-
Ornamanetal grasses
-
Afghanistan:the Saudi Arabia of lithium
The New York Times has reported that U.S. officials and American geologists have found an estimated $1 trillion worth of mineral deposits that have yet to be exploited in the country. The paper said a Pentagon report called Afghanistan potentially “the Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key component in batteries for cellphones, laptop computers and eventually, a plug-in fleet of electric cars.
In December, 2007, China’s state-owned China Metallurgical Group Corp. (MCC) signed a $2.9 billion agreement with the Kabul government to extract copper from the Aynak deposit, one of the world’s largest unexploited copper deposits with an estimated 240 million tons of ore. When MCC entered into negotiations with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, it offered substantial aid for resource development as part of the package.
Of course in order to move the ore Afghanistan needs a rail system. Afghanistan ‘s mining
minister appointed China Metallurgical Group Corp. to carry out technical studies for two proposed rail lines in the country from Kabul to Turkam in the east, and Kabul to Mazar-e-Sharif in the north. The rail lines are seen as essential to help Afghanistan develop a mining industry that could bring in billions of sorely needed dollars to the impoverished nation.Naturally China really wants gas and oil and once again Afghanistan’s government signed a deal with China’s state-owned National Petroleum Corporation, allowing it to become the first foreign company to exploit the country’s oil and natural gas reserves.The ministry listed the initial value of the project with CNPC as $700 million. But the total could be ten times greater if more reserves are found and developed.
The government of Afghanistan also granted key gold and cooper licenses to a consortium backed by City of London banker Ian Hannam, former BHP Billiton CEO Chip Goodyear and Poland’s multibillionaire Jan Kulczyk. In addiation Afghan Gold and Minerals, Afghan Minerals Group, and Turkish-Afghan Mining Co. had been picked from a shortlist of 25 bidders to explore and start developing the Balkhab, Shaida and Badakhshan projects respectively. Afghan Gold and Minerals (owned by Sadat Mansoor Naderi) will have copper explorations rights over the Balkhab, northwest of the capital Kabul. Not sure who owns the Turkish-Afghan Mining Co. Also, Afghan Minerals Group was granted Thursday a license to explore the Shaida copper deposit, in the province of Herat, in western Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Turkish-Afghan Mining obtained the license for the Badakhshan gold and copper deposit, in the Badakhshan province, in north-eastern Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s government granted an Indian steel company the right to exploit the Hajigak iron ore deposit which is considered one of the largest iron deposits in the world at 1.8 billion tonnes. The Indian company wants to ship the ore through Pakistan to India, which might seem a bit of a problem but the amount of money to be make by trucking firm and Government fee’s means that the green light will be given.
They are a lot of other businesses (and NGO’s) looking to profit from the Afganie war as well.
China, Not U.S., Likely to Benefit from Afghanistan’s Mineral Riches
China mining giant tapped for Afghan rail project
-
How Does Art Therapy Heal
-
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Can animal-assisted therapy can help adolescents who are in hospital because of an acute psychiatric crisis? A randomized controlled trial investigates.
The study, conducted by a team of researchers led by M.C. Stefanini of the University of Florence, randomly allocated patients to either an animal-assisted therapy intervention or no intervention. Both groups continued to receive psychiatric treatment as usual, and those treating them did not know which group they were in. The results are very promising.
The intervention group had better school attendance, higher levels of global functioning, and spent less time in the hospital compared to the control group. “One possible explanation for this success is the role of the animal as a catalyst in the therapeutic process,” the researchers write. “Animals may represent a valid help in therapeutic contexts thanks to their ability to catalyze social interactions and to create a more relaxed environment.” READ MORE HERE
-
one
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do. Edward Everett Hale
-
day dream answers
Intention (the problem), Resources, Daydream, Create.
Intention/Idea Paper pattern on canvas
Paper: Types of hand made paper, thickness, size, consistency of paper (smooth/coarse).
Canvas: Size, color, back ground, detail
Paper: design of shape, placement, pattern
There are distinctive stages in creative problem-solving. The first stage is preparation, gathering resources. Searching out any information that might be relevant. The key to this stage is open mindedness, letting your imagination roam free. Being receptive, being able to listen openly and well, to move beyond self censorship and judgment.
Once you have mulled over all the parts and pieces you have gathered let the problem simmer. This is the incubation stage, when you digest all you have gathered. It’s a stage when much of what goes on occurs outside your focused awareness, in the unconscious. As the saying goes, “You sleep on it.”
The unconscious mind is far more suited to creative insight than the conscious mind. Ideas are free to recombine with other ideas in novel patterns and unpredictable associations. It is also the storehouse of everything you know, including things you can’t readily call into awareness. Further, the unconscious speaks to us in ways that go beyond words, including the rich feelings and deep imagery of the senses.
We are more open to insights from the unconscious mind when we are not thinking of anything in particular. That is why daydreams are so useful in the quest for creativity. Anytime you can just daydream and relax is useful in the creative process: a shower, long drives, a quiet walk.
With time, immersion and daydreaming can lead to illumination, when all of a sudden the answer comes to you as if from nowhere
-
TEDx:The Practice of Mindfulness
Former Buddhist nun Diana Winston is the director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA Mindful Awareness Center, and the author of several books on mindfulness and meditation. With more than 20 years in the study and practice of mindfulness, Diana explains how routinely taking the time to be in the moment can have a profound impact on our everyday lives and relationships.
-
Syrian kids adapt to new life in Canada through art therapy
An unconventional Saskatoon program is helping six-year-old Syrian refugee Mahmud Alcheikh heal from the trauma of the Syrian civil war.
Once a week, he sits around a large table in a small room at Queen Elizabeth School with his siblings Zeina, 9, Janna, 10, Abdulwhab, 12, and Mohamed Alcheikh, 13. The children draw the new contours of their lives away from war, coloured pens in hand.
“They are full of energy and their creativity is increasing at every session. They’re becoming much more open,” said art therapist David Baudemont, who has been working with the Alcheikh kids since April.The family left the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor in 2012 to Ar-Raqqah where they hid for a couple years. The family made it to Turkey in 2015 before coming to Saskatoon this September.Signs of trauma
Baudemont said art therapy can help survivors of war to heal.“If you are picturing your uncle who is still in Turkey, you’re going to be able to forget the pain of not having that uncle.”He believes the Alcheikh children are particularly vulnerable.“There were some signs in the drawings there was probably some trauma involved. So we’ve decided to work with the whole family,” he added. MORE HERE -
Kimbra – Sweet Relief
-
Meditation and Psychotherapy
