Archive for category Politics

Gaelic Language – In Years Gone By And Today

In the Tenth and eleventh centuries Scots Gaelic had been at its most widely used as a language where a lot of people who resided in Scotland spoke the language. Nowadays there is actually only about 1.6% who are able to speak Gaelic. The majority of pro- Gaelic speakers might state that this had been the strategy of the English – in order to free the British Isles of its Gaelic language and substitute it by the English language. However there are many of causes of the decrease of Gaelic as a language.

Firstly, by about 1400 the actual variation between the Highlands and the Lowlands had been solidly recognized. A scholarly man known as John of Fordun had this to point out concerning the differences between the highlanders and the lowlanders in 1380:

\”The people of the coast are of domestic and civilised habits, trusty, patient, and urbane, decent in their attire, affable, and peaceful, devout in Divine worship, yet always ready to resist a wrong at the hands of their enemies. The highlanders and people of the islands, on the other hand, are a savage and untamed nation, rude and independent, given to rapine, ease-loving, clever and quick to learn, comely in person, but unsightly in dress, hostile to the English people and language, and, owing to the diversity of speech, even to their own nation, and exceedingly cruel. They are however faithful and obedient to their king and country, and obedient to their king and country, and easily made to submit to law, if properly governed.\”

Consequently it may be asserted the main cause for the reduction of the Gaelic language was as a result of the break down amongst the various regions of Scotland. And by the sixteenth century the divergence between both was at a record high due to historical factors and a different language spoken. James VI had two key concepts for his Highland policy – one was to help to make an income and the other was to increase the amount of plantation. He suspected that the highlanders and especially the islanders weren\’t paying their own reasonable taxation and he wanted to adjust this.

In 1597 he set up three burghs in the Highlands with the intent of allowing a number of the lowlanders to rule. With the strengthening Campbell clan and the dislike for the lowlanders of the Highlanders and the Islanders, more disruption was to follow. It was costing the King more money than he cared to spend.

For more on Scotlands colourful history please go to Scotland.

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Glass Artwork Paperweights

My friend has a store that sells glass artwork. My personal favourite glass artwork is paperweights and I have a lot of fun attending art auctions and buying art glass with her. We pay a lot of attention to what our friends and her clients like and dislike.

I often give people art glass paperweights that I find at art auctions for special birthdays and anniversaries. My mother turned eighty last August and I found a wonderful glass paperweight for her.

The art glass paperweight that I found for my mother was made by Baccarat and I was extremely lucky that this was one of the last items auctioned. A lot of people had already left the auction when this item went under the hammer. My mother appreciated the rose motif because the rose is her favourite flower.

I have a Dutch friend from Den Bosch who loves effigies of frogs. She has managed to decorate her abode very tastefully with her favourite frogs. I have been on the lookout for an art glass paperweight for her for years. I finally found one at an art auction last year. The glass paperweight featured a frog sitting on a lily pad surrounded by blue water. It was very pretty and my friend began using it on her desk straight away.

I also have an aunt who collects art glass paperweights. She has asked me very often to find glass paperweights for her when I am attending art auctions. Of all of the pieces I have bought for her over the years, one sticks out in my memory more than any other.

The prettiest art glass paperweight I have ever bought at an art auction has to be one that featured a blue and gold Macaw. Rick Ayotte was the artist that made it and it was even featured in a book of his work. He has created many beautiful art glass paperweights.

There is no difficulty at all selling art glass paperweights made by Rick Ayotte. His work seems to draw a great deal of interest. My friend tries to win any auction she finds for art glass paperweights made by him. She won one not so long ago that looked like pink roses. They looked so fragile and sweet. I know that this art glass paperweight will sell quickly.

There have been some inquiries at the shop for art glass paperweights by Richard Marquis, although we have not found any in any of the art auctions we have been to recently.

I will keep looking out for art glass paperweights at the auctions I go to, but I will not be going way out of my way to track them down. I now buy every art glass paperweight I can find that was made by Rick Satava. My favorite has to be the coral orange jellyfish that I found at an art auction an hour from my home. It was really pretty.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Waterford crystal vases. If you have an interest in Irish crystal or wedding rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

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The Remarkable Tale Behind Singapore Economic Development

Singapore economic development did not come easy. The progressive economy that Singapore is enjoying now is the fruit of continuous struggles against adversities. Even though a number of setbacks occurred, Singapore emerged victorious in the end.

The island nation is home to around 4 million residents. Being the littlest nation in Southeast Asia, Singaporeans live in small, high-rise apartments and take the public transport to get around.

In 1819, Europeans came to Singapore. The British East India Company owned by Sir Stamford Executive used the country as the center for spice trading. Singapore served as a commercial and military point of the British Empire in Asia.

After World War II, Singapore experienced marked changes in technology and in politics. The small island-state decided to implement industrialization in the 1950s. The Singaporeans decided that it is time to separate from their role as entrepot.

Industrialization was in full swing at that time. The government wanted to join the bandwagon. The development strategy for the economy was focused on generating employment opportunities for the people.

The highly skilled manpower provided the key to Singapore economic rise. In 1960s, unemployment problem was effectively contained when Singapore became the nation with the lowest unemployment rate in Asia.

Singapore attained independence from Britain in 1963. Singapore merged with Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak to be part of Malaysia. But two years later, Singapore became an independent republic.

