NFL Week in Review: Peyton Manning, Mario Williams, Brent Grimes, Matt Ryan and More

This past week has been a wild one. The biggest news story was the legendary Peyton Manning being released by the Colts. I still blame Jim Irsay for making this as messy as it was. What happens if Andrew Luck becomes Ryan Leaf? You're not only setting your franchise back a few years, you just about kill it. The whole situation is messy; the press conference yesterday was enough of a tearjerker in its own right. Here lies the brutality of free agency.

The Atlanta Falcons have many goals this off-season. This week, I would like to discuss some free agency options. Some of which we have already signed, others we lie awake at night hoping for. This is a very important off-season for the Falcons.

Brent Grimes was franchised tagged last weekend. I'm sure by now everyone heard his agent's claims to not sign the tender... good luck! This was a no-brainer; Atlanta could not let him walk out the door. The franchise tag is so cheap this year it is allowing teams to swindle players into sticking around. Many of these players like Grimes, Ray Rice, and Drew Brees were not happy because they could not get a long-term deal. I for one completely understand their frustration, but the players know there is a business side to the NFL. As for the Brees situation, it is a colossal breakdown that will be costly. Carl Nicks and Marques Colston are now free agents. Gentlemen start your engines! The free agent frenzy can begin.

Another interesting story floating around the league this week is about Mario Williams. He is due to be a free agent this season and it seems Atlanta will be among the early leaders for Super Mario. He is coming out of a 3-4 scheme looking to transition back to a 4-3. Atlanta is in desperate need of a pass rusher, it is unlikely Abe will resign for a reasonable salary and that will force TD?s hand. Atlanta needs to make a splash in free agency because there isn't a first round pick to rely on this year. The only way the Falcons are getting better is through free agency. I will speak a lot more about Mario over the next few weeks; I believe this is realistic location for his services to land.

Carl Nicks also looks to be heading into the free agency pool. This pro bowl guard could be the missing cog in the Falcons offense. Last year we did not resign Harvey Dahl. That proved to be a massive loss on the interior of the line. If Atlanta could dream up a guard it is Carl Nicks. Drew Brees is an amazing QB, but I ask you to really look at his blocking over the last few years. It has been impeccable. Maybe Carl Nicks could elevate Matty Ice into the elite category? Speaking of Matt Ryan, This week news hit that the Falcons have begun contract talks with his agent. The Iceman is on the verge of a massive payday.

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The Falcons have resigned Thomas DeCoud. This is the result of a lackluster safety class in the draft this year. Many people doubt his abilities but nevertheless Falcons fans, #28 will be back this year. Kroy Biermann was also resigned this week. Mr Housewife of Atlanta is getting better and better each year, and maybe this is the year he finally puts it all together. The re-signing of Jason Snelling was surprising to me. He has been a godsend in this offense, but I believe the Falcons need to devote more time to Jacquizz Rodgers. Honestly, I have no idea what the future of the running back situation is in Atlanta. For now we have Michael Turner, and that is good enough for me.

Everything is beginning to heat up Falcons fans. The next 2-3 weeks will be very interesting. Who are some big name free agents you hope to see in the Georgia Dome next season?

Get more great NFL news and analysis over at The Grits Blitz.

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The New Faces of Feminism | Natural Parents Network

March 8th, 2012 | 4 Comments
Written by Acacia
Posted in Activism, Featured, Feminism

Suffragist Florence Jaffray "Daisy" Harriman (1870-1967) holding a banner with the words "Failure Is Impossible. Susan B. Anthony. Votes for Women." Part of the George Grantham Bain Collection in the Library of Congress. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2009)

Feminism and the US women?s liberation movement, as we know it, began in the mid-19th Century. One might say it began in Seneca Falls, NY on July 19-20, 1948 when the world?s first women?s rights convention was held and an agenda for the movement was set. Or, perhaps, it really began when the first sparks of desire for a different life alighted within a girl (or a woman) and she eventually found that she was not alone.

The official timeline for women?s liberation is filled with laws, amendments, protests, and firsts of many kinds. It is also filled with many amazing, courageous women. Women that began as daughters, raised in a home that either encouraged that spark of hope and desire or tried to stifle it, only to make it grow brighter. The work that women have done in women?s liberation thus far has made fast progress when we consider the centuries of human history as a whole. Our daughters today have a world of opportunity only accessible in the imaginations and dreams of those first women liberators.

In modern day America, the landscape of women?s rights give rise to the questions: should a girl grow up to work, or should she grow up and stay at home with children? Should she try ? as so many of us do now ? to do both?

Many of you may agree that quite suddenly in our history of women?s lib, after the rush to get women into the workplace, we have come to the point in recent years where it has nearly become unconventional to not work. Dare I say, a new face of Feminism has become choosing to stay at home. And now, as staying at home has become a movement of its own, it has given rise to many other new faces of Feminism, all of which (as I see it) have a common thread: reclaiming and preserving motherhood. We can see this and participate in movements such as Lactivism, Intactivism, and vaccination education.

Concurrent to women?s liberation, another sort of movement began ? an ideology referred to by historian Rima D. Apple as ?scientific motherhood.? She defines it as ?the insistence that women require expert scientific and medical advice to raise their children healthfully.? Toward the end of the 19th century and continuing through our present time, natural parenting as it was known ? following the examples of generations of mothers within the family and a mother?s own intuition ? was gradually abolished.

In the beginning, advertisements and other publications encouraged mothers to educate themselves and ?to be actively involved in decision making about the health of their families.? However, as scientific motherhood progressed through the twentieth century, mothers were told they were to not only learn from the experts about the health of their child, but to follow the directions of the experts. Advertisements, journal articles and books all moved from informing mothers of health and wellness to outright devaluing their intuition and the advice of their mothers. As industrialization, modern technology, and a convenience-driven economy made head-way in the twentieth century, so too did the ?experts?? advice.

While Apple?s article does not cover the relationship between women?s liberation and scientific motherhood, I think the correlation is easily made. Historian Molly Ladd-Taylor writes in her article ?When the Birds Have Flown the Nest, the Mother-Work May Still Go On? about the role of the National Mother?s Congress (later known as the Parent-Teacher Association) through the twentieth century. The National Mothers? Congress was very involved in parent education of the science of child development and frequently began programs asserting this agenda and passed out publications for it. Their grassroots movements began from a traditional point of view, where women belonged at home with children, and thus, intended to ?professionalize motherhood by bringing science and education into child rearing.? Ladd-Taylor asserts that they simply wanted women to be more content to stay at home. The National Mothers? Congress later progressed into a more liberal role with an active stance in women?s right to work outside the home.

I bring in this bit of information, however, to illustrate how Feminism became an unintentional player in the devaluing of motherhood. After all, our fight for liberation was to broaden our freedom and to prove our capability beyond the realm of motherhood, not to crush motherhood. It was to give ourselves a choice. Now, over a century and a half into both movements, as women have moved into the workplace and have struggled with the balance of work and home life, we have lost the link to a mother?s traditional knowledge of how to be a mother. Our separation from the traditional home life coupled with the need for guidance somewhere has left a large portion of mothers to become solely reliant upon the medical experts and, sadly, upon the manufacturing companies and their advertisers who sell the products we rely on to make working outside of the home possible.

I am not asserting that we have made the wrong decision in women?s liberation. I am not asserting that any woman is making a wrong decision in working outside the home. I chose to stay at home, but next year when my family moves to a new state and my husband begins his doctorate program, I will join the millions of mothers who work.

I am calling us, however, to continue with these new faces of Feminism. I am calling to all mothers ? staying at home, working at home, or working outside of home ? to reclaim motherhood. We had the incredible power to shift the traditions of centuries within 150 years of active protest and work. We harness the power to reclaim and preserve the maternal instinct that exists within all of us. The instinct that knows when medical advice may work and when it?s just not right for our children. The instinct that can find a balance between expert knowledge and trusting ourselves.

Choose to continue Feminism. Give our daughters and granddaughters a true choice of motherhood. Find an aspect (one of the many practices of traditional, natural parenting) that is important to you, educate yourself, learn about a movement if one exists, and connect with others that share your feelings. Reclaim your mothering instinct through these practices: trust it and follow it!

About the Author - Acacia

Acacia is a stay-at-home mama of two adventurous young boys in Kansas City. She is passionate about living a simple life of playing with her boys, spending lots of time outdoors in nature, and creating through art and handwork. She is an author and mentor for NPN, a Waldorf homeschooler and working towards her dream of becoming a Waldorf teacher.

View all posts on NPN by Acacia ?

Source: http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/new-faces-feminism/

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Iran's leader sets up Internet control group

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's supreme leader has ordered the creation of an Internet oversight agency that includes top military and political figures in the country's boldest attempt to control the web.

Wednesday's announcement on the state media follows a series of high-profile crackdowns on cyberspace including efforts to block opposition sites and setting up special teams for what Iran calls its "soft war" against the West and allies.

Iran has blamed Israel for a computer virus discovered in 2010 that targeted uranium enrichment equipment.

