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Misbehaving is the story of the women involved in the protest against the Miss World beauty pageant in 1970.
Activists Sue Finch, Jenny Fortune, Jane Grant, Jo Robinson and Sarah Wilson share their experience of the protest and its impact on their lives.
Woven into their stories are accounts from other activists involved with the emerging Women's Liberation Movement of the early 1970s.
They're accompanied by a series of illustrations that ran through women's liberation literature and some brilliant photographs from Sally Fraser.
Those that cover the first women's conference at Ruskin College, Oxford, in 1970, are particularly interesting.
The contributions read like a potted history of the British protest movement over the last fifty years.
The activists are involved in anti-Vietnam war activity, anti-apartheid demonstrations and the Greenham Common anti-nuclear protest camp. They also fight in campaigns against racism and for public services.
Some of the most interesting stories come from what the women did next. An extraordinary number squatted buildings and set up local nurseries, and campaigned for public services so women could work and parent at the same time.
It's inspirational, especially at a time when childcare is privatised, stripped back and inaccessible to vast swathes of women.
This book is a timely reminder that direct action works.
What Misbehaving really gets across is how transformative the experience was for those involved.
Just being able to speak about the reality of their lives in a women's group felt like a revelatory and radical act.
And the joy of protesting at Miss World—"the most exaggerated example of women being judged like cattle"—really shines through.
For young people today, it's hard to imagine that Miss World was such a spectacle.
It drew in hundreds of millions of viewers when it was shown on TV.
It's so interesting to hear the voices of working class women who are at the forefront of struggle. And Misbehaving shows us that it's right to protest against the sexist industries that objectify and degrade us.
Barghouti remains popular
A new edition of Marx's and Engel's classic


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Running in Rhythm
Think back to the last time you felt like this…
The first few steps are brutal. Like the rusted cogs of a long-dormant machine grinding stubbornly back into motion, your legs move. Through atrophy and entropy, you press forward.
One grueling mile passes, and what was previously agony with every step becomes discomfort approaching tolerable levels. Your back straightens a bit and your knees actually bend.
An unpleasant second mile passes, and you begin to remember that running occasionally falls in the category of pleasurable, if somewhat sadistically. Still, freedom that your spirit finds in the perfect combination of speed and strength drifts into your periphery, and you find the capacity to breathe deeply and smile a little.
And you once more admit, if only to yourself, that you are, indeed, a runner.
Now, whether that describes your first run after months of mind-numbing injury, rest, and recovery or the day after an especially tough race, workout, or long run (that last one was me after my first time hitting the trails for a long run this summer), if you have been a runner for any stretch of time, you know that feeling. You also know that the feeling will pass and you'll be running hard again soon (whether it be a few weeks of rebuilding or a couple days of recovery).
On that note…
After some great conversations with this blog's followers, my own friends and acquaintances, and several Strava peeps, I decided to take a moment to address the topic of rest and recovery in a bit of an uncommon way.
I should mention that my specific inspiration for compiling these thoughts right at this moment came from a recent exchange with Colin Hunter on Strava (find him here). Feel free to take a look at those details at your leisure (found here).
Along those lines, a number of other comments on the Bayshore recap post informed some of my thoughts, as well.
To the point: Rhythm
As I age in the sport of running, one of the more important developments for my training has become the sense of rhythm I feel while running.
Further still, you watch any group of runners closely enough, and you'll notice subtle differences in the smoothness or ease of rhythm. I believe that is significantly more important than simple differences in running form or cadence.
Finding Rhythm
Any major school of thought in terms of distance running references easy running as a spectrum of effort that ends somewhere around marathon pace (steady state, critical threshold, etc.). Few spend much more time on the topic than that.
You will agree, though, that there is a significant difference between a rusty grind and a brisk trot (reference to my intro). In my mind, it is as simple as this: at some point on the spectrum of running easy, you stop feeling like you're plodding along and start feeling like you're actually running. That transition is what I am referring to when I talk about finding rhythm, and I would argue that distance runners should be a lot more intentional about finding and conditioning that rhythm.
Let me give an example.
Rhythm in Training
Here's a typical week of training for me when I am in the middle of a base phase (I never actually follow this pattern consistently, but in general…):
- Monday: 60 minutes easy
- Tuesday: 90-110 minutes total, 45-60 of it at steady state
- Wednesday: 60 minutes easy
- Thursday: 90 minutes total, 30-45 of it at steady state
- Friday: 45-60 minutes easy, strides throughout
- Saturday: 120-150 minutes of progressive running (or steady state, or just easy)
- Sunday: 45-60 minutes easy
For the easy days, instead of thinking of pace or HR or power, my current thought is to let rhythm be the determiner for the appropriate amount of effort. It's quite simple, too:
- Begin by easing into the run, assuming that the first mile (or so) will rarely feel smooth.
- Once the creaking and groaning begins to subside, be very intentional about establishing a comfortable cadence and relaxed posture.
- After the cadence and posture fall into place, maintain focus on those things and add in breathing (again, the idea being relaxed).
You should naturally fall into a level of effort that is appropriate for your body's needs on the day. The only other factor that may make a difference is distance/time, and the easy answer to that is if you feel tired, don't run as long. I would argue that relaxed, rhythmic run that is short will do much more for your fitness than a plodding, laborious run that is a bit longer.
This leads to the most important question on this topic…
How do you improve your rhythm?
Like everything in running, rhythm may not come naturally (especially for those returning from a long drought, whatever the reason, or first getting into running). That being the case, there are certainly specific things every runner can do (yes, even you, Eliud Kipchoge).
Improve your running economy.
The amount of energy you expend with every step matters. It matters quite a lot, in fact (thus Nike's revolutionary shoe – the 4% – being so exceptional). The three easiest ways to improve your running economy (and thus reduce the energy output) are:
- Focus on form/posture and cadence often while running (especially during easy runs and long runs). You want a quick and light cadence, relaxed and relatively quiet shoulders, and upright torso.
- Run short and fast strides at least one day/week, ideally spread out over the course of an easy run (that's a Lydiard thing that the running world seems to have forgotten and shouldn't have).
Develop your general strength and mobility (GSM)
This also has a direct impact over running economy, but I am listing it separately so that it looks more important. Because it is.
- Establish and commit to a regular pre- and post-run routine that involves activating and strengthening your (1) core, (2) hips, and (3) posterior chain (low back, glutes, hamstrings, etc.). This does not have to be crazy, but it does have to be regular.
- Engage with mobility and flexibility often. Yoga's good. So is dynamic stretching, static stretching, active isolated flexibility, myofascial release techniques, and any number of other ways to get your stiff parts moving fluidly. It's the long game, too, so make it a habit.
Raise your aerobic ceiling
Nothing impacts the overall running experience more than aerobic capacity (for distance runners). I'm not going to try to debate the science or methodology here. I'm just going to emphasize that runners at every level of the sport live and die by their aerobic ceiling. And it's super easy to raise it. Here's how I suggest going about it:
- In the early stages of a training cycle/season, spend at least a few weeks doing little more than easy running (this is where the rhythm thing comes in). During that time, slowly and incrementally build volume until you are at or near your peak volume that you hope to reach during the cycle. Once there, then you begin to add workouts.
- Run as regularly as your health or situation tolerate. If you can't run every day, find another aerobically stimulating activity to do for significant periods of time (riding, swimming, dancing, skiing, etc.) where your heart rate is elevated for the entire duration of the activity. Why? Because frequency matters a LOT in the pursuit of elevating aerobic threshold.
- Do longer workouts at slower paces. Interval training is good for only two things: (1) running harder than you are able to sustain for long periods and (2) elevating your sense of efficacy by creating short goals (individual intervals) that you can achieve successfully and find immediate gratification. If your goal is aerobic capacity, sustained hard effort running is the best option. If you can't sustain the pace for the duration desired, then you are trying to run too fast (or perhaps too long). Over time, both of those will improve.
- Last one: the long run. We all know it's good. We all know it's essential. Most of us know that it's supposed to be harder than easy effort. Few of us know that it's returns essentially compound over time. Which means we should do lots of them (assuming one per week, still).
Let me bluntly state that the Runner's World 12- or 16-week marathon training plan is as close to rubbish as it can be without being totally worthless. The idea that you slowly build your long run over time until you finally run your longest one 3-4 weeks before your marathon race is absurd.
The point of the long run is to build aerobic capacity and muscular endurance. Why are you waiting until a few weeks before your race to maximize that benefit?
Here's the obvious truth that makes everyone slap their foreheads: you should be focusing on building your long run as early in the training cycle as possible so that you can then repeat that LR as many times as possible as you prepare for the race.
Actually, the same goes for training volume in general, which is also why I suggest that a marathon training cycle should be more like 20 weeks (or more), but for most, that apparently feels extreme.
Now might be a good moment to just briefly mention that we do (and have for years) help runners develop training plans. I am a firm believer that anything short of a personal, customized plan designed around your past experiences, current potential, and future goals is trash. So our approach is a lot more hands-on than most. If you think we might have something to offer you in your training, feel free to contact us any time!
A Quick Summary
It's a long post, so let me distill it.
My premise is that I think we should spend more time focusing on finding rhythm instead of looking at numbers on our watch. I feel that easy runs are the best opportunity to practice that, as well. Additionally, doing the extra work to develop things like strength and mobility always pays off.
And as mentioned, there are nearly limitless inconsistent external factors that can contribute to these things (nutrition, sleep, time of day, prior day's non-running activities, emotional/mental fatigue, etc.), so expect rhythm to vary (it may also, along those lines, be a very helpful way for you to evaluate which of those external things is positively or negatively influencing your running).
What more on training? Here are some related articles:
Raise the Roof: The Why and How for Aerobic Fitness
Becoming a Stronger Animal
A Well Oiled Machine

subset: commoncrawl


text: According to the Apple Blog at News.com, the Queen of England now has her very own I-Pod. This makes me chuckle because of a recent ipod giveaway over at Mike Industries that had people juxtapose ipods into historical events. It was pretty comical, but now, it may be a case where he preceeded reality as well. Instead of the Queen just nodding off in boredom, you may suddenly realize she is not paying attention when her foot starts tapping on the floor.


