The Lisbon Treaty

I'll be voting NO to the upcoming Lisbon Treaty (a.k.a E.U. Constitution) primarily because I disagree with undemocratic forms of government. A European super state won't do me any good but I imagine the superrich and powerful will find it very handy to manipulate the levels of power from one central location rather than dealing with the many smaller, distributed and competitive levers spread across Europe. This opposition however, puts me in a very awkward position as it means I end up on the same side as people I generally think of as "loons". Take this readers comment to this letter in todays Irish Independant.

The Lisbon Treaty is The EU Constitution no matter how you may try to decorate it. The fact remains
1. Irish Constitution replaced & forgotten (God not allowed in EU Constitution) 2. Young Irish men & women will be sent to hostile situations throughout the world by EU ministers in the name of peace 3. Irish fishing waters (including coastline) will be open to all EU members. 4. Irish countryside will be regulated by EU which means hillwalkers will go where they please. 5. Irish Contractors will be regulated by EU. 6. Irish Banks will be regulated by EU. 7. Irish Postal Services will be regulated by EU. 8. All Irish citizens will be forced to carry biometric passports, driver licenses & ID cards. 9. Abortion will be legalised. 10. Divorce will be legalised. 11. Gay marriage will be legalised. 12. Euthanasia will be legalised. The Lisbon Treaty takes away all Irish sovereign rights & religious freedoms. VOTE NO

If I take the agreements one by one and see where I stand;

1. Irish Constitution replaced & forgotten (God not allowed in EU Constitution)
True: although God, god's or prophets have no place in a constitution. So while I don't want to see the Irish constitution made obsolete I'm glad there are no supernatural elements in the treaty.

2. Young Irish men & women will be sent to hostile situations throughout the world by EU ministers in the name of peace
Probably true: I would be against this and the use of armies in either foreign or domestic "policy".

3. Irish fishing waters (including coastline) will be open to all EU members.
The fact is all E.U. fishermen will only be happy when every last fish is extinct. In which case it doesn't matter from which country they come from.

4. Irish countryside will be regulated by EU which means hillwalkers will go where they please.
I think hillwalkers should be free to roam anywhere providing they lend all due care and respect while doing so. In fact it's an indictment that Irish law does not allow for this.

5. Irish Contractors will be regulated by EU.
Irish contractors are crooks and scoundrels, they will ignore E.U. regulation as efficiently as they ignore Irish legislation.

6. Irish Banks will be regulated by EU.
See Irish contractors above.

7. Irish Postal Services will be regulated by EU.
See Irish Banks above.

8. All Irish citizens will be forced to carry biometric passports, driver licenses & ID cards.
One of the steps towards a police state (a bad thing).

9. Abortion will be legalised.
This would be a good thing but I'm not prepared to vote YES to get it.

10. Divorce will be legalised.
Idiot, divorce is legal (albeit restrictive)

11. Gay marriage will be legalised.
This would be a good thing but I'm not prepared to vote YES to get it.

12. Euthanasia will be legalised.
This would be a good thing but I'm not prepared to vote YES to get it.

13.The Lisbon Treaty takes away all Irish sovereign rights & religious freedoms
It will take away sovereign rights but the notion of it removing religious freedoms is ridiculous. Notice also that the freedoms he is concerned about primarily involve restricting other peoples freedoms.

So there you have it, I'm on the side of religious nuts. Fuck!