Lent excess before Lent begins. Some of the most famous are the Carnival of Barranquilla, the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Carnival of Venice, Cologne Carnival, the New Orleans Mardi Gras, the Rio de Janeiro carnival, and the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. The day immediately preceding Lent is variously called Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"), Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday. Sometimes, it is the peak of the pre-Lenten festival, while sometimes it is largely occupied with preparations for Lent. The observances vary from culture to culture, and even from town to town. Originally, in Lebanon and Syria, the last Thursday
Drugs and Democracy in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro: governments, police, drug organizations, and the civilians caught in the cross hairs of the violence. Desmond Arias suggests that ethnographic research on Rio de Janeiro's crime problems must be approaches in a more complex method than what has already been done. His research in Rio de Janeiro is essential in providing an alternative solution to reducing crime that does not involve a higher military presence in the favelas or other conventional approaches taken by Brazilian governments to try and mitigate crime. As the city of Rio polarizes itself and segregates communities, the wealthier Brazilians in Rio move