But the most acute threat to the American Imperium, as Hugo Chavez gleefully observed at the recent OPEC summit, is the ever-accelerating demise of the dollar. 

Today’s Liberal leadership ballot could launch the party into war rather than peace, with Tony Abbott's withdrawal from the contest including a pledge of loyalty - and a threat of a later challenge to the new leader. 

"I'm certainly not ruling out a further tilt at the leadership," Mr Abbott said as he admitted his close association with John Howard was a reason he lacked the support of his colleagues. 

from Crikey ….. 

Lifting the lid on GM crops: what is Brumby hiding? 

Katherine Wilson writes: 

The New York Times recently reported that the bushit administration has "scaled back" its benchmarks for political progress in Iraq, instead "focusing their immediate efforts on several more limited but achievable goals."

from Crikey ….. 

The dubious legacy of John Winston Howard 

Mungo MacCallum writes: 

Peter Costello says he ''would not seek nor accept'' a nomination to be the new opposition leader and instead would step away from politics for a business career. 

Australia's longest serving treasurer, who had long dreamed of being prime minister, made the shock announcement in Melbourne today, saying he would stay on in parliament for now and then move on. 

Prime Minister John Howard has rung Labor leader Kevin Rudd to concede defeat after voters deserted his  11-year government in tonight's federal election. 

Mr Howard then appeared at Sydney's Wentworth Hotel to address Liberal Party faithful. 

Remember that heading in the Herald a few weeks back, after one of the opinion polls bumped up the Government's lousy standing a point or two? "Lazarus stirs", it said optimistically of John Howard.  

Wrong. It was just the flies moving.  

from Crikey ….. 

Reality check: Honey, I doomed the universe 

Richard Farmer writes: 

The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. 

To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases. 

So on this Thanksgiving week as stomachs are stuffed and the cacophony of credit card transactions deafens and defies the reality of global economic meltdown, I will celebrate that we are now closer to the total collapse of civilization than we have ever been, and that for all the rampant suffering it will evoke around the world, the soul-murdering, mind-numbing, body obliterating culture of empire is terminally ill and on life-support.  

Gordon Brown suffered a seismic shock to his premiership yesterday, as it was revealed that the privacy of half the UK's citizens had been compromised.  

The Prime Minister listened solemnly as his Chancellor, Alistair Darling, laid bare a bureaucratic bungle on an unprecedented scale.  

We're not faking it: Howard 

Commentators who think Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello are faking their friendship are wrong, Mr Howard says.