SWOT Analysis of Lionel Smith Ltd Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SWOT Analysis of Lionel Smith Ltd - Case Study Example Mr. Smith had worked for sixteen years in the retail clothing business. He gained this experience by working in stores such as Belk's Department Store, Manning Owens Incorporated, and LeGrande's of Aiken, South Carolina. After two years, the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Smith became the sole owner, and LSL was established as a sub-chapter S corporation. This began a period of growth for the company. Between the years of 1979 and 1983, four additional locations were opened. They were located in Aiken and Edgefield, South Carolina, and Augusta, and Savannah, Georgia. By the end of 1983, all four of those locations were closed. Mr. Lionel Smith stated the closings were due to several major factors. They include his inability to hire and retain professionally qualified supervisors and employees, the desire to focus his efforts on establishing an outside sales force, and high interest rates and an unstable economy. In 1982, the main location moved to the other side of Laurens Street in Aiken. The move to the new location was made possible because Lionel Smith was able to purchase the building. This has been the company's only location since 1983. With only one location, its staff and inventory are not divided between two or more venues, and rent, utilities, and other operating costs are lower. The company underwent another major change when it was purchased by Mr. Smith's son, Van, in 1992. Introduction According to the marketing area experts SWOT analysis review for Lionel Smith Ltd. (LSL) the key issues from an analysis of the trade environment and the strategic ability of an organization. The chief objectives of conducting SWOT analysis for Lionel Smith Ltd. (LSL) is to recognize the coverage to which the existing strategy of an association and its more exact strength and weaknesses are pertinent to, and capable of, dealing by means of the changes taking place in the trade environment. It also uses to assess whether there are opportunities to develop further the exclusive resources or core capability of this clothing organization. Moreover, SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It's a four-part come within reach of to analyzing a company's generally strategy or the strategy of its trade units. All four aspects have to be considered to execute a long-range plan of action. In order to whack the rivalry you require comprehending SWOT. No doubt, It's a way to examine a company's or a department's place in the market in relation to its contestant. The goal is to recognize all the major factors affecting competitiveness before crafting a trade policy. SWOT Breakdown SWOT recognize the internal and external issue that have an effect on an organization. Here's the breakdown of SWOT by interior and outside variables: Internal factors (Strengths and weaknesses) A corporate structure, culture and resources Shareholders Customers Competitors External factors (Opportunities threats) Politics Technology Society Economics SWOT ANALYSIS Strategy Strengths The first strength of Lionel Smith Ltd.

Consumerism Essay Example for Free

Consumerism Essay THE DISHONEST FACE OF CONSUMERISM A statistic illustrates that in 1950, there is one car for every fifty people but in 2009, there are more than one car for every twelve people in America. This example demonstrates the increasing effect of consumerism by the end of the 20th century. According to Cambridge Dictionary, consumerism is the situation in which too much attention is given to buying andowning things. In the light of this definition, it can be concluded that consumerism usually leads to materialism since materialists claim that happiness can be increased through buying and spending as well . It is inevitable that there exist a dissidence between people about this issue. Authors like Juliet Schor, Annie Leonard and Danielle Todd support consumerism is a foe whereas Peter Saunders and James Twitchell, advocates the idea that consumerism is a friend. Consumerism has many negative outcomes like overspending, overworking, credit card debts, social and economic problems etc. These negative aspects of consumerism are in majority therefore consumerism is a foe. Consumerism is a foe since it causes overworking by triggering the insatiable nature of human. Each person aims to reach a good, qualified life and this ambition causes competition between people. As Annie Leonard mentions, we have become a nation of consumers (9). The reason behind this situation is exactly the competitive life circumstances, each person buys more and more to be the best. It is acknowledged that human has an insatiable nature by birth and the consumerist system triggers this stimulation substantially since people do not want to stay out of the competition. Todd states that consumers are well aware of the insatiable nature of consumerism, but recognize that in their society it is the only possible way to live (1). The most negative aspect of consumerism emerges at that point; since consumers can never be fulfilled with the goods they consume there occurs a circle which tucks people into a trap. The empty and miserable consumers buy more and more goods with the hope of finding fulfillment and reaching the best. For instance, a young man buys an Iphone 4 and just three months later he sees his friend’s Iphone 5  and decides to buy an Iphone 5 immediately for reaching his friend’s level . To purchase more, this man obliged to work exceedingly so his life passes with heavy working conditions. According to Leonard, this situation creates a c razy work-watch-spend treadmill (13). This circle damages people’s lives since it is almost impossible to get rid of this circle because of the unsatisfied nature of human. With the existence of this circle, people turn into robots, they cannot think anything except money, working and shopping. Eventually, people’s psychological and physical healths are damaged because of stress, they become tired, they do not have individual times, they do not have any hobbies, they drift apart from nature and get stuck into shopping malls etc. Briefly, it can be said that consumerism is a foe since it triggers the unsatisfied nature of people and ensnare their lives with the work-watch-spend circle. Advertisements cause the problem of overspending which is the most mischievous outcome of consumerism. Advertisements have seven functions like identifiying brands, supplying information, persuasion previewing new trends etc. but persuasion is the best function which is related with consumerism. Advertisements and consumerism definitely have a positive correlation since powerful and visual advertising directs consumers to purchase goods and services. As Juliet Schor states, it can be said that the growing importance of television causes consumerism (1). It demonstrates that people who watch TV are more inclined to purchasing more. Schor also asserts that an avarage level of TV watching of 15 hours a week equals nearly $3,000 per year (1). So it can be concluded that television is very effective on people’s buying decisions, advertisements direct people to spend more money. These tricky advertisements lead people to buy redundant goods. For instance, Twitchell mentions that he bought a Mazda Miata although he did not need this car (1). Moreover, he states that he bought the car because of an advertisement which promotes the idea that if you buy this car, all of your dreams will come true (2). This is a clear example of overspending, an effective advertisement made Twitchell buy a luxury and redundant good which was pretty expensive. Twitchell’s experience is just the tip of the iceberg, the rate of overspending will increase more and more with the growing importance of television. Due to overspending, people become unable to afford their basic, biological needs since they spend all their money for visible status  goods. Shortly, it is verified that advertisements direct people to consume more and more but this huge effect of advertisements are destructive since over-consumption makes people unable to afford their basic needs. Credit card debts is another destructive outcome of consumerism. In Turkey, one million and sixty thousand people have credit card debts by 2014. This statistical data demonstrates that consumerism is not a friend for one million and sixty thousand people in Turkey. As it is mentioned before, human has an insatiable nature therefore people see products as a hero and they purchase more and more. Banks take advantage of people’s fralities and give them lots of credit cards. This situation brings a trouble into society like credit card debts. Juliet Schor argues that one of the most