Basque, Spain, Fatherland & Liberty

Basque, Spain is on the boarder of Spain and France, in the northwest corner, on the border of France
and Spain.  Of the 17 regions in Spain, Basque is one of the richest regions with ONE THIRD of the per capita GDP.  Basque, in 1959 wanted to be separate from Spain.  By the 1970's Basque Fatherland and Liberty Separatists started their violence.  The strategy was to carefully select murders and bomb inkey locations.  The psychological and symbolic effect was planned, the counter violence
provoked.  The 700 strong Basque terrorists targeted arms forces, assassinations happened.   They, after the attacks, would use France as a sanctuary base.  The goal, gain independence from the Basque County.
There are 800 know members, in prisons in France and Spain.  829 innocent people have been killed, thousands injured and dozens of kidnappings.  The Basque terrorists target national police.
I googled all this, as on my train ride, today, from Beziers France to Barcelona Spain, there were  border
issues.  The France police boarded in France, the stop before the border, in Spain, again the police boarded the train, a complete search, each of us had to present our passports.  The french woman next to me, Geraldine was kind enough to tell me what was going on.  I thought there was a stow-away!
The long and short, this issue isn't discussed or acknowledged in Spain.  This has been going on since the late 50's. Its a shhhhhh.
A sidebar here, on the France border the train needed a rail adjustment.  I don't know how this is done, but the train rail width changes at the border between France and Spain.  This goes way back to war times, the French didn't want trains on their rails, so they changed the width so the train wouldn't be compatible to the rail and not work.   So when the French trains switch countries, so must the width of
the train rails.  It must be an interesting and brilliant engineering task.
How could I not think of the IRA in England when I think of Basque, in Spain.  Please people, can there just be world peace!  Doesn't being mean take a whole lot more energy than being nice!
And so, as I am absorbing all of what the BBC is broadcasting, about Japan, about Lybia... there is never
any mention of conflict in Spain.  I am beginning to adore America more and more.  Really, if California ever decides to become independent and try to separate from the United States via violence, would that mean not exporting Napa wine?  That would be bazaar, uncivilized and honestly not worth the effort.   Hasn't California always been out there?  Do we really care, should we care, why bother?
Or Utah, now that would be interesting, how would I be a bra burner in Salt Lake City?  Let me count the ways, zero zero zero.
I didn't sleep on the train, nor worry about terror.  I watched the landscape, the fields upon fields of active or passed on vineyards and thought.... is it all about vin, and if it is, what's wrong with that?  I'm
thinking about my bucket list, what next, photography, in Africa... yes, that's it.