John Gotti Essay -- Essays Papers

John Gotti If ever there was an incubator for crime it was the Italian Harlem tenements of the South Bronx. In one of those crowded dirty apartments, a young John Gotti seeked an impoverished existence with his parents and eleven sisters and brothers. His father rarely worked and then, only at menial jobs, risking the money that the family did have on gambling. Eventually the family moved to central Brooklyn, which was known as East New York. In East New York, for a poor boy like John Gotti with nothing in the way of prospects, the Cosa Nostra represented something to which he could realistic aspire to gain the power and respect he craved. He started as many young boys did, running errands for the gangsters, molding himself into a young bully with a future. His first major incident with the police occurred when he tried to steal a cement mixer and it fell on his feet, an injury that affected his gait for the rest of his life. He quit school at sixteen and rose to leadership in a local street gang of thieves called the Fulton-Rockaway Boys, named after two streets in their neighborhood. At an early age he exerted his bad temper, dominance and readiness to engage in fistfights. These were just the right characteristics to develop his potential as a Mafia boss. In the mid-1960's, Gotti's boss Carmine Fatico moved his headquarters out to Ozone Park near JFK Airport. Gotti, his brothers, Angelo and Willie Boy became relatively successful hijackers. That is, until they got caught in 1968 and landed in prison. In 1972, when Gotti got out of prison and went back to Ozone Park, the headquarters had been imaginatively renamed the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club. Two important things happened in his life to significantly lift his status in the Cosa Nostra. The first was that his boss Carmine Fatico faced a loansharking indictment, so Gotti became Fatico's man on the street to keep him informed about what was happening at a grass-roots level. The second was that Gotti met Neil Dellacroce, an important under boss to Carl Gambino. Neil accomplished Carlo's violent dirty work from a headquarters in Little Italy's Mulberry Street called the Ravenite Social Club. Neil, who was disappointed that his only son Armond became a drug addict, saw in Gotti a young protà ©gà © who was a younger version of his own violent, macho self. Lik... ...h as traffickers and as users. As a result, they have become more greedy, selfish, more violent. Many have chosen to forsake omerta, the traditional vow of silence and turn in other family members to save their own skins." Mr.Lombardo himself stated that there were no men of honor anymore. He states: "It has changed since I first joined in the 1940's, especially in the last few years with the growth of narcotics. Greed is causing younger members to go into narcotics without the knowledge of the families. These younger members lack the discipline and respect that made "This Thing" as strong as it once was." Bibliography: 1. Ianni, Francis. Black Mafia. New York : Simon and Schuster, 1972 2. Kelley, Robert J. â€Å"Organized Crime : Past , Present, and Future.† USA Today July 1994 3. Mueller, Tom. â€Å"Cosa Nostra† The New Republic 15 April. 1996: 17-18 4. Reuter, Peter. â€Å"The Decline of the American Mafia† Public Interest Summer 1995 5. http://www.naxs.com/people/mmachi/mafia/ 6. http://www.naxs.com/people/mmachi/mafia/ 7. http://www.pressanykey.com/mafia/history.html 8. http://members.aol.com/whizkid01/hist.html 9. www.ganglandnews.com

America and the world in the years to come

Alternate fuels refer to energy sources, which are not based on the burning of fossil fuels or nuclear fusion. Sustainable energy strategies are essential at this point if there has to be a security in energy supply for America and the world in the years to come. This is compounded by the fact that every effort is being made to reduce the greenhouse effect. Fossil fuels are becoming and will continue to be less favourable as advance in the 21st century (Wells 2005) Growing technology in alternate fuels includes alternate fuel vehicles, fuel cells.Much of the efforts in â€Å"clean energy† have focused on hydrogen applications in the transportation sector. Stationary power and electricity has attracted little focus, or even a combination of the two (Lipman and Brooks 2006) United States is ready for the use of alternate fuels as energy sources. The call for America now is working towards an energy security ensuring a sustainable future in energy needs. The needs for energy and power in the time come forecasted to keep growing (Holilian and Mayes 2003)America and all developed and developing nations need now more than ever before to ensure and secure their freedom from overseas oil dependence. Measures to get there should take an all-out, no bounds approach as the faster we get there the better for the country. Millions of US dollars will be saved by reducing petroleum imports to the country. The economy will also be strengthened (Jim Wells 2005). Countries like Brazil are already able to fuel nearly seventy percent (70%) of their vehicles in the country with ethanol, replacing oil as the primary fuel.That means that it is indeed possible to achieve freedom from foreign oil dependence. Nations all over the world are running for the same energy resources. With tensions in Iraq, Iran and Venezuela growing, accelerated by the equally growing demand for fossil oils, the strain cannot be trusted. Oil prices have been too unstable, hitting records highs per barr el in the recent past. Due to this factor, America can not help but be ready for alternate fuel sources or else it might have a hard time fuelling its economy in the near future.America is also ready for alternate fuel because the technology for utilization of alternate sources already exists. Whether it is fuel cells, or ethanol production plants or solar panels in different specifications, or wind mills of various sizes or even cars meeting specifications for use of alternate fuels, all these and various other technologies beg to be exploited maximally in order to achieve energy efficiently general motors alone has built more than 1. 