REPORT: Dynamic Law Firms consistently invest more in Business Development than Static Law Firms

The numbers have been crunched and the results are in: ‘Dynamic Law Firms’ invest considerably more in their business development and marketing activities/departments than static firms are willing to do. According to the latest (8th) iteration of Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2023 Dynamic Law Firms Report, Dynamic Law Firms consistently invest greater sums in their business development and…

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Sydney Family Lawyers: The Essential Support During Custody Battles

Custody battles can be emotionally challenging and legally complex, requiring the expertise of experienced professionals to ensure the best interests of the children involved. Sydney family lawyers are invaluable in providing guidance, support, and legal representation during these difficult times.

This article explores how Sydney family lawyers play a crucial role in custody battles, advocating for their clients and helping them navigate the legal system to secure the most favorable outcomes.

I. Understanding the Complexity of Custody Battles 

Custody battles encompass various legal aspects, including child custody, visitation rights, and decision-making authority. Sydney family lawyers possess a deep understanding of the legal framework surrounding custody disputes, ensuring their clients are well informed about their rights and responsibilities.

They help parents comprehend complex legal terminology, navigate the legal processes, and stay abreast of the latest laws and regulations.

II. Providing Expert Guidance and Advice

Sydney family lawyers serve as trusted advisors, providing objective guidance to their clients throughout the custody battle. They assess the unique circumstances of each case, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses, and develop strategies tailored to their client's specific needs.

These professionals understand the emotional turmoil involved and offer compassionate support while ensuring their clients make informed decisions based on legal considerations rather than emotions.

III. Ensuring the Child's Best Interests 

The primary concern in custody battles is the well-being and best interests of the child. Sydney family lawyers play a pivotal role in advocating for the child's welfare and ensuring their needs are met.

They consider various factors, such as the child's relationship with each parent, stability, and any potential risks, to create a compelling case that supports their client's position.

Lawyers act as a voice for the child, presenting evidence and arguments that align with their best interests.

If you are in Sydney and are looking for a team of Australian Family lawyers to help you with your custody battle then reach out to Kailash Lawyers and Consultants at + 61 2 9633 4233 or drop a mail directly at [email protected]

IV. Negotiating Custody Arrangements 

In many cases, custody battles can be resolved through negotiation and mediation. Sydney family lawyers excel in these areas, utilizing their negotiation skills to reach mutually beneficial agreements outside of court.

They facilitate constructive communication between the parties involved, working towards creating a parenting plan that promotes the child's well-being.

Lawyers ensure that the agreed-upon custody arrangements are fair and enforceable, providing a solid foundation for co-parenting.

V. Aggressive Advocacy in Court 

When custody battles cannot be resolved through negotiation, Sydney family lawyers are prepared to litigate the case in court. They employ their litigation skills to present a persuasive argument, backed by evidence and legal precedents, in support of their client's desired custody arrangements.

Lawyers represent their clients during hearings, cross-examine witnesses, and challenge opposing arguments to secure the best outcome. Their experience and knowledge of the legal system are instrumental in navigating the complexities of court proceedings.

VI. Post-Battle Support and Modification 

Sydney family lawyers provide ongoing support even after the custody battle has concluded. They assist with the implementation of custody arrangements, ensuring compliance and addressing any issues that may arise.

Additionally, if circumstances change significantly, such as a parent's relocation or a change in the child's needs, lawyers help their clients seek modifications to the existing custody arrangements, ensuring the child's evolving requirements are met.

Conclusion 

Sydney family lawyers are essential allies for individuals navigating the emotionally charged and legally complex terrain of custody battles. Their expertise, guidance, and unwavering advocacy help parents understand their rights, protect their children's best interests, and navigate the legal system effectively.

By providing support throughout the entire process, these professionals play a vital role in securing favorable outcomes and facilitating positive co-parenting relationships, fostering the long-term well-being of the children involved.

Thinking to consult some of the best Australian family lawyers in town? Then do consult Kailash Lawyers and Consultants at [email protected] or call us directly at + 61 2 9633 4233.

Know your rights in relation to Australia laws today. Take advantage of Go To Court lawyers legal advice for free or our after hours legal advice.

F45 founder sells home amid class action investigations after stock market plunge

F45 founder sells home amid class action investigations after stock market plunge

A struggling Australian fitness franchise that has been savaged on the stock markets is now facing not one, but five potential lawsuits. F45 Training Holdings Inc, known for its high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes, was at first an Australian success story after hitting the New York Stock Exchange in July last year and raking in $500 million on the first day. But two weeks ago things…

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Israel should “cooperate fully with UN investigators” and “provide all available evidence” for its allegations that United Nations staff were involved in the 7 October terrorist attacks, Australia’s ambassador has urged, saying the government wants to resume funding to the agency providing aid in Gaza.

The overnight intervention at the UN comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, shrugged off an Australian law firm’s request for the international criminal court to consider investigating him for alleged complicity to genocide over Israel’s actions in Gaza.[...]

Sydney law firm Birchgrove Legal overnight filed a 92-page communique to the international criminal court, asking the office of the prosecutor to consider investigating Albanese and the Australian government over alleged complicity to deaths in Palestine.

Australia’s decision to freeze funding to UNRWA, approving defence exports to Israel and the government’s support for Israel’s actions are among the actions cited by lawyers in documents sent to the ICC.

Think you'd ask for that before cutting off funding [5 Mar 24]

professional help, c1. 'The Pilgrimage'.

simon riley x original character.

trigger warnings: violence, sexual assault, mentions of rape, trauma, sexual themes, swearing, use of alcohol and drugs.

song to listen to when reading this: I think, Tyler, The Creator.

abstract: this is Simon, this chapter is about the time Jude crashed a meeting and started talking about a book or some shit, no one really knows who she is or what she does for a living, she is annoying as hell. don't have anything more to add, honestly. bye.

A year later she appeared on the door of the briefing room. He almost didn't recognise her. First of all, she wasn't what he was expecting when Laswell said someone named 'Jude' was going to drop by cause they had 'something to say'. Fucking weird introduction as well… The captain already knew about Jude, apparently. Had they worked together before, he didn't know. She opened the door and the world stopped. Her eyes scanned the room, she was attentive. She looked smart. No one said a word. She looked exactly like she belonged in every room she had ever been in. She looked like fire. A dark fire, a smoky fire. She was dressed in black, she was stoic. Like someone who works in an office or a law firm. She stood as he remembered her, with her back straight. Between the eight men in the room, no one dared to speak. Yet, she was calm. 'Captain' she was the first to speak. Her voice was low. She had an accent. 'I think Laswell told you I was coming' she continued.

