Irish To Vote On EU (WHAT PART OF "NO" THEY DIDN'T GET ALERT)

Ireland will hold a second referendum on the Nice Treaty on EU enlargement on October 19, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has announced.

Typical EU behaviour, if they don't like the answer the first time, rather than think about what they propose, just keep having referenda until the answer changes - Ivan

He said that another "no" vote would be catastrophic for the country.Last year's vote sent shockwaves across Europe.

In June, a report revealed that thanks in part to the Euro, Ireland had become the second most expensive country in Europe (Finland is number 1); that's a real catatstrophe - Ivan

Ireland's entry to the EU is crucial to European aspirations to have 12 new states.

The long-awaited date for the second vote on the treaty was announced following a cabinet meeting in County Donegal.

"I think it would be a disaster for this country not to ratify this," said Ahern.

"We would weaken our position in Europe, we would weaken our position internationally and I cannot think of one good reason why Irish people would vote no."

How about because it would be an insult to bottoms everywhere to use the treaty as toilet paper? - Ivan

The treaty, which all existing EU states must ratify by year's end to take effect, makes administrative reforms to admit the new EU member states, mostly from Eastern Europe.

Ireland alone of the 15 existing EU members must approve the treaty by referendum, and the 54% "no" vote last time around was seen as a huge setback to EU expansion plans.

Recent opinion polls have shown Irish voters are still not convinced of the wisdom of approving the treaty, with one poll showing up to 44% of the electorate remains undecided.

But bookmakers Paddy Powers is giving odds of four to seven it will pass, meaning there is a 64% chance of a "yes" vote.

The US wasted billions of dollars and many tens of thousands of lives trying to contain and defeat Communism by military means. A big reason for this was that our intelligence analysis people were personally convinced that Communism was a better system than Capitalism, and that over the long run Communism would trumph if not engaged.

I think that the lesson of Ronald Reagan was this: we should have had faith in our system. We should have had faith in freedom, in the principles laid down in the founding documents of this country. In hindsight, it seems to me, the best strategy for defeating Communism (from a purely logical point of view, ignoring other factors like domestic politics) was to let it expand. Let it hold down competition from China, southeast Asia, South America, Europe, etc. Have faith that freedom would win out, because when it comes to practical things (wealth, comfort, technology) a free people will out-compete a slave culture, no matter how well organized, because of human nature, which is unchanging. This, it seems to me, is the lesson of history.

With that in mind, I must say there is little to fear from the EU. Except for the temporary economic hardship it will create in those countries dumb enough to join the parade, and in these the EU is only a fad, just one more example of the ways people hurt themselves trying to find a way to out-compete America without becoming Americans.

As I understand it, the tide of public opinion has already started to turn against the EU, which hasn't really kicked in yet all the way (has it?) On the corruption front alone, think of the scandals that are ahead, as all the effete elitists of Le Sorbonne and L'Ecole Superior converge in Brussels to perfect their utopian vision of Europe, and, by the way, cut themselves a nice thick piece of cake from time to time (to time) while they're at it (surely they deserve it, although the proles would never understand).

Anyway, over the long run, there's nothing to fear. Unless the euros turn to facism as their dreams collapse, and in this day of instant point-to-point personal communications as well as personal mass communications, I don't see how that can happen.

Best Wishes MadIvan,

(steely)

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