Twitter

U.S. Government Enthusiastically Tweets About Arm Sales to the Brutal and Autocratic Egyptian Regime

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Death

– U.S. Government Enthusiastically Tweets About Arm Sales to the Brutal and Autocratic Egyptian Regime (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 5, 2015):

In case you’ve been living under a geopolitical rock for the last couple of years, you’d know that despite a brief period of time during which Egypt appeared headed toward a democratic form of government, it went from one brutal dictator to another. As was the case during Hosni Mubarak’s decades of rule, this is precisely how the U.S. government likes it. So much so, that U.S. officials are not only selling arms to the latest despot, General Abdelfattah al-Sisi, but they are actively bragging about it on Twitter.

Glenn Greenwald reports at the Intercept:

Read moreU.S. Government Enthusiastically Tweets About Arm Sales to the Brutal and Autocratic Egyptian Regime

Social Media Facade Falters – Twitter Crashes 28% From Post-Earnings Exuberance

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– Social Media Facade Falters – Twitter Crashes 28% From Post-Earnings Exuberance (ZeroHedge, Aug 3, 2015):

The cracks in the facade are starting to show…

Twitter

As we warned yesterday, it is different this time…

There has probably been no greater investing mantra placed upon an industry in recent memory than the now reflexive, as well as defensive response of “It’s different this time” when questioning anything Social. Trying to understand the business model along with its metrics, valuations and more is not only arduous, the response seems more akin to pulling teeth without anesthesia for those selling it, defending it, or both.

Read moreSocial Media Facade Falters – Twitter Crashes 28% From Post-Earnings Exuberance

Your Facebook, Twitter and blog are about to be monitored for references to the Government

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– Your Facebook, Twitter and blog are about to be monitored for references to the Government (Metro, June 5, 2015):

If you’re one of those people that gets a bit vocal about politics, you’ll be interested to know that your Facebook, Twitter and personal blog are about to begin being monitored for references to the Government.

Ministers announced yesterday that the Government had awarded a contract to five companies who will monitor what people tweet, post to Facebook or blog about the Government and provide updates to Whitehall in real time.

Officials and ministers will provide a list of keywords and topics to the companies so that they know what to monitor.

Read moreYour Facebook, Twitter and blog are about to be monitored for references to the Government

Twitter Confirms Leak: Stocks Plummets On Disastrous Results, Outlook Cut

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– Twitter Confirms Leak: Stocks Plummets On Disastrous Results, Outlook Cut (ZeroHedge, April 28, 2015):

…

Well, the leak (which ironically came out on Twitter only, and not Facebook) was right, and the full story is even worse than Selerity reported:TWITTER 1Q LOSS PER SHARE 25C; TWITTER INC 1Q ADJ. EPS 7C , EST. 4C.
That much we knew. Here is where it gets worse:

  • TWITTER 1Q REV. $ 435.9M, EST. $456.2M
  • TWITTER SEES 2Q REV. $470M TO $485M, EST. $538.1M
  • TWTR SEES YR REV $2.170B-$2.270B, SAW $2.3B-$2.35B, EST $2.37B

And now perhaps someone will ask how much of Facebook’s 1.4 billion “users” are actually real.

…

Turkey Bans Social Media Over Hostage Photos

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Relaed info:

– Turkey Devolves Into A Full Police State: Law Grants Unlimited Powers To Weaponized Police Force

– Turkey Bans Social Media Over Hostage Photos (ZeroHedge, April 6, 2015):

It looks as though Turkish authorities are once again set to show Twitter “the power of the Republic of Turkey,” as reports indicate access to social media in the country has been blocked. The move looks to be related to the widespread dissemination of pictures showing prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz after he was taken hostage in Istanbul by DHKP-C last week. Here’s more:

Via Hurriyet:

Turkish authorities have blocked access to Twitter, Youtube and Facebook over the publication of photos published on the three social media platforms, showing a prosecutor who was taken hostage by militants in Istanbul last week.

