Palin: Ahmed was asking for it when he brought clock to school

[twomp]

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said on Saturday that arresting and suspending Ahmed Mohamed, the ninth grader who brought a homemade clock to school , was totally reasonable.

Palin called initial media reports of Mohamed's arrest "fishy" and said that school officials were totally justified in thinking that his clock, made out of a pencil box, was a bomb.

"Yep, believing that's a clock in a school pencil box is like believing Barack Obama is ruling over the most transparent administration in history," she wrote in a Facebook post in which she shared pictures of her kids' pencil boxes. "Right. That's a clock, and I'm the Queen of England."

Palin also compared the incident to others in which students were suspended and said that Mohamed was obviously an "obstinate-answering student."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/palin-ahmed-was-asking-for-it-when-he-brought-clock-to-school/ar-AAevFsE?li=AAa0dzB&ocid=LENDHP

[enhanced_deficit]

https://apexsecurityinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/see_something_lg1.jpg





Not sure what the kid was asking for, but this is what he got so far from Microsoft probably after White House called in favors from Facebook , Microsoft CEOs. It appears that Obama has got this Islamic kid's back and Sarah Palin probably would not invite Ahmed for cookies:

Here’s what Microsoft gave the teenager who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school (http://www.geekwire.com/2015/heres-what-microsoft-gave-the-teenager-who-was-arrested-for-bringing-a-homemade-clock-to-school/)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPRiTo2VEAEnU7v.jpg

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?482182-Father-of-clock-bomb-kid-who-got-a-White-House-invite-is-a-Sudanese-presidential-candidate&p=5994945&viewfull=1#post5994945

(http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?482182-Father-of-clock-bomb-kid-who-got-a-White-House-invite-is-a-Sudanese-presidential-candidate&p=5994945&viewfull=1#post5994945)

[cajuncocoa]

http://s15.postimg.org/ukspgz64b/image.jpg

[kahless]

22 hrs ·

I Guess Muhammad's Pencil Box is Cooler Than the Palin Kids'

"It doesn't look like a pencil box to me." I love Bristol's perspective on this. You have to read this:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bristolpalin/2015/09/obama-invites-kid-mistakenly-arrested-for-building-bomb-to-white-house/

Talk about the dangers of a reactionary-slash-biased media! The first reports on this potential bomb-imitator were so fishy to begin with.

Friends, consider the kids disciplined and/or kicked out of school for bringing squirt guns to school or taking bites out of a pop tart until it resembled (to some politically correct yahoo) a gun. Or the student out deer hunting with his dad early one morning who forgot he had a box of ammo in his truck when he parked in the school's lot later that day. Kids humiliated and intimidated for innocent actions like those real examples are often marked the rest of their lives and made to feel really rotten. Whereas Ahmed Muhammad, an evidently obstinate-answering student bringing in a homemade "clock" that obviously could be seen by conscientious teachers as a dangerous wired-up bomb-looking contraption (teachers who are told "if you see something, say something!") gets invited to the White House.

By the way, President Obama's practice of jumping in cases prematurely to interject himself as the cool savior, wanting so badly to attach himself to the issue-of-the-day, got old years ago. Remember him accusing police officers doing their job as "acting stupid"; claiming if he had a son, he'd look like Trayvon Martin; claiming he needed to know who was a fault in an industrial accident so he'd "know who's a** to kick"; etc., etc. Those actions are about as presidential as his selfie stick.

Here's background on Muhammad's innocent "clock" he brought to school, and his suspicious refusal to answer authorities:

http://www.breitbart.com/…/09/18/real-story-istandwithahmed/

Yep, believing that's a clock in a school pencil box is like believing Barack Obama is ruling over the most transparent administration in history. Right. That's a clock, and I'm the Queen of England.

Compare Muhammad's pencil box to the ones laying around the Palin household:

- Sarah Palin

https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/s960x960/12028851_10153649656053588_4100788331584425360_o.j pg
https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/q81/s960x960/11999564_10153649656058588_5256413700808489971_o.j pg
https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/12046584_10153649656013588_3422002479297429222_n.j pg?oh=2aeb3e8a9c845b53e8ac918b576b4b64&oe=566010CD


http://memecrunch.com/meme/RQE4/she-s-right-you-know/image.jpg?w=400&c=1

[sparebulb]

When Palin outlaws clocks,

Only criminals will be able to tell time.