Her accent, where are you from? Southern England? Are you Australian? No, you're way too good looking. Definitely not American English, she sounded posh. She looked like she had just been on vacation in a sunny place. She looked like caramel. She blinked slowly, while the captain approached her, saying that they were in the middle of a briefing and she could wait in his office. No don't go just yet, he thought, I haven't finished. He watched as her lips gently curled into a smile. Not a good smile though, a 'poor man, you really are stupid' smile. She relaxed her shoulders and shifted her balance. She wore high boots. She was tall and slender, she was swallowing the room like a black hole. 'I don't think I made myself clear.' She said. The air was cold around them, like someone opened a window in the back to let in a cold, silent winter breeze. 'I think you want to ear about this now.' She finished. She was still smiling, she looked like reality was whatever she wanted it to be. The captain stood speechless but complied, made her have a seat in front of him. Now that she was sitting closer to him, he had access to more details. She had earrings, lots of them. She was right-handed. She had a tattoo on her left wrist. An arrow?

'I found out something that I believe you could use for your… ', she was trying to find the right word ' …investigation.' Her hair was long and shiny. How can you work in a world of cruelty and death and war? What is your business here? His colleague in the seat next to him glared in his direction, as to say, why is this stranger talking to our captain like she owns the building. At this point, did she own the building? And why is everyone calling you Jude… The captain stood captivated by the presence of the woman sitting in front to him, calm and collected.

'Yes, Laswell mentioned you recently had a session with Amir…' Price was trying to collect his papers on the desk, but she was faster. 'Arash, sir' she corrected him, leaning closer to the table. 'Arash Tehrani'. She slid a folder on the desk in the direction of the captain. A folder with his details? How did Jude have access to those. From where he was sitting, he could see the curve of her nose, and part of her rosy cheek. She looked European. Russian? Swedish? 'There we go, Tehrani. What's his deal?' asked Price crossing his arms on his chest. 'Well, we had a session on Monday, we normally do two sessions per week. He recently requested to see me only once every seven days', she started, but the captain interrupted her, with a look around the room. As he forgot there were 7 other soldiers in the room with them. 'Jude does therapy', he informed them, 'Military counsellor. It's a programme for soldiers who require some… some extra help. Professional help. Please go on.'

So that's what you are, a therapist. You're a psychologist, were you a psychologist when he gave you that ride to your house a year back? Why were you scared back then, why aren't you scared now? 'Yes’, she continued talking, 'we started to have one session only, I didn't think much of it, I thought it was a bit strange considering he really needs therapeutic help, and he knows it.' She paused for a second. She talked like she learned English as a second language by the choice of her vocabulary, she talked like an Harvard professor. Her eyelashes were long, painted with black makeup. She looked down for a second, lost in thought. 'He was stressed. Something was bothering him. He was fidgeting with a pillow in my office, he was stuttering.' She was talking with her hands a lot, making gestures. Her nails were very long, black and pointy. Her fingers were slender and bony. 'I asked him what was bothering him but he brushed off my question, and he usually doesn't do that, he takes therapy very seriously'. Everyone in the room was captivated by her little tale. 'I tried to get him to talk about his situation with his promotion, but that wasn't it. I tried to ask him about his night terrors but he wouldn't speak. He told me…', she reached for her bag, ' he told me he had found this book. To read it, that it would inspire me.' Her voice was solemn. She was worried, she was getting everyone on this little secret of hers. He saw some of his teammates approach the table to see the book. He stood up as well, and so did she. She wanted to remain in charge. She was still very short compared to the rest of the people in the room, yet she had an aura around her. Of power. Of knowledge. She let everyone get a good look of the cover before opening the first page.

''The Pilgrimage' is a fictional and religious novel about revolution and freedom.' All eyes were on her. 'It's about this young soldier who fights for his country, loses his family… betrays his friends…' she said that last part with particular distress. 'He begins his journey in the River Jordan, he says it's the first challenge of the journey… Then he goes all the way through the desert, walks some more and he prays and he ends up in the Persian Gulf. The whole story is basically about him walking and praying until he finds his truth' she concluded, having a look around the men's confused faces. She even looked at him for a second. Does she remember? Her face showed no emotion. 'What stood out to me is that you were recently there, in a town called Al-Jareena if I'm not mistaken.' She stated, the captain nodding. 'You were there to find and kill Mahdi Khorram. The dictator?' she said. Price was nodding, conscious that the recent mission didn't exactly go as planned. Ambushed. His eyes are fixated on the girl. She probably already knew this, since she knew so much. How did she know so much? 'You didn't find him. He got away because he knew you were coming. Am I correct?' She didn't wait for any of them to respond. I hate you, he thought. 'As if someone told him you were coming. You know,' she shifted her balance again on her high boots, she bent over the table to reach the book and open it, 'During his journey the young soldier meets many friends, it's a Little Prince kinda thing.' She quickly looked up to realise none of the present soldiers knew the Little Prince. She resumed, 'He meets friends, but always leaves them behind or kills them in the name of God. All of his friends have English names. All of them don't support his journey. He knows what he's supposed to do, he hears a calling. So you were in the exact same part of the world where the first part of this book is set.' The pieces of her puzzle started to take form into his head, and he could see his companions reacting to her words. 'Your mission goes to shit and you think there's a mole in your base, because all your attacks failed. My patient is just now changing his behaviour and letting me know he recently found this book that tells a tale about revolution and…' One of the men stopped her, 'Are you saying he could be the mole? That he is in contact with the troops in Al-Jareena and he's…' she stopped him again, regaining control of the room. 'He's protecting the leader of his country, yes.'

She was looking at Gaz. 'Yes I think he disagreed with your plan of execution, if you remember correctly he left the briefing room months back when the mission was announced. You told me some of your soldiers weren't happy with the attacks, you were talking about him.' They looked at the captain, she was referring to him. So they had worked together, they knew each other. He nodded. 'He's attached to his country and wanted to find a way to protect it. His family is there. I think he read the book and found the strength to go against the army. I did a little research on Arash…' she started speaking again, he was surprised she was still talking. How much did she know, why was she telling them this, why hadn't they figured it out before her?

