George Soros Will Come Back To Help Progressives

There are many people who are hoping to help with the progressive agenda, and they are watching George Soros because he offers the best support that they have found. He has become one of the biggest donors in the movement, and he has been reported on by Politico many times. He is meeting with donors who will help, and he is coordinating the response to the Donald Trump win in the election. This article shows how George is hoping to make a difference for the future.

#1: How Does George Coordinate People?

George is hoping to ensure that a number of people who will give the proper causes, and he has met with them in Washington in the past. This is something that is quite excited about because they wish to target the midterm elections of 2018, and they have found how much they need to combat each election. They will enlist more people, and they will work with George to ensure that they give to the proper national elections.

#2: Why Does He Give?

George Soros gives to these causes because he wants to help people combat the conservative movement, and he knows that these people do not understand the horrors of the holocaust. The holocaust alone is something that people are not weary of because they do not see how close someone like Donald Trump is to a more extreme leader. Know more about George Soros on CNBC.

#3: Giving To Major Campaigns

George has given to the Hillary for President campaign, and he has given to many others that he knows will make a difference in the way that Americans live. He is a citizen today who is quite concerned about how the country is run. There are many people who are following George because they need a role model, and they will continue to follow him because they want to learn something that will help them make a difference in their own communities.

#4: Economic Considerations

The economy in America is changing quite a lot, and there are many people who will be impressed with the way that George manages his money. He offers his opinion on the economy often, and he wants to ensure that the people who are invested in America are careful with their money. They are often caught off-guard by things that happen in the economy, and they do not know how to respond. George often explains what to do to protect someone’s money. Learn more about this article at

The people who are making the finest choices for progressives are following George Soros, and they will find that there are a number of people who will begin to see their communities change when they support Geroge’s progressive agenda and that of his many collected donors.

Patty Rocklage -the True Epitome of Hope for the Society

When talking about Patty Rocklage, there are certain things that you will not fail to capture about her. First, her profession, personality, and lastly, her typical example to her community. The following article seeks to capture all these three sides of Patty Rocklage.

Patty Rocklage is a seasoned psychotherapist with a strong dedication to the family unit. Married to a loving husband, Dr. Scott Rocklage, Patty is one dedicated woman on a mission of ensuring all families grow and thrive amidst challenges. Patty’s psychotherapist expertise lies within the areas of marriage and family therapy. Throughout her more than twenty years of practice, Patty Rocklage has been offering counseling to both marriage partners and singles to help them overcome their challenges. Patty uses her warm and motherly communication style to make her clients at ease and focus on the solution rather than the problems. Despite Mrs. Rocklage being experienced in her profession, she got the basics of the job from the University of Southern California where she graduated in 1981 with a degree in psychology.

Having practiced counseling for quite a while, Patty Rocklage has also been able to develop valuable skills that are useful in the community. Coupled with her psychology degree, Patty has been able to impact team building, teaching, coaching, and public speaking skills both to organization and individuals. Click here to know more.

Thirdly and arguably what most people remember Patty Rocklage for is her love for the community. Like any other philanthropist, Patty not only believes in the importance of giving back to her community but she is successful in her charitable works. Sometime in 2016, Patty and her husband Scott were involved in the commissioning of the MIT’s chemistry department labs. The couple was honored for the rare act hanks to their initial input in the project. Additionally, Mrs. Rocklage is also involved with the Sudanese Education Fund. Here she works as a volunteer helping the immigrants from Southern Sudan get sustainable jobs, education, and financial aid to kick-start their lives in Massachusetts.

Patty Rocklage is a beacon of hope not only for the residents of Massachusetts but also to the world at large.


Do you have silverfish infestation? Are you even aware what silverfish bugs are? To be honest, I’ve never heard of silverfish bugs so I thought I would write an article on how to kill silverfish in the house, there are plenty of home owners out there who have experienced the nightmare of having silverfish bug infestation in their homes.

Before we get down to the tips on how to kill silverfish in the house, one question you possibly want to ask is what exactly are silverfish bugs? Silverfish bugs or more commonly known as carpet shark are small, wingless insects that have two antennas that protrude from their head and three tails that extend from the end of their body, usually found in a four combination color sequence of brown, gray, blue and silver and are easily identified as move like fish-like movement on the floor.

Silverfish bugs are harmless to humans, and do not carry any diseases like roaches, but they are known to be very destructive to paper, magazine and photographs. If a home owner finds destroyed paper and photographs around the house, it might be because they have a silverfish infestation!

Here are some tips on how to kill silverfish in the house:

Tip 1 on how to kill silverfish in the house – Identify all unused water sources. Silverfish thrive on water to survive; by eliminating all water sources for them will help in eliminating silverfish bugs. Take a walk around the inside of your home as well as outside, find any standing water or water leaks, and fix them. When inspecting your home, make sure you inspect your attic, compartments underneath your sink and any other place where there is a chance for any water leaks as well as bugs to infest.

Tip 2 on how to kill silverfish in the house – Identify humid areas of your house, silverfish bugs love humid temperatures, and can infest easily with a combination of water and humidity. A female bug can lay upwards to 100 eggs in her life and these eggs can hatch within 3 months, the survival rates for these hatchlings are above 90%!

Tip 3 on how to kill silverfish in the house – remove any available food source. Silverfish bugs can go up to nine months without any food, by removing any food source such as biscuits, chips and crackers that are stored on the floor, will help eliminate them. Regular house cleaning as well as cleaning your floors should be a normal routine; this will help to ensure that you’re taking away all food sources for not only silverfish bugs but other household bugs and rats.How To Kill Silverfish In The House

Commercial products to eliminate silverfish bugs are available at most supermarkets and stores, I would strictly encourage you to talk with a store rep to make sure you pick the right product, you want to make sure that the product you buy will not harm you, your children or your pets.

I hope this article on how to kill silverfish in the house has been useful, I believe that it’s better to prevent silverfish bug infestation before it happens than to treat it after it’s become a problem!


Caption: Arthroscopic knee surgery. Close-up of an orthopaedic surgeon manipulating arthroscopic tools while carrying out keyhole surgery on a patient's knee. Keyhole surgery is minimally invasive, with endoscopes (called arthroscopes here) inserted through small incisions. This is less traumatic to the patient than full surgery to open up the knee joint. Arthroscopic surgery is often exploratory, using an endoscope and its camera to examine the knee and then carry out any minor surgery that may be needed. This can include lavage and debridement, where the surgeon identifies bone and cartilage fragments in the joint. These fragments will be flushed out, and bone tools used to smooth rough joint surfaces. Such joint damage can be due to wear and tear, injury, or conditions such as arthritis. For a sequence of clips taken during this procedure, see K003/0152 to K003/0196.

Keywords: adult, arthrology, arthroscope, arthroscopic, arthroscopy, caucasian, debridement, endoscope, endoscopes, endoscopic, equipment, exploratory, hospital, instrument, instruments, joint, joint damage, joints, keyhole surgery, knee, lavage, leg, male, man, medical, medicine, men, minimally invasive, operating, operating room, operating theatre, operation, orthopaedic, orthopaedic surgeon, orthopaedics, patient, procedure, surgeons, surgery, surgical, technological, technology, tool, tools, white

Arthroscopic knee surgery

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Unexpected note from a stranger

Now, don’t go leaving notes like ‘The jealous lover did it with a butcher’s knife’, (although admittedly that would be funny. But if done often enough you might get your library membership revoked)

(I did find it rather odd that the note was in English (as it’s a Dutch library), but then, it’s an English book I suppose)

What are your thoughts?

The Spark Plug Chronicles


Paul R. Lehman, Ignorance of reality in “Report undermines claims of police bias”

July 29, 2016 at 2:29 pm | Posted in African American, American Bigotry, blacks, criminal activity, democracy, Department of Justice, discrimination, equality, Ethnicity in America, European American, fairness, justice, justice system, law enforcement agencies, Media and Race, Minnesota, Oklahoma, police force, Prejudice, Race in America, racism, social justice system, The Oklahoman, white supremacy, whites | 1 Comment

A recent article on the “OPINION” page of the Oklahoman (7/27/2016) entitled, “Report undermines claims of police bias,” represents the very kind of bigotry that serves to keep the communities and citizens in a state of disunity. One has to question the accuracy of the data presented by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reporting on itself because human nature and self-preservation favors embellishing the positive and minimizing the negative relative to self-examination. The report focused on police-involved shootings and revealed the following facts: “Such shootings are not common, although they have increased; those killed are typically to blame for their own fate; and most importantly, appearance of racial disparities can be created by a literal handful of cases.”The Opinion writer of this article has, seemingly, little or no sense of reality if he or she believes that these comments do not show the ignorance and bigotry of all of the aforementioned relative to the challenge for unity between the African Americans and the law enforcement agency.

The first statement made: “Such shootings are not common, although they have increased,” suggests that the Opinion writer is apparently fully aware of all the shootings, those reported and those not reported in the African American community.  Evidently, the accuracy of that statement depends on how long the data has been collected and recorded and by whom. When we look back briefly at a recent case where thirteen African American females were sexually assaulted by Daniel Holtzclaw, a member of the Oklahoma City Police Department, we know why nothing was done by the police department until one of the thirteen assaulted women had the courage to reported the assault. Being assaulted by an officer of the law gives African American females little room relative for reporting the incident. Many African Americans will generally avoid contact with the police unless absolutely necessary because of the history of disrespect and abuse relative to the way they have been treated in the past.