Read moreTurkey Bans Social Media Over Hostage Photos

Here’s What Happens When the U.S. Embassy Spokesman in Moscow Asks Twitter if RT or The Economist is More Trustworthy

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– Here’s What Happens When the U.S. Embassy Spokesman in Moscow Asks Twitter if RT or The Economist is More Trustworthy (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Feb 1, 2015):

This is brilliant. Will Stevens is the spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. The following needs no further commentary.

The latest in a long line of establishment Twitter fails.

Read moreHere’s What Happens When the U.S. Embassy Spokesman in Moscow Asks Twitter if RT or The Economist is More Trustworthy

New British Army Elite Unit To Hone Social Media And Psychological Warfare

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– New British army elite unit to hone social media and psychological warfare (RT, Jan 31, 2015):

The British military is to form a new specialist force in “non-lethal” forms of psychological warfare using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to tackle the “asymmetric battlefields” of the 21st century.

The brigade will number 2,000 and will be made up of regular troops from all three services, as well as reservists and civilians, British media report.

It will attempt to draw the best talent from the regulars and reserves and will also allow civilians with specialist skills to operate alongside their military counterparts.

Senior officers have said that the army has to adapt to the changing nature of warfare, as conflicts from Iraq to Ukraine have demonstrated, and that the information war is as important as tanks and artillery.

Read moreNew British Army Elite Unit To Hone Social Media And Psychological Warfare

Saudi Arabia Sentences 3 Lawyers To Jail For Tweets

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– Saudi Arabia Sentences 3 Lawyers to Jail for Tweets (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Oct 27, 2014):

Saudi Arabia’s fear of the viral free-speech platform Twitter has been well documented as of late. I first highlighted it last year in the post, Saudi Religious Police Chief Goes on the Attack…Against Twitter, in which I noted:

You know something isn’t right in your country when you have a “religious police force.”  You know something is really, really not right in your country when the head of that religious police force starts condemning twitter and saying its users will go to hell as a consequence.  Talk about pathetic.  Just more strange and panicked behavior from the Saudi government.  From the BBC:

The head of Saudi Arabia’s religious police has warned citizens against using Twitter, which is rising in popularity among Saudis.

Read moreSaudi Arabia Sentences 3 Lawyers To Jail For Tweets

Saudi Cleric Blasts Twitter As ‘Source Of All Evil’ As Riyal Slides To Lowest Since 2008

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– Saudi Cleric Blasts Twitter As “Source Of All Evil” As Riyal Slides To Lowest Since 2008 (ZeroHedge, Oct 22, 2014):

The last 2 days have seen enormous volatility in the Saudi Riyal exchange rate, purportedly oil-related FX hedging programs as the SAR dropped to its lowest sicne Dec 2008, but the most extreme ‘moves’ were left to The Kingdon’s top Muslim cleric. As The BBC reports, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, exclaimed that Twitter is “the source of all evil and devastation”. As the 12th most influential Muslim in the world, it perhaps matters that he says users were using Twitter to “promote lies, backbite and gossip and to slander Islam,” but citizens of Saudi Arabia, who are some of the heaviest users of Twitter, did not appreciate his remarks, summe dup by one tweet, “People need an outlet to express themselves, to start to disclose what’s hidden and drop the masks, without fear or commands, or censorship from anyone.”

Handsome chap…

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As The BBC reports,

according to Saudi Arabia’s top Muslim cleric, Twitter is “the source of all evil and devastation”.

Read moreSaudi Cleric Blasts Twitter As ‘Source Of All Evil’ As Riyal Slides To Lowest Since 2008

PIMCO Liquidations Begin; And So Does The Retaliation: All Bill Gross Tweets Deleted

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Liquidation

– PIMCO Liquidations Begin; And So Does The Retaliation: All Bill Gross Tweets Deleted (ZeroHedge, Sep 29, 2014):

The last few days have been hectic for PIMCO executives. As we already noted, expectations of outflows persist and today’s open in CDS markets suggested major concerns among market participants that PIMCO redemptions would force selling through an illiquid market. Sure enough, Bloomberg reports that PIMCO’s Total Return Fund ETF was behind the auction of more than $170m of Fannie Mae CMBS on Friday (and more BWICs were seen today). As one trader noted, “you’re going to sell your most liquid stuff first.” Additionally, PIMCO has seen fit to delete all Bill Gross’ tweets… so here are the last six months for the record.

