August 14, 2013: The Egyptian police and armed forces, under the command of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi raided two camps of protesters in the national capital of Cairo: One at al-Nahda Square, and a larger one at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square.
The two sites had been occupied by supporters of President Mohamed Morsi, who had been removed from office by the military a little over a month earlier in the Egyptian coup d'état. Initiatives to end the six-week sit-ins by peaceful means had failed, and the camps were cleared out within hours.
Human Rights Watch described the raids as crimes against humanity and "one of the world's largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history." It alleged that at least 904 protesters were killed: 817 in Rabaa Square and 87 in al-Nahda Square. There were strong suggestions that at least 1,000 protesters died during the dispersal.
The Egyptian Health Ministry announced that 595 civilians and 43 police officers were killed, and at least 3,994 were injured. The official Forensic Medical Authority stated that the number of police officers killed was eight. Egypt's National Council for Human Rights announced that at least 624 civilians were killed.
The Muslim Brotherhood and the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimiacy stated the number of deaths from the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque sit-in alone was about 2,600. The total casualty count made August 14 the deadliest day in Egypt since the 2011 revolution which toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.
The editors of Time magazine had named "The Protestor," as a generic representative of various causes, as their Person of the Year for 2011. The Arab Spring was a part of that. By 2013, the hope was over.
While this was going on in Egypt, Bashar al-Assad, the dictator of Syria, was launching poison gas on his own citizens who were protesting his evil regime. The civilized world was appalled, but, with the ongoing American occupation of Afghanistan and the recent American withdrawal from Iraq, the desire of the West to intervene in either Egypt or Syria -- especially with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin seeming to support Assad -- means the end of what had been called the Arab Spring, a hopeful period that had suggested a freer future for the Middle East.
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August 14, 2013 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 11-3 at Yankee Stadium. Iván Nova was the winning pitcher. Alfonso Soriano hit 2 home runs.
* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Back-to-back doubles by Yasiel Puig and Adrián González won the game in the bottom of the 12th inning.
* The Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5 at Nationals Park in Washington.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Brett Lawrie singled home Rajai Davis to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-4 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Yes, both Chicago teams were at home on the same day, and both lost. Bronson Arroyo pitched 7 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and then Alfredo Simon and Jonathan Broxton each pitched a perfect inning.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-8 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Michael Brantley drove Nick Swisher home with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th inning to win it.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Miami Marlins beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 4-2 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Aaron Hill singled home Gerardo Parra in the bottom of the 14th inning.
* And the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum). Carlos Corporán doubled home José Altuve in the top of the 11th inning.
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