Also, the Opinion writer misses the actual problem of concern between the law enforcement agency and the African American community—a failure to communicate. The shootings are only part of the problem; respect for and value of the citizens of color have been problems from the very beginning of statehood because bigotry by European Americans against African Americans is a seemingly natural occurrence. Until just recently, when the protest marches against police shootings began, the criminal justice problems of the African American community were ignored because they, evidently, according to the Opinion writer and the data, did not exist.

The second statement shows a total lack of understanding of the communication problem: “those killed are typically to blame for their own fate.” In other words, the police are perfect; they never make a mistake even when they are afraid of the victims because of their color. So, the Opinion writer is saying that people of color that follow or try to follow the orders of policemen, cause their own deaths. How ignorant can one be to believe that a police officer, one who is afraid of people of color, does not experience a behavioral change when having to confront one? In a recent video, a police officer shot a young African American man, Philando Castile; the officer ordered him to get his license. When Castile proceeded to get his license, the officer gave him another order. When Castile did not respond quickly enough to suit the officer, the officer shot him. Why? From the viewpoint of the Opinion writer, Castile caused the officer to shoot him because the officer thought he was reaching for a gun—a gun which was legal for him to carry and for which he had a license. Seemingly, because of the officer’s fear of Castile, his stress level increased from the normal level of stress that goes with the job and contributed to his quick, training-based, reactions. Castile died.

In another recent incident, Charles Kinsey, a physical therapist, was lying on his back with both empty hands extended up, asked the officer not to shoot him. The officer shot him. But, we must assume according to the Opinion writer that Kinsey caused the officer to shoot him, so it was his fault that he was shot. We are led to believe that officer behavior is always calm, deliberative, measured, and in the best interest of the citizens, they have volunteered to serve and protect. Unfortunately, with the help of videos we are able to witness officer behavior that does not fit that model, because they are human beings, and we humans make mistakes.

The third statement underscores a serious problem in the Opinion writer’s understanding of the conflict and protests: “and most importantly, appearance of racial disparities can be created by a literal handful of cases.” The statement basically implies that based on the data from the report that the history of police actions of abuse, intimidation, mistrust, injustice, and shootings are all figments of African American imagination; that the instances of lynching’s in Oklahoma and America were simply minor and rare occurrences; that the massacre of the Greenwood section of Tulsa in 1921 really did not happen. We must question again about where the data was acquired when it was acquired and by whom, and if the focus was restricted to shootings.

The Opinion writer’s last statement shows a blind respect for law enforcement and data and a total disregard for history and ethnic bias: “In short, any racial disparities in police shootings appear the result of statistical noise, not deliberate bias.” Continuing, the article states: “And the fact that Oklahoma law enforcement officers resort to lethal force so infrequently is a testament to their integrity and courage.”The Opinion writer fails to understand that the problem is not with a single police force in Oklahoma, but it is a culture within law enforcement and the entire criminal justice system that must be replaced.

Nothing is gained in closing the gap of disunity between the law enforcement agencies and the African American community when honest and clear communication is not achieved. A better understanding of the problems involved in the shootings from both sides would go far in bridging that gap of fear and mistrust. For clear communications to take place both sides need to recognize that there are preconceived ideas and beliefs that must be confronted and replaced before any progress can be made. The attitude, ignorance, and tone of the Opinion writer shows just how much work lies before us in recognizing that we are not really communicating with one another if we still live in a world of make-believe.

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Jewish Culture and Migration

Judaism is a culture and a religion that consists of experiences and events woven tightly together with nearly all other aspects of history.  Anytime history is taught to us, there are Jewish and non-Jewish versions of the same story.  And usually whenever we learn about the history of something or someone, what we learn about places the Jewish aspect of this story second to history in general.  We pay little attention to the role Jewish culture and religion paid in these historical events.   Whenever we have the opportunity to learn this same story in Judaic context, we come to recognize that there is a role that religion played in nearly these historical events, even though these roles are sometimes very subliminal in nature.  What this tells us is that in the end, it is not just a Jewish individual who performed these events that become history, it is the Jewish culture and tradition of that individual that provided us with much of the substance of these events.

This importance of Jewish history in the modern sense is just as true for medicine as it is for culture and science.  Learning Jewish medicine is much the same as learning Jewish medical history. There is a culture and tradition you have to learn along with the philosophy and scientific know-how that defines Jewish medicine as a trade.  Working within a medical school system with a strong Jewish cultural heritage and ongoing Jewish influence, I once learned that medicine is not always as it is practiced according to the  standard medical jargon, ideology, philosophy, and belief.  Within the Jewish setting, medicine does have an underlying tradition that is not easily detected unless you search for the clues for this located about the care setting.  Almost always there is the tradition and teachings of Maimonides that we can learn about in these settings.  In close competition with Maimonides’ presence in the Jewish hospital is Moses, and in close competition with Moses we might learn about the less obvious of Jewish influences of such great scientists, physicians, sociologists, and psychologists as Sigmund Freud, Jonas Salk, Paul Ehrlich, Elie Metchnikoff, Martin Buber, or even Ann Landers and Dear Abby.  Those whom we don’t learn so much about within the Jewish medical setting are people just as important to medical history, especially New York medical history, such as Solomon (author of the medical writing Sepher Refuoth), Baruch Spinoza (17th C philosopher), Rabbi haNasi (author or Mishnah), Yisroel ben Eliezer (founder of Hassidism), Rabbi Abraham Abrahams (mohel for NY to RI, 1760s), and I would like to add, Isaac Marks, mohel and ropheim to New York, ca. 1760.

Medicine as it is practiced by someone devoted to Talmud as much as the standard PDR and pathology texts still has many traditions which at times seem to intervene with the basics of medical practice.   In contemporary medicine, this is the case in a philosophical sense more than in a physiological sense, but it still exists.  Judaic teachings on subjects dealing with health may not appear to be as intervening as other religious trainings can be, but little do we know how many of the actions of prevention and sanitation that we engage in today actually have this part of their tradition for us to thank.   Engaging in the teachings of the Talmud and Mishnah is not going to prevent us from engaging in unhealthy living practices.    Nor can the Torah always prevent you from engaging in certain treatment or physician required activities such as driving to a pharmacy or to a hospital.

But back in New York in the 1750s, a Jewish doctor did not have to contend with all of these issues.  The decision was whether or not to take the horse, not the car.    Most likely in either case, time no longer mattered, since a one day or two-day trip could have equally devastating consequences on the dying body.  When you had to decide your chores for the day on the Sabbath, the decision-making process was fairly simple.  When you had to decide how to deal with someone with a dreadful disease, this too had its Jewish recommendations.  When you had to decide upon whether or not to treat someone in such a way that it was completely against your own will and religious upbringing, Jewish culture had an answer for this questions as well.

In general, I like to think of the Jewish practice of medicine as defined by three things–Jewish Tradition and teachings, one’s own individual’s philosophy and identity, and the contemporary teachings for the time in medicine.  Exactly where in the world some of the newest medical training for the time erupted culturally and professionally plays no role in the personal decision-making process of a Jewish physician.  The cultural heritage however does play an important role in helping a Jewish doctor better understand the nature and philosophy of the body, the cause for health and the etiology of disease, and the legal and ethical requriements of being a colonial Jewish physician.   A Jewish physician raised and trained in medicine in the Spanish Sephardic community setting has much the same practice as a Jewish physician raised and trained in western United Netherlands who is Ashkenazi, or a Jewish doctor raised and trained in the wilderness of Lithuania like the early Baal Shem Tov.   Jewish medicine is health first, disease second.

The differences between the three types of Jewish doctors who could have lived in New York in 1750–Sephardic, Ashkenazi and early Hassidic– are important to local history due to the impacts these cultures had on future settlements and vice versa.  It is for this reason that this project took me almost 30 years to complete.  The traditional approach to researching medical history is to read and interpret other studies out there already for the time and place at hand, and then try to extrapolate this to the setting that you are researching.  In a sense, much of what I have done is essentially the same type of analysis on the local history of Jewish medicine.  Unfortunately we have very little direct physical evidence to work with when trying to understand how the first Jewish doctors lived and practiced as physicians.  There were no recipe books left behind in local colonial history, and only a very few documents pertaining specifically to a Jewish lifestyle.  To understand jewish medicine I learned, simply look at the traditional writings on Jewish medicine.  Very little of this philosophy and way of life has really changed that much.

For this work, I reviewed the years, decades and centuries of Jewish medical tradition prior to the settlement of the New World, not completely, but enough to provide such a review of early American Jewish medical culture.  By combining these findings with other findings that are out there for other very local medical communities, we get a better picture of the sociocultural setting that existed when Jewish physician Isaac Marks practiced medicine in the Hudson Valley some time between 1700 and 1770.   Based on this time period in both American and Jewish history, we can deduce what type of physician Isaac Marks probably was during this time.  He was either a traditional Sephardic Jew living a life like the many other Sephardics of the region with a long history of social ties to this part of the colonies, or he was an Ashkenazi Jew with either a similar long history of involvement with the New York and New England Jewish communities or a history with a short life due to his recent arrival to the New York setting, or he was  a “new age” contemporary thinker in theology, with interests in some of the modern beliefs for the time on both Jewish and non-Jewish European medicine, blended with the unique natural philosophy preachings and teachings of a new breed of Jews making their way into western Europe–the first Hasidic produced as a result of the influences of Baal Shem Tov in Eastern Europe.

