martial law on Brazil Street

I am posting this from my balcony, overlooking a testy mob scene that is bordering on dangerous. We already have about 50 soldiers directly blocking an angry, chanting mob. Another 50 or so soldiers are about 20 meters up the street in case the mob goes crazy and breaks through. Another 30 or so soldiers just dashed down the street from the Algerian Embassy. This must have been a scheduled rally, because there are also many spectators with cameras who seem to have come prepared.

Angry, angry chants. It is partly the result of great disappointment over last night`s result, partly the result of general hatred between the two teams that now goes well beyond Red Sox-Yankees contempt, and partly the result of stories about mistreatment and even beatings of Egyptian fans in Khartoum last night (I have read no stories about that, but am hearing much about it by word of mouth today).

Only with the greatest difficulty did I convince the soldiers that I live on this street, so it took awhile to get through the barrier. I can now see several hundred soldiers in the vicinity.