Grammar, Reuters Style

It drives me CRAZY when people misuse apostrophes in "it's" in order, presumably, to make the thing possessive (hint: it's ALREADY possessive).

It's even worse when a major news outlet like Reuters, the same outfit that treats the use of "terrorism" in its overly ambitious style guide, makes the mistake:

Powell said he had talked with Israeli President Ariel Sharon shortly before the NBC interview and that while Sharon understood Washington's desire for Israel to halt it's military incursions into Palestinian lands, he did not offer a "specific time frame" for withdrawal.

Oh yeah, and Secretary Powell said he might meet with Arafat.

[Posted at 11:17 CST on 04/07/02] [Link]