History On The Syrian Uprising Politics Essay

History On The Syrian Uprising Politics Essay When reviewing the information on Syrian Uprising it is apparent that each source of media reports in a different way. As shown by one mass media source might not give all of the facts on the war. A second and third source will have two different hypotheses. Now the report done by USA today gives a different point of view on the same topic, the article paints the picture of the terrorist being the good guys or the criminals in this case, the rebels are they the same or different? This all depends on the media and propaganda. The Syrian civil war, also referred to as the Syrian uprising, is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Baath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011 with nationwide demonstrations as part of the wider protest movement known as the Arab Spring. Protesters demanded the end to nearly five decades of Baath Party rule, as well as the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. As you can see from the evidence shown in the brief statement that the same group is shown as the Opposition party or the terrorist, however there is room for an optional on this also with the historical facts. To find out the Arab point of view, on the thesis topic hereunder, you got to watch Al-Jazeera News Channel, as it is the best Arab News Channel that covers the Syrian Civil War/ Uprising. Also, it has covered all previous Arab revolution against their tyrant rulers, a period known as Arab Spring, which erupted initially in Tunisia, a couple years ago, then moved to neighboring country, Egypt, followed by neighboring Libya, then Yemen, while it is still going on in Syria. To emphasize these ideas, please refer to a weekly debate program called Opposite Directions that covers various theme. The last program related to the thesis topic broadcasted a couple weeks ago, which hosted by a well known Arab commentator, Faisal Al-Qassem., whereby two opponent individuals were interviewed, a journalist that is pro the Syrian government, and a representative from the Opposition Party, known as Free Syrian Army. The Program was highly thrilling and influential upon watchers as it covers a very h ot current issue that arouse the feelings of millions of people, and human rights organizations around the world. In iorder for the outsiders to understand the discussion theme, I should demonstrate a brief history of the current ruling party of Syria. Syria is an Arab State located in the highest conflict area in the Middle East, probably for the whole world, as it has direct borders to Israel, in an area; called Golan Heights. This strategic area was seized by Israel during the 1967 War, in which Israel succeeded in occupying the remaining of Palestine, which now known as West Bank, Sinea Desert from Egypt, and Golan Height from Syrian territory. Since that date, and this heavy butterfly defeat; Syria and other Arab States in the surrounding region become unstable, and angry demonstrations erupted in these countries demanding revenge and out setting the dictatorship and so called traitor leaders. Looking at the remaining facts of how and why this happen In Egypt, president Jamal Abdul Nasser admitted his full responsibility about the humiliating defeat, Announcing is resignationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ However, the Egyptian backed by most Arab people went into massive demonstrations, requesting the return of Nasser to Power, and resignation of his assistance generals, accusing them of the cause of the defeat. In Jordan, dominated by Palestinian origin people announced their revolution against Israel establishing a movement called Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by late Yasser Arafat, who become the symbol for the Palestinian cause, who was finally died while besieged in his headquarter in Ram Allah, with allegations still going on, that Israel mainly Sharun, the Ex PM of Israel has poisoned him with Bolton poison material. PLO achieves the first victory against Israel in 1968, with assistance of Jordanian Artilleries, in an Al-Karamah War. Although the war was on small scale but it raised the morals of the Palestinians and Arab people, so more people and fighters join PLO, and become a dominating force in Jordan that threaten the authority and power of its King, late Hussein bin Talal. An internal clash and fierce fight erupted between PLO and Jordan, ended with an Agreement signed in Cairo 1970, in which PLO fighters moved to South Lebanon to start a new era of fight for freedom against Israeli aggression. Now, going back to Syria, which is the main theme of my thesisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ During the aforesaid clash, the Syrian Army crossed the border of Jordan in an attempt to assist the Palestinian revolution; an opportunity that the Minister of Defense Hafez Al-Assad has seized to take hold of the power, and made a cope announcing himself as new President, establishing Baath Party, with main ministers and VIP positions are held by people from his sect. Syria, like most other Arab states is composed of ethnic groups, Alaweya who are part of Shiite Muslim comprised 12% of the population, while Sunni comprised three quarter off the population, with other minorities from Christian, Kurds etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Thereby, 12% is ruling the majority of the people by suppression, force, corruption which was the seeds for the uprising we are witnessing nowadays Hafez Al-Assad died in 2,000 and was succeeded by his son, the current president Bashar Al-Assad. Bashar attempted to implement political reform in the country, However, al-Assad is widely regarded to have been unsuccessful in implementing democratic change, with a 2010 report from Human Rights Watch stating that he had failed to improve the state of human rights since taking power ten years prior. All other political parties have remained banned, thereby making Syria a one-party state without free elections. In terms of socioeconomic situation, although Syria owns huge natural resources, factories, agriculture, oil etc; the majority of people mainly in the outskirts of the main cities like Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Darrah, Dir AlZoor, Hamah live in poverty, deprived from freedom for election and welfareTherefore the uprising has erupted and still undergoing in Syria. Now, going back to the Program Opposite Directions or Face to Face, the journalist that was pro the government claimed, as Syrian regime is announcing daily in the Media, that those protesters are terrorist gangs related to Islamic Al-Qaeda extremists, and they are paid by neutral Arab/ Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey that they are seeking peace with Israel, while Syria backed by Iran, Russia and China, is in the front fire line with Israel.. The other commentator representing the Opposition Party, denied totally such allegations, and asserting that the Uprising has