Category Archives: archive

Country Stats:

Top 10 Countries by Murder by Capita of Population   Ã¯Ã‚¿Ã‚½ Country Description Amount  1. Colombia 0.63 per 1000 people   2. South Africa 0.51 per 1000 people   3. Jamaica 0.32 per 1000 people   4. Venezuela 0.32 per 1000 people   5. Russia 0.19 per 1000 people   6. Mexico 0.13 per 1000 people   7. Lithuania 0.10 per 1000 people   8. Estonia 0.10 per 1000 people   9. Latvia 0.10 per 1000 people   10. Belarus 0.09 per 1000 people

Continuing for this table: in 11th Place, Ukraine, 12th, Papua New Guinea, 13th, Kyrgyzstan, 14th, Thailand, 15th, Moldova. 16th, Zambia, 17th, Seychelles,ï¿Â½ 18th, Zimbabwe, 19th, Costa Rica, 20th, Poland.ï¿Â½

The USA appears in 24th position at 0.04, Canada, 44th with 0.01 and the UK in 46th position with 0.01 per 1,000 people respectively.

The top five countries with the least number of murders per 1,000 head of population appear to be Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Hong Kong and Greece.

Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Murders/Per-capita

Answers to: So You Think You.re Well Travelled?

The capitals are:

  1. Tonga: Nuku’Alofa
  2. Albania: Tirane
  3. Latvia: Riga
  4. Argentina: Buenos Aires
  5. Ireland: Dublin

0 out of 5 – you need to get out more!

1-3 – not bad

4 – very good! You are a Globetrotter!

5 – are you sure you didn’t sneak a look?

Being Careful: Zambia

This advice is from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office about Zambia.

Violent and armed robberies and vehicle hijackings are increasing. Lusaka, the Copperbelt towns and other tourist centres are the favourite targets of criminals but attacks can happen almost anywhere. Mugging, bag-snatching, theft from parked cars and vehicle hijackings are common in downtown areas, particularly near bus and railway stations and in some shopping areas. Vehicle hijackings can happen anywhere at any time. Drivers must stay alert and should not, for example, stop to give lifts to people flagging them down at the roadside. Drivers should also be wary where objects appear to have been placed to block the road. Walking after dark, particularly in tourist or downtown areas, can be particularly dangerous. There are continuing reports of armed cross-border raids from Democratic Republic of Congo. These are often cattle or food raids, targeting border villages. But some have been attributed to the Congolese Mai Mai faction. The border area between Zambia and Angola remains sensitive and a large number of firearms left over from Angola’s civil war are in circulation. British residents who consider their presence essential in these areas should remain vigilant.

Landmines are a potential danger in Zambia’s border areas, particularly those neighbouring Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique.

Travel by long-distance public transport at any time can be hazardous owing to poor standards of driving, lack of rest periods for drivers on long journeys, dilapidated vehicles and the poor condition of some roads. Some short distance journeys by public transport can also be dangerous for similar reasons. For example, minibuses used in urban areas are usually severely overcrowded, poorly maintained and badly driven.

Meeting News from London By Padmassana

Saturday 3rd July

This month was the opportunity for the clubs members to show their slides to their fellow Globies. It was also our first meeting where we could try out our new digital projector, many thanks to Paul for making the technical side of the meeting run so smoothly.

We started off with six members giving traditional slide shows, Dan Bachmann kicked off with a talk on the island of Santorini. He was followed by Mike Dodd, who was the first recipient of the Globetrotters Legacy Award, Mike’s slides showed us a small part of his trip to South East Asia. Ernest Flesch showed us his Russian trip from Moscow to St Petersburg. We headed into Asia again with Phil Ferguson’s trip to the mountain kingdom of Bhutan. Across to Africa for Jeanie Copland’s walking trip to Morocco, taking in Berber villages and Marrakech. Last before the break was Helen Barnhill, who showed us faces of Angkor Wat, both human and stone.

The second half of the meeting saw the debut of our new digital projector as Dick Curtis kicked off with a geographical quiz. Tracey Murray took us to Texas and the spectacular Big Bend National Park. Nick Preston showed us Iguaçu Falls from both the Argentinean and Brazilian sides ending with a wonderful shot of the falls during El Nino. Japan was our next destination, as Francesca Jaggs described her retreat trip to the Shinto temples near Kyoto. We stayed in Japan for our next speaker, but this time to the southern Island of Kyushu as Kevin Brackley showed us the volcanoes and towns of the island. And finally Dick Curtis showed us some of the quirky architecture of Brescia in Italy. While the second half speakers had been talking the results of the quiz had been worked out, congratulations to Anne Dodd who won first prize. Many thanks to all the Globies who took the time to prepare and give us a great afternoon.

By Padmassana

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk Admission members £2, non members £4.

Airline News

British low-cost airline easyJet will expand further into central Europe in October, adding new routes to Hungary and Poland. EasyJet said in a statement it planned to fly to Krakow and Warsaw in Poland and increase services to Budapest from October 31. The new routes add to the airline’s recently-established services to Budapest and the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, bringing its central European services to 17.

Iberia, Spain’s major airline will stop channelling its Central American flights through Miami and will instead fly direct to a limited number of destinations. From October, it will run direct flights from Spain to Guatemala and Panama and will suspend another five Central American routes it now serves via Miami. The cost of maintaining a hub in Miami is a factor, but Iberia can offer non stop flights by using a long range Airbus. Another factor is that customers have complained about the strict US security measures they are subjected to when they have to fly via Miami.

Air New Zealand is to remove first class and improve economy class on its flights. Air NZ’s existing fleet will be divided into premium, super economy, and economy classes. They are also introducing video screens to every seat, and installing a lie-flat seat in premium class. The seats in super economy and economy will also be replaced, and cabin interiors refurbished.

Singapore Airlines began the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight – an 18-hour trip between Singapore and New York. The 16,600 km (10,310 mile) flight on an Airbus A340-500 aircraft over the Arctic shaves four hours off an existing service and marks the second non-stop flying record this year by Singapore’s flag carrier. The plane is specially fitted with business class seats that can recline into beds measuring 26 inches (66 cm) wide and 78 inches (198.1 cm) long. Economy seats are also slightly roomier than usual at 20 inches (51 cm) wide.

The US government is implementing new tough rules curtailing visits to Cuba. The rules implemented on June 16 means that thousands of Cuban-Americans visiting relatives on the island must return before June 30 or face fines of up to USD$55,000. After that date, US residents and citizens will be allowed to visit Cuba once every three years instead of annually.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is to begin flying from London to Sydney via Hong Kong on December 7, increasing competition with British Airways and its Australian partner Qantas.

Volunteer Corner

Many people write in to ask us about how they go about finding information on volunteering overseas. The following link is an excellent resource which allows you to say what type of volunteering programme you’d like to do, e.g. study languages, intern, eco-adventures, then you are taken to a screen to input preferred regions and country (if you have a preference), type of volunteering and duration. Take a look at: http://www.volunteerabroad.com/search.cfm

In the meantime, here are a couple of volunteer positions in Quito, Ecuador and another in Ghana.

Santa Martha Rescue Centre in Quito, Ecuador is a sanctuary for animals rescued from traffickers and other poor circumstances. Volunteers can care for wild animals confiscated from illegal zoos, homes and other illegal situations. The work includes gathering food for the animals, feeding, cleaning and repairing cages, building new cages, landscaping cages to make them more like the animal’s natural habitat, assisting in the rehabilitation of animals for liberation and medical care of sick or injured animals, as well as the transport of animals. The more exceptional duties include animal rescue missions, aided with the help of the police. If you are interested, email: santamartha@mail.com for more information.

Hosteria San Jorge Ecolodge located outside Quito, Ecuador is a former traditional Ecuadorian farm, now focusing on conservation. The Hosteria has over 25 rooms and facilities for conferences and a botanical reserve of over 30 hectares that is being used for conservation purposes. The Hosteria offers hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding and mountain biking on both the Reserve and surrounding areas. The Hosteria is in the process of replanting native species and identifying all native birds of the Reserve. It has a range of needs from helping to identify birds species, cataloguing native plants and trees, helping to develop and implement eco-tourism projects, physical improvements to the grounds, biological research projects, assisting with guests, assisting with tours and administering the web site. Projects will be developed with the skills of the volunteer and the time they can offer. Volunteers will be expected to work 8 hours per day. www.eco-lodgesanjorge.com. Email them.

Cultural exchange, home stay, small group general tours, traditional drumming and dances, teaching assistant, environmental preservation opportunities and many more for a period of 4 to 52 weeks in Ghana. ebensten@yahoo.com or see our website: World Voices

Great Lakes Ferry

A new high-speed, high-tech ferry has just started a crossing Lake Michigan, from Milwaukee to Muskegon, a 76 nautical miles journey in about two and a half hours. The ferry is an affordable alternative to flying to Muskegon and is faster and more relaxing than the six-hour 286-mile drive through Chicago traffic and around the southern end of Lake Michigan. The Lake Express has a capacity of 250 passengers and 46 vehicles. Officials from the new Lake Express car-passenger ferry say thousands of tickets were pre-sold. Local attractions include Muskegon’s Pere Marquette Beach and Michigan’s Adventure amusement park, which is just north of town.

Meeting News from New York

There will be no July and August meetings, but back in the Fall, with a new format!

For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates, click here at our website.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St ), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm . Admission $8, non members, $10.

Travel Jokes

Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive.

Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines. Our seat cushions can be used for flotation and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments, as you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.

Mac Remembers India

MacWe are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of Mac reminiscences about some of his travels around India in 1992.

One of the joys of travelling for me by rail in India second class air conditioned was that I met so many fellow Indian travellers. There is something about long train rides that people tell you stories they perhaps would not if they thought they would see you again. ï¿Â½The High Sheriff of Calcutta told me of some of his dealings with Nehru. ï¿Â½When Nehru would bring VIPs to Calcutta it was part of the High Sheriffs job to kind of be a tour guide. ï¿Â½He told me that Nehru was a woman chaser and made some amazing conquests. ï¿Â½I don’t know if this is true or the High Sheriff was trying to impress me. One story he told was of a world famous violinist and his wife that Nehru was showing around the horticulture gardens or park. He told the wife that he wanted to show her something and took her with him away from the High Sheriff and the husband. The High Sheriff told me he was furious with Nehru for leaving him to distract the husband. Have you seen this plant Sir etc.

According to him Nehru did a lot for the country but also a lot for Indian women. Maybe he was imitating our President Kennedy and maybe this was all gossip.

Some of the Indians liked to gossip. ï¿Â½Another Indian told me that Nehru and Mountbatten’s wife had something going. More gossip?ï¿Â½ The lady architect that I met when I asked her if she had trouble getting architectural work as a lady architect told me that most of the architectural jobs she got was from family friends.

The Indian Army officer I met on train who later showed me around Agra was a Sikh. There are many Sikhs in the Indian Army. While Sikhs in the Indian Army can wear their turbans, beards etc this Sikh for some reason did not. I don’t know why he was the exception. He told me that those in the Indian Army get more leave than we do. He said this was because some had to travel great distances to get back to their home.

I seemed to be always meeting Indian Military on the trains.ï¿Â½ One asked me what unit I had been in in WWII. ï¿Â½I told him that he probably would not have heard of it as we did not get much publicity and disbanded after the War. So when I did tell him he laughed and said: “Oh in training we studied your mistakes!” I did not know that we were that well known or that we made mistakes. Ha!

One of the reasons I preferred 2nd class air-conditioned to First Class was that I felt it was safer. In First Class, the conductors seemed to disappear and in one case religious pilgrims came aboard without tickets and took over the compartments. It was their country, and I was not going to argue with them. In 2nd Class air conditioned the fellow travellers seemed to kind of look after me. ï¿Â½Kind of adopted me. ï¿Â½And I heard some fascinating stories. ï¿Â½Whether they were true of not, I don’t know, but it made the time go faster.ï¿Â½ I at first did not know that you were suppose to order your meals ahead of time and somewhere down the line at a future train stop they were brought aboard. ï¿Â½I always ordered vegetarian meals as I did not trust the meat. When some Indian travellers found out that I did not know the ropes on this so several ordered for me not letting me know and they did not know others had also ordered so at the next stop coolies came with several trays of meals for me. Ha!

They had a ring on the floor and the Indians carried small chains and padlocks that they attached their luggage to these rings when they were asleep. I was constantly learning from them. I actually got letters from some I met on the train that I received later in the States and one Army Indian Colonel later came to the Pentagon and phoned out here but I did not get the message until it was too late. He was a Lawler and a Sikh and he had made me an honorary Sikh.

If you would like to contact Mac, he is happy to answer e-mails: macsan400@yahoo.com

Channel Tunnel Offer

Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel is cutting prices in its latest bid to compete with high speed ferry operators. The latest offer is £100 return tickets for a car and passengers travelling to France until December 31. To get this price, you must travel from the UK to France after 2pm on the day of the outward journey and to return before 2pm on any subsequent day, bookable at least one day in advance. Eurotunnel is facing tough competition from ferries and high speed catamaran services on routes from Dover to northern France. The latest rival is Speedferries.com, which recently launched a low-cost catamaran service offering to carry cars between Dover and Boulogne for £50 return.

Meeting News from Ontario

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

Hem Visits Japan in a Whirlwind

As soon as we got the plane in Tokyo we were off to Narita to see the temples. Did some intense travelling for the next three days in Tokyo including Nikko and Kamakura. Nikko is a wonderful mystical place. The bad news is that I don’t have any pictures of it as it was too misty and, horror of horrors, my camcorder battery was flat – after many years this nightmare came true! -but this only adds magic to the place. I started using the bullet train on a Monday and we have no time to stop and doodle about so we have got to make everyday count, as the seven day pass rounds out on Sunday.

Then went to Hiroshima and visited the peace dome memorial by moonlight after we got into town around 9 pm. Made an early morning start the next day, around 6.30 am and went to Miyajima island which has the floating gate as shown in thousand of pictures as poster of Japan. I wanted to take to Nagasaki, but there was not enough time because there are no bullet trains to get there. We will now go to Kagoshima and check out the volcanoes there. It’s worth knowing that there is free internet access at the Hiroshima international convention peace centre. I have to be in Kyoto by Sunday night when the rail pass runs out.

I adore this place – loos (washrooms) everywhere, spotlessly clean and fast and frequent trains and escalators that simply work. We experienced the rush hour in Tokyo and it is not as half as bad as trying to use the Victoria line in London! Living in London prepares you well for Japan and it is much cheaper too!!!

Now on the island of Shikoku. It is fairly rural and not many tourist come this way. We went to Matsumaya on the West coast and got here to Tokushima on the East coast. This is the place to start if you want to do the 88 sacred temple circuit. We have done the first temple and we will do the remaining at another time to reach Nirvana. Shortly leaving for Kyoto and rail passes expires there. I plan to spend my last day in Osaka, looking for electrical bargains. My travelling companion wants an electrically heated loo seat! I am not up on such hi tech comfort gadgets.

New FCO Travel Warnings

The Foreign Office says it will in future be more selective about issuing travel advice on the risk of terrorism. From now on, people will be warned against travelling only in situations of extreme and imminent danger. The UK government announced that blanket warnings against travel to an area would only be used only when the threat to British citizens looked “acute, large-scale and specific”. The move is likely to be welcomed by foreign governments like Turkey and Kenya who had complained that warnings issued after terrorist attacks had seriously damaging their tourist trade. The Beetle hopes that this applies to Bali, as she has just come back from a wonderful trip, but few UK travel insurance companies will insure trips to Bali because of FCO advice.

Traveller.s Diseases: Japanese Encephalitis

What is it: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a disease that is spread to humans by infected mosquitoes in Asia. It is one of a group of mosquito-borne virus diseases that can affect the central nervous system and cause severe complications and even death. It is a seasonal disease that usually occurs in the summer and fall in temperate regions of China, Japan, and Korea. In other places, disease patterns vary with rainy seasons and irrigation practices.

How do I get it: JE virus is transmitted chiefly by mosquitoes that live in rural rice-growing and pig-farming regions.

What happens if I get it: symptoms usually appear 6-8 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. Most infected persons develop mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. In people who develop a more severe disease, Japanese encephalitis usually starts as a flu-like illness, with fever, chills, tiredness, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Confusion and agitation can also occur in the early stage. The illness can progress to a serious infection of the brain (encephalitis) and can be fatal in 30% of cases. Among the survivors, another 30% will have serous brain damage, including paralysis.

Diagnose and treatment: diagnosis is based on tests of blood or spinal fluid. There is no specific treatment for Japanese encephalitis. A vaccine is licensed for use in travellers whose itineraries might put them at risk for Japanese encephalitis. All travellers should take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites to prevent Japanese encephalitis and other mosquito-borne diseases.

How can I avoid contractingJapanese encephalitis: avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes that transmit Japanese encephalitis feed mainly outside during the cooler hours at dusk and dawn. Travellers should minimize outdoor activities at these times, use mosquito repellent on exposed skin, and stay in air-conditioned or well-screened rooms. Travellers to rural areas should use a bed net and aerosol room insecticides.

China Closes Internet Cafes

In China, looking for an internet café? There will be fewer around. China has closed more than 8,600 cybercafes over the last couple of months because of fears that the Net could corrupt the minds of youngsters. This latest crackdown on unlicensed Internet cafes began in February after authorities warned that cybercafes can affect the “mental health of teenagers” while spreading “unhealthy online information”. As part of China’s bid to protect youngsters, authorities also ruled that Internet cafes are not to operate in residential areas or within 200 metres of primary and high schools.

An Alternative View on the Angel Falls by Frank

My experiences on a trip to Angel Falls were different to those reported in a Globetrotter e-newsletter a couple of months back. I went in 9/88. The US $ versus Bolivar’s exchange was great. My wife Rosemary and I flew into Canaima. We had a dugout trip to Orchid Island where we spent the night. Metal roof, open sides, toilet facilities were any clear spot you could find in the jungle. It started to rain, they were attempting to roast, what they called chickens, over an open fire, they were on ironwood stakes. Unlike any chickens I have ever seen. Eventually they got them halfway cooked. Not very good. They served an orange juice looking drink. Rosemary drank it like it was going out of style. She refused to drink the water because it had been taken out of the river, full of tannin as you are aware, She didn’t realize that the water in the orange drink was taken out of the river, nor did I tell her. We slept in the hammocks, no mosquito nets. We really weren’t bothered with mosquitoes, I don’t understand why.Mountains in Canaima Nat Park

The next morning they served something for breakfast, not sure what it was, it looked like corn beef hash but it wasn’t. Rosemary said that was enough for her. So she got in an outboard powered canoe with some Indians and went back down river to Canaima where she stayed in the hotel, the only one at that time. I followed instructions and dressed in shorts, BIG MISTAKE. After going up river about an hour I was getting very sun burnt. They found a piece of canvas to put on my legs. They were already burnt, also my face. Best they could find was some sun screen to put on my face. We got to an island where we got out of the canoe. We had to walk part of the way across it as it was too dangerous for us to go thru the falls in a canoe. The Indians walked ahead found a bulldozer and a trailer and came back across the island where we were still walking and picked us up and took us to where the canoes were waiting. We finally about 1430, arrived at the base camp for Angel Falls. All the people walked thru the jungle to base of the Falls. I was unable to do so as I was hurting and lay in a hammock in similar conditions as the night before. When they came back it was getting dusk. They had some people there fixing the meal it was fairly good, the only thing I ate was some sliced pineapple and dank some of the juice. No alcohol allowed but one German had brought a bottle of brandy along and they all enjoyed it. Oldest was about late 30’s I was at the time, 63. One Italian couple had been married three days, another was married eight days. The next morning they took the canoes up river to a point where I could get a good view of the falls.

We all got out and walked around, I didn’t walk much, I was hurting. We went down river to Orchid Island where they were staying the night. Two other canoes were there and leaving for Canaima. One of our Indians, clothed in a loin cloth, went over to one of the canoes and talked to them. The Indian had lived in New York for some years before coming back to Venezuela. He told me to wait until one canoe departed and then for me to go over to the remaining canoe and they would permit me to go with them. He said the first canoe had the operator in it and he would want to charge me a lot of money to go with the canoe. They stopped at a small falls, which was interesting but I didn’t get out of the canoe. We finally made it back to Canaima and walked the mile or so back to where the hotel and other facilities were. I found Rosemary and they took me to an Indian first aid station. The Indian woman there with rings on all her fingers rubbed, what I later found out was Nivea cream into my legs. Those damn rings HURT. Rosemary went to a village store and bought some Nivea cream. That night Rosemary brought a German young couple, back to our room, whom we had met in Merida the week before and I went to the top of Bolivar Mountain, the highest peak in Venezuela. We went up via a four stage cable car. After we got up there I had to be given oxygen. Let me get back to Canaima. I had something to eat at the open air hotel dining facility. The next noon time we stood in line to get on the Avensa Airline 727. There was a large group of Italian tourists there. One young man walked up to near the head of the line when they started loading. The National Guard officer came along and took him to the back to the end of the line. He wasn’t satisfied and when he thought they weren’t looking he went to head of line. Unfortunately for him they were watching. They took him out of the line, stood along side of him and the last we saw of him he was still standing there when the aircraft took off for Caracas.

I went to the medical facility The Dr. there told me I should read: I went to the medical facility where the doctor there told me

Upon arrival In Caracas I decided to go on to Miami, I was hurting. Upon arrival in Miami after a night sleep we started north to Patrick Air Force Base. You might not know where it is but it supports NASA at Cape Canaveral where the shuttles are launched. I went to the medical facility where the doctor there told me, I had a serious burn on the legs and there was a possibility I would need a skin graft. Well I was fortunate I didn’t need it.

Travel Resource

Spotted by our webmaster, the BBC has an excellent on-line travel resource. It has country and mini guides, travel tips, basic travel advice, studying and travelling and how to make money while you travel. Well worth a look: BBC Travel

Our Friends Ryanair

Ryanair will not be offering flights to Eastern Europe, despite European Union expansion, according to chief executive Michael O’Leary. Potential growth on routes into Poland and nine other countries who joined the EU on 1 May sparked speculation of a pending sweep into the region by low cost carriers, but Ryanair are wary. O’Leary said: “I think Eastern Europe is over-fashionable at the moment. I think it’s a market that will develop slowly over the next year or two. There’ll be a lot of focus on a couple of sexy destinations like Prague and maybe Warsaw.” He added that Ryanair will open up to another six bases in Western Europe in the next two to four years before then maybe considering Eastern Europe.

If you’d like to write a review on Ryanair, then go to: http://www.ciao.co.uk where there are plenty of reviews of the service, booking on-line and the Ryanair website – some good, and some not so good. The good reviews include comments such as: “OK. FOR FLYING AT SHORT NOTICE”, “Cheap, Quick and Reliable!”, “so cheap”. The not so good reviews include the following comments: “STRAIGHTJACKET SEATING”, “NON-EXISTENT CUSTOMER SUPPORT – TOUGH LUCK IF YOU HAVE *ANY* PROBLEMS AT ALL and “hidden costs and odd dates“

If you really, really want to, you can read Ryanair’s in-flight magazine on-line. For the fascinating and scintillating read, go to: