text:
Arabic (ar)المعادلة الصعبة بين تحقيق الإكتفاء الذاتي والحفاظ على الموارد
Spanish (es)¿Cuánta comida necesitamos producir para vivir?
French (fr)Ces initiatives qui viennent au chevet de l'agriculture suisse
Italian (it)Quanta autosufficienza ci vuole in materia di cibo?
Russian (ru)Нужна ли Швейцарии продовольственная программа?
Chinese (zh)瑞士需要多少粮食才够?
Agriculture initiatives Weighing up fair food and living off the land
By Urs Geiser
This content was published on August 22, 2014 11:00 AM Aug 22, 2014 - 11:00
Switzerland produces just over half the food it consumes, the rest has to be imported
(Emanuel Ammon/AURA)
Enough food to eat and enough to export. It's a balancing act. In the political pipeline, three separate initiatives promoting Swiss agriculture and sustainable food are attempting to tackle the issue.
In July a group of farmers walked through the Swiss capital in a colourful procession showing off agricultural produce. They were marking having successfully collected around 150,000 signatures within a record three months for an initiative to boost the production of food.
Food security Initiative aims to secure local food supply
Voters are likely to have the final say on a proposal by the country's main farmers organisations to boost local food production in Switzerland in ...
The move by the main Farmers' Association was not only proof of their efficient organisation but also a sign that agricultural issues are popular among citizens.
Earlier in the year the Green Party launched its own proposal focusing on improving quality standards for imported food. Its "Fair Food" initiative aimed to promote sustainable production, both in Switzerland and abroad.
For Green Party parliamentarian and organic farmer Maya Graf, it's crucial to ensure an environmentally-friendly food supply for Switzerland and at fair conditions.
"Food is not just like any other goods that can be moved around like watches. It is a sensitive product that influences people's lives, the environment and the climate," she says. "And food security is important."
And next month, a slightly different pitch is being taken by the leftwing Uniterre farmers movement.
Their proposal being launched in September wants the government to boost the supply of "healthy food from a diverse agricultural system" that covers its own costs and in line with people's social and environmental expectations.
Switzerland imports more than it exports and the domestic production has remained steady in recent years as the following graphic shows.
Graph 1
Both the initiatives by Uniterre and the Farmers' Association focus on boosting food production in Switzerland, but without setting target figures.
Currently Switzerland's rate of food self-sufficiency is about 64%. The net food self-sustainability rate is 56% once animal feed imports are factored in.
The rate is low when compared with other countries, according to a 2009 analysis by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
Argentina has the highest self-sufficiency rate at 273% and Norway the lowest at 50%.
The figures are to be taken with a pinch of salt, says Daniel Erdin, head of the statistics unit of the Farmers' Association. And not only because they date back to 2009.
"The quality of the data might differ from country to country and be based on a number of estimations. Even the Swiss statistics," he explains. A comparison of individual years is less meaningful than looking at long-term developments, such as a steady increase or a dramatic slump over a couple of decades.
Moreover , a survey on proteins and mineral substances in the food would give a different picture, Erdin continues. "The value of food is not measured in figures only. It can also give pleasure."
No isolation
Rejecting the Farmers' Association's initiative, Stefan Vannoni of the Swiss Business Federation says striving for complete self-sufficiency is a delusion.
"Switzerland is not an island in agricultural terms." Quite the contrary, he adds. Switzerland has to shore up its trade relations and improve its agricultural production.
He warns against attempts to target a maximum degree of independence notably by protective customs.
"Food sustainability can be achieved by an efficient agricultural production and good trade relations," he says.
The value of food is not measured in figures only. It can also give pleasure.
Daniel Erdin
End of quote
In a similar vein, independent agricultural expert Andreas Bosshard describes the calls for more independence as "populist". He says time is needed to implement the latest agricultural reforms. (see: Infobox Agricultural policy)
Bernard Lehmann, director of the Federal Agriculture Office, has weighed into the debate about sustainability and food security.
In the July news letter of his office, he stressed the need for dialogue between those who are concerned about the ability of Swiss farmers to supply enough food in the future and the promoters of an environment-friendly production.
"The government and parliament took a clear position last year. It's not an 'either – or'. The agricultural sector has to find a way of keeping the natural resources which are the basis for production and ensure quality."
"At the same time, the resources have to be used so that enough food of high quality can be produced to feed a growing population."
He slammed outright opponents of the current agriculture policy and called for discussions to clarify details.
Looking back over the recent past, he says previous debates focused on a possible overproduction of food in industrialised countries. But the next 30 years could bring about a major change.
The demand for food worldwide will probably increase 60% by 2050 according to Lehmann.
Agricultural policy
Parliament in spring 2013 approved the latest in a series of agricultural reforms. A consolidated system of direct payments is aimed to ensure sustainability and ensure food supply. Three separate initiatives are pending at different stages of the direct democracy procedure seeking changes to the official agriculture policy.
The Farmers Association handed in the necessary number of signatures in July. It calls for measures to stop the decline in productive land and boost domestic food production.
The Green Party launched its Fair Food initiative in January and has until November 2015 to win the support of citizens in the street. Its proposal seek to set clear rules based on environmental, animal health and labour standards notably for imported food.
The Uniterre movement plans to launch its initiative in September. It aims to give priority to promoting domestic food production, more personnel and limiting imports.
end of infobox
Farming facts and figures
The number of Swiss farms has dropped to just over 55,200 by 2013 from about 125,300 over the past 30 years. The number of employees working in agriculture has continually decreased to about 159,000 according to the Federal Statistical Office. The total farming land covered 1,05 million hectares last year, about 14% of which was arable land.
Vote September 24, 2017
Federal Agriculture Office
Farmers Association
Fair Food initiative - Green Party (German, French, Italian)
Uniterre farmers movement (German, French)
Think tank Vision Landwirtschaft (German, French)
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Swiss Business Federation (Economiesuisse)
There are 2 comments on this article.
Weighing up fair food and living off the land Urs Geiser Aug 22, 2014 - 11:00 Enough food to eat and enough to export. It's a balancing act. In the political pipeline, three separate initiatives promoting Swiss agriculture and sustainable food are attempting to tackle the issue. In July a group of farmers walked through the Swiss capital in a colourful procession showing off agricultural produce. They were marking having successfully collected around 150,000 signatures within a record three months for an initiative to boost the production of food. The move by the main Farmers' Association was not only proof of their efficient organisation but also a sign that agricultural issues are popular among citizens. Earlier in the year the Green Party launched its own proposal focusing on improving quality standards for imported food. Its "Fair Food" initiative aimed to promote sustainable production, both in Switzerland and abroad. For Green Party parliamentarian and organic farmer Maya Graf, it's crucial to ensure an environmentally-friendly food supply for Switzerland and at fair conditions. "Food is not just like any other goods that can be moved around like watches. It is a sensitive product that influences people's lives, the environment and the climate," she says. "And food security is important." And next month, a slightly different pitch is being taken by the leftwing Uniterre farmers movement. Their proposal being launched in September wants the government to boost the supply of "healthy food from a diverse agricultural system" that covers its own costs and in line with people's social and environmental expectations. Self-sufficiency Switzerland imports more than it exports and the domestic production has remained steady in recent years as the following graphic shows. Both the initiatives by Uniterre and the Farmers' Association focus on boosting food production in Switzerland, but without setting target figures. Currently Switzerland's rate of food self-sufficiency is about 64%. The net food self-sustainability rate is 56% once animal feed imports are factored in. The rate is low when compared with other countries, according to a 2009 analysis by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Argentina has the highest self-sufficiency rate at 273% and Norway the lowest at 50%. The figures are to be taken with a pinch of salt, says Daniel Erdin, head of the statistics unit of the Farmers' Association. And not only because they date back to 2009. "The quality of the data might differ from country to country and be based on a number of estimations. Even the Swiss statistics," he explains. A comparison of individual years is less meaningful than looking at long-term developments, such as a steady increase or a dramatic slump over a couple of decades. Moreover , a survey on proteins and mineral substances in the food would give a different picture, Erdin continues. "The value of food is not measured in figures only. It can also give pleasure." No isolation Rejecting the Farmers' Association's initiative, Stefan Vannoni of the Swiss Business Federation says striving for complete self-sufficiency is a delusion. "Switzerland is not an island in agricultural terms." Quite the contrary, he adds. Switzerland has to shore up its trade relations and improve its agricultural production. He warns against attempts to target a maximum degree of independence notably by protective customs. "Food sustainability can be achieved by an efficient agricultural production and good trade relations," he says. The value of food is not measured in figures only. It can also give pleasure. Daniel Erdin In a similar vein, independent agricultural expert Andreas Bosshard describes the calls for more independence as "populist". He says time is needed to implement the latest agricultural reforms. (see: Infobox Agricultural policy) Dialogue Bernard Lehmann, director of the Federal Agriculture Office, has weighed into the debate about sustainability and food security. In