Burial in different cultures (

Burial in different cultures ( Burial in Mythology Practices of the Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman Cultures Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman practices of preparing the dead for the next cradle of humanity are very intriguing. These two cultures differ in amultitude of ways yet similarities can be noted in the domain of funerary services. In the realm of Egyptian afterlife, The Book of the Dead canprovide one with vital information concerning ritual entombment practicesand myths of the afterlife. The additional handouts I received fromTimothy Stoker also proved to be useful in trying uncover vital informationregarding the transition into another life.Regarding the burial practicesof Greece and Rome, parts of Homer's Odyssey are useful in the analysis ofproper interment methods. One particular method used by the Egyptians was an intricateprocess known as mummification. It was undoubtedly a very involved processspanning seventy days in some cases. First, all the internal organs wereremoved with one exception, the h eart.Egyptian VIf the body was not already West ofthe Nile it was transported across it, but not before the drying processwas initiated. Natron (a special salt) was extracted from the banks of theNile and was placed under the corpse, on the sides, on top, and bags of thesubstance were placed inside the body cavity to facilitate the process of dehydration. After thirty-five days the ancient embalmers would anoint thebody with oil and wrap it in fine linen. If the deceased was wealthyenough a priest donning a mask of Anubis would preside over the ceremoniesto ensure proper passage into the next realm. One of the practices overseen by the priest was the placing of aspecial funerary amulet over the heart. This was done in behest to secure asuccessful union with Osiris and their kas. The amulet made sure the heartdid not speak out against the individual at the scale of the goddess...

Conjugating the French Verb Déménager (to Move House)

Conjugating the French Verb Dà ©mà ©nager (to Move House) In French, the noun  nouvelle maison  means new house. When moving to that new house, the verb   dà ©mà ©nager  is used. Literally to move, this verb must be conjugated when using it in the past, present, or future tense.   Conjugating the French Verb  Dà ©mà ©nager Dà ©mà ©nager  is a  spelling change verb  and that makes it a bit of a challenge to conjugate. It follows a pattern found in other verbs that end in -ger  such as  bouger  (to move). As you will see, in some conjugations an E is added after the G. This is to retain the soft G sound before an ending that begins with an A or O. Other than that, conjugating  dà ©mà ©nager  is relatively simple. To transform it, pair the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense. For instance, I move is je dà ©mà ©nage and we will move is nous dà ©mà ©nagerons. Subject Present Future Imperfect je dmnage dmnagerai dmnageais tu dmnages dmnageras dmnageais il dmnage dmnagera dmnageait nous dmnageons dmnagerons dmnagions vous dmnagez dmnagerez dmnagiez ils dmnagent dmnageront dmnageaient The Present Participle of  Dà ©mà ©nager The  present participle  of  dà ©mà ©nager  is  dà ©mà ©nageant.  It is not just a verb, but can also act as an adjective, gerund, or noun in some circumstances. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà © Beyond the imperfect, the  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is another common way to express the past tense in French. To form this, begin by conjugating the  auxiliary verb  avoir  to the subject pronoun. Then, add the  past participle  dà ©mà ©nagà ©. For instance, I moved is jai dà ©mà ©nagà © and we moved is nous avons dà ©mà ©nagà ©. More Simple  Dà ©mà ©nager  Conjugations to Know The most important conjugations to study are those above. There are also times when you will need to know a few more simple forms of  dà ©mà ©nager. For instance, if the action of moving is somehow questionable, you might employ either the subjunctive or the conditional verb moods. In rare instances and most often in writing, you may also encounter the passà © simple or the imperfect subjunctive. While not vital to most students French studies, its a good idea to be able to recognize these. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je dmnage dmnagerais dmnageai dmnageasse tu dmnages dmnagerais dmnageas dmnageasses il dmnage dmnagerait dmnagea dmnaget nous dmnagions dmnagerions dmnagemes dmnageassions vous dmnagiez dmnageriez dmnagetes dmnageassiez ils dmnagent dmnageraient dmnagrent dmnageassent In the imperative verb form,  dà ©mà ©nager  can be used in short and often assertive commands or requests. When using it, skip the subject pronoun: use  dà ©mà ©nage rather than tu dà ©mà ©nage. Imperative (tu) dmnage (nous) dmnageons (vous) dmnagez

