Salazar laud's Qwest's refusal to cave to NSA

[Cocoa]

from the USA Today story, the story of Qwest's refusal sounds pretty dramatic, maybe even heroic. Expect it to be ignored.

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2006/05/08/daily59.html


U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar applauded Qwest Communications International Inc.'s refusal to cooperate with the National Security Administration's request to turn over phone call records of tens of millions of Americans.

In a statement released Thursday, Salazar said he long has been concerned about the NSA's domestic spying program, and that USA Today's May 11 story, in which it reported the NSA's request for phone records, reinforced his concerns.

Salazar lauded Qwest for "its decision not to share private information with the NSA."

Three other Baby Bells -- AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. -- have worked with the NSA to build a database of every U.S. call made within the nation's borders.

Salazar said the USA Today report underscores the need for the Senate Intelligence Committee to conduct thorough oversight hearings for Michael Hayden, President George W. Bush's nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Hayden, an Air Force general, headed the NSA from 1999 to 2005.

more...

[joemurphy]

1. Does this mean he's become a civil libertarian and is

giving up his membership in the Gang of 14?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Are we sure that Qwest didn't give in?

Or did the USA Today story just not find evidence that they caved?

[Cocoa]

7. no, it's a very interesting story

apparently Qwest refused a lot of pressure, including threats not to give them contracts, and also telling them they were the only holdouts, and also accusing them of threatening national security.

NSA refused both to have the program reviewed by FISA court and also refused to give them a letter of approval from Ashcroft.

[dorktv]

10. Add to the fact that the company was under investigation for fraud

and the CEO had to resign in disgrace...

[Cocoa]

13. what do you make of that?

I agree it's an interesting aspect of the story...

[dorktv]

14. I have no idea, I used to work for them and after that? I hate 'em.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. NSA knows they are wrong.

So, who are the top five in charge at the NSA?

[rockymountaindem]

3. Good for Salazar n/t

[0007]

4. He voted for junior's tax cut......Argh!

[aquart]

5. Some noticed.

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1161654&mesg_id=1161654>

[madame defarge]

6. Man I hope Qwest expands their service...

They're currently only in 14 states...I'd change to their service right this minute if they only offered it in IL...

[dorktv]

11. They offer long distance.

[madame defarge]

15. Cool. Thx. Will call them...

It will be fun to see how quickly their business grows in the next few weeks. Might be a good time to buy their stock...

[dorktv]

16. I totally would. Notebaert is much better then Nacchio.

[IndianaGreen]

8. And the rest of us should be suing AT&T and Verizon

for failing to protect the privacy of its customers.

[madrchsod]

9. qwest`s lawyers smelled something wrong

because they were not given a clear answer if the mining was legal,the others figured it was. qwest figured that if this wasn`t legal they could be fined up to 160,000+ per number or something like a million per customer... i was listening to npr while dodging crazied mcdonalds customers pulling into traffic... what ever the numbers the fines could be in the billions...qwest took a pass and it just may pay off for them. i`m glad i`m cellphoned now.

[DearAbby]

12. I am going to be paying my Qwest bill in the morning...

I will too be giving them a big thank you.

I have mixed feelings for Qwest (service does suck), but I do believe in reinforcing good behavior, with a big acknowledgment of the act and a thank-you.