Hope and Optimism
/When second-termer Senator Risa Hontiveros took over the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, little did she anticipate that her unwavering advocacy of the rights of the constituencies under her ambit would lead to a high-profile investigation with national security implications. Hontiveros has become known as a meticulous and expert questioner during Senate hearings, sparing no one, not even the powerful. We had a long one-on-one conversation with the Senator when she visited the San Francisco Bay Area last week and we found hope and optimism in this lady who now leads the genuine political opposition in the Philippines.
Among the many celebrations in June -- it's Juneteenth today in the US and Jose Rizal's 153rd birth anniversary in the Philippines -- are LGBTQI+ Pride Month and National Cancer Survivors Day last June 2. We celebrate both with appropriate stories this week.
We have a situationer on the growing disquiet in the LGBTQI+ community in the San Francisco Bay Area as the 2024 US presidential campaign revs up the divisive rhetoric against non-mainstream communities. And a personal account of a breast cancer struggle that paved the way to an entrepreneurial venture.
But we don't need any official proclamation to shine the light on the June batch of FilAms Among the Remarkable and Famous, the 58th edition.
Read Agains:
Two Centuries of Filipino Immigration to the US
Rizal’s Cook Remembers a Good Man
[Video of the Week] The Filipino Story (Episode 2)
In The Know
Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-covid-propaganda/
New protection for undocumented families applauded
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/18/dreamers-immigration-reform-citizenship-made-easier/
The Best Filipino Restaurant in the Bay Area Isn’t a Restaurant at All
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13959765/best-filipino-restaurant-oakland-tipunan-ghost-kitchen
Torn from Family at Birth Because of Parents' Leprosy, Woman Reunites with Brother 53 Years Later (Exclusive)
https://people.com/torn-from-family-because-of-parents-leprosy-woman-reunites-brother-53-years-storycorps-exclusive-8661113
Medal of Honor Monday: Army 1st Lt. Rudolph B. Davila
https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/3407437/medal-of-honor-monday-army-1st-lt-rudolph-b-davila/
Anti-Asian Hate Watch
FBI official admits mistakes, vows to improve relations with Asian-American communities
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3266087/fbi-official-admits-mistakes-vows-improve-relations-asian-american-communities
Playground named after grandma fatally beaten in San Francisco
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/17/yik-oi-huang-peace-and-friendship-park-beating-victim-san-francisco/
Woman sentenced to 40 days in jail in viral hate crime in Texas
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/18/racist-tirade-plano-texas-video-social-media-esmeralda-upton-sentenced/
Public Policy Inst. of California Releases Data on Hate Crimes
https://www.postnewsgroup.com/public-policy-inst-of-california-releases-data-on-hate-crimes/
Woman arrested for alleged hate crime against 2 Asian residents in Bellevue
https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/bellevue-hate-charges
Funding provided by the State of California.
