D Wednesday, September 23, 2009 METRO 17 Paddle pal: World paddleboarding champion Jamie Mitchell encounters a whale while filming the Living in Liquid Project off the New South Wales coast, Australia yesterday Picture: EPA The Big Picture The debate goes on Big decision: The Lisbon Treaty In response to Bees complaint about the amount of media attention that the Yes campaign receives, I would like to point out that the No campaign deserves to be left out in the cold, because they are not talking about the main tenets of Lisbon. After the first Lisbon vote, polling showed that the main reason Irish citizens gave for voting No was a lack of information. This makes coverage of the referendum and the Yes campaign vital. The Yes campaign is a good one which raises some important issues. I was born in 1985; Ive never known Ireland without the EU. All Ive ever known are the benefits of EU membership: my school gym; my college study abroad programme; the South Link road in my native Cork all received funding from the EU. So out of self-interest I like the EU. As a student of European Politics, I see that the EU needs to solidify, to move forward and I see Lisbon as the next step in that process. The Lisbon Treaty would allow the EU to run more effectively and more efficiently and would give national parliaments an enhanced role in the EU process. As citizens it gives us the right of initiative, that is, one million citizens from a number of Member States can call on the Commission to bring forward new policy proposals. For all of these reasons, Ill be voting Yes on October 2. Ita, by e-mail I have been very much on the fence on Lisbon. Having been soaked in the National Enquirer- type posters from Cir Says No and the many insults to our intelligence from the Ireland Inc- sponsored Yes side and Michel Martin: 30 per cent voted No in the last referendum because they feared conscription!, I am now Dublins best-read letters page Metro Mail E-mail letters to mail@metroireland.ie with a name. Or text us. Text MAIL followed by comment and name to 53131. *Texts cost 30cent per message + standard network charges. SP. Oxygen8 Communications, Hospitality House, Cumberland Street South, D2. Customer service number 0818286606 talk to us GIve a dog a home: Collon Animal Sanctuary regularly have adult dogs that need a good home. As many dogs are handed in for rehoming due to a change in family circumstances, they will know the history of the dog and will be able to match you up with one which may be used to its owners being at work. They also have lots of puppies but a puppy will not be happy left alone all day. Helen, by e-mail At the races: In Brief yesterday contained a complaint from Disgruntled Punter about TG4 running an ad for last weeks Galway Races. The item was a promo for our new hilarious drama Rsa na Gaillimhe, a seven-part series showing the real goings-on at the festival, crooked politicians, dodgy bookies. Dont miss it every Wednesday at 9.30pm. Pdhraic Ciardha, TG4 No toffee, just coffee: To all the coffee vendors in the city, instead of offering me a coffee and muffin for 3.50, please just offer me a cup of coffee for, say, 1.50. The last thing I want at eight in the morning is a toffee or double choc muffin. Karl, by e-mail In Brief leaning heavily towards a No vote. Why? I expect hysterics from Cir but for some reason I do expect some level of respect for my intelligence from politicians (naive, I know!) Unnecessary red tape from EU legislation costs businesses 360billion a year (yesterdays Irish Examiner) When Israel bombed the life out of 500 children and 1,000 others in Gaza, I looked to the EU for sanctions none came. I wont be bribed by Barroso and his timely payout to Dell workers. The EU did not protect us from; the banks, developers, Fianna Fil and rising prices or the recession, My boss and FF told us all to vote Yes (after a 20 per cent pay-cut). If Fianna Fil told me it would be sunny tomorrow, Id bring an umbrella and wear oilskins. So EU; take a moral stance against state terrorism, stop wasting our money, stop claiming such huge expenses and Fianna Fil step down, and I will consider a Yes vote. You have ten days! Mary, Wicklow Sendusyour txt Theres something grotesque about the waste of our money by John ODonoghue and his ilk and the body of the murdered Romanian woman still in Dublin while her family try to raise the money to have her body brought home. Sen Alec, perhaps the increased military spending would be used to purchase, oh I dont know... tanks? Mike Thank you to the gal from the North who stopped to help a poor hurt kitten last Friday morning near Connolly station. This city needs more people like you. SG If the ROAD WORKS AHEAD, what are they digging it up for? James, Artane What does Nama stand for in Cork? No All-Ireland Medal Again!! Will, a sad Cork man Samus, if you think saying No to Lisbon means well all still be one big happy EU, you need to wake up and smell the dole queue. We need the EU more than it needs us! Ronnie Realist txt MAIL to 53131* index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html