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When will the price increase stop?
Policies championed by the IFIs have reinforced the extortionist logic of capitalism by introducing new 'distortions' in price and labour markets
By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
The World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) typically assert that their brand of 'economic reform' is necessary to correct the 'distortions' that abound in third world economies; without removing these 'distortions', the technocrats say, the establishment of well-functioning markets will remain a pipe dream. In practice, the policies championed by the international financial institutions (IFIs) have reinforced the unbearable extortionist logic of capitalism by introducing new kinds of 'distortions' in price and labour markets.
After the hike
Increase in petroleum prices is likely to affect trade and industry
By Shujauddin Qureshi
Common man has again been struck by the increase in petroleum prices, and this when he is already grappling with the sugar crisis and the talk of an 18 percent increase in electricity and gas charges is in the air. However, OGRA justifies the decision saying that since international oil prices have increased, local oil prices have been revised accordingly.
Note of caution
Cases related to plundering of public money and blatant abuse of power by rulers and their henchmen pose a serious threat to the democratic culture
By Huzaima Bukhari and Dr. Ikramul Haq
The release of incomplete list of beneficiaries of loan write-off to the tune of Rs. 60 billon during the self-acclaimed "transparent era" of Musharraf-Shaukat has once again confirmed the unholy alliance of bureaucracy, politicians, and businessmen against people of Pakistan. If complete data is looked at, it will be established that during the Musharraf rule, loans write-offs in just seven years (2000-2006) crossed the figure of Rs.125 billion, whereas in the much-publicised "corrupt eras" of elected governments (985-1999) it was just Rs. 30 billion.
Shady affairs of NRO
Those accused of corruption under the NRO should have the moral courage to resign from government offices
By Alauddin Masood
Thirty seven of the Musharraf-era ordinances lapsed on November 28 after the expiry of 120-day deadline set by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Since the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was neither promulgated nor was converted into an enactment within 120 days, it also lapsed. Initially, the government introduced the NRO in the National Assembly, but subsequently withdrew it due to strong opposition, even from MPs belonging to political parties in coalition with the PPP government.
Depoliticising madrassas
Why is the government reluctant to implement the conventions on child rights?
By Rafea Anis
Historically, parents unable to afford formal education for their children used to send them to madrassas that provided them with food, shelter and education. These were informal educational institutions but with the Afghan jihad waged between 1979 and 1989 there was a growth of a new brand of madrassas on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. These are generally believed to have mushroomed mostly with the help of Saudi money. Overtime these informal schools or madrassas became centres of recruitment of children for armed groups engaged in war in Afghanistan and Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately, these groups succeeded in attracting children to their ranks. According to a 2002 World Bank report, Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), 15 to 20 percent of the madrassas in Pakistan are involved in military related teachings and training. The CAS maintains that the radicalisation of some madrassas commenced with their politicisation during the 1980s and establishment along the Pakistan-Afghan border. The report concludes that the objective was to form a cadre of religiously motivated "mujahideen" to fight in Afghanistan.
A project delayed…
NWFP has not been able to make full use of its share of water due to insufficient budgetary allocations. Chashma Right Bank Canal is one case in point
By Tahir Ali
Inordinate delay by the federal government to give approval to the revised Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) project is damaging and hampering agriculture development in the Frontier province. Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and other federal government functionaries have been repeatedly making promises that the project would be approved. But there has been little or no tangible development on the issue so far. The delay has also increased the cost of the project. In 2005, when it was first approved, its cost was estimated at Rs 25 billion, which has now gone up to Rs 61 billion this year. Further delay may push up the cost much higher.
Keys to creativity
Lots of opportunities exist for innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive in developing countries like Pakistan
By Bilal Ilahi
The global financial meltdown of the past two years signifies the end of the cradle-to-grave security offered by corporate jobs. The brave new world of tomorrow belongs to entrepreneurs and innovators, those who anticipate and fulfill society's needs creatively. Innovation has become the buzzword of our times and not without reason. Businesses, both large and small, see it as key to increased profits and market share. Governments automatically reach for it when attempting an economic turn-around.
In Pakistan, the tendency towards interdisciplinary research within the social sciences still seems negligible
By Rafi Ullah
"We are not students of some subject matter, but students of problems. And problems may cut right across the borders of any subject matter or discipline." Karl Popper
It is often complained that social sciences are neglected in Pakistan. However, their rigid compartmentalisation has added a much graver dimension to the already dismal state of social and societal knowledge here. It is even truer in case of the two postulated correlated disciplines dealing with human past namely, history and archaeology.
The recent increase in diesel and petrol prices is a perfect example. A decade ago, high-speed diesel costs Rs 10 per litre. The recent hike to Rs. 70 per litre means that there has been an incredible 700 percent increase over a 10-year period. If one were to take the logic of the IFIs at face value, this seven-fold increase actually represents an efficiency gain because the previous price was not an accurate indicator of the real value of diesel in competitive market conditions.
Of course, this sounds very neat and tidy, as do most invocations of textbook economics. In real life perfectly functioning markets do not exist. In fact, what conventional economists call 'market failure' is the norm rather than the exception. Many economists are now willing to admit this but this does not stunt their commitment to 'competitive' markets: they simply argue that the perfectly functioning market represents an 'ideal-type' and that the point is to get as close to the ideal-type as possible.
So, to return to the diesel example, Rs. 70 per litre is just the tip of the iceberg. The price of diesel will continue to rise steeply, an epic quest to approximate the perfectly functioning market. When will the price increase stop? Left to its own devices, the 'market' itself will produce a stable equilibrium. Again the language is compelling, but the practical implications far less so.
The regular resort by the 'experts' to Smithian metaphors of the 'invisible hand' of the market aside, it is human agents that made the decision to hike diesel prices. Markets do not function perfectly because there are explicitly political factors that influence how markets come into being, how they develop, for whose benefit and to what end. Marx made it very clear when he broke with conventional bourgeois economic orthodoxy: the separation of politics and economics which underlie mainstream approaches is an obfuscation of epic proportions.
The IFIs do not propose 'distortion-correcting' policies in first world economies even though the argument for such policies to be enacted in certain first world economies is much more compelling than in much of the third world. One cannot help but focus on the United States to make the point clear.
The US fiscal deficit is in trillions of dollars, a figure that is difficult for most of us to even read with all the zeroes involved. The US has a trade deficit that also runs into the trillions. The financial crisis has underscored what many people already knew: that the American economy is a shambles, the vast majority of American households mired in credit card debt, and price and labour markets distorted to no end. Americans inhale petroleum, and until quite recently most purchased petrol (or what they call 'gas') at unbelievable prices, sometimes less than a dollar to the gallon (a gallon is 3.78 litres). Over the past few years the American public has been jolted by a two to three-fold rise in petrol prices, primarily due to the rise in petroleum prices internationally; a fleeting case of market distortions being corrected, so to speak. But did the IMF or its sister institutions insist that much more 'correction' was required?
The answer to the question is an emphatic 'no'. The explanation is banal: the IMF is actually a wing of the US Department of Treasury, the World Bank president has to be American, and in general IFIs' decision-makers overwhelmingly represent first-world interests. The IFIs did not respond to the financial collapse within the US with the same prescriptions as they did to Mexico or Russia's crises in the early and mid-1990s, or to the East Asian financial meltdown in 1997. Everyone now knows that the IFIs protected speculators and foreign investors in the wake of those events. Presumably, it did not intervene this time because the US government was already doing quite a bit for the very same interests. Marx's simple hypothesis that politics and economics are two sides of the same coin comes to mind.
The meltdown of third world economies is likely to continue. In Copenhagen this coming week, the first world will once again demonstrate its complete disregard for the ecological, political and economic disasters that are unfolding across the planet, the brunt of which has been and will continue to be borne by the peoples of the third world. There will be some outrage expressed by the usual suspects and doomsday scenarios will be bandied about. But ultimately, after a brief interlude, the IFIs will resume their civilising mission, replete with jargon about market imperatives, responsible and professional economic management and various other technocratic fantasies.
Our Shaukat Tareens and Naveed Qamars will continue to own the privatisation and liberalisation prescriptions of the IFIs as if they actually fashioned the terms themselves. Meanwhile, the political and economic structure that needs to be overturned -- or at the very least reformed if Pakistan's working people are to be given some of the fruits of their own labour -- will remain unchallenged, or even worse, unmentioned. Here again, it is necessary to reiterate that our economic woes are intimately interlinked with the configuration of political power. It is almost foolish to expect that any incoming government that does not make a complete break with imperialist powers, the military-bureaucratic oligarchy and the propertied classes will be able to effect any meaningful economic uplift of our people.
Thus, the continuing decay of formal institutions is unlikely to be arrested whereas the informalisation of the economy and the 'shadow' state will accelerate. On this account, too, IFI orthodoxy is completely at odds with real experience. I have mentioned on these pages before that it is essential that the informal economy be mapped, trends understood and meaningful interventions conceived by government. But even this basic requirement I feel is likely to be met only when a substantive political challenge to status quo is mounted.