[cajuncocoa]

I get that Sarah and the Palin kids probably couldn't even make a jewelry box out of popsicle sticks, but that's no reason for the whole family to be envious or skeptical of Ahmed's skills at making a working clock.

[kahless]

Just as I expected, right on schedule the same group of RPF posters pushing the typical Progressive talking points for an item in the news cycle.

[Cissy]

Irony: Sarah Palin, self professed conservative, displays at least one Target purchase.

[Cissy]

Oh, and Sarah---if teachers and administration legitimately thought it was a bomb, why didn't they evacuate the school or call the bomb squad?

[twomp]

Just as I expected, right on schedule the same group of RPF posters pushing the typical Progressive talking points for an item in the news cycle.

Just as expected. The same cop suckers come out to suck on cops..

[UWDude]

Just as I expected, right on schedule the same group of RPF posters pushing the typical Progressive talking points for an item in the news cycle.


Im just glad the liberty movement is too divided to ever actually save the United States. To watch the United States re-align and avoid the punishment coming to it would be a travesty of justice. Keep on dividin!

[kahless]

Im just glad the liberty movement is too divided to ever actually save the United States. To watch the United States re-align and avoid the punishment coming to it would be a travesty of justice. Keep on dividin!

Progressives are now part of the Liberty movement?

[timosman]

Progressives are now part of the Liberty movement?

Just caught up in their own web of lies. :rolleyes:

[Batman]

She couldn't build a clock if she bought one pre-assembled.

[twomp]

Progressives are now part of the Liberty movement?

Apparently so, they relentlessly try to get us to worship the cops and trust their authoritarian ways.

[squarepusher]

Its pretty clear, if this guy was any other race and didn't have his name, this would have been a non-incident.

[kahless]

645414000402956288

[Cissy]

645414000402956288

"Call louder! The worshipful agents of the State may be deep in thought, or perhaps they've stepped out for a moment or have taken a trip. Perhaps they are sleeping and need to be awakened! " --Elijah, A.D. 2015

Well, maybe that's not an *exact* quote....

Or maybe, like the Israelites of old, we shall turn from the worship of false authority to the worship of the one true God.

[Dr.3D]

645414000402956288
Oh, would that happen to be a Glock clock?

[TheTexan]

Key components in a clock:
Clock circuitry
Plastic frame to make it look pretty

Key components in a bomb:
Clock circuitry
Explosive

So, Ahmed built the clock curcuitry, what was he planning on doing with it? We will never know for sure, but can certainly guess.

One thing is for sure, he wasn't building a plastic frame.

[XNavyNuke]

So all geeks have to do to get a date with a prom queen (king for girl geeks) is stop bringing their stoopid projects to school. Huh! I never knew that.

XNN

[timosman]

So all geeks have to do to get a date with a prom queen (king for girl geeks) is stop bringing their stoopid projects to school. Huh! I never knew that.

XNN

You also need to stop salivating when approaching a girl. :rolleyes:

[jonhowe]

Just as I expected, right on schedule the same group of RPF posters pushing the typical Progressive talking points for an item in the news cycle.

Not wanting to arrest children for their science projects is "progressive"?
YOu see how small that box is, right? Look at it in comparison to the plug. It's tiny. If anyone thought it was an actual bomb they would have evacuated the school and called SWAT. This is a CLEAR example of authorities acting wrongly.

[jonhowe]

Key components in a clock:
Clock circuitry
Plastic frame to make it look pretty

Key components in a bomb:
Clock circuitry
Explosive

So, Ahmed built the clock curcuitry, what was he planning on doing with it? We will never know for sure, but can certainly guess.

One thing is for sure, he wasn't building a plastic frame.

Except it was a science project. Showing his skill at creating said circuitry. He wasn't going to make it to sell on Etsy.

By your logic, should we be arresting anyone who makes a clock without a frame (or an ugly clock) because there is CLEARLY nothing else it can be used for except a bomb? What a liberty minded idea :rolleyes:

[TheCount]

I get that Sarah and the Palin kids probably couldn't even make a jewelry box out of popsicle sticks, but that's no reason for the whole family to be envious or skeptical of Ahmed's skills at making a working clock.

Maybe if Palin's kids had skills like Ahmed's they would be doing more with their lives than popping out bastards on the regular.

[moostraks]

http://memecrunch.com/meme/RQE4/she-s-right-you-know/image.jpg?w=400&c=1

Some people apparently don't get out enough and do their own shopping. No she's not right...

http://www.amazon.com/Vaultz-Locking-Pencil-Inches-VZ01479/dp/B001BXZ28K

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61cjLbNE9EL.jpg

http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce07b8c-ff78/k2-_a4bfd207-a477-4a97-9e2e-d7877caeb3d3.v1.jpg

[TheTexan]

Some people apparently don't get out enough and do their own shopping. No she's not right...

http://www.amazon.com/Vaultz-Locking-Pencil-Inches-VZ01479/dp/B001BXZ28K

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61cjLbNE9EL.jpg

http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce07b8c-ff78/k2-_a4bfd207-a477-4a97-9e2e-d7877caeb3d3.v1.jpg

Haha the customer questions are hilarious. I suspect hilarious reviews are incoming.

In all seriousness though, why would you need a lock on a pencil box. Unless you're building a bomb or are a drug dealer.

[Cleaner44]

Sarah Palin is an idiot. If a person hasn't been able to see that after all these years I would seriously have to question their judgement.

[Batman]

Key components in a clock:
Clock circuitry
Plastic frame to make it look pretty

Key components in a bomb:
Clock circuitry
Explosive

So, Ahmed built the clock curcuitry, what was he planning on doing with it? We will never know for sure, but can certainly guess.

One thing is for sure, he wasn't building a plastic frame.

You clearly have no idea what components go into building either mechanism.

[Batman]

Maybe if Palin's kids had skills like Ahmed's they would be doing more with their lives than popping out bastards on the regular.

Perhaps they'll run for political office? They have the appropriate training.

[kahless]

Bill Maher says there's a 'lack of perspective' on Ahmed Mohamed
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/20/ahmed-mohamed-bill-maher-istandwithahmed

And the people at the school thought it might be a bomb, perhaps because it looks exactly like a f—king bomb,” he said
.....
“They were wrong. But can we have a little perspective about this? Did the teacher really do a wrong thing?”

Later on, he further defended the teacher for taking action. “It’s not the color of his skin. Excuse me, somebody look me in the eye right here and tell me. Over the last 30 years, if so many young Muslim men … and he’s young, 14, but that’s not like it’s never happened before, hasn’t blown a lot of s—t up around the world. And this guy, this kid deserves an apology, because he wasn’t one of them… For the last 30 years, it’s been one culture that has been been blowing s—t up over and over again.”

Yep. However it remains to be seen that he deserves an apology since it might have been an intentional hoax bomb prank.

[TheTexan]

For the last 30 years, it’s been one culture that has been been blowing s—t up over and over again.

Indeed.

[Lucille]

Indeed.

https://community.wbgames.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/6278i8F81E9220EFE1392?v=mpbl-1

http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.6708


Have you heard the news? Sarah Palin is the Queen of England!

Believing that’s a clock in a school pencil box is like believing Barack Obama is ruling over the most transparent administration in history. Right. That’s a clock, and I’m the Queen of England.

Since it has now been pretty throughly established that Ahmed Mohamed's device was in fact a clock -- and one sold in the U.S. by the Texas-based Tandy Corporation (owners of Radio Shack), to boot -- then I guess Palin has pronounced herself Queen of England.

More likely, Queen of Oafdom. May lesser oafs bow down before her!

I recently posted a visual guide "this is not a bomb", for the benefit of the Irving PD. Do I need to post a similar guide, "this is a clock," for people like Palin?

[Ender]

Bill Maher says there's a 'lack of perspective' on Ahmed Mohamed
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/20/ahmed-mohamed-bill-maher-istandwithahmed


Yep. However it remains to be seen that he deserves an apology since it might have been an intentional hoax bomb prank.

Maher..... you are actually quoting Maher? Who is completely trustworthy and who, of course, saw the pencil box, close up & personal?

And if it was a prank, WHY would the kid show it immediately to his teacher? And if the teacher thought it was a bomb why didn't he confiscate it? :rolleyes:

[cajuncocoa]

Maybe if Palin's kids had skills like Ahmed's they would be doing more with their lives than popping out bastards on the regular.
https://d309cd6updicdi.cloudfront.net/images/b24356e719a6e3ef721ba8580c20e996/raw

[cajuncocoa]

Have you heard the news? Sarah Palin is the Queen of England!


Believing that’s a clock in a school pencil box is like believing Barack Obama is ruling over the most transparent administration in history. Right. That’s a clock, and I’m the Queen of England.


Since it has now been pretty throughly established that Ahmed Mohamed's device was in fact a clock -- and one sold in the U.S. by the Texas-based Tandy Corporation (owners of Radio Shack), to boot -- then I guess Palin has pronounced herself Queen of England.


More likely, Queen of Oafdom. May lesser oafs bow down before her!


I recently posted a visual guide "this is not a bomb", for the benefit of the Irving PD. Do I need to post a similar guide, "this is a clock," for people like Palin?


Now that this has been established, can we ship her over there and be rid of this embarrassment for all time?

[brandon]

it remains to be seen that he deserves an apology since it might have been an intentional hoax bomb prank.


I'm sorry.... what remains to be seen? The police said there was no evidence and didn't charge him. What exactly remains to be seen?

[Dr.3D]

I don't know why there is a controversy. Somebody set him up with an old electronic clock and he claims he built it.

It's too suspicious to me that his dad is in politics of the very nature this thing points to.

I'm pretty sure he didn't build any of this thing.

[kahless]

I'm sorry.... what remains to be seen? The police said there was no evidence and didn't charge him. What exactly remains to be seen?

Since when is okay to prank your school with a hoax bomb. If some kid actually came back with a real bomb you would be first one screaming why did they not question him when he brought in what looked like a hoax bomb the first time.

[TheTexan]

I'm pretty sure he didn't build any of this thing.

Huh. So Obama was right.

[Dr.3D]

Huh. So Obama was right.
Yeah.... this was a set up, and I suspect Obama had something to do with it.

[kahless]

Maher..... you are actually quoting Maher? Who is completely trustworthy and who, of course, saw the pencil box, close up & personal?

And if it was a prank, WHY would the kid show it immediately to his teacher? And if the teacher thought it was a bomb why didn't he confiscate it? :rolleyes:

I am quoting Maher since he is a hero to many of the Progressives that post here and they worship his every word.

Don't you think it is odd that when the kid got busted he did not tell anyone about the conversation with the engineering teacher. Maybe the engineering teacher decided to give the kid some cover after the prank.

[Ender]

I am quoting Maher since he is a hero to many of the Progressives that post here and they worship his every word.

Don't you think it is odd that when the kid got busted he did not tell anyone about the conversation with the engineering teacher. Maybe the engineering teacher decided to give the kid some cover after for the prank.

No, under duress is it not odd and where's your proof that he didn't try to say something? MSM?

[Danke]

Bill Maher says there's a 'lack of perspective' on Ahmed Mohamed
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/20/ahmed-mohamed-bill-maher-istandwithahmed


Yep. However it remains to be seen that he deserves an apology since it might have been an intentional hoax bomb prank.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/18/if-it-walks-like-an-influence-operation/

[euphemia]

Not wanting to arrest children for their science projects is "progressive"?
YOu see how small that box is, right? Look at it in comparison to the plug. It's tiny. If anyone thought it was an actual bomb they would have evacuated the school and called SWAT. This is a CLEAR example of authorities acting wrongly.

Indeed. This is very logical reasoning. Just the threat of a clock would have been enough to evacuate.

[timosman]

The kid was cuffed by the police - Handcuffed for Making Clock, Ahmed Mohamed, 14, Wins Time With Obama - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/us/texas-student-is-under-police-investigation-for-building-a-clock.html

So much for not raising suspicions.

[cajuncocoa]

I am quoting Maher since he is a hero to many of the Progressives that post here and they worship his every word.


Whose hero is he? Yours?

He's certainly not mine.

[timosman]

Whose hero is he? Yours?

He's certainly not mine.

He's had Ron on his show more than once. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUYDt7kC3Z0 a lot of people had a chance to see Ron for the very first time on his show.
Later he used to be in the sack for Obama. Not sure who he is told to support now though.

[cajuncocoa]

He's had Ron on his show more than once. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUYDt7kC3Z0 a lot of people had a chance to see Ron for the very first time on his show.
Later he used to be in the sack for Obama. Not sure who he is told to support now though.

Ah, OK. So he's your hero. Got it.

Glenn Beck's had Rand on his show too. Doesn't make Beck my hero.

[enhanced_deficit]

When Palin suggested "Iraq war was a task from God" few years back, she probably did not see millions of more "Ahmeds" coming to "Chiristian lands" of USA/Germany/Europe as a direct result of US mideast interventions:

Amid Ahmed clock drama, Kerry unveils huge increase in Syrian,African refugees US will let in (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?482400-Amid-Ahmed-clock-drama-Kerry-unveils-huge-increase-in-Syrian-African-refugees-US-will-let-in&)

http://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/09/20/a74c953f-6ad7-4584-b2ce-a837ad32de87/thumbnail/620x350/e18691b357fd3869b274b6d186c55f8b/2015-09-20t093606z1398458996lr2eb9k0qnurprtrmadp3europe-migrants-austria.jpg (http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/mediterranean-migrant-tragedy-deadly-voyage-to-europe/)
Migrants walk through a police cordon at the Austria-Slovenia border crossing in Spielfeld, Austria, September 20, 2015.
Reuters/Srdjan Zivulovic

[cajuncocoa]

http://s10.postimg.org/feixfonzd/169040_600.jpg

[loveshiscountry]

Maybe if Palin's kids had skills like Ahmed's they would be doing more with their lives than popping out bastards on the regular.What skills? He took a shit in box and said, "Look what I did".

[timosman]

What skills? He took a shit in box and said, "Look what I did".

Pretty much. It is sad what passes for innovation in this country.

[juleswin]

I get that Sarah and the Palin kids probably couldn't even make a jewelry box out of popsicle sticks, but that's no reason for the whole family to be envious or skeptical of Ahmed's skills at making a working clock.

I don't know if you have seen this video before, but it did confirm my earlier suspicion that this kid did not make anything and in fact should have know that his so called "box with wires sticking out of it" clock would arouse suspicion. From the video, you can see that the only thing he did was to unmake a real alarm clock and put it in a box. Don't want to sound like a hater but what he did takes very little skill to do.

Enjoy


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEmSwJTqpgY

[Ender]

I don't know if you have seen this video before, but it did confirm my earlier suspicion that this kid did not make anything and in fact should have know that his so called "box with wires sticking out of it" clock would arouse suspicion. From the video, you can see that the only thing he did was to unmake a real alarm clock and put it in a box. Don't want to sound like a hater but what he did takes very little skill to do.

Enjoy


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEmSwJTqpgY

So what?

He's 14- he was playing around with stuff- he showed to his teacher. The kid never said" "Look how brilliant I am."

[timosman]

So what?

He's 14- he was playing around with stuff- he showed to his teacher. The kid never said" "Look how brilliant I am."

He used the suitcase instead. :eek:

[Ender]

He used the suitcase instead. :eek:

Yeah- the 8" suitcase. :rolleyes:

[timosman]

Yeah- the 8" suitcase. :rolleyes:

Yeah. He packed his shit up in a small case to show off. He is not very good with words I assume.

[juleswin]

So what?

He's 14- he was playing around with stuff- he showed to his teacher. The kid never said" "Look how brilliant I am."

I have to agree, he never said "look how brilliant I am" but at the same time, he has stayed mum when other people claimed that he built something. He is also getting offers from universities and gifts from tech companies. I would like to believe if I was him that I will correct their misstatements being made about him and reject all the gifts. But in reality, I would do exactly what h is doing. Doesn't make it right

I think its up to people like me to call him out cos even a 14 yr old knows right from wrong.

[Ender]

I have to agree, he never said "look how brilliant I am" but at the same time, he has stayed mum when other people claimed that he built something. He is also getting offers from universities and gifts from tech companies. I would like to believe if I was him that I will correct their misstatements being made about him and reject all the gifts. But in reality, I would do exactly what h is doing. Doesn't make it right

I think its up to people like me to call him out cos even a 14 yr old knows right from wrong.

What's not right?

The way the kid was treated is not right.

And in reality, we really don't know WHAT he is saying because the MSM is only going to report all the carpe they can dig up to keep everybody's eye on the "bad" kid and not the stupid school and cops. AND also keep everyone haggling and not noticing the next big world elite take-over.

[twomp]

What skills? He took a shit in box and said, "Look what I did".

It was enough to get the morons of this country all up in arms claiming it was a bomb because they were too stupid to realize otherwise. Now, days after it was PROVEN to be nothing more than a clock, they are doubling down on their stupidity....

