determining which package is 'responsible' for forcing a downgrade ?

[snowcrash+smart]

yes, but,

    MozillaThunderbird-1.99.1-44.1 at i586

is found in,

       /root# smart info MozillaThunderbird
               ...
               Name: MozillaThunderbird
                Version: 1.99.1-44.1 at i586
                Priority: 17
                ...
                Channels: Latest mozilla.org packages @ SuSE

which, in my config, is,

  [suse-mozilla-latest]
  type = rpm-md
  name = Latest mozilla.org packages @ SuSE
  priority = 17
  baseurl = http://software.opensuse.org/download/mozilla/openSUSE_10.2

@ pri=17.

why doesn't THAT take priority?

sorry if i'm being 'thick' here ...