the July news letter of his office, he stressed the need for dialogue between those who are concerned about the ability of Swiss farmers to supply enough food in the future and the promoters of an environment-friendly production. "The government and parliament took a clear position last year. It's not an 'either – or'. The agricultural sector has to find a way of keeping the natural resources which are the basis for production and ensure quality." "At the same time, the resources have to be used so that enough food of high quality can be produced to feed a growing population." He slammed outright opponents of the current agriculture policy and called for discussions to clarify details. Looking back over the recent past, he says previous debates focused on a possible overproduction of food in industrialised countries. But the next 30 years could bring about a major change. The demand for food worldwide will probably increase 60% by 2050 according to Lehmann. Agricultural policy Parliament in spring 2013 approved the latest in a series of agricultural reforms. A consolidated system of direct payments is aimed to ensure sustainability and ensure food supply. Three separate initiatives are pending at different stages of the direct democracy procedure seeking changes to the official agriculture policy. The Farmers Association handed in the necessary number of signatures in July. It calls for measures to stop the decline in productive land and boost domestic food production. The Green Party launched its Fair Food initiative in January and has until November 2015 to win the support of citizens in the street. Its proposal seek to set clear rules based on environmental, animal health and labour standards notably for imported food. The Uniterre movement plans to launch its initiative in September. It aims to give priority to promoting domestic food production, more personnel and limiting imports. Farming facts and figures The number of Swiss farms has dropped to just over 55,200 by 2013 from about 125,300 over the past 30 years. The number of employees working in agriculture has continually decreased to about 159,000 according to the Federal Statistical Office. The total farming land covered 1,05 million hectares last year, about 14% of which was arable land.
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Art making, play, creative self-expression and music are all natural forms of human communication, they are part of our "language". Children particularly engage in this form of self-expression naturally. Adults, however, sometimes lose touch with this aspect of themselves, and so much of their life goes unexpressed...uncommunicated.
Art Therapy invites the client to use this "language" in order to communicate, to express their internal world which is so hard to put into words. We've all heard the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words". This is the value of making art in a therapeutic context. Because, sometimes we don't have the words, or don't really understand all that we feel in our mind, heart, body and soul. Or, speaking the words is too scary, threatening, or confusing and therefore not an option.
The art facilitates the healing process by allowing emotional burdens to finally be expressed. It is a wonderful medium for initiating the healing process. Art Therapy allows personal content to finally be externalized and acknowledged, often for the very first time. It allows people to access and manifest aspects of themselves which would otherwise go unheard. Simply put, it gives "voice" to the WHOLE person.
As Cathy Malchiodi states, "Art expression is a way to make tangible what is secret and confusing."
Some experiences/memories are "unspeakable", confusing, or too painful to put into words. The containment of the art, the non-verbal nature of the art making process, and the safety of the therapeutic relationship, allow some experiences to be expressed for the very first time. What a relief for the client. Finally, the healing process can begin.
I frequently hear the expression "art saved my life". Art, for some people, is literally the life-line, the life-preserver. It has led many people out of despair and on to a path of meaning, communication, connectedness, healing and growth.
Art therapy is cathartic, grounding, contained, and empowering.
A large variety of art materials are available for use during sessions: graphite pencils, colored pencils, crayons, oil pastels, chalk pastels, markers, acrylic and watercolor paints, clay, plasticine, collage material, mixed media, fabrics, glue, and craft items. A variety of colors, sizes and textures of papers are available as well.
My office is also equipped with a full sand tray studio. This includes side-by-side sand trays along with a multitude of objects & figurines. Sandtray is a profound projective experience allowing clients to make pictures and stories in the sand with chosen (and created) objects and figurines. They are allowed to create, adjust, and control their own "world", their own "story". Sandtray allows for non-verbal expression, the use of metaphor or realistic symbolism, story telling, the opportunity to practice making alternative choices in a safe and contained arena, and the opportunity to change the course of their story. Sand tray allows a client to process and understand an event, to heal from an event, and to move it through to a resolution.
Puppets, stuffed animals, figurines, toys, games, books, musical instruments (great for lead/follow games, self-regulation, self-mastery, joining, and fun), action figures, and dolls/house are all available for a range of therapeutic interventions for all ages.
Clients are also invited to bring in music and art of any type to share which is meaningful to them as another aspect of creative expression. Often, the art or the music "speaks" to them, or "speaks" for them, and leads the way to deeper discussion. A C.D. player is available in the office.
Neuroscience research is showing that the language/words which we use to explain our experiences are stored in one area of our brain, while so many other aspects of an experience are fragmented and stored in various other areas of our brain. With the opportunity to use non-verbal forms of self-expression, we tap into other areas of the brain and externalize the imagery that speaks for our body, mind, spirit and senses. We then come face-to-face with entirely new aspects of our own reality. Now this content is available to contemplate, to heal, and to restore.
With information from the left and right side of the brain available, all the "pieces of the puzzle" can be put together. Their narrative is more complete. The client can finally make sense of their story and process it as a whole event. This finally allows a person to transcend the experience.
Art Therapy is used with children to address a multitude of issues, whether it's developmental, behavioral, emotional, social, or familial. Art therapy techniques can raise awareness to particular roadblocks, issues and experiences that a child is struggling to cope with. Often, how they are trying to cope is what distresses the parents to the point of seeking help.
The child may be burdened with; stress, trauma, loss, chaos, instability, transitional issues, relationship conflicts, violence, abuse, attachment issues, safety issues, disabilities, or other deep-seated concerns.
Through the therapeutic art process, children can express and identify the cause of their pain. They can "work through" their conflicts, problem-solve, and practice new coping strategies. Healing and change can occur within THEIR comfort zone, and in THEIR language of imagery and creative self-expression.
Art Therapy is used to promote social, behavioral and emotional competencies.
Ultimately, a stronger self concept leads the way to higher functioning.
I'd like to give you one example of how art therapy is used to allow people to transcend their current experience of life. I have seen unique versions of this occur over and over again in my practice, and it's a wonderful thing.
It goes like this. Imagine...that every single person out there walks around with total awareness, all the time, of all their pain and suffering. How would we be able to function? How could we drive to work without getting in an accident, make it through a meeting without an emotional break down, or provide for the complex needs of our children throughout the day? Our brain has a phenomenal natural response to painful experiences, which is to separate it from our conscious thought. Depending on the severity of the pain, it gets packaged up and put in the far recesses of our brain. A very good coping mechanism if we are to be able to continue functioning.
However, there are those confusing, unexplainable times, when we think and behave very uncharacteristically of ourselves. It can be downright confusing, humiliating, discouraging, self-sabotaging, hurtful to those we love, or even unsafe. What is happening???
Something in our environment is poking at that painful experience that is all packaged up. Only now, it is not so far from our consciousness, it is very close to our awareness because of some trigger in our environment. So, we are reacting to that trigger. The trigger is causing us pain. It is causing us to react in ways that are out of proportion to the actual event in the here and now. We are reacting to it from our wounded place.
It is at this point in time that I hope you will come in to see me. Because now, your unconscious is telling you, "I'm ready to look at this stuff. I'm moving it from the furthest recesses of your brain a little closer to consciousness." Your mind has faith in your ability to handle this information right now in a safe and contained way. So, it's saying "it is important that you process this stuff now so that you can heal from it and grow...live a healthier life."
As your therapist, I provide compassion, containment and skill in order to help you through the issues which are bothering you. I honor your mind's lead regarding the pace and content to be addressed. Art Therapists are trained to work with abstract, metaphor and symbolic imagery that people often use to express what it's experiencing in the mind, body, heart, soul and in one's personal environment (past, present, future). Your right brain uses symbols and imagery to sort of by-pass the editing left brain.
When the right brain is engaged in creative expression, the left brain doesn't know how to edit the information, since it's not the usual language or thinking. Once the creative expression is externalized and tangible, it can be looked at for the first time, contemplated and discussed. It can finally be addressed as another aspect of the client's reality.
Therefore, by utilizing verbal and non-verbal forms of expression, all the fragments of the client's reality can be expressed. With a full story produced from the left and right brain, there is a sense of total awareness and understanding. The experience can then be processed, healed and transcended.
Free from the grip that an experience can have on daily functioning, the client can now explore alternate ways of functioning in order to improve the quality of his or her life.
I have total faith in the resiliency of the human spirit. There is hope for healing, and transcendence to a more fulfilling experience of life.