Instead of providing relief to the inflation-hit consumers, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) announced an increase of Rs 4.37 (or 7.1 percent) on petrol per litre and an increase of Rs 5.73 per litre (or 8.84 percent) in the price of high speed diesel (HSD). Diesel is the most consumed petroleum product in Pakistan as a huge volume of this product is used by the transport sector. The prices of HOBC rose by Rs 4.93 to Rs 80.52, kerosene by Rs 4.76 to Rs 62.63 and light diesel oil by Rs 5.25 to Rs 60.22.
The OGRA notification states that the impact of oil prices in the international market has been passed on to the consumers. The government has already authorised the Authority to determine prices of petroleum product from July this year. Although the international prices of petroleum products have increased to some extent, the government could have avoided the recent increase, keeping in view the mounting inflation rate.
Many people feel the petroleum prices in the country are already high. Even the Indian government has recently hinted at reducing petroleum prices by Rs 7.50 per litre. But Pakistan has an edge. It buys oil from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on easy terms. But it is common observation that the government is not considering peoples' problems before taking such decisions.
Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, in a press conference in Islamabad last month, had said that the government was planning to withdraw subsidies and that electricity rates might be increased by 18 percent by April next year. This was agreed after two rounds of negotiations with the IMF in Dubai. In the first stage, from January 1, 2010 there will be an increase of 12 percent in electricity prices, whereas in the second, there will be a further 6 percent increase from April 1, 2010.
Independent economists and analysts believe that in order to meet the growing budget deficit, and its failure to generate targeted revenues, the government has increased the fuel prices as it is an easy way to generate funds. The government charges Rs.10 per litre levy on petrol, Rs. 14 on HOBC, Rs. 6 on kerosene, Rs 3 on light diesel oil and Rs 8 on HSD.
"Recent increase in petroleum prices would also adversely affect both the industry and trade," says Dr. Shahid Hasan Siddiqui, a senior economist and Chairman of Research Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance. Talking to The News on Sunday (TNS), Siddiqui points out that Pakistan's large scale manufacturing sector is already showing negative growth and exporters feel pressure due to increasing input costs, of which fuel is a major part."
With the increase in transport fares, prices of commodities, including raw material costs automatically increase. Dr. Siddiqui fears that the inflation rate, which has been curtailed in recent months, will again rise. "Earlier, the government had set a target of reducing the inflation at 8-9 percent. But now, because of increase in petroleum, electricity and gas charges, the inflation will be around 12 percent," says Dr. Siddiqui.
He maintains the export sector will suffer the most as the cost of production has already increased with increase in electricity and gas rates, thus affecting exports -- "Industries in Pakistan are already showing dismal performance, particularly due to lack of investment and law and order problem."
Some factors are stated for the government to have taken this step. Funds committed by Friends of Democratic Pakistan have not arrived within the stipulated time. The government is incurring huge expenditures on maintaining law and order due to terror activities in the country. Although the US has pledged US$ 1.5 billion annual grant under infamous Kerry-Lugar Bill, the amount is still in the doldrums due to massive opposition from Pakistan Army and opposition political parties.
But the daily budget of common citizens has been badly affected due to increasing prices of essential items and transport fares. The transport sector is the most hard-hit by recent price hike in petroleum prices. In Karachi, the transporters have already announced a one-day strike on December 10 to press the government to withdraw the increase in petroleum prices. "We are well aware of common peoples' problems, so we do not demand another increase in fares. But the government should withdraw the recent decision," says Syed Irshad Hussain Bukhari, Chairman of Karachi Transport Alliance.
Talking to TNS, Bukhari says all the transporters associations of Sindh have assured him of cooperation on the occasion of December 10 strike. A hurriedly-called meeting of transporters association on last Wednesday lashed out at the government for creating problems for transporters. Transporters' associations like Sindh Air Conditioned Bus Owners Association, Sindh Bus Owners Association, UTS Operators Association, Metro Bus Association, Supreme Council of Pakistan Transporters, and Pakistan Goods Transporters Association had attended the meeting and unanimously decided to observe the strike, claims Bukhari.
Many transporters' associations of Punjab have also assured to support our strike call, he says, adding: "Profit margin of transporters has already decreased due to increase in prices of parts and diesel. We are already suffering huge losses due to payment of interest rates to the non-bank lenders as the normal banks do not extend credit to the transport sector." Bukhari warns that if the government does not withdraw the recent petroleum price hike, transporters will go on an indefinite strike.
Due to lack of pressure from the civil society and in the absence of any effective consumer protection law the common people feel helpless in such a situation. They regret that the political parties are not taking up the issue of price hike effectively. There is no check on government policies. Though a Consumer Protection Ordinance was presented three times by the Sindh governor, it lapsed on all three occasions because the government is not interested in bringing it in the provincial assembly. "In my view, the government has no will to pass the legislation," says Hamid Maker, Chairman Consumer Protection Council of Helpline Trust.
He tells TNS that the civil society organisations are pressing the Sindh government to pass the law which has already been passed by Punjab and Balochistan governments. There is a law in Islamabad as well."
The country's banks and other financial institutions wrote off an amount of over Rs 30 billion during the governments of Muhammad Khan Junejo, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. During the two tenures of Nawaz Sharif (1990-93 and 1997-99) total loans of Rs. 22.35 billion were written off; in his first tenure, a total of Rs. 2.39 billion were written off and during his second, the amount went up to Rs. 19.96 billion. The written off loans during the two tenures of Nawaz Sharif constituted approximately 74.5 percent of the total of Rs. 30.18 billion, written off between 1986 and 1999. During the two tenures of late Benazir Bhutto, a total of Rs. 7.23 billion loans were written off, constituting 24.2 percent of the total written off loans – Rs. 494.97 million in her first tenure and Rs. 6.74 billion in the second term.
During the Musharraf-Shaukat era, an unholy alliance of bankers, businessmen-cum-politicians and bureaucrats managed to plunder the public money through amnesty scheme from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), whereas banks had liquid securities to recover the loans. The SBP in the suo motu case submitted before the apex court that amongst the beneficiaries of Circular No 29/2002 were two sitting chief ministers of PML (Q) regime. The ruling elite skilfully engineered the amnesty scheme to get the benefit of write-offs and a consequential concession in tax law for no-taxation of benefits derived, whereas the personal wealth of them kept on increasing.
All these beneficiaries of loan write-offs still possess assets worth billions of rupees. The criminal culpability of successive governments in this matter has tarnished the image of Pakistan in the eyes of global community as a haven for the corrupt and tax evaders. The apex court did not decide the issue of loan-write-offs though suo motu action was taken in 1996 and 2008. In 2008, according to press reports, the Supreme Court took serious notice of the fact as to how banks wrote off a staggering amount of Rs. 125 billion as "bad debts" during 2000-2006, against Rs. 30 billion written off during 1985-1999. According to reports, larger numbers of loans were written off under Circular No 29/2002, issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), of which major beneficiaries were politicians and industrialists.
According to a news report, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in October 1996, taking suo motu cognizance under Article 189 of the Constitution of Pakistan, took up the issue of loan write-offs and expressed the intention of studying all the laws in this regard. The apex court vowed to make authoritative pronouncement that "would eliminate the chances of misusing the laws for siphoning of public money". There is, however, no track of what happened to that public interest litigation case. It appears the same is still pending.
The said public interest litigation originated from a reference filed by the then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan against a PPP MNA Rao Rasheed Ahmad, who as a member of loan write off committee, blatantly ordered to write off a loan of his wife. There have been many such examples where the rich and mighty managed to plunder the savings of the have-not (small depositors) in a shameless manner. An unholy alliance of bankers, businessmen-cum-politicians and bureaucrats has destroyed the entire banking/financial system.
The politics of writing-off loans in this country requires proper investigation and study as it will unveil many "big names" that are responsible for corruption and failure of the democratic process in the country. The country lost billions of rupees in the form of public revenues because of bad debts written off by the banks on the directions of SBP. The Government of Pakistan, SBP and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) never considered the report of Auditor General of Pakistan in this regard, showing loss to public exchequer of Rs. 120 billion issued far back in 1992. It is a matter of record that the Board of Revenue in the presence of this audit report from the Auditor General of Pakistan, issued another Circular instructions on February 4, 1993 vide its letter No. 13(26)/IT-1/79, giving further concessions to the banks. The cases relating to plundering of public money to the tune of billions and blatant abuse of powers by rulers and their henchmen pose a serious threat to the democratic culture.
The unscrupulous businessmen (most of them are now politicians and elected members), state functionaries and corrupt bankers joined hands to deprive this nation of billion of rupees and colossal public revenues. The big bosses of the SBP and FBR should be asked to explain who had asked them to issue "administrative instructions" in gross violation of law for loans write-offs and giving tax benefits to the beneficiaries. The inquiry into loans write-offs will reveal the modus operandi under which public money is siphoned off as well. If we want to establish true democracy in Pakistan, public money looted by the criminals should be recovered and all those who facilitated them should be punished.
The writers, tax lawyers and authors of many books, are visiting professors at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
The NRO is seen by many as the outcome of three year long negotiations between the Musharraf administration and the PPP leadership, according to Humayun Gouhar, who is mentioned as author of Pervez Musharraf's autobiography, In the Line of Fire.