 The Jewish Migration

In general, I like to think of the Jewish migration to North America between 1600 and 1750 as two types of migrations: Sephardim and Askenazim as migrations of people, and Hasidism as a migration of culture and the related natural philosophy beliefs.    There are also several other very small groups of Jewish people that came to North America.  The study of mitochondrial DNA recognizes the following groups:  Ashkenazim (Jews of Northern and Eastern Europe), Sephardim (Spanish and Portuguese Jews), Mizrakhim (Middle Eastern Jews), Italkim (Italian Jews), Caucasian Mountain Jews (Dagestani and Azerbaijani Jews) , Georgian Jews, Indian Jews, North African Jews, Yemenite Jews, and Ethiopian Jews (see   Culturally speaking, the jews of New York could also be classified as Marranos or cryptojews, the Jews living in seclusion or in hiding, such as in the wilderness, and anusim, the coerced or forcibly converted Jews.

The following migration maps pertain to the principal Jewish groups that Isaac Marks may have related to and/or learned from (Ashkenazi and Sephardic), and/or adopted a philosophy or followed as an act of experience and faith, a personal natural philosophy of Hasidic nature and intent.

Early Hasidism

There has been much coverage on the migration of Sephardim and to a lesser extent the Ashkenazim to North America.  The tradition of Jewish medicine practiced by members of noth of these traditions are reviewed on another page.  For this page, I am concerned solely with two very important topics of Jewish philosophy–the natural philosophy aspect of the life of a Hasidic, and the deep and profound teachings and philosophy of a life directed by the Cabala.

Physiography and the Diffusion of Baal Shem Tov’s Teachings

The one part of the Jewish migration into North America that is not covered so well is the diffusion of Hasidism culture, tradition and knowledge.  In a geographical sense, there are several theories out there to define how a belief like that which initiated Hasidism might have been spread.  In Torstend Hagerstrand’s contagious diffusion model of 1952, he proposed that an innovation or new way of thinking first undergoes a primary process, reaching major economic areas and forming hot spots, from where it then undergoes a  much more diverse diffusion process into outlying areas, leaving major voids between these secondary hot spots, ending with a condensing phase in which others begin to take on the innovation or practice that has been changed.   Relating this scenario to Colonial New York, this suggest that the Hasidic lifestyle influenced New York City and then Isaac Marks or his immediate living area.

The second possibility is that simultaneous invention of Hasidic traditions took place in both Europe and the New World.  This simultaneous or synchronous discovery would occur due to a common knowledge and tradition being shared diffusely around the world as a part of Jewish culture and tradition, which due to the circumstances for the time, exhibited identical births due to similar discoveries and realizations being made for the time.  These shared discoveries might be the news and teachings of the natural sciences, which in association with the beliefs for the time, led to crowd or group acceptance of whatever new beliefs then erupt.   In the case of New York, whereas the terrain itself may have served as a communication barrier for some forms of intellectual diffusion, this physiographic element in turn became the instigator of the new philosophy local Jews were about to bear.  In this way, Isaac Marks learned and decided upon pretty much the same traditional aspects of natural history and life as the Baal Shem Tov had deduced in Europe.   Not that Isaac Marks was any better than Baal Shem Tov, only that he was possibly in touch with G-d and nature as any good Jew might or should be.

Some of the evidence I have to support this claim is by no means conclusive.  All of this is for the most part speculative, but is a product of my reviews of the physical, social and natural settings which Isaac Marks and Baal Shem Tov resided in.  This would be where their cultural experiences as Jews separated from the other Jews (Isaac because he was not Sephardic, Baal Shem Tov due to his living place), opened them up to some new spiritual messages, and so learned their most important and newest lessons in life.  Baal Shem Tov’s and Isaac Mark’s surroundings are remarkably similar.  Both of them learned from guidance and their natural philosophy.

This means that even if Isaac Marks never knew about Baal Shem Tov and his teachings, Isaac Marks had the opportunity to experience nature alone, in an isolated wilderness setting, with few other cultural influences out there to modify your interpretations of natural events.  Marks and ben Eliezer (Baal Shem Tov’s name) had similar very natural human experiences.  They obtained similar levels of wisdom living within these types of natural settings, where both abided by similar traditions, but let natural philosophy define their personal way of being.   Both probably marvelled at the same plants, the same animals, the same types of rock forms and water ways, the same type of mystical places.    For these reason, both became naturally gifted in their own unique ways.

For those familiar with the topography of the valley and its immediate neighbors, the Catskill and Taghanik mountainous regions, a number of features stand out as similar between New York and Baal Shem Tov’s home country.  We can immediate see parallels between the European topography and the topography of the Hudson Valley area.

The Hudson Valley is bordered by a ridge of mountains at the Connecticut border, another at its southern border, the expansive Catskill Mountains topography to the west, and the Shawangunks ridge just to the south of the Catskills.    These land features provided some natural settings that would be very attractive to deist followers of the Jewish Natural Theologist equivalent, Baal Shem Tov.   Such people would very much admire if not fall in love with such signs of G-d–His beautifully constructed Natural tapestries of Art.  In the following satellite image of the Carpathians, we see very much the same.

To Baal Shem Tov, a number of land features were important to his take on natural theology, as he learned this concept as a Jewish boy.  Although many of the concepts of communication with nature and G-d are pretty much identical across cultures, the notion that we are communicated with through nature by YHWH or whomever, the fact remains that there is something supernatural or transcendental about these communications that each group and culture has a different take on.  So, when people from one culture go to another, and again see more of these symbols placed there for them by the Creator, this tends to have a strong influence on how adapted, acclimated or befitted they feel about the local environment.  If a person who is Jewish and a natural philosopher at heart removed to a new region, he/she must experience the same feelings of importance when entering that new place in the world.   This is how a doctor like Isaac Marks might have thought, and is definitely how the Baal Shem Tov learned about nature, life and disease.

The only difference in philosophy that may exist between Marks and Baal Shem Tov is that Marks is a little more old-fashioned and traditional that Baal Shem Tov.   The Baal Shem Tov one could say is very deistic, Marks a little more pietic.   Baal Shem Tov is pantheistic, Marks is panentheistic.  Or is it vice versa?

When we take a look at the local physiography of the Hudson Valley and some of its primary physical forms, and then take a closer look at the contents of each of these parts that make up nature, we sometimes get a feeling for what the Baal Shem Tov must have been so attached to in the wilderness.  Likewise, we can imagine these same thoughts and feeling going through Marks’s mind as he travelled from Westchester and Dutchess County areas, across the mountain ranges to the east separating him from Sephardic towns as far away as Rhode Island.  We can contrast the mountains of eastern Europe witnessed by baal Shem Tov with the Shawangunks.  Each of these landforms have remarkably similar topography, with  ecosystems generated by this topography that share their most important elements, such as similar looking rock formations, colorful evergreen forest tops, and numerous plants and animal resembling very much those found in the both of these montane settings to this day.

.The suggestion with this comparison is that there are a number of features conducive to the development of a philosophy and natural theology ideology very much similar to that of Baal Shem Tov.  Were Isaac Marks not at all familiar with the growing popularity of this philosophy in eastern Europe, he was still very likely to have naturally adopted similar thoughts about G-d and Nature conducive to living a more devoted lifestyle–a necessary component if he were to serve as one of the more important local political and social Jewish leaders for his time.

Cumulative Migration Impacts

One way to interpret the diffusion of Jewish culture throughout Europe is to simply state a fairly diffuse distribution of knowledge, skills and commodities occurred between some time around the end of the dark ages (ca. 1050-1200) to the middle of the 16th century.   So many small and large-scale migration patterns exist for Jewish culture, it is hard to define a specific series of paths that Jewish traditions took throughout Europe and between Russia, Africa and the Middle East.  During the century just prior to the establishment of trade routes with the Americas, soon after the first explorations of the Americas by Columbus, Vespucci and others, we find a definite patterns of sociopolitical influence taking hold in Europe.   Even though a continued dispersal outwards in all directions was likely to occur between 1490 and 1690, the primary flow of knowledge, trade skills and such appears to be from southeast to northwest across the Middle European region, especially regarding Jewish traditions.  This direction existed primarily due to the early absence of certain Jewish traditions west of Austria and Germany, for which reason we find the introduction of  non-Sephardic traditions taking hold in these more western European regions around 1650.  The strengthening of these teachings by 1700 would enable them to reach England in sufficient numbers so as to result in a migration of descendents of these same people westward towards the American colonies.

This migration of new Jewish tradition to the American colonies began some time around 1700 to 1705, and constitutes the first non-Sephardic distribution of information into North America.  Between 1700 and 1730, a combination of Sephardic and Ashkenazi cultures began to fill some otherwise non-Judaic parts of the North American colonies, with the third Jewish religion-defined cultural group–early Hasidism–making its way to the colonies either in the form of simple knowledge, philosophy and teachings, or as an actual form of Jewish religious and lifestyle practice, generating it first footing in the Americas by the possible presence of natural philosophers living a life much like that of the Great Baal Shem Tov.

The zone of influence for human behavior and consciousness is where one’s beliefs have an impact on people and society.  That “one” may be an individual, or something more symbolic in nature like the influence of a cultural belief.  As an example, consider the zone of influence for a German culture.  The German recipe for the treatment of cancer using a sorrel (Rumex acetosa or acetosella)  leaf in the form of a compress is a recipe repeated across various traditions and lines of culture.  The zone of influence for this philosophy is in fact continental in size on North America, having followed the migration routes taken by non-German people who took on this healing tradition and then later passed it on to others in the Pacific Northwest.  We can usually divide a zone of influence into two parts–the part with the direct influence induced by those initiating the influential beliefs, claims or knowledge.  There is also a secondary influence in which this is propagated away from the sources of direct influence, crossing into new cultural realms.  For Judaism, one could argue that there is an Ashkenazi zone of influence that is very distinct and different from the Sephardic zone of influence in early colonial North American history. Sephardi arguably came first,  perhaps with some Ashkenazi cryptojews, 17th century, followed by a much stronger inward migration and settlement of Ashkenazim beginning around 1720.

