answer….and that’s experience talking!

Business cards can be made very easily and inexpensively at a local Fed Ex Kinko’s store in New York.

 

From Jenny Powers, CSEP

Vice President, Special Events
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
New York City-Southern New York Chapter

 

I run the special events division of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. On Sunday, April 28 we are hosting our 25th annual Walk, where literally thousands of New Yorkers come out and walk and raise awareness and critical funds to support national research and local programs and services for the 10,000 New Yorkers living with MS.
An event of this size heavily relies on the manpower and support of volunteers and volunteer groups and could not be done otherwise.  We host 7 sites both in Manhattan, Staten Island and all over Westchester and raise $3 million overall annually through our efforts. 400 volunteers are needed in Manhattan alone and I sincerely hope you’ll be able to spread the word and perhaps recruit some good men and women to join us and lend a much-needed hand here in NYC.
Volunteer assignments run the gamut from helping us to register and check –in participants the day of the event, distribute t-shirts, host water stations, distribute refreshments and much more.  We have national honor society groups, Lions Club and college groups helping us to date.
It’s always more fun to get a group together and we are able to accommodate 10 to 15 volunteers for the volunteer teams below.
·         The T-shirt distribution team is from 6:00 AM  to 12:00 PM  OR another shift from  11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.
·         Food & Beverage Team is from 6:00 AM to 12:00  PM There is a later shift available from 11:30 AM. to 2 AM however this would be for a maximum of 5 volunteers total.
·         Rest Stop Team is 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
·         Each team does have some seated positions available.
Heather Joseph our Volunteer Manager can answer any additional questions Heather.Joseph@nmss.org . I have also attached a general flyer.
I hope we have the opportunity to partner together for this important cause.
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Silicon Valley Global Forum & Technology Leaders Awards 2013

Where the Titans of Silicon Valley meet Diaspora Leaders from over 60 countries

 

Dear Colleague,

I’m writing to invite you to the Silicon Valley Global Forum & Technology Leaders Awards 2013, (#SVGF13) which commences with a launch reception on May 14 at the SVG Accelerator, 189 W Santa Clara Street, San Jose & Conference & Awards on May 15 at the Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View.

The event is a two day executive gathering that highlights the significant economic, political and commercial trends affecting global technology industries. We will feature the most innovative companieseminent technologists, influential investors and journalists in keynote presentations, panel debates and private company CEO showcases. The goal of the Silicon Valley Global Forum & Technology Leaders Awards 2013 is to identify the most promising entrepreneurial opportunities and investments in the global tech industry.

Hurry now!  Our $250 for 250 is sold out!  Register today to avail our Early Bird pricing at $295.  Offer ends March 31!

 

We have an incredible line up of speakers that we will be announcing shortly and below are some of the topics we are planning to cover:

·         Investment

·         Innovation

·         Technology in Education and the importance of computer studies & coding in the curriculum

o   We feel very strongly about computer studies & coding in children’s education and we strongly support

§  www.coderdojo.com

§  www.code.org

·         Diaspora Networking

·         Female Technology Leaders

o   See Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking at the Annual IdEA Global Diaspora Forum 2012 in Washington DC

§  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P50FgqR9r4M&feature=em-share_video_user

 
As in previous years we expect the conference to sell out quickly, so we encourage you to take a moment now to secure your seat.

 

Attendees like you are a key reason why our Conference has become the premier annual gathering for the world’s technology leaders.

 

Please view our event brochure at:

http://library.constantcontact.com/doc206/1103699264262/doc/OUeVRprGosywAUbt.pdf

 

The brochure lists our prestigious Event Sponsorship opportunities. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, group rates or to purchase tickets over the phone, please contact:

Shannon Ramirez at +1 (408) 380.7200 or by e-mail at [email protected] .
We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at the Silicon Valley Global Forum & Technology Leaders Awards 2013!

Best wishes,

John

 

John Hartnett

Founder & CEO SVG Partners

189 W. Santa Clara Street

San Jose, CA  95113

+1-408-380-7200 – Office
www.svgpartners.com

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Book addresses the shifting culture and society of the New Ireland

 

NOTRE DAME, IN, April 1, 2013—RACE AND IMMIGRATION IN THE NEW IRELAND edited by Julieann Veronica Ulin, Heather Edwards, and Sean O’Brien offers a variety of expert perspectives and a comprehensive approach to the social, political, linguistic, cultural, religious, and economic transformations in Ireland that are related to immigration. It includes a wide range of critical voices and approaches to reflect the broad impact of immigration on multiple aspects of Irish society and culture. The contributors address immigration and Irish sports, education systems, language debates, migrant women’s issues, human rights policies, and culture both in the Republic and in the North of Ireland. Further, authors offer a framework for considering this new Ireland in relation to earlier colonial contexts, reading intersections between new racism and old sectarianism.  

