Tonight: Live webcast of inspiring whistleblowers
“As we see it, every worker, public or private, should be able to report fraudulent spending, gross mismanagement and illegalities without fear of retaliation,” said Angela Canterbury, an advocacy director at Public Citizen, in her testimony before Congress.
Tonight, Canterbury’s work, along with that of Public Citizen and its partners, will be recognized at Anyone Can Whistle: The Essential Role of the Whistleblower in American Society, a gathering of whistleblowers, elected officials and civic leaders in New York City.
But you don’t need to be in New York to watch this event. From 7 – 8:30 p.m., you can watch a live webcast here or on Facebook.
At the event, Canterbury will discuss the current state of play for whistleblower protections in Washington, and some of America’s great heroes will tell their stories. Speakers include::
Daniel Ellsberg — The patriarch of modern whistleblowing, his disclosures (the Pentagon Papers) as a Rand Corporation/DoD analyst exposed the deceit and concealment endemic to the government’s initiation and prosecution of the Vietnam War.
Kit Foshee — Meat safety whistleblower who exposed serious problems with ammoniated beef product from a major supplier involving 70 percent of all hamburgers consumed in America.
Mike German — Former undercover FBI agent who infiltrated terrorist groups before blowing the whistle on his field office’s illegal wiretaps on suspects.
Cathy Harris — U.S. Customs official who blew the whistle on African-Americans being abusively and unfairly targeted as potential drug smugglers.
Dr. David Kessler — Former FDA Commissioner who worked with “The Insider” Dr. Jeff Wigand to challenge tobacco companies and revolutionize the regulatory relationship between Big Tobacco and American society.
Babak Pasdar — Computer security expert who exposed that a major telecommunication company provided the federal government illegal, unfettered access to it customers’ private information, during the George W. Bush administration.
Colleen Rowley — FBI whistleblower on intelligence breakdowns in relation to the 9/11 attacks, and Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2002.
Frank Serpico — NYPD whistleblower whose story is memorialized by the film Serpico, and whose legendary impact set the standard for law enforcement nationwide.
The evening is coproduced by the Government Accountability Project and Participant Media — producer of such popular films as Charlie Wilson’s War, An Inconvenient Truth, Syriana, and Good Night and Good Luck.
Whistleblowers in both public and private sectors remain exposed to retaliation. CLICK HERE to tell Congress to support the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 1507/S. 372).