[Imc] Off Topic: Bush and WorldCom, 2 articles

[Chas. 'Mark' Bee]

   Thought some might get a giggle or two out of this.  Sorry about the spam.


http://www.ncs.gov/n5_hp/Customer_Service/XAffairs/NewService/2001/2001-047.
htm
2001-047.  President Bush Plans to Appoint WorldCom's Ebbers to NSTAC

Released: July 16, 2001
By Steve Barrett
National Communications System

 President Bush announced on July 9, 2001, that he intends to appoint
Bernard J. Ebbers, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of WorldCom
to the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
(NSTAC).

The President's NSTAC is composed of up to 30 Presidentially appointed
industry leaders (usually chief executive officers).  In its advisory role
to the President, the NSTAC provides industry-based analyses and
recommendations on a wide range of policy and technical issues related to
telecommunications, information assurance, infrastructure protection, and
other national security and emergency preparedness concerns.

Mr. Ebbers served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Competitive
Telecommunications Association from 1993 through 1995.  He was among 16
outstanding CEOs recognized by Financial World in April 1997 and one of
Business Week's "25 Top Managers" in 1997.  Most recently, he was included
in Upside magazine's "Elite 100" (December 1998) and was named one of the
"Wired 25" by Wired magazine (November 1998).

Because of his commitment to developing jobs and resources in Mississippi's
telecommunications industry, Mr. Ebbers was inducted into the Mississippi
Business Hall of Fame in May 1995 and received on the company's behalf the
"Business of the Year" award from the MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce in
December 1998.

In 1992, Mr. Ebbers received Mississippi College's highest honor, the
Alumnus of the Year award, and was granted an honorary Doctor of Laws
Degree.  Currently, he serves on the Mississippi College board of trustees.
In addition, Mr. Ebbers was granted an honorary doctorate from Tougaloo
College in May 1998.
http://www.ncs.gov/n5_hp/Customer_Service/XAffairs/NewService/Images/2001-04
7a.jpg
2001-047a.jpg   Bernard J. Ebbers, President and Chief Executive Officer of
WorldCom, was listed as one of nine individuals President Bush intends to
appoint to the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory
Committee.  (Photo courtesy of WorldCom.)
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http://news.com.com/2100-1033-895053.html?tag=cd_mh
Juicy bits - "questions began surfacing about the company's $366 million in
personal loans to Ebbers"

WorldCom CEO Ebbers resigns
By Reuters
April 30, 2002, 4:55 AM PT


 Bernard Ebbers, the brash executive who built WorldCom from a sleepy phone
company into one of the world's top telecommunications companies, has
resigned, bowing to a plummeting stock price and a government probe of
company support of his personal finances.
Ebbers, 60, will be succeeded by 51-year-old Vice Chairman John Sidgmore,
the Clinton, Miss.-based company said in a statement. Sidgmore has taken a
back-seat role for most of the past year, after having run the company's
Internet arm, UUNet.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported in the story,
Ebbers reached his decision Friday and formally turned in his
resignation on
Monday.

Ebbers is one of the best-known figures in the telecom industry, having
built once-tiny WorldCom into a major global player with some 80,000
employees.

But WorldCom and its long-distance rivals have suffered as business and
residential customers cut spending in the weak economy. That has added to
the industry's ongoing price wars, excess network capacity and intense
competition.

Just two years ago, Ebbers' WorldCom was among the highest-flying companies
competing in the heady telecom arena. But the costs of aggressive
expansion--largely through dozens of acquisitions--and the rapid, global
downturn in the telecommunications market undercut the company's growth.

Then, as the stock price--which topped out above $64 a share in
1999--continually eroded, questions began surfacing about the company's $366
million in personal loans to Ebbers, a relationship that has led to a broad
investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The stock closed Monday at $2.35 on the Nasdaq, having fallen nearly 30
percent on the day. The stock has fallen more than 80 percent since January.
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