Where does Isaac Marks fit into all of this?  If Marks is Sephardic, his personal zone of influence is not as important perhaps as the Sephardic zone of influence, which has its primary zones situated around a number of Jewish communities settled since the 1600s.   If Marks is Ashkenazi, of late introduction, ca. 1720s-1730s, he personally bears a zone of influence that follows pretty much a unique pattern.  The three dots in the map below depict these 3 places:  his Dutchess County Location, his supposed Westchester influence, and his eastward influences towards Rhode Island, but probably not all the way to Newport or Providence like Abraham Abrahams’ route apparently was.   The Lange Eylandt portion of this is more speculative than the rest, as well as the inclusion of Novum Guernsen perhaps, but this extension of the distribution is meant to include possible secondary influences not so easily traceable.  These distributions onto Long Island and into New Jersey are based on the distributions of other cultures found in his immediate area in Dutchess County.

Both Marks (Marks was in the Poughkeepsie area settled somewhere on what is now property near Vassar Hospital and Vassar College), and a neighbor to his south Dr. Cornelius Osborn, did a lot of travel for Governor Clinton (see Osborn’s biography for more).  They had the wagon needed to make these journeys.  The same could very well be assumed for Isaac alone and his personal belongings.  Isaac Mark’s zone of influence pretty much mimicks the zone of influence for the Osborn family in the southward direction, and influence of Sephardic Rabbi Abrahams in the easterly direction.  If Marks is Ashkenazi, his zone remains close to the Hudson Valley, perhaps even cryptojewish in tradition, but with French and English cultural appearances to the locals (see details of Mark’s genealogy for more on this).  If Isaac Marks bore some sort of Hasidic thinking in his personal philosophy, he may have come to appreciate nature and its symbolism and art as displayed in the Shawangunks, Catskills, Taconics and Berkshire Mountains.

Zones of Influence

The following topographic surface image demonstrates the limiting factors to Marks’ life and responsibilities as a physician.  In a letter in which reference to Dr. Marks is made, Abraham Abrahams was asked to perform a briss in the Westchester County area, if not in the northern Manhattan Island rural spaces, then  just north of New York City.  His travels would have been from the east, in Newport, RI (not seen in the image, but just east of the upper left image border).  On this image, the Catskills and Shawangunks (a fault with well-defined edge) can clearly be seen.  The east and west montane river edges just south of these are the Dancing Chamber noted as such by an early Labadian traveller of this region ca. 1667.  Dr. Marks resided in the flat flood plain formed between this ridge (which includes Mount Beacon) and land situated just east of the Shawangunks on the east side of the river.

Orientation of above map:  Long Island at the upper edge is the south edge of this map.  Following the Hudson River upstream,one travels northward towards the Mohawk River, which traverses New York from the Hudson westward towards the Great Lakes.

Southeastward view of NY to Long Island.

PIA02758: Perspective View, New York State, Lake Ontario to Long Island

accessed 11-11-2010 at

Original Caption Released with Image:
Orientation: View southeast
Colors: Landsat bands 2,4,7 in blue, green, and red
Image Credit:
Image Addition Date:

Additional Sources:


On The Beach (1959)

What would you do if you knew the world was coming to an end? How would you react to such news, and how would you cope with having this new fact in your life?Stanley Kramer’s 1959 film tackles all these questions and more. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 novel of the same name, written by Nevil Shute.

At the time of the films release there was great public fear of Atomic and Nuclear weapons. I’m sure this film chilled many viewers to the bone at the time, particularly due to its unflinching look at the aftermath of one of these weapons being used.

I like how the film captures how many different reactions various people have to the news of the end of mankind. Some people escape into booze, some go to extremes to feel and experience life while it still exists, and some simply refuse to accept that there is no hope of survival. It always makes me think how I would react in such a situation.

The film is set in Australia. The entire worlds population(apart from those in Australia)have died due to radiation sickness following a Nuclear war. The radiation is being spread on the winds, and it is estimated to arrive in Australia in around five months time. The citizens there are trying to come to terms with the war, and with the fact of their own impending fate.

An American submarine, the U.S.S. Sawfish, surfaces in Australia. It was submerged when the war began and therefore the crew haven’t been exposed to the radiation. The submarine has been travelling around surfacing at various countries, only to find no sign of life. Captain Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck)and his crew dock in Australia and come ashore. Despite Dwight’s wife and children being killed in the war, he just cannot accept that painful fact.

Whilst ashore, Dwight befriends Moira (Ava Gardner), and the two slowly fall in love with one another. Dwight however cannot permit himself to act on his feelings though because he still considers himself married.

Dwight and his men take to sea again after a Morse signal is picked up coming from a city in America. The crew must try and find out if anyone has somehow managed to survive.

This is a bleak film and is not an easy watch at all. The performances of the cast make it a must see. I find it to be extremely moving and it captures so well the horror and tragedy such an event would bring about.

Gregory Peck is completely heartbreaking as a man trying to appear in control, but who inside is consumed with grief that he cannot display publically. Gregory shows us the tough façade cracking a few times. Thanks to his performance we see Dwight really struggling to stay in control, and wrestling with his conscience in regards to his undeniable feelings for Moira.

Fred Astaire is best remembered today for his incredible dancing skills, but he was also a fine dramatic actor. His performance here as Julian Osborn is one of the best he ever gave. Julian was a Nuclear scientist and feels guilt that something he helped to build destroyed humanity. Fred steals every scene he is in with just a look. In many scenes he is in the background but you keep your focus on him to see how he is reacting at certain moments.

Ava Gardner touches my heart as the boozy Moira. She has so much love to give, and she wants to spend her final days with Dwight. Ava perfectly conveys this woman’s inner turmoil, as she struggles to blot out the pain of the present and at the same time finds in Dwight a reason to stay alive.

Anthony Perkins is excellent as the young Lt. Peter Holmes. Peter and his wife have recently had a baby, and his wife is struggling to accept the truth of what is about to happen to everyone. Anthony perfectly captures the emotional and moral distress Peter is in, when he has to decide if he and his young family will take the government issued suicide pills or not.

It is the kind of decision that nobody should ever have to make, but the film forces you to think what you would do in his place. Would you accept the slow, painful and deeply unpleasant death caused by radiation? Or would you have one last beautiful day surrounded by those you love, still being healthy and in control of your life, and then peacefully slip away?

Donna Anderson breaks my heart every time I watch this. Donna plays Peter’s wife, Mary. This woman is terrified of the truth, but she won’t accept or even talk about it. She too must decide how to meet her end. I think many people would react like Mary, still holding out for hope even when faced with the opposite reality. Donna portrays Mary’s hysteria and terror very well indeed.

John Tate is Admiral Bridie. John only appears in a few scenes, but he is excellent when he does. I really like how he subtly conveys his love for his much younger secretary, Lt. Hosgood (Lola Brooks). It’s there in the way he looks at her. I love their final scene together where they share a drink together, that scene moves me each time I watch and is beautifully played by both actors.

If you are among the few people on the planet who actually believe we should have Nuclear weapons; then I would hope that this film (particularly the final ten minutes, and especially the final shot)would make you change your opinion. I would also recommend you watch the TV miniseries Threads and The Day After.  Just one of these weapons is one too many and these films show what will happen if we ever use them.

It annoys me so much that some members of our species are intent on creating ways of bringing about our destruction. We should learn to love each other, because at the end of the day we are all the same, we are all human and will all die one day. Why can’t our time on earth be filled with happiness instead of war and hate? This film focuses on the good points about humanity – love, compassion, friendship and kindness. It makes you think that you should value life, as you could lose it at any time.

My favourite scenes are the following. Julian and Peter’s conversation on the submarine. Dwight trying to explain to Moira at the train station how he feels about his dead family. The young sailor leaving the submarine and going ashore in San Francisco, he chooses to die there (his home city)but he will do so alone. Bridie and Hosgood sharing a drink and an important  conversation. The scene during the boat race between Dwight and Moira. Moira watching the submarine submerge. Moira and Julian’s conversation in his garage. The final scene.

A powerful film, with an equally powerful message to deliver. Strong performances from all the cast and a beautiful score. Be sure to see this one on Blu-ray to see it looking its best.

I highly recommend the novel too. It goes into more detail about how the war started. It also graphically describes the symptoms of radiation sickness, while the film only hints at those horrors.

Any other fans of this one? Please leave your thoughts below.

Roman Holiday (1953) My Favourite Audrey Hepburn Film

Audiences took Audrey to their hearts and she became an instant star. The Academy gave her the Best Actress Oscar for her enchanting performance here. I still find it hard to believe that she had done so little acting before this, as Audrey is just so natural on screen and is superb in a very emotional scene(that farewell hug in the car). She perfectly conveys the strength, charm, innocence, vulnerability and enthusiasm of her character. This is my favourite performance from her, and it is one that still comes across as fresh and believable all these years later.

William Wyler’s film does a good job of conveying how constricted and lonely a royals life must be. Yes they live in luxury, travel far and wide and have great wealth, but they are expected to devote their lives in service of others and often can’t marry who they choose, and are under constant scrutiny. An extremely unenviable lifestyle, and it is from this life that Ann wishes to find some respite from.

