Myths and Legends

Time for some cultural information regarding the Basque Country's myths and legends courtesy of EITb:

Origin of Basque Myths and Legends

There is a vast collection of myths and legends which still exist today thanks to the great Basque oral tradition.

Even most primitive Man felt the need to give meaning to the phenomena and natural cycles which conditioned his existence. He interpreted them, named them, found an explanation for them, and with these answers built up his own myths, legends, and religions. These formed the framework for his relation with nature and with anything else in his environment which was incomprehensible or supposedly magic.

Primitive Basque man was converted to Christianity very late. He was also all but cut off from other cultures by an inhospitable and very inaccessible geography. Thus he came to invent a vast collection of myths and legends which still exist today thanks to the great Basque oral tradition.

For him the mountains and valleys developed an almost human significance, and in the bowels of the earth ran rivers of milk, out of the reach of mortals. Two powers ruled nature and their designs conditioned human life: the god of the firmament, "Ost" or "Ortzi" - equivalent to the Roman god Jupiter, the Greek Zeus or the Germanic Thor, and "Ilargia", the moon, a feminine force which emerged from the world of hidden things. "Ost" and "Eguzki", the light of the sun, belonged to the day, to the earth, since it was from the earth that the sun rose and to the earth that it returned every day. "Ilargia" though, belonged to the world of the deceased, of souls, to the hidden side of existence and nature.

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Orson Wells in Euskal Herria I

Thanks to You Tube here comes a segment of the documentary that Orson Wells shot in Euskal Herria.

Here it is:

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Anti-Torture Committee Visits De Juana

This article comes to us via EITb:

Europe's Anti-torture unit visits Basque prisoner in hunger strike

The visit took place on Jan. 14 or 15. The representatives of the Council of Europe's Anti-torture Committee met with Iñaki de Juana Chaos, the doctors' team, judicial authorities and the director of the jail Madrid VI.

A delegation of the Council of Europe's Anti-torture Committee travelled last week to Spain to examine the treatment the Basque prisoner in hunger strike Iñaki de Juana Chaos is receiving, as the European group reported in a statement.

The visit took place on January 14 or 15 and aimed at examining the treatment and care De Juana Chaos is receiving, as the Committee was informed the prisoner was being force-fed.

According to the statement, the delegation met with De Juana and the members of the doctors' team treating him at Madrid's hospital Doce de Octubre, as well as the competent judicial authorities and the director of the detention centre Madrid VI, where De Juana Chaos was serving his sentence.

The two representatives of the Committee who travelled to Spain were the Italian vice president of the group, Mauro Palma, and the Swiss doctor Jean-Pierre Restellini. They also met representatives of the Association of Spanish Doctors and several lawyers linked to the case.

Likewise, they also met with the secretary general of the Interior Ministry, Maria Angeles Gonzalez Garcia, and the general director of Penitentiary Institutions, Mercedes Gallizo.

Usually, a report follows such visits of the Committee within two weeks and one month, and before unveiling it, the Government involved receives a copy of the report, in this case the Spanish Government.

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Googling Basque Cuisine

And so it is that the people that works for Google are lucky enough to count with a food outlet within their own complex which serves Basque cuisine items.

Here you have the note published at EITb:

Google headquarters

A Basque restaurant in best US company to work for

19/01/2007

One of the 11 gourmet cafeterias of Google's headquarters in California is Café Pintxo, situated in building 47. The Basque-themed restaurant surprises every day Google employees with delicious dishes of the Basque gastronomy.

Google's unique company culture is not only made of food. At Google you can work out in the gym; attend subsidized exercise classes; get a massage; study Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish and French and ask a personal concierge to arrange dinner reservations; free meals; free doctors; swimming spa; haircuts onsite; laundry for free; etc.

The American company has been elected 2007 Best Company to Work For.

I was forced to eat frozen food out of a machine for years during my stint as a slave of an US company.

Are they a lucky bunch or what?

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The Trecherous Spanish Government

Rodríguez Zapatero wanted a firestorm?

How about the recently undisclosed information that his government (as usual) did not fullfill their promises and compromises?

