Tag: tradition

Black Caucus presses Senate Dems to blow up tradition on judges

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So the Black Caucus, joined by a coalition of progressive groups, is turning up the heat on Senate Democrats in what’s becoming the most consequential battle over chamber rules since Democrats tried last year to weaken the filibuster.
“I don’t know why anyone, let alone Senate Democrats, would hold up a Jim Crow practice,” Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said in an interview on Wednesday, describing the GOP’s use of blue slips against judicial nominees as a civil rights issue.
“It is literally about the fundamental survival of the people we represent,” Horsford added. “And we expressed that history, that context and that necessity to Chairman Durbin. I respect the chairman. He understands the dilemma.”
The dispute has huge implications for the future of the federal judiciary, the Senate and the White House. With the House run by Republicans until 2024 at least, Senate Democrats still can confirm judges for lifetime appointments without a single GOP vote — but Republicans can block some of those nominees from ever getting to the chamber floor by denying blue slips.
The acrimony is particularly acute among House members from blue districts in red states. They’re chafing at their Republican senators’ unwillingness to let nominees through and looking to Senate Democrats to help — even though during the Trump era the CBC urged the GOP to keep the blue slip to give Democrats some say in lifetime nominees.
So Durbin isn’t ready to get rid of the tradition for federal district court nominees. And both Black Caucus members from the Senate, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Raphael Warnock, share his reluctance to change the practice.
In an interview, Durbin said he and GOP senators are negotiating over new Biden nominees that will become public soon. And several GOP senators said in interviews that they are working closely with the White House to address nominees for district court judgeships, U.S. attorney posts and U.S. marshals posts, all of which are subject to the blue slip.

In an interview, Dick Durbin said he and GOP senators are negotiating over new Biden nominees that will become public soon.
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Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo
The Senate Judiciary Committee previously abandoned the blue slip for appellate court nominees who cover multiple states. If Durbin wanted to nix the practice for district courts, it would not require a Senate rules change.

Durbin is still receptive to the Black Caucus’ entreaties, saying that he needs a “higher level of cooperation” from the GOP. He estimated that fewer than 20 of Biden’s nominees have received green lights from the GOP, while Democrats provided more than 110 for former President Donald Trump’s judicial picks during his time in office.
“I tried to explain to them the arcane Senate rules. And how difficult it would be to do business. So I don’t know if I convinced them, because a lot of them are frustrated with the lack of cooperation,” Durbin said of his meeting with the Black Caucus.
Republicans have used their blue-slip power recently against two Biden nominees, in addition to last year’s rejection by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) of William Pocan — the brother of Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) — as a district judge. Democrats’ big fear, however, is that Republicans will start using the practice more.
In a letter to Durbin this week, a coalition of progressive groups warned that “39 of the 43 district court vacancies subject to Republican blue slips — 91% — still do not have nominees.” The letter’s signatories ranged from Demand Justice to the League of Conservation Voters to End Citizens United.
“The blue slip policy should be reformed or discontinued to ensure a fair process and stop Republicans from blocking highly-qualified Biden judicial nominees,” the progressive groups wrote. Their ideas: ignore blue slip blockades, force a firm timeline for senators to register their objections and require public explanations for blue slip denials.
Republicans are holding their ground. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the party’s top member on the Judiciary Committee, said that scrapping the blue slip makes the Senate “irrelevant” and criticized the White House for not conducting sufficient outreach to the GOP.
The White House is “turning to the red states because they’ve filled all the blue states, and it takes consulting. They didn’t even talk to people in Florida for six months. I made them talk to them. So this is a manufactured issue,” Graham said.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded that “the White House has done outreach to every single Republican Senate office that represents a state with a judicial vacancy. In many instances, that outreach dates back to the previous Congress.”
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) accelerated the blue slip clash after she announced she would stop Scott Colom from taking a Mississippi judgeship. It’s likely that Biden may need to find a new nominee; “Sen. Hyde Smith will not budge,” said one person with direct knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.
There are currently more than 65 federal district court vacancies, and 38 of those do not have nominees — many of them in states where Republican senators have veto power. The lower-level courts are the Democrats’ primary focus after prioritizing appellate courts over the last two years.
In addition, Kansas GOP Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran are slowing the nomination of Jabari Wamble to fill a district court seat while they await Biden’s choice to fill an appellate court vacancy covering their states. In an interview, Marshall said he’s simply being “cautious” and didn’t indicate where they would fall on a blue slip for Wamble.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a Judiciary Committee member, said he is having “a lot of good conversations” with the White House; as many as three Missouri seats could be open by the fall.
Horsford said Black Caucus members want every Republican withholding a blue slip to disclose their reasoning. He was joined in the Durbin meeting by Black Caucus members Reps. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Troy Carter (D-La.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Al Green (D-Texas), and Booker.
Horsford said the lawmakers emphasized to Durbin that blue slips are not a Senate rule but a custom. For many of his members, Horsford added, “it’s hard for them as the sole Democrat in some of their southern states to defend a policy where one or two Senate Republicans can hold up those nominees.”
Notably, the practice has yielded some success stories. The all-GOP Senate delegations in Idaho and Louisiana worked with the White House to hatch bipartisan agreements, and Indiana’s two Republican senators worked to confirm a home-state judge by a rare voice vote this year.
And Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said she’s willing to give it another go with Johnson, even after he stopped William Pocan.
As Booker recalled in an interview, he used blue slips to stifle Trump’s judicial picks — underscoring that the power to stop judicial nominees can also help Democrats during GOP presidencies.
Still, Booker is clearly torn: “Anytime you tear up a Senate tradition, you should be really thoughtful about it.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

