The most powerful, is the one who can walk away from the fight.... Go back and reread Gerrys post... specifically about the tigers.... I have children who have been in Iraq, and one of my sons best budddies was wounded and coming back to the states today. At the age of 21 and 20, both my children have seen so much death, more then what I will ever see in my life time... being in a war, makes you realize that fighting is senseless... there is nothing powerful about war or mafia's, just a bunch of scared people doing what they are told to do by scared old men who are either afraid or too lazy to do it themselves... No good ever comes from fighting or dying in a fight... go back to the tiger story, and learn to be silent grasshopper... just like Gerry said
__________________ God is and all is well
~John Greenleaf Whittier~
I dont think any of them are.... Like I said before, just a bunch of scared people doing the dirty work for a bunch of old men who are too lazy and too scared to do it themselves... and its all for money!!!! Whats cool about that.... So many more important things in life other then money or power.
Spideyfanman, I remember reading in one of your posts that you're in your early teens. You're in such a time when your way of thinking is forming and developing. I hope your stay in this forum would really help you along the way.
A lot depends on how we see things.
Take this poll of yours. How do you define Mafia? Why did you include only those three? Aren't other groups like the Chinese triads or tong in the same category? How about the Japanese Yakuza? And similar other groups in other developed and developing countries? The European Union itself could even be seen as a powerful "Mafia" that keeps gaining strength with each passing week.
Then there's the question of "power." How do you define it? Is it just wealth or how it was amassed? or is it how the wealth is used? Or is it as just me said, being able to walk away -- i.e., self control?
In a way we could see Microsoft as a company that applied "Mafia" tactics, but we now see how Bill Gates is giving back his money through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Wouldn't that be a nice "Mafia" power? There's also Ford, Rockefeller, Carnigie, etc. (Read up on their stories and see how power is variously applied.)
As you face the rest of your life, develop in making all these distinctions, as Kiyosaki's educated dad defined as what education really is. (Yeah, read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Kiyosaki as soon as you could. It should be in your school's or public library.) You have decades ahead of you and from this time on, you would be deciding on how those decades would be.
As a ruler advised his sons, "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth." If you're of Christian thinking, read the Bible books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Or read the whole Bible, if you're up to it. You would probably hear people say the Bible is outdated or useless, or politically incorrect. Well, how would you know if you don't read it?
You have a long way to go in getting wisdom. Which is not to say that us oldies are done with it. We're all in the same boat. It's just that the oldies have had their start before you did.
As I said, it depends on how you define "Mafia" and how you define "power."
But to go along with your discussion, I wouldn't know which of these are more powerful, but I think they're a LOT more powerful that any Mafia "organization." Not listed in any particular order:
- Big Pharma: with its various operations including, but not limited to, deadly and hardly effective cancer chemo (even being forced upon unwilling patients like children and babies), deadly and irrational (no real basis for use) cholesterol lowering drugs, blood pressure drugs and other medications that have to be taken for the rest of one's drug-shortened life, etc.
- US FDA/AMA: in cahoots with Big Pharma, though certain individuals are getting bold enough to stand for truth
- Cigarette companies: well, they've been losing clout lately
- European Union: with its Codex Alimentarius and similar laws, even its constitution, being set to be rammed down the throats of its "member" nations, not to mention, the world.
- OPEC: with their successful attempts to manipulate supply and demand.
- Microsoft: Still a top dog in its field.
- many more that I may be missing
Open your eyes, Grasshopper. :wink: There's more to Mafia tactics and power than the "Mafia" you think you know about. Italian Mafia? Russian Mafia? They're nothing compared to the ones that I listed, don't you think?
Get to learn more about the world around you. You should be able to recognize a lot of powerplays going on that would probably make you forget about the Mafias in your poll list and go on studying about the really powerful "Mafias."
Well, you indicated in another post that your grandpa was a "Don" so that may explain your interest in this "type" of Mafia. So how does he and his organization compare to, say, Iran and Ahmadinejad? or Microsoft's empire?
Is there a point in this discussion, or is it really just fun, or is it some seeking for reassurance?
You do make a good point there. But this thread is just for fun. Like, by mafia, I mean like--
The Itlaian mafia
The Russian mafia
The Irish mafia
Black Mafia
I think the Italian is the most powerful
While we're having fun, why not exercise your skills of expression and typing as well. :wink:
How do you define "Mafia" and "powerful"?
And based on your definitions, why would you think that the Italian is the most "powerful"?
And also based on your definitions, why only four (from the three in your poll)? Aren't the Chinese triads or the Japanese Yakuza in your definition of "Mafia"? And how about the drug lords of Central and South American countries?
I always thought that the Russian "Mafia" was just some loose creation of the press and that there wasn't any real "body" for such Mafia. I never heard of the Black Mafia.
So, get your brains churning and let's hear what your ideas are. You can't get away with just claiming something without backing it up. Otherwise, you'll be getting to talk like Big Pharma. Oops, sorry, I think Big Pharma still tries to make it appear that they backup their claims with research.
Isnt there also suppose to be a new mafia type group in california... a mexican one, that supposedly is out to get rid of all the blacks.. I read an article about them on msnbc I think.
MAFIA- the off topic for fun thread
You can't get away with just claiming something without backing it up. Otherwise, you'll be getting to talk like Big Pharma. 
I think Big Pharma still tries to make it appear that they backup their claims with research.
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