British Headline Of The Day

Via the Guardian:

A campaign to pardon nearly 50,000 men convicted under a 19th-century law for homosexual activity is being delayed amid concerns in Whitehall that a small number of paedophiles could be included. Campaigners who had hoped that the royal pardon for the Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing would be extended across the nation have been dismayed by a warning from Whitehall officials that a blanket pardon could benefit gay men who had sex with a minor. “There is huge frustration that the deal breaker now appears to be a fear that a general pardon might see what are being described as some paedophiles pardoned,” one source familiar with the Whitehall negotiations told the Guardian. “This sounds like an excuse and is driving people to despair.” Officials have said that there may be no record of whether a minor was involved in a pre-1967 prosecution because homosexuality was illegal regardless of age. Homosexuality was initially decriminalised in 1967 for consenting adults aged 21 and over. The age of consent was eventually equalised in Great Britain in 2001.

It's estimated that 15,000 men convicted before 1967 are still living.

Quote Of The Day - Graham Moore

"I’m not gay, but I’ve never talked publicly about depression before or any of that and that was so much of what the movie was about and it was one of the things that drew me to Alan Turing so much. I think we all feel like weirdos for different reasons. Alan had his share of them and I had my own and that’s what always moved me so much about his story.” - Oscar-winning screenwriter Graham Moore, speaking to Buzzfeed. Moore's "it gets better" acceptance speech led many (including numerous media outlets) to wrongly assume that he is gay. At this writing #StayWeird remains a top-trending hashtag on Twitter.

BRITAIN: Family Of Alan Turing To Demand Pardon For 49,000 Other Men

Via the Guardian:

The family of the codebreaker Alan Turing will visit Downing Street on Monday to demand the government pardons 49,000 other men persecuted like him for their homosexuality. Turing, whose work cracking the German military codes was vital to the British war effort against Nazi Germany, was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency with a 19-year-old man, was chemically castrated, and two years later died from cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide. He was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013 and campaigners want the government to pardon all the men convicted under the outdated law. Turing’s great-nephew, Nevil Hunt, his great-niece, Rachel Barnes, and her son, Thomas, will hand over the petition, which attracted almost 500,000 signatures, to 10 Downing Street. Ms Barnes said: “I consider it to be fair and just that everybody who was convicted under the Gross Indecency law is given a pardon. It is illogical that my great uncle has been the only one to be pardoned when so many were convicted of the same crime. I feel sure that Alan Turing would have also wanted justice for everybody.”

(Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

Glenn Beck: The Apple Logo Is A Secret Homage To Computer Genius Alan Turing

Kyle Mantyla writes at Right Wing Watch:

Glenn Beck received an advance copy of "The Imitation Game," the new film about Alan Turing's effort to crack the Nazi Enigma code during World War II and his eventual suicide after he was prosecuted for being gay, a crime at the time. On his radio program today, Beck raved about the film, seizing upon the legend that Turing had taken his life by eating an apple laced with cyanide which, Beck claimed, has been secretly immortalized in the logo for Apple, which consists of an apple with a bite taken out of it. "That's a salute to Alan Turning," Beck said. "Nobody knows that. Nobody knows that ... Isn't that amazing?" This claim is, of course, little more than an urban legend, as Rob Janoff, the man who originally designed the logo back in 1977, explained a few years ago.

Watch the clip at the link. Beck declines to "give away" the reason that Turing committed suicide.

Pet Shop Boys Perform World Premier Of Alan Turing Opera With BBC Orchestra

Accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Singers, last night Pet Shop Boys performed the world premier of their Alan Turing opera, A Man From The Future, at Britain's Proms event at Royal Albert Hall. The Independent has posted a review:

Tennant stands by the choir for A Man From the Future, with fellow Boy Chris Lowe behind him in familiar baseball cap and shades, tweaking a laptop. Juliet Stevenson’s disembodied narration, drawn from Andrew Hodges’ Turing biographies, is almost overpoweringly dominant. But getting the tale of Turing’s singular genius and representative tragedy across seems to outweigh the balance between words and music. “Conform, rebel or withdraw” are the choices the public schoolboy Turing is presented with, as ominous strings close in to cage him.  The remorseless glide of laptop-generated synth washes signal the machine-dreams which led him towards the computer’s invention. The BBC Singers then give the sensation of a dying fall, as the backroom heroism which turned the U-boat tide at Bletchley Park is passed over in a sentence. Tennant and Lowe aren’t interested in what Turing is belatedly honoured for now, but his shadow-life then. Bursts of hot, frantic swing follow him mentioning his homosexuality, and the furious swell of the choir’s baritones greet his downward spiral towards chemical castration by the state. His hot blood and mechanistic visions’ merging is expressed in the orchestral-laptop score. It is always, though, subservient to the verbal tracing of Turing’s fate.

Listen to the full performance below.

