Is Jim Griffith's CyberSquatting Illegal? Web Links

Permanent Link:

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/08/is-jim-griffiths-cybersquatting-illegal.html

I did a casual search to see what is the case law on political cybersquatting.  From these and other sites, I gather that just using the name is a 50-50 proposition.  If the candidate has the site name VoteEdJones.org and someone grabs ElectEdJones.org it may or may not result in a lost case for the squatter, depending on what they do with the name.  However, grabbing the actual site name with just a different suffix like ".com" instead of ".org" as Griffith did, and actually using it against the candidate as was originally done is pretty much a lost case for the squatter, who will likely pay the litigant's full legal costs and additional penalties up to $100K per domain name.  This is particularly in California which has it's own state law in addition to the federal statute (ACPA) which most articles referred to.

1.  C|Net News http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-894311.html

"So far, rulings have been mixed on whether people have the right to shut down unauthorized Web sites that use their names in the address. Actress Julia Roberts and vocalist Madonna have won the rights to their names, but New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President George W. Bush have not.

In recent years, courts and dispute-resolution panels generally have allowed Web site owners to keep domain names if they parody the person or remain unused. However, owners of sites that seek to capitalize on a famous person's name, or cybersquat, often lose."

C|Net says the issue is not completely clear in politics - meaning (I think) the courts are feeling their way on this.

2.  The NY Times (in 2010) mentioned several political cases.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/us/politics/15squatters.html

They mention 3 Republican campaigns that bought the name for a Democratic politician and used it for ads against the Democrat.  Hillary Clinton successfully sued to get her name site, but others lost their suits.

3.  The National Journal http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/political-cybersquatter-strikes-again-20130709 

mentions some who grab the names and just use them to trade for money or for a day on the campaign trail with the candidate.

4.  "Campaigns & Elections" http://www.campaignsandelections.com/magazine/us-edition/321372/combatting-cybersquatters.thtml

Says in regard to political cybersquatting:

"Filing an action under the ACPA may also be appropriate for consideration if immediate court intervention is needed due to the highly objectionable nature of a particular website.

"In a civil action brought under the “cyberpiracy protection for individuals” section of the ACPA, a U.S. federal court is empowered to order the transfer or cancellation of the domain name as well as costs and attorney’s fees."

Details of Griffith's Identity Theft

Permanent Link to this post:

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/08/details-of-griffiths-identity-theft.html

The details of Griffith's identity theft can be seen at:

http://www.eyesunnyvale.com/

The blog cites relevant documentation on aspects such as the Anti-Cybersquatting Piracy Act

https://www.dropbox.com/s/foxddvgpxo3u8el/Merrick_Exhibit%207%20ACPA.pdf

Campaign ethics from the City of Sunnyvale Ethics Guide:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2300xm3w2ozmafk/Merrick_Exhibit%209%20Campaign%20Ethics.pdf

and SB 1411 making it a crime to impersonate another person via the web:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mshod8n23vp28jp/Merrick_Exhibit%206%20Penal%20Code%20528.5.pdf

Thanks to Jeni Pfeiffer who wrote the blog and mentioned it to me.

There are a lot of other interesting things at her site.

9/13/2013 update:

Jeni now has "Perma Link's" to her posts o this issue here:

http://eyesunnyvale.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/sunnyvale-griffith-campaign-conduct-in-question/

http://eyesunnyvale.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/sunnyvale-council-hopefuls-battle-over-web-domains/

http://eyesunnyvale.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/vice-mayor-jim-griffith-accused-of-identify-theft/

Public transport, & the personal auto

Permanent Link: http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/07/public-transport-personal-auto.html

According to the US Transportation Energy Data Book as quoted in Wikipedia, the following are the energy efficiencies of various modes of transport:

Intercity Rail - 1.6 (Mega Joules)/(passenger-kilometer)

Commuter Rail - 1.84 MJ/p-k

Air - 1.85 MJ/p-k

Cars (1.55 passengers/car) - 2.32 MJ/p-k

Buses - 2.78 MJ/p-k

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transportation

The thing to note is that cars are not THAT bad compared to the other methods.  What is more, the average fuel economy is mandated to double to 54 mpg (about a current Prius C's fuel economy) in a few years.  If nothing else changes that will halve the energy consumption for the average car to 1.16 MJ/p-k making it much BETTER in energy efficiency than anything else, including public transport.

But other things can change.  These car sharing programs like Zip-Car could really take off so people could commute 4/car instead of 1.5/car with self-driving cars and coordinated real-time source-destination matching programs.  

