Syria: In Hama, various international news agencies have reported that clashes are taking place between citizens and soldiers. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said over 100 families have fled Hama in fear of a military operation after the deaths of 23 people in the city yesterday. Last night, demonstrations took place in Idlib, Rif Dimashq's Harasta, Deir el-Zour in the Qadam, and the al-Qaboun neighborhoods of Damascus, in addition to some areas of Hama. In response to the opposition's account of the events in Hama, official sources say calm has been restored to the city.

Egypt: Protestors attacked the Suez Security Directorate after the Suez Criminal Court's decision to release seven officers charged with killing protestors in the January 25 revolution. Eyewitnesses said the protestors threw stones at the government building and armed forces intervened to restore order. The criminal court rejected the attorney general's appeal against releasing seven of the 14 officers being charged, and postponed their trials until September 14.

Libya: Revolutionaries have taken control of the town of al-Gawalish, located about 100 kilometers southwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli, after a six-hour long battle. After gaining control of Gawalish, the revolutionaries were able to advance northwest toward their destination, Tripoli. In northern Libya, the opposition fighters advanced west from Misurata toward Zliten, which is controlled by Muammar Gaddafi's forces.. In revolutionaries' capital Benghazi, a "Million Man March" was organized in support of regions described by the revolutionaries as "un-liberated." Meanwhile, thousands of Gaddafi supporters rallied in Tripoli several days ago.

At the height of the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war when over 300 Lebanese civilians had been killed, then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire, which she described as a "false promise." In justifying the Bush administration's position and its general policy of democracy promotion, Rice described Lebanon's plight as part of the "birth pangs of a new Middle East."

Whether U.S. foreign policy has rationalized violence and war as the price for the right kind of change or supported corrupt and tyrannical regimes under the false assumption that it is preventing the Islamists' ascension to power, the result has been one and the same: the U.S. has stood strong in the face of progress. It could also be argued that it is partly to blame for causing the Middle East to miss Democracy's Third Wave. Western nations fear that regime change – of mostly authoritarian governments – could lead to chaos, but their attempt to maintain stability and order has come at the expense of the people's quest for not only better economic opportunities and political reform, but also dignity.

In December 2010, a different kind of birth pangs was ignited by the self-immolation of a young unemployed Tunisian man in Sidi Bouzid. His cry of desperation led a people fed up with poor living conditions, rampant corruption, and high unemployment to rise up. The subsequent series of street demonstrations that erupted across Tunisia led to the collapse of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's secular dictatorship. The ousting of Ben Ali sent shockwaves across undemocratic regimes throughout the Middle East and unleashed a wave of self-immolations in a number of countries. In Egypt, the fear of copycat suicide attempts led the government to "[forbid] gas stations to sell to people not in cars and placed security agents wielding fire extinguishers outside government offices," according to Twitterers.

As Egyptians took to the street, their supporters followed hashtag Jan25 and watched in amazement as thousands defied police in what was dubbed the "Day of Rage". YouTube videos allowed viewers to witness a brave young man stare down a water cannon to cheers of "ya gada'a" or "you brave one" and hear thousands chant slogans pleading: “Leave, leave, leave, for good, let our country see the light." Yesterday's particularly violent repression against anti-government demonstrators in the port city of Suez and the fierce level of resistance there led some to label the city Egypt's Sidi Bouzid.

Despite the government's efforts to hamper organizing by cutting off internet service, suspending cell and landline phone service and imposing a curfew, Egyptians continued to march in the thousands. For the fourth consecutive day, enraged Egyptians defied authorities again through another "Day of Rage."

Understandably, a succession of observers immediately pointed to the different economic, social, and political realities in Tunisia in contrast to Egypt, Jordan, or Yemen. However, one thing is certain: their people all share the same grievances. Oppressed people everywhere are watching as the Arab world's yearning for political reform and social justice has been awakened.

The refrain heard on the street is that Tunisian air is blowing towards the people of the Middle East and North Africa. This unprecedented infectious mobilization has made it obvious that people are no longer willing to be ruled by either authoritarian regimes or religious fundamentalists. Now more than ever, it seems that a youth-led revolutionary movement is indeed the only way to enact an empowering change that serves the needs of all citizens.

As of today, shaken Arab rulers will think twice before underestimating their people again. Regardless of whether Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak joins Tunisia's Ben Ali in Saudi Arabia and despite the fact that it is too early to predict if these uprisings will mark the Middle East's own Autumn of Nations, it is safe to say these movements have already inspired millions by displaying the power of grassroots activism.

Tunisian poet Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi's verse "When people decide to live, destiny shall obey, and one day…the slavery chains must be broken" has never seemed more relevant than today.