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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Defeating the Communists
By Antonio C. Abaya Written Jan. 30, 2007 For the Standard Today, February 01 issue Can the Philippine Government under President Arroyo and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under the current military leadership defeat the New People�s Army (NPA) and its political infrastructure, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF)? Yes, said then Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, when he addressed a meeting of ASEAN defense ministers in Singapore in June 2006. But it would take �six to ten years,� as long as the economy grows steadily, the fighting capability of the AFP improves, and pro-poor programs get the necessary funding. (Standard Today, June 06.) Yes, said President Arroyo in several recent statements. In fact, she has a shorter timetable for it: three years, or by 2010, when her presidential term ends. A sentiment that has been echoed by the military top brass. But her formula seems to consist of nothing more creative or imaginative than more modern weapons and higher pay for her troops. No, says TIME magazine in the cover story of its February 5, 2007 issue, titled The War With No End, by Andrew Marshall, with the cover blurb: An exclusive look at what drives the NPA � and why the Philippine government may never defeat it. I also think the answer is NO, but for reasons which seem to have escaped the notice of the TIME correspondent. The cover photo, incidentally, features a husband-and-wife team, Jorex and Wendy. He of evidently proletarian, perhaps peasant, stock. She of waist-length hair and abundant sultry good looks that could earn her entr�e into the lucrative worlds of fashion modeling, cinema, or entertainment. Isn�t Gabriela going to protest this crass exploitation by TIME of a woman�s assets � an NPA comrade�s, no less � to sell more copies of their filthy capitalist magazine? Including more photos inside, Marshall �s story takes all of six pages, which makes it the lead story in that issue, more important than the war in Iraq , the heightened concern world-wide about climate change, or the buzz about last year�s best films. But most of it is fluff � about the dating and sexual mores in the NPA, about the daily routine in a rebel encampment, about the personal experiences of some cadres - which do not really explain why the communist insurgency has lasted in the Philippines as long as it has. Marshall writes that �the NPA should be a cold war relic, a forgotten insurgency rotting away in the Southeast Asian jungle. Instead � and despite its bloody purges, its �sparrow unit� death squads and its defunct ideology � it remains an enduring symbol of the failure of successive governments to improve the lives of ordinary Filipinos.� Amen to that, but he does not explain, or even try to explain, why successive governments have failed to improve the lives of ordinary Filipinos. Marshall may or may not be aware - he does not mention it in his article - that the Philippines used to enjoy the second highest standard of living in East Asia , next only to Japan�s, until the late 1960s. Then it was progressively overtaken by its neighbors. First by South Korea , Taiwan Hong Kong and Singapore in the 1970s. Then by Malaysia , Thailand and Suharto�s Indonesia in the 1980s. These seven countries deliberately geared their economies to the export of manufactured goods. In other words, they industrialized � to be sure, at differing paces and with different emphases - and they competed with each other in the global marketplace. The Philippines was the solitary exception. President Marcos did not engineer an export-oriented manufacturing economy for the Philippines , as the other Asian authoritarian leaders did for their countries. Instead he gave his relatives and his cronies monopolies in the domestic market. This country did not seriously go into the export of manufactured goods until the 1990s, but by then China had begun to emerge as a major competitor in the by then crowded global marketplace. In 2005, the exports of South Korea totaled $288.2 billion; Singapore $204.8 billion; Taiwan $189.4 billion; Malaysia $147.1 billion; Thailand $105.8 billion; Indonesia $83.6 billion; the Philippines only $41.3 billion. There is always a penalty for being late. (Data from the 2007 World Almanac and Book of Facts.) Having missed the exports bus, the Philippines also missed the tourism gravy train. In 2006, Thailand drew in 13.5 million tourists, Malaysia 15.0 million, but the Philippines attracted only 2.8 million. There is also a penalty for not knowing what to do. Just imagine the millions of jobs that the Philippines could have generated but, instead, forfeited because of the failure of its leaders to choose the