Where else can you see alligators and tropical birds in the wild.
When you are in Florida the palm trees add to your 'Ahh… Paradise' experience.
Nothing better than a sun ripened orange direct from Florida.
Why stay inside watching TV all day when you can be out exploring nature parks in Florida.
What could be better than outdoor dining all year-long? Combine this with seafood, the beach, and a sunset, and you have a Beautiful Vacation!
Nothing more beautiful than seeing the sun set in Florida. There are very few states where you can see a sunset on the beach.
You know them all: Disney World, Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens, and Lego Land! – View our photos from all of these theme parks!
If you like seafood then Florida is the place to visit! Scallops, lobster, grouper and shrimp!
Warm and Sunny, or Sunny and Warm. Nothing better than spending a vacation in flip flops and shorts!
Every coast of Florida has an awesome beach, everywhere from Clearwater Beach to Key West, to Daytona Beach. Most people visiting Florida on a vacation goes to see the beach at least once.


text:
Indian Punchline
Posted on October 4, 2020 October 4, 2020 by M. K. BHADRAKUMAR
The Time of Troubles in Transcaucasia — Part 3
Women and children read books in a bomb shelter seeking refuge from shelling, Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, Oct 1, 2020
This is the concluding part of a 3-part essay. The first part is here; the second part here.
Caucasian chalk circle
The United States and Russia are increasingly in each other's crosshairs on the global stage, be it in the Arctic, the Black Sea or the Middle East. But they have joined hands with alacrity to take a common stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is patently loaded against Turkey.
On October 2, at a hastily arranged "working meeting" in Geneva, the Russian National Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev and the US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien discussed issues privately "in a bid to normalise bilateral relations and strengthen the international security." This is the first time the two top national security officials have met in the past two-year period.
The Kremlin has been watching with dismay Turkey's interventions in Syria and Libya. Russia feels helpless about the Turkish occupation of northern Syria and is instead obliged to take Ankara's help to stabilise northwestern Syria. In Libya, their respective proxy groups are fighting for the upper hand.
There is a lot of frustration in the western capitals too over Turkey's Islamist policies and neo-Ottomanism, its military intervention in Libya and provocative moves in Eastern Mediterranean. The western powers and Russia now get a rare opportunity to corner President Recep Erdogan within a "Caucasian chalk circle" of chaos and chance.
But how far they will succeed remains to be seen. Erdogan has shown himself to be a masterly player of brinkmanship. The Moscow pundits claim that the current happenings in Transcaucasia do not really impinge on Russian security interests or its so-called Greater Eurasia Partnership project.
But the Russian security establishment must be worried like hell. Just two days before the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted, Russia's intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin had listed Georgia as among the countries from where the CIA, Pentagon and the US state department have been training activists and indulging in the "dirtiest methods for rocking the boat in Belarus". (Naryshkin is a close associate of President Putin.)
Now, with the success of the colour revolutions in Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan is the only remaining part of Transcaucasia that is outside the US "sphere of influence." Some stirrings of protests have appeared in Baku in the past but Azeri leadership managed to squash them.
Unlike France or the US, Turkey is not a newcomer to Caucasian politics. The modern Turkish state under Ataturk turned its back on the Caucasus and stuck to its new credo that Islam and imperial heritage only led to backwardness and restrained Turkey's modernisation.
However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkey began rediscovering its severed historical, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious ties with Caucasus (and Central Asia.) With the retreat of "Kemalism" in Turkey, Erdogan switched to a more proactive and independent policy in the regions that used to be part of the "Ottoman space."
Thus, the fraternal ties with Azerbaijan (a Turkic-speaking country) morphed into a strategic alliance. Turkey has become a provider of security and a guarantor of stability. Turkey and Azerbaijan are also involved in several joint energy projects and infrastructure programmes (eg., Baku – Akhalkalaki – Tbilisi – Kars railway line.)
The Caucasian diaspora are an important factor, too. Around 10 percent of Turkey's population are of Caucasian origin — refugees fleeing Tsarist Russia's advance, who form a very influential political constituency today, represented well in the Turkish army, parliament, media, etc.
The stakes are exceedingly high on the Transcaucasian chessboard — NATO's advance into the Black Sea; Caspian oil; the volatile North Caucasus region (Russia's "soft underbelly"); Iran's ethic Azeri minority community; Israeli presence, etc. to name a few.
The tensions over Transcaucasia will be felt in the Syrian situation. Turkey and Russia do not see the Syrian settlement through the same lens. Both Moscow and Ankara are also looking for opportunities to strengthen their standing as regional superpowers in the Middle East and the Black Sea region.
Meanwhile, the unresolved conflicts in the Transcaucasian region also include the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which may look relatively calm as of now, thanks to the restraint that Georgia has exercised in taking any actions to regain its territorial integrity that Russia violated in the Russo-Georgian war in August 2008.
But Russian revanchism strengthened Tbilisi's ties with the US, NATO and the EU. Georgia's pro-western course set by Mikhail Saakashvili (following the colour revolution in 2003) has become irreversible. Simply put, Transcaucasia is still very much "work in progress" in the geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the US.
Russian-Turkish collision course?
The tensions have continued to simmer, notwithstanding the shift in attention to events in Ukraine's Donbas and Crimea's annexation by Russia. The US still advocates "energy pluralism" in Transcaucasia, i.e. finding alternative ways to supply oil and gas to Europe as well as creating a platform for conducting its policy to contain Tehran's and Moscow's ambitions. Equally, the security of Russia's seven North Caucasian (Muslim) republics cannot be sequestered effectively from the state of affairs in its Transcaucasian neighbourhood to the south.
To be sure, the spillover from the Ukraine crisis has far from played out and the competition between European and Eurasian integration is only going to intensify in the Transcaucasian region. Georgia has opted to enter into free trade agreements with the European Union. Armenia, on the contrary, decided to join the Moscow-backed Eurasian Economic Union.
But Azerbaijan has so far tried to balance between various integration projects and the current conflict becomes a defining moment. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have choices to make. They will likely view integration as an additional tool for gaining the upper hand in their brutal ethnic and political conflict.
The crisis in Ukraine has also led NATO and Georgia to intensify their contacts. The road map plotted by the US has brought the NATO into the Black Sea where it is lately consolidating a military presence to challenge Russia's historical pre-dominance in the region.
On September 29, after talks at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels with the visiting Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, the secretary-general of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg described Georgia as "one of NATO's most important partners" and referred to close cooperation on the Black Sea security. Gakharia responded that "We see Black Sea security as the window of opportunity for Georgia, for deepening the cooperation with NATO."
