Though the hour was late, Yemen’s social media was still very much awake.

A US drone’s missiles had just slammed into a convoy of vehicles in a remote part of Yemen, killing three alleged militants.

The attack – like all other US drone strikes outside warzones – was supposed to be clandestine. Yet within minutes Sanaa-based lawyer Haykal Bafana was reporting the strike in almost-realtime. Just after 1am on May 17 he posted the following on Twitter:

Haykal Bafana @BaFana3

#Yemen NOW | Missile strike on car in Wadi Hadhramaut. Near city of Shibam. Suspected US drone attack.

As Bafana later explained to the Bureau, his relatives live in Shibam, a town of 30,000. ‘When the drone struck, the town – which was then experiencing a power cut – had completely lit up. My relatives got straight on the phone to tell me about the attack.’

‘No attacks so far’
The day prior to the strike Bafana had already tweeted that drones were behaving suspiciously in the area. Hadhramaut province, a sparsely-populated former sultanate, is far from Yemen’s troubled south, where most of the fighting and US drone strikes are currently taking place.

There has been militant activity there for some years, report locals, and surveillance drones have been active at night since 2010. But until now there had never been a drone strike. ‘But suddenly four or five days ago, my relatives were reporting drones over them in daylight, all the time, which was rare. Militants were also being seen moving about in the area, maybe preparing the way for an evacuation from the fighting in the south. Everyone was expecting something to happen’, Bafana recalls. He tweeted the news to his followers.

Haykal Bafana @BaFana3

#Yemen | Hearing multiple claims of drone sightings in Hadhramaut, especially in Shibam/Qatn directorates (KSA route). No attacks so far.

When the deadly attack finally came in the early hours of Thursday morning, the target itself was hardly a secret.

Earlier, Arabic-language online media in the provincial capital of al-Mukalla had reported that a convoy of alleged al Qaeda rebels was heading north. That news was also swiftly tweeted.

Others were clearly also charting the convoy’s progress. As the vehicles approached Shibam at around 1am local time, at least one car, a Toyota Hilax, was destroyed by missiles from above. Yemen’s own air force has neither the know-how nor the equipment to launch a precision strike on moving vehicles in the dark.

News agencies would later report the attack as a drone strike, naming two of the dead as Zeid bin Taleb and Mutii Bilalafi, both described as local al Qaeda leaders. Like the dozens of US drone strikes in Yemen that preceded it, Thursday’s attack was supposed to be secret. Yet Twitter and other social media were tracking in near-real time the events surrounding the operation.

‘It is incredible how the same type of technology used by the CIA to kill people with drones in the Yemen, is empowering the Yemenis to tweet the attacks as they are happening,’ Noel Sharkey, professor of robotics at the University of Sheffield told the Bureau.

‘They can send us all pictures and bring us closer to the horror they are experiencing. Technology in the small may eventually bring down the over-use of military technology in the large.’

#NoDrones
Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter -  which played an important role in Yemen’s Arab Spring uprising – are now being used by activists to draw attention to a large increase in US drone strikes in recent weeks.

As Haykal Bafana notes, within minutes of his tweeting Monday’s attack the news was also posted on Facebook and on local Arabic micro-news sites. ‘Web use is as low as 2% here in Yemen. But it still makes a big difference. Many people get their news from the small local media sites rather than from foreign or state agencies. And Twitter is increasingly important.’

When President Obama’s chief counter terrorism adviser John Brennan visited Sanaa on Sunday,  Twitter witnessed an online protest with the hashtag NoDrones.

نون عربية @NoonArabia

Yemen-based youth activist Sadam al-Adwar (@sadamtweety), for example, said ‘I’m against #terrorism #extremism, i’m also against #drones. It’s counter-productive fuels more extremism.’

And @WomanFromYemen, otherwise known as NGO consultant Atiaf al-Wazir, told her more than 8,000 followers: ‘For every headline you read regarding “militants” killed by drones in #Yemen, think of the civilians killed that are not reported. #NoDrones.’

Liveblogging without knowing it
Yesterday’s Yemen drone strike appears to be the first in which events were reported on in real time.

‘I’ve never heard of an example of people tweeting while drones were actually in the area,’ said Dr Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Policy, an expert on Yemen security issues.

