Sunday, December 30, 2007

The "San Mamés" Manifesto

EITb brings to us a note about the compromise to a joined effort by Catalunya, Galiza and Euskal Herria to work together towards the international community recognition of their national teams.

Here you have the note:

Politics

San Mamés Statement

Basque, Catalan and Galician Govt's to promote national teams

12/29/2007

Representatives of the three governments signed Saturday morning a manifesto targeting to promote "sports, autochthonous sports and national teams".

Basque, Catalan and Galician Governments signed on Saturday the "San Mamés statement", an official manifesto that seeks to promote "sport systems, sport practice, , autochthonous sports and national teams" in the three regions.

The Culture councilors of the Basque and Galician governments, Miren Azkarate and Anxela Bugallo, respectively, and the vice president of the Catalan government, Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira, signed the agreement on Bilbao's San Mamés field, which hosts Saturday evening the friendly soccer match between the Basque and Catalan national teams.

"We are not here against anybody. We are here in favor of sport, in favor of our countries as sport countries", the Catalan vice president remarked.

The statement, read in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Spanish languages, establishes some basic points within the framework of cooperation dealing with "the promotion of sport exchanges" and the "establishment of open competitive frameworks for the national teams and sport federations" of the signatories of the manifesto.


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Saturday, December 29, 2007

About the Match in San Mamés

In just a few minutes the national teams representing Euskal Herria and Catalunya will appear on the field of Athletic de Bilbao's San Mamés stadium to play a friendly match as a means to call attention to their plea of official international recognition.

Here you have an article titled "Euskal Herria vs Catalonia" at a blog called "Football Articles":

Tomorrow evening will see Catalonia play the Basque Country, in San Mames, in a match that takes place between the sides over the Spanish Leagues Christmas off-season period. As always controversy has surrounded this game as both federations suggest that their 'national team' be given official status and recognised by FIFA as separate entities from the Spanish national side.

Previously the Basque country had always been known as Euskadi in such events. However, this time they are lining up under the name of Euskal Herria. The difference between these names is that Euskadi is solely the region of Northern Spain whilst Euskal Herria is suggesting that part of France and the region Navarra in Spain are also part of a 'Basque nation'. This change of name has angered the French Federation in particular.

Catalonia existed as a country before Spain came into existence. Within Spain exists regional identities and strong nationalistic movements for these regions to breakaway from Spain and exist as separate entities. Catalonia was a country with a proud sea heritage, even before the country of Spain was created. This only happened when the houses of Aragon and Castille came together after the marriage of Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1469.

Both the Catalan and Basque football federations have been appealing to UEFA and FIFA for a number of years now - in the hope of gaining official status for their teams - in order for them to play in Euro Championships and World Cups. European football's governing body UEFA has delayed a controversial decision to grant membership to Gibraltar -- despite being ordered to do so by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The FEF (Spanish Federation) are getting really worried now - as if Gibraltar are granted membership - Catalonia and The Basque Country have made it clear they will push to even harder to be recognized by UEFA.

Gibraltar is a tiny place - if they are granted membership they will not compete at any serious level but with the Faroe Islands already there - whilst remaining attached to Denmark - it is hypocritical to deny them their right to take part. If the Spanish regions gained membership, you might find Corsica applying, and Russian Republics like Chechnya, Dagestan and North Ossetia aswell. However, Catalonia and Euskadi are pushing for a change in the Spanish Constitution - to have more of a federal system, whereas they would technically still remain as part of Spain, but they will be seen and recognized as independent states in their own right. - Some in Spain's ruling Socialist Government as well as the usual nationalist parties are in favour of it. Again though, despite the fact that Germany is a federated state you don't see the likes of Bavaria applying for their own team! Although this is different since Bavaria and other German states haven't got the independence movements that they have in Catalonia and Euskadi.

This internal regional conflict is often a reason given for the poor performances at major tournaments by the Spanish national side. However to use this as an excuse for the Spanish National sides' failures shouldn't it mean that Italy with Sicilia, Sardegna, the Mezzo Giorno and the North in permanent conflict that they too shouldn't win anything? Perhaps a Catalan is not as comfortable or less susceptible to giving his all for Spain and the regionalised side could go on and outperform the Spain side of present.

Continues...


Just a comment to DF, Euskal Herria also existed as a country long before Spain came into existence, only that then it was called Navarre.

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Tasio : Catalunya and Euskal Herria





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Garzon Bans Rallies

This note comes to prove that Spain is far from being a democracy. In the wake of Natividad Junko's death the clown judge has decided to ban the rallies called by human rights' organization Etxerat to demand an end to the Dispersion Policy that Madrid applies only against Basque political prisoners in a clear example of political apartheid.

One would think that a judge would side with those who demand justice and equal respect for the civil liberties of all citizens, instead, Garzon adds insult to injury by banning the rallies just because some obscure extreme-right organization requested it, showing just how close Garzon is to the fascist minded politicians in Spain.

Here you have the note appeared at EITb:

Politics

Spanish High Court

Spanish judge Garzón bans Etxerat rallies

12/28/2007

A ruling by the Spanish High Court judge, considering the demand by the right-wing organization Dignidad y Justicia, bans the rallies of the Etxerat organization.

Spanish High Court judge Baltasar Garzón decided on Friday to ban several rallies called by the Basque organization Etxerat to protest against the death of Natividad Junko in a car accident.

Natividad Junko, mother in law of the Basque inmate Unai González, was killed in a car accident when she was going to visit his son-in-law.

The High Court ruling follows a demand by the right-wing organization Dignidad y Justicia to ban the rallies, official sources reported.

The banned rallies were called by Etxerat, a Basque organization in defense of the rights of the Basque prisoners, to protest against the death of Natividad Junko.


What's next?

The people will respond to Etxerat's call and the state will send the police force against them which will in turn create confrontations that will render a new wave of arrests, meaning, more political prisoners whose rights will be trampled by the Spanish government. That is Spain today.

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Eusko Flickr : Urkiola


Urkiola
Originally uploaded by jl_ibarruri

Monday, December 24, 2007

More Political Apartheid

This note about Spain's next move against the Basques' political rights appeared at EITb:

Politics

According to Some Spanish Media

Spanish High Court could outlaw Basque parties ANV, EHAK soon

12/24/2007

According to the Spanish newspapers El País and Público, Spain's Attorney General is to present the demand for the process to start following police reports that point out links between Batasuna and ANV and EHAK.

Spain's Attorney General might present a demand to the High Court to outlaw the Basque left-wing parties ANV and EHAK, Spanish newspapers El País and Público reported on Monday.

According to these two newspapers, the demand would follow police reports that say a bank account received and distributed funds between the members of the Basque political parties, Basque Nationalist Action ANV - Communist Party of the Basque Lands EHAK, and the outlawed party Batasuna.

This financial connection between Batasuna and the two other political parties is enough evidence to start proceedings to declare both the ANV and EHAK parties as illegal themselves, El País reports.

According to Público, the investigations are still ongoing and are expected to be completed by the end of the first week of 2008.


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Olentzero's Arrival

This note appeared at EITb:

Life


Christmas Eve


Olentzero arrives in the Basque Country


12/24/2007


The Olentzero, a mythical Basque character, is a messenger, a shepherd who cries out that it is Christmas time throughout all the corners of the Basque Country.

Basque Country's magical character of Olentzero will be, once again, the center of the Christmas celebrations. On Christmas Eve, throughout virtually all the towns in the Basque Country, the figure of a shepherd or a coal man is lifted up, sitting in a basket, onto the shoulders of people who take it from house to house throughout the town or village, and at every house that it passes, the young people that accompany the Olentzero stop to sing a Christmas carol.

