<ul class="summary-list"><li>A new book by <keyword id="85287" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fox-News">Fox News</keyword> anchor <keyword id="379953" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sean-Hannity">Sean Hannity</keyword> had the <keyword id="25134" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="latin">Latin</keyword> motto on its front cover updated to remove mistakes.</li><li>The change came after a student in Indiana pointed out that the attempted translation of "Live free or America dies" was so badly rendered that it did not make sense.</li><li>Hannity had boasted about the motto on his Fox News show earlier this year, seemingly unaware of the mistakes.</li><li>Between then and its publication on Tuesday, the motto was replaced with a correct Latin phrase.</li></ul>Fox News anchor Sean Hannity's new book had the incorrect Latin motto on its front cover quietly altered after a student in Indiana pointed out the error."Live Free Or Die: America (and the World) on the Brink" is released Tuesday, and <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/aug/3/sean-hannitys-new-book-live-free-or-die-is-a-natio/">has already topped some best-selling lists</a>.Its Amazon blurb characterizes the book as a description of "America's fight against those who would reverse our tradition of freedom," and warns of "full-blown socialism" and economic collapse if President Donald Trump loses the 2020 presidential election.To top off its sense of urgency and tradition, the book cover includes a line of Latin underneath an image of a tattered US flag.However, the original version of the five-word motto was full of mistakes.<a href="https://hannity.com/media-room/preorder-seans-new-book-live-free-or-die/">A March 6 video on Hannity's website</a>, taken from his Fox News show, shows him promoting the book. The cover has the incorrect motto: "Vivamus vel libero perit Americae."Unaware of the mistakes, he told viewers: "The Latin at the bottom says 'Live free or America dies.'"<div type="image" title="Fox News Hannity book announcement" height="876" width="1606" msid="77349513" hostid="261"></div>Hannity was corrected some time later by Spencer Alexander McDaniel, a Classics major at Indiana University Bloomington. McDaniel pointed out the errors <a href="https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/05/16/sean-hannity-does-not-know-latin/">in a May blog post</a>, which called the motto "complete and utter gobbledygook."He continued: "The words in Hannity's motto are real Latin words, but, the way they are strung together, they don't make even a lick of sense."Latin, unlike English, has a vast system of grammatical forms for every word which dictates their meaning and relationship to each other.<div type="image" title="Trump Hannity" height="1250" width="2500" msid="77349515" hostid="261"></div>In English, we know who is doing what in the phrase "Man bites dog" — as opposed to "Dog bites man" — because of order of the words. This logic does not apply in Latin, which has a flexible word order and derives its meaning from the grammatical form of each word.For that reason, trying to turn something into Latin by translating each English word in turn will invariably not make sense.McDaniel's best effort at making sense of the motto was "Let's live or he passes away from America for the detriment of a free man."He also noted that the first Hannity motto is exactly what Google Translate returns for "Live free or America dies."<div type="image" title="Hannity Google translate Latin book" height="944" width="1742" msid="77349518" hostid="261"></div>At some point later, the front cover was updated to fix the error.Newer images — such as the one on its Amazon page — instead have a correct Latin phrase "Vivamus liberi ne America pereat," which means: "Let us live free so that America does not die."The change came after posts by McDaniel and other classicists pointing out the error, which were shared hundreds of times on Twitter.Business Insider has contacted Threshold Editions, the publisher of Hannity's book, to ask about the change.Hannity is not the first to fall victim to poor translation. In 2014, a library in Moorestown, New Jersey, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2782467/Motto-engraved-library-gets-lost-translation.html">engraved incorrect Latin onto a stone wall before realizing its mistake</a>.

Sean Hannity quietly changed the cover of his new book after realizing its Latin motto was full of mistakes