‘It really gets to the myth that you can keep these strikes covert, and if you do not have an information campaign that supports their use, you leave yourself flat-footed by people reporting what is being done in real time.’

There is a precedent. Last year a Pakistani man unknowingly tweeted the presence of US Special Forces attack helicopters on the way to kill Osama bin Laden. On May 1 last year Pakistani IT consultant Sohaib Athar tweeted the following.

Sohaib Athar @ReallyVirtual

Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).

After a ‘huge window shaking bang’ he debated the significance of the night’s events on Twitter, even as US Special Forces carried out their controversial raid. He quipped to a follower that ‘moving to Abbottabad was part of the ‘being safe’ strategy.’

But as the news of Bin Laden’s death broke Athar lamented ‘Uh oh, now I’m the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it.’

Article source: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/19

The Spurs are undefeated in the postseason.

Blake Griffin showed up this game, but he couldn’t stop the Spurs’ 24-0 run in the third quarter, and that stint gave the Spurs control of the game.

The Clippers simply couldn’t buy a bucket in the third, and they trailed by eight going into the fourth.

Here is a deeper look at the game, starting with the Twitter story.

Tweets of the Night

Griffin only had one rebound in Game 2, and you better believe people noticed. This tweet from someone called I Say What They Can’t—yeah him—chimed in quickly on Blake’s Game 3 rebounding numbers:

Blake already has more rebounds than he did in Game 2 #NBAPlayoffs, and he has 2

— I Say What They Cant (@ISAYWHTTHYCANT) May 19, 2012

Inside Hoops gave us this to sum up the Spurs “plan” in Game 3:

So the #Spurs let the #Clippers take that huge early lead just to toy with their emotions. Got it.

— InsideHoops.com (@InsideHoops) May 19, 2012

ESPN’s J.A. Adande seemed to be otherwise distracted, or likening the Spurs dissecting of the Clippers to a calculated murder with this reference:

What the Spurs are doing to the Clippers reminds me: I need to download Season 3 of “Dexter” to the ipad before I hit the road again.

— J.A. Adande (@jadande) May 19, 2012

Must-See Highlight

As usual, the Spurs didn’t have any eye-popping highlights, they left that to Lob City. The Spurs will be happy with winning the game. That said, Blake did consume Tim Duncan on this play (small consolation):

Grades for Key Clippers Players

Blake Griffin: B+

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Blake had a huge first half, but he was unable to make his presence felt in the pivotal third quarter. He brought it in the fourth, but the team couldn’t get enough stops in the final quarter. Griffin gave great effort, but like most of his teammates, he went cold at the wrong time. He finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds.

Chris Paul: C-

CP3 facilitated well with 11 assists, but he couldn’t shoot a Skittle into the ocean Saturday afternoon, finishing the day on 5-of-17 shooting. He missed several wide open shots, and this hurt his team more than his passing helped.

Grades for Key Spurs Players

Kawhi Leonard: A+

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Leonard was huge on offense and defense. He used his length against Paul and others, and he knocked down two huge three-pointers.

His energy was instrumental in the third-quarter run.

Tony Parker: B+

Parker had a solid game (23 points and 10 assists) but not a great day. He facilitated well, but it wasn’t one of his better games of these playoffs.

Deciding Factor: Clippers’ Terrible Shooting in the Third Quarter

The Clippers couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in the third, and it killed them. The Spurs played solid defense, and they executed well on offense, but the Clips missed wide open shots as well and lost the quarter 26 to eight.

This sequence cost them the slim chance they had at competing in this series.

Game MVP: Leonard

He had solid stats (14 points, nine rebounds), but his energy was key. The Spurs stars had good games, but no player had a bigger Impact on the outcome of this game than the Spurs forward.

What’s Next?

Doom and gloom if you’re the Clippers. I can’t see them having another first quarter like they did in this one. This was a demoralizing loss, and this team is dead in the water.

The Spurs will wrap up the sweep Sunday night. Game 4 is set for 10:30 pm ET at Staples Center.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports Video Games

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Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189127-spurs-vs-clippers-game-3-highlights-twitter-reaction-and-analysis

Cher, the singer, actress, activist and gay icon, never holds back. She has often come under fire for her outspokenness, and her boldness is no different on Twitter, where she has more than 600,000 followers.