right economic strategies, especially in exports and tourism.. And the failure to choose correct economic strategies, was also compounded by choosing the wrong ones. Having failed to develop a wide manufacturing base during the exports boom of the 70s and 80s, our leaders � including then Sen. Gloria Arroyo - made matters worse by embracing free trade and globalization even ahead of � and this really takes the cake for sheer stupidity � already developed Taiwan and South Korea. This means that whatever manufacturing industries we managed to develop in the 70s, 80s and 90s were soon under threat from, and even swamped by, the manufactures of other countries., especially China . The infamous 168 shopping mall in Divisoria is a monument to the folly of premature free trade and globalization, especially with a manufacturing behemoth. No wonder our manufacturing sector continues to shrink, as domestic producers are forced to retrench or to shut down completely. No wonder one million Filipinos are forced to go abroad every year, to secure the jobs that they lost or could not find in our economy. This is the main economic reason why �successive (Philippine) governments have failed to improve the lives of ordinary Filipinos.� There is a social reason as well, and this is our runaway population growth rate. In the past 40 years or so, we as a nation have been frantically running just to stay in place. Whatever modest economic growth we have achieved since the late 1960s have been eaten away, literally, by so many additional mouths to feed. For this the Roman Catholic bishops, and the politicians � including Gloria Arroyo - who are afraid to incur their ire, are to blame, for their silly resistance to artificial methods of birth control.(See my article Why Are We Poor? Dec. 14, 2004 ) In 2005, the population growth rates in the East Asian region were: South Korea 0.41%; Singapore 0.51; Taiwan 0.61; China 0.63; Thailand 0.68; Vietnam 1.06; Indonesia 1.35; Malaysia 1.78; the Philippines 1.95. Guess which country has �failed to improve the lives of ordinary people.� (Data from the 2007 World Almanac and Book of Facts.) And finally, the political reason why the communist insurgency in the Philippines has lasted as long as it has � and will likely not be defeated any time soon - and which Marshall and other American observers may not appreciate. In the whole East Asian region, it was/is only in the Philippines that the communist problem has been and still is being addressed within the context of American-style liberalism. This means that Filipino communists and pro-communists have been given and are being given free rein to organize, mobilize and proselytize for their cause, under the rubric of American-style liberalism. Something which other communists did not/do not enjoy in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Suharto�s Indonesia, since they were never influenced by American political values to the same extent that the Philippines has been... In Singapore and Malaysia , communists and suspected communists were/are not allowed to take part in their political discourse, under pain of indefinite detention without trial, as called for by their Internal Security Act, a constitutional instrument inherited from the British colonial government. . In South Korea (under threat of invasion from the North) and Taiwan (under threat of invasion from the mainland), communists have been and remain outlawed and suppressed. So were they also in Thailand during the military�s periodic take-overs In Suharto�s Indonesia, communists and suspected communists were summarily executed by the thousands during the military�s counter-coup after the Parti Komunis Indonesia tried to seize power in 1965 (by machine-gunning to death the entire high command, save one general, of the Indonesian armed forces)..Estimates of communists and suspected communists summarily executed by the military range from 300,000 to three million. Freed of the corrosive presence of communist insurgency, propaganda and agitation, the countries of East Asia � South Korea , Taiwan , Singapore , Malaysia , Thailand and Suharto�s Indonesia � were able to devote all their energies and resources to economic development, thus benefiting the broad masses of their populations. By contrast, Filipino communists and communist sympathizers are allowed to write newspaper columns; host or guest in television talk shows; edit capitalist-owned newspapers where they deliberately turned their comrades into media celebrities; run for public office (there are at least nine of them in Congress as party list representatives); collect �revolutionary taxes� from capitalist enterprises operating in areas controlled by them; stage strikes after strikes in capitalist enterprises; organize front organizations in practically every sector of Philippines society: students, public school teachers, labor, medical workers, government employees, transport workers, peasants, fishermen, lawyers, women, overseas contract workers, religious communities (nuns, priests, seminarians, superiors); media workers; and now, even among the military�..and all at the same time that the New People�s Army wages a bloody and violent revolution against the bourgeois state. In effect, Filipino communists and pro-communists are allowed to have their cake and eat it too � underground revolution simultaneous with above-ground political agitprop - all defensible under the rubric of Jeffersonian liberalism. Something which their comrades in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia never enjoyed and will never enjoy, since none of them were ever influenced by American political values and their governments were not and are not debilitated by the niceties of wishy-washy liberalism. Given the far-ranging effects of our economic and social failures, and given the political umbrella enjoyed by Filipino communists and pro-communists under American-style liberalism, there is no reason to believe that the insurgency of the NPA-CPP-NDF can ever be defeated in three, six or ten years. Unless and until�� (To be continued) Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles since 2001 in www.tapatt.org. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Defeating the Communists� I think this should be read by all Philippine-caring persons, Pinoys and friends alike, even Igorots. Tony B. Go, [email protected], Feb. 03, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww AMERICAN STYLE DEMOCRACY WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE FOR THE THIRD WORLD. THE ASIAN STYLE OF DEMOCRACY OF KOREA , TAIWAN AND SINGAPORE IS WHAT WILL WORK FOR OUR COUNTRY EFFECTIVELY. AMERICAN STYLE DEMOCRACY, IS LIKE A POOR MAN BUYING AN EXPENSIVE-TO-MAINTAIN CADILLAC TO DRIVE BACK AND FORTH TO WORK IN STYLE AND FASHION FOR EMPLOYMENT THAT CAN ONLY AFFORD TO BUY FOR GAS. FOR TUYO' AND DA-ING. A DEMOCRACY WITH THE STRONG DISCIPLINE OF NATIONAL VALUES AND PATRIOTISM, AND PRODUCTIVE FOUNDATION IN MODERN SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY, IS WHAT WE DIRELY NEED; NOT DISASTROUS WANTON LIBERALISM AMIDST OUR POVERTY. A DEMOCRACY THAT SERVES ATLRUISTIC COLLECTIVE NATIONAL WELFARE; AND WITH FORCEFUL LAWS AND JUSTICE THAT DO NOT ALLOW GRAFT FOR THE PERSONAL WEALTH, AND LUST FOR PERSONAL POWER FOR THE LEADERS, WHO ARE TO SERVE THE WELFARE OF THE MASSES, NOT FOR THEMSELVES THAT WE SEE. WE WANT TO PROGRESS FAST FORWARD, BUT DRAGGED BACKWARD BY COMMUNIST FACTIONS FROM HOPELESS POVERTY TO WORK FREE WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE THEIR OWN FACTIONAL CAUSE; AND BY THE MORALITY AND BELIEFS OF OUR ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL MYSTICAL RELIGIONS INDOCTRINATED INTO US AND THAT ENSLAVE US, THAT PROMOTE OUR REPRODUCTION LIKE ANIMALS, IN THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE, WITHOUT PARENTAL, SOCIETAL, NATIONAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY WITH THE NATURAL ECOSYSTEM; AND SHUNS SCIENCE OF NATURAL TRUTHS, LIKE THE DEVIL SHUNS HOLY WATER, SCIENCE THAT OPENS UP THE DOOR OF KNOWLEDGE, LOGIC OF REASON, AND TO OUR CREATIVITY AND PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY, TO MEET AND SOLVE OUR VITAL BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL NEEDS, WORKING UNDER THE INEXORABLE TANGIBLE LAWS AND VALUES OF CREATIVE NATURE. OUR PRESENT NATIONAL LEVEL OF LOGIC OF REASON AND INTELLECT, AND COLLECTIVE NATIONAL VALUES, IS INADEQUATE TO MEET THE FAST SOLUTION TO OUR CRISES OF NATIONAL NEEDS AND PROBLEMS. WE AGONIZE IN OUR SLOW SNAIL-PACE PROGRESS, AND LEFT BEHIND BY OUR PROGRESSIVE MORE ENLIGHTENED NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. WE HAVE TO GEAR OUR NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, IN MODERN SCIENCE, INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND ENTERPRISE , INDOCTRINATE MORAL COLLECTIVE NATIONAL VALUES TO OUR YOUNG GENERATIONS,INDOCTRINATION THAT HAS WORKED FOR MYSTIC RELIGIONS THROUGH THE MILLENNIA, AND HAS WORKED FOR OUR PROGRESSIVE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES, TO MEET AND SOLVE OUR CRISES OF NATIONAL PROBLEMS, AND NATIONAL SUFFERING. WE HAVE TO WAKE UP LIKE OUR ENLIGHTENED PROGRESSIVE NEIGHBORS. KOREA IN PARTICULAR, WITH A COLONIAL HISTORY LIKE OURS. Rod Gabuya, [email protected], Feb. 03, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: The government or the military will never, never totally erase communism in the Philippines . If they're gone how would the military justify asking for dollar supports (which they would pocket for themselves later) from the US government and other foreign countries to fight the insurgents? Same as the corruption in the government