9th Grader Arrested in Houston for making ... a clock.

[AF6LJ]

Are you allowed to bring anything to work? Even things that might be seen as dangerous?

every single place I've worked (i'm over 50 and have been working since before 20) I have been allowed to bring in projects, boards, circuits, disks, even water pistols, nerf 'guns' and other office style toys.

yup, never a problem.  only one company ever needed a 'property pass' to bring things OUT of the office; but usually it was ok to bring things in.  other than that one company (boston based), the rest of the calif-based ones I worked at never had a problem with my bringing in CLOCKS (yes, I do that) and other 'scarey wirey things' to work.

the 'ask permission' mentality is 100% foreign to me and I kind of like having freedom.

Same here, matter of fact they encouraged it.

[5ky]

 

I hope this doesn't discourage the kid from his hobby.  Does he have a youtube channel or anything that we could support?  I'd give him a sub.

The school is just mad because one of their 9th grade brown-skinned students is smarter than their entire backwoods-Christian-Creationism Believing bastard faculty.   

[C]

I think some here are missing simple facts.
Some policeman are criminals. When criminal policeman acts, it is often with a criminal mind set. These criminals are often protected and even have invalid laws to back up their criminal acts.
I think the law says that you do not question a minor with out the presence of his parents or guardian.
Sounds like the police broke the law here.
What is the chance of the police having to pay a fine or jail time.
If they break the law they should pay just like everyone else.
A police state protects the police state first, the people are way down the list.

The kid was probably told not to bring bombs, guns, knifes ... to school.
Was a clock or electronics on the list?

C

 

[Stonent]

Don't know if it was pointed out yet, but Irving is nowhere near Houston.

[wraper]

if you seriously believe that kids should 'think twice' before bringing DIY style projects into school, you may want to look up the term 'chilling effect'.

You lay words in my mouth that i did not speak.

Actually the following is exactly what you denied one sentence before.

I state that they should not bring it unannounced to school.

is exactly "think twice"

My 10 yr old is not allowed to bring pets to school, why? Because it gets chaotic in class.

Don't compare apples with oranges. Pets are not allowed for obvious reason as a live beings they cannot sit calmly in the backpack while not being attended. They could bring some illnesses too. Nothing similar to bringing some gadget. The clock became "Because it gets chaotic in class" only because of the idiot brainwashed USA adults who became chaotic by themselves.

[AF6LJ]

I think some here are missing simple facts.
Some policeman are criminals. When criminal policeman acts, it is often with a criminal mind set. These criminals are often protected and even have invalid laws to back up their criminal acts.
I think the law says that you do not question a minor with out the presence of his parents or guardian.
Sounds like the police broke the law here.

They did and if I were his parents I would file a law suite under USC title 42, 1985
I saw that and I lost it.

What is the chance of the police having to pay a fine or jail time.
If they break the law they should pay just like everyone else.
A police state protects the police state first, the people are way down the list.

The kid was probably told not to bring bombs, guns, knifes ... to school.
Was a clock or electronics on the list?

C

If you want to see just how much they are NOT accountable for their actions google Law enforcement bill of rights or Police bill of rights. We had a situation out here in LA where five cops beat to death a mentally ill man (Kelly Thomas) While he was laying on the ground bleeding to death one of the cops was calling his union rep for help. Because the beaten man's father was an ex cop justice was served.

[AF6LJ]

Don't know if it was pointed out yet, but Irving is nowhere near Houston.

True....   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving,_Texas

[linux-works]

The school is just mad because one of their 9th grade brown-skinned students is smarter than their entire backwoods-Christian-Creationism Believing bastard faculty.   

shhh!  we're not supposed to point this out.  they get offended, easily, and try to turn it back around on us.  "y'all just don't understand our HERITAGE, is all".

[AF6LJ]

The school is just mad because one of their 9th grade brown-skinned students is smarter than their entire backwoods-Christian-Creationism Believing bastard faculty.   

shhh!  we're not supposed to point this out.  they get offended, easily, and try to turn it back around on us.  "y'all just don't understand our HERITAGE, is all".

I can see it is obvious there are people here who have never been exposed to real backwoods engineering. I would be willing to put money on the administration of that school came from Kalifornia, and brought common core style education indoctrination with them.

[Stonent]

[AF6LJ]

All I can say is; I am glad my life is two thirds used up, I couldn't take this if I was in my twenties ....

[AF6LJ]

Saw this over on Slashdot.org

 Obama Invites Texas Teen To White House After "Bomb" Clock Incident At School 146
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday September 16, 2015 @04:46PM from the making-some-sense-of-the-senseless dept.
The Grim Reefer writes:
In a followup to this morning's story about the arrest of 14-year-old Akmed Mohamed for bringing a homemade clock to school that was mistaken for a bomb, President Obama has invited the teen to the White House via Twitter. The President tweeted: "Cool clock, Ahmed. 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 Irving Independent School District in Irving, Texas sent an email to parents about the incident asking students to: "immediately report any suspicious items and / or suspicious behavior."

[linux-works]

$1000 question: when the kid brings his pcb to the white house, will they swab it and xray it?  put him thru a metal detector?

if they do, then it kind of negates the 'we wont be afraid!' mantra.

still, good on obama for taking a view on it.  the republicans in texas are, strangely, silent about it all, now;  not one R candidate has anything to say about it.  I find that quite interesting, too.  or, am I 'stereotyping' again?  lol

#SolderingWiresMatter

[AF6LJ]

$1000 question: when the kid brings his pcb to the white house, will they swab it and xray it?  put him thru a metal detector?

if they do, then it kind of negates the 'we wont be afraid!' mantra.

still, good on obama for taking a view on it.  the republicans in texas are, strangely, silent about it all, now;  not one R candidate has anything to say about it.  I find that quite interesting, too.  or, am I 'stereotyping' again?  lol

#SolderingWiresMatter

I am taking the wait and see attitude.

[marshallh]

The police are following the stupid rules set in place - for the folks long out of school, this is called Zero Tolerance and has been in place in most US schools for about 15 years now. If you are caught with anything not allowed that's it, end of story. They have intentionally removed the leeway to make an informed decision about things like this.


On the other hand, the outcome isn't surprising, given the inputs -

1. School administrators of questionable intellect following stupid rules made by bureaucrats
2. Brown kid hauls a questionable-looking suitcase with giant LED clock and plugs it in during english class, during which the alarm "goes off" and attracts attention (his goal, or an accident?)
3. English teacher does not have the brainpower or tech background to recognize that it is not a bomb and passes the buck to the admin
4. School police are involved and they try to make an example out of him because they knew who he was, and that his father has ties to foreign countries furthering their doubts (doesn't help this is around the time of the Sep 11 anniversary)

It is an off the shelf alarm clock that he gutted and bolted into an equipment carrier. It has battery backup but it is unclear if he had a 9V battery installed at the time. These clocks typically turn off the display but still run the alarm if running on battery.

Faculty are required by zero tolerance rules to report behavior that might arouse suspicion. So under those rules the first tech teacher was breaking the rules, and the english teacher followed them. 10 years ago in my day some kid did something similar with a Pelican case - except there was nothing in it but foam. He was suspended for a couple days because of a similar kneejerk reaction.
On the other hand I brought in a frankenstein portable video game system and played it at lunch, and even with other teachers. The difference was it looked professional and not like a B-grade movie prop.

Obama extends an olive branch but had the kid showed up at a meet and greet with that clock, Secret Service would be swabbing up the kid's nether regions with an electron microscope.

[linux-works]

so, lets, as a country, take this chance to DISCUSS if we want to continue having a zero-tolerance style of 'education' !

lets use this as a discussion point.

I wish we could, but the cynic in me says that zero tol is here to stay and there's no going back.  because: 'reasons' (as the kids, today, say).

[AF6LJ]

so, lets, as a country, take this chance to DISCUSS if we want to continue having a zero-tolerance style of 'education' !

lets use this as a discussion point.

I wish we could, but the cynic in me says that zero tol is here to stay and there's no going back.  because: 'reasons' (as the kids, today, say).

I think if we are going to evolve into a facist police state then we are headed in the right direction. Just keep doing it slowly enough that Joe Six-Pack doesn't notice, or keep him and his wife and children busy enough with enough shiny objects so they remain distracted.

But if we went to go back to where every person is responsible for their actions, and has the degree of freedom our grandparents did (say around 1900) then we need to stop and examine what the hell our so called leaders are doing and why.

[lewis]

Land of the free

[hamster_nz]

Obama extends an olive branch but had the kid showed up at a meet and greet with that clock, Secret Service would be swabbing up the kid's nether regions with an electron microscope.

Because, as we all know, a meeting a head of state is EXACTLY like bringing a hobby project to school.

[linux-works]

Land of the free

"void where prohibited by law.  batteries not included.  some assembly required.  you may be asked to remove your shoes, first."

[zapta]

This kind of crap went out of fashion with Nazi Germany, and it should damned well should stay that way.

Wow!  A kid brought to school a strange looking apparatus that was mistaken for a fake bomb and now we are in Nazi territory. 

The magic of social media.

And a white kid wouldn't have been looked at twice. Just admit it. It was about the child, not the device.

And the parallels between the current trend of anti-Hispanic and anti-Muslim political propaganda and anti-Semitism are clear and abundant. 

It's not right. This is not America's promise. This is not equal treatment under the law.

Admit racism in this case based on what?

Kids get arrested in school for various reasons.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/19-crazy-things-that-school-children-are-being-arrested-for-in-america

Having a Muslim name should not grant one immunity against fake bomb suspicion.

[linux-works]

fake bomb suspicion?

I'm pretty sure 100% of the things I build are 'not bombs'.  they are, therefore (apparently) 'fake-bombs' if someone sees a bit of wires and gets scared.

if its intent, then lets talk about intent and not 'posessing a not-a-bomb while telling everyone its just a clock'.

have we really gotton to the point where something out of a wile e. coyote cartoon is grounds for arresting someone?

"where's the kaboom?  I was told there was to be an earth shattering KABOOM!"

oops, sorry.  that was another cartoon.

[gilbenl]

linux-works-If you're over 50 and citing Fark.com as a reliable source of unbiased news, you should take 2 weeks off then jump off a cliff.
derp...everyone in texas is a racist moron...derp...I'm so enlightened...derp...derp...

Anyway, its too bad this happened. I suppose it'll make a great essay when he applies to college.

[AF6LJ]

fake bomb suspicion?

I'm pretty sure 100% of the things I build are 'not bombs'.  they are, therefore (apparently) 'fake-bombs' if someone sees a bit of wires and gets scared.

if its intent, then lets talk about intent and not 'posessing a not-a-bomb while telling everyone its just a clock'.

have we really gotton to the point where something out of a wile e. coyote cartoon is grounds for arresting someone?

"where's the kaboom?  I was told there was to be an earth shattering KABOOM!"

oops, sorry.  that was another cartoon.

Yes some time ago.

[linux-works]

linux-works-If you're over 50 and citing Fark.com as a reliable source of unbiased news, you should take 2 weeks off then jump off a cliff.

sounds pretty inefficient.  surely we could, hmm, outsource this job?  do it in less time with less expense?  how does one week sound to you?