Final Word from Friday, April 15, 2011
Cuba and Bolivia are among only a few countries that have had an anti-corruptionministry. Lots of countries have ethics officers, but it just doesn't sound very good ifyou elevate the war on corruption to the same level as the justice and interior ministries,since their task is to weed out all crime and corruption anyway. If Radek Johnis demoted from interior minister to corruption czar as a way to save the Czechgovernment, a highfalutin name for his office will be needed. If he's sincere aboutgetting results, he could perhaps borrow from the Russians and call it the "ministryfor civil defense, emergencies and the elimination of the consequences of naturaldisasters." That would get to the crux of the Czech corruption problem. If he's notsincere, something like "mafia resource center" or "the office for pretending thatwe're really very serious about eliminating corruption" would be much more fitting.
Glossary of difficult words
to weed something out - to remove something, esp. inferior or unwanted items;
to demote - to give someone a lower rank or less-senior position, usually as a punishment;
highfalutin - pompous or pretentious (esp. of speech, writing or ideas);
crux - the decisive or most important point at issue;
resource center - an office whose purpose is to provide advice and assistance to a particular group of individuals, such as students, job-seekers, etc.;
fitting - suitable or appropriate under the circumstances; right or proper.