From the Wikipedia page on the conflict:

Israel
Civilians: 38 killed
Military: 58 killed

Lebanon
Civilians: 497-828 killed
Lebanese army: 34 killed
Hezbollah militia: 83 killed
Amal militia: 8 killed
PFLP militia: 1 killed

[Israel claims 400+ Hezbollah militia killed and 16 captured]

Israel claims that they are targeting Hezbollah and Hezbollah is targeting Israeli civilians. Both have an accuracy problem as 60% of those killed in Israel are military, while, using the lowest number of civilian deaths for Lebanon and the Israel claim for Hezbollah deaths, 55% of those killed in Lebanon are civilians.

More coverage from Pierre, Retaliation’s Mutual Injustice, and Juan Cole, One Ring To Rule Them Wholesale.

My comments are at the end, below the fold.

From CNN:

Former President Carter, who helped broker the historic Camp David peace accord, said President Bush has pursued an “erroneous policy” that has fostered violence in the Middle East.

Carter said the United States should work for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah and the world community should concentrate on a long-term solution, but he is uncertain whether Bush can accomplish a cease-fire.

“It depends on whether world opinion is strong enough to get the administration to change its erroneous policy, which has been to encourage the continuation of attacks on both sides,” Carter, a Democrat, told The Grand Rapids Press in an interview Friday.

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Via Keith at Invisible Library I was led to the column of Terry Jones [ex Monty Python], Nice one, George, thanking the Shrubbery for advancing the time table of Armageddon.

You should read the column in its entirety, but the comments are well worth a look and I have “nicked” most of the comment of MrPikeBishop for below the fold:

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Both Sam’s photographer and Steve were born on this day.

Stop by and extend greetings.

From the Anchorage Daily News we learn that Butcher loses cancer fight:

Far from her Alaska home and the dogs she loved so much, four-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher died Saturday in a Seattle hospital.

She was 51 years old and the mother of two young daughters. She had been waging a battle against leukemia for a year and a half, but sometimes not even the toughest warriors can win.

On 17 of her 51 years, a third of her life, Susan Butcher was on the Iditarod Trail challenging the Alaskan wilderness and weather on the 1,100+ mile length. She also drove a dog team to the top of Mount McKinley.

She was more than a candle in the darkness – she was a torch. You don’t ride in a dog sled; you spend most of your time running. All you need to win is to be a world-class dog breeder and trainer, a marathon runner, an arctic survival specialist, and handy enough to fix a busted sled in the middle of a wilderness.

Florida License Plates

A weekend feature of Why Now.

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