The order by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave no specifics on the new group. But it includes powerful figures in the security establishment such as the intelligence minister and the commander of the Revolutionary Guard.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-leader-sets-internet-control-group-120414188.html

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Lytro camera review

Lytro camera hands-on (video)

Lytro open to partnering with smartphone makers, executive suggests

Lytro's light field camera captures 'unprecedented' images, lets you choose focus later

Don't let that cute design fool you. Lytro, the world's first commercial light field camera, is the culmination of nearly twenty years of research -- a project that once occupied an entire wall facade, and has since been miniaturized into something that fits in the palm of your hand. An impressive feat, sure, but not as arresting as the end result: the ability to refocus pictures, even after you've taken them.

To achieve such magical endeavors the Lytro camera uses heaps of custom software (armed with a custom .lfp file format) coupled with some serious silicon to measure not just color or the intensity of light, but its direction, too. The latter is achieved with an eleven "megaray" sensor, which is bolted to an f/2.0 8x optical zoom lens, all encased within that sleek body. Seeking to save us from unfocused mishaps, the technological tour de force also unlocks some considerable creative potential. So, is the $399 shooter going to revolutionize photography as we know it? Or does the Lytro's first foray into consumer electronics fall prey to the shortcomings of 1.0 product? By know you should know the drill: rendezvous with us past the break to find out.

Continue reading Lytro camera review

Lytro camera review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/08/lytro-camera-review/

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Verizon Preparation in Full Steam for Making Redox Streaming a ...

Hot idea quite similar to the famous vending-machine type of movies on rent has been conceived by Redox making them ready for entry into global online video streaming service by the proposed tie-up with Verizon the corporate entity already engaged in telecommunications. The two companies have made their plans for pairing up as an attempt of entry in this market.

The service is planned to be launched during the latter half of the current year, the deal shall be ensuring availability of the movies through joint platform available on Verizon?s site. There are possibilities that the service branding shall be of Redbox to be presented as mobile format

Here is great likelihood that price shall start at $6 for one month to be paid by the consumer for accessing this combined service shall be of the order of streaming option hosted by Verizon besides the Redbox offer of taking one DVD at a time on rent.

Competitively the consumers shall find the service cheaper in comparison to NetFlix, which is offering its cheapest offer at $7.99 for its streaming service or availing by mail rental service of one DVD at a time, their combination deal starts at $15.98.

Verizon shall be experiencing for the first time the video streaming service, besides the FiOS TV?s offer of complementing its TV networks. Bob Mudge Heading FiOS, expressed the keenness on commencement of this new kind of project as mentioned in his statement ?We are in the process of negotiation presently for finalization. There are high hopes regarding success in achieving broad choice of digital content for distribution.?

The experts keeping a watch on the industry moves have estimated that the setting up of the service shall be requiring initial funds to the tune of $26 million besides the committed contribution of $14 million from Coinstar, the ownership of which is held by Redbox thus making the total funds $40 million.

The Verizon?s funds for start-up generation is based on the confirmed assumption that Telecommunication Company shall have the 65% ownership of the business in its favor and the business operation shall be run by 5 very strong board of directors and the ratio shall be rounded off in the ratio proportion of 3:2.

Steve Clement the Analyst representing Pacific Crest expressed skepticism in respect of anticipated potential the joint venture basing his reason in his under mentioned comments.

Steve Clement, an analyst at Pacific Crest, was skeptical of the joint-venture?s potential, saying: ?We don?t know what kind of content they?ll have available, what they?ll pay for that content and what they?ll charge for it. There?s way more questions than answers at this point.?

Apparently there is uniqueness in the two companies having different kind of operations, it is to be seen as to whether the Verizon-Redbox association in the project shall be in a position create strong enough influence to affect American Online Streaming service market.

Source: http://watch-tv-on-pc.maxupdates.tv/verizon-preparation-in-full-steam-for-making-redox-streaming-a-reality/

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Ghosts'n Goblins Online (KR) | Gameforumer.com: MMORPG - Gaming

Posted by admin on March 7th, 2012

[More info] Several months after Closed Beta 1 ended, Ghosts?n Goblins Online will finally be entering Closed Beta 2 today in Korea! Lasting only a mere 5 days, Player Vs Player (PvP) will be added and the main feature to be tested out along with a couple of new dungeons and areas. PvP will come in either 1 Vs 1 or 3 Vs 3, with new skilled only limited for this mode. For example, there is a skill which allows players to attack a nearby foe even if they are knocked down.

There will be a PvP match-making window, where players can search for others on equal level of PvP skills. I suppose this is done by matching the K/D ratio. Points will be given out after each match, and they can be used to upgrade their characters.

The new dungeons will include an underwater sewer area, where players will have to maneuver carefully to avoid being drowned. I guess these are just normal pit holes which players will fall into if jumping is not controlled properly.

To cap things off, there will be various new skills, and the auction house and mail system now usable. The game UI is apparently tweaked as well to allow players to access keys faster and more graphical resolutions are implemented. My only question is, how the hell are players able to test all these new features with just 5 days?!

Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/03/ghostsn-goblins-online-kr-pvp-added-for.html

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5 more years sought for tax breaks for improving Chambersburg ...

By Property Tycoon ? on March 7, 2012

Franklin County commissioners unofficially endorsed renewing a tax break for commercial property owners who improve their properties in Chambersburg.

Paul Cullinane, economic development specialist with the Borough of Chambersburg, hosted on Tuesday the first of three public hearings on the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Program.

LERTA has seen limited participation, especially in the past five years.

About a dozen property owners have participated in the real estate tax incentive since 1997, when the county, borough and Chambersburg Area School District adopted LERTA.

In the past five years, just two property owners have sought tax abatements through LERTA:

- One owner?s improvements costing $150,000 did not

qualify for tax abatements.

- MJ Squared Properties renovated two buildings on North Main Street at King Street. The company invested $475,000 that resulted in an increased assessment of $25,000 of the mixed-use buildings, according to Cullinane. The three taxing authorities meanwhile abated $60,000 in real estate taxes over three years.

?Those two buildings were in horrible shape,? Cullinane said. ?They?ve breathed new life in them.?

Cullinane said he could not give an example of a project that was started because of LERTA. The tax abatement program is among many tools for encouraging economic development in Chambersburg.

The LERTA zone includes most of the borough ? downtown, the Elm Street territory and surrounding area. A

commercial property owner making a taxable improvement would not pay real estate taxes on the value of the improvement for three years. The property can be an apartment building, a commercial structure or new commercial construction.

Cullinane is asking the three taxing authorities to extend the LERTA application period for another five years, to April 2017.

?Foregoing taxes is, in effect, investing in the future so our building stock improves and our tax base is elevated to where it should

be,? Cullinane said. ?There?s a sort of ripple effect there as these improvements take place. This is a very small price to pay. Down the road, the county is made better.?

Three residents spoke during the public hearing on Tuesday. Two asked questions.

Greencastle activist Sheri Morgan said that it may be unwise giving tax incentives to businesses at a time when the state and county governments are unable to pay for services people need.

?I?m not against development,? Morgan said. ?At what point do we give too many incentives to business? We don?t have the revenue to meet expenses. We should have a courthouse. We should raise taxes; there I?ve said it. I think there needs to be a balance. At what point does this not make sense? If

a business wants to take the risk, they should take 100 percent of the risk.?

Commissioner Robert Ziobrowski said that a business gets $1 of services for every $7 it pays in real estate taxes. A resident gets $1.10 of services for every $1 in property tax he or she pays.

?I have no problem supporting business because they pay off tremendously,? Ziobrowski said. ?Economic incentives for industrial development is just good policy. That LERTA is a catalyst for change is very important, especially with the tax environment we?re in.?

The heyday for LERTA was 2000 to 2005, when seven properties invested nearly $10 million in downtown Chambersburg.

?No one is going to invest $9.8 million just to have $89,000 in tax abatements,?

Commissioner Robert Thomas said. ?It may be part of making (a project) more viable, more do-able. FM (Bank) is an anchor, or Cafe D?italia. (LERTA) was a small piece. That?s worth it.?

LERTA motivates developers to do a project sooner rather than later, according to Cullinane.

Cullinane hosts LERTA hearings at a Chambersburg Borough Council meeting on Monday and at the school district on March 21.

???-

Jim Hook can be reached at 262-4759 and jhook@publicopinionnews.com.

Vacant seat on committee

Six of seven seats have been filled on the Blighted Property Review Committee.

Franklin County commissioners on Tuesday appointed Commissioner Robert Ziobrowski, chairman of the county planning commission John

Benhart, Franklin County Redevelopment Authority member Gregory Thompson, Pam Anderson of Chambersburg, Paul Schemel of Greencastle and Paul Gunder of Waynesboro to the committee. A seat from the Mercersburg area will be filled later.

The committee will meet as needed to determine whether properties meet the state?s criteria for ?blighted? and are eligible for razing and redevelopment. Municipalities will nominate properties for the ?blighted? designation to the redevelopment authority.

The Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority has designated just 5 percent of nominees to its blighted list.

The Franklin County Redevelopment Authority was formed in September 2010 to revitalize downtowns, small villages, run-down neighborhoods and older industrial areas.

Ziobrowski said he will resign from his seat on the redevelopment authority because he considers the two assignments to be in conflict. The Blighted Property Review Committee serves as a check and balance on the authority actions.

Commissioners are unlikely to fill the vacant slot with another commissioner, he said.

Article source: http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_20115224/5-more-years-sought-tax-breaks-improving-chambersburg?source=most_viewed

Source: http://www.property-for-rent.org/5-more-years-sought-for-tax-breaks-for-improving-chambersburg-business-properties/

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