"Mexico Under Siege"

     The article "Mexico Under Siege" found in the Los Angeles Times is written by Tracy Wilkinson. According to this article, Juan Arturo Vargas, who is also known as "The Rat" would threaten businesses every week in Nicolas Romero. Nicolas Romero is small working-class town that is an hour away from Mexico City. He would force the owners of the businesses to pay from $25 to up to several hundred dollars. His leverage is that either they pay or their kids get hurt. Police and prosecutors say that "The Rat" worked in the fastest growing nonlethal criminal enterprise in Mexico, which was extortion. Businesses, construction projects, and even some of Mexico's most wealthiest citizens has been a victim to extortion at least once. This has reached a point where the priests are not even safe. Extortionist have the capability to shut down school systems, destroy real estate companies, and drive entrepreneurs into hiding or out of the country. Although the act is not violent, it still leads to violent results. For example a casino in Monterrey that failed to pay off extortionists was firebombed, killing 52 people of which were mostly middle-aged women playing bingo.
     Extortion is a crime that is actually increasing the number of drug cartels across Mexico. According to Edna Jaime, the head of Mexico Evalua, extortion is under reported and does terrible damage to the economy and to the society as well. Two-thirds of extortion cases are not reported to authorities. This type of crime usually takes place on the telephone by pretending to have kidnapped a relative, threatens to kidnap them, or pretends to be outside of their business or home and prepared to open fire. The extortionist does not always have information about the target and relied mainly on fear. Some of the extortionists also include gangs who have control over the territory their in and makes their threats in person. These types of people demand "quotas", which are a kind of protection money.

The Great Gatsby

     The speaker of The Great Gatsby is Nick Caraway, the occasion takes place during summer in various places in New York, and the subject is about Gatsby and the overall life of rich people. The narrator Nick Caraway, recently moved to New York from his home in Midwest because he started to get bored with his life there and wanted a new beginning. He moves to West Egg, which is a area specifically for people who get their money from working. His neighbor is also Jay Gatsby who lives in an extravagant mansion next to his house. Nick's cousin is Daisy, who is married to Tom Buchanan and he is also having a love interest with Jordan Baker. The subject of the story is mainly about Gatsby's life and a rich person's life as a whole. In the beginning of the story, Nick is constantly hearing rumors about Gatsby and how he was able to get his money. One of the rumors he hears is that he is involved in "bootlegging". Nick begins to learn a little bit more about Gatsby's life when he is invited to one of his parties and also in the in the Jordan Baker starts making connections about Gatsby and Nick's cousin Daisy.

Argumentative Essay

     Whether you are writing an essay or talking to a person, language is always there. Language is what allows us to communicate with one another and it also give a lot a way about a person's background. You can easily tell how a person was raised or the type of personality they have by the language they use to speak. You can even tell from the way they write because the way a person speaks is usually reflected in their writing as well. If a person speaks using proper language and less slang, you can be able to tell that that person was raised well by his or her parents. Another example is that if someone is using constantly using foul language and insults, you can automatically tell that they have a rude personality and vice versa. You can even tell by the language they use when meeting someone for the first time.
     Language is also important towards how we speak to certain people. For example, we are more likely to use a more proper for of diction to an authority figure, such as a parent or a teacher. People generally speak differently with their friends than when they are around authorities or even strangers. When we are around our friends, we tend to speak with more slang, less proper usage of words, and more relaxed. This is because we feel more comfortable around our friends and there is no need to be formal around each other. When we are around someone who is older than us or someone who is of importance, we speak with a formal tone of voice because it is an important way of showing respect.