started by peaceful demonstrations by poor people away from the major cities, that were demanding freedom, equality, welfare, which are just basic demands and basic right that must be granted for the people all over the world. Then, after using fire arms and artilleries to suppress or quell the demonstrators, they were forced to use the arms and fight the Syrian Army They have created a new army called Free Syrian Army comprised of veteran soldiers and military high rank staff that dissented from the legal Syrian Army The Program duration is one hour, which includes two periods of interruption for advertisements that are irrelevant to this hot topic being rallied. From my opinion, there is no need for such interruptions as will make the watchers lose interest, especially when one of commentator was not given the chance to express his ideas extensively and in a comprehensive way. Also, the host, although he is very experienced and skilled in presenting such programs, most of the time was pro one of the parties that is the opposition side, in an unbiased way, which definitely will influence the ideas and concepts that will be inferred or contemplated by the watchers. It will be much better to leave each party clarify his point of view. On the other hand, there are numerous programs and articles that had been published or announced in the US media including TV News channels, magazines, newspapers etc. For the sake of comparison with the aforesaid AlJazeera Arab News Channel Program, I will refer to a comprehensive article published in the CNN website, called Syria: Understanding the unrest edited Arwa Damon and Richard Roth, CNN The article does not touch on the history or the facts of the real issues that has lead to such uprising. It covers general issues including past inhuman massacre committed by previous late president of Syria, Hafez Al-Assad, father of Bashar the current president, in 1982 in Hama city, in which over 20,000 were killed. However this is a reference to an isolated incidence that is cant be compared to the current massive military violence against civil Syrian people in almost all of the cities and towns in the country. The other main point demonstrated in the said article, that reveals the real American point of view about the whole issue is related to domination, as the article clearly refers to the support the Syrian regime is receiving from two main powers in the world that are : Russia and China. Over history it is known that Syria is supported in terms of military, diplomacy and economy by Russia. And definitely, Russia or China have strategic interests in Syria; as if they lose their domination over the country they will lose their last stronghold in the Middle East; exactly in a similar way that has recently occurred in Libya; for which country was dominated by NATO forces, mainly France; as almost oil and 50% of projects are or will be allocated to France and other NATO countries.. Also, the topic refers to other regional countries that have a role in the Syrian issue, mainly Turkey, and Saudi Arabiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Turkey is an important trading partner, but its relationship with Syria appears to have cooled. From my point of view, Turkey will have a great role in the crisis if it either interferes by military forces, or just by packing the rebels mainly the Free Syrian Army; which will be a great help for the protesters and opponent forces. In early August, Saudi Arabias King Abdullah condemned the crackdown on anti-government protesters, saying there was no justification for the bloodshed. While it is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia has openly criticized Syria, it is not surprising. Saudi Arabia is wary of Irans influence in the region and Syria is Irans closest ally there. From my point of view the role of other Arab major countries like Egypt, and Qatar have to be taken into consideration, for Egypt inference by force will create an unbalance for the benefit of the opposition. While Qatar economic aid for the opponents will be a high significant factor in the whole equation of force balance. Is social media still playing a part in the uprising? Is it likely to have a decisive role in the final outcome? Its huge. Its not the same as we saw in Egypt, which has been labeled a Facebook revolution because of the role of social networking sites. Syria is the YouTube revolution. If activists werent posting videos to YouTube, we would have almost no window into what appears to be happening in Syria. Will it be decisive? Yes, absolutely. The reason why people have been able to have such a strong debate about crimes against humanity, about abuses, about the atrocities allegedly committed is because weve had these images on hand. As I have demonstrated a brief history of the area and conflict in the ME region, I believe the main and most complicated issue that is the cause of all such uprising or what so called Arab Spring era, is the Palestinian Cause. Although I am of Palestinian origin, but Ive never lived or seen my country Palestin, I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, and the closest point I reach was Jordan and Egypt. Definitely, nobody will ever forget ones heritage, descendants, ancestors, homeland as those give the value of ones existence in life. But by looking of high toll of death on a daily basis in Syria, on the average 100 people die every day, and civilian people are bombarded by artilleries and airplanes , from their own army that they build by their blood, money, and efforts.. All what I can say that it is unfair, and all the world should interfere somehow to solve the problem Finally, to recap, I repeat that the Palestinian issue is the cause of all this unrest in the area, probably the whole world. It is the cause that provokes uprising and unrest in the whole world It is the cause that the Islamic extremists or fundamentalists use to justify their terrorism upon innocent American Civilians. It is this mentality that doesnt accept dialogue and brainstorming with confronting ideas, and it always it is my way or the high wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Such kind of people are the main blockade to peace, freedom and amenityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I dont believe that conflicts and violence will lead us to anything, it will take us to nowhere, to the contrary they provoke hatred, poverty, resentment, and illiteracy, with desperation and no hope for the future.. I do believe that all people are descended from one Father, Adam; and one Mother; Eve so we all are brothers in humanity, and should learn how to love each other and live in tranquility, brotherhood and peaceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ . In enclosing this should show that no everyone shares the same point of view on one sub ject matter, not all view points are heard or seen. The use of history and fact to give a point of view is to learn from the mistakes made in the past have a way of coming back into play.