Skilled labor and technology were central to the government plans in the 1970s. They also shifted their focus to the rising industries at that time such as petrochemicals, electronics and precision machinery. As more foreign investments entered the country, industrialization became a distinct reality.

The government created additional changes in 1979. A new policy was instituted to replace focus on low wage earners and encourage huge, money-making industries. The 1980s provided for the entry of foreign investments to the country in the areas of computers, electronics and automotive, pharmaceuticals, optical and other growing industries.

During the economic recession of 1985 to 1986, the government made a shift to encouraging manufacturing and communications ventures in Singapore from foreign investors.

The focus of Economic Development Board (EDB) during the 1960s was industrialization. This was based on the plans made by Dutch economist Albert Winsemius. But a shift happened towards 1990s. The Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) in 1991 was more bent on pursuing education and human resources development in order to encourage export. EDB is still focusing on the growth of the business sector in this country.

Singapore cost of living had improved drastically in these last few years particularly after they gained independence from Britain. Foreign investments and the government efforts to push industrialization turned the island nation to a progressive country now.

Currently, Singapore ranks fifth wealthiest country in the world as per GDP (PPP) per capita. The official reserves of Singapore as of January 2009 was pegged at US$170.3 billion.

Contemporary Singapore has reached heights beyond expectations. The huge success it attained help people enjoy prosperity and financial security. Singapore economic development is the result of people persistence and unwillingness to let go when faced with adversity.

Find out all the singapore development that has been happening through the years. The development of singapore is one that can help out many. Head online to learn more now.

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Wonderful Old Games are WONDERFUL!

What do you think about when someone mentions \”Old Games\”? Do you think about your childhood and those games that you used to play with your family and friends, games such as \”hide or seek\” or tag? Other people might recall some special types of sports games or tournaments that were played in years gone by. In this particular article we will be focusing on the classic card and board games, and providing a bit of background history of these games…

Board games are those games that are played on some sort of a game board (naturally enough). The first known board game was the Egyptian game of Senet, which existed around 3500 B.C. As the years passed, European cultures started to embrace the concept of the board game as well. In this modern era of marketing and advertising, there are a number of various board games that families and friends can play. The latest version of these classic board games is \”online play\”, in which you can play the same game, but via the internet, with someone on the other end of the world.

Let\’s examine the world of strategy board games. Strategy games are those games that require a considerable amount of strategy in order to win. Examples of strategy board games are chess and checkers. Luck board games are those games that just require a good \”roll of the dice\”, and almost no strategy. Games such as Chutes and Ladders and Sorry fall into this category. Many games, such as Monopoly and Risk, require a bit of luck and strategy. Keep in mind, if you don\’t have a good strategy, any sort of luck you may have will go completely out the window.

Classic board games are those games that have stood the test of time, and are just as popular today as they were years ago. Risk and Battleship are two examples of such games. Other examples are: Life, Clue, Monopoly and Sorry. Minor adjustments may have been made to these games over the years (such as the introduction of online game play), but the basic rules and strategy and game play remains the same.

Card games are examples of \”old games\” that have been played for years. While the precise origin of the deck of cards is not known, it is very likely that the Chinese invented them around the time that they started to shuffle money around. This time period is pegged between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D.

English playing cards started to appear around the 15th century. Act of Parliament Documentation of around this time period tells us that domestic card makers were complaining about the importation of foreign cards. Apparently these imports were cutting into their profits.

The original playing cards were created and painted by hand. This was a very intensive process in both labor and time. All this manual effort meant that playing cards were very expensive to purchase, and only a select few could play card games. Popular old card games of the time were: poker, bridge, hearts and rummy.

Looking to find the best deal on Old Games, then visit www.WonderfulOldGames.com to find the best deal on some great games.

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The Dire Need For More Money In The U.S.

People need money and that is the main reason they go online looking for grants. Now that Obama is President, it almost appears that some people voted for him because they thought they could get free things from him. While the Democrats do have a history of handing out a good portion of our money, it is unreasonable to think that Obama will just give out money. They might have thought that the government would cut everyone a stimulus check similar to what George W. Bush did several years ago.

Such a large number of Americans want to get their hands on the supposed \”free money\” the government is giving out. The number of bailout dollars is incredibly big and people hear about it all the time where ever they turn. These people are having a hard time making ends meet and they want some of the money they think should be coming their way. Unfortunately, they don\’t understand that it is all going to be coming out of all our taxes and probably our children\’s taxes as well. What they get now will be offset in the future and it does look bleak indeed.

When you think about it, it is sad that there are people that honestly believe they are going to be getting something for nothing from the government. It is sad that they think the government is there just to give them free things. Did these people really feel they were going to get free money if Obama was elected?

There are ways to profit from the stimulus bill and that is in the form of some of the new jobs that were created or old ones that were saved by the bill. You might be able to get one of the newly created jobs and make a better life for yourself that way. However, that will be the only way to get some of the stimulus money unless Obama somehow decides to give a rebate check to everyone, which is highly unlikely.

People do need help but the stimulus bill is mostly going to help businesses and organizations. The individual who is out of work might possibly benefit by being able to get some sort of job that results from this bill but that might be the only way. Applying for a government grant will be just as tedious as always and not too many are handed out to individual people. No matter what your situation is, the stimulus package is not going to make your life any better in the short run.

Are you interested in finding out about Obama back to school grants for moms? Please go to my site Free Obama Government Grants to learn more about getting financial assistance from the government.

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