In Navarre, for example, the Olentzero is a coal man who comes down from the mountains to hand out chestnuts and wine, and of course presents for the little ones. The Olentzero, a mythical Basque character, is a messenger, a shepherd who cries out that it is Christmas time throughout all the corners of the Basque Country. But he is not only a shepherd; in some parts he is a farm worker and in other parts he is the coalman, but all of them have in common the fact that they bring good news.

But the Olentzero has also always been associated with many other beliefs, such as the deeply rooted Basque cuisine. In Salvatierra in Alava, for example, the Olentzero is a coalman, who after having lived a hard life up in the mountains, comes back to his village to bring good news and at the same time to have a good feast to make up for the hunger which he has suffered.

This mythical character has a big head, a large belly and according to local traditions is capable of drinking ten "arrobas" (one arroba is about twenty-five pounds in weight) of wine. In Hondarribia apart from carrying a pipe, a capon, some eggs and a bottle of wine, he usually has a tail made of cod, and if a permanent Olentzero is erected in a village, a barbecue is usually set up next to him where sardines are handed out free of charge to the onlookers.

The Christmas tree is still one of the key references around this time in the Basque Country. Our parents can still remember when the wood was being collected in Autumn, the way in which the best tree was taken home whole. The custom still remains. Now there is no need for heifers to drag the tree back home, but in many homes a pine tree or a Christmas tree decorates the flats and the houses. It is a typical tree from northern Europe, but a tree which also reflects the respect which the Basques have towards the "Christmas Tree".

The Christmas carols also make up an important part of the festivities. The idea is that the carols represent a cheerful greeting which is taken from house to house where a verse is dedicated either to the whole family or to one special member. These songs are still sung within all Basque families.


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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Winds of Change

I just received this information via email:

The Lakota Nation recently announced its withdrawal from the United States and its mandated treaties to become an independent country in itself. Freedom from this colonial apartheid system and an opportunity to empower themselves thru cultural enrichment and traditional education may give them a better chance to control their own destiny and improve their severely impoverished communities. Check it at Lakotafreedom.com!

Please support this group who seem less afraid to stand up for their basic human rights then most of us. A lesson for all. Truth lives! Peace.


The winds of change are blowing everywhere.

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2008 : The Future

Ibarretxe continues to press forward with this call for a referendum in the Basque Autonomous Community. This note appeared at EITb:

Politics

Ibarretxe's Speech

Ibarretxe:" Basque Country’s future will be decided” in 2008

12/22/2007

This is one of the messages given by the Basque Prime Minister in his traditional reception to Basque society. He also pointed out that Basque society “will never pin its hopes just on ETA’s hands”.

The Basque Prime Minister, Juan José Ibarretxe, said that 2008 will be "fundamental" because "Basque country’s future for the next twenty years will be decided”, and assured that Basque society “will never pin its hopes just on ETA’s hands” and “will not accept a way back”.

Ibarretxe made these comments in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the speech given during the Christmas reception to Basque society, which took place yesterday, at Basque government seat.

A big representation of Basque society attended the act, politicians, businessmen, trade union and culture representatives just as judiciary and public prosecuting
members, and education and sports’ world members.

The Basque Prime Minister started his intervention assuring that “living in peace is a Basque people’s” right, and asked “Basque Country to be respected as an own and differentiated personality town”.

About the Basque armed group ETA

However, regretted that in 2007 "ETA has broken everybody’s illusions, including many Batasuna’s people’s, with the cease-fire end”.

In spite of this he said that “they have tried and failed” but “also learned”, meaning that Basque society “will never pin its hopes just in ETA”.

"There have been some attempts to solve things and dialogue always started with an ETA’s truce and also finished when ETA wanted and we will never repeat this experience,” he warned.

Besides, he stated that citizenship “will not accept a way back to ilegalize ideas or political parties” and to consider as a crime that Spanish Socialist Party PSOE’s representatives talk with the outlawed Basque party Batasuna”.


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Friday, December 21, 2007

Atxaga Translated

This note appeared at the Telegraph:


Uncle Juan's horse and the rich Fascist's daughter

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 22/12/2007

David Flusfeder reviews The Accordionist's Son by Bernado Atxaga, tr by Margaret Jull Costa

Bernardo Atxaga's leisurely novel is a rare thing in our literary culture. Look around a bookshop's tables of fiction and you will see very few translated books; maybe a couple of contemporary novels from France, a few reissued classics from Russia and Germany and South America. The rest will be British and American.

Bernardo Atxaga is a Basque novelist, writing in a language that has fewer than a million speakers, and yet whose work has commanded an international audience.

The Accordionist's Son begins with the untimely death of its hero and supposed author, David Imaz, on his ranch in California, a long way from his home in the Basque village of Obaba. In the introduction we are told that David's book will be "very interesting, very dense…events and facts have all been crammed in like anchovies in a glass jar". In fact - and this is both the book's weakness and its strength - it reads like a slowly unfolding memoir.

We are moved back in time, first into the romance of how David and his (American) wife met and fell in love, and then to his 1960s boyhood in Obaba, where he did the sorts of things that boys do everywhere: flirting, fighting, squabbling with his father and falling in love.

But this is Franco's Spain, where the men with power in the village, including David's father, Angel, are those who fought or conspired for the winning side in the Civil War. Before we can approach these unpleasant truths, though, we pass several seasons in the life of the village, where things pass slowly.

The most remarkable events are David's expulsion from school, after being caught with a pornographic magazine that belongs to his friend Martin (who will later become a cocaine-tooting nightclub entrepreneur and boxing promoter); his hiding of his Uncle Juan's horse so that the rich Fascist's daughter will be unable to buy it; and his love affairs.

The most poignant of these is his afternoon of love in room 27 of the Hotel Alaska with Martin's sister, the lame Theresa. She has always loved him, while he has always loved the virginal Virginia, who is engaged to a sailor who will later be lost at sea.

In defiance of Chekhov's maxim that a pistol introduced in Act 1 must always be fired in Act 3, Theresa's pocket revolver is introduced with no greater shock ensuing than the death of a sparrow.

But there have been human deaths: the village was ripped apart in the Civil War, with Uncle Juan on the Republican side and Angel the accordionist implicated in the murders of Republican sympathisers. (Moral value here is generally equated with which side a character supported, or would have, in the Civil War.)

And the boy David, the reluctant accordionist and 1960s adolescent, becomes obsessed with disinterring the truths of the village's past.

The surface of village life is finally lifted, and we are thrust into murder and conspiracy in the story of Don Pedro "The American" (a Leftist villager so-called because he once lived in Canada), who had been chosen for death but managed to get away.

By the end of the novel, subtly, with the reader almost being unaware of the process taking place, we are in tune with the lost rhythms of Basque rural life and able to begin to comprehend a world that supported both communal village traditions and the atrocity of Guernica.


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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Azkarraga : Ideas Are Being Imprisoned

This note appeared at EITb:

Politics

18/98: Official Statement

Basque Government denounces "ideas are being imprisoned"

12/20/2007

Justice councilor Joseba Azkarraga, acting as a spokesman for the Basque Government, said the sentence of the 18/98 trial is a "twisted" interpretation of the law.

Justice Councilor Joseba Azkarraga said, acting as a spokesman for the Basque Government, the sentence of the 18/98 trial against a network of Basque left-wing social and political groups means that "ideas are being imprisoned.

"It is a "twisted" interpretation of the law that leads to deprive unfairly some citizens of their freedom, Azkarraga added.

In an official statement read the day after the reading of the 18/98 sentence that convicts 47 people to prison terms ranging from two to 24 years, Azkarraga said it is an "offence of opinion" and added it is a "political reading" to say everything is "ETA".


I would say, ideals are also being imprisoned.

