Category Archives: Abolition Of Work

Marion Renault The Columbus Dispatch @MarionRenault

Sir Isaac Newton was in his 20s when he developed his theories on calculus, gravity and optics.

English physicist Paul Dirac was 31 when he won a Nobel Prize for predicting antimatter.

Albert Einstein introduced the worlds most famous equation, E=mc2, at 26. He later said that a person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so.

Especially in more abstract fields, people think the best work is done at earlier ages, said Bruce Weinberg, an Ohio State University economist. Thats not quite as clear a pattern as people think.

In fact, the average age of scientists in the United States is increasing, Weinberg and fellow OSU economist David Blau found in research published Monday. The average age of employed scientistsrose from 45.1 to 48.6 between 1993 and 2010.

The workforce as a whole is aging, Blau said. But (this rate) is pretty specific to academia.

At Ohio State, 37 percent of tenured or tenure-track STEM faculty members are 55 or older.

This is happening across the country, said Jan Weisenberger, senior associate vice president for research and a speech and hearing science professor at Ohio State.

The finding makes sense toOhio State astronomy professor emeritus Brad Peterson, who said there are incentives to delaying academic retirement. Through long careers, scientists maximize their expertise and professional connections.

You become a known quantity, said Peterson, who officially is retired but still teaches and works as a distinguished visiting astronomer for NASAs Space Telescope Science Institute.Scientists are curious, driven people. Any good research turns up two or three more research questions. Theres no end in sight.

The OSU economists dont yet know whether the graying research community means thatbudding scientists are missing out on opportunities or what the trend means for scientific creativity and productivity.

If there are more older researchers, and they were to retire, its hard to know how many slots that would open for younger scientists, Weinberg said.

The study, published this week in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," analyzed data on the age, field of degree, job tenure, occupation and sector of employment of about 73,000 scientists. The pool spanned STEM fields from mathematicians to social scientists and included researchers at university labs and those working in the private sector for biomedical, pharmaceutical or tech companies.

The general aging of scientists and engineers can largely be attributed to Baby Boomers nearing retirement age, Blau said. That effect gradually will fade away.

Eventually the huge Baby Boom bulge will pass, he said.

But changes in retirement laws have contributed. Many professors have extended their careers since the 1994 abolition of mandated retirement.

According to the new study, the share of scientific workers 55 or older almost doubled between 1994 and 2010, from 17 percent to 33 percent. Over the same period, the share of all workers in that age bracket increased less, from 15 percent to 23 percent.

By age 70, most people have retired. Thats not necessarily true of science, Weinberg said. Weve observed a big pileup of people who didnt have to retire anymore.

Mary Ellen Wewers, a public-health professor emeritus at Ohio State, might be counted among them. She retired from her position as an associate dean for research but still teaches and is the co-principal investigator on a five-year, $18 million project on tobacco control.

That had always been my plan; I definitely didnt want to give up my research career, she said. I still have a lot of work thats important to get out there. I dont intend to retire from research any time soon.

The economists plan to continue studying what the advanced age of the scientific community means for its productivity.We dont know if they still are riding the arc of creativity or like hanging out in academia, Blau said.

Hazel Morrow-Jones, professor emeritus of city and regional planning, still works part time at Ohio State, but as a retiree, she now spends more time on her garden.

I was no longer concerned about establishing a reputation, or getting tenure, or the next promotion or getting a raise, she said. I could bring the most to the job.

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mrenault@dispatch.com

@MarionRenault

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Why are there so few young scientists? Average age in US on rise - The Columbus Dispatch

After nine months of unresolved tripartite debates, Secretary Silvestre Bello issued Department Order 174. The Order has pleased no one.

The trade unions, which have been batting for the total prohibition of contractualization, were the most unhappy. The Order looks like a renumbered DO 18-A (issued by the Aquino Administration in 2011), which the unions want fully replaced. DO 174, like DO 18-A and the earlier DO-18-02 (2002) and DO 10 (1997), more or less reaffirm the legality of job and service contracting. However, DO 174 tries to tighten the rules governing the operations of manpower agencies and imposes higher renewal/registration fee (from P25,000 to P100,000) and proof of higher capitalization (P5,000,000). Rene Magtubo, the spokesperson of a labor coalition opposing the Order, claims that DO 174 does not cure the epidemic of contractualization. The unions wonder why the good Secretary has failed to exercise his power under Article 106 to strictly prohibit the following: labor-only contracting, contracting out jobs performed by union members and regular employees, fixed-term employment, contracting out regular jobs or functions as defined by the Labor Code, and agency hiring.

The employers, represented by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), have accepted DO 174 with some reservations, specifically on the additional rules on contracting and the proposed stricter enforcement and monitoring of labor compliance by employers and manpower agencies. ECOP explained that any measure that makes contracting difficult for business discourages investment and weakens job creation.

As to the leadership in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), none is exultant over the release of DO 174. The Presidential pledge to end contractualization in three months, made in the heat of the electoral campaign in early 2016, was clearly mission impossible. Now the executive branch is telling the trade unions: go to the legislature and push for the enabling laws abolishing contractualization. Indeed, contractualization is a difficult nut to crack.

It is also difficult to define. The word contractualization does not appear in the Labor Code. However, it has become a union slang for any effort of employers to avoid the regularization of employees, especially the regularization of those doing tasks that are regular and necessary in the conduct of business. The avoidance measures take different forms: casualization of work or making regular work classified as casual, resort to five-month hiring (to avoid the regularization of probationaries within the six-month period as provided by law) or what is popularly called as endo system for the end-of-contract, the availment of the services of outside manpower agencies who deploy project workers who are declared to be agency employees (not workers of the contracting principals), and the excessive utilization of traineeship, apprenticeship and internship programs (meaning undertaking the programs only to avail of cheaper labor).

It is abundantly clear that the debate on the rules governing job/service contracting and the abolition of contractualization will continue even beyond the term of the Duterte Administration. Labor economists call the phenomenon of contractualization as labor flexibilization, which proliferates under a regime of flexible rules on the hiring and firing of workers. This flexibilization is justified by many employers and economic technocrats as necessary to enable business to survive in an increasingly competitive world under globalization. This argument raises the hackles of trade unions and workers not only in the Philippines but also all over the world, for contractualization is also a global phenomenon.

So what can the tripartite social partners labor, employers and government do? Can a tripartite consensus be forged on a truly win-win approach to the issue of contractualization?