In addition, bio-fuel is fast becoming a reality with commercial feasibility making cars carbon neutral:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/business/energy-environment/company-says-its-the-first-to-make-ethanol-from-waste.html?hp

And of course electric cars powered by small electric currents embedded in the road and fed by solar panels could make it all clean energy with no charging issue.

Driving in the US may have actually peaked in 2004 meaning more people are using public transport or biking or walking.  

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/driving-in-america-may-have-peaked-in-2004/?src=rechp

There is still the space factor.  Cars take up a lot of space but so do buses and trains.  Even in cities like SF it can get hard to get public buses to get across town so cars are going to be needed even in cities.  Cars like the Smart Car are making "small = cool" so even space issues can change.

So, cars will evolve to become one part of the transportation mix and possibly the most energy efficient, earth-friendly mode.

No one has yet told me why I still see the "Cars Bad!  Buses/Trains Good!" attitude.  Since no one else has addressed it I will hazard a guess that it is left over from the early 1970's when cars REALLY were bad.  The average car sold in 1971 got 13 MPG and one popular Pontiac got 9 MPG!  That was when repeated oil shocks over the 70's gave us stagflation but forced congress to mandate a doubling of fuel economy from 13 mpg to 27 mpg.

Old opinions die hard and I suspect many in the environmental leadership may have formed their opinions then and not noticed that things have changed while young environmentalists just accept it as gospel.

So, can we get away from the anti-car thing?  If friends come to visit, I would like them to be able to park.

High Speed Rail part 2

Permanent Link:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/07/high-speed-rail-part-2.html

See also:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2012/08/high-speed-rail-dead-but-still-spending.html

The claim was made that High Speed Rail would be cheaper than air fare.  The High Speed Rail was sold as a ballot measure with the assurance that it would cost $50 SF-LA.  This is inconsistent with existing high speed rail costs in the US & other countries.

Japan:

The air fare for Tokyo to Osaka is about Y13,000 = roughly $130.  The Bullet Train is almost exactly the same.  Various discounts are available for both modes of travel.  Tie.  Bus is about Y5,000 and based on my personal experience is the most popular for business passengers who board at night and sleep on the bus.  (Companies in Japan are notoriously cheap except for higher ranking managers at very big cos.)

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html

France:

Paris - Marseille: The TGV (HSR) costs $130-$214.  Skyscanner gives air fares of $86-$130 and above so air can be cheaper than train.  The TGV is subsidized.

http://www.raileurope.com

Spain:

Madrid - Barcelona:  Air = $90-$132 on "Cheap Air".  The HSR is $153-$309.  Air is cheaper than HSR.  HSR is extensively subsidized in Spain or it wouldn't exist.  Given the sad state of the Spanish economy I have seen numerous complaints about this subsidy from Spaniards.

US:

Boston-Washington, DC by air (one day in advance) $153-$222 (Google).  By train - $199-$219.

"The Economist" has a blog post on HSR here:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/05/high-speed_trains_0

If you drive SF-LA (300 miles) one way in a standard car averaging 25 mpg it costs 12 gallons X $4.00 = $48.  In a Prius it would cost $24.   Families of 2-4 would average $6/person - $24/person depending on car and how many people.  Families don't count wear and tear or amortize the cost of insurance since they would pay those anyway.  Steady highway cruising is the least stressful on an auto so even if you count wear and tear it would be at a lower rate than typical cos. mileage allowance.  Business people aren't going to drive so any HSR will have to rely solely on business air travelers.

The argument is often made that SFO or LAX will not be able to accommodate the growth in intercity traffic.  Heathrow, UK is one of the 2-3 busiest airports in the world and has 2 (TWO!) runways.  SFO has 4.  LAX has 4 which can be landed on from both directions.  Airport capacity is not an issue.

I consider myself a liberal Democrat but I am at a loss as to why my fellow Democrats are so in love with HSR.  Is it some sort of reverse "cool" thing where anything different is automatically better?  Like hipsters who derive great pleasure in adopting things others consider uninteresting but immediately drop it once it becomes popular?

Everyone has the right to believe in miracles, the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and HSR.  What a wonderful country that allows people to create their own realities and get quite energized over them!

The HSR will never get built in CA so I am going to drop it.  There are so many people pointing out the absurdity of the entire thing in every conceivable way that I cannot believe this ongoing drain on the state coffers will last another economic dip, no matter how mild. 

HSR is a matter of belief - like the tooth fairy - the numbers don't add up in any way, shape, or form.

Meyering Censure Gets 1,000 Views

Permanent Link
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/06/meyering-censure-gets-1000-views.html

The various items related to Pat Meyering's censure by the Sunnyvale City Council surpassed 1,000 views recently.

