In recent days, Syrian President Bashar Assad has fired governors and Cabinet members,Buy nike running shoes online promised citizenship for the Kurdish minority and agreed to gradually boost civil liberties for everyone.
But the verdict from the street Friday was decisive: Not enough.
Assad's political maneuvering failed to close a spigot of outrage that has flowed for more than three weeks, and tens of thousands of protesters filled streets throughout Syria, spreading for the first time Friday in large numbers to Aleppo, the country's second-largest city.
In the southern city of Dara, the epicenter of the unrest, security forces fired on protesters, killing at least 22 people and wounding hundreds more. Another four were killed in clashes with security forces in the western city of Hims, witnesses said.
"It's another bloody day in Syria," said Razan Zeitoune, a human rights lawyer in Damascus, the capital.
State-run media acknowledged the bloodshed in Dara but blamed it on vandals. "A security forces member was martyred and scores of citizens, security forces and policemen were wounded," the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Activists estimate that more than 130 people have died in the weeks of clashes, mostly in Dara and Latakia.
Syrian officials say the death toll is closer to 30, and they blame the violence on armed groups and foreigners seeking to divide the country.
Other protests occurred in the suburbs of Damascus, Banias, Dayr az Zawr, Jablah and Kurdish areas in the northeast, witnesses said.
Among the chants rising from the crowds was "One, one, one, the Syrian people are one."
David Lesch, a professor at Trinity University in San Antonio and the author of a book about Assad, said he was surprised that Assad had not challenged the political establishment more forcefully to meet the demands of the various protest groups before they united against him.
Protests in the south and west have focused on government corruption and economic suffering. Kurds in the northeast have pushed for citizenship in order to travel and gain government jobs. Some conservative Muslims have chafed at secular elements of the regime. But all have incrementally moved toward uniting in recent weeks as they press for greater political freedom.
Assad was seen as a possible reformist when he came to power 11 years ago, but his efforts to privatize the economy have lagged, and little to no political freedoms have been introduced.nike mens acg sandals 2011 The country has lived under an emergency law since 1963 that allows the detention of political opponents without trial.
"Assad could have leveraged the popularity that he really does have in the country and the region to create a critical mass for real reform rather than waiting for this critical mass of opposition," Lesch said.
As the protests have strengthened, the demands have inched past policy complaints to directly attack Assad and his family's four-decade rule. Witnesses said protesters attacked a statue of the president's late brother, Basil, in Dara on Friday. Two weeks ago, they hacked down a statue of the president's father and predecessor, Hafez Assad.
"Now people are realizing they don't have to stick to a choice of one family anymore," said Obeida Nahas, director of the Levant Institute, a London think tank.
Still, Assad has political advantages that the toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia did not enjoy, including near-total control of the military and security forces.
Additionally, although many Syrians are unhappy with elements of the regime, the country has a deep desire for stability. With examples of instability on two sides _ in Lebanon and Iraq _ some are willing to compromise political freedoms to maintain order.
"I don't think a revolution is likely to happen any time soon, although we have seen recently in the region that these things can mushroom very quickly, and faster than we ever expect," Lesch said.
As the so-called Arab Spring continues to play out across the Middle East and North Africa, violence broke out again in Yemen on Friday as crowds demanded the overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who again rejected talks that would end his 32-year rule.
Persian Gulf Arab nations, led by Saudi Arabia, had sought to mediate the discussion, but Saleh said that "the Yemeni people are free to accept mediation from their brothers and friends, but they reject taking orders or intervention."
Two people were shot dead and 25 wounded by gunfire in the southern city of Taiz, hospital staffers told Reuters news agency.
The Defense Ministry blamed forces commanded by renegade Gen. Ali Mohsen for the deaths of two pro-Saleh demonstrators in the capital, Sana, but the reports could not be confirmed.
In Egypt, tens of thousands of demonstrators returned to Tahrir Square in Cairo to demand the prosecution of former President Hosni Mubarak and accuse the ruling Supreme Military Council of not acting quickly enough to bring corrupt members of the old regime to justice.
Frustration among millions of Egyptians has risen after a number of former ministers in the Mubarak government were arrested but have yet to be indicted on corruption and other charges. While Mubarak and his family members have had their financial assets frozen and are banned from leaving the country, the ex-president has not been charged with any crimes.
A special panel set up by the current interim government, headed by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, is expected to question Mubarak's oldest son, Gamal, next week. "We want Mubarak and other corrupt officials put on trial and charged. Why does convicting a thug or a thief take a few days while indicting someone like Mubarak _ we all witnessed his shameful acts _ takes months and maybe years?" said protester Mohamed Fawzi.
The consistent delays and adjournments of court hearings of previous ministers has increased concerns among protesters that Mubarak and his ex-officials might escape justice. Many Egyptians claim government officials enriched themselves through graft, conflicts of interest, kickbacks and other crimes as more than 40 per cent of the population lived on $2 a day or less.
"Now we have a suspicion that Mubarak struck a deal with the military before they toppled him. We fear that the military council asked him to step down and assured him he won't be put on trial in return," said protester Abdel Azim Mukhtar, a 41-year-old accountant.
Once considered heroes for playing their part in ousting Mubarak, the head of the military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi,buy Reebok ZigTech online and other military council members are now facing a crisis of trust with many Egyptians.
"Field Marshal Tantawi, you are out of credit," read one sign carried by a protester on Friday. A handover of power to a newly elected president is scheduled for October or November.
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