From the western perspective, therefore, any unravelling of the Turkish-Russian entente due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be a geopolitical windfall. The western analysts are expecting that latent contradictions in the Turkish-Russian entente will surface.
Paradoxically, Turkey's current actions in the Caucasus, which are often interpreted as an element of its foreign policy, also hold the potential to transform as part of the Western effort to expand its regional footprint in Eurasia to complete the arc of encirclement around Russia.
Thus, the US and its EU allies have all along supported the trilateral cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The influential American strategist on Russia, Fiona Hill wrote in a Brookings report in 2015 titled "Retracing the Caucasian Circle: Considerations and constraints for U.S., EU, and Turkish engagement in the South Caucasus" that Washington and its allies regarded Turkey as being part of the West alongside the EU and the US in regional diplomacy and Turkey's actions in South Caucasus were part of the Western agenda.
Indeed, Turkey shares interests with Georgia (and Ukraine) and are working together on energy pipeline projects. Turkish businesses are actively involved in both countries. Broadly, Ankara has moved in tandem with the NATO while pursuing its regional ambitions in Georgia and Ukraine.
Having said that, Azerbaijan has a troubled relationship with the US and has long viewed Russia as a counterweight. Ideally, Russia needs to find a balance between Armenia, a strategic ally, and Azerbaijan, a strategic partner.
This is where the role of Iran in the Transcaucasian question comes into play. Tehran has been successful in keeping friendly ties with all three states in Transcaucasia. Iran is a unique regional player with a truly independent foreign policies and devoid of any ancient imperial hang-ups.
Iran is fundamentally wedded to the principle that such conflicts as Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved without interference from players outside the region. Its position is closer to Russia than to Turkey. But Russia's dilemma appears to be that it is hesitant to break the existing status quo in Transcaucasia until it resolves the Syrian and Ukrainian issues.
Ankara's active involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has provoked the Armenian lobby in the US Congress as well as in Europe (primarily in France). At some point in future, the crisis in Transcaucasia could open the door to a more active involvement by the US and the EU, including through a peacekeeping operation.
In immediate terms, the risk lies in the unseemly rush of Azerbaijan to create new facts on the ground. The growing number of incidents on the contact line along its border with Armenia (outside Nagorno-Karabakh) can lead to some flashpoint, forcing Russia or Turkey to take unilateral action. Iran has cautioned against it.
TagsAzerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, NATO, Russia, Turkey
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text:
What we learned Monday: Saints down, but not out
By Chris Wesseling
Published: Dec. 3, 2013 at 12:45 a.m.
Updated: Dec. 3, 2013 at 11:42 a.m.
Seven thinnest position groups across the NFL: New England's biggest flaw?
Ranking the NFL's deepest position groups in 2019: Which loaded unit's No. 1?
The road to the Super Bowl will almost certainly run through the Emerald City after the Seattle Seahawks put an indelible 34-7 stamp on the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.
Sports fans don't typically embrace blowouts, but even casual observers could appreciate the Seahawks' near perfect performance against the game of football.
While the Seahawks can rest secure in the knowledge that they will own the NFC's No. 1 seed even if they split their final four tilts, the Saints have to go back to the drawing board after getting lambasted in every facet of the game.
Sean Payton and Drew Brees can take solace in the fact that these early December blowouts rarely portend disaster for the losing team.
Four years ago this week, the Patriots beat the Jets 45-3 on "Monday Night Football" only to have the tables turned in the playoffs. The Ravens were blown out by the Broncos in mid-December of last year before going into Denver for the upset a few weeks later.
It's easy to anoint the Seahawks as Super Bowl favorites. Just don't forget the Ravens were 1-4 in December last year. The Giants entered December on a three-game losing streak two years ago. There are still two months' worth of football to play.
The Saints are down, but they're not out.
Here's what else we learned in Monday's game:
1. If Peyton Manning is odds-on favorite for MVP honors, Wilson is emerging as his stiffest competition after a third consecutive performance with a passer rating over 134.0. There's never been a quarterback who combines Wilson's size, uncanny scrambling ability, accuracy, intelligence, leadership and deep-ball prowess. He's an original, which his why 25+ organizations are kicking themselves for passing on one of the greatest assets in today's NFL.
Number of team execs who've told me they were 'about to draft Russell Wilson' before Seahawks did in 3rd round: 100 billion
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) December 3, 2013
2. Cliff Avril's strip sack which turned into a 22-yard fumble return touchdown for Michael Bennett perfectly illustrated the advantage of having Wilson at roughly $500,000 versus Drew Brees at over $20 million. Pete Carroll entered last offseason with pass rushing as his top priority. If not for Wilson's low salary, adding both Avril and Bennett would have been a pipedream.
3. The Seahawks aren't viewed as a dominant offense because they lack superstars at wide receiver and play a ball-control style, but they went into the game ranked sixth in Football Outsiders metrics. Wilson utilizes all of his weapons, which means this offense doesn't suffer even if the opposing defense takes away what it does best -- namely crush tacklers with Marshawn Lynch. Just wait until Wilson gets Percy Harvin back in the playoffs.
4. Prior to this game, Brees was 9-0 with a 123.6 passer rating in his last nine "Monday Night Football" performances. He cratered in epic fashion, producing his lowest yards-per-attempt figure (3.86) in a decade. The Saints' offense didn't cross its own 30-yard line for a second time until deep into the third quarter. Brees has another stiff text next week against a Panthers defense that gave Seattle fits in the season opener.
5. The Saints wide receivers have been an overlooked weak spot all season, with the offense relying too heavily on Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles. Until the fourth quarter, no wide receiver had a reception of 10+ yards against the Seahawks' physical cornerbacks and speedy linebackers. Graham realized he wasn't playing the Falcons when two intermediate-to-deep passes were knocked out of his hands with jarring hits at the point of the catch.
6. According to numbers compiled by the NFL Media research department, the Saints defense entered the game with the largest scoring improvement from one year to the next since 1940. It exited the game facing renewed doubts about its ability to hold up against superior competition. At halftime, the Seahawks were averaging 8.5 yards per play compared to the Saints' 3.5. Wilson did what he wanted against Rob Ryan's secondary.
7. On the flip side, the Seahawks made a strong statement that they will be just fine without cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond. Fill-ins Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane will face a stiffer test on the road where the pass-rush slacks, but they more than held their own against Brees' lethal aerial attack. Earl Thomas -- the best safety in the league -- is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
8. Even more than usual, the 12th man was a factor at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks reclaimed the loudest crowd record from the Chiefs with a 137.6 decibel reading after the opening kickoff. Jumping fans registered a magnitude 1 or 2 earthquake on Michael Bennett's 22-yard fumble return touchdown in the first quarter. The crowd noise forced the Saints into penalties, including a stretch of three on one possession.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 13 game.


