UFC 141 and New Year's Eve in Japan

Five Quick Hits

* Brock Lesnar announced his retirement following a one-sided loss at UFC 141. Mixed martial arts is more interesting with Brock in the sport, but it was the right time for him to go. He can't compete with top competition, and his heart hasn't seemed to be in it recently.

* Beginning around the time of his loss to Cain Velasquez, and progressing with his time as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter and his post-fight interview on Friday night, Lesnar has shown a much more human side than his previous heel persona. It's refreshing, but it also makes me feel a little guilty for my previous attitude toward him.

* Nate Diaz has lost two of his last four fights, and in the last two years he's only beaten one opponent of any note. He looked great against Donald Cerrone, but I don't see him as a serious part of the title discussion at 155 right now.

* Jimy Hettes looked great against Nam Phan, but I think the fight said more about Phan, who has gotten demolished twice in a row now, than about Hettes. What will Hettes do against someone he can't take down? We still don't know.

* In hindsight, what's the most impressive win of Lesnar's career? I say Frank Mir at UFC 100. Randy Couture and Heath Herring were way past their primes, and Shane Carwin embarrassed Lesnar before gassing out.

***

The UFC put on some terrific cards in 2011, and Bellator has offered some really exciting ones, too. But nothing compares to the annual New Year's Eve show at Saitama Super Arena. It's as much spectacle as sport, but I mean that in the best way possible. The show featured elaborate entrances, a slam KO, cross-dressing, a pair of title fights, crazy screaming lady Lenne Hardt, the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artist of all time, some really bizarre pro wrestling, one of the two best female fighters on the planet, and much more.

There were some brutal fights on the card, including two guys who briefly looked like they might be dead, and another who could repeatedly be heard gurgling his own blood. If you had a friend you wanted to introduce to MMA, this absolutely would not be the right card to show them. But for any serious fan of the sport, it's mandatory viewing.

Dream's 2011 New Year's Eve card, Genki Desu Ka!, featured a dozen MMA bouts, two kickboxing matches, one mixed-rules kickboxing/MMA contest, and four pro wrestling performances. It began with a :42 victory for Yusup Saadulaev, who slammed Hideo Tokoro on his neck, resulting in an immediate knockout. I was afraid Saadulaev had killed him. The ref was extremely late stopping the fight, one of the worst risks to fighter safety I've ever seen in MMA. Fortunately, Saadulaev wasn't interested in injuring his opponent, actually stopped and looked at the ref, who encouraged him to keep punching the unconscious Tokoro.

F?dor Emelianenko's knockout of judo Olympian Satoshi Ishii was almost as brutal. F?dor didn't even follow his opponent to the ground after connecting. He knew it was over. But probably the most nausea-inducing fight was Shinya Aoki's five-round victory over his former friend Satoru Kitaoka. Aoki didn't snap anyone's limbs this time, but he broke Kitaoka's nose, and the microphones clearly picked up Kitaoka gurgling his blood. Several times. Nasty stuff.

In less disgusting action, Megumi Fujii and Bibiano Fernandes showed everything we've come to expect from them, and Hiroyuki Takaya made the most of a title defense against a seemingly disinterested Takeshi Inoue, who was repeatedly warned for inaction. I wish Zuffa and Bellator had something like the yellow card system used in Japan. I mean, I guess Zuffa kind of does, with those mysterious backstage bonuses the fighters receive, but it's not the same thing.

January 2012 UFC Rankings

The rankings below are exclusively for the UFC, so you won't see names like Josh Barnett or Michael Chandler on these lists. I know there are widespread rumors concerning Strikeforce fighters moving to the UFC, but until they have fights officially set, they're not ranked here.

Heavyweight (206-265 lbs)

1. Junior Dos Santos
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Alistair Overeem
4. Frank Mir
5. Shane Carwin
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
7. Roy Nelson
8. Brendan Schaub
9. Cheick Kongo
10. Fabricio Werdum

Make it Happen: Velasquez vs. Mir

Zuffa has confirmed that it is folding the Strikeforce heavyweight division into the UFC, which makes a lot of sense. Until the Grand Prix finalists arrive, though, this division remains very thin at the top. Velasquez is easily a top-four heavyweight, and Mir has won three in a row, including an incredibly impressive performance against Nogueira. This works as a number one contender's bout.

Thank You, UFC, For: Dos Santos vs. Overeem

A note of clarification regarding the rankings: I think this is a terrible matchup for Dos Santos. Overeem's quality of competition has been so unsteady that it's not easy to compare to him to someone like JDS, who has faced a murderer's row the last couple of years. But Dos Santos is first and foremost a striker, and in that respect, I believe he's outclassed by Overeem, who has more power and diversity to his striking attack. If I had to guess, I'd say Overeem, who relinquished the Strikeforce, Dream, and K-1 Heavyweight titles before joining the UFC, also becomes a UFC champion in 2012.