Mr. Azkarraga, this would not be taking place without the PNV's silent complicity, so, do not leave the whole thing in just a few words, act, you need to act to stop this from happening again and again.

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Against Franco's Legacy

This note appeared at EITb, a poll shows that the majority of Basques oppose the Franco style Law of Political Parties that the Spanish stablishment created with the sole purpose of banning any Basque political party that upholds their compromise with the Basque people to pursue the self determination of Euskal Herria.

Here you have it:

Politics

Basque Socio-Meter

60% of citizens of Basque Community, against banning parties

12/20/2007

They are against the banning of Basque leftist parties EHAK and ANV, opposite to that, 20% would support it. On the other hand, violence is still the main problem of those polled.

According to the Basque socio-meter, almost 60% of those polled say they are against the banning of Basque leftist parties EHAK and ANV and 20% of the citizens would support that measure. Half of the citizens of the Basque Community are also against the decision to imprison the members of outlawed leftist party Batasuna.

Basque armed group ETA’s terrorist attacks made the Spanish Government to argue again about the necessity to outlaw ANV and EHAK, because they have the same ideas as the already outlawed Basque party Bastasuna, But public opinion opposes this kind of initiatives. Some years ago, the majority of the Basques opposed the banning of Batasuna and now they do the same with the parties mentioned above.

Almost 6 out of 10 of those polled are against the banning of ANV and EHAK and that opinion is almost unanimous among nationalists (82%). Non-nationalists are more divided: only a third of them say they are against it.

Opposite to that, a fifth of the citizens of the Basque Community would support the banning of those two political parties.

Violence, the main preoccupation

Violence is again the main preoccupation of the citizens due to the end of cease-fire and ETA’s terrorist attacks.

Apart from violence, housing and unemployment are the most mentioned problems of the Basque community.

Almost half of them support Basque premier’s proposal

Almost the half of the citizens of the Basque Community support Basque premier’s proposal to call for a referendum in 2008 in order to ask the citizens whether they support or not self-determination right. A third of those polled would not support that referendum.


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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The "Bad Guys"

It is funny, the Washington sponsored push for Kosovo's independence (including the training and funding of the Kosovo Liberation Army by the CIA) has elicited some estrange reactions in Europe, this one was published at RIA Novosti, a Russian media outlet.

The article provides the who's who list of independence driven movements in Europe, the "bad guys" of the movie. Here it is:

Hotbeds of separatism in modern Europe
22:59 | 19/ 12/ 2007

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti) - The Kosovo issue has been forwarded to the UN Security Council. The Russian Foreign Ministry suggests that Belgrade and Pristina should have another chance to come to terms. A decision on Kosovo's cessation from Serbia will create a precedent and violate international law.

Today, Europe is the venue of both integration and separatist processes. Experts have calculated that in the 21st century more than 10 new states may emerge in Europe.

Basque Country is the most traditional example of European separatism. In Spain, about two million Basques live in three provinces of what is called Basque Country. It has broader powers than other Spanish regions; the living standards are above the average; and Basque is recognized as an official language. But despite this devolution deal, the advocates of secession from Spain (to be merged with the Basque-populated part of France) are not going to stop at that.

Francisco Franco was responsible for the growth of separatism - the Basques were not allowed to publish books and newspapers; conduct instruction in Basque (native name - euskara); give children Basque names or put out their national flag. Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or ETA (Basque for "Basque Homeland and Freedom") was set up in 1959 as an anti-Franco party. Franco has long been dead and the Basque country has received the autonomous status, but this does not prevent the Basque terrorists from fighting. More than 900 people have fallen victim to the struggle for "independence."

Catalonia, an autonomous province in the north-east of Spain is also a headache for Madrid. Having their own language and culture, the Catalans have always stressed their separate identity in Spain. Their province enjoys extensive autonomy in Spain, a constitutional monarchy. Relations with the central government in Madrid are being regulated by a separate charter. In 2005, the new version of the charter said that the Catalans are a separate nation. However, there are dozens of parties and public organizations in the region, mostly left-wing, which are advocating cessation from Spain. Their goal is to hold a referendum on independence until 2014.

Another Spanish province, Valencia, received a new autonomous status in July 2007.

France has a long-standing experience of resisting separatism and extremism on its territory, above all in the Mediterranean island of Corsica. The Corsican national groups clashed with the French army in the middle 1970s. The Corsican Nationalist Union and the Movement for Self-Determination are the biggest and most influential among these groups. Both have combat units. In the last 25 years, the island's status was upgraded twice - in 1982 and 1990 the local authorities were given increasingly broad powers in the economy, agriculture, energy industry, transportation, education, and culture. Several years ago, French parliament recognized the existence of the Corsican nation. This decision was later cancelled as contradicting the Constitution of the French Republic.

The Breton Revolutionary Army (BRA) has operated in Bretagne, a north-western French province, since the early 1970s. The descendants of the Celts, who once came from the British Isles, do not identify themselves fully with the French, or consider themselves special among other French citizens. During censuses, many of them call themselves Bretons although put French as their native tongue. The BRA (apparently named by analogy with the Irish Republican Army - IRA) belongs to the extremist wing of the nationalist movement Emgann, which is fighting against the "French oppressors."

In Italy, the separatist attitudes are strong in the industrially advanced northern regions. The influential League of the North has so far given up its demand of secession and insists on Italy becoming a federation. There are also people wishing to see South Tirol, which Italy received after WWI, reunited with Austria.

Belgium may separate into northern Flanders (whose residents speak Dutch and are leaning towards the Netherlands) and southern French-speaking Wallonia. This confrontation between Belgium's two linguistic communities is rooted in the beginning of Belgium's independent history when the Walloons and the Flemish formed a union against the Netherlands. Having once united in the name of freedom, they have been trying to break apart for almost two centuries. Appeals for independence are growing stronger and stronger - the economically advanced Flanders does not want to "feed" the Walloon Region. The polls show that more than 60% of the Flemish and over 40% of the Walloons believe that Belgium may disintegrate.

In Britain, the separatist attitudes have moved from Ulster to Scotland. The recent Scottish parliamentary elections were won by the supporters of the formation of a new independent state from the Scottish National Party (SNP). The head of the Scottish government Alex Salmond declared that Scotland may become independent within a decade. So far, only 23% of Scots support the idea of their independence (as compared with 30% a year ago). However, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown (the current British Prime Minister) warned in the press that Britain would be threatened with "Balkanization" if the 300 year-long union between England and Scotland continued weakening.

Denmark's Faeroe Islands are a semi-autonomous territory, living on the government's subsidies of almost $170 million a year. This fact is a restraint for the local separatists, although five years ago they tried to conduct a referendum on independence.

Quiet Switzerland also has its own separatists. The Front for the Liberation of Yura has been demanding this canton's independence from the confederation for over 30 years. At one time, Yura inhabited by French-speaking Catholics was transferred to the canton of Bern with its predominantly German-speaking Protestant population. The Front's leaders admit that their chances of success are minimal.

Vojvodina is a Serbian autonomous region located some 35 km (22 miles) away from Belgrade. The Alliance of Vojvodina's Magyars, whose representatives control almost 70% of the region's territory, demand a republican status for the region, a referendum on secession from Serbia and a confederation with Hungary. Late last March, the Association asked the European Union to send a mission to study the situation. Hungarians now account for more than 40% of the region's population.

A similar scenario is developing in Romanian Transylvania (in 1940-1945 it belonged to Hungary; in 1919-1939 to Romania; and before that to Austria-Hungary). The percentage of Hungarians there already exceeds 45%. The Union for the Revival of Hungarian Transylvania, set up under Ceausescu, has already held referendums on territorial autonomy in three Transylvanian districts late last March. The local Hungarians expressed themselves for the maximal autonomy from Bucharest and independent relations with Budapest.

