Message from Tehran

The real story with the Iranian election upheaval is the cyberbattle now ensuing between the state shutting down opposition websites, and interfering with general internet and text messaging traffic - - to the point of something tantamount to direct censorship - - and the counterattack by the opposition who have begun launching their own attacks against the pro-government websites. The battle for info has become the battle for control. Did I know there were that many anti hardline government voters in Iran? No. I do now - and it does change my perception of Iran as a people.

In my book, The Manhattan Prophet, the world has progressed to a place of such dire insecurity that internet communication is highly controlled and restricted by the powers that be - - too much info for a repressed population would be dangerous. We are seeing this highlighted now in Iran. I'm getting the message.