Noted & quoted.

• Position: SOUNDBITES

'The public perceives the press not as watchdogs but as attack dogs.'

--Ari Fleischer, President Bush's former press secretary, on the public's reaction to recent heated exchanges at the White House between reporters and administration officials. [The New York Times, Feb. 27]

'You have to spit into a tissue or a bag, then place it in a dustbin to complete the process.'

--Director of the Capital Ethics Development Office in Beijing, which is helping the city launch a campaign to wipe out public spitting, in an effort to improve its image before the 2008 Olympics. (Associated...