The "anti-colonial" raids have become more frequent in Italian Sardinia, and in the Austrian provinces of Stiria and particularly Carinthia, mostly populated by the Croatians and Slovenians. The South Albanian Greeks and the residents of the Portuguese Azores have also become increasingly active in demanding autonomy.


I do not like the bias in the text, but at least it presents a list of all the independentist movements in Europe which in turn chips away from Spain's propaganda campaign which dictates that the Basques are the only Europeans not happy with belonging to a monolithic state-nation.

One can easily understand the reason for the strong feelings in Russia against self-determination movements across Europe for they too lost their colonialist grip of European states like Moldavia, Latvia, Ukraine and many others, not even going to mention the republics in Central Asia.

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Eggs With Peppers And Tomatoes

The Chicago Tribune was nice enough to share this Basque cuisine recipe:

Basque scrambled eggs with peppers and tomatoes

December 19, 2007

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Yield: 2 to 3 servings

•Piperade is the French-Basque name for this appetizing prosciutto-topped scramble of eggs with tomatoes and sweet peppers. This dish is typically highly seasoned, but the amount of salt, and red and black peppers can be adjusted to suit your taste.

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, cored, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 each, finely diced: red and green bell pepper
1 teaspoon tomato paste or more to taste, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 to 3 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced, trimmed, optional

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the garlic and onion. Cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes; lower heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add 1/2 cup each of the red and green pepper; cover. Cook until peppers are soft, about 20 minutes.

2. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor; stir in 1 teaspoon or more of tomato paste for additional flavor or color, if desired. Return puree to skillet over medium heat; season with the salt, ground red pepper and black pepper to taste. Add the remaining diced red and green peppers; heat the mixture to an active simmer. Lower heat to low; add the eggs. Cook, stirring gently, until eggs are scrambled, firm but not dry, about 4 minutes. Taste; adjust seasoning if needed. Serve garnished with sliced prosciutto.

Nutrition information per serving:

241 calories, 57% of calories from fat, 16 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 297 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrates, 16 g protein, 997 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.


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Athletic : The Basque Team

Here you have a nice article about the Basque football team Athletic de Bilbao appeared at Telegraph:

Athletic Bilbao live out the Basque ideal

By Tony Francis
Last Updated: 1:07am GMT 20/12/2007

Arsene Wenger will need smelling salts if he reads this - one of Europe's more successful clubs won't accept foreign players at any price. It gets worse. They only recruit from their own parish and prefer footballers who can get their tongues around an unfathomable language spoken by a mere 650,000 people. Bixente Lizarazu and Andoni Goikoetxea sailed through the auditions, but they had the alphabet on their side.

The club in question is Athletic Bilbao. The language is Euskera, or Basque. The model is unique. It's also unshakeable. I make no apologies for being 109 years late with the story because recent events at home demand that we take a closer look at alternative systems. Should our senior clubs be persuaded to produce more of their own players instead of raiding Africa's pantry? Would England benefit as a result? Italian officials studied the Bilbao example last season when Serie A was in a mess. Their conclusions are still under wraps.

Athletic are the most exclusive club in world football and proud of it. If you're not Basque, you can't join. Their favourite saying is: Con cantera y aficion, no hace falta importacion. It translates as: With home-grown talent and local support, you don't need foreigners. Can you see Arsenal buying that? Or Sir Alex Ferguson, despite his talk of quotas? Howard Kendall felt a trifle strangulated by it when he was Athletic's coach in the 80s. Their Basque neighbours, Real Sociedad, matched them for half a century but officially abandoned the policy by signing John Aldridge in 1989. They reckoned the Basque Country was too small to sustain two top clubs.

The only sporting parallel was Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Much to many a Yorky's disgust, they relaxed their qualification rules when motorway verges became cluttered with the progeny of cricket nuts from Pontefract to Wensleydale racing home to deposit their wives over the county boundary before their waters broke.

Not once in more than a century have Athletic's 35,000 members even discussed the possibility of opening their doors to the rest of Spain, never mind the world at large. "Why should they?" asked Andoni Zubizarreta, the goalkeeper in Javier Clemente's league and cup-winning side of 1984. "Some think it's a limitation, but I see it as a strength. It unites us. It's our reference point."

The club showed me an extraordinary photograph of the 'double' celebrations which occupied both banks and every bridge over the River Nervion as the players' barge led a fleet of vessels reminiscent of the Armada. It would never happen on the Manchester Ship Canal.

Athletic have been trophyless since that day. Even 'Zubi' concedes that it gets harder and harder to win things. Last season they were almost relegated for the first time in 109 years but survived on the final day. This season they are also too close to the bottom for comfort. I recently watched them surrender a 2-0 lead to their fellow strugglers, Deportivo La Coruna. In spite of that, the atmosphere in San Mames, their crumbling bowl of a stadium, was different from anything I'd experienced in the Bernabeu, the Maracana or the San Siro. Thirty-seven thousand Basques felt like a nation. To paraphrase C?S Lewis, the disappointment they suffered then was part of the joy they felt after beating Valencia 3-0 in the Mestalla a week later.

So why do Bilbao insist on home-grown talent when there are only about three million Basques to choose from and the French side of the Pyrenees prefers rugby anyway? More to the point, can they ever be truly competitive again? After all, there was no Bosman ruling when they won eight league titles and 24 Copas del Rey.

Their president, Fernando Garcia Macua, seemed surprised by the question. "It's not written into our constitution that the team has to be all-Basque. It's just a philosophy we've had from the start and we see no reason to change."

What if Athletic are in the second division next season? "We'd rather go down than change our habits," he said. "I know the supporters feel the same." Paradoxically, Athletic are a foreign creation, started by British workers who left Sunderland and Southampton to work in the steel and shipbuilding industries.

I was introduced to Jose Angel Iribar, the club's legendary goalkeeper in the Sixties and Seventies who achieved notoriety by carrying the illegal Basque flag on to the pitch as soon as General Franco died. He was bullish about the future: "Our cantera (youth academy) is still one of the strongest in Spain. The spirit among young men who grow up together playing for the club they supported as boys is something every club envies."

When Athletic are losing, their crowds grow bigger. It's almost biblical. Followers tell me they connect with the players in a way that Arsenal fans can't hope to connect with Emmanuel Adebayor or Liverpool fans with Fernando Torres. They've watched them come through the academy; been to their confirmations; bumped into them in the shopping mall. If it sounds parochial, it shouldn't. At my local club, Leicester City, we were delighted when Keith Weller and Frank Worthington joined us but it gave us the most pleasure when Graham Cross, David Nish, Peter Shilton and Gary Lineker came through the ranks.

On the broader question of whether Athletic Bilbao's no-foreigners policy benefits the national team, the answer is a resounding yes - in the past. However, there are few Basques in the present Spanish squad and when it comes to underperforming, Spain have consistently left England in the shade.


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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Another Arrest

Madrid continues its apartheid policy against Batasuna, here you have a note by EITb regarding the arrest of Marije Fullaondo:

Politics

Police Operation

Police arrest Batasuna’s leader Marije Fullaondo

12/18/2007

The member of outlawed Basque party Batasuna Marije Fullaondo was arrested a few minutes before 5 p.m. in the Basque town of Gernika.

Spanish police arrested this evening outlawed Basque party Batasuna’s leader Marije Fullaondo in the Basque town of Gernika. The arrest was ordered by Spanish High Court judge Baltasar Garzon, Europa Press reported.

Fullaondo’s home, placed in the Basque town of Errigoiti, was searched. Fullaondo is going to be moved to Madrid, the same sources reported.

According to EFE, the arrest is part of the police operation that started October 4 and ordered by judge Baltasar Garzon. That day, 23 Batasuna’s members were arrested while they were having a meeting in the Basque town of Segura.


