If the messenger is dead, how come he's still posting...ja ja...thank you, I'll be here all week...don't forget to tip your waitresses.

Wolf, good to have you back old friend. I knew you were out there lurking. Isn't it interesting that we've both been through this no fewer than three times since landing on this board "years" ago? The names have changed but the song remains the same.

In emilyka's defense, I don't think she said that sporting an ikurriña means you belong to ETA, but that they could be a subset of ikurriña-wavers.

Oddly enough, I'll be spending two of the next three weekends waving ikurriñas that are always brought out after the US flag at our functions. Those of you in attendance on Sept. 1 will hear the US national anthem played before any of those nationalistic bus songs mentioned earlier.

My point is that true Basques respect and even venerate those that understand them and allow them to be Basque. That is the way we've always been. When oppression and repression are the M.O., people anywhere fight back. Some of Carlos V's greatest allies were the Basque people, because, as Wolf alluded to, they were allowed to be Basque...part of Spain...but the Basque part of Spain.

There are nuts everywhere. Heck, there's one at my computer right now. I personally consider the cause of ETA to be an exercise in futility. As I've mentioned before, I understand where they're coming from. (Please note, understand and sympathize are two completely unrelated concepts.) I don't approve of ETA's mode d'emploi, nor do I approve of the Spanish government's disregard of the long-standing (longer-standing than any of the current political parties or ideologies) fueros that are more a part of Spanish-Basque relations than anything else.

Unfortunately, this, like any other hot-button issue, is like an onion. You keep peeling back more layers and they all make you wanna "cry".

CaliBasco [Who will be going bowling with Wolf as soon as he can get a flight into Wisconsin]