I remember we were watching tv about 10.30pm when the show started scrolling 'news ribbons' of the attacks on the twin towers. The news came on but with no mention of the attacks as our late night news is time delayed 2 hrs from Sydney. They then had to break into the news with the 'real'news live More...

I remember the day Diana died. It was the day after my D#1's 10th birthday. A mate of my son's rushed in saying that Princess Diana was dead. I told him that it couldn't possibly be true but alas, we know he was right. Terribly sad. On the day of her funeral, my sisters, girlfriends and I gathered More...

9/11 - It was Mr P's 50th birthday and we had been out for dinner - came home and flicked on the television to see it all happening before our eyes. We were glued there for ages in disbelief.

When Diana died we were in Hawaii, and hosting a party for our fellow Aussie Defence families when one of them arrived and told us the news. Of course we then put the television on and again watched in disbelief. I attended a memorial service for her at the Episcopalian cathedral in Honolulu, and sat up alone crying to watch the funeral.

I remember 9/11/01, I was at home on bedrest, pregnant with daughter #1. I was glued to the TV all day. I kept calling Hubby, Mom and MIL to make sure everyone was ok (even though we were Ohio). I was very concerned about what kind of world we were brining a child into.

I don't remember this, obviously, but it is a significant piece of family lore: My parents were married at her home in a small town in Southern Oklahoma the morning of December 7th, 1941. They planned on honeymooning in Ft. Worth, Texas. After all the wedding festivities, they started off down More...

Jeb, love the family lore...his father was right! Challenger was an 'oh, wow' moment but I don't think that significant. We felt sorry for the astronauts, of course, but it was just reality saying space travel is very dangerous ...you've been lucky so far but see what can happen. It didn't change us to the extent of some of the other events...or maybe that was just us in Oz.

9/11

I was home, in my sewing room, working on a quilt for my hubby. hubby was drinking coffee in the living room and watching TV. Just as I walked through, the Today show went to live coverage of the "accident" of the first plane.

When I heard it was an American More...

11/22/63 - The day before we had left our home in Texas - my husband (who had been drafted at 23 after the Berlin wall went up & he sat on the shore of GA waiting to go to Cuba during the missle crisis) was being transfered from Fort Hood to Camp Irwin, CA (nearest point to home) to muster out. More...

9-11 I had fallen asleep the night before with the TV on and awoke to a BREAKING NEWS a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, they had cameras on the tower burning and were discussing if it was a small plane or a larger plane, when they announced that it was an American Airlines More...

May 21, 1991, the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi(46) was assassinated by a suicide bomber, who was a female member of the LTTE(LIBERATION TIGER OF TAMIL ELAM)...it was vacation time, and there was a big family reunion arranged by my uncle.We just finished the grand lunch and collected the More...

Dec 26, 2004..the killer wave strikes the indian subcontinent..a natural calamity of this enormity has never been faced by us till then..and we were not prepared for it totally..caught unaware and the casualities were very high..my home state Tamilnadu was the worst affected with 7,000(total More...

Thanx Appy for sharing and broadening our knowledge. Disasters can happen anywhere and to anyone

The Challenger explosion was significant to me because I was there. My son was home from school that day with a sore throat and was devistated because he couldn't be at school with all the launch festivities. He was going to Challenger Elementary at the time and the school had been visited by a few More...

Ceecee, it must have been horrible to have been there, but I've always held my breath if I've seen a view of a lift-off. When you really think about what they are doing and that everything needs to be perfect..it's amazing that so many have succeeded. One day it will be as common as aircraft take-offs, but I still hold my breath at those too

I've never seen a take off, but have seen landings, at Edwards. You could always tell when a shuttle was landing in So. Cal - there are 2 distinct booms that shake the windows (no accompaning movement so not an earthquake) - the first few were startling if you did not know that they were More...

Two weeks ago in our national newspapers there was much talk about having a national DNA database after two people on separate occasions took their case to court to have their DNA removed from the database after they had been falsely accused of certain crimes and for which they were subsequently More...

well if you think the DNA typing similar to that of finger prints,or the copy of Iris then I reckon ,no issue..the DNA typing is an advanced way of copying ones identity..if a finger print database can exist why not a DNA??
Use of DNA evidence will minimize the risk of future wrongful More...

