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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2001-06 > 0991887210


From: "Allan S. Gleason" <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] A Very Grey Newbie
Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2001 21:13:30 -0700
References: <e8.15d99b57.285032ca@aol.com>


Thank you DNA Cousin for your quick response. With only 266 on the list I
suspect I'll soon recognize who I can learn from and who is just as dumb as I am!

I've never understood why so many of us are so concerned about personal privacy
(excluding criminals, of course). I've been a very public person all of my 70
years and have no regrets (no, I don't advertise my credit card numbers). In
fact, if you want to learn about me and my genealogy (and you probably don't
unless you're a Gleason or one of 864 other surnames), you can go to
http://www.geocities.com/allangleason/index.html

Personally, I think that there should be a DNA databank of every person in this
nation - or even the whole world if that would be possible. It wouldn't be that
difficult for laws to be written which would protect the DNA handicapped from
insurance companies, employers, and other predators just as there are presently
laws against color, sex, and suicide.

When I was very young and in the military during the McCarthy anti-Communist era,
a fellow lab worker was anonymously reported as being a Communist. Of all of his
friends and co-workers, I was the only one who agreed to be a character witness
for the poor guy at his "hearing" (kangaroo military court). His C.O. and I
effectively got him off but the military in it's great wisdom decided to
terminate his association with them by giving him a General Discharge! When my
term was up, I got out, gladly, and within a year or so was hired into the vast
aero-space industry. It was then my turn to sweat because I needed a security
clearance and I had defended a possible Communist! My testimony was on record!
It didn't matter that I knew John was not a Communist because I knew him to be a
Fascist (of course, I didn't tell them that!)

To make a long story short, I got my several clearances without problem and
worked in the system for 35 years! The point? Don't be afraid of every little
thing or that everyone is out to get you and that if they can, they will - I even
wore a black armband during the Vietnam Mistake while at work to register my
protest - without any comment from my employer.

Thank you for complementing my eyesight, DNA Cousin, I like it too, but I suspect
that a 19" monitor and a good printer and a desire to try to figure out what is
going on gets most of the credit.
AlG



wrote:

> 1. A couple of years ago I participated in a genealogy email list which
> automatically informed us of the list size. As I recall it ran about
> 2000 strong although most members lurked. What is the size of this
> list?
>
> As of one minute ago, we have 266 subscribers, mostly lurkers too! I'm glad
> to see people speaking up.
>
> > 2. I read back into your archives a bit until I hit upon your discussion
> >
> > of the Bible, etc. I love arguing religion and politics, etc. but
> > really, faith-based discussion is a waste of time! On the other hand,
> > the ethics in handling DNA: results, privacy, public need, laws, etc.
> > are very pertinent to discuss in a site such as this. I have my
> > thoughts on the subject but would like to become enlightened - if that
> >
>
> Privacy is a big concern for many. I have a search robot which monitors other
> RootsWeb mailing lists for the word DNA, and I have to say that the majority
> of posts seem to be from people who have a very negative reaction to the idea
> of using DNA tests for genealogy.
>
> > 3. You spent considerable time trying to read the numbers of the Y-Line
> > of the Oxford Ancestors which appeared to be quite clear on my machine.
> > Since I am totally ignorant of this stuff, I studied the spectrum to try
> >
> > to figure out what was going on and found a problem with dys389ii
> > (yellow). If you count down from 30 to the right hand spectral line,
> > you get 27 but if you count up from 22 you get 26. The number listed on
> >
> > the far right is 26. What am I missing? It seems to my poor mind that
> >
>
> Well, I'm jealous of your eyesight! I agree that the diagram for 389ii is
> internally inconsistent, but it's probably a matter of artistic license in
> generating the illustration. If you write to Oxford Ancestors about this, let
> us know what they have to say.
>
> ==============================
> Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project:
> Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time.
> http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com

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