The continuing power of the street protests remains impressive. Of course, we can expect the regime to continue going the extra mile in repression tactics, sensing--correctly--that if it does not that things can quickly unravel. Would I like a more forceful expression from Obama on this? Yes. I don't see much danger in negotiations as a result, because the worse this gets, the more likely it is (as it has always been, in my opinion) that such efforts will go nowhere and achieve nothing. So why not turn up the rhetorical pressure and keep global attention high?