Light Heavyweight (186-205)

1. Jon Jones
2. Dan Henderson
3. Maur?cio "Shogun" Rua
4. Lyoto Machida
5. Rashad Evans
6. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
7. Phil Davis
8. Alexander Gustafsson
9. Forrest Griffin
10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Make it Happen: Rich Franklin vs. Stephan Bonnar

An exciting matchup of two fan favorites, it works whether this is Bonnar's next match or he takes another beforehand. These two should meet in the cage at some point, and it should happen before either of them reaches the phase of rapid decline or retirement.

Thank You, UFC, For: Evans vs. Davis

I feel bad for Evans that his title shot keeps getting put off, but I'm glad the UFC gave him a competitive fight rather than just leaving him on the shelf. I know I've ranked Henderson a few slots higher, but if Evans wins this, he absolutely has to get his shot at Jones. Give Hendo a fight with Gustafsson or Machida, or the winner of Jackson/Bader. If Davis wins, though, I'd like to see Jones vs. Henderson and Davis vs. Machida or Rua.

Middleweight (171-185)

1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Yushin Okami
4. Michael Bisping
5. Vitor Belfort
6. Mark Mu?oz
7. Demian Maia
8. Alan Belcher
9. Brian Stann
10. Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Make it Happen: winner of Bisping/Maia vs. winner of Belfort/Anthony Johnson

No matter who wins these fights, I think fans get a great matchup. I admit that Bisping vs. Belfort seems particularly interesting, but I'm also glad to see Johnson getting closer to his natural weight class (super-heavyweight) and Maia fighting someone he won't try to stand with.

Thank You, UFC, For: Bisping vs. Maia

Sonnen, Okami, Belfort, and Mu?oz were all spoken for. This was the only fight that made sense for Bisping right now.

Welterweight (156-170)

1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Nick Diaz
3. Carlos Condit
4. Johny Hendricks
5. Jon Fitch
6. Jake Ellenberger
7. Jake Shields
8. Martin Kampmann
9. Josh Koscheck
10. Diego Sanchez

I just noticed this, but there are no Brazilians among the elites in the UFC's welterweight division. Paulo Thiago's not bad, but his best win (Koscheck) came three years ago. He's 3-3 since then. There are some young guys who might have bright futures, but no one who's really established himself in the UFC. It's weird. The Brazilians are rebuilding at lightweight, too. Among Brazilians, who's the best 155er in the world? Gleison Tibau? Edson Barboza? JZ Cavalcante? Patricky Freire?

Make it Happen: Hendricks vs. winner of Kampmann/Thiago Alves

Hendricks just knocked out a guy who had only lost once in the last nine years, to St-Pierre. Hendricks' only career loss, to Rick Story, was a questionable decision. He deserves to keep fighting top competition, and with another win or two, he would deserve an opportunity to fight for the title.

Thank You, UFC, For: Diaz vs. Condit

Don't get me wrong, I am increasingly unhappy that GSP vs. Diaz keeps getting put off, but at least this is for the interim belt while GSP rehabs his knee. It was pretty shocking that Condit opened as the betting favorite for this fight. Other than maybe power and facial scar tissue, I'm not sure where he's better than Diaz. They have similar skill sets, but I think Diaz does almost everything a little bit better.

P.S. ? Don't get excited, gambling addicts. The line has moved substantially, and Diaz (-150) is now a solid favorite. Save your money for Overeem (+150).

Lightweight (146-155)

1. Frankie Edgar
2. Ben Henderson
3. Gray Maynard
4. Jim Miller
5. Kenny Florian
6. Anthony Pettis
7. Joe Lauzon
8. Melvin Guillard
9. Clay Guida
10. Evan Dunham

Make it Happen: Nate Diaz vs. winner of Dunham/Nik Lentz

Diaz has earned another fight against a ranked opponent, but let's not book him against the top of the division just yet. Would you bet on him against Dunham? I wouldn't.

Thank You, UFC, For: Miller vs. Guillard

Two exciting fighters looking to prove their recent losses were flukes. I'm also pleased with Pettis vs. Lauzon. Thanks, Joe Silva.

Featherweight (136-145)

1. Jose Aldo
2. Chad Mendes
3. Erik Koch
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Diego Nunes
6. Robert Peralta
7. Mark Hominick
8. Mike Brown
9. Bart Palaszewski
10. Diego Brandao

Make it Happen: Nunes vs. Chan Sung Jung

The Korean Zombie is coming off a 7-second knockout win over Hominick and the first twister submission in UFC history. It's time to let him prove he's among the best featherweights in the world.

Thank You, UFC, For: Palaszewski vs. Hatsu Hioki

This is an appropriate match to make after Hioki's unimpressive UFC debut. I was looking for Mike Brown to face Hioki, but Bartimus works, too.

