The girlfriend of Edward Snowden the whistleblower who leaked classified documents about US surveillance operations has apparently blogged about the couple's life in Hawaii and her uncertainty about the future without her man of mystery .
Just a day after Snowden identified himself as the source of the leaks Lindsay Mills a 28 year old performance artist wrote I don't know what will happen from here. I don't know how to feel normal.
She added My world has opened and closed all at once. Leaving me lost at sea without a compass at the moment all I can feel is alone.
The authenticity of the blog which was seen by the Guardian before it was taken down on Tuesday could not be verified. Snowden had previously told the Guardian his girlfriend was called Lindsay.
Snowden left Hawaii for Hong Kong three weeks ago telling his girlfriend he had to be away for a while but being deliberately vague about the reason for his disappearance.
In her blogpost on Monday written hours after Snowden made the explosive revelation that he was the source of the leaks she wrote Sometimes life doesn't afford proper goodbyes.
Her blog subtitled Adventures of a world traveling pole dancing superhero offers intriguing insights into couple's life in Hawaii.
Snowden 29 worked as a contractor in Hawaii for the National Security Agency on a $122 000 salary. After telling the world he was the source of a succession of leaks in the Guardian Snowden checked out of his Hong Kong hotel on Monday. He has not been seen since.
Mills's blog and social media accounts reveal the couple visited Hong Kong once before on a vacation and also lived in Japan. Mills used the blog as a personal diary and promotional tool for her work as a member of the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe a collection of around 30 dancers.
It was a life that in his own words Snowden decided to sacrifice in order to reveal the extent and reach of US surveillance techniques.
The blog contains YouTube videos of Mills's performances as well as dozens of still images of her some with Snowden. The pair appear to have been together since at least 2009 living part of the time near Baltimore. Last year they moved to Hawaii.
The blog suggests the couple had a vibrant social life camping snorkelling hanging out with friends but it was apparently not without some strains.
On 30 July last year Mills wrote For those that have forgotten I moved to Hawaii to continue my relationship with E. It has been quite an up and down emotional rollercoaster since the moment I stepped off the plane.
The couple seem to have been in a serious and stable relationship. I looked over at E and smiled Mills wrote after a day tending to their yard. This was the most adult boring moment I've had ever. I felt grown up suburban and oddly content.
But they seem to have had a lot of fun too.
Friday night I was able to finally introduce E to my skeptical friends (they weren't quite sure E existed) Mills wrote a few months later.
We lovingly crammed a large group into a small corner of a delicious Japanese restaurant and filled our bellies with sushi tempura and good conversation.
The following day they were out again Woke up Saturday to find an invitation for more sushi and a night of karaoke with E's co workers. Not wanting to waste the social momentum I gently nudged my dear into more social goodness.
Mills describes games of chess with Snowden and discussions about brain functions philosophy current affairs. Whenever E and I take time to attack our unruly yard we end up having deep conversations she remarked in one post.
There are some hints in the blog that Mills shared Snowden's passion for civil liberties issues. In one of the most intriguing updates in October last year Mills posted a picture of woman presumably her wearing the V for Vendetta mask symbolic of the Anonymous movement. It contains the caption All they want is our souls.
A few months later complaining that one of her YouTube videos had been slapped with copyright infringement she wrote When it comes to regulations I think we have an abundance and I'd love to see laws scaled to essentials.
It was just three days later on 15 March this year that Mills announced to her friends that she and Snowden were moving home.
We received word that we have to move out of our house by May 1 she said. E is transferring jobs. And I am looking to take a mini trip back east.
Booz Allen Hamilton the NSA contractor who Snowden worked for has already confirmed he began working for the company in March. The company released a statement this morning confirming that Snowden had been fired.
Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden 29 was an employee of our firm for less than three months assigned to a team in Hawaii the statement read. Snowden who had a salary rate of $122 000 was terminated June 10 2013 for violations of the firm's code of ethics and firm policy.
Previously Snowden had worked for another contractor Dell and before that for the CIA.
With Snowden changing jobs Mills seemed unsure about what she should do next. Do I move with E on my own to Antarctica How long do I spend back home and when should I go
For Mills the last couple of months appear to have been a mixture of routine life and a growing sense of unease. In April she said that Snowden was spending two weeks on the mainland apparently for work. Mills too returned home to Maryland for a brief spell.
Last month she made a reference to needing to tidy the house in preparation for a visit from Snowden's family.
On 17 May Mills went on a quick trip to a neighbouring island remarking When I return to sunny Oahu I'll have my hands full of in laws.
It is not clear whether or not Snowden's family visited. But three days after Mills posted that message her boyfriend departed to Hawaii for Hong Kong in full knowledge of what he was about to do.
It seems Mills had no idea of the real reason for his trip but she seemed disturbed or at least aware that something was up.
Sick exhausted and carrying the weight of the world she posted on 7 June shortly after Snowden's leaks about the NSA's telecom and internet surveillance programs were made public by the Guardian and Washington Post.
She added Speaking of time I feel mine is less and less of mine own recently. Therefore I may be invoking radio silence yet again. I'll keep you posted or I won't. Superheroes need an air of mystery
In her last message posted three days later on Monday she said As I type this on my tear streaked keyboard I'm reflecting on all the faces that have graced my path. The ones I laughed with. The ones I've held. The one I've grown to love the most. And the ones I never got to bid adieu.
0 comments:
Post a Comment