Sonia de Camargo (Catholic U - Rio): Europe Debates Its Destiny. The Accidental Environmentalist: Oil man Matthew Simmons reconsiders the future of black gold. How do the two venerable newsweeklies stack up these days? A review of The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order by Parag Khanna. Fred Halliday on why the rise of "sovereign wealth funds" signals the end of the neo-liberal model. David Mamet's rather unspectacular public denouement of his former political stance has all the controversy of Paris Hilton announcing that her next career move involves a stripper's pole. More on The Portable Atheist. Getting Hosed: Investigative humorist Gene Weingarten absorbs 24 hours of relentless punditry, and survives — sort of. Dave Eggers asks the TED community to personally, creatively engage with local public schools. What's the matter with kids today? Nothing, actually, aside from our panic that the Internet is melting their brains. The professor as open book: There are many reasons professors have embraced the Web and other media to reveal more of themselves. Is there still a place for sin in modern society? The decade is winding down — Scott McLemee wonders what it was all about. Why do black comedians like Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence don plus-size pantyhose and parade around as their feisty grandmas?