TOMORROW: World Premiere Of Pet Shop Boys' Alan Turing Opera In London

Tomorrow night at London's Royal Albert Hall, Pet Shop Boys will perform with the BBC Concert Orchestra in the world premiere of their Alan Turing opera, A Man From The Future. Via the Guardian:

"For one night only, I'm one of the BBC singers!" marvels Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant – he is adding his voice to the 18-strong chamber choir. "I can't imagine he'll blend in," deadpans his colleague Chris Lowe, who is usually found hiding behind a bank of synthesisers at their shows. He is worried about the lack of dry ice and lasers at the Royal Albert Hall. "The lights are always on [at classical concerts], aren't they? I personally am going to feel very exposed." It is not the first time a pop group has featured at the Proms. From Soft Machine's 1970 set (later turned into a live album)to last year's 6 Music and 1Xtra specials, pop and rock acts have often played a part in the two-month series. But Tennant and Lowe are doing something different this year: performing the world premiere of an ambitious new work, A Man From The Future. Based on the life of the extraordinary mathematician and Enigma code-cracker Alan Turing, it's an orchestral pop "biography" in eight parts for electronics, orchestra, choir and narrator.

Late last year Turing was granted a posthumous royal pardon for the 1952 homosexuality conviction that ultimately led to his suicide. The pardon prompted Tennant to change the closing of the opera.

"We had to [rewrite the ending to] point out that the convictions of tens of thousands of other men remain, and that hasn't really been discussed," says Tennant. However, the finale has a celebratory feel, and recognises the changes in attitudes towards homosexuality, globally. Tennant lists these happily: a 2013 US poll in which 52% of Americans were shown to approve of same-sex marriage, the moment in 1994 when John Major lowered the age of consent to 18 ("everyone forgets it was him that started things off").

Tomorrow's event will begin with Chrissie Hynde providing vocals on orchestral versions of several Pet Shop Boys classics, including Rent and Love Is A Catastrophe. The Turing opera will follow. The concert begins at 5:15PM New York City time and I'll post a live stream if one is available.

TRAILER: The Imitation Game

Opening on November 21st:

In THE IMITATION GAME, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.

Computer Passes The Turing Test

Via the Independent:

A programme that convinced humans that it was a 13-year-old boy has become the first computer ever to pass the Turing Test. The test — which requires that computers are indistinguishable from humans — is considered a landmark in the development of artificial intelligence, but academics have warned that the technology could be used for cybercrime. Computing pioneer Alan Turing said that a computer could be understood to be thinking if it passed the test, which requires that a computer dupes 30 per cent of human interrogators in five-minute text conversations. Eugene Goostman, a computer programme made by a team based in Russia, succeeded in a test conducted at the Royal Society in London. It convinced 33 per cent of the judges that it was human, said academics at the University of Reading, which organised the test.

The test was performed on Saturday, the 60th anniversary of Alan Turing's suicide after having been chemically castrated following his conviction for homosexuality. Turing received a posthumous pardon from the British government last year. You can chat with the program and see for yourself if it feels human. I think the responses come far too quickly. (Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

BRITAIN: Pet Shop Boys To Call For Mass Pardons For Thousands Of Men Convicted Of Homosexual Acts

Via the Sunday Times:

Pet Shop Boys are to use a new orchestral work about the computer pioneer Alan Turing to call for the “tens of thousands of men” imprisoned or fined for committing homosexual acts to be pardoned. A Man From the Future, created by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, will premiere at the Proms on July 23 . The Pardon, the last song, references the posthumous pardon granted to Turing, who was prosecuted for gross indecency in 1952. Tennant and Lowe will urge the government to pardon others convicted before homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967. “So very many lives were ruined over such a long period,” said Tennant. “Frankly it rather disappoints me that Stonewall [the gay rights group] has not done more. So we’re making the statement ourselves.”

Turing was posthumously pardoned in December 2013.

BRITAIN: Computer Genius Alan Turing Granted Posthumous Pardon

The British government today granted a royal pardon to Alan Turing, the computer genius who committed suicide after being chemically castrated following a conviction for homosexuality.

The brilliant mathematician, who played a major role in breaking the Enigma code – which arguably shortened the war by at least two years – has been granted a pardon under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy by the Queen, following a request from the justice secretary, Chris Grayling. Turing was considered to be the father of modern computer science and was most famous for his work in helping to create the "bombe" that cracked messages enciphered with the German Enigma machines. He was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 after admitting a sexual relationship with a man. He was given experimental chemical castration as a "treatment". His criminal record resulted in the loss of his security clearance and meant he was no longer able to work for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), where he had been employed following service at Bletchley Park during the war. He died of cyanide poisoning in 1954, aged 41.

More from the Guardian:

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Sharkey, who introduced the private member's bill in the House of Lords, said: "This has demonstrated wisdom and compassion. It has recognised a very great British hero and made some amends for the cruelty and injustice with which Turing was treated. "It's a wonderful thing, but we are not quite finished yet. I will continue to campaign for all those convicted as Turing was, simply for being gay, to have their convictions disregarded. That will be a proper and fitting and final end to the Turing story." Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the royal pardon was long overdue, but also due to "another 50,000-plus men who were also convicted of consenting, victimless homosexual relationships during the 20th century".

