What does the U.N. Security Council do, exactly? The answer, it turns, out, is more than you think, and less than you might hope. From Newsweek, critics slam Ban Ki-moon for being charmless and ineffective — they'd better get used to it, because they're stuck with him; a look at when leaders radically remake their countries; Brazil's Lula is the most popular politician on Earth (and more); and Somalia is worse off than ever — why don't we care? A review of The New Plagues: Pandemics and Poverty in a Globalized World by Stefan Kaufmann. Turning point for the poor: The world needs a crisis response facility, ready to offer help for the most vulnerable countries. The G-20 nations could help both the poor and the global economy by imposing a very small tax on the prosperous foreign exchange industry. Norman Borlaug died Sept 12, but his ideas and the green revolution they produced are still transforming agriculture. From National Geographic, a special report on the State of the Earth 2010. Conformists may kill civilizations: Lack of original ideas leaves societies vulnerable to environmental upheaval. From Cultural Survival Quarterly, a look at indigenous science solving contemporary problems. Cultural relativism and Western chauvinism share one basic principle, claims Kenan Malik: a loss of faith in universal values. A review of Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950 by Charles Murray. The nadir of Western Civilization to be reached this Friday at 3:32 P.M.
