Welcome to rascott.com
This is a
personal site that reflects my interests in news,
current affairs, aviation and travel.
email me at robert@rascott.com
Now In Dubai:
Scott
Consulting
Photo Albums
My photographs have been moved off this site and are now stored on Picasa. They
were simply taking up too much space on my web host.
Please use
this link to see my list of photo albums.
Some
Useful links:
Information:
World Time
Clock
Exchange Rates
Journalism:
ForeignPolicy
Nationsonline.org
Project Syndicate
Amnesty International
Reporters w/o borders
The Guardian
BBC World News
CNN Asia
Bangkok Post
Daylife.com - news
Gulf News
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Good causes:
Sister
Joan - Bangkok
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In
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TimeOut Dubai
Back in the UK:
Newton Ferrers
And for fun:
Lin Ping live panda tv
EarthCam
History
BBC Archive
National Media
Museum
The British Library
Imperial War Museum
There are many other links on my AOB blog page.
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An Occasional Blog
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Dubai based Airline bloggers
TampaxTowers
Egypt Thailand Blogs Bangkok Metblogs - city life Thai-blogs.com - rather serious
2bangkok.com
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not really a blog but always up to date on Bangkok news
BKKOK.com
Thai
Girl The exotic adventures of a literary
sexagenarian.
Thai Films
Thai Mass Transit Systems Asia Unbound -
CFR
Dubai Blogs
dxbae
- picture blog
Al - Emarati - English language UAE blog
Grumpy
Goat
Arabic affairs blogs
The Arabist
Hong Kong Blogs In China: Danwei - media and advertising news from China
Shanghai
Diaries - self explanatory
Hong Kong Cinemagic
My Olive
Tree - Macau blog
In Singapore: Xiaxue - self-confessed mean, bitchy, sex goddess who says "wah" a lot!
Mr Brown
- colourful commentary from Singapore
In Burma:
In Canada:
Media:
Tabloid
Watch (UK) Aviation: Amadeus (airline schedules) Airline meals - see it b4 you eat it !
Airliners
- aviation forum, trip reports and pix
archive Planenation - commercial aviation news Airchive - a web museum of commercial aviation.
CrankyFlier - mainly US commentary
Sharjah -
1937
Johnny Jet News: The Guardian - UK
Arabian
Business China sites: Bangkok info sites Worthy Sites:
Rconversation - from Rebecca
MacKinnon, ex-TV reporter-turned-blogger.
Golf Sites:
Fun Sites:
Penguin baseball
Technology Ideas:
Stuff -
gadgets
TNooz - Travel Tech
The Rest:
Black
Flamingo - recipes and life (no golf!)
Author
Robert Scott lives and works in Dubai; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. I am very happily married to Tai.
If you want to know more you only need to ask! ask.
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30 June 2011 Time to head out of Newton Ferrers for Stratford....and the start of a few days road trip... Newton Ferrers changes so little - very peaceful - although there are building works at a number of homes in the village. ************************* One depressing paragraph - "Thailand is slipping backwards into authoritarianism, militarism, and repression. And a general election on Sunday, July 3, seems unlikely to change that. It's an election in which whoever wins, Thailand's people are likely to lose." And the problem of reporting politics in Thailand is this: "Trying to explain Thai politics without reference to the role of the palace is thus like trying to tell the story of the Titanic without any mention of the ship." *************************** And the Economist's Banyan column weighs in with its thoughts on the story as well. 29 June 2011 An interesting perspective on Andrew Marshall's ThaiStory can be found here. Although be careful - this was written after the author had only completed part 1 of 4 parts. 27 June 2011 Only six days left for the Thai Army to call off the 3 July election - siting something like national security and the Thai Cambodia border dispute as the reason for postponement - it could happen..... *************************** **************************** ***************************** 25 June 2011 How do Emiratis think - well here is a fine example from the National today - "Mariam, a 45-year-old Emirati, said she has heard many stories of housekeepers absconding. "The issue with giving them a day off is that they may run away"" In the 21st century this is nothing short of slavery. Truly sad. And this is a quote from a family that employs four housekeepers. ******************************** Do exclusive brand name bags really need to be carried when wearing the school uniform? 