Even after ETA had given up its own part in the Peace Process in behalf of the Basque political parties and the Spanish government, Rodríguez refused to live up to the word given.

Here is the note by EITb that puts the spot light on Madrid's treachery:

ETA- Government meeting

Government admitted the importance of a Basque political agreement

01/18/2007

The Basque armed group ETA and the Spanish Government talked during their last meeting in December about "a political agreement between the Basque parties" as a "key-solution" to unfreeze the peace talks, the Basque newspaper Gara assured today. The Spanish Government "promised not to block the negotiations between Basque political parties so that they could reach an agreement", informed the newspaper.

The newspaper assures that both manifested their desire to continue peace talks, but made clear that a political agreement between the Basque political parties would be fundamental.

According to Gara, both parts confirmed during the December meeting that the peace talks were freezing.

ETA's proposal

The Basque newspaper also assured that ETA presented to the Spanish Government a global proposal to develop the peace process when a political agreement would be reached to resolve the Basque conflict.

This proposal and the Spanish Government’s one should be analyzed by both, at least if the Spanish President didn’t put an end to the dialogue.

The meeting also treated the Basque-prisoners-issue. The Basque armed group asked, according to the newspaper, to respect the Basque prisoners' rights and to stop the use of exceptional measures. The group also asked the Government "to respect all the guarantees linked to the agreements that gave place to the cease-fire". They warned that "policial and judicial attacks" and the situation of Basque prisoner Iñaki de Juana Chaos (nowadays in hunger strike) could "blow up the process".

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Batasuna's Analysis

EITb has published a note about how Batasuna is assuming its responsability in the future of the Basque Peace Process. The political party also calls on the other parties to do the same. Finally, it decries the attempt by the PP to outlaw EHAK.

Here it is:

Batasuna's explanation

Leftwing nationalism's reflection, collective - Batasuna's Permach

01/18/2007

The Basque leftwing nationalist movement assumed part of its responsibility in an attempt to push the process following the Madrid airport attack, but rejected that all responsibility is on the movement, as Joseba Permach noted Thursday.

Permach assured that the reflection of leftwing nationalism is "collective" and criticised the attempts to "pass the buck" to the nationalist movement while all parties have to reflect on the matter. Likewise, he warned that trying to outlaw the Leftwing Nationalist group in the Basque Parliament is "an error."

In an appearance in Donostia-San Sebastian, Permach referred to the statements voiced by Batasuna spokesman Arnaldo Otegi and LAB union's secretary general Rafa Diez, to affirm that when leftwing nationalism voices a reflection, it's "collective" and not just "personal views."

The Batasuna leader noted that, following these statements, agents are trying to "dodge the issue" and "pass the buck" to leftwing nationalism event if what is necessary is a "collective" reflection by every political party.

Likewise, he denounced "the attempt to outlaw" the Leftwing Nationalist group in the Basque Parliament and denounced the "return" to conservative PP and socialist PSOE's policies to try to wipe out leftwing nationalism, saying it is a "big error" and does not work.

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Lessons From the Demonstrations

I hate to pat myself on the back but... what did I tell you?

While the Basque-phobes and the neocons drooled over the allegedly anti-ETA rallies in Euskal Herria, Spain and Catalunya I insisted that if Rodríguez Zapatero and his PSOE wanted to survive the next electoral process they needed to listen to the Spanish public.

And what was the Spanish public saying?

Yes to dialogue and yest to a peace process for the Basque Country.

So, after his confrontation last Monday at Congress with Über-fatxa Mariano Rajoy, Rodríguez is giving out signals that he knows how to read the pulse in the streets.

Check this out, it was published at the Boston Herald:

Spain’s prime minister says dialogue still an option to solve Basque conflict

AP
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

MADRID, Spain - Spain’s prime minister staunchly defended his policy of dialogue with the violent Basque separatist group ETA on Wednesday, even after a deadly New Year’s weekend car bomb that shattered his peace efforts and left him open to the harshest criticism of his term.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the government has an obligation to seek any avenue to end the four-decade-old conflict, in which 800 people have been killed. While arrests and recruitment problems have reduced ETA to no more than 20 active fighters and about 100 collaborators, the group’s ability to create havoc is still alive.

