Scientists investigating a strange sea critter with an enormous set of eyes have discovered it has surprisingly advanced eyesight for such a small animal‚ and might even use them for a unique method of secret communication.Imagine lugging around an extra 100 kilograms (220 pounds) in the form of two gigantic eyeballs. That would probably look incredibly cursed‚ but thats the reality at least in relative terms for Vanadis bristle worms‚ which have bright orange-red eyes that together weigh 20 times more than the rest of their head.However‚ these odd-looking Mediterranean marine worms are also nocturnal so whats the point in them having such massive eyes?A team of scientists set out to find out‚ examining the morphology of the eyes‚ as well as conducting electrophysiological tests to determine what kind of receptors were in the eyes‚ and thus what wavelengths of light the worms could see.They also carried out optical analysis to get an idea of the kind of resolution they could see in‚ though this was a bit more complex than getting a worm to squint at a bunch of letters on a distant poster.Vanadis is named after the Norse goddess of love‚ Freya.Image credit: Michael BokThe tests revealed that the worms have what the researchers called outstanding vision‚ capable of high-resolution and tracking even small objects and their movements something thats pretty unusual for such a creature.Its eyesight is on a par with that of mice or rats‚ despite being a relatively simple organism with a miniscule brain‚"; said study author Anders Garm in a statement. ";It';s really interesting because an ability like this is typically reserved for us vertebrates‚ along with arthropods (insects‚ spiders‚ etc.) and cephalopods (octopus‚ squid).Its still not entirely clear what benefit having such bright‚ enormous eyes actually has for the worms‚ but the discovery that their vision appears to be geared to ultraviolet (UV) light has given the team some ideas.";We have a theory that the worms themselves are bioluminescent and communicate with each other via light‚ explained Garm. If you use normal blue or green light as bioluminescence‚ you also risk attracting predators. But if instead‚ the worm uses UV light‚ it will remain invisible to animals other than those of its own species. Therefore‚ our hypothesis is that theyve developed sharp UV vision so as to have a secret language related to mating.";They also suggest that it could help them see UV bioluminescent prey but lets be honest‚ the idea that they have ginormous peepers to spot stealthy sexy messages is far more amusing.Regardless‚ it makes things truly exciting as UV bioluminescence has yet to be witnessed in any other animal. So‚ we hope to be able to present this as the first example‚ Garm concluded.The study is published in the journalCurrent Biology.

A snake-like robot and mini drones have ventured deep inside the irradiated reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan. As shown in their new images‚ the clean-up operations still have some way to go 13 years after the catastrophic nuclear meltdown.Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO)‚ the electric utility company that operated the plant and runs its decommissioning program‚ carried out its latest internal investigation of the Fukushima plants Unit 1 reactor in March 2024.Unit 1 was the epicenter of the disaster when it went into meltdown on March 11‚ 2011. An earthquake followed by a tsunami flooded its backup generators‚ cutting power to the pumps that continuously douse the reactor core with coolant liquid. Intense heat built up and a full meltdown eventually occurred‚ releasing dangerous amounts of radiation into the surrounding environment.In their latest step to clean up the area‚ TEPCO sent robotic probes in the bowels of this reactor to examine the core and its melted nuclear fuel. Their aim is to learn about the condition of the spent fuel to facilitate its removal so the plant can be decommissioned.It marks the first time they';ve managed to return with images from inside the ";pedestal"; of reactor Unit 1.TEPCO are still trying to identify the orange clump-like structures‚ but they are likely to be melted fuel or equipment.Image credit: TEPCODeep within Unit 1‚ the robots took images of icicle-like adhesions and clump-like objects hanging off the walls of the reactor. These unusual features are likely to be the product of fuel or equipment that melted during the super-hot meltdown‚ but became set and solid when they later cooled.Very useful information has been obtained‚ a TEPCO official said at a news conference on March 18‚ according to The Asahi Shimbun.Unit 1 isnt the only portion of Fukushima that needs to be cleared up. Meltdowns also occurred in reactors Unit 2 and Unit 3. Unit 4 was also damaged by an explosion from Unit 3‚ although there was no fuel in the reactor at the time. Its estimated that the three impacted reactors contain an estimated total of 880 tons of melted fuel debris‚ all of which TEPCO hopes to remove during their decommissioning efforts.Another look inside Unit 1.Image credit: TEPCOThe decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has made progress. In 2023‚ they finally went ahead with their controversial plan to dump treated water from the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the Pacific Ocean‚ marking a significant milestone in its clean up.However‚ there have been a considerable number of setbacks. In 2017‚ the ruins of Fukushima weredubbed a robot graveyard owing to the number of remote-controlled probes that had broken inside the irradiated facility.TEPCO has said the full decommissioning of the plant will require 30 to 40 years‚ but critics say this is naively optimistic.

