BBC – Bruce Parry’s Amazon – Blog
May 30, 2008 — Taytehqb 
Three Days on a Boat
Posted from: On the way to Wijint
I never want to see a boat again in my life. We've been on this bloody boat for three days now and still haven't got there. The river is low and strewn with fallen trees. And we damaged the propeller on the first day so progress is painfully slow.
Gerson, the boatman, is a man of incredible stamina – he drives from before dawn till well into the night every day, relieving his boredom periodically by shouting obscenities at David, the little kid at the front whose job it is to spot submerged trees before we hit them. I think it must be his first time out, because he's really crap at it and we hit pretty much every tree in the river and Gerson explodes with indignation. I can't see them staying together.
Gerson also gets pretty cross with us as we move about on the narrow boat trying to find cameras and kit and film the journey. I think he just likes shouting.
The team sail down the river Rio Ene
It feels like we are going somewhere extraordinary. We've been travelling up smaller and smaller rivers, heading north into the heart of this great forest. This is one of the most bio-diverse places in the world and one of the least developed parts of the Amazon rainforest and it feels like a very special place. There are birds everywhere, and massive electric blue butterflies along the banks of the river. I saw three pink river dolphins today too, something I've always wanted to see.
We're living on frankfurters and tinned peaches. Not great, but morale is good anyway. And we're all sleeping for about 20 hours a day. Especially Matt and Zubin, who are travelling in Business Class in the middle of the boat – extra leg room, space to stretch out and sleep. I'm back in Economy and my back is killing me. Almu is travelling like the Queen of Sheba, perched on a luxurious nest of duffel bags on the second boat.
The river Rio Ene
We're staying in little tiny Indian villages along the way, slinging hammocks wherever we can and having a nip or two of whisky to put us to sleep of a night. The stars here are incredible, the night sky is deep black with no ambient light for hundreds of miles, so you can see everything. I saw two shooting stars last night.
We get to Wijint tomorrow, stay the night, then move on again.
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After partition: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
May 30, 2008 — Taytehqb 
In 1947, the jewel of the British Empire, India, was granted independence, divided along religious lines and two nations were born – India and Pakistan.
Partition left 10 million people uprooted and more than half a million Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus dead in riots and massacres.
Sixty years on, the status of Kashmir remains unresolved despite a tenuous peace process between India and Pakistan, following three wars. Communal unrest continues to surface from time to time in both countries. The good news is that the economies are growing, especially in India.
Find out more about how India, Pakistan and, since 1971 Bangladesh, have developed since partition.
ECONOMY AND WELFARE
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have come a long way since the British left them. Of the three nations, India has seen by far the most dramatic growth.
In terms of economic resources, India did much better than Pakistan out of partition. It inherited 90% of the subcontinent's industry and the thriving cities of Delhi, Bombay (now Mumbai) and Calcutta.
It is now one of the world's fastest developing economies with average growth rates of 8% over the past three years. It is also emerging as a serious global player in information technology, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals.
By contrast, Pakistan's economy which was based on agriculture and controlled by feudal elites, was left with 17.5% of the British colonial government's financial reserves after partition.
Nevertheless, it has seen sustained growth since the early 1950s despite internal strife, conflict with India, US sanctions, global recession and, more recently, the 2005 earthquake.
The economy really took off in 2000 after reforms that saw public sector enterprises privatised, relaxation of regulations on external trade and reform of the banking sector.
Thanks to economic growth and foreign investment, all three states have seen expansion and improvement of health and education services. Life expectancy has increased, infant and maternal death rates have dropped, and literacy rates risen.
But poverty is still widespread in all three nations, which feature in the top 10 most populous in the world. Almost half the population in Bangladesh lives on less than $1 a day and Pakistan's social indicators still lag behind countries with comparable per capita incomes.
A substantial number of people living in India's villages remain illiterate and impoverished, raising concerns about the inclusivity of the economic boom.
Powerful regional and caste-based parties have empowered many poor people whose progress was hampered by the ancient Hindu caste system, but that system still impedes widespread social progress.
SOCIETY
After independence, India and Pakistan had to devise new
ways of running their countries and creating nation states.
Pakistan has been led largely by military rulers over the last 60 years. Bangladesh fell under military rule a few years after independence, democracy being restored in 1990, but the political scene there is unpredictable.
While Pakistan was created as a Muslim state after Jinnah's insistence that Muslims of the former colony needed a separate country of their own, Hindu-majority India was, and formally remains, secular, and also the world's largest democracy.
The violence between Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus in 1947 was never repeated on such a horrific scale, but the struggle to keep the peace between communal and religious groups is ongoing in both India and Pakistan.
After the death of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1964 and the rise to power of his daughter Indira Gandhi, tensions grew between the Hindu majority and Sikhs. In 1984, Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards after ordering troops to flush out Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. And in 1992, widespread Hindu-Muslim violence erupted after Hindu extremists demolished the Babri mosque at Ayodhya.
More recently, there have been several bombings, such as the attack on Mumbai's train network in July 2006 which police blamed on Pakistani militants and a banned Indian group. Pakistan, whose citizens are mostly Muslim, has seen Sunni and Shia factions killing each other in their thousands in three of the four Pakistani regions since the 1980s.
After 9/11, Pakistan's government became an ally of Washington by dropping its support for the Taleban regime in Afghanistan.
It took a tougher stance towards Islamic extremists, as highlighted in the bloody siege and suicide bombing at Islamabad's Red Mosque in July.
Bangladesh has also been affected by internal strife.
The country has suffered from bomb attacks on secular and cultural organisations and events for more than a decade.
The near simultaneous bombings across Bangladesh in 2005 were a dramatic pointer to religious extremism and two fringe Islamic organisations have been banned.
MILITARY
The military balance between India and Pakistan is difficult to establish as it depends on many factors, such as quality of command, training, discipline and morale.
Most Indian-Pakistani conflicts have ended in stalemate except the Bangladesh War in 1971, when Pakistan's defeat was complete.
India backed, sheltered and trained Bangladeshi guerrillas which contributed to Pakistan's defeat.
Kashmir has been the main flashpoint ever since Partition.
The two neighbours, now nuclear powers, have twice waged war over the disputed region – in 1947-48 and 1965.
The region is now divided in two by a Line of Control and often breached by separatist militants.
In 1999, fighting between Indian and Pakistani-backed forces in Indian Kashmir led to a new conflict, known as the Kargil conflict, but not full-scale war.
In Depth: Read more about the Kashmir conflict
In their last confrontation in 2002, India deployed 700,000 troops; Pakistan, 300,000 – three-fourths of their regular forces – either side of the Line of Control in Kashmir and the internationally recognised India-Pakistan border.
Both readied their armoured, air and naval forces for war. India prepared for offensive operations to destroy militant camps.
Pakistan's objective was to defend key points against attack.
Intense Western diplomacy and, perhaps more significantly, mutual nuclear deterrence eventually defused tensions, but it was a close run thing.
BBC NEWS | Programmes | World at One | Euro faces reality check
May 30, 2008 — Taytehqb 
Wednesday, 2 January, 2002, 12:09 GMT Euro faces reality check
There is a choice of paying in euros or local currency
How will consumers and the financial markets react to the euro on the first full day of business after its launch?
Some 300 million people across 12 European Union nations got their new currency yesterday.
Today the markets are open. There is a new reality in the financial world. We report from Frankfurt, the home of the European Central Bank, and of the biggest stock market in Euroland.
Here, the argument, over how long Britain can stay outside, is being stoked by those, such as the Europe Minister Peter Hain, who suggest that it is inevitable that we will join.
Last year Toyota, the Japanese car maker, said Britain must join the euro soon or risk losing Toyota's business. Brian Jackson, senior director at Toyota UK, told us he was encouraged by the current debate.
From the other side of the debate, Dominic Cummings, the director of the NO campaign, said he believed Mr Hain's comments represented further evidence of a euro split between the prime minister and the chancellor.
Also on the programme, as Tony Blair resumes his globetrotting diplomacy with a tour of the Indian subcontinent, we spoke to the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, and Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesman Menzies Campbell about what Mr Blair is likely to achieve.
To listen to the interviews and reports, click on the links above.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Al Gore: A matter of convenience
May 30, 2008 — Taytehqb 
Al Gore's climate film may not change what Americans think on climate change; but that doesn't matter, argues Philip Clapp in the Green Room, because Americans are already concerned – and politicians are following the public's lead.
Al Gore's new global warming movie has been a blockbuster in the United States. At this point, it stands third in box office history among documentaries.
Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, has even beat out Madonna's Truth or Dare; an estimated 2.3 million Americans have seen it.
Unfortunately, that is still less than 1% of the US population.
Many of these movie-goers are probably already in Gore's camp. A significant number undoubtedly bought their tickets more to scratch six years of Bush-induced liberal political itch than to learn anything about global warming.
With audience numbers like these, the former vice president's gripping and beautifully produced video lecture isn't going to cause a tidal shift in American public opinion on global warming in the short run.
In reality, it doesn't need to.
Desperation grows
A fog of misinformation is still being generated in the US by an increasingly desperate network of industry-funded think-tanks (a category that includes the Bush White House) and a handful of right-wing ideologues.
Despite the efforts of this shrinking band, the average American already believes pretty much what the rest of the world does about global warming: human-produced pollution is causing it, the potential consequences look more and more devastating, and our governments should act – and act now.
US polls have registered this solidifying consensus for at least five years. The remaining doubts of many Americans were wiped out, along with New Orleans, by Hurricane Katrina.
Even if his impact on the general public is slim, Gore is having an impact where it counts much more – in the media and among politicians, many of whom have been well behind the public on global warming.
He has helped put the issue on the front pages of America's newspapers once again.
Equally important, he has made global warming an inescapable part of the political debate as America prepares to choose new leadership and a new agenda for the post-Bush era.
In many ways, that era has already begun, even though the president has more than two years left in office. This is particularly true on global warming.
Republicans turning
Members of the Republican Party in Congress, recognising that international and domestic action is inevitable, are already quietly abandoning the President. They are authoring and supporting legislation to set limits on US emissions.
In June 2005, the Republican-controlled Senate passed a resolution calling for precisely the kind of mandatory global warming emissions reduction law the President so adamantly opposes.
Congress has also repeatedly passed resolutions calling on the Bush administration to return to the international negotiating table.
The pressure is now so intense that the White House appears to be planning to make renewable energy development and global warming a centerpiece of its agenda in the president's final two years. Significant new proposals are likely to be unveiled in a major presidential address to Congress in January.
Administration insiders are calling the developing proposals Bush's "Nixon goes to China" moment, after Nixon's startling 1972 reversal of the longtime US refusal to deal with Mao.
Whatever Bush puts forward will probably be weak, but that it is immaterial; the substance of what the president proposes on global warming is likely to have little credibility, given his history on the issue.
But the very fact that Bush would finally reverse his position and call for action will liberate many Republicans to vote for meaningful pollution cuts.
Race to succeed
Equally important, looking forward to the race to succeed Bush in 2008, every serious potential Republican nominee has already abandoned the president's intransigent position.
The most prominent of them, Senator John McCain from Arizona, is actually the Senate's leading crusader on the need for the US to adopt a domestic emissions reduction system. McCain introduced the first such bill several years ago, and has forced Senate votes on it repeatedly, achieving near-majorities.
Al Gore's biggest contribution may be that his movie forces key parts of his own Democratic Party, including some reluctant potential presidential candidates, finally to give more than lip service to the issue.
In Congress, a handful of Democrats from coal and auto-producing states, responding to pressure from those industries' labour unions, has been one of the principal roadblocks to action.
Virtually all of these Democrats – sitting senators and potential presidents – know in their heads and hearts that strong action on global warming is urgent. They are the ones for whom global warming is truly an inconvenient truth – politically inconvenient.
Gore's own handlers in his 2000 presidential bid found it inconvenient, too, as they sought to shore up labour support in the same states. The issue never surfaced seriously in the then-vice president's campaign against George W Bush.
Gore has assured that it cannot be avoided by anyone in 2008, convenient or not.
Philip Clapp is President of the National Environmental Trust in Washington DC
The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental issues running weekly on the BBC News website
BBC SPORT | Cricket | The Ashes | The team behind the team
May 29, 2008 — Taytehqb 
By Martin Gough
Fletcher and Flintoff have a big team behind themEngland's Ashes success in 2005 was widely credited to the preparation put in by coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Michael Vaughan off the field.
But they were backed up by a team of analysts, managers and assistant coaches each playing a key role.
From massages and ice baths to tailored menus and video analysis, they covered every base.
As England set off for Australia, BBC Sport looks at the support staff whose performance is vital if the team are to be at their best.
Phil Neale
Team manager
Former team scorer and baggage manager Malcolm Ashton once described Neale as "Mr Spreadsheet".
Ashton wrote: "I've seen him sit on a bus in the middle of winter, turn to Duncan and say: 'Edgbaston, June 14. When do you want to practise, morning or afternoon?"
A former Worcestershire batsman, Neale is responsible for all aspects of tour planning, setting up hotels and practice grounds well in advance.
On tour, he takes care of transport arrangements and liaises with local hosts over tiny details such as net bowlers, attendance at official functions and provision of kit.
As a former professional footballer with Lincoln City, he is also highly in demand when the players start their training sessions with a kick-about to warm up.
Matthew Maynard
Assistant coach
Glamorgan's captain when they won the County Championship under Fletcher in 1997, Maynard brings the experience of 21 first-class seasons to the team.
Maynard, 40, played just four Tests for England but his ability as a batting coach is widely recognised and he gives one-on-one coaching to batsmen when required.
He helps to run training and warm-up sessions and can often be seen wearing a baseball glove as he leads fielding drills.
During play, Maynard will watch batting from the dressing room, and feed back his observations either to Fletcher or individual players.
Kevin Shine
Fast-bowling coach
Troy Cooley's role as fast-bowling coach was seen as vital during the 2005 Ashes and his successor could be just as important.
Former Somerset coach Shine will certainly not be remodelling the actions of England's pacemen during the Test series but he will be on hand to offer tweaks here and there.
During an English summer, he divides his time between international matches and a programme that brings pace-bowling talent from age-group teams to the England fringes.
Mark Garaway
Team analyst / Assistant coach
Another former Somerset coach, Garaway will undertake the job carried out by Tim Boon during the last Ashes series, with plenty of work to do before and during each match.
He is responsible for collecting as much footage as possible of each opponent and gives a video presentation of his findings before every international match.
During a game, he uses a laptop to digitally file video of every ball into a database according to the type of delivery and the batsman's response.
Rather than having letters, his laptop keyboard has symbols for every event in an attempt to make an intensive job a little easier.
If a batsman is dismissed he can return to the pavilion and, when he has calmed down, study every ball of his innings to find out what he did well and what went wrong.
Kirk Russell
Physiotherapist
Helping players overcome injuries and niggles is only part of the job for New Zealand-raised Russell, who is with England around every Test series.
Russell liaises with local hospitals and doctors when scans are required and also plays a role in injury prevention.
In particular he has done extensive research into orthotics – the supports players wear inside their boots – in an attempt to cut the number of foot injuries.
Nigel Stockhill
Physiologist and sports science manager
In his sixth year with the side, Stockhill is responsible for formulating and managing fitness programmes for the whole squad, especially the work they do in the gym.
He runs the pre-match warm-up and the post-play warm-down, and was responsible for introducing ice baths to the England dressing-room.
It is Stockhill who deals with hotels and ground authorities to make sure food is grilled, not fried, and served with pasta or rice.
Squad members not in the starting XI are often put through their paces by Stockhill during the lunch or tea break.
Mark Saxby
Massage therapist
With a background in athletics, swimming, hockey, triathlon and gymnastics through the English Institute of Sport, Saxby describes his main task as "general maintenance".
Working closely with the medical team he helps players recover from injury and also helps prevent problems by spotting niggles early.
Bowlers are the most regular visitors to his table, often during intervals and at the end of each day's play.
Andrew Walpole
Media relations manager
On tour in India in 2002, Walpole received a call in his hotel room from a local journalist who wanted to know exactly what the players had eaten for dinner and whether they preferred pizza or curry.
During the Ashes, he expects to be issuing plenty of press releases, but no menus.
Walpole, who shares the job with James Avery, will travel with the team throughout the Ashes, dealing with day-to-day media issues.
That means organising player interviews, news conferences around matches and fielding specific requests from journalists.
With over 500 requests for media accreditation for this series, Walpole is ready to deal with a huge level of interest as England aim to retain the Ashes.
Peter Gregory
Chief medical officer
Dr Peter Gregory, who became England's first chief medical officer in 2002, announced recently that he would step down from the role before the Ashes.
A long-term replacement has not yet been chosen but until a new man is nominated, England will have a team doctor with them in Australia.
The job of medical officer requires a longer-term view of player fitness, co-ordinating with specialists on specific injuries and making decisions on rehabilitation programmes.
