Caroline Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I thought this was an interesting read. I know most of the posters here will dismiss it because of the source. But I thought the information about the demographics of the city to be interesting. And I haven't read it elsewhere, but I wonder if it's really true that he switched the clock so it counted down instead of up. Well, if he made a count down clock, then he didn't simply remove the clock from its original box and put it in another. He changed how it worked. So which one is it? Also, the stats I can find on the school say it is 14% Caucasian, not 6%. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I was just thinking Milo, Tock, and Humbug went through all that danger for nothing... 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I thought this was an interesting read. I know most of the posters here will dismiss it because of the source. But I thought the information about the demographics of the city to be interesting. And I haven't read it elsewhere, but I wonder if it's really true that he switched the clock so it counted down instead of up. Google tells me the demographics are incorrect. Irving is bigger than a single zip code. The most diverse zip code in the US does in fact lie inside of Irving. It is 75038. The zip code where the high school is, however, is 75062. Google maps tells me from the center of the one to the center of the other is just over 6 miles. Wikipedia tells me that Irving as a whole has the following demographics: The racial makeup of the city was 64.2% White, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.2% of the population, 10.2% African American, 0.7% Native American, 8.24% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 13.4% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. MacArthur High School itself is not 6% white. It is 14% white. 52% Hispanic, 28% black, 5% Asian, and 1% 2 or more races. (This is from Public School Review.) Of note, this means MacArthur is actually MORE white than the Irving ISD as a whole. Wikipedia tells me Irving ISD's demographics are: African American 12.06% American Indian 0.47% Asian 3.57% Hispanic 70.84% White 11.66% Moral: Don't believe everything you read on The Blaze, especially if a Google search can tell you information you need to know. (Side note: A porn actor/director named Chris Steele graduated from MacArthur. This amused me for some reason.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 So, where do we send the Homeschooling welcome kit, including, of course, a copy of WTM? :D 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Same here, they always evacuated the school and brought in the bomb squad. We are close in age, so it was done "way back when" in at least the two areas we lived in. Same here, I'm 51 and the school was always evacuated immediately and police dogs brought in if there was any bomb threat whatsoever. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I'm surprised so many here had bomb threats at their schools and evacuated. We never had a single one and the only times we evacuated were for fire drills. My dds have never had one either. They have had a lock down due to criminal activity in the area and that is something I never experienced either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Not all bomb threats equal an evacuation. You can Google bomb threat protocols and see that some places leave the decision up to the principal. So, your (general your) school could have had bomb threats you (general you) didn't know about. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Schools around here don't evacuate -- they do lockdowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I'm 46 and we evacuated for bomb threats when I was in high school, although I remember a couple times thinking that we really weren't far enough away. They were pretty sure they were false alarms but still had us go outside, even if some people would stand leaning up against the school. My oldest is 21 and her school also evacuated for bomb threats. I think it happened twice in the four years she was there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I'm having an "another planet" moment. I was not aware of any bomb threats at my schools in all my years of schooling. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 There is a difference between a called in bomb threat and having an actual suspicious device found on campus. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Do the demographics for a given school include the students and staff or just students? A diverse student population says nothing about the people in charge. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Not all bomb threats equal an evacuation. You can Google bomb threat protocols and see that some places leave the decision up to the principal. So, your (general your) school could have had bomb threats you (general you) didn't know about. I don't doubt it but I am surprised. My youngest dd has already had two lock downs in her middle school but she was unaware of both until we picked her up and asked her about them. The bomb threats and evacuations some have said they experienced is surprising because if there was one we definitely weren't evacuated and my parents were never told. At least with lock downs, I am informed even if my dds never know during school hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Did anyone see that the Irving mayor spoke with a Republican group and said that Ahmed's statements to the police were fishy and the family was trying to cover what really happened by refusing to allow the release of police records? Apparently these statements came after she spoke about Sharia law and her steps to avoid it happening in Irving... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Based on what I have heard from that mayor, she is nuttier than squirrel poo. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I'm surprised so many here had bomb threats at their schools and evacuated. We never had a single one and the only times we evacuated were for fire drills. I don't remember any bomb threats at my school when I was small, but then the IRA tended to target shopping districts. This happened a couple of miles away when I was eleven. The IRA had code words to validate threats when they called the police. I don't think there have been bomb threats at the boys' school. There hasn't been any IRA violence in mainland UK since they have been at school, and there have been no other local threats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 In Australia, I remember at least one bomb threat and we were evacuated. Would have been late 90s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I don't remember any bomb threats at my school when I was small, but then the IRA tended to target shopping districts. This happened a couple of miles away when I was eleven. The IRA had code words to validate threats when they called the police. I don't think there have been bomb threats at the boys' school. There hasn't been any IRA violence in mainland UK since they have been at school, and there have been no other local threats. I'm guessing that kids from communities which have direct experience with real (not hoax) bomb violence, especially of the terrorist variety, are unlikely to use hoax bomb threats to get out of their second period math class? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I'm guessing that kids from communities which have direct experience with real (not hoax) bomb violence, especially of the terrorist variety, are unlikely to use hoax bomb threats to get out of their second period math class? I suspect you are right. The threat was very real when I was a child. Any time you wanted to throw away a crisp packet but there was no bin on the street, because they had all been removed as likely targets, you were reminded. Not to mention the nightly news. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Ugh. Cannot believe this argument is still going strong. Also the "they can't be racist bc only 6% are Caucasian" argument is the dumb. One, religion isn't a color. Not for Christians and not for Muslims. Two, Caucasians do not have a monopoly on racism. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Here's an update on Ahmed and his family. He attended Astronomy Night at the White House recently and met the president and an astronaut. The family is moving to Qatar, as he received a Young Innovators scholarship for secondary and undergraduate education there. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Interesting update.... I wonder about the move. I'd be surprised if he couldn't have gotten a scholarship here as well. Perhaps he didn't feel comfortable being here anymore. I hope he does all the things he was invited to before the move or he'll have to either give them up or travel quite a bit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 How sad. I've heard a lot about human rights violations in Qatar. It sounds like a horrible place for poor workers. What will his family be and do? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Interesting update.... I wonder about the move. I be surprised if he couldn't have gotten a scholarship here as well. Perhaps he didn't feel comfortable being here anymore. I hope he does all the things he was invited to before the move or he'll have to either give them up or travel quite a bit. I was surprised to read about Qatar too. I'm assuming the Qatari government/foundation/whatever is taking care of the whole family...or that's my assumption. So Dad gets a good job, his sister gets to go to a private school, etc. It sounds like the Dad wants to move his family someplace where they cannot be bullied for being Muslim. Thing is, being of Sudanese background, he may face racial discrimination. I hope not, though. The Dad's background is interesting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Elhassan_Mohamed He ran to be President of Sudan twice. He's an entrepreneur. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Well. Qatar is the wealthiest country in the world and it's harder to get into their schools than our ivy schools and they are stanch USA allies. So while I'm not eager to live there, Ahmed's family could do far worse. I suspect they want both financial opportunity and to have a culture they can identify with better. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 There are indeed some concerning points made about Qatar in the Human Rights Watch's report. Let's not forget, though, that this family doesn't have much reason to think highly of civil rights protections in the U.S. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 I wonder if the sister and mom are going too, and how they will be affected by the move, and what they think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 I wonder if the sister and mom are going too, and how they will be affected by the move, and what they think of it. There are two sisters and PBS says they're all going. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38carrots Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 The left a democracy where pretty much everyone, including the president, stood up for him and supported him, to go to the place governed by the Sharia law. This right away tells me a lot about this family and what *they* stand for. Nothing but attention seeking stunt by his "entrepreneur" father, and beautifuly executed too. No wonder Qatar wants them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 The left a democracy where pretty much everyone, including the president, stood up for him and supported him, to go to the place governed by the Sharia law. This right away tells me a lot about this family and what *they* stand for. Nothing but attention seeking stunt by his "entrepreneur" father, and beautifuly executed too. No wonder Qatar wants them. This attitude (along with the conspiracy theories) was no doubt part of their decision. 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 The left a democracy where pretty much everyone, including the president, stood up for him and supported him, to go to the place governed by the Sharia law. This right away tells me a lot about this family and what *they* stand for. Nothing but attention seeking stunt by his "entrepreneur" father, and beautifuly executed too. No wonder Qatar wants them. How was his father able to manipulate the school and police into acting like imbeciles? 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 So he's going where he gets a scholarship, the same way I go where I get free rent. Who doesn't like free stuff? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38carrots Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 How was his father able to manipulate the school and police into acting like imbeciles? Schools and police have been acting like embeciles for quite a while and common sense has died. It isn't news, is it? One has to be stupid or naive to think that a child of *any* race or religion, bringing anything resembing a bomb, would be unnoticed. Pop tart elementary school child was suspended! Like this hasn't been news? A little kid suspended for a pop tart gun, because it was a "gun"!! Then a teenager brings an item resembling a hoax bomb (it wasn't about it being a bomb, it was about it being a hoax bomb, in the same way as the pop tart gun wasn't a gun). It didn't have to do anything with him being a muslim. Just as the pop tart gun had nothing to do with the child being white. It has to do with the overwhelming lack of common sense. Is his fagher stupid? Nope. Is his father naive? Hardly. Is his father politically savvy (running for the Sudan president, politically active in his community)? Absolutely. A politically savvy father lets his son bring a hoax bomb looking item into the school? *After* his daughter was already suspended from *her* school for making bomb threats? You tell me his father is not manipulating the situation. Laughable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38carrots Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 So he's going where he gets a scholarship, the same way I go where I get free rent. Who doesn't like free stuff? Just wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Schools and police have been acting like embeciles for quite a while and common sense has died. It isn't news, is it? One has to be stupid or naive to think that a child of *any* race or religion, bringing anything resembing a bomb, would be unnoticed. Pop tart elementary school child was suspended! Like this hasn't been news? A little kid suspended for a pop tart gun, because it was a "gun"!! Then a teenager brings an item resembling a hoax bomb (it wasn't about it being a bomb, it was about it being a hoax bomb, in the same way as the pop tart gun wasn't a gun). It didn't have to do anything with him being a muslim. Just as the pop tart gun had nothing to do with the child being white. It has to do with the overwhelming lack of common sense. Is his fagher stupid? Nope. Is his father naive? Hardly. Is his father politically savvy (running for the Sudan president, politically active in his community)? Absolutely. A politically savvy father lets his son bring a hoax bomb looking item into the school? *After* his daughter was already suspended from *her* school for making bomb threats? You tell me his father is not manipulating the situation. Laughable. Just wow. My thoughts exact to your upper post. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38carrots Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 This attitude (along with the conspiracy theories) was no doubt part of their decision. I hardly doubt the father, being a politician, is not used to diversity of opinions. But if they can't handle this, and they want to raise their children where being gay is illegal, where stoning is still a legal punishment, where workers work in slavery-like conditions, where freedom of speech is severely limited, and the same applies to women's rights, instead of a democracy (with its own problems, but a democracy nevertheless), then that's exactly where they should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 where workers work in slavery-like conditions And you're commenting about this from where? America? :lol: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 If they are happier in Qatar, then good for them. Maybe they weren't planning on staying in the US long-term anyway. The dad is on record for some pretty radical political statements prior to this "hoax bomb" incident. He was running for prez in an African country. May the family be happy in Qatar or find someplace else to be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 If they are happier in Qatar, then good for them. Maybe they weren't planning on staying in the US long-term anyway. The dad is on record for some pretty radical political statements prior to this "hoax bomb" incident. He was running for prez in an African country. May the family be happy in Qatar or find someplace else to be happy. Maybe he's not planning to stay in Qatar either. Maybe he's getting his kids educated, then going right back to the US for decent paid jobs. Nice to have options, isn't it? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Yes, it's great to have options. But if he's leaving because, as some are implying, he now finds the USA intolerable, then coming back would seem to be pointless. However, I can't speak for him, and nobody else can either. I know of many immigrants from conservative backgrounds who prefer to have their kids educated/raised in conservative countries, in order to better instill family values. It can make things more complicated for the kids in many ways, but it's their decision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Schools and police have been acting like embeciles for quite a while and common sense has died. It isn't news, is it? One has to be stupid or naive to think that a child of *any* race or religion, bringing anything resembing a bomb, would be unnoticed. Pop tart elementary school child was suspended! Like this hasn't been news? A little kid suspended for a pop tart gun, because it was a "gun"!! Then a teenager brings an item resembling a hoax bomb (it wasn't about it being a bomb, it was about it being a hoax bomb, in the same way as the pop tart gun wasn't a gun). It didn't have to do anything with him being a muslim. Just as the pop tart gun had nothing to do with the child being white. It has to do with the overwhelming lack of common sense. Is his fagher stupid? Nope. Is his father naive? Hardly. Is his father politically savvy (running for the Sudan president, politically active in his community)? Absolutely. A politically savvy father lets his son bring a hoax bomb looking item into the school? *After* his daughter was already suspended from *her* school for making bomb threats? You tell me his father is not manipulating the situation. Laughable. It didn't resemble a bomb. He never said it was a bomb. He was not charged for having a hoax bomb or making threats. Thanks for making the laugh by trying to work in the Pop Tart gun fiasco. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Today's news story says that he is suing the school district for $15 million in damages: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/23/us/ahmed-mohamed-clock-letters-demand-apologies/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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