As I say from the beginning, the empire can hardly wait to become militarised.

(Como digo desde o início, o império mal pode esperar para se tornar militarizado.)

From The Times
November 17, 2009

Czech leader positive on Lisbon
(BBC News, Friday, 23 October 2009)

Czech leader ready to agree to EU changes
(United Press International, Oct. 23, 2009)

UE dá «prendas» ao presidente checo para aprovar o Tratado
(TVI 24, 24-10-2009)

Of the world as we know it? (click on the image to be directed to the video)

1.

The European Union is spending tens of millions of euros on an artificial intelligence system known as “Project Indect,” which would draw from multiple data sources, namely public surveillance cameras, in order to detect “threats” and recognize “abnormal behavior” across the whole continent.
…
Perhaps more chilling, the project promises “continuous monitoring” of “web sites, discussion forums, usenet groups, file servers, p2p networks [and] individual computer systems”. …
(‘Project Indect’: An A.I. to police all of Europe, Stephen C. Webster, Sept. 20, 2009, The Raw Story)

See also here.

2.

…
A separate EU-funded research project, called Adabts – the Automatic Detection of Abnormal Behaviour and Threats in crowded Spaces – has received nearly £3 million. Its is based in Sweden but partners include the UK Home Office and BAE Systems.
It is seeking to develop models of "suspicious behaviour" so these can be automatically detected using CCTV and other surveillance methods. The system would analyse the pitch of people’s voices, the way their bodies move and track individuals within crowds. …
(EU funding ‘Orwellian’ artificial intelligence plan to monitor public for "abnormal behaviour", Ian Johnston, 19 Sep 2009, Telegraph)

See also here.

3.

The EU Joint Situation Centre (SitCen) monitors and assesses events and situations worldwide on a 24-hour basis with a focus on potential crisis regions, terrorism and WMD-proliferation. The SitCen also provides support to the EU High Representative, Special Representatives and other senior officials, as well as for EU crisis management operations.
The SitCen is divided into three units: the Civilian intelligence Cell (CIC), comprising civilian intelligence analysts working on political and counter-terrorism assessment; the General Operations Unit (GOU), providing 24-hour operational support, research and non-intelligence analysis; and the Communications Unit, handling communications security issues and running the council’s communications centre (ComCen). …
(Written answers and statements, 27 June 2005, SiteCen, UK Parliament, TheyWorkForYou.com)

See also here.

Do you really want to live this way?

Ler em português sobre este assunto aqui.

Of course, the same "democrats" that broke the will of the Irish people are already dealing with this little annoyance.

(Lisbon tallies indicate massive Yes swing, Saturday, Saturday, 3 October 2009 11:53, RTÉ)

Europe lives now in a modern plutocracy.

Raymond Crotty’s efforts were in vain:

(…) More than 20 years ago the late Raymond Crotty won a case against the Irish Government which meant any EU rules that impacted on Ireland’s constitution must be approved by the people.
Mary Crotty said her father’s win has resulted in less than four million Irish people voting on behalf of half a billion Europeans on the Lisbon Treaty. (…)

(Daughter of referendum case winner urges ‘No’ vote, 30/09/2009 - 16:02:46, IOL News/Ireland On-Line)

On a first impression, the winners of this referendum were these:

(…) Two multinationals - Ryanair and Intel - are spending huge sums on the campaign to encourage a Yes vote. (…) Between them, Ryanair and Intel have contributed €700,000 to the Yes campaign, and huge contributions from Europe are also pouring in. (…)

(Euro federalists bully us and buy our vote, 27 September 2009, by Tom McGurk, Irish Post)

But if you think just a little more carefully, you can find the real winners of this poll:

(…) our consistent message is that Europeans must pool their efforts and resources.  We cannot continue to conduct the business of defence in separate national boxes.  The money is just no longer there, even in the biggest national defence budgets. (…)

(European Defence Industry Must Break Out of "National Boxes", EDA Chief Executive Nick Witney says, 9th International Exhibition of Defence & Security Technologies, IDET 2007)

The European Defence Agency was established in 2004 to create such a stronger European market for defence equipment. (…)

(European Defence Agency, Wikipedia)

(…) While European defence budgets remain fragmented and massive duplication in research and development exists, the European defence industry has made some moves towards consolidation. British Aerospace was widely expected to merge with Germany’s DASA to form the first major European defence giant. Instead in 1999 BAe merged with another British company, GEC’s defence businesses (GEC-Marconi), to form BAE Systems which has tended to focus on the Anglo-American market. As a result, in 2000, DASA merged with Aerospatiale-Matra to form EADS. Further consolidation of the smaller defence firms cannot be ruled out.

Other major players include:
AgustaWestland
BAE Systems
Dassault Aviation
Diehl BGT Defence
Eurocopter
Eurofighter International
Finmeccanica
Krauss-Maffei
MBDA
Rheinmetall
Rolls-Royce
Saab Bofors Dynamics
Snecma
Thales
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems

(European Union defence procurement, Wikipedia)

‘Look at what happened to Iceland - I don’t want that to happen here’
LAST YEAR Louise Sheffield and her friend Barbara Keating were firmly in the No camp. The two mothers are in their early 30s. Women and those aged under 35 were two of the demographic groups that voted overwhelmingly against the Lisbon Treaty 16 months ago.
And Tallaght, where the two women cast their ballots yesterday, returned the highest No vote last year, with more than 65 per cent rejecting the treaty.
Yesterday, however, Louise and Barbara ticked the Yes box when they voted at Scoil Aonghusa in Tallaght.
"This might help the economy," said Barbara. "What harm can it do?" Louise agreed. "I didn’t know enough about the treaty last year but I feel better informed this time," she said.
"We need it because we need to be part of the plan for economic recovery."

(Two Sides, Two Constituencies, Saturday, October 3, 2009, Mary Fitzgerald on the Irish Times)

How did you end frightening women?

What’s next, frightening little children? How lower can you get?

I made no secret nor apology that I voted Yes last year, and if I went back in time and had to vote again, then I would most definitely be voting yes. Friday isn’t going back in time and doing it again however. Friday is proof of why nothing you say or do really matters in Ireland.

Those who flip from a No to a Yes this time around are acknowledging that they were fucking idiots last year, with their heads totally stuck up their own arseholes. (…)

That’s why I’m not voting on Friday. I’m not sure if I will abstain completely or just spoil my vote. (…)

("Lisbon: Part Deux", posted by Gamma Goblin, 30-Sep-2009, on Riemann’s Cut blog)

Sir, you are consulted twice (and more, for sure, if you don’t give the "correct" answer). I’ve not been consulted, despite what was promised to me, and to all the other 9 million 999 thousand Portuguese. Please, consider voting NO for me, this time. It would be only fair, don’t you think?