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Pattern pivots to DTC holding company
Pattern raised $60 million in debt and equity capital to fund the transition.
· less than 3 min read
Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.
Two years after rebranding from DTC agency to DTC incubator, Pattern is once again hitting refresh on its strategy. The vibe this time? Millennial-centric Williams-Sonoma.
Betting on the great indoors, Pattern is now a DTC holding company for home goods brands. The move is backed by $60 million in debt and equity capital from existing and new investors, including Kleiner Perkins, RRE Ventures, and Primary Venture Partners.
- The funding follows Pattern's $14 million Series A in 2019. Pattern is not yet profitable.
Roll-up roll call: Pattern plans to acquire between 10 and 15 DTC home goods brands "over the next few years," Chief Business Officer and cofounder Suze Dowling told Retail Brew.
- Pattern already purchased one to make the move official: GIR, short for "Get It Right," a profitable kitchen line with ~50 products.
Small businesses hunting for experienced management and better branding chops started reaching out to Pattern last year,cofounder and Executive Creative Director Emmett Shine told us.
It benefits Pattern, too. Acquisitions mean the company can leverage existing supply chains to enter new categories, Dowling said—which is a lot speedier than building a house of 10+ brands from scratch. Pattern has released two in under two years so far: Equal Parts (cookware) and Open Spaces (organization goods).
- Very Great and Win Brands are also building DTC hubs to sidestep product development challenges.
Looking ahead...reopening efforts won't diminish the home goods world's recent winning streak—an encouraging sign for Pattern's new layout. "People are going to think more about their relationship with the items they have," Shine said. "I don't think that changes if people go to the gym or office more."—HL
Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.


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Russia PM Vladimir Putin says US intervention in Syria is 'act of aggression' adds John Kerry is lying
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the US Congress had no right to approve the use of force against Syria without a decision from the UN Security Council, and that doing so would be an "act of aggression".
Putin stated that anything outside the UN Security Council is aggression, except self-defense. Now what Congress and the US Senate are doing in essence is legitimizing aggression. This is inadmissible in principle."
In remarks that could raise tension further before he hosts President Barack Obama and other G20 leaders on Thursday, Putin also said US Secretary of State John Kerry lied to Congress about the militant group al Qaeda's role in the Syrian conflict.
"They lie beautifully, of course. I saw debates in Congress. A congressman asks Mr Kerry: 'Is al Qaeda there?' He says: 'No, I am telling you responsibly that it is not'," Putin said at a meeting of his human rights council in the Kremlin.
"Al Qaeda units are the main military echelon, and they know this," he said, referring to the United States. "It was unpleasant and surprising for me – we talk to them, we proceed from the assumption that they are decent people. But he is lying and knows he is lying. It's sad."
Putin did not give any more details.
In an exchange with a senator, Kerry was asked whether it was "basically true" that the Syrian opposition had "become more infiltrated by al Qaeda over time. Kerry said: "No, that is actually basically not true. It's basically incorrect".


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Keno is one of those games you either know about or you don't. It's basically deemed as a lottery in the casino. Like the lotto, the game consists of numbered balls being drawn. The challenge is to pick the numbers that will be drawn. The game of Keno can either be rapid or slow based on the casino. By gambling on Keno on the internet you can control the pace of the game. As for me, I like live keno. You hang out in a lounge, if you wish, and enjoy. Keno is a game that you do not need to be in the lounge to enjoy and win. For example, you could put in a ticket for 20 games and then head off to compete in something else in the casino or even your room if you're staying in the casino.
Keno Game Board
The game is played on a board. The Keno board consists of 80 numbers – numbered 1 to 80. The first 40 are called the top half and the second forty are known as the bottom half.
Participating in Keno
Every round of Keno goes in the same manner. The game commences, and 20 numbers are selected. The casino might be using the ball system. Ping pong style balls are sucked up and picked, exactly like the lotto on TV. Other casinos use pc's. If a number you selected is selected, that is referred to as a "hit." When all twenty numbers have been picked, the round concludes and winning tickets are cashed-in.
There is an abundance of diversity in the game of Keno. For instance, you can select one number, 2 numbers and so forth-up to 20 numbers. Normally, you need to get a majority of your numbers to win anything. For example, if you choose six numbers, you will usually have to hit three to win your cash back.
Keno Pay outs
The pay outs in Keno are pretty decent. The chances of coming away with a win is dependent on the total numbers selected. For instance, if you select two numbers, you have a six percent chance of hitting your ticket. Each casino has their own pay outs. If you are playing on the internet, be sure you shop around for the greatest payouts first.


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While surfing last night, I saw this movie available on Amazon. I was attracted due to Patrick McGoohan and Lee Van Cleef in it. The movie itself was pretty dire, (produced around 1979) but the score, while minimal sounding and sparce in quantity seemed nice, and I watched it all the way through to see if the composer was mentioned.
At the end I saw Brian Eno's name mentioned, but that was all. A google search today showed this onIMDb:
Events In Dense Fog from album "Music for Films" Music by Brian Eno Courtesy of EG Records
Will be putting this on my Xmas list.


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Climate transparency is about to get real with this independent database
When it comes to climate change, solving the challenge seems insurmountable. Research shows that even if we cut greenhouse gas emissions now, the Earth could continue to warm. It could be decades before we start to see global warming slow down.
But scientists and companies are working on solutions — something to soak up and store the excess carbon in our atmosphere: from wild ideas like carbon-capturing balloons and industrial atmosphere scrubbing machines to enhancing nature as a remedy with offshore kelp farms or genetically modified trees.
But we need climate transparency to help us understand what is working and what isn't.
A new project called Climate TRACE is taking climate transparency to the next level by building an independent database that monitors and records emissions throughout the world. The project is a record of greenhouse gas emissions, continuously updated, in unprecedented detail.
Until now, comprehensively tracking greenhouse gas emissions has been difficult. It relies on individual countries or companies to take the initiative. But the cost of tracking devices is beyond reach for many, and often the price outweighs the possible benefits, reports Quartz. Plus, some companies or countries that can afford it to track, aren't exactly incentivized to do so.
How it works: Climate TRACE, which stands for tracking real-time atmospheric carbon emissions, is a combination of remote sensing technology and artificial intelligence. Sensors and satellites track emissions, while AI uses that data to estimate emissions in near-real-time.
"We train maching learning algorithms to match what we can see [from satellites] with what we know is true."
Gavin McCormick
Each team member of the Climate TRACE coalition behind the project is responsible for measuring emissions from a particular economic sector. Gavin McCormick, the co-founder and executive director of WattTime, a member of the project, leads a team tracking power generation emissions.
"We train machine learning algorithms to match what we can see [from satellites] with what we know is true," he told Quartz.
The team uses detailed data on power plant emissions and satellite imagery to train a computer algorithm to estimate emissions merely by looking at the photographs. Then with data from news announcements and even social media, they locate power plants and collect satellite images. These photos are sent into Climate Trace's artificial intelligence model, which generates emissions projections for power plants all across the world.
"We're doing more things like using visible light to see cloud plumes of steam coming out of power plants, and then cross-verifying against instruments that for example detect heat," Gavin McCormick told Axios. "And then really subtle things like water ripples, if a factory or power plant has cooling water in a river, we can actually tell a lot, because the river ripples from it."
The tracker offers accurate intelligence to NGOs, governments, and the UN so they can identify the worst offenders and compel them to find ways to curb emissions. Now, when a country pledges to cut emissions by 20%, Climate TRACE can hold them to their word by making it easy for anyone to check upon them.
The project is a large collaboration between many tech companies, nonprofits, and politicians, including Al Gore, funded by Google.
Climate TRACE released its first dataset in September. The interactive site allows users to play with the data — comparing emissions by country or industry across time. In recent years, the emissions from manufacturing have increased, while emissions from transportation have dropped. The data contains specific information on industries in the United States and China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, and other countries.
The future: Climate TRACE may be the most comprehensive picture to date on emissions across the globe, but they aren't the only ones working on this.
NASA researchers recently announced they can track real changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations using satellite CO2 measurements and Earth-systems modeling, reports the New York Times. The team identified slight drops in CO2 concentrations across the United States and other places, resulting from the coronavirus lockdowns in early 2020.
"When investors who are committed to net zero portfolios can see for themselves exactly what the emissions are in from companies that they are considering for inclusion in their portfolios, they can make more precise and intelligent decisions."
Al Gore
Satellite data is becoming more accurate and precise that now scientists can use it to pinpoint hot spots of greenhouse gasses and identify the source. For example, Methane Watch taps satellites to monitor methane emissions (also a greenhouse gas) in fine detail. Al Gore said that Climate TRACE could give financial investors more information on their portfolios — especially for clients that want green investments.
"When investors who are committed to net zero portfolios can see for themselves exactly what the emissions are in from companies that they are considering for inclusion in their portfolios, they can make more precise and intelligent decisions," he told Axios.
And, in the vein of climate transparency, Climate TRACE can display estimates from different sectors — like transportation and agriculture. This could provide insight into areas where governments should focus. For example, according to the project's estimates, 303.96 billion tons of carbon was released from January 2015 to December 2020, with the most coming from power generation — reinforcing that focusing on renewable, clean energy should be a priority.
We'd love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at [email protected].