Most consumers think little about the potential hazards of the products they buy on a daily basis. The assumption is twofold: first‚ that the powers that be have protections in place to prevent the worst from happening‚ and second that no one would be ghoulish enough to deliberately tamper with something an unwitting person would consume. Today this is mostly true‚ but it was not the case in 1982‚ when a series of deaths sparked a national panic and nearly brought down a pharmaceutical giant. The murders‚ later dubbed the Chicago Tylenol Murders‚ remain unsolved‚ but the changes they brought to American consumer culture still impact consumers more than thirty years later.The grisly crime began in September 1982‚ when 12-year old Mary Kellerman complained to her parents about a cold. The Kellermans gave her a Tylenol capsule. She died only hours later. The same morning‚ a postal worker named Adam Janus died of what was initially believed to be a heart attack. His brother and sister-in-law‚ Stanley and Teresa‚ returned home after they heard news of the tragedy. They too died soon after taking Tylenol extra-strength capsules from the same bottle Adam had opened earlier in the day. Three more deaths followed in quick succession: Mary McFarland‚ Paula Prince‚ and Mary Weiner all succumbed to sudden deaths not long after consuming Tylenol capsules.Police followed up on the only link the seven victims shared: the fact that theyd all consumed Tylenol hours or days before their death. The capsules in each case were sent to labs for testing which revealed a horrifying fact: the capsules had been laced with potassium cyanide‚ in a dose strong enough to kill a person many times over. Police concluded that since only Chicago area residents had been stricken by the cyanide‚ with no other deaths anywhere else in the country‚ the capsules must have been tampered with at the store level rather than the manufacturing level. They surmised that the killer must have taken bottles off the shelves of local stores‚ poisoned the capsules‚ and returned them to store shelves. So‚ the murders were not targeted but rather random acts against unknown victims. Police were baffled as to a possible motive for the killings.The deaths sparked a frenzy of panic across the country. Worried people flooded hospitals and swamped poison control hotlines‚ concerned that they had consumed tainted medicine. Adding fuel to the fire‚ copycats looking for their own five minutes of fame tainted Tylenol caps with everything from rat poison to hydrochloric acid. There were over two hundred instances of copycats in the month following the Tylenol murders. For its part‚ Tylenols manufacturer‚ Johnson &;amp; Johnson‚ responded to the murders and subsequent panic by pulling all Tylenol products and advertising‚ an act costing it millions of dollars. The future of the company was left in doubt; it seemed there was no way for the giant to rebound from this disaster.Chicago police issued artwork showing how James Lewis‚ a suspect in the Tylenol murders in Chicago‚ might look.As for the person or people who started the panic‚ police were at a loss. In October 1982‚ tax consultant James Lewis wrote a letter to Johnson &;amp; Johnson‚ demanding a million dollars to stop the killings. Police tracked down Lewis in New York. Lewis denied having anything to do with the Tylenol murders‚ but his denial didnt stop investigators from suspecting him. He had a murky past. In Kansas City in 1978‚ he was charged with murder after police found remains of a former client of his stuffed into bags in his attic. The charges were dropped when a judge found the police searched his home illegally. Despite his murderous history‚ Lewis could never be concretely tied to the Tylenol murders. However‚ the letter was enough to charge him with extortion‚ which would lead to Lewis serving 13 years of a 20 year sentence in a federal prison. In 2008‚ the FBI reopened their investigation‚ with a renewed focus on Lewis as a probable suspect. However‚ their investigation turned up no new leads. The culprit remains a mystery.In the wake of the murders‚ Johnson &;amp; Johnson took the lead‚ pledging to protect their customers from such attacks. They introduced tamper-proof packaging‚ which eventually became the industry standard for all over-the-counter medications. They also introduced the caplet‚ a tablet that was as easy to swallow as a capsule but much harder to tamper with. Tylenol rebounded in the wake of the killings‚ and once again became the top selling over-the-counter pain killer. The government responded as well. In 1983‚ Congress passed the Tylenol bill‚ which made it a felony to tamper with consumer products. For its part‚ the Food and Drug Administration established federal guidelines for manufacturers to adopt the new tamper-proof packaging.The unfortunate truth is that it often takes a tragedy like the Chicago Tylenol Murders to put into place protections that‚ in retrospect‚ seem obvious. However‚ no one at the time could conceive that a person could be so twisted as to poison an over-the-counter medication used by millions of all ages. Seven people died‚ killed for reasons that might never be found. It is small comfort to their loved ones‚ but their deaths led to protections that have kept millions of people from meeting the same fate in the decades since.The post The Chicago Tylenol Murders case still unsolved appeared first on Anomalien.com.

