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Apropos of Thursday's post on the intimidation and oppression of journalists, rights activists, etc. throughout the Middle East, the New York Times has a story on the desperate measures that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime is taking to prevent Iranian media from discussing anything that might embarass the little bugger.

Not only can newspapers not discuss the possibility of further international sanctions on Iran, but they may not even report the fact that gasoline prices have risen.

Of course, even the most enlightened and open governments engage in spin doctoring, and in trying to manipulate the media to present news in a light that favors the administration. But when an administration is so fragile that it must terrorize the media into refraining from publicizing facts(!), well, that administration is not long for this world.

On the bright side, this is a fine time to recall the exceedingly laughable "reports" of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, the Iraqi information minister in 2003 who regaled the world with tales of American troops who were "committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad..."

Whenever you need to blow off some steam, just read through some of Baghdad Bob's best one-liners at this homage site.

...It was hilarious to hear him say things like, "The Cruise missiles do not frighten anyone. We are catching them like fish in a river." But, as a British reporter pointed out, al-Sahaf's statements about sucking Western troops into a swamp don't sound so ridiculous anymore. Maybe the buffoon was clairvoyant?

Watch your mouth!

You don’t have to carry a rifle or an explosives belt to be a threat to the government these days. Throughout the Middle East, it is enough to merely speak your mind.

In recent weeks, Morocco has rounded up left-wingers and rights activists for ostensibly “insulting sacred doctrines.”

Tunisia, meanwhile, has locked up an Islamist journalist; harassed the leader of a journalist’s union; and shut down a magazine for publishing common Tunisians’ jokes about religion, sex and politics.

In Syria, where arresting “dissidents” is something of a sport for the government, an anti-Baathist journalist was recently sentenced to three years in jail.

Iran’s treatment of former Revolutionary Guard turned anti-government snitch and pro-democracy activist Akbar Ganji is but the most prominent example of a widespread practice.

Ditto for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Muslim countries routinely occupy some of the lowest spots in the Reporters Without Frontiers annual rankings of press freedom, or that protests against censorship through intimidation and violence have come from such groups as the Arab Press Network and Arab Press Freedom Watch.

Interestingly, the press freedom index closely resembles the economic freedom index.

In fact, both closely resemble the broad series of indicators in the UN's Human Development Report. More freedom, apparently, really does mean a better life.