Gouhar says, General Musharraf was unwilling to grant amnesty to PPP leadership in corruption cases through the NRO, but Tariq Aziz and Chaudhry Shujaat pushed him for the NRO, perhaps thinking that Benazir's return to Pakistan would affect Nawaz Sharif's vote bank.
The NRO could not withstand rough torrents; collapsing immediately as the tide of opposition turned rough. After lapse of the NRO, amendments made in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance through the NRO also stand reversed, reviving the NAB ordinance on pre-October 5, 2007 position and empowering the Bureau to investigate/arrest NRO beneficiaries, including politicians and parliamentarians.
The NRO's clauses 4 and 5 had amended Sections 18 and 24 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, forbidding NAB to arrest any sitting member of the Parliament or a Provincial Assembly without taking into consideration recommendations of the Parliament's Committee on Ethics. Though Musharraf administration and PPP leadership had added this clause and amended the NAB ordinance, but none of them bothered to constitute the Ethics Committee, thereby practically eliminating chances for politicians being held in the accountability loop.
After regaining its powers, NAB can now take up all high-profile corruption cases, including those occurring during the last one-and-a-half years. The cases in this category include: steel mills collapse, Sangjani land scam, Karachi land scam, and PIA default scam, etc.
Some minions of the state have been trying to prevent NAB from its mandatory function of publishing its "Annual Report 2008" on the organisation's activities/performance as required under the rules. The apprehension that the report could disclose details of cases closed under the NRO or cases in which the accused were acquitted without prosecution, or cases which were either withdrawn or not considered after the initial inquiry, seemed to have impelled those functionaries to swing into action.
Besides the NRO, a parallel scheme of giving a clean chit to the powerful elite was the 'NRO bypass strategy', which meant ignoring complaints during the inquiry and at the investigations stage. Another tactic of giving a safe passage to the accused was either withdrawing cases or getting them acquitted through friendly prosecution. The practice of not initiating corruption cases strengthened the belief among the masses that the state machinery always looked the other way in cases involving huge corruption while it spared no opportunity in nabbing those involved in petty corruption.
Recently, the government has released a list of persons against whom cases were dropped under NRO. Why did the authorities publish the list? One news is that the authorities were constrained to publish the list to clear the position of the first lady whose name had appeared in an unofficial list published by a section of the media.
A good precedent was set by Punjab Chief Minister's Advisor Saeed Mehdi who resigned from his position following allegations of being a beneficiary of the NRO. Logically, cabinet ministers and state functionaries who had sought to escape justice under NRO's cover should have voluntarily resigned till their names were cleared by the courts of law, failing which the Prime Minister should have shown the door to them. Recourse to such a step would have increased the PPP's credibility among the masses. If the political party fails to do that, in due course of time, people will clean up the mess themselves by rejecting or accepting their representatives.
Presuming that the public is gullible, most of the leading personalities among the NRO beneficiaries have been pleading that they are innocent. Will mere statements by the accused clear the mist in the public mind about their alleged involvement in shady affairs? Certainly, not! If they are really innocent, as claimed by most of them, then they have nothing to fear and should welcome the opportunity to clear their names by facing those cases in the courts.
The list of NRO beneficiaries is very long, the number is 8,041. Most of the accused are involved in cases of serious nature. General Musharraf dropped the cases under the NRO to ease pressure on him against his misrule and also to secure his position by agreeing to run the country in collaboration with NRO beneficiaries.
What happens in other countries in similar situations? In Israel, for instance a few years ago, the sitting Presidents had to step down and face investigations when accused of having harassed some women. In England, Home Secretary David Blunkett had to resign from his cabinet post in 2004 because someone from his office had rang up an official in one of the subordinate departments of the Home Ministry to speed up the visa processing for a lady related to the son of Blunkett's beloved.
Let us recall some corruption cases that occurred in Pakistan during 1999-2008. The major ones include: irregular allotment of government lands, Gwadar land scam, railway land scam, locomotive scam, kickbacks in PIA aircraft deal and purchase of submarines for Pakistan Navy, irregularities in KPT and Pakistan Steel Mills, loan write-offs in billion of rupees, inside trading in KSE, etc. Memories of killings in Karachi on May 12, 2007, murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti and protection of those who raped Dr. Shazia are still fresh in public memory. Money-laundering, illegal transfer of billions of US dollars to foreign bank accounts facilitated the corrupt during the Musharraf regime.
As some people's ill-gotten wealth continues to swell, no end seems to be in sight. Rather, the situation is getting worse as pointed out by Transparency International (TI) in its recent report. The TI has pointed out that anti-corruption drive took a nosedive after Musharraf issued the NRO, just 56 days following Pakistan's ratification of UN Convention against Corruption.
Understandably, bribe to a police or revenue official is pittance compared to kickbacks earned on the purchase of submarines. Various laws were introduced by successive governments to stamp out corruption. Some politicians (of course, weaker ones) retired from politics and many bureaucrats were sacked. But, exactly the opposite happened. Corruption kept on rising with every anti-corruption law and plunderers of national wealth kept making illegal bucks.
One can imagine the magnitude of corruption in the country from Federal Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin's recent statement that corruption of Rs. 400-500 billion exists in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) alone. If that is true, one can imagine the scale of its prevalence at the national level. If those persons are not punished, they will continue to plunder national wealth and the country will continue to figure on TI's list. The policy of nabbing weaker souls and letting criminals go scot-free, while awarding exemplary punishments to those who either do not happen to be camp followers or refuse to toe the dictated lines would never deliver the desired results.
How can selective punishment promote honesty, integrity and fair play? Most of you would be familiar with the story. However, for the benefit of those who have not read it, here it is. Once a dog fell into a village well and died. The water got contaminated, becoming unfit for human consumption. The rustics went to the village clergy and sought his advice about making the water pure for human consumption. The clergy advised the villagers to draw out seven buckets of water from the well and throw that water away to make the water in the well ready for consumption. The following day, the villagers came to the clergy again and said that the water was still stinking. When the clergy enquired if they had removed the carcass before draining out the required quantity of water, their reply was in the negative. Likewise, if we wish to remove the stigma of corruption, while letting the corrupt ones to continue clinging to their public offices, it would be difficult for us to achieve the desired objective. We know that the perception of rampant corruption keeps foreign investors away.
Alauddin Masood is a freelance columnist based in Islamabad.
Despite resolutions, protecting children in armed conflicts has become a challenge for the UN agencies. According to Child Soldiers Global Report 2008, children (girls and boys between the age of 14 and 18 years and some as young as 9) are being used for combat in 19 countries or territories. In Pakistan, children aged between 11 and 15 years were recruited from schools run by pro-Taliban insurgents and trained in Afghanistan as suicide bombers. (1999) has been ratified by over 150 countries, including Pakistan, requiring them to: "Take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency". The term "child" applies to all persons under the age of 18 years and the worst forms of child labour include: "All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict". The International Criminal Court has the jurisdiction to prosecute the war crime of enlisting children under 15 years old into national armed forces or armed groups, as well as the use of children to participate actively in hostilities.
According to Article 38-2 of the Convention on Rights of the Child, "States parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take direct part in hostilities." Pakistan was one of the first signatories to the convention on rights of the child on November 12, 1990. However, according to Child Rights Information Network (CRIN), schools run by the Taliban are preparing a generation of boys to commit atrocities against civilians.
In September 2001, the Government of Pakistan signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, which requires states to take "all feasible measures to prevent such recruitment and use, including the adoption of legal measures necessary to prohibit and criminalise such practices". However, what we see is an erosion of state control.
"From the 26 suicide attacks where we recovered a head in 2007, we made a startling discovery… The vast majority of suicide bombers were all boys aged 16 to 20," an analyst at the elite Special Investigation Group (SIG) told The Guardian. Child soldiers are usually recruited because not enough adults are available or willing to become soldiers. They are recruited in many different ways. Some are forced but majority of them are very cleverly manipulated into accepting this way of life. It is said that "propaganda videos are used to recruit and train children for suicide attacks". One of the training centres was raided at a Government-run school in the Kotkai area of South Waziristan by the army. GOC-14 Division Major General Tariq Khan told reporters in Dera Ismail Khan on May 18, 2008: "It was like a factory that had been recruiting 9 to 12 year old boys, and turning them into suicide bombers." There were videos of young boys carrying out executions, a classroom where 10 to 12 year olds are sitting in formation, and there are training videos to show how improvised explosive devices are made and detonated.
Amnesty International has reported cases of forced recruitment of children through madrassas in Pakistan. In one such case, the father of 13-year-old Maroof Ahmad Awan filed a petition in the Sindh High Court in Karachi, accusing the principal of the local Jamia Islamia of sending his son to fight in Afghanistan without parental permission. The father said: "I handed him over to the school to learn the Quran, not to handle guns."
A month after the petition was submitted the boy returned saying, "I was persuaded to go to Afghanistan by the nazim of the school."
Often, parents too see material advantages in having their children involved and are reluctant to sacrifice the benefits that these young combatants obtain for them.