could never, never be stopped by the communists, because corruption in the government is the reason why communism in the Philippines exists. If corruption is gone, what would be the reason for communism to exist? In short, the reason for the survival each evil, is because of the existence of each other. In Biology, we call it symbiotic relationship. Jess Guim, [email protected], Feb. 03, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hola Tony, I have not read the Time Magazine article that you are referring to. I would therefore like to comment only the part of your your article which I have left (not deleted) below. Therefore I will comment only to the part of your article that covers the subject of the NPA, CPP, NDF, as well as Singapore , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thiland & South Korea. As I see it the problem, started when Jose Maria Sison, broke away from the Lava brother's and the CPP, and organized the NPA, in honor of his sponsor Mao. Remember the landing of the Karatagan in Palanan, Isabela.The vessel was purchased in Japan , with the financial assistance of Mao's Communist Party and the Karatagan was loaded with military hardware including explosives, ammunition and Granade and Rocket Launchers that could penetrate 6 inches of steel. Remember the Plaza Miranda Bombing, during the Liberal Party Rally, a photographer was disembowled and a young (girl) who was selling cigaretts was killed, by a granade that had been aledgedly launched by a member of Jose Maria Sison's NPA. As you know, Congressman Bagatsing (President of the Anti-Communist League of the Philippines lost his leg. Senators OsmeNa, Roxas, Salonga and about 100 people were injured. Some years back, I read a book from the library here in Penrith, NSW, Australia which was written by an American regarding Jose Maria Sison NPA's Alledged participation of the Plaza Miranda Bombing, This kano also wrote about Corpuz confiming the alegations regarding JoeMa. Incidentally you could ask Senator Salong for a copy of his unpublished book referring to the Plaza Miranda Bombing. You will recall former President Corazon Aquino, allowed the relrease of Jose Maria Sison from the Army Stockade detention. As you know, the NPA has been creating havoc in the Philippine countryside all these years and the Armed Forces have not been allowed to do their job and much less given the necessary equipment and support. And one wonders why the battle can't be won? You are a knowledgable person regarding the background of the problems in the Philippines , the military and about the late Pedro Abad Santos and his Socialist Party. You also know about the PKP and CPP. The basic problem today is the mixing up of the PKP, CPP, NPA, NDF, MNLF, MILF, etc. as if they are all one and the same. If you wish, I can send you a copy of my 'Book Review' regarding the 'Plaza Miranda Bombing' and the 'NPA killing Fields.' Sincerely, Jaime Calero, [email protected], Sydney , Australia , Feb. 04, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Congratulations for the many meaningful pieces you have posted. Like in previous two occasions, we would like to reprint this article in our March issue of the Bayanihan News so that Filipino expatriates living in Australia would learn more about their history and learn the lesson of the problems we have in the country. Filipino expatriates here are different from OFWs in many countries. I think they are the Filipinos who would have time to digest a well written piece of yours, particularly on a subject that many of them do not understand. Again, I thank you for sending me your most read articles. I usually pass them to my friends. We are trying to deviate from the usual Newspaper in the Filipino community which just list down birthdays, parties and etc. and publish thought provoking article like yours. By the the way, Dr. Pura Santillan-Castrence died in Melbourne on 15 January 2007 . She was 101 years old. Her remains were cremated on 22 January and will be brought back to Manila soon. I just compiled and published her compilation of essays published in the Bayanihan News during the last five years before she died. Even though she was blind, she had an insatiable urge to write. She would ask her caregiver and dictate the short piece we published in the Bayanihan News. She was a rare Filipino. All these years that she was living overseas, she never renounced her citizenship as a Filipino. Frankie Sionil Jose is sad to know the passing of his friend. I told him over the phone. Renato Perdon, [email protected], Sydney , Australia , Feb. 04, 2007 Editor, Filipino Section, Bayanihan News. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww We have the same thinking, the Arroyo government cannot defeat the communist even if her term were extended to 100 years! Even the coming Presidents or to the extent we change the form of government, there will be always dissensions. Antagonisms are a major force that drive to move change. It could be either destructive or productive when acted prudently and decisively. Rodolfo Cada, [email protected], Feb. 05, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you, Tony, for putting me in your mailing list. And thank you very much for all the insights you provide. Can I invite you to be a speaker at our fireside chat one of these days?? I am a member of the Rotary Club of Manila and will make the arrangements, if it is of interest to you. Best wishes. Ben Santos, [email protected], Feb. 05, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: I wanted to read the entire article in TIME you referred to. I thought I missed the story, since I subscribe to TIME, I looked again. Is there an Asian Edition and is this article there? I could not find it in the US edition of the date you mentioned. Please clarify. Thanks. P. Emraida Kiram, [email protected], Wisconsin , Feb. 06, 2007 . MY REPLY. Yes, there is an Asian edition of TIME and their website is www.timeasia.com. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You are correct! Defeating the "cause" or idea is impossible (unless we have a perfect government:). But defeating their strength in fire power, political groups and their sympathizers is very very possible but it needs real determination and true sacrifices. To the NPA sympathizers, give me one pure communist country which is progressive? Cuba ? Fidel is rich, not the people. North Korea ? Kim's son lives like a king in Macau and blows money in the casino (same thing with Manalo's in Nevada ) but the North Korean people eat trees, branches and leaves. Russia ? Well, Chuck Norris owns a casino there. Communism is good if and only if you are in power, but if you are just an ordinary one, you're f*cked up!!! In a correct and upright democracy, anybody can be successful in business and life. What can you say, Randy David? Move to North Korea or Cuba to experience the real communism. Let's see if you can live as free and comfy as where you are right now. Joma acts like Soprano and king while his poor comrades are guarding the Netherlands ' businesses and interests in the Philippines . The government should set examples too. Those high profile people should be locked up and publicized in the newspapers. Also, this is the best time that the Ombudsman does the right things and expedite cases very quickly. Doing the opposite, which Philippines is accustomed to, provides a great advertisement for the NPA's cause. Example, Agrarian reforms should be fair and balance. Most, if not all of the Mayors and up to the Congressmen and Senators (and President) have ranches, plantations and rest houses that can fit thousands or millions of villages and villagers. And these politicians are NOT affected but the real working class or civilians. Thus, NPA has a lot of sympathizers from the poor and poorest sectors in which they comprise probably about or more than half of our total population. We can never defeat NPA if this unfairness will keep going and going. Like you said, we can't see progress when we have a lot of mouths to feed. So true!! Population explodes each year like crazy but jobs aren't. If we have only more or less 20 million Filipinos, we definitely can see the great progress that this government is doing. But "mouths to feed" dominates the jobs It's a race between progress and population. Progress is on and off, but population is on and on. CBCP people, do something!!! Or else we will tax you and your anomalies!!! The government should put its magnifying glasses on businesses which are owned by bishops and priests or as co-partners and expose their overflowing illegitimate kids too We are on a survival mode. LF, [email protected], Feb. 03, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I just want to make a comment re. "missing the tourism gravy train." I've been to other parts of the world and I think the Philippines is the noisiest. The sound system they use during fiesta or a party is enough to burst your eardrums. Have you seen those humungous loud speakers? The ground vibrates! People walk around as if everything is normal. An Australian acquaintance once remarked, "I think Filipinos are stupid. Their idea of fun is to have those monster sound system and dance." Asking someone in-charge to lower the volume down does not work. They just give you a strange look. Then we have busses playing loud disco music, the jeepneys are playing loud disco music, the tricycles are playing loud disco music, the new shinning SUVs, some taxis (I gave a good tip to the quiet ones) and some of the trucks. Well, almost all vehicles with a radio do it. Then there are the newly rich neighbors with their new sound system from