Archive for August, 2010
Beirut Farmers’ Market to help local produce
Those working off the land in Lebanon face stiff competition for international trade, as they do not benefit from subsidies like many farmers abroad. But as Katy Watson from BBC reports, one man has now set up Beirut’s first farmers’ market to help local producers reap rewards closer to home.
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Posted: August 15th, 2010 under Cultural.
Tags: Beirut Farmers Market, Competition, Lebanese, Lebanese Farmers, Lebanon, Produce
Comments: 1
Damascus sees new business horizons
The skyline of the Syrian capital is changing, with tower blocks being replaced by new office buildings and malls. Damascus is also slowly opening up to private investment and encouraging an influx of entrepreneurs.
The BBC’s Lina Sinjab has met Abdulsalam Haykal, who runs a number of private businesses, and is one of many Syrians to return to do business at home.
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Posted: August 9th, 2010 under Cultural.
Tags: Business Opportunities, Damascus, Emerging Markets, Syria
Comments: 1
Lebanese crafts struggle to survive against cheaper Chinese imports
Lebanon has a reputation for cultivating local crafts, from metalwork to woodwork and many are still making a living from their traditional skills. But faced with cheaper imports from China and India it is getting tougher to survive. This has prompted some to try to raise the profile of local craftsmen.
Watch the 4 minute video below on this subject by BBC:
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Posted: August 8th, 2010 under Cultural.
Tags: China, Crafts, Lebanese Crafts, Lebanon
Comments: none
Ecstasy could be used to treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by Canadian Forces
Suddenly, I feel like joining the army.
On August 5th, Lt. Col. Rakesh Jetly, a psychiatrist and senior health adviser for the Canadian Forces, said Canada’s military would use the illicit dance-floor drug Ecstasy to treat soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder if it’s proven safe and effective.
A new study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology shows a small clinical trial found 80% of chronic patients treated with psychotherapy and MDMA - called Ecstasy on the street - no longer showed signs of t-traumatic stress disorder if (PTSD) and had no serious side effects. Three patients once so debilitated by the disorder they couldn’t work were able to return to their jobs after treatment.
MDMA was used by psychiatrists and psychotherapists to aide treatment before it was outlawed in the 1970s and 1980s.
More info on this in the Toronto SUN article here.
Ecstasy pills
Posted: August 7th, 2010 under Health.
Tags: Canada, Canadian Forces, Col. Rakesh Jetly, Ecstasy, MDMA, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Psychotherapy, PTSD, Stress
Comments: none