He said it was in stark contrast with the many major projects elsewhere in Scotland, which were being completed on time and on budget.

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Prior to 1998, the United Kingdom was working in partnership with the United States on a host of major military development projects, including many that involved the use of net-centric warfare.

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Without the Empire to fund major engineering projects and large scale infrastructure, many of the skills and techniques involved in monumental buildings and complex technologies were forgotten and lost.

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While Google regularly does "spring cleaning" to trim its vast portfolio, the projects scrapped this year were many, and most were originally intended to be major focuses of the company.

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