I have a 2003 C320 with Teleaid and I find this rather disturbing.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34100.html

Mods: Please feel free to move this to whatever forum you deem appropriate. Thanks.

We find your singing along with the music disturbing.

Sincerely, the FBI

I find that pretty disturbing as well. Perhaps it would be wise to just wire in a switch on one of the 2 wires for the mic so you can turn it off when you are not using navi or teleaid features. THis would not be good if u were messed up bad in a accident tho, but who knows you wouldnt remember the switch lol.

but remember, its illegal for the FBI to do that......also, they dont have time to waste to just listen to ppls conversations....they need a judge to sign on it, the cheetahs or whatever owner can probably sue for what the FBI did.

Actually with the PATRIOT act, they dont need a Judge to sign a warrant anymore since all they have to say is they suspect terrorist related activity. Thats the entire burden they bear in order to gain access to private areas or information.

Silver_Lana - tnx

You are a true patriot.

Just in time to NOT renew my teleaid and keep $250 in my pocket for christmas gift-giving.

Happy Holidays!!

NOT renewing TeleAid, as such, in this manner, is akin to encrypting communications. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to worry about. By intentionally blocking one of our means of monitoring you, you are effectively stating that you are most likely engaging in illegal activities. We'll be watching you.

Sincerely,

J. A.

i totally agree, it sounds like everyone is scared because they are hiding something.....if the FBI wanted o hear your convos, they would tap your home phones, have surveillance(spelled wrong) on you also. i dont think there is anything to worry about, unless you are a hard criminal........

Speak for yourself!!

- you must have lots of experience hiding cowardly behind the proverbial "WE".

You might be right. But now we'll watch you too.

Sincerely,

J. A.
Attorney General

Warning:

Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer, or acting as an imposter, is a crime.

You have been reported to the relevant authorities.

You got me, I'm acting as an imposter.

The eroding freedoms just sorta irk me from time to time, I suppose.


(quotes, both yanked from http://www.flownet.com/gat/freedom.html )

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Letter to Josiah Quincy, Sept. 11, 1773.

Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.
-- President Thomas Jefferson. 1743-1826

... wonder who said it first ... ?

............totally separate from whatever philosophical point view one has on the subject, there is also a business and practical side to it. If it were to become widely known that police, FBI etc are free to eaves drop on you in your car via your TeleAid service, then subsription to the service will drop dramatically, I think. Then MB will drop the service and FBI will no longer have the opprtunity to listen. Business considerations will eventually determine what happens. If the authorities want to continue to be able to listen to bad guys, they must employ strict safeguards otherwise the opportunity to listen will disappear. I can see some district attorney thinking that it will be a good idea to use TeleAID to track dead beat dads or incumbent politicians will use it to listen to their opponents ala President Nixon. I know that people that come up with these ideas think it is a good thing, but without strict safeguards things spin out of control. Then every dead beat dad will simply drop their teleAid subscription we will be back to square one.


Ted

This whole thing has nothing to do with what I'm hiding or not hiding and EVERYTHING to do w/ the right to privacy.

Granted, I may have nothing to hide, but the gov't has no right to my private conversations, meetings, life in general. If they want to know more info, they go goto a Judge and explain probable cause to that Judge. Otherwise, stay out of my life.

Reminds of the Hoover days. Ever read "1984?"

Big Brother may be watching...but they have no legal right to be watching.

I've seen this whole "we're after terrorists for your own safety" thing abused so much its unbelievable. The Patriot Act did make it a lot easier for law enforcement, but at what cost?

Think about it for just ONE second.

At what point to we as Americans, become the very people we are fighting against? I could name a few totalitarian governments out there that have Secret Police that monitor everything their citizens say and do. Is that who we are? Frankly, its amazing how the American people gave up so many of their privacy rights in the name of safety...and that's just what our government tells us. They wanted to see what library books we check out? They want to see and hear everything we do in our cars...they already track our movements in some cities...all for public safety right? SUREEEE............

What's next? Cameras and microphones in my bedroom too? You think I'm crazy? Just look at all the crazy laws past in the past few years...all in the name of security!

Dizzy

Amen!! I couldn't have said it better myself.


Ted

A great man once said:

Those who would trade Liberty for safety deserve neither safety or Liberty.

Cheers!

that is ghetto... we've been screwed on privacy and our "liberties" since 9-11 and Bush is the reason

We aren't that far off. The new wireless phone I just actived through Verizon has a GPS-location tracker built in.....talk about the possibility of being tracked

I am told that starting 01/01/04, Verizon will not activate any phone (new or used) that does not have this GPS-tracking technology.

I wonder if the technology exists where the "powers that be" could just flip a switch and listen in on my phone clipped to my waist, without my knowledge or consent? They can do it with Tele-Aid.....why not portable wireless phones?

BTW....haven't seen Karl K post lately