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Balance your gut microbiome and satisfy your sweet tooth this smoothie Saturday with our Blueberry Pie Smoothie. It tastes like dessert, but it's packed with healthy benefits like antioxidants, prebiotic fiber, protein, and 12 live and active probiotic cultures.
Cultured Dairy: The Nutrition Benefits You Actually Need to Know
With increasing research linking the correlation between probiotics, gut health, and immunity, it's no secret that the integrity of our gut is vital to our health. Although additional factors such as stress, antibiotic usage, and individual health conditions can contribute to the condition of our gut, a focus on healthy food choices is one of the easiest ways to support the microbiome.
Several studies have shown a strong association between the gut-brain-microbiota. Probiotics introduced to the gut have been found to support immunity, improve allergies, and improve digestion.
Studies have shown that reduced diversity of healthy gut bacteria during early years is associated with an increase in food allergies during school-age years. In addition, kefir made from whole fat milk helps absorb key nutrients such as Vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamin K is important because it helps your bones absorb calcium. It's important to know that kefir contains a special trio: vitamin D, K, and calcium – all three crucial elements to support bone health.
Servings: 1 - 2Ingredients
- ½ cup Blueberry Lowfat Kefir
- ¼ cup kale leaves chopped, stem removed
- ¼ of a ripe avocado
- ½ cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- ½ banana fresh or frozen
- Blend everything together and garnish with graham crackers, blueberries, and mint leaf.


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When a makeup line representative came into the salon I was currently working for, their "less is more" approach intrigued me and I dove in head first to a world I wasn't extremely familiar with. We all grow up trying our best when it comes to makeup but are never fully taught the basics. Makeup should never be something to be afraid of, or in my opinion, overdone.
I specialize in a more natural approach to every makeup application highlighting your natural beauty with a little extra glam, all while listening to your needs and overall goal in a completed look.
Clean beauty is something I am passionate about which is why I also offer lessons in organic makeup and include these products in all of my applications. We have all the resources to take care of our skin, so why not take advantage!
I look forward to meeting you whether it be for a wedding, special event, commercial or film work or a general girls night out with a makeup party!
Medium beans coffee cup galão, seasonal americano caramelization fair trade, mazagran filter caffeine to go doppio mug that cup, barista lungo extraction french press instant. Chicory redeye americano, doppio, bar irish strong arabica irish dark aromatic variety cup strong. Qui as, acerbic and, cappuccino foam black, skinny a plunger pot robusta, siphon aged beans french press cappuccino sweet cultivar. Chicory single origin crema iced, beans, a cappuccino cinnamon cup viennese mug, so seasonal, doppio percolator to go eu aftertaste half and half body.
Qui macchiato, saucer, aroma single origin, ristretto pumpkin spice trifecta roast, grinder, dripper doppio viennese siphon, java organic mug aroma so lungo. Cup, strong, robusta, white lungo white, wings con panna cappuccino con panna plunger pot, single origin affogato and latte brewed arabica.
Co-Founder of REsurge CoWorking, a fantastic option for remote workers needing a break from home!
My business parter and soul sister.
The "H" in HMUA team.
"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."
- Gustav Flauber
These two have my entire heart, he's my biggest cheerleader and she's just the sweetest pup there ever was


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I took this picture in the nearby Anglican church, on a Sunday where there was an exhibition of various paintings and drawings. It is a dreadfully poor picture, taken from my phone, but I love the painting so much I have decided to forget about my poor photographic skills and upload it here. It shows very well an ideal autumn day, when the season is in full bloom: cool, dry, sunny and all in fiery colours. A darn shame I could not frame it properly.
Since the beginning of September, there has been an early Indian summer. It has been hot, sunny and more summery than it was at the end of August. I want to go back to the temperature we had a few weeks ago, when there was a slight chill in the air. People are quite happy about it, but I feel more like summer is overstaying its welcome. I need cooler temperature, the comfort of warm clothes and the fire of the autumn colours. It should start tomorrow, as heavy showers are being forecast, which will cool down the temperature. Even tonight, the temperature dropped a bit. I am not too keen on the rain, but if it brings the season to start properly, and if the colours follow, I am looking forward to it.
14 hours ago


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In the event that you're faced with a water damage emergency, you'll have to decide how to proceed. If you're unable to handle the repairs yourself, you should contact Water Damage Repair for assistance. A water damage restoration company will deal directly with the insurance company so that you don't have to worry about completing all of the paperwork yourself. Moreover, these companies will handle the insurance paperwork for you, so you can avoid any out-of-pocket costs.
In addition to removing damaged materials, you must replace those items that are made of porous materials. While replacing porous materials may be an expensive proposition, you can make it last longer by cleaning the affected areas. You can disinfect water-damaged areas with a bleach solution to kill any traces of bacteria and mold. After removing the water, you can start drying out the water-damaged materials. You can also disinfect items with disinfectant solutions, such as chlorine bleach.
During a leak, greywater or wastewater may seep into the property. These contaminated waters may contain chemicals, sewage, and soap scum. Some of these substances may be harmful to human health. These are considered category 2 water damage. Fortunately, most people are capable of cleaning up the water damage on their own. However, if the damage involves Blackwater, you'll need to contact a water damage restoration company immediately.
Once the water has stopped, the next step in DIY water damage repair is to remove damaged items. This may require professional assistance as certain materials are hazardous. Drywall and insulation may pose a health risk, and waterlogged drywall can be hazardous. You can hire a company that handles these tasks for you. Alternatively, you can call a water damage restoration company to complete the cleanup process for you. So, whether you're unable to remove the damaged items yourself or not, water damage restoration is essential for preventing the damage from spreading.
Untreated water damage can lead to a variety of health hazards, including mold and bacteria. Additionally, the water can lead to appliance malfunctions and structural damage. There are two main phases of water damage restoration: water extraction and cleanup, and structural repairs. Once water damage restoration is completed, your home will be in much better shape than before. In the meantime, contact your insurance company for assistance. They will send an estimater to assess the damages.
Water damage remediation is the process of cleaning up and sanitizing damaged areas. The work involves removing water from a property, drying, dehumidifying, and restoring materials and surfaces. Although it is not flood clean-up, water damage remediation is often considered the same thing. Water damage remediation also includes leaks and other types of water-related problems. This type of damage can lead to mold, bacteria, and wood rot.
The process of water damage repair can take a while. In some cases, walls, flooring, and possessions can be damaged beyond repair. If you have taken steps to protect your home from further flood damage, your insurance company may reduce the costs associated with rebuilding. When you start rebuilding your home, you should work closely with a builder or contractor. They can keep the construction on schedule and ensure the materials used are quality ones. But, if you have no idea how to handle such a project, it can be daunting.
The process of water damage cleanup begins with the assessment of the damaged area. This assessment is necessary in order to determine the appropriate cleanup procedure and cost. The cost of water damage cleanup will depend on the source and severity of the damage. If you don't have the skills or experience to handle the task, contacting a professional water damage cleanup company is the best choice. If you're unsure of your own abilities, a professional can assess your home and determine whether it's safe to try to clean it yourself. The cost of water damage cleanup may also depend on whether or not the insurance company requires a professional assessment.
Mold remediation is another process that's necessary after a water damage. It can grow in the damaged area and cause a large amount of damage. It may also require removal of all surfaces. While you can attempt to eliminate mold by drying out the area, you should still get a mold inspection before you do anything. The best way to make sure there's no overlooked mold is to hire a water damage restoration company. It's important to keep in mind that mold remediation is a time-consuming process.


