Hi Nate.
I’ve been following your podcast for almost 3 years and I’ve always enjoyed it and, at the same time, I’ve learned a lot listening your arguments and even your educated ranting. I know you are lectured and sensitive guys and always wanting to learn and improve.
This is the very first time I need to let you a comment to clarify one of your commentaries regarding the EU issue.
It seemed to me that you doubted that the Basque movement could be considered a terrorist group by anyone else but the Spanish government. I’m a Spaniard, and have a very close relationship (not a positive one, I’m afraid) with the actions of that people you doubted it could be called terrorist.
So let me illustrate you.
The so called Basque independence movement started in late 19th century. In fact, it’s roots are tied to several factors, two of the most important were economical privileges and royal dynastic succession arguments.
During the first years of this movement it was a political nationalist movement similar to those that rose during the 19th century all around the globe.
During the Franco’s dictatorship, there were a split branch in the Basque movement, USSR communist financed, that took a more violent and militant approach. They started assassinating military personnel, later policemen, later judges, and later any political representative who opposed their way of thinking. They killed with guns at the beginning, later using bombs and car bombs. They committed more than 2.400 acts, killing almost 900 people, and letting more than 7.000 victims injured during almost 50 years.
During this time, democracy reached Spain and the moderate pro independence parties get most of their reivindications through peaceful political ways. The Basque now has its own police forces, its own treasury and budget, its own public health system, its own public education which decides most of the subjects the children are going to be taught, etc. Spanish and Euskera is spoken equally along their territory.
While this changes were polliticaly taking place ETA (the terrorist group) keep killing and asking for independence. The situation reached tons point that less than 10 year ago there was a new split inside ETA. Some of them left the weapons and turned politicians with some success, while others kept killing.
The Spanish government maybe have lost one of the most important battles (and we are seeing this again with the Catalonia independence movement): that is the international propaganda. I’ve a lot of non-Spanish friends. Most of them thought at first, that Spain was oppressing the poor and humble regions of Basque Country and Catalonia. When I invited them to trip there with me, they could realise that not there were any kind of oppression (free speech and free association, meeting and manifestations, free political elections and all kinds of freedoms are in place) not those counties are poor. In fact, those are two of the most Spanish prosperous regions.
I maybe could have understood that during the dictatorship days, someone could argue over if ETA was a terrorist group or not. Now, I cannot understand it.
So let me ask you, why do you doubted that the militant Basque movement could be described as a terrorist group?
I’m willing to invite to you to spend a holiday in Spain and we could go there.
Best regards and sorry for the long explanation.

@Alberto, viva España! !
@gamling, AoW3 combat can be quite intense and I can understand why people might tire of it. I’d suggest to them that you set yourself the goal of playing for 4 hrs max.
I think the combat tips into busywork towards the end game of large or very large maps, but that is something controllable through user settings.
However, complaining about the combat being too intense or taking too long in AoW is a bit silly imho, as that’s arguably *the* defining feature.
I have proposed a more elaborate auto combat, basically dominions system lol, and an expanded adjacent hex rule, both intending to reduce the number of end game battles, and thus maintain the importance and fun of each one, ideally having a Kate game fight be as frequent or less, and as interesting or more, than an early game fight.