Yesterday, the interim Iraqi government announced a permanent solution to crime: They're reinstating capital punishment. Hey, it's an unelected, unaccountable government without a functioning justice system and the ability to kill whomever it deems guilty! That seems familiar somehow. Of course, it's not like this is a dictatorship. After all, democracy is about choice: "Yesterday we announced an amnesty. Today the death penalty," said a government spokesperson. "Choose one of them."

Talk about the lesser of two evils! Speaking of which, the Brits have already condemned the decision, which does go against the human rights standards recognized by almost ever major democracy. The Iraqi provisional government has a clever response to this criticism, noting that these countries didn't abolish the death penalty "right away after the Second World War." And the U.S. is still getting there. Give the Iraqis, what, 40 or 50 years and maybe they'll catch up with us, and apply it to only a small percentage of those eligible. You know, the poor, minorities, the mentally handicapped. . .

Iraq reinstates death penalty [AFP/Yahoo]

Death penalty to be reinstated in Iraq [Al Jazeera]