He watched her take out of her bag another folder, put it on the desk and open it. By then, the group of soldiers were gathered around her. It was printed CCTV footage, what she had in the folder. 'Your first attack was October 5th. This is my patient on the day before, exiting the base to go to a doctors appointment. You know, the reason he's not deployed is because of a hand injury.' She moved the first picture to show the second and third. 'All the days before your failed attacks, Arash would exit and come back in the span of an hour. October 11th and 23rd. So I drove from here to the hospital, to check the timings' she raised her eyes for a second. Now that she was closer he could see them better, they were green. Light green. 'It doesn't add up, he couldn't have made it no matter how fast he was going. Even got reports back from the doctors, had to pretend I was his girlfriend', she let out an embarrassed chuckle, 'he was never there'. She finished. Price breathed out, a breath he was probably holding in from the moment she started talking. 'It's a pretty bad accusation you're making Jude'. He uncrossed his arms, keeping his gaze on the pictures.

'I know, captain. That's why I did some more research.' She was serious again. She was trying to prove her point. How much proof did she have? Christ, who is she? 'This is his bank statement, now,' she stopped briefly to make sure everyone was seeing the printed page in front of them. How the hell… 'I am not gonna share how I got this. I would like to direct your attention to the three amounts that I highlighted.' She did, in fact, highlight in yellow three recurring payments of 5.000 dollars to a foreign account. She pointed at the paper with her fingers, with her pointy nails. She was a witch. 'He has been transferring the same amounts every month since the mission was announced… When was it announced, do you remember?' she asked, but no one spoke. They did that thing when no one really knows the answer and no one will admit it. 'I'm gonna remind you, it was August 27. Guess when he made the first transfer.' She waited for them to have a look. It was August 28. 'He did it every month since, same day. Same bank account.'

'He's transferring his founds at home for his family or…?' The Scottish man to his left spoke and she finished his sentence, 'or for himself. Cause he's planning to go back and fight for his country.' She was done. It sure made sense, straight out of a movie. Jude had just turned around their mission, with her little earrings and shiny nails. Jude, the therapist. Why was she aware of all this stuff and not them? What the fuck was going on, it felt like the most surreal experience of his life. 'Thanks Jude, I'll make a call, would you mind waiting here a moment?' said the captain before quickly turning away.

She still looked calm. She gathered her things, the folders and the book and put them in her bag. He wanted to approach her and ask her about what had happened a year back. He could, if he wanted to. Make it look like he was asking about her findings. He was Lieutenant, he could ask her. He moved slightly close to her, checking his companions were chatting amongst each other before speaking. 'Do we know each other?' he said. She had to remember him, his mask at least. She looked up at him for a millisecond. It was enough. She had beautiful eyes, beautiful green big bright eyes. She looked at him and she looked like a fox. He could see her makeup on her cheeks he could see her hair brushing off her shoulders, the skin around her nose slightly red, like when you blow your nose too many times. 'We got drunk together in Ibiza and got matching tattoos, I'm surprised you don't remember.' She answered. What? Who the fuck are you, what are you doing here? What kind of answer is that, you can't speak to me like this. He stood silent next to her, she was finishing up packing her bag. She put a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked up again. It was his turn to say something. Should he say something funny? Was she expecting a joke? 'No seriously' he said, he spoke gently, like she was going to fly away if he raised his voice, 'I remember you. I gave you a ride to your house in June I think.' She smiled a little, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. 'Yeah, I know. I remember.' she said. 'What happened back then?' he continued, but his time ran out, the captain was done speaking on the phone. 'That's classified' she murmured. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised to find out she killed somebody. 'Alright Jude, thanks again ehh…' Price stared speaking, regaining the attention of the group. 'We're gonna keep an eye on Arash and try to find out more… Thanks again' She offered him a little smile and put her bag on her shoulder. Price was opening the door for her. She was gone just like that. A mirage.

'That was intense'.

notes: I did it, there you go chapter one!! so, what’s the deal with this bitch? what happened last year? i feel like a LOT of this fic is just Jude’s life and Ghost is a part of it. she has a lot going on all the time, she's cool as fuck and Ghost just manages to squeeze into her world. ideally, this is set before mwii, we will get to those events in about 30 chapters...a reminder, everything about this story is fictional! everything is invented, none of this is real. if a book named the pilgrimage with the same plot exists then it's a weird coincidence. let me know what you think!!

love, mare.

@ummmmmwat @ghostlythots @sweetfemmefatal @natxpat @chavarriakeren647 @ravenmoore14 @farther-than-pleiades @internallyscreamings @hwromi @atoxicrat @cuti3maddi3 @deafeningkittenblaze @its-celeste @serene-hills @lexidoll12 @poohkie90 @lunatiquess

@warmedbythebody @katzykat @iristhemuse @azkza @keiraslayz @abbyandermine @jennyjencakes @dest-nai @corset-briefs @nutze-kekse @ilytsukiw @b3anspr0ut

@pondsblog @missyouzoe @fallenkitten @bigauthorrascalturkey @bethtay @angelynn-nicole @starluv @stargirlisworld @giyuuslittleslut @impossiblecupcakelight

@rkrivees-blog @ghosts-hoe @kam1snotverysmart @gauky76 @freyjaaasstuff @spicyspicyliving @scottpilgrimvsmyfists @courtney0-0 @shinchanboi

kkir fic idea 💡 might write it or someone else can adopt this and run with it

i work at an australian magistrate court as a paralegal and kkir (my ninja dads) remind me of the police prosecution vs defence lawyer negotiation throwdowns. kakashi is literally all the weird and eccentric lawyer i've ever met (you need to be weird to be sane) and iruka just acts like all the other very nice but firm prosecutors at court to me

imagine hotshot perpetually late but so so brilliant defence barrister kakashi (mr hatake) negotiating a better outcome for his clients. he's always laid back because he knows he's that good, dresses in the same suit every time, gets away with wearing a facemask in court and literally only ever fixes his terrible posture at the bar table and whilst in court. he tried to ask the magistrate to let him salute the coat of arms (instead of bowing like everyone else) when he first got transferred down to the lowly magistrates' court but got promptly shot down (the compromise was the mask). he was working as a top queen's counsel for the private city law firm then got mysteriously transferred to their regional branch in a 'mentoring role' (a bunch of graduated law students interning actually quit their postgrad studies because he was really harsh and had really arbitrary rules tbh). so my man's in a bad mood ALL THE TIME (literally unprovoked) and has no personal assigned paralegals because no one can stand him. his assigned clerk has the patience of a saint and the tolerance for no bullshit (it's rin) he makes outrageous plea offers with prosecution and it's the best/worst time down at court. he also cross examines like the person at the mic personally wronged him, which isn't great if it is a protected person in a family violence case, or any witness at all, but very eye opening to see