May 4, 2023
Spain bans decades-long tradition of ‘dwarf bullfighting’

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Spain’s parliament has banned “comic” bullfighting events featuring dwarves dressed in costumes, in a decision applauded by disability rights groups.
Dwarves in Spain have long dressed as firefighters or clowns to chase bulls without killing them, at public spectacles designed to be humorous. The tradition stretches back decades, but has declined in popularity.
The law approved on Thursday brings Spain into line with EU directives on discrimination against disabled people, and was hailed by campaigners.
“We have overcome the Spain of the past,” said Jesús Martín, the director general of Spain’s Royal Board on Disabilities, which advises the social rights ministry that pushed the ban forward in parliament.
“People with dwarfism were subjected to mockery in public squares in our country, passing down the idea that it is OK to laugh at difference, to so many girls and boys who go with adults to see these shameful performances.”
A handful of the few remaining performers staged a protest in front of parliament to express their condemnation of the ban.
“They take it for granted that people are being denigrated or laughed at, and it’s the opposite: the respect they have for us is impressive,” Daniel Calderón, a dwarf bullfighter, told the EFE news agency.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 27, 2023
Hyderabad: With a mix of fun and tradition, Melas continue to draw crowds

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Hyderabad: In this age of technology and dazzling malls, age-old concepts of entertainment still seem to be drawing the curiosity of the public. One of those things are ‘Melas’ or fairs, which are now drawing crowds.
Post Eid-ul-Fitr too, families often head to fun fairs with children enjoy joy rides there. Sitting on a hand-pulled ferris-wheel, eating ‘chat pata’ food and buying balloons and toys all sound like things that belong to a new generation ago. And the tradition continues even today, and it’s a mix of nostalgia for parents as well.
One such fun fair was organized at the Noori Palace function hall at Bandlaguda in Hyderabad, which seemed to attract quite a lot of people in spite of it being Eid on Sunday.

Joy rides, food stalls, horse and camels rides, games and cosmetic stalls were all part of it the set up here. The next few days after Eid, many families move out to relax after a strenuous month which keeps many awake for 16 to 18 hours.
“The routine schedule is disturbed as people wake up for Sehar and sleep late after offering Taraveeh namaz. Work for women particularly is tasking so for a break and relaxing many come out after festival,” said Zahooruddin, a resident of Chandrayangutta.
Other parts of Hyderabad where one can find such fairs are Parade Grounds in Secunderabad. On holidays, huge crowds are also seen in Necklace Road, Nehru Zoological Park and other picnic spots in the city.
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#Hyderabad #mix #fun #tradition #Melas #continue #draw #crowds

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 24, 2023
How Kashmir Tradition Honours A Mother and Helps Her Rejuvenate After Childbirth?

