Erosion of the Middle Class in the USA is Problematical for the Rest of the World

Nelson D. Schwartz has the story at

The Middle Class Is Steadily Eroding. Just Ask the Business World.

The increasing break-up of U.S. society into affluent haves and struggling have nots is one of most troublesome developments in the world, because it also entails a political shift largely contrary to the ideals for which America was founded.

Hat tip to CaryGEE.

Protection of Animal Rights: Elephants Are Smart, Yes, But Most Pet Owners Aready Know About Animal Intelligence

Scientific American tells us that
Elephants Are Even Smarter Than We Realized.

Speak for yourself  ... "we".

Almost any pet owner can tell you that animals have not only brains, but also thoughts and emotions viz. "feelings", so "why not" elephants too.

Our male cat does several "flips" nearly every morning, but usually only if asked, while our female cat has learned a good cat version -- in spite of a cat's vocal limitations -- of the two-syllable word "hello", which she always renders in "two" syllables of sorts, with the correct intonation.

We are reminded of the regrettable U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. 460, 130 S.Ct. 1577 (2010), where we agree with Justice Alito in dissent that Constitutional free speech rights were not intended to extend to the abuse of animals [or humans for that matter] in any form.

Anyone's rights should end where another man's NOSE begins.
It should make no difference whether that NOSE belongs to a man or animal.
The principle is the same.

The Most Relaxing Tune Ever Recorded, Say Scientists: Do NOT Listen to it While Driving!

Something for stressed professionals?
An 8-minute sound relaxer par excellence?

We were curious about this and so listened to the whole thing.

According to Scientists, This is The Most Relaxing Tune Ever Recorded

We are as yet not fully convinced of its super-relaxing properties,
but it is recommended not to listen to it while driving!

WhatsApp Acquired by Facebook: A Ukrainian near Kiev Rags to Riches Story Merges Some of the Values, Economics and Politics of East and West

Kiev and the Ukraine are also positively in the news these days.

Let us learn from successes, not failures.

How about the incredible rags-to-riches story of a Ukrainian near Kiev native, Jan Koum who together with partner Brian Acton created WhatsApp, which could serve as a model for politics in the "merge" by Eastern and Western entrepreneurs via adoption of some essential and proven Western political and economic values and practices, while also maintaining some important perhaps more Eastern old-fashioned traditions and values, such as privacy.

Just read

Parmy Olson at Forbes in The Rags-To-Riches Tale Of How Jan Koum Built WhatsApp Into Facebook's New $19 Billion Baby

and

Try, Try Again: The Incredible Story of WhatsApp's Tenacious Founders

for the human interest side of Facebook's buyout of WhatsApp.

The Economist has the more business side of things at
Getting the messages
in presenting a report concerning the multi-billion dollar
WhatsApp and Facebook deal.

We just hope that Facebook does not ruin the marvelous WhatsApp application, which we also use regularly,
whose major selling point is not only a simple, intuitively excellent interface
but also the attendant absolutely necessary protection of privacy.

European Court of Justice Issues Landmark Decision that Links to Otherwise Free Public Content Do Not Violate Copyright Law

The European Court of Justice could not have timed it better, in view of transatlantic discussions taking place as members of the US Supreme Court, past and present, visit Luxembourg.

As reported at the Wall Street Journal in Luxembourg Links In, the European Court of Justice has issued a landmark judgment holding that links to otherwise freely available, unrestricted content do not violate copyright law:

"The owner of a website may, without the authorisation of the copyright holders, redirect internet users, via hyperlinks, to protected works available on a freely accessible basis on another site."

Publicly available content of course still retains its normal copyright protection, so it would be illegal to "post" such content (e.g. images) on one's own web site without the express permission of the copyright holder.

The court also emphasized that it remains illegal -- without express permission from copyright holders -- to circumvent restrictions on content via clickable links. Accordingly, restricted content remains restricted and can not be linked in order to bypass things like paywalls.

Sources are:

• The European Court of Justice --
  PRESS RELEASE No 20/2014 : 13 February 2014
  Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-466/12 Svensson and Others
  bg es cs de el en fr hr it hu nl pl pt ro sk sl sv
  
• EU Court of Justice @EUCourtPress

Search Result Bias and Google in the News and in an Academic Paper

David Lee at BBC News in Europe reports that Google to make 'significant' changes to avoid EU fine after being accused of giving favorable treatment to its own products in search results.

This ties in well to the alert by Law Prof James Grimmelmann at The Laboratorium of his coming publication Speech Engines in his posting on Speech Engines Goes Gold.

The Abstract to Speech Engines reads:

"Academic and regulatory debates about Google are dominated by two opposing theories of what search engines are and how law should treat them. Some describe search engines as passive, neutral
conduits for websites’ speech; others describe them as active, opinionated editors: speakers in their own right. The conduit and editor theories give dramatically different policy prescriptions in areas ranging from antitrust to copyright. But they both systematically discount search users’ agency, regarding users merely as passive audiences.

A better theory is that search engines are not primarily conduits or editors, but advisors. They help users achieve their diverse and individualized information goals by sorting through the unimaginable scale and chaos of the Internet. Search users are active listeners, affirmatively seeking out the speech they wish to receive. Search engine law can help them by ensuring two things: access to high-quality search engines, and loyalty from those search engines.

Theadvisor theory yields fresh insights into long-running disputes about Google. It suggests, for example, a new approach to deciding when Googleshould be liable for giving a website the “wrong” ranking. Users’ goalsare too subjective for there to be an absolute standard of correct and incorrect rankings; different search engines necessarily assess relevance differently. But users are also entitled to complain when a search engine deliberately misleads them about its own relevance assessments. The result is a sensible, workable compromise between the conduit and editor theories."

Take a look.

European Economic Issues at A Fistful Of Euros: Germany, Italy, Ireland, Poland and the Ukraine

A Fistful Of Euros has recent postings on the economic situation in Germany, Italy, Ireland, Poland and the Ukraine.