The 4Star-9Rattan Blog

  Sunday Special-OMG-" Baruch Spinoza's God" Baruch Spinoza (Dutch, 1632-1677) Spinoza was born in Amsterdam  to a Marrano  family that fled Portugal  for the more tolerant Dutch Republic . He received a traditional Jewish education, learning Hebrew  and studying sacred texts within the Portuguese Jewish  community, where his father was a prominent merchant. As a young man, Spinoza challenged rabbinic authority and questioned Jewish doctrines, leading to his permanent expulsion  from his Jewish community in 1656. Following that expulsion, he distanced himself from all religious affiliations and devoted himself to philosophical inquiry and lens grinding. Spinoza attracted a dedicated circle of followers who gathered to discuss his writings and joined him in the intellectual pursuit of truth.  Spinoza published little, to avoid persecution and bans on his books. In his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus , described by Steven Nadler  as "one of the ...

 Sunday Special-A Stubborn Angel! Sam Morgan Storm refers to Samantha Morgan Storm defying gravity on wall of death for decades “Ma’am, I need you to step back. You are not authorized to be here.” The command sliced through the humid Virginia morning, sharp and jarring against the solemn silence of Arlington National Cemetery. In the distance, the faint, brassy notes of a warm-up bugle drifted from the hillside, a melancholy prelude to what was to come.Samantha Morgan froze at the stone entrance. She wore  a simple black dress, but over her shoulder hung a battered leather satchel that had seen more combat zones than the young Specialist blocking her path. She met the guard’s eyes, her expression unreadable, forged in places far harsher than this well-manicured gate. “What you’re saying isn’t possible,” she replied, her voice low but steady. “I served with General William Hawthorne.” Specialist Miller, looking young enough to be her son, clasped his hands in front of his prist...

  Story this Wednesday! A powerful Indian love story of a Patriot beyond price and his dedicated wife! At the Wagah Border, after 35 years, an old man Ibrahim with trembling steps entered Indian soil. His wife and grown children were waiting to receive him. And the moment he crossed the border, Ibrahim said something that stunned everyone. Till now, he had always pretended to be mentally unstable or just an ordinary civilian. But standing on Indian soil, he proudly declared: "Yes, I was an Indian spy. My name is Kashmir Singh. I fulfilled my duty. They kept me in jail for 35 years, but they could not extract a single word from me.” Before Arrest Kashmir Singh                            35 years After Release from Pakistani Prison-Ibrahim   No regrets: Kashmir Singh with his wife Paramjit Kaur Kashmir Singh returned to India after 35 years.His  devoted wife, Paramjit Kaur, never lost hope over the decade...

  Sunday Special-  His name is Dr. Nakamura Tetsu  -a Japanese humitarian doctor,Engineer,Farmer & Hero in AfganistanHe was born in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in 1946.After qualifying as a doctor he moved to Pakistan in 1984 to treat patients with leprosy. Along with Pakistan, he also worked in Afghanistan. He ran an organization called “Peshawar-kai.” a Humanitarian who devoted his life to Afghanistan wanted to 'shine light into dark corners'. Two years later, he headed to Afghanistan, where he opened his first clinic in a remote village in Nangarhar and established a non-governmental organisation, Peace Japan Medical Services (PMS).At its peak, PMS operated 10 clinics providing help for leprosy patients and refugees amongst others. In the year 2000, Afghanistan faced a devastating drought and famine. Experts warned that nearly 4 million people would be affected, and around 1 million could die solely from hunger and thirst. Due to lack of clean water, people were f...

  Sunday Special-A Blast from the Past! Marlene Dietrich: 27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992 was a German-American  actress and singer whose career spanned nearly seven decades.In 1920s Berlin , Dietrich performed on the stage and in silent films . Her performance as Lola Lola in Josef von Sternberg 's The Blue Angel  (1930) brought her international acclaim. Marlene Dietrich’s Bold Paris Arrival in 1933 In December 1933, the legendary Hollywood actress Marlene Dietrich  boarded the SS Europa  to travel from the United States to France. Dietrich was already famous not only for her acting, but also for her bold fashion choices. During the voyage she was seen wearing a white pantsuit  — elegant, modern, and completely shocking for the time. Jean Chiappe , the Paris police chief When news of her outfit reached Jean Chiappe , the Paris police chief, he was furious. Since November 17, 1800 , an old French law had existed which technically made it illegal for wom...

 Sunday Special!-Difference between Son &  Daughter!   Dedicated to all fathers lucky to have daughters and daughters-in-Law.There is a saying in Punjabi:   "Your son is your son till you take him a wife;Daughter’s your daughter the whole of her life." But my Experience is that a son brings for Parents Paradise  on the Earth,Daughters bring the Paradise to the home and daughter-in-law converts the home into Paradise.  A pregnant woman asks her husband: “What do you hope for, a boy or a girl?”The husband replies: “If it's a boy, I'll teach him math, we'll play sports together, I'll teach him to fish, etc.” The woman, laughing, asks: “What if it's a girl?”The husband smiled and said:“If it's a girl, I won't have anything to teach her. She is the one who will teach me everything: how to dress, how to eat, what to say and what not to say. Very quickly, she will become like a second mother to me, and even without doing anything special, she wi...