Prejudice and Racism - A Fair and Just Society is Still Only a Dream Es

This Critical Essay Builds Upon the Concepts of Rawls and King to Examine the Potential for Justice in America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Martin Luther King Jr. made many claims about the American society in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 that were all legitimate. Today, we have made many advances toward the racial equality that he sought. As a nation, however, we still have not "opened the door of opportunity to all God's children", as King so eloquently put it. In part, this is due to the fact that although our society has reached a degree of political nondiscrimination, this political nondiscrimination has not led to economic nondiscrimination. What it has led to, though, is affirmative action policy and awareness among the people of this country that justice is a complicated process that has yet to be realized. King made us aware that Blacks weren't receiving equal treatment under our laws, and this awareness led to equal rights policy. These equal rights policies have, in turn, led to affirmative action policies. Affirmative action policies of equal opportunity were necessary becau se political equality was not resulting in economic equality. Today's citizens are still not satisfied, however. This is because affirmative action policy, to date, has been based on egalitarian policy, which has not resulted in economic security nor a sense of balanced justice. In this paper, I will show how Martin Luther King Jr. initiated a growth process in our country by creating an awareness, and that this awareness is gradually evolving toward a justice that we have yet to realize. I will show that Americans are still in the midst of growing pains, and that equality, opportunity, and justice are complex issues that we are slowly working out over ti... ...s distributive justice. We are a developing nation when it comes to our philosophies, but I am optimistic that with additional ethical participation by citizens in the area of public policy, Americas (like King and Rawls) can still dream of achieving a fair and just society.    Works Cited Flew, Anthony, ed. Dictionary of Philosophy (New York: St. Martins Press, 1979) 299. Lamb, Kevin. "The Problem of Equality". The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. v20, #4 (Winter 1995) 467-479. Robinson, Dave and Chris Garratt. Introducing Ethics (New York: Totem Books, 1997) 131. Rusher, William. Editorial. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. November 25, 1997. Steinberg, Stephen. "The Affirmative Action Debate." UNESCO Courier (March 1996) p17 (5). Walters, Ronald. "Criticality of Racism." The Black Scholar v26 (1996):2-7.