Bantamweight (126-135)

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Urijah Faber
3. Brian Bowles
4. Miguel Torres
5. Renan Bar?o
6. Scott Jorgensen
7. Brad Pickett
8. Eddie Wineland
9. Michael McDonald
10. Takeya Mizugaki

Make it Happen: T.J. Dillashaw vs. John Albert

I know Albert is already booked against Ivan Menjivar, but I would have loved to see him fight Dillashaw, the reality show runner-up who earned the contemptuous nickname "Draft Dodger" for convincing his coaches to give him an easy road the finals by matching Albert against John Dodson. Give the kid a chance for revenge. Albert is a nice prospect, but Menjivar is not an easy fight. I think the kids from Season 14 are getting thrown straight into the deep end.

Thank You, UFC, For: Bar?o vs. Jorgensen

Bar?o is 27-1. He lost the first fight of his career, in April 2005. Since then, he's 27-0, including four wins in the WEC and UFC, most recently a first-round submission over Pickett. Jorgensen has won seven of his last eight, the loss coming to bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Whoever wins this match looks to have the inside track to a title fight.

Flyweight (116-125)

I'm not ranking this division until it has more than four fighters, but I expect Joseph Benavidez to become the first UFC flyweight champion.

UFC 142

Following a successful show in Rio last year, the UFC returns to Brazil on January 14. Jose Aldo defends his featherweight belt against Chad Mendes, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson makes his middleweight debut against Vitor Belfort, and my early pick for Fight of the Night pits Terry Etim against Edson Barboza.

Aldo has looked dominant in recent years, with convincing wins over proven opponents like Urijah Faber and Kenny Florian. But he also looked vulnerable against featherweight journeyman Mark Hominick, and he's never faced a wrestler like Mendes. If Aldo can keep the fight standing, he'll win easily, and it won't be pretty (in a good way). If Aldo can't stop the takedown, though, Mendes figures to come out ahead, and it won't be pretty (in a boring way). Aldo is reputed to possess terrific jiu-jitsu, but Mendes has been successful in the past neutralizing opponents with top control.

I'm picking Aldo, though, mostly because he has more ways to win. Mendes has never finished a legit opponent. He doesn't have dangerous ground and pound, he doesn't have good submissions. He has great takedowns, smothering top control, pretty good defense. But if he wins, it's by decision. Aldo could win a decision, too, but he could also win with his hands, with kicks, with ground and pound, with a submission. I don't know that Mendes can hold him off for 25 minutes.

You never know what to expect from Vitor Belfort, and Johnson has never fought at 185 before, so there are a lot of questions surrounding the co-main event. Johnson is a talented striker, but I don't think he wants to put that to the test against Belfort, so I'd look for an approach similar to his decision win over Dan Hardy: wrestling. But Belfort is more experienced and less one-dimensional than Hardy, with a ground game that could put Johnson in bad situations. He also possesses one-punch knockout power, while Hardy generally won by picking opponents apart.

Johnson has never faced an opponent of this caliber, apart from maybe Josh Koscheck, and when you add in the homefield advantage (home cage advantage?), this looks like a very tough matchup for Johnson. I'm picking Vitor. And I like Etim a lot, but the guess here is that Barboza improves to 10-0.

Most books haven't posted full odds beyond the headlining fights yet, but I've seen Erick Silva at -475 over Carlo Prater (+325) at 5Dimes, and even with that steep line, I like Silva. One parlay idea I'm looking at is: Aldo + Barboza + Silva + Rousimar Palhares. Matched up against Mike Massenzio at -500, Palhares is barely worth including in your parlay, but he's heavily favored for a reason. That parlay won't make you a millionaire ? you like living on the edge, put Prater and Massenzio in your parlay, see where that gets you* ? but the payout is probably about 200%, depending on the odds for Barboza.

* 18.5-to-1, I checked. Don't do it.

Source: http://www.sports-central.org/sports/2012/01/02/ufc_141_and_new_years_eve_in_japan.php

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Flipped from head to toe: 100 years of continental drift theory

ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2012) ? Exactly 100 years ago, on 6 January 1912, Alfred Wegener presented his theory of continental drift to the public for the first time. At a meeting of the Geological Association in Frankfurt's Senckenberg Museum, he revealed his thoughts on the supercontinent Pangaea, which broke apart and whose individual parts now drift across Earth as today's continents. In 1915, he published his book "The Origin of Continents and Oceans." Its third edition in 1922 was translated into the languages ??of the world and today is considered the foundation stone of plate tectonics.

Wegener's genius idea did not only find friends, because it had the main disadvantage that it lacked the engine to break apart the supercontinent and move huge continental masses over Earth's surface. Indeed, only by the seismology of the 1950s and through scientific drilling in the oceans in the 1960s, the foundation for plate tectonics was laid -- at the same time, however, Wegener's groundbreaking theory was turned upside down.

Seismological insights

Earthquakes are not only terrible natural disasters, they also offer a view inside Earth. It was the geophysicists Wadati and Benioff, who in 1954 independently discovered the systematic arrangement of earthquakes in the places which we now know as plate boundaries. "More than 90% of the global seismic energy is released at the plate boundaries," says Professor Michael Weber, head seismologist at the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ. "We use these earthquakes for tomographic screening of the Earth." With modern methods of scientific seismology it is even possible to reconstruct how quickly the continents moved. The speed record is held by India, which started to make its way from East Gondwana ??to Eurasia about 140 million years ago -- at a speed of 20 centimeters per year.

