Traprock Peace Center
103A Keets Road, Deerfield, MA 01342 (413) 773-7427 www.traprockpeace.org

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"Putting the Brakes on Domestic Spying: Protecting Democracy"

July 15 - Traprock Peace Center held a press conference for Christopher Pyle - Professor at Mt. Holyoke College, and the person who blew the whistle of US Amry spying on civilians during the Vietnam War.

Professor Pyle's spoke on "Putting the Brakes on Domestic Spying: Protecting Democracy"before 50 people on a Tuesday afternnoon. Three newspapers - the Greenfield Recorder, Brattleboro Reformer and Springfield Republican - and filmmaker Robbie Leppzer participated in the press conference. He spoke on the government's incredible new powers under the Patriot Act and compared government spying during the Vietnam War and now. A recurring theme - domestic spying and harassment are easier and more pervasive now due to changes in the law and new technologies. This press conference was a prelude to July 25-26 Civil Liberties Conference. Register - Civil Liberties Conference.

Hear his talk - THREATS to Civil Liberties (audio mp3) and Q and A by Christopher Pyle (audio mp3)

NOTE: the download is SLOW. We have a slow server and we are upgrading. Websites have permission to post to their site or to an Indymedia site IF they give a link to this site as the source and for related resources. Please download and get local radio stations to play it. We only ask for attribution, except that this audio or any transcript shall not be sold without permission

Sunny Miller of Traprock Peace Center moderated and organized the even. Mary Siano volunteered and helped with publicity and outreach.

Professor Pyle gave a dynamic talk. What made it so powerful was his recounting of experices as a whistleblower against Army spying, and comparing the situation with today. He made a strong case that things are worse today due to pervasive powers under the Patriot Act and new computer technologies.

The audience was much bigger than anticipated. We had planned a press conference and expected a small crowd at 1 PM on a weekday. We had decided to do a week day event as some people cannot make evening events and we wanted press to be able to write their stories without pressing to meet their deadlines.

Three newspapers printed stories the next day. The Greenfield Recorder had TWO front page stories - one of this event and the other on the upcoming Civil Liberties Conference. Follow the link to register now for the July 25-26 conference.

Professor Pyle answered a host of questions after his talk, including questions from the press. We have uploaded his Q and A part of his talk as an mp3 audio. The download times are slow; it's worth the wait. We'll post a RealAudio version for slower connections.

Professor Pyle is a featured presenter at the Civil Liberties Conference on July 25-26 at Greenfield Community College.

Page created July 17, 2003 by Charlie Jenks

 

Traprock Peace Center
103A Keets Road, Woolman Hill
Deerfield, MA 01342

Phone: (413) 773-7427; contact by email