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Links for 2013-08-14

  • From derelict to delightful: Art Tunnel Smithfield

    I do like the Art Tunnel. Smithfield is a great demo of reclaiming Dublin’s increasing dereliction and I hope the DCC allow this to continue

    (tags: smithfield d7 dublin ireland art art-tunnel reclamation derelict economy dcc)

  • How A ‘Deviant’ Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut – Forbes

    Palantir — the free-market state-surveillance data-retention nightmare. At the end of this slightly overenthusiastic puff piece we get to:

    Katz-Lacabe wasn’t impressed. Palantir’s software, he points out, has no default time limits — all information remains searchable for as long as it’s stored on the customer’s servers. And its auditing function? “I don’t think it means a damn thing,” he says. “Logs aren’t useful unless someone is looking at them.” […] What if Palantir’s audit logs — its central safeguard against abuse — are simply ignored? Karp responds that the logs are intended to be read by a third party. In the case of government agencies, he suggests an oversight body that reviews all surveillance — an institution that is purely theoretical at the moment. “Something like this will exist,” Karp insists. “Societies will build it, precisely because the alternative is letting terrorism happen or losing all our liberties.” Palantir’s critics, unsurprisingly, aren’t reassured by Karp’s hypothetical court. Electronic Privacy Information Center activist Amie Stepanovich calls Palantir “naive” to expect the government to start policing its own use of technology. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Lee Tien derides Karp’s argument that privacy safeguards can be added to surveillance systems after the fact. “You should think about what to do with the toxic waste while you’re building the nuclear power plant,” he argues, “not some day in the future.”

    (tags: palantir data-retention privacy surveillance state cia forbes andy-greenberg eff epic snooping)

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