UPDATE 4/9/24 9:48 a.m. On Monday‚ MRC Free Speech America reached out to the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court for comment on Elon Musk';s remarks against de Moraes‚ but a spokesperson did not respond. Instead‚ the spokesperson directed MRC to Moraess criminal referral to the attorney general‚ asking them to investigate Musk';s pro-free speech actions pertaining to the previous orders. You can find the referral (in Portuguese) here.------The battle between an infamous left-wing Brazilian judge and X owner Elon Musk has taken yet another dark twist that could put Brazil an inch closer to becoming a totalitarian regime‚ critics warn.On Sunday‚ Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes launched a criminal investigation into Musk after the tech mogul dared to defy a contentious court order demanding what has been described as the unwarranted censorship of some X users.Xs Global Government Affairs announced that de Moraes ordered the social media platform to ban certain popular users over so-called disinformation. Tellingly‚ the judge ordered the platform to not disclose the order.In response‚ Musk ordered the platform to unban these accounts‚ arguing that de Moraes has no legal basis for the requested censorship. Such a defiant act seemingly triggered de Moraes to launch a probe into Musk for potential obstruction of justice‚ criminal organization and incitement of crime‚ Forbes reported on Monday.Journalist Michael Shellenberger‚ an individual who often breaks stories out of Brazil‚ tweeted on Monday that the criminal probe into Musk may lead to the closure of Xs operations in the Central American country.I say‚ Tell me‚ Alexandre‚ is the disinformation in the room with us now? https://t.co/yhvOmrysaZ Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 8‚ 2024De Moraes has taken Brazil one step closer to being a dictatorship‚ Shellenberger wrote. Whats more‚ the events of the last few weeks make clear that Elon Musk is the only thing standing in the way of global totalitarianism. Without free speech‚ there can be no democracy.Earlier this week‚ Musk accused de Moraes of threatening to arrest Brazil-based X employees and imposing hefty fines. De Moraes imposed a fine of nearly $20‚000 per day for each account not banned‚ according to Forbes.As a result‚ we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit‚ Musk wrote on Saturday.In follow-up posts‚ Musk directly addressed Moraes‚ including calling for a public debate on the orders and suggestingthat the orders may be carried out in a bid to support political affiliation.X supports the people of Brazil‚ without regard to political affiliation. Does Judge@Alexandre? Musk questioned on Monday.De Moraes did not immediately respond to MRC Free Speech Americas request for comment.Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us using CensorTracks contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

You better be on the (down low) if you';re a Republican (in LA) because you';re not getting invited to anything.That was the message from Bravos new reality show The Valley - a spinoff of Vanderpump Rules (home of the infamous Scandoval cheating drama that swept the nation several months ago) - just three episodes into its season premiere.Politics rarely‚ if ever‚ come up on the original‚ but just three episodes into The Valley things turned very political‚ and very ugly‚ with one cast member proclaiming its a death sentence and social suicide to be a Republican in Los Angeles‚ while others insinuate that being a Republican automatically makes you a racist.As with most reality shows‚ gossip‚ drama‚ and arguments are a main focus‚ so youll have to bear with us as we trudge through all the likes randomly thrown into conversations and the ';he said‚ she said'; banter as the cast plays out a game of Telephone over a rumor.The drama started on the episode Doubting Doute when Vanderpump alum Kristen Doute repeated a rumor she claims was told to her by Zack in which Janet supposedly warned Jasmine‚ who is black‚ that Michelle is secretly Republican and thus‚ a racist.I know‚ I know. Its confusing and ridiculous. But the accusations are very serious‚ with real life ramifications‚ so just try to stay focused on those.Another Vanderpump alum‚ Brittany‚ explains the situation to her husband