Iligan using sprawling National Steel compound as COVID-19 isolation complex
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 8 Sep) – The sprawling 400-hectare complex of the mothballed National Steel Corporation has been converted into a complex of isolation units for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in Iligan City. Dr. David Mendoza, COVID-19 Incident Commander of the Department of Health in Region 10, said construction is ongoing for […].....»»
The story of the Waco siege — from the lawyer who got inside
Blood had already been spilled during the armed standoff between US agents and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, when lawyer Dick DeGuerin got a phone call. The worried mother of cult leader David Koresh said her son needed legal help. She hired DeGuerin. He was the first outsider to pass through the security cordon and enter the Mount Carmel compound, where the Davidians were holed up. DeGuerin came face to face with a badly wounded Koresh, and was in position to try to broker an end to the stalemate. Three decades later, as the story pours forth from the 82-year-old lawyer, he remains convinced that the 51-day siege could have ended peacefully without the deaths of nearly 80 people. DeGuerin's account strikes a chord in today's deeply polarized United States, where some see Waco as a symbol of government overreach. Even now, a memorial at the scene of those killed draws hundreds of visitors a month. When DeGuerin got the call from Koresh's mother, he knew that the case was of a "magnitude" beyond anything he'd ever faced. "I had handled some big cases, but nothing like this," DeGuerin recalled from his office in Houston. "The world was watching." The Branch Davidians were founded in 1959 as a splinter from the Seventh Day Adventist church. They believed in the imminent return of Jesus, and Koresh emerged as their charismatic leader in the 1980s. In 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) accused the group of stockpiling weapons, and obtained an arrest warrant for Koresh and a search warrant for the compound, where there were also allegations of child abuse. On February 28, ATF agents raided the complex, a gun battle erupted, several people died, and a tense weeks-long standoff set in. As he prepared to enter the compound in late March, DeGuerin thought he had worked out a deal with Texas Rangers law enforcement officers to manage Koresh's surrender. FBI agents took the lawyer close to the compound in the back of a tank, stopping about 100 yards away. "My handler said, 'Would you like some body armor?' I said, 'No, I'm not afraid of the Davidians... I just don't want you FBI snipers shooting at me.'" DeGuerin didn't know what to expect, but said he found Koresh, 33, to be intelligent and articulate, and could see he had gunshot wounds to his torso and wrist. Koresh was "very angry" at the siege by the FBI and ATF agents. DeGuerin saw it as his mission to get Koresh out of the compound and into court "without anybody else dying." "I told him, of course, that the law is the law and he had to obey the law even though it might conflict with his religious beliefs. He understood that," he said. As negotiations ground on, DeGuerin returned to the compound with another lawyer, Jack Zimmerman, who represented one of the other cult members. Patience was wearing thin, particularly among federal agents. "There were the negotiators that wanted it to end peacefully. And then there were the tactical people that just wanted to rush in and kill anybody and arrest him," DeGuerin said. "The tactical people won." As a final showdown loomed, DeGuerin sought to go back and make a final appeal for Koresh to surrender to authorities. But he was turned away. "This FBI agent told me, 'We don't need you anymore.'" On that day -- April 19, 1993 -- FBI agents in armored vehicles smashed into the compound buildings and pumped in tear gas. The causes of the subsequent fires are still disputed, but the compound burnt to the ground, claiming more than 70 lives, including some 20 children. Investigations cleared law enforcement of wrongdoing, but Waco became a rallying cry for Americans accusing their government of abuse of authority, and it spurred growth of militias across the country. In 1995, on the second anniversary of the raid, Timothy McVeigh, who had driven to Waco to witness the siege, carried out the Oklahoma City bombing killing 168 people. For DeGuerin, 30 years on, the lessons of Waco are clear. The federal agents had grown convinced that Koresh "was fooling them again" and would not surrender, he said. "They didn't wait. I believe if they'd waited, it would have ended peacefully. But it didn't." The post The story of the Waco siege — from the lawyer who got inside appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Big sponge’: new CO2 tech taps oceans to tackle global warming
