La Cosa Nostra Essay -- essays research papers fc

La Cosa Nostra Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in American cinema is the closing scene in the film â€Å"The Godfather† when Don Vito Corleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invaded the land and native Sicilians fled and took refuge in the hills. Some of these refugees formed a secret society that gave protection to the people in exchange for money. This group took their name, â€Å"Mafia† based on the Arabic word for refuge. In America today, one can hear it also be called â€Å"La C osa Nostra†, or â€Å"This Thing of Ours.† In the 1700s,Wealthy people would receive a card with a black hand drawn on and if they did not pay the money, they could expect murder, theft, and violence. During the time Mussolini was ruling Italy, this secret society was under heavy persecution and many fled to the United States. â€Å"Don (term for the boss or head of a Mafia family) Vito Cascio Ferro fled to the United States in 1901 to escape arrest. He is known as the Father of American Mafia.† (La Cosa Nostra) Many Italian immigrants came to the United States through Ellis Island in New York, which is today the most important center of organized Mafia crime in the United States. The new American Mafia came to power during the Prohibition by organizing the sale of outlawed alcohol, but after Prohibition was revoked, the Mafia needed a new â€Å"racket.† During the war, the Mafia got government issued ration stamps and sold them on the black market. These days the Mafia is involved in running prostitution, unions, construction, and gambling. New York, also called the â€Å"City that never sleeps,† houses the Five Families of New York. These Families are highly influential and powerful crime families and each holds claim to certain â€Å"rackets.† The Five Families are: Gambino, Bonano, Lucchese, Colombo, and Genovese. While all people in the Mafia are required to maintain certain silence about the workings of the Family, a code of silence called â€Å"Omerta,† d... ...si in America as it was in Sicily. â€Å"Say what you will about me, but don’t think it applies to my family.† (Godfather II) The Mafia, a group of stylized criminals, exists as a hidden power in our world today and shall remain to do so into the new millenium by controlling underground markets and making this world an offer they can’t refuse. Bibliography The Godfather. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan. Paramount, 1972. The Godfather, Part II. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Al Pacino, Robert Duvall. Paramount, 1974 â€Å"La Cosa Nostra.† Online. World Wide Web. 4 June 1999. Available http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9880/index.html La Vien, Douglas and Papa, Juliet . (1993) The Mafia Handbook. Penguin Books. Machi, Mario. â€Å"Mario’s Mafia Page.† Online. World Wide Web. 4 June 1999. Available http://www.naxs.com/people/mmachi/mafia Malta, J. Geoff. â€Å"The Godfather Trilogy.† Online. World Wide Web. 1 June 1999. Available http://www.jgeoff.com/godfather.html Wiseguy & Company, Inc. â€Å"Unofficial Homepage of the New York Mafia.† Online. World Wide Web. 4 June 1999. Available http://www.users.aol.com/whizkid01/index.html Word Count: 1132

The Pros and Cons of Human Cloning Essay -- Pro Con Essays

The cloning of humans is now very close to reality, thanks to the historic scientific breakthrough of Dr. Ian Wilmut and his colleagues in the UK. This possibility is one of incredible potential benefit for all of us. Unfortunately the initial debate on this issue has been dominated by misleading, sensationalized accounts in the news media and negative emotional reactions derived from inaccurate science fiction. Much of the negativity about human cloning is based simply on the breathtaking novelty of the concept rather than on any real undesirable consequences. On balance, human cloning would have overwhelming advantages if regulated in a reasonable way. A comprehensive ban on human cloning by a misinformed public would be a sorry episode in human history. This essay will discuss both the advantages and the alleged negative consequences of human cloning. What is a Human Clone? A human clone is really just a time-delayed identical twin of another person. Science fiction novels and movies have given people the impression that human clones would be mindless zombies, Frankenstein monsters, or "doubles." This is all complete nonsense. Human clones would be human beings just like you and me, not zombies. They would be carried and delivered after nine months by a human mother and raised in a family just like everyone else. They would require 18 years to reach adulthood just like everyone else. Consequently, a clone-twin will be decades younger than the original person. There is no danger of people confusing a clone-twin with the original person. As with identical twins, the clone and DNA donor would have different fingerprints. A clone will not inherit any of the memories of the original person. Because of these differences, a clone is not a xerox copy or "double" of a person, just a much younger identical twin. Human clones would have the same legal rights and responsibilities as any other human being. Human clones will be human beings in every sense. You could not keep a clone as a slave. Human slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865. It should be emphasized that all human cloning must be done on an individual voluntary basis. The living person who is to be cloned would have to give their consent, and the woman who gives birth to the clone-twin and raises the child must also be acting voluntarily. No other scenario is conceiv... ...Ramses II reposes in excellent condition in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. This is the Pharaoh of the Old Testament. A technology for human cloning would allow a modern Egyptian woman to give birth to the twin of this great historical figure. Who would not want to see the living image of Ramses II and hear the same voice that spoke to Moses over three thousand years ago? It is clear that human cloning has enormous potential benefits and few real negative consequences. As with many scientific advances of the past, such as airplanes and computers, the only real threat is to our own narrow mental complacency. In the areas of scientific advancement and cultural achievement, human clones can make major contributions. In specific cases where abuse of cloning is anticipated, these abuses can be prohibited by targeted legislation. With a little common sense and reasonable regulation, human cloning is not something to be feared. We should look forward to it with excited anticipation, and support research which will hasten its realization. Exceptional people are among the world's greatest treasures. Human cloning will allow us to preserve and eventually even recover these treasures. The Pros and Cons of Human Cloning Essay -- Pro Con Essays The cloning of humans is now very close to reality, thanks to the historic scientific breakthrough of Dr. Ian Wilmut and his colleagues in the UK. This possibility is one of incredible potential benefit for all of us. Unfortunately the initial debate on this issue has been dominated by misleading, sensationalized accounts in the news media and negative emotional reactions derived from inaccurate science fiction. Much of the negativity about human cloning is based simply on the breathtaking novelty of the concept rather than on any real undesirable consequences. On balance, human cloning would have overwhelming advantages if regulated in a reasonable way. A comprehensive ban on human cloning by a misinformed public would be a sorry episode in human history. This essay will discuss both the advantages and the alleged negative consequences of human cloning. What is a Human Clone? A human clone is really just a time-delayed identical twin of another person. Science fiction novels and movies have given people the impression that human clones would be mindless zombies, Frankenstein monsters, or "doubles." This is all complete nonsense. Human clones would be human beings just like you and me, not zombies. They would be carried and delivered after nine months by a human mother and raised in a family just like everyone else. They would require 18 years to reach adulthood just like everyone else. Consequently, a clone-twin will be decades younger than the original person. There is no danger of people confusing a clone-twin with the original person. As with identical twins, the clone and DNA donor would have different fingerprints. A clone will not inherit any of the memories of the original person. Because of these differences, a clone is not a xerox copy or "double" of a person, just a much younger identical twin. Human clones would have the same legal rights and responsibilities as any other human being. Human clones will be human beings in every sense. You could not keep a clone as a slave. Human slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865. It should be emphasized that all human cloning must be done on an individual voluntary basis. The living person who is to be cloned would have to give their consent, and the woman who gives birth to the clone-twin and raises the child must also be acting voluntarily. No other scenario is conceiv... ...Ramses II reposes in excellent condition in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. This is the Pharaoh of the Old Testament. A technology for human cloning would allow a modern Egyptian woman to give birth to the twin of this great historical figure. Who would not want to see the living image of Ramses II and hear the same voice that spoke to Moses over three thousand years ago? It is clear that human cloning has enormous potential benefits and few real negative consequences. As with many scientific advances of the past, such as airplanes and computers, the only real threat is to our own narrow mental complacency. In the areas of scientific advancement and cultural achievement, human clones can make major contributions. In specific cases where abuse of cloning is anticipated, these abuses can be prohibited by targeted legislation. With a little common sense and reasonable regulation, human cloning is not something to be feared. We should look forward to it with excited anticipation, and support research which will hasten its realization. Exceptional people are among the world's greatest treasures. Human cloning will allow us to preserve and eventually even recover these treasures.

The Effect of Violence in Movies to the Society

The last few years have seen an increase in violence in movies. Action movies seem to get more ‘exciting' than the previous movies each year and therefore, more violence is shown. Many people complain that violence is influencing our country and it's youths which causes many youths to fascinate about violence, eventually experience the fascination of violence for themselves and go crazy – go on a killing spree or something similar. Violence in movies do in some way affect youths and people in society. It affects people's views of themselves, other people, the world and people's thoughts on certain things. Beliefs or values and attitudes may be affected by violence in movies. For example, if a certain person is a racist and believes white people are superior to black people, they may watch a movie which displays racial discrimination, such as ‘American History X', and after viewing violent action against blacks, the person may decide to take action and go out and kill black people. This is an example of someone's beliefs/values and attitudes being affected by violence in movies. It is believed that whatever is seen at the movies, children will praise certain shows and characters featured and try to be like them. They look up to their hero and want to do everything that person does. In an action packed movie, the hero or the ‘good guy' is loved by children and they may try to copy their actions, thus leading to violence. So it is believed that violence in movies will increase physical aggressiveness among children and violent criminal behavior. One method by which violent movies may promote criminal violence is simple imitation. Two surveys of young American male violent felons found that 22-34% had imitated crime techniques they watched on an action packed movie. On the questionnaire I conducted, 60% of the people who participated in the questionnaire said they have an urge to go fight, kill, save people, etc, after watching a movie full of violence and action. This is only an urge, but may still result in the action of violence taking place. Children do imitate the behavior of models such as those portrayed in movies and other things such as television. They do so because the ideas that are shown to them on television are more attractive to the viewer than those the viewer can think up him/herself. This can be seen with the advent of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Young children cannot seem to get enough of these fictional characters and will portray them often. But it is Not only can violence in movies inspire children to take action, but can also inspire and empower potential criminals. Of course, not everyone who watches a Rambo or Terminator movie becomes a criminal. The harm of violent television is felt most by the already vulnerable segments of the population. Alfred Blumstein, dean of John Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie-Mellon, notes that â€Å"the glorification of violence on television has little effect on most folks, but it has a powerful effect on kids who are poorly socialized †¦. It dehumanizes them and becomes a self-fulfilling process. † Repeated exposure to violence in movies may make violence seem ordinary or normal to these type of people. Perhaps all sides of the movies and violence debate can agree that reducing movie violence should be considered as efforts to change the conditions that make the children so vulnerable and dangerous in the first place. Maybe ratings of movies should be taken more seriously and be more strict so that children cannot view violence which would pollute their minds with violence and criminal behavior. In the questionnaire, the majority said that the movie ‘The Matrix' entertained them. This is an action film, and when asked whether they have an urge to go fight, kill, save people, etc, after watching an action film contained with violence, 40% replied no. This may show that some people like to watch movies with violence – no matter how it is rated – purely for entertainment and that it would not effect their attitudes towards violence in a negative way. These days, violence in movies are seen to be very realistic. The fighting, the pain, the blood and guts are made to look real. These are all done through the use of computers and digital editing. So the violence in movies may seem real, but in fact it is all fake and have just been performed by the click of a mouse. The question is, why do filmmakers show violence as their main subject in movies and why do they want the violence to seem real? There are many reasons to this. One could be to impress audience, another could be the demand for more action films, or another could be that action movies seem to be more popular nowadays. But the main reason would be to make the movie full of excitement which would most probably make the movie become huge and popular, which would then result in a lot of money for the filmmaker. This is not right and portrays filmmakers as selfish people only looking for money, as they do not stop to think that the violence could pollute children's minds. Filmmakers could say this could be prevented by making the ratings high, but that certainly does not stop children from watching the movie. They may be taken in to watch it with someone older for supervision, or simply view it on video once it is released. Fixing the problems of children and movie violence is not easy. There are many factors that have to be considered and people to be convinced. This problem will, no doubt, never go away and continue to get worse as the years go by. However, there are measures that can be taken to prevent the children from ever being exposed to such things. After all, what is the world going to be like when the people who are now children are running the world?

Introduction To Duty Of Care In Health Essay

I heard you were thinking of working in the Care Profession which is excellent, I just wanted to fill you in on a few things which would help you. Health and Social Care work places have what is called a duty of care which means that you have a duty of care towards the people that you are looking after that means you must do everything you can to keep the individuals you look after safe from harm. It is not only the work place that has to prioritise the safety, welfare and interests of the individuals using the service but also the care staff. Care workers must also have a duty of care towards other staff members to ensure that all working conditions are safe and suitable to deliver the best service they can. It also means being a responsible care giver for other individuals who could be too ill or physically unable to care for themselves and requires another person to assist them on a daily basis, this could include assisting the individuals with their personal hygiene, safety, meal preparation or other medical and physical needs until they are met to the highest standards that the individual is happy with. Duty of Care affects the way people work as the employer provides policies and procedures and ways of being aware of any dangers by carrying out Risk Assessments. Social Care workers and Care organisations must do as much as possible to keep individuals safe from harm, we do these Risk Assessments by looking for either a hazard which is an actual or potential such as a chemical or process that may lead to an accident, also risks a situation that can lead to a hazard and carry the possibilities of something serious happening.

Symbolism in the Chrysanthemums

Aliya Grayman Professor Gulliksen English 131 (D8) 24 October 2012 Your Inner Chrysanthemum How many people sit down and think about what symbolizes their lives? A symbol is a person place or thing that suggests something other than its literal meaning. In John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† Elisa Allen lives on a ranch with her husband Henry in Salinas Valley. Henry is off talking to men about the livestock on the ranch while Elisa is tending to her garden. A tinker comes up to their yard and begins to talk to Elisa about his work and all of his travels.He tries to get Elisa to let him work, but she does not feel that she needs any work done. The tinker notices the garden of chrysanthemums, and tells Elisa that he knows a woman that wants to grow them. Elisa develops a short lived attraction to the tinker as she is offering him the flower and giving him careful instructions on taking care of them. Steinbeck uses symbolism throughout this short story. Things such as the wire fence around the garden, the changing of Elisa’s clothing, and the chrysanthemums themselves mean something beyond their literal meaning.Everyone has an item or person that symbolizes their life. Because the title of the short story is â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† the chrysanthemum is an obvious symbol. Elisa’s beautiful garden of chrysanthemums is very important to the story. They are Important because the chrysanthemums are Elisa, meaning they represent her throughout the story. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s life. Like her they are unimportant to the men in her life. When the tinker asks her about the flowers Elisa brightens up. When Elisa offers a flower to the tinker, she offers herself as well.When the flowers are rejected it symbolizes society’s rejection to women being anything other than mothers and housekeepers. Both the Elisa and the chrysanthemums seem to be simply decorative, and add little importance to the world. The wire fence surrounding the garden of chrysanthemums shows how Elisa lives her life. Elisa lives a very guarded life. Elisa only tends to the garden inside the fence, never venturing out into the world of work on her ranch. Henry takes care of all of the business deals on the ranch. The fence represents the sheltered life Elisa has been living.The type of fence has significance as well. The wire fence shows that Elisa can look outside of her garden with ease; a wooden fence would keep everything out and in. Steinbeck gives great detail of Elisa’s clothing. In the beginning of the story she is wearing bulky gardening clothes and a man’s hat. After her conversation with the tinker, there is an abundant amount of detail as Elisa is preparing to go out to dinner with her husband. The description of what she chooses to wear shows her masculine persona becoming feminine.The sentence â€Å"When she had dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body†(247), shows her new found sexuality. Everything has more than one meaning. When an object is a symbol of something else the meaning becomes much more important. Steinbeck meant for his readers to see the true beauty of a chrysanthemum, and by having them symbolize the main character in the story he did just that. Showing inner beauty and strength gives an inanimate object life. Everything has an inner chrysanthemum.