5 million ethanol compliant vehicles (Giney Lee, Holilian and Mayes 2003)America is ready because, use of alternate sources means a better economy and employment opportunities for the American people. Exploiting use of alternate energy sources means the products produced locally gain added value. Businesses in the energy sector get to do more business . Expatriates in renewable energy get to do more. Research and development efforts by the department of energy get more engaged and provide more energy solutions. The rural America gets cheaper energy sources. In essence it is a plus for the economy. Finally, America is ready because, the world trend is moving towards a cleaner, greener environment.Insisting on use of fossil fuels provide no opportunities for the reduction of the green-house effort (Gordon 2001 . Use of alternate fuel sources means a cleaner environment, reduced carbon emissions and less toxic waste in our environment. A look at the various optious available for the US economy is inorder. Petrol, diesel and natural gas engines can be replaced by hydrogen-fuel cells. Hydrogen energy stations or power parks are becoming a consistent development within the United States. These energy stations would use fuel cells for electricity. Production by a stream of pure hydrogen (Lipman and Brooks 2006)Normally hydrogen is simpl y delivered or produced at a station using a fuel â€Å"reformer†, then compressed and supplied. Energy stations have the advantage that they can combine integrated systems for electricity production such that there is some for use within the precincts or supplies to the local grid, it can use any â€Å"waste-heat† for warming or cooling the building and use the purified hydrogen to fuel cars. There is potential for the growth of hydrogen as an alternative source. Various states are developing and others already finished their plans for the hydrogen revolution.State plans have completed in California, Ohio, New York, Florida, Massachusetts and Connectient are in their planning stages. Incorporating hydrogen stations into these plans would help to get there faster. Opportunities exist too for fleet based agreements with the state authorities such that hydrogen stations become feasible projects. There is potential in both private and public investment in hydrogen energy. Ethanol can be blended directly in petrol. Blends of up to 20% can be done without engine modifications. Dependant on the ethanol quality, ethanol blended diesels fuels need the use of emulsifiers and stabilizers.Ethanol is easily guaranteed from corn or even other grains like sorghum or other biomass like corn cobs, cornstalks, wheat, straw, rice straw, switch grass, vegetable and forestry waste. It is very ideal as a gasoline mixture for its ability to increase the near-complete combustion of gasoline, which means it is environmentally friendly. It can be produced in large quantities and of course its capital outlay is quite reasonable, it ends up benefiting the corn and other grain farmers by giving them right value for their product.Especially in rural America, ethanol is fast becoming highly demanded fuel. With a higher demand, has come also a high production. More plants are coming up and existing ones expanding capacity. Some farmers have together to put up ethanol productio n plants too. Ethanol has attracted investment from quarters like Bill Gates of Microsoft, Sir Richard Branson of the virgin Atlantic group, Vinold Khosla of the Silicon Valley wal-mart stores and also Shell and Exxon Mobil. This is bound to have a positive impact on the ethanol industry in the US.Wind energy is another available alternate energy source. It is clean and hence very attractive as an environmental friendly source of energy. The department of energy has increasingly invested in wind-generated power. In 2005, America improved its wind capacity more any other single nation in the world, bringing its overall national wind energy capacity to 9,149 megawatts. In the year that followed 2,454 megawatts of power were added totaling to a capacity of 11,603 megawatts. With initiatives like â€Å"wind powering America† the use of wind as an alternate wind source is bound to keep growing.Solar energy is another alternative and renewable source of energy. Also clean and it ca n be defined as heat or electricity from the sun when it hits a solar cell, when it hits an absorber surface and gives heat energy, when it hits a solar sail in a space craft, causing motion, when it hits a light causing it to rotate or when carried through fibre optic cables to give lighting in a building. Wave and fidal power are also used at the ocean frouts. Waves yield more energy than tides.America is yet to seriously experiment with this kind of energy source. Another biofuel that is available is the use of biogas that uses biomass from cows. It is still relatively used in small areas in America unlike countries like Sweden and Finland which 17% and 19% of their demand with biofuels. Looking at the various alternatives available to us, it appears like hydrogen would be the best for the reasons that it offers a unique combination of electricity generation, thermal energy and hydrogen production within an energy station (Lipman and Brooks).This co-generation ability means a muc h higher efficiently in energy conversion. Eventually that means lowered fuel costs, improved economics and increased energy security. The energy stations, due ability in different designs have various functional and economic trade-offs. How and medium temperature fuel cell design come in three varieties. The proton