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by Ifra Reshi
SRINAGAR: Modern science may take its time to establish the importance of herbal baths for postpartum women but Kashmir has used the bath for centuries is helping mothers to heal and bounce back to life. Rooted in tradition, the bath, after 40 days of the birth is a special occasion that honours a mother for giving birth to a life.
Loaseh Gasseh: The herbal mix that goes into the making of special fragrant and curative water that women use for bathing after 4 days of childbirth. KL Image by Ifra Reshi
“A mother carries her baby for nine months during which she goes through a lot of changes mentally and physically,” Raja Begum, herself a mother, said. “The bath is part of a set of practices that have passed on across generations and it helps in rejuvenation and healing.”
In Kashmiri, a postpartum lady is called Loase or Loaseh. Exactly 40 days after childbirth – normal or C-section, a mother is supposed to take a bath with Loaseh Aab (aab means water). It is a special water that is prepared by boiling Loaseh Gasseh in water for an hour or two, usually in a copper pot.
Tradition treats a mother like a patient for 40 days. She is served specially and given a lot of nutritious food. Apart from Koshur Kokur (courtyard chicken), they used to be fed with a lot of Haund (dandelion leaves), Lisseh – in certain cases, Vopul Haakh, which are vegetations having medicinal properties.
Normal practice is that the husband or her in-law brings, Peaw, a special visit to her, which brings in a lot of food items, besides clothing, warmers, beddings and – in certain cases, gold. This is seen as an occasion of celebration. Traditionally, the mother stays with her parents after the delivery. It is almost mandatory in the case of first birth unless the situation dictates otherwise.
Forty days later, the family gets ready for the bath and it changes the status of the mother. Now she can move around, go home, and get into the routine.
Almost in every society, such cultural rituals exist but in the case of Kashmir, the tradition is mixed with serious curative and healing efforts of the mother.

“It was my first experience of being honoured as a new mother,” Maroofa Majeed, a first-time mom, said. “The process was amazingly restorative and for the second time in my adulthood, I felt important and honoured – the first time was when I got married and the second time when I gave birth to the child.”
“I remember my mother being very cautious and excited about the day preparing the bath, steeping the herbs mixed with water in a big traditional copper pot and left for boiling on a traditional mud burner outside the house and then pouring into a big tub,” Nasreena Trumboo, another first-time mother, said. “She took a fistful of herbs and scrubbed and massaged my whole body for 20 minutes.”
It is just not a bath, it is literally a procedure that induces healing and rejuvenates the body.
An early twentieth century Kashmiri mother with her child
“The herbs used in the postpartum bath are part of Kashmiri folk medicines and not the Unani Tibb. It relaxes internal organs, balances the muscle tune, detoxifies and gives restoration to the body of postpartum women,” Dr Ayoub Sofi, Incharge Medical Officer Ayurveda, Yoga ad Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) unit SMHS said. “In fact, the tourists and foreigners who come from far distances also take this medicinal herbal bath in Kashmir for relaxation and rejuvenation.”
The Loaseh Gasseh is a huge mixture of herbs, shrubs, leaves, wild fruits and roots together. These are sourced from different areas. Some of the items are cultivated in Doda, Gurez and Kishtwar areas. Many others are sourced from mainland India.
Practitioners believe a function of herbal medicines in bathing is to increase the involution of the uterus.
Sofi, however, regrets that the people bring these herbs from Bohru shops, people selling the herbs or herbalists, and take a postpartum bath at home without having proper awareness regarding the usage and benefits of all herbs. The pouch of the Loaseh Gasseh must contain a balanced mix of all the items that have been used traditionally. It includes various antiseptics and astringents that help heal and rejuvenate.
Normally, the Loaseh Gasseh has the following items:
Calendula, (Marigold, Jaffer): Anti-inflammatory properties that soothe and heal tissues.
Comfrey, (Black Wort): Heals bruises and sprains.
Sage leaves (Tej patta, Bargi Tej): Anti-inflammatory properties and also relieves muscles.
Liquorice, (Shangar): Repairs and reduces the number of bacteria on the skin.
Curuma, (laedri Gandri): An antiseptic having antioxidant properties that soothe joints.
Taraxacum, (Dandelions, hand): It has detoxifying properties, reduces scars and heals skin.
Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, (Persioshan, Hansraj): Antifungal properties, supports immunity to fight infections.
Kasni, (Kasun Posh, Chircory flower): Healing properties for skin and eliminate toxins from the body.
Banafsaha, (Sweet violet): Relieves skin irritations.
Unab, (Bray Mewi, Jujube fruit, Chinese date): Reverses the effects of ageing, has antioxidant properties, and fights and prevents cell damage.
Sapistan, (Lasora): Helps in relieving and relaxing pain.
In certain cases, even sea salt is also added to the water for its therapeutic uses.
This photograph put on social media in early 2023 shows a mother carrying her baby as the medicine drips into his veins. While it demonstrates the crisis of the public health infrastructure (it apparently taken in the casualty of a hospital in Anantnag), the photograph explains the costs that the mother pays in nurturing life.
Tradition suggests that the water needs to be boiled in a copper utensil for one to two hours and used when it is lukewarm. The boiled herbs are also used to scrub the body.
The herb collection costs not even a fraction of what eventually goes into its preparation. Normally, after the bath, women are supposed to take rest in a warm bed and have good meals. Since the water they use for bathing is aromatic, these women feel scented for many days.
In certain cases, like that of Kashmiri Pandits, the bath would be performed after 11 days only.

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#Kashmir #Tradition #Honours #Mother #Helps #Rejuvenate #Childbirth
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 12, 2023
How Kashmir Tradition Honours A Mother and Helps Her Rejuvenate After Childbirth?

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by Irfa Reshi
SRINAGAR: Modern science may take its time to establish the importance of herbal baths for postpartum women but Kashmir has used the bath for centuries is helping mothers to heal and bounce back to life. Rooted in tradition, the bath, after 40 days of the birth is a special occasion that honours a mother for giving birth to a life.
Loaseh Gasseh: The herbal mix that goes into the making of special fragrant and curative water that women use for bathing after 4 days of childbirth. KL Image
“A mother carries her baby for nine months during which she goes through a lot of changes mentally and physically,” Raja Begum, herself a mother, said. “The bath is part of a set of practices that have passed on across generations and it helps in rejuvenation and healing.”
In Kashmiri, a postpartum lady is called Loase or Loaseh. Exactly 40 days after childbirth – normal or C-section, a mother is supposed to take a bath with Loaseh Aab (aab means water). It is a special water that is prepared by boiling Loaseh Gasseh in water for an hour or two, usually in a copper pot.
Tradition treats a mother like a patient for 40 days. She is served specially and given a lot of nutritious food. Apart from Koshur Kokur (courtyard chicken), they used to be fed with a lot of Haund (dandelion leaves), Lisseh – in certain cases, Vopul Haakh, which are vegetations having medicinal properties.
Normal practice is that the husband or her in-law brings, Peaw, a special visit to her, which brings in a lot of food items, besides clothing, warmers, beddings and – in certain cases, gold. This is seen as an occasion of celebration. Traditionally, the mother stays with her parents after the delivery. It is almost mandatory in the case of first birth unless the situation dictates otherwise.
Forty days later, the family gets ready for the bath and it changes the status of the mother. Now she can move around, go home, and get into the routine.
Almost in every society, such cultural rituals exist but in the case of Kashmir, the tradition is mixed with serious curative and healing efforts of the mother.

“It was my first experience of being honoured as a new mother,” Maroofa Majeed, a first-time mom, said. “The process was amazingly restorative and for the second time in my adulthood, I felt important and honoured – the first time was when I got married and the second time when I gave birth to the child.”
“I remember my mother being very cautious and excited about the day preparing the bath, steeping the herbs mixed with water in a big traditional copper pot and left for boiling on a traditional mud burner outside the house and then pouring into a big tub,” Nasreena Trumboo, another first-time mother, said. “She took a fistful of herbs and scrubbed and massaged my whole body for 20 minutes.”
It is just not a bath, it is literally a procedure that induces healing and rejuvenates the body.
“The herbs used in the postpartum bath are part of Kashmiri folk medicines and not the Unani Tibb. It relaxes internal organs, balances the muscle tune, detoxifies and gives restoration to the body of postpartum women,” Dr Ayoub Sofi, Incharge Medical Officer Ayurveda, Yoga ad Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) unit SMHS said. “In fact, the tourists and foreigners who come from far distances also take this medicinal herbal bath in Kashmir for relaxation and rejuvenation.”
The Loaseh Gasseh is a huge mixture of herbs, shrubs, leaves, wild fruits and roots together. These are sourced from different areas. Some of the items are cultivated in Doda, Gurez and Kishtwar areas. Many others are sourced from mainland India.
Practitioners believe a function of herbal medicines in bathing is to increase the involution of the uterus.
Sofi, however, regrets that the people bring these herbs from Bohru shops, people selling the herbs or herbalists, and take a postpartum bath at home without having proper awareness regarding the usage and benefits of all herbs. The pouch of the Loaseh Gasseh must contain a balanced mix of all the items that have been used traditionally. It includes various antiseptics and astringents that help heal and rejuvenate.
Normally, the Loaseh Gasseh has the following items:
Calendula, (Marigold, Jaffer): Anti-inflammatory properties that soothe and heal tissues.
Comfrey, (Black Wort): Heals bruises and sprains.
Sage leaves (Tej patta, Bargi Tej): Anti-inflammatory properties and also relieves muscles.
Liquorice, (Shangar): Repairs and reduces the number of bacteria on the skin.
Curuma, (laedri Gandri): An antiseptic having antioxidant properties that soothe joints.
Taraxacum, (Dandelions, hand): It has detoxifying properties, reduces scars and heals skin.
Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, (Persioshan, Hansraj): Antifungal properties, supports immunity to fight infections.
Kasni, (Kasun Posh, Chircory flower): Healing properties for skin and eliminate toxins from the body.
Banafsaha, (Sweet violet): Relieves skin irritations.
Unab, (Bray Mewi, Jujube fruit, Chinese date): Reverses the effects of ageing, has antioxidant properties, and fights and prevents cell damage.
Sapistan, (Lasora): Helps in relieving and relaxing pain.
In certain cases, even sea salt is also added to the water for its therapeutic uses.
Tradition suggests that the water needs to be boiled in a copper utensil for one to two hours and used when it is lukewarm. The boiled herbs are also used to scrub the body.
The herb collection costs not even a fraction of what eventually goes into its preparation. Normally, after the bath, women are supposed to take rest in a warm bed and have good meals. Since the water they use for bathing is aromatic, these women feel scented for many days.
In certain cases, like that of Kashmiri Pandits, the bath would be performed after 11 days only.

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#Kashmir #Tradition #Honours #Mother #Helps #Rejuvenate #Childbirth
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 12, 2023
People insulting ‘great men’ of sanatan tradition are ‘anti-India’: Ramdev

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Haridwar: Yoga guru Ramdev on Thursday said many people are making controversial remarks against “great men” of sanatan tradition and termed them as “anti-India”.
“Insulting remarks are being passed by many people against great men associated with the sanatan tradition… They are all anti-India and acting at the behest of international forces by showing disrespect to the country. They should be strongly opposed,” Ramdev told reporters in reply to a question about self-styled godman and Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri.
However, the yoga guru admitted people were being misled in the country in the name of miracles.
“People are being misled in the name of miracles. India respects physical reality. There is no place in its culture and religion for hypocrisy. But one cannot deny that if there is a physical science there is a spiritual science too,” he said after hoisting the national flag at Pantanjali Yogpeeth here.
Targeting Pakistan, he said it is on the verge of bankruptcy and will soon be divided into four parts with the POK, Sindh and Balochistan merging with India which will become a super power.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 26, 2023