Constantin Brancusi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Constantin Brancusi - Essay Example On the other hand his sculpture was influenced by the traditional Romanian motifs, so the past was not totally vanished. Born in a small village from Romania, a country not yet so developed in many fields, Brancusi enjoyed a peaceful life, in the middle of nature. In the past and even nowadays the Romanian peasants decorated their houses with traditional signs, motifs, that later appeared in Brancusi's works next to the avant-gardist ones. At the same time each of his sculpture has a theme or several ideas. So, the redefinition of the form begins with the transformation of antic in something modern, of an easy work into something more difficult to understand. Brancusi's originality lays in the inner strength of his sculptures, in the geometrical and simple forms. These came from his country values: simplicity and love for nature. Constantin Brancusi was not so well received by the contemporaries because his sculptures were not facile, and could not be understood by everybody. In Romania, his natal country, his genius was recognized only after 1964 when the authorities started to arrange and to take care of the monumental assembly(containing The endless Column, The silent Muse, The gate of Kiss, etc) from Targu-Jiu. In spite of some unfavorable critics, in 1912 he received his first prize at the Bucharest Drawing-Room, and a year later his works were presented in many exhibition in New York, Paris, Chicago, Bucharest, Munchen, London, so it can be said that his recognition came during his life, but it was not according to his real value. In time this thing changed, the proof is that he is considered nowadays the greatest sculptor of all times and that one of his sculptures from Bird of Space collection was sold in 2005 for $27.5 million, being the highest sold sculpture ever.His country influenced him very mu ch but the abroad studies were also very important. After studying at the Beautiful Arts School from Bucharest he studied in Paris, being for a period an apprentice in Rodin's workshop. He didn't stay here so long, because he was aware of his capacity and that a real sculptor could not develop under the mentorship of another great sculptor: "nothing can grow at the shadow of the big trees(at the shadow of an oak tree cannot grow any other tree)"3. Constantin Brancusi was aware of the fact that he saw life and art differently and did not want to undertake somebody else opinions, forms and experience because he knew that in this way he would not be able to grow, creatively speaking. This doesn't mean that Rodin didn't inspire him, but he knew when to stop and when to put his own print. He believed that a creator should work with his three coordinates: his divine side, his royal side, but , at the same time he should commit himself totally to the work. Constantin Brancusi's forerunners over loaded the sculptures, using obscure forms and mysteries, thinking that in these lay their value. They couldn't use their innovative spirit and they couldn't believe they can create through

Economics Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economics Issue - Essay Example Korea as well as India may take the initiative of lessening tax rates for addressing and mitigating the above stated issues by a considerable extent. Based on the journal, which mainly depicted one of the problems facing by the economies across Asia concerning about diminishing inflation rates, it can be affirmed that then above nations must remain quite vigilant in keep the inflation rates under greater control. This might aid in attracting the investors and also the other stakeholders to take necessary and appropriate measures about solving such a crucial economic issue (Wright, â€Å"Economies across Asia Face Falling Inflation Rates†). With this concern, the essay intends to address the aforesaid economic issue with determining its impact on the economies and identifying the measures to address and mitigate such a crucial economic issue. In relation to Asian countries, Japan took the initiative of lessening consumer expenditures and making substantial investments for mitigating the problem of dipping inflation rates. In recent times, Japan experienced the crucial concern of rising prices in the form of monetary as well as fiscal stimulus. In this particular scenario, the economists anticipate that the inflation will fall below at certain rates in future. Apart from Japan, the inflation rate in Indonesia can also be apparently noticed below 8 % at the end of the year 2013 and the economists expect that inflation rate will be higher in subsequent years. This might be due to the reasons of increased level of globalization, gaining momentum of internationalization and most importantly increased level of customers’ expenditures among others (Wright, â€Å"Economies across Asia Face Falling Inflation Rates†). As per the article presented in Wall Street Journal, it can be ascertained that the respective governments of Asia have mainly relied on the debts for

Reaction Paper Related on Business Communication Essay Example for Free

Reaction Paper Related on Business Communication Essay Further, to fully use new pedagogical possibilities offered by ICT, profound changes in managers conceptions of learning and knowledge are required. Technical expertise alone is not sufficient for exploiting new pedagogical possibilities provided by ICT; insofar as ICT is used in the educational system as a purely technical innovation, it is not likely that significant pedagogical progress will be achieved. Several cognitive researchers (e. g. , Salomon, 1997; Salomon ; Perkins, 1996; Scardamalia ; Bereiter, 1994) have pointed out that many applications of educational technology support only lower-level processing of knowledge. Yet new pedagogical models of using educational technology, and particularly computer-supported collaborative learning environments, promise to provide new opportunities for solving pedagogical problems in the schools. Scardamalia and Bereiter (1994; in press), and others, have proposed that to meet the future challenges, schools be transformed into communities where productive working for advancing communal knowledge is a primary goal of both students and managers. Knowledge building refers to a process of advancing understanding by setting up, articulating, and answering research questions, searching and exploring information, and generating and evaluating explanations. In the present study, the sustained processes of advancing and building of knowledge characteristic of scientific inquiry and knowledge-creating organizations are called progressive inquiry. Several, concurrent, cognitive research projects share a common goal of fostering such research-like processes of inquiry in education.

