Christian Rogelio Benítez Betancourt (May 1, 1986 – July 29, 2013), also known as Chucho, was an Ecuadorian footballer who played as a forward for El Jaish of the Qatar Stars League. He began his career with El Nacional in Ecuador and then joined Santos Laguna, with whom he won the award for Best Player of the Clausura 2008.[2] He spent the 2009–10 season on loan to Premier League clubBirmingham City. He was a member of the Ecuador national football team.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
'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
Orioles Trade Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop To Cubs, Who Shipped Carlos Marmol To Dodgers
Orioles Trade Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop To Cubs, Who Shipped Carlos Marmol To Dodgers
OAKLAND, Calif. — Down and all but out before the All-Star break, the Chicago Cubs are starting to make moves for the future. The team traded starting pitcher Scott Feldman to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday and former All-Star reliever Carlos Marmol to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In exchange for Marmol, the Cubs received veteran reliever Matt Guerrier. They got right-handers Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop as well as two international signing bonus slots from the Orioles for Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger. "I don't want to say it's tough. You know it's got a chance of happening," Chicago manager Dale Sveum said about a potential payroll purge before his club opened a three-game series in Oakland. The Cubs (35-45) entered Tuesday 15 1/2 games behind first-place Pittsburgh in the NL Central. And with the latest trades, seemingly ready to ride out another lost season on the North Side. Feldman had been scheduled to start against the Athletics on Tuesday night. Instead, the Cubs called up lefty Chris Rusin from Triple-A Iowa to take his place. Feldman left Texas to sign a $6 million, one-year contract with the Cubs last winter and went 7-6 with a 3.46 ERA in 15 starts for them. He is 46-50 with a 4.66 ERA in 219 major league games over nine seasons. The Cubs designated Marmol for assignment last week after he went 2-4 with two saves and a 5.86 ERA in 31 appearances, striking out 32 while walking 21. An All-Star as a setup man in 2008, Marmol's best year as a closer was 2010, when he had 38 saves in 43 chances along with 138 strikeouts and 52 walks. But fans had begun booing him and management was eager to cut a deal with the Dodgers, who also acquired an international signing bonus slot. Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said team scouts are high on the international class and the additional dollars will allow them to be more aggressive. Asked what type of message the club sent by parting ways with two noteworthy players, Sveum said nobody on his team should be surprised or upset at this point.
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?
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