A Brawl and Then a Vote to Rein In Turkish Courts

[alp227]

Source: New York Times

ISTANBUL —Turkey’s Parliament met through the night, Friday into Saturday, and passed a controversial new bill that gives the government greater control over the judiciary —but not before a brawl on the floor of the assembly left one lawmaker with a broken finger and another with a bloodied nose.

The raucous scene, as well as the fisticuffs that broke out during a previous debate on the bill, was emblematic of the messy turn Turkish politics has taken recently, as a corruption investigation targeting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his inner circle has thrust the government into crisis.

Critics charged that the judicial bill is the latest attempt by Mr. Erdogan to survive the corruption investigation. Experts say the legislation, which still needs to be signed by the president and is sure to face challenges in the constitutional court, would eviscerate any measure of a separation of powers in the Turkish political system.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/world/europe/a-brawl-and-then-a-vote-to-rein-in-turkish-courts.html

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[shenmue]

1. The ones in South Korea are even more fun

Here we go!

[geek tragedy]

2. and to think that country was once considered for E.U. membership nt

[Berlin Expat]

3. It still is

being considered.

The new German Foreign Minister is broadly supportive of the idea, the French are "more open" to it then they were under Sarkozy, the Hungarians are all in (the Turan idea) and I believe the FM of the Netherlands recently said it was a good idea.

So it's not as far-fetched as one might think. It might happen; granted, maybe not under Erdogan, but under whomever succeeds him.

[geek tragedy]

4. if anyone succeeds him nt

[father founding]

5. Filibrawlers.

Something I would like to see in THE US Congress, more brawls like this.