down at court you have the sweetest man ever sergeant umino ('please call me iruka') in the dog box(what we call the prosecution office). he has a law degree (admittedly from a nowhere regional university but he is admitted to practice as a legal practitioner) and way too overqualified for the police force, but he wants to make a difference before going to teach full time or practising law full time. he's nice about everything (printers, legal advice, referrals, talking to anyone) except for paperwork which he is anal about. he wields stamps like weapons and every time an informant is shown to have filled out their paperwork wrong he calls them up directly (how does he even have their direct line?) to chew them out, but super nicely. adjournments, unmentionable dates, requests - don't need to provide reasons, iruka will approve. he not-so-secretly made copies of his police badge so paralegals can print documents off the police printers. he always gets snacks and coffees for court registrars and referral officers. he has bags of lollies for little kids. iruka teaches community service and justice studies for the vocational college nearby. he also has the occasional stint as a university lecturer only for first year law kiddies, and teaches also senior high school legal studies electives. beyond stamps and paperwork, he is the law down to the letter, sometimes to the spirit. if the facts look bad, especially if it is family violence or egregious failure to appear/warrants then he would be a hardass to lawyers. my man however is not opposed to diversion especially if the accused are kids.

so like fanon, kakashi brings outrageous plea offers to the dog box whenever iruka is in -- 'can you withdraw [most serious charge]' 'you can't prove that she was fearing for her life' 'he's never had a criminal record so can't you give him a slap on the wrist and send him a bond?' iruka shuts that shit down every time. he has a case of bleeding heart-itis so occasionally they CAN collaborate to help truly at risk offenders to reorient their lives. kakashi complains that iruka agreeing without a yelling match feels worthless but deep down he doesn't mind when iruka isn't in full hate mode AT him. kakashi thought that iruka would be all snobbish because police prosecutors who hold law degrees tend to act like they're better than everyone else but iruka is overall down-to-earth, hi-i'm-here-to-help. can't push him around though, but he's all about the learning experience so he encourages postgrad law kids and volunteers to have a go at him. for the real thing, defence lawyers groan good-naturedly when they hear he's in the dog box. kakashi seems to be the only who delights in riling him up, but in the rare instance that everyone agrees BUT the magistrate says otherwise and hands down a harsher sentence, he would be handing up paperwork for a contest hearing SO FAST kakashi wouldn't have time to consult with the client. there's a deal between him and kakashi for a stack of signs form 11As can be dealt out when absolutely needed. despite going at each other's throats on the clock, sooo many people have seen them getting lunch together or just talking about their mutual student naruto.

in this universe naruto did not complete high school, went through to vocational studies, took a pathway to uni instead. somehow he, sakura and sasuke end up at the same law firm (naruto is a bit older than the other two but acts precisely like a teenage eshay ALL THE TIME). why does he want to practise criminal law? because it looks cool and he wants to make the bar. his mum is a judge and his dad is a speaker of the senate/cabinet member so... it runs in the family. sasuke is following alongside the traditional asian career choice: doctor, lawyer or engineer. my man hates maths with a passion so lawyer it is. i know it's weird that sakura would be doing a law degree knowing she could be doing a med degree but hear me out: i met and know and am friends with girls who studied double degree law/biomed, finish their law degree, said fuck it I'll be a lawyer what's so bad, otherwise i can come back, and now making big massive bucks. though i imagine sakura will specialise in personal injury cases as well as mental health tribunals, then might go back to university for her med degree. she will be that cousin who lived 6 lives already - was a doctor and a lawyer and your mother would not stop comparing you to her. she needs a bit of instinct training but her academics are spotless. sasuke is ruthless but can't connect with clients. naruto maybe brash and loud but he plays on people's heartstrings like a conductor when presenting a bail app or plea. everything is the way it is so that iruka can move naruto's admission to become a lawyer when he applies for admission at the supreme court

anyways iruka will retire from police work to teach full time, maybe sign on to work for a community legal centre to appear for bail apps for remanded offenders picked up in the cells. he accidentally yelled at kakashi one day to go out and kakashi thought it was too funny to not go along with. now they raise 8 dogs, 3 full grown adults and all of iruka's students together. they fight about everything, but might slip into really formal legalese (passover aggressive fuck-you) when they're being annoying or really pissed off. naruto sometimes has to adjudicate these fights and he can't stop being scared for his LIFE.

kakashi: your honour, my learned colleague here had erred in his submission that i had, conclusively, not promised such things

iruka immediately pulling out receipts: your honour, may i submit evidence contradicting otherwise

(they were fighting about whose turn it is to do the dishes. there were only oral agreements in place but once you're both lawyers you just get used to writing everything down and signing to bring up in an argument later)

(iruka also cross examines kakashi for funsies, but they mainly shelf this for when arguments are bad and they need to pull out the big guns)

anyways if anyone ends up writing this please tag me

take my breath away // tom 'iceman' kazansky

a traffic jam on the interstate and a diamond ring in a glovebox compartment

temporarily stationed in nevada, tom and heather decide to take a weekend in las vegas to see their favourite new wave band. all the while, all tom can think about when to ask heather to be his wife.

part of the heather and tommy universe started in 'tell me something girl'

pairing: tom kazansky x female oc (named heather)

warnings: fluff overload, marriage proposals, traffic jams.

author's note: guys i know that 'kick' didn't come out until 1987, but bear with me on this one, i was trying to make all of the dates work without the wedding feeling rushed (you'll know what i mean if you check the date headings on 'tell me something girl')

October 25th, 1986. Just outside Las Vegas, Nevada.

the weak air conditioning system in her boyfriend's hummer did nothing to block out the nevada heat as they sat idle, listening to the sounds of engines humming and horns honking. heather schneider held a small camcorder in her hands, the viewfinder trained on her boyfriend's face as he raked his hands through is hair, aviator glasses hiding his eyes. duran duran played on the radio, a tree shaped air freshener dangling in front of the windshield.

"babe, i’m so sorry. i had no idea traffic would be this bad." tom sighed, pushing up his glasses so he could run his hands over his face.

the move to nevada had been sudden. back home in virginia after graduating top gun, tom wasn't expecting to get marching orders so fast after coming back from a mission. the two harrowing weeks in the ocean after the academy had rattled him a little, and he was looking forward to finally spending time with heather again. now, he was scared about what nevada would to do his relationship with heather, until heather dropped a bombshell of her own.

she was quitting her job.

working in a law firm that did work closely with the us military did things to a person. and one day, heather just snapped. she came home in tears and told him that she couldn't do it any more.

and then she quit.

and now she was in nevada with no idea what she was going to do with her life. tom was stationed at the nellis air force base, which was very near to the las vegas motor speedway, a place they spent many a weekend watching stock car racing. tom was easing into his role at nellis quickly, seamlessly and with his trusty backseater ron kerner at his side.

heather was still lost. deployment was only for five months, part of a training program for a plane that most people in the military weren't even aware of yet. and after that five months? would they go back to virginia? stay in nevada? where would she work?

