BBC Blog Network

User Profile

archkatakana

Listed below are comments made by archkatakana between Tuesday, 10th June 2008 and Friday, 20th June 2008.

«Newer
Older»

Food, fuel and treaty woes 02:31am on 20 Jun 2008 Many Irish pro-treaty commentators and politicians are citing concerns about such things an EU army and abortion as factors in the NO vote. I am sure there are people who voted with these in mind but I find it hard to accept that these issues were pivotal in the outcome. The absence of one coherent voice on the 'no' side means we don't precisely know what 'no' means. The yes side would much prefer our rejection to mean we are worried about conscription or abortion because these are discreet issues that can be readily dealt with by either a 'belt and braces' clarification by Europe or an opt-out.

What they fear, I think, is that it could mean we have a problem with Europe itself, it's size, it's direction, it's remoteness etc
Ireland votes No - what next? 02:52am on 14 Jun 2008 There have been comments here and elsewhere criticising the Irish who sided with the No camp because they couldn't understand the Treaty. When people don't understand a legal contract legal advice is obtained, they say. Unfortunately, of the 166 TD's (MPs) here in Ireland it appears very few actually read the full treaty themselves and none the that I heard of including a few that I emailed directly professed to having a full understanding of the document. So, those we were to get our advice from couldn't supply it.
Irish No sparks EU crisis 01:03am on 14 Jun 2008 The post election comments of many in Brussels seem to validate the skeptic view in Ireland.

When we in Ireland question Brussels about how democratic the EU is all we get is "Zoot alors ! you want democracy...we've got more democracy than you can shake a stick at !" But judging by EU reaction today it appears that their version of democracy is only for looking at and admiring. It not actually meant to be used.
Irish vote: No camp upbeat 11:22am on 13 Jun 2008 Its going to be a No.

I am going to get the next flight over to London so all of our British friends can buy me a pint.
Lisbon: A hard sell 10:55am on 13 Jun 2008 I am listening to RTE radio reports from around the country. The early tallies say its a No
Irish vote on a knife edge 4:59pm on 12 Jun 2008 With regard to comments about the apparent largesse of the EU towards Ireland over the years. Remember this was done (for among other reasons) to allow Ireland to build an economy that would be rich enough to buy other member states goods. It wasn't a gift.
Irish vote on a knife edge 3:24pm on 12 Jun 2008 There seems to be a bit of comment about the audacity of a small country possibly voting down an agreement favoured by the rest of Europe. Well, we reallly have no idea if the rest of Europe agrees with it. Their peoples haven't been allowed to say.
Irish vote on a knife edge 2:49pm on 12 Jun 2008 I decided to ask each of the 3 sitting members of the Dail for my Dublin North West constituency 2 questions. "(a) Have you read the treaty in its entirety and (b) do you understand each and every provision ?

Only 2 out of the 3 replied. Both of these were campaigning for a yes vote but one admitted they hadn't read the entire document and the other says they read it but did not understand all of the provisions.

Each of these people has posters up exhorting us to vote Yes. If you are gullible enough to take advice from Public Representatives who do not understand the implications of this document then I have bottles of elbow grease and cans of stripey paint which you might wish to purchase
Prague's plan 'B' 4:44pm on 10 Jun 2008 We are constantly told in Ireland that a 'No' will send a negative message to the rest of Europe, that we will be sidelined and shunned. This sort of emotional comment is usually used to appeal to the masses where the subject of the vote is quite technical and doesn't translate well into soundbites, is likely to prove unpopular or both.

A significant problem for both sides is that the for and against factions have not split down predictable party lines.

To vote no requires one to side with Sinn Fein (a distasteful prospect for many) and Libertas (a newly formed right wing private lobby group whose true backing/motivations are not widely known)

To vote Yes requires one to side with the political establishment who in many cases do not themselves understand the entire text and whose argument in favour has been vague to say the least.

Some voices from around Europe sound like a Mafia Don suggesting to a recalcitrant protection racket victim that he "might have an unfortunate accident" if he doesn't pay up.

For me, the problem is like this. It's akin to explaining football to a Martian. You could hand him the rule book but you couldn't say that having digested it that he truly understands the game.

The depth of understanding required to really take part in the EU goes beyond the words in the Treaty, the consequences of which will not become apparent for years. The EU has become a monster in many peoples minds. It is sold to us by Politicans we don't trust and mediated by only a tiny number of journalists who understand it.

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

archkatakana