Posted on 09/16/2015 3:14:15 PM PDT by TroutStalker
A high school student in Texas whose hobby is inventing thought he had a great idea for a project: to build his own clock.
The effort landed him in handcuffs and juvenile detention on Monday, accused of making a hoax bomb.
The detention of Ahmed Mohamed, 14, a student at MacArthur High School in Irving, Tex., near Dallas, generated a national furor even after the police said on Wednesday that he would not be charged as questions arose about whether he was targeted because of his religion.
The episode even came to the attention of the nation’s top leaders, who deplored the treatment of the young man. “Cool clock, Ahmed,” President Obama said on Twitter. “Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”
Mr. Obama’s staff went on to invite Ahmed to come to the White House for Astronomy Night, to be held Oct. 19, an event bringing together scientists, engineers, astronauts, teachers and students to spend an evening stargazing from the South Lawn. The president’s spokesman held out the encounter as a case study in unreasoned prejudice in an era when the country is fighting Islamic terrorism at home and in the Middle East. Continue reading the main story
Shortly before a news conference Wednesday outside his home in Irving, Ahmed — still wearing the NASA shirt he wore when he was detained — waved to a thick crowd of reporters from the doorway as his family brought out pizzas and drinks for the media. Ahmed said he was considering transferring out of MacArthur High and had indeed accepted President Obama’s invitation
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I was supposed to deploy with B/Co 101 ESB in 2012, I didn’t much to my annoyance and regret for reasons out of my direct control, but in the run up to deployment they showed us a bunch of bombs that the badguys were cobbling together.
And two of the dozens they showed us looked like that “clock”.
Security work, once again they had us going through training on suspicious packages and several of them looked like that “clock”.
Who would like to volunteer to try to take a briefcase like that through security in Tel Aviv?
The poster at 132, maybe.
Hey, in Clovis NM they locked down a school because a kid brought a 3 foot burrito... they thought it was a bomb.
Let’s get the opinion of a real bomb dude.
Squantos buddy, what’s your take on the pic in #131?
And just as a reminder...who would of thought a pressure cooker pot would be do the damage in Boston that it did....
That’s right, he did do that stuff.
Sure they do. Also it let’s you fix things. First time I took apart a clock was because the alarm switch got stuck, so I took it apart to clean the gunk out. Eventually took it apart again to clip the wires to the speaker because it regunked and I couldn’t make it stop having the alarm on and didn’t need that functionality for it anymore, in theory that clock still goes off every midnight. People used to fix things in this country, which includes taking them apart and seeing how they work. Then there was the days of Sharper Image who sold a lot of standard household good with see thru plastic cases so you could see the guts. Removes a lot of mystery from life, but also makes it so you can look at that picture and say “yup, that’s a clock, I’ve seen all those parts put together exactly that way before”. Really the fact that he still has the speaker for the alarm is the give away that it’s not a bomb. Also the fact that it barely fits in the box, not really any room for explosives in there. If you want a bomb you need your clock parts to be as small as possible and not waste room.
Note how it looks nothing like this kids clock.
Well goody for you...but the average person does not take apart clocks to see how they run....
Boy, you are repeating that “kit bash” talking point, aren’t you?
Having worked with EOD in Iraq, and knowing how Al Qaeda used kids to deliver weapons and IED’s, playing on sympathies, the attack profile is too similar.
Thankfully I don’t work at an airport or anything involving TSA.
I sit at a warehouse and deal with lost drivers wondering where Home Depot is because GPS sent them to me instead.
But the word in the business is that the muslims have been testing the waters by bringing loose wires, batteries, and disassembled electronic devices in their luggage to see what gets caught.
And they have been doing this since 2001/2002.
And security who IS on the ball and serious about their work does not catch everything.
TSA, not on the ball, not serious, and basically just an “annoy the citizens” program, doesn’t catch everything.
What they have caught has been basically luck and skin of the teeth.
But they have not stopped any actual attacks.
Which unfairly reflects back on the rest of us.
...”they showed us a bunch of bombs that the bad guys were cobbling together.....And two of the dozens they showed us looked like that “clock”.....Security work, once again they had us going through training on suspicious packages and several of them looked like that “clock”.......
I will easily take the word of someone who works security, has actually ‘seen’ what the bad guys put together for bombs, over that of someone in their kitchen taking apart clocks to see how they run.....
UH, it does.
Show me how that kids clock is a clock.
Show me the display.
You really are pushing the talking points here, aren’t you?
Is poor Ahmed Mohamed misunderstood?
Is he unfairly picked on?
Tell us, please.
Yeah, his statement smacks of BS to me.
Is that a stupid point in your opinion? I'm going to guess you will say it is, but after you do say that, because we both know you will say that to get the precious last word in, take some time away from FR and look at the picture of the "clock" inside the metal briefcase again, and try to convince yourself that doesn't look like an incomplete bomb. If you're at least honest with yourself you'll admit it does. To at least yourself.
Now, go ahead and have that precious last word we both know you need at this point.
Because that’s what it is. Same way they made space ships for sci-fi movies before CG took over the world. Originally got that name because they frequently used model kits, but they used other stuff. R2-D2’s “eye” was an airplane seat light. Take 2 things and moosh them together, that’s a kit bash.
BS.
Most people toss a busted clock out and buy a new one.
And if you want to build a clock, there’s always Edmund’s Scientific.
AND you don’t put it in a suitcase, bring it to school, plug it in, AND THEN LIE ABOUT IT AS IT BUZZES.
Well maybe they should. We used to. Many still do. It saves money and is fun.
You’re seriously saying that stupidity to a soldier who DID deploy and got to see some of this stuff first hand?
Seriously?
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