According to reports, Taliban purchased children as young as seven years old to become suicide bombers. In a poor country like Pakistan, children are vulnerable to situations like these. Child soldiering is not a new phenomena and is seen all around the world but training them to be suicide bombers is inexcusable. Child soldiers suffer many of the same physical and psychological effects that war brings to non-combatant children. Separated from parents and homes they are exposed to violence and atrocities, and witness death first hand. Some are killed and some permanently maimed. Loss of sight, limbs and hearing are common among these young combatants. Treatment costs are not only high and unaffordable but at times not available.
Countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict are obliged to provide all appropriate assistance for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of former child soldiers. However, one wonders if the Government is taking measures for the rehabilitation and reintegration of these children into their families and communities.
On the judicial level, a private bill called the Protection of Children Act, 2009 states, "… any activity or vocation for any purpose whatsoever, whether paid or unpaid, which is harmful for the physical, mental, or moral wellbeing of a child, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may not be less than three years and with fine which may not be less than one million rupees." (Chapter XI-Offences and penalties, 61. Harmful vocation for a child). The government is silent on this extremely crucial issue which poses dangers for our present and coming generations.
According to government records, there are about 15,148 madrassas in Pakistan with more than two million students. In 2002, the Musharraf government with the help of US aid launched the Madrassa Reform Project, with a total allocation of 5.7 billion rupees. This project that aimed at introducing computer skills, science, social studies and English alongside the madrassa curriculum, failed to meet its target due to the refusal and obstinacy of those running these schools. The target was to reform 8,000 religious schools within five years, but only 507 seminaries could be reached. Once again, the National Education Policy 2009 announced talks of mainstreaming the 'Deeni Madaris' by introducing contemporary studies alongside curricula of these Madrassas. However, a strategy as to how this would be achieved is not defined.
The policy proposes to establish a Madrassa Education Authority under the interior ministry -- a responsibility that should be assigned to the ministry of religious affairs or the ministry of education, as they are the ones that should be looking after matters pertaining to religious education and not the ministry of interior. This reflects our government's 'seriousness' to reform madrassa education in the country. One wonders: Why is the government reluctant to implement the conventions?
It is important to initiate a substantive programme to help identify those exposed to violence. Currently, there are five major governing bodies of madrassas in Pakistan, namely: Tanzim-ul-Madaris (), Wafaq-ul-Madaris (Deobandi), Wafaq-ul-Madaris (Shia), Wafaq-ul-Madaris (Ahl-e-hadith) and Rabita-ul-Madaris (Jamaat-e-Islami). It is therefore, important to set up a single Madrassa Regulatory Authority to manage and oversee the affairs of the madrassas in Pakistan. The ministry of religious affairs has to take itself outside the inactive mode to a pro-active mode to depoliticise madrassas.
It is important to look into the existing socio-cultural framework of the society, which in many ways has either encouraged or has kept intentional silence on various forms of violence, intolerance and terrorism. Any change in the social paradigm will require continuous and coordinated efforts of several ministries, including education, women development, labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis, youth affairs, and culture and sports. Pakistan has been without a youth policy for decades and the presence of young suicide bombers in Pakistan speaks volumes of that failure. The fact that this draft policy aims to inspire the youth with true Islamic values, high standards of morality and respect for basic human values, laws and religions through various mediums such as TV and radio, etc, involving the youth and elders, is debatable.
Rafea Anis is a researcher at Social Policy and Development Centre, Karachi
NWFP has been facing severe food shortage. But the under cultivation area forms just 30 percent of the available cultivable land in the province. To grow more food, it needs to bring more land under cultivation, especially the vast tracts of fertile land waiting for irrigation facility in the southern districts of Dera Ismail Khan, Laki Marwat and others. This necessitates building more canals like the CRBC in the area.
The CRBC project was first made part of the federal public sector development programme (PSDP) in 2005 with some budgetary allocation. It, however, was not allocated funds in subsequent PSDPs. The province, due to its poor financial position, could not arrange funds for the important scheme. It had an annual development plan (ADP) of just Rs 1.40 billion for the sector this year as against Rs 1.27 billion in 2008.
The provincial government took up the issue at the federal level to seek funds. It was also one of the points raised by the provincial national finance commission (NFC) team in the body's deliberations. The Frontier NFC team was hoping that the project will be approved after assurances by certain high dignitaries of the federal government. The optimism, however, is gradually developing into pessimism.
Haji Adeel, member technical of the NWFP NFC team, says the federal government has promised that the project will be okayed as a non-PSD scheme in the next Executive committee of the national economic council (ECNEC) meeting. "There have been two meetings of the body since then but the matter was not taken up there. I have personally talked to President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani at least twice besides discussing the issue with Shaukat Tarin a number of times. But no practical step has been taken on the project so far."
There are concerns that the approval of the project as non-PSDP one, as promised by Tarin, was unlikely in the near future as it had neither been cleared by the planning commission nor by central development working party. But Adeel believes that ECNEC, being the highest competent body, can approve it bypassing the planning commission. "There is no need to go through the whole process again. Already, the project has been cleared by a technical committee of renowned engineers headed by former chairman Wapda Shamsul Mulk."
Provincial Minister for Irrigation, Pervez Khatak, says the ministry is anxiously waiting for the approval and release of funds for the project, "Not only has the provincial government led by Chief Minister Hoti vigorously pursued the vital scheme, deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Habibullah Kundi, who hails from DIK, is also trying to get the project approved. We are constantly sending reminders to the relevant people. We hope the project will be sanctioned soon as promised."
NWFP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have 25 million acres of land. Out of this only 6.7MA are cultivable. But irrigated land is only 2.27MA (33 percent) while around 4.4MA still awaits irrigation facility. Secretary Irrigation NWFP, Mohammad Ashfaq Khan says the importance of the project cannot be overemphasised. It will irrigate around 0.3MA of land in DIK alone. The project will bring agriculture revolution and ensure food autarchy for the province," he argues.
Khan says NWFP has been allotted 8.78 million acres feet (MAF) of water in the water apportionment accord of 1991. "But only 5.5MAF of water is available for irrigation to NWFP. It means it is not able to utilise 3.28MAF of water (from its share) which flows down to other provinces. This is why new dams and canals should be approved as soon as possible," he adds.
Khan says the provincial government has fulfilled all conditionalities required of it, hoping that the project will be approved by all the bodies soon.
Hafiz Akhtar Ali, former irrigation minister, says the federal government should allocate and release funds for the project. "It will help irrigate over a million acres of land lying waste in the southern parts of NWFP. The province would not only become food sufficient itself but will also be in a position to export wheat," he argues.
As planned earlier by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and Wapda, the project was to comprise three lifts. If all the three lifts are okayed, the CRBC will bring under irrigation over one million acres of fertile land in southern districts. But the revised PC-1 comprises just a lift which is also being delayed. This lift will also provide water to around 0.3 MA. "To bring the entire land under cultivation in the region, not only the revised CRBC project be approved but the other two projects should also be approved as soon as possible," Adeel says.
There are apprehensions that the project might not be approved by the federal government, dominated by Punjab and Sindh, given the loss of free water of Frontier's share used by the two in case NWFP comes in a position to utilise that water.
Adeel also expresses pessimism that despite sincere attempts by Tarin, a powerful Punjab-dominated establishment in the planning commission and other relevant bodies was hell bent closing the file for good. "The two provinces, Sindh and Punjab, use our share of water. How could they approve the scheme to deprive themselves of free water?" observes a political worker pleading anonymity. NWFP has not been able to fully use water due to insufficient budgetary allocations, shortage of water reservoirs, lack of foreign funding and physical infrastructure to ensure sufficient amount of water to the entire available land.
About eighty percent population of NWFP lives in rural areas and is mostly dependent upon agriculture for subsistence. Given the situation, the government cannot ignore the agriculture sector. For food security of residents of NWFP, the federal and provincial governments should devise long and short term strategies. The government should increase cultivable land. Development of water channels, building new ones, and upgrading the existing canals are steps that should be taken in this regard.
tahir_katlang@yahoo.com
Innovation has been traditionally defined as successful implementation of creative ideas. While creativity refers to thinking of a new product, service or a process, innovation refers to successfully carrying that idea to the marketplace. When Jeff Bezos thought of selling books on the internet it was 'creativity', when he set up Amazon it became 'innovation'. There is widespread recognition of the fact that innovation is crucial to the success of a business and the economy at both the micro and macro levels. As innovative businesses and the economy grow, they positively impact unemployment and poverty. This is something which we in Pakistan need to recognise.
Among the keys to innovation are the ability to imagine the future, to think in quantum leaps rather than in small increments, and also most importantly, being prepared to fail. An innovative person in other words has to be imaginative and has to be a risk-taker; someone for whom failure is just another learning experience. A culture of innovation and entrepreneurship has to be developed in Pakistan. This is something which has to be encouraged by government policy. And of course as a society we have to change our worldview and become innovative. Innovation and creativity were once the responsibility of the entrepreneur, the marketing department, or the advertising agency -- now they are the responsibility of the entire private sector, the government, and society as a whole.
The exciting part of innovation is the possibility of being able to create something out of nothing. Capital is not a prerequisite. A degree is not a must, though knowledge is. In other words, knowledge can be formal or informal. Creativity comes in when a person is able to combine various strands of knowledge in a way it has never been done before and come up with an idea of a new product, service or a process.