Jax while Michelle discusses with her husband Jesse how those two words (Republican and racist) affected her:Brittany: Kristen starts bringing up that Janet told Jasmine Michelle was a racist and a Republican and all this crap.Kristen (Flashback): What am I stirring up? The truth that Janet told you Michelle is‚ like‚ probably a Republican‚ so she';s probably racist. This is the (bleep) that Janet was saying.Jasmine: You know what‚ Kristen? I swear to God‚ you are not-- look at me. You are not gonna (bleep) say that Janet told me that she was a racist.Brittany: You know‚ she';s like‚ no‚ no‚ no‚ actuallyKristen: That is what Zack told me.Zack: I never said that!Michelle: Its not (bleep) true‚ Kristen.Jax: Listen. That';s not gonna fly.Brittany: I can';t-- I';m wondering how Michelle is feeling today‚ like‚ after she brought that up in her own home and said that about her.Michelle: I haven';t slept. You have no idea what happened last night. The first time in my life I';ve ever heard my name associated with these words. And she said‚ Janet said Michelle is a racist and a Republican. Jesse: She said‚ a racist and a Republican? Michelle: Yes‚ I';m still shocked‚ to be honest with you‚ like‚ completely shocked.Jesse: What the (bleep) Is wrong with her? I know. I';m sorry. I';m sorry.Michelle: Stop saying that word.Jesse: It';s in my vocabulary.Michelle: We have a daughter. You can';t use those anymore. Because she starts saying it.Jesse: Shh‚ no‚ no‚ no. We don';t say that word. I';m sorry.Daughter: You say that every day.Jesse: I know. When you say it‚ it';s funny. When I say it‚ it';s wrong.Michelle: I';m really upset because Janet wouldn';t say that or else she wouldn';t be my friend. And hello‚ I';m the one that';s first generation Mexican‚ first-generation Persian. I was just so shocked and confused by the whole thing. Jesse: You should call Janet and be like‚ did you (bleep) say this?They did redeem themselves somewhat when Jesse remarks‚ What does being a Republican have to do with it?Michelle answers‚ Like‚ I';m not a Republican‚ which‚ by the way‚ even if I am‚ who gives a (bleep)? But things devolved again as the show progressed.Janet explains in a confessional that the rumor apparently began over the falsely labeled Dont Say Gay law in Florida‚ which Michelle rightly stated protects children. Janet then self-righteously explains how wrong Michelle is to believe that‚ and that she‚ maybe got swept into an algorithm that maybe is teaching her some things that are not true.So‚ Janet was hoping if it came up again‚ it could be a teachable moment for Michelle:Janet: She threw me under the bus‚ she threw Zack under the bus‚ and Jasmine under the bus all in one swoop! I said something small‚ and Kristen made it‚ like‚ so big. And she didn';t just run with it. I mean‚ she ran a marathon with it. Michelle‚ Brittany‚ and I were at dinner a few months ago. And Michelle said something along the lines of‚ ";Don';t Say Gay"; laws protect children. And I';m like‚ No‚ no‚ no. Like‚ that';s you';re wrong. I know Jasmine is‚ like‚ read up on this and knows‚ you know‚ how some stuff can be baked in to be harmful to certain communities. I just said to Jasmine‚ who I guess said to Zack‚ I said‚ We were talking about this bill‚ and I think she might support it. But I';m like‚ I don';t know. I was like‚ But‚ you know‚ since it';s related to the LGBT community‚ if you happen to hear her talking about it and sense the same thing I did‚ it might be like a teachable moment. I';ve never once thought that Michelle was racist. I wouldn';t be her friend if I did. I thought that she maybe got swept into an algorithm that maybe is teaching her some things that are not true. Somehow that got twisted. Well‚ if she believes in ";Don';t Say Gay"; laws‚ then she must be a Republican and Republicans are racist‚ is from what I understand‚ how Kristen got there.How kind Michelles friends are to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe shes just ignorant and that they can educate her if a teachable moment comes up. Such a prime example of the bubble Hollywood lives in‚ thinking their beliefs are the only correct ones‚ and if anyone thinks or votes differently‚ theyre a bad person.As the friend group meets for a dinner party‚ the topic is brought up again‚ and Kristen claims Zack insinuated