<ul class="summary-list"><li>While older <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/movies">movies</a> tended to be very clear about who the villain was supposed to be, many newer <keyword id="406" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Movies">movies</keyword> and TV shows do the complete opposite.They hide the villain among the good guys and wait until just the right moment for the big reveal.</li><li>The most recent and most popular example of someone being "evil all along" - or a villain hiding in plain sight - is from "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/wandavision">WandaVision</a>." The twist villain wasn't revealed until late in the season, but there were numerous little signs that this person was someone to watch out for. </li><li>We spoke with Jonathan Kuntz, a film history professor at UCLA School of Theater, Film and <keyword id="6357922" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Television">Television</keyword> to find out how to identify a surprise villain in <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/tv">TV</a> shows and movies by looking at some classic examples.</li></ul>Spoiler warning for the following TV shows and movies: "<keyword id="8935939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="WandaVision">WandaVision</keyword>," "Reservoir Dogs," "Frozen," "Psycho," "Stage Fright," "Incredibles 2," "The Usual Suspects," "Monsters, Inc.," "L.A. Confidential," "Watchmen," "Alien," "Get Out," "Saw," "Gone Girl," "Toy Story 3," "Westworld," "Hot Fuzz," "Strangers on a Train," and "Unbreakable."Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>: Narrator: Back in 1903's "The Great Train Robbery," you could easily spot the bad guy. He's the one wearing a black hat. But modern filmmakers have made it more difficult to identify mystery <keyword id="54242" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="villains">villains</keyword>, dropping small clues throughout the story for viewers to piece together before the big reveal. The most recent example of this is <keyword id="47501" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marvel">Marvel</keyword>'s "WandaVision."♪ It's been Agatha all along ♪We probably should've figured out this twist as soon as Agnes walked through the front door. But identifying a surprise villain requires knowing exactly where to look and when to listen.Keyser Söze: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.Narrator: Warning, spoilers ahead. In "WandaVision," Agnes is immediately established as the overly friendly neighbor, so we should be suspicious of her right away. Because the first thing to think about when searching for a villain is to focus on anyone who seems like they are definitely not the bad guy. They might even be portrayed as a victim. These characters are often too nice, like Agnes, or too weak, like Mr. Orange, who's bleeding to death early on in "Reservoir Dogs." In the most drastic case, the villain is even presumed dead.Jonathan Kuntz: I think the trick to portraying villains has to be that you've gotta change up things as often as possible.Narrator: That's Jonathan Kuntz, a professor of American film history at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.Kuntz: Your audiences are pretty villain-literate at this time. They've seen a lot of movies, and they know a lot of the tricks that people can pull. And they're going to be pretty alert.Narrator: For example, <keyword id="124415" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Alfred-Hitchcock">Alfred Hitchcock</keyword> is famous for crafting his villains as charismatic, seemingly good, regular people.Kuntz: A lot of times he creates connections between his villains and his heroes, so sometimes it's kind of difficult to tell them apart.Narrator: And you see this trend over and over again in Hollywood. Is the suspect wearing a white hat, like the sheriff in "Hot Fuzz" or William in "Westworld"? Then they're probably going to be wearing a black hat by the end of the story. Or take a look at Ozymandias in "Watchmen" and Captain Dudley Liam Smith in "L.A. Confidential." Both are authority figures who we're supposed to trust. These are the types of characters who often turn out to be the villain. It's become a tale as old as time in Disney and Pixar too. There's the nice old teddy bear, Lotso, in "Toy Story 3," who --Rex: Smells like strawberries!Narrator: And Anna's seemingly perfect prince boyfriend, Hans, in "Frozen." This technique of subverting traditional villains only works, however, if you have a red herring villain. Because there still needs to be plenty of conflict up until the big reveal. Take Hayward in "WandaVision." While he's definitely a villain, all our attention is focused on the bad things he's done and is doing to Wanda, directing our attention away from the clues that would lead us to suspect Agnes of anything treacherous. But you'll notice that lying to the audience is a definite no-no, as Hitchcock learned in the film "Stage Fright." This 1950 movie opened with a false flashback by the twist villain, and audiences were famously frustrated because it felt like Hitchcock lied to them. So now filmmakers rely on the art of omission. They're not lying, but they're not telling the whole truth either. You see this with "WandaVision" during the catchy "Agatha All Along" reveal. Here we learn that specific key scenes were framed to avoid showing what Agnes was doing at the time, purposefully leaving her out of the shot. So the second thing to look out for is how a show is framed or how a scene is edited. In this scene in "Psycho," when Marion meets Norman Bates, the camera is positioned behind Norman to emphasize him as a threat.Kuntz: Sometimes we see angles of him where he's not simply a nice, skinny, friendly guy, but he seems a little bit more looming and menacing.Narrator: And in "The Usual Suspects," when Keyser Söze is mentioned in the hospital --Keyser Söze! [machine beeping] Keyser Söze! Narrator: The camera immediately cuts to a shot of Verbal. They're literally telling us who his true identity is twice. These little winks to the viewer are only there if you look for them, especially since viewers don't normally think about what's happening off camera. But as we see in "WandaVision," what characters are doing off to the side does matter. Take this scene, where Agnes is the only one who finds Wanda's dog, Sparky. Later we learn she didn't just find him, she actually killed him.[Agnes cackling]Narrator: Which brings us to the third giveaway to look out for, the "kick the dog" moment. Obvious villains will have their kick the dog moment out in the open. [balloon pops] But with surprise villains, it might be happening when and where we aren't looking. In "The Usual Suspects," Verbal is the one who shoots Saul in the forehead, which surprises everyone else since Verbal is portrayed as the weakest of the bunch. In "Psycho," it's even more subtle, swapping out a dog for taxidermied birds on the walls at the Bates Motel. Particularly this owl, positioned like it's about to pounce on its victim, sitting across from Norman. These moments hint at a villain's lack of empathy -- and in this case, even at Norman's dead, preserved mother later in the movie. In "WandaVision," there are also multiple visual clues like this placed throughout the season to hint at Agnes' true identity, Agatha. To piece the puzzle together, you have to pay close attention to the mise-en-scène, or everything in the frame. The props, the background clues, and even the costume design. Agnes is always wearing some combination of purple and green, colors that have been used to code villains throughout comic-book history. Heroes, on the other hand, usually wear red and blue. Agnes always wears the same brooch with her outfits, which eagle-eyed fans might recognize as the same one Agatha wears in the comics. Sometimes the costume Easter eggs are even more in your face. She dresses as a literal witch on Halloween. Backgrounds are also telling, especially any items purposely visible just beyond the character. "Reservoir Dogs" is famous for its many orange-colored Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the film, hinting at Mr. Orange as the rat. Often the Easter eggs appear as art on the wall. In "Get Out," this image in Chris' apartment symbolizes Rose and her family's true intent with Chris. And this painting in "Psycho" is called "Susanna and the Elders." It shows a woman bathing who is attacked by a group of men, directly foreshadowing the infamous shower scene. And Easter eggs can also be props. In "Alien," Ash is shown drinking milk -- a drink of choice for many villains, and one that also foreshadows his milky white android blood. There are also some props in "The Usual Suspects" that hint that Keyser Söze is Verbal. When he tries to light a cigarette with his good arm, he knocks the lighter to the ground. He also gets the same gold lighter back from the police when he leaves the interrogation. If you look carefully at this scene, Verbal accidentally uses his weak arm to push back on the cop. It seems like he certainly notices his mistake, but did you? Timing like this is everything. Every time Agnes appears on screen she is there for a good reason, because there are no coincidences in screenwriting. When Wanda stumbles upon the helicopter drone, Agnes appears in the street.Agnes: Look, it's the star of the show!Narrator: And she distracts Vision while Wanda is talking to Geraldine inside the house. Surprise villains also don't make decisions unless they somehow further their agenda or hide their identity, like Ash in "Alien." Ash doesn't care about the crew -- his orders are just to bring the alien back alive. So he is the one who suggests they investigate the mysterious transmission. He ignores warnings from Ripley and eventually lets the infected Kane into the hatch even though it's dangerous. And in "Get Out," Rose is the one who suggests she and Chris go for a walk.Rose: We're gonna go on a walk.Narrator: Conveniently right as her father is about to start the bingo auction to see who will get to buy Chris' body. But identifying a villain isn't just about what you see. Sometimes it's about what you hear as well. Agnes certainly reveals a lot when she speaks.Dottie: The devil's in the details, Bev.Agnes: That's not the only place he is.Kuntz: Ultimately, if you decode what she's saying, you can see a lot of witchlike comments in her seemingly ordinary sentences.Wanda: I'm Wanda.Agnes: Wanda. Charmed. I actually did bite a kid once.Narrator: Dialogue cues are a big villain telltale. Even Shakespeare's villains would say they were outright evil.Iago: How am I then then a villain?Narrator: In "Unbreakable," the main villain, Elijah, accidentally gives himself away when he says that villains are typically drawn with disproportionately large heads. If you look at his reflection in the glass, his own head is distorted to look much bigger than normal. It's even more telling when characters who are typically silent speak up. In the opening scene of "Reservoir Dogs," all of the characters are chatty except one: Mr. Orange. But when he does say something, he's ratting on Mr. Pink for not paying his tip.Joe Cabot: Who didn't throw in?Mr. Orange: Mr. Pink.Cabot: Mr. Pink?Narrator: Our first major clue that he is the rat. In more subtle cases, music can also be used, like in "Get Out." Listen to the song when Rose is buying pastries and heading over to Chris' apartment.♪ But stay woke ♪ ♪ Stay woke, stay woke ♪Narrator: The lyrics literally warn you that she is out to get him.♪ They gon' find you ♪ ♪ They gon' find you ♪ ♪ Gon' catch you sleepin' ♪ ♪ Gon' catch you sleepin' ♪Narrator: But you don't always need a song lyric to spell it out for you. Sometimes you just need to break down a character's name.Man: Keyser Söze!Narrator: In "WandaVision," Agnes is actually a portmanteau of her real name, Agatha Harkness. In "Incredibles 2," the surprise villain is Winston Deavor's sister, Evelyn. Once you say her full name out loud, Evelyn Deavor, you realize it wasn't much of a surprise at all. And "The Usual Suspects" wouldn't have had much of a twist ending if you actually translated the name of the villain. "Keyser Söze" is derived from the Turkish phrase "söze boğmak," meaning "to drown in words." Kevin Spacey's character's name is Verbal. And early on in the film, he plainly tells usVerbal: People say I talk too much.Yeah, I was just gonna tell you to shut up.Narrator: But knowing what to look for in a surprise villain can also ruin a TV show or movie. And switching black and white hats can only be used so much.Kuntz: In each decade, it seems, the filmmakers kind of have to up the ante a little bit.Narrator: "WandaVision" certainly plays with all these traditional surprise-villain tropes. But Agatha's twist is more than just a classic evil reveal. Even though Wanda created the show, Agatha was the one directing it since the beginning. You have to come up with something new that no one's ever seen before, a twist that no one's ever seen before.Agnes: And I killed Sparky too. [Agnes cackles]

How to spot a surprise villain in TV and movies

Shutterstock<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-hong-kong-dont-kiss-dogs-no-evidence-infected-2020-3">dog in China was quarantined last week</a> after testing a "weak positive" for the coronavirus, prompting many to worry whether their pets can become infected, get sick and/or spread the disease. </li><li>However, experts say there's no currently no evidence that dogs or cats are at risk of either getting sick from the coronavirus or spreading it to humans. </li><li>Your best protection is still to wash your hands thoroughly and often, which also prevents other pet-related pathogens from spreading. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>If you're working from home or trying to de-stress from coronavirus fears, your favorite furry friend may seem like a perfect companion. The good news is: despite reports that one dog tested "weak positive" for coronavirus, most experts agree you needn't worry that your household dog or cat is at risk, either of spreading the virus or getting sick themselves. Chinese officials cautioned people not to kiss their pets last week after a Pomeranian was quarantined in Hong Kong, Business Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-hong-kong-dont-kiss-dogs-no-evidence-infected-2020-3">previously reported</a>. The dog, which belonged to a coronavirus patient, may have been carrying the virus in its mouth and nose, according to Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD). It reportedly showed no signed of illness. It may be that, in that case, the virus was passed from the human, who was confirmed to have COVID-19, to the dog, according to Dr. Will Sander, head of the joint veterinary-master's in public health degree program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine.But most cats and dogs likely aren't at risk, and are unlikely to carry the virus around, infecting other humans, Sander explained. "At this time, people should be minimally concerned about this coronavirus affecting their pets," Sander told Insider via email. "The virus seems well adapted to spread between people and, therefore, unlikely to jump to dogs or cats."<a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dog-show-champion-pomeranian-portrait-1036161856?src=9T6VGub4NBldy7b5zKxpOw-1-0">SubertT,Shutterstock</a>According to the <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters">World Health Organization</a>, there's no reason to panic about pets as possible victims or carriers of the coronavirus, since there's no evidence that they can be infected. Many types of viruses, including the common cold, can't be spread between household pets and people, as <a href="https://www.insider.com/can-dogs-catch-human-colds">Insider previously reported</a> - they have different cell receptors than humans, which may prevent some human-borne viruses from catching hold to cause an infection (although animals can have their own versions of those diseases). It's not yet clear whether this is the case for the novel coronavirus. In the case of the quarantined dog who tested positive, it may have been a case of environmental contamination, or even a problem with the test, according to the <a href="https://www.avma.org/blog/what-do-you-need-know-about-coronavirus">American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA</a>). But if your family is healthy, and your pets are at home and don't often come into contact with other animals, they're unlikely to be at risk, according to the <a href="https://www.oregonvma.org/care-health/zoonotic-diseases/coronavirus-faq">Oregon Veterinary Medical Association</a>. And if you do want to protect them, follow the same habits as you would for any other health concern, Sander advised. "In much the same way that you can protect pets every day, best practices include making sure your pets are up to date on vaccinations, receiving at least annual veterinary check ups, and stay on preventatives for heartworm and fleas and ticks," he said. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html#animals">Centers of Disease Control and Prevention</a> noted that there have been no reports of animals being infected in the U.S.. Currently, the biggest concern for veterinarians and other animal health staff isn't pet infections, it's a lack of medical supplies caused by people panic-buying items like masks, gloves, and sanitizers, according to the AVMA <a href="https://www.avma.org/blog/what-do-you-need-know-about-coronavirus">website</a>. <h2>Wash your hands after touching animals, since their saliva can spread other germs even if coronavirus isn't an issue</h2>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bbc-pandemic-data-shows-how-washing-hands-slows-virus-spread-2020-3">most important factor in preventing the coronavirus</a> continues to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-photos-why-you-should-wash-hands-with-soap-water-2020-3">simply washing your hands with soap and water</a>, according to Sander and others."Washing your hands is the most important step you can take to limit spread period and that would be the biggest point I would constantly drive home," Sander said. And, regardless of coronavirus concerns, it's always a good idea to wash your hands after coming into contact with animals, particularly their saliva.That's because they can transmit bacteria like E. Coli and Salmonella, which can cause diarrhea and vomiting, as well as certain types of parasites. Cats and dogs can also sometimes transmit bacteria which can cause <a href="https://www.insider.com/man-died-after-dog-licked-him-capnocytophaga-bacteria-infection-2019-11">serious infections</a> in humans - in very rare cases, resulting in <a href="https://www.insider.com/woman-limb-amputation-dog-cat-capnocytophaga-bacterial-infection-2019-8">limb amputations</a> or fatal illness. These cases are extremely rare, however, and more likely to result from dog (or cat) bites than cuddles. One precaution that does make sense, however, is stocking up on pet food, drinking water, supplies, and any medications along with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/expert-how-to-stockpile-healthy-food-14-day-coronavirus-quarantine-2020-2">anything else you'll need during a quarantine</a>. "It is always a good idea to have an emergency go bag ready for yourself and your pets," Sander said. "This go bag is a great item to have in place for your pets and would help if you had to be under quarantine."Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nutritionists-how-to-prepare-healthy-food-for-quarantine-2020-3">What 3 nutritionists recommend stockpiling for healthy, flavorful meals during a coronavirus quarantine</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-work-out-at-home-in-case-coronavirus-quarantine-2020-3">How to create an effective full-body workout in a quarantine, according to personal trainers</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bleach-kill-prevent-coronavirus-possible-pandemic-infection-between-people-2020-2">Clorox and Lysol wipes may help to keep the coronavirus off surfaces, but they aren't the best way to protect yourself</a><a href="/intelligence/digital-health?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=health&amp;itm_campaign=digital-health"></a>Featured Digital Health Articles: - <a href="/telehealth-industry-explained">Telehealth Industry: Benefits, Services &amp; Examples</a> - <a href="/value-based-care-pay-for-performance-healthcare-model">Value-Based Care Model: Pay-for-Performance Healthcare</a> - <a href="/senior-care-market-trends">Senior Care &amp; Assisted Living Market Trends</a> - <a href="/wearable-technology-healthcare-medical-devices">Smart Medical Devices: Wearable Tech in Healthcare</a> - <a href="/artificial-intelligence-healthcare">AI in Healthcare</a> - <a href="/remote-patient-monitoring-industry-explained">Remote Patient Monitoring Industry: Devices &amp; Market Trends</a>

Pets probably won't spread the coronavirus to humans, experts say

Visiting the gulag where my grandfather was tortured, but didn't officially exist

