In retrospect, this particular August day in 1982 probably had more historic relevance than was imagined at the time.

The ongoing evacuation of PLO forces and the withdrawal of Syrian troops continued, but not without a dogfight over Beirut involving a Syrian MIG and an Israeli Airforce jet. Syria claimed it was photo reconnaissance and Israel doubted it. Defense Minister Ariel Sharon did say he expected Peace negotiations to have a positive outcome, despite the flap. Poland was bracing for the Second Anniversary of Solidarity and the government were taking no chances, stationing troops at just about every street corner in Gdansk and in just about every other metropolitan area in Poland. The UN Peacekeeping mission in South Korea wanted to talk to defector/captive Pfc. Joseph White, who showed up in North Korea. White's mom said he was a rather gung-ho sort of kid not prone to defecting to Communist countries. Pyongyang said "not necessarily so". The controversy lumbered on.

The school year opened with 4 school districts in Michigan alone going out on strike, with rumors of more throughout the country. President Reagan threatened sanctions again a second Scottish company accused of selling compressors and other parts for a Natural Gas pipeline being built by the Soviet Union. A study found that women over 40 had a higher likelihood of bone loss, or Osteoporosis, than men of the same age.

And Sony introduced an interesting little record player that didn't play records the usual way. Instead of the customary "needles" or styli, the player used a laser beam and the sound was rumored to be pretty good. Skeptics rolled their eyes, hearkening back to the VHS versus Beta fiasco (Betamax being a Sony idea), and industry watchers were wondering what the fate of those black chunks of vinyl were going to be since the "records" in question were a lot smaller.

The rest, as they say, is history. News for August 31, 1982 as presented by the ABC Radio Network and their ABC World News This Morning.

When news first broke there had been an accident in Paris shortly after midnight on August 31, 1997 and it involved the former Princess Diana, it was sketchy and vague at first.

The BBC World service, in their typical cool-bordering-on-icy delivery, made it sound as if there had been a minor traffic accident and it was no big deal; just a few slight injuries all around.

But as time went by the news reports became more and more frequent, the news of the accident occupied a larger spot on the hourly news and half-hourly bulletins. And within an hour the news finally reported that Diana had in fact died.

It was still early in the morning in the UK when the news initially broke, and so the full impact wouldn't be felt for several hours in Europe. The news outlets in the States were already gearing up so by the time news did reach the British public, it was a full-on, non-stop, wall-to-wall news event and would stay that way the better part of three days.

In case you forgot (it was fourteen years ago), or have vague memories of what turned out to be a major outpouring of sympathy, here are the first reports, shortly after the Midnight news followed by a later report when it was learned she had died. All from the BBC World Service on August 31, 1997.

Ironically, the storm clouds passed and New Orleans was bathed in sunlight and blue skies by August 31st. Ironic because the true devastation was becoming painfully apparent on the ground at every turn. The roads were still clogged with refugees trying to find some shelter. The ones left stranded in the city were trapped, some still in their houses, hanging on roofs, waving to passing helicopters for rescue. The death toll was rising and it was feared it would rise to not just hundreds, but thousands.

Typical of the reports flooding the airwaves on August 31st were these via CBS News and CBS Radio Affiliate KCBS in San Francisco, trying with words to convey the destruction and desperation surrounding the people of New Orleans.

And of course, there was that parade of pious slime creeping up.