Modern innovations in technology and design have transformed human life. Yet our stamped steel, flat-handled, metallic utensils have remained unchanged. Until now.
Certine fundamentally changes the experience of interacting with food. Our ceramic flatware combines modern form and classic function to create a product with distinctive benefits for the lover of food.


The organisers are not making any arrangements for accommodation for the symposium, since it is a one day event, but we do include some details for accommodation local to the venue below. We accept no responsibility for any delegate accommodation.
once again takes its place at the heart of London.
call +44 (0)207 420 2300 or email savoy.reservations@fairmont.com.


The Marmalade The Marmalade were a successful Scottish pop rock group who formed in 1961. The most successful period for the band, in terms of UK chart success, was between 1968 and 1972 whereby their single "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" reached #1 in the UK Chart. In 1969 their single "Reflections of My Life" reached #3 in UK Chart and #10 in the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart. "Reflections of My Life" has recorded over two million sales and the writers were awarded a Special Citation of Achievement in 1998 by BMI in attaining radio broadcast performances in excess of one million in the US alone.


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Szabó Csaba (Győr, 1967. július 12.–), magyar kutatóorvos, farmakológus.

Tanulmányai
A SOTE-n diplomázott 1991-ben. Élettani és gyógyszertani Ph.D. fokozatokkal rendelkezik. 1999 óta az MTA doktora.

Kutatási területe
A szabad gyökök. A világ 9. legidézettebb farmakológusa és a világ egyik legidézettebb magyar kutatója.

Tevékenysége
Kutatói tevékenységét a Semmelweis Egyetem Klinikai Kísérleti Kutató Intézetében kezdte, majd 1992-ben a londoni William Harvey Intézetben folytatta. 1994-ben a Cincinnati Egyetemen létrehozott egy, a vérkeringési sokk, a gyulladás és a nitrozatív stressz témaköreit vizsgáló laboratóriumot. 1999-től az általa alapított Inotek nevű gyógyszerkutató cég kutatási igazgatójaként, és a New Jersey Orvosegyetem professzoraként is dolgozik. Emellett 2002-2006 között a Semmelweis Egyetem Klinikai Kísérleti Kutató Intézet tudományos tanácsadója volt.

Nagy vitát váltott ki akadémiai körökben, amikor 2005-ban visszatért Magyarországra a SOTE Technológiai Transzfer Irodáját vezetni. Egy évvel később visszatért Amerikába.

2018 óta Svájcban dolgozik, a Fribourgi egyetem farmakológiai tanszékét vezeti.

Elismerése
2004-ben Gábor Dénes-díjjal jutalmazták. 2016-ban az Amerikai Gyógyszertani Társaság "Pharmacia/ASPET" díját kapta. 2021-ben a Brit Gyógyszertani Társaság John Vane Érdemérmét kapta.

Jegyzetek

Források
 Semmelweis Egyetem / Hírek / Szabó Csaba felkerült a világ…

 mta.hu Köztestületi tagok
 mindentudas.hu

Jegyzetek

Magyar orvosok
Győriek
Gábor Dénes-díjasok
1967-ben született személyek
Élő személyek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: jQuery UI datepicker not selecting the correct month in 1.12.1 When loading jQuery 3.1.1 and jQuery UI 1.12.1 (both production versions) the datepicker forward and back arrows do not take you to the proper months when numberOfMonths is greater than 1 and showCurrentAtPos is greater than 0.
The HTML is:
<input type=text id=selector />

The javaScript code to create the datepicker is very basic:
jQuery('#selector').datepicker({
 stepMonths: 1,
 numberOfMonths: 2,
 showCurrentAtPos: 1,
 dateFormat: 'yy-mm-dd',
 showOtherMonths: true,
 selectOtherMonths: true,
 showButtonPanel: true
});

Here is an example of the broken behavior:
jsFiddle
To get it to work properly, I had to load the GIT version 1.12.0-pre
Here is an example of it working as it should:
jsFiddle
Any suggestions?  I'd prefer to use the production version of jQuery UI, but in this case, that isn't working.
jQuery UI Bug Ticket
Someone beat me to it, my bug ticket was a duplicate.
The (currently) open ticket is: jQuery UI Bug Ticket

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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UF Health University of Florida
College of Public Health & Health Professions UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA
Outreach & Clinics
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Posts tagged as
Tara Sabo-Attwood appointed to EPA Scientific Advisory Panel
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel serves as a primary scientific peer review mechanism of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.
UF technique improves accuracy of disease prevalence generated by wastewater surveillance
The mass balance equation generated accurate COVID-19 prevalence estimates when compared to prevalence derived from traditional clinical surveillance approaches.
Scientific expedition to study human impact on Florida Everglades
Dr. Tracie Baker serves as the lead scientist of a canoe journey through the Florida Everglades to assess the impact of humans on the world's largest subtropical wildness.
EGH provides hurricane relief to farmworker families
The department is working with a community partner to assist with storm cleanup and supply donations.
UF team receives CDC grant to improve modeling of infectious disease outbreaks
The team will develop a rigorous outbreak surveillance and detection system that could help public health officials contain outbreaks at their source.
Ph.D. students plan campus events as winners of APHA Climate Justice Student Champions awards
The events include a Zoom webinar and mini photo exhibit highlighting climate justice and health equity.
Algorithm optimizes antibiotic use in settings with poor hygiene and sanitation
To combat antibiotic misuse, researchers developed a decision-making tool that tells doctors the probability the culprit is solely a virus.
Something marvelous comes to Gainesville
UF partners with local and national agencies to offer interactive outdoor experiences for kids.
Wastewater health signals
PHHP researchers are refining wastewater surveillance techniques to monitor cities, neighborhoods and individual buildings for traces of COVID-19, fentanyl and pesticides.
Tracking coronavirus in wastewater
Researchers track COVID-19 trends in an island community's wastewater. The approach has broad implications as a public health surveillance tool.
This Month in PHHP January 25, 2023
From classical performer to speech-language pathologist January 24, 2023
Promoting inclusion of American Indian and Alaska Native populations in clinical trials January 23, 2023
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Still on my first cup of coffee here, so I'm afraid I'm a little short on commentary.
Happy hump day/new comics day, folks.
Wonderful job Chris! Ted is one of my all-time favorite comics characters and you do him proud with this rendition!
Beautiful work! Really love this piece. A favourite character of mine.
Great perspective and sense of daring-do adventure in this rendition of Blue Beatle. I dig the self-assured smirk on his face. Kudos!
Nice work. Good depiction of Ted.
Very dynamic draw, as usual.
It's the second Blue Beetle who died in the late Identity Crisis, isn't it ?


As always we have some chic ladies at red carpet. My absolute favorite this year was Julia Roberts. With her Stella McCartney outfit she was wonderful, modern and elegant. I choose some of my favorite looks for you.
Lady Gaga with her blue dress. Her song for the movie A Star is Born winns the award this year. I would like to watch this film soon.
Heidi Klum, I can not believe that she has a relationship whit Tom from Tokyohotel. Is he not a little bit young? Anyway... I like her crazy dress.
Sure there are many other outfits and stars but I would like to make a list with some of my favorites. Did you have a favorite star or outfit? Let' s talk about that at the comments. I wish you a joyfull day.
Najbliższa mi tu kreacja to sukienka Emily Blunt.
Jeszcze w takiej mogłabym się pokazać.
I didn't followed Golden Globes but I have to say that all these red carpet looks are fabulous. My favourites are Julia Roberts and Charlize Theron, they are wearing the most elegant, simple and fabulous outfits.
Oh my gosh, Julia Roberts looks SO GOOD.


Want to see how to have a high-performance offense? Georgia Tech scores 65 points versus Tulane right here.
This entry was posted in flexbone, army, navy, offense, playbook, veer and tagged Dr. Lou Cella, flexbone, georgia tech, Offense, video on July 27, 2017 by Dr. Lou Cella.


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Home News Business
Operator Starts Design Process for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 4
PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II president director Muhammad Awaluddin. Operator starts design process for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 4 (tribunnews.com/File)
Operator starts design process for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 4 State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) has begun designing Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 4 in Tangerang, Banten.
AP II president director Muhammad Awaluddin said in Jakarta on Sunday that his company needed to invest Rp11 trillion (US$777.15 million) to construct a 400,000-square-meter terminal.
"We refer to the construction of Terminal 3 of the airport, which started in 2012," Awaluddin said as quoted by kontan.co.id, adding that the company spent Rp7 trillion to develop Terminal 3.
The cost for Terminal 4, the construction of which was expected to begin in 2020, had increased to about Rp 11 trillion due to the price increase of construction material, Awaluddin said.
Baca juga : 14 Soes Sign Deals on $13.5 B Worth of Infrastructure Projects
He said three designs – a conceptual design, a basic design and a detail engineering design – were being prepared ahead of the company's tender to appoint contractors to develop the terminal.
With the conceptual design, AP II will consider whether Terminal 4 will be designated for only low-cost-carriers or all carriers.
Meanwhile, in the basic design process, the company would determine the height of the planned buildings – one story or two – and distribute space based on necessities, Awaluddin said, adding that with the detail engineering design, the company would determine the total cost of the project.
Baca juga : Airport Operator Targets 1 Million Plane Movements in 2018
Awaluddin said many companies had expressed interest in taking part in the construction of Terminal 4.
"They have sent letters, but we have not made decisions yet because we are still focusing on the three designs," he added. Operator starts design process for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 4 (bbn, The Jakarta Post)
Baca juga : Airport Operator Invites Investors to Develop 11 Airports
Tags: AwaluddinDesign ProcessPT Angkasa Pura IISoekarno-Hatta International Airport
Memadukan Teknologi Adaptasi terhadap Pemanasan Global
Kecanggihan Kereta Cepat Baru Velaro Novo Buatan Siemens
Farmers Association to Host Asian Agriculture and Food Forum
Mass Production of Vehicles to Boost Agricultural Sector in 2019
Pesawat Asal Indonesia diizinkan Terbang di Langit Eropa
Inalum Picks Indometal as Holding's Global Trader