~ ~ ~

Eusko YouTube : Basque Solidarity in Ireland

A video that shows a demonstration by Irish activists supporting the members of Batasuna incarcerated by the fascist minted Audiencia Nacional.

The video contains interviews with those who took part in the demonstration and a song by Sinead O'Connor as soundtrack.


~ ~ ~

Monday, December 17, 2007

EA's New Leadership

This note appeared at EITb:

Politics

VII Congress

Unai Ziarreta appointed new EA leader

12/17/2007

Unai Ziarreta, who succeeds Begoña Errazti as head of the Basque nationalist party EA, was supported by the 68.5 percent of the members of EA taking part in the congress.

Prominent member of EA Unai Ziarreta was appointed on Sunday new president of the Basque nationalist leader Eusko Alkartasuna.

Ziarreta, who succeeds Begoña Erratzi, got the support of 68.5 percent of the members of EA taking part in the congress held in the Basque city of Donostia-San Sebastian.

Party members also elected Joseba Azkarraga as the new general secretary.

In his first speech as EA presisent, Ziarreta called for the celebration of a referendum in the Basque Country and the search of independence.


~ ~ ~

Pintxo Outing in Donostia

The author calls them "tapas", we will not frown upon that, here you have an article about the pintxo bars in Donostia:

San Sebastian Tapas Scene Offers Packed Bars, Snacker's Heaven

Review by John Mariani

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The way to tell a good tapas bar from a poor one among the more than 500 in San Sebastian, Spain, is to measure the square footage you can occupy on the floor: Anything more than one square foot means it's not very popular.

Jostling for a position near the bar itself is part ritual and part endurance test. On most nights in the old quarter of this gorgeous Basque city on the Bay of Biscay, the bars are packed with locals who come to snack on the tapas -- here called pinchos -- and to drink red and rose wines, cider, Mahou beer or the unique sparkling wine of the region called txakoli.

"The prowl from bar to bar, or tascas, is called el chiquiteo, referring to the squat, wide-mouthed glasses drinks are served in,'' says Gerry Dawes, author of "An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel,'' who has led many a chiquiteo in San Sebastian.

The array of tapas at some bars may number three dozen or more, though most places serve perhaps a dozen, some hot, some cold. They're quite similar from bar to bar. You will invariably find paper-thin slices of sweet-salty Spanish ham on crusty bread (good bread is a distinguishing factor in tapas bars), scrambled eggs and mushrooms, sardines and anchovies, stuffed pimientos, fried croquetas and a potato omelet called tortilla de patata. Those made in the morning and not consumed by afternoon are discarded and new ones are made for the evening.

House Specialties

The best tascas serve a wider variety and several house specialties. One of the best is old town's Gandarias Jatetxea, which serves tripe, chorizo sausage, several croquetas (some with a creamy bechamel inside) and has exclusive rights in San Sebastian to carry Spain's finest and most expensive jamon, from the producer Joselito. This sliced ham is worth every penny at 17.40 euros ($25) for a generous plate.

My favorite tasca is nearby La Cuchara de San Telmo. It's also the one with the least wiggle room, so you will find yourself cheek to jowl with locals who point to the cold tapas on the bar or special-order the hot ones. On a recent evening those included shredded oxtail, foie gras and a risotto with blue Cabrales cheese whipped in.

The tradition among barmen is to pour the wines by holding the bottle a good foot away from the chiquiteo glasses, and rarely do they ever waste a drop. You get a short pour -- maybe an inch or two -- since most people eat one or two tapas, slug down their drink and move on. My own preference, therefore, is to drink the cold, fizzy txakoli, whose alcohol content is only about 9 percent to 11 percent. That way I don't wobble (much) down the street after visiting my third tasca.

Txakoli Regions

Several grape varieties go into txakoli, though principally hondarrabi zuri and hondarrabi beltza. It's made under three appellations: Getariako, west of San Sebastian; Bizkaiko, in Vizcaya province; and Arabako, in the Ayala Valley.

The closest thing to txakoli is the better-known vinho verde of Portugal, though carbon dioxide is usually added to that to give it fizz. Txakoli has a lemony fragrance and an acidity and minerality that makes it a good match with the flavors of tapas, from briny sardines to silky ham.

It's not a sophisticated wine, more fun to drink than to savor or describe. In the U.S., it usually sells for about $13- $16 a bottle, but I've seen examples at a ridiculous $23.

Eight Rules of Pinchos

Here are a few more things I learned about bar hopping in San Sebastian:

1. There are at least a dozen tapas bars (and restaurants) along Calle 31 de Agosto, including those named above and other well-known examples like La Cepa, Martinez and La Cueva. (Gandarias Jatetxea is at No. 23, La Cuchara de San Telmo at No. 28.) Many others dot the streets of old town, and every hotel will provide a map of them.

2. Cold items line the bar, while hot dishes are listed on blackboards.

3. The barman totals up the bill merely by looking at the empty plates you return. It's an honor system.

4. There is no tipping required in a tasca.

5. Smoking is still allowed in Spain's restaurants, but many newer tascas now post "No Smoking'' signs.

6. The locals tend to eat late, though not nearly as late as they do in Madrid. Start bar hopping after 8 p.m. and the tascas will be swarming by 9. During the week, they start to close up around midnight, later on weekends.

7. Tascas tend to stay open throughout the day, so you can eat pretty much whenever you get hungry.

8. Prices for most cold tapas will run about 1.60 to 1.80 euros, hot dishes 2.40 and up. Wines by the glass, including txakoli, cost about 1.10 to 1.40 euros.

(John Mariani writes on wine and food for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on this story: John Mariani at john@johnmariani.com


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Sunday, December 16, 2007

The GAL

Since we are talking about Felipe González, the state-terrorism sponsor, let us read what Wikipedia has to say about his brain child, the one with a self deprecating name. Here it is:

GAL's History

GAL (Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación / Antiterrorist Liberation Groups) operated mainly in the Basque Country, mostly on the French side of the border, but kidnapping, torture and economic crimes were also carried out in other parts of Spain. The victims were both members and supporters of ETA, and people unconnected to terrorism. The groups were active from 1983 to 1987 committing 27 killings. This period is often referred to as part of "La guerra sucia" (The dirty war) in Spanish history.

The GAL did not have a proper or consistent ideology, they just acted in retaliation for ETA actions. Thus, the actual perpetrators were never militants in a political sense but mercenaries, and some policemen were convicted of involvement (Lasa-Zabala case, in which Guardias Civiles were charged and sentenced, Larraetxea case, etc.)

The kidnapping and later killing of Joxe Antonio Lasa and Joxe Ignacio Zabala in October 1983 and the kidnapping of Segundo Marey in 1983, marked the beginning of the group.

Felipe González, then Prime Minister of Spain and leader of the Socialist Party, was suspected of being involved with the GAL as a result of the long series of reports by investigative journalism which the Spanish daily El Mundo and other Spanish media devoted to the matter. It is claimed that, although González probably knew about the GAL, he was not brought to trial in order to avoid the consequent discrediting of Spanish political institutions. Some government officials went to extreme lengths to punish El Mundo for its investigations years later, when, with the help of well-known lawyer Emilio Rodríguez Menéndez, a plot against El Mundo director Pedro J. Ramírez was orchestrated, a prostitute with the bait of information on the GAL drugged his drink with the intention of making a sex tape. With the threat of the public release of this sex tape, they attempted to silence his discoveries on the GAL, yet he initiated a court case against them. Rodríguez Menéndez and other government officials were found guilty and given sentences of up to four years in prison.