that being a Republican equals racism and/orhomophobia:Michelle: Now I think everybodys involved so‚ we might as well all speak publicly because I think I';m tired of she said‚ he said. So‚ if we';re all in one table‚ then we can all be on the same page.Janet: I agree. Kristen decided at Michelle';s to say that I said Michelle was racist‚ which I have never thought in my life‚ let alone said out loud. And I don';t know where that came from‚ but I am so disgusted by it.Kristen: It came from Zack.Zack: It did not come from me. Kristen held all this information. Got all of it completely mixed up. You want to talk about a (bleep) stew‚ like‚ there was no recipe. She was just grabbing numbers out‚ like they were (bleep) the Powerball.Kristen: The game of telephone was‚ to Janet‚ to Jasmine‚ to Zack‚ to me and Luke‚ that you were telling Jasmine that she should be cautious of Michelle because she';s a‚ quote‚ unquote‚ ";Republican."; And what Zack insinuated at my house to Luke and I was that that would equal racism and/or slash and/or homophobia.Jasmine: Take my name out of it because guess what‚ I never had a conversation with this one about anybody in this table ever. So that';s what I';m upset about. I';m black. So like‚ I have experienced racism. So‚ to have‚ like‚ a friend just throw it out so lightly‚ like it';s nothing‚ it';s like‚ that';s not fair‚ you know‚ and it';s not fair for Michelle. It';s not fair for me. It';s not for the whole group‚ you know. Zack: I';ve known Michelle for a while. She is not homophobic. And I love her to pieces. And I really hate that‚ unfortunately‚ this got said.Kristen: What I want to immediately apologize to Michelle for is that I felt cornered‚ and I should not have ever said those things out loud‚ especially at your home.Jesse: Why don';t you say what you did and you lied? Call it a lie and don';t call it anything else.Kristen: I did not lie.Zack ends up admitting the truth in his confessional about how Republicans are seen and treated in Los Angeles‚ calling it a death sentence‚ and social suicide if anyone is called a Republican in the extremely liberal city:Michelle: Zack has said he did not say that. Janet said she did not say that. I believe that everybody in this table would not be my friend if they thought that.Kristen: I don';t think that‚ Michelle.Michelle: That';s not what I just said.Zack: I don';t know how it became like I said that Janet said that because that is completely not the truth. But I will tell you this. If you call someone a Republican in LA‚ that';s a death sentence right there. That is a social suicide moment. You better be on the DL if you';re a Republican because you';re not getting invited to anything.Jesse: You disrespected my family name. We have a business that we run together. If something like that gets out‚ you';re ruining lives.Michelle: Not only thatJesse: Michelle‚ please. You were thrown off the (bleep) show for being an actual racist.Kristen: What the (bleep) did you just call me? I know that I made a mistake by roping Michelle into something that didn';t have to do with her. But Jesse‚ he';s just trying to ruin my name by bringing up the most painful thing that I';ve ever gone through.Jesse: Did you not? Is that not a true statement?Kristen: I understand why Michelle is upset. It is the worst thing in the world to be labeled as anything‚ let alone a racist. And nobody knows better than me because it happened to me‚ and I was canceled. It was probably the hardest time of my entire life thus far. Yeah. I';m not proud of what I did. And I';m sorry that I hurt people. But I';ve learned from my mistakes. These are my friends sitting here. They know my past. And all I want to do is pick up the pieces and move on with my life‚ be a good person. It';s like people finally gave me a chance again. And now it';s like brought up all over again. And I';m going to have to relive it again. Hope that my whole life doesn';t fall apart again.Yes‚ ironically‚ Kristen was fired from Vanderpump Rules over accusations of racist behavior. Thats another long‚ dramatic story which we wont get into‚ but you can read about it here.And if living in LA is anything like the ridiculous‚ convoluted drama displayed on both Vanderpump Rules and The Valley‚ Republicans arent missing out on much by not being welcome there.