The answer of the Philippine Employer-Labor Social Partnership, Inc. (PELSPI) is yes. As a backgrounder, PELSPI is a unique organization of employer-industrialists, trade union leaders and academics who are bound together by their joint commitment to the promotion of decent work for the workers, productivity for industry and competitive growth for our country. It is headed by former Senator Wigberto Tanada, Meneleo Carlos of the Bishops-Businessmen Conference and Jose Umali of the National Union of Bank Employees. In a series of workshops organized by PELSPI to clarify issues on contractualization, PELSPI came up with guiding principles that are worth restating here, namely:

1. As the Constitution states, all workers, regardless of tenure and status, have basic human and labor rights. These rights, such as those enunciated in the Labor Code as labor standards and workers basic freedoms, should be respected by all at all times. Any abuse of the rights of any worker, regardless of tenure and status, should not be tolerated. In short, all workers regular, probationary, casual, seasonal, project, apprentice/learner and term-based should enjoy the protection of the law and all the benefits accorded by law. A strengthened Labor Law Compliance System should be institutionalized and fully propagated, accompanied by awareness-raising and capacity building for all enterprises and workers.

2. The endo or 555 hiring system, whether done directly by the employers or undertaken by a third-party contractor or agency, should not be tolerated. There should be penal sanctions against the willful pre-termination of probationary status, including on-the-job training (OJT) and apprenticeship arrangements, which are done in order to avoid regularization.

3. The rules against prohibited labor-only contracting should be tightened and enforcement of the said rules strengthened. Any manpower or recruitment agency masquerading as a cooperative should be considered a labor-only contractor and should be blacklisted and prosecuted. The Department of Labor and Employment should also blacklist and prosecute all fly-by-night manpower and recruitment agencies, including those legitimately registered and yet are found to have violated labor laws.

4. Legitimate contractors or agencies should comply with all the pertinent labor laws (not only those listed in Articles 106-109 of the Labor Code) such as those listed in all the Books (1-7) of the Labor Code as well as the SSS, Philhealth and Pag-Ibig laws. They should treat all workers with dignity and respect the rights of all workers, including the right to organize and form unions, the right to consultation on personnel policies, the right to equal treatment/non-discrimination and the right to health and safety standards. No contractor or agency should be allowed to operate without any operational grievance machinery put in place to process workers grievances or complaints.

5. The right of all workers, regardless of tenure and status, to form unions or associations, including mutual aid associations and professional organizations, should be respected.

6. The countrys social partners should unite and work together in building a more progressive economy in line with the above-cited development framework of PELSPI so that the economy can provide more and decent jobs for all. Part and parcel of this economic upgrading is cooperation by all in the continuous upgrading of the skills, abilities and knowledge of all workers. An integrated human resource development is the key in building a competitive Philippine economy able to create decent jobs for all. Additionally and ideally, all workers should be able to move upward in the social and jobs ladder as they are able to acquire more experience and better skills and higher abilities and knowledge.

7. The tripartite industry peace councils in various regions and key industries should be strengthened and, in many places, reactivated or established. This is crucial since each industry has some unique structure that requires unique labor hiring and deployment arrangements such as the seasonal hiring of agricultural workers in some commercial farms during harvest or planting seasons. On the other hand, certain industries, which have developed tripartite agreements on how the outsourcing of work and the use of third-party contractor or agency can be regulated without impairing the job and union security of the regular workers, can serve as models for others in the conduct of social dialogue on outsourcing, job contracting and other related industrial relations issues.

The last point raised by PELSPI is the need for all sectors of society to unite in support of a stronger economy based on an integrated industrial and agricultural development program. Contractualization can only be tamed or minimized in a progressive, equitable and sustainable economy.

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Bello's travail: Cracking a nut called 'contractualization' - Business Mirror

The Coalition for Peace Action co-sponsored a Rally against Islamophobia and Bigotry at Trenton City Hall on Feb. 6. A wonderfully diverse group of 250 people attended, and heard speakers from area faith communities, Hispanic and civil rights groups, and political leaders including Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson.

What brought so many together on very short notice was a deeply troubling executive order by President Trump, immediately banning immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Thankfully, a federal appeals court has stopped implementation of the order as of this writing.

While appropriate security measures, such as thorough vetting of those wanting to immigrate, should be used to keep the American people safe from possible terrorist attackers, over the past four decades not a single terrorist attack in the U.S. has been committed by anybody from the seven countries banned.

On the contrary, by alienating Americas most important allies in fighting terrorism, mainstream Muslims in the U.S. and abroad, President Trumps order is almost certainly making Americans less safe. Most of the terrorist attacks that have been discovered and stopped before they could take place were because Muslims of good will tipped off authorities in time.

I am reminded of a core teaching of Christianity, where Jesus says I was a stranger and you welcomed me. (Matthew 25:35). The Golden Rule means we are called to empathize with strangers (as immigrants are often viewed), and welcome them instead of excluding them. Think of the thousands of children who are refugees from wars, as in Syria. Jesus teaches that however we treat the stranger/immigrant, we are treating him.

Before September 11, 2001, I didnt know many Muslims. But since that horrifying terrorist attack among whose victims were numerous Muslims I have met many and not only learned about their great religion of peace, but also got to know them as wonderfully caring people. It is in welcoming and getting to know the stranger that we can experience the beloved community.

I also think about the Golden Rule when I hear alarm about North Korea or other rogue states seeking to obtain nuclear weapons. Certainly we in the Coalition for Peace Action, and all people of good will, are against such states having nuclear weapons. That is one reason we worked intensively to support the Iran Nuclear Agreement, which through peaceful means is preventing Iran from having enough nuclear weapons materials to make even a single warhead.

But 90 percent of the 16,000 nuclear weapons in the world today are possessed by the U.S. and Russia. The U.S. is planning to spend $1 trillion over the next 30 years to upgrade those to be deployed for another century, and Russia is also provocatively developing new nuclear weapons. More immediately worrisome, President Trump has been reliably quoted as saying, If we have nuclear weapons, why cant we use them?

If we dont want others from North Korea or Iran to have or use nuclear weapons, why are we planning to keep and even escalate them? If its morally imperative for the others to eschew nuclear weapons, why isnt it equally so for us? Im reminded of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: First, take the plank out of your own eye, and then you can see to take the splinter out of your neighbors eye. (Matthew 7:5)

An important opportunity to restrain the possibility of the U.S. using its nuclear weapons is the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act (HR 669/S200) that was recently introduced in the U.S. Congress. This bill would require a Congressional Declaration of War, which explicitly authorizes use of nuclear weapons, before the president could use them first in a conflict. It is a sensible restraint on this most awesome of all decisions, whether to start a nuclear war which could still end all life on earth.

Another step forward is based on in Article 6 of the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, in which the nuclear haves agreed to negotiate the elimination of their arsenals. Otherwise, there is a permanent double standard, and we arent treating the other as we want to be treated.

United Nations negotiations are about to get underway toward the goal of verifiable global abolition of nuclear weapons. Global bans on chemical and biological weapons were previously agreed to, and landmines were also globally banned.

As with the landmines ban, the countries that have nuclear weapons have so far not agreed to participate in the nuclear abolition negotiations. But eventually, the countries with landmines felt enough pressure to join the ban treaty, and the Landmines Ban Campaign won the Nobel Peace Prize. We can help generate enough pressure to also make that happen with a Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons.

Readers who want to work for welcoming the stranger, and toward global abolition of nuclear weapons are encouraged to visit peacecoalition.org or call the Coalition for Peace Action at (609) 924-5022.

The Rev. Robert Moore is Executive Director of the Coalition for Peace Action and Treasurer of the Princeton Clergy Association.

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Applying the Golden Rule to our current situation - Packet Online

Queer British Art 1861-1967 exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales.

From April 5, the London-based museum is hosting its first exhibition dedicated to queer British art. The exhibition features work from a host of major artists, from Francis Bacon and Virginia Woolf to Pre-Raphaelite painters, and marks the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales.

Queer British Art 1861-1967 has two historical reference points, presenting work from the abolition of the death penalty for sodomy in 1861 to the passing of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. These events had profound effects on British society and were also expressed through the arts.

Drawing of Two Men Kissing by Keith Vaughan.

The exhibition features work by artists with diverse sexualities and gender identities, and presents both covert images of same-sex desire, like Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene by Simeon Solomon, or overt celebrations of queer culture, such as Going to be a Queen for Tonight by David Hockney.

A section of the exhibition focuses on the Bloomsbury Group, a set of artists famous for their bohemian attitude towards sexuality, with paintings of lovers, scenes of homes artists shared with partners, and paintings by Duncan Grant and Ethel Walker.

Many of the works featured in the exhibition were created at a time when the terms bisexual, gay or lesbian were little-known to the public. Queer British Art 1861-1967 explores how notions of sexuality became defined through the work of sexologists like Henry Havelock Ellis and campaigners like Edward Carpenter.

Oscar Wilde notably features in the exhibition, with a full-length portrait of the writer exhibited in the UK for the first time, as well as the door of prison cell C.3.3 where Wilde was jailed from 1895 to 1897 for committing acts of gross indecency.

Another section of the exhibition explores queer culture in the world of theater, where music-hall acts offered a platform for the expression of sexuality and gender.

Queer British Art 1861-1967 runs April 5 to October 1, 2017, at Tate Britain, London.

More information: http://www.tate.org.uk

The Critics by Henry Scott Tuke.

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London's Tate Britain to hold first exhibition in celebration of queer art - Hindustan Times

PHOENIX Usually, the media covering the annual NFL meetings, aSunday-to-Wednesdayaffair, is into the story-manufacturing phase by aboutMonday. No such chance this week at the Arizona Biltmore, where a medium black coffee runs you $4.07. The slate of stuff:

Sundaynight:NFL announces hire of a new chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills of Vanderbilt University. Sills, a neurologist and the founder of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center, presumably will focus significantly on head trauma and how much more the league can do to limit the amount of it in a violent game.

Monday:Owners are slated to vote on the Raiders proposed move to Las Vegas. One source close to the process saidSundayit would be a surprise if the move wasnt approved, and if you read commissioner Roger GoodellsFridaynight letter to the mayor of Oakland, I might raise surprise to shock.If it happens, this would end a 15-month period of franchise shifts, with the Rams, Chargers and Raiders moving to Los Angeles, Los Angeles and Las Vegas since the start of 2016.

Tuesday:Houston coach Bill OBrien and Denver coach Vance Joseph, at annual AFC coaches breakfast, find new and exciting ways to no-comment questions on their interest in acquiring in-limbo Dallas quarterback Tony Romo.

Tuesday:Dallas owner Jerry Jones slated to meet the press for first official comments on Romo. Expect news, though I dont know of what variety.

24 HOURS WITH ADAM SCHEFTER:The MMQB trailed the NFLs top newshound on the whirlwind opening day of free agency

Tuesday:Owners, coaches, GMs to be briefed on the leagues time-saving proposals, including the one that changes the game the most: refs no longer going under the hood on replay but rather watching on a sideline tabletand NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino for the first time retaining final authority on all replay rulings.

Wednesday:NFC coaches breakfast. Some new/cherubic facesKyle Shanahan and Sean McVaysidling up to the omelet station at the Biltmore, and surely some Kirk Cousins talk with Washington coach Jay Gruden.

Wednesday:Owners vote on Competition Committee proposals. (The vote could be squeezed into Tuesday.) Expect the Blandino final-say proposal to pass.The competition committee was unanimous on this,Goodell said this week on my podcast. I think that holds a lot of sway in the room.

Wednesday, early afternoon:Big black SUVs line up in the driveway of the Biltmore for the annual Owners Race to the Airport.

Now for a little bit of depth on a few of those stories.

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I couldnt find many (one, actually) club officials or owners Sundaywho didnt think the Raiders move would be approved. The one was an AFC team official whose owner might vote against it simply because the owner thinks abandoning a rising team in Americas sixth-largest marketwith some evidence that the revived Raiders could overtake the swooning Niners in the market, particularly with the 49ers playing 50 minutes to the south in Santa Clara nowfor the 40th-largest market, Las Vegas. Obviously, Vegas has some unique aspects to it. But this would be the second rabid market in California in 2017 to lose a team for either a laissez-faire place (the Chargers leaving San Diego for Los Angeles) or a mystery place (the Raiders jumping from Oakland to Nevada).

It is painful all the way around, commissioner Roger Goodell told meThursdayin New York. The first thing you think about is the fans. It's disappointment that we weren't able to get to a successful conclusionI said that when the Chargers moved. We worked tirelessly to try to get an outcome that would allow the Chargers to stay there. We didn't get there, so I am disappointed in that. The same would be true if that is the case with the Raiders.

We have sought to get stability for the Raiders for several years. This goes back several decades back into the early eighties and probably even into the seventies. We really want to figure out a way to make sure that all 32 teams have that stability and a stadium is a big component of that. When we don't get that done in our current market, it is a failure, a collective responsibility on all of usus, the community, the team, and that is disappointing to us.

WHATS IN IT FOR VEGAS: Alex Prewitt on what the gambling mecca stands to gain if it lands an NFL franchise

Goodell clearly didnt want to say its over to me. But its over.On Fridaynight, he sent a letter to Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf making it clear that Oaklands last-ditch efforts to save the franchise were failing. Despite all of these efforts, ours and yours, we have not yet identified a viable solution,Goodell wrote. It is disappointing to me and our clubs to have come to that conclusion. On Sunday, Goodell told Sal Paolantonio he felt the owners will have a positive vote for the Raiders, which can mean only one thing.

So Mark Davis appears to be following in the footsteps of his father. The late Al Davis spent 22 seasons in Oakland and couldnt get a stadium deal done to his satisfaction. So he moved to Los Angeles in 1982; the Raiders stayed there till moving back in 1995. The Raiders, again, have spent 22 seasons in their second Oakland life, couldnt get a stadium deal done to their satisfaction, and now the family heir will move the team south again. Southeast, actually.

For years the NFL treatedanythingin Las Vegas like it was poison. Two years ago, even, the league made Tony Romo cancel a fantasy football convention because it was to be held at a Las Vegas convention center that was on the same grounds as a casino. Now the league is poised to vote to put one of its 32 crown jewels, and one of its most storied franchises, in that same city.

On Thursday, I asked Goodell: Why isn't the league put off by being in a place where there is legalized gambling?

We are not changing our position as it relates to legalized sports gambling,Goodell said. We still dont think it is a positive thing. We want to make sure that the integrity of our game is the primary concern and we do everything possible to protect that. And that people are watching it for the outcome, and they know that it is not being influenced by any outside influences. We are very determined to continue that, and we will; that's a first priority for us.

I think also you have to realize the changes that are evolving in society on gambling. Second: I think Las Vegas has evolved as a city. Its not just a singular industry. While it is still dominated by that [the gambling industry], there is a lot of entertainment going there, including political conventions. Our leaders in government are all going there. You see it a lot of different ways where this city has become much more diverse as far as the industry and the events it is attracting. It is really an entertainment city now, much more broadly than it would have been thought even a decade ago, much less two or three decades ago. In our analysis, we've been able to look at Vegas and it is actually one of the fastest growing cities in the country. We project by 2037 that it will be the same size as Oakland. It isn't now, but it is continuing to grow rapidly.

The population of Oakland proper really isnt the issue; its the entire market. The sprawling San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area had an estimated population of 8.71 million in 2015, about four times the population of the extended Vegas market. City size, really, isnt that significant. Its market size that matters.

Regarding gambling: Its understandable in an era of dried-up public funding that the leagues going to try to find a way to make its gambling rules work when Nevada politicians promised $750 million in public money toward a $1.7-billion domed stadium in Las Vegas. But the NFL will now face an interesting new problem. Now, instead of players in most NFL cities having a casino or two within driving distance, players on the Las Vegas Raiders could go out at night and choose from 76 casinosin Las Vegas alone,according to Vegasclick.com. Imagine being the security officials for the Raiders, and the NFL, in Vegas now.

NFL people assume Raider fans will follow the franchiseespecially if it keeps rising. I dont doubt fans will support a winner. But Las Vegas is a mystery, and everyone knows it. The Black Hole was filled, even in the teams decade-long awful period just finished. Will the transients in Vegas, and those who come to gamble, stay for aSundayafternoon football game? Will the Raider season-ticket-holders from California follow the team to Nevada? No one knows.

By the end of the day today, the NFL likely will have traded fervor in two California cities for shiny stadiums in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Add in the Rams, and these three transient franchises, in the past seven seasons, have combined to win zero division titles and one playoff game. Theyd better just win, baby, or the honeymoons in shiny new place wont last long.

THE RAIDERS ROAD TO RELOCATION IS ALL CLEAR: Albert Breer on how and why the NFL and Vegas have gotten to this point

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In the 2014 playoffs, Dallas receiver Dez Bryant was ruled to have caught a crucial fourth-down, fourth-quarter pass with Dallas trailing Green Bay 26-20. The Packers challenged, and ref Gene Steratore went under the hood on the sidelines to view replays, and consulted with the New York officiating command center, run by vice president of officiating Dean Blandino. But ultimately it was Steratores call.

Steratore overturned the call. Steratore announced to the crowd in Texas, and to America, that the pass was incomplete. Steratore explained why. And after the game, Steratore issued a statement to a pool reporter further explaining the call.

If the NFL has its way (likely it will), and owners vote this week for new mechanics on replay reviewsand for Blandino to have the final authority on replay callsthink how that scenario will change:

The ref on the field wont walk up to 40 yards to a hooded monitor next to the stands. He will walk several yards to the nearest sideline, and a replay technician will bring him a tablet and headset, and hell watch replays and discuss the outcome with Blandino or his lieutenant, Al Riveron, at the command center in New York.

The ref will consult, not make the final call.

Blandino, the decider-in-chief, will be the one getting the grief on the overturn, not the ref who made the call and took responsibility in the stadium.

Between meetings at the Biltmore lateSundayafternoon, Blandino, the career office guy, swore he didnt think the likely vote to give him replay power would be much of a change. (How likely? The influential Competition Committee endorses it unanimously.)

I really dont see it as a major difference compared to what weve been doing,Blandino said Other than New York having the final say, weve been doing this for three years. Its been a collaborative effort, with the ref giving input. Ultimately, well make the final decision, but it doesnt feel like any more pressure than what weve been handling since 2014. I dont think its going to change very much. The logistics of the referee having the hand-held device [the tablet] is different, but its more efficient.

In 2014, I spent part of an afternoon in the command center to see how the mechanics of the system in which New York consults with the ref on the field were working. It was intriguing, but it also was clear that there was some time to shave in the process. On a Giants-Cowboys review of a fumble/non-fumble play, Blandino was occupied and so Riveron took control of the play, watching the play at one of the replay stations in the Art McNally GameDay Central room. It was soon ruled the Giants player didnt fumble, but now there was the matter of ball placement. And instead of ref Jerome Boger taking charge of the situation, it was Riveron taking control, because hed seen more angles of the play by the time Boger got under the hood.Guys, said Riveron, lets get this straight. Listen up, listen up. Put the ball down at the 46-and-a-half and lets measure. The measurement confirmed the placement. End of review. Time: 3 minutes, 41 seconds. Waaaay too long. Later, Blandino told me: Lets get to the point, versus taking the scenic route.

It made sense to me that day that New York should make the call. By the time Boger went under the hood on the play in question, by my count, Riveron had already spent 20 seconds or so at the monitor looking at the fumble/non-fumble. On most replay reviews, thats enough to make a call. Its redundant for a referee to then look at one or more of the same plays that already show the result. Now, there are going to be some plays that are painstakingly close that the ref and Blandino or Riveron could discuss. But theyre not the majority. This is not only more efficient, but also smarter for the consistency of the calls.

Blandino said the only issue from the membership was something a bit conspiratorial. The concerns that Ive heard is whos in the room?Blandino said. Weve been very clear. Access to the room As an NFL employee, you get a key card. That key card gets you in the building and it gets you to your floor. It does not get you in Gameday Central. You have to have a working function. Theres a select group that has access to that room, and thats it. Everybody in there has a working function.

Id be surprised if this failed. Its a better way to run replay, and it still leaves the ref on the field with input in extenuating circumstances, or in the event that the decision is so close the eyes of the referee could sway the call. Either way, itd be a new way to run a game. A better way, I think. As one member of the Competition Committee told meSunday, this has been the aim of the system since the ref-command center combination was introduced in 2014, to have Blandino and his team be the final arbiters.

Now, regarding the time of game, Goodell has been known to call his staff while watching games at homeon Sunday. Occasionally, he rails about time wasters and the back-to-back commercial breaks used after some touchdowns. So he formed a working group last year of league employees to examine all time-sucks. The measures owners will vote on here are a result of those meetings and studies. For instance, when commercial breaks in a quarter have been exhausted and a touchdown is scored, a 40-second clock will be started after the extra point or two-point conversion is attempted. Once that 40 seconds expires, the ball will be handed to the kicker, and a 25-second clock will start. If the kicking team doesnt kick by the time the 25 seconds ticks off, a delay-of-game flag will be thrown. Formerly, there wasnt a rule about timing between PATs and the ensuing kickoff.

We have 156 plays in a game, said Goodell. We are not talking about changing that at all. What we are trying to do and what I believe we'll be successful in doing is making the game from an overall fan standpoint both in the stadium and at home more compelling. We won't judge ourselves simply on does the game go from3:07 to 3:02. What well judge ourselves on is did we make it more compelling by taking out some downtime?

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Also of note this week:

Credit John Madden when the NFL this week votes to abolish the field-goal or PAT play in which a defender leaps over the center to try to block the kick. (Exciting, I know, but risky.) The abolition of the play is expected to be approved. Madden, in retirement, is co-chair of the NFLs safety committee and chairs the NFL coaches subcommittee. Madden turns 81 on April 10. Hes still a mentor to Goodell and others on football and football-safety matters. When the subject of the kick-block-leaper came up, Madden told the Competition Committee: Why should we wait till somebody gets seriously hurt on a play like this before we do anything about it? Its got to be outlawed.

Buffalo and Seattle advanced a proposal to allow a challenge on any play during the game, without increasing the number of challenges. In a season when cutting time of game is of importance, that ones got no chance of passing.

Could a rule pass thatincentivizes a kickoff through the uprights? Possible. Washington proposed it, and the one worry is that a team like Denver, in high altitude where balls carry better, could have an edge for eight games a year. (Im serious. That is a concern.) Under the proposal, a kickoff through the uprights would result in ball placement at the 20-yard line instead of the 25 on first down. This could be close, but I would guess it would not pass.

Now heres one out of left field: Hall of Fame GM Bill Polian suggested to Goodell at the Super Bowl that the overtime be shortened from 15 minutes to 10. Goodell liked it (safety reasonsfewer plays), as did the Competition Committee. Its not a huge deal, but the two overtime games that ended in ties last year had 39 and 36 plays in the overtimes. Not a big deal, but if those two games had 26 and 24 plays, respectively, that would reduce the threat of injuries a bit.

Regarding the addition of the double-box on the telecasts: NBC has used this on NASCAR while cars are circling the track, and on the Ryder Cup. NFL Network actually, quietly, experimented with the double-box in Week 16 last year, doing a commercial on half the screen and showing a team timeout in Houston-Cincinnati on the other half of the screen. Id expect this to be used during some replay reviews in 2017, to see if the system works.

If the NFL is serious about limiting house ads on game telecasts, I know Id be all for it. On my podcast this week, I brought it up with Goodell, and he talked about wanting to make the drama the late-game focus, not the league or network promotions. He said, All of that is great. All of that is drama. Thats what were trying to get [networks and league merchandisers] to focus on, rather than seeing a promotion of, This is how you buy a jersey, or This is whats going to be on the network next week. And were going to address that.

* * *

A short conversation with the Journalist of the Week, Foxs Jay Glazer, after he and his Fox crew broke the story of Tom Bradys stolen Super Bowl jersey being recovered in Mexico. Glazer later showed the video of Mauricio Ortega of MexicosLa Prensain and around the Patriots locker room, which implicated him in the theft:

MMQB: Tell me a moment that stunned you in the wake of the story.

Glazer:It is so amazing how [Ortega] had it down to a science. He was a professional, acting like he belonged in the locker room, being very calm, very natural. He never fidgeted, never got nervous. We gathered a lot of video on him, obviously. When I showed it to Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman [of the Patriots], who were training at my gym in LA, their reaction was incredible. It was like theyd been violated. This guy was in our locker room and he didnt belong! This is crazy!

MMQB: How did you narrow it down to this one guy?

Glazer:Seriously: just old-fashioned legwork from Fox, from the FBI, from Patriots security, NFL security, Mexican authorities. It is amazing. My bosses at FoxEric Shanks, who was huge through the whole process. He respected the NFL, and he respected the journalism that was being done. I remember being in his office when we realized it was this big figure in Mexican media, like if the editor ofSports Illustratedwent to the World Cup and stole jerseys out of locker rooms there. Our jaws dropped. Seriously, I cannot say enough about how hard the team at Fox worked to get the footage and to get the story right. Joel Santos, one of our producers, and Ted Kenney going through hours of footage with our whole team. I know its corny, but just a real team effort.

MMQB: Whats the story mean to you?

Glazer:I have never worked on anything like an international crime caper in my life. But that's what this was. You cannot be wrong on anything. Anything! At the end of it, though, were sports reporters. I am just happy at the end of the story one of the great players in NFL history gets something back that was stolen from himand a game that was so significant to his family because of everything his mother was going through. Im proud we were able to play some small part in getting that jersey back for him.

* * *

I

Absolutely.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in a frank admission when I asked him Thursday if he was bothered by losing the passion of the San Diego fan base and possibly the Oakland fan base with the Chargers moving to Los Angeles and the Raiders seemingly bound for Las Vegas.

I say frank because I expected him to say the NFL will build fervent fan bases wherever its franchises are. Instead, he admitted the league will be missing something special being out of two supportive markets.

I cant repeat this enough: The NFL is losing two of its best environments to play footballQualcomm Stadium in San Diego and Oakland Coliseum. Both housed loud and intense crowds, win or lose (Oakland especially), and were the epitome of good home markets.

II

Davis seems to be determined to move the team to Las Vegas, with a mindset hardened by the failure of Oakland to do anything until the Raiders were picking out drapes in their new house.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, on Oakland owner Mark Davis intentions on the even of the league meetings.

III

You dont have 32 starting-level quarterbacks in this league. You have about eight elites, and then you have the rest of the league. You have about eight, nine elite quarterbacks He would be a starter on probably 20 of the teams in this league. But youre telling me that youre going to let other guys, youre going to pick up some of these other guys and tell me that theyre starters?

Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman, on Colin Kaepernick, to ESPN, via Pro Football Talk.

IV

We just felt we should put an end to it. We dont think itll lead to more ties. Could it? It could. Are we concerned about that? No, were more concerned about player safety.

NFL Competition Committee chair Rich McKay, on the proposal to change overtime in regular season games from 15 minutes in duration to 10 minutes.

V

I became the answer to a trivia question: Who started in place of Walter Payton in the only game he ever missed? I did. And we got destroyed by the Steelers. But I ran for 110 yards, which made me the answer to another trivia question: Who were the only players to rush for more than 100 yards against the 1975 Steel Curtain? The other: O.J. Simpson.

Former Bears running Mike Adamle, 67, who is living in an assisted-care facility in Chicago after being diagnosed with dementia, to Dan Pompei in an enlightening and heartbreaking story for The Athletic.

Its stories like this that are just so many bricks in the wall, and rightfully so, for parents who will not let their children play tackle football.

VI

Here is something Straight from the horses mouth finding the best fit and helping a team win a championship is my main objective. Im in no rush.

Free-agent running back Adrian Peterson, who turned 32 last week, in an extended Friday Tweet.

VII

Im nervous, man. Im just telling you, these things move And were already at 1 oclock basically, so Okay, what do we got? [Pause. Listening.] I got it all. Just keep me posted. Im like hyperventilating over here. Yeah, so, it could happen in the next hour, next two hours, right? Are you going to send me, like, Go? Okay, Im on the lookout. Thanksbuhbye.

ESPN information man Adam Schefter, on the first day of free agency, on a call mining for information on the crazy Brock Osweiler-to-Cleveland trade three hours before he broke the story, as relayed by Tim Rohan of The MMQB.

Rohan (words) and John DePetro (video) hit a home run on the first of The MMQBs 24 Hours series in 2017. The regular feature on our site will pull back the curtain on a day in the life of an interesting figure in pro football.

TAKE US BACK TO THE OCHOCINCO DAYS:NFL players on how the celebration rules should change

* * *

I

Interesting byproduct of NFL injury research from 2016: This was the least-injurious season for starting quarterbacks in at least 12 years. Charting games missed due to injury by starting quarterbacks over the past four seasons:

2013: 76.

2014: 77.

2015: 59.

2016: 35.

The average number of games missed by starting quarterbacks since 2004: 75.

The NFL defines this statistical category as being games missed by the declared starting quarterback of a team. So even though, for example, Cody Kessler did not open 2016 as the starting quarterback, he was knocked out of games that he started twice with concussions and missed a total of four games because of them. Those count on this list.

Why so low in 2016? Could be an outlier. Could be the start of a lower trend. The Competition Committee believes its because defensive players are getting wiser about late hits on quarterbacks, and officials are watching hits on quarterbacks with more focus, because the league office is harping on it so much.

II

Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, NFL coaches threw the challenge flag an average of 5.38 times in the 2016 season. Bill Belichick was dead last of the 32 coaches in challenge flags thrown. He threw one. Overall, I havent really had many issues at all with the officiating,Belichick told Reiss.

* * *

I

The most interesting factoid from my podcast with Roger Goodell, recorded Thursday: The difference in average time of 2016 games, from the officiating crew that worked the shortest games to the crew that worked the longest, was seven minutes per game. Thus the desire to vote on two things involving officials: referees no longer traipsing to the hooded replay monitor next to the stands but rather getting the replays on a tablet.

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Momentous Change Will Mark NFL Annual Meetings - FOXSports.com

The inaugural symposium to rediscover the rich family and women's history behind the 1808 Bradford House in Duxbury was held Saturday at the town's Senior Center. The Duxbury Rural and Historical Society ran the event.

DUXBURY The inaugural symposium to rediscover the once-hidden family and womens history in the 1808 Bradford House was held Saturday at the Senior Center.

This is a rich resource for womens history, Erin McGough, executive director of the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society, told the gathering. The society has been working for several years to create a new life and future for the historic house at 939 Tremont St..

The historical society partnered with the senior center and Duxbury Free Library for The Bradford House Symposium: Reclaiming a House's History.

Seven historians, scholars and experts from Greater Boston spoke.

The historical societys Re-imagine Bradford Project is working to preserve and transform the Federal style house to tell the story of the four 19th Century Bradford daughters and their productive and fulfilled lives, McGough said.

The sisters were Maria, born in 1804; Lucia, 1807; Elizabeth, 1809 and Charlotte, 1813. They were involved in social movements of the 19th Century, foremost, the abolition of slavery.

Newly designed programs and Bradford House tours are placing the sisters in the context of the swirling movements of the 19th Century and how how they took care of each other their entire lives, McGough said.

The ongoing project is looking into their lives to highlight issues that are relevant to todays events and which have never been examined.

McGough described Charlotte, the best-known of the daughters who was a Civil War nurse, as one of the most important figures in Duxbury.

Carolyn Ravenscroft, historian and archivist for the society, is credited with stirring up interest in the Bradfords through her work at the Bradford House and on the Drew Archives. (She also mentioned the Weston sisters of Weymouth. Maria Weston Chapman was born in Weymouth in 1806 and was the oldest of eight, including five daughters. She became a leading abolitionist and a school in Weymouth is named for her.)

Ravenscroft has gone through volumes of letters and other materials to trace Charlotte Bradfords Civil War nursing career and was drawn to learn more about the other three sisters. When she began to lead tours of the house, Ravenscroft said, the four sisters were represented by faded photographs, without much expression, and one was not even correct, showing a different Lucia.

We began to draw out their stories and unpack their lives, she said. The result: information about four women who were vibrant, attractive, well-educated witty and who liked fashion.

The more we learned, the more we knew we needed to tell their story.

An exhibit, Four Bradford Daughters: Lives Well Lived will open July 15 at the Bradford House.

The society has $16,500 left to raise for the $515,830 needed to complete repairs to the house and to fund the exhibitions.

The other speakers included Cambridge architect Frank Shirley on how he has restored parts of the house and how he imagines a whole new life for historic homes; Craig Chartier of the Plymouth Archaeological Rediscovery Project, who detailed his archaeological discoveries in the Bradford House basement;

Also, Concord historian Jayne Gordon on Concord Cousin: Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley & the World of the Transcendentalists; Hingham independent scholar Michelle Coughlin on reclaiming history and Nicole Belolan on 19th century American Disability: the Bradford House.

Shirley described the house as badly in need of repair when he first began his work more than a year ago but said it had exquisite details, a highly developed sensitivity to proportion and elegant original craftsmanship.

"It is an amazing place," Shirley said. "So much of the original wood and paint remained." Showing images of some of the trim and molding features, he pointed out repetitive lines and rhythms, "enchanting and beautiful."

Patrick Browne, the former executive director of the society, referred to some of those features, said he had noticed them in other historic houses in Duxbury but not in other towns, and asked if they were particular to Duxbury. Shirley said that seemed to be the case and that when the town's wooden boat craftsmen lost work as industries changed, some might have found work in building houses.

Sue Scheible may be reached at scheible@ledger.com or follow on Twitter@SueS_Ledger.

Link:

Discovering new life stories in Duxbury's Bradford House - News ... - Wicked Local Weymouth

Early this fall, I binge watched all the Skin Wars seasons on Hulu. Though I had never met Rachel Deboer in person, I definitely knew who she was and have some Maui friends in common with her. So, being a fan of her body painting art, I was stoked when I saw her ripping up the dance floor in early November at a DJ Mark Farina show at Lulus. That night, I didnt have the guts to walk up to her and fan-girl on her, but I did when I came across her face painting table at Maui Comic Con the following day at the Lahaina Cannery Mall.