The GAL was one of the main issues of the campaign for the elections of 1996 in which Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was defeated by José María Aznar's People's Party (PP) for the first time. Felipe González then resigned as leader of the party. With the exception of Ricardo García Damborenea, PSOE leaders have never acknowledged responsibility for the GAL, and have condemned their crimes verbally. González himself has never been charged with a GAL offence, but he has called publicly for pardons for his former subordinates. PSOE leaders have campaigned for leniency towards their former co-workers convicted of crimes associated with GAL and the succeeding government of José María Aznar granted some pardons to Socialists convicted of GAL crimes.

After 1987, when the GAL disbanded, the French government adopted a harsher attitude towards Basque refugees, denying political refugee status to new applicants, and facilitating extraditions requested by Spanish judges. This change weakened ETA's veterans. It is believed that the GAL were a major factor in ensuring ETA's survival into the 1990s and beyond, helping to preserve the image of an authoritarian state at war with the Basque people.


~ ~ ~

González The Wise

Here you have a guy that should be in jail for being caught hot handed in a state sponsored terrorist adventure known as the GAL. This is what you need to know about the topic:

Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL, Antiterrorist Liberation Groups) were death squads illegally set up by officials within the Spanish government to fight ETA. They were active from 1983 until 1987, under PSOE's cabinets. It was proven in a judicial trial that they were financed and backed by key officials within the Spanish Interior Ministry.


So, when you read news like the one I present here you start to wonder how do criminals like Felipe González be considered a "wise" peson" when he should be in The Hague warming up Slobodan Milosevic's now empty cot. Here you have the note by Reuters:

Skeptic on Turkey to chair EU "wise" panel
Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:33pm GMT

By Darren Ennis and William Schomberg

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders on Friday named former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, a past critic of Turkey's EU membership bid, to head a "reflection group" to study the long-term future of the 27-nation bloc.

The panel was the brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a vehement opponent of Turkish accession, who first called in August for the EU to create a group of "wise people" to consider Europe's final borders.

The mandate has since been changed to look at the future of Europe in 2020-2030, focusing mostly on the economic challenges of globalization.

"In this new European dream, the question of borders is bound to be posed, not simply first of all the question of Turkey but should Europe set borders or not," the French leader told a news conference after an EU summit.

Sarkozy may have scored a point by stealth with the choice of Gonzalez, a socialist who ran Spain from 1982 to 1996 and voiced skepticism three years ago about incorporating the large, poor, mostly Muslim country into the EU.

Spanish newspapers quoted the ex-premier in May 2004 as telling a Universal Forum of Cultures in Barcelona there were limits to the enlargement of Europe, which should "stop at the borders of Turkey" because of social and cultural differences.

Asked about those comments, Gonzalez's spokesman Joaquin Tagar told Reuters in Madrid on Friday: "He was just expressing a theoretical opinion, not taking a definite position on the matter. He was just pointing out the difference between European and Turkish culture."

Pressed to say what Gonzalez's position on Turkey's candidacy was now, he said: "What he has been saying in recent times is that if the European Union has a commitment to Turkey, it should honor it."

WHERE DOES EUROPE END?

In Ankara, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said: "The mandate of the wise men group was very important for us and apparently Turkey was excluded. So with regard to Turkey's EU process, it's not very important for us who chairs the group."

The reflection group, which will number no more than nine members, is mandated to look at "the stability and prosperity of the Union and of the wider region".

The formulation deliberately left open whether Turkey would be part of the Union or the wider region in 2020-2030.

The panel will also look at issues such as energy, climate change and justice matters. It is due to report its findings to EU leaders in June 2010.

Former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Jorma Ollila, the chairman of mobile phone giant Nokia, were named as the two vice-chairs of the panel.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero voiced delight at the choice of his political mentor for the key chairman role, and said it had not been ruled out that the group could discuss the EU's borders.

"It's not excluded that there is a reflection about what the size of Europe should be in the future," he told reporters.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was "extremely partial" to describe Gonzalez as being against Turkey's EU membership.

Some politicians were critical of the choice of a leader from the 1980s to study the EU's future.

"If you ever wanted to see Jurassic Park in reality, then this appointment (of Gonzalez) is just that," Graham Watson, leader of the Liberal Democrat group in the European Parliament.

"It's not about age, but all three of the panel so far represent old Europe."

(Additional reporting by Jason Webb in Madrid, Yves Clarisse and Ingrid Melander in Brussels; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)




~ ~ ~

Attacks Against Maoris and Kurds

As a Basque I feel disheartened when I read news like these.

First New Zealand:

by RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer
53 minutes ago

Armed police stormed into this quiet village at dawn, threw up roadblocks, shot out truck tires and forced families out of their homes at gunpoint.

The rare show of force, with its dark subscript of terrorism and assassination plans, stunned this placid nation where beat cops don't even carry guns. It has since sparked charges of racism and inflamed historical resentments.

The October raid was part of a nationwide sweep in which 16 people were arrested and authorities said they shut down military-style camps on Maori ancestral lands where both Maori militants and environmental activists trained.

But a bid to charge 12 of the 16 with terrorist activities unraveled on technical grounds, triggering complaints of police heavy-handedness. While the facts remain unclear, the way police handled the case has strained relations with the 540,000-strong Maori community, which makes up 15 percent of the country's population.

What many found most appalling were the tactics used to arrest three of the suspects in Ruatoki and the nearby town of Whakatane, both home to the uncompromising Tuhoe — the only Maori tribe that still rejects the government's sovereignty, 167 years after the British colonized the islands. For some, the raids stirred memories of repression of Maori more than a century ago.

"They came in here like in a B-grade film," said Tame Iti, a well-known Tuhoe activist arrested in the Ruatoki raid. "It was an attack on the community. It was an attack on me as a freedom fighter, and as a sovereign person of this country."

The town of Ruatoki is dotted with small houses, some just sheds, that lie in flat fields by a rural highway on the northern of New Zealand's two main islands.

Iti said police stormed in and held his family including children at gunpoint, firing two shots into tires on his truck to immobilize it.

After the arrests, protests broke out in a dozen towns and cities and abroad in the United States, England and Australia, itself home to 250,000 Maori.

The police actions against the Tuhoe "set back relations between Maori and the government 100 years," said Pita Sharples, co-leader of the Maori Party and a member of parliament.

Authorities said that during 18 months of covert monitoring, they had heard armed activists at the camps — in the forested hills of Te Urewera, the Tuhoe ancestral lands — talking of political assassinations and bombing power plants. The arrested included some white New Zealanders.

In a controversial move, local newspapers published police intercepts of those conversations. In them, the suspects discuss using "sudden" and "brutal" attacks to divide "Aotearoa," the Maori name for New Zealand. The suspects also surmise that foreign terror groups would be blamed, according to the newspaper accounts.

Iti said the camps he was involved in taught bush survival skills and firearms safety, something he has been doing for Tuhoe and other youth for 30 years. He rejected any connection to terrorism.

Iti was charged last year with reckless use of a shotgun and desecrating the New Zealand flag at a Maori ceremony on Tuhoe lands. The charges were dropped after he pointed out that it was an Australian flag and that he had fired into the ground.

The Tuhoe said four weapons were seized in the raids, but Detective Inspector Bruce Good told The Associated Press there were 20, including AK-47 assault rifles, shotguns, rifles and pistols, plus silencers, scopes, ammunition and firearms parts.

The government planned to charge 12 suspects under the Terrorism Suppression Act, enacted following the 9/11 attacks. But Solicitor General David Collins, the country's top justice official, ruled the anti-terror law was too complex to apply in this case.

The arrested, now free on bail, face lesser charges of illegal possession and use of firearms.

The Maori are descendants of Polynesians who migrated to New Zealand about 1,000 years ago.

Tuhoe, the most isolated and poorest of the Maori tribes, are proud that their ancestors refused to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, which created New Zealand under British sovereignty.

