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County politicians in Los Angeles have passed legislation championed by the RIAA and MPAA that lets authorities confiscate property from anyone convicted of IP theft or piracy. See Wired for more information.

The RIAA uses automated methods for collecting information fom LimeWire and other peer-to-peer programs. Data including the IP address and the files offered for trade are collected. The trade organization also has an automated takedown notice and settlement system that targets universities and students. The RIAA uses a manual process when investigating commercial ISPs. This article from the Chronicle of Higher Education has some details.

Meanwhile, BoingBoing reports that the US House of Representatives has passed a similar measure (HR 4279, PRO-IP (Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008). The bill may not get through the US Senate this year.

See Ars Technica and TechDirt for more information on this ridiculous piece of legislation.

Related posts on

billso.com

• 11 May 2008: Qtrax makes a free music download deal with Universal
• 15 March 2008: 10 years of MP3 players
• 21 February 2008: Copyright and fair use
• 4 February 2008: Better than free
• 13 November 2007: File sharing and campus security
• 5 October 2007: What’s wrong with copyright?
• 17 July 2007: A quick explanation of copyright law
• 29 September 2006: US copyright law in verse
• 15 August 2004: American Library Association promotes fair use
• 27 June 2003: Sue your best customers

This morning, both major daily newspapers in Honolulu published editorials that were highly critical of the City Council. As I discussed last Thursday on billso.com, Mayor Mufi Hannemann has prevailed in his quest for a steel-on-steel rail mass transit system, despite the laughable efforts of several council members to amend, postpone, revisit, second-guess, and micromanage the proposal.

Today’s editorials are significant. Any member of the City Council who wants a newspaper endorsement in upcoming elections should be concerned. In Honolulu, the mainstream media still wields considerable influence over voters.

Enough is enough

I’ve written several articles on this issue because the fixed guideway mass transit project is the largest ever proposed in the state of Hawaii. The decisions that have been made over the last 3 years have led to a US$3.8 billion proposal that will determine how Honolulu’s residents will commute, park and live for the next 50 years.

Oahu has far too many automobiles already. Adding and expanding the roads and highways would only bring more cars and traffic problems.

“A bewildering bill”

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s lead editorial today asks the City Council to let steel-on-steel rail go forward. Their opportunity to make this decision has passed.

The editorial’s description of Wednesday night’s meeting is apt:

Only two members voted for a bewildering bill naming three technologies — rail, rubber-tire and magnetic levitation.

This editorial ended with James Oberstar’s assessment that Honolulu’s train system might become the country’s most efficient light-rail project. Oberstar runs the US House committee on transportation. Hawaii’s senior senator, Daniel Inouye, is his counterpart on the Senate committee. Oberstar’s promise of US$900M in funding seems linked to steel-on-steel rail.

Today’s Honolulu Advertiser has a front page article about the height and placement of the transit stations and guideway. Much of this information was available last year, when the city presented its proposals along with computer-generated images of the project.

An editorial in the same edition implored the council to “stop the games” and recommend one technology in their final vote this Wednesday. The front page article acknowledged that the Mayor Hannemann can veto the Council’s final recommendation, and that the Council probably does not have enough votes to override his veto.

Calling out the opposition

The editorial also asked Barbara Marshall and Charles Djou to abstain from the vote, citing their long-standing opposition to the fixed guideway transit project. Romy Cachola is called a flip-flopper who put his district ahead of the island’s greater interest.

Finally, Ann Kobayashi got a reminder that the Council had three years to do their homework and make a decision. Kobayashi and Donovan Dela Cruz both fought hard and long for a bus-based system that resembled previous Mayor Jeremy Harris’s recommendations. Fellow council members were not swayed then or now.

There will be more hearings and decisions about the exact route of the trail, and the placement of the rail stations. Bills have already been proposed to regulate building activity and growth around the project. The Council’s inability to recommend a transit technology may become the enduring legacy of the current council members.

It’s time to end the discussion and move forward on light rail.

Related posts on billso.com

• 17 April 2008: Back on track
• 15 April 2008: Council members discuss mass transit research
• 2 April 2008: Still on track?
• 20 March 2008: Like a fifth wheel
• 21 February 2008: Delhi catches monorail fever: Is Honolulu next?
• 6 February 2008: Hawaii has highest car ownership costs in the USA
• 21 June 2007: Mayor: state could pay for airport mass transit line
• 19 June 2007: City council, planners still arguing over mass transit routes, modes

Tomorrow, the Honolulu city council resumes its discussion of the rapid mass transit project. The city council has to make its decision: rail, bus or maglev. Bobbie Slater in the Hawaii Reporter has a good overview of what the meeting might be like.

