Under the influence of iboga, the Bwiti initiates are able to communicate directly with an assembly of dead ones—a chain of ancestors. The initiate falls to the ground in a stupor after drinking the iboga brew.

Given this background, it is highly inaccurate to portray the Soviet presence in the Middle East as having replaced former Western suzerainties. The two phenomena are very different: the Western suzerainties had the fixed political meaning of subjection; the Soviet presence does not. Whereas the British and the French had a wide measure of control over the entire political life of the dependent countries, the Soviets have only a limited influence on external policy which is liable to wane abruptly (and then perhaps swiftly increase again).

The couple had already put in the hard yards: Fred started out in '60s freakbeat combos The Weeds and Lollipop Shoppe, with Toody joining him in early '80s punk trio The Rats.

It is likely to kill interest, and give both teacher and pupils a didactic, textbook attitude at the very beginning.