JLooney.com

I’ve had many people ask me about BitTorrent over the past several months, so rather than spending 45 minutes on the phone explaining what it is and how it works, or penning another long email, I’ll put it here for all to use.

DISCLAIMER 1: I am not by any means an expert on Bit Torrent, but I know enough to teach the basics

DISCLAIMER 2: I do not advocate the use of Bit Torrent for illegal purposes (i.e., downloading copyrighted works – film, music, etc.)

DISCLAIMER 3: Sure, you can find info about how to use Bit Torrent all over the web. Wikipedia has a great page on Bit Torrent. I’ve written this with the layman or noob in mind, so I’ll keep this excessively simple while still explaining the nuts and bolts.

Terms you’ll need to know

Before we get started, you need to know a couple basic terms. These are important to know whenever you’re talking about Bit Torrent.

Client
The program you use to handle BitTorrent files. Just like you need Microsoft Word to open a Word document, or Adobe Reader to open a PDF, BiTorrent files need a program to handle them as well.

Torrent
This can actually be two things. First, a torrent can be the .torrent data file the client uses to get whatever it is you’re downloading (we’ll get to that, don’t get lost yet). Second, the torrent can be the data itself, or the files you are downloading.

Seeder
Describes someone who has pieces of the torrent you are downloading available for upload.

Leecher
Describes someone who is downloading something. It’s not a bad thing, even though it may sound like it.

Seed or Piece
A small chunk of the torrent, or file you are downloading.

Tracker
A server that keeps track of all the different pieces of many different torrents. Now, there are public trackers (like The Pirate Bay, which are basically websites that can be accessed by anyone) and there are private trackers (like the now-defunct OiNK.cd which was an invite-only secure tracker that shared music.) More on trackers later.

There are many other terms, but these basic ones are all we’ll need to get you started.

Understanding what BitTorrent actually is

It’s probably important to understand the basic concept behind BitTorrent before we get down to the dirty work. Back in the olden days, a peer-to-peer (P2P) download basically connected 2 computers over a network for more or less direct downloading. If Computer A had a file that Computer B wanted to download, it could be a slow and painful process. Imagine trying to suck an orange through a garden hose. Sure, it can be done, but it’s hard work and there are certain problems you’re likely to encounter.

BitTorrent, on the other hand, makes things a whole lot easier and more effective. Referring to one of the largest BitTorrent tracker websites on the Internet, the Australian Supreme Court described it like this:

“To use the rather colourful imagery that internet piracy conjures up in a highly imperfect analogy, the file being shared is the treasure, the BitTorrent client is the ship, the .torrent file is the treasure map, The Pirate Bay provides treasure maps free of charge and the tracker is the wise old man that needs to be consulted to understand the treasure map.”

But there’s more to it. Because BitTorrent effectively breaks down a whole file (let’s say it’s a book, for this analogy) into many smaller pieces (pages), if several people have different parts of the book and are willing to communicate what pages they have, by making and distributing copies of the pages they have to each other, they can each easily compile a copy of the whole book. The more people that are sharing, the easier this will be. So when it comes to BitTorrent, the more people that are sharing, or seeding a file, the better.

In other words, it’s easier and faster to grab many small pieces and put them together than to try and copy the whole book all at once, page by page.

I hope that makes sense. In fact, take a look at this graphic if you’re still lost. Watch it a few times, because it moves kinda quick, but you’ll see how different pieces from several machines can help to compile a complete copy on each of the machines.

Let’s move on to the nuts and bolts.

Download a client

The first thing you’ll need to do is download a client – the program that’s going to make sense of all these .torrent files. There are plenty of clients you can download for free. I recommend uTorrent – they’re one of the best clients out there, and they’re pretty much universally accepted around the web. What do I mean by “universally accepted”?

Well, like I said, there are lot’s of clients out there on the web that are free. Some of these clients are just that – clients. Others are loaded with spyware and other malicious stuff, and some are just poorly built and have security flaws that could make your computer vulnerable to hackers. Reputable tracker sites won’t allow their files to be opened by these inferior clients and will ban you as a user from accessing their site if you’re not using one of their approved clients.

Organizing your stuff

Before you get started, I really strongly recommend coming up with a system to organize everything you download. Here’s one possibility. Have a folder on one of your hard drives that is exclusively for torrents. In fact, label it “Torrents”. This is where everything that you download will live. Lots of people are content with this and just use the files right out of that folder. Wanna watch a (non-copyrighted) movie? It’s in that folder, search by name. Listen to a (public domain) song? have iTunes keep an eye on that folder and ad new music. If you’re not particularly bothered by chaos, this system will work for you.

If you ARE bothered by even the smallest amount of disorganization, I suggest that in addition to your “Torrents” folder, you have separate folders for music, movies, books, apps – whatever you’ll be using BitTorrent for. Organize each of those folders in whatever way works best for you,and once you’ve downloaded a torrent, copy it into the appropriate folder. Don’t just move it, or you’ll completely lose the ability to seed because your client won’t know where the file went (it’ll be looking in the “Torrents” folder).

