That's kind of the point, to show the decline of Mafia. Christopher who is a made man, should command fear and respect but he is just a junkie and nothing more than a street thug.

There was no retaliation simply because...well, who to retaliate against? How to find those guys who attacked Chris? Would he even recognize them?

Tony didn't want a war with the Russians simply because it would have cost time and money. It would be more of an annoying headache than a lethal disease.

Hesh WAS a Lupertazzi associate. My understanding was that he went back so long that he enjoyed a certain status but wasn't affiliated with any one family. He was Johnny Boy and Tony's friend, but as Johnny Sack mentioned "Hesh isn't just a friend of you guys, he's a friend of ours too" in S1E6.

And the black rapper didn't really try to force or intimidate Hesh, he was threatening him with a lawsuit, which was quickly dismissed by Hesh when he threatened to counter-sue. Nothing came out of it and there was no need to risk heat by whacking the rapper.