text: Review Submission GuidelinesIf you'd like to submit a review, all I ask is that you follow these simple guidelines. If you submitted a review and you didn't follow them, expect it to be kicked back to you with comments. If you need to know what games need to be reviewed, just check the individual sections for each console. Any title that isn't a link has yet to be reviewed. 1. If you can't string together a coherent sentence, don't even bother submitting a review. Seriously. It'll be sent back to you immediately. For example, if I receive a review that reads "I like donkey kong so you should buy DONKEY KONG CLASSICS its great and classic", I'm liable to just delete the email, never mind sending it back to you. Look at the reviews posted here to get an idea of what I'm looking for. Minor spelling and grammar errors aren't a problem, of course, but I'm not here to completely proofread your reviews before posting them. So if you would, please try to make sure that there aren't any major flubs. Remember: spellcheck is your friend. 2. When writing a compilation review, it isn't necessary to write detailed reviews of every single game on the cart/disc. Brief writeups are fine, and of course if there's a problem with the emulation of any of the games (lag, slowdown, missing characters, missing background layers, noticeable frame cuts, etc.), definitely make a note of that. But detailed reviews aren't necessary. Most of the games on these comps are classic arcade and console titles, and there are dozens of websites out there that do offer detailed reviews of each individual game. A Google search will bring them right up. 3. Include the following in your reviews: who released the game, what platform it's on, what year it was released, what media it's on (cartridge/CD/DVD), status (out of print/available now), how many players can play and whether or not two, three or four player games are simultaneous or alternating. Most importantly, include your name or the name you want to be credited by. You do want credit for your review, right? 4. When reviewing a compilation, a list of the games on it must be included with the review. I don't plan to do a load of research just to find out what's on it. That's your job. 5. The following factors must be addressed when reviewing compilations: Worth the purchase. That one's pretty simple. For example, is this comp worth spending $50 on, or should you wait for it to go on clearance? Diversity. Is there a great selection of games on the disc, or are there only two or three? If it's a comp devoted to a particular series (Gradius or R-Type, for example), were enough games from the series included to justify spending your money on it, or did the company that released it drop the ball and only include two titles when they could have included more? Playability. Is there a major crapup with the controls? How do they stack up to their original versions? Understandably, most of us won't have the original arcade cabs to compare the games to in the case of arcade titles, but do they feel right to you? Hidden gems, aka "The Bosconian factor". Did you discover a game on this compilation that you ended up playing more than any other game on the disc, even the ones that you bought the game for? Let us know! Of course, if there aren't any, there aren't any. Just make a note of that in the review. Scores are not necessary to include (rating from 1 to 10 for each category and the like) and will be omitted from the published review if included. Also, if you're writing a review for an online sequel or remake, the diversity and hidden gem factors obviously don't apply. 6. It's not necessary to include screenshots when you send me your reviews, but if you want to, go right ahead. That means less work for me, and may mean your review gets posted quicker. 7. At the moment, I'm not accepting reviews for Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network games, despite the listings posted to the left. I will be once I've worked out the criteria for those reviews. Once I'm ready, I'll post the news in the What's New section. Online sequels, on the other hand, are fair game. However, since those are just single games, I expect full reviews covering all of the important aspects of them, as well as what services they're available for. Finally, remember this: this is strictly a part-time thing for me, and I don't expect it to be anything other than part-time for you. Submit as many or as few reviews as you want, but don't feel that you have to shove reviews into my inbox on a regular basis. However, since it is a part-time thing for me, don't be surprised if time passes before your reviews are posted. I have a life: I have West Mansion to update, The Chronicles of the Raven to work on and my job to go to, so it's not like I'm sitting by my inbox waiting for new submissions. That's it. I'm looking forward to your reviews!


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Description – Resort: Arinsal (Vallnord)
Our Rating:
Accommodation Type: Hotel
Board Basis: Bed & Breakfast or Room only
The Hotel Comapedrosa enjoys an enviable location, situated in the centre of the village next to the cafe's bars & restaurants and also just 30 metres to the main gondola making this a superb location.
The hotel has 27 en-suite rooms all equipped with a TV with satellite channels and a DVD player as well as a safety deposit box. The bathrooms have a shower, toilet and wash basin as well as free toiletries and a hairdryer.
The Hotel Comapedrosa has a small cosy restaurant that offers breakfast however the rooms are also available on a room only basis.
The hotel also has a bar on the ground floor which is open till 0200 and is popular with some of the locals. A large selection of drinks are on offer as well as table football.
A great place to stay for those looking for budget accommodation in the centre of the village and next to all the action.
** Tourist Tax payable on arrival – pay directly to the accommodation
General Facilities
✔ Wifi
✔ Bar
✔ Restaurant
✔ Lounge area
✔ Snack bar
✔ Ski lockers
✔ Reception 24 hours
✔ Free parking
✔ Pets allowed on request
✔ Safety deposit box
Room Types
Single, Double, Triple.
In the centre of the village and just 30 metres from the main gondola
Airport Transfers
- Private Transfer from any airport
- Shuttle Bus from Barcelona Airport T1 & T2
- Shuttle Bus from Toulouse
Approx. Journey Times
- from Barcelona Airport: 3 hours and 30 minutes
- from Toulouse Airport: 3 hours
- from Lleida Airport: 3 hours


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The cousso tree (Hagenia abyssinica) is native to Abyssinia, where it is generally planted about the villages on the high tablelands, from 3,000 to 8,000 feet above the sea level. Bruce (105) observed its uses, 1768-1773, during his expedition to discover the sources of the Nile, and Willdenow (385), 1799, described it under the name Hagenia. Its use as a vermifuge was derived from Abyssinian domestic practice, the decoction being used for this purpose. In early European record an extraordinarily high price was asked for this substance. It was introduced in 1850 by a Frenchman, who demanded in the neighborhood of $9 per ounce. This led to its importation in quantities, when the value soon fell to a normal standard.
The History of the Vegetable Drugs of the U.S.P., 1911, was written by John Uri Lloyd.


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Known as the sunshine state, we are blessed in Florida with an abundance of sunshine, short winters, and long summers. Like any other state, we have our share of problems. One of those is annoying and irritating weeds. Weeds can put a damper on any well-maintained lawn, and once your yard has one, they seem to grow like a bad cold. This can significantly impact the exterior of your home and cause a myriad of allergies that make any outdoor activity miserable.
What are the most common weeds in northern Florida? With our variety of different grasses, including St. Augustine, Centipede, Zoysia, and Bermuda, it's hard to keep track of the various weeds and prevent them. We've taken the liberty of compiling a list so you can identify not only them but also have a better understanding of how best to avoid each one.
Crabgrass receives its name because it grows low to the ground and contains stems that protrude outward from its center, resembling crab legs. It's an annual weed whose seeds germinate during the spring and summer. Crabgrass thrives in hot, dry conditions. It loves thin, weakened, compacted soil because bare lawns allow the sunlight to hit the soil directly. With one crabgrass weed being able to reproduce 150,000 seeds during the growing season, no wonder it's a tough weed to control. Crabgrass tends to crowd out any good grasses that have become weakened.
How to Prevent Crabgrass
The best way to discourage crabgrass from appearing in your yard is by maintaining a thick, full, healthy lawn. A pre-emergent can be utilized in early summer to help stop crabgrass from growing and spreading.
Named chickweed because it is the favorite food of chickens, it is an annual broadleaf, and it germinates in the fall. Chickweed is technically an herb and can be used in salads or broken down to make use for components of oils. Although it has various purposes, it is considered a weed because it is unappealing to the eye. Chickweed grows to be about eight inches in height and has hair covering its entire length. Here in northern Florida, it sprouts during the winter months.
Ways to Combat Chickweed
The best way to prevent chickweed is by growing a thick, healthy lawn. Watering your lawn infrequently but deeply also helps to keep chickweed at bay since it prefers damp soil.
Nutsedges are known as such because they look like grasses and can be one of the most challenging weeds to control here in Pensacola, Florida. It likes to invade and infect your garden and surrounding greenery. The key to halting this weed from destroying your lawn is to identify it early. The two sedge species we have here in Florida are yellow nutsedge and purple nutsedge. While yellow is often more prevalent than purple nutsedge, the two are often found appearing together.
Yellow Nutsedge
Yellow nutsedge has a long yellow leaf tip with a yellow seedhead. Its leaves are lighter than it's cohort and can grow to be 12 to 16 inches tall.
Purple Nutsedge
With purple nutsedge, the Leaves taper abruptly to a blunt point, and the seed head is purple. It's shorter than it's yellow counterpart at approximately six inches when mature.
Stopping Nutsedge From Ruining Your Pensacola Lawn
Nutsedge is one of the most difficult weeds to control. It thrives in damp, humid weather and prefers lots of sun. It loves areas of pooling and standing water, so having proper drainage is important in preventing this vial weed. Annual aerating and seeding is also highly recommended to help fill in bare spots where weeds have previously been killed.
Having a Hard Time Identifying and Targeting Weeds? LawnMaster is Here for You
Lawn Master has a team of highly trained professionals that will come out to your home or commercial property to assess your landscaping needs, give you a quote, and take care of any weed control issues you might have. We offer a lawn care program that includes both pre and post-emergent weed control for the best prevention of these obnoxious weeds. We also offer a separate weed control service for those unable to invest in our full lawn care program.
At Lawn Master, we know it's a time-consuming and grueling task to pull all your own weeds, and even more of a chore to figure out how to prevent them.
Give us a call now at 850-476-1601 to set up an appointment or contact us below!


