Free Republic

Government wants ‘social media analytic tool’ for ‘ongoing monitoring’The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a “social media analytic tool” that will give the government access to “full Twitter historical data,” according to a solicitation released on Tuesday. The agency is seeking feedback for a “possible future acquisition to provide near real time social media analysis.” HHS said it wants to use the tool for “ongoing monitoring” of public health issues. HHS provides a long list of requirements, including “access to real-time social media posts,” and “access to full Twitter firehose.” The agency requires an archive that...

Snippet: "Iran and its terrorist proxy groups’ influence in Latin America remains a troubling security threat to the region and world, experts said at a congressional hearing on Tuesday."

<p>Stuff really started hitting the fan in Venezuela this week, as public discontent with the ongoing crises of basic goods shortages, runaway inflation, and high crime rates has finally come to a head and protests have started popping up all over the country.</p>

The Army wants a contractor to conduct detailed social media data mining to “identify violent extremist influences” around the world that could affect the European Command, responsible for operations in Europe as well as Iceland, Israel, Greenland and Russia. Though the project is classified Secret, an Army contract shop in Europe posted a wealth of information on the FedBizOps contract website Tuesday. The data mining contract, which has the very long title of “Social Media Data-mining, Localized Research, Market Audience Analysis, and Narrowcast Engagement Requirements,” will support both the European Command and Special Operations Command Europe. In its request for...

Seattle radio station KIRO 7 says that a local woman has been accused of sending over 100 abusive and violent messages to the frontman from nine different Twitter accounts, including posts which threatened to rape his 13-year-old daughter.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Yellow, murky tap water. Warnings about what a toilet can and can’t handle. Missing floors, door handles and light bulbs. The complaints have been flooding in – and going viral on social media – as media members get settled for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. But just as quickly there’s backlash forming from people who say journalists need to stop grumbling about their accommodations in Russia and start focusing on covering the games. One columnist in the Toronto Star even accused reporters from around the globe of turning “into Ugly Americans when venturing beyond their comfort...

Co-authored with John Jalsevac February 5, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Soon millions of Americans will be buying Thin Mints from Girl Scouts at churches, street corners, and at neighbors' homes. But according to Human Life Alliance, American Life League, My Girl Scouts Council, and Live Action, those concerned about the sanctity of human life should consider boycotting the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) over the organization's links to pro-abortion organizations and individuals. The groups are organizing a Tweetfest on Thursday, urging Americans to use the hashtag #Cookiecott on Twitter to draw attention to GSUSA's associations with Planned Parenthood and other...

That the media of old is dead comes as a surprise to no one. All pretense of objectivity is gone. When a media orgy breaks out over a progressive activist blogger with no journalistic background leaving the once-credible Washington Post to start a “news organization” that seeks resumes of like-minded progressives who “share our passion for fixing the news,” we can say without reservation that the media shark has been jumped. Oddly enough, I agree with the idea of “fixing the news,” though I suspect I disagree with progressives on how to do that. I’d re-impose standards and require objectivity....

Twitter is exploring ways to sell products directly from the 140-character missives the one-to-many text messaging service site is famous for, a technology news site has reported. Re/Code on Friday posted a screen shot of what this new service could look like, integrated into the site's familiar baby blue interface. It said it found the image posted on e-commerce site Fancy.com, which appeared to be working on a partnership with Twitter. In the screenshot, which is no longer able to be viewed, certain tweets are tagged "Twitter Commerce" and, when expanded, show a green "Buy with Fancy" button. The purchaser...

Twitter comments by Iran’s President boasting victories over the idiot countries of the world got me thinking. What if Hitler could have tweeted his thoughts after his conference with Chamberlain at Munich? Hmmm. Perhaps he would have said something like hashtag/Peace in our time. Sure, Right, LOL, or hashtag/Gotta love those Brits. Or maybe hashtag/Look out Jews ☺. However, I was quickly plagued by the thought that had Hitler tweeted his intent, would the world have cared or paid attention? Judging from the reaction to Iran’s tweets, apparently not. Hashtag/Oh those Mullahs, what kibitzers! I will refrain from Brits-bashing in...

