I was the original poster on this - as for the telco ground, certainly they shouldn't drive one (I wouldn't trust the telco to bond it right), and they should tie into the existing system - they did that fine. But as far as I can tell, the existing ground rod must have been in an inconvenient place and was just covered over (with the ground wire disconnected). There is no grounding to anything as far as I can tell - no grounding to water pipes, no grounding to ground rods, etc.
Good catch on the white wire on the left side - I didn't notice that.
The sad thing is that this owner was bragging about "upgraded electric, how it's very modern and safe, and all the old unsafe wiring was removed". I doubt the owner realizes it is unsafe - I think someone just gave her a "good deal" on electrical. I think she tried to do the right thing and make the wiring better by hiring someone. She just hired the wrong person.
