During the night of Nov. 25, 2016 Fidel Castro, Olympic gold medalist in surviving assassination attempts, died. Shortly after, 13 Portland State students arrived in Cuba for a two-week study…
US Intelligence agencies issue Russian hacking report
On Jan. 6 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified version of its report on Russian involvement in the recent U.S. presidential election. The report drew…
Reconciling the past: Japanese Prime Minister visits Pearl Harbor
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was joined by President Obama on a solemn visit to Pearl Harbor to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Hawaii. The Dec. 27, 2016…
Get fit guide: Get healthy or die trying
The holiday season, that magical time where ritualistic traditions are debased by consumerism, and we arbitrarily ascribe so much meaning and significance to a single day or two that, in…
Scandal-plagued Brazilian president oversees passage of controversial austerity measures
As the Brazilian economy continues to experience its worst recession in decades, the government has opted to pursue an unprecedented austerity program over the next 20 years in order to…
South Korea’s leadership crisis leads to uncertain future
If current U.S. presidential politics are considered a clown show, then the recent events surrounding the scandal-ridden administration of South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye qualify as a full-blown three-ring-circus. The…
Dueling development: Bay of Bengal an economic flashpoint for China and India
On Dec. 1, as part of the Institute for Asian Studies’ ongoing Visiting Scholar Lecture Series, Dr. Chanwahn Kim, professor of Indian and ASEAN Studies at the Graduate School of…
The cheery queer’s guide to surviving family gatherings
More and more, the holiday season isn’t about celebration—it’s about survival. Whether you observe Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Festivus, there’s always enough anxiety during this time of year to ensure that…
Can Chinese consumerism save the world? A talk by Karl Gerth
Is a middle class Chinese woman’s decision on whether or not to buy a Barbie doll more important than who is the president of the United States? Such a question…
Nuclear policy
On Oct. 27, a majority of United Nations member states voted to move forward in negotiating a treaty that would ban nuclear weapons. Among the states that opposed such a…
A look back at US and Russian relations
Current rhetoric concerning Russian aggression and conspiracies to influence United States elections may sound familiar to those who lived during the era when Hollywood actors were arrested for being suspected…