What should Edward ‘I’m a brave martyr but I wanna go home’ Snowden do now?
Edward Snowden (The Guardian)
Edward Snowden’s saga — I hesitated typing that grandiose term instead of “pickle that this immature techno-geek with moral autism has made for himself” — is now feeling like the TV series SMASH, which started with a big, respected bang and ended up eliciting wails of: “Please, pull the plug on it already!” Put another way, he’s becoming the Jill Kelley of international whistleblower-dom.
Started with a screen-grabbing visual and a stunning bit of news, petered out into someone who keeps trying to revive attention against an onslaught of competing compelling news stories (SCOTUS gay rights decisions, Egypt re-exploding, Asiana crash, Zimmerman trial wind-down and verdict) by ever more look-at-me! measures.
He keeps saying he’s a whistleblower who is sacrificing himself for the principles of transparency and against our NSA’s spying on its citizens. But he wants freedom from prosecution – to the point of bringing in Daddy to plead his case for full immunity. Besides — though the relevance of this has been hotly debated – collection of cyber data (“spying” on us) is something that Google, Facebook, metro transit passes, credit rating services, political candidates’ pollsters, and every company that roto-announces “This call may be monitored or recorded” when you press the customer-service phone option have been doing for decades. As for countries spying on other countries – that’s hardly a novel offense in the rocky history of nations.
Most disconcertingly, Snowden’s assertions – especially those made through his sponsor/mouthpiece, “journalist” Glenn Greenwald — seem more like threats, even blackmail, than exhortations to the “conversation” about government overreach that he claims to want to start.
“Snowden has enough information to cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had. The U.S. government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happens to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worse nightmare,” Greenwald said the other day, outdoing even his own previous arrogant rhetoric.
Snowden seems to have thought he’d be another Julian Assange — dashing and heralded and able to demand (though not get; filmmaker Alex Gibney turned Assange down) a million dollars for an interview. But he ended up being a bored, frightened guy with four very hot laptops, being offered tricky-to-execute asylum in a series of South American countries that would love to embarrass us almost as much as Vladimir Putin is enjoying it. (While probably wondering: Am I ever going to get rid of this guy?) In a non-public, small, invitation-only (so much for the ideals of transparency) news conference the other day, surrounded by Russian minders — and thus confounding Russia’s tortured position of neutrality toward him – Snowden repeated his desire for asylum and safety from prosecution, while berating the United States as being unlawful, threatening and intimidating.
Meanwhile, he’s still stuck in that “Moscow airport transit zone” (a meme approaching the annoying out-of-the-blue ubiquity of “fiscal cliff” and “hanging chad”). So: How can he move the ball? What lessons could he, and we, stand to learn? Herewith, from a grab-bag of bits of advice from diverse authorities:
(1) ADOPT A LITTLE HUMILITY AND PERSPECTIVE – AND APOLOGIZE:
Says Mark Zaid, a Washington D.C., lawyer who routinely represents national security whistleblowers: “The sad story of Edward Snowden is that there are available mechanisms, both routine and innovative, that he could have – indeed should have as the loyal American he claims to be — attempted to utilize before unilaterally deciding to unlawfully disclose classified information. Steps could have been taken to bring to the forefront the concerns he holds regarding allegations of governmental misconduct without him crossing the line of criminality and even while protecting his identity. Unfortunately, his irresponsibility, along with the praise he has received from several past whistleblowers and followers, may have the perverse impact of making it even more difficult for the next generation of national security whistleblowers.”
(2) MAYBE PICK DIFFERENT MOVIES TO WATCH ON YOUR LAPTOP:
Film critic and historian Carrie Rickey — who is ”really torn between whether Snowden is a traitor or a whistleblower” — believes that two movies may have, in part, influenced his actions. Both are about painfully lonely wiretappers. Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974) and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others (2007) .
“Both movies are about the morality of surveillance and the questionable reliability of information harvested – and how listeners can be duped and/or can misinterpret raw data. I would recommend these films to anyone interested in great movies that touch on the issues raised by L’Affaire Snowden.”
(3) ESCAPE!
Granted, getting out of aforementioned transit zone will not be easy, but here are two out-of-the-box ideas for the desperate.
Astra Woodcraft, who was essentially imprisoned in Scientology’s Sea Organization and who ran for her life, with Scientology guards chasing her through the L.A. airport, is now helping others to — less dramatically — do so. “When I escaped, I hid out in the women’s restroom until my flight was boarding, and then made a mad dash for the gate, at which point my brother tried to grab my passport and my ticket. So my advice to Snowden is: Don’t be ashamed to hide in the women’s restroom — it might be the last place they look for you.”
Etrella Berosini grew up in a family of longtime Eastern European circus performers. Magicianship and high-wire walking (the latter, her father’s specialty, and her own were learned from childhood). “Circus folks were among the few who could travel freely in old Europe,” she says.The best ploy was a circus trick that some Nazis stole, to sneak out of Germany: She suggests that Snowden “buy a trained bear and a flashy costume. When you’ve got a bear on a leash, no one looks at your face.”
(4) EAT
Snowden seems to have gotten thinner. The borscht from Moscow’s Pushkin Cafe is supposed to be out of this world. Perhaps Anna Chapman, who kiddingly (or not?) proposed marriage to Snowden, will even deliver it.
(5) STUDY UP ON WHO IS A REAL WHISTLEBLOWER AND HERO
Longtime journalist Robert Sam Anson knows from heroes. He was at the Ambassador Hotel the night Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. He was friends with former congressman Allard K. Lowenstein, a civil rights and antiwar activist who was shot and killed by a deranged former aide.
And when Anson was taken prisoner while on assignment for Time in Cambodia in 1970, he was rescued by a South Vietnamese Time reporter, Pham Xuan An, who risked his life to save Anson’s.
Anson has Facebook de-friended many an acquaintance “who likens Snowden to Dan Ellsberg, or demands he be granted a full, free, and absolute pardon, or — good God — calls him a ‘hero.’”
Snowden’s father is hurting more than helping him by calling him a modern-day Paul Revere.
Heroes take risks — and whistleblowers agree to accept the consequences of their actions. Snowden is doing neither. Maybe he should have read up on the real heroes before he did this.
Sheila Weller is an award-winning magazine journalist and the author of six books, including 2008′s New York Times bestseller “Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon — And the Journey of a Generation.” She is currently working on “The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour — and the Triumph of Women in TV News.”
makes sense....
Kirstie Alley denies she’s upset over Leah Remini's Scientology departure
The ‘Cheers’ star took to Twitter to deny she’s upset over Leah Remini’s decision to leave the controversial church.
Comments (13)BY CHIDERAH MONDE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013, 9:31 AM
GETTY IMAGES
Kirstie Alley was said to be angry over Leah Remini’s departure from the Church of Scientology, but the actress took to Twitter denying those reports.
Actress Leah Remini's departure from the Church of Scientology may have led to more burned bridges than just with the religious organization.
The "King of Queens" star's friend and fellow Scientologist Kirstie Alley was said to be particularly upset over Remini's exit.
"When faced w malicious gossip I take a moment to experience the loss of the person I thought was my friend… then I say f--- em…" Alley, 63, tweeted on Wednesday.
According to Scientology journalist Tony Ortega, Alley's ire was directed towards Remini, 43.
"The sweetest poison is often served with a smile…beware syrup," Alley added moments later.
The "Cheers" star reportedly participated in meetings with church executives about how to handle Remini's exit. Alley remains one of the most prominent members of the religion, and has often spoken out about how she credits Scientology with breaking her drug addiction.
News of Remini's decision to sever ties with the church broke on July 8, and the actress issued a statement to People magazine.
"I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and from fans around the world," she said.
"I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support."
However, on Tuesday Alley denied that her tweets had anything to with Remini's news.
"I do NOT care what religion ANYONE is or isn't," she wrote on Tuesday. "I respect religions & would fight for your freedom as well as mine."
"Don't believe everything you read," she added.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/kirstie-alley-upset-leah-remini-scientology-split-report-article-1.1399799#ixzz2ZEYiGDT5
quick, send out the celebs.... we need as much good PR as we can get.......
Fancy seeing you here! Tom Cruise stuns acting students as he makes a surprise speech at their graduation ceremony
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Tom Cruise surprised a group of acting students by giving a speech at their graduation.
Graduates from the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Malibu, California, were left stunned when the Mission: Impossible star turned up unannounced at the ceremony and gave a rousing commencement speech filled with humorous stories from his career.
A source at the school told the New York Post newspaper: 'It was one of the most inspiring speeches we've had. It was so much more than a lecture about what to do in an audition.'
Fancy seeing you here! Tom Cruise stunned students at the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Malibu, California, when he turned up to their graduation ceremony and gave a surprise speech
The 51-year-old star - whose cousin, William Mapother, is a graduate of the acting school - had students in fits of laughter as he recalled his own rocky start in Hollywood.
In one particular story, Tom explained how he was so 'nervous' he'd be fired from 1981 film Taps after shaving his head without the director's permission.
As well as entertaining the crowd with anecdotes, the movie icon offered more practical advice to the young upstarts, warning them not to become divas.
Terrified: Tom opened up about his career in the 'inspiring' speech, and admitted he was nervous he wold be fired from 1981 movie Taps after shaving his head
Action man: Tom cemented his action movie star status with his role as Ethan Hunt in the Misson: Impossible film franchise
A source explained: 'He said that when you do finally get the chance of being in a movie, don't spend your time in the trailer.
'He said you need to experience everything on the movie; talk to everyone on the crew - the grips, everyone. Learn everything you can. You will never get that time back.
'He talked about trying to be as prepared as possible, and that you can only depend on yourself.'
Easy rider: Tom Cruise was seen leaving a LA hotel on his $75,000 motorbike earlier this month
Tom has certainly come a long way since Taps - which was his second acting role after a film called Endless Love earlier that year.
Since then, he has made a name for himself with roles in now cult movies including Risky Business, Rain Man and Top Gun.
Taking on the role of Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible movies saw Tom explore his action star side, and he has since reprised his role for three further films in the franchise.
Tom's next role sees him team up with Emily Blunt in alien drama Edge Of Tomorrow, while he will also soon be starting filming on Rupert Sanders' next project Van Helsing.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2365592/Tom-Cruise-stuns-acting-students-surprise-speech-graduation-ceremony.html#ixzz2ZEFd3EWj
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