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A Heavily Regulated Industry
The Varied Objectives of Financial Regulation
The Evolving Nature of Financial Regulation
Until the early 1970s, the various national systems of banking regulation had largely monetary objectives. Controls on commercial banking activity (including administratively set interest rates, quantitative limits on credit expansion, and reserve requirements) were imposed for the purpose of preventing the over- or under-expansion of the money and bank credit supply. In addition, in many countries, including the UK and France, the state sought to direct the flow of available credit towards certain economic areas and activities, and away from others. Another policy concern related to the conditions of competition within the banking industry; the prevailing theories, however, had very little to do with the theories and policies of modern competition law. Thus, regulation used to be justified in terms of the avoidance of market concentration and monopolistic tendencies in the provision of banking services, either at the national or at the local level; today, however, we know that economies of scale in banking are not unlimited so as to raise the specter of a natural monopoly. The cartelization of financial markets was tolerated, however, if not actively encouraged. The total effect of regulated interest rates, credit controls, and limits on branching was to severely curtail opportunities for robust competition. In any event, "excessive" competition was discouraged, since it could undermine the profitability of banks and eventually lead to failures. As for the protection of depositors against the consequences of bank failure, this was addressed primarily through the extension of a safety net in the form of formal deposit insurance and/or the provision of implicit state guarantees in support of bank liabilities.1
Since then, both the economic conditions and the conceptual assumptions under which financial institutions operate, have changed dramatically. The last decades of the 20th century were marked by a great global wave of financial liberalization. Direct regulatory controls with monetary objectives almost disappeared. Their perverse economic side effects reduced their attractiveness as a policy tool, especially since their effectiveness was rapidly diminishing, due to market innovations as well as the gradual dismantling of the old system of exchange controls and its substitution by the almost unlimited freedom of movement of capital. By dispelling the notion that mandatory reserve requirements and other regulatory restrictions on the expansion of bank assets and liabilities are necessary (as distinct from helpful, or convenient) for the implementation of monetary policy and by insisting on the sufficiency of market-based approaches,2 theoretical developments in the field of monetary economics have played a crucial role in this trend.
The new environment has, however, brought new priorities to the fore. In particular, from 1973 on, bank failures – a phenomenon unknown in the early post-War period – have become increasingly common, bringing to the center of regulatory attention the problem of excessive risk-taking by banks and its subsidization by the state through the provision of a safety net. The instability of the new financial environment eventually led to the global financial crisis in 2007-2009, turning financial regulation into a highly salient political issue.
At the same time, the growing financialization of the economy, also at the retail level, and the rising importance of capital markets − both as a conduit for the financing of the real economy and as a destination for household savings, either in the form of direct securities investments or indirectly through life assurance programs and collective investment schemes − have increased the economic significance and political salience of the non-banking segments of the financial industry. The protection of investors has thus emerged as an important policy priority, both per se, that is, as a form of protection for a large class of citizens, and as a means of promoting the growth of the relevant markets by building confidence in their integrity and by ensuring their smooth operation.
Under the pressure of these developments, over the past four decades, financial regulation has refocused on new objectives. Of course, the regulatory regime's existing objectives are not ipso facto optimal or even justifiable. There is a close logical link between a public measure's objectives and the underlying justifications or reasons for adopting it.3 Are these reasons valid? The matter is always open for discussion. An additional question is whether the objectives, as reflected in binding legal norms or in authoritative policy statements, are sufficiently coherent and whether they can properly inform the use of the regime's operational tools.
The Objectives of Financial Regulation as Set Out in Global Standards
Authoritative but rather vague descriptions of the general regulatory objectives can be found in reports of the global standard-setting bodies with responsibility for the three main financial sectors (banking, securities and insurance). By the late 1990s, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) had all produced high-level regulatory principles of world-wide applicability for their respective sectors.4 The global sectoral standards may or may not embody a conceptually coherent view of the regulatory tasks but they certainly reflect, and at the same time unify and consolidate, the supervisory community's self-understanding of its function. Thus, they are a good starting point for an analysis of current official approaches to regulation.
Each set of principles approaches the question of regulatory objectives in a distinct way.
With regard to banking regulation, the BCBS's core principles require countries to specify clearly the responsibilities and objectives of the authorities involved in supervision and to equip them with sufficient powers for bank licensing, ongoing supervision, enforcement of compliance with applicable legal norms, and the taking of timely corrective actions to address safety and soundness concerns.5 The commentary specifies that the responsibilities and objectives of each of the authorities involved in banking supervision should be clearly defined in legislation and publicly disclosed. It also defines the primary objective of banking supervision, which is "to promote the safety and soundness of banks and the banking system."6 This turns out to be not simply a core objective but the overriding one, as it is further stated that, "if the banking supervisor is assigned broader responsibilities, these [should be] subordinate to the primary objective and [should] not conflict with it."7 From this viewpoint, banking supervision is first and foremost (though not exclusively) about prudential controls.8
The BCBS principles recognize that "banking supervision" – that is, the specialist banking regulatory agency and its machinery – is only part of the arrangements necessary to ensure stability in financial markets. Other governance elements ("preconditions") are identified as being indispensable for the effectiveness of banking regulation in the narrow sense, namely: sound and sustainable macroeconomic policies; a well-established framework for financial stability policy formulation; a well-developed public infrastructure; a clear framework for crisis management, recovery and resolution; an appropriate level of systemic protection (or public safety net); and effective market discipline.9 This opens the road to a broader conception of regulation, which is not confined to what the regulator is (tasked with) doing. Nonetheless, the BCBS's objectives are confined to the core (prudential and/or stability-related) tasks of banking regulators and do not include other bank-related objectives, such as competition, financial inclusion, the fight against financial crime, or the protection of bank clients in their capacity as consumers.
For the insurance sector, the overall objective, or task, of supervision is "to maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders."10 In this case, it is the protection of direct stakeholders, specifically the policyholders, rather than any systemic consideration which holds center stage. For the remainder, it is recognized that the precise objectives may vary by jurisdiction, that the supervisor's mandate may include several objectives, and that these may change over time according to the evolution of financial markets and prevailing conditions.11 It is essential, however, that the applicable objectives be clearly defined.12
One should note that the interests of policyholders are at risk from the potential inability of insurance firms to honor their financial obligations (often of a very long-term nature). The preservation of the insurance firm's assets and its prudent financial management are necessary in order for the contracts to fulfil their intended economic role, but it is beyond the capacity of individual stakeholders to monitor the situation, and private law's remedies are inappropriate for this purpose. Policyholders are at risk, however, from the terms and manner of promotion of insurance contracts, the content and implications of which many of them may find difficult to understand and evaluate. Information asymmetries between insurers and their clients abound, and the possibility of mis-selling and sharp practices is ubiquitous. Accordingly, for the implementation of insurance regulation's objective, it is necessary for the regulatory regime to rely on prudential and conduct-of-business requirements in equal parts.
Ultimately, with regard to securities regulation, IOSCO identifies three objectives: protecting investors; ensuring that markets are fair, efficient, and transparent; and reducing systemic risk.13 The most recent version of the IOSCO standard does not include further commentary but identical detailed explanations can be found in all previous editions.14 Thus, in IOSCO's view:
The three objectives are closely related and, in some respects, overlap. Many of the requirements that help to ensure fair, efficient and transparent markets also provide investor protection and help to reduce systemic risk. Similarly, many of the measures that reduce systemic risk provide protection for investors.15
Investor protection means protection from a variety of misleading, manipulative, or fraudulent practices, both by the intermediaries who provide professional services to investors and by issuers of financial instruments and by third-party participants in trading activities. IOSCO's discussion of the objectives points to all these issues emphasizing the need for disclosure and accounting requirements and equitable treatment of investors, while also noting that the capacity of individual investors to privately enforce such requirements may be limited.16 Notably, the IOSCO text further refers to the need for capital requirements, as a way of protecting investors and counterparties from the risk of direct financial default.17
Ensuring that markets are fair, efficient, and transparent − especially by preventing improper trading practices and ensuring equal access for market users, the fair treatment of trade orders, and reliable price formation process based on transparency − can be seen as both another aspect of the previous objective of investor protection and as a means towards achieving the wider economic purposes of market building.18 The latter, however, are not discussed explicitly.
Significantly, IOSCO recognizes the reduction of systemic risk as a parallel objective of securities regulation. In particular, it considers that securities intermediaries should be subject to capital and other prudential requirements, not only in order to protect individual counterparties but also to prevent systemic damage. Efficient and accurate clearing and settlement processes also contribute to this objective, which is further served by effective and legally secure arrangements for default handling.19
Regulatory Objectives in National Law: The Case of the UK
In contrast to the global standards, statements of the objectives of financial regulation in express and general terms are rarely found in national legislation. Instead, the objectives are often implied by the subject matter and structure of the regulatory scheme or, in cases where they are explicitly stated in the text, their significance is limited to the narrower set of issues covered by the particular enactment. This is not the case, however, in the UK, where the establishment in 2000 of a unified regulatory and supervisory system, operating on the basis of a single statute and a single regulatory agency for the entire financial industry, enabled the legislator to state authoritatively the overall regulatory objectives. Originally, four objectives were set out:
maintaining confidence in the UK's financial system ("market confidence objective");
promoting public understanding of the financial system, especially through the promotion of public awareness regarding the benefits and risks associated with different kinds of investment or other financial dealing and the provision of appropriate information and advice ("public awareness objective");
securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers ("protection of consumers objective"); and
reducing the extent to which the financial sector may be used for purposes connected with financial crime ("reduction of financial crime objective").20
As a result of the UK's shift from a single financial regulator to a "twin peaks" model,21 with separate prudential and conduct-of-business authorities (the Prudential Regulation Authority, or PRA, and the Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA), the objectives are currently set out separately for each authority. Accordingly, the PRA is entrusted with a general objective and a sectoral objective relating only to the insurance field, namely:
promoting the safety and soundness of the persons (primarily deposit-takers and insurance companies, but also certain investment firms) authorised by it ("general objective"); and
contributing to the securing of an appropriate degree of protection for those who are or may become policyholders ("insurance objective").22
Interestingly, the general objective has a clear systemic colouring, since it must be advanced primarily by "seeking to ensure that [regulated entities carry on their business] in a way which avoids any adverse effect on the stability of the UK financial system", as well as by "seeking to minimise the adverse effect that the failure of a [regulated entity] could be expected to have on the stability of the UK financial system".23 For its part, the FCA is entrusted with one "strategic" and three "operational" objectives, which it must promote through its rule-making, guidance-giving, and policy-making actions.24
The former is extremely broad and imprecise, since it consists in:
ensuring that the relevant markets function well ("strategic objective").
The operational objectives include:
securing an appropriate degree of protection for consumers ("consumer protection objective");
protecting and enhancing the integrity of the UK financial system ("integrity objective"); and
promoting effective competition in the interests of consumers in financial markets ("competition objective").
