THE NSA HAS A PHONE CALL TIME MACHINE

Yr Mondo Surveillance lede of the day:



WaPo reports:

The voice interception program, called MYSTIC, began in 2009. Its RETRO tool, short for “retrospective retrieval,” and related projects reached full capacity against the first target nation in 2011. Planning documents two years later anticipated similar operations elsewhere.

In the initial deployment, collection systems are recording “every single” conversation nationwide, storing billions of them in a 30-day rolling buffer that clears the oldest calls as new ones arrive, according to a classified summary.

The call buffer opens a door “into the past,” the summary says, enabling users to “retrieve audio of interest that was not tasked at the time of the original call.” Analysts listen to only a fraction of 1 percent of the calls, but the absolute numbers are high. Each month, they send millions of voice clippings, or “cuts,” for processing and long-term storage.

To sum that up:

The NSA has the capability to record every single phone call in a given country, and store those recordings in a searchable database for at least a month.

To be clear, the NSA has only done this in one foreign country. So far. That we know of. But given what we know, it’s reasonable to assume the NSA plans to do it elsewhere, to include the US.

Not that it matters. Even the phone data that the NSA collects at home amounts to far more intrusive surveillance than the NSA and Presidente Obama have let on.

Still, don’t you feel safer knowing that the NSA has the actual ability to record all yr phone calls and save them for later? You know, in case they need them.

Back in time,

This is dF

WANNA BUY A TESLA? THEN STAY OUT OF NEW JERSEY

ITEM: New Jersey has banned electric car-maker Tesla from selling its cars in the state.

That now makes five (5) states that have explicitly banned Tesla from selling cars. The other four are Arizona, Texas, Virginia and Maryland. Other states have restricted Tesla’s sales in other creative ways, and others yet are trying to either ban or restrict Tesla sales.

Here’s a scorecard map from Forbes:



I recommend reading the article that goes with it.

The problem, technically, is Tesla’s direct-sales model. Many states require manufacturers to sell cars via a dealer. Tesla, as you may know, sells direct to buyers online. The showrooms that it opens are for display/test-drive purposes only.

This isn’t new, per se – Tesla has had to deal with regulatory obstacles for awhile now. But it’s probably no coincidence that auto dealerships nationwide have complained loudly about Tesla’s business practices and many have lobbied state governments hard to keep Tesla out of their respective markets, or at least limit its activities.

Even Tesla’s service policy is a slap in the face of tradition. Tesla charges a flat yearly rate for service, as opposed to dealerships who charge you per visit. According to Wired, car dealerships rely on service maintenance to stay profitable. And they don’t want Tesla succeeding to the point that they’re forced to adopt the same policy to compete.

As widespread as opposition to Tesla is, it would be a mistake to pin this on a specific political party. It’s more of a “money talks” issue, and Big Money has always been bipartisan.

But it’s remarkably hypocritical for Republicans like Chris Christie and Rick Perry to openly back protectionist measures like this – the GOP being the champion of Small Govt and Free Markets and all.

For what it’s worth, Newt Gingrich agrees with me. And it’s not often you’re going to see me type that.

As for Tesla’s viability as a company … who knows? That's kind of the point here. Tesla could easily fail as a company. Consumers could decide that dealerships are more localized and reliable, and Tesla could either go through dealerships or fold. And its cars might suck. So might its customer service.

But hey, why let the market decide, Jim? Car dealers and their politician friends have a far better idea of what’s good for consumers than you do. Obviously.

Not in my state,

This is dF