Setting paths: possible BUG ??

Hi,
I am using openSUSE 11.0, gnome version. Sometimes i need to compile packages from source code. Then i add paths to the /bin(s) in ~/.bashrc. A couple of days back i found that the paths were present even before the paths were added in ~/.bashrc i.e. even if i commented out the

export PATH=$PATH:.../bin

statements and subsequently opened a terminal window and typed:

echo $PATH

all the paths to the /bin(s) were already there. Uncommenting the

export PATH=$PATH:...

statements lead to the paths being repeated twice. I posted this problem in the section ‘Programming…’ a couple of days back and was told that perhaps the paths were being added globally before ~/.bashrc was being accessed.

The problem disappeared when i rebooted the system. But now again i am facing the same problem. I would like to know if this is a bug, and if it is, how should i get rid of it? I am facing problems because of it.

I have decided to post this question elsewhere.