(Edit 1/25/2014:  Sunnyvale is using a new version of video recording presentation which is incompatible with their old version so I am directing everyone to the YouTube versions here:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/10/meyering-censure-on-youtube-part-1.html
End edit of 1/25/2014)

The single most popular posting is the one with the video in which Council Member J. Griffith (running for re-election this November, 2013) proposes an agenda item to censure CM Meyering here:

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/pat-meyering-censured.html

The next most popular posting is a listing of links to videos of ALL the related incidents here:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/MeyeringCensure.html

The 3rd most popular video is Council Member Meyering's defense here:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/censure-vote-of-pat-meyering-may-5th_9053.html

Link to Videos of Meyering Censure

Permanent Link:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/06/link-to-videos-of-meyering-censure.html

(Edit 1/25/2014:  Sunnyvale is using a new version of video recording presentation which is incompatible with their old version so I am directing everyone to the YouTube versions here:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/10/meyering-censure-on-youtube-part-1.html
End edit of 1/25/2014)

Incident which started it all - Meyering says Council Members (CM) who received campaign contributions should recuse themselves from voting on an issue affecting the contributor.  CM Jim Griffith moves to make an agenda item to censure CM Meyering:

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/pat-meyering-censured.html

Reading of  Charges Against CM Pat Meyering
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/censure-vote-of-pat-meyering-may-5th_19.html

Pat Meyering spoke in his defense immediately after Mayor Spitaleri read the censure motion:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/censure-vote-of-pat-meyering-may-5th_9053.html


Related: City Council Members address should CM recuse themselves if they received campaign contributions:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/april-19th-2013-ethics-sunnyvale-city.html

Public Comments on the Day of the Censure Vote:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/censure-vote-of-pat-meyering-may-5th.html

Public Comment Before the Agenda Item is Discussed by the City Council
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/censure-vote-of-pat-meyering-may-5th_6298.html

After the public comments, Vice Mayor J. Griffith spoke (the beginning of this excerpt, 4:26 on the city tape) in favor of the motion:  

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/censure-of-pat-meyering-cc-members.html

CM Meyering alluded to an attempt he believes was intended to trick him out of being able to speak.  This incident is referred to later by CM Whittum (who expresses regret) and CM Moylan who denies it was a trick and insists it was a valid motion.  The incident of 9/18/2012 may be viewed at
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2012/09/sunnyvales-lesson-in-free-speech-part-i.html
and
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2012/09/sunnyvale-city-councils-lesson-in-free.html

The Motion to Censure Pat Meyering - Legal/Moral Issues

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-motion-to-censure-pat-meyering.html

The issue that was being debated at the time Vice Mayor Griffith moved to put a motion to censure CM Meyering on the agenda was related to a garbage collection contract.  In the debate on the censure motion, Councilman Whittum alluded to issues that have arisen in other cities related to garbage collection.  Here are a few items related to crime and garbage collection:

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/05/corruption-garbage-collection-1.html

California & Sunnyvale Pension Debt Increase

Permanent Link:

http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2013/06/california-sunnyvale-pension-debt.html

California - with the second worst credit rating in the US after Illinois according to Moody's - has had it's pension debt revised upward to double what it was proclaimed to be by CalPERS.
 

"Employee retiree costs to date have been vastly underreported to taxpayers, according to Moody's. Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has established new rules to help prevent misreporting, and with the changes, new estimates put California's unfunded liabilities at nearly double the previous estimate."

c.f.: http://ai-cio.com/channel/NEWSMAKERS/Californian_Unfunded_Liabilities__Double_What_We_Thought.html

The Economist notes that although the CA budget is nominally in surplus by $1.1B-$4.4B, in fact it owes the CalSTRS Teacher Retirement fund $4.5B every year for the next 30 years which would more than wipe out the surplus.  The "surplus" is the budget analysts' estimate for the coming year.  It is not cold hard cash, just a guess of the coming year's revenue.

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21579463-states-cannot-pretend-be-good-financial-health-unless-they-tackle-pensions-ruinous-promises

The NY Times looks at all the states and notes the same about California as the Economist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/us/surpluses-help-but-fiscal-woes-for-states-go-on.html?hp

Moody's is looking at 30 California cities for possible credit downgrade including Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.

C.f., last paragraph at:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/government/2013/06/11/california-on-brink-pension-crisis/

The Washington Post reports that Detroit is defaulting on it's debt and will only pay 10 cents on the dollar to bond holders and intends to treat pension and retiree health care as creditors like any other:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/detroit-emergency-manager-to-creditors-city-defaulting-on-25-billion-in-unsecured-debt/2013/06/14/69d6a214-d527-11e2-b3a2-3bf5eb37b9d0_story_1.html