exchange membrane alkaline (PEM), and the phosphonic acid one. Current estimates for all three ranges from two thousand five hundred ($2, 5000) dollars to four thousand dollars ($4,000) per kilowatt of energy.The high temperature fuel cell design comes in two varieties namely molten carbon and solid oxide. Current estimates for the same are three thousand dollars ($3,000) to four thousand dollars ($4,000) per kilowatts. The hydrogen engine generation set which features a generator estimates currently at about three thousand dollars ($3,000) per kilowatt. Future estimates for the low and medium temperature fuel cell design oscillate between two thousand and fifty dollars to one thousand five hundred dollars ($250-$ 1, 5000) per kilowatt of energy.The high temperature fuel cell design future estimates for molten carbon and solid oxide averages two hundred and fifty dollars to one thousand dollars ($250-1, 000) per kilowatt. The hydrogen engine generator set’s estimate for the future is five hundred dollars ($500) per kilowatt (Lipman and Brooks 2006). The costs refer to the initial capital costs to enable an energy station to start operations. The costs associated will of course vary in solve areas depending on availability of facilities and the operating and maintenance costs.Economically the stations end up as more attractive options than sets that are dedicated entirely as hydrogen refueling systems. The transportation department seems to have a critical role in all this. It is by default, that the transport sector consumes the bulk of the fuel. Transport has a critical role to play in fictionalizing all sectors. Due to this factor, it is p ossible to use the transport department in organizations, government agencies and commercial fleets as change agents in introducing the new fuels.The use of hydrogen cells for example, require a considerably big fleet to make it commercially viable (Lipman and Brooks 2006) State projects could enter into memorandum of understanding with shuttle fleets and pools of cars owned jointly to have, them as stakeholders in implementation of energy blue prints. Beginning from here, the change can then spread to other people within the society. It is imperative for the federal government and individual state government to focus on the introduction of sustainace and development use of alternate energy source if America has to remain able to supply its energy needs in the long run.Hydrogen and ethanol are all attractive options for the America economy and further research and development efforts need to be initiated. Funding is also necessary as well as building cooperation between public and p rivate sectors. The states should be ready to offer funding, information and other incentives to take stakeholders to attract investment. In the face of all this, regulatory mechanisms are crucial to ensure that the public actually benefit from the emerging technologies. References Jeffrey M Gordon 2001 solar energy: issues position papersJames and James/Earthscan. Pp. 23-56. Lipman E Timothy and Brooks Cameron 2006: hydrogen energy statious: poly-production of electricity, hydrogen and thermal energy pp 5-23 Jim Wells 2005. University of California. Meeting energy demand in the 21st century many challenges and key questions: testimony before the subcommittee on energy and resource, committee on government reform, House of Representatives. Diane publishing Louise Gieny-lee, Peter Holilian and Fred Mayer. Renewable energy annual 2002 with preliminary data fro 2002 – 2003. Diane publishers’ pp 13-20

Methadone: government’s answer to heroine addiction

Methadone is a pain reliever similar to morphine that belongs to the group of drugs known as opioid. Opioids have chemical structures and actions similar to morphine. Methadone’s effects are longer lasting than that of heroine and are considered to be safe, well-tested medication for treatment of opioid addiction withdrawal and dependence state.Methadone as an opiate has something in common with Heroine. They occupy the same mu opioid receptors in the brain. Methadone is a synthetic drug, long-acting opioid whose effects last for 24 hours. It was proven to mimic heroine’s action in the brain without necessarily occupying all the mu opioid receptors. It therefore leaves enough of these receptors free to perform their specific roles and is the reason why methadone patients do not experience high. Methadone reduces the cravings with heroine and blocks the high from heroine use.Benefits of MethadoneMethadone has its own cost benefit by which a patient will only incur $13 pe r day because of its duration of action and very low cost (ONDCP 2000). This is taken a better and cost effective alternative to rehabilitation and incarceration. Withdrawal is much slower than that of heroine. The government finds it much possible to maintain an addict on methadone without undesirable harsh side effects. Methadone detox is only effective for addicts of heroine, morphine, and opioid drugs. Patients may require continuous treatment over a period of long years. Withdrawal symptoms may be regulated by gradual reduction of dosage medication.The truth about MethadoneMethadone is a synthetic drug which is habit forming. Methadone brings about a biochemical balance in the body but the patient remains physically dependent on the opioid. Regular usage develops certain tolerance. Methadones do not cure heroine addiction it only sustain addicts habit by its long-lasting effect characteristics. Methadone has this side effect that may impair thinking and reactions since it still is a form of opioid synthetic drug. The only success that can be attributed to Methadone is its ability to harm some mu opioid receptors while leaving others free to function. But what if the occupied receptors cannot accommodate Methadone anymore? Will it result to giving more harm by affecting the free receptors?The dos and