The FSMA provides more detailed guidance on the meaning of the operational objectives. In particular, it explicates that the appropriate degree of protection of consumers is contingent on differences in the risk characteristics of various investments, differences between consumers in terms of their experience, expertise and expectations, consumers' needs for information and advice, etc.25 This opens the road for distinctions, depending on the particular financial markets and products, and, in particular, for a differentiated treatment of retail and wholesale users of financial services. It is also specified that the "integrity objective" relates to a variety of more specific objectives, some of which are of a prudential and/or systemic nature, while others address issues of market organization and the fight against various types of criminal misconduct.26 Thus, alongside the soundness, stability, and resilience of the UK financial system, its "integrity" is said to depend on the orderly operation of financial markets and the transparency of their price formation process as well as on the prevention of phenomena of market abuse or of the misuse of the financial system for purposes connected with "financial crime". The latter is defined to include any offense involving fraud or dishonesty, misconduct in, or misuse of information relating to a financial market, handling the proceeds of crime, or the financing of terrorism.27 Lastly, the competition objective goes beyond typical questions of general competition law, to cover a much broader assessment of the efficiency and quality of the operation of the financial market. Relevant considerations, which can influence the FCA's rule- and policy-making, include the extent to which the market responds to informational and other needs of different categories of consumers, the access of consumers to financial services (including access by those facing social exclusion or economic deprivation), the ease with which consumers can move from one financial service provider to another, the ease with which new providers can enter the market, and the extent to which competition is encouraging innovation.28
General Objectives of European Financial Regulation
While regulatory objectives may be defined at the national level, as in the case of the UK, it remains true that, for all EU Member States, financial regulatory policy is increasingly determined at the supranational level.29 It is at this level that the most important questions of regulatory policy are answered in the form of primary legislation (directives and regulations of the Parliament and the Council) and further elaborated by means of additional legal instruments. The latter include delegated and implementing measures of the Commission as well as "technical standards", which are formally adopted by the Commission but are drafted by the three European Supervisory Agencies (ESAs), that is, the European Banking Authority (EBA),30 the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA),31 and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).32 The ESAs were established in the wake of the global financial crisis as sector-based pan-European regulatory authorities.33
One can gain a bird's-eye perspective on the general objectives of the European regulatory approach by looking at the relevant provisions of the instruments establishing the ESAs. Interestingly, these define the objectives of all three authorities in almost identical terms.34 This implies that, in the eyes of the European legislator, there are no categorical differences between the respective sectors, and that any distinctions are either superficial or dependent on questions of degree. Thus, the ESAs' common overarching objective is to promote the public interest by contributing to:
the short, medium and long-term stability and effectiveness of the financial system.
More specifically, leaving aside the integration objectives (which are inherent in the European dimension of the regime and particular to it), they must contribute to:
the integrity, transparency, efficiency and orderly functioning of financial markets;
the establishment of equal conditions of competition;
the appropriate regulation and supervision of financial institutions' risk-taking activities; and
the enhancement of customer protection.35
Again, in all cases, systemic risk is singled out as a special cause for concern. It is thus stressed that, in carrying on their tasks, the ESAs must "pay particular attention to any systemic risk posed by financial institutions, the failure of which may impair the operation of the financial system or the real economy".36
The dominant role of systemic risk in post-crisis regulatory thinking is also evident in the emergence of a separate system of macro-prudential oversight of financial developments. It is now felt that prudential regulation and supervision as it applies to financial institutions individually can contribute to the preservation of systemic stability, but is not sufficient for this purpose.37 The pre-crisis assumption was that the observance of prescribed standards of safety by individual financial institutions would ensure, in the aggregate, systemic stability. This was a fallacy of composition. In reality, the supervisory tools cannot guarantee the achievement of the macro-prudential objectives, because they can only detect idiosyncratic failures in particular institutions but are not suitable for identifying system-wide interactions and anticipating adverse macro-financial developments. For this reason, a special pan-European body, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), has now been entrusted with the task of continuously monitoring and assessing systemic risks, taking into account both developments within the financial system and wider macroeconomic developments, and recommending measures for their containment.38 The ESRB's macro-prudential objectives39 overlap with the macro-prudential objectives of financial regulation, but its tasks are complementary to those of financial supervisors. From another perspective, one might wonder whether certain tools employed by macro-prudential regulators in Europe and elsewhere (such as reserve requirements, caps on loan-to-value ratios, especially for mortgage lending, etc.40) do not mark a blurring of the distinction between monetary, macroeconomic, and financial regulation as well as an unremarked return to controls with mixed objectives, as was the case in the early post-WWII period.41
Significantly, European policy statements tend to draw the positive implications of financial regulation for the economy's wider growth dynamics more starkly than the global and national texts discussed above. From this perspective, regulation may be seen less as a system of protection than as an indispensable form of market-building and, accordingly, as serving general economic policy objectives rather than objectives related to the interests (whether individual or collective) of the financial markets' immediate stakeholders. The domination of public objectives over private ones is evident in a recent Commission policy paper, in which the identified objectives of the Union's financial regulatory agenda (financial stability, financial integration, market integrity and confidence, and efficiency) are, in the final analysis, meant to serve a single "overriding objective" of a general economic nature: "to create a financial system that serves the economy and facilitates sustainable economic growth".42
Academic Classifications
Certain themes reappear with remarkable regularity in the official texts. For evident reasons, these are also highlighted in the academic literature. Thus, an influential study identifies systemic stability and consumer protection as the key objectives of financial regulation, with a third objective, namely competition, playing a much more limited role.43 Consumer protection, however, has a dual aspect: it relates, on the one hand, to the avoidance of the financial losses that a financial institution's failure may inflict on its clients (prudential objective) and, on the other, to the protection of clients against objectionable behavior on the part of the intermediaries (conduct-of-business objective).44
Evidently, both the prudential side of consumer protection and systemic stability require the observance of adequate standards of safety and soundness at the level of individual institutions. For this reason, regulators are bound to pursue both objectives largely in unison and through identical tools, including financial controls (such as capital adequacy and liquidity requirements, limits on large exposures, or rules on asset investment), corporate governance requirements, and, possibly, structural controls (or limits on the activities that institutions of a specific description may undertake). The two objectives thus define jointly the terrain of prudential regulation. This leaves us with two generic types of regulation and supervision:
prudential regulation, focusing on the economic viability of financial institutions and aiming at (a) the personal protection of their clients against the risk of default; and (b) the protection of the financial system in general against the risk of contagious failures and/or large-scale financial crises (a purely public objective); and
conduct-of-business regulation, aiming at the compliance of financial institutions (especially securities and insurance firms) with acceptable standards of behavior in their bilateral relationships with their clients.45
The distinction between the two types of regulation is highly important for the architecture of the financial regulatory system. The best-known proposal in this regard is Michael Taylor's "twin peaks" model, according to which financial regulation must be organized in two pillars, based on the main objectives and tools: a prudential supervisory agency for banks and a single conduct-of-business agency.46 At first, Australia (1996–2001)47 and, more recently, the UK (2012) implemented variations of this model.48 For Europe as a whole, the idea was voiced in the de Larosière Report,49 but has not yet been followed.
In the prudential field, one could still distinguish between the prudential regulation of institutions whose potential failure is presumed to have systemic implications (in particular, banks), to which both objectives apply, and the prudential regulation of other institutions (such as most securities intermediaries and insurance companies) whose objective is limited to the protection of their immediate clients and counterparties. This distinction may have implications for the differentiation of the regulatory objectives and approaches across sectors. The traditional assumption is that banks, due to their specific financial structure and/or mutual links, raise particular systemic concerns.50 In contrast, while insurance companies (especially life assurance companies) require strict prudential controls for the protection of policyholders, they are of little systemic importance. The same applies to securities firms, which may not even require substantial prudential controls at the individual level, because they do not issue liabilities to retail clients. However, the situation may have changed. Financial walls between the sectors have broken down as a result of the emergence of financial conglomerates. The increasingly strong interconnections between banks and other intermediaries, especially through complex securities financing transactions, suggest that the sectors can no longer be distinguished on this basis.
The distinction may, however, serve as a criterion for the allocation of supervisory tasks. Prudential responsibilities could, accordingly, be assigned to a different authority for each category.51 Still, it is interesting to note that the recent emergence of macro-prudential oversight weakens this distinction. Macro-prudential oversight has solely public (systemic) objectives but, due to its focus on concentrations of exposures across financial institutions, interconnectedness, and vulnerabilities to common shocks, the scope of its assessments cannot be limited to the "systemically significant" institutions but must cover all segments of the financial industry. Moreover, some of its tools apply generally – even though banks are bound to be affected more immediately than other intermediaries.
As for conduct-of-business regulation, it might be useful to treat it separately from another broad category of regulatory interventions, namely the regulation of organized financial markets, including payment and settlement systems, and market-based transactions. The former focuses on the intermediary-client relationship. In contrast, market regulation relates to the organization of multilateral markets and exchanges, the specification of transactional procedures and traded products, their membership rules, the oversight of members' activities, and the policing of trading rules, etc.; and its objectives are more diverse and, in a certain sense, wider. The primary objective of conduct-of-business regulation is the individual protection of clients. One could interpret market regulation in related terms, as a form of collective consumer protection, but this would not tell the whole story. The existence of organized, standardized, and continuous financial markets has broader implications. In this sense, market regulation is primarily about market-building and economic efficiency.52 These are public-interest objectives.53 The vague terms typically used to define the objectives of market regulation (such as fairness, integrity, efficiency, or orderly operation) obfuscate its forward-looking, economic-policy-based elements and weak connection to the narrower private interests of investors.54
Beyond the Core Objectives
It should be noted that the official definitions of regulatory objectives discussed above, just like the associated academic debates, relate to the mandate, tasks, and organizational structure of the main financial supervisory agencies, namely those responsible for the licensing and continuous supervision of regulated enterprises and markets. The objectives of financial regulation may appear in a different light if one extends the discussion to cover the complete network of legal norms and regulatory interventions affecting the financial sector.
In a very broad sense, financial regulation would therefore include the "regulation" of contractual or transactional behavior, even when this relies on civil liabilities or criminal prohibitions rather than administrative enforcement.55 Even within the confines of public law,56 however, certain matters may fall outside the purview and administrative responsibility of the main agencies. And in many cases, relevant intervention will not be part of an overarching regime but will take the form of issue-specific enactments and enforcement regimes, with discrete, special objectives.
In particular, the financial sector is not exempt from the application of competition law, a horizontal policy.57 In most market segments, competition is fierce but several supporting systems (for instance, payment and clearing systems, credit card networks, etc.) are characterized by network economies and/or strong economies of scale, thus raising competition issues (prevention of abuse of a dominant position or anticompetitive agreements, provision of rights of access, system interoperability). Merger controls may also be relevant in connection with larger intermediaries. The most important concern, however, may be state aid, including that in the form of bailouts for failing banks.58
It is also common practice to establish special administrative enforcement tools in support of interests of a primarily private nature. This is true for a variety of cases, such as consumer credit and payment services in the banking field. Social regulation makes its appearance more rarely, for instance in the form of mandatory provision of basic transactional account services by banks as a means of combating financial exclusion.59
