During the Middle Ages, eavesdropping was illegal in England, but overheard conversations could be used as evidence in court. Today, the internet, cell phones and reality TV make it difficult not to pry into the conversations and private lives of friends or strangers. In a new book
, linguistics professor John Locke
argues that eavesdropping is actually a good thing. Prying has helped humans stay away from danger, find food, identify mate mates, and assured us that we are not alone. (New Hampshire Public Radio audio report)
Canada – At the time of his kidnapping by the FLQ, Pierre Laporte was being monitored by the police as part of a probe into the Montreal Mafia that went as far as planting a microphone in his coffin after his murder, according to stunning revelations by a retired Sûreté du Québec wiretapping expert.
Claude Lavallée, who pioneered wiretapping techniques in Quebec in the late 1960s, said in a book to be released Wednesday (Révélations d’un espion de la SQ / Revelations of an SQ Spy – ISBN 13: 9782761927048) that the murder of the Liberal minister in October 1970 by the Front de Libération du Québec put an end to the investigation.
The author even claims that
wiretaps caught a leading organized crime figure offering the Mafia’s help in finding Mr. Laporte before he was killed. (
more)
Note to D.R.: Please start your book.
