<I have been told 7 astronauts are nothing: we lose people every day to crashes in the air and on our roadways. But these people WERE special.>
Chris maybe I interpreted your post wrong but the impression I got was that your thought the lives of these astronouts was more important than that of those killed in the air or on the roads. And you said they were special, come on, everyone is special not just astronouts.
P.S there was a V.interesting article in an english newspaper about the kind of news that people want to hear etc. you should be able to read it at the Guardian unlimited site.
-james