Finally, the regulatory regime may be put in the service of anti-crime policy. The example of the UK, where the fight against financial crime is included in the objectives of the main regulatory agencies, has already been mentioned. Yet regulatory requirements against money laundering bind financial institutions the world over.60 In this case, the regulatory regime supports the enforcement of criminal law without, however, determining its content. Of course, more often than not, the relationship will take the opposite course, meaning that various duties created under the regulatory regime will be enforced by way of criminal penalties. A conspicuous example is the criminal enforcement of the European market abuse regime.61
When all these facets are taken into account, it becomes clear that the objectives of financial regulation are neither clear-cut nor static. The identification of core objectives has a certain usefulness. In particular, it is important for determining the regulatory system's general architecture. It can also support coherent policy-making and inform individual supervisory decisions in the core areas. But it cannot delimit the field of financial regulation or prevent the grafting of new purposes and directions onto its evolving framework.
Prof. Dr. Christos Hadjiemmanuil
Professor of International and European Monetary and Financial Institutions at the University of Piraeus, Greece
Visiting Professor at the Department of Law, London School of Economics
On 1960s regulatory thinking, see A.H. Meltzer, 'Major Issues in the Regulation of Financial Institutions', Journal of Political Economy, vol. 75, 1967, pp. 482–501. On UK banking policies in the early post-WWII period (1945–70), see C. Hadjiemmanuil, Banking Regulation and the Bank of , LLP, , 1996, pp. 3‒26.↩
See M. Goodfriend and R.G. King, 'Financial Deregulation, Monetary Policy, and Central Banking', Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Review, vol. 74:3 (May-June 1988), pp. 4–8.↩
For present purposes, it is unnecessary to delve into the distinction between public justification of regulatory measures (that is, their putative economic rationale and/or the rationalizations offered in their support) and the private reasons of their promoters and legislators (that is, their motives for working towards the enactment or implementation of such measures). See, e.g., G.J. Benston, Regulating Financial Markets: A Critique and Some Proposals, AEI Press, Washington, D.C., 1999, pp. 7‒11. Public choice theory teaches that regulatory intervention frequently serves, not the general public interest in market efficiency, economic growth, minimization of risk and the like, but the narrower private interests of its promoters. Since the present discussion is merely intended to describe the stated objectives of the current system of financial regulation, it is sufficient to assume that the officially proclaimed objectives are true ones, and not a sham.↩
All are included in the Financial Stability Board's list of 14 'Key Standards for Sound Financial Systems', http://www.financialstabilityboard.org/what-we-do/about-the-compendium-of-standards/key_standards/.↩
BCBS, 'Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision', Sept. 2012, p. 10.↩
ibid., p. 21.↩
In the original version of BCBS principles, the same idea was expressed in more nuanced terms. The systemic dimension of prudential regulation was emphasized, but linked to certain complementary considerations, such as the preservation of confidence, the protection of depositors, and the promotion of market discipline: "the key objective of supervision is to maintain stability and confidence in the financial system, thereby reducing the risk of loss to depositors and other creditors; supervisors should encourage and pursue market discipline by encouraging good corporate governance . . . and enhancing market transparency and surveillance." It was further stated that "[b]anking supervision should foster an efficient and competitive banking system that is responsive to the public's need for good quality financial services at a reasonable cost." In addition, the limits of prudential regulation were recognized, by noting that "there is a trade-off between the level of protection that supervision provides and the cost of financial intermediation. The lower the tolerance of risk to banks and the financial system, the more intrusive and costly supervision is likely to be, eventually having an adverse effect on innovation and resource allocation." BCBS, 'Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (Basel Core Principles)' (Sept. 1997), pp. 9‒10.↩
BCBS, 'Core Principles . . .', Sept. 2012, pp. 14‒16. Specifically on the deposit insurance component of the safety net, see International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI), 'IADI Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance Systems', Nov. 2014.↩
IAIS, 'Insurance Core Principles, Standards, Guidance and Assessment Methodology', 19 Oct. 2013, p. 16. Initially, efficiency was also mentioned; IAIS, 'Insurance Core Principles', Principles No. 1, Oct. 2000, p. 4.↩
IAIS, 'Insurance Core Principles, Standards, . . .', 19 Oct. 2013, p. 16.↩
ibid., p. 15.↩
IOSCO, 'Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation', June 2010, p. 3.↩
Originally, in IOSCO, 'Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation', Sep. 1998, pp. 6‒8.↩
ibid., p. 6.↩
ibid., pp. 6‒7.↩
ibid., pp. 7‒8.↩
ibid., p. 8.↩
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), as originally enacted, ss. 2‒6.↩
FSMA, as amended by the Financial Services Act 2012, pt. 2. On the "twin peaks" model, see below, text and fn. 46‒49.↩
FSMA, as amended, ss. 2B‒2C.↩
FSMA, as amended, s. 2B(3).↩
FSMA, as amended, ss. 1B‒1E.↩
FSMA, as amended, s. 1C(2).↩
FSMA, as amended, s. 1D(2).↩
FSMA, as amended, s. 1H(3). In the original version of the FSMA, s. 6(3), the definition of financial crime did not include the financing of terrorism.↩
FSMA, as amended, s. 1E(2).↩
In contrast, front-line supervision remains a competence of the several Member States. In particular, each Member State is required to entrust the administrative responsibility for the licensing and continuous supervision of each category of financial institutions to a supervisory agency ("national competent authority"). Tasks are divided horizontally between the various countries' authorities in accordance with the principle of "home-country control", so that the supervisory responsibility for each financial institution belongs to the country the of which that institution happens to have its seat and center of operations. Of course, due to the creation of the Banking Union, since 4 November 2014, the supervision of all banks ("credit institutions") in the euro area has passed to a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), within which the central role belongs to a European institution, the ECB; Council Regulation (EU) No. 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions, O.J. L 287, 29.10.2013, pp. 63–89.↩
Regulation (EU) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC, O.J. L 331, 15.12.2010, pp. 12–47.↩
Regulation (EU) No. 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/79/EC, O.J. L 331, 15.12.2010, pp. 48–83.↩
Regulation (EU) No. 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC, O.J. L 331, 15.12.2010, pp. 84–119.↩
The three agencies are called "supervisory" (ESAs), but this is a misnomer, since they have very limited supervisory responsibilities and their actual tasks are primarily of a regulatory nature.↩
Regulation 1093/2010, rec (11) and Art. 1(5); Regulation 1094/2010, rec (10) and Art. 1(6); and Regulation 1095/2010, rec (11) and Art. 1(5).↩
Regulation 1093/2010, Art. 1(5), first subpar.; Regulation 1094/2010, Art. 1(6), first subpar.; and Regulation 1095/2010, Art. 1(5), first subpar.↩
Regulation 1093/2010, Art. 1(5), third subpar.; Regulation 1094/2010, Art. 1(6), third subpar. (with reference to "financial market participants," instead of "financial institutions"); and Regulation 1095/2010, Art. 1(5), third subpar.↩
A. Crockett, 'Marrying the Micro- and Macro-Prudential Dimensions of Financial Stability', speech at the Eleventh International Conference of Banking Supervisors, Basel, 20-21 September 2000, http://www.bis.org/speeches/sp000921.htm; C. Borio, 'Towards a Macroprudential Framework for Financial Supervision and Regulation?', BIS Working Paper No 128, Feb. 2003.↩
Regulation (EU) No. 1092/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on European Union macro-prudential oversight of the financial system and establishing a European Systemic Risk Board, O.J. L 331, 15.12.2010, pp. 1–11, rec. (1). See L. Bini Smaghi, 'Going Forward – Regulation and Supervision after the Financial Turmoil', speech at the 4th International Conference of Financial Regulation and Supervision, 'After the Big Bang: Reshaping Central Banking, Regulation and Supervision', Bocconi University, Milan, 19 June 2009, http://www.bis.org/review/r090623e.pdf.↩
Regulation 1092/2010, rec. (10) and Art. 3(1).↩
Macro-prudential measures may take the form either of add-ons to normal prudential requirements, in an attempt to enhance the resilience of financial institutions, or of independent interventions, such as quantitative restrictions on credit expansion, reserve requirements, caps on loan-to-value ratios, levies on particular activities, etc., which seek to dampen the financial cycle. See S. Claessens, 'Overview of Macroprudential Policy Tools', IMF Working Paper No. WP/14/214, Dec. 2014.↩
Cf. IMF, 'The Interaction of Monetary and Macroprudential Policies', 29 Jan. 2013, https://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2013/012913.pdf.↩
Commission Staff Working Document, 'Economic Review of the Financial Regulation Agenda', SWD(2014) 158 final, 15 May 2014, p. 8, pp. 49–50.↩
C. Goodhart, P. Hartmann, D. Llewellyn, L. Rojas-Suarez and S. Weisbrod, Financial Regulation: Why, How And Where Now?, London: Routledge, 1998, pp. 2–9.↩
ibid. A variation of this classification appears in D. Llewellyn, 'The Economic Rationale for Financial Regulation', FSA Occasional Paper Νο. 1, Apr. 1999, 9–12, where the objectives are said to include systemic stability, the safety and soundness of financial institutions, and the protection of the consumer. This classification is not convincing, because Llewellyn explicitly considers the prudential objective of avoiding failure to be a subcategory of consumer protection. If so, the second objective is redundant: safety and soundness may form the prudential leg of consumer protection or, in relation to significant institutions, it may simultaneously serve the systemic and the consumer protection objectives, but it can never have a separate purpose. This leaves only two overarching objectives: fostering financial stability and protecting the customers of financial services. See, e.g., 'Report of the High-Level Group on Financial Supervision in the EU', 25 Feb. 2009 ('de Larosière Report'), p. 13.↩
See Llewellyn, op. cit. (fn. 44), pp. 9–10.↩
M. Taylor, '"Twin Peaks": A Regulatory Structure for the New Century', CSFI Paper No. 20, Center for the Study of Financial Innovation, London, Dec. 1995. This division of supervisory work is also consistent with the partial collapse (due to deregulation, financial innovation, and the emergence of multifunctional financial groups or "conglomerates") of legal and market-based barriers, which, in the past, kept the three financial sectors and their respective supervisors segregated. See also C. Hadjiemmanuil, 'Institutional Structure of Financial Regulation: A Trend towards "Megaregulators"?, Yearbook of International Financial & Economic Law, vol. 2000-2001, pp. 127‒190.↩
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998; Australian Securities and Investments Commission 2001.↩
Financial Services Act 2012.↩
Op. cit. (fn. 44).↩
See E.A.J. George, 'Are Banks Still Special?', Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 37 (1997), pp. 113‒118.↩
See, e.g., Goodhart et al., op. cit. (fn. 43), pp. 159‒168.↩
R. Baldwin, M. Cave and M. Lodge, Understanding Regulation: Theory, Strategy, and Practice, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012, p. 3, note that, while regulation is often thought of as a means of preventing undesirable activities, it may well have an enabling or facilitating purpose, e.g., "where the airwaves are regulated so as to allow broadcasting operations to be conducted in an ordered fashion, rather than left to the potential chaos of an uncontrolled market."↩
Specifically, with regard to market infrastructures, systemic risks are an evident policy priority. Such risks, however, are better addressed at the technical and contractual design level than by way of continuous supervision. See Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems and IOSCO Technical Committee, 'Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures', Apr. 2012.↩
Nonetheless, the instrumentalist objectives of market regulation are made clear in the Commission Staff Working Document, op. cit. (fn. 42), and, especially, in the Commission Green Paper, 'Building a Capital Markets Union', COM(2015) 63 final, 18 Feb. 2015.↩
For various definitions of regulation, ranging from the exceedingly wide to the rather narrow, see R. Baldwin, M. Cave and M. Lodge, Understanding Regulation: Theory, Strategy, and Practice, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012, pp. 2–3; and the following entries in N.J. Smelser and P.B. Baltes (eds.), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier Science, Oxford, 2001: D.E.M. Sappington, 'Regulation, Economic Theory of', p. 12951 (regulation as the act of controlling or directing by a rule, principle, or method, thus encompassing many forms of control by a variety of actors); S. Sterett, 'Regulation and Administration', p. 12945 (regulation as the effort to shape significant institutions to serve some social concerns that might not be taken into account in the ordinary process of doing business, or the imposition of legal orders on those engaged in economic activity); N.L. Rose, 'Regulation, Political Economy of', p. 12967 (regulation as use of the coercive power of the state to alter firms' pricing, entry, production, investment, or product choice decisions).↩
That is, if regulation is defined in a narrower sense as the "sustained and focused control exercised by a public agency over activities that are valued by a community;" P. Selznick, 'Focusing Organizational Research on Regulation', in R.G. Noll (ed.), Regulatory Policy and the Social Sciences, Berkeley: University of California Press, Berkeley, 1985, p. 363.↩
The applicability of European completion law to banking institutions was recognized in Case 172/80, Gerhard Züchner v. Bayerische Vereinsbank A.G. [1981] ECR 2021.↩
For the European policy on the matter, see now 'Communication from the Commission on the application from 1 August 2013 of State aid rules to support measures in favour of banks in the context of the financial crisis ("Banking Communication")' (2013/C 216/01), OJ 2013 C216/1.↩
See C.V. Gortsos, 'A Primer on Financial Inclusion', contribution to a Festschrift in honor of Stelios Perakis, forthcoming (2016).↩
See Financial Action Task Force (FATF), 'International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation: The FATF Recommendations' (Feb 2012).↩
Directive 2014/57/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on criminal sanctions for market abuse (market abuse directive), O.J. L 173, 12.06.2014, pp. 179–189.↩


