The administration of United States President Barack Obama has rebranded American foreign policy around the grand concept of "smart power", an expression which envelops great confidence if not self-satisfaction, and which, to a certain extent, presupposes a strategic dominance.

Just weeks after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton complained to Congress that America is losing the information war against Al Qaeda, China and Russia, it appears that Clinton’s own State Department is one of the impediments to success.

The U.S. ambassador to Malta has upset the State Department by devoting so much time to writing and speaking about faith-related issues, according to a report from the department’s inspector general released last week.

The land of hockey, toques and the apology. Cast your eye a little farther down the list of things Canada has given the world (past zippers, Jolly Jumpers and five-pin bowling but well before Céline Dion) and you come to Canadian television.

Since 1996, Next Education Group Inc., has recruited students in South Korea to continued their educations in the North Penn area. A crucial part of this cultural exchange program is matching a student with a host family, says Next program director Monica Byun.

Blowing in the wind at the moment is the question of cultural diplomacy. Bob Dylan plays a gig in Beijing, then heads with his guitar to another of his nation's traditional enemies, Vietnam.

As I write this, there remains a slight possibility that the federal government will not shutdown at midnight tonight, furlough all “non-essential” employees, and cease many of its functions.

How ironic that in a time of rapidly increasing connectivity around the globe, we are still so far from understanding other cultures, especially those that observe religions and traditions different from our own.