22 June 2011 Coming in the morning - Andrew Marshall's first two instalments of his four part Thai Story. Long awaited - some new revelations are likely. Andrew resigned from Reuters to complete the story - Reuters has disowned it with the following statement - "Reuters didn't publish this story because we didn’t think it worked in the format in which it was delivered. We had questions regarding length, sourcing, objectivity, and legal issues. In addition, we were concerned the writer wasn’t participating in the normal editing process that would apply to any story Reuters publishes in keeping with our high editorial standards.” Part 1 of #thaistory contains an introduction and detailed information on the monarchy and the succession Part 2 of #thaistory covers the lese majeste law and the history of the crisis from the 2005 election to the 2006 coup Part 3 of #thaistory (forthcoming after tomorrow) will cover 2006-2010. Part 4 will offer conclusions and predictions. I am not sure what to expect - initially will there be much more than in "The King Never Smiles" - which I cannot link to since it is banned in Thailand? Expect some heavy redactions within the Wikileaks material that is used as well. ********************** ********************** Lake Como is for the people that think they run the country - and a few movie people as well. I imagine Berlosconi having great parties in villas around the lake. Clooney has a villa somewhere on the lake. The only nightlife open at 10.30pm in Bellagio is the gelato shop ! 21 June 2011 A morning in the sun, a glass of wine for lunch, and an afternoon siesta - and it is already 6pm. It is a tough life ! ************************** *************************** Part 1 of #thaistory (twitter hashtag) will be about the monarchy and succession and references 95 cables. Part 2 covers Thaksin and the crisis. Expect to see part one on Thursday this week. Meanwhile Not the Nation has its own take on this story. **************************** 20 June 2011 Question - English Lake District or Italy's Lake District - in a massive shock to my friends - the answer is England. More rugged scenery - less populated - better choice of where and how to eat. A sense that the land is owned by the people - not by rich Italian industrialists who want to keep the rest of us out. Italian food - pizza or pasta - and some stale bread in the cover charge. A trip to the Lake District - regional foods - thai and asian restaurants - english pubs - spotted dick (dessert not disease!).... Car parking in Italy - a nightmare - if you can find a car park the hourly parking costs will bankrupt you. Traffic - dont get me started again ! *************************** And they are all made in China -
what do those poor Chinese girls think of the decadent west now ! A list of things not to do in Lake Garda: 1. Avoid (do anything except this) driving around the lake on a summer Sunday. The traffic is horrendous. A major traffic jam in every town; mad cyclists everywhere on roads that are too narrow. And motorbikes coming at you from 360 degrees. 2. Expecting normal driving times. Double them. 3. Never ever eat at the appalling Carbonaia restaurant in Pescharia. 4. Let your wife, partner stay in bed longer than is necessary because half the day will be gone and you will miss the ferry that you wanted to catch. And instead of a nice cruise on the lake you can spend five hours driving around it, 18 June 2011 Facebook can be so useless - Dear
Robert Scott, Look I realise this is an American company and Americans think the world starts and ends at their borders - you really need to get out more - but the rest of us do travel. This is not protecting my privacy - it is just wasting my time. 16 June 2011 The Boston Bruins have won the Stanley Cup after beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in the deciding Game Seven - unhappy Vancouver fans then set about looting and trashing downtown. On TV it looks like a full blown riot with substantial looting....it is very hard to explain to people that this is just over a midsummer hockey game. Across the middle east people have been protesting for a cause, for the freedoms that people enjoy in Vancouver - and this is what people do with those freedoms....very sad. 15 June 2011 The year's first total eclipse of
the moon is taking place tonight and will last an unusually long time. ************************** ************************** She plays the Thai heroine who conveniently says all her script in both English and Thai! The New York scenes were actually shot in Toronto - they must have been filmed while I lived there. Chiang Mai in 1992 was a very different city.
