Privacy in the 21st Century (was "Google v. the Bush Ad

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It's very interesting that Qwest should be the one to refuse.

But when the NSA came calling, former Qwest Communications CEO Joseph Nacchio broke ranks with fellow former Bell companies.

"When he learned that no such authority had been granted and that there was a disinclination on the part of the authorities to use any legal process, including the Special Court which had been established to handle such matters, Mr. Nacchio concluded that these requests violated the privacy requirements of the Telecommications Act," Nacchio's attorney wrote in a statement.

Nacchio agreed with Qwest's attorneys that surrendering its customers' "call-detail records" to the NSA was wrong.

Qwest balked at the request, and pressure, from the NSA, with Nacchio reportedly "deeply troubled" by the implications, USA Today reports. Current CEO Richard Notebaert halted talks with the NSA in 2004 after the two couldn't agree on the details.

According to USA Today, the NSA told Qwest that not sharing the phone records could compromise national security and affect its chances at landing classified contracts with the government, two issues that play a role in Nacchio's own legal woes.

Qwest has been accused of massive fraud by the government and restating $3 billion in revenue. Former executives have been accused of wrongdoing, including Nacchio, who faces 42 counts of insider trading accusing him of illegally selling $101 million in company stock after privately learning Qwest might not meet its financial goals.

[Ethel]

Oh, Qwest is a mess in a dozen different ways - believe me, I have more reason than most to know it. But that doesn't alter the fact that they did the right thing in this case. I would argue that their legal problems actually made their refusal all the more commendable.

[Frelga]

We probably both ought to email someone at the company to tell them so.

Hmmm.... maybe I should write a furious letter to AT&T. How does one get onto that class action suit again?

[Jnyusa]

I don't know who brought the suit against AT&T, Frelga, but the suit against Verizon was brought by the State of New Jersey on behalf of its residents.

Jn

[Ethel]

Well... that didn't take long...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/200 ... urce_.html

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I don't know who brought the suit against AT&T, Frelga.

The lawsuit against AT&T was brought by the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation).

Here is a link: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/

[Primula Baggins]

Well... that didn't take long...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/200 ... urce_.html

That is so blatant, I would have trouble believing it—except, well, it's just part of a pattern.

[Erunáme]

Have you all read the comments that people left at that ABC Blog site?

good, you seditionist creeps deserve what you get. who knows how many serviceman have died because of your "right to know"

I hope the information they gain allows them to catch the scum that leak information, and helps them arrest the communist scum who publish it.

well maybe ABC news better stop leaking classified information. This only helps our enemies and right now I believe ABC news is an enemy of the US.

I believe that it is a great idea to maintain telephone surveilance over news organizations who disclose classified and sensitive secret information. Lets nail the government employees who knowingly break their oath to not divulge classified information.

GOOD! I hope they find out who is reporting all of these leaks. And I hope you are tried and perhaps spend some time in jail for it.
KEEP CALLING and I hope they track your every word!

I am a journalism graduate, UNC-Chapel Hill. I am also a veteran.
I hope they catch every government leaker of classified secret information and put them in prison for life. And any reporter publishing known classified secret information should be shot. It is called treason, not first amendment rights.

That's the worst of them. How incredibly frightening that there are Americans who think this way. How frightening that they've taken what Bush, Rove, or Bill O'Reilly has said hook, line, and sinker.

For the most part, haven't the government leaks been a good thing? (Aside from the name of that agent that was leaked by the White House) I find it to be a good thing that there are government employees willing to leak information when there are people doing wrong things in the government. How else would the wrongdoings be discovered if it weren't for some brave people?

I find this very disturbing. A reporter should be able to have confidential contacts and people willing to be contacts shouldn't be made to feel scared or bullied by the government. This is wrong and the government (or White House) is going too far.

On a side note, I'm regretting more and more everyday voting conservative. I didn't vote for this stuff. I would have never thought I would become a liberal. I thought I'd always be a moderate conservative. Now, I'd say I'm a moderate liberal.

[Phoenix_Valor]

I have similar feelings Eruname. I disagree strongly with my political party. I'm a republican conservative, but Bush has lost his support from me. I eagerly await the day we get a new president. The things Bush is doing makes me sick. The phone tapping, the search engines, everything just makes my blood boil. My family has AT&T, which means that our calls are monitored, and that makes me very nervous and sick. I'd switch to Qwent immediately if I could. Unfortunately, my Dad supports the wire-tapping [grrr], so switching to Qwent for the sole perpous of privacy is out of the question.

Although I am a Christian, I show little support for other conservatives right now.


I praise those that leaked the information on wire-tapping, I'd rather know the ugky truth, than be oblivious to the fact that my privacy is invaded daily.

I think the only reason Bush got away with this is that congress is bursting at the seams with his supporters. If we had more balance in congress, I doubt this would have gone into effect at all. The vote was very biased in my opinion, and not at all fair.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Phoenix_Valor. I think it is certainly possible to be a conservative, and a republican, and yet not support the actions of the Bush administration.

OT: Very cool avatar picture, btw.

[Erunáme]

I think the only reason Bush got away with this is that congress is bursting at the seams with his supporters. If we had more balance in congress, I doubt this would have gone into effect at all. The vote was very biased in my opinion, and not at all fair.

Has congress given him permission to do all this? I just thought he did it without asking for permission. I'm sure if congress was more balanced it would be put to a stop at least.

I think it is certainly possible to be a conservative, and a republican, and yet not support the actions of the Bush administration.

I wish more people would realize this. Look at all the flak the Dixie Chicks have gotten.

Yes cook avatar, Phoenix_Valor. A suggestion though perhaps? I found it a bit difficult to read your message becaue the phoenix was flapping so fast, so I slowed it down. You could have either if you like:

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I think the only reason Bush got away with this is that congress is bursting at the seams with his supporters. If we had more balance in congress, I doubt this would have gone into effect at all. The vote was very biased in my opinion, and not at all fair.

Has congress given him permission to do all this? I just thought he did it without asking for permission. I'm sure if congress was more balanced it would be put to a stop at least.

While it is true that Congress has not given Bush permission to do most of the things that many people are upset about (domestic surveallance, telephone number database, changing the rules regarding torture, extraordinary rendition, etc.) it is also true that the Congress has done a very poor job of providing oversight. For the most part, the Congress has allowed the administration to do what it likes with a shrug or at most some ineffectual lip service. Whether that changes after this year's mid-term elections remains to be seen.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

A Federal judge in Detroit has ruled that the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it. This is, of course, only the first battle that will ultimately have to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, but I am pleased that at least one judge was willing to stand up and say "THIS IS WRONG!" We'll see what happens next.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 296522.htm

[yovargas]

Yes, just saw this on CNN. Am very pleased!

[Primula Baggins]

That pesky Constitution! How frustrating that it's so hard to amend the thing.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

One tangible result of the Democrat's sweep of congress is that the Bush administration has backed down on the issue of warrantless surveillance, agreeing to submit requests for domestic wiretaps of terrosist suspects to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printeditio ... ws-comment

Senators still grilled Attorney General Gonzalez about the program for 3 1/2 hours today, though they gained little no information from him. It's nice to see Congress actually providing some oversight, though, rather then being a rubberstamp for the Bush administration.