2009.02.28
WSJ:
Harmless Debris on Earth Is Devastating in Orbit.
"Even a paint flake, traveling at orbital velocities, can crack the space shuttle's windshield. In fact, NASA shuttle engineers have replaced the spacecraft's debris-pitted windows after almost every flight since 1981, at a cost of about $40,000 per window."
Passive Aggressive Door Holding.
2009.02.16
LA Times:
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah appoints moderates to key posts.
"King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia weakened the hold of
Islamic hard-liners Saturday by appointing the
first woman to a ministerial post and dismissing a
leading fundamentalist cleric and the head of the
nation's powerful religious police." ...
"Saturday's shake-up was strong evidence that the
king wants to cement a legacy as modernizer in a
country that still flogs those accused of blasphemy
and does not give women the right to vote."
Reuters:
Goat detained over armed robbery.
"Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery.
"Vigilantes took the black and white beast to the police saying it was an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323."
