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Actress Jenny McCarthy Criticized for Vaccination Beliefs

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Photo Credit: Fox News An innocuous question Jenny McCarthy posed on Twitter took an unexpected turn when she was barraged with criticism regarding her views on vaccination reports Us magazine.

“What is the most important personality trait you for in a mate? Reply using #JennyAsks,” The View co-host asked her 1.3 million Twitter followers.

“Somebody who gets that refusing vaccines because of ‘toxins’ and then shilling for e-cigs makes you a pathetic hypocrite,” wrote one person while another added, “Someone who doesn’t spread false info causing disease.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Susan Rice Blasts Israel– On Twitter

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Photo Credit: White House PhotoNational Security Advisor and former UN Ambassador Susan Rice took to Twitter on Monday night to blast Israel for widespread recent criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry by Israeli government officials. The torrent of tweets ran from at 8:14 to 8:17 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and spoke in defense of both Kerry and President Barack Obama, calling recent Israeli criticism of them “totally unfounded and unacceptable.”

Personal attacks in Israel directed at Sec Kerry totally unfounded and unacceptable. — Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) February 4, 2014

John Kerry’s record of support for Israel’s security and prosperity rock solid. — Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) February 4, 2014

POTUS and Sec Kerry remain committed to negotiations that can secure Israeli and Palestinian futures. — Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) February 4, 2014

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Sharks Use Twitter to Warn Swimmers

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

Sharks in Western Australia swimming close to popular beaches are using Twitter to send warning messages to surfers and swimmers.

The unique project means beach goers can make an informed decision about whether to go in the water knowing a shark is nearby.

Scientists have attached transmitters to more than 320 sharks, including great whites, which monitor their movements up and down the coast.

When a tagged shark swims within about a half mile of a beach, it triggers an alert which is picked up by computer. That computer then instantly turns the shark’s signal into a short message on Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s (SLSWA) Twitter feed.

Read more from this story HERE.

Twitter Blocking Petition Supporting Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson

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73209af646d9424593de8dcc0c3b19d7-e1387841168146Twitter is blocking links to a website set up in support of “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, who was suspended by the A&E network last week following  an interview in which he was critical of homosexuality.

The petition, which is directed at A&E and has gathered nearly 200,000 signatures after four days online, says “I am asking your network to immediately reinstate Mr. Robertson to Duck Dynasty, and to formally apologize to him, his family, and the millions of viewers who tune in every week, stand by him, and share his worldview.”

“Mr. Robertson’s comments in GQ Magazine are simply reflective of a Biblical view of sexuality, marriage, and family — a view that has stood the test of time for thousands of years and continues to be held by the majority of Americans and today’s world as a whole,” reads the petition.

But Twitter isn’t allowing its users to circulate the petition.

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White House Staffer Fired for Tweeting Under Fake Name

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Photo Credit: west.mA White House national security official was fired last week after being caught as the mystery Tweeter who has been tormenting the foreign policy community with insulting comments and revealing internal Obama administration information for over two years.

Jofi Joseph, a director in the non-proliferation section of the National Security Staff at the White House, has been surreptitiously tweeting under the moniker @natsecwonk, a Twitter feed famous inside Washington policy circles since it began in February, 2011 until it was shut down last week. Two administration officials confirmed that the mystery tweeter was Joseph, who has also worked at the State Department and on Capitol Hill for Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Joe Biden. Until recently, he was part of the administration’s team working on negotiations with Iran.

During his time tweeting under the @natsecwonk name, Joseph openly criticized the policies of his White House bosses and often insulted their intellect and appearance. At different times, he insulted or criticized several top White House and State Department officials, including former National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, Secretary of State John Kerry, and many many others.

The Daily Beast saved a long record of @natsecwonk’s tweets prior to the shutting down of his Twitter feed.

“I’m a fan of Obama, but his continuing reliance and dependence upon a vacuous cipher like Valerie Jarrett concerns me,” he once tweeted.

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Twitter Quitters Dog IPO

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Photo Credit: Reuters/Robert GalbraithRetired schoolteacher Donald Hovasse signed up for Twitter about a year ago at the urging of his daughter. He lost interest after trying the service a few times and finding lots of celebrities but few of his friends using the online social network.

