[Klug-general] Alan Turing Pardon Petition

Adam Buckland Adam.Buckland at eurohill.com
Tue Sep 1 10:21:45 UTC 2009


Surely it warrants an inclusion because of the importance of the work Alan Turing performed for this Country, for computing and for the disgraceful way he was treated by the establishment especially given the significance of todays date.

It warrants a second inclusion as not everyone has time to look at the website and rely on the email list for information.

Can't see a deviation in the whole posting but maybe you're talking about Alan Turing as a deviation?

Surely you shouldn't hijack this thread to complain about hijacking threads or is that a bit obvious and recursive?

Adam.


-----Original Message-----
From: kent-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk [mailto:kent-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk] On Behalf Of George Prowse
Sent: 01 September 2009 10:50
To: Kent Linux User Group - General Topics
Subject: [Klug-general] Alan Turing Pardon Petition

James Blake wrote:
> Hi All
>
> I've been campaigning for a long time for an official pardon for
> Turing who, when facing prosecution in the UK for being homosexual,
> committed suicide rather than face chemical castration.  My father was
> the headmaster of Wavendon School in the grounds of Bletchley Park
> where Turing worked to crack the German Enigma code (among others), so
> I've always had an interest in the man and his work.  I know that this
> is a little 'off list' but if it wasn't for Turing we'd all still be
> using mechanical calculators and signing  Deutschland über alles every
> morning...
>
> Alan Turing was one of our country's national heros hastening the end
> of the Second World War and, along with Von Neumann, making some of
> greatest contributions to the developing what is now considered a
> computer.
>
> A petition on the same site to save Bletchley Park elicited a direct
> response from the Prime Minister, it would be great if all of those
> interested in this great man and the shameful way he was treated could
> take the time to sign this petition.
>
> For those interested in cryptoanalysis and the part it played in
> defeating the Nazis in the Second World War, there is an exhibition
> this coming weekend at Bletchley Park celebrating the 70th anniversary
> of Turing's arrival:
>
> http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/calendar/event_detail.rhtm?cat=special&recID=567861
>
> If you're interested in Turing there have been several books written
> about him, but one of the best is David Leavitt's "The Man Who Knew
> Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer" (ISBN
> 978-0393052367)
>
> The petition for an official pardon for Turing can be found at:
>
> http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/turing/
>
>
> James
>

There are some things that are close enough to the topic to warrant a
slight deviation but getting people to sign up for things - no matter
what the subject - is too far.

This subject is already on the klug website by you, why did you think it
warranted a second inclusion?

Also, can people STOP replying to emails and then changing the subject
to reflect another completely different subject, you need to create a
new email.

George


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