dagblog - Comments for "Clock Boy's Dad Fulfills Dream"

Sorry, edited to note CNN

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 07:17:52 +0000

In reply to This is obviously some user

Sorry, edited to note CNN COMMENT.

When I was in high school, a

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 07:17:27 +0000

In reply to But really, isn't the point

When I was in high school, a classmate shoved a bunch of chemicals down the bathroom sinks hoping for some explosion. These days we've got a school shooting every what, 2 weeks? With Columbine sticking out as the start of the current meme (as highlighted by Michael Moore). Okay, so far Islamic bombings have been more prevalent in Istanbul, London and Madrid - Tim McVeigh's example & Iraqi IEDs fortunately so far haven't caught on as another approach for schools, only the Boston Marathon . But there are a lot of murderous shits out there.

The principal is responsible for the safety of his school and students. Yes, a fake gun or something that looks like a bomb should be examined and precautions taken. Civilized precautions, sane and respectful dialogue, but still, decent serious security. If that means calling the police to be sure, fine. Seldom a need for handcuffs or irrational public displays - get the device & the kid out of the public space quick & quietly and work out the details.

Obama invited the kid to bring his clock to the White House - should the Secret Service wave him & his kit through unexamined? A good summary from CNN: [edit: CNN's COMMENTS]:

It's not THAT factual. This poser didn't make a clock, he faked a clock. He removed an existing clock from its housing and placed it haphazardly in a pencil box which was designed to look like a small suitcase. He was warned by his engineering teacher not to show it to other teachers because it could be viewed as a bomb. He ignored that warning and set its alarm to go off later in his English class; for that, he had to plug it into a wall socket, which was a real hazard to other curious kids given its design and exposed transformer.

He wasn't detained by police for his device per se, but for being passive aggressively uncooperative when they asked him to explain the device and why he brought it to school. His sister claims she was suspended by the same school district in an earlier incident for threatening to blow up her school. That sister was heard coaching him on what to say next when he received a phone call from Mark Cuban. Their father has a history of pro-Islam publicity stunts and ties to CAIR and other Muslim Brotherhood offshoots. ...

I don't envy teachers,

Oxy Mora — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 01:28:21 +0000

In reply to When I was in high school, a

I don't envy teachers, sometimes they can't win. i had to rush a student to the hospital after she zapped herself with a 10,000 v. neon light transformer which was being used in a design class. It was a small item and low amps, but could have done a lot more damage than it did. So something like an exposed transformer, if true, could be a real concern.

I thought the same thing. I

Ramona — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 01:12:00 +0000

In reply to This is obviously some user

I thought the same thing. It reads more like a comment. I'd like to see the original link.

This is obviously some user

Michael Maiello — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 21:05:13 +0000

In reply to When I was in high school, a

This is obviously some user-generated CNN content. I can't imagine edited copy would refer to the kid as a "poser" or casually reference associations with CAIR as pejorative. Smells of a right wing hit.

Excellent points. I heard

NCD — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 20:12:00 +0000

In reply to When I was in high school, a

Excellent points. I heard that stuff too about Cuban.

If any kid in any school anywhere USA is harmed by something a student brings in to school there can be hell to pay as to why 'they let him in with that'.

Any parent with functioning brain tissue would not let a student take a suitcase device like this into school unless it was part of a project, and I have little doubt the paternal member of the clock boy family keeps close track on what everyone in the home is up to.

The kid seems like a (coached) wind up doll, all he ever says is 'I hope to return to visit again with a new invention and success.” regardless of who he is meeting, if he even registers on who exactly he is meeting. And of course Dad is always right there.

The kid does have a great smile however.

But really, isn't the point

Michael Maiello — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 18:51:06 +0000

In reply to The son was played by Dad who

But really, isn't the point here, whether the kid intended this or not, whether the dad intended this or not, that this never should have worked in a civilized society? The police never should have been called, the kid never should have been arrested, there shouldn't be an odd, anti-Islamist mayor... No matter what anyone intended, this never should have happened.

I just found it funny that in

PeraclesPlease — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 17:58:39 +0000

In reply to Thanks for searching that out

I just found it funny that in the age of semiconductors, smartphones, miniaturization, wearable programmable bracelets and Raspberry Pi DIY kits, a primitive LED clock with wires sticking out is a clever science project. How 1980. Glad he wasn't building his own pressure cooker.

Thanks for searching that out

NCD — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 15:21:53 +0000

In reply to i think it's fair to call the

Thanks for searching that out. Unlike BBC, WaPo has to editorialize away any suspicions about WTF is going on, and, unlike the BBC, explain the visit. hug, and photo, as just an every day perfectly natural homecoming trip w/Dad:

At first glance, perhaps Ahmed's journey to Bashir's presidential compound isn't so strange. The teenager has met with a variety of big names over the past few weeks. Besides, his family are Sudanese immigrants...

i think it's fair to call the

barefooted — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 05:10:17 +0000

In reply to The son was played by Dad who

I think it's fair to call the Washington Post mainstream, though their reporting is certainly less inflammatory.

While there's undoubtedly an interesting story underneath the original headlines, there's no reason to make assumptions or accusations that are currently neither proven or warranted.