As Bloomberg reports, the PIMCO liquidations have begun…

Read morePIMCO Liquidations Begin; And So Does The Retaliation: All Bill Gross Tweets Deleted

20,000 Pakistan Riot Police Unleash Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets As Protesters Breach PM’s Residence, 230 Injured

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– 20,000 Pakistan Riot Police Unleash Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets As Protesters Breach PM’s Residence, 230 Injured (ZeroHedge, Aug 30, 2014):

UPDATE: *POLICE, PROTESTERS CLASH IN ISLAMABAD; AT LEAST 230 HURT: AFP

Against the background we initialliy explained here, and the escalation we discussed here, Imran Khan’s “Pakistan Spring” has grown dramatically. The former cricketing-legend and erstwhile opposition leader’s call for people to take to the streets to demand new ‘unrigged’ elections has 1000s of protesters breaching the Prime Minister’s residence in Islamabad. Along with anti-government cleric Tahirul Qadri, Khan urged peaceful protest but, as AP reports, an estimated 20,000 police in riot gear are blocking the procession using tear gas and rubber bullets. Local hospitals report at least 100 injuries.

…

US Government Caught Using Humanitarian HIV Program as a Front to Foster Cuban Dissent

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USAID

– U.S. Government Caught Using Humanitarian HIV Program as a Front to Foster Cuban Dissent (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 4, 2014):

Regular readers of Liberty Blitzkrieg will recall that earlier this year I highlighted how the U.S. government covertly created a “Cuban Twitter” called ZunZuneo in a failed attempt to overthrow the island nation’s regime. The elaborate plot was implemented under the umbrella of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is responsible for overseeing billions of dollars in U.S. humanitarian aid. If you need a refresher, check out the post: Conspiracy Fact – How the U.S. Government Covertly Invented a “Cuban Twitter” to Create Revolution.

Well we now know that USAID went a lot further than that. Another scheme to unseat the Cuban government has now been revealed. This time with even more immoral foundations, and which could disrupt genuine humanitarian relief efforts the world over.

Incredibly, the U.S. government used an HIV program as a front to foster dissent amongst Cuba’s youth. The HIV-prevention workshop was even referred to as the “perfect excuse to recruit political activists.” Despicable.

From the Washington Post:

Read moreUS Government Caught Using Humanitarian HIV Program as a Front to Foster Cuban Dissent

‘Snooper’s Charter’: UK Goverment Pushes For Access To Social Media

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– ‘Snooper’s charter’: UK govt pushes for access to social media (RT, June 26, 2014):

Britain’s Home Secretary is pushing for new spying powers to access social media and email accounts. Theresa May argues that it’s a “matter of life and death,” and has dismissed claims the government wants to spy on citizens.

The British Home Office is pushing for changes to the law that would radically expand powers to monitor citizens. The communications data bill, which has been branded ‘the snooper’s charter’ by opponents, would allow authorities access to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

In addition, services like Facetime and Skype would also be accessible to the UK authorities.

Read more‘Snooper’s Charter’: UK Goverment Pushes For Access To Social Media

‘You Are Unauthorized’: Nearly 50% Of EU Organizations Deny Access To Personal Data

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– ‘You are unauthorized’: Nearly 50% of EU organizations deny access to personal data (RT, June 24, 2014):

Four out of ten organizations obstruct citizens from accessing their own personal data, says a recent study. Companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter also fail to fulfill their duty to be transparent.

The international study, conducted by experts from the University of Sheffield, has inspected at least 327 organizations across Europe, including the UK, Norway and Germany.

Read more‘You Are Unauthorized’: Nearly 50% Of EU Organizations Deny Access To Personal Data

Iraq Blocks Twitter, Facebook, YouTube Amid Growing ISIS Threat

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– Iraq blocks Twitter, Facebook, YouTube amid growing ISIS threat (RT, June 13, 2014):

The Iraqi government has blocked access to top social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, reportedly to hinder the activities of militants formerly associated with Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, thousands are signing up to fight the jihadist insurgency in Iraq.

