'Vegan Sellout List' outs and shames ex-vegans online - UPI.com

 

Do you know any meat-eaters who used to be vegan? If so, they might appear on the Vegan Sellout List at exvegans.com, where vegans can post details about "traitors" to the cause. "The spirits of the billions murdered have risen to deliver: The Vegan Sellout List," the site declares, calling out "swarms of haughty, nose-turning carnists" guilty of "ethical degeneracy and paleo-terrorism." The site says there is an "epidemic" of vegan sellouts, "those who are aware of the suffering caused by meat, dairy, egg, fur, and leather production, yet choose to look away while the animals suffer." Users can submit photos, city, narrative description and links to a person's website "or other supplemental info" to the site, and the ex-vegan will be added to the directory, searchable by location or name. Many of the ex-vegans are just regular people, who may not even know a former friend or partner with a grudge added them to the directory. Others, though, are well known ex-vegans, including Berlin Reed, 31, a vegan-turned-butcher who was inspired to write "The Ethical Butcher" after working at a Brooklyn shop that partnered with small local farms. “Here we have yet another person hiding behind anarchism to justify their selfish behavior,” says Reed's entry on the Vegan Sellout List. The site seems to anticipate backlash from those who find themselves on the site. Instead of an ordinary "contact us" form on the website, visitors are encouraged to "send hate mail." In the field where a visitor can write their message, the site prompts, "Your Hateful Message / How You're Going to Sue Us / Etc." Former Top Chef contender Andrea Beaman was also called out on the site for turning away from veganism for health reasons. She said she isn't bothered by it, and she understands their extreme mentality. "When I was a vegan, it was the most judgmental time of my life!" she said.

Human head transplant now possible, says neuroscientist - UPI.com

Human head transplant now possible, says neuroscientist - UPI.com

Dr. Sergio Canavero, a member of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, has published a paper saying we now have the technology to complete the transplant of a human head onto another human body. Robert White successfully transplanted the head of a rhesus monkey onto the body of another rhesus in 1970, but so far, scientists have been unable to connect spinal cords, leaving the animals paralyzed below the point of transplant. “The greatest technical hurdle to cephalosomatic linkage [head transplant] is of course the reconnection of the donor’s and recipients spinal cords. It is my contention that the technology only now exists for such linkage,” Canavero wrote, citing recent advances in reconnecting surgically severed spinal cords. Much of the procedure remains the same as in the old experiments. The head to be transplanted is cooled to between 12°C and 15°C (54.6°F and 59°F). Surgeons then have one hour to remove both heads at the same time, and re-connect the transplant head to the circulatory system of the donor body. During the reconnection procedure, the donor body must be chilled and total cardiac arrest induced. Once the head is reconnected, the heart of the donor body can be restarted. Once the head is reconnected, Canavero says surgeons may now be able to proceed to reconnect the spinal cord. A head to body spinal connection has never been attempted in animals, but Canavero points to studies in which scientists have restored limited connectivity to a severed spinal cord in a rat. In his paper, Canavero proposes cutting spinal cords with an extremely sharp knife, then mechanically connecting the spinal cord from one head to another body. "It is this "clean cut" [which is] the key to spinal cord fusion, in that it allows proximally severed axons to be ‘fused’ with their distal counterparts. This fusion exploits so-called fusogens/sealants….[which] are able to immediately reconstitute (fuse/repair) cell membranes damaged by mechanical injury, independent of any known endogenous sealing mechanism." Canavero speculates that plastics like polyethylene glycol (PEG) could be used to accomplish this fusing, citing research showing that PEG has allowed the fusing of severed spinal cords in dogs. Patients with muscular dystrophy, or paraplegics with enough spinal cord left intact to allow for a transplant, could in theory achieve full use of a donor body. As long as they have the $13 million Canavero estimates a full head transplant would cost.

Bitcoin IPO launched by Winklevoss twins - UPI.com

 

