Monday, May 15, 2017

RSF press freedom index

This is yet another silly and unreliable Western ranking of countries.  Just look at the Middle East countries: how does the UAE for example register ahead of Iran: neither have press freedoms but certainly there is a livelier and more diverse (within official parameters) in Iran than in UAE.  Also, in Iran you may criticize ministers and even the president (but not the supreme guide) while in UAE you can't criticize anyone unless they are enemies of the royal families.  Also, Lebanon should be ahead of Israel for sure: there are no taboos in Lebanon.  You can say anything and the country has none of the strict military and intelligence and security censorship, nor the blatant repression of Palestinian press.