11.   Grim reminders of the AIDS toll are not unfamiliar to Bay Area residents, most of whom know someone who has died from the disease.

12.   Half-built schools stood as grim reminders that public works spending was moribund.

13.   Hulking skeletons of half-built schools stood as grim reminders that spending on public works had evaporated.

14.   It is a grim reminder of the real cost of the Vietnam War.

15.   It was a grim reminder of the inherent instability of the Caucasus region.

16.   Now any fly-over will be a grim reminder of the carnage at the Pentagon.

17.   On what was once the seabed, abandoned ships lie in a sandy graveyard, a grim reminder of how quickly such catastrophes can overwhelm communities and nations.

18.   The abuse of holy places by military and mobs is hardly new, always sad and a grim reminder of the fragile balance between civilized behavior and barbarism.

19.   The briefings served as a grim reminder of the showdowns looming with Congress, not only over major foreign policy matters but controversial budget issues as well.

20.   The loss serves as a grim reminder of the danger of relying too heavily on one investment.