Upcoming Events

National | EU

no events match your query!

New Events

National

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Wed Dec 25, 2024 00:32 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Starmer Doesn?t Have a Feel for Politics and His Team Lacks the Skills to Run the Country, Says Vete... Tue Dec 24, 2024 19:00 | Will Jones
Keir Starmer "doesn?t have a feel" for the Labour Party or politics in general and his team lacks the skills to run the country, veteran Labour MP?Diane Abbott?has said.
The post Starmer Doesn’t Have a Feel for Politics and His Team Lacks the Skills to Run the Country, Says Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Church of England Tells Clergy to Edit Christmas Carols to ?Avoid Unnecessary Offence? Tue Dec 24, 2024 18:00 | Will Jones
The Church of England has told clergy in Birmingham to watch out for "problematic words" in Christmas carols that imply Jesus is the "true Messiah" or other religions aren't valid. And they wonder why the pews are empty.
The post Church of England Tells Clergy to Edit Christmas Carols to “Avoid Unnecessary Offence” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Best-Selling Hybrids Face Net Zero Ban From 2030 Tue Dec 24, 2024 15:42 | Will Jones
Some of Britain?s best-selling hybrid cars will be banned from sale after 2030 under a?Net Zero crackdown?proposed by Ministers, including the mild hybrid versions of the Ford Puma, Range Rover Evoque and VW Golf.
The post Best-Selling Hybrids Face Net Zero Ban From 2030 appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Experts Call For Return of Lockdown-Style Social Distancing as Flu Surges, Claiming ?a Fifth of Thos... Tue Dec 24, 2024 13:46 | Will Jones
Experts?have issued an urgent call for lockdown-style social distancing ahead of Christmas Day amid surging flu infections, claiming that a fifth of those infected have no symptoms but can spread it.
The post Experts Call For Return of Lockdown-Style Social Distancing as Flu Surges, Claiming “a Fifth of Those Infected Have No Symptoms But Can Spread It” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en

offsite link Pentagon could create a second Kurdish state Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:31 | en

offsite link How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus , by Thierry Meyssan Tue Dec 17, 2024 06:58 | en

offsite link Statement by President Bashar al-Assad on the Circumstances Leading to his Depar... Mon Dec 16, 2024 13:26 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?112 Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:34 | en

Voltaire Network >>

ESM Stroke politics = New National Disaster

category national | eu | opinion/analysis author Wednesday April 04, 2012 01:10author by O.O´C. - People´s Movementauthor email post at people dot ieauthor address 25 Shanowen Crescent, Dublin 9author phone 087230830 Report this post to the editors

The Government hopes to pull a stroke within the next few weeks that could be as disastrous politically for this country as the blanket bank guarantee of 2008 has been socially and economically.

The stroke? Sign up, virtually ‘on the q.t.,’ to a new permanent euro-zone bail-out fund, the European Stability Mechanism, to which Ireland will be “irrevocably and unconditionally” obliged to the tune of €11 billion, while all the time making great palaver about holding a referendum on the Fiscal Compact Treaty.
Quelle stroke!
Quelle stroke!

Yet together the European Stability Mechanism and the Fiscal Compact Treaty represent quite fundamental moves in the direction of a qualitatively different euro zone from the one established under the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.

Under the new regime virtually the whole area of budgetary policy will be removed from the national level to the supranational level of the euro zone, without a referendum.

The ESM treaty describes the two treaties as being “complementary.” So why not a referendum on both treaties? Legal advice from none other than the Attorney-General.

The present incumbent of that position, Marie Whelan SC? No. Her predecessor, Paul Gallagher SC, advised the previous Government that there was no constitutional problem in not holding a referendum.

It will be recalled that Gallagher also advised that Government on the night of the blanket guarantee for the Irish banks in September 2008.

So a change of Government did not result in a new, more independent approach to a developing euro-zone fiscal union, any more than it meant any real and significant loosening of the financial servitude imposed on the country by the previous Government. All done for the good of Irish banking interests and the German and French banks from whom they had borrowed.

Even at this late stage it is not too late to demand that the Attorney-General advises on the constitutionality of what the Government is trying to do—particularly in the light of the fact that there are significant differences between the earlier ESM Treaty that the previous Attorney-General advised on and the second version.

Under the ESM Treaty mark 2, any money from the permanent bail-out fund would be given only to states that had inserted the so-called permanent budget rule or “debt brake” in their constitutions or equivalent.

Related Link: http://www.IrishReferendum.Org
author by Mike Novackpublication date Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:47author address author phone Report this post to the editors

It is a fundamental principle of democracy that to do this lies outside the power of a democratic system.

Not even if enshrined in a constitution unless that constitution provides no way of ammendment (which would be very unusual). And in any case, a constitution IS a limitation of democracy. Possibly a good and desirable limitation but a limitation nevertheless.

Not even if by referendum.

The point here is that voters of this time have no way to bind the voters of some future generation EXCEPT by voting to end democracy.

In which case that means "can't change by democratic means" since those no longer exist. Still doesn't mean "can't change".

Understand? Whatever the b*stards decide today. no matter how irrevocable they say that decision is, you can vote them to h*ll tomorrow. By which I mean next election.

author by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite partypublication date Wed Apr 04, 2012 15:27author address author phone Report this post to the editors

..the way to bring that election day forward is to hammer Labour at every turn for their class treason...the other quislings are just being true to character and form..Labour are the ones claiming to know the meaning of solidarity with the people rather than the moolah.

Galway, April 14th.

author by O.O´C.publication date Thu Apr 05, 2012 19:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Mike: you are of course correct in a long-term and generational sense. Also in the sense of not generating passive fatalism even if we lose a battle. But since we only have one life to live, and most of these bad things are happening to us right now, it´s also important to be motivated to try and prevent these things from developing here and now - so that we don´t have a bigger mountain to leave the next generation to climb.

Opus: speaking in a personal capacity, I also think Labour are the most vulnerable - and therefore perhaps the most susceptible to present and future pressure to change. Not being nice towards them, you understand, just Machiavellian!

Related Link: http://www.IrishReferendum.Org
 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy