Polio has all but been eradicated from the Earth, but not quite. So Bill Gates and the soccer club FC Barcelona are joining forces to push the effort past the goal line. They're calling it the "More than a Goal. End Polio" campaign...Barcelona plans to spread the message through in-stadium advertisements, announcements during matches, and via social media to the millions of followers worldwide.

Concerned that the foreign aid budget could be cut as Congress deals with a mounting fiscal crisis, influential voices from government and philanthropy are calling attention to the benefits of – and need for – "smart power."

You may have noticed that one of the post categories for this blog is “U.S. Aid” and posts under that category are devoted to news and commentary about U.S. efforts to provide financial and humanitarian assistance to other countries. I see this as one of the pillars of the traditional U.S. role in the world.