In the case of Jeff Bezos (Amazon's founder), the combination was of knowledge of two types; knowledge of IT and knowledge that the book buying public was not happy with the way they had to purchase books. In retrospect, these two strands of knowledge were hardly a secret. Jeff Bezos was creative in combining the two and innovative when he set up Amazon. Today Amazon's annual revenue is $20 billion (Pakistan's annual budget is $30 billion.) which is truly remarkable if you consider that it all started with an idea in one man's head.
An innovative person has to be imaginative, intuitional, inspirational and ideas-generating (all components of creativity). Innovative people have to be recognised and encouraged. It is now believed that creativity can be taught and innovation can be managed. This process, however, has to start at the school and continue to the university level. Ideas should be germinated in university and corporate incubators. Trade bodies can play an active part. Government has to have a policy of supporting a whole culture of innovation.
The impact of an innovative culture can be huge. Wealth creation will follow and have a positive affect on GDP growth and employment opportunities. A small sole proprietorship or a large multinational can reap profits through innovation. Lots of opportunities exist for innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive in developing countries like Pakistan. Pakistanis have strong innovative and entrepreneurial instincts. Areas such as IT, healthcare, education, and rural marketing are underdeveloped in our country.
Many Information Technology firms in India and some in Pakistan have been innovative and have been able to develop niche products. They have quickly been able to increase their revenue manifold. In many cases, these firms were started by a couple of young IT specialists with a little capital base but because of their expertise now count some of the well-known corporate giants in the West as their clients. Encouraging IT graduates to think on these lines has to come from the universities and the government. The absence of venture capital in Pakistan is also an impediment to the growth of IT start-ups and needs to be addressed.
Similarly, as the public sector has failed over the years to provide reasonable education to our citizens, opportunities exist, amongst other things, for innovative persons to develop web-based models of education delivery. All innovative solutions need not be technological in nature; innovation does not have to be technology-based. The crisis of illiteracy in all its dimensions, offers huge opportunities to the innovator. The government on its part has to look into the possibility of public-private partnerships.
Also, our agriculture sector is underdeveloped. Rural-based businesses like dairy farming, storage and supply chain management can benefit immensely from creative ideas. There is a huge scope for technology based innovation in agro-industry. Process innovation is required to develop more efficient systems. Presently, bright young people do not even think of taking jobs and doing business out of the big urban centers. Again, the provision of incentives has to come from both the public and private sector. And needless to say, both need to work on this on an urgent basis. Government organisations like SMEDA need to be empowered to play a more active role.
Unemployment is now a global problem. The major source of new job generation is not going to be the public sector and the traditional large corporations. Future job opportunities, globally and in Pakistan are going to come from innovative organisations and the entrepreneur. The goal to become an innovative and entrepreneurial society/ economy sounds like a tall order but other countries have tried and succeeded. Once a consensus develops among all stakeholders a determined effort can help us take this big leap forward.
The writer is a Lahore-based free lance Corporate Trainer and part of the visiting faculty of LUMS and Civil Services Academy. He can be reached at b_ilahi@yahoo.com
In Pakistan, the tendency towards interdisciplinary research within the social sciences still seems negligible. Its trivialisation might be due to the nonchalant environment of the Pakistani academia and the lack of appreciation by the establishment. But the problems and threats which the country has been facing can be to a great degree satisfactorily addressed by the systematic and holistic solutions provided by the integrated knowledge of the various disciplines. And, thus, it is the need of the hour to tune our theories and beliefs to the modern standard rather than conventional preconceptions.
A generally held but erroneous notion is that history stops at the point where man leaves no written record of his activity and that thenceforth the field of archaeology steps in. But for two reasons we cannot draw a sharp line between the realms of history and archaeology. In the first place, there is a subtle interplay between the historical literature and the archaeological finds. Secondly, as the entire human past is historical the discipline of archaeology falls in the purview of history. But still the division is, as an Indian scholar puts down, "only a matter of conceptual and academic convenience" and has "very little to do with the real situation".
Here the close bond between history and archaeology is worked out with the stipulation that the complementary dimensions of both the disciplines must be taken into consideration, as against the backdrop of the interdisciplinary discourse in regard to the study of cultural, religious, political and economic history of Pakistan.
Pakistan is facing an identity crisis. The state has naively and pretentiously been engaged in devising a holy and uniform identity here. But as it negates and is devoid of taking into account the native elements, the problem is further aggravated rather than ameliorated.
The inhabitants of different areas of modern Pakistan are not a people to be trifled with. They have historical roots. They are a people of visual as well as abstract heritage of and about life. And herein lies the responsibility of the Pakistani historians and archaeologists to make the people of Pakistan own their past. A sense of belonging to the past will create prospects of a social and cultural space for the development of civilisation in Pakistan. And here the integrated outcomes of history and archaeology can in earnest be pressed into service.
Being an important source material of the human past, archaeology has a great importance for history. Its contributions to the writing of history are categorised as text-aided archaeology and text-free history. Text-aided archaeology implies the application of archaeological means to a historical period but the important prerogative of archaeology is the prehistoric period, a text-free history. By adding to history its prelude prehistory "the purview of history" as Gordon Childe puts it, "is extended a hundredfold".
The written record of human past suffers from numerous important lacunae in addition to the problems of its inherent biases as well as fancies. The entry of oral tradition in the field of history is something positive in this connection. Archaeology, as well, can be fruitfully engaged in regard to the concerns of the discipline of history. The application of certain methods, concepts and theories of history, on the other hand, will do away with some important limitations of the field of archaeology. History and archaeology, thus, will have comparatively closer liaison, especially in the context of Pakistan.
The areas that form modern Pakistan are greatly deficient in documentary account. This problem aptly persists in relation to the medieval ages of the country. But with the help of the archaeological finds a sort of rudimentary continuity has been established. The works of Professor Ahmad Hassan Dani is the age-long story of Pakistan in the context of the process of continuity and change. Similarly, Professor Giuseppe Tucci of the Italian Archaeological Mission (IsMEO) is conspicuous by contributing solid material facts to the history of Pakistan.
The limitations of the field of archaeology, on the other hand, may be overcome by having a "real feeling" for history. Archaeology will have, thus, its own theory besides being a system of methods and techniques. And no one will have the audacity to criticise K K Aziz for calling it "the mother of history as a discipline".
Thus, one can assert that Pakistan has a sequential history in terms of prehistory, proto-history upto the dawn of history. Of course, it is relative success; tremendous work is ahead to be done. And that is to construct and reconstruct the real history of the people of Pakistan in the light of the historical literature and the ever new facts of archaeology. This will be, no doubt, a conscious initiation of a process for resolving the crisis of identity in Pakistan. The integrated finds of archaeology and history will make an exposition of it as being a land of historic pluralism and unity in diversity.
The writer is a lecturer at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad
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text:
Plyler v. Doe
April 11, 2017 by: Content Team
Following is the case brief for Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982).
Case Summary of Plyler v. Doe:
A Texas law denied free public education to children who were illegally in the country. The law was challenged on constitutional grounds in federal court.
The Federal District Courts, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, held that the Texas law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed. The Court found the Equal Protection Clause applies to all residents, citizens and aliens alike. It also found that the importance of educating children (particularly those who are in the country illegally through no fault of their own) outweighs any unsubstantiated desire on the State's part to save educational resources or mitigate illegal immigration at the border.
Plyler v. Doe Case Brief
In 1975, the Texas legislature revised its education laws to withhold state funds for the education of children illegally in the country. It also denied enrollment for such children. Texas claimed that the revisions were necessary to preserve limited resources for those children residing legally in the State. It also claimed that the statute would help stem the tide of illegal immigrants coming into the State.
Several lawsuits were filed in two different Federal District Courts, including a class action representing undocumented school-age children of Mexican origin who reside in Texas. The lawsuits sought a permanent injunction against enforcement of the Texas statute.
The District Courts in both of the federal lawsuits enjoined enforcement of the law. The courts held that the Texas law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed those decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Is it a violation of the Equal Protection Clause to deny a free public education to undocumented school-age children? Yes.
The decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is affirmed.
A State's denial of free public education to undocumented school-age children is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Equal Protection Clause provides that no State shall deny "any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws." The Clause applies to both citizens and aliens alike. Accordingly, an undocumented child is a "person" who is "within the jurisdiction" of the State of Texas. Therefore, that child is entitled to equal protection of the laws of Texas. It runs counter to the Equal Protection Clause for Texas to provide free public education to children legally in the country, but not those illegally in the country.
Further, education is essential to a person's life and place in the fabric of society. Putting undocumented children at an educational disadvantage would be unjust particularly because the children are in the country illegally through no fault of their own. Finally, employing a rational basis test to evaluate the law, Texas has no rational basis upon which to discriminate in this manner. No record evidence indicates that excluding undocumented children from school would save Texas any educational resources or have any impact on illegal immigration at the border.
Concurring/Dissenting Opinions:
Concurring Opinion (Marshall):
Because public education holds a unique status in our country, a person's interest in education is fundamental. Varying levels of scrutiny should be applied in an equal protection analysis depending upon the significance of the interest adversely affected by particular legislation.