environment & public policy :: essays research papers

Environmental Policy and the Government The purpose of the United States' public policy law is to implement restrictions in an effort to solve problems, which is shown with the Clean Water Act and employed to reform the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The United States government is noble in its efforts to preserve the environment through these acts, but the internal structure of public policy often retards these acts' effectiveness. This essay will explore ways in which factors such as horizontal implementation and the divided government affects the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Before one can discuss how these policies affect environmental legislation, a brief description of each must first be lucidly explained. When our government was created, a system of checks and balances was implemented to make sure that no one part of government acquires more power than others. Although this limits the power of anyone person in government, it often slows down the ability of government because a consensus can be hard with a g reat number people collaborating. Horizontal implementation pertains to the implementation with the federal government. There are specific concerns that exists which includes: the breakdown of coordination due to the largest structure of the federal government, language difficulties, the lack of control due to the threat of success by one particular agency, different perspectives, and direct change of intention due to factors such as voter pressure. It's astounding that in the heart of all this madness that anything can be accomplished at all, but thanks to the determination to be re-elected, things have work their way down the federal level or else the person in power will be impeached. Now the question is, what exactly is the Endangered Species Act? An animal is endangered if it is in danger of becoming extinct throughout all or most of its natural range in the wild. An animal is threatened if it is very likely to fall into the endangered category in "the foreseeable future". Endangered species have the possibility of generating boundless resources for the human race including medical uses, research purposes, and atmospheric contributions- namely oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. The act also sets aside land to protect endangered species. For example, many acres of old growth forest have been set-aside in an effort to preserve the Northern spotted owl. So far, the act has been successful in helping to re-establish populations of the American alligator, the California condor, the Black-footed ferret, and many species of endangered sea turtles.

Ones Socialization

There are many factors that play a major role in our socialization; from military to media. Determining and regulating how much influence they have un us is something we have little control over. My group and I had the opportunity to further expand our knowledge on three patterns; Time Orientation pattern, Social Relations Orientation pattern and Bond†s Moral Discipline. Through this essay I intend to explain how the Social Relations and Time Orientation pattern among other related factors have greatly influenced who I am. The Social Relations Orientation describes how the people in a culture organize themselves and relate to each other. The book asks â€Å"to what extent are some people in the culture considered better or superior to others?† (Lustig& Koester 90). Easy to say that Mexican American†¦ celebrate status differences†( Lustig & Koester 91) based mostly one economic status. It is so unfortunate that a society could stereotype a group of people without considering an important factor such as opportunity. In Mexico most people fall under two categories: â€Å"fresas† & â€Å"nacos†. â€Å"Fresas† can be translated into preppie, and the closest translation I could find for naco would be all those who lack education and class. Growing up I attended mostly private schools, which were made up of all sorts of people, but mostly â€Å"fresas† because they were the ones who could afford it. I remember having a friend called Leyra, she had to be the most stuck up person I had ever met. She was the kind of girl who would always judge the book by its cover, she was the kind of girl who as soon as you walked in the room would check the tags of your clothes to see if they were designer made. Fortunately I had the opportunity to be with her all through highschool, and realize that that was one person I did not want to be like. I learned many things from Leyra, the most important being never to judge a book by its cover rather its content. Education has next to my family been the most important factor in socialization, which was enforced by my family. My family and I strongly believe that as long as you live under their roof they have a say so in what you do or don†t do. My family up until a few years back was responsible for the direction my life was headed. When I lived with my aunt I felt deprived of my freedom, she chose what school I went to and classes I took I am not saying that they were not beneficial, but they were not classes that I chose. I enjoy relating to people as my equals, and address them based on the occasion not their economic status. I see myself as a member of many groups not just one. I have always had a problem belonging to just one group, I believe in having the best of all worlds. I also believe in being nurtured from the past, living in the present and looking forward to the future. Learning to let go is vital to move on, and this is something my culture is bad at. It seems as though there is not enough time in ones day carry out all activities and enjoy life at the same time. One should value time in the past, present and future. In Mexican American cultures â€Å"The day of the dead† which is considered a national holiday is one of the biggest celebrations of the year. We take this time to remember all of the loved ones who cannot be with us. It lets us think about the things we do have in order to not take them for granted. There is such a thing called â€Å"Mexican time†. Mexican time refers to arriving an hour later to what ever event you are going. We usually think well they say to be there at 7:00, but by the time everything is ready it will be 8:00, so if I arrive at 8:00 I†ll e right on time, and I wont loose any time waiting. This has cause me problems. I am always late thinking it is ok. I have been late to important meetings at work, to important classes and to everything else I do. It is embarrassing and something very hard to change. There are always certain things in a culture such as being late that one could do without. I was taught by my family that in life we do not always get our way or do what we want. I was also taught that education will provide one with the most powerful tool in life: Knowledge.

