Best wishes to those who observe this month; may your daily fasts be uneventful and your prayers powerful.
From the AP:
… Ramadan, which begins Tuesday in Egypt and other countries across the Middle East, comes as much of the world has been hit by an intense new coronavirus wave. For many Muslims navigating restrictions, that means hopes of a better Ramadan than last year have been dashed with the surge in infection rates though regulations vary in different countries.
A time for fasting, worship and charity, Ramadan is also when people typically congregate for prayers, gather around festive meals to break their daylong fast, throng cafes and exchange visits.
Once again, some countries are imposing new restrictions. But concern is high that the month’s communal rituals could stoke a further surge.
“The lack of adherence that happened last Ramadan, hasty lifting of the curfew imposed at the time and re-opening of places of congregations … led to grave consequences that lasted for months,” said Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean…
As #Ramadan begins this week, Muslim authorities have discussed regulations for online prayers and banning public dinners after sunset. Many mosques are closed, and vaccines are recommended. DW's @JenniferHolleis and @CathrinSchaer report. https://t.co/meEDEcYWFE
— DW Deutsche Welle (@DeutscheWelle) April 12, 2021
Nightly prayers at the mosque? Big iftars? Vaccines? Ramadan 2021 brings decisions for Muslims. https://t.co/7iMuR4uXZ7
— Michelle Boorstein (@mboorstein) April 11, 2021
Baud
Amir said he was waiting on a ruling on vaccine use during the daytime hours. ?
Martin
Wondering when the grievances about the NCAA pulling events out of states that pass anti-trans bills will start to hit. Those bills violate NCAA qualifying rules, and it’s not just bowl games, but also a zillion lesser followed sports that gets sprinkled around the US. Right now they’re pretty heavily sprinkled in the anti-trans states because they’re opening up to sporting events sooner. Lot of money involved.
Baud
espierce
@Martin: Looks like your timing is prescient:
https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/04/12/if-florida-transgender-sports-bill-passes-ncaa-says-it-could-pull-championships/
dmsilev
@Baud:
This was one of the things I liked about Biden in the primary, and it’s even better now that he’s in office.
I mean, sure, Cornyn is, once again, trying to push that ‘Biden is a mindless puppet’ attack line, because goodness knows it worked so well the first umpteen times it was tried.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Baud:
Reposted:
Baud
@dmsilev:
@Steeplejack (phone):
I endorse Republicans reminding our voters about how they felt when Trump’s tweeted.
debbie
@Baud:
I chased down the tweet; apparently Cornyn didn’t say it himself. Rather, he cut and pasted from Politico without using quotation marks or providing attribution (i.e., plagiarism). Many of the replies are funny, but this one wins the day:
NotMax
Not treading water 24/7 in the deepest end of the outrage pool is wonderfully pacific.
Joe Falco
@espierce:
Florida saw what happened when North Carolina passed its own anti-trans bill a few years ago with the NCAA pulling out events as a result and said, “Hold my beer.”
laura
Wishing a joyful and contemplative Ramadan to all who adhere and especially beloved commenter Amir Khalid.
zhena gogolia
@laura:
Same here.
dmsilev
Vice President Harris is making her mark on the Washington-area crochet scene
PST
I remember a few years ago wishing a cheerful Ramadan Mubarak to a business acquaintance who I assumed was a Muslim because he had an Arabic name. He laughed and said thank you, but his family had been Christians for about as long as that was even possible; nevertheless he appreciated the thought.
Gin & Tonic
So I know there’s been some commentary here from some bozos about how the Mazda MX-5 is a feminine car. Since I am comfortable with my masculinity, I went and bought one today. What a fun car (for those people who think cars are fun.)
Gin & Tonic
@dmsilev: Back in 2008, I was at an event where I met an older white woman who mentioned that she was a member of “knitters for Obama.” I don’t hear all that well when there’s a lot of ambient noise, so there was kind of an awkward, long pause before I figured out how to respond.
pluky
@dmsilev: so when can we expect the first VP Harris as Madame Defarge meme?
Dan B
Now the presence of men in dashiki’s in the neighborhood makes sense. There are a couple mosques around. One seems nice. The other is not. There are a couple markets which reminds me I should get some Injera the soft pancake like bread.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I’m eligible for vaccines at midnight!
I 100% credit Joe for accelerating the schedule. PA was stuck in group 1A week after week, month after month. Biden started pushing for acceleration and around Apr 1 PA announced that they would be opening groups 1B, 1C and 2 on Apr 5, 12 and 19 (that was actually before Biden announced Apr 19 as a new national target).
Well today Gov. Wolf has announced that the doors open for everybody tomorrow, Apr 13.
This is what leadership looks like.
Bill Arnold
Can somebody explain why the contemporary depicted crescent moon is always lit past 180 degrees?
The Sumerians usually got it right, with a common depiction of Innana (venus), Nanna/Suen/Sin (the new/crescent moon[1], depicted, is his peak), and Utu/Shamash (sun).
(Is the star in elongated crescent it just artistic license? Did somebody observe a small lunar asteroid impact during a crescent moon? Etc.)
[1] Moon is new in several hours! https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/
Steeplejack (phone)
@Gin & Tonic:
Congratulations and happy trails! ?
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Happy for you!
Ken
@Steeplejack (phone): I must say I admire how Matthew Gertz is taking his sudden fame. Does anyone know his politics before this started? He seems fairly sane, and willing to call out idiocy, now.
Steeplejack
@Ken:
He works for Media Matters for America, “the nation’s premier progressive media watchdog,” so I think he’s one of the good guys.
The “I am not Matt Gaetz” thing has been around for a while, just rocketed into the stratosphere lately because of—well, you know.