"kaz, stop worrying. the concert isn't until tomorrow night anyways." she soothed, running her thumb over his knuckles. the hummer eased forward, but traffic was still at a crawl.

"nellis is eight fucking miles outside of vegas, why can't we get into the city on a friday?"

"because everybody else is also trying to get into the city on a friday."

in the three months they had already lived in nevada, despite only living eight miles outside sin city, heather had still never been to vegas. never walked down the strip, never seen a show.

until tom surprised her with tickets to watch australian new wave band INXS play at ceasers palace. the band meant so much to heather, and she had been waiting for this weekend for the last six weeks.

tom, on the other hand, knowing the significance of the weekend had something bigger planned. the ring was burning a hole in his glove box, right next to his service weapon.

all that time away had taught him one big thing: he wanted heather in his life, by his side, for the rest of his life.

"hey, heath, do you remember that blue bungalow in miramar? the one that was on the water, with the backyard that walked out onto that small square of beach?"

"yeah, why?" heather hummed, panning the camera over at the traffic in front of her. the pair never went anywhere without their cameras, digital or video. there were envelopes full of negatives in their apartment, shoeboxes bursting at the seams with pictures they'd taken since they started dating in the spring of 1985.

tom tapped his slender fingers against the steering wheel, easing the hummer forward another few feet as traffic picked up, and then promptly slowed. he moved to roll down a window due to the heat, but then reversed his decision after smelling the latent gasoline exhaust in the air and hearing the noise of the jam.

"it's for sale. has been for a while, miramar isn't a hot area for us young people." he stopped to take a breath, looking over at heather. her eyes sparkled as she turned to look at him, popping a small pretzel into her mouth. her large, round prescription sunglasses made her look like an owl.

he adored every part of her.

"i want to put a deposit down. with your permission, of course. i know your life is in virginia, and we can go back if that's what you want. but i see a life for us in that house. kids, a dog. at some point, i want to teach at top gun. that's where maverick is, where slider is going to go. but none of that means anything if you aren't with me, heath."

heather closed the camcorder, dropping it into her lap as she reached for tom's hand, clasping it between both of hers. "tom, i'd love to. let's do it. let's move to california."

tom's heart swelled with love as he brought heather's knuckles up to give her a gentle kiss. everything was finally coming together. they were ready to start their life together.

and he knew he needed to ask. he had planned to wait until they were in the city, planned to get down on one knee underneath the false eiffel tower and present heather with his grandmother's ring.

but, as impulsive as it may be, he knew he needed to ask her. in the middle of stalled traffic on a nevada freeway. his hair had grown out since he'd come home from top gun, bangs curling into his eyes and sticking up in all ways after he pushes his glasses up.

"babe, pass me the camcorder and take a look in the glove box." tom said, putting the hummer in park. he would have turned the engine off to save gas, but who knew if traffic would pick up again and he'd have to drive off the freeway?

after heather passed him the small metal camera, he popped it open, discreetly recording as she opened the glove box. her sunglasses held her long, brunette hair back like a headband as she rooted around the compartment.

"behind the service weapon, sweetheart. it's a small pink box."

"found it." she hummed, her manicured fingers clutching the small cardboard box. (tom had been insistent that she go get her nails done with slider's girlfriend maria before they left nellis, but she had no idea why).

she pulled the lid off the box, a gasp getting caught in her throat when she saw the stunning sterling silver ring, and the large blue stone in the middle, framed by diamonds.

"this is your grandmother's ring."

tom's parents were polish immigrants. when his parents left poland with nothing, they brought his father's mother with them (his mother's parents would follow later). angela kazanzky was classically trained ballerina with the warsaw ballet corps, but had left poland with almost nothing after her husband was killed. all she brought with her was a suitcase of clothes, and that sapphire engagement ring.

"heather, the time i spent at top gun taught me a lot of things. how to be a better man, a better soldier and a better pilot. but it also taught me that i hate being away from you. i hate waking up at the crack of dawn and you aren't there next to me." tom began, reaching for heather's hand. she turned to look at him, eyes wide and hands shaky as the gravity what this was set in. "i hate coming home at the end of the day to an empty dorm without you there. yeah, i love the guys, and i love this job. but none of that holds a candle to the way that i love you, heather anne schneider. i was going to wait until we actually got to vegas to do this, but now's as good a time as any."

he smiled nervously, a shock of giddy, pure love shooting through her veins when she looked at him, an equally wide smile breaking out across her face.

"heather, will you marry me?"

"yes! yes, tom, of course i'm gonna marry you. is this what that house talk was all about? yes, of course i'll do it!"

"thank you." tom exhaled, speaking so softly that she almost didn't hear it. he extended his open palm, waiting for her to press the ring into his palm. she was a giggling mess, trying to hold her hand steady while tom slid the cold metal band onto her ring finger. "i'm so in love with you, and i hope we stay this happy forever."

god, she loved that man.

"i love you more, lieutenant."

stretching as far as her seatbelt would allow, heather leaned over the hummer's center console, kissing her fiancé with an intensity that was out of place on the freeway. she couldn't stop staring at the rock on her finger, and thinking about the promise that it represented.

they were forehead to forehead, full of giddy smiles, the camcorder resting on tom's lap still recording as the pickup truck behind them began to honk.

traffic was flowing normally, and they hadn't even noticed.

they broke apart, laughing as they stowed away the camcorder and the now-empty ring box. tom put the car in drive, throwing his middle finger up at the driver behind them.

they were both still smiling, daydreaming about what their new life together would bring them. heather reached for the radio, turning up the volume as they began to play INXS' 'never tear us apart'.

tom smiled fondly, looking over at her as she began to sing.

"this is going to be our wedding song." she smiled to herself.

the following year, they would get married in monterrey, and they would have their first dance to that same song, heather in a simple white dress, and tom in his navy dress whites. and two years after that, they would welcome their first of three children.

and when mitchell kazansky got married? he used that same sapphire ring to propose to his now-wife amelia.

