Axis of Soccer

North Korea will be hosting Iran for a big soccer match this Wednesday, and the significance of the event isn't strictly athletic.

Last Friday's defeat of a Japanese soccer team was reported in the media as the cause of a deadly riot. Dig deeper and you will discover that protestors against the current regime were using the event as cover to take to the streets Tehran to protest against the mullahs. Dig deeper still, and on the blogs of expatriate Persians you will see a simmering revolution that may be getting traction. And I don't know who took these pictures, but he or she has a very brave soul.

Why don't we see media coverage? Iran is a closed society, and is in possession of a large bureaucracy whose only purpose is to keep information from circulating in any direction. It may be impossible to imagine, living in the West, in a nonstop torrent of media.

Tomorrow, following the North Korea game, they have more protests planned, this time across the country and in greater numbers. Lets hope this is the start of 1979 in reverse.

VIA PUBLIUS