Oct 29th, 2008 · Though he now lives in Seattle, folk musician Darren Smith grew up across Washington's eastern border in the small college town of Moscow, ID. With a secluded population of only 22,000, Moscow bills itself as the "Heart of the Arts." It might sound like an unlikely title, but Moscow, ID is also the home of singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. "Maybe it's the cold winters and isolation that brings out the artistic drive in people," Smith says.
Sep 19th, 2008 · Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the West must stand up to Moscow. In a major speech Thursday, Rice said Russia's policies have put it on a path to isolation and irrelevance. But while the U.S. is angry with Russia's actions in Georgia, it needs Moscow for other foreign policy challenges from North Korea to Iran. Citics say the Bush admin. is leaving the next president with little leverage when dealing with Russia.
Aug 28th, 2008 · Russia is facing international isolation over this month's attacks in Georgia, and the country failed to enlist the support it wanted from China and a group of former Soviet republics in central Asia. Moscow has accused NATO of "battleship diplomacy."
Jun 26th, 2008 · A company that makes a robotic baby seal from Japan named Paro plans to sell it in the U.S. to help comfort people with dementia, autism and other problems related to social isolation. But some doctors say real pets provide the best kind of therapy.
Jun 4th, 2008 · Argentina probably isn't the first place you think of for groundbreaking electro-pop music, but for the past several years it's been turning out a number of stunning recordings from some of the genre's most inventive artists. The brother-sister duo Isol and Zypce (that's ee-SOLE and ZIP-see) is about to release one of the year's more curious CDs: a spectacular headphone album, with a richly layered world of blips and clicks, called Sima.
May 23rd, 2008 · Sen. John McCain has been stepping up the attacks on Sen. Barack Obama, criticizing the Democrat's willingness to open a dialogue with Iran, talk to Cuba's President Raul Castro, or meet with other hostile leaders. Obama's supporters have fought back, with video of a McCain supporter, former Secretary of State James Baker, saying that "talking to an enemy is not in my view appeasement." Recently Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) said, "The worst nightmare for a regime that thrives on isolation and tension is an America ready, willing and able to engage."
May 13th, 2008 · Diplomats around the world continue talks with Myanmar's military government about bringing relief aid to the country's cyclone victims. The Southeast Asian country, once called Burma, has been under military rule in one form or another since 1962. Co-host Renee Montagne speaks with David Steinberg, a professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, about Myanmar's history and politics.
Apr 11th, 2008 · Authorities in Texas removed more than 400 youngsters from a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound last week. Now, the children who once lived in near isolation must transition to mainstream society.