Alcohol in Our Society; Huxley’s View in Relation to Brave New World Es

Alcohol in Our Society; Huxley’s View in Relation to Brave New World Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a science fiction book that captures both the good and bad sides of cloning and mass production of humans through science. Huxley’s book, published in 1932, conveys his well-developed and disturbingly accurate ideas about human behavior in what was then the distant future. In addition, his writing measures the capacity for which humans can obsess over not only having a perfect society, but also having total control over everyone and everything in a world where nothing is wild and untamed. Individualism is seen as a cause of instability, and society in its entirety is broken down into five castes. For the people of the â€Å"World State†, life is based on immediate pleasure and constant happiness; sex and the use of the drug soma are a major part of every person’s life. The use of soma is so prevalent in the World State that no other drugs are ever used by anyone. It is the cure for everything and the supplement to happiness. In some ways, it is possible to say that soma is used in a fashion that could draw comparisons to the use of alcohol in the society known to humans today. On several occasions in the book, major characters show their use soma as a way to escape from harsh or uncomfortable feelings, or to further enhance their social activities. In one such case, Lenina and Henry take several doses of the drug while on a date (Huxley, 75). The use of soma, in this instance, causes the two to become rather oblivious to what is happening around them, and eventually leads to them engaging in sexual intercourse. In this sense, it can easily be seen how soma is used in a similar way as alcohol; people use i... ...ohol became an instance of how soma could be considered a good alternative to alcohol. Linda’s uncontrolled drinking, however, came as a result of her conditioning and use of soma when she was a resident of the World State. Consequently, it can be argued that everyone from the World State is an abuser of soma in that he or she uses it to escape from anything and everything, similar to the way Linda uses alcohol to escape her past and her son. Huxley is clearly using soma to make a statement about society in general, how people use alcohol and other drugs as an escape and associate them with happiness and fun. It is obvious from his writing that he believes that a society, which is so intent on self-indulgence and considers this to be â€Å"High Life†, is truly a scary thought and worth comparing such a world to our own. (www.grlzontop.com/bnw/index2.html)

Compare Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band Essay -- English L

Murder mysteries - Compare Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. Murder mysteries all have a similar plot consisting of a body, a motive, a weapon, a suspect, an alibi, and detectives. Viewers and readers expect this in the text, Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band are no exception. The structures of the two stories are very different, with The Speckled Band story unfolding in chronological order, finding out the murderer right at the end, however in the Lamb to the Slaughter, the murderer is known at the beginning of the story. The two stories are seen from two different points of view, first-person narrator in The Speckled Band as Dr Watson character within the story and therefore limited in understanding and the all-knowing third-person narrator or omniscient in Lamb to the Slaughter as the narrator stands outside the story itself and guide the reader's understanding of characters and the significance of their story. Most murder mysteries have the typical victims, murderers, and detectives; this is especially true in the older murder mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Speckled Band has a typical detective, the famous detective being Sherlock Holmes with his deer stalker hat and pipe always deep in thought about the investigation "his arms folded, his hat pulled down over his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the deepest thought". But in the Lamb to the Slaughter the detectives are so foolish and naives, a complete contrast to Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes comes across as a typical fictional detective. In addition Miss Stoner, in The Speckled Band is a typical victim, vulnerable, anxious, weak and scared. She say's " It is not cold which makes me shive... ...ir Arthur Conan Doyle story is set in a period of over 100 years ago. Both of the murders are set in the family home. In the Lamb to the Slaughter, "The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight." "The bedrooms in this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting-rooms being in the central block of the building," describes the house of Dr Roylott in The Speckled Band. From my perspective I think that the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story, The Speckled Band is the most successful out of the two, as the author made the main character, Sherlock Holmes such an intriguing and interesting character, which draws the audience in. He leaves the reader in suspense until the end of the story until the murderer is revealed. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories are so well-know due to the stories being turned into films and shown on the television.

What does Scout learn about Maycomb and its inhabitants during the trial?

