al dente

Corrected it for you

Blue Cat

they don't like dick

mikewot

Have a read of the circumstances here: http://www.polarimagazine.com/featur...exual-conduct/

At the time of his conviction, male homosexuality itself was illegal. The offence of Gross Indecency covered sexual activity between male participants.

During the intervening years, male homosexuality was decriminalised. I believe that certain acts of Gross Indecency continued to exist until they were repealed when the Sexual Offences Act 2003 appeared on the statute book. Sec 71 of this new act deals specifically with the offence of 'Sexual Activity in a Public Lavatory'. The offence may now be committed by either sex in any combination.

As I understand it, the circumstances surrounding Alan Turing's conviction involved sexual activity with another male but not what we would now consider Gross Indecency i.e. cottaging. It was, at the time, something of a witch hunt. At least that is my take on it for the following:

Turing was known to be a homosexual from his student days. He proposed to a girl at the time and she rejected him because she knew of his inclinations. By the time he was at Bletchley, the security services would have known he was gay but his work was vital and he doesn't seem to have been very active at the time. Unsurprising as he would have been working all the hours god sent before returning to an eagle eyed land lady.
After the war, everything changed. Turing went to Manchester University to continue his work on computers. He had a well paid job with a house and car of his own. He also became extremely promiscuous, picking up casual partners and cruising for rent boys in and around Manchester. His holidays took him to places where homosexuality was legal or tolerated.
For MI5, his behaviour was a nightmare. It's known that some of his foreign trips brought him into contact with soviet agents who tried to exploit his homosexuality as they did with people like Guy Burgess. Anybody who has ever held a high level security clearance will know that one of the quickest way to lose it is persistent sexual misconduct.
The incident with Arnold Murray seems to have been the last straw for the Security Service. It wasn't war time any more. Turing's work was less important to national security and his behaviour had reached a point where they had to dedicate officers full time to keep Turing out of trouble.
MI5 washed their hands of Turing and he unexpectedly found himself facing a choice of six months in prison, and the end of any hope of an academic career or probation and a period of hormone treatment. He chose the latter, became impotent, grew man boobs and killed himself (allegedly).

Markie

Thanks I can't believe how horrible and mean a few people can be. I guess the Internet gives people a way to be however awful they want with no social repercussions. Ain't free speech wonderful?!

mikewot

Couple of replies for you to mull over.

1) People who live/work out here have a 'robust' SOH, it helps them get by. If you find that it's horrible and mean then this bored obviously isn't the one for you, perhaps somewhere a little more fluffy and PC would be best.

2) Those who live by the sword die by the sword. You burst into the bored laying about you with fairly offensive comments about the posters on here, despite your assertion that you weren't trying to be a jerk you were. That was why you came to the attention of Sue, the board 'owner' (I was flying at the time). That is why you have your own personal thread here.

Markie

Fair points about Dubai, and sorry I came across wrong - I find it an interesting culture, so different from western culture. I sure never meant anyone offense!

After all, we're all humans and no matter how much we disagree, we all want the best in life and we're all, basically, the same thing at the core!

Meow

Live away from the West long enough and you begin to doubt that. Core values are not exactly the same across the world.

To comment on your initial post:

"I just don't understand what compels people to move to some of these countries where all the freedoms and liberties they've enjoyed their whole lives are non-existent."

Our freedoms are not non-existent and not all countries in the ME are the same - despite whatever Fox News and other bigoted US media may claim. This is a democracy, but most people live their lives in a very similar way to those in their home countries.

"Is there something I'm missing that any amount of money would be worth it to move away from a place that shares your values and go to somewhere where your values are not respected by anyone around you?"

That may be the case in parts of Saudi but not in the UAE. For example, Christmas is a big event with decorations and Christmas songs everywhere. We are permitted to drink alcohol and eat pork despite these being haram in Islam.

There certainly are restrictions and the weird obsessions of many GGC nationals about homosexuality is bizarre whilst punishments can be draconian. That said, the vast majority of people here never have any problems, learn what is and what is not tolerated and live fairly ordinary lives. The inequalities can be shocking, as is the casual racism - and sexism - in everyday life, but we can all do our bit to improve things. If it wasn't for the complaints of expats some years ago many labourers would still be transported standing up in the back of open trucks.

Life, no matter there you live, is often a matter of compromise and everyone just has to find a place that works for them. If you have never visited any part of the ME/GCC then you cannot know what life is like here. if you see the thread about how long we've all been in the region you'll see we have an awful lot of combined experience and are not blinkered about this region.

Markie

Thank you for the insight meow! にゃ (that means meow in Japanese )

I think it'd be fascinating to go visit, though scary too with the horror stories you hear. And it's far from just US media, frankly, I rarely read US media since most of it is uneducated trash. My main news source is BBC News, followed by The Register.

Fossildog

Ah yes the BBC, that bastion of unbiased reporting that does not have any agenda whatsoever.

Markie

Sarcasm aside, compared to anyone else, it is.

Fossildog

It really isn't. It has an agenda which is primarily liberal and left wing. Not to mention its employment of lots of people who have been implicated in scandals regarding sex with underage children.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/t...on-debate.html

So by law you are forced, with the threat of imprisonment, to pay for a TV license if you want to watch any TV in your house. These funds are then used to convey a viewpoint that is at odds with what most people in the UK believe, and are used to push a particular agenda that does not have the best interests of UK citizens at heart.

Millhouse

scary, seriously? you need to take a good cold look at yourself.

The only thing that is scary here are ugly hos in the bars.

Markie

LOL, liberal and left wing? I think you're thinking the Guardian (slightly liberal) or MSNBC (USA, slightly liberal). BBC is very centre.

And while the UKIP and some more conservative Tories would like to believe they represent most Britons, they just don't.

mikewot

Scary? ROFL! You need to get out a bit more. A walk down Ealing Broadway is much more scary than anything Dubai has to offer.

Markie

Really? 'tis where my aunt and cousins used to live. I had good memories there when I was younger!