Rudd beats Howard

After over a decade of rule, John Howard is no longer the prime minister of Australia. Howard, noted for being a major Bush administration supporter on issues such as climate change, terrorism, and the Iraq war, conceded defeat to his opponent, Kevin Rudd, last night. Rudd's Labor Party looks like it will take a majority in parliament over Howard's Liberal-National Party. Rudd, who will probably be sworn in next week as PM, told of his center-left agenda following his win at the polls.

Rudd looks like someone who will take action on the environment and Iraq, so this is good news, along with the fact John Howard wasn't a great person anyway (it's good to have as few tools of the White House as possible in major political positions).