Drilling into the ocean floor

The real breakthrough, however, came only when those findings were combined with the research results from the great ocean drilling programs of the sixties. Previously, using magnetic measurements of the ocean floor and topography of the seabed the mid-ocean ridges had been discovered, as well as a magnetic polarization of the rocks in parallel strips either side of mid-ocean ridges. Now, the obtained cores showed: No piece of the drilled ocean floor was older than 200 million years, and therefore decidedly younger than Wegener had assumed. Continental rocks, in contrast, can achieve an age of more than four billion years. Secondly, it could be shown that the ocean floor is very young in the immediate vicinity of the mid-ocean ridges. With increasing distance from these undersea mountains, the rocks exhibit an increase in age. Thirdly, the ocean floors below the top layer of sediment are entirely of magmatic origin. "These results could in fact only allow one interpretation. From the interior of the Earth, hot, liquid rock rises to these ridges and pushes the ocean floor off to the side", explains Dr. Ulrich Harms, who at the GFZ directs the "Centre for Scientific Drilling." "Not the continents drift, but entire tectonic plates, which consist of continents , ocean floors, and parts of the upper mantle."

Ascending rocks and the engine of plate tectonics

All these findings in the second half of the sixties put Wegener's ingenious discoveries into a correct context, and also flipped his theory from the head to its feet: not only were his assumptions as to the age of oceans and continents completely reversed, the idea that the continents plow the ocean turns around so that continents and oceans move together as a common upper part of the lithospheric plates. The continents float on top as the lightest rocks, so to speak.

These tectonic plates move, collide, grind past each other or drift apart. All these processes are associated with earthquakes, which can thus be explained as part of the overall process. But what forces the heavy rock inside Earth to rise? The enormous heat inside Earth's core and mantle comes in one part from the formation of Earth, in another from the radioactive decay of elements in the mantle. The heated rock rises and induces the movement expressed on the surface as a displacement of the plates.

The quiet revolution in the theory of tectonics

The classical concept of tectonics as a quasi mechanical process of the movement and collision of rigid plates is now itself in disarray. "Recent findings show plate tectonics as a self-regulating system of interactions, in which all the subsystems of the planet earth are involved", explains Professor Onno Oncken. The Director of the Department "Geodynamics" at GFZ notes: "It is not a mechanical system, but rather complex feedback processes." The climate as example: high-altitude mountains have a decisive influence on the climate, of course. But that the climate in turn controls the tectonics, is a new discovery: the Andes, for example, are caused by the collision of the Nazca plate with South America. The humid climate of the South Andes leads to the erosion of material that ends up as sediment in the Pacific. The Nazca plate approaching from the west deposits this rock on the South American crust. The arid climate of the Northern and Central Andes, however, gives rise to no sediment, therefore the Nazca plate rasps off the continental crust here. The thus created great increase in friction in turn transmits a force that causes the Andean plateau to gain height and width. This in turn enhances the rain shadow on the west side of the Andes and additionally reduces erosion.

The classical notion of folded mountains as a result of a collision also had to be revised: "The Andes, for example, in their present form, exist for about 45 million years, the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath South America has been going on since the Paleozoic, so hundreds of millions of years longer," says Onno Oncken. Similarly, the interplay between the hot, rising rock masses and Earth's crust is much more complex than originally thought. When a hot rock bubble rises, the poorly heat-conductive lithosphere acts as a boundary layer to the surface like a blanket, which in turn increases the temperature further below. This heat buildup can eventually soften whole continents like a welding torch until they dissolve, as it happened around 140 to 130 million years ago, when Gondwana fell apart first in the East, then in the West.

At that time Africa also separated from South America, but it was exactly the contours of these two continents that sparked Wegener's idea. Professor Oncken: "Wegener's approach was the starting point, the plate tectonics of the previous century was the revolution in geoscientific perception. Today we see an equally thorough, quiet revolution in the theory of plate tectonics, because we understand our planet increasingly as a complete system."

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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120104133151.htm

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Critics assail crime laws aimed at people with HIV (AP)

NEW YORK ? A man in Texas is serving a 35-year prison sentence for spitting at a police officer ? because he has the virus that causes AIDS and his saliva was deemed a deadly weapon. In Michigan, an HIV-positive man who allegedly bit a neighbor during an argument faced a bioterrorism charge.

Charges for the same acts would have been far less severe if the defendants had been virus-free. Now, a coalition of advocacy groups ? backed by an outspoken champion in Congress ? is ratcheting up a campaign to press for review and possible repeal of criminal statutes specifically targeting HIV-positive people.

"These laws are archaic," said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. "They're criminalizing a population of people who should not be criminalized."

