Editor’s note: This post contains some strong language. Social connecting has been an integral part of the Internet since the UseNet days, but how much, or how little, to censor these discussions has been, too. However, the curious case of Reddit’s own r/shitredditsays (SRS) site raises questions as to where free speech and posting limits are. The site is part of Fempire’s project PANDA, an attempt by a vocal minority to draw public eyes to issues that the moderation and administrators seem to be avoiding.… more

By Amalia Deloney, The Center for Media Justice Prison inmates are often charged egregious rates just to be able to talk to their families. For several reasons this affects Latinos more than other groups. Recently Alex Nogales, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), spoke to this very issue:

Some at the Commission have made strong statements about the exorbitant, predatory rates that phone companies charge the families of prison inmates for phone calls — an issue that disproportionately impacts many African-American and Latino families that can least afford it — indicating that a positive change may be within reach.

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By Johanna Mendelson Forman Google’s Chief Executive in Brazil, Fabio Jose Silva Coehlo, was arrested for refusing to remove a YouTube video that allegedly defamed a mayoral candidate. The judge who ordered the arrest said that by hosting the defamatory video the company was in violation of Brazil’s electoral laws. Specifically, Section 243 of the law makes defamation a serious offense, punishable by a fine and arrest. However, shooting the messenger, the Google hosting service, does not always solve the problem.… more

Regalii is a a hybrid Facebook-mobile app that allows users to send money to relatives in other countries for use at the stores where they shop. Essentially, you link the app to your Facebook profile, then select a dollar amount for a certain store and the recipient receives a code via SMS to redeem the gift card in the store. The app bills itself as a free form of remittance — money sent to Latin America from people here in the United States. Often these remittances are sent via services like Western Union, which have fees tacked onto the transaction.… more

Latinos make up a significant percentage of box office receipts, and according to a graphic from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), they are proportionately more ardent movie goers than other ethnic groups. Despite being only 16% of the population, Latinos buy 24% of the movie tickets. Latinos bought $30.6 million in movie tickets in 2011 compared to $80.6 million bought by whites and $15.3 million bought by African Americans. That works out to about 5.3 films per capita for Latinos, compared to 3.7 for blacks and 3.5 for whites.… more

By Hope Gillette Even though a bill granting U.S. visas to foreigners who completed advanced science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees received a majority vote in the House of Representatives, it failed to achieve the needed two-thirds majority to meet approval. The proposal was instead suspended with a vote of 257 in favor compared to 158 who were opposed. According to Computer World, the inclination toward approval of the bill had many lawmakers discussing what the next reasonable options were.… more

Ever wonder where all the women in science and tech are? According to one study, one reason there are such low numbers of women in these fields is because their science professors don’t think they are as smart as their male counterparts. Sadly, these biases applied to both male, and female, professors. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and titled “Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students.” According to a New York Times article about the study:

…professors were less likely to offer the women mentoring or a job.

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The National Conference of State Legislatures put together an interactive map of the 33 states that have passed voter ID legislation. The color-coded map takes into account whether the voter ID law includes photo ID (or not). Also included is data tracking the status of voter ID lawsuits, legislative action, litigation and details about what voter ID requirements are. It’s important to note that the majority of states in this country have tried, or enacted, voter ID laws.… more

Diego Valle-Jones created an interactive map tracking homicides related to Mexico’s drug war. Data from the map runs from 2004 to 2010 and users can search for marijuana, opium and other drug-related violence. You can search the map with, or without, the names of cities. You can also zoom in and out of the map to see different details up close. Valle-Jones created the map with data from official Mexican sources. He wrote about the map on his blog:

 The really cool thing about the map is that it makes it very easy to select regions of Mexico and link directly to them, which makes refuting mistaken claims by government officials…a cinch.

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The former king of social networking, MySpace, has risen from the grave with a new interface, and bold ambition. In taking cues from other social network designs like Pinterest and Facebook’s Timeline, it seems MySpace has potential to make a scene again in the digital world. Will it mean anything, though? The world of social media is anything but friendly or compassionate. It’s a shark tank of website coders and entrepeneurs striving to create “the next big thing.” First it was MySpace, which dissipated thanks to bloat and a frustrated user base.… more