Floating in the port of Los Angeles, a strange-looking barge covered with pipes and tanks contains a concept that scientists hope to make waves: a new way to use the ocean as a vast carbon dioxide sponge to tackle global warming. Scientists from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have been working for two years on SeaChange -- an ambitious project that could one day boost the amount of CO2, a major greenhouse gas, that can be absorbed by our seas. Their goal is "to use the ocean as a big sponge," according to Gaurav Sant, director of the university's Institute for Carbon Management (ICM). The oceans, covering most of the Earth, are already the planet's main carbon sinks, acting as a critical buffer in the climate crisis. They absorb a quarter of all CO2 emissions, as well as 90 percent of the warming that has occurred in recent decades due to increasing greenhouse gases. But they are feeling the strain. The ocean is acidifying, and rising temperatures are reducing its absorption capacity. The UCLA team wants to increase that capacity by using an electrochemical process to remove vast quantities of CO2 already in seawater -- rather like wringing out a sponge to help recover its absorptive power. "If you can take out the carbon dioxide that is in the oceans, you're essentially renewing their capacity to take additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," Sant told AFP. Engineers built a floating mini-factory on a 100-foot (30-meter) long boat which pumps in seawater and subjects it to an electrical charge. Chemical reactions triggered by electrolysis convert CO2 dissolved in the seawater into a fine white powder containing calcium carbonate -- the compound found in chalk, limestone and oyster or mussel shells. This powder can be discarded back into the ocean, where it remains in solid form, thereby storing CO2 "very durably... over tens of thousands of years," explained Sant. Meanwhile, the pumped water returns to the sea, ready to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Sant and his team are confident the process will not damage the marine environment, although this will require further testing to confirm. A potential additional benefit of the technology is that it creates hydrogen as a byproduct. As the so-called "green revolution" progresses, the gas could be widely used to power clean cars, trucks and planes in the future. Of course, the priority in curbing global warming is for humans to drastically reduce current CO2 emissions -- something we are struggling to achieve. But in parallel, most scientists say carbon dioxide capture and storage techniques can play an important role in keeping the planet livable. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) could help to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as it offsets emissions from industries which are particularly difficult to decarbonize, such as aviation, and cement and steel production. It could help to tackle the stocks of CO2 that have been accumulating in the atmosphere for decades. Keeping global warming under control will require the removal of between 450 billion and 1.1 trillion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2100, according to the first global report dedicated to the topic, released in January. That would require the CDR sector "to grow at a rate of about 30 percent per year over the next 30 years, much like what happened with wind and solar," said one of its authors, Gregory Nemet. UCLA's SeaChange technology "fits into a category of a promising solution that could be large enough to be climate-relevant," said Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. By sequestering CO2 in mineral form within the ocean, it differs markedly from existing "direct air capture" (DAC) methods, which involve pumping and storing gas underground through a highly complex and expensive process. A start-up company, Equatic, plans to scale up the UCLA technology and prove its commercial viability, by selling carbon credits to manufacturers wanting to offset their emissions. In addition to the Los Angeles barge, a similar boat is currently being tested in Singapore. Sant hopes data from both sites will quickly lead to the construction of far larger plants that are capable of removing "thousands of tons of carbon" each year. "We expect to start operating these new plants in 18 to 24 months," he said. The post ‘Big sponge’: new CO2 tech taps oceans to tackle global warming appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PCOO moves out of Palace complex
The Presidential Communications Operations Office, the government’s lead communication arm, is no longer at the Malacañang compound and is now renting office space along United Nations Avenue in Manila......»»
PCOO out of Palace complex, now renting an office space in Manila City
The Presidential Communications Operations Office, the government's lead communication arm, is no longer in the Malacañang compound and is now renting an office space along the United Nations Avenue in Manila......»»