I want to give a shout out to screenwriter Dalton Trumbo for his beautiful story. Sadly due to the fact that he was blacklisted in the 50’s, he was never credited on the opening titles of this for many more years.

As ever, if you’re a fan please share your thoughts below. If you’ve never seen this, then I hope you’ll check it out soon.


by Shayle Kann and Attila Toth
April 19, 2017

How wealthy are the households that install rooftop solar? This question has surfaced repeatedly, most often when policymakers or regulators are considering solar incentives and/or changes to electricity rates.

In particular, battles over net energy metering often include charged debates over whether solar is simply benefiting the wealthy. In response to one such dispute in Nevada, for example, The Wall Street Journal editorial board called net metering “regressive political income redistribution."

These statements on both sides have...


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Sunday, December 13, 2015

Patty Pick for 9/24/15 is "Take Me With You" by Catherine Ryan Hyde

August, a science teacher, is struggling with many different issues when we meet him at the start of this novel. His vacation is not off to a good start with the breakdown of his RV barely after the start of his trip. He is stranded in a small town while a local mechanic fixes the problems, with what August hopes will not be too large a cost. August is an alcoholic who has taken steps to seek help and is currently sober. His teenage son, Phillip, has died in a car accident and he is carrying some of Phillip's ashes to Yellowstone Park. This trip was supposed to be one they made together.Now August will be scattering Phillip's ashes along the way with only his loyal dog, Woody, for company. Woody does tend  to steal the show when he can.

As August waits in the heat, he meets the mechanic's young sons, Seth and Henry. In an amazing turn of events our mechanic asks August to take his sons for the summer because he has to serve a prison sentence and no one else can help. He is also an alcoholic but has not come to terms with his disease. August decides to take them with him against his better judgment. The descriptions for the various national parks they visited are vivid and you can feel the healing take place for them all as the summer advances.

When August has to take them back to their father, he tries to figure out a way to keep them so he can remove them from the situation they have. But the reality is, they must stay. August tries to find ways to stay in touch through skype and telephone calls over the years, but they all drift off into their own worlds. As the boys age, they find ways to survive. When Seth calls to visit, August has changed. He has aged and can no longer take his annual summer trips in the RV. He offers to give it to Seth and both boys surprise him with a visit and trip. This will be a different trip due to Augusts' health but the boys surprise him with a special destination. This is a good solid read.


• Resolved

CD74HC4051-Q1: COM OUT Timing delay from address change

Part Number: CD74HC4051-Q1

I have a question about Analog Multiplexer, CD74HC4051QPWRQ1.

How long does it take until COM OUT status change from changing ADDRESS?

We’re just considering wait time from changing ADDRSS to monitor COM OUT.

  • Hi EJ,

    Please refer to the datasheet to get the timing specs for address change to signal output change. I have included a snippet from the datasheet on page 5. These specs call out the time for enable and disable from address or enable to output. Highlighted for max value across -40C to 125C.

    Please let me know if this isn't what you are looking for.

  • In reply to Dakotah:

    What effect would placing a large capacitor on the signal path to ground have on my ten and tdis spec?

    Is there a formula I can use to predict the ten and tdis for my system that has a different loading condition than 15pF?

    Thank you,
  • In reply to Adam Torma:

    Hi Adam,

    The datasheet shows the Ten and Tdis for a given load capacitor and resistor. In the case of the CD74HC4051-Q1 datasheet those values are 1k resistor and both a 15pF and 50pF capacitor.

    Lets look at examples where we vary the load resistor and capacitor:

    If we have a given setup with a resistive and capacitive series connection we can calculate the time constant (tau) τ. Where τ = RC. Our first diagram shows a given resistor (5.6K) and a 1nF capacitor. The input voltage VG1 is a step response from 0 to 10V with a 10nS delayed response.

    We can calculate the τ = (5.6K)*(1nF) = 5.6nS. This is shown in the output response where τ = 63.2% of the final value (6.32V)

    We can see that the time constant is equal to 5.6nS (15nS - 10nS start delay).

    If we increase the capacitive load by 20X then we should expect our τ to increase by 20X.

    τ = (5.6K)*(20nF) = 112nS.

    From the given waveform we can see the time constant behaves as expected.

    Also remember that our time constant is not related to our input voltage. The time constant τ will remain the same for a given R and C value even if the input voltage went from 10V to 100V.

    Additionally, if we add in a load resistor with the load capacitor we can predict the results. The load resistor can be used to calculate a thevinins equivalent resistance (Rth) assuming our capacitor is the load. To refresh on this topic please visit the explanation. This equivalent resistance can be used with the load capacitor to again calculate τ = (Rth)*(C).

    For the sake of example we will use a load resistor equal to our series resistor such that our thevinins equivalent resistance is two resistors of equal value in parallel.

    We can take our Rth = 2.8K with our C = 20nF. We can the calculate τ = (2.8K)*(20nF) = 56uS.

    Again, the τ value is as we calcualted (66uS -10uS start delay = 56uS). The thing to note here is that our load resistance creates a voltage divider with our series resistance. In our case the two resistors are equal therefore our output voltage steady state value will be half of our input voltage (10V *0.5 =5V).

    To summarize:

    1) If we increase our load capacitor by a factor X. We can assume the time constant τ to increase by a factor of X if the resistance stays the same. τ = R*C

    2) A larger load resistor will lead to a larger output voltage that can be calculated as a resistor divider.  Vout =Vin * (Rload)/((Rload+Rseries)


One of the biggest things about yourself that you need to satisfy when you are picking out a security system for your home is the knowledge or the confidence that your system will be able to communicate with your recording units or your monitors at all times, so that even in an emergency you will be able to keep the camera feeds up. There are three ways in which a standard security system with alarms and cameras is able to contact your monitoring center. This center can be a room in your own home with the feeds, or it can be a direct link to the security company that is providing you with their service. Whichever it is, the system needs to communicate with the monitors quickly when an emergency arises. The first of the three ways is the landline. Not a lot of homes still use landlines, but it is one of the most stable connections out there unless it is cut from the outside.

The Other Types of Communication
With a cellular connection, your wireless security camera and alarm system makes use of a mobile connection or a GSM band to contact the monitoring center. This is more effective than your typical system because of the speed with which an alarm notification goes through to the company. If the telephone lines in this type of system are cut, nothing is going to happen because the system uses the same connection as your cellphone and doesn’t need wires to work. The fastest type of connection for notifying your security company in case of an emergency situation is a broadband internet connection. The signal is sent instantly over the internet the second the alarm is set off in your home, making your company aware at least 4 times faster than the land connection can. It is less reliable, less expensive and a lot faster than the other methods. To know more about best dash cam in Australia, visit

How Do You Want to Install It?
When it comes to actually installing your cheap surveillance cameras and alarm system, you get to choose between two types of installation – professional or DIY. Some companies don’t allow you to choose DIY because of the possible blowback it can have on them should the system fail to work at a critical time. For the most part, it is better to let someone who is a professional and is experienced in this type of installation come into your home, quickly install the components that you need and then leave. It won’t even cost you a lot!


QUIZ: Do you know your oranges?
(Picture: metro.co.uk)

They fill stockings, half-time dressing rooms, and are a firm favourite with nans nationwide.

So you’d think you’d be able to tell the difference by now?

Knowing the difference between a tangerine and a clementine is far more important than being able to distinguish between Mozart and Beethoven, Art Deco or Art Nouveau, dog or muffin.

Take this quiz and question everything you thought to be true.

Do you actually know anything?

Share your results

Try again

Educate yourselves.

MORE: Whole Foods sell pre-peeled oranges in case you’re too posh to peel

MORE: Man caught on CCTV sneaking into woman’s house and ejaculating in her orange juice


Show Notes, Stanton Friedman, 99.

Show 99. Notes for May 21st

Shows are recorded live on the every Wednesday at 9:00 (new change) PM Eastern Standard Time, GMT/01:00 UTC and podcasts of the live shows posted the following Thursday. You can join the Chat Room on right sidebar of our home page and interact live each week.

Click to enlarge

UFOs Crash In China; Villagers Shocked By ‘Huge Ball Of Fire’

Residents of villages in the Heilongjiang province of China reported three UFOs fell from the sky on Friday morning, according to the China News Service.

The circular, metallic objects crashed to the ground of two counties after “villagers heard…a huge piercing sound, and then some villagers saw a big fireball” that eventually fell in a vegetable garden owned by one of the residents.

“I saw a huge ball of fire, I thought it was a meteorite,” one villager said, reported. “I hid inside my house and waited until the object…landed.”

Could Mysterious UFOs in Norwegian Valley Be Natural?

As a name, Hessdalen may be more familiar to UFO watchers than scientists. The valley in Norway is prone to “strange, hovering, flashing balls of lights” best attributed, as some believe, to alien origins. Now scientists say they’re on the verge of an explanation: The valley is a giant natural battery.

Guest Stanton T. Friedman

When it Comes to Stars, Size Matters!

by Andy Fleming

We think that the Sun is huge but it’s just a small yellow dwarf star. Although there are many stars much smaller such as red dwarfs, there are many much more massive.

vy-canis-majoris-times-biggerThe largest and most luminous star known is VY Canis Majoris, a red hyper giant in the constellation Canis Major. At 2,100 solar radii it is a single star and if the Earth was a sphere one centimetre in diameter, VY Canis Majoris would have a diameter of two kilometres!

A star’s size determines its luminosity, colour, temperature and lifespan. The larger a star, the greater its mass and gravity. High mass stars with stronger gravity have greater pressure in their cores, creating higher temperatures and these lead to much faster nuclear fusion reactions, with the release of massive amounts of energy. This creates radiation pressure, and while gravity tries to contract the star, this pressure simultaneously tries to expand it. The result is a stable hydrostatic equilibrium which can last for billions of years.

