Law

Law is a system of rules that are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or by judges through binding precedent, normally in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals can create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal court process. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people.

A general distinction can be made between (a) civil law jurisdictions (including Catholic canon law and socialist law), in which the legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates their laws, and (b) common law systems, where judge-made precedent is accepted as binding law. Historically, religious laws played a significant role even in settling of secular matters, which is still the case in some religious communities, particularly Jewish, and some countries, particularly Islamic. Islamic Sharia law is the world's most widely used religious law.

Three 6 Mafia

Three 6 Mafia, also known as Triple 6 Mafia and Da Mafia 6ix, is an American hip hop group originally from Memphis, Tennessee, signed to Sony Music Entertainment under the Columbia Records imprint. The group was formed by DJ Paul, Lord Infamous, and Juicy J in 1991 and was at first known as Triple 6 Mafia. During the group's earlier years they were known as Backyard Posse before becoming known as Triple 6 Mafia and often worked with members of the Prophet Posse and the Gimisum Family. Koopsta Knicca joined the group in 1994. Crunchy Black was at first added to the group as a dancer in 1995 and Gangsta Boo became a full member of the group after the release of the debut album Mystic Stylez.

The group released their debut album Mystic Stylez in 1995 through Prophet Entertainment, a record label they created but have since relinquished control of. Their musical style—which initially featured dark, menacing beats with equally gritty lyrics—has since moved to a less dark style. The group has also had numerous lineup changes, and now (due to contract disputes) performs under the group name of Da Mafia 6ix. Two of their albums are RIAA-rated platinum: When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 (2000) and Most Known Unknown (2005), the latter featured their well-known single "Stay Fly", which is said to have kick-started their rise to fame and the mainstream. The group's worldwide album sales stand at 5.5 million. In 2005 the group won an award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards. Three 6 Mafia have been described as horrorcore, crunk and gangsta rap. Founding member Lord Infamous and long-time member Koopsta Knicca died in 2013 and 2015, respectively.

Laser Weapon System

The Laser Weapon System or LaWS is a directed-energy weapon developed by the United States Navy. The weapon was installed on USS Ponce for field testing in 2014. In December 2014 the United States Navy reported the LaWS system works perfectly, and that the commander of the Ponce is authorized to use the system as a defensive weapon.

Purpose

The LaWS is a ship-defense system that has so far publicly engaged an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) and a simulated small-boat attacker. LaWS uses an infrared beam from a solid-state laser array which can be tuned to high output to destroy the target or low output to warn or cripple the sensors of a target. Among the advantages of this device versus projectile weapons is the low cost per shot, as each firing of the weapon requires only the minimal cost of generating the energetic pulse; by contrast ordnance for projectile weapons must be designed, manufactured, handled, transported and maintained, and takes up storage space.

The 48 Laws of Power

The 48 Laws of Power (1998) is the first book by American author Robert Greene. The book is a bestseller, selling over 1.2 million copies in the United States, and is popular with prison inmates and celebrities.

Background

Greene initially formulated some of the ideas in The 48 Laws of Power while working as a writer in Hollywood and concluding that today's power elite shared similar traits with powerful figures throughout history. In 1995, Greene worked as a writer at Fabrica, an art and media school, and met a book packager named Joost Elffers. Greene pitched a book about power to Elffers and six months later, Elffers requested that Greene write a treatment.

Although Greene was unhappy in his current job, he was comfortable and saw the time needed to write a proper book proposal as too risky. However, at the time Greene was rereading his favorite biography about Julius Caesar and took inspiration from Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon River and fight Pompey, thus inciting the Great Roman Civil War. Greene would follow Caesar's example and write the treatment, which later became The 48 Laws of Power. He would note this as the turning point of his life.