John Gotti: The Teflon Don Essay

â€Å"There was nothing that my father loved more than being a gangster. Not money, not even us. He felt that anybody that really lived this life like he did, at the end of the day you have to die or go to jail.† – John Gotti Jr. Who is John Gotti? Depending upon who you ask this question to, your answer could vary. Growing up in my neighborhood in Far Rockaway, Queens John Gotti is a legend and someone people look up to. At the same time you can ask other people about John Gotti and they will tell you that he was a ruthless thug and a menace to society. Either way you look at it John Gotti made his mark here in America and he was known all across the country for being the boss of the largest and most powerful of the five families in New York, the Gambino crime family. I will not talk about my opinions on John Gotti in this paper but I will give you his life story from his birth in the Bronx to his death in prison and let you be the judge. John Joseph Gotti was born on October 27, 1940 in the Bronx, New York. John was the fifth child of Philomena (Fannie) and Joseph Gotti, who were Italian Immigrants. Joseph and Fannie Gotti also had twelve other children; four of which who would also become made men, or members of the Mafia. John’s younger brother Gene Gotti was actually initiated before John was due to John’s incarceration at that time. During John’s time as boss of the Gambino crime family he had his brother Peter Gotti initiated despite John’s belief (and that of many others) that Peter did not have what it takes to be La Cosa Nostra. Peter earned himself the nickname â€Å"the dumbest don† after the incarceration of John Gotti, Gene Gotti, and John Gotti Jr. when he assumed the position of Boss of the Gambino crime family. The other two brothers were Richard Gotti, who would be revealed as capo in 2002, and Vincent Gotti. John Gotti spent his early years growing up in poverty. John Gotti’s father Joseph Gotti was a day laborer who never had regular work or a steady source of income. On top of Joseph Gotti’s problems with findin g decent work so he would be able to provide for his family, he also had a gambling problem. This was a huge problem because he was the only earning member of the large family. John Gotti came to resent his father for not being able to provide the family. By the time Gotti reached the age of twelve, he was already an errand boy working for an underground club. This club was headed by Carmine Fatico, a capo in the Gambino crime family. Fatico was an early mentor Gotti until John was introduced to Aniello Dellacroce, who became his mentor for life. Gotti had his first run in with the law in 1954 when he was caught with friends attempting to steal a portable cement mixer that tipped over and crushed the toes of his feet. He had to be hospitalized for a while and as a result he is supposedly missing a toe or two. By 1956, Gotti had dropped out of Franklin K. Lane High School and was named the leader of the Fulton-Rockaway Boys. This gang is where he meets and befriends Angelo Ruggiero and Wilfred Johnson, who also become Made Men in the Gambino crime family. When Gotti moved with his family to Ozone Park in Queens, New York, Gotti became a key member of the Gambino hijacking crew. Along with his brother Gene and Ruggiero, Gotti began hija cking trucks at what would come to be known as John F Kennedy International Airport. This is where he was introduced to and befriended future Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino. It was here that they were given the nicknames of â€Å"Black John† and â€Å"Crazy Horse†. In 1968, Gotti was arrested for the hijackings. While out on bail, Gotti was arrested again for a hijacking on the New Jersey Turnpike. Gotti pleaded guilty to the Northwest Airlines hijackings but the charges were dropped on the New Jersey Turnpike cigarette hijackings. Gotti served three years in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary for the hijackings. After his release in 1972, Gotti returned to the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club to work with Carmine Fatico until later that year when Fatico was indicted on loansharking charges. Despite Gotti not yet being a Made Man, Fatico named him the acting capo of the Bergin crew. It was at this time that Gotti and Dellacroce grew closer because Gotti would frequently come to the Ravenite Social Club to brief Dellacroce on his crew’s activities. In May of 1973, Emanuel Gambino, nephew of Carlo Gambino who was the current head of the family, was kidnapped and murdered despite the payment of a $100,000 ransom. Gotti was tasked to take out the man responsible along with Ruggiero and Ralph Galione. The primary suspect was an Irish gangster by the name of James McBrantley. Gotti and his boys found McBrantly in a bar in Staten Island. While Gotti and Ruggiero go over and try to take him somewhere, Galione comes over and shoots McBrantley in the middle of the club for everyone to see. Gotti would be arrested for this murder one year later after being fingered by many eyewitnesses, one of which was his friend Wilfred â€Å"Willie Boy† Johnson. Gotti was able to strike a plea bargain so he would only serve four years in prison for attempted manslaughter. After the Death of Carlo Gambino in 1976, Paul â€Å"Big Paul† Castellano became the boss of the Gambino crime family. Upon his release in 1977, John Gotti was immediat ely initiated into the Gambino crime family. Gotti was immediately promoted to capo of the Bergin crew, replacing Carmine Fatico. Castellano kept Dellacroce as his underboss and gave him control over 10 of the 23 crews, including Gotti’s Bergin crew. Gotti’s Bergin crew was the largest earners of all of Dellacroce’s crews. Gotti also ran a loansharking business on the side on top of taking his cut from all the money that his subordinates made. Gotti had many people working for him and he made them all make regular appearances at the Bergin and would get irritated if someone didn’t check in within 48 hours, he kept this routine when he moved to the Ravenite Social Club. In 1980, Gotti’s son Frank Gotti was killed in a traffic accident by their neighbor, John Favara. Favara was abducted and never to be heard from again, many believe him to be dead. Despite the belief of some people that Gotti killed Favara himself, the Gotti’s were on vacation in Florida at the time of his abduction. John Gotti Jr., future head of the Gambino crime family, still believes that his father m ost definitely had something to do with his disappearance though. In his remaining years as capo of the Bergin crew, Gotti was indicted on two separate occasions. He would not go to trial for either of these cases until he was crowned boss of the Gambino crime family. One of these cases came in September of 1984; Gotti was arrested for the assault and robbery of a refrigerator repairman named Romual Piecyk. Piecyk found his car blocked by a double parked vehicle outside of the Cozy Corner Bar in Queens. Piecyk laid on his car horn until Frank Colletta, the owner of the double parked car and Gambino family associate, came out, smacked him across the face and took his weekly paycheck out of his shirt pocket. When Piecyk began to fight back, Gotti came running out and smacked him across the face and reached into his waistband and told him â€Å"you better get the f*** out of here!