From Prospect, blame it on the Brits: Most people think British power has declined over the past century, but not the Iranians; and a review of books on David Cameron. Patternicity: An article on finding meaningful patterns in meaningless noise. John McWhorter reviews The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush by Elvin T. Lim. A review of The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford. Conrad Black reviews Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth by Margaret Atwood. A look at how websites that dig for news rise as watchdogs. From Edge, Christopher Badcock on the imprinted brain theory. Why shouldn't Sarah Palin get a book deal? Left-leaning Americans should welcome books from Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber. Why big books still matter: More and more and more and more and more and more on Roberto Bolano's 2666.(and an excerpt, a five-page sentence, and the five most unskippable passages, at New York; and from Bookforum, a review of Last Evenings on Earth and a review of Distant Star). From New Scientist, a look at why the universe may be teeming with aliens and what makes the universe tick. Do libertarians fit in a liberal world? And if they do, are they still libertarians?