However, once a star runs out of hydrogen and starts to fuse helium into even heavier elements, this equilibrium ends, and it is no longer a normal main sequence star. Because high mass stars burn their fuel much quicker due to the greater core pressure caused by gravity, they live relatively short lives ending as supernovae.

StarDiamsFor example, Rigel in Orion, is a hot blue supergiant with seventeen solar masses. Its massive core pressure means nuclear fusion reactions are racing away and it will run out of fuel within 20 million years. Our Sun on the other hand has enough hydrogen to burn for ten billion years or more, and small red dwarfs like Proxima Centauri with lower pressure and lower temperatures will live much longer.

An interesting consequence of a star’s size and temperature is its brightness. A larger mass star, having a higher temperature will be bluer in colour, while a smaller, cooler star will be redder.

So the next time you gaze at brilliant blue white Rigel, white Sirus, or yellow Arcturus, you’re looking at stars in decreasing masses and sizes. So remember – when it comes to stars, size really does matter!


When we search for an adequate explanation about politics, there are various definitions from different historical periods. Up to the 19th century, the philosophers defined it as a skill for governance, which was related to warfare, conquest and superiority of nations[1]. The modern definition of politics started in the 20th century, and it was directed towards the institutional governance and maintenance of law and order in the state.[2] The different types of political regimes and ideologies influenced the understanding and definition of politics and political processes. Throughout the history of social development, a division of ideals and political persuasion appears. Organized groups of like-minded people about the political processes, governance and understanding of society are institutionalized in political parties.

According to Schreyer и Schwarzmeier parties’ development depends on the structure of the membership in the electoral districts, social structure, organizational structure, goals of the party, ideologies, access to the political system and access to governance[3]. This division in the democratic system of governance, as the most effective way of ruling, improves parties’ profiles so that they would compete for the citizens’ trust. Political parties use different methods in order to gain voters’ trust and to represent their interests.

By introducing the pluralism in the Republic of Macedonia, Roma gained the right to take part and to contribute for democratic development in the political and legal system of the state. The practice of the democratic culture among the Roma community does not significantly differ from the overall democratic and political environment in the country. Every democratic country is undergoing a process of implementation of conditions such as rule of law, high level of civil and political liberties, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom to form and join organizations.[1] After 20 years of practicing pluralism in the country, the development of the political culture of Roma is presented in two periods – before the Ohrid Framework Agreement and after the Ohrid Framework Agreement. According to the results and the behavior of Roma political parties, it is evident that the parties failed optimally to utilize the given opportunities initiated by the principles of the Ohrid Framework Agreement.

The modifications of the Constitution in 2001 preloaded new principles with the Framework Agreement, which was a balance in the redefinition of the constituent elements of the state. This included major communities and the Roma community as well. This act represents an opportunity for the Roma political élite and at the same time commitment to support the multi-ethnic character of the state. In the period from 1990 to 1998, the Roma community in Macedonia formed three political parties represented by one Member of Parliament and lack of institutional representation. While in the period from 2002 to 2006 there were five more parties registered. This process was counterproductive for the Roma community due to the division of the Roma electorate instead of consolidation derived from the new constitutional changes. The Roma political parties entered the process of fragmentation of the electorate that further reduced the value and impact of the voice of the Roma community.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the political competition of Roma political parties in the period from 1991 to 2013 by using the behavioral theory by Kaare Strom. Furthermore, it explains how Roma political parties emerged and what the benefits of the Ohrid Framework Agreement were. The concluding remarks are presented at the very end of this paper.


British trade envoy promotes UK, capacity building for Lao filmmakers

| |

Google News - Sat, 2014-03-01 13:39

Lord Puttnam told Xinhua at the film masterclass that he hoped the construction of cinemas in Vientiane would create demand for more Lao film. "Unless you create a want to see, you're not going to create an industry to make movies," Puttnam said. "I ...


Identify ground-breaking technology companies at different stages of their innovation and commercial development cycle. Support and accompany them during the process of securing the right industrial partners for the negotiation of licensing agreements and/or establish their presence with development of a distribution network to expand their business in Asia.


Goldman Sachs chief tweets support for Saudi reform

Lloyd Blankfein called for the nation to address cultural differences with the West to attract more foreign workers


We have observed the difficulties entailed in confining analysis to functions fulfilled for "the society," since items may be functional for some individuals and subgroups and dysfunctional for others.  It is necessary, therefore, to consider a range of units for which the item has designated consequences: individuals in diverse statuses, subgroups, the larger social system and culture systems.  (Terminologically, this implies the concept of psychological functions, group function, society functions, cultural functions, etc.) (1968, p. 106).


What is a solenoid?

Your vehicle’s starter motor has the important job of starting the engine. But something also has to start the starter. And that something is the solenoid. In most automotive applications today, the solenoid is attached to the starter, with the two of them getting removed as a unit when necessary.

How a solenoid works

When running properly, and as long as it has a supply of fuel, the internal combustion engine continues to run by itself in an ongoing process from the inertia of the engine’s moving parts. But starting the engine is a separate process to get that inertia moving in the first place. This is the job of the starting system, whose main components include the:

  • Battery
  • Starter motor
  • Solenoid
  • Starter switch

Starting an engine: The first action

The process involves not one, but two separate electric currents – a stronger one and a weaker one. When activated, usually by turning a key in the ignition switch, the weaker current passes through the switch and to the solenoid. At that point, the current forces two large contacts to come together in the solenoid, which allows the stronger electric current to pass through the solenoid’s contacts. These contacts carry a current that requires heavy wiring cables directly from the battery. This current is heavy enough that it would be unwise to send it through a hand-operated switching mechanism. Hence, the need for the weaker current through the ignition switch.

The stronger current passes to the starter motor where it initiates two separate actions. The starter motor is designed so that the electric current activates a lever, forcing a small gear outward on a spring shaft. When extended, this gear, called a pinion, comes in contact with a toothed gear on the outer rim of a large flywheel on the end of the engine’s drive shaft. This large gear is called the starter ring gear.

Starting an engine: The second action

The second action in a direct current electric motor is the rotation of its central shaft, caused by the larger current passing through the motor. A motor transforms electric energy into the mechanical energy of the central shaft’s rotation. It does this because the electric current interacts with the magnetic field in the starter motor and results in the rotor on the shaft beginning to turn. By the time this turning action reaches the motor’s designed top speed, the pinion at the end of this shaft has already engaged the ring gear on the flywheel. The engine then starts running on its own and the starter’s safety features automatically disengage the pinion from the ring gear. The spring brings the pinion safely back to its resting position and the job of the starting mechanism is done.

When starting, if you hold the ignition key in the “start” position a little too long, you will encounter a problem. Here, too, is a spring that brings the switch back to the “on” position from “start” as soon as you release the key. If you fail to do so, you will hear the evidence of your mistake pretty quickly. The good news is that your mistake is not as bad as it sounds. The safety mechanism in the starter has already released the pinion from the ring gear. The bad news is if you do this often or for any extended period, you may drastically shorten the life of the starter motor.

Rainy Day Refresher

It’s perhaps surprising, but true: Driving on a rainy day is more dangerous than driving pexels-photo-125510on a snowy one. When the rain starts to fall and pavement is wet, your likelihood of a crash is higher than during wintry conditions like snow, sleet and ice, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Get Your Car Rain-Ready: Tire tread is key, says Bill Van Tassel, Ph.D., manager of driver training programs for the AAA national office in Orlando, Florida. Dig out a quarter (forget the old advice about Lincoln’s head on a penny, as some researchers have found the quarter test more accurate). Insert it upside down into your tire tread. “If part of Washington’s head is always covered by the tread, your tires have more than 4/32 of an inch of tread remaining. If the top of Washington’s head is exposed at any point, you should replace the tires.”

  • Check your windshield wipers to be sure they’re up to the task. If they need replacing and you’re doing it yourself, you can check online guides to be sure you’re doing it correctly.
  • Check headlights, taillights, brake lights and turn signals to be sure all are working properly. When you’re driving, turn on your headlights to boost your visibility. Some states require the use of headlights when windshield wipers are in use.

Slow down: Driving too fast for conditions is especially dangerous on wet pavement because your tires lose traction with the precipitation, Van Tassel says. “When roadways are wet, the friction is reduced between the tire and the road,” Hersman adds. No friction is a bad thing. Tires are meant to grip the roads, not slide on them.

How much does traction decline in wet weather? “You might lose about one-third of your traction,” Van Tassel says. And that figure is why this recommendation makes sense: Reduce your speed by about a third when it’s wet or rainy. If the speed limit is 55 mph, aim for under 40 mph. “That is not a hard statistic but a rule of thumb,” he says.

Accident Avoidance Tip

businessman driving and talking on the phone

Studies suggest that talking on a cell phone roughly quadruples a person’s risk of being involved in a crash. Other studies have shown that driving while using a cell phone, be it handheld or hands-free, may impair a driver’s reaction equally as a blood alcohol content of .08.

Find more tips here: https://goo.gl/5qd7qC


Russia has been carrying out regular humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria, where people are suffering from the consequences of ongoing fighting between government forces and terrorists, including Daesh and the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham terrorist groups, both banned in Russia.

“In the village of  Wadi Qandil more than 100 families have lost their breadwinners during the battles with terrorists, today we brought them over 250 grocery sets with rice, flour, sugar, canned goods, tea and cereal,” Col. Vyacheslav Rumyantsev told reporters.

