[MadIvan]

A few points:

• The treaty was rejected once in a fair and legitimate election. What the EU is trying to do is shove it down the throats of the Irish, virtually unchanged. This process of trying to force a referendum must stop: it undermines democracy and the will of the Irish people.
• Bertie Ahern is behaving with breathtaking arrogance. After putting the country in a hole to the tune of 900 million Euro to bribe the electorate, he is now presenting the result of this referendum as a fait accompli. The citizens of the Irish Republic are free people, not some chattel whose votes he can so blithely hand over.
• The Irish have legitimate reasons to reject this treaty as it diminishes their say in European affairs, and indeed, issues that concern them.
• Fourth, a No vote would send a very strong signal to Brussels that they hold their power at the pleasure of the people of Europe, and this too, can be taken away.

I hope the rest of you will join me in encouraging the Irish people in saying that they should vote resoundingly No.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[CatoRenasci]

What are the UK bookmakers saying throught the odds on passage?

[Tulsa Brian]

In determining someones motives, forget what they say, watch what they do. Speaks volumes...

[Martin Tell]

OK Ivan, good reasons for the Irish to oppose the treaty and expansion of the EU, but you left out the most obvious (and cynical): letting poor states like Poland into the EU means that Ireland won't get any more goodies/subsidies as a "lesser developed Member State."

[Myrnick]

Cheers, Ivan!

[Happygal]

This would not have worked on an Irish journalist of my acquaintance. Rather, she would have been offended by the idea that they think she could be bribed.

She may have gone on the trip though, to see just how far the Eurocrats would go to win her over! *LOL* :-) Actually, I would have loved to have gone on the trip and on the plane home said : ``Thanks for the hospitality, but your point is?....' *LOL*

[Happygal]

This pretty much explains the Nice Treaty Referendum Landru :-)

[July 4th]

Bump for a NO!

[Mr. Silverback]

Funny...the Irish didn't want to be run by London, but some of them want to be run by Paris and Berlin?

The EU is Napoleon's dream (of a Europe run by a centralized government in Paris) made reality. Ugh!

[yendu bwam]

The Irish, who fought so long and so hard for their freedom, would be fools to hand it over to the tyrannical Eurocrats. Little by litte, they would find themselves subjects of a huge entity in which they have no effective say. They would be a colony of Europe. C'mon, Irish - have enough faith and pride in yourselves to not pass the latchkeys of your liberty to those who do not understand or value it.

[Calvin Locke]

Putting aside lies, d@mn lies, and statistics:

...10 new countries and 75 million people...

An average of 7.5M/country. Heck, we have a city or two with more people...

* The treaty was rejected once in a fair and legitimate election.

As as we in the US are becoming more & more aware (or should I say despair?) what does that have to do with anything? Or Jimmy Carter?

Jeez, even in local issues such as school budgets, they just keep at it, voters rejections aside.

What's that line from the original "Batman" movie. "...needs an enema..."

[Free_at_last_-2001]

"Hey bertie go to hell!" and "kiss my royal Irish butt!"