The Political Page, T+87 -- April 18, 2017

UK's prime minister Theresa May calls for "snap" election in June.

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As Turkey Turns

From: What Went Wrong: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, by Bernard Lewis, c. 2002, one of the best books ever written on Islam.

“At the present time secularism is in a bad way in the Middle East.” – p. 108.

The author suggests that secularism may not survive anywhere in the Middle East.

“Of those Middle Eastern states that have written constitutions, only two have no established religion. One is Lebanon, no longer an encouraging example of religious tolerance or secularization. The other, as already noted, is the Turkish Republic, where, while the general principle of separation is maintained, there has been some erosion. The ex-Soviet republics are still struggling with these problems.” – p. 108.

Turkey has turned away from Ataturk's vision of Westernization and mordernization (two different things). Turkey may actually return to sharia law in my lifetime. 

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Notes for The Granddaughters

This was a big deal. The international teams from all over the world; huge European presence. Australia was represented. Foreign countries only brought their teams with players age 13 and over.

Our granddaughter's team is for 11-year-olds; she is ten years old, playing "up." Although they did not win against the older foreign teams, they more than held their own. It was general consensus that they were a better team than a 15-year-old team from Mexico. The two teams could not play an official game (due to age-specific competition) but in a friendly game they held the score to 1 - 1.