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When the level of evil plummets my skeptical nature always asserts itself. I wonder, for instance, if Tinhorns the world over aren't taking the week off to apply neat's foot oil to their collection of rubber hoses. We can hope not. But time will tell. And in the meantime, I suppose, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

Grass roots, high tech protests in Indonesia make leadership nervous. 56,000 Indonesians protested via Facebook a statue of U.S. president, Barack Obama, in a Jakarta park. Officials took down the statue agreeing any such construction should honor an Indonesian. A filtering bill was withdrawn from the country's parliament also due to online protest. These are just two examples of pressure brought to bear online. However, a legacy of restricted speech and laws still on the books could be used to shut up the online masses and if history is any guide, they may well be used that way.

Eventually I'll test my thesis that says, "The bigger the product launch, the more social media users get banged in the tanty." (Pardon my French.) In the meantime, let's see how much ill was done by whom to people like you.

Facebook account removals criticized. Jillian York wrote an extensive examination of Facebook users around the world who have had their accounts closed out. "Facebook has not spoken publicly about how this process works, but my suspicion is that when a number of users report the same user, their profile is automatically disabled." If this is true, it's disturbing. Because it's mob rule.

During this, the Week of the iPad, governments across the globe found just enough time in between loading apps to squeak in some good old-fashioned evil. This evil included, but was not limited to, arrests and censorious legislation. Let's take a look at this Week in Online Tyranny, from the top.

Tunisia blocks another video site. The Tunisian government blocked YouTube and DailyMotion. What was left to block? Why, WAT.TV, of course. This one seems to have been blocked for hosting opposition videos.

Reporters Without Borders released its annual report [PDF] on online access today. They call it Enemies of the Internet, and it shows a world where online censorship, intimidation and worse is increasing.

It's not surprising that as access to the Internet expands, more and more dictators and tyrants will try to suppress it. But what's troubling about this year's report is the inclusion of two democratic countries: Australia and South Korea.

The Jordanian government has ruled that electronic communication like websites will be subject to the country's Press and Publications Law, prohibiting speech that insults religion, according to reports from the region.

Jordanian blogger Gaith Saqer covered the news in English this afternoon on his blog Arab Crunch.

Twenty-two year old law student Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman marked the first of a four year sentence in an Egyptian prison last November. His crime was "defaming the President of Egypt" on his blog. His first year in prison included isolation and physical torture.

The one thing that's made a big difference for Kareem, his supporters say, has been international attention. Now those supporters are calling for a two week campaign of snail-mail sent to the jail.