"WELL, gee, it wasn't a bomb but it COULD HAVE BEEN one!" SEEEE!!!

[RonPaulMall]

It was enough to get the morons of this country all up in arms claiming it was a bomb because they were too stupid to realize otherwise. Now, days after it was PROVEN to be nothing more than a clock, they are doubling down on their stupidity....

"WELL, gee, it wasn't a bomb but it COULD HAVE BEEN one!" SEEEE!!!

The school officials realized it wasn't a real bomb almost immediately. What got him in trouble was bringing a fake bomb to school in the first place. This isn't some kind of new thing. Calling in bomb threats or setting off the fire alarm used to get kids in big trouble even back in the good ole days.

[Cissy]

So when Palin's kids get involved in a fight at a birthday party or her special needs son stands on the family dog instead of being told 'no' and told to get a step stool, that is evidence of old-fashioned wholesome Americana?

A kid brings a clock to school and he's worse? I could see the principal explaining that some people mistake it for a bomb, so take it home and leave it there, but being arrested?

Yet the Palin kids didn't get arrested for actual violence (I don't believe the other parties involved in the fight were either), which could have been avoided ("we're here for John Doe's birthday party. I'm not going to argue with you on his property and on his birthday. I respect him too much."

[RonPaulIsGreat]

After a thorough review, I will hand down my definitive decree.

Ahmed was looking for trouble.
1. He did not build shit, he tore apart a real alarm clock and shoved it in a briefcase. Literally he did nothing electronically. If you tear off the cover of a vcr, and place it in a box, you did not build a vcr. Same thing.
2. The clock either requires to be plugged into the wall, or a 9 volt battery. The Alarm also must be set to go off at a specific time, well like an alarm clock. So, our hero powered it and programmed it to go off in school.

Conclusion:
Ahmed is a piece of shit, that intentionally built a device that might fool some dumbass into thinking it was a bomb. He knows nothing about electronics, and he intentionally drew attention to the suitcase "clock" by making the alarm go off, with the intention of bringing attention to the "plight" of his oppressed people.

[timosman]

http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/23/6-unanswered-questions-about-ahmed-mohameds-clock/


It’s reasonable and even necessary to be a bit skeptical of extraordinary stories such as the one about Ahmed Mohamed getting hauled out of school for making a clock.

In just over a week, the Ahmed Mohamed clock controversy has become a global phenomenon: the young man brought a homemade clock to school and was subsequently arrested because school officials thought it looked like a bomb, leading to a worldwide outcry and hundreds of thousands of tweets, articles, and words of praise for the boy from Irving, Texas.

Ahmed has received commendation from the likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and even the president of the United States. Just recently, his family announced they will meet dignitaries at the United Nations; later, after a jaunt to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, they hope to meet with President Obama.

Mohamed has become an international superstar. But there are nonetheless several puzzling and troubling questions regarding his rise to fame. A great many people who have been mildly skeptical of this story have been denounced as “Ahmed truthers” and as people who are out to conduct a “smear campaign” against an innocent boy. But it’s actually reasonable and even necessary to be a bit skeptical of extraordinary stories such as this. You don’t have to have a vendetta against Ahmed to want the full story on the table, and asking honest questions about such a remarkable news event doesn’t mean you’re out to “smear” this young man.

With that in mind, here are six questions the media should be asking the Mohamed family to clarify some points that badly need it.

1. Why did Ahmed claim to build the clock if he didn’t actually build it?
From the beginning we’ve been told that Ahmed—a supposedly creative, clever, inventive young man—threw the clock together from parts in his bedroom in order to “impress” his teachers at school. Ahmed told Chris Hayes he put it together himself. He told the Dallas Morning News that he “made a clock,” elsewhere claimed “I’m the person who built a clock and got in trouble with it,” and claimed that the clock was “[his] invention.”

As it turns out, it’s almost certain he did no such thing. All the evidence points toward the conclusion that Ahmed didn’t build his clock at all, and instead just took apart an old digital clock and put the guts inside a pencil case. If this is true—and it almost certainly is—why did he claim he “built” such a device?

Photographs and videos of his workshop have shown a bench scattered with circuit boards, wires, and other electronic devices. If Ahmed is used to working in such conditions and with the guts and pieces of such technology, he should know the difference between “building” a clock and not building one. So what led him to claim he built something that, for all appearances, he didn’t?

