Prasanth's Blog

trivia

2005-03-16T04:42:00.000-08:00

Did you know
21-year old William S. Harley and 20-year old Arthur Davidson sold their first motorcycle under the name Harley-Davidson in 1903.

Businessman Thomas Mort, Anglican clergyman Reverend William Horatio Walsh and wool merchant Thomas Holt met on 31 August 1848 to discuss about setting up the first mutual provident society of Australia. Together they established The Australian Mutual Provident Society (AMP) on 1 January 1849.

Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory was founded in 1933 in Ruppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, and adopted the name Canon Camera Co Inc in 1947.

21-year old William S. Harley and 20-year old Arthur Davidson sold their first motorcycle under the name Harley-Davidson in 1903.

Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young established Tiffany & Young, a stationery and fancy goods store on September 18, 1837, and marked the non-negotiable selling price on its products.

Western India Vegetable Products, a cooking oil company, was setup by M Hasham Premji in Bombay in 1945.

mafia-family-tree

2005-03-15T02:39:00.000-08:00

mafia-family-tree,
originally uploaded by BOBCAT777.

mafia tree

Mafiaso

2005-03-15T02:21:00.000-08:00

Today, the word "mafia" is used to refer to almost any organized crime group, and in some cases is even used to describe groups completely unrelated to crime. In this article, we will focus on the traditional meaning of "mafia": organized criminal organizations of Italian or Sicilian heritage. In organized crime there is a hierarchy, with higher-ranking members making decisions that trickle down to the other members of the family. The Mafia is not a single group or gang -- it is made up of many families that have, at times, fought each other in bitter, bloody gang wars. At other times, they have cooperated in the interest of greater profits, sometimes even serving on a "Commission" that made major decisions affecting all the families (more on the Commission later). Most of the time, though, they simply agree to stay out of each other's way.

Mafia-dom is neither a political nor a religious affiliation. Because of their Italian roots, many Mafioso are Catholic, but part of the oath a mobster takes when he becomes a "made man" -- a member of a Mafia family -- is that the Mafia comes before birth family and God.

Mafia Jargon
La Cosa Nostra - The term cosa nostra, which is sometimes translated from Italian to mean "our thing," originally referred to the general lifestyle of organized criminals in Sicily. When the Mafia moved to the United States, FBI agents listening in on wiretaps heard the term. They began using the term La Cosa Nostra (which is grammatically incorrect) to refer to the Mafia. In time, La Cosa Nostra referred specifically to American Mafioso, differentiating them from "old world" mobsters.

Omerta - Omerta is the Mafia code of silence.

Made man - This is a man who has been officially inducted into a Mafia family.

Capo - The capo was originally the head of a family in Sicily. Now, the capo is more like a lieutenant who serves the family boss.

Family - Each individual gang within the Mafia is known as a family. Not everyone within a family is actually related to one and other, although it is common for relatives of mobsters to be inducted into the same family as their brothers or fathers.

Wiseguy - This is someone who is involved with the Mafia.
The Structure of La Cosa Nostra
The structure described below refers specifically to La Cosa Nostra. Other groups have similar structures, but they may differ in some ways.
Each group is made up of several gangs, known as families. The number of families can range from fewer than 10 to more than 100. Sometimes, the emergence of a new family must be approved by the heads of other families, while in some cases a group can splinter off from another family and consolidate its power, becoming recognized as a new family over time. Each family has separate business dealings, but the dealings of the families can intermingle to a large extent depending on their proximity to one another and the commonality of their ventures.

The leader of each family is known as the boss, or don. All major decisions are made by the boss, and money made by the family ultimately flows to him. The boss's authority is needed to resolve disputes and keep everyone in line.

Sammy Gravano, notorious for turning state's evidence against Mafia boss John Gotti, was an underboss in the Gambino family.

Just below the boss is the underboss. The underboss is the second in command, although the amount of power he wields can vary. Some underbosses resolve disputes without involving the boss. Some are groomed to replace the boss if he is old or in danger of going to jail.

Beneath the underboss are several capos. The number of capos varies depending on the overall size of the family. A capo acts like a lieutenant, leading his own section of the family. He has specific activities that he operates. The capo's territory may be defined geographically (as in, "everything west of 14th Street belongs to Louie 'The Key' DiBartolo.") or by the rackets he operates ("Alfonze 'Big Al' Maggioli is in charge of illegal gambling."). The key to being a successful capo is making money. The capo keeps some of the money his rackets earn and then passes the rest up to the underboss and boss.

The "dirty work" is done by the soldiers. A soldier is the lowest rank among made men. They're part of the family, but they hold little power and make relatively little money. The number of soldiers that belong to any given capo can vary tremendously.

In addition to soldiers, the Mafia will use associates. Associates are not actual members of the Mafia, but they work with Mafia soldiers and capos on various criminal enterprises. An associate is simply someone who works with the mob, including anyone from a burglar or drug dealer to a lawyer, investment banker, police officer or politician.

There is one other position within the family that is somewhat legendary -- the consigliere. The consigliere is not supposed to be part of the family's hierarchy. He is supposed to act as an advisor and make impartial decisions based on fairness rather than personal feelings or vendettas. This position is meant to elected by the members of the family, rather than appointed by the boss. In reality, consiglieres are sometimes appointed and are not always impartial.

Chanakya quotes

2005-02-24T23:00:00.001-08:00

"A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and
honest
people are screwed first."

"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous."

"The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It
will
destroy you."

"There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no
friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth."

"Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why
am I
doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when
you
think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go
ahead."

"As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it."

"The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman."

"Once you start a working on something, don't be afraid of failure and
don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest."

"The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But
the goodness of a person spreads in all direction."

"A man is great by deeds, not by birth."

"Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status.
Such
friendships will never give you any happiness."

"Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next
five
years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a
friend.
Your grown up children are your best friends."

"Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind
person."

"Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected
everywhere.
Education beats the beauty and the youth."

Chanakya quotes

2005-02-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC)

"A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and
honest
people are screwed first."

"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous."

"The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It
will
destroy you."

"There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no
friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth."

"Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why
am I
doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when
you
think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go
ahead."

"As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it."

"The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman."

"Once you start a working on something, don't be afraid of failure and
don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest."

"The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But
the goodness of a person spreads in all direction."

"A man is great by deeds, not by birth."

"Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status.
Such
friendships will never give you any happiness."

"Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next
five
years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a
friend.
Your grown up children are your best friends."

"Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind
person."

"Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected
everywhere.
Education beats the beauty and the youth."

DONALD DUCK

2004-12-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

DONALD DUCK,
originally uploaded by BOBCAT777.

He is one small guy i this big world who never gives up and always manages to reach his goals in adversity despite the fact that his competitors are more capable than him

no title

2004-11-26T01:21:00.000-08:00

nothig to write except that there is nothing to write

Reuters interview

2004-11-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

GUYS i have Reuters interview on Monday.Pray for me.It is Really good for finance

my first posting

2004-11-18T01:02:00.000-08:00

this is my first posting in my first blog.