text:
How to Strengthen Faith in Allah and Return to Him? A Reader
"Verily, Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His slave than a person who lost his camel in a desert land and then finds it." [Bukhari and Muslim]
How Do I Strengthen My Faith and Truly Repent?
How Can I Strengthen My Iman When It Hits Rock Bottom?
Doubts About Islam: I Don't Find Any Observable Effect or Peace in My Worship
Finding Allah with the Broken Hearted – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Weak Iman, Misgivings, and Loving the Messenger (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace)
Satanic Whisperings (Waswasa) as a Trial from Allah: Punishment or Blessing?
How Can I Strengthen My Belief in the Unseen?
Selected Prophetic Prayers for Spiritual, Physical and Emotional Wellbeing by Chaplain Ibrahim Long
The Door to Good: Keep on Remembrance of Allah – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), "Keep your tongue moist with remembrance of Allah."
This call to remembrance is a consistent theme of the Qur'an and Sunna, because remembrance of Allah:
(1) renews faith;
(2) clarifies the purpose of life–namely, seeking Allah's pleasure, love, and closeness;
(3) instills resolve to strive for excellence in one's life and actions–through turning to the Prophetic example;
(4) safeguards one from harm–as one in remembrance of Allah is far less likely to disobey Him.
A Reader on Tawba (Repentance)
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text:
Talks that matter is a selection, compilation into various playlists linked here for you, these are made with 'Great Care & Love' for your self-connection journey.
Motivational speeches, audiobooks, etc, that I've come across during my own journey, a collection with a "collective in mind". If or when it does not resonate with you, it is fine…the point is that you find your tune!
Everything that is being discussed, being done, talked about, or thought about, or dealt with is for the highest good of all.
The Simplest Way to Enlightenment by Sadhguru
If I Die Today by Fearless Soul
The captain of your faith, the master of your Soul by Oprah Winfrey
Only 3 things by Oprah Winfrey
Are You Ready For You by Michael B. Beckwith
7 Things I Need To Tell You About Life by Fearless Soul
Soul Development Inspirational Talk by Michael B.Beckwith (Stages of the Soul)
Science tools for everyday life by Prof. A. Huberman
Have the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown (Find True Belonging)
Each title/link directs you to the "door of so many possibilities", Spiritual Bazar (Youtube) Playlists that I compile for you. I believe they carry messages so perfectly that I can not, I can not just pass by them, and not share them with the world.
- The Transformation from Within ( what does it look like for you?)
- My picture on money (How would you like to discover yours?)
- Understand Body Mind Spirit connection (Are we disconnected? when?)
- Life Happens For you (how do you know yours does too)
- Body & Mind connection (aha! what would that be? or look like?)
- Forgiveness (the internal controversy? What is forgiveness and what is it for) /" in construction"
- Kindness ( How to polish into so it sparkles)
- Everything you want to know by Abraham Hicks ( these are better than the best, there is always a message for someone!)
Stay blessed, Stay put, in love, for love, with love & Sparkles for your amazingness!!


text:
- Maggie Abendroth
- Kelley Bellaver
- Kathy Bogart
- Stacia Braun
- Keri Buscher
- Susan Culbertson
- Jaclyn Daniels
- Robyn Demoulin
- Robyn Demoulin
- Ashley Devaisher
- Joal Donaldson
- Joal Donaldson
- Jessica Eckard
- Susanne Galloway
- Angella Gauch
- Amy Jackson
- Jill Jewell
- Laurna Knebel
- Erin Langston
- Jenny Lester
- Annette Mcclintock
- Annette Mcclintock
- Carla Newcomb
- Misty Philpot
- Shelli Ratermann
- Shelli Ratermann
- Krista Sharp
- Stephanie Smith
- Joni Warren
- Joni Warren
- Laurie Wells
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