† Piecyk went and got the police and they returned to the bar and arrested Gotti and Colletta. The second indictment came in 1985 when Gotti along with Dellacroce and other Bergin crew members were the targets of a racketeering case, headed by US Attorney Diane Gi acalone. It was the latter case that revealed Gotti’s close friend, Willie Boy Johnson, to be an FBI informant. When Gotti found out all he had to say to Johnson was â€Å"I’m gonna give you a pass, and I give you my word no one will bother you, Gotti told Willie Boy. After we win this case, you won’t be able to be in the life again. But you’ll get a job, you’ll have your family, and you’ll be all right.† As the boss of the family, Paul Castellano had banned Made Men from the Gambino family in dealing with drugs under the threat of death. In 1983, Angelo Ruggiero and Gene Gotti along with a few others were all indicted on heroin charges. The indictment came about through bugs placed in the home of Angelo Ruggiero, using evidence given to the FBI by Willie Boy Johnson. Along with the talks of heroin deals on these tapes there were also some remarks made about Castellano from Ruggiero on there. Castellano’s pursuit to hear what was on these tapes would be the beginning of the end for him. Although John Gotti was not on any of the tapes and they co uld make no connection to him, Castellano was still looking to hold Gotti accountable. In fear for his life, Ruggiero went to Dellacroce to see if he could plead his case to Castellano that they were only sorting out the affairs of his brother Salvatore Ruggiero, a big time heroin dealer who had no ties to the family. The story was enough to hold Castellano off until he received the tapes. In the spring of 1985 Castellano began pressing for the tapes again but backed off when he found out that his underboss, Dellacroce, was dying of cancer. He figured that if he waited for Dellacroce to die, there would be nobody he had to worry about stopping him from getting the tapes. Castellano was able to hear the tapes that summer and began formulating a plan of action but would hold off on putting that plan in motion until Dellacroce died. Gotti knew Castellano, who was never a fan of Gotti and wanted him out of the family, would have him killed so he began a plot of his own along with Frank DeCicco, Sammy Gravano, Joseph Armone, and Robert DiBernardo. When Dellacroce died on December 2, 1985, it was time for one of the sides to make their move. Castellano did not show up at the services for his former underboss and that infuriated Gotti and other members of the family and also members of the other four fam ilies. For Gotti to have the head of his family killed, he would first have to go to the heads of the other families in New York for permission. Gotti got the necessary votes from the Bonanno, Colombo, and Luchesse families for the hit. â€Å"The Fist†, which is what the five men went by, had the perfect set up. They figured that a little over a week before Christmas, around rush hour, between 5pm and 6pm that the streets would be flooded with probably over a thousand people doing there holiday errands. They figured the hit would only last a few seconds and the confusion from the panic after the gunshots went off would make for the perfect escape. The four designated shooters were Vincent Artuso, John Carneglia, Eddie Lino and Salvatore Scala. The designated back-up shooter, Anthony Tony Roach Rampino, would be standing across the street from Sparks Steak House, while Angelo Ruggiero, Joseph Watts and Iggy Alogna would be stationed at 46th Street and Second Avenue to help with the escape. Frank DeCicco would be inside the restaurant where a meeting was to take place. He would be joined there by capos James Failla and Daniel Marino, who were not part of the plot. On December 16 Big Paul had arranged to meet Dellacroce’s son Buddy Dellacroce at Sparks Steak House on East 46th Street. Frank DeCicco set it up. Castellano was going to pay homage, to explain why he had not come to the wake and offered condolences, to make amends. It wouldn’t be until the afternoon of the planned murders that the actual hit team knew who their targets were. Huddled in a park on Manhattans Lower East Side, the group went over the final details of the murder plot. The four shooters were dressed alike long light colored trench coats and black fur Russian style hats. The reasoning for this was to draw attention to the outfits, not the men wearing them. Gotti and Gravano parked a Lincoln, driven by John himself, up the block in sight of the front of Sparks Steak House. Moments later Thomas Bilotti, Big Paul’s new underboss, pulled up next to Gottiâ€℠¢s car at an intersection and waited for the light to change. Using a walkie-talkie Gravano notified the others that Castellano was approaching. Bilotti steered the Lincoln into an open space in front of Sparks and got out. As Castellano stepped out of the vehicle, the hit men moved in. Big Paul was hit six times in the head and killed instantly. When the shooting began, the unarmed Bilotti ducked and looked through the driver’s side window only to see his boss’s execution, unaware that killers were now aiming at him. As the shooters assigned to Bilotti opened fire, Artuso’s gun jammed. However, the gunfire from the second assassin dropped the newly crowned underboss. Carneglia, who had finished blasting away at Castellano, ran over to the other side of the car and put the finishing touches on Bilotti. After the very public killing of Castellano and underboss Bilotti, Gotti found himself in the media spotlight a lot and was widely suspected to be responsible for the murders. Gotti became known as the â€Å"Dapper Don† for his expensive suits, hand painted ties, and meticulously groomed silver hair. At the time of Gotti’s takeover, the Gambino family was regarded as the most powerful American mafia family, which is why during this time he was regarded as a boss of bosses. The Gambino crime family’s estimated annual income was around five hundred million dollars. According to Sammy â€Å"The Bull† Gravano, Gotti was bringing in about ten to twelve million dollars per year. In an attempt to protect himself and his underlings legally, he banned any Made Man from taking a plea agreement that acknowledges the existence of the family. Gotti’s fame came to affect the outcome of his previous indictments from 1984 and 1985. By the mid to late 1980s, John Gotti had gone from the â€Å"Dapper Don† to the â€Å"Teflon Don† because of the failure to make any charges stick to him. When Gotti went to trial for the 1984 assault and robbery of Romual Piecyk, Gotti benefited from his new fame. Piecyk received many phone calls and the breaks to his work van were cut. Fearing for the worst, Piecyk went into hiding, hoping he would not have to testify. When Piecyk was forced to testify he said he could not remember who his attackers were . Because of his random loss of memory, the New York Daily News came out with a headline that read â€Å"I Forgotti!