The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from November 2003

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from November 2003

This month in Odyssey.
November 1, 2003... Pressure! Editors like myself who juggle deadlines certainly know about pressure--the psychological variety, that is, known as stress. But this issue focuses on another form of pressure--the physical kind that is always with us. Can you feel...

Expansive crystals.(Science Scoops)(how natrolite crystals form)
November 1, 2003... Who would argue? When you place a solid in a vise and increase the pressure, it should compress, right? Well, an international team of scientists claims that they have discovered a crystal formation that appears to do just the opposite: It...

A special love for other...of its own kind!(Science Scoops)(Majungatholus atopus)
November 1, 2003... It stood nine meters tall, and its blade-like teeth were perfectly suited for ripping into flesh. It fed upon the remains of other dinosaurs, including gigantic long-necked sauropods called titanosaurs. But it also had an appetite for others of...

Humans pressure the earth.(Science Scoops)(effects of human consumption on the global environment)
November 1, 2003... You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure hat out. Even in the most general sense, if we take more resources from our planet than we put back, eventually we will run out of things to take. Well, according to the latest report from...

Black cats have good luck!(Science Scoops)
November 1, 2003... The next time a black cat crosses your path, don't panic. Instead, think about the recent research by Stephen O'Brien and Eduardo Eizirik, evolutionary geneticists at the U.S. National Cancer Institute in Maryland. If the researchers are right,...

Forget your homework? Blame mom.(Science Scoops)
November 1, 2003... Or Dad. Take your pick. Yes, a new study shows that forgetfulness may run in the family. That's right. Dr. Daniel Weinberger (National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD) has discovered that a gene long known to be involved in...

Forever young.(Science Scoops)(how attitude affects mental and physical well-being)
November 1, 2003... If you can't remember the previous scoop, don't fret; this doesn't mean that you're getting old fast. In fact, scientists have just found proof that you really are only as old as you feel. Sherry J. Holladay (Eastern Illinois University in...

The powers of pressure.(air pressure)
November 1, 2003... Feeling pressured? Don't worry, so too is everyone else across the globe. It's a fact. Each day, every day, all day, Earthlings wake up under pressure. What's more, for most of us, it's inescapable--even when we sleep. Of course, most of us...

How Signor Torricelli discovered nothing (and the surprising way that it changed the world).(Evangelista Torricelli's observations about air pressure)
November 1, 2003... Believe it or not, ODYSSEY magazine wasn't in print back in 1643: But if it had been, we surely would have conducted this interview with a scientist named Evangelista Torricelli, who was then conducting a remarkable experiment in Italy. ...

Meteorologist Ken Aucoin: "weighing in" on atmospheric pressure.(People to Discover)
November 1, 2003... You've seen those TV weather maps--lots of "high pressure" and "low pressure" zones. So how exactly does pressure translate into sunny days--or rained-out ballgames? To find out, ODYSSEY asked Ken Aucoin, WIS-TV's (Columbia, SC) on-air...

Water served with pressure.
November 1, 2003... Stephanie stumbles to the bathroom at 6 a.m., finding her way more by instinct than sight. "Really," her mind tells her, "who can be awake at this hour? I need a shower..." Steph's eyelids seem to blink open as steam fills the air....

Build a water tower.(Activity to Discover)
November 1, 2003... Discover that water flows faster at higher pressure. In a water tower, pressure is formed from water depth. NOTE: Do this activity outdoors or in the kitchen sink. 1. Peel the label off the 2-liter soda bottle. 2. Measure and mark...

Aqueducts: transporting water.(Roman aqueducts)
November 1, 2003... What single necessity of life determines where people build homes and cities? WATER! The Roman Empire equated water with civilization. Romans transported water to cities using aqueducts, systems of pipes or channels that use gravity to...

Taking the ultimate plunge.(free diving)
November 1, 2003... Tanya Streeter takes a last breath. A moment later, the water closes over her head. Her destination is 160 meters below--a depth no human has ever reached on a single breath. How deep can a "free diver" go? No one really knows the human...

Going up: life in the death zone.(climbing Mt. Everest; Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay)
November 1, 2003... The New Zealander struggled up the final snowy ridge. His companion joined him on the mountaintop, gasping for breath. Edmund Hillary offered his hand to Tenzing Norgay, but Norgay gave him a bear hug instead. Fifty years ago, Hillary and...

The world's greatest athlete?(mountaineer Reinhold Messner)
November 1, 2003... Who is the world's greatest living athlete? Michael Jordan? Willie Mays? Wayne Gretzky? It may be Reinhold Messner. The Italian mountaineer was the first person to summit all 14 of the world's peaks above 8,000 meters. Messner completed every...

Squeezed to the extreme.(piezophiles in the Marianas Trench)
November 1, 2003... Let's face it. When compared with a lot of organisms, humans are big wimps. We can't live in boiling water or on Antarctic ice, and we need special pressurized suits to survive the crushing weight of water at low ocean depths. We avoid these...

Dark dwellers.(deep-sea animals)
November 1, 2003... California's Monterey Bay Aquarium perches on the edge of an abyss. Just a dolphin's leap offshore is a 4,026-foot-deep (1,220-meter-deep) canyon, the home of strange creatures with names like "'hagfish," "fangtooth," "viperfish," and "vampire...

My goldfish is a submarine: learn how underwater using pressure, and then pilot your own "robotic" diver.(Activity to Discover)
November 1, 2003... Okay, what do a 300-ton nuclear submarine diving beneath the polar ice cap, and your pet goldfish, rising to the top of the tank when you sprinkle out food, have in common? Give up? Amazingly, both of these "swimmers" move up and down...

Candy can be a gas!(using carbon dioxide in candy)
November 1, 2003... Lollipops and most other forms of hard candy are made from one basic recipe: sugar, corn syrup, and flavoring. The ingredients are heated at high temperatures to obtain a pure sugar syrup, which turns into hard candy when left to cool. No...

Fire and ice: cool new designer diamonds are hot.
November 1, 2003... Who doesn't love diamonds? They're rare, and forever They sparkle. They symbolize love. But... what if they weren't rare? What if they were made in a laboratory using extremely high pressure, and instead of being 3 billion years old, they...

Let's play with pressure!(Activity to Discover)
November 1, 2003... Why just read about pressure when you can play with it, too? See firsthand how gases behave under pressure. Just remember--as in any game, when playing with pressure you have to follow the rules. In this case, they're the rules of physics. ...

Pipelines and pressure: the story of maple syrup.
November 1, 2003... Picture a tall stack of pancakes--so big their edges hang off of your plate. Now, spread on some soft butter, and for the final taste treat, pour on golden-brown, deliciously sweet, pure maple syrup. Mmmmm. Not much beats the rich flavor of...

In a balloon.(Brain Strain)
November 1, 2003... Aliens have inflated two identical balloons, but one is inflated more than the other. You have the option of being held captive inside the smaller balloon or inside the larger one. Once you are inside, your captors will join the two balloons by...

Pressure? Don't tell me about pressure!(emotional stress)
November 1, 2003... It's late, it's dark, you're walking home. You hear the sound of something following you--something big. Your heart begins to race; your breathing becomes shallow; you feel sweaty; you suddenly turn big and green... no, wait. That's the Hulk....

A lunar eclipse and a meteor shower!(What's Up)
November 1, 2003... This is a great month for observing the planets and watching two special sky events: a total eclipse of the moon and a meteor shower! For most of the month, you should easily find Venus, Mars, and Saturn in the early evening sky. By the end of...

Planet watch.(What's Up)
November 1, 2003... Evening Planets: Mercury (in Libra, moving into Ophiuchus) is not visible in early November. By the end of the month, it sets low in the southwest, one hour after the sun. Venus (in Scorpius, moving into Sagittarius) sets one hour after...

Impacts on the moon.(You Can Do Astronomy)
November 1, 2003... With a total lunar eclipse happening this month, and your eyes on the moon, why not check out some interesting moon features? No doubt you have noticed that the surface of the moon is not smooth. It is covered with depressions, called...

Stargazing with Jack Horkheimer: the planet that went "tilt" and other far-out planets.
November 1, 2003... URANUS IS A WEIRD PLANET IN MANY WAYS. LIKE JUPITER AND SATURN, URANUS IS A GAS GIANT PLANET, MEANING THAT IT HAS A TINY CORE SORROUNDED BY MANY LAYERS OF GAS. URANUS IS NOT NEARLY AS LARGE AS JUPITER. WE COULD FIT ONLY ABOUT FOUR...

Digging into numbers.(Countdown)(use of statistics)
November 1, 2003... How might Nokia determine what cell phone design you're most likely to buy? Or what neat features on it you're likely to use most? And how do scientists determine if that cell phone is harmful to your health? The answer is statistics--an area...

Prairie dogs under pressure.(Animal Angles)
November 1, 2003... Cattle eat grass. So do prairie dogs, those burrowing North American cousins of ground squirrels. In 1902, a government biologist stated that prairie dogs could eat up to 75 percent of grasses on a cattle range. That's when the real...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
November 17, 2003... Nov. 17--U.S. INSURERS SET FOR UKPOUND 5.9 BILLION MERGER: US insurer Travelers Property Casualty Corporation has been in talks to merge with St. Paul Companies in a deal that could be worth $10 billion (UKpound 5.9 billion), according to...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider Column.
November 17, 2003... Nov. 17--CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE: Treasury Select Committee chairman John McFall, responsible for many a sleepless night for bank chiefs, has spilled the beans on the infamous confrontation with Barclays' boss Matt Barrett. Glaswegian McFall...

Bush Urges American Firms to Pull Out of Britain.
November 17, 2003... Nov. 17--George Bush's administration has called on US companies in Britain to relocate jobs to America in an astonishing move that could trigger a major trade war. US-based multinationals have been told they will receive compensation from...

London Restaurant Investment Group Closes In on Eateries Deal.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Jim Armitage Nov. 17--New London restaurant investment group Clapham House, headed by former Pizza Express boss David Page, is close to striking its first deal. The group, which raised UKpound 15 million in a share placing when...

Accountants Look on Bright Side of London Economy.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Jane Padgham Nov. 17--London's accountants have become more optimistic about prospects in the past three months, reflecting a dramatic improvement in the capital's economy. A poll of more than 1000 members of the Institute of...

Losses Mount for Euro Disney Despite New Studio Park.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Ross Tieman Nov. 17--Over-indebted theme park operator Euro Disney today reported a near-doubled first-half net loss of euro56 million (UKpound 39 million), despite waivers on management fees and royalties from Californian...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Anthony Hilton Nov. 17--ACCORDING TO A SUNDAY TIMES REPORT yesterday, the Treasury is refusing after all to budge on its decision to impose a ceiling of UKpound 1.4 million on any individual pension pot and to tax at a penal rate...

Evening Standard, London, Stock Markets Column.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Mickey Clark Nov. 17--Drugs giant AstraZeneca fell 30 pence to 2815 pence following claims that sales forecasts for its fat-busting treatment Crestor were over-optimistic. That was the charge levelled today by broker UBS, which...

Troubles to Impact Cellphone-Service Provider's U.K. Christmas Sales Drive.
November 17, 2003... Nov. 17--Li Ka-Shing, Asia's richest businessman, has warned that delays in the supply of handsets for third-generation mobile services will hurt a vital Christmas sales drive in Britain. The comments underscore the difficulties Li's...

U.K. Mobile Phones Firm MmO2 Rings Up First Profit but Swings Axe.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Nick Goodway Nov. 17--Mobile phones group mmO2 has made its first profit since it was demerged from BT Group two years ago but warned that intense competition is hurting trading. The sponsor of the England rugby team swung from...

Sell-Off of U.K. Newspapers Looms As CEO Quits Publisher.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Nick Goodway Nov. 17--Daily and Sunday Telegraph proprietor Conrad Black has dramatically quit the media company that publishes the newspapers. Lord Black, 59, said he would step down as chief executive of the New York-listed...

U.S. Rivals Circle U.K. Oil, Gas Company As Backers Seek Exit.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Steve Hawkes Nov. 17--Venture Production, the North Sea oil and gas company backed by the Rothschild and Weinstock families, is up for sale after less than two years on the London Stock Exchange. Houston-based US independents...

OPINION: Britain Needs to Adjust Declining Oil Production to Reflect Realities.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Tom Nicholls Nov. 17--It is no secret that the UK's most successful post-war industry -- oil -- is in decline. But the Government could dramatically reduce the speed of that decline by adapting investment terms to the realities of...

U.K. Property Group Delancey Hoists 'For Sale' Sign in London.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Adam Coffer Nov. 17--Jamie Ritblat's property group Delancey has put its portfolio of prime London retail developments and office space up for sale. The assets, which also include a stake in property consultant Colliers CRE,...

Heart, Galaxy Stations Boost U.K. Radio Group Chrysalis.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Nick Goodway Nov. 17--Having stolen Capital's crown as its Heart moved up to London's number one spot, radio group Chrysalis rubbed salt in the wounds with a bullish first-quarter forecast today. It said it expected radio...

Rugby World Cup Campaign Draws Big Chiefs to Sydney, Australia, Touchline.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Bernard O'Riordan Nov. 17--England's Rugby World Cup campaign has reached the business end of the tournament, but off the pitch it's the captains of industry who are looking to score. The corporates packing down for Saturday's...

Imperial Tobacco Beats Targets, Grows Overseas.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Jim Armitage Nov. 17--The chief executive of Imperial Tobacco today swapped the Scottish law courts for a City presentation centre as he unveiled forecast-beating profits and new tobacco deals in China and Turkey. Gareth Davis...

Toyota Is among Asian Stocks to Slip on Wall Street, Nikkei.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Jake Lloyd Smith Nov. 17--Asia's stocks took a drubbing today, including carmaker Toyota Motor, which was singled out for a critical analysis in influential investors' magazine Barron's. It questioned whether there was much...

U.K. Faces UKpound 2 Billion Tax Gap over Pensions, Industry Group Says.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Robert Lea Nov. 17--The Treasury is facing a UKpound 2 billion tax shortfall because of the black hole in company pension schemes, the Confederation of British Industry has warned. The CBI also said Gordon Brown had got his...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
November 18, 2003... Nov. 18--TRADER TALK: Ashton Bradbury, Old Mutual's AAA-rated smaller companies star, has added 50,000 shares in RPS to his Old Mutual UK Select Mid Cap fund, which now holds 610,000 in the environmental consultancy. His UK Select Smaller...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
November 18, 2003... Byline: Anthony Hilton Nov. 18--NEW LABOUR THAT CAN WORK FOR US: It looks as if the Government is trying to start a more grown-up debate in this country about immigration and the benefits that flow from it. In his address to business...

Italian Investors Line Up Shell Company for European Skies Battle.
November 19, 2003... Byline: Ross Tieman Nov. 19--A group of Italian investors is trying to build a new European regional airline on the back of AIM-listed shell company 7 Group. The company has agreed to buy Azzurra Airlines of Milan in a reverse...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
November 19, 2003... Byline: Jake Lloyd-Smith Nov. 19--Leading exporters took a pasting in Japan today as the yen bobbed higher against the dollar, thanks to another US crackdown on imports. A more muscular currency -- a constant headache for Japan's...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--EURO SURGES TO RECORD AS US ACTS ON TEXTILES: The euro surged to a record high against the dollar in Asian trade today as moves by Washington to target Chinese textile imports were seen as fears that the Bush Administration may be...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider Column.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--CASE OR TWO OF ENTENTE CORDIALE: Sir Peter Michael, the media and electronics tycoon who -- having made UKpound 145 million -- is now devoting himself to fine wines and similar pursuits, tells me his American wine business has received...

FBI Swoop on Wall Street Traders Includes Arrest of Trio at U.K. Brokerage.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--Three employees from British money broker Icap were among 48 Wall Street traders arrested and led away in handcuffs overnight following a massive FBI operation. Staff from the Swiss banking giant UBS and JP Morgan Chase were also...

EMI's Profits Slide Again As Music Giant Waits on Time Warner Deal.
November 19, 2003... Byline: Nick Goodway Nov. 19--Music giant EMI revealed today why it is keen to merge with Time Warner's music business in a $1.6 billion (UKpound 941 million) deal as its first-half profits slid again. But chairman Eric Nicoli said it...

FBI Arrests U.S. Employee of London Securities Firm.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--London securities house Collins Stewart Tullett was drawn into the latest Wall Street scandal today after confirming that one of its US employees was arrested in FBI raids. Three employees at UK moneybroker Icap, as well as staff...

Harrods Owner Fayed Sells Heliport after Losing Planning Battles.
November 19, 2003... Byline: Mira Bar-Hillel Nov. 19--Harrods owner Mohammed Fayed has sold the London Heliport at Battersea to Weston (Aviation) Limited, part of the Weston Group. The heliport, licensed by the CAA, is the only one in London. Facilities...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
November 19, 2003... Byline: Anthony Hilton Nov. 19--WARNING FOR DEBT-LADEN FIRMS: The resignation yesterday of Stanislas Yassukovich from the board of Telewest should send a shiver down the spines of any director of a company that has a mountain of debt and...

Bank of England Outsider Raises Lone Voice against Rate Rise.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--The City scaled back its expectations of higher interest rates today after it emerged that the Bank of England's decision to raise the cost of borrowing earlier this month was not unanimous. The minutes of the meeting showed that...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
November 19, 2003... Accent-transfer prob. in last graf. SYY EV-MARKET-COL/2 Ticker: GUS, BRBY, BA, BAESY, BIO, CLL, CCH, WMH, SLY, GSK, DWV, LIN, BOC, BOX, Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column By Evening Standard, London Nov....

Disgraced Merrill Lynch Analyst Blodget Pursues Media Career at Martha Trial.
November 19, 2003... Byline: Bill Condie Nov. 19--Disgraced former Merrill Lynch stock analyst Henry Blodget has got a new job, reporting for an internet magazine on the tribulations of another fallen corporate star -- the trial of style guru Martha Stewart....

U.K. Property Group's Results Bring Cheer to London Office Market.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--Property group Land Securities gave some cheer to the capital's beleaguered office market today as it signalled a slowdown in the declining value of its London office portfolio. This part of LandSecs' portfolio fell 1.1 percent in...

Delay on Founder's Offer Raises Doubts over U.K. Developer's Private Move.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--Doubts grew today over whether property developer Chelsfield will ever be taken private by founder and chairman Elliott Bernerd. Talks have been going on for six months and Bernerd told Chelsfield's independent directors last...

British Supermarkets Group Gains Former Asda Executive As Its New Chief.
November 19, 2003... Byline: Fiona Walsh Nov. 19--Supermarkets group Sainsbury has poached former Asda executive Justin King from Marks & Spencer to be its new chief executive, replacing Sir Peter Davis. The appointment of the highly-regarded King, 42, is...

U.S. Trade Row Sends Dollar to Record Low.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--America's escalating trade row sent the dollar tumbling to a record low against the euro today and lifted gold to $400 an ounce for the first time in seven years. Fresh US restrictions on imports also hit Japan's stock market, the...

Markets Go in Spin As United States Slaps Limits on Clothes from China.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--Financial markets were thrown into turmoil today after the United States said that it will slap new import quotas on Chinese clothing. The latest move in America's escalating trade row sent the dollar tumbling to 1.1977 against...

Former Railtrack Executive Takes Top Job at U.K. Utility Anglian Water.
November 19, 2003... Nov. 19--Anglian Water today named the man blamed for crippling speed restrictions on the railways three years ago as its new chief executive. Jonson Cox, the former Yorkshire Water and Railtrack executive, will take up the role in the...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Jake Lloyd-Smith Nov. 20--TOKYO RALLIES AFTER UPBEAT S&P WARMS TO BANK STOCKS: Banking stocks, frequently among Tokyo's most volatile sectors, gained ground today after ratings agency Standard & Poor's gave investors a spur to jump...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
November 20, 2003... Nov. 20--HILTON REPORTS DECLINE IN HOTEL REVENUE GROWTH: Hilton reported that growth in revenues per available room -- the standard hotel industry performance measure -- had declined 1.7 percent in the UK in October. However, its Ladbrokes...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider Column.
November 20, 2003... Nov. 20--E&Y LOOKS BACK TO ITS LAURELS: Ernst & Young, recent recipient of precisely no awards, glosses over that fact on its website, a good portion of which is devoted to long-past plaudits. One such refers to the judges' citation of "two key...

CEO of British Electrical Transmission Company Pledges Dividends Boost.
November 20, 2003... Nov. 20--The boss of National Grid Transco cheered consumers and investors today, saying he does not expect blackouts this winter and announcing a cranking-up of the dividend. Reporting underlying pre-tax profits of UKpound 405 million for...

Grid Merger Gains Bring a Pledge on Dividends in Britain.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Robert Lea Nov. 20--National Grid Transco is cranking up its dividend by 15 percent this year and promising to push up the dividend by 7 percent each year until 2008. The good news from the privatised nationwide electricity...

UK's Sterling Energy Set to Pass Up Chance to Raise Its Offer for Fusion Oil.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Steve Hawkes Nov. 20--AIM-listed Sterling Energy was today expected to stand firm in its UKpound 39.5 million bid battle for Fusion Oil and offer a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum to shareholders holding out for a better price. ...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Anthony Hilton Nov. 20--GRID MERGER PROVIDES THE SPARK: Who says utilities are boring? The message in today's figures from National Grid Transco is that the merger between National Grid and Lattice has gone much better than hoped....

Beijing Bids to Put New Polish on Its Fading Hong Kong Jewel.
November 20, 2003... Nov. 20--When Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, the former British colony was the jewel in China's crown. It was a major financial hub, stable and absurdly prosperous. Beijing's Communist rulers were intensely proud that the thriving...

Evening Standard, London, Stock Markets Column.
November 20, 2003... Nov. 20--DOUBLE WHAMMY SHATTERS CONFIDENCE IN BLUE-CHIPS: Blue-chip stocks suffered a 75-point turnaround today, as the dollar continued its slump against other major currencies and after more bomb blasts in Turkey. Early on, the FTSE 100...

British Mortgage Lender Defends Record-Breaking Lending Volume.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Patrick Hosking Nov. 20--Britain's biggest building society, Nationwide, insisted today that it was lending prudently despite a 159 percent blow-out in net loans. Nationwide extended a record UKpound 7.5 billion of extra credit...

British Maternity Retailer Records Dramatic Profit Recovery.
November 20, 2003... Nov. 20--Beating even the most optimistic expectations today, Mothercare reported a UKpound 23 million first-half swing from loss to profit and hinted that it could soon reinstate dividends. The dramatic recovery after years of problems had...

Retail Units Help Push British Firm's Profits Up 44 Percent.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Fiona Walsh Nov. 20--Record results from Argos, Burberry and its Experian credit checking arm helped GUS push its profits up by an impressive 44 percent to UKpound 354 million over the first half. Shareholders are rewarded with...

Potential Buyers Line Up for Auction of Safeway's Stores in Britain.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Fiona Walsh Nov. 20--Bid-target Safeway said it is confident it will raise more than expected for the parcel of stores it has put up for auction, after "very encouraging" responses from potential buyers. The stores, which were...

Thai Tourist Agency Launches Elite Tourism Club.
November 20, 2003... Byline: Jake Lloyd-Smith Nov. 20--Thailand, long a haven for cash-strapped backpackers, is going after fatter tourist pickings with the launch of a world first -- a membership card for a country. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra this...