TAGS:

@magnummagnussen @libraryofloveletters @sidcrosbyspuck @diorleclerc @lorarri @cartierre @userlando @thatsdemko

Time for a new edition of my ongoing vendetta against Google fuckery!

Hey friends, did you know that Google is now using Google docs to train it's AI, whether you like it or not? (link goes to: zdnet.com, July 5, 2023). Oh and on Monday, Google updated it's privacy policy to say that it can train it's two AI (Bard and Cloud AI) on any data it scrapes from it's users, period. (link goes to: The Verge, 5 July 2023). Here is Digital Trends also mentioning this new policy change (link goes to: Digital Trends, 5 July 2023). There are a lot more, these are just the most succinct articles that might explain what's happening.

FURTHER REASONS GOOGLE AND GOOGLE CHROME SUCK TODAY:

Stop using Google Analytics, warns Sweden’s privacy watchdog, as it issues over $1M in fines (link goes to: TechCrunch, 3 July 2023) [TLDR: google got caught exporting european users' data to the US to be 'processed' by 'US government surveillance,' which is HELLA ILLEGAL. I'm not going into the Five Eyes, Fourteen Eyes, etc agreements, but you should read up on those to understand why the 'US government surveillance' people might ask Google to do this for countries that are not apart of the various Eyes agreements - and before anyone jumps in with "the US sucks!" YES but they are 100% not the only government buying foreign citizens' data, this is just the one the Swedes caught. Today.]

PwC Australia ties Google to tax leak scandal (link goes to: Reuters, 5 July 2023). [TLDR: a Russian accounting firm slipped Google "confidential information about the start date of a new tax law leaked from Australian government tax briefings." Gosh, why would Google want to spy on governments about tax laws? Can't think of any reason they would want to be able to clean house/change policy/update their user agreement to get around new restrictions before those restrictions or fines hit. Can you?

SO - here is a very detailed list of browsers, updated on 28 June, 2023 on slant.com, that are NOT based on Google Chrome (note: any browser that says 'Chromium-based' is just Google wearing a party mask. It means that Google AND that other party has access to all your data). This is an excellent list that shows pros and cons for each browser, including who the creator is and what kinds of policies they have (for example, one con for Pale Moon is that the creator doesn't like and thinks all websites should be hostile to Tor).

'Customer service' vs 'Customer experience'

Ever wondered if there is a difference between ‘customer service’ and ‘customer experience’? I was fortunate enough to come across this quote by Paul Roberts, CEO at My Customer Lens that, frankly, sums it up better than anyone else I have seen lately: “It’s important to define the difference between customer service and customer experience. I like to define customer service as what you do, and…

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How to Find the Best Lawyers for Immigration: A Comprehensive Guide

Navigating the complex field of immigration law can be a daunting task. Whether you're seeking to obtain a visa, apply for permanent residency, or resolve immigration issues, having the guidance of an experienced immigration lawyer is crucial.

The right immigration lawyer can provide expert advice, handle paperwork, and advocate for your interests throughout the process.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the key steps and considerations to help you find the best lawyers for immigration who can effectively navigate the intricacies of immigration law on your behalf.

Define Your Immigration Needs:

Before starting your search, it's important to define your specific immigration needs. Determine the type of immigration matter you require assistance with, such as family-based immigration, employment visas, asylum, deportation defense, or citizenship applications.

By identifying your needs, you can find a lawyer with expertise in the specific area of immigration law that aligns with your requirements.

Seek Recommendations and Referrals:

One of the most reliable ways to find the best lawyers for immigration is through recommendations and referrals. Seek recommendations from friends, family members, colleagues, or professionals who have had positive experiences with immigration lawyers.

Their firsthand experiences can provide valuable insights and help you narrow down your options.

Research Online Directories and Legal Associations:

Utilize online directories and legal associations to search for immigration lawyers. Websites such as the Migration Institute of Australia and legal directories provide comprehensive listings of qualified immigration attorneys.

Filter your search based on location and read lawyer profiles to assess their expertise, credentials, and any specialization in immigration law.

Verify Credentials and Expertise:

When evaluating potential immigration lawyers, it's crucial to verify their credentials and expertise. Look for lawyers who are licensed to practice law and are in good standing with the relevant bar association.

Additionally, consider their experience and track record in handling immigration cases. Specialization or certifications in immigration law can indicate a deeper understanding of the field.

If you are looking for the Best Lawyers for Immigration in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia then reach out to Kailash Lawyers and Consultants at + 61 2 9633 4233 or drop a mail directly at [email protected]

Read Client Reviews and Testimonials:

Research client reviews and testimonials to gauge the reputation and client satisfaction of shortlisted immigration lawyers. Read online reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or the lawyer's website.

Pay attention to feedback related to the lawyer's communication skills, responsiveness, knowledge, and success in handling immigration cases.

Schedule Initial Consultations:

Arrange initial consultations with the immigration lawyers on your shortlist. Many lawyers offer an initial consultation, either free or for a nominal fee, to discuss your immigration needs and evaluate their suitability.

Use this opportunity to assess their communication style, knowledge of immigration law, and willingness to answer your questions. Consider their ability to explain complex legal concepts in a clear and understandable manner.

Assess Experience and Track Record:

Evaluate the experience and track record of potential immigration lawyers. Inquire about their experience handling cases similar to yours, their success rate, and any notable achievements or accolades.

Experienced lawyers who have handled a wide range of immigration matters are more likely to anticipate potential challenges and develop effective strategies.

Consider Cultural Sensitivity and Language Skills:

Immigration matters often involve cultural nuances and language barriers. Depending on your specific needs, consider working with a lawyer who is culturally sensitive and has language skills relevant to your case.

Effective communication and understanding are key to navigating immigration processes successfully.

Evaluate Legal Fees and Payment Structure:

Discuss legal fees and payment structures with potential immigration lawyers during the initial consultation. Inquire about their fee arrangements, such as hourly rates, flat fees, or a combination of both.

Understand the scope of services included in the fees and inquire about any additional costs, such as filing fees or administrative expenses.

Trust Your Instincts:

Ultimately, trust your instincts when selecting the best lawyer for immigration. Consider factors such as personal rapport, professionalism, and the overall level of comfort you feel during the consultation.

A strong attorney-client relationship built on trust and effective communication is vital throughout the immigration process.

Conclusion:

Finding the best lawyers for immigration requires careful research and consideration. By defining your immigration needs, seeking recommendations, researching online directories, verifying credentials, reading client reviews, scheduling consultations, assessing experience, considering cultural sensitivity, evaluating fees, and trusting your instincts, you can make an informed decision.