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Review: Watch Dogs
Published by Chris Davis on June 4, 2014
As it has always been, when one generation of consoles transitions into another we are presented with what appear to be fresh ideas underneath of sheen of unparalleled graphical fidelity. Put into development at a time in which the old system's potential has all but been tapped out, these titles are our first glimpses into the future of what a new console generation is capable of. More often than not however, many of these concepts that serve as transitional titles fail to meet their target in both the eyes of their makers as well as the public itself, drawing ire from all sides regardless of how the final product presents itself.
Watch Dogs is one such victim of this rather unfortunately situation. While its initial reveal at E3 2012 drew amazed looks from all around. The diligent and steadfast among us however still remember what Killzone 2 was supposed to be though. Ubisoft's darling new IP has been the subject of great anticipation and yet, also great trepidation in the months leading up to release. Could it really meet the expectations of a demanding gaming public that wishes to see their $400 consoles put to full use? Can this new series capture the sweeping narrative potential Assassin's Creed has tried to garner over the past seven years? Does Watch Dogs mark the beginning of a bright future for this new generation or is it simply a last gen hack job?
Platform(s): Xbox One (Reviewed), PS4, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Interconnected Lives, Re-Routed
Chicago is one of the most storied cities in the United States, though the most popular bits of its history do not come from something to be proud of. The greatest of these stories hail from the 1920s in which mobsters like Al Capone ruled the streets through fear and intimidation. Despite having wished otherwise, Chicago remains one of the most dangerous cities in North America to this day. In Watch Dogs, Chicago's government has a new weapon for a new age: the Central Operating System. A city-scale network of mainframes, the CtOS controls most of the infrastructure of Chicago, from street lights to water pumps, electricity to emergency services, all built on a vast grid of surveillance cameras placed specifically to combat crime. It's a wet dream for the NSA but at its heart lies a dark secret: its true potential as a monitoring system that manipulates our lives and sees everything we do.
Thought impenetrable, the CtOS is a vulnerable system that has been long-since hacked. An anonymous hacker collective known as DedSec tries to warn the public of the threat the system holds for its citizens while tech-savy gangsters access its weak points to further their own ends. In the middle stand Fixers, mercenaries that can bend the CtOS to their will using advanced hacking tools at the behest of the highest bidder. Aiden Pierce, our hero, is one such Fixer.
On a typical night in 2012, Aiden and his partner, Damien, infiltrate the Merlaut Hotel on a routine money-syphoning heist. In the middle of the job another hacker appears and penetrates the same network, exposing the two. Pierce is identified by an unknown group who put out a hit on him, resulting in the death of his niece, Lena, during the ensuing attempt on his life. Grief-stricken, Aiden makes it his life's mission to protect his remaining family and punish those responsible.
Watch Dogs has many expectations placed upon it, one of the most important being its story. After being billed as the next great IP for a new generation, much like Assassin's Creed was supposed to be last generation, one should expect something of a sweeping narrative that challenges your perception of an aspect of everyday life. For Assassin's Creed, it was the manipulation of history and the control of public perception built against the backdrop of a hidden war that has been waged for thousands of years. Watch Dogs should then, ideally, be about information warfare and one man's quest to be a guardian of the people.
What we get is only halfway to this narrative goal. Aiden Pierce's story aims to take a trip down the digital rabbit hole in a quest to get vengeance for his niece but it never really gets to that point with any flair or excitement. While the story does come full circle and resolves almost all plot elements (some are left purposefully unresolved more than likely for DLC or sequel purposes), it doesn't particularly do so in an enjoyable manner.
The problems with the overall plot is twofold: the characters themselves and the manner in which the story is presented. Aiden Pierce's unique character abilities (ie. the manipulation of the CtOS) as well as his plot situation has the potential to make him into a great vigilante hero but instead of fleshing him out he becomes all but one-dimensional. Occasionally he will reminisce about his actions and whether he is morally justified in committing them but once that fifteen second moment passes, we're back on the street being chased by the police, hacking into people's lives and taking on hordes of gangsters. Similarly, the rest of the Watch Dogs cast rarely show all that much emotion or character development to put them even in the vicinity of being memorable. Considering the background for the overall conflict present in the game, it's reasonable to expect at least some of the characters to take a ride on a moral rollercoaster but most of the deliveries are actually quite flat.
The other problem resides in just how Ubisoft chose to present the game's story. While the game does fairly well at linking consecutive events together, that's mainly how the story as a whole plays out. The game begins in media res, showing us a two minutes of cutscenes for the prologue before jumping forward nearly a year later without really addressing the consequences of what we just saw. It's unreasonable to expect the audience to establish a relationship with our main character if we're thrown smack dab in the middle of a revenge story and while I appreciate some of Aiden's motivation, there remains a significant disconnect. In addition, Watch Dogs chooses to ignore characters once their arc has been completed, leaving some to unknown fates while at the same time never establishing more of Pierce's personality outside of intro/outro mission cutscenes. It's very dry, making it clear that this is a game far more motivated by gameplay than story. If Ubisoft intends to make this into a series, it would be in their best interest to rectify this.
Analog Warfare for the Digital Age
At its heart, Watch Dogs is very much a typical sandbox crime drama game focused on a uniquely powerful character of unquestionable tactical fortitude. Players will explore a vast city environment filled to the brim with police, gangsters and everyone else caught in between. The selling twist that attempts to separate his new title from being yet another Grand Theft Auto clone is Aiden Pierce's Fixer abilities which allow him almost unprecedented control over his digitally-powered environment.
Throughout the Watch Dogs experience, Aiden is given the ability to manipulate many of the machine run elements throughout the environment. Utilizing their access to the CtOS, players can control much of the infrastructure of Chicago such as traffic lights, bridge controls and various electrical utilities. These tools, while usable at almost any given time in the game, are best utilized contextually in terms of what's going on around you. While sure, you can use the CtOS to terrorize the city by causing traffic jams, black outs and electrical explosions, they are far more useful when you use them against the gangs or cops that chase you throughout the Windy City's streets.
The most common tool players will utilize during their time in Chicago is the Profiler, an app on Aiden's phone that analyzes the NPCs in the environment and returns information about them. As a human being, it's only natural to want to delve into a person's innermost secrets and this itch can be scratched very easily and frequently throughout the game by simply walking down the street with the Profiler activated. At the same time, many of the NPCs in the environment have exploitable links that can be hacked into. Many of them will allow you to hack into the bank accounts that you can withdraw cash from at any ATM, listen in on a private conversation or perhaps gain new information on criminal activities. It's a fun and simple mechanic that is all but required for many missions in the game but if you enjoyed using it as much as I have, you will not mind at all.
Outside of the core story missions that appear in the game, Watch Dogs offers a variety of side quests and standalone missions that become progressively more available as the game continues. Fixer Contracts will task you to drive a car from one side of the city to the other while completing various objectives. Gang Hideouts assign you to infiltrate a fortress and take down the head honcho, Criminal Convoys have you trying to stop a target vehicle from reaching its destination and so on and so forth. Over time, new linked quests appear that have you taking on human trafficking rings and gun runners and, for the most part, these are fun little diversions. That being said, Watch Dogs also has a huge amount of collectibles in the world that give you further insight into the game's background characters in the form of everybody's favorite exposition format, audio logs. Honestly, most of the collectibles aren't worth your time and unless you've been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, they should be skipped.
Digital Trips are easily the best side-mission highlight to be found in Watch Dogs. Much like the underutilized drugging sequences seen only a handful of times throughout Far Cry 3, these electronic-based trips serve as minigames that are a very enjoyable diversion from everything else found throughout the game. One trip has you taking the controls of a giant mechanical spider tank has you climbing buildings and wreaking havoc on the streets to rack up as much points as possible. Another features you sneaking through the dark, hiding from robots that kill you on sight while yet another has Aiden driving a Mad Max-esque armored muscle car through a Chicago hellscape running over demons and completing objective on a time limit. Everything to be had here is quite fun and should definitely be one of the first things you experience during your time with the game.
One of the more anticipated aspects of the game is the random nature by which events can happen in the game, specifically how crimes can seemingly occur out of nowhere. While these events can happen without notice, the CtOS will frequently identify pending crimes that occur proximate to Aiden's location. The player, should they choose, can visit the area and utilize the Profiler to identify the victim and his or her aggressor. Strangely though, Watch Dogs forces you to actually wait until the crime is in progress rather than prevent it from happening entirely, eventually leading even the most prepared players into a foot chase if they choose to go in for the non-lethal takedown. Unlike the rather slick presentation of such events we received in February of last year, these foot chases usually devolve into running down a sidewalk for a considerable amount of time as there are only occasional CtOS tools like junction boxes or circuit breakers that can impede the NPC's movement. Given this and the fact that Aiden cannot outpace any NPC in the world, the result is a chase that can last several minutes that is a drag rather than exhilarating, eventually making these missions something you want to avoid.
