Argh! Argh!

Madrid, trains, explosions, 62 dead and 350 injured so far, and you all have probably read all about it already.

CNN says that it is not known yet who did it. El Pais seems to be sure that it's ETA. Apparently Spain was on high alert for an ETA attack already, but obviously insufficiently high. Although if they hadn't been the casualties would have been worse, since they caught two assholes with 500 kg of explosives and a timing device a couple of weeks ago.

ETA is a Basque separatist terrorist group. Their objective is to create an independent Marxist Basque state, and probably to earn some money in the process. The support for their political party, Herri Batasuna, was at about 10% in the Basque region during the last election. Their main sources of income are extortion (called "revolutionary tax") from local businesses, bank robberies and kidnapping for ransom. The activities that they finance in such a revolutionary way are car bombings and assasinations in Basque region and elsewhere in Spain, as well as terrorizing their political opponents in the Basque region and professors in the Basque univeristies who speak out against ETA or against independence. Especially the latter activity sounds so Marxist that there is no doubt in my mind as to what kind of society they would like to establish if the Basque region becomes independent.

Personally I have no opinion on Basque independence, but a very strong opinion on what should be done to the ETA. You can probably guess it. And no, unfortunately I don't know how.