 

Race and Immigration in the New Ireland presents a wide range of insights on the ethical challenges and possibilities of the post–Celtic Tiger Ireland. Together, the essays here offer an open and constructive debate within the social frame of Irish Studies. This book emphasizes the critical importance of the moral imagination in shaping the evolution of state policy in the ongoing contexts of migration, diaspora, and global markets that have marked recent Irish history.” —Fionnghuala Sweeney, University of Liverpool

 

RACE AND IMMIGRATION IN THE NEW IRELAND is available in paperback and as an E-book from the University of Notre Dame Press. Read more:

http://undpress.nd.edu/book/P03034

 

Contact: Kathryn Pitts, Marketing Manager, University of Notre Dame Press,  e: [email protected], p: 574.631.3267

Kathryn Pitts

Marketing Manager
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
574.631.3267 phone
574.631.4410 fax
[email protected]
undpress.nd.edu

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
From Failte 32’s immigration attorney, Caro Kinsella (further Comprehensive Immigration Reform updates next week):

 

Green Card Policy Conundrum: Families, Employees or Both?

March 26, 2013

In January, the bipartisan Senate working group, dubbed the Gang of Eight, released a blueprint for immigration reform. They pledged, among other things, to “build the American economy and strengthen American families.” [See Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform from Senators Chuck Schumer, John McCain, Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Robert Menendez, Marco Rubio, Michael Bennet, and Jeff Flake, 29.Jan.2013.] The blueprint was only intended as a starting point for further negotiations of the details, once first principles were agreed upon. Now comes the hard part: crafting specific policy provisions that will build a new comprehensive immigration reform bill on the framework established by the Gang of Eight.

Green cards are proving to be a particularly sticky issue, an object lesson in the difficulties of translating blueprints into three-dimensional reality. Earlier this month, Senator Lindsey Graham, a leading GOP negotiator on the Gang of Eight, proposed that Congress provide more employment-based green cards by restricting the availability of family-based green cards to immediate family members. [See Senate Immigration Bill May Limit Family Visas, by Erica Werner, Associated Press, 14.Mar.2013.] According to the AP, Senator Graham would like to abolish the green card categories for married children and siblings of U.S. citizens; if enacted, this would mark “a significant change to U.S. immigration policy that’s long favored family ties over economic or job criteria.”

This set off alarm bells in the immigrant community, and now many advocacy organizations are mobilizing to protect family-based immigration. Writing in The Hill, a leading news outlet for Capitol insiders, Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), warned that the current system is already broken: it “keeps loved ones apart, often for decades.” [See Respect Family Unit in Immigration Reform, by Deepa Iyer, The Hill, Congress Blog, 14.Mar.2013.]

The situation would only get worse, Iyer cautions, if green cards were limited to immediate family members only:

“As of November 2012, around 4.3 million people were waiting to obtain visas in order to join their family members who reside in the United States. A significant number – 1.8 million – are seeking to unite with immediate relatives who are AsianAmericans. Family members from China, India, and the Philippines, for example, have been waiting between 10 and 23 years to receive visas that will enable them to join their U.S. citizen or permanent resident relatives in America.”

Why not simply make more green cards available for both family-based and employment-based immigrants? Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told the Associated Press that Congress should do just that, and called on Senator Graham to recognize “the social costs for not preserving families in the immigration system,” because “immigrant families do strengthen our social fabric.”

Historically, the AP notes, Congress has resisted expanding the pool of green cards. Perhaps the time has come to rethink that, so we can give more cards to STEM graduates and high-tech workers without forcing family-based applicants to wait even longer for their green cards. What we need is a win-win solution that works for everyone: a solution that makes good on the Gang of Eight’s promise to “build the American economy and strengthen American families.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

U.S. customs and border protection effective April 26, 2013 will automate form I-94.  See attachment from CBP.
 
However:
USCIS will continue to require applicants to submit a paper copy of form I-94 when requesting certain Immigration benefits.  Other government agencies, such as State Departments of Motor Vehicle (DMV) also require a paper copy of form I-94.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Kind regards

Failte 32 Committee

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