† On April 7, 1986 the jury selection for Gotti’s RICO case began. With the success Gotti had in intimidating Piecyk in his prior case, he decided to use the same tactics to beat this case. Dennis Quirk was the first witness to be approached by Gotti’s men and was murdered right before he had to testify against Gotti’s co-defendant, Charles Carnaglia. The events to happen in the next few days would lead Judge Nickerson to postpone the trial. On the morning of April 9, a bomb threat was called into the courthouse, clearing it immediately. On April 13, 1986, underboss Frank DeCicco was killed when his car was bombed following a visit to James Failla. The bombing was carried out by Lucchese capos Victor Amuso and Anthony Casso, under orders of bosses Anthony Corallo and Vincent Gigante, to avenge Castellano and Bilotti. Gotti also planned to visit Failla that day, but canceled, and the bomb was detonated after a soldier who rode with DeCicco was mistaken for the boss. While Gotti’s trial had been postponed, he remained in jail beca use his bail had been revoked for evidence of intimidation in the Piecyk case. Pretrial motions were handled on August 18, 1986. Judge Nickerson had ruled that there would be an anonymous jury to protect jurors from intimidation and the jury would not be sequestered, or isolated. Cutler claimed that such a jury creates fear that is misplaced and deprives the defendants of a fair trial. Bruce Cutler, John Gotti’s lawyer, went at the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses like Edward Maloney and Mathew Traynor, calling them low lives and scum. This would come to be known as â€Å"Brucifying†, it was a tag that Cutler would gladly wear. Along with stripping the credibility of some of the prosecutor’s witnesses, Gravano was reached out to in order to offer his vote of not guilty to ensure a hung jury. This man’s name was George Pape; he offered his vote for sixty thousand dollars. On March 13, 1987, they acquitted Gotti and his codefendants of all charges. In February 1986, the Bankers and Brokers Restaurant in Battery Park City was under construction. The restaurant was under the management of Philip Modica, whom police described as a Gambino crime-family soldier. Modica was not using union carpenters in the construction, which upset John F. O’Connor, The business agent and chief operating officer of Manhattan-based Local 608 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners. O’Connor responded by having the restaurant trashed one February night, causing some thirty thousand dollars’ worth of damage. When Modica took his complaint to Gotti, he ordered that O’Connor be busted up and the assignment was given to members of the Westies, a gang of Irish thugs from the Hell’s Kitchen section of Manhattan. At 6:40 in the morning on May 7, O’Connor was waiting to enter an elevator in the lobby of a midtown Manhattan building that housed his union offices. Westies gang member Kevin Kelly at O’Connor shot four times, wounding him in the butt, left leg and hip. The union official was rushed to St. Clare’s Hospital, where he soon recovered. On the evening of January 23, 1989, John Gotti was arrested outside the Ravenite Social Club and charged with ordering the 1986 assault of union official John O’Connor. There were bugs planted in the Ravenite Social Club and in an apartment above the club in which Gotti had frequent meetings where he spoke freely about Gambino family business. They used these tapes in trial when they heard what they thought to be Gotti telling someone to â€Å"Bust him up!† in reference to O’Connor. Although they had these tapes for a while, nobody warned John O’Connor about what might happen to him. Gotti’s defense attorney’s, Cutler and Shargel used this in trial stating that If the tapes weren’t clear enough to warn O’Connor, then they are not clear enough to convict Gotti. Along with the bad sound quality of the tapes and some Brucifying, Gotti was eventually acquitted on all counts due in part to the testimony of O’Connor himself. O’Connor testified that he was never told his life was in danger or that anyone was going to â€Å"bust him up†. The defense was attempting to prove that since the investigators had not warned O’Connor, they had no evidence that named him as the target of Gotti’s â€Å"bust him up† comment. O’Connor also testified that there were internal conflicts within the union at the time he was wounded and that he had many enemies. On December 11, 1990, FBI Agents arrested John Gotti, Sammy Gravano, and Frank Locasio. This was the fourth indictment for Gotti since he came to power after ordering the killings of Paul Castellano and his underboss Thomas Bilotti. However, this was the first time that Gotti would be indicted for the latter murders. He would also be indicted for the murders of Robert DiBernardo, Liborio Milito and Louis Dibono. Along with those murders, Gotti would also be charged with the conspiracy to murder Gaetano â€Å"Corky† Vastola, loansharking, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, bribery and tax evasion. Gotti and his co-defendants were once again denied bail. Along with Gotti being denied bail, Bruce Cutler and Gerald Shargel, were disqualified from being able to represent any of the defendants in this trial due to some recordings that proved them to be working as â€Å"in house counsel† for the Gambino crime family. The tapes also created tensions between Gotti and Gravano. The tapes showed Gotti describing Gravano as too greedy and attempted to frame Sam my as the main force behind the murders of DiBernardo, Milito and Dibono. Gravano decided to turn state’s evidence in 1991 and testify against Gotti. The case was tried in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The presiding judge was US District Judge Israel Leo Glasser. For the first time ever the jury was kept anonymous and totally sequestered in a Brooklyn Federal case. The prosecutors, Andrew Maloney and John Gleeson, opening statements were given on February 12, 1992. They played tapes from bugs planted in the Ravenite Social Club and the apartment above the club that had Gotti discussing Gambino family business, killings that he ordered, and showed the animosity he had towards Big Paul which also gave him a motive for the killing of the former head of the family. On March 2, 1992, Sammy â€Å"The Bull† Gravano began his testimony. Gravano told the court about Gotti’s ranking as the head of the family. He also told the court about Gotti’s role in the Castellano and Bilotti hit and gave them every detail of the hit. Gotti’s defense provided no real help. All of Albert Krieger’s, Gotti’s new defense attorney, witnesses’ testimonies were d ismissed except for one and that was the testimony of Gotti’s tax attorney. The prosecution rested its case on March 24 and John Gotti was convicted on all accounts on April 2. John Gotti was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on June 23, 1992. James Fox, the director of the New York City FBI, announced at a press conference, â€Å"The Teflon is gone. The don is covered with Velcro, and all the charges stuck.† Gotti was sent to serve his sentence at the US Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. Gotti eventually died of throat cancer in June of 2002. John Gotti would not be able to have his funeral in the church due to the request of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. After the funeral, hundreds of people followed the hearse which drove through Gotti’s old neighborhood and past the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club.