abroad- "the louder the better." And the wannabe singers with their karaoke! Why are we like this? There must be a law! We are going to be a nation of future "bingis" or do we have already a large population of "bingis"? Also this very loud boom, boom sound can reset your heartbeat possibly causing some serious heart problems. A really, truly, serious public health problem! Put in some heat and dust-what a perfect mix! I am writing this to you because maybe you can do something about it. I've written to the Secretary of Tourism, to the person who is trying to promote retirement in the country, and to a big development company promising Zen-like environment. I guess it is also this desire to see some changes in our country-for the better so we can truly be proud of her. Thank you, Lucita Luciani, [email protected], Feb. 07, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reactions to �Is Israel Doomed?� ( Jan. 09, 2007 ) Dear Tony: An Israeli preemptive strike against Iran 's nuclear facilities can happen only with the consent and support of President Bush, VP Cheney and their cabal of neo-cons. This time, however, the U.S. Congress will very likely no longer supinely agree to a White House usurpation of its constitutional authority to declare war.The U.S. is bogged down in Iraq and it is not in a position militarily to go to war against Iran . The American people will have none of it. Mariano Patalinjug, [email protected], Yonkers , NY , Feb. 021, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww HELLO TONY FROM CITA @HARVARD, I'VE SEEN BOTH WARS AND THE TRAGIC LOSS OF LIVES. IT HAS MADE ME REALIZE THAT THERE EXISTS EVIL MEN WHO ARE SO TERRIBLE AND BAD TOWARDS THEIR FELLOW MANKIND, AND WE, THE LUCKY ONES, (BY ACCIDENT OF BIRTH, AS KENNEDY SAID, OR GENES, OR SITUATION, ETC) WHO CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN, SHOULD TRY TO PREVENT THE EVIL ONES TO TRIUMPH. UNFORTUNATELY, SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A WAR TO DO IT. MORE POWER TO YOU AND YOUR NEWSPAPER Cita Abad Dinglasan, [email protected], Feb. 03, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reaction to �Israel�s Iraq Attack� ( Jan. 16, 2007 ) Dear Tony: With the U.S. disastrously bogged down in Iraq and apparently overcommitted and overstretched militarily all over the globe, the American people are in no mood to engage Iran militarily. The American people want the U.S. forces to get out of "sovereign" Iraq as quickly as reasonably possible. Note that the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group has pointed out that the U.S. has to deal diplomatically with both Syria and Iran , and that this is one step which needs to be given top piority. If Israel makes the mistake of planning to preemptively take out Iran 's nuclear facilities in a surgical strike, it can only do so with the explicit go-ahead and support of the U.S. My sense, however, is that neither the White House nor the Congress will give Israel the go-signal and the support that it needs, whether covertly or openly. Top U.S. officials, including President Bush, are now all too mindful of the possibility that taking out Iran 's nuclear facilities can lead to serious unintended consequences. One of these is the possibility of a regional conflagration. The U.S. has learned a very valuable lesson in Iraq in terms of unintended consequences. Mariano Patalinjug, [email protected], Yonkers NY , Feb. 04, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reaction to �High on Hydrogen� ( Jan. 23, 2007 ) (Unedited) I am making a coorection to your correction if you don't mind> (Sic) (Correction, please. Methanol and ethanol are alcohols and are therefore organic compounds. But they are not petrol-based. ACA) sic. Yes, Methanol "MUST" and "SUPPOSINGLY" a wood [fermented] alcohol. So much so that ethanol comes from cellusic feed stock and it "MUST" be [fermented].ERGO, fermented alcohols are considered organic. Methanol and Ethanol used in bio-fuels are distislled alcohols (petro-gas, coal or shale oils), therefore, they or inorganic. In MASS prodution organic alcohols could not give the requirment. That's the reason why in a similar example, ICE CREAM manufacturers will resort in the use of so-called ARTIFICIAL FRUIT FLAVORS, due to the lack of supply for real fruits. Jahnie Marzan, [email protected], Feb. 04, 2007 MY REPLY. Correction on your correction. Methanol and ethanol do not change their molecular structures just because they are distilled from petro-gas, coal or shale oil. They remain carbon-based compounds, meaning they remain organic compounds. Petro-gas, coal and shale oil ARE themselves carbon-based or organic compounds, being the residue of plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. Ask any professor of Chemistry. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |