History Of The American Mafia Essays - Genovese Crime Family

History Of The American Mafia Imagine living in a world where crime ruled. A world where gangsters were more powerful than politicians, owned the police, and ran the city in whatever way they felt. They robbed whom they wanted and killed when they didnt get their way. Now stop imagining and realize that this happened here in the United States of America in the 1920s. It was run by an organization made up mainly of Italians called the Mafia. The word Mafia itself has many meanings. In Arabic it means refuge, which refers to the origins of the Mafia as a society that fled to the hills of Italy to avoid attack. Some Italians hold it as a word of high respect implying strength, courage, agility, quickness, endurance, and intelligence (Brief History 2). This is why being a member of the Mafia is such an honor to its members. Another meaning of the word refers to the Mafias origins as an acronym in Italian, Morte Alla Franciese Italia Annela. This translates to Death to French is Italys Cry in reference to Italians distaste for the French during their invasions in the 1800s. The Mafia originated in Sicily as a secret society to unite Sicilian natives against invasions by France and Arabs in the late 1800s. These Mafia members led a revolt against the French and Arabs and gained power over time. As time progressed, the Mafia controlled the government, banks, and police activity and turned to crime for profit. A Mafia-run Sicily prospered until the rise of Benito Mussolini. As an advocate of socialism, he began to crack down on Mafia activity in Italy (Brief History 2). This forced many of the prominent mob bosses to flee America where they would prosper for a decade and a half. As complicated as it might be, the Mafia revolves around one basic principle called Omerta. Omerta is an oath in which every official member of the Mafia must be sworn in under. This code states that all family-based activities are above all domestic family matters in the home, it enforces silence, a strike upon another member is like a strike on the boss himself. Violating any of these laws is punishable by death with no trial or remorse (Whizkid01 3). This one value is what kept Mafia families powerful and prosperous. As the Mafia grew in America, they prospered off illegal gambling and prostitution. It wasnt until 1919 with the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution that the Mafia really gained power. The 18th amendment banned the distribution and manufacturing of alcoholic beverages in America (Prohibition 2). Although this amendment meant nothing but good, it did the exact opposite to America. While politicians saw an improved nation with this amendment, criminals saw green. Americans now thought drinking as a thrill, it was something illegal that they can do but get away with. It was the rush of getting away with it that made speakeasies so popular. Speakeasies were Mafia-run entertainment clubs, consisting of an open bar of the finest bootlegged liquor along with dining and entertainment (Prohibition 5). One of the most successful Mafia bosses involved in bootlegging and prostitution was Charles Lucky Luciano. He was born in 1897 in Sicily, Italy. At the age of 9 he moved to the Lower East Side of New York. In 1920 he began his own prostitution ring in New York. By 1925 he had control of all the prostitution rackets in Manhattan. He moved into bootlegging along with Meyer Lansky in 1931. That same year, he organized a meeting for all the families in New York after the execution of his rival, Masseria in order to maintain peace. The organization of the five families was based on Caesars ruling of the Roman Empire, enforcing organization and discipline and the code of Omerta. Although all the money he made was illegal, Luciano still reported all taxes and kept his paper work clean. However, he did not escape the wrath of the hungry Thomas E Dewey, a powerful district attorney. The underworld mastermind was brought up on 90 charges of racketeering but was released unscathed. Luciano and the US worked a deal where Luciano would expose vital facts