With the assistance of a skilled immigration lawyer, you can navigate the complexities of immigration law with confidence and increase your chances of a successful outcome.

In the case of immigration law, consulting Kailash Lawyers and Consultants can be the best decision. Their team of experienced professional lawyers can significantly help with legal matters related to immigration law. 

You can contact Kailash Lawyers and Consultants at + 61 2 9633 4233 or drop a mail directly at [email protected].

Driver duty of care in Australian Capital Territory

Over 100 lawyers are supporting a case brought against Australian politicians for aiding and abetting the genocide in Gaza.

By: Andrew Doyle

Published: Dec 12, 2023

Towards the end of Christopher Marlowe’s play Tamburlaine Part Two, our marauding anti-hero burns a copy of the Quran, along with other Islamic books, as a kind of audacious test. “Now, Mahomet,” he cries, “if thou have any power, come down thyself and work a miracle.” Two scenes later, he is dead.

We might see this as a cautionary tale for our times. After all, it isn’t only Turco-Mongol conquerors who find themselves punished for Quran-burning. Last week, the Danish parliament voted to ban the desecration of all religious texts following a spate of protests in which copies of the Qur’an had been destroyed. Inevitably, the new law has been couched as a safety measure. This burning of the book, claims justice minister Peter Hummelgaard, “harms Denmark and Danish interests, and risks harming the security of Danes abroad and here at home”.

He has a point. Even unconfirmed accusations of Quran-burning can be sufficient to prompt extremist violence. In 2015, being accused of defiling the holy book, Farkhunda Malikzada was beaten to death by a ferocious mob in Afghanistan while bystanders, including police officers, did nothing to intervene. Many filmed the brutal murder on their phones and the footage was widely shared on social media. In 2022, a mentally unstable man called Mushtaq Rajput was similarly accused and tied to a tree and stoned to death in Pakistan. Earlier this year in Iran, it was reported that Javad Rouhi was tortured so severely that he could no longer speak or walk. He was sentenced to death for apostasy and later died in prison under suspicious circumstances.

But while we might anticipate that the desecration of the Quran would be proscribed in Islamic theocracies, it is troubling to see similar laws being passed in secular nations such as Denmark. The government had not been so faint-hearted when faced with similar problems in 2005. After cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed were published in Jyllands-Posten, a global campaign from Indonesia to Bosnia demanded that the Danish authorities take action. The government stood firm and the judicial complaint against the newspaper was dismissed.

In a free society this is the only justifiable response, albeit one that takes considerable courage. And the climate of intimidation that has descended since is a product of our collective failure to defend freedom of speech against the demands of militants. When the Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced his fatwa on Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses, one would have hoped for a unified front on behalf of one of our finest writers. Instead, much of the literary and political establishment abandoned or even censured him. In the Australian television show Hypotheticals, the singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, implied that he would have no objections to Rushdie being burned alive.

That a work of fiction such as The Satanic Verses could not even be published today gives us some indication of the extent to which we have forsaken the principle of free speech. If we are so squeamish about the burning of Qurans, why were so many of us indifferent to the burning of Rushdie’s book on the streets of Bolton and Bradford? Yusuf Islam’s remark about the author’s immolation might have been flippant but, as Heinrich Heine famously wrote: “Where they burn books, they will in the end burn people too.”

The ceremonial burning of books in Germany and Austria in the Thirties has ensured that the act will always have a unique charge, and a disquieting, visceral effect. It is why, for instance, the most memorable scene in Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan is when the villain Steerpike sets fire to his master’s library. It is a gesture designed to repudiate the very heights of human achievement, to hurl his victim into a spiral of despair. When Rushdie saw his own novel publicly incinerated, he confessed to feeling that “now the victory of the Enlightenment was looking temporary, reversible”.

The burning of the Quran leaves many of us similarly troubled. We do not need to approve of the contents to sense that the destruction of a book is symbolic of a desire to limit the scope of human thought. When activists post footage of themselves gleefully setting fire to copies of Harry Potter, one cannot shake the similar suspicion that they would happily substitute the books with the author herself.

But while many of us find the burning of books instinctively rebarbative, to outlaw this form of protest is essentially authoritarian. And to reinstate blasphemy laws by specifying that only religious books are to be protected is fundamentally retrograde. Of course, such laws already exist in most Western countries in an unwritten form. In March, a 14-year-old autistic boy was suspended from his school in Wakefield, reported to the police, and received death threats after he accidentally dropped a copy of the Quran on the floor, causing some of the pages to be scuffed. He may not have committed a crime, but many people behaved as though he had.

And the same unwritten laws are in force in the fact that few would be brave enough to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed after the massacre at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015. Five years later, the schoolteacher Samuel Paty was beheaded on the streets of Paris simply for showing the offending images during a lesson on free speech. Closer to home, a teacher at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire is still in hiding after showing the images to his pupils and stirring the ire of a righteous mob.

The failure of the school’s headmaster, as well as the teaching unions, to support this man against the demands of religious fundamentalists is revealing. Why must those who claim to be defending the dignity of Muslims treat them as irascible children? At the same time, as Sam Harris recently pointed out, there is an oddity in the fact that so many Muslims do not appear to be alarmed that “their community is so uniquely combustible”.

The bitter reality is that terrorism works, particularly when so many governments across the Western world are seemingly willing to fritter away our bedrock of liberal values. This has been actuated, in part, by an alliance of two very different forms of authoritarianism: ultra-conservative Islamic dogma and the safetyist ideology of “wokeness”. The latter has always claimed that causing offence is a form of violence, and the former has been quick to adopt the same tactics. This is why protesters outside Batley Grammar School asserted that the display of offensive cartoons was a “safeguarding” issue, and the Muslim Council of Britain criticised the school for not maintaining an “inclusive space”. The same censorious instincts have been updated, and are now cloaked in a more modish language.

In a civilised and pluralistic society, the burning of a holy book might provoke a variety of responses — anger, disbelief, or just a shrug of the shoulders — but it should never lead to violence. Back when The Onion still had some bite, the website satirised this “unique combustibility” through the depiction of a graphic sexual foursome between Moses, Jesus, Ganesha and Buddha. The headline said it all: “No One Murdered Because Of This Image”.

Freedom of speech and expression still matters, and if that means a few hotheads and mini-Tamburlaines might burn their copies of the Quran then so be it. It is unfortunate that we have reached the point where Islam must be ring-fenced from ridicule or criticism, whether due to fear of violent repercussions or a misguided and patronising effort to promote social justice. But for this state of affairs we ultimately have only ourselves to blame, and in particular our tendency to capitulate to religious zealots when they seek exemption from the liberal consensus.