Lee introduced a bill in September that would provide states with incentives and support to reform criminal laws aimed at people with HIV. Lee assumes the bill has little chance of passage while Republicans control the House, but hopes it will help raise awareness about the state laws.

"It's very important to start these debates, to get governors and legislators to look at it," she said in a telephone interview.

Thirty-four states have criminal laws that punish people for exposing another person to HIV, according to the advocacy groups working with Lee. Prosecutions occur even in the absence of actual HIV transmission, and the laws generally do not consider use of a condom as a defense, the groups said.

Many of the laws were enacted early in the AIDS epidemic, when fear of the disease's deadliness was at its highest and before advances in understanding how HIV was transmitted. The laws have not been revised even though AIDS ? thanks to the development of medication regimens ? is no longer viewed as a death sentence.

Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorney's Association, suggested that most prosecutors would oppose Lee's bill and argue that the laws remain necessary to deter HIV-positive people from reckless or irresponsible behavior.

"Notwithstanding that we've made tremendous medical advances, I don't know anyone who'd want to be infected with HIV and go through the treatment regimen," he said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, HIV is spread primarily by unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person, sharing of tainted needles or syringes, and births by an HIV-infected mother.

HIV is not spread by saliva, tears or sweat, and there are no documented cases of it being transmitted by spitting, according to the CDC. As for biting, the CDC says there is no transmission risk if the skin is not broken; in a "very small number of cases," transmission did occur when a bite drew blood and caused severe tissue damage.

While prosecutors defend the HIV laws as appropriate for certain cases, some activists argue that criminalization of exposure to HIV can backfire and actually fuel the spread of the disease.

They note that under most of the state laws, people who don't know they have HIV are less culpable than those who do know. This fact could deter some people from learning their HIV status, and thus preclude some HIV-positive people from getting treatment.

A better approach, the advocates say, is to encourage responsibility and disclosure without the underlying threat of arrest and prosecution.

The Obama administration's National AIDS Strategy, released in July 2010, echoes those concerns, saying some of the state laws "may make people less willing to disclose their status by making people feel at even greater risk of discrimination."

"It may be appropriate for legislators to reconsider whether existing laws continue to further the public interest," the strategy says. "In many instances, the continued existence and enforcement of these types of laws run counter to scientific evidence."

Advocates for changes in the laws say many people have served long prison terms and been forced to register as sex offenders for conduct that posed no meaningful risk of HIV transmission. Catherine Hanssens of the Center for HIV Law and Policy, one of the key groups in the advocacy coalition, blames the longevity of the laws on "a seemingly invincible ignorance" about transmission.

Annual surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation have documented this phenomenon. According to this year's survey, 1 in 3 Americans has a basic misunderstanding about HIV transmission ? believing, for example, that one can get HIV from sharing a drinking glass or swimming in a pool with someone with HIV.

"We need to educate people," Hanssens said. "Before we change the laws, we have to change their minds."

As part of an initiative called the Positive Justice Project, Hanssens' center recently documented scores of cases since 2008 in which people were prosecuted on charges specifically related to being HIV-positive.

Among the cases:

_In March 2010, an HIV-positive man in Michigan faced bioterrorism charges of using HIV as a weapon after he allegedly bit a neighbor on the lip during an argument. Three months later, a judge threw out that charge; the defendant, Daniel Allen, was placed on 11 months of probation for assault.

_In Iowa, an HIV-positive man, Nick Rhoades, received a 25-year sentence in 2009 for failing to disclose his HIV status prior to a one-time consensual sexual encounter during which the virus was not transmitted. Rhoades' sentence was eventually suspended, but he was nonetheless required to register as a sex offender.

_In 2008, a homeless man with HIV, Willie Campbell, received a 35-year sentence for spitting at a Dallas police officer because under Texas law his saliva was considered a deadly weapon. Local health officials said the risk of HIV transmission from saliva was extremely low, but the prosecutor in the case said the tough sentence was warranted.

"No matter how minuscule, there is some risk," said Jenni Morse. "That means there is the possibility of causing serious bodily injury or death."

In Ohio, there have been several recent cases of people being charged with felonious assault under an 11-year-old state law making it a crime for anyone diagnosed with HIV or AIDS to have sex without disclosing that status to their partner. The law applies regardless of whether HIV is transmitted.

"If you participate in any sex act, no matter how major or minor, you must tell your partner you are HIV-positive before having sex ? even if you are practicing safer sex!" warns a fact sheet distributed by Ohio health groups.

In an ongoing case in Cincinnati, former professional wrestler Andre Davis faces the possibility of decades in prison after being convicted in November of 14 counts of assault for having sex with women without telling them he'd tested positive for HIV. His sentencing is set for Jan. 6.

In accordance with the judge's instructions, it was never established at the trial whether any of the women actually became infected with HIV through contact with Davis, whose wrestling stage names included "Gangsta of Love."

Davis' attorney, Greg Cohen, said the law regarding HIV and felonious assault is "fear-based" and flawed because it doesn't require proof that there was any attempt to cause harm. He has said he may file an appeal.

