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A suspected al-Qaida member has been taken into custody by Brazilian authorities in a case shrouded in secrecy, police said Tuesday.

The welcome final approval by the San Diego regional water board may not be the last hurdle that the proposed Carlsbad desalination plant must clear. Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission, wants one last stab at killing the project. It is not enough for the commissioners to restrain Douglas. They must replace him with an executive director who abides by the limits of his authority and honors the commissioners' decisions instead of undermining them. Poseidon's desalination plant, essential to San Diego's water future, is hardly the first project Douglas has assailed. It is, however, a prime example...

This is not an indictment on President Obama's inability to open a window he thought was a door. After all, he's only been at his new place of residence for nine days now. It takes a while to memorize where all the handles are. I empathize with the new Commander-In-Chief. The whole thing is actually quite amusing in a "Messiahs-Are-People-Too" kind of way.I would rather focus on how the media is portraying this - if they are at all - and compare it to George W. Bush's now infamous incident of pulling on a locked door when attempting to exit...

It looks like President Obama hasn't gotten acquainted to his White House surroundings. On the way back to the Oval Office Tuesday, the President approached a paned window, instead of the actual door -- located a few feet to his right. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/01/28/2009-01-28_hey_bam_thats_not_the_door.html

Astronauts aboard the international space station hooked up their brand new space toilet this week, but it's missing one last touch: A simple door, for privacy.

http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/

False Doors for the Dead Among New Egypt Tomb Finds Steven Stanek in Cairo, Egypt for National Geographic NewsFebruary 25, 2008 Three false doors that served as portals for communicating with the dead are among ancient burial remains recently unearthed in a vast Egyptian necropolis, an archaeological team announced. The discoveries date back to Egypt's turbulent First Intermediate Period, which ran roughly between 2160 and 2055 B.C. The period is traditionally thought to have been a chaotic era of bloodshed and power struggles, but little is known based on archaeological evidence. In addition to the false doors, the Spanish team...

A woman in Florida made a startling discovery over the weekend when she found her boyfriend stuck in her house’s cat door, News4Jax.com reported. The girlfriend of Charles Tucker Jr., 33, had reportedly kicked him out of her St. Augustine home. Hours later, she found the man stuck in the small door and called police. When they arrived four minutes later, the man was dead, News4Jax.com reported.

The fact that the Al Qaeda plot to detonate car bombs in London and Glasgow was carried out by doctors working for the National Health Service has shocked the British public far more than the fact that they were Muslims.

The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout Broadway, 2005 Review by James Pratt on Dec 26th 2006 Volume: 10, Number: 52 If the statistics are correct, one person in twenty-five can be classified as a sociopath. That means that almost all of us have met at least one such person (assuming you are not one yourself). It is on the basis of this chilling fact that Martha Stout has written The Sociopath Next Door. If all of us know at least one such person, then many of us may need the advice she offers on how to handle the sociopath...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 31, 2006) -- When Hurricane Katrina hit his home town of New Orleans, Pfc. Eric J. Brown, Platoon 2061, Company E, thought he lost his chance, once again, to become a Marine. Brown was originally sent to boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., the training facility designated for most male recruits from east of the Mississippi River and all female recruits. During a medical re-evaluation at Parris Island, it was discovered that after several duck hunting trips without hearing protection, Brown damaged his hearing to a point that was...

3/7/2006 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) -- Air Mobility Command added a new twist to the High Flight program here when Air Force civilians were added to the professional development and orientation course. Forty-seven captains from across the Air Force and six civilians from the command recently participated in the twice-a-year program. Patricia Dorsey, director of the family support center here and one of the first civilians to attend the course, found it extremely beneficial. "It is not often that civilians have the opportunity to attend leadership training with their military counterparts," Ms. Dorsey said. "The AMC mission...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 17, 2006) – A new virtual helicopter door-gunner simulator, used to train deploying Soldiers and capable of interacting with its ground-convoy counterpart, is now being demonstrated at military installations. The simulator -- which was on display Jan. 11-13 at the Institute of Land Warfare Aviation Symposium and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. – is providing the first door-gunner training since Vietnam, said Raydon Corporation reps who were demonstrating it. The simulator provides a safe, cost-effective environment to practice helicopter door-gunner training by engaging assorted targets in settings based on a “virtual Baghdad,” said Raydon’s director of...