The treaty guaranteed the Maori could keep their lands, forests, fisheries and culture — commitments Maori say were broken as European settlers flooded in.

In 1867, colonial troops invaded Tuhoe territory and confiscated much of its land. Twenty years of guerrilla fighting ensued.

The Tuhoe resistance has won wide respect from other Maori, who remain proud of their fierce warrior heritage. Other Maori have been "colonized" by European culture, the Tuhoe say.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said police and the government will need to start building bridges over the divide. They face an uphill battle, particularly with the Tuhoe.

Sharples, the Maori Party co-leader, said invoking the Terrorism Suppression Act has branded all Maori as possible terrorists with international links.

It "could create repercussions on peoples' attitudes to authority and the police in the future," he said. "It's created further mistrust by Maori of the authorities."

Then Turkey:

by Shwan Mohammed
Sun Dec 16, 6:16 AM ET

Turkish planes bombed villages inside northern Iraq on Sunday targeting Kurdish rebels in at least the second such operation this month even as Ankara held back from launching a ground assault.

"According to our preliminary reports, eight Turkish warplanes bombed some villages along the border near the Qandil mountains early today," said Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for the Kurdish militia that provides security in northern Iraq.

In Ankara the Turkish army confirmed its warplanes had carried out air strikes on Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq.

The planes hit the "regions of Zap, Hakurk and Avasin as well as the Qandil mountains", the general staff said in a statement.

The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a deadly insurgency in southeastern Turkey since 1984, maintains a network of rear-bases in the rugged Qandil mountains near where the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey meet.

The Turkish military said the bombardment began at 1:00 am (2300 GMT) and all its aircraft had returned safely to base by 4:15 am (0215 GMT). Artillery continued to pound the targets once the planes had left.

Turkey's CNN-Turk television said more than 20 planes took part in the air strikes, while the NTV news channel said that some 50 planes had taken part.

The Anatolia news agency said "many F-16 fighter jets", equipped to carry out night-time missions, took off from a base in Diyarbakir province in southeastern Turkey and returned about three hours later.

The military stressed that the raids targeted the PKK, not Iraqi Kurds.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek warned Ankara would carry out more cross-border strikes, if necessary.

"Such operations will continue if need be," the Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying.

"The government, working in harmony with all state institutions, primarily the armed forces, is determined to take this scourge off the country's agenda."

Yawar said the air strikes damaged some bridges connecting villages near the Qandil mountains.

"Some familes are fleeing from the villages attacked today. We have dispatched our border teams to check the casualties and damage," he added.

But Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan denied that any civilian areas had been hit.

"You should trust statements made by the Turkish armed forces," Babacan said in televised remarks.

The air strikes were at least the second Turkish operation against the PKK inside Iraq this month, Turkish helicopters pounded suspected rebel rear-bases on December 1.

The Turkish parliament gave the army authorisation to launch cross-border operations in October but Ankara has so far held back from any ground assault amid strong lobbying by Washington.

The vote by MPs followed a PKK ambush against Turkish troops in which 12 soldiers were killed and eight captured. The captives were released in November.

The United States has expressed concern that any ground incursion might unsettle the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq which is the most stable area of the country.

But Turkey has warned Iraq that it reserves the right to resort to a ground assault.

In recent weeks Turkey has deployed around 100,000 soldiers along its 380-kilometre (235-mile) border with Iraq.

Baghdad has promised to rein in the PKK, and in early November President George W. Bush said Washington would provide Ankara with "real-time" information on rebel movements from its satellites.

The pledge was widely regarded as tacit US approval for Turkey to carry out air strikes and limited cross-border operations against PKK targets.

The United States, like the European Union, blacklists the PKK as a terrorist organization.

More than 37,000 people have been killed since the rebels took up arms against Ankara in 1984, drawing a scorched earth response from the military in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

Kurds straddle the borders between Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey and form significant minorities in all four countries.

When will the nations without statehood get some respect?

When will the colonialist powers evolve and leave behind their blood lust and greed?

When will the mega-nations understand that they need a more organic approach towards their view of the world?

When will the occupying armies stop labeling resistance fighters as "terrorists"?

When will humankind put the crimes committed by the colonialist powers into the correct perspective?

When will nation-states will embrace different cultural expressions and stop killing people over their obsession with one nation, one language and one cultural standard?

When will the voices of those who claim for freedom will be heard?

When will the Maori, the Kurds, the Basques, the Palestinians, the Corsicans, the Catalonians, the Guanche, the Mapuche, the Bretons, the Tibetans and so many others be allowed to be what they are?

When?

~ ~ ~

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Eusko Flickr : Portu Zaharra


portuzaharra04
Originally uploaded by zurrunbillo

Basque Cuisine in Morris County

This article appeared at Daily Record from Morris County in New Jersey:

Jai Alai serves diners authentic Basque food

Saturday, December 15, 2007

By Janet Erwood

DOVER -- For the past 25 years, Jai Alai Restaurant has been serving up delectable cuisine from the Basque region of Spain. Owners Ignacio Cenicacelaya and his daughter Cathy Gonzales say they are proud to serve and present the food from their Basque heritage.

"I came from a family of restaurant owners in Basque. Throughout my childhood, my mom, Maria always owned a restaurant," Cenicacelaya said. "In our countryside where we are from, all the restaurants share the family recipes amongst each other."

Cenicacelaya has made a career as a restaurateur, owning and working in the food industry for 60-plus years. He owned the Alpine Room restaurant in Rockaway for many years, and has worked as a chef in a few other restaurants. Many of his current clients, he said, have been coming to him for more than 40 years.

"It is nice that the people who know me for so long still come to eat my food after all these years," Cenicacelaya said.

Cenicacelaya and Gonzales said they take pride in serving only quality food that is healthy and always fresh, using as many organic ingredients as they can, in addition to cooking only with extra virgin Spanish olive oil.

"If it isn't healthy it is no good for anyone," Cenicacelaya said. "That is our tradition from back home."

On the menu there is a large selection of fish and seafood dishes, all of which, they explained, are authentic Basque recipes, including the well known dish paella. In addition to paella, some other choices are lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels and squid in a brandy laced red sauce and a filet of sole dusted in flour, dipped in egg batter, sautéed in olive oil with a lemon wine sauce.

The menu also offers beef, lamb and poultry specialties, along with a separate daily specials menu. There is also a large selection of hot and cold appetizers, soups and salads to choose from.

A modest bar area is located at the front of the restaurant for patrons who prefer to sit and mingle or who prefer to eat at the bar. At the bar or in either one of the two dining rooms, the popular drink at Jai Alai is homemade Sangria offered with either white or red wine.

The evidence of Basque and its heritage is apparent in the décor throughout Jai Alai. On one of the walls hang the restaurant's namesake Jai Alai baskets (cestas in Spanish), the popular game that originated in the Basque region. In addition, pictures of bull fighters, famous Spaniards and Spanish landscapes all rest atop warm cream-colored paneled walls.

Jai Lai has a comfortable and warm down home atmosphere. Cenicacelaya and Gonzales are gracious hosts who make their patrons feel welcome and at home in their restaurant. They also indicated that they have never advertised the restaurant in the 25 years they have been in business.

"The pride of the quality is the word-of-mouth advertising," Cenicacelaya said.


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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Golden Globe Nominee

This was published by EITb:

Entertainment

Best Original Score

Basque composer Alberto Iglesias among Golden Globe nominees

12/13/2007

Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a relatively small group of about 85 people who cover show business for overseas media, the Golden Globes nevertheless exert considerable influence on awards season.

Basque composer Alberto Iglesias was selected Thursday among the nominees to the Golden Globes for the best Original Score for the original score of The kite runner.

