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Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

#51

Post by cperciva »

groovy2shoes wrote: post #32
a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buggery. It's been illegal many places for a very long time because it spreads disease. The sodomy laws were effectively repealed and we got AIDS. It was not a coincidence.

Sexual intercourse of any kind spreads disease. AIDS didn't become an epidemic because of anal intercourse. It's pretty clear that AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases spread just as well from almost any kind sexual activity, and many of them -- including AIDS -- spread from any transfer of bodily fluids at all. Going further, I'd wager that any form of interpersonal contact, even non-sexual, is as likely to…

It's pretty clear that AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases spread just as well from almost any kind sexual activity, and many of them -- including AIDS -- spread from any transfer of bodily fluids at all.

It's clear that HIV can spread via a wide range of sexual activities, but some are much higher risk than others. At the extremes, receptive anal intercourse has a transmission risk roughly 50 times higher than insertive vaginal intercourse, while the risk of oral sex is believed to be non-zero but too low to be accurately measurable.

Re: Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

#52

Post by Rogerh91 »

You know, I was just reading a WSJ special on how returning PTSD-afflicted veterans were lobotomized...

Reading back on what happened to Turing and countless other homosexuals gives me those same chills.

What a simple pleasure it is to live in the era we do now. No, not everything is perfect, but so much has improved, and it's up to all of us to improve things even further, and to keep the momentum going.

Re: Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

#53

Post by pandaman »

WA wrote: post #42
a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They used to lock you up for adultery, too, right up to the 60s. Disease was a consideration. So it's not just a matter of targeting gays. > AIDS didn't become an epidemic because of anal intercourse Yes it did. This is not remotely controversial. Aids and many other STDs are spread chiefly by buggery. This is why the red cross does not want blood donations from homosexuals.

Red cross (in the US) doesn't want blood donations from people who lived in Europe for long enough. Because they have HIV? No. You got something wrong with correlation and causation there in several ways.

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/BloodBloodProducts...

FDA is pretty clear on why they don't want blood donations from men who had sex with other men.

Re: Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

#55

Post by mynameishere »

groovy2shoes wrote: post #32
a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buggery. It's been illegal many places for a very long time because it spreads disease. The sodomy laws were effectively repealed and we got AIDS. It was not a coincidence.

Sexual intercourse of any kind spreads disease. AIDS didn't become an epidemic because of anal intercourse. It's pretty clear that AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases spread just as well from almost any kind sexual activity, and many of them -- including AIDS -- spread from any transfer of bodily fluids at all. Going further, I'd wager that any form of interpersonal contact, even non-sexual, is as likely to…

I grew up around the time teens were force-fed sex education regarding AIDS, and the message was loud and clear and consistent: Ordinary sex is a great way to contract HIV. This, in fact, was always a lie--and a coordinated lie--and the scientists knew about it.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/895/what-are-the-od...

the odds of a heterosexual becoming infected with AIDS after one episode of penile-vaginal intercourse with someone in a non-high-risk group without a condom are one in 5 million.

(Sorry for the crummy source, but I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this BS.) The original infections seen by doctors weren't just homosexuals, but those who had sometimes dozens of sexual encounters per week. It was clear from the beginning how this disease was spread--reciprocal anal sex.

So why the contrary propaganda? Well, if a disease primarily effects a small, ultra-promiscuous portion of two percent of the general population, research funding tends to lose popular support.

Re: Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

#56

Post by infinity0 »

lostlogin wrote: post #54
bitsteak wrote: post #48

Scumbag Hacker News: Admires spies only after they're dead.

You really compare the NSA to activities at Bletchley Park, fighting Nazis?

Unfortunately, that is just what the British intelligence community are doing over here. It's a fucking disgrace, but I wonder if the timing of this pardon is because of that. They had the chance to do this a year ago, but didn't.

Re: Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

#58

Post by [deleted] »

groovy2shoes wrote: post #32
a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buggery. It's been illegal many places for a very long time because it spreads disease. The sodomy laws were effectively repealed and we got AIDS. It was not a coincidence.

Sexual intercourse of any kind spreads disease. AIDS didn't become an epidemic because of anal intercourse. It's pretty clear that AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases spread just as well from almost any kind sexual activity, and many of them -- including AIDS -- spread from any transfer of bodily fluids at all. Going further, I'd wager that any form of interpersonal contact, even non-sexual, is as likely to…

[deleted]

Re: Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

#60

Post by mlopes »

shazzy wrote: post #49
nostromo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pardon everyone convicted under similar statues and knight Turing posthumously for his efforts during the war and his contributions to computer science.

I do not think it is possible to knight posthumously.

You are right, not only that but also the title of Knight ceases when one dies.
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