The Era of Plastic Surgery

The Era of Plastic Surgery The Era of Plastic Surgery"As definitions of beauty become ever more exacting, and as the shape-shifting technology required to maintain that aesthetic carries on developing, a homogenization of faces is taking place"( Briscoe,2010). Today's society could be classified as the era of plastic surgery since it has dominated all individuals, limitless of their age, condition or gender. We live in a place where physical appearance plays a vital role; therefore, we tend to delay physical aging as much as we can and plastic surgery is the key to that. Celebrities are role models that have invaded our time and social media. They are society's stars that ordinary people look up to; so they have an impact on others, specifically regarding beauty and cosmetic surgery. Nowadays, celebrities, who are either satisfied or dissatisfied with their look, tend to undergo cosmetic surgery in order to maintain their stardom look. Thus, it is no more surprising to see that "the number of breast augmentati ons, nose jobs and face lifts is up 10 per cent over last year" (Moen,2012).Indian Journal of Plastic SurgeryPsychologists and researchers have been discussing the pros and cons of plastic surgeries; some argue that celebrities shouldn't undergo cosmetic surgery for the sake of their career while others support the opposite.People are somehow depending on plastic surgeries as a way to obtain a better career and life. However, these surgeries don't offer a better economical transformations or self-identity enhancement (Branaman, 2010). So, people may refuse cosmetic surgery under the claim that it transforms the natural into unnatural and deprives it from its value (Moen, 2012). It is unnatural to try to possess eternal youth. One should accept that aging is a natural cycle of one's life. According to Moen, undergoing plastic surgery is an unfair action and a form of cheating. It's...