Deboer is an internationally recognized and award-winning body painting artist. She won 3rd Place in the Semi-Pro Professional category at the World Body Painting Festival in Austria in 2008. She also won 5th Place in UV Body Painting in 2012 and made the Top 30 In The World list for the Professional Brush & Sponge category at the concurrent festival in Austria in 2016. Shes renowned for her work with blacklight body paint, as well as for the mystical characters she creates. Deboer also has a degree in Theater Performance from the University of South Florida.

Body painting is an art form unlike any other, DeBoer says. Its been around since humans have been here. Body painting political and social justice issues on womens bodies seems to me like one of the most revolutionary act we can do.

At Maui Comic Con, though weaning a small kine headache from the previous night, I found the strength to say hello to her. It was awesome, and she was very cool. We discussed body-painting, I asked her how a person becomes body-painted and we exchanged information.

Then, on Nov. 8, 2016, tragedy struck. Donald Trump won the presidency. In the history of my life, I do not think I have ever experienced the combination of sadness, depression and shock that I felt on the days that followed. Though I know that more than half of America felt the same way, it wasnt until I reached out to Deboer via Facebook Messenger that I began to heal my feelings of political hopelessness and presidential PTSD.

We began a series of messages regarding ideas for what type of body painting Id like to do. At first, I just wanted her to paint something that would be a good addition to her professional portfolio. But once we discovered that we were both irate about the new President-Elect, we decided to do a political body art piece. We met in person, discussed a plan, set up meeting times and it was on.

Many women and men feel insecure about their bodies and being naked in public, and I was no different. Okay, Ill admit that I was actually a little bit mortified. I kept asking myself questions like, Is my body okay for this? Are my boobs too small to be body painted? Even more negative and weird nervous brain chatter fled through my mind in the days leading up to my first body painting session. To put it mildly, I was scared.

*

Back in 2015, we published a feature article about Deboers experience on Game Show Networks Skin Wars. She was a cast member on the second season, vying for a $100,000 prize amongst a group of her peersworld renowned body painting artists.

Since her experience on Skin Wars, Miss Rachel Deboer has been consistently painting human canvases in many different mediums and forms; full body painting, face painting, pregnant belly painting and live human art installations. In the most recent months (since Trumps election, in fact), Rachels art has begun to take a new direction which she calls Political Body Art and Body Art Activism. The main issues that DeBoer focuses on are discrimination against women, discrimination against immigrants, LGBTQ marriage equality rights, pro-choice for women and even the abolition of the electoral college.

Ive noticed that there is a lot of control and suppression around the human body, especially around womens bodies, Deboer says. With the extremely nasty, cruel and shocking disregard for women in this election, and normalization of the presidents comments about women, I felt kicked in the gut by our country. The current government aims to control peoplecontrol our behavior, who we marry, where we work, what we buy, our healthcare, our education, etc. Literally drawing the issues concerning our country and our globe on womens bodies was the only obvious antidote for this oppression.

Deboer strongly believes we need to get back to a whole-istic view of our place here on this earth. Instead of raping and consuming the earth for its resources with a greedy acquistion of things, be a steward of the earth and champions of each others rights, she says. If she can encourage people to have more compassion and tolerance towards all, then Deboer believes that her job as an artist is done.

For our first body painting project, I went to her home in Kula. I was nervous, but to my surprise getting body painted wasnt scary at all. After spending a few hours topless while she painted my chest, I discovered that she wasnt just an intensely passionate artist and woman, but also very comfortable to be around. Her humor and intelligence are engaging, and throughout our discussions I realized that Deboer is more than just an artist; shes an art-activist.

Art is visceral, she says. You feel it in your body. Artists have a responsibility to influence, educate and expand human consciousness. For Deboer, the purpose of art is to remind people of the heart in the decision making process, not just the head or the ego.

The first body painting piece that I did with her was called You Cannot Censor the Heart. It was a tribute to efforts against not only art censorship, but the ways that a political climate can run counter to public opinion. With a censorship bar painted across my mouth, a realistic heart painted on my chest, and me appearing to rip my chest open with a deer-in-headlight expression in my eyes, the piece was incredibly powerful. Maui photographer Zen Panda arrived to take photographs, and within a few days the images hit social media like a ton of bricks.

A few weeks later, You Cannot Censor the Heart images flooded Instagram and Facebook feeds, even being re-posted by internationally acclaimed body painters, art groups and Standing Rock No DAPL communities. It was incredible. With this kind of social media popularity and the confirmation about how Deboers art is helping people throughout the world, the fire within us grew. Deboer, Zen Panda and I were all pumped to produce more such art.

Political body painting became my focus immediately after the election, Deboer says. I was horrified with the whole process and wanted to bury my head in the sand. I admit I was complacent for a long time in politics, taking our hard won social freedoms such as LGBTQ gains for granted. As soon as our now president was elected, I knew I needed to express what was in my heart and thats when You Cannot Censor the Heart came out.

*

A few weeks later, DeBoer and I returned to Zen Pandas photography studio in Kahului. There was a new political body art piece idea, and this one was going to be insane. Although we werent exactly sure how it would turn out, it ended up amazing.

Deboer painted my body as an American flag using black-light body paint. I was tied up in Shibari ropes, a form of Japanese bondage. I was also wearing a V for Vendetta mask, a sort of homage to the international network of political activists and hackers called Anonymous. DeBoer named the piece America Held Hostage. I see it as a direct artistic reflection of how many Americans felt and still feel since Trump took over the Oval Office.

Given the social media success of You Cannot Censor the Heart, America Held Hostage was the perfect follow-up. Like a laser focused on justice, Deboers newest piece burned into the darkest alleys of Americas soul. Then in early January, Deboer went to Los Angeles, where she attended the anti-Trump march and the 750,000-strong Womens March, also in LA. At the anti-Trump march, she painted half of her face with hearts and flowers and the other half as Trump. She marched with her fellow activists holding a sign that said, Which Face of America are You? She told me that shell attend as many marches and demonstrations as she can in the next four years.

Attending these marches have helped me to silence the voices of doubt and insecurity that no one would care about what I cared about, she says. When things this important such as our lives are on the line, artistic expression and public gatherings of like-minded people can boost the soul and heart morale of the nation.

A few weeks ago, Deboer painted me again. The newest of her body art activism collection is a dedication to womens rights and gender equality. Titled Rosie the Resister, she painted me in an illustration-style as Rosie the Riveter, the iconic image of the female defense plant worker created by J.Howard Miller in 1943 for the U.S government.

My overall experience of meeting, getting to know and creating a sisterhood with Deboer has been incredible. Im sure that well be creating more art pieces together, but Im most excited to see where Rachels political art and efforts as a political activist will take her. Given the words and actions of President Trump, she will have a lot of work ahead of her.

Art lovers can support political body art by beginning to paint on themselves, Deboer says. Even face painting and painting words on the body is very powerful. The act of putting color and shape to mental constructs on the human canvas is transformative and forever creatively fulfilling.

