a few points from Ahram Online

1. Major Ahmed Shouman, who defied orders and joined the protestors, has been PARDONED BY THE ARMY, thankfully. Pardoned? He ought to receive an award and a pension. If the revolution had failed, he would have been summarily shot. (A photo of the brave Major Shouman is contained in the article.)

2. There are rumors, reported by Ahram, of the firing of Cabinet ministers or even a mass firing, HERE. This would be an important confidence-boosting measure, in my opinion. It makes one uneasy that Mubarak’s own improvised late January “reform” Cabinet is still on the job even now.

3. Most comical of all, and perhaps a welcome sign of respect to the protest organizers, THE EGYPTIAN ARMY NOW HAS A FACEBOOK PAGE. That’s not an Onion article, it’s the truth. Is this the first army in the world to be on Facebook? Hilarious. Next, I wonder if Tantawi will start a Twitter account.

4. At the same time, they WON’T ALLOW THE STRIKES TO CONTINUE. I understand that they feel the need to maintain some order, but labor needs a piece of the action here.