************************ "Authorities ask public not to shoot into the air during full lunar eclipse from 1-5am as bullet may stray and hit someone" ************************ ************************* ************************* 14 June 2011 More fiction from Airbus - which has pushed back the first flight of the A350-900 to the end of 2012 and is aiming for certification and service entry by the end of 2013. This is some six months later than previously planned. But I bet this airplane will not see airline service until 2014. Which is bad news for Emirates; which will need to keep its battered uncomfortable A330s and A340s flying for another three years. 13 June 2011 Two days of golf - Al Hamra on Saturday and Al Badia in Dubai on Sunday. I had forgotten what a good course Al Badia is. A great mix of some really testing golf holes and others that are more forgiving. And even in an early Dubai summer it is in great condition. The clubhouse and locker facilities are also excellent. But it was so hot. After two days all I wanted to do was crawl into a cold bath and bed. 11 June 2011 Dubai in 1967 - youtube video 9 June 2011 Another Emirates announcement as it relaunches its third daily flight to Sydney Australia from October this year. *********************** The background to the new advertisement is here - the advert itself is at the end of the youtube clip. 7 June 2011 Bed and breakfast at the bottom of main street in Haworth - and a short walk up the cobble stoned hill to the Haworth Parsonage home of the Bronte family. ************************* 6 June 2011 6 June in the UK and the temperature for most of the day failed to get past 13C in the lake district. It is nice up here; people are welcoming and friendly. By mid summer it must get a bit too crowded and some of the roads and village centres must be near chaos ! But on a Monday in early June. Very nice. 5 June 2011 Jon Ungphakorn's predictions for a Yingluck led Phua Thai government: 1. Life more or less the same for
middle classes/low income groups. The only major policy changes will be political amnesty and better relations with Cambodia which will draw mass protests. So for Thaksin it is about recognition from above rather than radical change. Pragmatic - and entirely depressing. ************************** She is either self censoring or has grown up the product of very effective censorship and control. *********************** 4 June 2011 Big thumbs up for Li Na - who becomes the first Asian/Chinese woman to win a tennis grand slam title. She will not be the last. ************************ What is the Nation Weekend implying about Yingluck? ************************ Thousands in Hong Kong to mark Tiananmen crackdown Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times on his facebook page today: "June 4 always bring back searing memories of being on Tiananmen Square the night of the massacre in 1989. Gunfire! Tanks! Troops! And unbelievable courage by protesters. Ambulance drivers were shot, so it was up to rickshaw drivers to brave gunfire and pick up the injured. Then they'd rush off to hospitals, tears streaming down their cheeks. Some day there'll be a memorial in Beijing to their courage." 22 years later we are seeing the same courage across the Middle East. Meanwhile Chinese dissent has largely been silenced by economic well - being and the encouragement of a fervent and potentially dangerous nationalism. ************************* His discussion of the human condition and the importance of technology in driving change is interesting - though on the latter the importance of technological change has been obvious since the industrial revolution. 3 June 2011 Back in Dubai - thanks to EK375 this morning. Meanwhile two days ago an Emirates Airlines 777LR A6-EMD touched down on runway 23 at Geneva for the first time.