(LENNOX MCLENDON – AP)

Norquist is the conservative founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. Political junkies and politicos know him, but the random man or woman on the street probably don’t. It’s almost a guarantee they would know Cher.

Cher and Norquist are in a Twitter tete-a-tete. Cher often mixes politics into her tweets, and that doesn’t sit so well with Norquist.

On May 3, Cher tweeted: “Whats the difference between Mitt Romney a Jellyfish??? NOTHING ! Whats the difference between Grover Norquist the Devil ?? SAME THING !”

Norquist, who only has 22,000 followers, responded Friday night: “Hi Cher. get some sleep.”

He clearly wants her attention. According to his tweet history, he hadn’t addressed her previously. Although on May 3, he did tweet a response to Bette Midler who asked: “The question is, who has damaged the country more, Karl Rove or Grover Norquist?”

Norquist replied, “Nice to hear from you Bette.”

(Cliff Owen – AP)

Twitter, what a strange invention. It connects fans to stars and stars to politicos with one press of the button. But a social network like Cher’s can also inform, and shape, the less-informed voter who might not follow every twist on the 2012 political trail.

On that same day, Cher tweeted, “Saw mitt Romney wife on tv(He Takes Her With him Everywhere He Goes..She’s like His MOMMIE)She was wearing 1000k TShirt,Lota $$ 4 a tshirt.”

Granted, Cher doesn’t consider grammar or punctuation when she tweets. But who cares? She’s Cher, not an English professor.

When a fan tweeted that he wished he knew more about politics so he could tweet with Cher, she recommended that he watch “The Daily Show,” Stephen Colbert and Rachel Maddow. She confessed in another tweet that she loves MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews.

In recent days, she has discussed Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, bullying, the Wisconsin election and Paul Ryan’s budget, along with a mix of Donna Summer and Studio 54 memories.

Like many stars, Cher has the ability to activate hundreds of thousands of fans – gay and straight – and the showbiz network to appear on any television show and discuss politics even if she is wearing sequins and wigs while doing so. That was the case in 2008 when she initially supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries before campaigning for Barack Obama in the general election. Someone like Cher can be a very high profile opponent to the GOP agenda.  

It’s very tempting to have a trigger finger on social media and respond or retweet before thinking. For example, Norquist retweeted an insulting tweet about Roseanne Barr soon after he tweeted Cher.  “Remember when you had friends and things to do on a Friday night? The 80′s are long gone…” the tweet stated.

But Barr had no time for Norquist on Saturday. She was engaged in a Twitter war with conservative pundit Michelle Malkin, who Cher has previously tweeted. Barr tweeted, “michelle, let’s have a beer-it might be fun-if you can keep it on the map-let’s do it-what do you say?”

A star’s influence shouldn’t be underestimated. Entertainers have a power that cannot be bought with ads, mailers or robo calls. They influence in a genuine manner, and their followers enjoy having a connection to a star via a tweet, especially if they get a direct response.

Norquist may want to think twice before engaging more stars, say, social media goddess Lady Gaga who recently recorded a duet with Cher. She has more than 24 million Twitter followers. Her fans, known as Little Monsters, are rabid and loyal to the point of obsession. If she tells them to vote or retweet, they will.

Will Obama win the election solely on Cher’s tweets? Of course not. But he very well could pick up some votes that he otherwise may not have. As anyone in politics knows, every vote counts.

Suzi Parker is an Arkansas-based political and cultural journalist and author of “Sex in the South: Unbuckling the Bible Belt.” Follow her on Twitter at @SuziParker

Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/cher-and-grover-norquist-engaged-in-twitter-warfare/2012/05/19/gIQARS4obU_blog.html

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., tweeted his support. “.@Twitter is tech industry leader w support of #donottrack. Other co’s shld follow, give consumers right 2 say NO 2 info collection,” Markey’s tweet reads.

“Do Not Track” commands let users block third-party cookies, which can be used to piece together Internet users’ personal information and online activity.

The Federal Trade Commission praised Twitter, also.

“Twitter’s use of Do Not Track in its new feature is good news for Twitter users and a meaningful step toward broader adoption of a strong Do Not Track system that will give consumers simple, comprehensive control over online tracking,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. “Hopefully other companies will follow suit.”

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/twitter-signs-privacy-policy-235348966.html

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-ipo-day-twitter-sentiment-correlated-share-price-141050885.html