Cheer up, fellas. At least the beardy guy is going to swing!

Quick plug
A website called The British Sitcom Guide is a growing catalogue of British sitcoms, with news and a forum attached, and I must say, they've been awfully supportive of the British sitcom Not Going Out. I've been answering a barrage of questions for them about the show, and Grass should you have the slightest interest in such a thing, they've posted up the answers in full. It should also be noted that, for comedy fans, those who post of the forums seem not to be bitter and twisted, which is unusual.

As you were.

Man to hang in 21st century: Margaret Beckett offers to pull lever
I don't think there's much of a debate to be had about whether Saddam Hussein was a bad man or not. From Halabja to the Kuwaiti oilfields, he's wrought destruction on his own people and his neighbours, not to mention the environment. Yes, he should be put on trial. But should he be executed for his crimes? I don't think so. Lock him up, take away his liberty, remove him from the life he once enjoyed, but don't hang him. What good will that do? It makes the society that hangs him no better than the dictator being hung. I've never been keen on an eye for an eye. Anyway, so what if I'm against the death penalty. That's just my personal opinion, and I'm bloody glad this country abolished it 40 years ago. What worries me is that politicians in this country seem happy to endorse Saddam Hussein's execution, while remaining against capital punishment. How does that work?

George Bush hailed the Saddam verdict as "an important achievement in the path to a free and just and unified society." Well, he would. Thirty-eight out of 50 states in America still have the death penalty, with 60 people being executed in 2005, and in Texas alone, 378 since 1976 (good work, fellas, keep 'em coming), so why would he suddenly become squeamish about killing a man? Tony Blair, also a Christian, dodged the question at at press briefing. He was asked repeatedly by Adam Boulton of Sky News about whether he approved of Saddam being executed. He declined to answer. "So you're opposed to his execution?" pressed Mr Boulton. The Blair temper snapped. "Adam, excuse me, that's enough. I will express myself in my own words, if you don't mind." He had already stated that the government is "against the death penalty, whether it's Saddam or anybody else," but wriggled out of condemning it, saying, "What I think is important about this is to recognise that this trial of Saddam, which has been handled by the Iraqis themselves and they will take the decision about this, does give us a very clear reminder of the total and barbaric brutality of that regime." Yes, yes, we're not arguing about that - do you think he should be hanged by the neck and swing from a gibbet?

The foreign secretary Margaret Beckett laid out the government line in an interview with the BBC, saying it was "right" that Saddam should face Iraqi justice. "It is absolutely the case that we do not approve of the death penalty, never have and always try to persuade others not to use it. However, this is the verdict of the Iraqi court, it is a matter for the government of Iraq."

I think Saddam should be given special treatment for mental incapacity. He keeps saying he doesn't recognise the court.