The random crime system is only the start of a variety of design choices that are either questionable or entirely missing. Seemingly to emphasize the CtOS system, Watch Dogs does not allow the player to fire a weapon while driving a vehicle, a staple of almost every crime-based sandbox title on the market. In addition, oddities begin to appear when you take a look at how the game's background elements work. Bus stops are littered throughout Chicago with people waiting patiently for their ride to arrive and yet there is not a single bus to be found in the game. Motorcycles can be quite easily found in the environment and yet none of the NPCs in the game (other than in one of the opening cutscenes) ever actually drive one. In addition, the game does not feature a proper melee combat system save for a one-press takedown maneuver, instead forcing you to rely on your weaponry and the CtOS during a firefight. These and several more confusing or omitted design choices appear throughout the game and while they don't necessarily detract from the overall experience, it certainly doesn't add to it.
Watch Dogs certainly wants to keep you entertained with its content but it doesn't seem competent in allowing the player to experience things as you want to. In addition to hundreds of collectibles and things to find, the game insists on informing you about things that are happening throughout Chicago whether you like it or not. Rarely will the game give you five minutes of peace without informing you about a new crime that is about to occur, new contracts that are available for the taking or news bulletins that either tell you about long outdated events that you were involved in or Aiden's current status in the eyes of the public. Sometimes I just want to explore the city, Ubisoft, give me a break.
As seems to be the growing trend for crime-based sandbox titles these days, Watch Dogs incorporates several different RPG elements such as a morality system in order to flesh out the main character beyond his bland story background. Known as the Vigilante, Aiden has the ability to alter public perception of him based on his good or evil actions. Rescuing civilians from crimes such as what I described above will earn you good karma while tear-assing down the streets and gunning down citizens will cause this to drop into the negatives quite fast. Despite the possibilities that could come from having access to the CtOS and the constant reminders of public opinion polls regarding your status in Chicago, it's disappointing to report that the only effect the morality system has is on how frequently the police will be called on you.
A morality system isn't the only RPG element that Watch Dogs includes however. Skill trees gate access to hacking upgrades and various parts of the CtOS infrastructure while other trees can enhance Aiden's combat, driving and crafting abilities. Players can also craft one-off tools that aid Aiden as you see fit. Having trouble sneaking past a bunch of guards? Cause a blackout to the area and sneak past them while in the dark. Is the enemy calling for reinforcements after spotting you? Use a communications jammer to prevent the call from going through. These tools can be crafted on the fly from the game's weapon wheel using components and chemicals found throughout the environment and they are exceptionally useful.
Apart from Watch Dogs' core gameplay, Ubisoft has included online multiplayer that, in many instances, takes inspiration from Japanese developer From Software's famous Souls series. While the game does feature the standard allotment of sandbox multiplayer modes such as free roam, racing and objective-based team combat, the invasion mechanic from the Souls series makes an appearance to a delightful degree. In Online Hacking, one player invades another's world, appearing always as an NPC to the opponent but always as Aiden to themselves. In this Turing Test mode, one player attempts to hack the other by hiding within a certain radius while the victim attempts to hunt them down using the Profiler. If the aggressor is identified, they must retreat as they are not allowed to kill the target. Online Hacking is incredible fun and, as it can happen at almost any time outside of a mission, players should always be on guard for an invading Fixer. Sadly, the launch of Watch Dogs has been a bit tumultuous as excessive wait times for invasion attempts can quite often lead to failed connections. This, coupled with it being quite hard to locate a lucrative contract, will try the player's patience. Interested players should take note, however, that while you can turn off the invasion mechanic, the game will reset your in-game notoriety, forcing you to build it back up once you turn it back on. It becomes a decision then: play with it on and expect to engage in multiplayer or turn it off and never do so for as long as you play.
The Cyber Frontier
As one of the first confirmed next generation games presented in 2012, Watch Dogs bore the distinction of being one of the visual powerhouses that would lead us into a bright future of graphical fidelity. As has been purported since late last year, the final product only contains a portion of the visual package that was presented to the public at E3 2012. Aside the visual effects, everything from texture models to environmental detail, animations to in-game physics are nowhere near the quality that we saw two years ago. While the package we have is still visually entertaining, the results are still disappointing by comparison.
One thing the game really has going for it is world depth though. Exploring Chicago, the city seems far more alive than Grand Theft Auto or many of its counterparts have ever done before. While not specifically a simulation experience nor having large numbers of NPCs on screen at any given time, almost every area in the game seems fleshed out and thoughtfully made. While not on the same level of authenticity that LA Noire presented, Watch Dogs seems to have done a very nice job on recreating a gameified version of Chicago so I must tip them my hat for doing so.
Watch Dogs doesn't just seem like a visual downgrade because of these elements though as it is riddled with bugs and inconsistencies. Cutscene facial animations are par for the course but their appearance in-game is simply mouths moving opening and closing, nothing more. Some cars feature real-time world reflections on their windows but many buildings reflect a static, non-existent road and none of the character, car or background models actually present. Visual pop-in of spawning objects in the environment is very noticeable at times and can often get you killed for seemingly no reason at all. Failed transitions between two player's worlds result in almost all objects and NPCs local to you getting despawned, only respawning when you turn the camera away from them. Some of these things may seem quite arbitrary but revealing only in the leadup to launch the actual visual content of the game is at the least being deceptive to your audience and, at most, false advertising. Activision learned lesson their about this in 2006 with the marketing for Call of Duty 2. Perhaps Ubisoft needs to take a look at what happened then and give The Division some more time in the oven.
In the audio department, what we get is once again a mixed bag. The game's voice acting certainly has potential (a performance by Christopher Jacot is quite nicely done) but Noam Jenkins, who plays Aiden Pierce, doesn't even come close to the presentation Brian Bloom brought to BJ Blazkowicz. Man, that's a comparison I never thought I'd type. It doesn't help that most of the game's script is missing a hefty amount of raw emotion or depth. You can't make an audience care about a character when only their words convey who they are and it seems that the core team that worked on Watch Dogs didn't get that memo. Perhaps they should go next door and take some notes from the Assassin's Creed team.
The rest of the audio presentation is fairly well done though. Sound effects can come across quite raw and visceral at times with traffic collisions providing a very suite of metal upon metal crunching and grating against one another. Strangely though, the audio for certain effects such as the roar of an engine can suddenly be quietened or disappear altogether for some unknown reason. Watch Dogs' soundtrack features a mostly digital or synth presentation with occasional orchestra elements thrown into the mix. However, the soundtrack is mostly subdued and doesn't really build any momentum except at only a few key moments throughout the game. It's good when it really wants to be but when you find yourself roaming the streets of Chicago just for the sake of doing so, it all but abandons you.
Watch Dogs is a game of many contradictions. It wants to be a great story experience but it's hampered by uninteresting characters and a disappointing presentation style. It wants to be a great sandbox game but trades in staple design elements of the genre for player-controlled environment manipulation when they could all certainly live in harmony. The online multiplayer can be rather fantastic to play but only when it wants to work. The presentation is nice but is two steps down from the fidelity and presentation we got at E3 2012.
Watch Dogs as a series certainly has potential. It introduces several interesting ideas to a genre that doesn't see all that much innovation anymore. However, it should also stand as a cautionary tale on overselling a product. It's certainly worth experiencing if you go into it with an open mind but if you've been following its development over the past two years, steel yourself for being left in the dark to howl at the moon.
Final Score: 6/10
(60-69%: Good - You'll find some serious or distracting issues.)
Fuzzydude64 5 years, 7 months ago
Good article, Chris. Oddly enough, I never bought any of the hype for this game, and I'm sorta glad I didn't.
Under "Cyber Frontier" you made an error in the sentence "Activision learned their about this lesson in 2006 with the marketing for Call of Duty 2". Might wanna fix that. Just saying.
Chris Davis 5 years, 7 months ago
Thanks, don't know how I missed that.
Steadi 5 years, 7 months ago
I have been debating whether to get this game for a while now but I agree that there are some technical flaws and I hope they fix these next time around (or in a patch). Great article :D
inthenameofharmon 5 years, 7 months ago
I think this is one of those games where the slate is blank or rather bland and it's then up to the player to determine what experience they have. Not saying this is how games should be, but as long as the toys are there then imagination can take over.
When we saw this game at E3, I thought Aiden would be some hacker dude who got wrapped up in this world with some vulnerability and not a criminal per say.
Omnislasher 5 years, 7 months ago
I gotta agree with Chris. The game has its problems, but the hacking is where the game shines. Whether it be in the single player or hacking players online, it can be really satisfying. The rest of the game needs some work and hopefully Ubisoft will do just that with the inevitable next title.
Also on the topic of not being able to drive and shoot. What's also infuriating is that you can't blind fire behind cover or hip fire. C'mon now Ubisoft.
Diamond_Eyez 5 years, 7 months ago
Great review Chris. During my play through of Watchdogs I found myself struggling to stay engaged. I almost stopped playing 3/4 of the way through and had to force myself to keep playing. Something about Aiden as a character didn't click with me; which to me is very important especially in such a long story based game. The gameplay on the other hand was pretty good. Towards the end of the game it felt awesome to be an overpowered hacker causing havoc in Chicago. In the end I can say I'm glad I finished it.
Dan Baglole 5 years, 7 months ago
Great review and there was really good discussion on the podcast about the game as well. Overall this is a game I will pick up some day - probably when it is around $20-30 on Steam. I've seen some game play, I like some concepts and appeals to emotion that were tried. It looks fun to just mess with things and fiddle around. Overall though the game looks just like what I felt with Saint's Row 4 - it has a cool concept, you get a lot of power and it's fun... It just isn't "new" enough to justify a full price purchase from me. What is even more odd is that if this were Sleeping Dogs 2 I would probably be all over it... This game just didn't get the characterization right or the atmosphere - it's just too open.
DBK 5 years, 7 months ago
Well i'll be getting this game for free and it seems like a decent game to help get through the summer drought.
Also great review Chris.