Through witnessing the trial, Scout learns a lot about Maycomb and its inhabitants, particularly Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson, Dolphus Raymond and her own father, Atticus.Bob Ewell is the villain of the ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and, as a result of the trial, he attempts to get revenge on Atticus and his family. However, in the trial itself he is depicted as a very unpleasant person, not only by his appearance, â€Å"a little bantam cock of a man† but also by his conduct. Scout learns that he drinks and sometimes leaves his family for days, he is violent and he may even be committing incest with Mayella. Atticus establishes that he is left-handed and that Mayella was probably beaten up by a left-handed man – it seems that he, and not Tom Robinson, beat up Mayella after he saw Mayella trying to kiss Tom.Bob therefore lies during the trial and is prepared to sacrifice the life of an innocent man for the sake of his daughter's reputation. His abominabl e behaviour during the trial and his assumption that everybody will be on his side against a black man convince the reader that he is a thoroughly loathsome character. Mayella Ewell also lies in court but for different reasons to her father. She is the only responsible member of one of the poorest families in Maycomb.She looks after herself and her brothers and sisters and even tries to bring some beauty into their lives by growing geraniums. Her family is so poor that white people will have nothing to do with her and, at that time, it was not possible for her to be friendly with black people. Hence Scout coming to the conclusion that she is â€Å"the loneliest person in the world†. Tom Robinson passed her house every day on his way to work and, according to Scout; he was probably the only person who was ever nice to her.Tom's evidence at the trial implies that she had planned to make a pass at him for a long time. It took her nearly a year to save enough money to send all he r brothers and sisters into town to get ice creams. When she and Tom were alone together she tried to kiss him but she was interrupted by the arrival of her father. At that time in the 1930s there was a very strong prejudice against white women being involved with black men and if the fact that she had kissed Tom of her own accord emerged, she would have been shunned by everyone. She would rather let Tom die than let this happen.The trial also helps Scout gain a further insight into the character of Tom Robinson, who is the innocent victim of Mayella's loneliness and is often perceived to be the â€Å"mockingbird† of the novel. He assisted Mayella over a long period of time and always behaved courteously and respectfully around her. When Mayella tried to kiss him he didn't know what to do. He couldn't hit a white woman to keep her away from him nor could he allow her to kiss him – he ran away when Bob Ewell arrived knowing that whatever he did would get him into troubl e.In the trial Tom's innocence is proved by the fact that only his right arm is useable. It becomes evident that he couldn't have held Mayella and raped her in the way that she described, and her injuries were the result of a beating from a left-handed man. He is honest and labours strenuously but he offends the jury by saying that the reason why he did all the work for Mayella is because he â€Å"felt right sorry for her. † Tom oversteps some societal boundaries and his admission of sympathy of Mayella – a white woman – is considered impertinent due to the lower status of black people at the time.In spite of his obvious innocence and the persuasive arguments presented by Atticus, Tom is convicted of the crime as racial prejudice is still too strong and society is not yet able to deal with such a case fairly. Prior to the trial, Scout only knows Dolphus Raymond through the rumours that revolve around him: he always drinks whisky out of a sack which supposedly pr ovides an explanation for why he’s got a â€Å"coloured woman and all sorts of mixed chillum†; he â€Å"owns all one side of a river bank†¦and he’s from a real old family to boot.†But through meeting Dolphus with Dill, Scout is informed that he pretends to be an alcoholic because it was the only way the Maycomb would accept him. He says this was so because they could not grasp a sane white person ever living with coloured folks. This interlude with Dolphus Raymond at the beginning of chapter 20 foreshadows Atticus’s views, expressed later, that black people are people like everyone else. Scout and the readers learn that we shouldn’t judge people by appearances.Although she judges Dolphus by his reputation, her opinion changes after she has met him – something that sadly the white jury of the trial is incapable of doing regarding Tom Robinson. This scene underlines the prejudices of the white community, with hints that if a white person loves a black person they have to have an excuse for it and with Scout discovers more about the â€Å"simple hell people give other people. † The trial reveals a lot of hidden traits of Atticus, even the littlest things seeming abnormal to Scout and Jem.â€Å"†¦Atticus did something I never saw him do before or since, in public or in private: he unbuttoned his vest, unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie, and took off his coat. He never loosened a scrap of clothing until he undressed at bedtime, and to Jem and me, this was the equivalent of him standing before us stark naked. We exchanged horrified glances. † This ‘first’ is symbolic that he’s done everything he’s could.It also suggests that the trial is taking a toll on Atticus and he is beginning to feel the strain of it. This may seem unusual, as Atticus has always remained quite relaxed and calm about the case, however by doing this he gives the impression that he’s ne rvous and is feeling tense. Furthermore, Mayella, who is not used to being treated decently, sees his politeness as offensive and it is clear that he takes no pleasure in revealing the true nature of Mayella's actions.Whilst making his concluding speech, Atticus tries to defend the idea that all men are equal before the law, but he is unable to overcome the basic prejudices of the jury. The only mark of his success is that they take an unusual length of time to come to their decision. Atticus was appointed to defend Tom and he upset people merely by doing his job. In spite of the verdict, the black people of the town appreciated his efforts and on the day after the trial they sent large amounts of food to his house in gratitude.

Slip Casting/ Ceramic Sculpture

WHAT IS SLIP CASTING? Slip casting is a process of creating ceramic forms by casting liquid clay (slip) into plaster molds. This process is most useful when you want to make multiples of a form. The molds enable you to create identical copies. —————– In the classroom, slip cast multiples can be used to†¦. -create multiples of a student’s ceramic artwork (for gift giving or a new sculpture of multiples) -create identical starting forms that students will manipulate to create their own unique artwork – try out different glaze techniques on – allow experimentation without the fear of â€Å"ruining† the artwork Materials All you need for slip casting: Plaster mold, Clay slip, kiln Necessary items if you want to make your molds: five gallon bucket, plasticene ( non hardening clay), Vaseline /liquid soap, hammer , chisel/screwdriver, —– Plaster and slip are available at most ceramic supply centers. I listed some local suppliers on the resources page in this packet. Plaster comes in a couple different types. Pottery plaster is the standard and readily available at ceramic supply stores. Casting plaster is only necessary if you want to make extremely detailed pieces. I go with the cheapest and it works fine for classwork. Just as  clay comes in many forms, so does slip. The texture and chemical content of the slip dictate what type of clay body it forms. Clay slip bodies range from fine delicate porcelain to coarse strong stoneware. Your firing temperature depends on the content of your slip. For normal classroom use I use low fire white casting slip. It is available in premixed 2gallon bags from most ceramic supply stores. It usually runs about 8 dollars a bag. Four gallons is enough for a class of twelve to make at least two ten inch hollow forms. HOW EXACTLY do you CAST SLIP? First, you need a mold made of plaster. It must be plaster because the plaster absorbs the water from the slip. Fill the mold with slip. As the mold absorbs the water, the level of the slip in the mold will go down requiring you to top off the mold. You want the slip to stay level with the horizontal surface of the mold. If you want a hollow form , you have to dump out the excess slip. Watch for an eighth of an inch skin of slip to form on the edges of the piece before you dump the slip. That skin is now the wall of your hollow piece. For small pieces, it only takes about five minutes before you are able to dump out the excess slip. If you leave a mold filled with slip too long, the ceramic piece will be thick and heavy. Which doesn’t really matter, but it wastes a lot of slip. If you don't leave it in long enough, it will tear as it comes out of the mold and be useless. You can pour solid. Usually this practice is used for plates, bowls, and other utility items. To pour solid, just keep filling the mold with slip until it stops sucking up slip. [pic] HOW DO YOU get the piece OUT OF the MOLD? After you have dumped the excess slip, the mold has to sit and dry. The mold pulls the water out of the clay and dries the piece out. To speed up the drying you can use a fan, blowing across the molds, or put your molds on top of a hot kiln. The larger the piece the longer it will take to dry. If you leave a piece in the mold too long, it will dry out too much and crack. If you don't leave it in long enough, it won't come out easily and will tear. You can tell if a piece is ready to come out of the mold if it has pulled away from the sides of the mold/pour hole. When the casting is dry enough to take out, gently pull your casting, now more like leatherhard clay, out of the mold. It should release easily, if the piece is dry enough. Try to pull the piece straight out of the mold to keep from warping its shape. When the piece comes out of the mold it will be a dark gray. Once out of the mold it will continue to dry and will turn light gray. After the piece has dried to a light gray almost white, it is ready to fire in the kiln. Adapted from: http://www. rykerstudios. com/ceramics/articles/slipcasting. htm RESOURCES Casting Slip Available in Atlanta from: — Daven’s Ceramic Center http://davensceramiccenter. com/ 5076 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA   30341 Fax:   770-455-7012 4805. Atlanta Area   770-451-2105 [email  protected] om Casting Supplies ONLINE — Axner Ceramic Supply http://www. axner. com/axner/supplies/slip-casting. php — mold making and casting materials http://www. smooth-on. com/ How to Resources: Trouble shooting guide- http://aardvarkclay. com/pdf/technical/Basics%20of%20slip%20casting. pdf Short History of slip casting- http://www. lindawilsonceramics. co. za/3. ht ml Deflocculation of slip-(make your own)– http://ceramic-materials. com/cermat/education/213. html Videos- YouTube Video- http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=8u_SABU_8d0 Advanced mold making video demos- http://www. smooth-on. com/media. php