Iligan using sprawling National Steel compound as COVID-19 isolation complex
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 8 Sep) – The sprawling 400-hectare complex of the mothballed National Steel Corporation has been converted into a complex of isolation units for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in Iligan City. Dr. David Mendoza, COVID-19 Incident Commander of the Department of Health in Region 10, said construction is ongoing for […].....»»
NDFP consultants welcome return of peace talks to national level
Detained National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultants welcome reported dialogues to revive stalled formal peace negotiations with the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Government of the Republic of the Philippines, expressing hope to join the talks if efforts succeed. The post NDFP consultants welcome return of peace talks to national level appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
PNVF forms coaching staff for world meet
Seasoned coach Dante Alinsunurin will make a comeback as one of the deputies for the national men’s team as host Philippines pulls out all the stops to parade a competitive squad against the best of the best in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships 2025......»»
PH media slam Chinese foreign ministry’s claims of manipulating WPS reports
Philippine media groups criticized the Chinese foreign ministry for suggesting that recent reports on Chinese harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea involved video manipulation and sensationalism to portray the Philippines as a victim. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed offense.....»»
Baltimore bridge accident: Freighter pilot called for tugboat help before plowing into bridge
BALTIMORE — The pilot of the cargo freighter had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes before the Baltimore bridge accident, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship’s “black box” data recorder. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a.....»»
China: PH is ‘straying down a dangerous path’
MANILA, Philippines — China continued to blame the Philippines and its ally, the United States, for the continued tensions in the disputed West Philippine Sea. In a statement on Thursday, Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian warned that the Philippines is going down a dangerous path. READ: No letup in Chinese water cannon attacks.....»»
Kaspersky Shares Cybersecurity Tips for a Peaceful Getaway during the holy week
As the holiday season approaches, the urge to unwind and kick back is natural. And it’s all too common for people to let their guard down completely when connecting to the Internet too– but shouldn’t. Recently, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group shared its findings on identity theft cases in the country. Between November […].....»»
Hoffman boosts bid for Paris Paris
Olympics hopeful Lauren Hoffman yesterday set a new national record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a gold medal performance in the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida......»»
PNVF forms coaching sataff for world meet
Seasoned coach Dante Alinsunurin will make a comeback as one of the deputies for the national men’s team as host Philippines pulls out all the stops to parade a competitive squad against the best of the best in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships 2025......»»
Women empowering women
As we celebrate National Women’s Month in March, here are inspiring messages from women leaders of different industries and sectors......»»
Security Council warns of foreign interference in 2025 polls
There may be foreign interference in next year’s midterm elections and the Department of Information and Communications Technology should prepare to counter cyberattacks, the National Security Councilwarned yesterday......»»
NBI nabs 8 bogus DBM officials
Eight people allegedly posing as officials of the Department of Budget and Management were apprehended by the National Bureau of Investigation in Mandaluyong on Tuesday......»»
India backs Philippines in dispute with China
New Delhi has drawn a strong response from Beijing after reiterating its support for Manila in a territorial dispute India has "firmly reiterated" its support for the Philippines and its "national sovereignty," as Manila remains locked in a territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea. Ten.....»»
India backs Philippines in sea dispute with China
New Delhi has drawn a strong response from Beijing after reiterating its support for Manila in a territorial dispute India has "firmly reiterated" its support for the Philippines and its "national sovereignty," as Manila remains locked in a territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea. Ten.....»»
Hoffman sets new Philippine hurdles record at Florida meet
Paris Olympics-hopeful Lauren Hoffman on Wednesday set a new national record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a gold medal performance in the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida......»»
Alinsunurin appointed Philippine men’s volleyball assistant coach
Seasoned mentor Dante Alinsunurin will make a comeback as one of the deputies for the national men’s team as the host Philippines pulls out all the stops to parade a competitive squad against the best of the best in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships 2025......»»