Jerry Endres

Written Communication

Sheila Allard\

07 Dec., 2010

Two Women who helped Lay the Groundwork for Lasting Peace in Northern Ireland

Young people today will always note that when they discuss Northern Ireland in their Geography or Social Studies that it is a peaceful country, of course they learn of its turbulent and violent past, but they will have no recollection of what truly happened and how it changed to the peaceful nation it is today. Growing up we learned and heard about the violence that raged between the two fractious parties because we had the benefit of being in school during this time. My goal here is to give you some insight into the lives of two brave women and the work that they did and continue to do that brought an end to the horrific violence that nearly tore this fractured nation on the northeast tip of the Emerald Isle apart. When this paper is finished you will truly understand and possibly have an admiration as I do for the brave steps and the non-violent way that these two women, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, went about to bring peace to their native land.

 What brought about the actions of these two courageous women, and what they did to help start the peace initiative that would eventually end the violence to their fractured and war torn homeland, Northern Ireland?  Their actions were ignited and fueled out of a tragic accident that took the lives of the three young Maguire children on August 10, 1976 simply out for a walk  on a street in Andersontown, a republican area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The graphic description of the outright senseless act begins like this, a getaway car out of control, its driver an Irish Republican Army (IRA) gunman shot dead while fleeing British soldiers has smashed into a family out for a leisurely walk. Two of the three children were killed instantaneously, another died hours later at a hospital, and the mother was critically injured. Betty Williams, a housewife and mother, who had witnessed it, was so horrified by this senseless act that killed these innocent children that she quickly went from door to door begging neighbors to join her to stop the violence, collecting 200 people. Among the first people she collected was Mairead Corrigan, the aunt of these Maguire children, who herself witnessed the accident.         

A week later the two women organized and led a march through Belfast of both Catholic and Protestant people seeking an end to the sectarian violence and the start of a peace movement. The senseless killing of these innocent children had produced a wave of revulsion against the violence that had been sweeping across Northern Ireland for many years. (Para 34, Nobel, Heroines) For many years Catholic IRA members used terror and violence directed at the Protestant sectors and British Military occupying Northern Ireland to drive out the British troops, in turn the Protestant extremist responded with violence causing many innocent victims to be killed as a consequence. The two women continued to lead marches throughout Northern Ireland which began arousing much support in Britain and abroad, especially Germany, Norway, and the United States. Together they founded the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People) which Mairead Corrigan still continues to work with today advocating a nonviolent resolution of the Northern Ireland conflict in speaking engagements and writings. What brought hope to these two courageous women was the fact that so many people in Northern Ireland had recognized that violence cannot bring about social justice; together they held the vision of “the dawn of a new day bringing lasting peace to the sorely tried people of Ulster.” (Para 35, Nobel, Heroines)

In their acceptance speech to receive their Nobel Prize delivered by Betty Williams on Dec. 11, 1977, she spoke of their sense of humility, history, and honor to receive this award for their nonviolent actions that led to the formation of the organization, The Peace People. She spoke of not only the honor, but of the courage it took to stand up against the violence that raged in her native, Northern Ireland and the challenges they faced to bring about lasting peace. She spoke how both she and Mairead Corrigan took great satisfaction of what they did by taking,” the initial call, a call which unlocked the massive desire for peace within the hearts of the Northern Irish people, and as we so soon discovered, in the hearts of people around the world…” (Para 2, Nobel Lecture)   

She recalled about the needless and senseless actions that bought about their call to action and taking up the banner for peace in Northern Ireland and how it helped fuel the desire in the hearts and minds of the people tired of the violence and wanting to see a real, lasting peace. The frustration and anger over the tragedy that took the young lives of those Maguire children, the fact one of them being only a six week old baby made it especially unbearable. They could also not forget the life of the young republican, Danny Lennon who also lost his life that day, although some would argue that he got what he deserved that day, but yet it was another young life needlessly lost. (Para 4, Nobel Lecture) Hundreds of thousands of people turned out during those four months following the tragedy and had they not we wouldn’t be standing before you today. (Para 8, Nobel Lecture) “We are honored, in the name of all women, that women have been honored especially for their part in leading a nonviolent movement for a just and peaceful society.” (Para13, Nobel Lecture)       

We know that the only which can break down those barriers is the force of love, truth, and soul-force. “A simple handshake, a simple embrace, can break down enmity between two people.” (Para 24, Nobel Lecture) Such acts of friendship must be backed by dedication, a handshake or an embrace is not enough they must be followed day in and day out, by cooperation in everything that improves life and prevents violence. “We are deeply, passionately dedicated to the cause of nonviolence, to the force of truth and love, to soul-force.” Rev. Martin Luther King described it so well when he said, “that the question today was not whether violence or nonviolence, but that the choice was nonviolence or nonexistence.” (Para 25 & 26, Nobel Lecture)

What these two women showed the world was “what ordinary people can do to promote peace” by taking the first step. “They did so in the name of humanity and love of their neighbor; someone had to start forgiving.” Theirs was truly “a courageous unselfish act that proved an inspiration to thousands that lit a light in the darkness…” (Para 36, Nobel, Heroines)  Despite what was said by Egil Aarvik, vice-chairman of the Nobel Committee, in his presentation speech, neither of these two women is an ordinary person, both have continued their work as an advocate for peace worldwide. In Feb. of 1980 Betty Williams resigned from the Community of Peace People over a rift with Corrigan and the direction the movement was going. She was divorced and immigrated to the United States where she later remarried and became a visiting professor at Sam Houston State College in Huntsville, Texas. Today she heads The World Centers of Compassion for Children, with an aim of providing safe havens for children in areas of conflict in the world. In 1980, Anne Maguire after vainly seeking peace of mind succumbed to the grief and took own life. Mairead helped her brother-in-law care for the remaining children and in 1981 were married. They moved to a home twenty miles southeast of Belfast, and when the children became older she returned to her duties of leading the Peace People. (Pg. 234) Today she was become a strong advocate for peace, in contrast to the nervous young woman she once was, and has become an accomplished speaker spreading her message of peace to many different countries worldwide. Although the violence in Northern Ireland was curbed for a short time eventually it began again and only within the last five years did it come to an end. The message of nonviolence that they carried back then still burns brightly today in the hearts and minds of others throughout the world. When ordinary people rise to face a challenge, they may go far beyond the ordinary. (Para 37, Nobel, Heroines)      

Work Cited Page:

“Heroines of Peace – The Nine Nobel Women”. Nobelprize.org. 16 Nov 2010 http:nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/heroines/index.html.

“Betty Williams – Nobel Lecture”. Nobelprize.org 2 Dec 2010 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1976/williams-lecture.html

Williams, Betty. (2005). In The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography. Retrieved from

http://www.credoreference.com/entry/macdwb/williams_betty

Corrigan, Mairead. (2008)
http://www.credoreference.com/entry/columency/corrigan_mairead

“Mairead Corrigan – Curriculum Vitae”. Nobelprize.org 16 Nov 2010 http://nobelprise.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1976/corrigan.html

The Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates/ An illustrated biographical history 1901-2001, Irwin Abrams- Centennial edition Pgs 234-236

China's Eyes on The Prize

On Oct. 8th it was announced that imprisoned and dissident Chinese Scholar Liu Xiaobo was to be awarded the 2010 nobel Peace Prize. Soon after it was announced ajoke made the rounds among Chinese twitter users able to syrmount the Great Firewall that usually blocks the website: "I don't know who this Mr.Liu is," went the gag, "but as a Chinese, I'm very happy for a fellow citizen to win the Nobel Prize. He must be one of our great party members, a great official... and a great leader who does great deeds for his people." Liu Xiaobo is of course nothing like the joke claimed, he is not even a Communist Party member. He is a literary critic, poet, and one of China's most vocal and persistent dissidents. In 1989 he helped lead the Tiananmen Square democracy movement that ended in bloodshed. Liu, now 54, has spent nearly his entire life since that incident either under surveilance or in jail. This article is especially timely because yesterday in Oslo, Norway he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absence, an empty chair was placed on the stage there was no family member there to accept the award on his behalf. His wife too, Liu Xia and some of his friends are under house arrest in China. (Para 1)
Unlike many other Tiananmmen-era activist and dissidents who have fled China in exile, Liu has stayed in his homeland and has been like some relentless human-rights robot. In 2008, he co-authored Charter 08, a pro-democracy manifesto that managed to gather 303 signatures befor the autorities stepped in. According to the Nobel Committee, Liu deserves the Peace Prize "for his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China," but in the Chinese government's perspective he is a criminal seving a prison sentence for "inciting subversion of state power." (Para 2)
In a counntry as vast and populated as China, few of its citizens are even aware of the fact that he has been awarded the prize. Live feeds of CNN and the BBC were cut when Liu's name was announced by the Nobel Committee.The front page of the Communist Party run- Peoples Daily had nothing of the award. Text messages with Liu's name too, were quickly expunged by censors. Tsinghua University in Beijing took an informal poll and of the 23 respondants polled only 4 had known he had been awarded the Peace Prize. Liu has spent much time in recent years jailed, in 1996 he spent 3 years in a forced labor camp for his continued criticism of the nation's closed political system. After two decades of surveilance by the Chinese police there was little that he did that the authorities didn't know about. Again he was arrested on Dec 8, 2008  before the Chapter 08 was released and given an 11 year prison sentence, which shocked his fans both inside and outside of China, it is the longest sentence ever handed down for political dissidence.(Para 5,6) It begs the question, when will China's human rights record ever improve?

Human rights advocate Ai Wei-wei, who himself was beaten badly by Chinese Police last year stated that, "the Nobel sends a signal to the young generation, to people who dont know the history, to remind them that the world is still concerned about China and common values." The equation the Chinese Communist Party uses is simple: economics trumps politics, prosperity precedes polls, and social stability prevails over indidual expression. China's economic rise to the world's second largest economy which is unparalleled, is easy to buy into the idea that a country can accelerate into the future with one foot on the economic accelerator and one foot on the political brake. That makes an for an interesting analogy that could be a blemish on an otherwise stellar record. The Nobel Committee has rejected the idea that China's spectacular economic record gives it a free pass to put activist in jail. Thorbjoern Jagland, the Nobel Committee chairman, who also delivered the speech at the award ceremony on behalf of Liu Xiaobo stated, " China's new status must entail uncreased responsibility." (Para 9,10)

In the coming days, as the news of Liu's award spreads across the country, it is the opinion of the ordinary Chinese people that will matter most nad not that of the political hierarchy. Will the people buy the government line that he is a troublemaker and criminal? Or will they secretly thrill to the fact that a Chinese living in his homeland has been so honored? At least the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Liu Xiaobo, gives the Chinese people a chance to imagine a country not defined by rulers whose instinct is to denounce anyone seen as a threat to their power. "Millions of Chinese, both inside China and around the world, see and feel more clearly that China can be much more than the Chinese Communist Party." said Perry Link, a China expert at the University of Califonia at Riverside. Perry helped Liu translate Charter 08 into english so it could be greater heard around the world. (Para 14)  So again I ask will China's human rights record improve only time will tell?

Beech, Hannah and Austin Ramzy/ Beijing as reported in Time Magizine article, dated 25 October 2010, Pgs. 40-43

Test reveal "the brutal truth"

In the United States students are continuing to trail their peers from other nations in high school classes testing, according to results from a key international assessment. Scores recorded from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment released Tuesday reveal that 15 year old students in the U.S. are performing about average in reading and science, and below average in math as compared to their counterparts in many other nations. Out of 34 other nations the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math. Those scores are all higher than those reported in 2003and 2006, but show that we have a long way to go to catch the highest scoring countries. The highest scoring countries include South Korea, Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Canada. U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan said that, "this is an absolute wake-up call for America, the results are extraordinarily challenging and have to deal with the brutal truth. We have to get much more serious about investing in education."
The PISA exam is only one of a handful of test that compare educational levels across nations, but it is considered the most comprehensive. te exam focuses on how well students apply their knowledge of reading, science, and math to the real- life situations. Some 470,000 students took the exam in 2009 in 65 countries worldwide. The test were administered in poor undeveloped nations as well as the most wealthy nations. In today's global job market student performance on international assessments is considered extremely relavant, where highly skilled workers are in increasing demand.
Our mediocre scores show that we need to improve our high school education systems which is being pushed by the Obama administration. Clearly the previous administration's policy of, no child left behind let us down.The tests show that a number of countries have made significant improvements while the U.S. has made only incremental advances in it education policy. So I ask is our education system still broken in your opinion?


Armario, Christine Associated Press as reported in the Wisconsin State Journal Wed., 8 Dec., 2010

Onalaska student charged in gun scare

Tuesday prosecutors filed charges in La Crosse County Circuit Court againsty a 15 year old Onalaska High School freshman accused of bringing a handgun and ammunition into the building on Friday. He is charged with felony possession of a firearm in a school zone and misdemanor possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. The petition filed is not public record because the teen hasn't been adjudicated previously and is not charged with a class B felony.
The student was suspended when school officials were alerted by another classmate that he'd seen the ammunition and after searching the syudent's backpack they discovered the ammunition and a 9mm handgun Friday morning. The incident led to a 90 minute lockdown while police searched through all the lockers and backpacks at the school. Onalaska Superintedant John Burnett stated Tuesday, "that even though the student made a very, very poor decision, we have no indication that he intended to do any harm to anyone." He went on to say, "his intent was to show off what he had in his possession."
Wisconsin State law requires that the district have an expultion hearing when a firearm is brought to school within 15 days of the incident. No date has yet been set while the administration is still deciding what penalties the student should face. An expultion could range from several days or until the student is 21, Burnett said. The board could also recommend that the student be enrolled in an alternative education program.
Lately we have been hearing an awful lot in the last few years about students bringing firearms into classrooms in this state, often times the situation has ended with dire consequences for both the student and their classmates and teachers. I guess my question is a two fold question, should Wisconsin's gun get tougher than they already are? and could this senseless incident have been prevented by the student's parents with more supervision of the child?

Jungen, Anne La Crosse Tribune 8 Dec., 2010 ajungen@lacrossetribune.com pgs. A1, A7

States ask Texas to supply ingredient for executions

The supply of a key drug, sodium thiopental, used in lethal injections have many state officials knocking on Texas State  Penitentary's door for help. Sodium thiopental is the knockout drug used in letal injection executions and some of the states that have the death penalty are runnuing out or have none left. Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, stated that she would not identify the stares that requested assistance. The state has declined to make its supply available although, its 39 doses are set to expire in March and it only has 3 scheduled executions before then. States such as Arizona, Oklahoma, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky have scrambled to acquire the drug.

Sodium thiopental renders the condemned inmate unconscious, so the prisoner feels no pain while the rest of the lethal cocktail is administered. Hospira, the lone federally approved maker of rthe drug, has said that new batches of the drug won't b available until next year. Lyons stated that despite looming expiration of the state's inventory of the drug she has no plans to distribute the drug to other states in need, " We have a responsibility to ensure we have an adequate supply of the drug on hand to carry out any executions scheduled in the State of Texas." States with a shortage are having to find other means to obtaining the drug by finding overseas suppliers or proposing radical changes in their execution protocols.

In Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, had to stay the executions of two men in August because of the lack of sodium thiopental. In Oklahoma a federal judge aproved the use of pentobarbital, a drug used in euthinizing animals, to replace sodium thiopental in executions. In Arizona the state had to get the drug from a British supplier, so that it was able to executeJeffrey Landrigan, a convicted murderer. As you can see other states have had to find other means of acquiring the drug or add stays of executions to condemned inmates costing taxpayers more money their states while these men await their executions. I know that to many people that the death penalty is a hot button issue. My question to you is that do you think that states who do not have an adequate supply of the drug should do away with the death penalty altogether? What is your opinion on this hot button issue?