UConn has notched a notable double: back-to-back NCAA men';s basketball championships.But that achievement pales in comparison to the quintuple-header that Joe Scarborough has pulled off. On today';sMorning Joe‚ Scarborough slammed‚ for what he called their radicalism on abortion:";old‚ fat‚ white men in Mississippi.";Let';s see: in one phrase‚ Scarborough managed to engage in ageism‚ fat-shaming‚ racism‚ sexism‚ and negative Southern stereotyping! Even for the liberal media‚ that could represent a landmark first! Somewhere‚ Joy Reid is dying of envy!Scarborough also seemed to say that back in the day‚ it was easy for him to call himself pro-life‚ since he knew Roe v. Wade was in place to prevent his views from being made into law. In other words‚ Scarborough was thus admitting to being a cheap‚ unprincipled‚ political opportunist.Scarborough suggested that seeing the aftermath of the overturning of Roe has in effect turned him into being pro-choice. Yet he has the chutzpah to condemn Trump for being an opportunist on the issue?Note: Mika described the taking away of abortion rights as ";a matter of life and death."; The irony is lost on her that yes‚ it';s a matter of life and death . . . for the unborn child.Here';s the transcript.MSNBCMorning Joe4/9/246:16 am EDTMIKA BRZEZINSKI: Support for abortion was always there‚ and it was growing over the past decade. I think‚ since the overturning of Roe‚ it has crystallized the issue for anybody who was on the fence about it‚ or didn';t feel they had any‚ any men‚ perhaps‚ who didn';t feel as connected with it.Now‚ we are seeing the consequences of these rights being taken away. 50 years of rights that our daughters and sons‚ as families‚ don';t have. And‚ they';re brutal; they';re very specific. They';re a matter of life and death. And Donald Trump is on the wrong side of every position that exists‚ practically‚ on this. In a moment‚ we';re going to show you --JOE SCARBOROUGH: Can I go to Charlie real quickly on this before we go‚ go to the Lindsey clips?MIKA: Oh‚ yes‚ okay.SCARBOROUGH: Charlie‚ really quickly. I';d just say‚ and Mika is so right. There are so many people that now are‚ are -- that were pro-life before Dobbs that now understand the importance of Roe because of the radicalism in the states.I always‚ you know‚ it cost me nothing to just take the position‚ yeah‚ yeah‚ I';m pro-life‚ and da-da-da‚ because there was that right there [via Roe]. And when‚ when I formulated my thoughts over it‚ the governors were like George Voinovich in Ohio‚ Mitt Romney in Massachusetts‚ Jeb Bush in Florida. And the thought was‚ well‚ you know‚ maybe it';ll be 15‚ 16‚ 17 weeks with exceptions.That';s just not the world we live in anymore. And I must say‚ this is post Dobbs‚ you look and you see the radicalism ofI';ll just say it these old‚ white‚ fat men in Mississippi or somewhere else that‚ that are driving women out of‚ out of‚ out of medical care. Because they want to appeal to the most extreme elements of their base.Yeah‚ there are a lot of people‚ and I would guess you';re like me‚ there are a lot of people who‚ who have really been transformed by the radicalism of the last three‚ four years.

