This is one of my longer feature articles, but you will be rewarded upon reaching the end! This is a story of  "pag-ibig at pag-asa," which is Filipino for love and hope. 
 
Gabriela Silang, a young Filipina who lived in the northwestern seaboard of Luzon in the mid-1700s is most commonly portrayed wielding a bolo knife.
 
There's little doubt Gabriela Salang was a fearless revolutionary against Spanish colonial rule, and her spirit continues to run in the blood of women today, who carry on the struggle for self-determination in the face of centuries of imperialism in the Philippines.

Who knew the innocence and fun of summer camp could be twisted into something dark, hateful and dangerous?  Read on for the astounding and little-known story of how Nazis planted the seeds of white supremacy in America.
 
In the 1920s and 30s, German-Americans disaffected by WWI and the Great Depression found support in a group called the Friends of New Germany.  Most all members were American citizens, but they pledged loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Members had to swear they were of pure Aryan blood with no Jewish ancestry. In 1936, a new group absorbed these people, the Amerikadeutscher Bund, commonly known as the Bund.

​These organizations worked to preserve German Culture. As you will see, they had a much more potent agenda.

In this photo you see the grim faces of strikers outside a union hall in Walsenberg, Colorado, shortly after two striking workers were shot dead by company hired thugs. 

But you'll never see the face of the woman who took charge when deputies arrested strike leaders. Her actions are recorded for history, but at the time, her name didn't seem important enough to note.

Coincidence, karma or miracle? 

This story will make you wonder. It begins in a small village near present-day Ukraine amid war crimes committed by the German Nazis. A time in history that does not feel so long ago given the current news of war crimes in the region.

Near that village lies the dark primeval Białowieża Forest, straddling the borders of Poland and Belarus. Though it's described as “hauntingly beautiful” its tall trees and seemly endless marshlands have witnessed the harshest of evils.

At the outbreak of WWII, Miriam Rabinowitz lived in the small Polish town of Zhetel, (sometimes called Zdzięcioł) with her husband Morris and two daughters, Tania and Rochel.

It could be a huge shock for black army women from Northern states to report for duty south of the Mason Dixon Line. They knew prejudice but had not experienced the brutality of Jim Crow Laws.

When Women's Army Corps member Ernestine Wood was sent to Ft. Oglethorpe, GA, she feared for her safety.

 “When we would parade down the streets, the whites would throw rocks at us and the adults would jeer," she said. "When it was time for me to order my officers uniform, I had in a squad car and the manager of the store had to meet me at the door and escort me from counter to counter to pick out my clothes." 

This is the story of how Ernestine Wood and many other black women in the WWII Army found a sense of belonging.

War coverage has become more dangerous than it was when Catherine Leroy worked as a freelance photographer in Vietnam. At least 63 journalists died in 20-years of combat in Southeast Asia.

In Vladimir Putin's atrocious onslaught of Ukraine, Russian snipers aim for journalists. At least five news people have been killed since the start of the war, at least 35 injured and two remain missing. [update 12/30/22: 12 journalists killed in Ukraine this year]

Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov commented on the latest deaths, saying "the truth is the target."