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UPDATE: *TURKEY'S DAVUTOGLU SAYS LEAK IS 'DECLARATION OF WAR': TURKIYE As we noted here, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan had blocked Twitter access to his nation ahead of what was rumored to be a "spectacular" leak before this weekend's elections. Then this morning, amid a mad scramble, he reportedly (despite the nation's court ruling the bans illegal) blocked YouTube access. However, by the magic of the interwebs, we have the 'leaked' clip and it is clear why he wanted it blocked/banned. As the rough translation explains, it purports to be a conversation between key Turkish military and political leaders discussing what...

WARNING: Graphic language… Joe Newby at The Washington Examiner has found a real doozy of a “comedian.” Her name is Laura Levites – with obviously no connection to the priests of the Old Testament. (She’s an atheist with a fondness for Ricky Gervais.) “I would personally like to castrate every Male Conservative Christian so that they have NO reproductive rights,” she wrote on Twitter, using the hashtag “#HobbyLobby.” She certainly knows how to draw attention to herself. Newby said that’s not all. She also expressed her hatred of Christians in a tweet calling conservative Christians “scumbags,” claiming they are “really...

Twitter has filed lawsuits in several Turkish courts to challenge an access ban on its service recently pushed through by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The move comes on the same day an Ankara administrative court moved to suspend the ban. “It’s now been six days since the Turkish government blocked access to Twitter. Throughout this time, we’ve been engaged in a discussion with Turkish authorities to hear their concerns, inform them about how our platform and policies work, and try and bring this situation to a resolution,” Hurriyet Daily cited Twitter’s general counsel, Vijaya Gadde, as saying on the social...

On his Twitter page, Maher cracked “wise” on Saturday, comparing unpaid college basketball players to slaves in the American colonies: March Madness really is a stirring reminder of what America was founded on: making tons of money off the labor of unpaid black people — Bill Maher (@billmaher) March 22, 2014

Recent events in Turkey, and prior events in Egypt and Libya got me thinking about the amazing power of social media. On Thursday, Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to eradicate twitter, adding “The international community can say this or that – I don’t care. They will see the power of the Turkish Republic.” The next day a "digital coup" occurred and Twitter Use in Turkey Jumped to New High. With the above in mind, I propose ... The Law of Social Media: Arrogant fools who think they can control social media quickly discover social media controls them. The...

The official blog of U.S. Department of State has published a vitriolic post, slamming Turkey's blocking of Twitter as '21st century book burning.' "Every day, governments around the world devote precious resources to Internet censorship. It is 21st Century book-burning -- and it doesn’t make anyone stronger. This brand of suppression affects all of us: In an era in which the Internet serves as the world’s community forum, censorship anywhere is a threat to freedom of speech everywhere," Douglas Frantz, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, has written on the the State Department's official blog, Dipnote, March 21. "Sometimes even our...

Earlier this week, the Turkish government blocked access to Twitter inside the country in response to a YouTube video that alleges Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s involvement in a corruption scandal. Citizens found a number of ways to circumvent the ban, but according to a new report, one of the easiest ways around the block is apparently no more. The Turkish news site Hurriyet Daily News reported Saturday that Erdogan’s government has apparently blocked access to Google Public DNS, which Turkish citizens had been using to access Twitter, ban be damned. (snip) Google’s DNS service was not impacted by the...

I am absolutely laughing my head off at the sheer stupidity of bureaucrats who think they can control social media. Earlier today in response to Turkey Blocks Access to Twitter for National Security Reasons I commented ... "No one will see the "power" of the Turkish Republic in idea suppression announcements. They will see the arrogance, cowardice, and desperation of prime minister Erdogan." Twitter Use Breaks New Record Tonight I am pleased to report Twitter Use Jumps to New High in Turkey Turkish users of Twitter, including the country's president, have flouted a block on the social media platform by...

I made a stupid gaffe on the radio last week. While hosting a national radio show, I said that, in general, the liberal professors who have turned higher education into the toxic stew that produced porn star “Belle Knox” needed to be “taken out and shot.” This was a figure of speech; I certainly did not mean it literally. It is a figure of speech, I suspect, that everyone reading this has used, and everyone who clamored for my ruination has used also. The reaction was swift, massive, and unforgiving – first playing itself out on Twitter but then...

