Quickies

The President is delusional about the Israel/Hizzbollah conflict. Near as anyone can tell, the fight was a draw at best.

President Bush asserted yesterday that Hezbollah was defeated in its month-long conflict with Israel, casting the fighting that killed hundreds of Lebanese and Israeli civilians as part of a wider struggle "between freedom and terrorism."

George Will bravely looks into the minds of those like Bush:

This farrago of caricature and non sequitur makes the administration seem eager to repel all but the delusional. But perhaps such rhetoric reflects the intellectual contortions required to sustain the illusion that the war in Iraq is central to the war on terrorism, and that the war, unlike "the law enforcement approach," does "work."

New Scientist News reports on a British study that claims that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous drugs than Ecstasy, LSD, or marijuana.

Pet Peeve for the last several weeks: news media that insist on using the word "Bombay" when referring to the Indian city of "Mumbai". Worse? Using both interchangeably in an article.