The bomb planted at Madrid’s international airport on Dec. 30 weighed more than 1,100 pounds, and police subsequently found and disabled two other bombs in the northern Basque country. The airport attack killed two people, and reduced a parking garage to rubble.
"Spaniards have a right to live in peace," Zapatero told a breakfast meeting with politicians, businessmen and journalists at Madrid’s Ritz Hotel. "The government has to make that right a reality by using the justice and security forces, and by exploring avenues for dialogue aimed at finding an end to the violence."
Zapatero’s stance has been highly criticized by the opposition Popular Party, which has accused him of being soft on terrorism and naively believing the word of killers.
The bombing has deepened a political divide that has existed in Spain since the March 11, 2004, Madrid train bombings by Islamic radicals. Zapatero’s Socialist Party won election just days after the attack, and the conservatives, now in the opposition, have yet to recover from the loss.
Zapatero called on the opposition to stop its combative stance and join the government, noting that when his party was out of power it always stood by the ruling party in its dealings with ETA.
"Anti-terrorism policy is the responsibility of the government," Zapatero said. "All the political parties must unite around the government. This issue should not be a political one. It is the struggle of life against death."
ETA wants to create a sovereign homeland in the Basque region that straddles the border between northern Spain and southern France.
While ETA is small in comparison to other militant groups like the Irish Republican Army, the issue is an extremely emotive one for Spain, which has been grappling with demands for greater autonomy by wealthy regions. Conservatives feel that if the government caves in to these demands, it would eventually lead to the breakup of the country.

One thing Mr. Rodriguez, not only the Spaniards deserve to live in peace, also the Basques, and the Catalonians, and the Galizans. For that, their right to self determination must be brought to the foreground of any future negotiation. And when justice is served, peace will be the natural outcome.

Hopefully this time around Rodríguez will give up his extensive use of state sponsored violence and will take decisive steps towards the viability of the peace process.

And hey, this article mentions something new, that the IRA was at one time way larger than ETA has ever been. You know why?

Among other things, because it counted with wide open support by the Irish American community.

Food for thought.

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González Iñarritu's Golden Globe

As you may know, the film "Babel" by Alejandro González Iñarritu won the Golden Globe to the best Drama Movie last night.

The film was not well received among US film critics because it demolishes the idea some have that the USA is the perfect democracy.

Ironically enough, the person in charge of presenting González Iñarritu with the award was no other than The Governator, the fascist immigrant by the name of Arnold Schwarzenneger, a mediocre actor who among other things, despises Mexican immigrants.

The note from Yahoo News relates how the director told Ahnul how much of a bigot the Austrian is:

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu received the best picture award for "Babel" from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appeared on crutches to give the final prize of the night at the Beverly Hilton.

"I swear I have my papers in order governor, I swear," Inarritu quipped, a reference to his film, which touches on immigration issues between the United States and Mexico.

Wham!

Enter idiotic smile by Schwarzenegger.

The article tells us a bit more about the movie and the director:

The multi-lingual drama skillfully interweaves the stories of four families on three continents following the shooting of a US tourist in Morocco.

Inarritu, who has said inspiration for the film came from his experiences of living in America in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, said the film showed that cinema knew no boundaries.

"It seems that no matter how many languages you make a film in, I think the power of cinema is universal and at the end emotion doesn't need translation and that's the beauty of it," Inarritu said.

I know that by know you may be wondering what does this had to do with this page. Well, Gónzalez Iñarritu is Mexican of Basque background. And if that was not enough, the script was penned by Guillermo Arriaga, you guessed it, another Mexican of Basque background.

The Basque diaspora is leaving its mark.

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Misplaced Pride

Pernando Barrena, spokesman for banned Basque pro-independence party Batasuna, drinks water during a news conference in Pamplona January 16, 2007. Barrena said that the ruling Spanish Socialist Party were proud that they had done nothing during armed separatists ETA's 10-month old ceasefire. REUTERS/Vincent West (SPAIN)

I agree with Barrena, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero did absolutely nothing in behalf of the Peace Process.

