Qwest Explains Why It Refused N.S.A. Query

they followed all the legalities.

we need a generation of education, and we don't have time, I see no way of saving this country.

that's the norm with them.

everything Bush says or be tried for insubordination.
"Sir. Yes Sir." That's the same reason Colin Powell Lied again and again. Until they are released they are sworn to do as told. That is the very reason having a member of the military as head of the CIA is a conflict of interest and infringes on the power of the Congress.

It's probably being planned as we speak...

Who care about this issue should try to switch to Qwest, or buy some of their products. I cannot do that since they don't seem to be in MA. But they are in many states. I'd switch in a second, if I could. Hope many people do the same. Oh, I'm not affiliated with Qwest in any way :)

because they are somehow better than other companies, and upholding truth, justice and the American way. They figured they couldn't afford to be named parties in a future lawsuit. They've had serious liquidity problems in the past.

They aren't saints, just a corporation like any other, but with a decent legal team...they sold their Yellow Pages biz to the Carlyle group (and we know what kind of charmers THEY are): http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/eng/news/l5-news670.html


New York, NY – Global private equity firms The Carlyle Group (Carlyle) and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) today announced that they have agreed to purchase Qwest Communications’ yellow pages directories business, known as QwestDex, for $7.05 billion. This deal is the largest U.S. buyout since 1989.

James Attwood, Carlyle Managing Director said, “This is a classic win-win transaction: It’s great for our investors and helps Dick Notebaert and his team achieve their objectives of deleveraging the Qwest balance sheet and improving their liquidity position. Our investors will benefit from the stable, predictable cash flows of the directories business without assuming the risks that characterize many other telecom-related investments today.”

“We are looking forward to partnering with the Dex management team and employees in this exciting new chapter in the evolution of the Dex business,” said Anthony deNicola, General Partner at WCAS. “Dex is a terrific company, and we are delighted to be investing in its future.”

The transaction will be completed in two stages. The first stage, involving the sale of QwestDex operations in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota, is for $2.75 billion and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2002. The second phase, which includes Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, is for $4.30 billion and is expected to close in 2003.

They did not give up what would be my information (I'm with Verizon, so...)... Perhaps if Qwest's business went up 50% as a result of this, companies would start thinking that there is a profit to be made by protecting people's privacy... And start doing it more often...

"act together". All of the other telecoms should be sued for billions, class actions.

They don't have the cash to withstand a protracted litigation.

And they're doing business with Carlyle, which is gonna substantially improve their cash situation. If you have their directory assistance, you already have the phone numbers. And who knows...BushCo already has said "Warrant? We don't NEED no steenkin' warrant!" Who knows if they need permission to access their databases...perhaps they already have found a way in, without permission. Because they are the law, ya see...

It just seems like Qwest just may have found a way to cooperate without dirtying their hands directly. That's quite a bit of money they're getting from Carlyle.

as an opportunity to point out that ethics aside, it was a dumb business idea to turn over the customer's data without a valid court order. At some point down the line, there may be some hellatious lawsuits coming out of this. And if so, it would be a good thing as it would show businesses that following the President's orders might not be legal.

could definitely rack up into the multi-millions. Hope it happens.

Caps are mine:

One major telecommunications company declined to participate in the program: Qwest.

ACCORDING TO SOURCES FAMILIAR with the events, Qwest's CEO at the time, Joe Nacchio, was deeply troubled by the NSA's assertion that Qwest didn't need a court order — or approval under FISA — to proceed. Adding to the tension, Qwest was unclear about who, exactly, would have access to its customers' information and how that information might be used.

Financial implications were also a concern, THE SOURCES SAID. Carriers that illegally divulge calling information can be subjected to heavy fines. The NSA was asking Qwest to turn over millions of records. The fines, in the aggregate, could have been substantial.

The NSA told Qwest that other government agencies, including the FBI, CIA and DEA, also might have access to the database, THE SOURCES SAID. As a matter of practice, the NSA regularly shares its information — known as "product" in intelligence circles — with other intelligence groups. Even so, Qwest's lawyers were troubled by the expansiveness of the NSA request, THE SOURCES SAID.