fascinating things about credit card debt is how m any people are not conscious of their behaviour (3). While buying goods people cannot be aware of what they spend since they are not aware that these credits are borrowed. They assume that these credits are free and limitless. Credit cards are presented as hero by banks, consumers can buy what they want without making payment by cash but at the end this dream concludes with a disappointing end, hoarded credit card debts. Victims of credit cards have to sell their houses, cars etc. to pay their credit card debts. So, it can be concluded that although many people believe to the misleading friendly face of consumerism actually it is just an invisible enemy which drags people to debt spiral. Some may say that consumerism is a friend. However, this assertion is not true. It should not be forgotten that the capitalist system leads to the occurrence of consumerism. Saunders defends that capitalism is good for the soul since it gives people a chance to live a good life (6). That assumption can be accepted to an extent since each person aims to reach a good life. This is a common will of all humanity but it should be considered that human being is insatiable and this system exploits people’s weaknesses which is coming from their nature. As it is mentioned in second and third paragraphs, advertisements exploit people’s weaknesses dramatically by giving the message that they are insufficient. Peop le cannot reject the desirable choices that the system provides and they become a part of this system even if they cannot afford the requirements of a good life. Saunders also hypothesizes that no socioeconomic system can guarantee people a good life, they can just provide happy and worthwhile lives and capitalism  passes with flying colors on this test (19). There exist a social stratification in today’s world so these flying colors are just accessable for upper and middle classes but what about the working class? Their labor is exploited all the time by this capitalist system. A good system should provide a happy and worthwhile life to everyone, not just the selected rich ones. To sum up, it is true that capitalism can be seen as desirable and attracts many people’s attention but this does not mean that capitalism is a friend since it just provides tricky and temporary dreams to a minor group of rich people. In conclusion, negative aspects of consumerism like overspending, overworking, credit card debts, social and economic problems etc. outweigh so consumerism is a foe. Although some argue that it is a friend, actually in real life it is impossible to support that argument since consumerism triggers the unfulfilling nature of human and it is not desirable or beneficial in the long run. Consumerism is just a foe which make s you a victim with empty promises. Schor believes that, to avoid this situation people should decrease the time they spend in front of the TV, use no credit cards, stop buying unnecessary products and try to make logical, consciously decisions while purchasing (4). If people take these suggestions into account, they can reach a good life without these tricky systems. It should not be forgotten that spending less makes people feel better. WORKS CITED Leonard, Annie. â€Å"The Story of Stuff.† Free Range Studios, 2007. 20 Aug. 2009. Web. Saunders, Peter. â€Å"Why Capitalism Is Good for the Soul.† The Insider 23.4 (2008): 14- 21. Insider Online. The Insider Heritage Foundation, Apr. 2008. Web. Schor, Juliet. â€Å"Juliet Schor on The Overspent American.† TIME.com. N.p., 20 May 1998. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/schor-overspent.html Todd, Danielle. â€Å"You Are What You Buy: Postmodern Consumerism and the Construction of Self.† Fall 2011. Web. Twitchell, James. â€Å"How I Bought My Red Miata.† August/ September 2000. Web.

Sources of finance available to a business

Sources of finance available to a business There are many types of business entity defined in the legal systems of various countries. These include sole traders, partnerships, limited companies, corporations, cooperatives and other specialized types of organization. Sole traders: A sole trader is also known as a sole proprietorship its a type of business entity that is.owned and run by one individual and in which there is no legal distinction. between the owner and the business. Partnership: A legal contract entered into by two or more persons in which each agrees to furnish a part of the capital and labor for a business enterprise, and by which each. shares a fixed proportion of profits and losses Companies or corporations are distinct artificial persons. created in order to separate legal responsibility for the affairs of a business from the personal affairs. of the individuals who own or operate the business. That are traded on an. official stock market. It is the most common form of legal organization for really. large business, for the very good reason that they have access to very substantial funds. for expansion. The protection that comes from being a company is therefore substantial. Small firms can gain this protection when the owner.create a private limited company. If Mr. Javed start business by his own in a form of sole trader ship so the survival will be a bit difficult because the opportunities of businesses are very less so there will be barrier of entries to the market. He also dont know about the rules and regulations of the country and the tax formats so sole trader ship will give him a bit tough time. Internal sources of finance: is the name. for a firm using its profits as a source of capital for new investment, rather than distributing them to firms owners or other investors and. obtaining capital elsewh Hire purchase and leasing: is the legal term for a contract, in this persons usually agree to pay for goods in parts or a percentage at a time. Medium term bank loans: This will have the same advantages. and disadvantages as long term loans. Asset sales: As firms grow they build up assets. These assets could be in the. form of property, machinery, equipment, other companies or even logos. In some cases it may be appropriate for a business to sell off some. of these assets to finance other projects. Q.1 Scenario 1: Mr. Javed has recently come back from US and wants to invest in Pakistan. Javed wants to invest Rs. 5 million personally for a viable business project. He has mentioned his intentions to some of his friends who would also like to invest with him, but he is not sure about adding any further partners to his business. Though there are many advantages of having partners but I want this project to be my baby and dont want to have hassling relationships. P1: Identify the various forms of business. There are many types of business entity defined in the legal systems of various countries. These include sole traders, partnerships, limited companies, corporations, cooperatives and other specialized types of organization. Sole traders: A sole trader is also known as a sole proprietorship its a type of business entity that is.owned and run by one individual and in which there is no legal distinction. between the owner and the business. The sole proprietor is an unincorporated business with one owner.  who pays personal income tax on profits from the business. With little government regulation, they are the. simplest business to set up or take apart, making  them popular among individual self..contractors or business owners. Partnership: A legal contract entered into by two or more persons in which each agrees to furnish a part of the capital and labor for a business enterprise, and by which each. shares a fixed proportion of profits and losses. A partnership is an arrangement where entities and/or individuals. agree to start a business to achieve their mutual goals. Its relation between two or more persons. who have agreed to share the profits and losses according to their ratio of business run. by all or any one of them acting for all. All agreed conditions of partners. are written in PARTNERSHIP DEED. Companies or Corporations: Companies or corporations are distinct artificial persons. created in order to separate legal responsibility for the affairs of a business from the personal affairs. of the individuals who own or operate the business. The business debts are not owners. responsibility, they belong to the company, which is regarded as a separate person in its own right. The. companies acts distinguish between: Public limited company: That are traded on an. official stock market. It is the most common form of legal organization for really. large business, for the very good reason that they have access to very substantial funds. for expansion. The standard legal  designation of a company which has offered shares to the general public. and  