diff -r d3c7ebdc71bb Doc/using/cmdline.rst
--- a/Doc/using/cmdline.rst	Mon Oct 15 16:57:37 2012 +0200
+++ b/Doc/using/cmdline.rst	Tue Oct 16 00:08:04 2012 -0400
@@ -380,7 +380,10 @@
 Environment variables
 ---------------------
 
-These environment variables influence Python's behavior.
+These environment variables influence Python's behavior. They are processed
+before the command-line switches other than -E.  It is customary that
+command-line switches override environmental variables where there is a 
+conflict.
 
 .. envvar:: PYTHONHOME