A "no" vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty could end the dream of making the European Union a stronger political entity, Bloomberg reports. It's not clear if that's really true -- EU countries will likely attempt to renegotiate the treat -- or if true, whether that's a bad thing -- local political sovereignty can be a stabilizing force (ask the Swiss). For fans of direct democracy, the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty -- an outcome that looks likely as we approach Thursday's vote -- would mean another failure to establish the world's first "transnational referendum." A Europe-wide vote on some issues is provided for in the treaty.