A Bit of Politics

So, they've finally hanged Saddam Hussein, which might mean that news reporters stop copying the Americans in the way they pronounce his name. It was a deliberate policy of the Americans to pronounce his name with short vowels because (so some expert said a few years back) it means 'bastard' that way, whereas the pronunciation with the long vowels means 'honoured leader' or something.

Some woman's just been on the news and she began her insightful commentary by saying 'Since Saddam Hussein's passing...'. PASSING? You're on the news, not the parish mother's union. He's not a deceased elderly relative. He didn't PASS, he was executed. Talk like a grown-up, you soft cow.


And that's all I have to say on the matter.