FRIDAY, April 21, 2017
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NATIONAL NEWS
After the Turkish Toxin killed aquarium whales referendum
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The office of the president of the Reich is unified with the office of the Chancellor. Consequently, all former powers of the president of the Reich are demised to the Führer and chancellor of the Reich, Adolf Hitler. He himself nominates his substitute. Do you, German man and German woman, approve of this regulation provided by this Law?” Adolf Hitler’s 1934 referendum, abolishing the office of prime minister (chancellor) and concentrating all power in his own hands, was the final step in consolidating his control of Germany. Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has just won a referendum abolishing the office of prime minister and concentrating all power in his own hands, is not another Hitler, but he is starting to look like another Vladimir Putin. He didn’t win his referendum by Hitler’s 88 per cent majority, of course. He didn’t even win it by the narrow 52-48 per cent majority that decided the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum last June. He only got a hair’sbreadth 51.3 per cent of the vote, against 48.7 per cent for keeping Turkey’s existing parliamentary system. But it’s still a victory and, if Erdogan can go on winning elections, he could have almost absolute power in Turkey until 2029. He can certainly go on winning elections for a while because his support is rock-solid among the half of the population who felt oppressed by the secular state created by Ataturk almost a century ago. His Islamism is the main source of his political support and the devout will go on voting for him no matter what he does. You almost wonder why he bothered with this referendum. He already has almost absolute power in practice.
GWYNNE DYER
World
WATCH Since the attempted coup last July (whose origins are still murky), the country has been under a state of emergency. The government controls almost all the mass media. About 150 journalists, 13 members of parliament and at least 45,000 other people are under arrest and upwards of 130,000 — academics, judges, police, teachers and civil servants — have been fired from their jobs on suspicion of disloyalty. With those who urged “No” to the constitutional changes being publicly denounced as coupplotters, traitors and terrorists, it’s remarkable that almost exactly half the population still dared to vote against Erdogan’s plan. But that doesn’t really help: Erdogan wanted to have the law underwrite his power and now it does. He can dismiss parliament whenever he likes. He can enact laws by decree. He can declare a state of emergency. He can directly appoint senior officials and judges (handy, given the evidence of massive corruption in his inner circle that emerged in 2013). He can be a democratic leader if he wants, but he can also be a dictator if he likes. All the checks and balances are gone. It is a great pity, for Turkey was turning into a genuinely democratic country. Five years ago, there was still a free press, civil liberties were generally respected, the economy was thriving (highest growth rate among the
G20 countries year after year) and the country was at peace. And much of this was at least partly due to Erdogan’s own efforts. However, democracy, as Erdogan once famously said, “is like a train. You get off once you have reached your destination.” He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Now the few remaining free media outlets are under siege, civil rights are a joke, the economy has plunged into recession and the country is at war. This is mostly Erdogan’s fault. The wars in particular are his own fault. He re-started a war against the Kurdish minority in the east to win over nationalist Turkish voters after he lost an election in June 2015. He won the re-run in November. He intervened in the Syrian civil war and eventually alienated Islamic State (for whose members he once left Turkey’s borders open), so now both ISIS and Kurdish terrorists are attacking Turkish cities. At least 2,000 people have died in the war against Kurdish separatists in the past year and 500 have been killed in terrorist attacks in the big cities. Ordinary Turks are shaken by all the violence and at least half of them clearly don’t buy Erdogan’s explanation that evil foreigners who hate Turks are to blame for it all. Unfortunately, the other half — mostly pious, rural, and/or illeducated — believes it all and sees him as the country’s saviour. Erdogan is unlikely to last until 2029 as the failing economy and the wars will gradually drag him down. But he has divided the country so deeply with his determination to “re-Islamize” Turkey that an attempt to oust him, even by democratic means, could easily end in a civil war. What has happened to Turkey is a tragedy and it’s hard to see a safe way back. gwynnedyer.com
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Aquarium said a toxin was the cause of death of two beluga whales last November, but the exact substance couldn’t be identified. The conclusion is the result of a fivemonth investigation that also determined the toxin was likely introduced by food, water or through human interference. The aquarium’s head veterinarian, Dr. Martin Haulena, said the investigation has helped them understand what happened and how they can help ensure the safety of the mammals in their care. The aquarium said it has taken several
steps to protect the remaining animals at the aquarium, including enhanced food screening, overhauling its water treatment systems and real-time testing of the circulating water. The aquarium said it is also significantly updating its security to monitor perimeter access and reduce potential threats of human interference. The belugas, 21-year-old Qila and her mother, 30-year-old Aurora, died nine days apart in November from what officials said was a mysterious illness.
— The Canadian Press
Pot-tracking system planned KRISTY KIRKUP
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — The federal government is planning to set up a cannabis-tracking system to collect information about marijuana products from licensed producers, distributors and retailers — just one of a host of proposed changes to be ushered in alongside legalization. Health Canada said the proposed system, which would not track individual cannabis users, would allow businesses and regulators to trace all products and address recalls. The tracking would also help to ensure cannabis is not being diverted to illegal markets, the department said, given the government’s stated and oft-repeated goal of limiting organized
crime’s footprint in the pot trade. “Mandatory product track-and-trace systems are common features in other jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis for non-medical purposes,’’ the department said. The specific requirements of the system still need to be developed, Health Canada added, noting similar systems are used in the U.S. to gather information about cannabis products. The department did not say how much the proposed system would cost — only that it intends to offset such costs through licensing and other fees. The government legislation did not offer any specifics on tax measures for marijuana, which was sure to be difficult to miss yesterday on
Parliament Hill as aficionados gathered to mark the annual April 20 pot celebrations known as 4/20. However, not everyone is cheering the government’s legalization efforts. Alex Newcombe, a 31-year-old medicinal marijuana user, said he is disappointed by the Liberal legislation introduced last week. “It is not anything other than prohibition 2.0,’’ said Newcombe, who is especially upset that the federal Liberals have not taken steps to decriminalize the drug in the interim. “[Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] could decriminalize it at a moment’s notice,’’ he said. “He’s the one stopping it at the moment. We’re calling him out on it.’’ The federal government has said repeatedly it has no plans to
decriminalize marijuana until legalization is in place — a goal it hopes to achieve by July 2018. Trudeau, who admitted to smoking pot after becoming an MP, told Bloomberg that Canada’s legalization strategy is built around a recognition that marijuana is “not good’’ for the developing brains of young people. “We need to do a better job of making it more difficult, at least as difficult as it is to access alcohol as it can be,’’ he said. Criminal organizations and street gangs collect billions every year from illicit marijuana sales, he added, noting this money is then funnelled into other criminal activities. “So, you put those two things together and realize we have a system that isn’t working,’’ Trudeau said.
Infection battle breakthrough? THE CANADIAN PRESS
WINNIPEG — Scientists in Winnipeg appear to have developed a new weapon in the battle against antibiotic-resistant infections. Researchers at St. Boniface Hospital and the University of Manitoba have developed a drug that prevents harmful bacteria from growing without affecting healthy cells. The drug attacks the bacteria’s energy source and researchers say it shows potential to fight a wide variety of bacteria that
are resistant to current antibiotics. The drug must be further tested and approved before being available to the public. Findings about the drug, called PEG-2S, are published in a study in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. The research suggests the drug can target at least two of the top 10 priority pathogens listed by the World Health Organization. “Antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance to superbugs is a priority research direction in pharmacology,’’ journal editors Dr.
Ghassan Bkaily and Dr. Pedro D’Orleans-Juste said in a release yesterday. “The quality and findings of this study may be instrumental in our efforts to develop new drugs and technologies that effectively address this global health alarm recently raised by the World Health Organization.’’ The study showed PEG-2S was effective against the growth of chlamydia bacteria. More than 20 other types of pathogenic bacteria have a similar energy source that can be targeted by the drug, the report said.