Social cause gaming, or the use of games to promote awareness of societal problems, has been growing since pioneer online projects like Food Force, the United Nations World Food Program’s 2005 game about confronting famine, and Darfur Is Dying, MTV’s 2006 offering in which players navigate the terrors of a Sudanese refugee camp.

The United Nations Club of Southern Oregon University and Ashland Peace House sponsored a two day conference Wednesday and Thursday entitled “Debunking the ‘Clash of Civilizations’: Understanding Islam, Islamophobia, and the Middle East,” a conference that featured speakers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

President Vladimir Putin, introducing a new concept of Russia’s foreign policy that relies more heavily on ‘soft power,’ expressed confidence that the country’s influence in the world "will continue to strengthen." In dealing with these global hot spots, Russia will make an active use of economic diplomacy and the so-called “soft power practices” in its foreign policy, the Russian leader said.

Bravely (or recklessly) writing these lines in Ottawa, I am running the risk of being ostracized by my Canadian hockey-loving colleagues and friends for as much as hinting any approval of the KHL—Russia-led Kontinental Hockey League (spelled with a K so as not to be confused with several existing CHL sports acronyms and to resemble its original Cyrillic spelling).

WASHINGTON -- Alhurra television celebrates its ninth anniversary on Feb. 14, with a larger audience and claims of editorial progress.

Diversity is our strength, and everyone, including persons with disabilities, has important contributions to make. That was one of the overarching messages at the 10th Special Olympics 2013 World Winter Games in South Korea this month, where athletes Tae Hemsath and Henry Meece -- born in South Korea with developmental disabilities -- returned to their birth country as Special Olympics athletes. Tae competed as a snowshoe racer, Henry as a snowboarder.

I can't remember how many times I've seen the first Die Hard. Likewise the first Rocky movie, the first Rambo, First Blood, also the first... These franchises inevitably went downhill - perhaps not as steeply as Rocky, but still a disappointment. (OK, Aliens, the second in the series, was the exception). Perhaps this is a stand-in metaphor for America's power and promise, always delivered first with an impressive bang, until reality sinks in.