And here is a link to the Geneve Airplane spotters web site. 2 June 2011 Channel 131 is undergoing maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience. Hope this does not last long. ****************************** 1 June 2011 Blatter re-elected as FIFA president for a fourth term - when your nose is so far into the trough I guess it is hard to see the crisis that has unveiled around you: this was the Guardian: "As Fifa works through the voting
countries towards the formality of Sepp Blatter's restoration for four
more years, the realisation is sinking in about how successful his
campaign has been. Mohamed bin Hammam, the challenger, was taken bodily
out of the contest after seven whistleblowers allegedly testified to being
offered cash in return for voting for the Qatari. David Bernstein's call
for a postponement was angrily rejected amid all that anti-English and
anti-media rhetoric. ************************** They have simply no clue that there are other people in the world and that some of them might want to walk past ! Grrrrrrr. BTW - Indian tourists are taking over Thailand. More prominent that Chinese tourists. It is an easy flight from India and well served by the low costs airlines. The tourism industry in Thailand adopts and evolves accordingly. Still plenty of cockroaches around ! ***************************** "The breakfast was average infact we were told some fruits were exhausted." Over exercising fruits ?? 31 May 2011 Hopefully this guy will not be flying an EK jet soon - if he thought Aussie was hot and humid he should try Dubai in summer ! Trainee Emirates pilot blacks out at plane controls ************************ 30 May 20101 This is getting a bit silly: A Thai-born man with American citizenship arrested on a charge of lese majeste has also been charged with committing an offence against national security, Department of Special Investigation chief Tharit Pengdit says. This has provided grounds for the DSI to oppose the man's request for bail, Mr Tharit said. The American was arrested on Thursday in Nakhon Ratchasima for posting a link on his blog in 2007 to The King Never Smiles, an unauthorised biography of His Majesty that is banned in Thailand. The web site link was added four years ago - and he is arrested this week - with an election looming. There may be more to this story. If there is it is not being well reported. 29 May 2011 A big thank you to folks who sent birthday wishes. We flew over to Bangkok on the 27th for three nights - nice to see Miss Apple on the flight waving to us from the first class stairs as we headed to the back of the plane. We saw Hangover 2 on Saturday. It is basically a rehash of the plot of Hangover 1 substituting Bangkok for Las Vegas. At least if you know Bangkok well it is fun to see where they filmed and what they got right and wrong. There is concern in Thailand that the film damages Thailand's tourist image - not at all. There was not a cockroach or a rat in sight. And a short walk down Saladaeng to Silom in the evening and you see dozens of both. What is with the pot plant holders on the sidewalks at Siam. It used to be difficult enough to navigate through the sidewalk stalls. Now with these huge empty plant holders taking half the sidewalk it is almost impossible. Dinner at Wine Connection at K Village of Soi 26 on Saturday night - busy. Too busy for a hapless and rather badly trained staff. And then to Spasso at the Hyatt which has a new a band. The guitar player asked Tai "are you single tonight" - she was away a long time! They were good enough to let us stay until the end of the European Champions final where Man U were played off the park by Barcelona. So it was after 3am that we headed back to Siri Sathorn. And Chatujak today - because Tai needs yet more clothes ! 25 May 2011 FlyDubai to start Ukraine flights to Kiev and Kharkov on September 16 with flights to the eastern city of Donetsk starting a day later. Have to say that flydubai is a genuine success story! ************************ ************************** So not the best advertisement that Thailand has ever had. I wonder how much of the film will be censored for the Thai market? 24 May 2011 US President Obama does know how to work a crowd. His 24 hour visit to Ireland to search for the missing apostrophe was a huge success - and the best advert that Guinness has had for a long time. 23 May 2011 Emirates to fly the A380 to Munich starting 1 Jan 2012 & to operate an extra flight to Frankfurt, going triple daily. *************************** Man U win the title. Chelsea who won the double last year and finished second this year - sacked their manager in the corridor of Everton's stadium last night and will now seek their sixth manager in seven years. Chelsea have no shame and may attempt to work a clause into Ancelotti's compensation package that prohibits him from managing another Premier League club. Birmingham, Blackpool and West Ham went down. No one really cares much for any of these teams; they will not be missed. Wigan survived - and that is good news for their intelligent and articulate manager, Roberto Martinez. Wolves survived. What a dour team. But they have scored more goals than Birmingham. I suspect Wolves may be stronger next year. Blackpool were mostly fun to watch - open attacking football with open appalling defending - encapsulated by an awful and decisive own goal yesterday. They have been doomed for weeks. The squad will break up now and I suspect they can do no better than mid table in next year's Championship. **************************** ***************************
