[ILUG] Eek! McCreevy wants to legalise Software Patents via a US-EU patent treaty

[Colm Buckley]

On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 5:57 PM, Frank Peelo <f26p at eircom.net> wrote:


> Yes, but thinking is /all/ you can do. You only have one vote. The fact
> that there is such a majority in the Dáil means we will be told to do it
> again, and again if necessary, until 50%+1 get fed up and do what they are
> told -- and "Nice2" tells me that this will happen. So vote whichever way
> you like, unless you can get yourself elected dictator /first/, it won't
> make any difference. Wish it would, but it won't.


I'm really sick of people insisting that the Nice precedent means that we'll
rerun the vote endlessly until the treaty is accepted.  The rerun of Nice
was not an identical question to the first vote; the protocol on neutrality
had been added, which addressed the most significant concern of "No" voters
the first time around.  If the Lisbon treaty is rejected by Irish voters,
the possibility remains for a similar amendment to address voters' concerns,
in which case of course there'll be a second referendum.  But it won't be a
referendum on the identical question.

What do you think a No vote means?  "This treaty is unacceptable in its
present form; please fix the issues and ask again" is at least as reasonable
an interpretation as "A plague on all your houses."  Failing to hold a
referendum on an amended treaty would completely ignore the former
interpretation, which (given the turnout and result of the second Nice
referendum) would seem to be one held by a substantial number of people.

Colm


-- 
Colm Buckley / colm at tuatha.org / +353 87 2469146