The NSA, which needed Qwest's participation to completely cover the country, pushed back hard.

Trying to put pressure on Qwest, NSA representatives pointedly told Qwest that it was the lone holdout among the big telecommunications companies. It also tried appealing to Qwest's patriotic side: In one meeting, an NSA representative suggested that Qwest's refusal to contribute to the database could compromise national security, ONE PERSON RECALLED.

In addition, the agency suggested that Qwest's foot-dragging might affect its ability to get future classified work with the government. Like other big telecommunications companies, Qwest already had classified contracts and hoped to get more.

Unable to get comfortable with what NSA was proposing, Qwest's lawyers asked NSA to take its proposal to the FISA court. ACCORDING TO THE SOURCES, the agency refused.

The NSA's explanation did little to satisfy Qwest's lawyers. "They told (Qwest) they didn't want to do that because FISA might not agree with them," ONE PERSON RECALLED. For similar reasons, this person said, NSA rejected Qwest's suggestion of getting a letter of authorization from the U.S. attorney general's office. A SECOND PERSON CONFIRMED this version of events.

In June 2002, Nacchio resigned amid allegations that he had misled investors about Qwest's financial health. But Qwest's legal questions about the NSA request remained.

Unable to reach agreement, Nacchio's successor, Richard Notebaert, finally pulled the plug on the NSA talks in late 2004, THE SOURCES SAID.

Contributing: John Diamond

all use the ole Nazi following orders defense. And then countersue the government for "making" them do it!

I do find it interesting that the Qwest/Carlyle deal for a juicy seven billion went down around the same time that this database crap started up....

If you can't be righteous, at least be scared.

My friend said that a caller to Mike Malloy claimed that there was a Qwest-Carlyle Group connection, so she asked me if I knew anything about it. I just pointed her to your post. Thanks.:-)

There are no "good guys" in this, are there?:-(

and VALUED their customers. Now, they treat the workers like Kleenex, and the customers like lab rats. All disposable...it sucks.

The economy has a lot to do with it, since unemployment is so high and even the most qualified people can't get a job. But the fact that corporations now run this country, rather than the people, through their honestly elected representatives, is the biggest reason of all. And they've gotten away with lying to us for so long, that they now lie openly and brazenly, since they can. None of us count, anymore. It truly sucks.;(

:(

I was going to switch to them this morning.

Wish they were here - they are in Iowa though (for all the Iowa DUers :) )

and for VERY good reason: poorly run, horrible service, book-cooking, treat employees like crap (and violate labor laws, too). Not to mention the retired workers they've fucked over because of their cuts to retiree benefits.

Just because they didn't play ball with one legal request does not exonerate them from their past decade of wreckless, ruthless behavior.

They appear to still be the good guys, since they give you the choice of a political action with each monthly statement. I don't know if they're in MO, since I'm in NY, but you could give them a try...:-)

Qwest has the WORST customer service record of any telco company. There have been numerous suits against them for their horrible practices. Also, their management is very labor-unfriendly, and employee morale reflects this. Qwest is (outside of Enron) the poorest-run company in the country.

Qwest even has a fund set aside by court order to pay out claims because of their crappy service. I know several ex-Qwest customers who STILL have ongoing issues with the company even though they cancelled service and switched carriers because they can't run their systems properly.

DON'T switch to Qwest for this one reason: the negatives far outweigh the positives.

Where can DUers who could, find objective evidence about the negatives mentioned above? For example, some links about employee morale, or links showing that Qwest is the poorest-run company in the country... Thanks.

Start here, for one. This is also a good place to look, too.

Or just ask any current or former Qwest customers. Everyone I know who's ever dealt with them has horror stories. And since they were the local phone monopoly until we could get cable phone, we had no choice but to deal with them.

Employee morale is in the toilet, because management only cares about making $$$, NOT customer satisfaction, NOT employee morale, NOTHING but getting paid in the most expiditious way possible.

Worst-run company on the planet.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!!
Check the Wikipedia article for more on Qwest's practices! Racist hiring practices, long distance "slamming" practices, deceptive advertising, worker mistreatment, the fun goes on and on!

contractor at Qwest, I would largely concur with your assessment. Nonetheless, I did feel some pride yesterday at the news.

is part of the Carlyle Group too, which makes this even more interesting. That alone is enough to make me keep my distance.

I know a lot of ex-USWest/Qwest employees, and to hear their descriptions of the atmosphere there over the past few years was enough to make my toes curl.

a nation of frightened ignorant overgrown children deserve to live in a dictatorship - let them. Everyone else should get the hell out now, and come back and take over after the Republican empire has collapsed and destroyed itself. A massive brain drain can we move 75 million americans to canada and mexico and elsewhere? This is disgusting, I'm sick and tired of even giving a shit anymore...

Who were these government officials who
had a "disinclination" to use the legal process??

Any way to get these folks under oath?

Private companies (e.g. Google, Qwest) defending constitutional rights in this country. That tells you a lot on the state of the public institutions.

I'm surprised he didn't buckle. He's been a major crook, in an ENRON style of crookedness.

What is going on here?

snip>Washington, D.C., March 15, 2005 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Joseph P. Nacchio, former co-chairman and chief executive officer of Qwest Communications International Inc., and eight other former Qwest officers and employees with fraud and other violations of the federal securities laws. In three separate but related civil actions, the Commission alleges that, between 1999 and 2002, the Qwest defendants engaged in a multi-faceted fraudulent scheme designed to mislead the investing public about the company's revenue and growth.

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2005-36.htm

Shortly after this, Qwest sells their directory business to Carlysle.


http://www.carlyle.com/eng/industry/casestudy-758.html

Granted, the second site deals with just the Directory business of Qwest....

http://www.hereinreality.com/news/axis.html

Are these the former Qwest Executives striking back?


WHAT was going on?

Who is heading Qwest now?

of Nacchio, and his cooking the books to make Qwest seem stronger than it was. Hundreds of millions of dollars are "un-accounted for" after the sour take-overs fell thru, but the FCC has allowed Qwest to tag a $1.85 user tax on every phone number to keep them from folding, add up $1.85 per month for how many hundreds of thousands of phones for the past 3 years. How many people are now jumping to change to Qwest service just because they think the list is secure? It's all a fucking game, I would not be surprised to find the list has already been turned over, just not before scoring big on the publicity.

The list of phone numbers, times, dates, duration and destinations are NOT private information. that list is a regulary sold, and traded to all types of advertising companies, and between phone companies, and carriers themselves. If motivated enough, this information is available to almost any marketing firm. Qwest is big enough to "puff" up for the cameras, that's all.

mining/trolling business started. It's been going on for a few years, we are just finding out about it now.

Poppy's 'quid pro quo' phrase comes to mind.

...after Qwest, I definitely believe this aggressive Fed Probe was a demonstration by John Ashcroft as to what happens to corporations that don't "play ball" with the Government, as opposed to the hands off, disinterest the DOJ has shown to equally corrupt Corporations:

<http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2002/07/15/story6.html>

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1161279&mesg_id=1161279>

Qwest CEO Slams Net Neutrality

At a VoIP convention, Richard Notebaert says a tiered Internet is the reality.
March 27, 2006 Print Issue

It was a happy affair of like-minded VoIP geeks until Richard Notebaert blew in and steamed up the crowd.

http://www.redherring.com/article.aspx?a=16217

Current CEO is Richard Notebaert. Why is the media
feeding us quotes from the EX, INDICTED head of the
company and not Richard Notebaert?

Something is rotten in Denmark.

...it looks like The Denver Business Journal has a very good, and free to search, archive:

<http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2002/08/12/daily21.html>

Anschutz reacts to 'greediest executive' moniker

The Denver Business Journal - August 13, 2002

In a rare public statement, the company controlled by Denver billionaire and Qwest Communications International Inc. founder Philip Anschutz reacted angrily Tuesday to a national magazine's portrayal of him as the nation's "greediest executive."

