Ebbie,
I address this post to you since kat doesn't post anymore here (so she says in her third last post) and you have blamed me for kat leaving (actually you have blamed me more generally for ending the exchange of ideas but that is far from correct).

I have said nothing at all (and shall not) to the original theme of the thread. My personal opinion is close to the majority of posters. There was one single thing which initiated my post in this thread, katlaughing's tone in her response to Pete (I guess it's too much to hope that you know .... Pete is not right, in my opinion, but her introduction to a statement (prevalence of AIDS in undeveloped countries) which makes no sense scientifically (see above) made me angry.

Then I read more by her and stumbled upon a statement like I've never seen any evidence that heteros are catching it through anal sex. This is dangerously wrong and irresponsible to say in my eyes.

Kat has a track record of postings on science related themes (as you know well) and nearly each single time I see that her position is one that is maybe popular among the general public, the press, and lay persons, but is often supported only by a tiny minority of scientists.

From that perception comes my first sentence above. Kat calls it a statement of prejudice. I've looked up 'prejudice' and it is (a) an opinion before sufficient knowledge or (b) an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual....
It can't be (a), for I have formed my opinion on a lot of past evidence (which of course doesn't make my opinion correct, but at least not a prejudice). It can be (b), however, but I am not the one to judge this.

I'd rather have kat responded to my points instead of using my first sentence as a reason for ending her communication in this thread, but that's up to her.

As kat already knows from a private communication I have a very mixed attitude towards her opinions. As for general politics, human values, etc. I very very often agree with her positions and consider them well thought and formulated (I rarely post in such threads so you might not know that). As for science, see above.

But in hindsight it would have been wiser not to start my post with that statement, but just to stick to the three points.

Wolfgang