Word: ritual
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...nations that call themselves "parliamentary democracies," where leaders are drawn from the political party with a majority in the legislature, genuine independent lawmaking is a rarity. Legislative proposals are drawn up in the executive, with the assistance of permanent bureaucrats, and handed to diets, assemblies or parliaments for a ritual rubber stamp. Very occasionally, in Britain or Germany, Japan or France, a politician will make a name for what they do in national legislatures - in Britain, there was a long tradition of leaving socially controversial legislation over matters such as abortion or capital punishment to backbench MPs - but such reputations...
...become a predictable September ritual: officials from the world's oil-rich nations fly into Vienna for their annual OPEC meeting, huddle around a gleaming conference table and decide how to push oil prices up or down by closing or opening the spigots on their vast resources - about two-thirds of the world's total reserves. At this week's meeting, however, OPEC's oil ministers attempted an even trickier acrobatic act: staying in place...
...director, my driving source of inspiration is the audience. Theater is more than simply a play on the stage; it’s a ritual, a social occasion for people to come together and experience community,” Paulus wrote in her inaugural address as Artistic Director. The organization of the current season’s schedule attests to an emphasis on encouraging dynamic interchange between the performer and spectator...
It’s all done for good reason. Fasting has great spiritual importance in Islam; a blindingly vast corpus of religious tradition, scholarship, and run-of-the-mill ritual accompanies the month of Ramadan. Leaving all of that aside, however, fasting also offers important secular lessons. Whether or not one is religiously inclined, it offers considerable personal benefits. Few other methods are so effective in teaching discipline and humility coupled with an awe and respect for the human spirit. Islamic virtues, yes—but hardly exclusively...
...Nathan (David Koechner), whose desire for dull chitchat is matched only by his obtuseness. And if Joel has any hope of enjoying marital relations with Suzie - his most fervent desire - he must escape Nathan's clutches and get into the house before she puts her sweatpants on, a nightly ritual that happens...