has limited liability. A Public Limited Companys stock can be acquired by anyone and holders are only limited. to potentially lose the amount paid for the shares. Private limited companies: The protection that comes from being a company is therefore substantial. Small firms can gain this protection when the owner.create a private limited company. The word limited tells us that the. business has this legal form. Usually the shares will be owned by the original sole trader, relatives, friends and employees. Cooperatives: Cooperative is a business organization owned and operated. by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. A cooperative may also be defined as a. business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or. by the people who work there. Cooperative enterprises are the focus of study in the field of cooperative economics. P2: Assess the implications of the different forms of business. Sole trader: Advantages: Choose. hours of work Make your.own decisions All the profit made. is your own Claim expenses and certain. costs against tax The business can be based on. the interests or skills of the owner Disadvantages: No sickness. pay. No set holiday. pay The time consuming. accounting is done in your own free time If the owner dies. there is no one to control his business Job security. is not a fact Partnership: Advantages: You can pool resources, expertise, and strengths. There are limited startup costs. There are few formalities You have a shared financial commitment. Capital is contributed by partners Losses are shared by partners(if written in partnership deed) Decision making is. easy because there is someone to give advice about the business Disadvantages: Partners may have. different visions or goals for the business. There may be unequal commitment in terms of time and finances. There may also be. personal disputes. Partners are personally liable for business debts and liabilities. Profits are. distributed among the partners Usually decision making takes time Conflicts can raise among. the partners about the decisions Private limited companies: Advantages: Shareholders have. limited liability Separate legal. personality Continuity in the event. of the death of a shareholder Original owner is still. often able to retain control Able to raise capital. from sale of shares to family, friends and employees Greater status than. an unincorporated business. Disadvantages: Legal formalities. involved in establishing the business Capital cannot be raised by sale. of shares to the general public Quite difficult for. shareholders to sell shares Public limited companies: Advantages: Limited liability Separate legal identity Continuity Ease of buying and selling of shares for shareholders Access of substantial capital sources due to the ability to issue a prospectus to the public and to offer shares for sale Disadvantages: Legal formalities in formation Cost of business consultants. and financial advisers when creating such a company Share prices. subject to fluctuation Risk of takeover due to the availability. of the shares on the Stock Exchange Directors influenced. by short term objectives of major investors P3 and M1: Select an appropriate form of a business. Justify your selected form a business in light of the proposed case and its implications. As Mr. Javed has come to me for suggestion so I will advise him the best and more feasible business in the current situation and in the future. Mr. Javed wants the project to be his baby and wants more profits and more feasible in current market of Pakistan and he recently came back from US so he dont know much about Pakistans market and the people of Pakistan. As his some of friends also want to be his partners in the business so he could take some capital and expertise from his friends to startup the business. His investment of 5million is also a bit less because the inflation rate in Pakistan is high and the currency is lower than many countries, so doing business by adding partners to his business will bring more investments so he can go further. The risk is going to be less because in case of loose the loose is going to be divided between the partners. His friends know the market and current situation of the country better than him so they can give better advises about the busin ess and can make business more successful, as the current activities can affect the businesses very badly and Mr. Javed dont know much about it so his partners can also help him in the survival of the business by their expertise. If Mr. Javed start business by his own in a form of sole trader ship so the survival will be a bit difficult because the opportunities of businesses are very less so there will be barrier of entries to the market. He also dont know about the rules and regulations of the country and the tax formats so sole trader ship will give him a bit tough time. Q.2 Scenario 2: Biz Training is a private limited company formed ten years ago by a group of five ex-lecturers. The five are the main shareholders but there is also a shareholder who was a local businessperson who initially approached two of the five to run a training course for her company. P1 and P2: identify the sources of finance available to a business. Assess the implications of the different sources. Businesses are able to raise finance from a wide range of sources. Some of are: Internal sources of finance: is the name. for a firm using its profits as a source of capital for new investment, rather than distributing them to firms owners or other investors and. obtaining capital elsewhere. It is to be contrasted with external financing .which consists of new money from outside of the firm brought in for investment. Internal financing is. generally thought to be less expensive for the firm than external financing because the firm does not have to incur transaction costs to obtain it, nor does it have to pay the taxes associated. with paying dividends. Many economists debate whether the availability of internal financing is an important determinant. of firm investment or not. A related controversy is whether the fact that internal financing is. empirically correlated with investment implies firms are credit constrained and therefore depend. on internal financing for investment. Profits retained in the business: The accumulated net income retained. for reinvestment in a business, rather than being paid out in dividends to stockholders. Sale of assets: Established companies often find that they have. assets that are no longer fully employed. These could be sold to raise cash. Reductions in working capital: When businesses increase stock levels or sell goods. on credit to customers they use a source of finance. When companies reduce these assets by reducing. their working capital, capital is released, which acts as a source of finance for other uses. External sources of finance: Short term sources: There are three main sources of short term external finance: Bank Overdrafts: Bank overdraft: An overdraft occurs when some. one withdraws from a bank account and they exceed the available balance. In this situation a person is said to be overdrawn. If there is a prior agreement with the account. provider for an overdraft protection plan, and the amount overdrawn is within this authorized overdraft limit, then interest is. normally charged at the agreed rate. Advantages An overdraft is flexible. you only borrow what you need at the time which may make it cheaper than a loan. You only pay for the funds. you use. Its quick to. arrange. There is not normally a charge for paying. off the overdraft earlier than expected. Disadvantages It has to be rearranged regularly. It can be called in. by the lender at any time. Overdrafts may be secured against business assets. the lender can take control of these if you dont repay the overdraft. Trade credit: Trade credit is an arrangement between businesses to buy goods or services on account, that is, without making immediate cash payment. The supplier typically. provides the customer with an agreement to bill them later, stipulating a fixed number of days or other date by which the customer should pay. It can be. viewed as an essential element of capitalization in an operating business because it can reduce the required capital investment required to operate the business if it is managed properly Advantages You can buy the stock and pay later. when you have sold the stock and made enough money to pay them back Eases the cash flow as you can pay after 28-30 days Disadvantages If you do not pay them back on time you can build up a bad credit history Only companies with good credit history. can be accepted the trade credit grant Debt factoring: When a business sells goods on credit it creates a debtor. The longer the time allowed to this debtor to