Feb. 2 updates

ADM Ackbar is NOT the new director of national security. Yet.

TUNISIA
• (late update, 1838 ET) The government also dismissed all of the governors of the Tunisian provinces (known locally as governorates). New governors were immediately announced. The new national securirty director is Admiral Ahmed Chabir, which is close to, but unfortunately, not Admiral Ackbar.

• As an educator, this article is of the utmost interest to me: A Mideast organization devoted to studying tolerance found that Tunisian textbooks - revised in the late 20th century - were remarkably balanced about Mideast issues, and even promoted democracy and separation of religion and government.
• AFP had reported vandalism of a small Jewish synagogue in the South, but the source is allegedly telling TAP that he can neither confirm nor deny that it occurred.
• The new, new Cabinet met for the first time today. An interesting development from the meeting; perhaps necessary, perhaps not - Interim President Fouad Mebaaza wants the power to issue laws by presidential decree, making an end-run around the legislature, in order to 'speed up the transition to democracy.' Pretty tough case to make.
• The new government also sacked the top leaders at the Interior Ministry - a department known as the hangout of Ben Ali's henchmen - and replaced them with more... reliable? hands.
• Things must be getting somewhat back to normal - a new football coach has been named for the Carthage Eagles!
• Ports at La Goulette and Rades are back to full operations.

EGYPT
• Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen the ugly turn that protests have taken in Cairo - grassroots vs. Astroturf protesters, and major assaults by the 'pro-Mubarak' crowd against the media.
• Obama again 'calls for calm,' as U.S. credibilitometer nears zero with pro-democracy crowd. With the plainclothes cops and interior personnel launching molotovs, the US is looking more and more feckless in its policy.
• Really good blog from AJE from Tahrir Square.
• Ben Smith from Politico calls this Hillary's '3 a.m. moment' from the primaries. I think he's right. The open question is: Are they even picking up the phone, much less making decisions?