The ASVA conference in Crieff, Perthshire, has been aimed at giving delegates a set of tools to combat these problems by concentrating on issues like branding, meeting visitors' expectations and making the most of Scotland's natural assets.

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But our training prepared us by concentrating on failures and solving big problems under extreme pressure.

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The purpose would be to outflank the opposition, which has accused her of concentrating on getting re-elected rather than solving problems such as a budget deficit that is out of control, corruption, crime and terrorism.

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"I hope that we resolve this issue sooner rather than later because the state of Illinois has some tremendous financial problems to deal with, which in my view is where we should be concentrating our focus and our time, " he said.

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In essence, Mr Blair has made a judgment that Ulster's problems can best be tackled by drawing Sinn Fein into politics, rather than by concentrating on coaxing unionists towards sharing power with nationalists, the view long advocated by Irish governments.

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