Podcast host Joe Rogan spoke up about the impact of X owner Elon Musk breaking the leftist censorship monopoly on major social media platforms.During the April 6 edition of The Joe Rogan Experience‚ fellow podcaster Andrew Schultz expressed his hope that Musks purchase of X and decision to uphold this soapbox of free speech would lead to a civil society where ideas can permeate freely. Rogan went a step further‚ telling his guest that [Musk] may have very well saved humanity in some way by buying Twitter and reversing much of the insane censorship practices of the Old Regime. Rogan‚ who survived a campaign to drive him from Spotify for his speech on vaccines‚ is not the only person that feels this way.Satire site The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon spoke at length on April 5 about what his satire website went through on social media before Musk and the awful effects of censorship on the ability to speak freely online.Dillon recounted his companys experience whenThe Bee got locked out of Twitter for making a joke about transsexual Assistant Secretary for Health ";Rachel"; Levine being the sites Man of the Year. He mentioned that chief editor Kyle Mann anticipated that the site would be censored for this. They count on this by the way‚ they know if they can make you afraid of being deplatformed‚ youll do their job for them and censor yourself‚ Dillon said. He added: For every case of hard censorship where they take down user content‚ there are thousand cases of soft censorship where users bite their own tongue knowing they wont be allowed to speak freely. But we dont do that here. We refuse to censor ourselves.Editors Note: The Babylon Bee is a member of the MRC Free Speech Alliance.Conservatives are under attack! Contact Twitter at (415) 222-9670 and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us at the Media Research Center contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

My husbands Aunt Judy passed away last week‚ in the early morning hours of Good Friday‚ the same hours I imagine Christ would have been praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.It was fitting. Judy was a faithful Army veteran who had undergone her own passion over the past few years‚ beginning with a house fire that covered her (already disabled) body with third-degree burns. A profound sense of peace filled the church during her funeral mass‚ which was punctuated by the cries of joy and hunger emanating from thirteen grand-nieces and -nephews.My daughter';s questions were straightforward but far from simple: Why did she die? When is she going to be alive again? Can she talk? Does she have boo-boos?I heard recently that some parents refuse to bring their young children to wakes or funerals for fear of traumatizing them with the sight of death. Its just as likely that these parents seek to spare themselves distress: Questions about life';s end can be as awkward as questions about its beginning.Putting off the truth has its risks. After all‚ the most inquisitive young minds are bound to find the answers they seek somewhere. Christian parents know all too well how unreliable these other sources can be.I think we have a duty to educate our children about first and final things before the world has a chance to blind them with shame‚ detraction‚ or denial. This requires‚ of course‚ that we ourselves see in birth and death more than just raw material or mechanics. Death is more than when your heart stops beating‚ though it is that. Birth is more than insemination‚ gestation‚ and labor‚ though it is that‚ too.Without prompting‚ my eldest (age 3) was curious about the mechanics and metaphysics of Judys death‚ and her straightforward yet far-from-simple questions rarely fit so neatly in one box or another. Why did she die? When is she going to be alive again? Can she talk? Does she have boo-boos? We offered straightforward answers and tried to account for whatever complexity she could understand. My husband and I explained that Judy died because her heart stopped working‚ but we also framed her death as the temporary separation of her body and soul. This took us on an extended detour about angels and why they dont have bodies. She seemed enraptured‚ despite any meandering.Death is not a bad thing‚ we told her‚ even if it makes us sad. Everyone dies‚ but we dont fear death‚ because it means we are one step closer to meeting our Maker‚ whom we love. More importantly‚ He loves us.Toward the end‚ she wondered what colors were in heaven. All of her favorites‚ I said‚ plus some weve never seen before.

Donald Trump has drawn the ire of critics yet again.The former president said‚ Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion‚ they hate everything about Israel‚ and they should be ashamed of themselves.While Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) condemned Trumps comments on X as highly partisan and hateful rants‚ Mark Levin disagrees.Jews shouldnt vote for Democrats or the Democrat Party because the Democrat Party doesnt support them or the state of Israel. Hes 100% right‚ Levin says‚ pointing out that most progressives vote no on resolutions to support Israel or condemn what happened on October 7.Thats the Democrat Party and Joe Biden giving aid and comfort to the terrorists‚ Levin says.Schumer also gave a speech on the floor of the Senate the other week‚ which Levin says will go down in history as one of the most contemptible‚ unconscionable‚ immoral speeches in the history of the Senate.The former presidents comments were utterly disgusting and a textbook example of the kind of anti-Semitism facing Jews‚ pushing the dangerous anti-Semitism trope of dual loyalty‚ Schumer said.There have been a lot of lousy speeches by a lot of lousy human beings here‚ and thats what Schumer did‚ and thats what Trump is reacting to: a Democrat Party that is at war with the state of Israel.Want more from Mark Levin?To enjoy more of ";the Great One"; Mark Levin as you';ve never seen him before subscribe to BlazeTV the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

In January 2020‚ as it became clear that countries outside of China were reporting COVID cases‚ the taxpayer-funded World Health Organization instead spent its time publishing a series of 14 tweets about the dangers of vaping‚ including claims that e-cigarette liquid is highly flammable‚ that secondhand vapor is lethal to bystanders‚ and that there is no evidence that e-cigarettes help people to quit smoking‚ all of which are entirely false.It was a scurrilous thread deliberately designed to mislead the public‚ and‚ despite all of the disingenuous claims being comprehensively debunked‚ it has still not been deleted. In the intervening period‚ many thousands of people will have read falsehoods promoted by the WHO and believe they must be true because of the organizations perceived credibility.The WHOs social media interaction is now effectively on par with anti-vaxxers and 9/11 truthers.Scroll on a few years and this deliberate tactic of the WHO to deceive the public has been brutally exposed by the Community Notes initiative installed by Elon Musk on his takeover of X (formerly Twitter). Originally intended to combat conspiracy theorists‚ propaganda‚ and online scams‚ the WHOs purposeful use of social media to disseminate information it knows to be untrue has also fallen into the net.A post on March 17 by the WHOs Eastern Mediterranean regional office went viral due to the brutal takedown it received from a Community Note when it falsely claimed that it was a myth to say that vape &;amp; heated tobacco products are safer alternatives to cigarettes. The note savagely countered the WHOs misinformation with more than 100 links from health authorities around the world‚ including from the Centers for Disease Control‚ the Food and Drug Administration‚ the European Union‚ and even the WHOs own European branch.Unlike corrections to its mendacious 2020 thread by way of replies‚ the Community Note is visible to all by being attached to the tweet itself.To date‚ the tweet has generated more than 100 quote tweets from social media users expressing reactions to the note ranging from disgust to hilarity. This isnt the first time the WHO has been community noted. In January‚ its Western Pacific region received the same Community Note treatment for a tweet promoting the exact same lie.This should be a source of deep embarrassment for the WHO. Its social media interaction is now effectively on par with anti-vaxxers and 9/11 truthers. Its reputation nosedived due to its incompetence when dealing with the pandemic‚ and it is now seemingly intent to reinforce that lack of trust with an ideological and irresponsible objection to reduced-risk nicotine products‚ based on misinformation and lies‚ which could save millions of lives worldwide.There are serious repercussions here. The WHO should be a respected global authority on public health matters. When it promotes inaccurate information‚ however‚ it undermines the organizations credibility. It raises questions about the rigor of its research and the reliability of its statements. People will start to doubt the WHOs integrity and become less inclined to trust its recommendations on other health-related issues‚ including future pandemics.Continuing attempts to mislead the public (for whatever reason) is unethical and counterproductive for an organization like the WHO‚ whose supposed mission is to promote global public health based on evidence and scientific consensus.The WHO has a responsibility to uphold the highest standards of transparency‚ accountability‚ and scientific integrity in its messaging to protect public health and build trust with the communities it serves. It is distinctly failing to do so with vaping and tobacco harm reduction.Clearly‚ the WHOs current policy is to discourage policymakers from implementing evidence-based harm-reduction strategies and limit access to lifesaving reduced-risk products for smokers looking to quit. The methods it uses to achieve this include selective messaging‚ misleading language‚ smearing those who have an opposing view‚ cynically exploiting information gaps‚ and using surrogates such as so-called news sites funded by its ideologically prohibitionist allies.Now that social media users can call out misinformation from the WHO through initiatives like Elon Musks Community Notes‚ the organization may need to reassess its communication strategies. This should mean telling the truth to avoid further embarrassment and damage to its reputation.Alternatively‚ the WHO should just get off social media until its spokespeople are trained to stop sowing doubt and confusion that can only harm global public health.