The Hagia Sofia was built as an Orthodox Christian Church, and was used as such for a thousand years. It was converted into a mosque when the Turks conquered the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in 1453, and it's been a museum since 1931. As it's not a Turkish building, they should not be offended. I'm sick of the whining and attempts at playing the victim by some people. It's even more ridiculous that what they are claiming offense at isn't even a building which was built by their culture.
Having worked as a contractor for Qwest both before and after the Nacchio era, I believe that this assertion in Nacchio's defense is irrelevant. The supposed government contracts were worth "hundreds of millions of dollars", but at the time of Joe's ouster from Qwest, and it's near bankruptcy, Qwest was 26 BILLION dollars in debt. Even if the government contracts were worth a few billion, it wouldn't have helped Qwest's situation. Joe Nacchio was slimey sales weasel type CEO who put Marketing first, and engineering last, and engaged in fraudulent deals to artificially pump up the bottom line, not unlike MCI/Worldcom. Undoubtedly he's using this "secret contracts" issue as a last ditch effort to stay out of the hoosegow. He and almost all of the senior execs were swept out when the current CEO, Dick Notebaert took charge and realized the scope of the disaster which Nacchio had created through his criminal mismanagement. I know that the current management team also refused to cooperate with the NSA, unlike say Verizon or AT&T. Assuming the story of secret contracts with the NSA to be correct, it's plausible that they didn't get them because the NSA knew of Qwest's perilous financial condition. A lot of people (Investors, Qwest employees, retirees) were seriously hurt or financially destroyed by Mr. Nacchio's misdeeds, and I hope he doesn't weasel out of a well deserved stay at Club Fed.
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The Hagia Sofia was built as an Orthodox Christian Church, and was used as such for a thousand years. It was converted into a mosque when the Turks conquered the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in 1453, and it's been a museum since 1931. As it's not a Turkish building, they should not be offended. I'm sick of the whining and attempts at playing the victim by some people. It's even more ridiculous that what they are claiming offense at isn't even a building which was built by their culture.
Except Cannon's analysis is flawed. See the following: http://georgegooding.com/post/6120191663/weiner-yfrog-email-debunked
Having worked as a contractor for Qwest both before and after the Nacchio era, I believe that this assertion in Nacchio's defense is irrelevant. The supposed government contracts were worth "hundreds of millions of dollars", but at the time of Joe's ouster from Qwest, and it's near bankruptcy, Qwest was 26 BILLION dollars in debt. Even if the government contracts were worth a few billion, it wouldn't have helped Qwest's situation. Joe Nacchio was slimey sales weasel type CEO who put Marketing first, and engineering last, and engaged in fraudulent deals to artificially pump up the bottom line, not unlike MCI/Worldcom. Undoubtedly he's using this "secret contracts" issue as a last ditch effort to stay out of the hoosegow. He and almost all of the senior execs were swept out when the current CEO, Dick Notebaert took charge and realized the scope of the disaster which Nacchio had created through his criminal mismanagement. I know that the current management team also refused to cooperate with the NSA, unlike say Verizon or AT&T. Assuming the story of secret contracts with the NSA to be correct, it's plausible that they didn't get them because the NSA knew of Qwest's perilous financial condition. A lot of people (Investors, Qwest employees, retirees) were seriously hurt or financially destroyed by Mr. Nacchio's misdeeds, and I hope he doesn't weasel out of a well deserved stay at Club Fed.