Cowen criticised in Breivik manifesto

In an unlikely Irish twist to last Friday's tragedy in Oslo Offaly's Brian Cowen was attacked in perpetrator Anders Behring Breivik's online manifesto. In his manifesto, which he published earlier this year, Mr Breivik criticised Brian Cowen along with Charlie McCreevy for how they handled the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Running to five pages of the document, Mr Breivik described the first Irish Lisbon Treaty referendum in 2008 as a powerful testimony to the evil nature of the European Union and said the two referendums together were conclusive proof that the European Union was organised treason. The manifesto was published in English under the name Andrew Berwick earlier this year. Breivik claims the document took him nine years and more than €300,000 to write. The manifesto also notes that neither Brian Cowen nor Charlie McCreevy had read the Lisbon Treaty, though both advocated a yes vote, and that Mr McCreevy thought there was nothing wrong with the fact that no more than two dozen Irish people had read and understood it either. This was proof, the manifesto said, that the will of the people was just an annoying speed bump that slowed down the implementation of their enlightened policies.