RELATED: Filming began in September for the Turing biopic, The Imitation Game.

Britain To Grant Posthumous Pardon To Gay Codebreaker Alan Turing

Famed WWII codebreaker Alan Turing will be granted a posthumous pardon by the British government. Turing committed suicide after being convicted of gross indecency under Britain's anti-homosexuality code.

The government signalled on Friday that it is prepared to support a backbench bill that would pardon Turing, who died from cyanide poisoning at the age of 41 in 1954 after he was subjected to "chemical castration". Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, a government whip, told peers that the government would table the third reading of the Alan Turing (statutory pardon) bill at the end of October if no amendments are made. "If nobody tables an amendment to this bill, its supporters can be assured that it will have speedy passage to the House of Commons," Ahmad said. The announcement marks a change of heart by the government, which declined last year to grant pardons to the 49,000 gay men, now dead, who were convicted under the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act. They include Oscar Wilde.

Turing is considered by many to be the father of computer science.

Pet Shop Boys - He Dreamed Of Machines

Pet Shop Boys have created a tribute piece to gay British computer genius Alan Turing. Yesterday they wrote on their blog:

Last night's concert with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra was a wonderful experience for us. The orchestra played with such luxurious power and conviction, conducted by Dominic Wheeler, and the Manchester Chamber Choir brought ethereal beauty to, for instance, "Miracles" and "He dreamed of machines" (from our new piece about Alan Turing). To hear Johnny Marr playing the guitar riff from "This must be the place I waited years to leave" was a real thrill so many years after he played on the original record; his acoustic guitar playing on "Breathing space" was gorgeous. Other highlights for me were performing live for the first time "It couldn't happen here", "The survivors" and "For all of us". Sven Helbig's orchestral arrangements were both magnificent and subtle: "New York City boy" was returned to Broadway; "He dreamed of machines" had a pale beauty.

The first clip below is a fan-created video for He Dreamed Of Machines.  Below that is the full audio of Wednesday's collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been reviewed here.

UPDATE: During the concert, Neil Tennant reveals that the Turing song is from a coming bigger piece titled A Man From The Future. Start at the 56:00 mark for Tennant's introduction to He Dreamed Of Machines.


(Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

Alan Turing Film To Play NYC And DC

Codebreaker aired last November on British television.  Single screenings are scheduled for next Thursday in NYC and DC.  The filmmakers have a launched an online request system for screenings in other cities.


(Via Boy Culture)

Pet Shop Boys To Perform Symphony Piece Inspired By Gay Genius Alan Turing

(Tipped by JMG reader Paul.)

New Edition Of Monopoly Honors Gay Computer Genius Alan Turing

Thanks in part to Google, Alan Turing, widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, has been honored with a special version of Monopoly. Turing, who committed suicide in 1954 after being sentenced to chemical castration for being gay, would have been 100 years old this year.

The board's London landmarks, and its Community and Chance cards, have been swapped for places and events important in Turing's life. Players can move their pieces from his birthplace in Maida Vale to Hut 8 at Bletchley Park. Search giant Google has bought 1,000 of the sets and donated them to Bletchley Park to help raise funds. The board of the special edition is based on a hand-drawn variant of Monopoly created by William Newman in 1950. William was the son of scientist Max Newman who was a key figure in Turing's life. The hand-drawn version was thought to have been lost but was rediscovered in 2011 and donated to the Bletchley Park museum soon after.

Bletchley Park Museum writes in a press release:

“Bringing this board to life has been one of the most exciting and unique projects we’ve been involved with here, and we’re thrilled to see it finally available for others to enjoy,” said Iain Standen, CEO of the Bletchley Park Trust. “This edition really completes the fantastic story of the board, from it being played on by Turing (and his losing on it!), to it going missing and then being rediscovered and donated to the museum here. Of course, we’re also very proud that Bletchley Park adorns the ‘Mayfair’ square!” Peter Griffin, Development Director EMEA, Winning Moves, added, “We hope fans of Turing across the globe will enjoy playing on this very special edition of Monopoly. Through play, they will find out more about Turing’s remarkable life and his crucial role shaping the society we enjoy today. As an ex-student of Kings College, where Turing himself studied, this was an honour to help develop.”

Pre-order Alan Turing Monopoly. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan.)

Google Celebrates Alan Turing

Gordon Brown Apologizes To Alan Turing

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has issued a posthumous apology to Alan Turing, the brilliant World War II code-breaker and computer scientist who killed himself after being convicted of the "crime" of homosexuality. Turing's decoding of the Nazi's "enigma machine" is credited as one of single-most crucial factors in ending the war.

I am both pleased and proud that, thanks to a coalition of computer scientists, historians and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activists, we have this year a chance to mark and celebrate another contribution to Britain's fight against the darkness of dictatorship: that of code-breaker Alan Turing. Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of the Second World War could have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely.

In 1952, he was convicted of "gross indecency" – in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence – and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison – was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later. [snip] It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe's history and not Europe's present. So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work, I am very proud to say: we're sorry. You deserved so much better.

Turing is considered by some to be the "father of computer science." More about him here.