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22 May 2011 So Emirates my have trouble getting new flights to Germany or to Canada - but there is always Mali as the UAE has signde an "Open Sky" Air Services Agreement with that African nation. But I don't think there will be
Dubai - Mali flights in the near future. In Hong Kong over dinner last week
one of my oldest (as in known a long time rather than ageing) friends
asked me whether, should I die tomorrow, I would have any regrets. She did not even mean regrets about my life to date; she meant are there things that I should fix, just in case I wont be here tomorrow. The timing of her question was
interesting as Family Radio, a non-profit, listener-supported religious
organization based in Oakland, Calif., has declared that May 21 will mark
the end of the world, when Jesus Christ arrives for his second coming and
the "rapture" of his believers. If I go tomorrow - then the people I care about will be fine. No regrets - other than I would miss them too much. No skeletons in cupboards. No unwelcome surprises. But then my fortune teller says I will live til I am 88. So plenty of time..... ****************************** The footballer has obtained a super-injunction to stop details of the affair being published by the media. It really is time that he has to say yes I did it and make his peace with his family and his many fans. 20 May 2011 Love a duck - Maradona's contract with Al Wasl SC ..two years 37.5 millon dollars... This will all end in tears..... ***************************** It was a speech that was "a belated restatement of the obvious, and business as usual." The Guardian was also underwhelmed - "For Americans, perhaps, this was stirring stuff. But for an Arab audience, hoping for more commitment on Palestine, it fell flat" Robert Fisk in the Independent was
dismissive of
"Lots of rhetoric – but very little help." Ireland and England are neighbours. Ireland and the UK share a border. It is time to be the best of neighbours. **************************** Thaksin had his picture taken in April in front of the International Criminal Court ! What was he thinking! *********************** Arabian Business (ever loyal)
reports that "Emirates Airline said on Friday it remained "hopeful" of
winning access to more airports in Germany despite reports that senior
German officials are refusing to hold talks with the Dubai carrier. ********************* Anyone with real creativity has long been sent home. Haley was the last chance of an interesting final. Maybe the only people who actually vote in this show are from Texas. Because the two finalists are country singers at heart - and sadly the show really has gone down for the youth vote - the finalists are 16 and 17. Go back to school now ! ********************* ********************** ********************** Second rule - if packets are identical - you dont really need to check them all before you choose the one that you want to buy. Just saying ! 17 May 2011 This image of Dubai airport was recently acquired by DubaiSat-1, the UAE-owned and operated earth observation satellite, and shows Dubai International Airport from outer space. The satellite was launched by the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) in July 2000. ************************* ************************* ************************* So I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D7000 with a Nikon 35mm f108 lens and a Sigma 18-250 lens. ************************** 14 May 2011 So video shows that Osama bin Laden sat at home on the floor, wrapped in a blanket, holding the remote and watching tv. Not so much a couch potato as a couch terrorist. Heck that sounds familiar. Will the Navy Seals be coming for me next? Osama appears to have had a collection of porn cds as well. Ok he beats me on that one. He also had three wives; and did not leave the compound for five years - feels a bit like the Navy Seals may have put him out of his misery. Rough life. ************************ "Man City are a joke - we got Barca and they got Stoke...." ************************* *************************** Million Dollar BMI-Baby 13 May 2011 Imagine living with 3 wives in one compound & never leaving the house for 5 years I think Osama Bin Ladin called the US Navy Seals himself. ************************* The preliminary hearing is on 20 June. The return of his friend's passport presumably requires that the doctor returns to Dubai for the hearing. ************************** Starbucks has its faults but at least you know what you are getting. Or Cafe Nero for a decent coffee. 12 May 2011 The New York Times has some interesting comments of the lese majeste laws in Thailand and how they are being used before the July election. The state of play with Dubai real estate: Dubai's real estate sector will bottom out in the first quarter of 2012, according to a new report published by the emirate's business group. Sadly this date keeps on
slipping.....back and back... ***************************** Unless something changes he is stuck in the UAE until at least 10 June when there will be a preliminary hearing in court. Doesn't someone need to gently suggest to his accuser that the charges are quietly dropped and this man allowed to return to his work and family? Updated again - later in the day: Joseph Nunoo-Mensah has now been