You Will Be Hearing from Us Shortly Essay Example

You Will Be Hearing from Us Shortly Essay Example You Will Be Hearing from Us Shortly Essay You Will Be Hearing from Us Shortly Essay You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly U. A. Fanthorpe U. A Fanthorpe was born in Kent in 1929. After boarding school in Surrey, she read English and became a teacher. She taught for 16 years until she began writing poetry in 1974. Her first volume, Side Effects, was published by Peterloo Poets in 1978. â€Å"You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly†, is a poem that conjures up an image of a malign interviewer looking down in disgust at the unfortunate interviewee. It is a pessimistic experience for the candidate. The poet discusses prejudice and discrimination through the use of tone and language. The poem uses the voice of the interviewer to convey the prejudice. This poem begins in a realistic way but becomes surreal. The title of the poem clearly puts the readers into the context of an interview. These are the words resounding in the ears of unemployed people who seek suitable employment. The employer is always in the superior position from where he looks down upon the job-seekers. Though the words ‘You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly’ sound very polite, they are loaded with prejudice. From the first line in the poem, You feel adequate to the demands of this decision? until the last line, the speaker uses sophisticated language which implies that the interviewer is well educated. But the language is used in such a way that it sounds very snobbish and rude and this sets the tone for the poem. The interviewee seems to be intimidated and feels insignificant for what he/she is. The interviewer is in command of the situation and controls through his use of sarcasm and rhetorical questions. In verse one, the use of the word ‘adequate’ already gives us the feeling that the interviewer thinks that the applicant is not fit to the position that is sought. The next question about the ‘qualities’ the interviewer seeks from the candidate gives an impression of the candidate as a failure and useless at everything. We can perceive that the interviewer already has negative thoughts about the interviewee, but at this moment, the prejudice is more subtle than at the end of the poem. Though the applicant is a qualified person, the questioner makes it irrelevant by stating that the qualifications do not satisfy the requirement they are looking for. The reader is inclined to think and wonder why they call candidates who do not have the required qualifications. The level of prejudice increases as the person in authority comments about the age and looks of the interviewee. Whether the common people are disturbed or not, the attitude of the interviewer is quite disturbing. He causes further damage to the candidate by breaking the boundaries of social conduct. He asks inappropriate questions regarding the accent, education and the family details. The height of prejudice and misuse of power comes out when the very existence of the interviewee is questioned. The poem is written in short stanzas followed by a single line, most often by one word; ‘Ah’, ‘Indeed’ etc. this suggests that a conversation has taken place. The language of the speaker is formal and standard English which intimidate the candidate. Lines of varying length are used in order to suit the mood of the speaker, which is controlling and demanding. The use of complex sentences and the first person plural (‘we’) gives the speaker of this poem an air of authority. Though the responses of the interviewee are not recorded, it is quite understandable what the candidate would have said in reply to the queries made by the interviewer. The alliteration in the words, ‘dubious desire’, domestic disasters’ gives us the clue the extent of degradation the applicant faces. The use of second person pronoun ‘You’ is markedly authorial and its tone is highly dispassionate. First person plural ‘we’ gives the interviewer authority and power. The speaker’s short statements such as, ‘and your accent,’ and sealed questions, ‘that is the way you have always spoken, is it? represents his ominous rule over the innocent, unlucky interviewee, It leaves the applicant no room or space to argue that there is nothing wrong with his/her accent. Together with the interviewee, the readers sense a feeling of uneasiness at the way the whole interview had proceeded. As we feel pity for the applicant, our mind rebels against the prejudiced interviewer. Every one is sure what it means, when the candidate gets the final statement, â€Å"you will be hearing from us shortly†. The answer is not going to be positive.

Women in business Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women in business - Coursework Example Furthermore, ‘Positive influences’ would also help in enhancing the sustainability in business along with betterment of the leadership mentality. This progressions in the individual characteristics development is going to enhance the ability of ‘communication’ that would indicate the base point of any business. According to my individual need for development, these four goals would help in improving my ability for meeting the appropriated requisites of relevant business module. Professional aspiration is one of the important situations in life irrespective of the gender the individual belong. Furthermore, being a woman, I am even likely to face certain problems in the course of achieving these goals and fulfilling my professional desires (Elkin, 1960). In this regard, the paper intends to develop an effective understanding of the different needs for meeting with the progression of developing identities of women in business within the global domain. By analys ing the different aspects of the problems attached with development of women, I will be enhancing my ability to understand myself and develop a better attribute of meeting with my personal needs of development. Biologically, we can differentiate male and female based on their predefined physical appearances. However, in sociological aspect, the gendered views of the society segregates women and men based on the terms of ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ parallel to their physical and biological segregations. The different influences exerted by the notion of socialisation could affect the behavioural patterns of culture and motivate to participation of new members in social relationship. My perception is that socialisation starts from families where these factors acts as agencies of socialisation and inflicts the views of discriminations based on gender. At the very beginning of my life, I have been allocated with different dress materials, colours for