Killer strain of bird flu 'at the door' of Europe By David Rennie, Europe Correspondent (Filed: 09/01/2006) The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is "at the door of Europe", health officials said yesterday after tests found three people infected with the virus in Ankara. The city's governor, Kemal Onal, said two boys, aged five and two, and a 60-year-old man had been diagnosed with the infection at a hospital in the Turkish capital, 250 miles east of Istanbul. The two infected boys were brought from the nearby city of Beypazari, reportedly after handling gloves used by their father to...

Casualty Notification OfficersPittsburgh Post-Gazette photo We've likely all envisioned ourselves as the sympathetic military family members behind the front door, opening it to the worst possible news - the loss of a loved one, often a spouse or child. Generally not a word need be said; simply the sight of sharply attired airmen emerging from a vehicle or spit'n polish sailors standing on the front porch tells bereaved family members more than they'd ever want to know. Although these messengers have rehearsed their tragic lines repeatedly, they often never get to utter a syllable before intended recipients break down. Still,...

Animal experts in Croatia say a bear has learned how to trick people to let him in by knocking at the door. They believe the 35-stone brown bear probably learned the trick while nudging a door to get it to open. Experts speculate the nudging was mistaken by the owners for knocking and that the bear, pleased by the outcome, repeated the tactic. The Loknar family from Gerovo in western Croatia said the bear had knocked at their door three times and they were now refusing to answer the door.

Knock, Knock, Knockin’ Down “Kevin’s” Door City Paper Digi-Cam 2237 Linden Ave. The real estate listing spoke of great promise for the house at 2237 Linden Ave., a three-story attached single-family home with a garage and a nice-sized yard: “Vision, enthusiasm & dreams are great tools when looking at this property,” the Jan. 4 listing gamely read. “Reservoir Hill is the next Mecca for visionaries & trendsetters. Invest now & gain instant equity on settlement day.” The asking price: $135,000. Then the house fell down. And now, it seems, no one was responsible for it—especially Michael Mfume, the ex-con son...

First vanity post: The Administrator of FR has made it clear that my posts are no longer wanted here. They have been erased for reasons unclear with the Administrator being incredibly disingenuous about "spamming". I posted a picture twice and IMHO that is not spamming. It is not worth wasting further effort here, in that light. In any case, I wish the best to FReepers and want to thank you all for teaching us so much. I am especially grateful to Jim Robinson for the wonderful opportunity to have posted so many hundreds of pictures glorifying the good deeds of...

Anti-Semitism may seem to be a static, unchanging phenomenon but in fact the obsessive hatred of Jews has a history that goes back millennia and continues to evolve.Developments since World War II and the Holocaust have been especially fast-paced and portentous. Here are four of the most significant shifts: From right to left: For centuries, anti-Semitism was the hallmark of the right and merely episodic on the left. To take the ultimate examples of these trends, Stalin's Judeophobia was peripheral to his monstrous project, but Hitler's was central to his. Even a decade ago, this pattern still basically held true....

SEATTLE - Canvassing boards in Grays Harbor, Kittitas, Lewis and Clark counties decide to not reconsider ballots some previously rejected ballots at the request of Republicans. The Republican party filed a public records request in Seattle Monday. Paul Berendt, Chair of the Washington State Democrats, issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon: "Canvassing boards have spoken, and they have clearly stated this election is done. The Secretary of State has said this election is over. "Chris Gregoire will be the next governor of Washington State. She will be certified on Thursday, and sworn into office on January 12th.