Based on Khaled Hosseini's literary work and directed by Marc Forster, The kite runner tells the story of Amir, who returns to his homeland in Afghanistan after spending years in California to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

Fellow nominees of Iglesias were Michael Brook, Kaki King and Eddie Edder for Into the wild; Clint Eastwood for Grace is gone; Dario Marianelli for Atonement and Howard Shore for Eastern Promises.

The Golden Globes will be handed out Sunday, January 13. Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a relatively small group of about 85 people who cover show business for overseas media, the Golden Globes nevertheless exert considerable influence on awards season.

Iglesias was nominated for the 2006 Oscar awards for the original score for The Constant Gardener.

He was born in Donostia-San Sebastian (Gipuzkoa), where he learnt to play the piano and studied Harmony and Composition. Iglesias is one of the most significant composers in the Spanish State and has created several original scores for films by Julio Medem and Pedro Almodovar.


Hopefully this will translate into an Oscar nomination too.

And by the way, this movie has been in the middle of a storm over concerns for the safety of the young actors in it, check this out by Yahoo News:

By DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press Writer
Thu Dec 13, 11:51 AM ET

"The Kite Runner" filmmakers strove for authenticity when they shot the adaptation of the best-selling novel, featuring a largely unknown cast of actors and having some dialogue in Dari (an Afghan language).

But they stumbled into an international controversy when the child actors said they feared being harmed by Afghans offended by a rape scene.

The film's theatrical debut was delayed six weeks (now Friday) to allow four boys to get out of Kabul, underscoring the political and financial risks filmmakers take when they make movies in conflict zones.

"The Kite Runner," based on the 2003 novel by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini, is about two boys whose friendship in 1970s Kabul is torn by betrayal and ethnic rivalry. The film spans three decades — from before the Soviet invasion to the rise of the Taliban — and tells the plight of Afghan refugees as well as those who stayed in the country as it was ravaged by civil war.

But the turning point — when the main character Amir does nothing to stop the rape of his friend Hassan — took center stage after the film wrapped.

Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, who plays the role of young Hassan, told reporters that he feared he and his family could be ostracized or even attacked because of the scene. The boy, now 13, said he was reluctant to do the scene.

The film's producers, Bennett Walsh and Rebecca Yeldham, have said the child actors and their families told them they were comfortable with it.

Hosseini said the children were cast during a more stable time in Afghanistan, and he believed their concern arose as violence escalated in the last year.

"When the children were cast, if I thought that they might be victims of violence because of participating in this movie, we would have chosen children from outside this country," Hosseini said in a recent interview.

The author first returned to his native country in 2003, and felt safer then than he did two months ago, when he made a second trip as a goodwill envoy for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "Now, especially in public places, you always have that unease," Hosseini said.

Continues...

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Chavez Will Cave In

This note appeared today at El Universal:

Spain investigates ETA's presence in Venezuela

The Spanish justice intends to issue arrest warrants for members of the Basque armed separatist organization ETA living abroad and is assessing 26 files of members allegedly living in Venezuela.

The goal is "determining, on a case-by-case basis, how many of these terrorists may be detained to serve their time in Spain, even if they have obtained the nationality of the country where they are living," said sources with the Spanish Attorney General Office, as quoted by AFP.

Further, the Spanish authorities are aiming particularly at "13 historic members" of the terrorist group.

They are involved in pending cases related to the murders of guards and civilians dating back to the eighties.

Spain is determining their whereabouts to issue European arrest warrants, demand their delivery -if they are in France-, and seek their extradition -if they are in South America.

Two of those 13 major members were arrested recently in France.


Spain does not need to investigate, they know they are there because years ago Madrid itself asked Caracas to admit former ETA militants as political refugees or exiles, whatever it is that they call them.

With this move Madrid steps up the repression of the Basque nationalists, must of the political refugees that the article mentions are there as part of past negotiations and truces. So this is what will happen next, when Spain demands the extraditions from Venezuela, and despite Hugo Chavez's recent show down with Juan Carlos Borbón, he will proceed to extradite as many Basques as he can put his hands on because he is not all what he claims to be.

The irony is that Simon Bolivar who he admires so much was a Basque descendant.

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Pintxos in Glasgow

You know, before I posted this article I had to double check that one, Glasgow was in fact in Scotland and two, that The Herald was not a news paper from say a Glasgow in Canada or a Glasgow in Australia. This is what they claim at their About Us page:

Welcome to The Herald Online, the website digest of Scotland's leading quality newspaper.

Based in Glasgow, Scotland (UK), and established in 1783, The Herald is one of the oldest English language daily newspapers in the world. Within its field it has long been the clear market leader.


Here you have the article that called my attention:

Pintxo, Glasgow
Barry Shelby

562 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow
0141 334 8686
Style: Compact, friendly tapas bar
Food: Spanish
Price: Tapas around £3.50-£4 each; three for £8.95 during
Pre-theatre Wheelchair access: Yes

Opening a new cafe/restaurant that emphasises Basque-style tapas could seem a bit risky. Headlines from the semi-autonomous region of northern Spain can occasionally run on a par with those from Beirut. But setting aside any associations with the politically motivated violence of separatists, the Basques have a rich culinary tradition, and restaurateur Allan Mawn has spent several years there.

So, focusing on the food of a disputed district may be no more dicey for Mawn than locating his new tapas bar in western Partick, though he should do well from the affluent Glasgow Harbour set, only a few minutes walk away.

Pintxo is recognisable from the almost unreadable branding on the black converted shop front. Inside, there is some counter seating at the street-side window and clusters of tile-topped tables in the narrow premises. It feels authentic - perhaps all the more so for forgoing any stereotypical Spanish music in lieu of Dave Brubeck jazz and Eric Clapton blues.

Basque appetisers - or pintxo (pronounced pin-cho) to use the correct term - are served for £1 at the bar. The full menu has a raft of tapas covering both sides of an A4 sheet. A recent rejig of the menu, however, appears to have dropped some of the more exclusively regional items, such as the Basque style mussels.

Attribute it to some bad luck when ordering, because that mild disappointment is compounded when some other options - such as a tuna dish or the baby padron peppers (fairly identified as "seasonal") - are not available on this particular Friday evening.

Apples are a key ingredient in the Basque Country, and Pintxo has some of the vaunted Asturian cider on the drinks menu, which also highlights fine Spanish sherries and brandies, as well as a full complement of Iberian beers and wines.

But apples pop up in recipes as well, such as the green-apple aioli that comes with the fried calamares (which, while nicely cooked, are coated in a rather under-seasoned crispy batter). A lamb stew combines meaty flavours with a sharp, acidic tomato sauce, and the Spanish black pudding - morcilla - is sweeter than the Scottish equivalent, and served with a few tiny apple wedges.

The crevettes are extremely fresh, smelling of the sea, simply grilled and served piping hot, while the dish of pearly scallops is a tad cool, though the seafood is served atop fried thin slices of chorizo sausage. You get three of both of these in the pre-theatre portion and it's the same with the chargrilled asparagus, which comes with manchego ewe's cheese and romesco sauce. It's not huge but you can taste the good quality of the produce.

Among the puddings, another no show tonight is a crema Catalana, the Catalonian creme brulee. The orange flan is a suitable substitute, however; tasty and remarkable for not being too sweet.

Although it may be pulling back from its more authentically Basque offerings, Pintxo, like the recently opened Tinto in Battlefield, is to be very much welcomed for bringing freshly prepared tapas, with seemingly well-sourced ingredients, to Glasgow, and all in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.


Then, why all the fuss with the "Beirut Headlines"? Why not Belfast? Is way closer to Glasgow for one thing.

So, what I gather is that Barry Shelby is no fan of Alex Salmond.

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