This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.

Over 90 killed in massive street protests in Syria

On Friday, tens of thousands of Syrians poured into the streets after midday prayers in cities across the country and chanted anti-government slogans, “Freedom, freedom,” and “God, Syria, freedom, that’s all.” The government of President Bashar al-Assad had hoped that the announced ending of the 48 year old emergency rule law would soothe the protests, but this is a generational Awakening era for Syria, so that was never going to happen. At least 90 people were killed and dozens injured when Syrian security forces fired live bullets and teargas at the protesters. Al-Arabiya

President Obama names Syria’s president Assad in condemnation

In a major change of policy, President Barack Obama has personally condemned the violence against peaceful demonstrators in Syria, and named President Bashar al-Assad:

“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of force by the Syrian government against demonstrators. This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now. …

Over the course of two months since protests in Syria began, the United States has repeatedly encouraged President Assad and the Syrian Government to implement meaningful reforms, but they refuse to respect the rights of the Syrian people or be responsive to their aspirations. …

We strongly oppose the Syrian government’s treatment of its citizens and we continue to oppose its continued destabilizing behavior more generally, including support for terrorism and terrorist groups.”

White House

John McCain calls for more American involvement in Libya war

Friday’s escalation du jour in the Libyan military action was Senator John McCain’s visit to Benghazi, and his calling on the U.S. government to recognize the rebel Transitional National Council as the country’s government and provide financial assistance and more military aid to the insurgents. This followed Thursday’s announcement that America is now providing armed drones to the Nato coalition. McCain’s statements put additional pressure on the Americans and Europeans to do more, and leads the way for ground action if the rebels experience a sudden reversal. Bloomberg

Mossad warns of Hizbollah attacks on Jewish targets

Israel’s security agency Mossad issued a warning on Thursday night to travelling Israelis to be wary of a major terrorist attack on Jewish or Israeli targets that Hizbollah has already set in motioin at some undisclosed location. Debka

U.S. personnel said to be abandoning a base in Pakistan

CNN is quoting a senior Pakistani intelligence official as saying that U.S. military personnel have abandoned a southern base said to be crucial for American drone operations in the northwestern tribal areas. The Pakistan public has been demanding an end to the drone strikes, and if concerned, this departure from the base would be a significant result of those demands. CNN

Americans give Iraq a deadline for 2011 troop withdrawal

There are still 47,000 American troops in Iraq, and under an agreement with Iraq made several years ago, they will be withdrawn by the end of this year, unless Iraq’s government requests that they stay. Admiral Mike Mullen has warned Iraq that they have to decide within a few weeks whether they want to keep any U.S. troops past the end of 2011, and that otherwise, the U.S. would make some “irrevocable” logistics and operation decisions. Reuters

Easter warning: Dark chocolate can kill your dog

A small dog can die after eating a single chocolate Easter egg. The chemical in chocolate that gives humans a pleasant buzz – theobromine – has a highly toxic effect on dogs. Telegraph

Falling egg consumption at Easter means that egg prices are falling

Easter Eggs

One of the busiest times for egg producers each year is just prior to Easter, but egg consumption has been decreasing since 2006, resulting in falling egg prices, at a time when other food prices have been surging. However, costs to produce eggs have been rising, and so egg producers have been losing money. Wall Street Journal (Access)

‘Birther’ polls are consistent with polls in previous administrations

One in four Americans say that they believe that President Obama was not born in the United States. But a poll in 2006 found that one in three Americans said that President Bush had known about the 9/11 attacks, and did nothing about them or assisted in them. Similar findings in other polls: 40% of Americans suspect that officials in the federal government were directly responsible for the assassination of President Kennedy, and 38% say that the federal government is withholding proof of the existence of intelligent life from other planets. News Polls (2006)

Getting into the spirit of the Royal Wedding

Souvenir tea bags

Here are ten ways for you to get into the spirit of the Royal Wedding. #7: Have tea time with souvenir tea bags. #1: Become a “CopyKate”. VOA

Happiest Places Have Highest Suicide Rates

New research shows that the happiest countries and U.S. states have the highest suicide rates. Thurs, Canada, the United States, Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland display relatively high happiness levels and yet also have high suicide rates. Within the U.S., Hawaii and Utah have high average life satisfaction, and among the highest suicide rates, while New York and New Jersey score low on both measures. Science Daily