What is wrong with the hosts at MSNBC? Ronan Farrow, who will begin anchoring a network program on February 24, made a tasteless joke on Tuesday night, comparing war hero Cory Remsburg's struggles to that of politicians in Congress. Farrow tweeted, "Cory 'struggles on the left side.' Congress relates.'" Farrow has not apologized for the tweet On Wednesday, political reporter Mark Murray, whose wife works in the Obama administration, compared Remsburg's struggle to that of the President: "Obama's ending on Remsburg wasn't just a story about America -- it also was a story about Obama.

In case you missed it earlier this week, a tweet sent out on the official MSNBC Twitter page accused the "right wing" of hating biracial families. After backlash, the tweet was quickly deleted. MSNBC tried to backtrack, saying this "isn't who they are," but they aren't fooling anyone. This is exactly who they are. Remember this? When Melissa Harris-Perry and her show panel mocked Mitt Romney's African-American grandson Kieran? When panelist and actress Pia Glenn sang "one of these things is not the same" about baby Kieran? Harris-Perry eventually issued an apology. Melissa Harris-Perry's MSNBC Panel Mocks Mitt Romney's Black...

I had a rare Twitter username, @N. Yep, just one letter. I've been offered as much as $50,000 for it. People have tried to steal it. Password reset instructions are a regular sight in my email inbox. As of today, I no longer control @N. I was extorted into giving it up. While eating lunch on January 20, 2014, I received a text message from PayPal for one-time validation code. Somebody was trying to steal my PayPal account. I ignored it and continued eating. . . . . . . . I tried to log in to my GoDaddy account,...

Advice or a Warning? You be the judge– American media mogul and creator and editor of the Drudge Report, Matt Drudge issued a dire warning this weekend. The influential conservative warned his Twitter followers “Have an exit plan…” Drudge has access to confidential information from numerous sources inside media and politics.STHF Plan reported, via Free Republic: His web site may consist of just a single page, but Matt Drudge is arguably the most influential media personality in the world. Garnering nearly one billion readers monthly, the Drudge Report is able to literally shift public sentiment, making it an essential read...

American influence in culture, science and education around the world is facing a high-profile blow Friday as the U.S. is stripped of its voting rights at the world's cultural agency, UNESCO. And it would cost the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars to win this voice back. The U.S. hasn’t paid its dues to the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in three years, in protest over the decision by world governments to make Palestine a UNESCO member in 2011. … The UNESCO tension has prompted new criticism of U.S. laws that force an automatic funding cutoff for any...

Israel and the US lost their voting rights at UNESCO over the Palestinians. The two stopped paying their dues after the Paris-based organization accepted Palestine as a member. See Jerusalem Post coverage. US national security advisor Susan Rice took to Twitter to blame Congress, while the Washington Post explains what the voting loss means for American soft power. According to the NY Times, the US had provided 22 percent of UNESCO’s budget.

So much truth. We’re gonna go ahead and file this one from Jesse Jackson under “Inadvertently Honest Tweets”...

(CNN) -- The University of Oklahoma in Norman reported a shooting on campus Wednesday. "Avoid Gould Hall. Seek immediate shelter in place," the school said on Twitter and on its website. Gould Hall houses the university's college of architecture.

Republican candidate for the Florida House of Representatives is in hot water after he agreed Monday that President Barack Obama should be hanged for treason. Joshua Black, an African-American, agreed to the idea of hanging the president after a Twitter user sent him the following public message: “I’m past impeachment. It’s time to arrest and hang him high.” “Agreed,” Black tweeted in response. Fla. GOP House Candidate in Deep Trouble for Saying President Obama Should Be Hanged Image source: Twitter. A Republican candidate for the Florida House in a nearby district, Chris Latvala, was quick to denounce Black. “[Y]ou aren’t...