Concurring Opinion (Blackmun):
Denial of an education creates class distinctions which are fundamentally inconsistent with the Equal Protection Clause. Accordingly, like voting rights cases, strict scrutiny of the Texas law is appropriate because of the fundamental nature of education.
Concurring Opinion (Powell):
It is important to emphasize the unique character of this case. Undocumented children are being denied an education by virtue of the illegal acts of their parents. Such a rule invariably results in a permanent underclass of residents that cannot be reconciled with the Equal Protection Clause. Heightened scrutiny should be applied in this case.
Dissenting Opinion (Burger):
While it would be unwise to create a segment of society made up of illiterate people, the kind of decision here is best left to the democratic process of legislatures. The Court should not take on the role of setting the Nation's social policy.
Plyler v. Doe established the that a State cannot deny free public education to children who are illegally in the country. This case also made explicit the notion that the Equal Protection Clause applies to all residents — citizens and aliens alike. The various opinions of this case grapple with the technical issue of the appropriate level of review with which to evaluate the Texas law. However, the essence of this case is in the fundamental value of education to our society, and the injustice of denying an education to children solely because their parents came to the country illegally.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/457/202#writing-USSC_CR_0457_0202_ZO
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1981/80-1538
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/16/us/justices-rule-states-must-pay-to-educate-illegal-alien-pupils.html
Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States
Nebbia v. New York
McCleskey v. Kemp
Loving v. Virginia
Bowers v. Hardwick
Shelley v. Kraemer
Hernandez v. Texas
Sweatt v. Painter

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
ESPEN Working Group: Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice
A.M.W.J. Schols
NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism
BIA is easy, non-invasive, relatively inexpensive and can be performed in almost any subject because it is portable. Part II of these ESPEN guidelines reports results for fat-free mass (FFM), body fat (BF), body cell mass (BCM), total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW) from various studies in healthy and ill subjects. The data suggests that BIA works well in healthy subjects and in patients with stable water and electrolytes balance with a validated BIA equation that is appropriate with regard to age, sex and race. Clinical use of BIA in subjects at extremes of BMI ranges or with abnormal hydration cannot be recommended for routine assessment of patients until further validation has proven for BIA algorithm to be accurate in such conditions. Mutli-frequency and segmental-BIA may have advantages over single-frequency BIA in these conditions, but further validation is necessary. Longitudinal follow-up of body composition by BIA is possible in subjects with BMI 16-34 kg/m(2) without abnormal hydration, but must be interpreted with caution. Further validation of BIA is necessary to understand the mechanisms for the changes observed in acute illness, altered fat/lean mass ratios, extreme heights and body shape abnormalities.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2004.09.012
10.1016/j.clnu.2004.09.012
Schols, A. M. W. J. (2004). ESPEN Working Group: Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice. Clinical Nutrition, 23, 1430-1453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2004.09.012
Schols, A.M.W.J. / ESPEN Working Group: Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice. In: Clinical Nutrition. 2004 ; Vol. 23. pp. 1430-1453.
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title = "ESPEN Working Group: Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice",
abstract = "BIA is easy, non-invasive, relatively inexpensive and can be performed in almost any subject because it is portable. Part II of these ESPEN guidelines reports results for fat-free mass (FFM), body fat (BF), body cell mass (BCM), total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW) from various studies in healthy and ill subjects. The data suggests that BIA works well in healthy subjects and in patients with stable water and electrolytes balance with a validated BIA equation that is appropriate with regard to age, sex and race. Clinical use of BIA in subjects at extremes of BMI ranges or with abnormal hydration cannot be recommended for routine assessment of patients until further validation has proven for BIA algorithm to be accurate in such conditions. Mutli-frequency and segmental-BIA may have advantages over single-frequency BIA in these conditions, but further validation is necessary. Longitudinal follow-up of body composition by BIA is possible in subjects with BMI 16-34 kg/m(2) without abnormal hydration, but must be interpreted with caution. Further validation of BIA is necessary to understand the mechanisms for the changes observed in acute illness, altered fat/lean mass ratios, extreme heights and body shape abnormalities. ",
author = "A.M.W.J. Schols",
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Schols, AMWJ 2004, 'ESPEN Working Group: Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice', Clinical Nutrition, vol. 23, pp. 1430-1453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2004.09.012
ESPEN Working Group: Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice. / Schols, A.M.W.J.
In: Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 23, 01.01.2004, p. 1430-1453.
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AU - Schols, A.M.W.J.
N2 - BIA is easy, non-invasive, relatively inexpensive and can be performed in almost any subject because it is portable. Part II of these ESPEN guidelines reports results for fat-free mass (FFM), body fat (BF), body cell mass (BCM), total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW) from various studies in healthy and ill subjects. The data suggests that BIA works well in healthy subjects and in patients with stable water and electrolytes balance with a validated BIA equation that is appropriate with regard to age, sex and race. Clinical use of BIA in subjects at extremes of BMI ranges or with abnormal hydration cannot be recommended for routine assessment of patients until further validation has proven for BIA algorithm to be accurate in such conditions. Mutli-frequency and segmental-BIA may have advantages over single-frequency BIA in these conditions, but further validation is necessary. Longitudinal follow-up of body composition by BIA is possible in subjects with BMI 16-34 kg/m(2) without abnormal hydration, but must be interpreted with caution. Further validation of BIA is necessary to understand the mechanisms for the changes observed in acute illness, altered fat/lean mass ratios, extreme heights and body shape abnormalities.
AB - BIA is easy, non-invasive, relatively inexpensive and can be performed in almost any subject because it is portable. Part II of these ESPEN guidelines reports results for fat-free mass (FFM), body fat (BF), body cell mass (BCM), total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW) from various studies in healthy and ill subjects. The data suggests that BIA works well in healthy subjects and in patients with stable water and electrolytes balance with a validated BIA equation that is appropriate with regard to age, sex and race. Clinical use of BIA in subjects at extremes of BMI ranges or with abnormal hydration cannot be recommended for routine assessment of patients until further validation has proven for BIA algorithm to be accurate in such conditions. Mutli-frequency and segmental-BIA may have advantages over single-frequency BIA in these conditions, but further validation is necessary. Longitudinal follow-up of body composition by BIA is possible in subjects with BMI 16-34 kg/m(2) without abnormal hydration, but must be interpreted with caution. Further validation of BIA is necessary to understand the mechanisms for the changes observed in acute illness, altered fat/lean mass ratios, extreme heights and body shape abnormalities.
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Schols AMWJ. ESPEN Working Group: Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice. Clinical Nutrition. 2004 Jan 1;23:1430-1453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2004.09.012


Please join OpenNTF in welcoming hedersoft GmbH as an OpenNTF Member Company. hedersoft is located in Germany. hedersoft specializes in XPages development, Email management, MaRisk and more.
"The heder soft GmbH believes in the spirit of the open source movement. For this reason, we are part of our software and open source solutions available. We are closely associated with OpenNTF . OpenNTF has developed in recent years to the central platform in the Lotus community, when it comes to open source.
We will provide some of our products in a basic version for free for OpenNTF. In addition, we will provide solutions and devices to the network which have helped us. The beginning, Lars Buntrock "open database" is already done with the development of the dialogue which has been submitted for the first XPages Development Contest, where it has performed very successfully. Conversely, we also profiting from the growing community that is involved in OpenNTF and then adjusts source code freely available. It is a give and take!"


Fully loaded with flavour and antioxidants our Gunpowder Green is a particularly bright, clean variety with a smooth sweetness and a smoke-tinged finish - beautiful brewed lightly for clarity of taste.
The ancient technique of rolling the leaves gave the tea a certain hardiness as it was transported across continents, preserving its distinctive flavour and aroma. As a result, gunpowder green tea became one of the most popular teas to export. It soon became a favourite tea in the Maghreb, used in the preparation of traditional North African mint tea for centuries.
100% Chinese rolled green tea.


text:
Vampire The Buffet Slayer
=========================

A jam game hastily cobbled together in a few hours for the August 2013 Ludum Dare, on the theme "Ten Seconds".

Art and concept by Dan and Dillon Whitehead.

The full game can be found here:
http://buffetslayer.co.uk

The LD48 jam entry page can be found here:
www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-27/?action=preview&uid=3764

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


This is a refreshing way to thank your customers and acknowledge their loyalty. They are not cartoon cards, have no 'silly' messages and you can link your website, social media, even put in a code for a special offer, party invitation, online event link, etc.
Since it is no longer cost effective to print and send a calendar or a card… send small token gifts, then this gesture of a 'Seasonal Greeting Card' will be a very good option to consider. It's affordable with prices beginning at only $49.99 ! For that price you can send them to 10 or 10,000 email recipients. For $19.99 more you can have your website, social media, and your logo put on the card. Minimal charges are incurred for each additional link you add… these video ecards are cyber employees, working tirelessly for you night and day all over the world if you want them to.
You can be assured that if your clients and prospects received one of these they will not so quickly throw them into the trash folder. Especially if you consider putting a coupon code or some useful information about your product or service. Its been said that 'its not what you say but how you say it' …and that is very true when it comes to thanking your client base for their loyalty.
