Shutting Down The 'Net: Can Egypt Survive Economically?

Monday, the government of Egypt faces a choice: continue cutting off 'net access in the assumption that the opposition depends on it for effective resistance... or restore the 'net and resume something like normal banking and commerce with the rest of the world. There is probably not really a middle ground, and no modern economy has seriously tried to do without the 'net. It doesn't matter what I think, but I believe the choice is real, and as stark as it possibly could be.

(H/T upyernoz, here and here. 'noz's post on the American role in the crisis [the second link] is well worth reading.)

UPDATE Sunday evening CST:  If this is "shutting down the internet," let's have more of it, please. Al-Jazeera, the English version, seems to be going strong. They have talked more than once about tweets they have seen, so Twitter must also be living and active in Egypt.

UPDATE Sunday night CST:  Juan Cole says the broadcasts are not originating from Cairo, and that Al Jazeera had not been permitted to broadcast from there even before today. Cole's post is definitely worth your time to read. (H/T Bryan.)