text:
Patoleo (singular: Patoli; Goan Konkani: पातोळ्यो) are stuffed turmeric leaf wraps, a dish which is mostly prepared on the western coast of India and other Indian Ocean islands. The stuffing is made from grated coconut, rice and jaggery, and cooked by wrapping and steaming in turmeric leaves.

Hindu community

Konkani-speaking Hindus prepare  on the second Sunday of Shravan, on Nag Panchami and on Hartalika, the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi. Salt-free  are offered to the goddess Parvati, who, according to a legend, is said to have a strong craving for these sweets during her pregnancy.

Served with leaves on, in a dish. They are mainly eaten after removing the leaf and are eaten with the vegetarian festive lunch during the Hindu festivals.. A version of this dish is made in Kerala for the holy festival of Onam and is called Ely Ada.

Christian community

The simplest version of the Goan Catholic  is prepared by smearing parboiled rice () paste on fresh turmeric leaves () to which a filling of freshly grated coconut () and coconut jaggery () is added. Lastly, the leaves are folded, sealed and steam cooked, preferably in a traditional utensil known as . These are served hot on a platter with the leaves on and eaten after peeling them off. They are often accompanied with tea or other hot beverages.

The Catholic feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a holy day of obligation) which falls on 15 August coincides with the Independence Day of India. It is a feast held dearly by the Goan Catholic community, as many villages across Goa celebrate  (harvest festival) on this day and  are the star dish of the celebration. It is also prepared in Goa on the feast of  (Nativity of St John the Baptist) which falls on 24 June.

 are sent with  (bride's trousseau) to the bridegroom's house by the Goan people—Catholics and Hindus alike. The tradition of distributing  to neighbours and friends after the arrival of a new born in the family is still retained by some Goans. In bygone times,  were also distributed to mark the completion of construction of a house in Goa. Some Goan Catholic families send  to a house where people are mourning the death of a family member.
Until modern medicine,  was often used to help children with whooping cough.

The East Indian Catholics call it  or 'East Indian leaf cakes'. The Mangalorean Catholics say  in their accent.

Gallery

References

External links
Recipe: Patoleo in saffron leaves
Goan cuisine
Recipe: Patoli in turmeric leaves

Konkani cuisine


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Home » Bollywood News » Akshay Kumar's Rowdy Rathore To Get A Sequel? Scripting In Process!
Akshay Kumar's Rowdy Rathore To Get A Sequel? Scripting In Process!
Akshay Kumar has lately been doing social cause movies under commercial cinema.
In 2012, Akshay Kumar and Prabhudeva collaborated for the first time for Rowdy Rathore and the duo became an instant hit. Now, seven years down the lane there are reports suggesting that the sequel for the action-comedy film is on the cards. Going by the reports of Mumbai Mirror, Shabina Khan gave a statement to the leading daily and said, "We are in the process of writing Rowdy Rathore 2 right now and inshallah, it will feature Akshay in the lead."
Akshay Kumar has lately been doing social cause movies under commercial cinema and is making an impact on his audiences on a huge level. Shabina also said, Right from Toilet: Ek Prem Katha to Padman, his films have ample of humour. He can manage anything and everything and is one of the only allrounders we have in the industry today."
While Shabina refused to give any more details about the project but a source close to her gave the information that the film is expected to go on floors sometime next year.
The first installment of the movie revolves around the double role of Akshay, one in a role of an inspector named Vikram Singh Rathore and the other one as a local mugger named Shiva. The film was the official remake of SS Rajamouli's 2006 Telugu actioner, Vikramarkudu and featured Sonakshi Sinha as the female lead of the movie.
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Akshay is currently shooting for "Sooryavanshi", which is directed by Rohit Shetty. Akshay plays the lead role of Veer Suryavanshi, a character that was introduced as an anti-terrorist squad officer in a cameo role performed by the "Kesari" star in the Ranveer Singh-starrer "Simmba".
Actress Katrina Kaif will be seen as Akshay's love interest in the movie that also stars Neena Gupta, playing Akshay's mother.
Prabhudeva
Rowdy Rathore 2
Rowdy Rathore Sequel
Sooryavanshi
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