pay up, the more finance the business. has to find to carry on trading. One option, if it is commercially unwise to insist on cash payments, is to sell these debts to a debt factor. In this way immediate cash is obtained, but not for the full amount of the debt. This is because the debt factoring companys profits are made by. discounting the debts and not paying their full value. When full payment is received from the original customer, the debt factor makes a profit. Smaller firms who sell goods on hire purchase. often sell the debt to credit loans firms, so that the credit agreement is never with the firm but. with the specialist provider. Sources of medium term finance: there are two main sources of medium term external finance: Hire purchase and leasing: is the legal term for a contract, in this persons usually agree to pay for goods in parts or a percentage at a time. In cases where a buyer cannot afford to pay the asked price for an item of property as a lump sum but can afford to pay a percentage as a deposit, a hire-purchase contract allows the buyer to hire the goods for a monthly rent. When a sum equal to the original full price plus interest has been paid in equal installments, the buyer may then exercise an option to buy the goods at a predetermined price (usually a nominal sum) or return the goods to the owner. Medium term bank loans: This will have the same advantages. and disadvantages as long term loans. Long term finance: Long term loans from banks: Bank loans: As with short term finance, banks are an important source of longer term finance. Banks may lend sums over long periods of time . possibly up to 25 years or even more in some cases. The loans have. a rate of interest attached to them. A mortgage is a loan specifically for the purchase of property. Some businesses. might buy property through a mortgage. In many cases, mortgages are used as. a security for a loan. This tends. to occur with smaller businesses. Advanatages: You can borrow. large amounts. Disadvantage: You can pay back with interest Debentures: Debentures are generally freely transferable by the debenture holder. Debenture holders have no rights to vote in. the companys general meetings of shareholders. Debenture holder charges a specific percentage of interest. rate from the company as they are investing in the company. Advanatages: You can borrow large amounts. Disadvantage: You can pay back with interest Debentures: A company wishing to raise funds will issue. or sell these to interested investors. The company agrees to pay a fixed rate of interest each year for the life of the debenture (which is often 25 years). The buyers may resell to other. investors if they do not wish to wait until maturity before getting their original investment back. Debentures are often secured. on a particular asset, which means that the investors have. the right, if the company ceases trading, to sell that particular asset to gain repayment. When this is part of the agreement, the debentures. are known as mortgage debentures. Asset sales: As firms grow they build up assets. These assets could be in the. form of property, machinery, equipment, other companies or even logos. In some cases it may be appropriate for a business to sell off some. of these assets to finance other projects. Advantage You get the money back straight away. Disadvantage In the long run, it is more expensive to lease the. piece of machinery or building. Retained profit: its the remaining profits. after deducting taxes, owners profits and dividends to shareholders. It can be kept. for other business uses or expansions. Advantage: No interest will have to be paid Disadvantage: Not available for start up business P3 and M1: Select appropriate sources of finance for a business project. Justify your source of finance in light of the proposed business and its implications. Before selecting a source of finance for the firm we must know which finance is going to be used in biz training. Biz training is about to buy a online learning system which they will use for a long period of time. As Biz Training is a private limited company they can not sell their shares in the stock exchange to generate funds to buy the online system so Biz Training is going to lease for buying the system as it is an fixed asset. By leasing they will not have to collect large amount such as for an asset like system A which is 120,000 pounds by this way their cash will not be disturbed and will not put Burdon on the business. By leasing they would get the system and would start using it they will get to know how profitable the system is and if the online learning system is profitable they will buy the asset after the leasing period and if it is not giving the firm desired profits then the system will be returned or they can sell it after the lease time has finished. The best part o f leasing is that all the maintenance cost of the system would be on the leasing company. In this case using other sources such as bank loan or hire purchase would not be a good decision. Taking a bank loan is not easy banks investigate a lot in the companies accounts and will need to be convinced that they will receive their loan back and will charge a lot of interest an will mortgage some of the property or any other assets and if the system is not earning profit and they cant give loan bank so the bank ill sell there property or the asset they have mortgaged so in bank loan the risk is high and in hire purchase Biz training will own the asset. By leasing will be get a clear picture of what decisions need to be taken in the future as they will know if the system they leased will be profitable or not and decide to buy it or let go of it so its better to lease the system and there is going to be less risk in the business. D1.Some firm finance its seasonal (temporary) working capital with long term funds. Explain the impact of these decisions on the profitability and risk of these firms. Bibliography: BBP learning Media Business Environment(2007) AS level Business studies (peter stimpson) I G C S E business studies (Karen Borrington, peter stimpson)

Utopia for the Twentieth Century :: Philosophy Marxism Essays

Utopia for the Twentieth Century There are many utopias. No one has ever seen them except in imagination, and yet they are real enough, for they have influenced our destiny over the centuries. ----- Alain Martineau The socio-political philosophy of Marx and Engels emphasizes both the capacity as well as the inevitability of oppressed peoples to take up arms in a desperate effort to do away with conditions which do not correspond to their true material and psychological needs. This is the process by which the fulfillment of Marx's species-being may eventually become a reality --- a struggle which will annihilate those circumstances which produce a great deal of misery, ending them through conflict. As one of the most successful political theories of the twentieth century in terms of the widespread influence it has had for over a hundred years now, Marxist doctrines translated into political practices have themselves contributed toward a considerable amount of human suffering, as the examples of the Bolshevik and Khmer Rouge revolutions demonstrate. While there is a great deal of justified criticism against labeling these revolutions as being authentically Marxist, the fact remains that to a larg e extent, many of the violent tactical formulas which were considered justifiable by Marx and Engels have been translated and adopted by twentieth century political movements, quite often with the result that an oppressive order is exchanged for another order which in turn becomes equally oppressive. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the tactics which Marx believed were necessary to liberate humanity and usher in utopian conditions were prescribed for the framework and social conditions of the nineteenth century Industrial Revolution in western Europe. Undoubtedly, the transition from the previous century to the present has brought with it unprecedented changes in levels of technology, economic and social conditions, political structures, environmental crises --- as well as a transformation within our individual and social consciousness themselves --- which have never before been witnessed by humanity. If Marxism is to continue to hold promise for our effort to liberate ourselves from undesirable social conditions, there is a need to adapt it so that it may address the peculiarities of the twentieth century, those which Marx himself could not have seen. Additionally, the humanist and utopian ideals of Marx and Engels, such as freedom from bondage as well as social harmon y, ought to be preserved and promoted. The contributions of twentieth-century Marxists are invaluable to us for this reason.