2. At what point was the clock actually built?
From the first report of Ahmed’s arrest, we learn the boy threw the clock together “in about 20 minutes before bedtime on Sunday.” He subsequently took it to school the following Monday morning, at which point it was confiscated. He thus had the clock in his possession for around 12 hours, give or take.

Elsewhere, however, his father claimed that Ahmed “wakes up with [the alarm clock] most mornings.” This simply cannot be true: Ahmed allegedly only had the alarm clock for one morning. Perhaps the explanation is that Ahmed used to wake up with the original alarm clock before he disassembled it and put it in the pencil case, and his father was simply not speaking clearly. Pretty satisfactory explanation, right?

Not so fast. On MSNBC with Chris Hayes, Ahmed claimed to have “bought [the clock’s] parts and put it together in [his] room.” These stories do not jibe. At what point did Ahmed build the clock—and if he built it before the Sunday night in question, why did he lie about it?

3. Why did the clock go off during his English class?
When Ahmed showed the clock to one teacher, that teacher said he should not show it to anyone else (the teacher apparently thought it looked suspicious). One assumes he intended to follow that order and keep quiet about the clock for the rest of the day—but, according to NBC News, “the clock’s alarm went off during [another] class,” annoying another teacher and leading Ahmed to show her the clock after class in order to explain himself (this teacher subsequently reported him, which led to his arrest).

So the alarm went off and the teacher heard it. That’s a suitable pretext for showing her the clock, but it’s also—when you stop to think about it—really quite odd. Why was the alarm ringing in the middle of the class? Did Ahmed program it to ring while he was in the classroom? If so, why?

There might be and probably is a perfectly reasonable explanation for why the alarm went off. But all the reports I’ve read just claim the alarm “went off.” Alarm clocks don’t just go off: they are programmed to go off (clocks generally don’t just arbitrarily ring on their own; otherwise they’d wake people up all night long). Has anyone asked Ahmed why the clock was programmed to ring during his English class?

4. To what extent has Ahmed’s sister, Eyman, been involved in the whole affair?
We know from a Daily Beast report that Ahmed’s sister, Eyman, was suspended in middle school due to “this girl saying [Eyman] wanted to blow up the school.” She appears to still be fairly bitter about it, even all these years later, which is sort of understandable. She and Ahmed’s other sister created the @IStandWithAhmed Twitter account a couple of days after Ahmed was arrested.

But there is evidence Eyman has taken an even more proactive role in the whole affair. Mark Cuban claimed to have spoken with Ahmed on the phone and said his sister was “over his shoulder, you could hear, listening to the question, giving him the answer.” Ahmed is still a young man, but he is not a toddler, and is surely capable of answering questions. Why would Eyman feel it was necessary to instruct Ahmed on what to say? Has she played a larger role in this controversy then we’ve already seen?

5. Why did Ahmed assume the clock would look ‘suspicious’ or ‘like a threat’?
Ahmed claims that he used a cable to close the pencil case because he didn’t “want to make it seem like a threat” or “suspicious.” Why did he assume it would look that way? Did he believe it was suspicious-looking when he built it, and if so, why did he take it to school with him?

6. Why is the Mohamed family blocking the release of important records?
Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne revealed this week that the Mohamed family is refusing to release records that could exonerate the police officers who handled Ahmed’s arrest. Both the Irving School District and the Irving Police Department have asked for the records to be released, but to no avail. Why would the Mohamed family feel it necessary to prevent such records from being released to the public?

All of these questions may have perfectly reasonable and unsurprising answers. But before we can get the answers, the media must ask the questions. Before this incident goes any further, members of the press should be asking the Mohamed family to clear up these uncertain and confusing gaps in the story.

[Danke]

http://www.thefallingdarkness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Useful_Idiots1386185639.jpg

[timosman]

http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/irving-mayor-beth-van-duyne-goes-on-glenn-beck-to-talk-about-the-clock-kid-uh-oh-7617185

http://images1.dallasobserver.com/imager/u/745xauto/7617242/vanduyneonbeck.jpg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHEFzmJoGEo)



Also Bill Maher


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGit-XltUB4

[Batman]

Lol. None of these people can build a Lego man if they had the instruction manual.

[Ender]

Lol. None of these people can build a Lego man if they had the instruction manual.

Exactly.