Thursday 11 July 2002

Venezuelans Demand Chavez's Ouster [AP World News] I'm misbehaving here. I've posted this item not because I have a comment on its content, but rather because the headline includes this word 'ouster' which sounds very strange to my ears. It first came to my attention at the time of all the talk about Dubyoo wanting to get rid of Yasser Arafat, and even then it didn't ring true. I have no trouble with 'oust' as a verb, but 'ouster' suggests to me the sense of 'one who ousts' rather than 'the act of ousting'.       So, while fully aware of the tendency for sub-editors to prefer simple, straight-forward constructions, I would rephrase this particular headline as 'Venezuelans demand Chavez be ousted' or 'Venezuelan demand to oust Chavez'. 9:59:49 PM  Your view

U.S. Backs Off Court Immunity Demand [AP World News] I suppose this should be greeted with at least a muted 'horray'. The important thing is that the US bluff was called and the rest of the international community stood firm against its antics. However, the actual US compromise proposal is far from satisfactory. The idea of allowing a twelve-month deferral of charges with the possibility of perpetual extensions smacks too much of honouring the letter rather than the spirit of the Rome treaty.       Still ... at least the US now knows it cannot rely on constantly getting its own way, and that its bully-boy tactics and threats will not always pay off. Well done everyone else, and congratulations on an apparent victory for the rule of international law. 9:25:32 PM  Your view

		© Copyright 2002 Jim MacCormaic . Last update: 29/09/2002; 06:04:19 am .