"You can't just assume someone intended to harm someone else just by sleeping with them," Cohen said in a telephone interview.

However, prosecutor Amy Tranter, in closing arguments at last month's trial, said Davis should go to prison for a long time.

"He's shown no remorse, no responsibility for anything that he's done," she said.

William McColl, political director of the Washington-based advocacy group AIDS United, believes criminal prosecutions should be avoided in HIV-related cases except possibly for the rare instances when an HIV-positive person deliberately seeks to transmit the virus to someone else.

In the more common cases where an HIV-positive sexual partner had no malicious intent and there is a dispute about whether the HIV status was disclosed, prosecution is probably inappropriate, McColl said.

Advocacy groups recommend that people with HIV ? to guard themselves against prosecution ? should find ways to document that they disclosed their status to sexual partners. This could entail making a video of a disclosure conversation, having the partner sign a letter confirming the disclosure, or having the partner join in a discussion with a health professional.

"When you are in love, or in the heat of the moment, it may seem impossible to do any of these things," advises the Positive Justice Project. "But remember that these are the tools that may help you fight an arrest or conviction."

For advocacy groups working on behalf of HIV-positive people, the criminalization laws represent a negative side of a mixed picture. Overall, activists are heartened by progress in combatting HIV-related discrimination, whether by private employers or the federal government.

However, everyday discrimination does persist despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, which extends its anti-discrimination protections to people with HIV. In Pennsylvania, for example, a 13-year-old boy recently was denied admission to a private school because he is HIV-positive.

___

Online:

Statement from Rep. Lee: http://1.usa.gov/pG6rGe

Positive Justice Project: http://bit.ly/au71dN

___

David Crary can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CraryAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120102/ap_on_re_us/us_criminalizing_hiv

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'Lost world' discovered around Antarctic vents

Public release date: 3-Jan-2012
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Contact: Bryan Ghosh
bghosh@plos.org
44-122-344-2837
Public Library of Science

Communities of species previously unknown to science have been discovered on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents.

The discoveries, made by teams led by the University of Oxford, University of Southampton and British Antarctic Survey, include new species of yeti crab, starfish, barnacles, sea anemones, and potentially an octopus.

For the first time, researchers have used a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to explore the East Scotia Ridge deep beneath the Southern Ocean, where hydrothermal vents, (including 'black smokers' reaching temperatures of up to 382 degrees Celsius) create a unique environment that lacks sunlight, but is rich in certain chemicals. The team reports its findings in this week's issue of the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology.

"Hydrothermal vents are home to animals found nowhere else on the planet that get their energy not from the Sun but from breaking down chemicals, such as hydrogen sulphide," said Professor Alex Rogers of Oxford University's Department of Zoology, who led the research. "The first survey of these particular vents, in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, has revealed a hot, dark, 'lost world' in which whole communities of previously unknown marine organisms thrive."

Highlights from the ROV dives include images showing huge colonies of the new species of yeti crab, thought to dominate the Antarctic vent ecosystem, clustered around vent chimneys. Elsewhere the ROV spotted numbers of an undescribed predatory sea-star with seven arms crawling across fields of stalked barnacles. It also found an unidentified pale octopus, nearly 2,400 metres down, on the seafloor.

"What we didn't find is almost as surprising as what we did," said Professor Rogers. "Many animals such as tubeworms, vent mussels, vent crabs, and vent shrimps, found in hydrothermal vents in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, simply weren't there."

The team believe that the differences between the groups of animals found around the Antarctic vents and those found around vents elsewhere suggest that the Southern Ocean may act as a barrier to some vent animals. The unique species of the East Scotia Ridge also suggest that, globally, vent ecosystems may be much more diverse, and their interactions more complex, than previously thought.

In April 2011 Professor Rogers was part of an international panel of marine scientists who gathered at Somerville College, Oxford to consider the latest research on the world's oceans. A preliminary report from the panel in June warned that the world's oceans are at risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.

"These findings are yet more evidence of the precious diversity to be found throughout the world's oceans," said Professor Rogers. "Everywhere we look, whether it is in the sunlit coral reefs of tropical waters or these Antarctic vents shrouded in eternal darkness, we find unique ecosystems that we need to understand and protect."

