Blog
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Liquidity Factor on Taxable Income
Written by: Mark Rokow, Associate Editor There should be a deduction for liquidity when recognizing Taxable Income under the Internal Revenue Code to help remedy inequitable tax applications to both domestic and international transactions. Liquidity, in this instance, is defined simply as how quickly an individual can turn an asset into money. The quicker an asset can become cash, the more liquid it is. Section 63 of the Internal Revenue Code defines taxable income as gross income less deductions allowed.[1] Section 61 defines gross income as “all income from whatever source derived.”[2] Based on these two definitions, taxable income is all non-excluded income, from whatever source, less deductions.[3] This definition…
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Biden on Russia: Imposing Another Round of Sanctions, but Expecting Different Results?
Written by: Justin Lange, Associate Editor It was made evidently apparent to me, and from a rather young age I might add, that there is an important difference to be found between “acting” and “being.” For me, this became clear when I found out that Toby Ziegler didn’t write the President’s speeches, and that Tony Soprano didn’t run North Jersey.[1] This, however, raises an important question in more recent times: that is, what exactly is Joe Biden’s stance on Russia? Now, let’s walk down memory lane for a moment, because for now-President Biden, it’s been quite the journey to say the least. Biden was of course Vice President…
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Did the Supreme Court TRIP on its Latest Copyright Decision?
Written by: Alyssa Christian, Associate Editor If Google’s search engine could judge its users’ searches, before Monday, it definitely would have cringed at the question of whether application programming interface (API) codes are protected by copyright. That is because Google copied 11,500 lines of Oracle’s Java Program code to create its Android platform. Oracle, claiming that the lines of its API codes were protected by copyright, sued Google in the hopes of an $8 billion reward. On April 5, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States finally decided the long-anticipated case between the two companies, and Oracle will not be getting the billions.[1] The Copyright Act limits the monopoly…
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A Surge of Mexican Migrants Call into Question the ‘Open-Border’ Policy Biden Promised
Written by: Morgan Hutchinson, Associate Editor Last month, more than 100,000 migrant families crossed the US-Mexico border without authorization. The fifteen-year high begs the question as to when the open border policy President Biden once promised will finally be enacted, if ever. Mexican Migrants at the border are wanting to hold the President accountable when as he pledged to roll back Trump’s immigration policies on his first day in office, sixty-four days ago. According to the Washington Post, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have identified 9,500 unaccompanied minors at the south-western border last month alone, and more than 15,000 who are currently in federal custody. With numbers growing each…
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The Biden Administration’s Fight Against Terrorism in the DRC, Mozambique, and Potentially the World
Written by: Associate Editor, Scott Aitken The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) announced the launch of another organization called the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) in April 2019 to promote the presence of ISIS elements in several different areas of Africa.[1] While some ISIS-associated medias attempt to portray ISCAP as a cohesive unit, the DRC and Mozambique terrorist groups are in fact distinct, different groups with differing origins.[2] ISIS-DRC is also known as the Allied Democratic Forces. The group is responsible for many attacks across the North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in eastern DRC.[3] This past Wednesday, March 10th, 2021, the Biden administration designated these…
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Is COVID-19 Going To Be the Death of Movie Theaters? Not in Japan
Written by: Associate Editor, Orlando Delgado The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hit the global market and economy relatively hard among other industries. One business in particular, the movie theater industry, has been one of the industries hit the hardest. As movie theaters and cinemas slowly start re-opening in the hopes of salvaging the industry a year into the pandemic, Japan has benefitted from a revitalization of its movie theaters. Movie theaters began re-opening in small numbers in Japan after COVID-19 government mandated shutdowns were eased on June 1, 2020. The theaters had to follow several safety restrictions such as reduced capacity, spaces between each theater chair so that no…
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North Korea Hacks Pfizer in an Attempt to Obtain the COVID-19 Vaccine as Country Suffers Under the Weight of Corona Virus and Sanctions
Written by: Associate Editor, Aaron Strom On the week of February 16, 2021, it was reported that North Korean hackers attempted to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine information from Pfizer. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service informed lawmakers that the hack was an attempt to obtain both the vaccine and the treatment technology currently protected by intellectual property law. North Korean access to medical tools and equipment necessary for vaccine distribution has been arduous because of sanctions that were adopted against the country limiting the importation of computers and other metal products. North Korea has urgently requested access to COVID-19 vaccines and is set to receive 2 million for their population of…
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Contraceptive Shortages in Venezuela Denies Women Their Right to Family Planning and Forces Thousands Into Pregnancy
Written by: Associate Editor, Julia Kelly The global fall of oil prices in 2014, among many other factors, caused Venezuela’s economy to crash. Venezuela has since experienced years of economic crisis, which has left its toll on many Venezuelan families, who face widespread hunger and hyperinflation. Specifically, in more recent years, millions of women are now unable to access or afford birth control. Presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro identified themselves as feminists. President Chávez’s political movement focused on giving women equal opportunities in society, and, in 1999, included in their Constitution that women had the right to decide freely how many children they wished to individually have. He also…
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The Fight for Freedom: Sex Discrimination in Family Law
Written by: Associate Editor, Mazaher Kaila The status of women in family law is roughly correlated with a country’s traditional legal system. Although, women are not equal to men in all systems ,women rights has long been an issue specifically in religion based legal systems and continues to be an issue today. Violation of women rights sits at the top of human rights violations. Government implementations such as The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) are developed in order to ensure women and family rights are carried out internationally. CEDAW consist of 30 articles indicating the rights of women and provides national action to end discrimination against…
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Moscow, We Have a Problem: Current Protests in Russia a Sign of Trouble for Putin?
Written by: Associate Editor, Rachel Combs Tens of thousands of people gathered in cities and towns across Russia over the weekend protesting the current detention of opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. Navalny was arrested January 17th after returning from Germany where he has spent the past 5 months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning which he has blamed on the Kremlin. He was arrested for violating the terms of his probation by failing to register while in Germany. His probation stems from a 2014 money laundering case, which Navalny claims was politically motivated. Navalny has been a long-time critic of Vladimir Putin and has spent the better part of a…