A little more info on Trackers

So now that you have a client, and you’ve got your folders organized, what’s next? Well finding .torrent files, of course! This can be as easy as a Google search. Type in whatever you’re looking for, and then add “torrent” to the end of it. You might be surprised at what you can find out there! So in a way, Google is a great big torrent tracker. ThePirateBay.org is one of the largest and most well-known public trackers, and there are many others as well, like MiniNova.com. IsoHunt.com, and others. Again, a simple Google search will give you tons of choices.

But those are all public trackers. Unless you’ve got some skills and know what to look for, you may not be happy with the quality of file you get. Problems like inferior picture quality on (public domain) movies and poor sound quality of (non-copyrighted) music files are common. And let’s not forget the aforementioned problems of mistakenly downloading viruses and spyware, thinking you’re downloading one of your favorite films and finding out that it’s not only NOT the film you wanted, but that the virus hidden in the file has eaten your computer.

Private trackers solve all of these problems. Let me tell you about one of the greatest private trackers the world has ever known – OiNK.cd. I won’t go into much detail here, as I’ve pretty well covered it in previous posts, but OiNK.cd serves as a great example of why private trackers are private, and why everyone wants an invite.

You see, OiNK.cd was a community of people who loved music, and they had standards that they were unrelenting about. First, the only way to get into OiNK was if someone you knew invited you. And there were plenty of reasons for them to NOT invite you. If you were caught abusing the rules, misrepresenting the quality or content of your torrents, or just didn’t keep a good enough share ratio (more on share ratios in a minute), you could get booted from the site. And, the person who invited you was in jeopardy of being banned as well. Add to this the fact that there were a limited number of invites, and it meant that pretty much the only people who were on OiNK were people that were trustworthy audiophiles dedicated to the highest (sound) quality in music. If you wanted access to a library of music that was almost as expansive as iTunes and was completely free, OiNK was your personal nirvana.

But it wasn’t just about downloading, you had to give as well as take, and that’s where share ratios came in. OiNK required that you maintain a .15 share ratio, meaning that for every 1 mb you downloaded, you had to also upload 0.15 mb. If you dropped below the required level, you were put on probation and given a two-week grace period to get your ratio back up. If your ratio didn’t improve enough over the time given, you were booted from the site. Period.

So you can see, private trackers are highly desirable for a lot of obvious reasons. Although OiNK was shut down by Interpol, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the British Phonographic Industry(BPI)a few years back, there are many other private trackers out there.

Google can help you find them, and it’s up to you to figure out how to get one of those cherished invites.

And that’s it.

Get a client, get organized, and find yourself a tracker.

Tada.

Now you know as much about BitTorrent as I do.

So, on we go…

As it relates to the discussion I had on Roe v. Wade, Part I is pretty much a foundational work. It’s important to understand the implications and background of the Roe v. Wade decision, though. It actually goes back much further than the 1973 decision, arguably to the 14th amendment, which covers (in particular) Dues Process and Equal protection.

Why is this important?

Let’s read Section 1. together, shall we?

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

So basically, as a citizen of the United States and of Utah, I have a reasonable expectation of privacy free from government intrusion.

The fourteenth amendment also covers due process, which (among other things) means that there are two basic exercises of law – substantive law, which creates, defines, and regulates rights, and procedural law which enforces those rights or seeks redress for their violation.

Substantive law includes things like freedom of religion, the freedom to raise your children the way you see fit, and the choice to procreate or not. This naturally leads to many questions and caveats, either real or implied, but the one thing that really can’t be argues is my basic right over my own body. That right has been argued effectively, and supported by law for thousands of years.

Which leads us to Roe v. Wade.

You see, it’s not just about abortion, although that was the central theme. It’s about substantive law, and the rights we all enjoy as citizens. If you repeal Roe, you alos put at risk other privacy rights, such as the right to choose to use birth control or not, and the right of two consenting adults to engage in whatever consensual sexual activity they wish within the walls of their own home.

In fact, when you come right down to it, all law exists to protect privacy. Period.

So all you pro-lifers, Roe v. Wade actually supports you in your religious position against abortion – leave it alone.

This is a british ad, but the message is still the same – don’t drive drunk.

Have a safe holiday, my friends.

WARNING: pretty graphic images in parts of this

The image above right is essentially a Photoshopped image generated by a computer based on the human sketch on the left.

In his book Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson introduced an artist named Slick Henry who built robotic sculptures. One of these sculptures created it’s own works of art, grabbing random pieces of trash and debris and placing them together inside wooden boxes with glass tops, making the random contents visible and creating a plethora of interpretations as to the meaning of the group.

Slick Henry’s machine can’t be far off…

This new app called PhotoSketch does pretty much that same thing, but under your direction. What you’re about to see is pretty much one of the coolest things I’ve ever witnessed, and a testament to the fact that the Singularity may actually happen after all. Check this out: you draw a quick little sketch, and then this app scours the Internet for images matching what you’ve described and puts them together into a single image. Sound impressive? Watch the video:

The authors of the program—Tao Chen, Ming-Ming Cheng, Ping Tan, Ariel Shamir, and Shi-Min Hu at the Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, and the National University of Singapure—presented it at Siggraph Asia 2009.