http//:usatoday.com/2010/11/29/kevin_johnson/pg2A   

FDA warns makers of alcoholic energy drinks

The FDA has recently issued warning letters to four marketers of caffeinated alcohol drinks, saying the caffeine is an "unsafe food additive." The makers of such energy drinks as Four Loko and Joose, which has a contract to be made here at the City Brewery in La Crosse. A spokesman for the City Brewery said earlier Wednesday it's too early to predict what kind of effect that the FDA's warning might have on the caffeinated alcohol drinks it makes under for other companies. The spokesman, who asked not to be named said, "We will be producintg drinks with or without caffeine." (Para 2) He added, "It's not going to help us, but hopefully it won't hurt us too much." (Para 3)

"Recent publicity about the effects of caffeinated alcohol drinks has increased interested in and sales of Four Loko and Joose," said Art Soell, wine and spirits specialist for La Crosse-area Festival Foods stores.( Para 4)Most of the consumers who purchase these types of beverages are between the ages 21 nad 30. FDA Commissioner, Margeret Hamburg said Wednesday the combination of caffeine and alcohol in the drinks can lead to "a state of wide-awake drunk."(Para 7) Evidence has shown that their consumption has led to alcohol poisoning, car accidents, and assaults, she said. Reports say that the government could eventually seize the product if companies continue to make and market them. The companies have a 15 day deadline to either explain how they will take their products off the market or defend the drinks as safe.

College students have been hospitalized in recent months after consuming the drinks causing increasing pressure by the government to ban these beverages. In response to such incidents, four states - Washington, Michigan, Utah and Oklahoma have banned the beverages and other states are considering similar action. Phusion Projects, which manufactures the popular Four Loko, announced late Tuesday that it would reformulate it's drinks to remove the caffeine. Four Loko comes in several varieties, including fruit punch and blue raspberry. A single-serving 23.5-ounce can contains 12 percent alcohol and can be purchased for $2.50, making it comparable to having four beers.

The FDA has also issued warning letters to Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co., and United Brands Company Inc. which manufactures Joose. As of Wednesday, a Four Loko Facebook page has more than 41,000 fans, and a similar Joose page has more than 27,000 fans. On four Loko's page many fans mourned the demise of their favorite drink. I personally don't like any of the energy drinks on the market these days. I have tried a few like Sparks, Red Bull, and Nos. My question is then what do you think of the recent FDA's action concerning these caffeinated alcoholic beverages, and do you think that maybe they are over stepping their bounds a bit?

http// lacrossetribune.com/2010/11/18/pg.A1&A8

Airline passengers upset by scanners and new pat-downs

Just in time for the Thanksgiving travel rush which will begin in about a week, federal air security officials are struggling to reassure the rising number of outraged fliers and airline workers facing these new screening procedures.Many view these new anti-terroist security screenings as invasive and harmful. Across the country airline passengers are being forced to endure full-body image detectors and or probing pat-downs. Top federal security officials have stated that these security procedures are necessary sacrifices that passengers need to endure to ward off terror attacks. Homeland Security Security Janet Napolitano said, "It's all about security and everybody recognizing their role." The flury of criticism from the American public continues though and has caught federal officials off guard.

At the San Diego airport, a software engineer posted an internet blog item that said he was ejected off a flight and threatened with a fine and lawsuit for refusing a groin check after turning down a full-body scan. The passenger, John Tyner told a federal Transportation Security Administration worker, "If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested." (Para 6) The protest that he posted on the internet quickly became a web sensation. Travel business groups, civil liberties activist and pilots are raising concerns about procedures themselves and the delays caused by passengers who refuse these new procedures. Many travel managers are greatly concerned that TSA is going too far and without proper procedures and sufficient oversight. so in my opinion what this boils down to is that many passengers feel voilated by thes new security measures that the TSA is taking while others just accept it as a necessary evil to help keep our airways safe. I guess that I fall in with the group that feels though it is invasive it is probably a necessary evil to help keep our airlines safe. Sthen my question is, what is you take on these new airline security procedures, and do you feel that they are necessary?

http//lacrossetribune.com/2010/11/16/ pg. A3