André I'm curious. How could DNA evidence 'prove' they did the crime when they didn't? Isn't this a worry also?

Mary their DNA was taken but it proved negative as did the evidence against them but they wanted all details of DNA removing from the database because they had committed no crime.

OK, so at present the Database is for 'suspect' or 'criminal' DNA? So there is obviously a huge stigma attached to being on it. That would have to be addressed. Maybe offer incentives (as with bonds) a prize for DNA of the Month?
Sorry, on a more serious note, is there a need for a More...

What system do Iceland have in place Mary? And yes at present the DNA database is held on criminals only and unsolved crimes with DNA evidence but they are talking about including everyone on the database at a future date. My feelings are this could be misused,corruption within the system etc etc.

But at the same time I feel we would be naive to think that no information is held on us, at present we have credit check systems, passports, driving licenses, what cereal we eat for breakfast, the list goes on so personal information is already held on us to some extent but it is how far we want to extend that.

just checking before I retype

must be getting thrown off for 'naughty' words...will retype my completely innocuous remarks slowly

DNA is also used to 'predict' the likelihood of genetic or other diseases. I THINK in the US, insurance companies can already access such info on an individual level to deny coverage or claims(?)

Iceland, with its genetic h o m o geneity has 'sold' the genetic material of its nationals to a research company for health research.

the h word must have been the problem!
The Icelandic database is supposed to be inviolate but there is always the possibility of corruption within the system.

yay 4th time lucky!

I had a discussion one day and how do we know that the government of Australia does not already have a data base. For a long time now we have been having our babies heel pricked at birth, and a blood sample taken, and kept on a card. How do we know that this D.N.A is not being kept in a data base somewhere.

deb..in regards to your comment about Bush trying to cover up the release of "inconvenient truth". They tried to do the same thing to Michael Moore when he released "Farenheit 9-11". Even disney tried to block its released (like why would they care right?) The Bush family is More...

There seems to be a great deal of resentment here toward those who have made contributions to society and profited from it, whether it be oil, pharmaceuticals, computers, or anything else. But the greatest betrayal of the "working class" was by the working class itself and by their More...

Ian, We have something we call 'tall poppy syndrome' in Australia. If anyone is popular and/or successful, the media dig until they can find dirt on them and knock them down until they are not only as bad as everyone else, but worse. Of course the media only does it because it earns them ratings More...

Suzy:
You are so right about the media - same here in UK - to the extent that the media make people famous by giving them unearned attention and promotion, for the simple purpose of being able to future knock them down with a smear campagn. The media pundits appear to believe that 'this is what More...

Lars Larson ("The MOUTH of the Columbia" - the un-loving title given to him - which he takes as a compliment) went on the Lou Dobbs show with the Brandts, the couple who have raised Baby Gabriel for the past 20 - of his two years.

The Oregon Dept. of Human Services has decided More...

A couple of news articles on Baby Gabriel - you may want to read (there are more):

http://constitutionallyright.com/2007/11/08/state-of-oregon-to-deport-an-american-citizen/

http:/ /search.oregonlive.com/sp?aff=100&keywords=Gabriel+Allred&x=0&y=0

Should Baby More...

The story of little Gabriel - I can see the Australian bureaucracy doing exactly the same thing. Who makes these decisions regarding children at risk? I can't tell you how many times we hear of parents who've been reported for child abuse, to have the situation "investigated" only to have More...

14 th nov, is the birth day of former prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is being celebrated as children's day. His birthday has been chosen for the celebration of children because of his love and passion for children. Pandit Nehru is also regarded as the country’s special child More...

Ian, what this country needs is a newly designed anti-dog eat dog agenda. Never mind who John Galt is. Sounds like oz has one.

Re: Baby Gabriel - Today the Brandts were told, that he would not be removed at this time. The pressure of National Coverage and Lou Dobbs statement that he will be following up on this. A judge ruled today that DHS can not send Gabriel to Mexico, until after the Brandt's court case is heard.