To Kill A Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Twelve Angry men by Reginald Rose and The Scottsboro Trial are all about unfair trials containing discrimination towards different people and people being prejudice .The peoples action towards the defendants affected them for the rest of their life. Many of the people that came into the court brought in their own social problems and that influenced the verdict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To Kill The Mockingbird was about a black guy named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a young women by the name of Mayella Ewell. In the court, significant evidence was presented to the juror's that would prove that Tom Robinson was innocent. The evidence showed that a left handed male must have beat Mayella because the bruises were on the right side of her and Tom Robinsons left arm was disabled. Robinson could not have beat Ms. Ewell. Tom Robinson was still convicted and later on was shot at a prison fence while he was trying to run away. The juror's discriminated Mr. Robinson and was prejudice towards him because all though evidence was presented to them that would prove Tom innocent they ignored it because the guy was black and in the 30's discriminating blacks were heavily favored. The Twelve Angry Men was about a boy who was accused of stabbing his father to death in a argument. In the beginning of the trial all twelve of the juror's voted guilty. Many of the juror's were mean and did not care about the boy's future they just wanted to get the trial over with so the juror's can do what they wanted to do. Later in the case one of the juror's realized they were messing with a boys life and his future was all up to them. So a juror realized that some of the information that a witness brought up had to be false. So they analyzed the information and came to the conclusion that the boy could not have stabbed his father the way he did because one of the juror's had seen many knife fight's in his backyard and you can not stab someone downward with a switchblade. Also another witness said that the knife that the kid had could be bought anywhere. The juror's discriminated the boy because he lived in the slums , he has a criminal record and he was always fighting with hi s dad so they just assumed he was the one that killed his dad.

How the Rolling Stones Keep Rolling

The rolling stones start in the year 1960, when two young guys began wrapping in the music world, these two young men were Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, the soul of Rolling Stones, the next year formed their own group called l'Little Boy Blue & Blue Boys in company of Jack Taylor. In 1962 came another member of the group named Brian Jones, at this time it was decided to rename the group as Rolling Stones, in the same year they released their first simple â€Å"Come on â€Å", and the same year they began their first tour. In 1964 The Rollings released their first album â€Å"The Rolling Stones†, this album was composed of a single song from the group and the rest were covers of songs known since they just spent to make versions of other artists, but the way they play the instruments and aggression they impose on the issues is what makes them unique. The experts devised a marketing strategy to publicize the group, wanted to make them look like the bad boys of pop / rock, something appealing to younger and if adapted as opposed to the Beatles, that could be considered the good guys. In January 1965 released her second album, ‘Rolling Stones 2', which took influences from black American music, primarily soul. In 1966 this group launches ‘Aftermath', which were songs written by themselves, to give more creativity to your music and manage their own songs with his own style, this in order to stay in top of the music. This album was considered one of the best, because his creativity. In 1967 he released â€Å"Between The Buttoms', the album was on detention issues, to address issues of drugs in several songs, created a scandal that Jagger and Richards as participants of the band were in detention for Reverse and drug consumption. After the scandal of the previous album, The Rolling Stones decallendo followed, with the LP ‘Their Satanic Magesties Request' took one of his greatest failures. Try to imitate the â€Å"Sgt Peppers' by the Beatles, but his followers were accused of following the style of another British group and thus ending his own style which had long been accepted by the youth society. In 1968 there is a new Rolling Stones album, entitled ‘Beggars Banquet', which witnessed a return to the essence of the Rolling. This album continued his aggressive issues that attract attention and released as the album cover a very sensual and struggles, but was not accepted by the company and for this reason it was censored. In 1969 Brian Jones was found dead in his home, victim of drugs. When Mick Taylor joined the group as a missing member. This was followed by the publication of a new album ‘Let It Bleed', an ironic reply to ‘Let it Be' by the Beatles so I just carried their rivalry among groups to draw more attention from fans. This makes them hard to take the top of the rock world. In 1971 he edited ‘Brown Sugar', the first with his own record label and ‘Sticky Fingers', the first using a design by Andy Warhol of lips as a seal of the group. This latest album is considered one of the greats of the Rolling for quality instruments. By acquiring its own record label and be so successful, the Rolling Stones decided to purchase accounts in France, to avoid tax. In 1972 he published a double album ‘Exile On Main Street', an album of great quality and very ambitious. Claimed to be the gateway to a large U. S. tour and had to engage the audience. It was number one in England and USA. This growing group acquired more fame and more fans, they followed their creativity and made separate lists more albums, in 1973 published ‘Goats Head Soup' and 1974 ‘It's Only Rock'n Roll', for whose promotion to the streets of London graffiti saying ‘It's only rock and roll. It was the last album Mick Taylor in the band, which was replaced by Ron Wood. Also released a live album, ‘Love You Live. The decade of the eighties, the Rolling Stones signed a contract with CBS. With that, the Stones would receive several million dollars for each album released. Result of the agreement were records like ‘Emotional Rescue', then ‘Tattoo You' in 1981, ‘Stiff Life' in 1982, ‘Undercover' in 1983 and ‘Dirty Work' in 1986, the album that raised the average quality of the decade was ‘Steel Wheels', 1989, based on which a new world tour and a new live album based on that tour, â€Å"Flashpoint. In 1990 he toured Japan and Europe, which were followed for more than two million spectators and generating revenues of about two hundred million dollars. In the following years, more doctors are still running as: 1994 Voodoo Lounge ‘and a year' Rock And Roll Circus, recorded in 1968 and had never been published, in 1995 edited ‘Stripped' and 1997 ‘Bridges To Babylon'. Finally, in 2005, a new Rolling Stones album, entitled ‘A Bigger Bang. The title is inspired by the group’s popular fascination for the scientific theory about the origin of the universe.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 46~48

46 Beans and Succubus Tuck's other partner showed up at his bungalow that evening as he was sitting down to a plate of pork and beans. She didn't knock, or call out, or even clear her throat politely to let him know she was there. One minute Tuck was studying a gelatinous white cube of unidentifiable carbon-based life-form awash in a lumpy puddle of boiled legumes and tomato sauce, and the next the door opened and she was standing there wearing nothing but a red scarf and sequined high heels. Tuck dropped his spoon. Two partially used beans dribbled out of his open mouth, tracing contrails of sauce down the front of his shirt. She executed a single flamenco heel stomp and Tuck watched the impact move up her body and settle comfortably in her breasts. She threw her arms wide, struck a pose, and said, â€Å"The Sky Priestess has arrived.† â€Å"Yes, she has,† Tuck said with the glassy-eyed stupifaction of a newly converted Moonie. He'd seen something like her before, either on the hood of a Rolls-Royce or on a bowling trophy, but in the flesh the image was much more immediate, awe-inspiring even. She pirouetted and the tails of the scarf trailed around her like affectionate smoke. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"Uh-huh,† Tuck said, nodding. â€Å"Come here.† Tuck stood and moved toward her in the mindless shuffle step of a zombie compelled by the promise of living flesh. His brain stopped work-ing, his entire life energy shifted to another part of his body, and it led him across the room to within an inch of her. It wasn't the first time this had happened to him, but before he had always retained the power of speech and most of his motor functions. â€Å"What's wrong with you?† she said. â€Å"Bolts in your neck too tight?† â€Å"My entire body has an erection.† She took him by the front of the shirt and backed him across the room to the bed, then pushed him down and pulled his pants down to his knees. She vaulted onto him in a straddle and he reached up for her breasts. She caught his wrists. â€Å"No. You'll fuck up my makeup.† And he noticed – like an accident victim might notice a butterfly in the grille of the bus that is running over him – that her nipples had been rouged to an unnatural pink. He tried to sit up and she shoved him back down, then took him in her hand, nicking him with a red fingernail, making him wince, and guided him inside of her. He reached for her hips to drive her down and got his hands slapped for the effort. And she fucked him – precise and mechanical as a machine, a single pounding motion repeated and lubricated and repeated again – until her breath rasped in her throat like hissing hydraulics and she arched her back and stalled, and misfired, then dieseled for a stroke or two, and she climbed off. Somewhere in all that he had come and she had looked at him once. He lay there looking at the remnants of torn mosquito netting over the bed, breathing hard, feeling a little dizzy, and wondering what had just happened. She went to the bathroom, then returned a few seconds later and threw him a towel, which she had obviously used herself. â€Å"We're flying in three or four hours. Be ready.† â€Å"Okay.† Was he supposed to say something? Didn't this signify some sort of change that should be acknowledged? â€Å"I want you to watch me, but you can't let them see you. Wait a few minutes and go out by the hanger where you can see the airstrip. It's a great show. Theater makes it all possible, you know. Ask the Catholics. They survived the Middle Ages by putting on performances in a language that no one understood on grand stages that were built by the pennies of the poor. That's the problem with religion today. No theater.† This must be her version of cuddling. â€Å"Performance?† â€Å"The appearance of the Sky Priestess,† she said as if she was talking to a piece of toast. She walked to the door, then paused and looked over her shoulder. Almost as an afterthought she said, â€Å"Tucker,† and when he looked up she blew him a kiss. Then she was out the door and he heard her shout, â€Å"Cue the music!† A big band sound blasted across the island, sending a shiver rattling through Tuck's body as if a chill ghost from the forties had jitterbugged over his spine. 47 Grand Theft Aircraft The Shark men were breaking into their second jug of tuba when the music started. They all looked to Malink. Why hadn't he told them there was going to be an appearance of the Sky Priestess? Malink thought fast, then grinned as if he had known this was coming all along. â€Å"I wanted it to be a surprise,† he said. Why hadn't this been an-nounced by the Sorcerer? Was he still angry because Malink had not pro-duced the girl-man on demand? Was Vincent himself angry at Malink for something? Certainly Malink's people would be angry at him for not giving them the time to prepare the drums and the bamboo rifles of Vincent's army – and the women, oh, the women would be shitting coconuts over not having time to oil their skins and paint their faces and put on their ce-remonial grass skirts. As Malink trudged to the airstrip he tried to formulate some explanation that would work with everyone. As if it wasn't difficult enough being chief with no coffee to drink in the morning – he'd had a headache for two weeks from caffeine withdrawal – now his role as religious leader was giving him problems. Leading a religion is tough work when your gods start stirring for real and messing up your prophecies. And what if he did come up with an explanation, only to have the Priestess of the Sky say something that contradicted him? She was supposed to be Vincent's voice, but that voice had been angry lately, so he didn't dare ask her for help as he had in the past. Not in front of his people. He came out of the jungle just in time to see the flash of the explosions. The Sky Priestess walked out of the smoke and even from a hundred yards away, Malink could tell by her step that she was pleased. Malink breathed a sigh of relief. She was carrying magazines for them. If his people were happy with what she said, then he could use the old â€Å"will of Vincent† argument for not preparing them. He could have never guessed the real reason the Sorcerer had not forewarned him of the appearance of the Sky Priestess. At the time when he normally called the warning, the Sorcerer had been watching through the window as the Sky Priestess pumped away on Tucker Case. Tuck waited five minutes before he pulled up his pants and slid out the door of his bungalow, nearly running into Sebastian Curtis. The doctor, normally cool, was soaked with sweat and looked past Tuck to the clinic. â€Å"Mr. Case. I thought you'd be preparing the plane. Beth did tell you that you have a flight?† Tuck fought the urge to bolt. He hadn't had enough time to build up any remorse about having sex with the doctor's wife, and he didn't excel at remorse in the first place. â€Å"I was on my way to do the preflight. It doesn't take long.† The doctor didn't make eye contact. â€Å"You'll forgive me if I seem distracted. I have to perform major surgery in a few minutes. You should go watch Beth's little show.† â€Å"What's all the music and explosions?† â€Å"It's how we retrieve our donors. Beth will explain her theory of religion and theater to you, I'm sure. Excuse me.† He pushed past Tucker and looked at his shoes as he walked toward the clinic. â€Å"Aren't you going to watch?† Tuck said. â€Å"Thank you, but I find it nauseating.† â€Å"Oh,† Tuck said. â€Å"Then I'll go check out the Lear. Great game today, Doc.† â€Å"Yes,† Curtis said. He resumed his stiff-armed walk to the clinic, his fists balled so hard at his sides that Tuck could see them shaking. The guards were gathered at the edge of the hangar. Mato looked up quickly and made eye contact long enough for Tuck to see that he was nervous. Tuck wished he had asked him if the other guards spoke English. â€Å"Konichi-wa, motherfuckers,† Tuck said, covering his linguistic bases. None of the guards responded. Except for Mato, their eyes were trained on Beth Curtis dancing across the airstrip to Benny Goodman's â€Å"Sing, Sing, Sing.† One of the guards hit a button by the hangar and the music stopped as Beth Curtis stepped onto a small wooden platform on the far side of the runway. With the speakers silenced, Tuck could hear the drums of the Shark People. Some were marching around in formation holding lengths of bamboo painted red as rifles. Beth Curtis raised her hands, a copy of People in each, and the drums stopped. Tuck couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was waving her arms around like a soapbox preacher, and the crowd of natives moved, and flinched, and hung on her every word. She paused at one point and handed the magazines down to Malink, who backed away from the platform with his head bowed. Tuck didn't find anything about her performance nauseating, but it was nothing if not strange. Why all the pomp and circumstance? You have six guys with machine guns, you can pretty much go rip a kidney out anytime you want to. He needed to think, and he didn't particularly want to see whom she would pick. Whoever it was, their face would be in his head all the way to Japan and back. He went into the hangar, lowered the door on the Lear, climbed into the dark plane, and lay down in the aisle between the seats. He couldn't hear the sound of the Sky Priestess or the natives oohing and ahhhing, and here among the steel and glass and plastic and upholstery, it felt like home. Here he could hear the sound of his own mind; here in his very own Learjet, the weirdness was all outside. But for the lack of a key he would have taken the plane right then. The guard kicked Tuck in the thigh much harder than was needed to wake him. Tuck looked up to see the face of the guard who had beaten him on the beach. He had a scar that ran up his forehead tracing a bare streak into his scalp and Tuck had started to think of him as Stripe, the evil little monster from the movie Gremlins. Tuck's anger was immediate and white-hot. Only the Uzi stopped him from getting his ass kicked again. The guard dangled the key to the Lear's main power cutoff. It was time to go. Tuck limped to the cockpit and strapped himself into the pilot's seat. Stripe inserted the power key into the instrument console, twisted it, and stepped back to watch as Tuck started the power-up procedure. The other ninjas pulled the Lear out of the hangar by a large T-bar attached to the front wheel. When the plane was safely out of the hangar, Tuck started to spool up the jets. Stripe remained with the Uzi at port arms. Tuck made a big show of going though the checklist, testing switches and gauges. He frowned and clicked the radar switch a couple of times. He looked back at Stripe. â€Å"Go check the nose. Something's not right.† The guard shook his head. Tuck mimed his instructions again and Stripe nodded, then he motioned through the window for another of the guards to join them on board. Evidently, they weren't going to leave him un-guarded in the plane with the power key in. Stripe turned over the guard duty to the other ninja and appeared at the front of the plane. Tuck mo-tioned for him to get closer to the nose. Stripe did. Tuck turned on the radar. â€Å"And a lovely brain tumor for you, you son of a bitch.† Stripe seemed to actually feel the microwave energy and he jumped back from the plane. Tuck grinned and gave him the okay sign. â€Å"I hope your tiny little balls are boiling,† he said aloud. The guard behind him didn't seem to understand what Tuck was saying, but he nudged him with the barrel of his Uzi and pointed. Beth Curtis, in her dark Armani, was coming across the compound with briefcase and cooler in hand. She stepped into the plane and nodded to the guard. Instead of leaving, he took a seat back in the passenger compartment. Beth strapped herself into the copilot's seat. â€Å"We taking him in for shore leave?† Tuck said. â€Å"No. He's just along for the ride tonight.† â€Å"Oh, right.† Tuck powered up the jets and eased the Lear out of the compound onto the runway. Beth Curtis was silent until they were at altitude, cruising toward Japan. Tuck did not engage the autopilot, but steered the Lear gradually, perhaps a degree a minute, to the west. â€Å"So what did you think?† â€Å"Pretty impressive, but I don't get it. Why the whole show to bring in someone for surgery? Why not just send the guards?† â€Å"We're not taking their kidneys, Tucker. They're giving them.† Tuck didn't want to give away what he had learned from Malink and Sepie about the â€Å"chosen.† He said, â€Å"Giving them to who? A naked white woman?† She laughed, reached into her briefcase, and brought out an eight-by-ten color photograph. â€Å"To the Sky Priestess.† She held the photograph where Tuck could see it. He had to steer manually. If he hit the autopilot now, the plane would turn back toward Japan, the only preset in the nav computer. The photograph was in color but old. A flyer stood by the side of a B-26 bomber. On the side of the bomber was the painting of a voluptuous naked woman and the legend SKY PRIESTESS. It could have been a painting of Beth Curtis as she had looked when she arrived at Tuck's bungalow. He recog-nized the flyer as well. It was the ghost flyer he'd been seeing all along. He felt his face flush, but he tried to stay cool. â€Å"So who's that?† â€Å"The flyer was a guy named Vincent Bennidetti,† Beth said. â€Å"The plane was named the Sky Priestess. All the bombers had nose art like that in World War II. We found the picture in the library in San Francisco.† â€Å"So what's that got to do with our operation? You're dressing up like the picture on an airplane.† â€Å"No, I am the Sky Priestess.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Beth. I still don't get it.† â€Å"This is the pilot that the Shark People worship. The cargo cult that ‘Bastian told you about.† Tuck nodded and tried to look surprised, but he was watching his course without seeming to do so. If he had figured it right, they would be over Guam in fifteen minutes and the American military would force them down. The Air Force was very cranky about private jets flying though their airspace. â€Å"The natives on Alualu worship this Vincent guy,† Beth said. â€Å"I speak for Vincent. They come to me when we play the music and I give them everything. In return, I choose one of them for the honor of the mark of Vincent, which, of course, is the scar they get from the operation.† â€Å"Like I said, you've got armed guards. Why not just take what you want?† She looked shocked that he would ask. â€Å"And get out of show business?† Then she smiled and reached over and gave his crotch a squeeze. â€Å"When I met Sebastian in San Francisco, he was drunk and throwing money around. One minute he was so dignified and erudite, the next he was like a little native child. He told me about the cargo cult and I came up with the idea of not just doing this to support the clinic, but to get really filthy rich. We had to keep the people happy if we were going to do this in big numbers.† â€Å"So you thought all of this up?† â€Å"It's the reason I'm here.† â€Å"But Sebastian said you were a† – Tuck caught himself before he said â€Å"stripper† – â€Å"surgical nurse.† â€Å"I was. So what? Did I get any respect for that? Did I get any power? No. To the doctors I was just a piece of ass who could handle surgical instru-ments and close a patient when they needed to get to the golf course. Did Sebastian tell you I used to strip?† â€Å"He mentioned something about it in passing.† â€Å"Well, I did. And I was good.† â€Å"I can imagine,† Tuck said. A few more minutes and they should be joined by an F-16. She smiled. â€Å"Fuck nursing. I was just a piece of meat to the men I worked with, so I decided to go with it. I was pushing thirty and all single women my age were walking around with a desperate look in their eye and a bio-logical clock ticking so loud you thought it was the crocodile from Peter Pan. If I was going to be treated like meat, I was going to make money at it. And I did. Not enough, but a lot more than I would have made nursing.† â€Å"Do tell,† Tuck said. He couldn't remember ever saying â€Å"Do tell,† and it sounded a little strange hearing it. She looked out the window as if she had fallen into some reverie. Then, without looking back, she said, â€Å"What's that island?† Tuck tensed. â€Å"I couldn't say.† She sighed. â€Å"Islands are amazing.† â€Å"I always say that.† She seemed to come out of her trance and looked at the instrument board. Tuck acted as if he was concentrating on flying the plane. He glanced at Beth Curtis. Her mouth had tightened into a line. She reached into the briefcase and came out with the Walther automatic. â€Å"What's that for?† Tuck said. â€Å"Get back on course.† â€Å"I am on course.† â€Å"Now!† â€Å"But I am on course. Look.† He pointed to the nav computer, which still showed the coordinates of the airstrip in Japan, although it wasn't engaged with the autopilot. â€Å"No, you're not.† She pointed to the compass. â€Å"You're at least ninety degrees off course. Turn the plane to Japan now or I'll shoot you.† Tuck was tired of it. â€Å"Right. And you'll fly the plane? There's a difference between being able to read a compass and making a landing.† â€Å"I didn't say I would kill you. I'm good with this. You'll still be able to fly with one testicle. Now that would be a shame for both of us. Please turn the plane.† Tuck engaged the autopilot and let the Lear bring itself around to the course to Japan. â€Å"Sebastian said you might try something like that,† she said. â€Å"I told him I could handle you. I can, can't I? Handle you, I mean.† Tuck was quiet for a minute, berating himself for overestimating the efficiency of the military. Then finally he said, â€Å"You are a nefarious, diabolical, and evil bitch.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"That's all.† â€Å"I'm impressed. ‘Nefarious' has more than two syllables. I am a good influence on you.† â€Å"Fuck you.† â€Å"You will,† she said. 48 Too Many Guns Back at the drinking circle, Malink opened a copy of People reverentially and read by kerosene lamp while the other men huddled to get a look at the pictures. â€Å"Cher is worst-dressed,† Malink announced. â€Å"Too skinny,† said Favo. â€Å"I like Lady Di.† Malink cringed. In the picture Lady Di was wearing a string of pearls, obviously the reason for Favo's preference. Malink turned the page. â€Å"Celestine Raptors of Madison County is number one movie in country,† Malink read. â€Å"I want to see a movie,† Favo said. â€Å"You must tell the Sky Priestess to tell Vincent to bring a movie.† â€Å"Many movies,† said Abo. â€Å"And many delicious light and healthy snacks with NutraSweet registered trademark,† he added in English. â€Å"Vincent will bring many snacks.† Malink was turning to the moving story of a two-thousand-pound man who, after being forklifted out of his house, had dieted down to a svelte fourteen hundred when the sound of a machine gun rattled across the is-land. Malink put down the magazine and held up his hand to quiet the men. They waited and there was another burst of gunfire. A few seconds later they heard shouting and looked down the beach to see Sarapul running as fast as his spindly old legs would carry him. â€Å"Come help!† he shouted. â€Å"They shot the navigator!† The Uzi was pressed so hard into Tuck's side that he felt as if his ribs were going to separate any second. The guard crouched behind him in the cockpit hatchway, while out on the tarmac Beth Curtis exchanged the cooler for another manila envelope. She seemed to be in a much better mood when she climbed back into the copilot's seat. â€Å"Home, James.† Tuck tossed his head toward the back of the plane where the guard was taking his seat. â€Å"I guess you weren't taking any chances about me taking off while you were out of the plane.† â€Å"Do I look stupid?† she said. A smile there, no hint of a challenge. â€Å"No, I guess not.† Tuck pushed up the throttles and taxied the Lear back out to the runway. Again Beth Curtis reached over and gave him a light squeeze to the crotch. She put on her headset so she could talk to him over the roar of the engines as they took off. â€Å"Look, I know this is hard for you. Trust is some-thing you build, and you haven't known me long enough to learn to do that.† Tuck thought, It would help if you weren't changing personalities every five minutes. â€Å"Trust me, Tucker. What we are doing is not hurting the people of Alualu. There are people in India who are selling off their organs for less than the price of a used Toyota pickup. With what we make, we can be sure that these people are always taken care of, and we can take care of ourselves in the meantime.† â€Å"If people are selling their organs on the cheap, then how are you – we – making so much money?† â€Å"Because we can do it to order. Transplant isn't just a matter of blood type, you know. Sure, in a pinch – and usually it is a pinch – you can go on just blood type, but there are four other factors in tissue typing. If they match, along with blood type, then you have a better chance of the body not rejecting the organ. Sebastian has a database of the tissue types of every native on the island. When there's a need for an exact match, the order comes in over the satellite and we run it through the database. If we have it, the Sky Priestess calls the chosen.† â€Å"Don't the people have to be the same race?† â€Å"It helps, but it seems that the people of Alualu have a very similar genetic pattern to the Japanese.† â€Å"They don't look Japanese. How do you know this?† â€Å"Actually, it was figured out by an anthropologist who came to the island long before I did. He was studying the language and genetics of the islanders to determine where they migrated from. Turns out there are both linguistic and genetic links to Japan. They've been diluted by interbreeding with natives from New Guinea, but it's still very close.† â€Å"So you guys opened up Kidneys ‘R' Us and started making a mint.† â€Å"Except for the scar, their lives don't change, Tucker. We've never lost a patient to a botched operation or infection.† But bullets, Tuck thought, are another matter. Still, there was nothing he could do to stop them, and if he had to do nothing, a great salary and his own jet were pretty good compensation. He'd spent most of his life not doing anything. Was it so bad to be paid for what you're good at? He said, â€Å"So it doesn't hurt them? In the long run, I mean.† â€Å"Their other kidney steps up production and they never notice the difference.† â€Å"I still don't get the Sky Priestess thing.† She sighed. â€Å"Control the religion and you control the people. Sebastian tried to bring Christianity to the Shark People – and the Catholics before him – but you can't compete with a god people have actually seen. The answer? Become that god.† â€Å"But I thought Vincent was the god.† â€Å"He is, but he will bring wonderful cargo in the Sky Priestess. Besides, it breaks the boredom. Boredom can be a lethal thing on a small island. You know about that already.† Tuck nodded. It wasn't so bad now. The fear of being murdered had gone a long way toward breaking his boredom. Beth Curtis leaned over and kissed him lightly on the temple. â€Å"You and I can fight the boredom together. That's one of the reasons I chose you.† â€Å"You chose me?† In spite of himself, he was thinking about her naked body grinding away above him. â€Å"Of course I chose you. I'm the Sky Priestess, aren't I?† â€Å"I'm not so sure it was you,† Tuck said, thinking about the ghost pilot. She pushed away and looked at him as if he had lost his mind.