Fortune Magazine, in its Sept. 2 edition, put Anschutz at the top of a list of executives who sold off shares while their companies crashed. Also on the list is former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio, who came in No. 18 for selling about $230 million in Qwest shares.

The statement, issued by The Anschutz Company, said the article was "inaccurate and unfair." It noted that Anschutz still retains 80 percent of his original Qwest holdings and that the after-tax proceeds from the sale of Qwest stock were invested in other business ventures and not distributed to Anschutz.

"Investing in a bold start-up company by putting $1 billion of assets at risk … helping recruit an experienced team of executives to run Qwest and then stepping aside so they could do their jobs … selling a portion of one's holdings in order to start-up and invest in other business ventures, while maintaining over 80 percent of one's original stock position despite an overwhelming loss of its value … certainly does not fit the definition of a greedy corporate executive," the statement said.

(more at link)

<http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2002/08/12/daily21.html>

From your article:

From its original stock holdings, the Anschutz Company engaged three sales transactions — the largest of which was a sale driven by Bell South. Desiring a strategic position in Qwest, Bell South purchased 40 million shares of stock directly from Qwest and another 33.3 million shares from the Anschutz Company.

I don't believe Anschutz was indicted, was he?

------>answering my own question:

From the SEC filing:

In addition to Nacchio, the Commission's complaints name former chief financial officers Robert S. Woodruff and Robin R. Szeliga, former chief operating officer Afshin Mohebbi, former executive vice president of wholesale markets Gregory M. Casey, former senior vice president of pricing and offer management Roger B. Hoaglund, former senior vice president of finance William L. Eveleth, former director of financial reporting James J. Kozlowski, and former senior manager of financial reporting Frank T. Noyes. The complaints seek injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all of the defendants, and officer/director bars against Nacchio, Woodruff, Szeliga, Mohebbi, Casey, and Eveleth.

...Hmmmm

See, one thing they don't mention on the "news" is, foreign workers with H-1B visas don't have to be given raises and can't quit their job. If they do either, they lose their Visa and become an Illegal Alien.

Nice scam, huh?

is that for me to obtain that same information about my own account I have to obtain a court order. Unfrigginbelievable!

I would switch if I could.

When it wasn't forthcoming, the questions arose.....and unlike some other companies, didn't feel obliged to take a risk in order to play ball.

I had the customer service rep specifically note that I changed because of the NSA decision.

because you'll go through hell. They have the absolute WORST service of anybody on the planet, PERIOD. The number of lawsuits against them for lousy service was so bad, they were forced by the government to set up a special fund to pay customers for their f***-ups.

One of my best friends had a roommate that was on his bill. She moved out over a year ago, and he has requested that Qwest remove her info from the account SEVERAL times. They still have yet to do so. Oh, but he keeps getting $5 credits to his account for each time he complains about this-- it's easier for them to rebate part of his bill each month than it is for them to fix their billing information, so they do that instead. Thank you f***-up fund!

He just dumped Qwest for good last month, and switched over to cable for broadband and Vonage for phone. He's still awaiting his final Qwest bill to arrive-- and the anticipated battle that will take place when it does.

to submit to NSA requests. Quest did not fold under this pressure & who knows what else they were threatend with - IRS investigations - maybe. They really stand out on this & deserve some credit whether it be a pure business decision or not. If they gain business from this, the other phone companies may not fold to the NSA like they did before.

as astute as this one?

Too bad Qwest is not in the Midwest.

I have them for Long Distance (Verizon for everything else). Here is what they sent me today. If true, they may be a good company to switch to (I signed up with them a while back because they support liberal causes openly, and part of my money goes to them)... Note, I did not verify the below independently, yet.

>>>
WORKING ASSETS ISSUES UPDATE: May 12, 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you are a Working Assets
customer.

---------------

** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT **

A Message From Working Assets' President

In light of new revelations about the big telecommunications carriers'
handing over domestic calling records to the National Security Agency,
I am writing to let you know where Working Assets stands on the NSA's
increasingly alarming activities.