Follow Rachel Deboer on Instagram @neverdeboering, on Facebook by searching for Rachel Deboer and online at RachelDeBoer.com.

Photography by Zen Panda Photography

Cover design: Darris Hurst

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What I learned as a body painting canvas for Rachel Deboer - MauiTime Weekly

Eleanor Felton was a widow who moved from England to Peabody with three small children in 1636, carving a life for her family out of what was then a wilderness.

Feltons home now houses the Peabody Historical Society and Museum, and she probably would have liked the exhibit thats opening there on Sunday, March 26, which features four women who shared her independent spirit.

The Peabody Woman: Love, War, Work and Beauty introduces visitors to Elizabeth Whitman, Mary Ophelia Stevens, Martha Osborne Barrett and Bessie Buxton, who lived during different eras in Peabodys history.

We asked ourselves, can we pick four women from Peabody that would help us characterize would it would be like to be a woman at those times?said Kelly Daniell, curator at the historical society.

That question was raised because Daniell felt that historical societies tend to focus on men, and define women only in terms of the men in their lives. Shebegan to assemble this show six months ago, and always planned to open it in March for Womens History Month.

The exhibition has grown to be timely with the national conversation right now, and Im pleased thats happening, she said.

Peabody Woman also goes hand in hand with an April exhibit at the society, Inspired by Time, featuring a display of quilts by local artisans that were inspired by the four women and the times when they lived.

Whitman, the earliest of the four subjects in Peabody Woman, was born in 1752 andlived a restless life, moving up and down the East Coast until she finally took a room under an assumed name in 1788 at the Bell Tavern, which at the time was in Danvers.

She came to Bell Tavern in May, and kept telling people her husband would be joining her, Daniell said. In July she ended up giving birth to a stillborn child, then dying a few weeks later.

The local community publicized her fate, and eventually made contact with her family, discovering Whitmans real identity.

Whitman is best remembered today as the inspiration behind the central figure in the novel The Coquette, which was written by her cousin Hannah Webster Foster. The book romanticized Whitmans life, and after it was published people made pilgrimages to her grave in the Old South Burial Ground.

As an unmarried woman who followed her passions, Whitman represents love, one of the four themes that the exhibit explores through the lives of its subjects.

That contrasts with the theme of war represented by Mary Ophelia Stevens, who lived from 1842 to 1928 and served as a nurse in the Civil War, working in the same hospital in Washington, D.C., as Clara Barton.

She would have seen casualties straight from front, Daniell said.

After moving to Peabody with her husband in 1868, Stevens then became a suffragette, fighting for womens right to vote.

Women gained the vote in 1919 and she registered to vote at City Hall in Peabody, Daniell said. We have the book she registered in at the exhibit.

The show also examines the life of Martha Barrett, a diarist and poet who was born in 1827 and died in 1905, and represents the theme of work.

While she published essays on the abolition of slavery and wrote speeches for public occasions, Barrett had to support herself by working in a millinery shop in Salem.

She writes about depression and being unmarried and working hard to support herself, Daniell said.

Barretts economic struggles contrast with the wealth of Bessie Buxton, who represents the theme of beauty because she founded the Peabody Garden Club. She wanted to counter the impact of the leather industry on the citys appearance.

Buxton was also concerned that older ways of life were disappearing, and she recorded sea chanteys that she heard during her many travels.

Her thing was, she wanted to make Peabody a more beautiful place to live, and the garden club is still around, Daniell said. She left a lasting legacy, to be sure.

IF YOU GO

What: The Peabody Woman: Love, War, Work and Beauty

When: Opening reception Sunday, March 26, 2 to 4 p.m., and open Saturday, April 1, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday, April 2, noon to 3 p.m.

Where: Nathaniel Felton Senior House, Felton-Smith Historic Site, 47 Felton St., Peabody.

Information: Exhibit open for groups and by appointment. More details at http://www.peabodyhistorical.org or 978-877-0514.

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Four Peabody women are the focus of new exhibit at Peabody Historical Society and Museum - The Salem News

When setting a mandatory retirement age, employers must consider the potential for discrimination claims on the ground of age. By fixing and enforcing a mandatory retirement age, an employer may be deemed to be treating older employees less favourably than their younger counterparts.

Irish law permits employers to set mandatory retirement ages for employees. The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 amended section 34 the Employment Equality Acts by making it a requirement that any mandatory retirement age be objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, and that the means of achieving that aim be appropriate and necessary. The purpose of this amendment was to bring Irish equality legislation into line with the originating EU Directive and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Recently, the Government has decided not to oppose the introduction of two Bills seeking to further amend this area of Irish law. The Employment Equality (Abolition of Mandatory Retirement Age) Bill 2016, will, if enacted, amend further section 34 of the Employment Equality Acts. In doing so, the amendment will bring an end to the current practice. The amendment would prohibit employers from setting or contracting for a mandatory retirement age. Certain employees (such as members of An Garda Sochna, the Defence Forces, fire services and employees in certain security-related employment) would still be subject to mandatory retirement ages. The Bill would not, however, make it unlawful for an employer to set a voluntary retirement age or to provide financial incentives for the voluntary retirement of an employee at a particular age.

Another recent bill, the Employment Equality (Amendment) Bill 2016, would prohibit the execution and imposition of mandatory retirement as against an employee where that employee can show as a matter of fact, full fitness to work including the ability to carry out the work and tasks for which they are contracted in a satisfactory manner.

If political agreement is achieved on the principle of abolishing mandatory retirement ages (or restricting the application of mandatory retirement ages to certain circumstances) one or other of these bills might be enacted. However, it is likely that the legislation would be in a substantially different form than the form that has been published in the private members bills.

We will monitor progress on these Bills and update you on any developments in relation to their enactment and potential implications for employers.

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Potential Abolition of Mandatory Retirement Ages - Lexology (registration)

To the Editor:

The hours of the Womens Rights National Historic Park are now reduced to three days a week, and this is just before the peak visitor season. Its the result of budget cuts in Washington, were told. Or is it a thinly veiled effort by Pres. Trump to deny access to the history of womens struggle for equality?

Its a movement begun in New England by Quakers for the abolition of slavery spread rapidly to central New York and Seneca Falls particularly. There it was taken up by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott. As the conditions of slavery were soon realized to be very like those of women generally. No rights and no protection under the law.

Women and the few thoughtful, caring men who supported them pushed forward to work for and finally achieve the vote for women. It took some 70+ years. And the struggle for full equality has not been won yet!

Shall todays women and girls not have the opportunity to learn of the sacrifices and human cost our brave foremothers endured? Museum hours should not just be limited to three days per week! Agreed? If so, resist! Contact your representatives and just say no! to reduced hours at the Womens Rights National Historic Park.

MARY ANN FISCHETTE

Clyde

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LETTER: 'Just say no' to reduced hours at Women's Rights Historic Park - Finger Lakes Times