Saturday Night Tweets: Cairo Is Burning

It appears that over 800 people may have been killed this week from riots in Cairo, Egypt, and perhaps other cities in the world's most populous Arab nation as the secular military battles with supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, who also stand by ousted president Mohammed Morsi.

We have been tracking tweets today regarding the messy situation, including tweets from liberal activist Gigi Ibrahim (pictured top), who was the face of the country's initial Arab Spring uprising, Sana Saaed, a female Egyptian college professor presumably based in Canada, and Sinem Cengiz, a female correspondent of Turkish and Arab heritage for the Turkish English-language newspaper "Today's Zaman."

Here are the tweets:

1) Sana Saaed @SanaSaeed: "Those aren't Islamists" or "Morsi supporters" protesting and dying: They're #Egypt-ians, no matter how the headlines characterize them.

2) Faizaan @El_OptiMist: "What is going to commence soon will be far worse than we're witnessing right now #Egypt #Syria."

3) Gigi Ibrahim @Gsquare86: "I am exhausted from being depressed and feeling helpless and trapped."

4) Politico @politico: "#Egypt weighs banning Brotherhood."

5) The Boston Globe @BostonGlobe: Editorial: Ending US Aid to #Egypt is unwise, but stronger messages are needed.

6) Sinem Cengiz @SinemCngz:" If #Egypt fails, all Arab Spring countries will fail."

7) John Fugelsang (progressive American talk show personality): "Funny how the ppl opposed to separation of church & state here are rooting for separating mosque & state in #Egypt."

8) DailaEzzat (ADaliaEzzat_): Love it when journalists keep saying 'signs of the old days are back when referrring to MOI (Ministry of Interior) and security forces. The old days never left! #Egypt

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

http://www.todayszaman.com/home

Quote of the Day- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

We are dedicating this entry to the collective memories of Mehmet Ayvalitas, 20, who was killed in Istanbul, and Abdullah Comert, 22, who was killed in Antakya (Hatay/Antioch) during protests against the Islamist AK-Party government headed by Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is in Morocco today where he gave an apology for the excessive use of brute police force. But, for many of us of Turkish heritage as well as Turkish citizens of other ethnicities, Erdogan's best apology will be a full resignation.

The story of the protests, which are now being called "The Turkish Spring," is even a popular topic on "The Jerusalem Post" web site; Turkey and Israel have had strained relations due to Erdogan and his fellow right-wing counterpart Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unyielding nationalist foreign policies.

Egyptian activist Gigi Ibrahim who was one of the leading figures in the Tahrir Square demonstrations in Cairo has also tweeted her views on the events in Turkey which started out as a small protest against the government's plans to build a development on Gezi Park, the last remaining open space in Istanbul.

This quote is from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the Republic of Turkey, in 1923:

"Mankind is a single body and each nation is a part of that body."

SIDEBAR: Many years ago, I wrote this unmailed postcard to a friend in what was then Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Today Belgrade is the capital of Serbia:

"Hi friend. This is just a test to see if you get this postcard. Peace and keep in touch. I'm always your friend no matter what happens."

The postcard was a photo image of Skyline Drive near Front Royal, Virginia.

More Tweets Regarding Events in Turkey

Here are some more tweets regarding the events in Turkey. Various media outlets report that four people have been killed by the police who are cracking down on protestors in Istanbul. Protests are in full swing across Turkey as right-wing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken draconian measures to suppress his own constituents.

The BBC is reporting that 40,000 Istanbulians crossed the Bosporus Bridge by foot; the above image is of Taksim Square where the initial protest began.

Here are the tweets:

1) Juan Cole: Taksim Square Protests in Turkey spread to other cities. Police accused of brutality.

2) Hurriyet Daily News: #Photo Clashes over #Taksim Gezi Park protest spread across #Istanbul and #Turkey.

3) Mark Ruffalo (a famous American actor): "Be safe and strong! Something tremendulous is Happening in Turkey.

4) Mustafa Edib Yilmaz (a reporter with the conservative Turkish newspaper "Zaman"): "This is crazy. Turkey is a democracy unlike elsewhere in the a region where populist uprisings occurred. Here we have elections, not insurgency."

5) Gigi Ibrahim (an Egyptian activist who helped organize Tahrir Square uprising): "It is a little too pathetic for Egyptains to think that what is happening in #Turkey is about trees?! You have to be kidding right."

6) Rawya Rageh: "Starbucks staff in #Taksim are amazing! Gave us free coffee and doing same with protestors. Ystdy they gave ppl shelter, milk."

7) Kemal Saracoglu: "May 31, 2013: Turkey_ Istanbul Man is Killed by Police."

Tweet of the Day- Gigi Ibrahim (Egyptian Activist)

Perhaps the hit theme song "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds from the 1985 film "The Breakfast Club" might be the new anthem for Gigi Ibrahim, a young Egyptian activist who became the human face behind the revolution.

Today, Syria, Libya and Yemen are getting more attention, but one expects that democracy will still take a while to fully evolve in Egypt.

Ibrahim is a graudate from the American University in Cairo, where she majored in political science, and she has also appeared on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart.

Here was her tweet today:

"Thank you for your great replies and support....Long live Egypt and our continous revolution."

SIDEBAR: I noticed that a gas station in the Roanoke, Va., area was now serving up Krispy Kreme burgers, but there is another form of gluttony making headlines today as Don Gorske, 59, a retired prison guard from Fondu du La, Wisc., who was featured in Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me!" ate his 25,000th Big Mac today at his local McDee's. We wonder if Ronald McDonald was present for the occasion.