Working Assets believes that the warrantless monitoring of phone
conversations ordered by the Bush administration is illegal and
unacceptable. As reported yesterday in USA Today (linked below), AT&T,
Bell South and Verizon sold customer call records to the NSA. We also
unequivocally oppose the disclosure of domestic calling records to the
NSA by our nation's telecommunications providers. Working Assets would
never, under any circumstances, give (let alone sell) records to the
Bush administration without a warrant or court order.

In fact, as Working Assets' President, I recently signed on to an
amicus brief supporting the ACLU's law suit against the National
Security Agency. We are the only telephone company participating in
this lawsuit.
(Details: http://values.workingassets.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/em5o0E7cHd0TJ70BGOs0Eh .)

Working Assets has never been approached by any government agency
seeking our help in illegally accessing the content of conversations
by our customers, and we would refuse any such request. We are
actively engaged in opposing warrantless monitoring, in pushing for
full disclosure by the government regarding the scope of the
monitoring, and in protecting citizens from intrusive and illegal
exercises of governmental power. Additionally, we are fighting Bush's
nomination of General Michael V. Hayden, the architect of the NSA's
illegal wiretapping program, to head the CIA.
(Click here to take action:
http://values.workingassets.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/em5o0E7cHd0TJ70BGOt0Ei .)

If you are a member of AT&T (including Cingular and SBC), Bell South
or Verizon, your telecom company willingly sold the private telephone
records of American citizens to the Bush administration's illegal
domestic spying operation. Please contact your provider now, and let
them know that this is simply unacceptable.

- Contact AT&T: http://www.consumer.att.com/contact?source=body
- Contact Verizon: http://www22.verizon.com/CustomerSupport/ContactUs/
- Contact BellSouth: http://www.bellsouth.com/contactus/index.html

You can also find out more about Working Assets Wireless and Working
Assets Long Distance at http://www.workingassets.com.

You may also be interested in a new book we are publishing, entitled
How Would A Patriot Act?, a compelling analysis of how the NSA's
wiretapping fits into a larger scheme by the Bush Administration to
violate Constitutional restrictions on executive authority in an
unprecedented manner. Click here to find out more about the book:
http://values.workingassets.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/em5o0E7cHd0TJ70BGOu0Ej

As a telecommunications company, it is our special privilege to
facilitate communications among our fellow citizens, to enable
conversations on matters personal, commercial, social and political.
It is therefore our special obligation to oppose warrantless
interference into those communications, whatever the government's
justification may be. We will keep you posted on new developments as
they arise.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Michael Kieschnick, President
Working Assets

P.S. -- Please use our ActForChange site to tell your Representative in
Congress you want some answers -- under oath -- about the telecom
companies' cooperation with the NSA's illegal domestic wiretapping
program. Click here:
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=20797&afccode=n55txt

-------
USA Today -- NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa_x.htm
-------

PLEASE SEND QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO:
nsascandal@workingassets.com

I have to admit, I hadn't read the USA today article in detail, just the first few paragraphs and the posted highlights.

Then I read these statements in the info you posted from Working Assets:






So I went back and read the USA Today article closely. There it was:







:wow:

I'll be damned. I thought that the phone companies had simply caved in to the government, which was bad enough. But they've been SELLING all this info to the NSA, under a contract that includes providing regular updates.

So we pay our taxes, pay our phone and internet bills (including federal taxes on the services!), and our tax money is then used to pay the phone companies (yet again!) to hand over our private, protected info!!!

Am I the only one who didn't realize that the data was being SOLD to the government, not just "provided"? :shrug:

link Qwest to H. W. Bushes Carlyle Group. :scared:

the NSA, and in the Grand Scheme of things, the reason, while interesting, is nothing to the fact that Qwest had the gumption to face down the Gov't, and walk away looking pretty good.

While others crumbled, for whatever reason, Qwest stood it's ground; and for that, they should be commended. Just goes to show us that there are people out there that will not be intimidated nor bought by this evil bunch of bastards.

Since no one one the right side of the aisle are not willing to give out THEIR personal phone #'s for digestion, why would they think it is OK to gather #'s on everyone else?

Quest and Carlyle

More info & discussion here