Despite Todd Apo’s last-minute amendment, magnetic levitation may be eliminated. The German government canceled a major maglev train project in Munich last week, according to Wired. One of the lead contractors in the proposed project, ThyseenKrupp, may sell its maglev business unit to a Chinese company, according to Deutsche Welle. This Reuters article describes the controversy as German politicians and executives scurry to escape blame.

Nothing has been set in stone, of course. The location of the transit stations may shift for many reasons. This article in revealed that the UH-Weat Oahu train stop has been moved 1000 feet away from campus to accommodate existing roads and a planned housing development. Some Salt Lake residents are concerned with noise from the proposed train system. Councilman Romy Cachola managed to divert the system through his district, in exchange for his vote last year.

No Aloha

Mazie Hirono has already spoken to Jim Oberstar about Aloha Airlines. Dan Inouye may hold his own Senate hearing on Aloha. See today’s Advertiser for details.

The state cannot afford to build mass transit or highway systems on its own. Transportation is a public utility, much like the water, electric and telephone systems. As the state’s tax revenues dip, other companies like Hawaiian Telcom are struggling to preserve their revenues.

Federal money is the key

Jim Oberstar is chair of a powerful Congressional transportation committee, and he’s promised US$900M in Federal money for the Honolulu rapid mass transit project. He does like to use his power. It’s part of a long tradition of upper Midwestern congressmen like Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, Jim Sensenbrenner and others.

Currying favor with Oberstar is smart lobbying. Without Federal funds, Honolulu can’t keep up with its traffic problem. The state cannot afford any sort of solution on its own.

I still prefer the big buses to trains. The lone dissenter on the technology panel, Panos Prevedouros, has an article in yesterday’s Hawaii Reporter about the panel’s abbreviated decision-making process.

The UH professor also notes that San Francisco’s BART system faces a US$11 billion bill to refurbish its trains and tracks. Honolulu would face a similar bill after 20 or 30 years of rail service, especially if the tracks start rusting like Aloha Stadium did.

Dksopedia’s article on Honolulu fixed rail has been updated recently, and it has a nice reference list and timeline.

Related articles

• 30 March 2008:Aloha Airlines shuts down
• 20 March 2008: Like a fifth wheel
• 21 February 2008: Delhi catches monorail fever: Is Honolulu next?
• 6 February 2008: Hawaii has highest car ownership costs in the USA
• 5 February 2008: HawTel replaces CEO with turnaround specialist
• 21 June 2007: Mayor: state could pay for airport mass transit line
• 19 June 2007: City council, planners still arguing over mass transit routes, modes

The Honolulu Star-Bullletin just posted this article:

Aloha Airlines will be shutting down its interisland and transpacific passenger flights beginning tomorrow, ending its 61-year service in Hawaii.

In a news release today, the company said United Airlines and other airlines will help accommodate passengers who have flights scheduled on Aloha after tomorrow. Aloha has stopped selling tickets for future flights.

I wonder if this will spur the state legislature into action? Last Thursday, Minnesota congressman James Oberstar implored Hawaii’s lawmakers to save Aloha Airlines, according to this Star-Bulletin article:

“The islands are so dependent on air travel. This is your taxi. This is your bus line. You essentially have to maintain this carrier for its competitive service and for the economic impact it means for Honolulu and the whole state.”

News coverage

These are articles that appeared later in the day, after I posted my article.

• The Honolulu Advertiser posted a shorter article here and a Q&A section later in the day. Ticket holders for flights on and after April 1 can sue in bankruptcy court for their refund, or check with their travel agent. One interesting note: all Aloha Airlines frequent flyer miles expire tomorrow, 31 March 2008, when the airline shuts down its AlohaPass program.
• Business Week
• Bloomberg
• Here’s KGMB’s article from its web site.
• CNN from the Associated Press
• The Huffington Post
• Los Angeles Times
• Washington Post from the Associated Press

The day after

Even Wired Magazine has mentioned the shutdown.

Both Honolulu newspapers had extensive coverage.

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin
• The Honolulu Advertiser redesigned its web site last week, and I cannot find the old archive feature. Here’s a link to today’s lead story.

USA: John McCain has finally convinced W take legal action against the Swifties and other groups. Of course, most of the top 527s are working for Kerry and against W. The Republicans are kicking themselves because they missed an opportunity to get even more campaign money, and will now sue 527s to hurt Kerry’s chances.

Kerry is pressing his argument that the GOP is conducting a smear campaign. This could help derail W’s momentum. It could also alienate young people who don’t remember Vietnam, and undecided voters who care about real issues.

Meanwhile, the W campaign has ignored the IOC’s request to pull an ad that mentions the Olympics. The W campaign never asked the International Olympic Committee for permission to run an ad that violates US law: “An act of Congress, last revised in 1999, grants the USOC exclusive rights to such terms as “Olympic,” derivatives such as “Olympiad” and the five interlocking rings. It also specifically says the organization “shall be nonpolitical and may not promote the candidacy of an individual seeking public office.”“