ROV dives were conducted with the help of the crews of RRS James Cook and RRS James Clark Ross. The discoveries were made as part of a consortium project with partners from the University of Oxford, University of Southampton, University of Bristol, Newcastle University, British Antarctic Survey, National Oceanography Centre, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution supported by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

###

Funding: The ChEsSo research programme was funded by a NERC Consortium Grant (NE/DO1249X/1) and supported by the Census of Marine Life and the Sloan Foundation, and the Total Foundation for Biodiversity (Abyss 2100)(SVTH) all of which are gratefully acknowledged. We also acknowledge NSF grant ANT-0739675 (CG and TS) and NERC PhD studentships NE/D01429X/1(LH, LM, CNR), NE/H524922/1(JH) and NE/F010664/1 (WDKR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Rogers AD, Tyler PA, Connelly DP, Copley JT, James R, et al. (2012) The Discovery of New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Communities in the Southern Ocean and Implications for Biogeography. PLoS Biol 10(1): e1001234. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001234

CONTACT:
Prof. Alex Rogers
Department of Zoology,
University of Oxford,
Tinbergen Building,
South Parks Road,
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PS
UNITED KINGDOM
Mobile: +44 (0)7927 645 546
alex.rogers@zoo.ox.ac.uk

Dr Jon Copley
Ocean and Earth Science
University of Southampton
Tel: +44 (0)23 8059 2011
Mobile: +44 (0)7841 556 040
Email: j.t.copley@noc.soton.ac.uk

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 3-Jan-2012
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Contact: Bryan Ghosh
bghosh@plos.org
44-122-344-2837
Public Library of Science

Communities of species previously unknown to science have been discovered on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents.

The discoveries, made by teams led by the University of Oxford, University of Southampton and British Antarctic Survey, include new species of yeti crab, starfish, barnacles, sea anemones, and potentially an octopus.

For the first time, researchers have used a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to explore the East Scotia Ridge deep beneath the Southern Ocean, where hydrothermal vents, (including 'black smokers' reaching temperatures of up to 382 degrees Celsius) create a unique environment that lacks sunlight, but is rich in certain chemicals. The team reports its findings in this week's issue of the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology.

"Hydrothermal vents are home to animals found nowhere else on the planet that get their energy not from the Sun but from breaking down chemicals, such as hydrogen sulphide," said Professor Alex Rogers of Oxford University's Department of Zoology, who led the research. "The first survey of these particular vents, in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, has revealed a hot, dark, 'lost world' in which whole communities of previously unknown marine organisms thrive."

Highlights from the ROV dives include images showing huge colonies of the new species of yeti crab, thought to dominate the Antarctic vent ecosystem, clustered around vent chimneys. Elsewhere the ROV spotted numbers of an undescribed predatory sea-star with seven arms crawling across fields of stalked barnacles. It also found an unidentified pale octopus, nearly 2,400 metres down, on the seafloor.

"What we didn't find is almost as surprising as what we did," said Professor Rogers. "Many animals such as tubeworms, vent mussels, vent crabs, and vent shrimps, found in hydrothermal vents in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, simply weren't there."

The team believe that the differences between the groups of animals found around the Antarctic vents and those found around vents elsewhere suggest that the Southern Ocean may act as a barrier to some vent animals. The unique species of the East Scotia Ridge also suggest that, globally, vent ecosystems may be much more diverse, and their interactions more complex, than previously thought.

In April 2011 Professor Rogers was part of an international panel of marine scientists who gathered at Somerville College, Oxford to consider the latest research on the world's oceans. A preliminary report from the panel in June warned that the world's oceans are at risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.

"These findings are yet more evidence of the precious diversity to be found throughout the world's oceans," said Professor Rogers. "Everywhere we look, whether it is in the sunlit coral reefs of tropical waters or these Antarctic vents shrouded in eternal darkness, we find unique ecosystems that we need to understand and protect."

ROV dives were conducted with the help of the crews of RRS James Cook and RRS James Clark Ross. The discoveries were made as part of a consortium project with partners from the University of Oxford, University of Southampton, University of Bristol, Newcastle University, British Antarctic Survey, National Oceanography Centre, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution supported by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

###

Funding: The ChEsSo research programme was funded by a NERC Consortium Grant (NE/DO1249X/1) and supported by the Census of Marine Life and the Sloan Foundation, and the Total Foundation for Biodiversity (Abyss 2100)(SVTH) all of which are gratefully acknowledged. We also acknowledge NSF grant ANT-0739675 (CG and TS) and NERC PhD studentships NE/D01429X/1(LH, LM, CNR), NE/H524922/1(JH) and NE/F010664/1 (WDKR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Rogers AD, Tyler PA, Connelly DP, Copley JT, James R, et al. (2012) The Discovery of New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Communities in the Southern Ocean and Implications for Biogeography. PLoS Biol 10(1): e1001234. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001234

CONTACT:
Prof. Alex Rogers
Department of Zoology,
University of Oxford,
Tinbergen Building,
South Parks Road,
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PS
UNITED KINGDOM
Mobile: +44 (0)7927 645 546
alex.rogers@zoo.ox.ac.uk

Dr Jon Copley
Ocean and Earth Science
University of Southampton
Tel: +44 (0)23 8059 2011
Mobile: +44 (0)7841 556 040
Email: j.t.copley@noc.soton.ac.uk

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/plos-wd122811.php

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Bachmann: Put US missiles on alert to warn Iran (AP)

WASINGTON ? Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann says she would put U.S. missiles on alert and consider blockading Iran to let that country know it should not develop nuclear weapons.

