Academic

A READER WHO KNOWS THINGS EMAILS: ?Egypt is completely cut off the internet. Amid widespread riotin?

By Glenn Reynolds

A READER WHO KNOWS THINGS EMAILS: “Egypt is completely cut off the internet. Amid widespread rioting, and right on the heels of a video of a man shot down in the street, the entire nation of Egypt appears to be cut off the Internet. Entirely. You cannot even ping the US Embassy there, as of 27 minutes ago.”

UPDATE: More here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader emails: “I’m not sure how things are in Egypt, but if you cut off the internet in the United States don’t you think it would cause unrest? People would have nothing better to do than protest in the streets. The internet isn’t working. I think it’s a mistake.” Well, people in Egypt are past the point where the Internet serves as a distraction, but yes — in similar circumstances I would take an Internet shutoff to be a signal to riot, burn the local Federal Building (or whatever the equivalent would be) and so on. On the other hand, unless there’s been preparation, it’ll be much less coordinated. I wonder how many walkie-talkies and shortwave sets the protesters have?

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on January 27, 2011 (boomark / email).