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rubio has been part of the Helsinki Commission since 2017 but rarely attends hearings.</li><li>Blumenthal also was absent from the hearings even though he went to <keyword id="11937111" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="poland" source="Orion">Poland</keyword> and <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>. </li></ul>For cable <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> outlets, Sen. <keyword id="12217307" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="marco-rubio" source="Orion">Marco Rubio</keyword> of Florida has been one of the most sought-after Republican voices on the war in Ukraine."Congress has been dragging the president to lead," Rubio said Thursday on <a href="https://video.foxnews.com/v/6300982897001#sp=show-clips" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> in criticizing President Joe Biden's approach to the war.But on the same morning, Rubio would skip a scheduled meeting of the <a href="https://www.csce.gov/issue/helsinki-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US Helsinki Commission</a>, a European security-focused body of which he's a member. The topic that day: security threats <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> and Belarus pose to the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.That wasn't the only hearing Rubio has missed for the group. An Insider review of attendance logs show that, since 2017, Rubio was present at only one Helsinki Commission hearing and <a href="https://www.csce.gov/sites/helsinkicommission.house.gov/files/20180426-SMR%20Helsinki%20Commission%20Statement%20for%20the%20Record%20on%20Bitkov.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provided written testimony</a> for one other. A total of 48 hearings occurred over that time, and many included topics specifically dealing with NATO and Russian policy affairs — though 12 of the hearings were attended only by US House members even though they were open to all lawmakers. Rubio, 50, is running for re-election in 2022, and his attendance — or lack thereof — at official proceedings has dogged him in previous years. Florida <keyword id="11896865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="democrats" source="Orion">Democrats</keyword> <a href="https://www.floridadems.org/2021/11/12/marco-rubio-is-failing-to-show-up-to-work-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have slammed</a> Rubio for missing Foreign Relations Committee hearings. And fellow <keyword id="11899267" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="republicans" source="Orion">Republicans</keyword> <a href="https://rollcall.com/2015/11/18/rubio-opponents-say-he-prefers-fundraisers-over-national-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weaponized</a> his missed votes when he ran for president in 2016, homing in on times when Rubio opted to attend fundraisers instead. A 2015 Politico headline declared Rubio an "absentee senator." In response to questions about the Helsinki Commission, Rubio told Insider at the Capitol that the group's meetings often conflicted with his schedule and that he was slammed with this work on the Intelligence Committee, where he serves in a powerful position as vice chair. That panel receives classified briefings, meaning that unlike most hearings, its business is conducted overwhelmingly in private. "It's not like we can get the information afterwards," Rubio said of his Intelligence Committee work. "You have to get it in that room, when those briefers are available, so it's been unfortunate that the schedules just never add up at the times that they meet."Rubio isn't the only senator who rarely sits in for hearings of the Helsinki Commission, which <a href="https://www.csce.gov/about-csce/our-history">formed</a> in 1976 in part to "press governments to improve their human rights records" and expand "contacts between people," particularly in Eastern Europe and the then-Soviet Union.Sen. <keyword id="12095305" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="richard-blumenthal" source="Orion">Richard Blumenthal</keyword>, a Democrat of Connecticut, doesn't appear to have attended any hearings for the agency, formally known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, since resuming his commission membership in 2021. He also didn't attend hearings during his time on the commission from 2011 through 2014, according to <a href="https://www.csce.gov/international-impact/events/hearings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hearing transcripts</a>. Blumenthal described his work with the commission as "one more obligation" when asked by Insider how much time it takes out of his schedule. He noted that this week he returned from a trip to Poland that included Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Helsinki Commission. His office also said he was in Ukraine with a group that included Wicker eight weeks ago. "I wouldn't say it's a tremendously active group," Blumenthal told Insider at the US Capitol. "But it performs some very valuable functions."Maria McElwain, Blumenthal's spokeswoman, described the senator as "active and engaged" in the Helsinki Commission, saying that he had scheduling conflicts during recent hearings including with the <keyword id="11896866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate" source="Orion">Senate</keyword> Armed Services Committee. Blumenthal's office also pointed out that Blumenthal and Rubio in June introduced the <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/6/rubio-blumenthal-introduce-bipartisan-and-bicameral-justice-for-victims-of-kleptocracy-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justice for Victims of Kleptocracy Act</a>, which would direct the Department of Justice to publish and update the amount of money that has been stolen by the authoritarian leaders of kleptocratic regimes and recovered by US law enforcement.Since <a href="https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Back-from-Ukraine-border-Blumenthal-pushes-for-17003897.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returning</a> from Poland, Blumenthal has been pushing for more humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. "The Helsinki Commission requires a respect for human rights which Russia is subjugating and savagely destroying," Blumenthal told Insider. "And right now, human rights are at stake and imperiled as ever before." <h2><div type="image" title="russia ukraine" height="1331" width="2000" msid="90301360" hostid="261"></div> The commission's work is getting busier </h2>It's not unusual for senators to skip committee or commission hearings. They can overlap with other hearings, votes, or meetings with constituents. Many senators also make it a habit to show up only for the five minutes that they're scheduled to question a witness — giving them valuable on-air time and convenient sound-bite opportunities before they dash off to their next appointment. The Helsinki Commission is different from typical congressional committees because its members come from both chambers of Congress, which can make scheduling difficult. Wicker, who also serves on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said the Helsinki Commission has roughly 10 hearings annually. "The problem with this place is that it's crazy," Rubio said of working in Congress. "They schedule four committees at the same time. It's impossible to get to all of them and I can't miss Intel because I'm the vice chair." Scheduled hearings are a central, if low-profile part of a federal lawmaker's job. Such work is sometimes slow and tedious, but is intended to help lawmakers make informed decisions about critical policymaking. Helsinki Commission attendance can be sparse at times, but most of the nine senators who are members have found time to attend over the years, even if sporadically.The commission's work has accelerated in the weeks leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Five Helsinki Commission members on February 3 <a href="https://www.csce.gov/international-impact/events/polands-leadership-osce-time-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heard testimony</a> from Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau. And the day before, <a href="https://www.csce.gov/international-impact/events/russias-assault-ukraine-and-international-order" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11 members</a> attended a hearing titled, "Russia's Assault on Ukraine and the International Order." "The risk of a major war in Europe is now greater than has been anytime in the last 30 years," <a href="https://www.csce.gov/sites/helsinkicommission.house.gov/files/unofficial-transcript/0203%20TRANSCRIPT%20Poland%27s%20Leadership%20of%20the%20OSCE%20Unofficial%20Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rau warned during his testimony</a>, which came more than three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. Rubio was not at either hearing. But on the day Rau testified, Rubio appeared on Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/sen-marco-rubio-im-not-in-favor-of-sending-us-troops-to-europe-amid-russian-threat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to say</a> he was not in favor of sending US troops to Ukraine. It's reasonable for critics or political opponents to question lawmakers who frequently skip hearings, given that they accept positions to serve on the commission, said Lindsey Cormack, an assistant professor of political science at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey."If you have a position that says, 'I'm willing to do this,' and you don't do it, I think it's a fair thing to say," she said. But she added that the issue of committee and commission attendance doesn't seem to motivate voters one way or another."High level political watchers and the elites look out for this, but I have never seen evidence that primary voters or general election voters care about this," she said. The Helsinki Commission is technically an independent US government agency with 21 members. While it doesn't hold votes or hearings on legislation, its staff members do <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/93/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help members write legislation</a>. "One way to think of us is as an in-house think tank and legislative support organization," said Stacy Hope, spokeswoman for the commission. Aside from hearings and briefings, commission staff are regularly in touch with most members on legislation and writing <a href="https://veasey.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/veasey-cardin-cohen-moore-of-helsinki-commission-call-for-comprehensive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letters</a>, and the commission organizes lunches or meetings with lawmakers and members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly and representatives of other OSCE institutions and participating states, Hope said.Staff from offices are invited to briefings, and Hope said these tended to get a "strong response." Being on the commission also gives members opportunities to travel abroad on related congressional delegations. Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who chairs the Helsinki Commission and also serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he feels more connected to the rest of the world because of being on the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly. Generally speaking, Helsinki Commission members <a href="https://www.oscepa.org/en/members/member-countries/united-states-of-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tend to also be</a> part of the assembly. OSCE describes its work as tackling a "wide range of security-related concerns" including "arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities." "It gives you a balance of 50-some nations that belong to the OSCE," Cardin said between votes at the US Capitol, adding that "the Helsinki Commission does give us a broader perspective."Rubio said he spent 10 hours a week reading intelligence materials on top of attending hearings as vice chairman of the Intel Committee and that the overlaps can be "a little bit redundant." "The depth of which Intel analysis goes across 14 intelligence agencies is, frankly, much deeper than what any other committee or — in this case commission — has access to," he said. <div type="image" title="Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat of Virginia, Vice Chairman Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican of Florida, and Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican of North Carolina, talk during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on March 10, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on worldwide threats." height="1666" width="2223" msid="90301361" hostid="261"></div><h2>Both Rubio and Blumenthal are in an election year </h2>Blumenthal and Rubio have each been in the Senate since 2011, and they're both up for reelection this year. While several Republicans are vying to unseat Blumenthal, his state is considered solidly Democratic. Rubio, a Cuban-American who is fluent in both English and Spanish, has a large national profile and is widely considered to still have White House aspirations. During his time in the Senate, he has positioned himself as a leading expert on foreign policy and national security issues. <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/500204-marco-rubio-holds-solid-lead-over-val-demings-in-new-poll/">Polling shows</a> Rubio is favored to win re-election. But the stakes are high — every Senate seat is considered crucial at a time when the parties have an even split in the chamber. The Florida race, in particular, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rubio-demings-2022-showdown-could-become-most-expensive-senate-race-ever" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could become</a> the most expensive Senate race in history. Voters will select Rubio's Democratic opponent in August. The current frontrunner is Democratic Rep. Val Demings, whom President Joe Biden considered as a potential vice presidential running mate and who has had a <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/491610-val-demings-trumpets-historically-strong-fundraising-sends-warning-to-marco-rubio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">massive fundraising haul</a>. Rubio's absence from the commission brought immediate backlash from Florida Democrats, who accused Rubio of "failing to show up for his job to support our allies in Eastern Europe.""Marco Rubio is only focused on scoring political points to advance his own career," said Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Grant Fox. The Demings campaign declined to comment on Insider's story, but the Rubio campaign took a swipe at Demings in its response to Insider's inquiry about the commission, touting the senator's record in Congress against hers."Marco Rubio has been ranked one of the most effective senators, passing meaningful legislation that includes doubling the child tax credit for working families, bringing accountability to the VA, and saving millions of jobs with the Paycheck Protection Program, all while fulfilling his significant obligations as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee," Elizabeth Gregory, his campaign spokeswoman, told Insider. "Val Demings has followed Nancy Pelosi's lead 100% of the time, accomplishing nothing more than renaming a couple of post offices."

Sens. Marco Rubio and Richard Blumenthal skipped most meetings of a European security commission even as Russia prepared to invade Ukraine, attendance records show

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> is filled with accounts showing off exotic <keyword id="6371668" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="animals">animals</keyword> that aren't typically house-trained, like servals, foxes, raccoons, and kinkajous.</li><li>Vets and animal experts tell Insider that it's led to some people acquiring those pets without knowing what they're getting into.</li><li>While exotic animals can seem tame as children, they can become harder to control once they hit puberty.</li><li>In the best-case scenario, the animals need to be given up. In the worst-case, owners could get hurt and animals can die without proper care.</li></ul>In January, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@feliciawilson_85?lang=en">Felicia Wilson</a> posted <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@feliciawilson_85/video/6781104554537684230?lang=en">a short video of herself</a> and her African serval named Juno. It was only her second TikTok, but the video of the wild cat holding on to her shoulders and nuzzling her head quickly racked up thousands of views. She <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@feliciawilson_85/video/6781864215260056837?lang=en">posted another video</a> two days later of her second serval, Asha, leaping across a room. That one accumulated more than 2 million views.Today, Wilson has more than half a million TikTok followers and is one of many accounts famous for exotic animal content.TikTok users love animal videos. Dogs and cats proliferate, but so do videos of exotic animals like big cats and primates, as well as non-traditional pets like raccoons and squirrels. Some of the most popular exotic pet accounts, like <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhiteredfox?lang=en">@TheWhiteRedFox</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ostrichplug?lang=en">@OstrichPlug</a>, have millions of followers.Wilson never set out to be TikTok-famous. She's an animal transporter licensed by the US Department of Agriculture and frequently works with exotic animals. Juno and Asha were both rescued from abusive owners."I figured, you know what, it'd be nice to let the world know what I do for a living," Wilson told Insider. "I don't just transport, I also do rescues, as well. And then home checks because there are a lot of exotics. You can't control who buys exotic animals."It wasn't long before people commented on Wilson's videos asking where and how to get servals. She started to include educational videos on diet and proper care and emphasized in comments and videos that these are not normal pets. It's advice that the owners of other exotic animal accounts contacted for this story say they give, as well.But it isn't easy to convey a complex message in a viral TikTok, and veterinarians and wildlife experts say TikTok's popular animal videos could send the wrong message.<h2>Animals could get hurt — and so can owners</h2>In the best-case scenario, unprepared owners surrender their animals. In the worst case, the owner ends up hurt or the animal dies.The latter happened to the animal of another popular fox account, @tod_the_foxx, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tod_the_foxx?lang=en">which has 1.9 million followers on TikTok</a>. The owner regularly posted information on fox rescue care alongside videos of Tod in his cage and on walks.Then in May, the fox was <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tod_the_foxx/video/6824347904690359558?_d=secCgsIARCbDRgBIAIoARI%2BCjzPPdfyJXhr2srPHFTglYRJahaq%2FhycRaiOSGo%2B91K6cFg5rYXzs7Fh0L%2FK1rNnWivg8k8vUYZJPUSFTVIaAA%3D%3D&amp;language=en&amp;preview_pb=0&amp;share_item_id=6814142639265418501&amp;timestamp=1597357105&amp;tt_from=copy&amp;u_code=d8kkj06673f217&amp;user_id=6747708669276603397&amp;utm_campaign=client_share&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;utm_source=copy&amp;source=h5_mdium=ios&amp;utm_source=copy&amp;source=h5_m">diagnosed with kidney failure</a> and died shortly after. The owner of Tod's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAS8WRugWaW/?igshid=1168hd123yd3m">Instagram wrote a post</a> about his death that in part blames a veterinarian the owner says didn't diagnose Tod sooner."The safety of our community is our top priority, animals included," a TikTok spokesperson told Insider. "Our community makes many great videos showing the joys of life with a pet, and values protecting against the mistreatment of animals. We don't allow content that shows harmful behavior or treatment of animals, and our actions on any such content include removing a video, suspending an account, and working with law enforcement."Getting the right vet for an uncommon pet is hard enough in big cities, according to <a href="http://rover.com/blog/ca/the-dog-people-panel/">Rebecca Greenstein</a>, veterinary medical advisor for Rover and chief veterinarian at Kleinburg Veterinary Hospital in Toronto. And it's nearly impossible outside of them."Take that to a rural area and the likelihood of finding someone with experience and the necessary equipment is almost zero," Greenstein told Insider.Owners can put themselves at risk, as well. Animals will sometimes scratch or bite a person's hands or face, as noted <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tod_the_foxx/video/6811285522770709765?lang=en">in a video</a> posted by the @tod_the_foxx account. In more serious instances, people need professional medical help. That happened in Wisconsin <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/bit-wisconsin-women-sue-over-042248783.html">when a woman was bit by a lemur</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/2018/10/17/pet-fox-bites-wausau-police-officer-euthanized-rabies-tested/1676240002/">to a police officer trying to catch a pet fox</a> wearing a collar, also in Wisconsin. In the latter case, the fox was put down. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dr.evanantin/?hl=en">Evan Antin</a>, an exotic animal vet at Conejo Valley Veterinary Hospital, told Insider that the No. 1 issue among exotic animal patients is that their owners don't know how to properly care for them.Social media "encourages people to acquire these pets, often impulsively, without doing sufficient research on the proper care for these animals," he told Insider.While wildlife animals can be cute and harmless when they're young, Antin said, they — like humans — can become much harder to control when they hit puberty."As they develop and their sexual hormones elevate, they can become completely different animals, and at that stage can also be very dangerous," Antin said.Antin cites baby raccoons as an example. On TikTok, a community of raccoon owners posts under the hashtag #TrashPanda, where you'll find raccoons described as a "<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@boujeebuster/video/6822236233029225733?lang=en">handful</a>" alongside videos of <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@shreddertheraccoon/video/6860628747381427461?lang=en">pet raccoons playing on a trampoline</a>. But while raccoons are "harmless and absolutely adorable" when young, Antin said, they can "seriously injure people or themselves in a captive setting" as adults. Young primates are easier to manage when they're upset, but are much harder to manage when they're larger and stronger. Videos that show animal attacks or people hurting animals violate <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines?lang=en">TikTok's community guidelines</a>. Some less serious videos of <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@shreddertheraccoon/video/6750394813000060165?lang=en">raccoons</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@kattyelena/video/6810485174124563718?_d=secCgsIARCbDRgBIAIoARI%2BCjxC%2FMOJHdQzTED7QLd9nRQyiPQyCYLzIC2QtrLkT9QSr%2FCRWCvrzjVI7FSLDbjyUbvPFLNdtkHdavrQUfwaAA%3D%3D&amp;language=en&amp;preview_pb=0&amp;sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAAplc95NH9LSMD5aFGoHJ_JbkQCNGe9RDYZn3DpqfjqthCH5cUJZYZ5DyHJcrxDIeJ&amp;share_item_id=6810485174124563718&amp;share_link_id=952BF93B-447E-4BB9-87A6-3B3781B1C2D6&amp;timestamp=1598305848&amp;tt_from=copy&amp;u_code=d8kkj06673f217&amp;user_id=6747708669276603397&amp;utm_campaign=client_share&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;utm_source=copy&amp;source=h5_mp;utm_medium=ios&amp;utm_source=copy&amp;source=h5_m">squirrels</a> biting people are still posted. Videos of more serious bites stay up with a disclaimer, as in <a href="https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJkj1fux/">a video of a captive lizard</a> injuring someone's hand.<h2>TikTok isn't exactly the best place to teach people how to take care of exotic animals</h2>For every licensed animal handler on TikTok looking to educate viewers, there are scores of others posting for clout (or money from product placements.)There are TikTok accounts that <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/kinkajou?lang=en">feature notoriously difficult kinkajous</a> — a nocturnal tree-dwelling mammal found in South American rainforests — as well as plenty of primates. Some accounts feature the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/slowloris?lang=en">slow loris</a>, an animal <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/10/explore-animals-illegal-pet-trade-slow-loris/">threatened by the illegal animal trade</a>, while others post videos of pet <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@marmosetmonkeys/video/6822292506621873414">pygmy marmosets eating spaghetti</a>. People who see entertaining animal videos could be influenced into getting their own without doing the proper research, the animal experts in this story said. One of the biggest problems, according to Stephanie Mantilla, a trainer with <a href="https://www.curiositytrained.com/">Curiosity Trained</a> who worked as a zookeeper for 12 years, is that people who come to TikTok are ready to be entertained. They're on the app to watch animals do cute and funny things. They aren't necessarily ready to take in ownership information, which can otherwise be hard to find."We have a <keyword id="24504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="culture">culture</keyword> where we see someone else doing something and we think, 'oh if they're doing it, I can do it too,'" Mantilla told Insider.The exotic animal trade is also difficult to track and contain. Ownership laws <a href="https://www.bornfreeusa.org/campaigns/animals-in-captivity/summary-state-laws-exotic-animals/">vary by state</a>, so the people who post exotic animals and wildlife often aren't breaking the law. In many cases, they can have the animals with little oversight at all."In rural areas, people may not even know someone has an exotic animal, so they go completely undetected," Greenstein said. "Just outside of Toronto in 2012, we famously had the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ikea-monkey-5-years-later-1.4468659">Ikea monkey</a> and we're still talking about it today. But no one would ever know that someone had a Japanese macaque had it not worn a corduroy jacket and escaped the car in an Ikea parking lot."<h2>Some users are taking the time to explain how exotic animal ownership works</h2>The lack of online information is what originally led Troy Hoffman, owner of Lance Corporal, an American Red Fox going by <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhiteredfox?lang=en">@TheWhiteRedFox</a> on TikTok, to post about how he raised his fox. Hoffman got Lance Corporal, and his Florida fox ownership license, three years ago. He posted photos and videos about day-to-day fox rearing on Facebook and Instagram before TikTok asked him to join the platform in 2018, Hoffman told Insider. He gained 1,000 followers in the first 24 hours. Today, the account has 1.7 million, and Hoffman continues to stress education. Lance Corporal's protein diet alone costs $60 a week, Hoffman said, and the fox often wakes up at 2 a.m. wanting to play. He requires a special litter box, and Hoffman made a video showing how to make one. The fox also pees when he gets excited, which smells like a musty locker room, and foxes poop where they eat."People get foxes and they don't realize all this stuff that goes into it, and they become an owner-surrender fox," Hoffman said. "And that's where the real issue is. People are getting these exotics and not realizing there's more than that one minute segment [on TikTok]."Hoffman is a disabled veteran who has the space and time he feels is needed to care for Lance Corporal. His advice for his followers is simple: "Don't keep a wild fox. Even a domesticated fox is hard enough.""People ask all the time, 'what do I need to do to get a fox?' and the first thing I tell them is if you're looking to me for all the answers, you're not going to be a good owner," Hoffman said. "You need to do research on your own."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/why-people-on-tiktok-are-acting-holocaust-911-abuse-victims-2020-8">TikTok teens are roleplaying as victims of the Holocaust, 9/11, and domestic abuse. We spoke to an expert to find out why</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/bryce-hall-age-bio-tiktok-cheating-partying-peeing-banned-playlist-2020-8">TikTok star Bryce Hall could face jail time after being charged for his giant 21st birthday party. Here's how he methodically built his bad boy brand, from peeing off a balcony to pandemic partying.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-chiropractor-remixes-pop-music-with-back-pain-tips-2020-8">This chiropractor has become an unlikely TikTok star, showing fans how to ease back pain to the tune of 'WAP'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/funny-animal-photos-perfect-timing-2019-3">35 photos of animals that were taken at the perfect time</a></li></ul>

TikTok has an exotic animal problem

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The battle between eight-term Republican congressman Marsha Blackburn and Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen over Tennessee's Senate seat has become deeply divisive.&#xa0;</li><li>Many Tennesseans point to the attack ads outside groups have released in a Senate race in which spending clocked in at a staggering $68 million.</li><li>The race has also featured two candidates with very different approaches to <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>. </li></ul>FRANKLIN, Tennessee - The scene at a pumpkin festival in this city's downtown last Saturday was cheerful. Parents pushed their stroller-bound toddlers dressed in Halloween costumes. Dog owners paraded their costumed pets across a stage in the town square.&#xa0;But the exurb of Nashville is ground zero for one of the country's most competitive, consequential, and nasty US Senate races.At stake is retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker's seat, over which eight-term Republican congressman Marsha Blackburn and Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen are locked in a tight battle.&#xa0;Blackburn strolled around the festival on Saturday morning, shaking hands and chatting with supporters. Some 500 miles away, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-how-it-unfolded-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gunman opened fire inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh</a>, killing 11 congregants in the most deadly attack on the US Jewish community in decades. Progressive Jewish groups called the anti-Semitic violence "a direct culmination" of President Donald Trump's - and the Republican Party's - rhetoric.&#xa0;You wouldn't have known it from the mood at the pumpkin festival, but Tennessee is suffering from the same deep political divisions riling Washington and the nation.&#xa0;"People, regardless of their ideology, know that something in American politics isn't right at the moment," said Jeff Yarbro, a Democratic state senator from Nashville.<h2>Divisive rhetoric and 'ridiculous' attacks</h2>Tennessee hasn't had a competitive state-wide political contest since 2006, when Corker narrowly beat Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. This year's race is being fought through the prism of deep national divisions.&#xa0;Many Tennesseans point to the attack ads both camps have released in a Senate race in which spending clocked in at a staggering <a href="https://www.apnews.com/2f882af88bbf45e88315e021cf14aec1">$68 million</a>. The most vicious ads have been bankrolled by outside groups, including the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity on the right and Sen. Chuck Schumer's Senate Majority PAC on the left. The groups have poured $17.8 million into supporting Bredesen's campaign and $23.2 million into backing Blackburn's, respectively.The first thing that Dawn Van Ryckeghem, a 54-year-old swim coach and Blackburn supporter, said when asked about the race is that she's been repelled by the "ridiculous" attack ads.&#xa0;"When I was younger, when my mom was younger, politicians had respect for each other, they didn't call each other names, they didn't do smear campaigns and they kept to the facts," Van Ryckeghem said between bites of kettle corn at the Franklin festival on Saturday, adding that Trump is "spewing out hatred and divisiveness."&#xa0;<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul><li>In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnXjqtqdGD4&amp;feature=youtu.be">one ad</a>, Americans for Prosperity accused Bredesen of supporting higher gas and sales taxes and spending lavishly on the governor's mansion while he led the state through a budget crisis. Some of those claims are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/06/koch-funded-group-misfires-with-attack-ad-phil-bredesen/?utm_term=.539ed91dd1c6">untrue</a>, according to independent fact-checkers.</li><li>A National Republican Senatorial Committee <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8eP5qw39G8&amp;feature=youtu.be">ad</a> accuses Bredesen of shredding documents related to sexual harassment claims made by state employees while he was governor.</li><li>Fact-checkers also found that attack misleading, and Bredesen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tvZWGw-3ao&amp;feature=youtu.be">released a response ad</a>&#xa0;in which former female colleagues call Blackburn a "liar."</li><li>Meanwhile, Senate Majority PAC ads accuse Blackburn of being&#xa0;a Washington insider who's repeatedly voted to raise her own salary while stripping benefits from vulnerable Americans and being "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjBX6GSaJPM">bought and paid for by the opioid industry</a>."</li></ul>"The ads this cycle are orders of magnitude worse, in terms of nastiness," said Josh Clinton, a political science professor at Vanderbilt.He added that negative ads can depress enthusiasm and turnout, particularly among independents and new or irregular voters, on whom Bredesen is counting."So if you think cynically, that's probably better news for the stronger party in the state, which has a larger base," he said.<h2>'Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist!'</h2>Perhaps the most unexpected attack launched in the race from Taylor Swift, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-endorsement-politics-2018-10">who broke her political silence</a> by&#xa0;slamming Blackburn as an anti-woman candidate who would undermine civil and human rights. She encouraged fellow Tennesseans to vote for Bredesen and Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper."Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me," Swift wrote in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BopoXpYnCes/?hl=en&amp;taken-by=taylorswift">an Instagram post</a> of Blackburn. "These are not MY Tennessee values."Exemplifying the deep tensions at play in the race, anti-Blackburn protesters <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/blackburn-angry-mob-interrupted-rally-tennessee-lindsey-graham/story?id=58819868">interrupted</a> a moment of silence for victims of the Pittsburgh massacre during a Sunday rally in Nashville. As the crowd quieted in respect for those who were killed by an anti-Semitic mass shooter, a woman called out, "Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist!"Blackburn joined the crowd's chants of "USA! USA!" as several protesters were forcibly dragged out of the event by police. She later called the demonstrators a "liberal angry mob."&#xa0;Bredesen's campaign also condemned the protesters, with whom it said it had no association, and also accused Blackburn staffers of disrupting Bredesen's events.&#xa0;"It is&#xa0;a shame that people disrupted Congresswoman Blackburn's event and it is a shame that Congresswoman Blackburn's campaign staffers have been proudly screaming at 37 of Governor Bredesen's events," Bredesen's press secretary, Alyssa Hansen, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/blackburn-angry-mob-interrupted-rally-tennessee-lindsey-graham/story?id=58819868">said in a statement to reporters</a>.&#xa0;<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><h2>A clash of styles</h2>Blackburn and Bredesen have different views on policy, but their differing styles are particularly apparent in this race.&#xa0;Bredesen is understated, measured, cautious - what some call boring. He largely sticks to policy, a strategic move - he would lose cultural battles over guns, abortion, or protesting during the pledge of allegiance. Meanwhile, Blackburn is a conservative firebrand who's doing her best to energize the GOP base for a repeat of 2016.Despite unbridled partisanship in Washington, Bredesen insists he has "a high school civics view of our country" and is "pained" by what he sees as "a government of people standing on opposite sides of the room and shouting at each other." He said that he's tried to engage as little as possible in political attacks.&#xa0;"I think it's certainly appropriate to contrast yourself, but I have not tried to correct or fight back on every single crazy thing that comes of out these ads," Bredesen said in a Saturday interview. "I don't want to run a campaign where the issues are driven by the opponent. I like to talk about my own issues."Blackburn made her name on cable TV, is one of the most conservative members of the House, and has become one of Trump's most loyal allies in that chamber, where she's served since 2003. She&#xa0;introduced her Senate bid last year by framing herself as more conservative than the rest. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>"Tennessee has never had a Republican nominee as conservative or who is as much an ideological warrior as Rep. Blackburn is," said Yarbro, the Democratic state senator.But despite Blackburn's full embrace of Trump, many Tennesseans draw a distinction between the candidate and the president. And the congressman herself occasionally draws a line herself, conceding that Tennesseans won't always stand for his rhetoric.&#xa0;"There's been a couple of times … I've said we need to take a kinder approach," Blackburn said in an interview last Saturday. "This is the South and people have a lot of respect for manners."<div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/megyn-kelly-santa-is-white-remark-fox-news-nbc-ignition-today-controversial-remarks-2017-11">Megyn Kelly in 2017: 'I regret a lot' of the controversial stuff I've said on live television</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

'Ridiculous' attack ads and bitter protests define a divisive Tennessee race that could determine control of the Senate

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table lead-image-large"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Julia Salazar, a 27-year-old New York State Senate candidate, is facing a barrage of criticism and media attention amid reports that she misrepresented aspects of her background.&#xa0;</li><li>While some progressives believe questions around Salazar's credibility make her an unsuitable candidate, many, including other progressive New York candidates, are standing by her.&#xa0;</li><li>New Yorkers will decide on Thursday whether Salazar will replace a longtime incumbent Democrat in their Brooklyn district.&#xa0;</li></ul>When Julia Salazar, a 27-year-old progressive activist, was convinced to run for New York State Senate early this year by fellow members of the Democratic Socialists of America, there was no evidence that a young political novice on the far left could upend the party's political order and oust a longtime Democratic incumbent.&#xa0;But on June 26, when fellow DSA member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned the nation by beating 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic US congressional primary, the landscape shifted.&#xa0;As national media scrambled to cover a story they largely missed, Salazar - who bears striking similarities to Ocasio-Cortez - found herself in the spotlight. Two months of glowing stories followed. Reporters painted Salazar as the next young Latina to inspire millennials and traditionally marginalized voters to forge a new path in Democratic <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> from her Brooklyn district. But the outsize media attention began to hurt her in late August. The Jewish online magazine Tablet&#xa0;<a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/269094/who-is-julia-salazar">took a deep look</a> into Salazar's transformation from a conservative, anti-choice, evangelical Christian activist to a pro-Palestine progressive, who converted to Judaism while an undergrad at Columbia University. (The Tablet reporter who wrote the story, Armin Rosen, was previously a reporter at Business Insider.)The story was panned by Salazar's critics as an unfair attack on her religious and ethnic identity. Salazar <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/5/17806484/julia-salazar-socialist-working-class-jewish-background">told Vox</a> she was "deeply hurt on a personal level" by the excavation of intimate details of her personal, political, and religious evolution.&#xa0;But a week later, <a href="https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/new-york-city/julia-salazar-brother-mother-question-claims.html">City and State New York</a>&#xa0;published another story in which Salazar's brother and mother disputed a host of claims Salazar made about her personal background, including that she is a Colombian immigrant (she was born in Miami), and that she was raised working class.<section data-track-content="" data-post-type="post"><div data-piano-inline-content-wrapper="">Salazar's backstory grew stranger last week, when <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6135497/NY-Democratic-Senate-hopeful-Julia-Salazar-accused-having-affair-Mets-Keith-Hernandez.html">reports emerged</a> that she was arrested in 2011 on identity theft and other criminal charges as part of a dispute with the ex-wife of&#xa0;former New York Mets&#xa0;player&#xa0;Keith Hernandez.&#xa0;Salazar claims she was "defamed and victimized" by Hernandez's then-estranged wife, Kai, when she fraudulently attempted to break into her own bank account while impersonating Salazar and falsely accused the then-19-year-old college student of having an affair with her husband. Salazar sued Kai for defamation in Palm Beach County in 2013, which, years later, resulted in a $20,000 settlement for Salazar.&#xa0;"The more parsimonious explanation is that there's something about her," said a former friend of Salazar's, who wished to remain anonymous to avoid online harassment from Salazar's supporters.The friend added: "She's sort of been asking her supporters not to believe what their ears are hearing and not to believe what their eyes are seeing."Salazar has <a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/conversation/julia-salazar-in-her-own-words/">acknowledged</a> that her campaign was somewhat caught off-guard by the intense media scrutiny, and that she and her small staff "weren't on the same page" about some aspects of her background.&#xa0;"The people who have been involved in supporting her and running her campaign - none of us were prepared for the amount of attention that her race would get," a DSA member who has organized with Salazar since 2016, and wished to remain anonymous to protect his relationship with the candidate, told Business Insider.&#xa0;<h2>Sexual assault allegations&#xa0;</h2>The media storm surrounding Salazar grew on Tuesday - just two days before Thursday's primary election - when&#xa0;The Daily Caller, a conservative website, reported that she had accused&#xa0;a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, David Keyes, of sexually assaulting her in his Manhattan apartment in a November 2013 Facebook post that she later deleted.&#xa0;Salazar objected to the publication of her allegations, which appear to have been first reported in <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-new-spokesman-accused-of-sexual-assault/">a Times of Israel editorial</a> in the spring of 2016 - the basis of The Daily Caller report.&#xa0;"There's a reason women don't often come forward after a traumatic experience - because of the triggering and vicious responses that follow," the candidate&#xa0;<a href="https://twitter.com/SalazarSenate18/status/1039542597411373056">wrote</a> in a statement shortly before the publication of the article.&#xa0;"I strongly believe sexual assault survivors should not be outed in this way, and am saddened by the effect this story may have on other women."Later on Tuesday,&#xa0;Wall Street Journal&#xa0;reporter Shayndi Raice <a href="https://twitter.com/Shayndi/status/1039627568796905473">tweeted</a> that she also once had a "terrible encounter" with Keyes. "The man had absolutely no conception of the word 'no,'" she wrote. "I was able to extricate myself quickly and it was a very brief and uncomfortable moment but I knew as I walked away I had encountered a predator."</div></section>Keyes denied Salazar's allegations on Tuesday, using the controversies surrounding her background to boost his defense, telling&#xa0;<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-netanyahu-spokesman-denies-sexual-assault-claim-by-julia-salazar-1.6466491">Haaretz</a>,&#xa0;"This false accusation is made by someone who has proven to be repeatedly dishonest about her own life."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><h2>An authentic progressive&#xa0;</h2>Despite questions about Salazar's character, her supporters maintain that that she's a devoted champion of progressive change.&#xa0;Salazar is challenging state Sen.&#xa0;Martin Malavè Dilan, a well-funded 16-year Democratic incumbent, and is running on a deeply progressive platform that includes Medicare-for-All,&#xa0;tuition-free public college, abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and&#xa0;establishing universal rent control.&#xa0;Salazar's allies cite years of work as an organizer and political activist as evidence of her authenticity.&#xa0;"Just the fact that she has been present when we've needed people to show up -&#xa0;that just means the world to me," the DSA organizer said. "There's no lying about that … you can't fake that."Dilan has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from Wall Street and the real estate industry - a point Salazar has used to draw contrasts with her campaign, which banned corporate PAC money.The DSA organizer said Salazar's win won't be a referendum on her personal story, but a testament to the work of grassroots organizers and others who powered her campaign."I do not have any doubts that a state senate with Julia in it would be better than one without," he said.&#xa0;<h2>'Muddying the waters'</h2>Salazar is one of a broad slate of progressive insurgents - many of them women and people of color - aiming to upend New York State's political order this year. On Thursday, voters will decide her political future along with that of Cynthia Nixon - the former actress challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-a-group-of-women-may-remake-new-york-politics-2018-8">a slew of other candidates, including for state Senate</a>, looking to oust incumbent Democrats.&#xa0;Salazar has campaigned with and been endorsed by Nixon, attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout, Ocasio-Cortez, and others, who've branded themselves as a movement. They have all stood by Salazar over the past few weeks.&#xa0;But some say the cloud of bizarre allegations and misrepresentations dogging Salazar's campaign is unhealthy for the larger progressive movement.&#xa0;"I'm rooting for a progressive future in politics -&#xa0;young, articulate progressives changing the conversation," the former friend of Salazar's said. "I think this is such a bad precedent, partly because it's embarrassing and the right-wing media's having a field day with it, but also because it's turning people into the populist mob that they claim to detest on the other side ... truth and integrity and common sense are going completely out the window for partisans of this movement."Some say that if New York progressives, including candidates and elected officials, don't distance themselves from Salazar, they'll risk their reputations and that of the groups they belong to.&#xa0;Ocasio-Cortez "defending someone who seems to have real credibility problems, if not outright lies, is a very dangerous thing - it muddies those waters and smears the narrative," Harry&#xa0;Siegel, a columnist for the New York Daily News and Daily Beast editor, <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/what-julia-salazar-controversy-means-democratic-socialists-america/">told WNYC</a>. He added: "You do have this binary choice, if you want this venal Democratic hack or if you want an exciting young candidate, I just have questions about this exciting young candidate's credibility."&#xa0;<div></div><div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tick-bite-can-make-you-allergic-red-meat-2018-8">One bite from this tick could ruin red meat for the rest of your life</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Julia Salazar, the controversial 27-year-old democratic socialist running for New York State Senate, faces her big test in the New York primary

Police thought an 18-year-old girl 'made up' being raped at knifepoint - the guy who did it is now spending 327 years in prison for 27 other rapes

He sets out with a prayer on his lips. Wired and beefed with bombs from head to the bone on his hips. There is no going back. The clock ticks on. He doesn't need his specs on. Because by five, from one, two, three, and four, he'd be gone along with you in the vacation of your yawn. 
 
He is not crippled by disease, society, upbringing, or education. He is just him. Sacked and hacked under a radical whim. 
 
Time is precious. The last moments are vicious. Biologically his ticker is alive. Spiritually he is dead. 
 
Because, only the dead can kill. Only the killed can be dead. 
 
He is happy. The heaven is mapped in his favour. With the odour of the most beautiful untouched, virgin angels. 
 
He has reached the destination. The nation from where he officially departs. The reaction in which his victims are casually censored in the aftermath graphic footage clip arts. Bodies are assembled in a scramble like broken eggs in a challenging scrabble. 
 
The curse is blessed. 
 
The Legacy of Suicide Bombing. 
 
War is poetry for geopolitics. Most often it is a mystery who the poet is. It is always “poets”. War encourages the most collaborative commerce. 
 
People are always unhappy with the existing government. Change becomes the staple food of the bourgeois. Their manifesto is smeared with the throbbing young blood of promise. Vibrant and striking. One that appears and feels better than that is today. It has to be. But if you just unwrap their juicy roll of delicious hope, all you'd see is an old fry dipped in new oil. 
 
Revolutions are baptised as the 'Morning Sun'. Martyrs are autopsied as the 'Memorial Sons'. 
 
In 1869, the famous anarchist, Mikhail Bakunin, and Sergi Nechayev, both Russians, published a book called 'Catechism of a Revolutionist'. A passage from the book reads, "The Revolutionist is a doomed man. He has no private interests, no affairs, sentiments, ties, property nor even a name of his own. His entire being is devoured by one purpose, one thought, one passion - the revolution. Heart and soul, not merely by word but by deed, he has severed every link with the social order and with the entire civilized world; with the laws, good manners, conventions, and morality of that world. He is its merciless enemy and continues to inhabit it with only one purpose - to destroy it." 
 
The book had a great impact around its epicentre. From the aftershocks, seven years later, in 1876, a group was created. It was called Land and Liberty. In this group, a considerable chunk voted for the system of state to go to dogs. Then, hand over the land of Russia to its peasants. A reality that Mikhail Bakunin had been counting his beads for. 
 
Three years from the inception of Land and Liberty, the group broke into two factions. One that that had a sweet tooth for terror. The other that was diabetic to terror. The terror group went on to become The People's Will, the Russian left-wing revolutionary organisation. 
 
So the group built some muscle. And in 1881, Ignacy Hryniewiecki from The People's Will was appointed to assassinate Alexander II. Not just in any manner. But with a human touch. When Hryniewiecki flung the bomb at the Tsar, he was too close to the explosion himself. The effect of the bomb along with tearing the Tsar apart, injures, wounds, and kills Hryniewiecki. Right this moment, the bomb conceives a new testosterone. It scribbles a ripple in the mystical ocean of its renaissance, spelling an endless and relentless wave of suicide bombing in an orgy of trance. 
 
Before the World War 2 was born, the Chinese and Japanese had a warm up in 1938, with their Battle of Taierzhuang. Here, the Chinese soldiers strapped with grenades and explosives dove under the Japanese tanks and blew what they could with the girth of their bombs. 
 
When it was time for the Japanese to exploit the suicide hashtag, they soared high and cornered the market. Literally. During the World War 2, Kamikaze pilots were engineered to fly planes into the Allied Forces' naval fleet. Their planes were not built to deploy bombs as they were “the” bombs. From torpedoes to missiles to bubbling fuel tanks to aircraft, the Kamikaze pilots had only one role. To use the instrument he is in or on and take it straight to the flesh of the enemy ships, making them bleed hard. 
 
To the Japanese, the philosophy of death was far more supreme and coveted than defeat. According to the principles laid out in their Samurai and Bushido code, everything else comes second to loyalty and honour. 
 
The Land of the Morning Sun, South Korea, who, cradled by the U.S.A after the split of Korea in World War 2 is not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to the roster on suicide poll. Among the developed nations, South Korea ranks #1 in suicide rate. 14,160 people committed suicide in 2012. 
 
As South Korea was still licking its wounds from World War 2 and the Korean bifurcation, North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June, 1950. As part of a strategic military tactic, South Korean soldiers wrapped bombs around their bodies and attacked North Korean tanks. 
 
North was not shy either. Using satchel charges, North Korean suicide squads attacked American tanks in the same Korean War. 
 
When the suicide bombing ball rolled over to Asia, LTTE grappled it hard with its jaw like a mastiff on cocaine. 
 
LTTE didn't spare the government, civilians, Prime Minister or their own President. They were Tigers. Wild. All they knew was to hunt and eat. In their case, detonate and inspire for a cause. Between 1980 and 2000, LTTE rocked the stage of the suicide bombing concerts. 
 
Once the middle east understood that it was beyond just snaking exotic bellies for the connoisseurs and cheering ships of oils with the west and the rest of the velvet states, it knew it could roll its dice on its golden plate of religion. 
 “<keyword id="6413176" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="jihad">Jihad</keyword>” becomes the dictator. Everyone else obliged to press the Quran against their foreheads out of proclaimed duty and acclaimed piety, does as the Jihad commands. As we have come to see, with so many organisations and diverse motto <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/What-If-ISIS-Offered-You-A-Fabulous-Job-With-Excellent-Perks-Would-You-Take-It/articleshow/47469873.cms">LeT, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram, and of course, ISIS</a>, and lots more, Jihad is just one person. But he comes with many tongues. Or could it be, Jihad says many things, but could mean only one thing? 
 
It used to be a man's game. But as the world is hell bent on giving its word to extending the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Caitlyn-Jenner-Is-Proving-That-Trans-Is-Indeed-Trance-So-You-Think-We-Could-Ever-Have-A-Transgender-As-The-Next-U-S-President/articleshow/47653597.cms">quality of equality</a>, the men behind the keffiyeh, the convenient and fashionable facial burka for the man, he started inviting women. And children. To take part in the exploding arguments for their bereaved cause. 
 A 2011 intelligence analyst report in the <keyword id="108682" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="U-S-Army">U.S. army</keyword> said, “Although women make up roughly 15% of the suicide bombers within groups which utilize females, they were responsible for 65% of assassinations; 20% of women who committed a suicide attack did so with the purpose of assassinating a specific individual, compared with 4% of male attackers.” The report also maintained that most of the women suicide bombers were, “grieving the loss of family members [and] seeking revenge against those they feel are responsible for the loss, unable to produce children, [and/or] dishonoured through sexual indiscretion.” 
 
With the children it is easier. Unlike their older counterparts who are to be lured with vengeance, political, regional, religious, and sectarian propaganda, and promise of relentless whoring in the afterlife, all that the juvenile needs to be told is that “they” are the bad men.” 
 A child <keyword id="41005" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="suicide-bomber">suicide bomber</keyword> is like the icing on the cake. It looks innocent. Attractive. Can be put together into any form. And, most often, until you take the bite, you will never know what it tastes like. That is what makes them so viable. So effortless. So smooth. 
 
Invasions take up our personal space. Demanding us to change our face and base. Our surrender will include both the gender, including the one that's tender. 
 
In agreement, you are an ally to one. In disagreement, you become an enemy to another. In neutrality, you are "a threat" to world peace. 
 
There is no such thing as the world's most famous suicide bomber. A suicide bomber's kid won't come out and scream on the edge of rooftops, “I want to be like my father.” The world is not going to sing songs for suicide bombers. No successful suicide bomber will go on to tell his tale. There won't be any fodder from the “horse's mouth”. 
 
A handful who were able to target the renowned are worshipped. In their own circuits. However, they are just Gods who are impotent to issue commandments, as they are not sure what it means to be right, and what it means to be left out. 
 
Image credit: Flickr

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