In an effort to legitimize the trendy Bitcoin digital currency, the Winklevoss twins of Facebook fame have filed paperwork for an initial public offering of a new exchange-traded fund tracking the price of bitcoins. In April of this year, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss revealed that they owned about $10 million worth of Bitcoins, or about 1 percent of all the Bitcoin wealth in existence. At the time, Bitcoins were in the middle of a sickening crash, tumbling from an all-time peak of $266 per bitcoin to $105 in the course of one trading day. The price has continued slowly downward, recently valued at about $90. Unlike other currencies, Bitcoins are not issued by a bank or other centralized authority. Since 2009, people have been able to generate or "mine" Bitcoins by participating in the global computer network that supports them. The ETF would let traders and investors in on Bitcoins -- without having to go through online currency exchanges, which are notoriously difficult to access. The currency remains anonymous, unregulated and untaxed. The Bitcoin ETF, however, has fees and taxes. Despite an 18-page outline of the "risk factors" involved in buying an ETF tracking Bitcoins, and numerous articles enumerating the risks, the Winklevoss twins think people will want to let them take a cut on bitcoin investment transactions. At any time, Bitcoins -- which are just digital -- could be erased from existence, through computer error or hackers. At any time, governments could decide to regulate, tax, or even ban the currency, which happens to be useful to money launderers. And, as with any ETF, there is the risk the fund won't match the value of its underlying assets. Some think the Winklevoss IPO will legitimize the digital currency, but critics argue ETF investors will have to take on all the risks of Bitcoin without any of the benefits of being untaxed and anonymous.

Robert Pattinson dating Riley Keough? | YOU

 

The Water For Elephants actor ‒ who recently called time on his relationship with actress Kristen Stewart ‒ was spotted with Elvis Presley’s granddaughter at his Los Feliz, Los Angeles, home over the weekend. Riley (24) ‒ who was previously engaged to Alex Pettyfer ‒ worked with Kristen on 2010′s The Runaways. It was recently revealed Robert is writing songs to help get over his split from Kristen but isn’t planning to make them public. A source said, “Rob’s always had half a mind on his music, but when his film career and relationship with Kristen both took off at the same time, something else had to give. “He’s really enjoyed picking up his guitar again properly and it has given him something to focus on during the break-up. Everyone’s saying that he’s really talented, but he’s adamant we’ll only be seeing him in films for the time being.” The pair split for a second time after Kristen got back in touch with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, whom she confessed to having an affair with last year behind Robert’s back. Robert’s musical efforts have previously seen him record two tracks for the original Twilight soundtrack, Never Think and Let Me Sign. He has also previously said he originally wanted to be a musician rather than an actor. He said, “I love the piano. I never really had any aspirations to be an actor when I was young. I wanted to play the piano in a bar, to be the old dude with a whiskey glass.” -Bang Showbiz

Alicia Silverstone Starts Breast Milk Sharing Program

Alicia Silverstone Starts Breast Milk Sharing Program - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

The Clueless star recently launched Kind Mama Milk Share, a breast milk exchange program to help out vegan parents in need. Silverstone was inspired to create the program after hearing about a friend who couldn't produce enough breast milk and had a hard time learning about the lifestyle choices of donors. Actors who dated their TV family members "A lot of women unfortunately have a similar struggle, and there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to give their babies the most amazing start in life with clean, mean, glorious breast milk," Silverstone wrote on her website The Kind Life. "And because we are a community of beautiful souls who recognize the importance of food as health, I say we help support those mamas and babies who need a hand during one of the most important times in their lives." Silverstone's website has already been flooded with support from parents. But for the program to work, any potential donor would need to be screened to ensure that the milk is clean and healthy. This isn't the first time Silverstone's parenting practices have raised eyebrows. In 2012, she stirred controversy for chewing up food and feeding it directly from her mouth to that of her then-10-month-old son, Bear Blu. "I do want to let you know that this has been going on for thousands of years — still going on all over the place — and it's natural," Silverstone said at the time. What do you think of Silverstone's program?

Umpire Brian Runge reportedly fired for drugs by MLB | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports

 

Unique because he was a third-generation MLB ump, Runge worked the All-Star Game in 2012 and was the plate umpire for three no-hitters, including Philip Humber's perfect game in 2012. Runge didn't work a game in 2012 after Aug. 30 because of a knee injury, though he did work spring training games this season, along with some games in Triple-A. MLB announced in June that Runge was no longer on the major league staff — but has never given a reason why.

Kris Kross was an American rap duo of the 1990s, Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith

Kris Kross was an American rap duo of the 1990s, Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith.

Kris Kross was an American rap duo of the 1990s, Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. The duo was best known for their hit 1992 song "Jump", which was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and certified double platinum as a single. Kris Kross was also noted for their fashion style, which consisted of wearing their clothing backwards. The duo sang the "Rugrats Rap" for Nickelodeon, which was released as an extra on some Nickelodeon VHS tapes starting in 1994 and was finally released on CD on The Best of Nicktoons in 1998, and as an extra on the Rugrats: Decade in Diapers Collectors Edition DVD in 2002.