Numerous media reports citing journalists and open-internet advocates said that internet users in Iraq are getting block screens when trying to access top social media sites and Google.

Read moreIraq Blocks Twitter, Facebook, YouTube Amid Growing ISIS Threat

Twitter Tumbles 50% From Recent All Time Highs

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– Twitter Tumbles 50% From Recent All Time Highs (ZeroHedge, May 6, 2014):

Despite being told for weeks that the always efficient US equity market had “priced in” the end of Twitter’s lock-up period, it seems (surprise, well not really – the riggedyness is such that stock have long forgotten what it means to discount anything) that it hadn’t. Yesterday, some Twitter insiders were promising they would hang on to their stock now that the selling lock up has been lifted.

To wit:

“We’re going to hold,” said Chris Sacca, an early Twitter investor, who manages about 15 percent of the company’s shares through various arrangements. Analysts and other investors are focusing too much on user growth and instead should “just recognize how much money Twitter is going to continue to put up on the board.”

Read moreTwitter Tumbles 50% From Recent All Time Highs

44 Percent Of Twitter Accounts Have Never Tweeted

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– 44 Percent of Twitter Accounts Have Never Tweeted (PCMag, April 13, 2014):

Twitter has a ton of users, right? Around 974 million, to be a bit more precise. However, just because a person has taken the time to make a Twitter account doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve used it. And according to the latest stats from Twopcharts, a third-party site that monitors Twitter activity, a surprisingly high number of people have done just that: Made an account and abandoned Twitter forever.

Just how many? According to the site, approximately 44 percent of Twitter’s 947 million accounts or so have never sent a single tweet. Of the number that have — approximately 550 million — just under half of these accounts are reported to have sent their last tweet more than one year ago (43 percent). Only 126 million have sent any kind of tweet at any point in the past 30 days.

Read more44 Percent Of Twitter Accounts Have Never Tweeted

Ukraine Loses State Buildings In Key Eastern Cities To Protesters; Blames Putin – Live Webcast

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– Ukraine Loses State Buildings In Key Eastern Cities To Protesters; Blames Putin – Live Webcast (ZeroHedge, April 6, 2014):

Earlier this morning we reported that “Pro-Russia Protesters Seize Government Building In East Ukraine, Demand Autonomy.” We suggested that this was only the first city in eastern Ukraine that would see this kind of internal revolt. Sure enough, hours later, the largest city in East Ukraine and one located in close proximity to Russia, Kharkiv, also saw its state building fall to what appear to be pro-Russia protesters, making it the third major city after Donetsk and nearby Luhansk. This coordinated and largely unexpected pro-Russian action triggering accusations from the pro-European government in Kiev that President Vladimir Putin was orchestrating “separatist disorder.”

From Reuters:

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the seizure of state buildings by pro-Russia protesters in eastern Ukraine on Sunday and promised that police would restore order peacefully.

Read moreUkraine Loses State Buildings In Key Eastern Cities To Protesters; Blames Putin – Live Webcast

Conspiracy Fact: How The U.S. Government Covertly Invented A ‘Cuban Twitter’ To Create Revolution

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– Conspiracy Fact – How the U.S. Government Covertly Invented a “Cuban Twitter” to Create Revolution (Liberty Blitzkrieg, April 3, 2014):

It appears the U.S. government is doing its best to ensure that nobody anywhere in any corner of planet earth will ever trust American technology again (or U.S. aid for that matter). This process of distrust first really got going with the Edward Snowden revelations, which demonstrated that essentially all major U.S. tech firms are mere wards of the state with little to no privacy protections, and absolutely zero backbone.

This story of the U.S. government covertly creating a “Cuban Twitter” called ZunZuneo in order to overthrow the regime there has enormous long-term ramifications on many, many levels, which I will address throughout this post.

From the AP via The Washington Post:

WASHINGTON — In July 2010, Joe McSpedon, a U.S. government official, flew to Barcelona to put the final touches on a secret plan to build a social media project aimed at undermining Cuba’s communist government.