Mrs. Rose †The ninth grade task master!

The teacher I most remember as a great teacher in my years of schooling would definitely be Mrs. Rose, my 9th grade English teacher.   Mrs. Rose combined the qualities of motivation, skill and content mastery in a way that I still remember today.   As a freshman in high school, I had not been exposed to any terribly difficult courses.   Most of the junior high work I did was simply answering questions or writing reports which did not have to well-cite or even grammatically correct.   I learned quickly that, because I was relatively smart to begin with, I could get away with a minimum of effort and studying. Mrs. Rose changed all that.   On the first day she mentioned the usual information – grading, pop quizzes, class materials and behavior expectations.   I had heard all this before, so I half-listened, planting polite expression on my face while my mind wandered.   Imagine my shock when we had a pop quiz of the first day’s information the very next day!   I did very poorly, to which I was not accustomed.   Worse yet, now my teacher’s first impression of me was that of a slacker.   I had to wake up and work extra hard to pull up that first low quiz grade.   Looking back, I am sure that was precisely her intention for all of us. As the year progressed, we were all subjected to coursework the likes of which simply did not exist in junior high.   We had to learn grammar, diagram sentences, write essay upon essay and read countless novels and plays without the luxury of Cliff’s Notes.   This era was pre-internet study aids!   We tried to complain that we had no foundation for this to which Mrs. Rose replied, â€Å"If that is true, it is neither your fault nor mine.   Unfortunately, we must correct it.† She could blend just the right amount of feeling for my battle with the semi-colon with the rigor of the curriculum itself.   She let my misuse go a couple of times, but on the third incident, I got an ‘F’ for punctuation in my essay.   I was floored and asked her to let me revise it (again).   She said â€Å"no.†Ã‚   From that point on, I have never, to my knowledge, misused a semicolon; however, I find such examples frequently in magazines and newspapers now.   Again, that particular strategy worked wonders for me and all the others in my class.   Her encouragement wasn’t overdone, but I could tell she really wanted me to learn. At times, I would be seized by jealousy when my friends in other classes would laugh at how easy their English class was, how like 8th grade it was, and how they were getting easy ‘A’s.   I had to work hard for my grades and resented their extra free time.   Later, though, I understood the importance of my 9th grade English class and Mrs. Rose.   I did not struggle nearly as much as my peers in upper level high school classes and in college courses where professors were even more demanding.   I firmly believe that Mrs. Rose knew more about grammar and writing than any of them and was grateful that I had a chance to learn from her early on in my education rather than have to suffer later. Mrs. Rose, who I believe has now passed away, was an exemplary teacher.   Try as I might, I could never devise a sentence she could not diagram.   She seemed to take pride in my educational victories, such as my high SAT verbal score and my college acceptance.   As a result, I decided to become a teacher myself and attempt to emulate Mrs. Rose in all that I do in my classes.   I, from experience now, know that Mrs. Rose did not receive any monetary rewards for her commitment to teaching.   In fact, our rewards as teachers are much more internal.   However, I am confident that she knew her influence on me because I told her, as did many other students I knew.   When a student tells me how much I have helped them, I know how she felt then.