1. I walked to Subway today and got an application. I got a little lost on the way home, but I found my way eventually. It's not that hard.
2. I filled out the application at home and poked around on MacAlister for a bit, and I found some awesome news!
IRELAND VOTED NO ON THE LISBON TREATY! NO!
Did everyone catch that? In case there was any difficulty/cottonwool/confusion, I shall repeat it in every language I can think of-
NO, NEIN, NON, NEM, NYET, IIE!
I could have sworn I knew more, but 'No' comes across pretty well in several languages. I used to know what it was in Arabic, but nevermind...
So what does this mean? Well, it doesn't mean that the EU is ground to a halt in its attempts to get a univocally acknowledged constitution, which is basically what the Lisbon Treaty is. It's more or less the same document that France and the Netherlands vetoed in 2005 in a referendum. This time around, THE ONLY EU member country that got to hold a referendum AT ALL was Ireland. As someone I read put it- 3 million or so decide the fate of 500 million or so. Doesn't seem quite right, does it? Because the legislative bodies of many of the other countries decided to push right on through and ratify the Lisbon Treaty- DESPITE calls for referendums from their constituents! And even now, after this has just happened, there are calls for a re-vote and people who are saying that "We'll work around this problem some how." What really got me was a remark from what's-her-face (Merkel?) in Germany who thinks that with enough diplomatic effort the No can be turned to a Yes. Meaning, if they pour more money on the problem and annoy/scare/confuse/harass enough people, the vote will change. I will be praying very hard that it doesn't. The Irish have spoken and let that count for something. Respect their sovereignty as a country! Fail at your peril! It's the attitude of superiority, the "Vote until you get it right, you stupid peasants" that I can't stand. And yahoonews is so biased. Incredibly biased. The way they put it, you'd think only rural people (read stupid according to them) who don't understand the Treaty voted against it. I say said people are NOT stupid, especially if they voted against something they didn't understand! If you don't get it, don't vote for it! And honestly, the blankety-blank thing is freaking impossible to understand unless you can cross reference all the things it does! It's a nightmare of a document! It is not designed to be easily understood, and it is/was hugely dangerous!
I never thought I'd be on the same page as The Guardian... but for a miracle I find myself in complete agreement with the columnists therein who are saying that Gordon Brown should permit a referendum in England. He won't, it seems, but he SHOULD. And I'm agreeing with The Guardian.... and several other major English newspapers. Anyone seen some flying pigs recently? Has Hell suddenly become a ski resort? Well, if nothing else, this should certainly boost the ranks of the Conservatives in England- the Labour Party's stocks should be dropping rapidly!
A great big (posthumous) Thank You should be given to the writers of the Irish Constitution. That's what made them have this referendum at all. In other countries it was done behind closed doors, without necessarily the consent of the governed. So much for democracy and freedom. But the turbulent history of Ireland made it one of the worst possible places for a can of worms like this to be opened for public inspection and vote. Ireland has had a history of being dominated by a tyrannical government (no prizes for guessing whose), and the Irish people, it seems, are determined to not leap out of the frying pan and into the fire. Good for them. So it seems like a valid title of today's entry could be How the Irish Saved Civilization- Again.
Dr. O'Donnell would approve. Speaking of which, I wonder what he thinks about this. I wonder what most Americans think about this... I honestly didn't see a thing about it until after the vote was a 'No' vote. Nothing. Nada. But this is important. This is big stuff. Complete silence.
B, what's the word on the street, as it were, where you are?
It really seems like Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom.
And now for the local news-
I GOT A JOB!!
I never thought I'd be so happy to have a comparatively dull, minimum wage kind of job! Not that I'm not still looking up and really hoping that the print shop gets back to me. But between now and Tuesday it's a job in hand as opposed to however many may lurk in the bush. So I can't and won't complain and I start tomorrow at 10AM sharp! I really hope there's an employee discount on sandwiches, that would save me having to buy food. I can eat one real meal a day and have a snack or two and call it good. The next problem on the list is housing past the end of the month.
I think two important things contributed to me finding a job. First- I promised to spend more time with Our Lord if he found me housing and job. In a gesture of good faith, that started today. Please don't get me wrong, I don't believe I'm bartering with God. I do think that He wants me to spend more time with Him and having said job and housing will help a lot with that.
The other important thing is that today is (for another five minutes) St. Anthony's Feastday. So today I'm starting a novena, not ending one, because I'm special like that. The intention's for my longer term plans, that they'll work out well and the way that they're supposed to.
As I have mentioned before, contingent on my getting a job is my dyeing my hair. This exercise in creativity will be carried out Monday evening. I wouldn't wait that long, but it looks complicated and I think I will require help, so I'm willing to wait that long. I also kinda have to because there's this complicated warning about allergic reactions.
And since I have work tomorrow at ten, I will be signing off now.
Prayers are, as always, greatly appreciated.
3 megjegyzés:
Aha! Well, three cheers for Ireland and Subway! And best of luck - although if an idiot like me can make sandwiches for the general public, I'm sure you're more than capable of the same, so I won't worry *too* much. ;)
Hi Sarah!
I'm glad you managed to find a job after all. I hope you will be fine there!
Regarding the vote in Ireland. Surprisingly there wasn't a big argument about the vote here in Hungary. However I have to tell, I wasn't too happy with the result. The Lisbon Treaty would be a basic outline of the new, extended EU with 27 members. Since the current framework of the EU was designed for 15 members, it is not adequate any more. If we want to have an EU that is not bound and can function properly, we will need to have something like the Lisbon Treaty. I adore the Irish that they had the courage to step up , and put there national priorities first(I was rather upset when the Hungarian parliament accepted the Treaty without much hesitation), but on the other hand I think it is quite unfortunate that one country can block other 26 to do what they think is necessary. Think about the US constitution. If you want to amend the constitution, first you need the Congress to vote on it, but then only the three-fourths of states must approve it. Even in the US, you don't require everyone to agree with the amendment. And you are right to do so, because it is almost impossible in a democracy to find complete consensus, it usually requires everyone to give up something that is important for them...
Well, I dont know what will be the long consequences of the referendum, but i am quite sure that it will halt the integration process of the EU.
Anyways I hope you are doing fine. I failed my very last exam, so I have to stay in Budapest a few extra days. I will talk to my professor on Tuesday and see if we can work out something. You know it is just like the referendum, he made a decision (failed me) but we can still work around it and agree on something that would benefit both of us... :)
So B, when I want you to de-lurk and comment, all I have to do is post about something political/economical?;) I will freely admit I don't understand all there is to understand with the Lisbon Treaty. I _do_ intend to fix that and read what I've been told is an essentially 'unreadable' collection of amendments to previous documents. However this will come after Winston Churchill's history of WWII, because the library will want that back eventually. All the best with talking to your professor- hopefully negotiations will be settled to everyone's best possible advantage. ;)
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