==

This day in history

#20yrsago Shows that mention witchcraft no longer eligible for closed-captioning https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2004/02/protecting-hard-of-hearing-from.asp

#15yrsago Ed Felten: a redesigned “safe” Internet won’t be safe https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2009/02/16/new-internet-no-thanks/

#15yrsago New Zealand netizens go black in protest of new “no-proof” copyright law that cuts off your Internet on accusation https://radar.oreilly.com/2009/02/new-zealand-goes-black.html

#10yrsago NSA authorized Australian wiretapping of US law firms in trade-dispute https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/us/eavesdropping-ensnared-american-law-firm.html

#5yrsago Signs that China’s real-estate bubble will burst and take the economy with it https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/China-s-housing-glut-casts-pall-over-the-economy

#5yrsago AFL-CIO open letter to game devs: things won’t get better until you unionize https://kotaku.com/an-open-letter-to-game-developers-from-americas-largest-1832652654

#5yrsago Amazon’s 2018 profits: $11.2 billion; Amazon’s 2018 IRS bill: negative $129 million https://fortune.com/2019/02/14/amazon-doesnt-pay-federal-taxes-2019/

#1yrago Google's chatbot panic https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked

Just thinkin bout that time I’d graduated my first class legal honours degree with a near perfect GPA and had several top tier law firms offering me grad jobs and my future looked bright and I was finally gonna be the first person from my chronically poor family to make something of themselves and contribute to society and not have to worry about putting food on the table, and then the very next day after my graduation ceremony I got shackled with a $20 000 robodebt, because I’d had the audacity to work a casual job while studying, so that I didn’t have to rely entirely on welfare and tax-payer money, and having that government ‘debt’ automatically precluded me from registering as a lawyer and accepting any of the grad roles I’d been offered, but even at that point I thought oh well obviously there’s been a mistake and if I just send in my payslips they’ll see I actually haven’t been overpaid, but every time I sent in my payslips they were ‘lost’, because apparently basic maths is too fucking difficult for Centrelink, so instead of going through my payslips and checking what I’d been entitled to on a weekly basis (as would be the barest legal expectation of any other debt collector before even raising a debt at all), they’d just taken my annual pay summary, divided by twelve and decided I owed money, and like hell they were gonna look at any evidence to the contrary, so being a law student (and tbh kind of a bitch) I decided to go full hammo, and found out these fucking snakes had actually accessed my bank account, without my consent or even knowledge, to see how much in savings I’d had, so they could pull that $20 000 figure out of their assholes, thinking that since I had $20 000 in savings I’d just pay up, but I didn’t, so then the threats started coming in, I was going to lose my possessions, I was going to be bankrupt, I was banned from leaving the country, I’d be arrested at the airport if I tried, and if I didn’t start repaying this unsubstantiated debt I’d wind up in jail, and I had to take that seriously since, being a first class honours student I knew that %99 of C’Link prosecutions end up with jail sentences, in fact the majority of females in Australian prisons are there over a C’Link debt (mostly because the law is skewed in the government’s favour and it’s pretty much impossible to win in court against the Australian government, and even if you do they’ll just write some legislation to overturn whatever decision they don’t like) so I had to start paying them $10 a week, just to keep myself out of jail, even though they hadn’t proved in the slightest that I owed any money and in fact were ignoring and destroying any evidence to the contrary, and at this point I was unemployed, because I couldn’t get those grad jobs while I had a government ‘debt’ to my name, so not having the financial safety net most of law students have I became homeless (actually I used that $20 000 savings to buy a van to live in, since I was expecting the worst) and every week I’d have to report to C’Scum, telling them I was still homeless and couldn’t afford to pay more than $10 a week (tbh I couldn’t even afford that), so for the next few years that was my life, just drifting aimlessly in my shitty van, paying C’Snake $10 a week while they threatened to do all sorts of things to me that any other debt collector certainly couldn’t get away with, the pandemic happened during this time, and all the gyms shut, so I couldn’t even have a shower for months at a time, I had surgery for skin cancer and because of unhygienic conditions it got infected and left me horribly scarred, so I definitely didn’t have any employment because a) there was nothing, and b) I looked and smelled like shit, concurrently all of my friends and family abandoned me, because government propaganda had instilled so deeply in everyone’s head that anyone who owed money to the government was a piece of shit, and so successful was the government’s ‘dole bludger’ campaign that even my own parents took the government’s side over their previously bright, successful, well-behaved, honour roll, perfect daughter, and while I was living on the streets they were livin it up and ignoring me, and then Gordon Legal comes along, bless their fuckin souls, and starts what ended up being the biggest class action in Australian history, and I was vindicated, C’Skank had to void my debt and repay the meagre amount I’d paid them, and it was bittersweet because it was right on the deadline for me registering as a lawyer after obtaining a law degree, so I still can’t register as a lawyer and will never be able to, I ran out of time, I can’t get any of those grad jobs that I studied a whole decade for, and after that I was stuck on benefits for a while, but eventually I put that GPA to work and made it big in the stock market, at least big enough to get by anyway, and happy ending right? Except I’m still not allowed to leave the country, my name’s on the government shit list, my face is in their CCTV facial recognition database, I get cops tailing me left, right and centre (shout out to the ASIO worker reading this, I hope you have a bad day), and still everyone acts like I’m the criminal whose done something wrong, I get lectures all the time about how my dole bludging ass needs to just pay whatever money the government demands of me, who cares about the facts, if the government says jump, you say how high, amirite, but that’s gotten a little less in my face since it became clear I have money, which I guess will make anyone shut tf up (and also I gotta give a mention to the handful of fellow robodebt victims, who might not be as publicly ballsy as I am, but still quietly show me support, since they’ve been in the same situation of having their lives upheaved by the vicious authoritarianism of the Australian government, and I also want to mention that most other robodebt victims are much more vulnerable than I am, I am privileged to have a legal education and to have a idgaf personality, most other robodebt victims are far worse off than I am), and now it turns out there’s actually legislation in the pipeline to overturn that court decision declaring the robodebt scheme to be glorified revenue raising, and to reinstate all these fake robodebts, thanks Labor your “left-wing” is really showing, shitting on the poor and vulnerable in these economically trying times is exactly what you were voted in for, but anyway TL;DR moral to the story is fuck the entire Australian government, whatever fucking side of politics they think they’re on, I hope all of you motherfuckers burn.