Saying 'thanks for your business' and then spamming them with , 'buy more now' is not exactly a 'gift', BUT sending them one of these elegant cards, and putting a discreet discount voucher, code, useful bits of information about your product and services AT THE SAME TIME as you send the video email 'thank you ' card,…now that's permission marketing, and will be appreciated. Give us a call and let's at least chat for a few minutes to see what one of these digital devices would serve you while you build your business loyalty.
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I can generate a box of 4 of these cards for approx $200; small additional charges are added when you want attachments, hyper links, special messages. That price is only to put your website URL, your email which auto links to a from, your name and phone number.
Call us today and discuss your particular needs.


text:
JazzyBit live in "Rost" – a hot act on the threshold of a debut album
By Andrei Cherascu October 21, 2013 March 16, 2018
Leave a Comment on JazzyBit live in "Rost" – a hot act on the threshold of a debut album
With the beginning of October autumn was shaping up to be a very musical season. There is, of course, the highly anticipated Al DiMeola concert coming up in November, Iva Bittova played the synagogue as part of the SoundCzech festival, the Simultan Festival (that I sadly didn't get to attend) brought some good quality music among the many other art forms it aimed to promote, and the well-advertised Timisoara Baroque Festival featured more concerts than you can shake a conductor's baton at (more on one of these concerts in a future article). Meanwhile, on the local Jazz-scene a young trio that has been growing in popularity for the last year and a half announced that they will be playing their last gig in town for this year before retiring to the studio to record their debut album.
When I had heard a few weeks ago, that JazzyBit was going to be performing at the launching party of my latest writing project, a Romanian comic book series called Fairytale Therapy, I was very happy and excited but also a bit embarrassed. Pianist Teo Pop and I had worked together in tech support at my old job (albeit in different departments) and, though I've been aware for a while that he's in a Jazz trio and though I like to call myself a "Jazz journalist", I had never seen him in action.
Things always turned out in such a way that we were never in the same place at the same time, even though the very young band already has some pretty impressive gigs under their belt (including the Jazz festival in Gărâna, arguably the biggest event of its kind this side of Europe). Well, at least I was going to hear them at the book-launching event so I was happy about that. The party turned out great but I had little time to focus on the music, being pressed by the responsibilities that plague the debuting comic-book writer: drinking wine, mingling with friends and signing autographs, stuff like that…but I digress. Anyway, I had heard enough to know that I like their sound so when I got a Facebook-notification warning me that this would be their last gig in a while I knew it was now or never.
The show was held in a place called Rost, a quirky but rather narrow newly-opened bar in the center of the city. What the place lacks in acoustics it makes up for in ambiance since no matter where you are seated you will be close to the musicians. That always helps one get into the "vibe" of a show even if one forgot to make reservations ahead of time and got stuck with the worst vantage point in the room (I already apologize for the bad pictures). Anyway, once the guys started playing you didn't care where you found yourself because they plain and simply rocked the house.
Pictured: JazzyBit rocking the house
Not pictured: A good vantage point
The trio, consisting of my work-buddy Teo Pop on everything with a keyboard, Mihai Moldoveanu on bass and Szabo Csongor-Zsolt on drums (who looks young enough to be my son but plays with the self-confidence of Lewis freakin' Nash) was founded in 2011 and started performing together at the beginning of 2012. Though only playing together for rather short time JazzyBit have the chemistry of a band with a lot more years under its belt and on stage that translates into high energy and great fun. I've never made a secret of the fact that this is a very subjective website, more of a musical diary than a review-blog, so I have to start off by saying that I'm not really into Latin-Jazz nor am I a big fan of synthesizer in a Jazz trio (I always prefer the piano) but in spite of that I was instantly captured by the performance.
Throughout the hour and a half of their performance there was never a dull moment and I was impressed with the great talent of these young musicians whose charismatic and high-octane delivery kept them safe from ever falling into a generic sound. Teo Pop is incredibly fast and very versatile and his interactions with Szabo Csongor-Zsolt, including the round of back-and-forth one-upmanship – always a crowd pleaser at a Jazz show – provided the spice for the performance while Mihai Moldoveanu's bass was a powerful backbone.
The band played their own compositions, most of which will probably be found on their debut record Touch the Sky. The songs, with a predominant Latin-Jazz influence, also contained elements of funk, blues, straight-up piano trio and even a bit of rock at one point. My favorite pieces have to be "Curacao" (seen here as performed at the Budapest Jazz Club) and "Poate de ce" ("Maybe Why") for its low-key delivery that reminded me of another pianist whose music I greatly enjoy.
While the band still seems to be working on carving out a more well-defined identity for their sound (a process that is completely understandable at this point in their careers and will no doubt be finalized by the time they finish recording their album) the interaction between the musicians is really good. All in all, JazzyBit is a hot act right now, worth seeing at this point primarily for its "bang-for-your-buck" delivery. You have a fresh and energetic band that plays like a veteran act and the best time to catch them live is right now. I predict a massive growth in demand and popularity sooner rather than later and, at this point in their career, you can still catch them is small, intimate venues. If before getting to see them live I was interested in their debut record only from what I had seen on Youtube, after their show this Saturday I am counting the days until "Touch the Sky" hits the shelves!
Tags: blues funk Jazz JazzyBit Latin-Jazz piano trio Rost Timisoara Touch the Sky
Published by Andrei Cherascu
Andrei is the author of the science fiction series The Mindguard Saga. His debut novel, Mindguard, was chosen Book of the Year 2014 by scifi365.net. Its sequel, The Vintages, was nominated for Best Science Fiction at the 2016 eFestival of Words. Martyrs of the Mind, the fourth book in the series, is scheduled for release in March 2019. When he isn't working on his novels, Andrei is busy running his jazz-themed website The Music and Myth, where he reviews records and gigs and posts interviews with artists like Sofia Rei, Bill Frisell, Al DiMeola and Patricia Barber. A full-time writer by day, he enjoys spending the evenings drinking wine and listening to music with his wife, Ioana and their Bichon puppy, Jazzie.	View all posts by Andrei Cherascu
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We have some acid-free tapes listed in this section.
gudy 831 is a pressure sensitive cold mounting adhesive in a roll form that can be used to make most any smooth surface self-adhesive. Perfect for mounting photos or other heat sensitive graphics gudy 831 can be applied without the need of heat or expensive machines. One of our most aggressive adhesives gudy 831 has a traditional construction using a non-woven paper center that is coated on both sides with our own high tack acrylic adhesive. gudy 831 is both acid and solvent-free and has passed the Photographic Activity Test (per ISO 14523) making it ideal for permanent archival mounting of photographs.
Similar to Gudy 871, but in a user friendly dispenser.
When the application calls for exceptional strength filmoplast SH is the answer. Made from a very fine threaded white linen fabric coated with a high tack acid-free acrylic adhesive. Most often used to reinforce the interior hinge on hardbound books filmoplast SH folds flat without a lot of bulk and will greatly extend the book's shelf life.
Made from a white, tear resistant paper and Neschen's own unique age resistant acrylic adhesive filmoplast P 90 is used widely for reinforcing folds on maps and music scores, reattaching paperback book covers and mending damaged paper edges. Both the adhesive and paper carrier are buffered (pH 8.7 aged) to prevent an influx of acids. Tape should be burnished upon application with a clean bone folder to achieve the optimum bonding strength.


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Irish Farmers Monthly
Ireland's number 1 online farming resource
IFA to hold climate event to 're-balance' debate
The IFA will host an important half-day event on Tuesday, January 21st, titled 'Climate Action in Agriculture - A Balanced Approach'. The event will feature one of the foremost experts in the world on the important role of farming in the climate debate, Dr Frank Mitloehner from UC Davis, California.
New IFA President to take up office in January
Tim Cullinan, who has been elected the 16th President of the IFA, will take up office at the Annual General Meeting on January 27th, 2020.
New Financial Support Scheme for Calf Rearing
A new Financial Support Scheme for Calf Rearing has been announced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Commencement of payments under the 2019 Beef Data & Genomics Programme
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed has confirmed that payments under the 2019 Beef Data and Genomics Programmes (BDGP) have commenced.
Public consultation on Seafood Development Programme launched
The Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Michael Creed has announced the opening of an initial public consultation to inform the development of a new operational programme for the sustainable development of the seafood sector for the 2021-27 period.
Review of the Governance Arrangements for the Veterinary Council of Ireland
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, together with the President of the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) Peadar O'Scanaill, have welcomed the independent 'Review of the Governance Arrangements for the Veterinary Council of Ireland' undertaken by Crowe.
Funding of €2,906,000 to Animal Welfare Organisations
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr. Michael Creed T.D., has announced record funding awards of €2,906,000 to 106 animal welfare organisations throughout the country. The payments will be made with immediate effect.
2019 advance payments for Organic Farming Scheme commence
Andrew Doyle, Minster of State with responsibility for Organics at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has announced that 2019 advance payments for farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) have commenced.
