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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.

Ibrahim's group, Gamaa al Islamiya, plotted notorious attacks, including the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat and the massacre at an ancient Luxor temple that killed 62 people,nike running shoes mostly tourists, in 1997. He spent 24 years in jail reading the Koran and tempering the rage of his youth.

"We were young and we took extreme measures. But now we're old men and our time in prison has made us wiser," he said. "Al Qaeda and Islamic militancy have lost their glamour. Look at what has happened. The young saw that violence didn't bring change to Egypt, a peaceful revolution did."

Ibrahim is one of an increasing number of ultraconservative and moderate Islamists seeking a political voice in a new Egypt. Since the downfall in February of President Hosni Mubarak, who for three decades kept religion far from the center of power, the Islamist message is unshackled. The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition party,  Reebok ZigTech online, expects a strong showing in September's parliamentary elections.

The secular reformers and twentysomething urbanites at the vanguard of the Jan. 25 revolution have found themselves eclipsed. They lack experience and grass-roots networks to compete with the Brotherhood and other religious groups that have quietly stoked their passions for this moment. In a sense, Mubarak's obsession with both co-opting and crushing Islamists instilled in them the discipline and organization that now propels their political agendas.

Egypt has long been the touchstone of the Arab world. The protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square that ended with MubarakBuy nike cheap mens acg sandals retiring to his villa on the Red Sea riveted the Middle East. That drama suggests that Egypt's post-revolutionary era — its emerging blend of politics and Islam — will have tremendous influence on what evolves in coming generations across the region.

If the federal government shuts down come Friday, nike running shoes onlineHouse Speaker John Boehner may be in for quite a mess at his Washington, D.C. residence if some Facebook users have their way.

A Facebook event, entitled "If Boehner shuts down the government I am taking my trash to his house," has popped up and is gaining steam as the shutdown showdown ramps up on Capitol Hill. If the federal government shuts down, one of the District's services that will stop is trash pickup.

"Speaker John Boehner is ready to shut down the government, including District of Columbia city services like trash collection," it says on the page. "Well, if he won't allow us to use OUR TAX DOLLARS to pick it up, maybe we should just BRING IT TO HIM."

As of 2:30 p.m. EST there are 1,476 attending; 126 are listed as maybe; 156 aren't showing up; and 4,652 are still making up their minds (much like Congress, apparently).

The trash-a-thon is scheduled for Saturday and apparently will last through June 30.

Organizers of the event - Jonah Goodman and Nolan Treadway - write on the page that even if the government shutdown doesn't occur, they will "move forward with this event, we'll provide details on location(s) and we'll make sure it's done in a sanitary and respectful way. nike mens acg sandals 2011  Please don't list any personal addresses for members of Congress on this page."

Goodman is listed in the Democratic National Committee network. Treadway is the political and logistics director for the liberal group Netroots Nation.

House Speaker Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel did not comment to CNN on the group. But he said that "The Speaker has made clear that he wants to cut spending and keep the government open. The House will pass yet another bill to that this afternoon. If the government does shut down, these folks should focus their ire on the Democrats who are actively rooting for a government shutdown, hoping for partisan gain."

Reaction on the page is, like Washington, all over the place.

Amy Lysander: "Do you plan on trashing the yards of the Democrats who are actually causing a shutdown? The House passed a bill to keep the government open. Two of them, actually. The Senate hasn't. Where's Harry Reid's house?"

Diane C. Russell: "Dems controlled Congress completely for 11 months after Obama submitted FY 2011 budget, Fivefingers Kso-Vibram fivefingers Kso online but FAILED to do their duty and REFUSED to pass any appropriations, either before or after the beginning of the fiscal year."

Brian Devine: "I'll bring some styrofoam from the Hill caf."

Darrin Morgan: "Darn! I just cleaned out my garage. Oh, well. I have some rotten fruit I can throw at the Weeper of the House."

“No one wants the government to shut down,” U.S. Buy nike running shoes onlineHouse Speaker John Boehner said after meeting with President Obama late Wednesday.

But Priscilla’s famous line from “The Courtship of Miles Standish” seems an appropriate retort here: “Speak for yourself, John.” Because on the same day Boehner spoke, a number of tea party Republicans were marching outside the Capitol in Washington, wearing 1776 regalia and holding up signs defiantly urging, “Shut ’Er Down!”

The marchers, as it happened, included at least two from our neck of the woods: John Oltsevig, of Carthage, and Bob Mason, from Pinebluff. Interviewed on CNN about his “Shut ’Er Down!” placard, whose message seemed to allow little latitude for interpretation, Oltsevig backpedaled a bit and said he was “just making a point” and really didn’t want to see the federal lights go out.

