[Gladstone]

Originally Posted by Milesian

Interesting piece of trivia in connection with the question posed in this thread - there is allegedly a Masonic Lodge in every NATO base. I uncovered this fact while reading through discussions that took place in Seanad Eireann (The Irish Senate)

The paragraph just prior to that one is interesting as well. Curious turn of phrase there.

The EU will have a rapid reaction force and I share some of the concerns expressed by Senator Norris and others. There is no doubt there will be a move towards a European army shortly because Europe will be an empire, although I do not know who will be the emperor. However, the army will defend, not attack, and the rapid reaction force is the beginning of that. It will not affect our neutrality, nor will it diminish us. We do not plan to attack America, China and Russia but there will be a defensive force.

What does that mean to us in Ireland? It means a lot, and if we take the west of Ireland and Galway in particular as an example, we see that most of the industries there are American. The American economy is at present looking at a possible downturn, resulting in cutbacks and downsizing. The markets there are decreasing and these companies are seeking new markets. When they see the potential for an increased market of 306 million, I have no doubt that they will remain in Ireland and perhaps increase in size and productivity as a result. A window of opportunity is provided for them to look into Europe

The labour market is extraordinarily important because there are great fears that with globalisation many of the companies which have located here might relocate in eastern Europe. That is always a possibility but one has to remember that our great windfall has been with companies from the United States, which particularly favour English speaking countries.