“I didn’t really get the point of it at all,” said the Las Vegas resident. “Most of them were people I wasn’t interested in hearing what they had to say anyway.” He said, however, that he does check Facebook every day to see what his friends are up to.

Hovasse’s experience highlights a risk for investors as Twitter Inc marches towards this year’s most anticipated initial public offering in the United States, expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange in mid-November.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 36 percent of 1,067 people who have joined Twitter say they do not use it, and 7 percent say they have shut their account. The online survey, conducted October 11 to 18, has a credibility interval, a measure of its accuracy, of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

In comparison, only 7 percent of 2,449 Facebook members report not using the online social network, and 5 percent say they have shut down their account. The results have a credibility interval of 2.3 percent.

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Feds $82,800 Study On How to Use Twitter For ‘Depression Surveillance’

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Photo Credit: APThe federal government is studying how to use Twitter for surveillance on depressed people.

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) began a study financed by the National Institutes of Health last month that will provide “population level depression monitoring” through the social media site.

The project, “Utilizing Social Media as a Resource for Mental Health Surveillance,” is costing taxpayers $82,800.

While Twitter has been used by government agencies, such as the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security, for national security related monitoring, the project suggests the social network can be used for public health surveillance as well.

“Major depressive disorder is one of the most common debilitating illnesses in the United States, with a lifetime prevalence of 16.2 [percent],” the project grant states. “Currently, nationwide mental health surveillance takes the form of large-scale telephone- based surveys.”

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Michelle Obama has Nearly 2 Million Fake Twitter Followers

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

…According to the Twitter analytics application Status People, 37 percent of Michelle Obama’s 5,290, 506 Twitter followers — or approximately 1,957,487 followers — are considered fake. Thirty-five percent of her followers are inactive, and 28 percent are considered “good,” or real…

Percentage-wise, she still fared better than President Barack Obama. Over half of Obama’s Twitter followers, according to a Sept. 20 Daily Caller report, are fake – 55 percent, or 20.2 million out of 36.8 million followers, to be more exact.

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Calif. Man’s Charge Upped to Murder after Boasting about Speeding on Twitter

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Photo Credit: west.m

Photo Credit: west.m

An 18-year-old accused of killing a bicyclist with his car has had a vehicular manslaughter charge upgraded to murder in part because he boasted about speeding on Twitter, prosecutors said Thursday.

Cody Hall, of Pleasanton, was being held without bail after he was charged Wednesday with the murder of 58-year-old Diana Hersevoort, the San Francisco Chronicle and Oakland Tribune reported.

Hall was going more than 80 mph in a 40 mph zone when he hit Hersevoort and her husband along a busy boulevard in Dublin on June 9, prosecutors allege. Hersevoort’s husband only broke an arm, but she was killed.

An analysis of Hall’s driving record, along with Twitter posts in which he discussed how fast he liked to drive, persuaded prosecutors to change the charge to murder, the Alameda County district attorney’s office told the Chronicle.

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Secret Service: Contact Us to ‘Report a Tweet’

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By Susan Jones

On a day when terror threats continued to dominate the U.S. headlines, the Secret Service — a division of the Homeland Security Department since 2003 — tweeted the following message:

“Contact your nearest field office with time-sensitive or critical info or to report a tweet,” said one message.

That tweet from the Secret Service links to telephone numbers for every Secret Service office in the U.S. or its territories (there are 117 of them) and all 20 Secret Service offices overseas.

In a separate tweet on Tuesday morning, the Secret Service asked, “Have you seen any of our Most Wanted?” This tweet links to a list of suspects, most wanted for theft or fraud. None are listed as suspected terrorists.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: APSecret Service Will Use ‘Social Media Monitoring’ Software for Intelligence

By Elizabeth Harrington

The Secret Service is looking to monitor social media for intelligence purposes, according to a solicitation posted by the Department of Homeland Security.

“This solicitation is primarily for social media monitoring/open source portal software licenses,” the document stated.

“The Government is seeking licenses for software solutions involving, but not limited to, real-time open source intelligence monitoring.”

Details of the solicitation have not been revealed as the full Statement of Work (SOW) is only being made available to contractors that respond to the notice.

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