However that may be, plenty of tea party advocates clearly do want the government to shut down. The reasons vary, no doubt. But the primary one, if the movement’s strident literature is to be believed, is that they simply don’t like government, are suspicious of it, and would like nothing more than to “shut ’er down” and go about their lives with little or no government interference in their lives. buy Reebok ZigTech

Even if Boehner and some of his fellow GOP congressional leaders truly do hope to find a reasonable, civilized way out of the ugly current budget impasse, they are paralyzed by fears of being outflanked by such extreme fringe attitudes out there on the right. Nor are the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Senate immune from their own political considerations as they, too, harden their positions.

In any case, if a shutdown does come at midnight tonight (assuming no compromise is achieved after this edition of The Pilot goes to press), it’s looking as if Moore Countians will feel blessedly few direct, immediate effects.

Post offices will remain open, and the self-funded U.S. Postal Service, which no longer gets direct federal money, will continue to deliver the mail — including Social Security checks, whose processing is largely automated. Of course, a lengthy shutdown would gradually begin to impact us all in countless other ways.

Of great importance to our neighborhood, next door to Fort Bragg, is that the military will continue to be paid for now — even without a Democratic embrace of a Republican twist that would shut down everyone else while providing the Pentagon with enough money to keep it going until the Sept. 30 end of the budget year.Buy nike cheap mens acg sandals black

What a sad and sorry state of affairs this whole spectacle is — a glorified game of chicken that does nothing to enhance anyone’s confidence in the ability of Americans to govern themselves effectively.

DuPont Co. said it sued USA Performance Technology Inc., Performance Group (USA) Inc.nike running shoes online and two individuals for allegedly misappropriating confidential specifications for its titanium pigment manufacturing process.

The two defendant companies, both based in Oakland, California, and two of its employees have, or are in the process of providing DuPont’s trade secrets to DuPont’s competitors in China, according to a complaint DuPont said was filed in federal court in California.

The manufacturing process at the company’s titanium pigment plant in Kuan Yin, Taiwan, “has become the target of misappropriation,” the complaint says. DuPont’s trade secret information was found on the company computer of one of the defendants, Buy nike cheap mens acg sandalsthe lawsuit said. The filing of the complaint couldn’t be confirmed through electronic court records.

USA Performance Technology and Performance Group, which have the same phone number, didn’t return a message left on voicemail today.

“DuPont is working closely with law enforcement authorities with information regarding this matter,” said Thomas Sager, DuPont’s general counsel, in a statement.

The suit seeks an injunction requiring return of its trade secret information, prohibiting use of its proprietary information and unspecified damages, DuPont said in the statement.

DuPont is the world’s largest manufacturer of titaniumFind brand shoes to  dioxide, a white pigment commonly used in coatings, plastics and paper, the statement said.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer held a joint webcast to announce creation of Toyota Media Service, Buy nike running shoes onlinea Toyota subsidiary that will provide the data service to drivers. The two companies will invest about $12 million in the venture.

The first application of the system -- which will be based on the Windows Azure cloud computing platform -- will be to manage energy use for the plug-in version of the Prius due in the first half next year. That Prius will be able to go about 13 miles on electric power only with a full charge from the power grid.

The system eventually will manage every electric thing in your life, including making your coffee in the morning:

Just kidding about the coffee, but not about everything else: Toyoda said, the system could link owners with their cars, their home appliances, heating and AC and control and their utility company's "smart grid" to minimize energy use, to schedule use for times when rates are lowest, to have your car ready when you are with its temperature preset and your most efficient route already dialed up in the navigation system. nike cheap mens acg sandals The link could dial down the energy use of your home while you're away and ramp up the heating or air conditioning as you approach so the house is just right.

"Our cars will play a big role in the global expansion of what we call 'smart centers' … on-board systems capable of better managing overall energy consumption of cars… driving trips…and homes," said Toyoda. " For example, this new system will include advanced car telematics like virtual operators with voice recognition … management of vehicle charging to reduce stress on energy supply…and remote control of appliances, heating and lighting at home."

For Toyota, which is trying to build up the infotainment and energy management tools for its electrified vehicles, the access to "Microsoft's vast information infrastructure" will, said Toyoda, "boost the value of automobiles by making them 'information terminals' …moving beyond today's GPS navigation and wireless safety communications, while at the same time enhancing driver and traffic safety."

Microsoft gets a high-profile user for Windows Azure, its software in the "cloud" -- i.e. that delivers services via the Internet rather than being loaded on a particular computer.

"Starting in 2012, customers who purchase one of Toyota's electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles will be able to connect via the cloud to control and monitor their car from anywhere," said Ballmer. "For example, customers will be able to turn on the heat or AC in their car while their vehicle is plugged into the grid or dynamically monitor miles until the next charging station right from their GPS system."

Ballmer said the cloud-based system will be particularly important for the car company in emerging markets, Find brand shoes to "Toyota will be able to deliver these new applications and services in the 170 countries where Toyota cars are sold. Historically, this type of service was limited to only major markets where the automotive maker could build and maintain a data center." Toyota will also have the benefit of paying for only the computing power it uses while being able to quickly scale to support spikes in demand or entry into new markets."