Posted on 09/16/2015 11:48:56 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
When Ahmed Mohamed went to his high school in Irving, Texas, Monday, he was so excited. A teenager with dreams of becoming an engineer, he wanted to show his teacher the digital clock he'd made from a pencil case.
The 14-year-old's day ended not with praise, but punishment, after the school called police and he was arrested. A photo shows Ahmed, wearing a NASA t-shirt, looking confused and upset as he's being led out of school in handcuffs.
"They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb," the freshman later explained to WFAA after authorities released him.
Irving Police spokesman Officer James McLellan told the station, "We attempted to question the juvenile about what it was and he would simply only tell us that it was a clock."
The teenager did that because, well, it was a clock, he said.
(snip)
Outrage over the incident -- with many saying the student was profiled because he's Muslim -- spread on social media as #IStandWithAhmed started trending worldwide on Twitter with more than 100,000 tweets Tuesday morning. The school's Facebook page is roiling with sharp criticism of the way the teen was treated, and the hashtag #engineersforahmed is gaining popularity.
President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and thousands of others are showing support for Ahmed.
"Cool clock, Ahmed," Obama tweeted. "Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great."
The President would like the teen to join him and other scientists next month for the White House's annual Astronomy Night, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at wcyb.com ...
Obama said he wants to see it... I also wonder if it goes through the doors of the white house with no scrutiny too?
So you're saying the kid said "here, let me show you my ID," and they misunderstood him? That almost makes more sense than what actually did happen.
That's true. All this little 'clock' needed was some explosives.
Well, to be honest , I was just mocking the school officials without giving it much thought, but now that you mention it, that does make more sense than the official story....
Thank you and AMEN! For a while there when I started the initial thread on this, I was getting hounded for my hardline stance concerning mooselimbs, regardless of how nerdy they pose themselves. It seemed like the KKKOS KKKiddies or the DUmmies had infiltrated Free Republic.
You're a true Patriot, DJ MacWoW, and your work here on this site is always appreciated. May God Richly Bless You!
And thank YOU! :-)
Right. Without those, it's just a clock. Just like the kid said.
Why not?
Because its half a bomb made from off-the-shelf parts, and "developing" a pressure-cooker is kind of boring?
This is a self-described engineer, who "developed" a clock?
Not quite. It was built with the same sort of means that an IED is and the police saw it for exactly what it was.
There's nothing wrong with muslims building a clock that looks like a bomb or with learning to fly a plane or buying a pressure cooker./S
And this is just a poor Syrian muslim refugee.
The reason profiling is taboo is because it works.
Yep, I'm a nearly 74-year-old big ol' bully ain't I? The "Little Pony" guy on the thread was (half) hoping I'd get a zot from the boss. Still hasn't happened yet. :)
Seriesly, I stand by all of my statements in that thread about the muzzie threat and I firmly believe this was just a trial run to find the soft spots at the high school.
Those posters were not using an ounce of caution or common sense. We are in an undeclared war that uses “innocent” kids. REAL Conservatives should know better.
Was wondering. What if this kid was a plant?
If you’re nice to them, they’ll never leave.
Poor call on the kids part to build a clock inside of a case. Normally clocks are for looking at.... Yet this one’s time was hidden with ample space for...
So yes, it may have been a clock but because of the placement I could totally understand the teachers concern. Google other homemade clocks and you’ll notice they are MADE TO BE VISIBLE... not hidden.
Ever heard of this thing called detonation cord? (You've seen it several times actually being detonated if you're a regular viewer of Mythbusters.) A detonation cord is a thin, flexible tube shaped to look like a wire filled with plastic explosives (US military special forces use them a lot to blow open door locks); just 10 to 12 inches of "det cord" is enough to create an explosion more powerful than a standard stick of dynamite. Ahmed Mohamed's homemade clock could easily have disguised a "det cord" as one of the wires in that clock, and when the timer goes off, you have a pretty powerful and dangerous improvised explosive device (IED).
Given the very heightened awareness by teachers and school officials of suspicious activity after the 1999 Columbine High School tragedy, it's not surprising that the teachers and police wanted to make VERY sure that "clock" was a real clock and not an IED disguised as a clock.
heck, just try to board a plane with a tube of toothpaste
HIs dad is a Muslim activist AGAINST islamaphobia.
WHAT are the chances???
n 1989, I worked on a contract for E.G.G. Astrophysics on an x-ray screening machine for airports. They had me write a simulator that would electronically place threats in bags. For the explosives threat, images of one of four components would be graphically placed in the luggage image:
1) Medium to large amounts of wire: Loose, coiled or irregular-shaped.
2) Power sources such as batteries.
3) Disassembled or jury-rigged electronic components.
4) Organic masses.
Any two of those markers would require a hands-on search. This kid had THREE. The School administrators acted entirely prudently.
All Ahmed did was disassemble an alarm clock and stick it in a briefcase. THAT IS NOT A SCIENCE PROJECT. THAT IS A DRY RUN or PROVOCATION.
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