Well, here we go again, the oh so very tolerant secular humanist liberal progressives are showing their ignorance of America’s Judeo-Christian faith heritage. As reported in The Christian Post, “A Wisconsin-based atheist organization has demanded that Governor Scott Walker remove a posting on his Twitter feed that is religious in nature. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) stated Tuesday that they took exception to Walker’s official account, including a tweet posted Sunday that simply read, “Philippians 4:13.” As rendered by the New King James Version, Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime minister promised to wipe out Twitter after it ignored a request by a court asking the social network to remove specific allegations about corruption. It seems he has followed through on his promise, after Twitter reportedly ‘went dark’ in Turkey. The news is currently in development, a site that tracks decisions made by courts about Internet communications reveal that the ****** has been put into effect by Telekomünikasyon. According to reports, Twitter is looking into the situation now. Twitter handles @policy and @twitterTurkey are providing users with ongoing updates.

"The product is good and people want it," President Obama said, touting his health insurance plan to an audience at DreamWorks Animation in November. Yet, for being such an illustrious product, the Obama Administration sure seems desperate for people to get on board. Here are 15 ways the White House, state exchanges, and supporters have tried to sell Obamacare. 2. Quickly followed by Hoe-surance: 3. With a "geek" selfie: These geeks are covered ... are you? #geeksgetcovered Send us your #getcovered stories http://t.co/MMo1RXlWK3 pic.twitter.com/b9BSAGU2hN — The White House OSTP (@whitehouseostp) March 13, 2014 4. With a message from Lebron...

Like a lot of people, "Rocket Boys" author and former NASA engineer Homer Hickam tuned into last night's premiere of "Cosmos," a reboot of Carl Sagan's 13-part science series. Unfortunately, he wound up being disappointed. The show's rather inauspicious beginning probably didn't help:

Sarah Palin is being wooed by two news media veterans to join a streaming network, The Post has learned. Jonathan Klein, who ran CNN’s US operations, and Jeff Gaspin, who was most recently chairman of NBC-Universal Entertainment, have already raised enough money from deep-pocketed backers to start the over-the-top network, and have reached out to a few bold-faced names to host a show to make selling subscriptions easier, sources said. And is the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate among those the two have approached? You betcha, sources said. Palin seemed interested but has not committed, sources added....

When a young British beautician realized relations between Russia and Ukraine were at crisis point, she decided to share her feelings on Twitter. Without pausing to check her facts, or her spelling, Gemma Worrall, 20, wrote: 'If barraco barner is our president, why is he getting involved with Russia, scary.'

Many Americans still remember the joke made by Tina Fey in a return to SNL to play the role of Sarah Palin back in 2008. While introducing herself, Fey’s version of Palin stated in a folksy, matter-of-fact way that she could, “see Russia from [her] house.” As funny as it was at the time, this joke was actually borrowed from an interview with ABC News‘s Charlie Gibson: Palin: …We have got to keep our eyes on Russia…And, Charlie, you’re in Alaska. We have that very narrow maritime border between the United States, and the 49th state, Alaska, and Russia. They...

The extremist Syrian group deemed too radical even for al-Qaeda performed what may have been a Twitter first Friday: live-tweeting the amputation of a hand....

Former San Diego State running back Adam Muema left the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday without working out, citing religious reasons. Running backs competed in afternoon drills at Lucas Oil Stadium. Muema, the fourth leading rusher in Aztecs history, did not participate. He said he was "following God," who told him if he missed workouts, he'd play for the Seattle Seahawks. Playing for Seattle is his "dream," Muema said. NFL teams are aware of the decision. "Can't go wrong with God," Muema said. Muema spoke Sunday in a phone interview from the Indianapolis International Airport. He was set to return...

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 solicitationreleased 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 goes back at least five years of “full Twitter historical...

‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ Was this Samantha Power baffling Daniel Pearl tweet evil or stupid? Samantha Power@AmbassadorPower Daniel Pearl's story is reminder that individual accountability & reconciliation are required to break cycles of violence. @DanielPearlFNDN