McSpedon and his team of high-tech contractors had come in from Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Washington and Denver. Their mission: to launch a messaging network that could reach hundreds of thousands of Cubans. To hide the network from the Cuban government, they would set up a byzantine system of front companies using a Cayman Islands bank account, and recruit unsuspecting executives who would not be told of the company’s ties to the U.S. government.

McSpedon didn’t work for the CIA. This was a program paid for and run by the U.S. Agency for International Development, best known for overseeing billions of dollars in U.S. humanitarian aid.

Now we can pretty much guarantee that foreign nations will forever be skeptical of any U.S. “aid”. Great work morons.

Read moreConspiracy Fact: How The U.S. Government Covertly Invented A ‘Cuban Twitter’ To Create Revolution

And Now Turkey Blocks YouTube

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Update:

– Here Is The YouTube ‘Start A False Flag War With Syria’ Leaked Recording That Erdogan Wanted Banned

– First Twitter, Now Turkey Blocks YouTube (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

A week ago, we wrote that “Turkey Set To Block YouTube Momentarily, After Google Refuses To Yank Clips Exposing Prime Minister.” As of minutes ago this too prediction appears to have come true based on reports from inside the country that Google’s popular video service is now also blocked.

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Courtesy of @ozziewashere

 

 

And this second confirmation:

Read moreAnd Now Turkey Blocks YouTube

Turkey’s Twitter Ban Collapse Fueled By VPNS And DNS Tricks

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– Turkey’s Twitter ban collapse fueled by VPNS and DNS tricks (Intellihub, March 23, 2014):

Friday’s news that the Turkish government had banned its citizens from accessing Twitter was depressing but an opportunity to be embraced. Forewarned is forearmed, and the fact that Turks are learning how to beat censorship with VPNs and DNS tricks better prepares them for the future.

Two days ago on the campaign trail ahead of end-of-March elections, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan showed his Internet naivety by doing something extremely silly. In the midst of a corruption scandal he first threatened and then carried through with an outright ban of Twitter.

“I don’t care what the international community says at all. Everyone will see the power of the Turkish Republic,” Erdogan said on Thursday.

Read moreTurkey’s Twitter Ban Collapse Fueled By VPNS And DNS Tricks

Another ‘Busy’ Weekend For President Obama

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– Another Busy Weekend For The President (ZeroHedge, March 23, 2014):

Second-term flexibility indeed…

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Turkey Set To Block YouTube Momentarily, After Google Refuses To Yank Clips Exposing PM Erdogan

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YouTube

– Turkey Set To Block YouTube Momentarily, After Google Refuses To Yank Clips Exposing Prime Minister (ZeroHedge, March 21, 2014):

As was reported earlier, the Turkish premier, embroiled in what increasingly appears a career terminating corruption and embezzlement scandal (it is not exactly clear yet just how involved the CIA is in this particular upcoming government overthrow), blocked Turkey’s access to Twitter last night, hours after vowing to “destroy twitter.” The idiocy of this escalation against dissemination of information in the internet age needs no comment. Well maybe one. This is what we said in our post from this morning: “since Turkey will certainly not stop at just Twitter, here is what is coming next: “Last week, Erdogan said the country could also block Facebook and YouTube.” It now appears that at least half of this threat is about to materialize because moments ago Google just announced that it would not remove a previously uploaded video, one in which Erdogan tells his son to hide money from investigators (one which can be seen here), and which Erdogan demanded be pulled from Google (seemingly unaware that by doing so he simply made sure that everyone saw it). This means that within days, if not hours, Turkey will likely block Google-owned YouTube, if not Google itself.

Read moreTurkey Set To Block YouTube Momentarily, After Google Refuses To Yank Clips Exposing PM Erdogan

The Turkish People React To Erdogan’s Twitter Block

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– The Turkish People React To The Twitter Block… (ZeroHedge, March, 21, 2014):

In the hopes of maintainijng his status quo amidst a plethora of corruption probes and allegations, Turkey’s Erdogan has blocked Twitter after pledging to “destroy” the social media platform after troubling leaks occurred appearing to confirm his corruption. As one can imagine, the Turkish people (among others) are not happy…

Read moreThe Turkish People React To Erdogan’s Twitter Block