Other folks just want references from the SGML to
external data. (even if it's presented as if it
were part of the flow of text).
I'm leaning toward the latter scenario. Inside
the HTML stream, you get SGML character stuff. No
graphics -- not even base64 encoded stuff.
The graphics stuff goes in another node. (or you
_could_ use the MIME multipart mechanism to glue
them together, but I don't see that as a very popular
choice. Even if you did that, it would not impact
the HTML spec.)
Dan