memeorandum: Lebanese army handed power (Clancy Chassay/Guardian)

10:20 AM ET, November 24, 2007

Top Items:

Howard Admits Election Defeat — Australian Prime Minister John Howard has suffered a humiliating election defeat as the opposition Labor Party swept into power. — Mr Howard, who was seeking a fifth term after 11 years of conservative rule, said he had telephoned Labor leader Kevin Rudd to congratulate him on his victory.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Salon, Gateway Pundit and Middle Earth Journal

Tim Johnston / New York Times:

Australia's Prime Minister Defeated After Four Terms — Prime Minister John Howard of Australia suffered a comprehensive defeat today, with a coalition led by his Liberal Party losing its majority in parliament. — After four terms in office, he will be replaced by Kevin Rudd, a Labor Party leader and former diplomat.

Discussion: Sweetness & Light

Andrew Bolt:

Election '07 - The results come in. (7.45pm: Labor wins) — 5.55pm: Sky News tells us enough to know it's over. Its exit poll says Labor is getting 53 per cent of the vote. — 6.07pm: Laurie Oakes says Liberal campaigners concede Howard is in real trouble in Bennelong. — 6.15pm: Bob Hawke is on Sky News.

Discussion: Tim Blair, The Belmont Club and Silent Running

The Australian:

Rudd says he'll govern for all — AUSTRALIA had looked to the future and had decided the nation must move forward, Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd said tonight. — Claiming the election win he said Australia had decided to prepare and plan to make the nation a better place …

Discussion: The Corner and Jules Crittenden

Barbie Dutter / Telegraph:

Labour sweeps to victory in Australian election — Australian prime minister John Howard's 11 year reign has ended with a landslide election victory for the opposition Labour Party. — Kevin Rudd, the former diplomat, was set to become Australia's 26th prime minister …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Clancy Chassay / Guardian:

Lebanese army handed power — Lebanon was again plunged into uncertainty yesterday after parliament failed in a fifth attempt to elect a president, and the former Syrian backed-president Emile Lahoud, whose term ended at midnight, passed control of the security services over to the army, declaring a state of emergency.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Washington Post, Outside The Beltway and abu muqawama

Gateway Pundit:

Fireworks in Lebanon... Pro-Syrian President Steps Down — Fireworks in Lebanon after the Pro-Syrian President steps down... Some 2000 Anti-Lebanese president and pro-government supporters, set fireworks dancing beating drums and shouting 'Lahoud out' as they gathered in a Sunni Muslim …

Discussion: The Belmont Club and Washington Post

From Beirut to the Beltway:

Lahoud hands over security to army (corrected) — Emile Lahoud has declared Lebanon to "have the conditions" of a state of emergency, citing inability of the current "illegitimate" cabinet to govern and failure to elect a president by the constitutional deadline.

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House and Blogs of War

Sam F. Ghattas / Associated Press:

Political crisis deepens in Lebanon — BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's political tumult intensified as President Emile Lahoud said the country is in a "state of emergency" and handed security powers to the army before he left office late Friday without a successor. The rival, pro-Western Cabinet rejected the declaration.

Discussion: The American Street, Right Voices, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Redstate and Publius Pundit

The Logan Daily News:

Leland Conner — LOGAN - Leland Lavon Conner, 77, of Logan, passed away Friday, Nov. 16, 2007, as a result of an auto accident in Fairfield County. — He was born May 9, 1930, in Hocking County, son of the late Foster E. and Ida Cullison Conner. Leland was married to Doris Keller Conner, who survives.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

In Bush's Last Year, Modest Domestic Aims — As President Bush looks toward his final year in office, with Democrats controlling Congress and his major domestic initiatives dead on Capitol Hill, he is shifting his agenda to what aides call "kitchen table issues" — small ideas …

Discussion: The Reaction

Scott Horton / Harper's:

Resurrecting the Star Chamber — When the Founding Fathers looked for a model that reflected the abuses they objected to—in short what they intended to forbid by their new Constitution and Bill of Rights—they turned to an English institution, the Court of Star Chamber.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and The Heretik

Jonathan Constantine / OC Blog:

A Warm and Fuzzy Taliban? — I guess the Taliban isn't so bad after all, well..... that's what Islamic activist and journalist Yvonne Ridley implies as she recounts her experiences as captive. As I wrote in my submission to New University, Ridley painted a rosy picture of the regime:

Discussion: Power Line and michellemalkin.com

Michael Luo / New York Times:

For Romney & Company, Campaign Is All Business — Presidential campaigns, with their boiler-room pressure, news media scrutiny and organizational challenges, have always functioned as something of a dress rehearsal for the White House. How do the candidates make tough decisions?

Discussion: The Heretik