He added that this week humanitarian convoys delivered another 500 sets to two settlements in the province of Hama.

The Syrian civil war has been raging for six years, with government forces fighting against both Syrian opposition groups who strive to overthrow President Bashar Assad, and numerous extremist and terrorist groups.

Russia and Turkey are the guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime that came into force on December 30, 2016 and has been holding up in general, despite continued reports of violations. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December 2016 supporting the effort.

At the latest Astana meeting on Syria on May 3-4, three ceasefire guarantor states finalized and signed a memorandum on establishment of four safe zones in Syria. The four zones span the northwestern Idlib province and parts of the neighboring Latakia, Hama and Aleppo, the north of the central Homs province, Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, as well as southern Daraa and Quneitra regions. The memorandum came into force on May 6.

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Energy Education Resources

Who has access to electricity?  Where does our electricity come from?  What are kinetic energy, potential energy, and energy in general?  What is coal, and how is our use changing?  What are our fossil fuel reserves like? They aren’t what you think!

There’s a difference between renewable and sustainable, and that difference is important.  Energy use depends on where we live, and that’s changing in big ways.  Population is growing but unevenly and that has big consequences for us using electricity as an energy currency.

Renewables & Sustainability

Civic Engagement Tools and Action for Climate Change Solutions:

For Educators:

Multimedia Tools and Interactives:

Interesting Articles and Papers:

Book List:


Writing A Graduation Speech

There is lots of advice out there on how to give a big speech in front of an audience. What are the things that one must consider when writing a speech? The audience for one. So, how can you come up with a great speech that is guaranteed to get applause?

Erica DesaiKeep it simple. Sometimes there is a temptation in a speech to cram everything you have to say into a short time. Instead of trying to fit too many points into a speech, try to make your remarks fit the time allotted. If you’ve got five minutes to speak, you shouldn’t have more than three main points.

Start planning in advance whether you have five days notice before your speech or an hour. If you’re trying to narrow down a speech, your planning might consist of coming up with three main points that are targeted at getting everyone’s attention. Another important part of preparing is to rehearse in front of other people at least a few times.

In all of history, I don’t think anyone has ever said, “I wish that speech had been longer.” So try not to run way over the time allotted or ramble. If you’ve run out of time and forgot to touch on a major point, try to sum it up briefly.

When Erica Desai graduated, she had to give a speech at graduation that would sum up their journey into adulthood. “Let us be the best that we can be so that we may fill our lives and the lives of those closest to us with happiness and with pride. We’ve already taken the first step by making it to this ceremony today—now, it’s time to take the next steps in the journey that is our lives and begin to build our futures.”


There are times you’ll meet a stranger with whom you’ll click, and in the shortest time period, divulge all your inner thoughts and beliefs to that person. It’s a feeling of a delirious high when we get our feelings across to a sympathetic ear, regardless of whether the chance encounter between you two will ever come to pass again or not.

I look back at all the times I’ve put my faith into somebody and revealed my secrets and innermost feeling and insecurities to them. Whether a stranger, an acquaintance, a lover, or a friend, that bond has only been forged when I believe that there will be a nonjudgmental (or maybe just noncritical) ear to listen, and I presume the other person’s faith and knowledge that I will deliver pure, unadulterated words of truth that need not be unmasked. What trust such a momentous conversation and dialogue can have… I am grateful for these incredible experiences.

I’ve learned other the years that these chance occasions are always unexpected and shocking. Bonds forged once are not automatically renewed, nor are somewhat distant relationships automatically excluded from a plausible connection in the future. It’s the combined forces of time, place, moment, and present emotional and mental state that determine if the ‘click’ between two familiars or two strangers is there or not.

I’ve come to take these chance encounters, and moments of ‘truth speak,’ as priceless gem-like milestones in my life. Not quite epiphanies, as I tend to relegate those to only my academic endeavors, but more a meeting of serendipity. These are the bonds of faith.

For those individuals who forge that bond with me, I am eternally grateful for your compassionate ears.

Yay!! Finally it’s over! 30 days, 30 posts, 30 stressful days, and much happy and thoughtful blogging. I think it was a success and I want to reflect on the whole experience a bit more in the coming days, so look out for my reflections post I’ll be putting up after a few days!

Now, off for a well deserved rest!

** O.S.T. stands for Original Sound Track**

Auditory Hallucinations is by far my favorite O.S.T. of the year and I find myself humming the tune fondly at the most random times even though I don’t hear it very often.  The song is sung by artist Jang Jae In (feat NaShow) for the 2015 Korean Drama Kill Me, Heal Me. This drama has a fantastic star cast headed by Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-eum, and as any KDrama addict can attest to, this lead couple is infamous for their onscreen chemistry in the 2013 drama Secret Love.

I watched only the first half of Kill Me, Heal Me but felt satisfied with just those few episodes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Rather, the acting was, for me, miles above the story so I didn’t feel the usual frustrations to skip ahead to find out how it all wraps up because the superb acting was I got hooked on. Thus, I heard the Drama O.S.T. a handful of times and enjoyed it then. But, as with most sound tracks go, after watching the show I often forget about the theme songs that are associated with them. Not true for Auditory Hallucinations.

The O.S.T is composed, arranged, and written by ZigZagNote. NaShow’s rapping that starts off the song, followed by the strong yet soft vocals of Jang Jae In, are just striking. The whole piece is rather haunting and dreamlike, as opposed to foreboding or dangerous. Rather, it matches the plot of the K-Drama it covers, Kill Me, Heal Me, very well, with the storyline of Ji Sung’s character suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder and has seven different personalities – although harmful to his public image if exposed – his personalities are portrayed more organically as if he is just passing through dreamlike stages of his persona.  Thus, the O.S.T marks the limbo that resonates with a man being on the brink of madness and sanity.

Jang Jae In’s voice gives the lyrics and musical score the sorrowful sensitivity that takes this O.S.T. to the next level. The song without the rap is just as jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Her ‘twang’ (only way I can describe it) is remarkably well-suited for this song. I’m left feeling incomplete when the song ends and rather deflated because I just want it to go on and on! J We all know there are songs out there that we just want to hear on auto-repeat all night because it’s so mesmerizing and tantalizing… Auditory Hallucinations is one of those songs. It is addictive and I find a strong form of auditory withdrawal symptoms kick in for a while when it’s done.

Thanks to this one song, I became rather fanatically interested in singer and songwriter Jang Jae In, especially since she was a Korean singing talent competition participant and NON-winner. She was fantastic at the age of 20 in her SuperStar K2 audition and her body language in front of the celebrity judges (from the get go) just puts her a few notches above the rest (with extra brownie points for her vocal abilities of course). Although my healthy obsession with her is not as deep as my INFINITE obsession (let’s leave this for another blog post), you realize how small the world of Korean actors and entertainers is when I saw one of Jang Jae In’s music videos features actor Lee Won Geun as her love interest. This actor stole my heart and respect with his stellar performances in the Korean Dramas Cheer Up!/Sassy Go Go and Wild Chives and Soy Bean Soup: 12 Years Reunion this past year.

So check out Kill Me, Heal Me if you are interested in KDramas, but definitely check out the Drama O.S.T. ‘Auditory Hallucinations’ and let me know how you like it! It’s no problem if you don’t understand what Jang Jae In is singing about because neither do I, and I fell head over heels in love with this, regardless!

**This may not be the best argument for why someone should be a vegetarian, but I struggled a lot in my teenage years to try to persuade others to follow this exact argument… fond memories… This is my attempt at writing persuasively**

Are any of you vegetarian?  There are many different kinds of vegetarians but in general it is the practice of being an herbivore and not eating meat, poultry, and fish.  Why would you become one?  Well, there are many reasons.  It may be a requirement of your religion, or you may just hate the taste of meat.  Also, you might be against the horrifying injustices and cruelties animals suffer in slaughterhouses, or just want to lead a healthier lifestyle.  The three main types of vegetarians are lacto-ovo-vegetarians, who eat eggs and dairy products, lacto-vegetarians, who use dairy products but not eggs, and vegans, who consume neither.

Milk and other dairy products are not used by vegans because they believe that it is only meant for calves.  We are the first species to drink milk after our weaning years and the first to drink the milk of other animals as well.  Also, eggs are not alway considered vegetarian because they are the hen’s offspring and the product of their sexual organ.  Also, the size of the egg grows as time passes.  Therefore, they are impure and not completely lifeless.

I am a lacto-vegetarian.  Since the time I was born, I was brought up to follow this diet because of my religion, Jainism.  As ahimsa, non-violence is one of the most important Jain principles and way of life, being a vegetarian is a way of minimizing the amount of violence and pain I give to other living creatures.  Other Jains who are very pious, are much stricter than myself and don’t eat tuber-roots, which are vegetables grown underground.  The reason is that vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes, are the home of many tiny organisms.  So, by digging up these vegetables, the lives of many creatures can be in danger.

Being an herbivore doesn’t mean I don’t harm anyone.  Science has proven that vegetables and fruits are one-sensed organisms.  They have the sense of touch.  However, there is less violence involved in plucking a fruit rather than killing a chicken.  Trees are living beings as well.  Scientists have been able to hook up cardiographs to them, which show their heartbeat.  They are very sensitive and their graph goes wild when someone comes to cut them or their friends down!

Did you know that many famous people are either vegans or vegetarians?   This includes Drew Barrymore, Michael J. Fox, Brooke Shields, Brad Pitt, Ricki Lake, Leonardo da Vinci, Louisa May Alcott, and Mark Twain among many others.  All of theses individuals probably realized that by eating meat they would become murderers.  In other words, by being a non-vegetarian, it would be like you were killing and eating your own ancestors, which is the not too different from cannibalism.