THe importance and influence of Asia Pacific Business and their Essay

THe importance and influence of Asia Pacific Business and their implications for Australia - Essay Example Today, they are a force to be reckoned with: whether for their economical labor force or for the nuclear tests they are carrying out or the technological developments taking place in these countries. The western superpowers cannot afford to ignore these countries at any cost! A major factor that has influenced half the world's thinking, policies and decisions is the Sino-US bilateral relations. This area has been going through volatile changes as and when the political leaderships changed in both the countries. When George Bush came to power in 2001, there were rumors of a Cold War between the US and China. Serious tensions were sparked between the US and China on various issues. First, there was the issue of a collision of a Chinese fighter with an American spy plane and then it was the designation of Taiwan by the US and Japan as a "common strategic objective." China was certainly not happy with America's open opposition to lifting the EU's arms embargo on China. China was increasingly being viewed by the US as "a military competitor with a formidable resource base." The People's Republic of China (PRC) was perceived as "a military competitor with formidable resource base"5 by the US. Post the 9/11 attacks, however, there has been a subtle shift in the way the two countries view each other. China condemned the bombings in a mild tone but pledged its whole-hearted support to the US in fighting terrorism. China seemed to have taken a softer stand towards American policies and supported its war against terrorism. Beijing has supported counter- terrorism resolutions passed by the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly. China has been cooperating in the US's efforts in combating the evil of terrorism, both in its own country and at a global level. The past four years have seen sweeping changes in the bilateral relations between the US and China. By providing useful 'information' on radical Islamic groups, it has resumed intelligence- sharing activities that had remained dormant since the end of the Cold War6. While China had not been actively involved in any military action against Afghanistan, it endorsed American intervention there, thus, reflecting a softening of its attitude towards the US. China has pledged to contribute US$150 million towards the reconstruction of Afghanistan. It is also supposed to have played an important role in encouraging close ally Pakistan to support American efforts in Afghanistan. Just as significant is China's lack of resistance to Washington's forcible invasion of Iraq and removal of Saddam Hussein. The present period of improved relations between the two countries is being referred to as the 'honeymoon' period. Political analysts feel that the honeymoon period in the US-Sino relations is expected to last longer as there is a deeper combination of economic, political and strategic considerations underlying it. perceptions and motivations. With the hosting of the Olympics in 2008, it is assumed that Beijing will assume its rightful place in the world's powers. Thus, it would be eager to avoid any confrontation with America that could jeopardize its preparations for the event. China's refusal to adjust its undervalued currency, which has been pegged to the US$ since 1994 and America's ballooning trade deficit with China which

Your father runs a small auto body shop. He has decided to computerize Essay

Your father runs a small auto body shop. He has decided to computerize his records and has asked you to explain the basics of accounting - Essay Example Assets in the balance sheets include money, financial records, notes receivable, catalog, prepaid operating cost, office materials, equipment, apparatus, vehicles, structures, and real estate. The law for asset accounts shows that they ought to augment with a debit entry and reduce with a credit entry. The standard balance for an asset account is debit. The standard balance of any financial credit is the entry type, debit, or credit. This augments the account when saving transactions in the periodicals and redistributing to the ledger. Liabilities, on the other hand, include debts and obligations, which may include accrued expenses, salaries payable and sales tax payable in the balance sheet. For the equation to balance, recording of the liability account increases in an opposite way of the assets. Stakeholders’ equity is the net assets after deductions have been made. The deductions depend on the company. Depending on spending, the stakeholders’ equity either increases or decreases. Income statements reflect on revenue expense activity. In the balance sheet, retained earnings make part of the stakeholders’ equity. These earnings remain after deductions have been made on all the expenses and net income. Journal entries that would affect the balance sheet are any item that is related to assets, owner’s income, and liability. Examples are machinery, creditors, and stakeholders income. Journal entries that would affect the income statement are any expenses, and revenues. Assumptions that have done include entity concepts, principle of reliability, principle of cost, principle of going-concern and the concept of stable-monetary unit (Agtarap-San,