Tweets from Around the Crazy Galaxy: Reactions to the Brutal Execution of American Journalist

As the late Peter Finch declared in Sidney Lumet's film "Netword" (1976): "I am mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more." With the beheading of American journalists Steven Scotloff and James Foley by the terrorist group ISIS or ISIL, it seems everyone is chiming in about what America should do next with regards to what has become a very messy, tense situation in Syria and Iraq.

Here are some tweets from the right, the left and the center as well as views from Muslims and non-Muslims. These are not necessarily views with agree with, especially the supposed right-winger who is cheering remarks by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Though we would like to see justice brought forward, we are not inclined to endorse the most right-wing American senator in decades:

1) Stephen Bright: "1.6 billion Muslims Worldwide per CNN. Why aren't they taking a stand against these extremist group misrepresenting their religion?"

2) New Jersey Hockey: "I like Sen. Ted Cruz's response to the second U.S. beheading in as many weeks: 'Let's Bomb ISIS back to the Stone Age."

3) Slate:"Obama now says the U.S. will 'destroy' ISIS. What does that mean exactly?"

4) Laila Lalami: "WANTED. Fox News experts on Islam. No prior training or experience necessary. Frequent references to sharia and Kenyan socialism a must."

5) Arsalan Iftikhar (The Muslim Guy): "The terrorist group ISIS just killed (and beheaded) my Facebook friend (and American journalist) Steven Sotloff.....ISIS are the dogs of hell."

6) Miami News Now: "To the end, journalist Steven Sotloff kept Jewish identity secret from Islamic state captors."

7) The New Republic: Steven Sotloff was just 31 years old_ a journalist only embarking on what should have been a long career.

http://www.tnr.com

http://www.slate.com

Saturday Morning Tweets_ Picking Up Those Pesky Pennies

It's been a long time since we talked about Turkish soccer, but we learned today that our beloved Bursaspor, a team nicknamed the crocodiles even though Gustave the notorious man-eating croc' lives a long way from Turkey in the central African country of Burundi, tied Istanbul powerhouse Fenerbahce 1-1.

Here is a look at some tweets we have digested (yes, that is a nudge to Gustave) from the 11:00 a.m. hour (New York time, which seven hours behind Bursa and Istanbul):

1. @TheMuslimGuy (Arsalan Iftikhar, a progressive Muslim-American): "DC Friends: Sunday night check out my friend comedian Dean Obeidallah @DeanofComedy shows in Wash. DC, will be fun!" (Obeidallah is a Palestinian-American comic, he is pictured top).

2. @current (Current TV): "In Colorado, a ballot initiative to legalize pot is more popular than either Romney or Obama."

3. @FSU_Volleyball (Florida State Seminoles Women's Volleyball, featuring two Turkish student athletes Fatma Yildirim and Duygu Duzceler, this tweet is in reference to their very close win over Georgia Tech last night): "@FSUVolleyball is on the road and headed to Clemson. Thanks everyone for their Twitter love last night! We love our fans."

4. @HuffingtonPost (Huffington Post): "Burger King unleashes pumpkin burger" (pictured, middle).

5. @LOLGOP (LOL GOP): "The other freedom ObamaCare offers is the chance to create your business w/out fear of losing or not being able to afford health care."

6. @neilhimself (Neil Gaiman, a famed fiction writer): "Wife is jogging somewhere."

7. @wamu885news (WAMU 88.5-FM, a new station based in Washington, DC): "The Baltimore National  Aquarium is asking the public to help name its baby sloth."

8. @TheOnion (The Onion is a faux news journal): "Area Man Spends Absurd Amount of Time Trying to Pick Up a Penny."

http://www.deanofcomedy.com

http://www.current.com

http://www.seminoles.com

http://www.aqua.org (web site for the National Aquarium)

Tweets from Saturday Night_ Middle East Madness

The finger-pointing from Republican presidential team Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, or DynoMutt and Blue Falcon as we call him here in the office towards the Barack Obama administration for catastrophic riots which started in Egypt on Tues., the 11th anniversary of Sept. 11th, and then fostered into a even more horrifying frenzy in Libya, where American Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed along with three other American diplomats and ten Libyans who were providing security to the embassy in Benghazi, which is not actually Libya's capital.

Today, we also learned that a mosque in Harrisonburg, Va., a city that is home to James Madison University, which is a two-hour drive from both Washington, DC, (to the north) and my hometown of Roanoke, Va. (to the south), was vandalized with the words: "This is America." Harrisonburg is also the city where a FBI agent arbitrarily raided the home of a man of Arab heritage during this country's Sept. 11th period.

All of these events are very disturbing to those of us who are Americans of Middle Eastern heritage, as it reminds us of the quote from the late great Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa: "In an insane world, only the mad are sane."

Some of the other tweets of the night dealt with the presidential election here in America.

Here are some tweets from the 20:00 or 8:00 p.m. hour, New York time, this evening:

1) @Wolf Blitzer (CNN host Wolf Blitzer): "So sad to hear US evacuates families and non-emergency personnel from Tunis. I was there last year when things were encouraging."

2) @BillMaher (Outspoken liberal comedian Bill Maher): "These middle east protestors r different these days- taking pics of themselves throwing rocks and yelling: 'hashtag down with America."

3) @NPRInskeep (Steve Inskeep): "Top religious authority lists reasons why murder of US ambassador was against Islam."

4) @TheMuslimGuy (Arsalan Iftikhar): "TV ALERT: I will be on 'CNN Sunday Morning' tomorrow @ 8:30 a.m. EST on anti-Islam movie and protests around the world...Fun Stuff, I know...Sigh."

5) @Terry-McAuliffe (former Democratic strategist Terry McAuliffe): "Met some llamas for Obama at the Albermale Dems BBQ."

6) @Coffeepartyusa (Coffee Party): "The man who made the anti-Muslim video has a foreign-sounding name. Let's hire Trump and Kobach to declare he's not American."

7) @WSOC-TV (WSOC is Charlotte, NC's ABC affiliate): "Mitt Romney's son goes door to door for his dad in Charlotte."

Remembering Sept. 11th ...on Its' 11th Anniversary

Today, we remember the 2,977 people who died on Sept. 11th. We have decided to include an image of a Hassidic Jew and Arsalan Iftikhar aka 'The Muslim Guy,' 35, who is a leading progressive Muslim advocate in the United States, to show that as cliched as it may seem America's greatest strength is its diversity, and even the atrocities of 9-11 have not changed that.


http://www.jewishtimes.com

http://www.themuslimguy.com

http://www.911memorial.org

http://www.nyc.gov/nypd

http://www.flight93crash.com