World Talk

  Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims, protect Sacklers from lawsuits         A federal court ruling cleared the way Tuesday for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s settlement of thousands of legal claims over the toll of opioids. The court’s ruling reversed a  2021 ruling  that found bankruptcy court judges did not have the authority to approve a settlement that would offer bankruptcy protections for those who have not filed for bankruptcy. Under the plan approved by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, members of the wealthy Sackler family would give up ownership of Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue, which would become a new company known as Knoa, with its profits being used to fight the opioid crisis. They would also contribute $5.5 billion to $6 billion in cash over time. A chunk of that money — at least $750 million — is to go to individual victims of the opioid crisis and their survivors. Only one ot...

  This Cheap Drone Might Be The Best Selling Gift Of 2023. The Idea Is Genius... This  Pakistan  Selfie trend is going viral worldwide... Phone selfies are boring. People aren't doing them anymore and they've become unpopular... First, there was the standard selfie, then the selfie stick, and now the next evolution of the selfie has arrived! Nobody knows who did it first, but soon thousands of people in  Pakistan  started uploading incredible selfies from insane angles. They uploaded them to social media and soon EVERYONE wanted to do the same! Now, this new type of selfie has taken off - Literally - across the world! What Are We Talking About? It’s the new  Drone X Pro , a brand new type of drone made so that anyone can fly it. It's perfect for making the ultimate selfies!        The Drone X Pro was designed by two German engineers who love drones. They found that the drones they had were very bulky, heavy and difficult to t...

  International relations, analytical pitfalls and Year 2023 If it is claimed that modern International Relations (IR) have become ‘Current Affairs’. This claim would not be too off the mark. On December 30, 2021, I published ‘Theory, practice of international relations and trends in 2021’, highlighting different IR approaches and theories. The piece recounted various milestones shaping IR, spanning human-engineered events as well as other catalysts like climate change, global warming, calamities and pandemics. It was surmised that we are at the cusp of a new context in IR.     From a combination of foreign policy and diplomacy in its narrow interpretation, to interaction between/among nation states, to the broader manifestation of IR i.e. the ‘totality of interactions’ between, below or above nation states including communities, peoples and organisations etc…sadly IR today is just current affairs, with too shallow an analytical base. To recap its conceptual construct,...

       For 45 years, Professor Christine Manolakas has taught federal income tax courses at McGeorge       School  of Law Christine Manolakas – 45 years of service Manolakas joined the law faculty in 1978. She teaches courses in Federal Income Taxation, Taxation of Real Estate Transactions, Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships, Taxation of Corporate Reorganizations, U.S. Taxation of International Transactions, and Community Property Law. Professor Manolakas serves as the Director of the  Tax  and  Business  Certificates of Concentration at McGeorge School of Law. Manolakas served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2005-2008. As a result of her contributions to the law school, the "Manolakas Extraordinary Contribution Award" was established. The award is conferred annually to a member of the faculty or administrative staff. Most recently, Manolakas has published articles on the taxation of artists, ...