don’ts of Methadone usageMethadone shall be used solely with no other drug combinations. The patient must avoid drugs that contain narcotics that may induce one to get drowsy or sleepy like cough, cold or pain relievers, muscle relaxants, medicine for seizures, depression or anxiety.Allergic reactions are known to be difficulty in breathing and swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat. Serious side effects are known to include hallucinations or confusions, swelling of ankles or feet, urinating less than usual, chest pains, and feeling light headed or fainting.Overdose symptoms were observed to be shallow or decreased breathing, slow heart rate, sma ll pupils, cold clammy skin and coma or even death.Methadone administrationThe drug can be taken as a liquid or as a tablet for oral administration. The correct dosage shall be measured with a marked liquid measuring spoon or medicine cup. It can be also administered through injections.ConclusionsI do not believe that government has been helping its people by the introduction of methadone. Tolerance means the possibility of a tolerant person to function normally with a dose that may prove fatal to a non tolerant person. It does not treat nor cure the addiction but only sustain the habit economically for 24 hours because of its long-lasting effect. Methadone can proved fatal when the patient is out on the streets and may not be known to be using it. When plagued with cough and colds, there is a very big possibility that his mind and control defenses will go lax and buy over the counter drugs to treat the illness which is a big NO for this kind of treatment.The way I see it, it is the highway to free addiction and free fall to individual fatality. The free fall may not be on its effect as a treatment but purely on its established harmful effects when combined with other drugs that may be bought over the counter for relief of mild ailments. The harm is laxity and ignorance of the person being held responsible for his own treatment. Methadone may increase the effects of these other drugs and make drowsiness and dizziness even worse. The danger is from the aspects of over dose and side effects.Methadone only reduces cost for treatment some aspects of drug addiction. It also reduces crime and violence but do not ultimately reduce the misuse of this drug and of the other drugs. We don’t hold the thoughts and the hearts of our patients. They have a different meaning for responsibility and laxity of control. Patients do not actually follow what you teach. It has been established that their sense of responsibility and control are not outstanding by the addiction that they were in. The treatment can serve as a freeway to the highway of unknown, uncontrollable, fearsome consequences.[1] What will become of this nation then?I do not mean harm with the theory that the government may find relief in the patient having to commit government assisted unwanted induced suicide. How will the government justify the danger of the treatment? How will they be able to justify giving aids to third world countries when they are limiting financial aids to their citizens themselves? I cannot see the reason of helping first other people then trying to limit own cost of rehabilitation of drug addiction centers and people with mental illness.How can a group of senators and scientist fail to underestimate and assess the relation between over dose and the patient’s sense of responsibility? I absolutely will not deregulate and increase methadone availability. There is already an array of harmful drugs over the counters that were regulated, we cannot add more t o these dangers. I see human sacrifice and cost effective governmental measures that were not helping to the health of these people. It is frantically pushing them to their ends. We cannot justify harm with cost effectiveness.We need to STOP methadone treatment and be back on the basics of rehabilitation strategy. Relapse and withdrawal will never be a problem if we continue to clean our body, our environment, and our policy. If we find it hard to change policies, then we need to push the change on the persons that made it to their seats so we can effect proper changes.ReferencesFinn, S. & Tuckwiller, T. (2006, June 4). The killer cure: Deaths tied to methadone escalate4across State, Nation. The Charlestone Gazette. Retrieved May 21, 2007 from thewebsite of Medical Assisted Treatment Website: http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org/475719/486926.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*ONDCP. (2000). Methadone April 2000. Retrieved May 21, 2007 from the website of ONDCP.Websites: http: //www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/methadone/index.html[1]â€Å"Methadone, once given mostly to heroin addicts to ease their cravings is being prescribed now by more doctors to treat pain.  Ã‚  Insurance companies favor it because it is cheap and effective. But methadone helped to kill three times as many Americans in 2003 as it did in 1999, death certificates reveal, and medical examiners blame it for more overdose deaths than any other narcotic drug except cocaine. This previously unpublished information comes from an analysis of death certificates requested by the Gazette-Mail and conducted by the National Vital Statistics System, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. West Virginia led the nation in accidental overdose deaths blamed on methadone in 2003, with a death rate four times higher than the national average, the data shows. It was followed by Kentucky, North Carolina, Maine and New Hampsh ire. Methadone contributed to 2,992 deaths nationwide in 2003, up from 790 four years earlier, according to the data. That’s more deaths in one year than the U.S. military has suffered during the conflict in Iraq.   Medical examiners ruled 82 percent of those deaths accidental.† (Finn & Tuckwiller 2006)