allowed to return home - until a court date next month. ******************************** Though to be honest I have no idea where this road is. ********************************* 10 May 2011 So there was big excitement this morning while everyone speculated and then waited to hear whet the Emirates 2010/2011 bonus would be - 12 weeks was reasonably well received. ********************************** 9 May 2011 HRW - "If this ‘Arab Spring' is to usher in a new era, the torture chambers of today need to become a relic of the past" 8 May 2011 Emirates has announced that it is to hold an “Open Day,” to recruit cabin crew members in Atlanta on Thursday, June 2, at the InterContinental Buckhead hotel - this is often a good hint as to future destinations. ********************* 7 May 2011 Damning - the FT's weekend edition has an article by the paper's architecture editor on Liveable v lovable cities. Dubai is in his list of four worst
cities - and this is what Edwin Heathcote says: ************************* St Andrews in 1984 he made a birdie at the last to win - and in 1985 he led Europe to the first Ryder Cup win in decades before winning for the first time in the USA in 1987. Great quote: 'I look into their eyes, shake their hand, pat their back, and wish them luck, but I'm thinking, 'I'm going to bury you'.' The brain tumor diagnosed in 2008 eventually took his life. It was he was told the size of two golf balls. He lives on through the thousands of people he inspired to play golf. This is Ian Carter's appreciation of Seve written for the BBC. 6 May 2011 Friday night and there is an open air concert in Burj Park. It is loud at Executive Towers. It must be dire for the neighbours in Burj Residences. Sorry but if you have an open air concert it really needs to end no later than 10pm. Some people are working in the mornings. Some people work night and need to rest before they work. And some people have young families. Or you have to hold the concert indoors. There are enough venues. *********************** *********************** When I went up to their apartment and rang the bell magically the sound was turned down; someone came to the door and must have looked through the peep-hole. They did not open the door. Cowards. 5 May 2011 Here we go again: London surgeon held in Dubai after raising hands at motorist More details here. One day i will comment on these cases. But not now. Though there does sound like some intimidation was involved here. Simple - never ever react. Changed my mind - this needs a comment - this guy is meant to be back in England performing critical surgery. He was here providing medical consulting services to a government clinic and then taking some time with his family before heading home. He appears to have been arrested and with zero evidence except from the other driver who was allegedly tailgating/flashing him as he drove on the highway. No other evidence has been released to the media. If there is other evidence then the authorities need to make it available to support the charges. Based on unsubstantiated hearsay this should never have got this far. And Joseph Nunoo-Mensah should be back in England with his family. The trouble is it is incidents like this that give the foreign media bricks to throw at Dubai. *************************** "Look its very hard to predict what Prime Minister Abhisit's view is. He's obviously very concerned his party wont win the election. He's got some hopes of being able to cobble together a coalition government after the election. But the fact is that Abhisit is caught between some very powerful players. He was brought in to government with the strong backing of the military and the Palace and it's probably the military and the Palace in Thailand who are most nervous about an election so I'm sure Abhisit is getting a lot of heat about that." 4 May 2011 OK folks - It is Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden. Obama's last name is similar to Osama's first name - but really there is no need for writers and sub editors to get this wrong. Unlike the SCMP. **************************** Now this is the same PM that has said that the political parties should not use the monarchy as part of their campaigning before the expected late June/early July election.... But who cares about a little hypocrisy in the high stakes of Thai politics.... ******************************* That would apply to other countries within the region as well. ****************************** The pictures may be gruesome; but they are necessary. They have caused additional uncertainty by back-tracking on parts of the reporting of the raid on Osama's mansion. 3 May 2011 Oh dear - just when the White House appears to be on its game it then starts to change its mind. Osama was in a gunfight - now he was not armed His wife was killed - now his wife is alive His wife was used a a human shield - now she attacked the US troops so we shot her in the leg. So what else is untrue. When you get this wrong all that you do is fuel the existing conspiracy theories. ***************************** ****************************** ******************************* 2 May 2011 The big news of the day - Osama bin Laden was killed by American troops in Pakistan last night. He may be dead, but in a way, he won. People in the USA gave up their rights. They passed the dreadful PatriotAct. They spent trillions on needless wars. And decisions and choices are based upon fear. Robert Fisk for the Independent: "Obama is showing his birth certificate in one hand and waving bin Laden's death certificate in the other!" Just a thought - if this had gone wrong then Obama's presidency would have probably been over. Instead he won - and will win a second term. 1 May 2011 Funniest headline of the day in Dubai - "Dnata becomes 'dnata' in brand overhaul" Doing nothing at the airport ! ************************************
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