Why?

The easy explanation is that he was too afraid to confront the members of the Francoist Partido Popular, too afraid to bring upon themselves the ire of the ultra conservatives that poison the political landscape in Spain, too careful about not losing too many votes in 2008.

The truth is, Rodríguez Zapatero and his correligionaries at the PSOE did not do anything to streghnten the Peace Process for their own dark motivations. Let us not forget which party created the GAL, a state sponsored terrorist group that kidnapped, tortured and murdered scores of Basque citizens during the government of Felipe González.

Rodríguez Zapatero wasted a great opportunity to break up with that past, instead, like a madman he tried to outdo what his predecessors did. From the moment ETA issued the ceasfire, Rodríguez stepped up the repression against the Basques. The Peace Process never ever started because the PSOE was unwilling to make its first move.

Spanish politicians have all the same weakness, they all cling to Spain glory days, back when the country was a colonialist power. Euskal Herria, Catalunya, Galiza and the Canary Islands along with Ceuta and Melilla are the last remnants of that allegedly great past, it is hard for them to let go of them.

Too bad this colonialist minded Spanish politicians count with the trecherous support of many others like them in Europe and around the world.

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Basque or Welsh?

Here you have some additonal information about a note that was published last year in which DNA studies point out at a Basque origin for the inhabitants of the Brittish islands.

This was published at icWales:

Basque-ing in Welsh DNA

Jan 16 2007

Western Mail

New DNA research claims we may have more in common with the English than we thought - we both descend from Basques. Perhaps that explains the swarthy Welsh looks, says Catherine Jones

LIKE a miner or a steelworker, many of the Welsh have got one of them somewhere in their family tree.

Yes, a picture of someone who has the dark eyes, hair and colouring of a "foreigner" - often causing the family to think there must have been some "exotic" influence way back when.

The Welsh sometimes seem easily categorised on a superficial level. You either have the dark, swarthy customers with near-black eyes or the pale- skinned, finer-boned lot with beautiful, startling blue eyes.

Pair the two together in a marriage and you can still get a brood with the curly dark locks, insolent dark eyes and chunky brown limbs of one of those spoilt Mediterranean fat kids you see running about piazzas in the evenings.

How many Welsh families like to have a bit of a joke about something "rum" in one of the parents' family trees?

How else to explain the fact their children turn "black" in a bit of sun and all get mistaken for French/Spanish/Italian depending on which country is the holiday destination of choice?

The more fun the family, the better the story they concoct to explain the beady black eyes staring out of a sepia family photo.

"Looks like a Portuguese sailor," say some, looking round at the modern-day mob with their pale eyes and skin, and wondering where the heck he came from. Or where they came from.

Perhaps one parent - usually fair-skinned - makes mischief with haughty references to "your father's family", as though it's awash with Romanian Gypsies who "came over" in wagons to flog pegs.

Or, if you hail from West Wales, there's the Spanish ships wrecked on Pembrey Sands routine.

If you come from Llanelli and you're dark of skin and eye, you've probably heard the one about the Italian ice cream parlour owners - and how your Great Aunty May got taunted at school for looking like a senorita.

But what is the truth of our origins? Over to Professor Stephen Oppenheimer of Oxford University, who says some 81% of the Welsh have DNA evidence which shows a common link to ancestors who came to Britain from northern Spain many thousands of years ago.

In fact, many Britons share a gene pool that can be traced back to Basque. Around three-quarters of the Welsh, Scots and English can be traced to those who arrived from the Basque country between 7,500 and 15,000 years ago.

Based on research into DNA studies across the UK and Ireland over the past 10 years, the professor's theory on British origins challenges mainstream historical views. And it might horrify those who like to think they are a distinct race apart from the English.

Most people in Scotland, Ireland and Wales were assumed to be descended from Celtic farming tribes who migrated here from central Europe up to 6,500 years ago. The English were thought to largely take their genetic line from the Anglo-Saxon invaders of the Dark Ages who supposedly wiped out the Celts in England.

Continues...

So, there you have it, one more reason to ensure that Europe's oldest indigenous culture does not get erased by the occupying neighbors.

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