The congresswoman from Minnesota says she would deploy Patriot missiles, ballistic missiles and other weapon systems in the U.S. and the Middle East to show Iran that "we will do whatever it takes."

Bachmann is seeking conservative support in Tuesday's Iowa GOP presidential caucuses, where polls show her support has been lagging in the single digit range.

Her comments on CBS' "The Early Show" came as Iran's navy announced it had test-fired a surface-to-surface cruise missile during a drill in international waters near the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120102/ap_on_el_ge/us_bachmann_iran

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Apple planning a media-related event in NYC this month, but no TV or iPad 3 in store

Apple is planning a media-related event in New York city at the end of January that is said to be on a smaller scale and not related to the Apple TV or iPad 3, reports All Things D.

The report, which includes information garnered from several sources, is thought to be set for later this month, although those plans could very well change. What is said to be a surety though, is the fact that the event is not an announcement of an Apple Television or a new version of its iPad tablet.

Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue is said to be involved, which appears to indicate that this is a either a publishing or advertising-related announcement.

As Kara Swisher reports, Eddy Cue?s last New York appearance for Apple was at the launch of News Corp.?s The Daily, a magazine available online and on tablets only.

Amid rampant rumors of Apple?s new voice-controlled television product, it would be easy to assume that this event could have something to do with it, but her sources say no. Although hints in Apple code and some supply chain rumors have placed an Apple television as beginning manufacture in early 2012, there are still doubts about Apple ability or willingness to enter that market.

We will, of course, continue to track this information and will update you with any new information regarding the purpose of the event.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNextWeb/~3/59D9D0r9o_A/story01.htm

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Adaklu natural attractions, potential for high revenue ? Vice President

Adaklu-Tsrefe, Jan 1, GNA ? Vice?President John Dramani Mahama has?observed that the newly created Adaklu District could be explored to generate substantial revenue from its natural attractions.

The Vice President made the remark in an address delivered on his behalf by Mr Alexander Asum Ahensah, Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture at a well-attended durbar to climax Glidzi Festival of the Chiefs and People of the Adaklu Traditional Area on Saturday, December 31st 2011.

He, however, expressed reservations about the people?s attitude towards the environment which became evidenced in a surging bushfire that crackled in the bushes across the street while the durbar was going on.

?Togbe Chairman, as I look at the scenic beauty of the environment here, especially the mountain, I cannot resist the temptation of thinking loudly that the tourist potential for this district is great,? Mr Mahama stated.

He envisioned the glorious spectacle of watching the Kalakpa Game Reserve from the top of the Adaklu Mountain, in the district, saying that sight could compare to that from the Table Mountain of South Africa.

The Vice President therefore asked the people to advise themselves to make their ?environment attractive so that the tourists can come,? especially so when the area hosted the launch of the national Anti-Bush Fire Campaign only two weeks ago.

The blades of flames, visible from the Tsrefe JHS Park, venue of the durbar, across the streets, ebbed and rose, so frightening at one time, necessitating an announcement for owners and drivers of vehicles parked on the streets to move them away.

The theme of the festival instituted to celebrate the forbears for their gallantry in securing their present place of abode was: ?Uniting for Development?.

Mr Mahama said it was gratifying to note as a new district that Adaklu appreciated the need for unity in development and noted:??The spirit of unity is most critical for, it promotes peace and engenders stability, which is definitely required for development?.

The Vice President, therefore, called on the all citizens of Adaklu to foster this spirit stating, ?I believe that in a short time the fruits will be evident.?

Mr Mahama expressed the hope that the new district would meet the Electoral Commission of Ghana?s criteria to become a Constituency when all the steps had been concluded.

He said it was noteworthy that the people had selected health as a priority, announcing that government would select a health facility in the new district to be upgraded into a district hospital.

Mr Mahama said there was the need to conclude studies on the feasibility of extending water from the Kpeve Pumping Station to the area.

He said plans were afoot to address the deficit and expand facilities in educational infrastructure and other amenities in schools in the traditional area.

The Vice?President said construction of the major roads in the area would have to be speeded-up, saying ?we will make sure that other important roads that will facilitate movement of goods and services within the district are taken care of.?

Togbe Gbogbo Atsya V, Paramount Chief of the Adaklu Traditional Area, expressed gratitude to the government for carving the area out as a district on its own.

He said the people were steadily strengthening their bonds of unity for positive development.

Togbe Atsya expressed dismay at the bushfire across the street and warned that he would turnover those responsible and others who would be caught torching bushes to the authorities.

The durbar was characterized by long periods of cultural displays from the over 36 settlements that constitute the vast expanse of Adaklu Traditional Area.

Present were Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister of Women and Children?s Affairs and MP for the Area, Colonel Cyril Necku, Deputy Volta Regional Minister and Mr Kobla Adzaho, District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Adaklu-Anyigbea among others.

Source: http://www.spyghana.com/general-news/regional-news/adaklu-natural-attractions-potential-for-high-revenue-vice-president/

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