Category Archives: Edward Snowden

Shailene Woodley Praises Edward Snowden as a "Hero," Plays His Girlfriend in New Oliver Stone Movie

Posted on by

The U.S. government may believe that Edward Snowden is a criminal, but Shailene Woodley doesn't.

In fact, the Insurgent star, who plays Snowden's longtime dancer-acrobat girlfriend Lindsay Mills in Oliver Stone's upcoming drama about the National Security Agency whistleblower, thinks he should be celebrated for his work.

"I define a hero as somebody, who against the judgment of other people, if they believe something will positively impact the world and they choose to do it and honor their integrity, that's what I sort of consider a hero, no matter how big or mall a feat they create," she told me this weekend while promoting Insurgent (in theaters on March 20). "And in that light, absolutely I think that Edward Snowden is a hero."

Woodley hasn't had the chance to talk to Mills or Snowden, but she'd like to.

NEWS: See the first pic of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden

"You are the epitome of the word selfless," Woodley said of Snowden, who has been living in Moscow since seeking asylum there in 2013 after facing espionage charges in the U.S. for leaking the classified information to the press. "You did something knowing you wouldn't be able to come home, knowing that your country would have very mixed feelings and yet your integrity on what you believe was right or wrong or should be public knowledge was more important to you than almost your own comfortability and the life that you had lived for so long. So I would like to say thank you to him."

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in the film as Snowden. Rounding out the cast are Zachary Quinto, Scott Eastwood and Nicolas Cage. Citizenfour, a documentary about Snowden and the NSA scandal, recently won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

On a less serious note, Woodley said she learned how to pole dance for the film for Mills' YouTube videos showing off her performing skills.

"It's so much fun," Woodley said.

And so was filming Insurgent, the second of the four films in the Divergent franchise.

See the original post here:
Shailene Woodley Praises Edward Snowden as a "Hero," Plays His Girlfriend in New Oliver Stone Movie

Edward Snowden’s Girlfriend Posts Two Mysterious New Blog Entries

Posted on by

Over the last several days, Edward Snowden's girlfriend's dead blog has suddenly sprung back to life, with two cryptic blog entries accompanied by photos of the acrobat-blogger-dancer. What does it mean?

Lindsay Mills faced a flurry of attention in 2013, when her boyfriend became the source of one of the biggest intelligence leaks in US history. In the aftermath of Snowden's revelations, the media mined her (amazing) blog L's Journey for photos of the couple, information about their life together in Hawaii, and a truly incredible collection of self portraits of Lindsey Mills in various costumes, including one where she toplessly clutches a stuffed turtle to her breasts. Truly, a woman who was living her best life.

After Snowden fled his life in Hawaii to Hong Kong, Mills herself vanished from the public eye for over a year. Footage shown in the documentary Citizenfour, however, revealed that Mills wasn't abandoned at all. In fact, she and Snowden were still together, and she visits him in Russia regularly. She even took to the stage at the Oscars as Citizenfour filmmaker Laura Poitras accepted her award for Best Documentary.

Mills's return to cyberspace consists, so far, of two tidbits. One, dated March 8, consists of a photo of her in front of the home she and Snowden shared in Hawaii accompanied with the caption "oh HI!" The other, more contemplative entry dated yesterday, features a shot of Mills sitting on a canyon ledge with the words,

Canyon of misinterpreted judgment before me. My polkadots, never one to back down from a challenge, have softened to a muted hue. Fearful to illuminate in an over-saturated habitat. I prop myself on flexible support that bends too easily on shaky ground. Avalanching down the rock wall into green valleys. That give a glimmer of support for growth. But open on a landscape of relentless rehashing that hamper my expressive dots from flourishing. While darker clouds ever loom overhead. As a reminder of the difficulties in traversing this unknown expanse.

Canyon of Misinterpreted Judgment was by far my least favorite Nancy Drew book.

Does this mean that the best spy girlfriend blog in history is returning to cyberspace for good? Will we, the denizens of the web, be privy once again to the adventures of L and her mysterious boyfriend E?

One can only hope.

See more here:
Edward Snowden's Girlfriend Posts Two Mysterious New Blog Entries

Shailene Woodley calls Edward Snowden a ‘hero’ | Fox News

Posted on by

Shailene Woodley had only kind words for the man who inspired her on-screen love interest in the upcoming Oliver Stone drama about Edward Snowden.

The "Insurgent" star is set to play the National Security Agency whistleblower's girlfriend Lindsay Mills and said he should be celebrated for his work.

"I define a hero as somebody, who against the judgement of other people, if they believe something will positively impact the world and they chose to do it and honor their integrity. That's what I sort of consider a hero, no matter how big or small a feat they create," Woodley told E! News. "And in that light, absolutely I think Edward Snowden is a hero."

Woodley hasn't met Snowden but said she would like to. He has been living in Moscow seeking asylum since 2013 and is facing espionage charges in the United States for leaking classified information to the press.

"You are the epitome of the word selfless," Woodley said of Snowden. "You did something knowing you wouldn't be able to come home, knowing that your country would have very mixed feelings and yet your integrity on what you believe was right or wrong or should be public knowledge was more important to you than almost your own comfortability and the life that you had lived for so long. So I would like say thank you to him."

Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star as Snowden and the rest of the cast includes Nicolas Cage, Zachary Quinto and Scott Eastwood.

WATCH: Break Time: Conrad Hilton faces the consequences

See the original post:
Shailene Woodley calls Edward Snowden a 'hero' | Fox News

Snowden hopes to return to U.S., says he’s weary of tech

Posted on by

MOSCOW, March 4 (UPI) -- Edward Snowden has been living in Russia for two and-a-half years, and he wants to return home to the United States, he said Wednesday during a teleconference viewed by Canadian university students.

Considered one of the highest profile whistleblowers in American history, Snowden said he is working with his lawyers regarding the possibility of returning to the United States. Wednesday's teleconference coincided with the University of Toronto's release of a cache of classified documents purloined by the former Defense Department contractor.

In speaking to journalism students at Ryerson University, Snowden said he wants to return to the United States -- but only if he believes he will get a fair trial. His attorneys are looking into whether that's likely.

During the teleconference, Snowden also said he tries to use as little technology as possible because modern communication devices could be attractive targets for any type of surveillance. He noted one example, saying two cellphones left together overnight could give off all types of private and inaccurate information if someone's monitoring them.

"Is that the kind of world we want to live in?" he asked.

Snowden began his road of U.S. ostracization in late 2012 when he began contacting individuals in the media about the sensitive materials of which he'd come into possession. The following May, Snowden's story was printed in Britain's The Guardian -- which effectively blew the lid off the case. Knowing he faced perhaps serious repercussions, he traveled to Hong Kong just prior to the Guardian's report.

Snowden could have asked the media to withhold his name, but he refused to -- saying he felt that he had nothing to hide. After spending about a month in Hong Kong, he flew to Russia where the government granted him asylum.

U.S. authorities have since charged Snowden with espionage and have tried to have him extradited, but Russian officials have so far refused.

The archive, compiled by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and the University of Toronto's Politics of Surveillance Project (CJFE), includes every published document that was leaked by Snowden.

"We believe this tool is just the start of the many important stories to come, and hope this will help the public engage in conversation about government surveillance practices," said Tom Henheffer, executive director of the CJFE.

Read the rest here:
Snowden hopes to return to U.S., says he's weary of tech

Shailene Woodley: Edward Snowden Is ‘A Hero’

Posted on by

Jason Merritt/GettyImages.com Shailene Woodley: Edward Snowden Is 'A Hero'

Shailene WoodleycalledEdward Snowdena hero whilepromoting Oliver Stones upcoming biopicSnowdenabout the 31-year-old whistleblower. In the movie, Woodley plays Snowdens girlfriendLindsay Mills. AsGossip Copreported, after leaking classified National Security Agency documents to the media and facing espionage charges in the U.S., Snowden fledthe country and has been living in Moscow since 2013.

Woodley went on to sayshe thinks Snowden should be praised for his courage. I define a hero as somebody, who against the judgment of other people, if they believe something will positively impact the world and they choose to do it and honor their integrity thats what I sort of consider a hero, no matter how big or small a feat they create, she told E! News. And in that light, absolutely I think that Edward Snowden is a hero.

The actress, who has never spokento Mills or Snowden, would like to. You are the epitome of the word selfless, Woodley continued aboutSnowden. You did something knowing you wouldnt be able to come home, knowing that your country would have very mixed feelings and yet your integrity on what you believe was right or wrong or should be public knowledge was more important to you than almost your own comfortability and the life that you had lived for so long.

Woodley added, So I would like to say thank you to him.

Read more:
Shailene Woodley: Edward Snowden Is 'A Hero'