Headline of the Day

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Here's the headline:

Syrians vote for president in no-contest poll

Here's the story:

Syrians were voting on Sunday in a no-contest referendum which will give President Bashar al-Assad another seven years at the helm of a Middle East regional heavyweight.

With parliament unanimously approving the candidature of the 41-year-old president for a second term, and with vocal opponents of the regime locked up, the referendum will inevitably annoint Assad as president until the year 2014.

The ruling Baath party has called on voters to give a resounding "yes" to a new mandate for Assad, who it said "will express the hopes of the people and the expectations of the nation".

Right, sure, of course that's what it will express. Isn't Syrian democracy awesome?