Charlie Sheen is HIV positive

[Jacob]

Perhaps I am missing your point.  You said the law was effective.  Jacob asked you how it was effective and your response was because it was in the code.  That seems awfully circular.

not that it's in the code, but the rationale and reasoning behind the criminal code as a whole. society seeks to stop bad people from doing bad acts. the same rationale for legislating against any other crime exists for STD laws: it presumably works (except HIV laws, apparently)

You said it seemed an effective approach, and I'm curious how it could be effective.

The existence of the law does not prove that it is effective in achieving its stated objective.

So yeah... I remain puzzled.

[LaCroix]

You said it seemed an effective approach, and I'm curious how it could be effective.

The existence of the law does not prove that it is effective in achieving its stated objective.

So yeah... I remain puzzled.

are laws against theft/murder/etc. effective?

[alfred russel]

You said it seemed an effective approach, and I'm curious how it could be effective.

The existence of the law does not prove that it is effective in achieving its stated objective.

So yeah... I remain puzzled.

are laws against theft/murder/etc. effective?

Of course, they are in the code.

[crazy canuck]

You said it seemed an effective approach, and I'm curious how it could be effective.

The existence of the law does not prove that it is effective in achieving its stated objective.

So yeah... I remain puzzled.

are laws against theft/murder/etc. effective?

Effective in the sense that they prevent those acts from occurring.  No.  The laws alone are not effective.  If you mean effective in the sense of giving the state a lawful means of apprehending and punishing then yes they are more effective in that sense.  But I think you are conflating the ability to punish with the ability to prevent.  What prevents those acts more than anything are cultural pressures. 

[LaCroix]

there are cultural pressures against insider trading?

[Martinus]

This is a weird discussion...

[dps]

there are cultural pressures against insider trading?

No, that's why it can't really be prevented, just punished.

[Martinus]

I haven't been following the brouhaha about Charlie Sheen but many people seem to have commented how badly the US mainstream media have handled this, from conflating HIV with AIDS, to treating HIV as a death sentence, to running a sort of 1980s' style scare campaign pathologising HIV infection. It's as if the last 20 years of HIV education didn't happen. garbon and others, care to comment?

[katmai]

Who are these "many people"?

Besides moron Howard Stern i haven't heard anything bout HIV=AIDS

As to other claims, i haven't been watching enough media to see those claims either.

[Jaron]

Who are these "many people"?

Besides moron Howard Stern i haven't heard anything bout HIV=AIDS

As to other claims, i haven't been watching enough media to see those claims either.

[dps]

I haven't been following the brouhaha about Charlie Sheen but many people seem to have commented how badly the US mainstream media have handled this, from conflating HIV with AIDS, to treating HIV as a death sentence, to running a sort of 1980s' style scare campaign pathologising HIV infection. It's as if the last 20 years of HIV education didn't happen. garbon and others, care to comment?

I haven't really followed the story that much (because, really, any news outlet devoting more than a minute of airtime or a paragraph of print to Charlie Sheen's health--or that of any other Hollywood celebrity--isn't really much of a news outlet), but the bolded part is just par for the course.  Everything is over-hyped.  Every storm is the Storm of the Century, every big athletic match-up is the game of the century, etc.