Gods and Goddesses of Norse Mythology

Gods and Goddesses of Norse Mythology When Ymir lived long agoWas no sand or sea, no surging waves.Nowhere was there earth nor heaven above.Bur a grinning gap and grass nowhere.- Và ¶lusp-The Song of the Sybil Although we know a little from observations made by Tacitus and Caesar, most of what we know of Norse mythology comes from Christian times, beginning with the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson (c.1179-1241). Not only does this mean the myths and legends were written after the period when they were routinely believed, but Snorri, as is to be expected, occasionally intrudes his non-pagan, Christian worldview. Types of Gods The Norse gods are divided into 2 major groups, the Aesir and Vanir, plus the giants, who came first. Some believe the Vanir gods represent an older pantheon of the indigenous people whom the invading Indo-Europeans encountered. In the end, the Aesir, the newcomers, overcame and assimilated the Vanir. Georges Dumezil (1898-1986) thought the pantheon reflected the typical pattern of Indo-European gods where different divine factions hold different societal functions: military,religious, andeconomic. Tyr is the warrior god; Odin and Thor divide the functions of the religious and secular leaders and the Vanir are the producers. Norse Gods and Goddesses - VanirNjà ¶rdFreyrFreyjaNannaSkadeSvipdag or HermoNorse Gods and Goddesses - AesirOdinFriggThorTyrLokiHeimdallUllSifBragiIdunBalderVeViliVidarHà ¶dMirmirForsetiAegirRanHel The Gods Home Norse gods dont live on Mt. Olympus, but their abode is separate from that of humans. The world is a circular disk, in the center of which is a concentric circle surrounded by sea. This central portion is Midgard (Mià °garà °r), the home of mankind. Across the sea is the home of the giants, Jotunheim, also known as Utgard. The gods home lies above Midgard in Asgard (sgarà °r). Hel lies below Midgard in Niflheim. Snorri Sturluson says Asgard is in the middle of Midgard because, in his Christianization of the myths, he believed the gods were only ancient kings worshiped after the fact as gods. Other accounts place Asgard across a rainbow bridge from Midgard. 9 Worlds of Norse Mythology The Gods Death The Norse gods are not immortal in the normal sense. In the end, they and the world will be destroyed because of the actions of the evil or mischievous god Loki who, for now, endures Promethean  chains. Loki is the son or brother of Odin, but only through adoption. In reality, he is a giant (Jotnar), one of the sworn enemies of the Aesir. It is the Jotnar who will find the gods at Ragnarok and bring about the end of the world. Norse Mythology Resources Individual Norse Gods and Goddesses Next page  Ã‚  Creation of the World   Page 1,  2

Response paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Response paper - Assignment Example However, the main cause of the decline of the empire can be attributed to what experts call Hypertrophy. The empire was busy crushing potential rivals. In the end, the empire had no money to finance wars or pay armies. Eventually, the empire could not protect itself from external attacks. Couple this with the fact that the cities produced nothing; all production was left for rural people. In fact the government was providing financial incentives and entertainment for urban dwellers to quell instances of revolts. Therefore, the urbanites ate free bread from government and spent all their time watching games and plays; without paying taxes. After the collapse of the Roman Empire under barbaric tribes from Germany, the church became heavily dependent on the barbarians. As Europe was under the barbaric rule, King Charles or Charlemagne became the executive rule of the new empire. Under his leadership and of Pope Gregory, many barbarians were converted to Christianity. Ironically, the church became more barbaric and as the culture deteriorated, so were the morals of the clergy. Bishops had slaves and concubines and practiced perverted sexual fantasies. They also wore swords and mils, which they used to dispose the poor of their wives and possessions. They were licentious and drunkards who preached the exact opposite of their actions. During Gregory‘s papal reign, violence, torture and corruption was the order of the day. The only reprieve for people were the saints who selflessly came to their aid. The saints had supernatural powers and could heal the sick. Many people therefore ran to them. Saints were subsequently persecuted with the exception of few powerful saints like Saint Martin who were feared by the emperor. While there was extreme corruption both physically and spiritually, the dark ages also marked a time of prosperity especially in northern Europe. Better means of farming had been