If you want to make a vivid argument to why you simply cannot disconnect from the Internet or even throttle some sites, check out the political unrest happening in Iran that’s being fueled by Twitter-crazy activities.

According to the blog post by Arbor Network’s Craig Labovitz, Iran apparently tried an old fascist trick when the political demonstrations started over the weekend: It disconnected from the Internet. The Arbor blog post shows how Iran’s Web traffic went from about 5 Gbps to virtually nothing on Saturday, June 13.

While Arbor readily concedes that it has not insights into the Iranian power structure, political and bureaucratic apparatus and the country’s telecommunications industry, the data on Iranian traffic loads in the wake of the disputed presidential election indicate that political leaders may have tried disconnecting the country from the Internet.

Foreign journalists on the ground in Tehran say the government has curtailed land-line and cellular telephone communication, forcing political opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to rely on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks to organize their protests. According to the data compiled by Arbor, it doesn’t appear that Iranian connectivity with the rest of the world has returned to normal. Attempts to access Ahmadinejejad’s blog timed out when I tried to connect. Access to some .ir domains are taking longer than normal.

Disconnecting or throttle Internet connectivity is an old trick, but one that is becoming increasingly less effective. As Labovitz surmises, Iran is a developed country with many international economic ties. Disconnecting from the Internet to keep demonstrators from Tweeting their protest efforts will, he correctly states, hurt Iranian businesses.

The Arbor blog post also shows the dependency that governments, businesses and individuals now have on the Internet. While management may scowl at all the time and bandwidth their employees waste on Tweeting what they’re having for lunch and the latest turn in the “Jon and Kate” saga, the reality is they—like the Iranian Ruling Council—needs to accept some of the downsides of the Internet if they want the benefits. In the case of most businesses, though, let’s hope it doesn’t result in rioting in the streets or a coup d'état.