All I gotta say is that the next few years bring some pretty scary/cool stuff when it comes to technology and computing.

9-11, Human Rights and The Role of Government
James Ord

Last night I was confronted by both, a friend who posited that government has become too intrusive by creating a society dependent upon government to provide for it, and a young lady who called me a liberal and told me that my ideas about government were going to destroy our country.

I’ve been taught by a wise woman that when ever I’m confronted like that, instead of kicking back, I get to soak in that person’s feedback and ask myself to name three ways in which the accusation is true. The nature of this exercises brings clarity, and openness and usually releases me from any tunnel vision that I might be momentarily caught up in.

I let my mind think for a while and rest on the notions of what these two said to me. I think it was an excellent jumping off point to sit back, and get some clarity. . .

Today is September 11th 2009.

Eight years ago terrorists took over several planes flying over the United states. Two planes crashed into the two tallest office towers in Manhattan, NY. Shortly afterward another plane crashed into the headquarters for the US War Department in Washington D.C. Within minutes of that third crash, the United States Air Foce, acting on order of the Vice President, shot down the the 4th plane into a field in Pennsylvania. This was done to avoid the plane hitting a township when the American hostages on board bravely attempted a seemingly unsuccessful coup to regain control of the airship.

We’ve heard A LOT of rhetoric about perpetrators of these crimes, of their motives, of their ideology, of their backgrounds etc. My personal opinion is that this was a crime against humanity. A crime against the human rights of all of us.

But given the accusations of last night. I had to ask myself WHAT DO I BELIEVE ABOUT GOVERNMENT?

My background is steeped in government. I come from a military family, both of my grandfathers were lifers. Every Ord in my line has worn a uniform since the 1880′s, myself included. I worked side by side with several congressmen on both sides of the isle before I ever graduated high school. I went to prep school at the U.S. Air Force Academy. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Government Admin and International Relations (heavy on the Econ), from one of the most conservative universities in the United States. I hold a degree in Law from one of its most Conservative Law Schools, which is also a constitutional law “powerhouse,” I have spent the vast majority of my life connected to and working in government and the DOD. So, I may have something to say on the topic. But what do I believe about government?

I’ve read the works of the great theorists of the ages, and I’ve come to the clear conclusion that Government exists to secure the Universal Human Rights of its citizens, and inhabitants.

But what are those universal human rights?

The Americans summed them up as Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness, the French, as liberté, égalité, fraternité, but just where are these nebulous human rights summed up and enumerated?

After World War II, one of my greatest heroes spent most of 1948 chairing a gathering of the world’s then established governments to create a world consensus on what are the universal human rights of all people. From their notes, it is evident that the committee was not attempting to beholden humans strictly to positive law, but was seeking to enumerate natural law, and bind governments, via moral pressure and moral mandate, to respecting those principles, laws, and rights that were granted us by our maker. The resultant universal declaration of human rights succinctly summarises them.

Since we seldom actually read those rights, I’m going to include them herein. They are 30 statements on what your rights are as a human. Governments exist solely for the purpose of securing these rights for you and your fellow humans. There are multiple theories a to how that gets to happen, and how much of that labour is your responsibility, but in all cases it is the government’s job to defend these rights from any that would infringe upon them, for the sake of all humans under that government’s jurisdiction.

And with that here are our basic rights:

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Now I don’t know about you, but for me, these simple declarations of my INALIENABLE rights as a human being give me great comfort. They provide a standard to which I can hold my government. To which I can hold myself, to which I can hold my neighbours.

I am a product of the American system. I have been raised with the notion that there is in fact a social contract between governments and their citizens. That the citizens make up the government, and give it the power to conduct the business of the people. That the business of the people, the responsibility of government, is to insure the above rights are not trampled by other people, nor by corporations and businesses, nor by non-governmental organisations, nor by other governments. In turn, citizens have the duty to make sure their rights are not trampled by government. It is a relationship of checks and balances.

And it came to pass that government, in the United States, eschewed its responsibilities in defending these, the people’s, rights against those who would infringe upon them. The infringers have used all manner of secret combinations, including but not limited to, corporate shields, religious shields, and a host of legal loopholes, and most importantly a game of, misinformation, and hide the ball, worthy of praise from the best first year torts professor.

And so we find ourselves in the land of the free, and home of the brave, with freedom being eroded, and few who seem brave enough to be a stand for our rights, nor dare to wage a war against those that would impinge upon those same rights, which rights were equally endowed within each of us, individually and collectively, by our creator.

At the end of the day, I am a stand for these declarations of human rights, and I live by them, and when they are trampled I fight to restore them and restore the balance that protects them. I do this in in the interest of all of us, because in when it comes to human rights, your interest is also my interest.