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Orthopedic Surgeons and Specialists in Rhode Island
Meet Our Cartilage Repair Team
Cartilage Repair Research
The Curious Case of Cartilage
Meet Our Team - Foot and Ankle
Hand and Wrist
Meet Our Team - Hand and Wrist
Total Wrist Replacement
Helping Across the Globe
Hip Arthroscopy
Meet Our Team - Hip Specialists
Assess Your Hip Pain
Meet Our Team - Knee Specialists
Assess Your Knee Pain
Meet Our Team - Shoulder and Elbow Specialists
Assess Your Shoulder Pain
Our Spine Experts
Lower Back Pain Causes and Treatments
Mazor X Stealth Robotic Surgery Platform
As Orthopedic Patients Get Younger, Procedures Get More Advanced
Meet Our Team - Sports Medicine Specialists
ACL Injuries
Reduce Your Risk for Sports Injury
Trauma Services
Meet Our Team - Orthopedic Trauma Specialists
Orthopedic Oncology
Orthopedic Oncology: Conditions We Treat
Orthopedic Oncology Team
Orthopedic Oncology Research
Bridge-Enhanced ACL Repair (BEAR)
Cerebral Palsy: Enhancing Functional Recovery
Finding Better Ways to Heal ACL Injury
ACL Research: A Q&A with Braden Fleming, PhD
Predicting Thumb Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis
Pursuing the Promise of Smart Joint Implants
Women's Lacrosse Focus of Lifespan Bioengineering Researcher
Alice's Story
Art Berluti
Surgeon's Persistence, Prowess Saves Fisherman's Hand
From Stuck in Bed to Climbing Mountains
Cartilage Transplant Returns Brittney to Athletic Activity
Assess Your Joint Pain
The Most Comprehensive Orthopedic Care in the Region
Paul Fadale, MD
By Paul Fadale, MD, Rhode Island Hospital orthopedic surgeon and sports injury specialist
Typically, an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury occurs when an athlete performs a twisting or cutting movement, or less commonly with direct contact. The knee "gives way" and an audible pop or snap may be heard. This injury may be quite painful, but not necessarily so. Swelling follows soon thereafter.
If you suffer a knee injury, you should apply ice (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off) and elevate the leg to reduce swelling. Crutches are beneficial. Early and full range of knee motion is essential. Although there is often some improvement early on, returning to sports brings out the feeling of instability again. Further injury to the knee may result.
What exactly is an ACL?
It is important to understand the anatomy of the knee joint. The knee is the junction of two bones, the femur (thighbone) and the tibia (shinbone). The menisci (cartilage) lie over the surface of the tibia and function as a shock absorber by keeping the two bones from rubbing directly on each other. Both muscles and ligaments help to stabilize this joint by connecting these two bones.
An X-Ray of a knee joint
Ligaments are very strong bands of collagen with elastic properties, which allow them to stretch slightly. On the inside and outside of your knee, the medial and lateral collateral ligaments prevent movement side to side.
The anterior (ACL) and posterior (PCL) cruciate ligaments are in the middle of the knee and cross each other. The ACL runs from the anterior tibia to the posterior surface of the femur; the PCL joins the posterior tibia to the anterior femur. The ACL prevents the tibia from sliding forward from the femur; the PCL, conversely, prevents the tibia from sliding backwards on the femur. The quadriceps and hamstring muscles also play a very important role in keeping the knee joint stable.
Women and ACL Injury: How Often Does It Happen?
Studies have shown that female athletes suffer ACL injuries even more frequently than do their male counterparts. There are several theories of why this injury occurs more often in women. The real cause of this disturbing increase in ACL injuries in women is probably multifactorial. Whether female or male, ACL knee injuries can leave the athlete with a sense of instability within their knee. Ultimately it is this "giving way" or sense that the knee is "not right" that leads the patient to seek medical attention.
Women have wider hips, which changes the angle between the femur and tibia. This may place additional biomechanical strain on the supporting structures of the knee. Also, the tunnel or notch in the femur through which the ACL and PCL pass is often smaller in women then in men. This may play a role in ACL injury as the ligament can be sheared apart by this bony structure.
If a female athlete is less muscularly developed then her male counterpart, she will have a comparatively decreased extrinsic support provided by the quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups. Studies are addressing this issue on a biochemical level, by looking at estrogen receptors in muscle and ligaments and attempting to determine what role estrogen may play weakening these structures.
Unfortunately ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury is a permanent ligament injury, though it is often initially diagnosed as a "sprain." Therefore, it is important to contact your knee doctor for a definitive diagnosis. Often, he/she will be able to provide you with a diagnosis based on your history and physical examination.
They may suggest an MRI, which is a special test that utilizes a magnetic field to image the knee. Unlike an X-ray, which shows only the bones, an MRI also helps image the details of the ligaments, cartilage, and muscle. Mechanical testing devices, such as a KT 1000 may more accurately measure the amount of pathologic knee motion.
No single test or study is 100% accurate, therefore your physician will use a combination of history of injury, physical examination, and possibly further diagnostic studies to make the diagnosis of ACL tear.
If an ACL tear is found, there are various treatment options.
A patient with a torn ACL may have problems with recurrent instability and further joint damage. The degree of instability can vary from an occasional feeling of "giving way" to being unable to pivot or jump without the knee buckling. Instability is dependent on the physical demands placed on the knee, strength of the quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups, and degree of damage to both the ligament and to other structures of the knee.
The final decision for treatment is based on multiple factors including degree of instability, patients' anticipated demands and the possibility of further knee damage.
Surgical repair of a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) involves the removal of the damaged ligament and replacement with a tendon, typically the middle one third of the patella tendon or hamstring tendons. The surgery is commonly done under a mild general anesthesia. Nerve blocks are utilized to eliminate pain early on after surgery.
The complete procedure takes approximately one and a half hours. You will wake up with your knee in a brace. Patients go home comfortably the same day of the surgery. You will be taught to use crutches, given prescriptions for pain medication when the nerve blocks wear off, and given a postoperative booklet for instructions. You should expect to be on crutches only about ten days to two weeks. This early ambulation helps to prevent the muscles atrophying from disuse.
Surgical Reconstruction
Arthroscopically, your surgeon will first examine the inside of your knee to assess the degree of damage to the ligaments, menisci and surface lining. ACL tears are often associated with injuries to the meniscus (cartilage). A small incision will be made in the front of your knee and the middle portion of the patella tendon will be removed, along with a small piece of bone on either end, or the hamstring tendons will be removed.
Using arthroscopic techniques, the damaged ligament will be removed and the femoral notch that the ligament passes through will be enlarged. Small holes will be drilled in your femur and tibia as attachment sites for the new ligament. The tendon will be secured into the bone with tiny screws.
Physical therapy should begin within a few days of the surgery. This is the most important aspect of your recovery. The surgery may not be successful if the therapy is not completed.
It is important to remember that the new ligament graft is still weak at this point in time. The bone needs time to heal around the attachment sites. The ligament itself will be at its weakest during the six weeks after surgery, after which point it begins to remodel and strengthen based on the stresses that are being placed on it in its new role as a ligament. It takes six months to a year for the ligament to regain full strength.
It is essential to stay motivated. Initially, your therapist will focus on gentle flexion and extension exercises. The exercises will focus on strengthening the quadriceps and hamstring muscles. Most physicians employ a vigorous therapy program that emphasizes early return to weight bearing.
Even if you feel ready to play sports again a few months after your surgery, your new ligament is not yet ready. This is important to remember!
When Will I Play Again?
The most frequently asked question is perhaps "when will I be ready to play again?" After hours of riding the stationary bike in physical therapy you will be anxious to get back to playing sports. Remember that the bone and ligament takes time to gain full strength.
One can begin running at about three to four months after the surgery and go back to full athletic participation at about six months. This is highly dependent on age, degree of associated injuries, and commitment to rehabilitation.
The majority of athletes are able to return to their former level of competition. Some athletes prefer to use a brace on their return to play. Research has shown that braces do not "protect the knee," alter the rate of knee injury, or "hold the knee together" at the high levels of stress that can injure ligaments. Once healed, the reconstructed ligament should provide full stability. Therefore the braces, if used, are discarded.


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Remember how we broke the news on Make Up For Ever's new Lab Shine Collection? These are three distinct textures of lip gloss: Star, Diamond and Metal.
These are super heavy duty lip glosses, and the finish is different for each of these. The Star collection gives you a sweet, sheer look and a very pretty one –it's so SPRING. The Diamond collection is glittery and really sparkly (if you take a look at the video, you'll see why). This set of glosses would be the perfect counterpoint to accompany all the pearl shades coming out in the eye shadow department this spring (case in point is Chanel's Les Perles de Chanel collection).
For women with darker shades, a la Halle Berry, we are lusting after the Metal lipstick. Take a look at the video to see all the various lip gloss shades and tell us which one is your favorite.
We know you love MUFE, so share!
Oooo so pretty! Great video!
A great video! I already love "Make-up Forever. It is AWESOME!
new shades. I cannot wait. Plese pick me! I am not begging but I shared on F.B. with my friends and did everything You had asked.
Show me the gloss!!! Lol. I love lip gloss. I will use gloss over lipstick anytime. I just favor the gloss over the lipstick.