There are many advantages of practicing vegetarianism.  People have less pesticides, fats, and cholesterol, and at the same time, are less likely to have a heart attack, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, gallbladder disease, hypertension or any other illness.  Their bodies retain fewer antibiotics, fossil fuels, and toxic chemical residues, and they have a very small chance of receiving a bacterial infection such as E. coli.

Vegetarians get their calcium, protein, iron, and vitamins from different vegetables, leafy greens, beans, cereal, nuts, fruits, juices, bread, and about fifteen minutes in the sun each day.  The proper food promotes their physical and psychological health.  Meat has more proteins than the daily need but an excess amount of meat protein creates unnecessary uric acid, which is a breeder of several diseases.

Becoming a vegetarian is the first step in lowering the violence done onto animals.  A total number of about seven billion animals are slaughtered each year in the United States alone. SEVEN BILLION ANIMALS ARE SLAUGHTERED EACH YEAR!  That’s about 500,000 animals killed each hour!  Animals raised primarily for the production of food are not capable of having natural sexual, social, hygienic, and parental behavior.  They are in excruciating pain from they time that they are born and taken away from their mother to the time they are taken to the slaughter house.  R. M. Dolgin once said, “Anything that can feel pain should not be put to pain.”

Individuals who consume meat, dairy, and egg can cause many sicknesses including: strokes, heart attacks, kidney stones, breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, and stomach cancer among others.  Vegans have a four percent risk of death from a heart attack compared to fifty percent risk for meat eaters.  Also, the intake of cow’s milk is linked to dysfunctions of the thyroid gland, osteoporosis, headaches, and even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Multiple Sclerosis.

It is imperative that everyone become a vegetarian in the near future for the sake of the environment, for animal rights, and for health purposes.  Being a vegan or vegetarian will significantly increase the lifespan of human beings and help them have a more tension free life.  They will be able to save the lives of about 100 million people who would have starved to death as a result of malnutrition and at the same time decrease the amount of pollution in rivers and streams.  Vegetarianism will help make the world a better, happier place where all beings will be treated as equals and animals will have their own rights.  As Leonardo da Vinci said, “The time will come when men will look on the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”

Stirfry Spring Rolls

Fresh Vegetable Stir Fry Spring Rolls

**Most of the time, I like to cook quick meals that I know are healthy and require little preparation. One staple go-to meal for me when I’m feeling peckish but not famished is a simple fresh spring roll with stir-fried vegetables. By fresh, I mean not deep-fried. Since I bought my first packet of rice paper in Chicago, I’ve never looked back. It is now one of the main ingredients I will buy in bulk to bring back to India whenever I’m travelling.**

Stirfry Spring RollIngredients:

1 tsp Oil
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1/2 Bell Pepper
1/4 Cabbage
1-2 Tbsp your choice of Sauce
[Option: tasty with a handful of bean sprouts and/or rice noodles]

Recommended Sauces:
Soy Sauce
Barbecue Sauce
Peri Peri Sauce

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan and add onions. After 2 minutes, add carrots and green peppers. In the end, mix in cabbage and noodles/sprouts (optional) then put in a few drops of your favorite sauce to the mixture. Make sure it tastes a tiny bit stronger than you’d like, because it will get wrapped in rice paper.
  2. Take a rice paper round and dip in water for 10-20 seconds. place wet rice paper sheet on a mat or cutting board, load stir-fried mixture, and wrap into a parcel to make spring roll. Repeat until your rice sheets and stir-fried vegetables are over.

Note: Through trial and error, I’ve learnt that this form of spring roll tastes better when the sauce flavoring is put inside the roll, as opposed to a dipping sauce accompaniment. Also, even if the filling for the spring roll is runny, the rice paper tends to hold liquid well. Alternatively, adding just a few strands of rice noodles will have the effect of soaking up any extra liquid. Just have fun and experiment!

Cooking Time: 15 mins
Yields: 4-6 rolls

Good Thanksgiving Memories

November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’d like to give thanks today for how this year has progressed and the wonderful people in my life who make living it quite so fantastic.

Thanksgiving is a quintessentially American/Canadian holiday that I’ve been aware of but never really celebrated or participated in until I left the United States to study in Wales, followed by two separate and equally memorable occasions with friends in Chicago.

I vaguely remember attending two Thanksgiving meals prepared by the American members of the International Students Association (of which I served as Vice Chair). It was a potluck but I didn’t contribute a dish, I remember, as I was still under the impression that the holiday food was centered around Turkey and meat. My memory of those two days are filled with everyone sitting along a looong table, the room filled with the echoes of chatter and laughter, and everyone seemingly stuffing food down their own throats until food coma commenced. If I wasn’t so very close to everyone who worked so hard to prepare the food and organize the holiday meal, I would probably have given it a miss altogether. I particularly remember my Greek-German-American friend’s ‘secret family recipe’ cheeseball which was the size of a fist and that I finished almost singlehandedly. No doubt, Thanksgiving became synonymous with a good excuse to enjoy a fun-filled thematic party, mid-day with friends – particularly featuring out-of-this-world cheese and crackers!

My next invite to join in Thanksgiving festivities came from a dear friend over 4 year later in Chicago. Hyde Park resembled a ghost town during those few days, when nearly all my friends and classmates returned to their respective homes to spend Thanksgiving with their families. My dearest friend decided to stay in Chicago and invite her mother to drive up from Nashville and a childhood family friend (also living in state) to celebrate the day with her instead.  When she heard I would be around (and alone!) on Thanksgiving, she insisted I join her and her two guests for the day. Accepting her invite wasn’t difficult, not because I didn’t want to spend the day alone, but because I knew the day wouldn’t be hyped and low maintenance. I knew I wouldn’t have to anything  to lose. In fact, if nothing else, I knew I had a new culinary experience to enjoy because she was a fellow vegetarian and her whole Thanksgiving meal would be meat-free and featuring the ‘tofurkey’. Now isn’t that enough intrigue to accept her invitation graciously?!  This time around too, I didn’t contribute my own vegetarian Thanksgiving dish – partly because she told me there would be loads of food already…and also because I’m not a fabulous cook like her! Hahaha.

Chicago Thanksgiving 1

My First Tofurkey!

We were four ladies and a kitty that day, and I must say, the food and company was enviably fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed being able to dig into the side and main dishes and I can’t honestly remember how many helpings I had of everything until I no longer had any space. In addition to my Wales experience, Thanksgiving now also became synonymous with sharing a lavish meal with your nearest and dearest, showered with much love and affection, and no less than three extra helpings of carved Tofurkey!

My most recent Thanksgiving memories are from two years ago, only a year after my Tofurkey experience. Again, I found myself in Chicago and with no company for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. This time, it was my lovely married friends who invited me to join in their celebrations. She was my classmate in Chicago and got married the first winter after we met. It didn’t take long for the three of us to get together and realize we had a lot in common. Like me, they both spent considerable time outside and inside the US and were well aware of the pros and cons of both scenarios. One grew up in Peru while the other spent some formidable years in Papua New Guinea as a child. We quickly got into a lovely routine of meeting up with this power couple every week or two for a meal and lovely chatter.

So when Thanksgiving plans were discussed, I happily accepted an invite to give my friend company while she prepared Thanksgiving dinner for her meat-loving husband and brother-in-law. I arrived early to assist with the preparation (barely!) and setting the table for the meal and we sat and watched the annual dog show that gets televised in the US while food cooked. I fondly remember that my friend’s husband tried to carve the turkey when we sat down, but quickly handed the carving knife to his wife who he knew would do a better job! The meal was unsurprisingly fabulous thanks to the culinary skills of my lovely friend. From the sides to the specifically vegetarian tofu alternative to the wine, it was a wonderful meal. I’m not sure if football featured or not that day…probably not if I stuck around. (I’m not a big sports fan.) But it was long past dark when I left their warm aromatic apartment to head home with a bunch of leftovers to tide me over the next day. This experienced added to my already beautiful memories I already had of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving additionally became synonymous with an intimate and sacred family gathering that is multi-cultural, all-encompassing, and full of sharing.

Setting the table for a Thanksgiving feast

In the past decade, I’ve partaken in no less than three Thanksgiving celebrations with people I love and care deeply for. Each experience has been cemented as beautiful memories that only increase the appreciation I have for this American holiday. I can’t wait for my next Thanksgiving memory!

Matar Ke Chilke Ke Pakode

Matar Ke Chilke Ke Pakode

10-15 matar ke chilke (prepared peapod shells)
1 tbsp besan/chickpea flour
1 tbsp chawal ka atta/rice flour
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric powder
oil for frying
salt to taste

  1. Wash and pat dry matar ke chilke.
  2. Cut them in 1 1/2″ pieces.
  3. Take besan and chawal ka atta in a bowl. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix well.
  4. Add water, little by little to get a dropping consistency of the batter. It should not be too thick or thin.
  5. Heat oil in a deep pan/kadai.
  6. Drop the batter laden chilke in the hot oil.
  7. Cook till they get a light brown colour and drain on an absorbent paper.
  8. Serve these crispy yummies with imli/tamarind chutney.

Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 2 servings

Matar Ka Chilka Ka Chaat

Add crispy matar ka chilka pakodas to the chaat along with chopped onions, chopped coriander, imli/tamarind chutney, dollops of curd and bhujia sprinkled on top. It tastes truly amazing.

Matar Ke Chilke Ke Chaat