Earth Today, Gone Tomorrow?

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Like a creature with far-reaching tentacles, climate change is already impacting all countries and every living thing on this earth today. Severe weather, rising seas, warming atmosphere -- these are only some of the most visible manifestations of what scientists are describing as the most serious existential threat currently confronting the world. Left unchecked, the tentacles of climate change will determine where we can live, our food supply, our health, immigration movement and even national security.

Young people get it - it is their world after all that will bear the brunt. Older generations, not so much yet; for as long as we can continue living our lives the way we have (even if we already experience changes that we don't associate with it), climate change remains a theoretical issue: it happens to others, not to us. Worse, some prefer to see it as a political issue, not a science, even though more than 95 percent of earth scientists confirm its truth.

Positively Filipino joins the celebration of Earth Day this month with a webinar that tackles Climate Change (see flyer below). It will feature Von Hernandez, the Philippines' most noted environmental activist, Wei-Tai Kwok, a Fil-Am climate advocate from Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, and Robert Suntay, a marine conservation educator and filmmaker. Moderator will be Shiela R. Castillo, a Futures Learning Advisor. Please join us and invite your friends and family as well. 

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Defenses: Civil Rights and Martial Arts

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President Trump put his order to conduct raids in major cities to ferret out the undocumented for deportation on hold for two weeks, and that two weeks will end on July 6. If you or someone you know will be affected by this order, it's best to be prepared and to know your rights. Immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco puts together a guide on what to do if ICE knocks on your door. (Our Partner Post: "Are ICE Raids Really on Hold? Know Your Rights")

While her boss, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio seeks the Democratic presidential nomination, the newly appointed Commissioner of the NY Mayor’s Office for Media and Entertainment , Fil-Am Anne del Castillo, quietly does her job. PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino profiles this young lawyer whose mandate is to create more job opportunities for the underrepresented -- women and minorities  -- in the city's media and entertainment industries. ("Watch Out World: Anne del Castillo, NYC Mayor's Media and Entertainment Czar")

In San Francisco, Eskabo Daan, the organization that teaches Filipino martial arts and culture to children, is celebrating the 10th year of a strong presence in the community's cultural scene. The group has expanded its classes to Daly City, where aspiring young warriors are learning not just Filipino self-defense but also writing in baybayin, the ancient Filipino script. Lorna Lardizabal Dietz reports. ("Eskabo Daan: Filipino Martial Arts for Kids")

Canada-based contributor Albert J. Lesaca tells us how a red bicycle and a neighborhood "siga" (tough guy) taught him valuable street-smarts that guided him for life in "The Bicycle of Tomorrow."

To celebrate Filipino American Friendship Day tomorrow, here are some stories worth re-reading: 

Alex S. Fabros Jr.'s "The Boogie-Woogie Boys" 

Erwin R. Tiongson's "A 3-D Image of the Philippine Scouts: March 4, 1905" 

Titchie Carandang-Tiongson's "A D.C. Springtime Concert Born in Manila" 

For our In The Know links:

Targeted by Duterte
https://www.cjr.org/special_report/maria-ressa-duterte.php?utm_medium=10today.ad3li.20190629.smartflab.421.2&fbclid=IwAR3reVmE_9on-2fbta_YlcRbK6BRinqHIukJMy2xhvJrvbAfQJKQbAWJ82w

Five books that tackle the truth and injustices of the Marcos regime
http://youngstar.ph/5-books-tackle-harsh-truths-martial-law/?fbclid=IwAR3hPCXyhsE2oMKM4QoBflQxMEFDoDEyZCMkpxQAX7ockVBL7-n0nlMusZI

Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘Forgotten War’?
https://opinion.inquirer.net/122303/theodore-roosevelts-forgotten-war?fbclid=IwAR1RIeVT-2An9HKKxc8xJRt7xE5Fn43_hTnP4zDDL5L80kwy--PsMVBnjTo

Tuna kinilaw takes the spotlight at Portugal festival
https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/06/27/19/tuna-kinilaw-takes-the-spotlight-at-portugal-festival?fbclid=IwAR3nIYQ7HiaqCQQ1V2KZctKMJnQGwv4EtsnRsiCuVSksv9YyAZo38J8cAek

Our Happy Home Cook recipe this week from Elizabeth Ann Quirino makes use of summer tomatoes: Kamatis-Tokwa with Shrimps Guisado

And for our Video of the Week, I-Witness' Howie Severino looks into the life of Juan Luna, this greatest of Filipino painters who was also a tragically flawed human.

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Motherly Dedication

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When my Positively Filipino colleagues -- Mona Lisa Yuchengco as publisher and Rene Ciria Cruz as editor -- pioneered Filipinas, the first glossy magazine for and about Filipino Americans in the early 1990s, they had to dig deep into the community and search for stories about and by Filipinos in America. Now, more than 20 years later, we can't keep up. In various publications, by a wide range of writers, stories about the Philippines and Filipinos here and abroad are being printed and posted. We try to keep you abreast two ways: our In Brief section which provides capsule news items about developments that affect or interest Filipinos everywhere; and our In The Know weekly listing of links to stories in other publications that we feel you should read in full. Here's the In the Know lineup for this week:

My Family's Slave
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/?utm_source=atlfb

At 100 or So, She Keeps a Philippine Tattoo Tradition Alive
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/world/asia/tattoo-artist-kalinga-buscalan.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1

Pinay girl rejected from UK grammar school turns out to be having an IQ higher than Einstein’s
http://kickerdaily.com/posts/2017/05/pinay-girl-rejected-from-uk-grammar-school-turns-out-to-be-having-an-iq-higher-than-einsteins/

Warriors' Stephen Curry helps Cupertino family after teen's tragic death
http://abc7news.com/sports/warriors-curry-helps-cupertino-family-after-teens-tragic-death/1981313/

Zamboanga del Norte students trek dangerous mountain trail to school
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/video/kapusomojessicasoho/335838/zamboanga-del-norte-students-trek-dangerous-mountain-trail-to-school/video/

With 30 reported cases every single day, the HIV tragedy is cause for very grave concern in the Philippines, as PF Correspondent Rene Astudillo reports in "On Tita Bootz’s Bucket List—Stop New  HIV Infections." Fortunately, there are community advocates and caring souls like Bootz Yabut who are pitching in to help curb the spread of the disease.

As a postscript to the warm, fuzzy Mother's Day tributes, another PF Correspondent John Silva celebrates his unconventional and controversial mother, Helen Ledesma, in "My Unmom Mom."

And for San Francisco Bay Area martial arts denizens, contributor AJ Ruiz writes about the winningest martial arts school in "The Way of Eskabo Daan."

For our Happy Home Cook recipe this week, we go back to healthy -- a vegan version of the traditional favorite, kare-kare, from Richgail Enriquez. 

Our Video of the Week, we feature the story behind the popular Cebuano-speaking Americans of the Hey Joe Show on You Tube.

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino