Monthly Archives: August 2006

An Explanation

Posted on August 31, 2006 by Tim Newman

Back at the beginning of June, I wrote that: For reasons which are nothing whatsoever to do with censorship in the Middle East or as a result of pressure from the authorities, this blog will no longer be commenting on … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | 4 Comments

The University of Manchester

Posted on August 24, 2006 by Tim Newman

I’m not sure why, but I have always been rather proud of having attended the University of Manchester (which has since joined with UMIST).  I guess it is because I have not attended any well-known school or worked for any … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 12 Comments

Russian Air Disasters

Posted on August 23, 2006 by Tim Newman

A BBC chronology of 2006 air disasters reads in its entirety as follows: 22 August: A Russian Tupolev-154 passenger plane with 170 people on board crashes north of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. 9 July: A Russian S7 Airbus A-310 skids … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia | 7 Comments

Rip-Off Britain

Posted on August 23, 2006 by Tim Newman

On Sunday I bought a North Face down jacket in preparation for my move to Sakhalin, almost identical to this one for sale in Cotswold Outdoor for £145.  I paid £53 for mine, a saving of £92, or 64%. I can … Continue reading →

Posted in Dubai, UK | 6 Comments

Engineering Consultants’ Standing Orders

Posted on August 17, 2006 by Tim Newman

(Based on Rogers’ Rangers Standing Orders)  1.  Don’t sign nothing. 2.  Have your CV clean as a whistle, job market scoured, 30 days notice given, and be ready to quit the project at a minute’s warning. 3.  When you’re late … Continue reading →

Posted in Engineering | 5 Comments

The Ignorance of Americans

Posted on August 16, 2006 by Tim Newman

The Israeli assualt on Lebanon has not gone unnoticed by the denizens of the UAE Community Blog, and there have been several threads discussing the conflict.  I use that term loosely, and I don’t recommend my readers click through on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East, Politics, USA | 7 Comments

The Economist and Me

Posted on August 16, 2006 by Tim Newman

I have been a subscriber to The Economist for about 5 years now, and when I first started reading it I was impressed by its strong and principled editorial line and well researched articles.  Sadly, although its articles are still … Continue reading →

Posted in The Economist | 3 Comments

The Myth of Russian Women

Posted on August 13, 2006 by Tim Newman

Sakhalin Island may be a frozen wasteland without much entertainment laid on, but the letters page of The Sakhalin Times seems lively enough (emphasis added): Men are men wherever they are in the world and Russia definitely does have an … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia | 16 Comments

An Emirati’s Thoughts

Posted on August 11, 2006 by Tim Newman

In contrast to the usual mountains of fuckwittery being spouted on the UAE blogs regarding the current Israel-Lebanon conflict, Emirati at An Emirati’s Thoughts has come up with a sensible suggestion of what Israel’s response should have been to the kidnapping of … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | 4 Comments

Rip-Off Britain

Posted on August 10, 2006 by Tim Newman

Yesterday evening I bought this Fujitsu-Siemens laptop, identical except mine has a 200Gb hard drive capacity instead of the 120Gb on the one advertised. Had I bought it in the UK, as the advert shows, I would have paid £1209 … Continue reading →

Posted in Dubai, UK | 4 Comments