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carriesthewind · 1 year

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The IA's "Open Library" is Not a Library, Yesterday's Lower Court Decision does Not "Hurt Authors," and the Planned Appeal Is (Almost Certainly) NOT a Good Way to Try to Change Bad Law (In Fact, It's More Likely to Make Bad Law Worse)

Ok, so a day later, I'm still mad about this. If anything, I'm even madder. I'm going to write this as a response to the Internet Archive's "The Fight Continues" blogpost, but before we begin, let's get some facts straight:

Copyright law in the United States, especially the law around digital lending, currently sucks. It's really really bad, and anyone with a stake in the game - except the big publishers and e-book services that profit from it - hate it.

That said, copyright law exists as a thing. As I said in a previous post, you *can* try to change it through court cases, but there are certain things you cannot change. And there are certain things you can try to change, but it will be an uphill battle to change them in a positive direction. And notably, as bad as digital lending law is in the U.S., it still could always get worse! And one general rule of impact litigation: if you are trying to change the law, you want to make sure you have the best possible facts. Because the worse your facts are, the worse your case is likely to go.

Yesterday's district court ruling DID NOT CHANGE ANY SUBSTANTIVE COPYRIGHT LAW IN THE U.S. I cannot emphasize that enough. Regardless of whatever you think of the ruling, it was applying already existing law to the facts.

This is because the Internet Archive's "Open Library" absolutely violates existing copyright law. It just does! They broke the law, they had plenty of notice they were breaking the law and harming authors (more on that below) and just think the law shouldn't apply because they don't like it.

The Internet Archive's "Open Library" is not a library. Some big ways it differs:

While it pretends to have a one-to-one owned-to-loaned ratio, as the opinion granting the publisher's motion for summary judgement notes, IA concedes that it allows "partner libraries" to add books to its collection and then doesn't check (and has no way of checking) if the book is out of circulation at the "partner library" at the same time it's being "checked out" of the Open Library. In other words, it's like if you took a book, scanned the pages, and then gave the scans to your friend who then loaned the scans out to other people but totally promised they were only lending the scans to one person at a time so it's basically like there is still just one copy! And meanwhile you still own, are reading, and lending out the physical copy of the book. Except instead of one book, they were doing this on a massive scale. NO, THAT'S JUST THEFT.*

Speaking of which, the "Open Library" didn't keep that promise! Their "Emergency Library" just let everyone borrow as many copies at a time as they could! Again, THAT'S JUST THEFT.

Like I'm sorry if you don't like the idea of copyright at all: right now, we live in a capitalist system where authors need to be paid for their work in order to, like, not die. If you take their work, scan it into your computer, and give it away for free to anyone and everyone, THAT'S JUST THEFT.

Also, most authors love libraries! Libraries allow more people to access their books while not substantially impacting their revenue and not impacting their rights! AUTHORS - not just publishers, authors - DO NOT LIKE AI'S "OPEN LIBRARY." Why haven't authors sued to stop this before, why is this the publishers suing? From the above letter: "Even simple copyright lawsuits must be brought in federal court, and often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. A challenge to the Internet Archive could easily cost millions." Publishers have deep pockets that authors and authors' groups don't. Also, authors who object to AI stealing their work are frequently subject to harassment.

If IA won this case, the new law that would be made is this: it would be legal to steal an author's works.

*I'm using "theft" and "steal" instead of "piracy" throughout this write-up to make it clear what this is. "Pirating books" is just stealing them.

So to sum up the facts above: copyright law in the U.S. sucks, but it exists. Attempting to change it for the better through the court system would be very difficult. Even then, changing the law for the better would likely require a case with good facts. Unfortunately, the law could also change for the worse. Yesterday's ruling did not change any law. The facts in this case are very bad, because the IA absolutely violated copyright law. That is in part because the IA's "Open Library" is not a library; they just steal books. Many (if not most) authors and author's groups don't like that IA is stealing from them. If IA won this case, that victory would mean that anyone was allowed to steal an author's works.

*deep breath*

Ok, let's turn to the IA's statement, "The Fight Continues":

"Today’s lower court decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is a blow to all libraries and the communities we serve."

The Internet Archive is not a library.

No it's not. It is a blow to the Internet Archive, specifically, because you broke the law and it ruled you broke the law. As stated above, it does not change anything with regard to copyright, including digital copyright, law in the U.S., and therefore does not impact libraries or the communities they serve. If you appeal this ruling, as you have stated you intend to, and the law does change for the worse (which is always a risk of appeal, and a risk that gets worse when you have bad facts), THEN libraries might be affected.

"This decision impacts libraries across the US who rely on controlled digital lending to connect their patrons with books online."

I mean yes, in the sense that "controlled digital lending" isn't normal e-book lending. It's the thing you made up where you steal books and illegally redistribute them.

This genuinely sucks for libraries and communities that don't have other ways of accessing digital books because the current copyright scheme sucks so bad! Real libraries are doing things to try to help, and not just steal from authors! More on that below!

"It hurts authors by saying that unfair licensing models are the only way their books can be read online."

OH GO FUCK YOURSELVES

Ok this line, this line right here? That is honestly why I wrote this whole thing.

How DARE you cloak your theft in the real struggles authors face with unfair licensing models. How DARE you pretend you are on the side of authors when you are stealing their works, and they have made it quite clear that they would like you to stop, please. And how DARE you frame it in this "for exposure" bullcrap that ignores the real struggles that authors have to eat, to get healthcare, to get any sort of fair pay and wages for their work, and instead pretend that all authors should care about is whether or not their books can be read online.

And bluntly? If you - not IA, YOU, tumblr user reading this - if you shared this bullcrap statement and told people to donate money to the IA because of this? If you told people they should steal more books in response (because it's the publishers fault, ignore the real authors who are actually harmed)? How DARE you. How DARE you pretend to be on the side of authors and writers.

"And it holds back access to information in the digital age, harming all readers, everywhere."

Except for those readers who are also authors, and need to eat.

And readers who want to read books that will never get written if authors can't write (because they need to eat).

And also, no it doesn't, because it doesn't change the law. It just applies the law that already exists to you. Because you are not above the law.

"But it’s not over—we will keep fighting for the traditional right of libraries to own, lend, and preserve books."

You are not a library.

You were not (and are not) fighting for "the traditional right of libraries." Plenty of other organizations are fighting against bad copyright law in the U.S. This court case, however, was literally just about you stealing books.

Like I cannot emphasize enough that you were just stealing and you got caught.

"We will be appealing the judgment and encourage everyone to come together as a community to support libraries against this attack by corporate publishers."

You aren't a library.

Fuck you for borrowing the (justified) hatred of corporate publishers to paper over your bad actions.

Does "coming together as a community to support libraries against this attack" mean giving you money, as suggested by the calls to action at the bottom of this page? Because you aren't a library.

"We will continue our work as a library."

You aren't a library.

"This case does not challenge many of the services we provide with digitized books including interlibrary loan, citation linking, access for the print-disabled, text and data mining, purchasing ebooks, and ongoing donation and preservation of books."

First, and most important: these are all uncritically good and important things that the IA does! Despite the rest of this post, I am really really glad the IA exists, that it is doing these things, and I hope that it will continue to do this things!

You are correct that this case does not challenge those services! Because those services aren't just stealing books from authors, which is what you were doing, which is what this case is actually about!

I'm skipping the statement from Brewster Kahle because it's just more of the same. The statement then invites you to Take Action! by donating to IA and positing themselves as standing up for libraries! (They are not a library.)

But real libraries and librarians are actually fighting the good fight over lack of access to materials, especially digital materials and bad laws, and you can support them!

If you actually do want to "come together as a community to support libraries," and support digital access, may I suggest instead donating to The Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned program?:

https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned

While they aren't directly challenging bad copyright law, they are directly fighting back against laws that are much more actively and materially impact people's access to books, including providing free e-book and database access to everyone in the U.S. age 13-21. It's a great and important program, and your donations can really help!

#libraries #author's rights #internet archive

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fxirysforesight · 8 days

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My Theory on The Recent Misfortunes in Kpop

This K-pop Era is something else. Parasocial relationships are crumbling due to the increase in relationships being revealed, entertainment and news companies are being sued back to back, the public images of celebrities are being shattered due to their past misdeeds, and the big leagues are slowly crumbling.

A large portion of this is the result of Pluto having recently moved into Aquarius, testing the stability and boundaries of fame and fortune while also shedding dead weight and bringing light to the dark side of the entertainment industry.

Right now, the event chart for K-pop has Pisces Mars, Neptune, and Saturn transiting its 7th House indicating a focus on relationships, businesses, partnerships, and the overall harmony and balance. When Neptune crosses your 7th House it can indicate a lot of sneaky and shady behavior occurring. Even more so because right now, Neptune is currently conjunct Mercury in that chart which alludes to false claims, lies, deception, etc. Similar to in a Natal Chart where it can indicate being cheated on by a partner or being slighted in some way by someone else, it can take on the same meaning in an event chart where romantic relationships are not the focus, meaning this could be a betrayal in a partnership or a business. Mars is a planet of drive and ambition.

Mars always pushes it’s limits and tests the boundaries, oftentimes creating power struggles and sort of “lighting a fire under” previous issues as it is a planet that gives people the courage to bring up issues that have been sat on for a while combined with Neptune. Now I will say that Mars is already in the 7th House in Pisces in the Chart of K-pop. Highlighting the instability of the relationships and partnerships formed through it. With it now returning to its place in the 7th House it’s sort of like it’s coming back to bite them in the ass if that makes sense. Now Saturn is nobodies bitch. Where Saturn is at, is where Karma will be dealt. So with it being in the 7th House, that would be failing businesses and partnerships, the ending of relationships, etc. (especially with Mars here)

“But Zana! Why are all of these companies being sued?”

Great question. If you look at the chart, the ASC ruler which is Mercury is currently transiting the 8th House which rules defamation. If you take that and combine it with the fact that the Sun is also in the House (indicating that the “Spotlight” is being cast on that House, as well as the fact that Mercury is square Uranus which is the ruler of the 6th House (which rules Litigations) you get some not so fun things.

Now as for WHY? I said before how the 8th House rules Defamation which is already a big problem in the industry right now. But not everyone is going to be sued for defamation. The other possibility I see is being sued for theft, fraud, and laundering because the Ruler of the 8th House (And the 8th House ruled money you get from OTHER PEOPLE) which is Mars is currently in the 7th House in Pisces…which speaks for itself as per my explanation of Mars in Pisces in the 7th House in the beginning.

I’ll end this with a prediction. In a few days The Sun will enter Capricorn in the 9th House and will be Sextile Saturn. Where it will join Jupiter and Venus. We may see an increase in global expansion from a few companies such as branching out and building other locations in different cities and countries. It’s also possible that we may see more deals and acquisitions being made as well. We could also see the emergence of a global boy or girl group.

#🍓 fairytalks #kpop tarot #kpop astrology

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ladykinrannoch · 4 months

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Reading - Stuck in the middle of a car park with you

Doing this on my phone so it won't have fancy headings and might have typos. Wanted to check in on the car parks in Montecito.

4x questions about the marriage

1x card each for mental state

3x cards for finances

Situation card which colours the reading is 6 pentacles Rx. This means there is a lot less giving than taking at all three levels. And mostly everything is about money.

Underlying energy 8 cups Rx which signals deep regret. I was drawn to the second underlying card 5 Pentacles which is total exile and fear of poverty.

Marriage.

Are they separated? Empress so I will take that as a no. It is usually about a happy home.

If they are separated for how long? Queen of Cups. This is the same energy as Empress.

Are they considering divorce? Judgement RX. No also this card signals being stuck in the past or with past decisions. It is literally telling me they are stuck with each other, trapped by what they have done.

If divorce, when? 8 swords Rx. This confirms the fact that they are stuck. Upright this is the trapped card and not seeing a way out. In RX it is accompanied by guilt, anger and regret. It suggests that as a result they lash out at each other frequently. This card tells me the marriage is acrimonious.

Mental state Hazbeen is 4 cups Rx disillusionment, hurt past issues to heal when upright. In Rx this is amplified and accompanied by huge dissatisfaction. It also confirms he is hanging around bevause he does not know what to do next, he wants change but can't actually decide what to do. It has the same energy as the Hanged Man.

Mental state Car Park Walker is 5 wands Rx in its extreme this means dishonesty. It also signals extreme stress and anxiety and is also a card for litigation when in Rx.

Are they broke? 7 Swords Rx is a card of giving up. It also signals legal problems especially in business dealings. I am getting the feeling they are broke or nearly broke, may get a big tax bill, or have already received it.

What do they plan to do about it? King of Pentacles Rx means bank of Dad is closed for business. It also signals potential fraud, increasing debt and a tendency to gamble.

Will the BRF help them out? High Priestess Rx. No. But in the Rx it also means that secrets must come out.

Outcome card is Ace Cups Rx which is exhaustion, disappointment and confusion. Not being able to trust anyone. Failure of creative projects to take off.

So now the two cards that confused me are Empress and Queen of cups upright. Given the situation card is a money card I went back to the alternative meanings of these two cards which relates to moving home or doing renovations.

Are they selling Casa Olive Garden? Two of Swords Rx and Page of Swords Rx jumped. Two of Swords Rx says not to delay a decision. So I think it is on the market for sale. Page of Swords upright relates to contracts particularly property contracts. I am reading it in Rx as that they have received no offers to purchase. And its likely nothing will be forthcoming. Perhaps they are asking too high a price. It also suggests manipulation. So they are maybe trying to justify an inflated price on the basis that it is a "Royal Residence".... not sure a savvy buyer will fall for that marketing trick. Remember her speaking to the real estate agent at the Costner event? I'd say he was asked to act as broker and seek out buyers without advertising it. Page of Swords Rx suggests that offers will only be discussed behind closed doors.

#royal reading #british royal family #tarot #tarot by ladykinrannoch

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beardedmrbean · 4 months

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Do they ever give up? Those looking to divvy up Americans by race, that is.

In California they tried to get race preferences approved in a 2020 referendum, but voters rejected it 57.2% to 42.8%. This was a stunning rebuke, not only because the rejection came from residents of a blue state but because the losing side had outspent opponents something like 14 to 1.

In 2023 the Supreme Court weighed in with a landmark ruling that barred colleges from treating people as members of a racial group instead of as individuals—and cast constitutional doubt on all race-based preferences. “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. Couldn’t be clearer, right?

Not in California. Undaunted state Assemblyman Corey Jackson is pushing a bill called ACA7. It takes aim at the state ban on race preferences that voters put in the constitution in 1996 when they passed Proposition 209. Californians reaffirmed Proposition 209 three years ago at the ballot box.

The language the voters agreed to and the activists hate reads as follows: “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” Unlike the 2020 effort, the new bill would leave that language intact. Instead, it would add a provision allowing the governor to create “exceptions.” Effectively that would gut the ban.

Apparently, the lesson the advocates of state-sponsored discrimination have taken from their defeat is that if at first you don’t succeed, try something sneakier.

Here is Mr. Jackson’s press release summarizing the bill: “ACA7 will allow . . . the Governor to issue waivers to public agencies that wish to use state funds for research-based, or research-informed and culturally specific interventions to increase life expectancy, improve educational outcomes, and lift people out of poverty for specific ethnic groups and marginalized genders.”

Gail Heriot is a University of San Diego law professor who sits on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and was a leader of both Proposition 209 and the “no” effort on the 2020 referendum. She has launched a petition with Extremely Concerned Californians at change.org opposing the measure.

“ACA7’s proponents are hoping that voters will be fooled into thinking that it is just a small exception,” Ms. Heriot says. “In fact, it gives the governor enormous power to nullify Proposition 209.”

Edward Blum agrees. As the founder of Students for Fair Admissions, he spearheaded the lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina that killed race preferences in college admissions.

“Racial preferences are never legally justified because some specious ‘research’ report concludes it would be beneficial to a certain race,” says Mr. Blum. “This exemption will trigger endless litigation that will polarize California citizens by race.”

But sowing discord is a feature, not a bug. As the bill was making its way through the Assembly, Mr. Jackson got in a spat with Bill Essayli—a Republican who is also the first Muslim elected to the Assembly. Mr. Essayli pointed out that the majority of Californian voters disagree with state-sanctioned discrimination. “I fundamentally disagree with this backwards policy,” he later tweeted.

Mr. Jackson responded in his own tweet: “This is a perfect example how a minority can become a white supremacist by doing everything possible to win white supremacist and fascist affection.”

ACA7 passed the state Assembly in September. If it passes the Senate, it will be on the ballot in November. If Californians vote yea, it will become part of the constitution.

But all is not lost. The 2020 referendum awakened a sleeping giant: the Asian-American community. Asian-Americans quickly realized (as the Harvard case drove home) that they and their children are the primary victims whenever race is substituted for merit. Asian-Americans are more aware and organized than they were in 2020. They aren’t likely to be fooled by talk of “exceptions” based on “research.”

It also isn’t a given that ACA7 will make it through the state Senate. Though Democrats enjoy a 32-8 majority, polls consistently show race preferences are unpopular. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s support will be crucial.

Though he has no formal role in the constitutional process, some think the bill will go nowhere if Mr. Newsom doesn’t want it to. If it does make it to the ballot this November, he’ll be under immense pressure to endorse it. That’s another reason the Senate should kill ACA7 now, Ms. Heriot says.

“California voters need to make sure their state senators know where they stand—through emails, phone calls, letters, and petitions,” Ms. Heriot says. “Once the senators understand that, they will realize putting ACA7 on the ballot is not in their interest.”

#nunyas news

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kairologia · 4 months

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The Triplicities in Hellenistic Astrology

In Hellenistic Astrology, triplicity is a term used to describe the division of the 12 Zodiac Signs into 4 elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), which represents the third level of dignity. Triplicity rulership on the other hand is the assignment of the Planets to these elements.

Each element has :

1. A main Triplicity Ruler for the day.

2. A main Triplicity Ruler for the night.

3. A cooperating Ruler.

They are divided thus:

What’s more, is that triplicity can be used to delineate house rulership in a way that brings more meaning to the qualities of each house. Here is a breakdown of it:

1st House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st lord describes the life, life force, preferences, desires and nature of the native, the first years of life, the beginning of any endeavor.

— 2nd triplicity lord indicates life, body and strength in the middle of life.

— 3rd lord represents the life, body and strength of the native, the final years and the end stage of life.

2nd House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: acquiring possessions at the beginning of life.

— 2nd Lord: acquiring possessions, wealth in the middle of life.

— 3rd Lord: acquiring possessions, wealth in the later years of the life.

3rd House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: older siblings (born before the native).

— 2nd Lord: middle siblings (close in age to the native).

— 3rd Lord: younger siblings (born after the native).

4th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: Parents & ancestors. The father according to Ibn Ezra.

— 2nd Lord: lands, field, ancestry, real estate, homes, cultivated lands, buried treasure, concealed objects

— 3rd Lord: final outcomes, endings, prison, the final period of life, the end of anything.

5th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: children, offspring, pregnancy, oldest child.

— 2nd Lord: pleasures, vices, enjoyments, love affairs, middle children, clothing, gifts, eating, drinking and things that bring one joy.

— 3rd Lord: messengers, the act of giving gifts, the youngest child.

6th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: illness and recovery from illness, disease, sickness, medicine & pharmacy, injuries, wounds, poor health.

— 2nd Lord: employees & people working for you.

— 3rd Lord: small cattle, domestic animals, prison and confinement.

7th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st lord: spouse, intimate partner(s), sex partner(s).

— 2nd lord: conflict, controversies, disputes, confrontations, war, adversarial relationships, litigation, thieves, open enemies.

— 3rd Lord: covenants, formal and legal agreements, business associates and partnerships.

8th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: death, fear, grief, ruin, anguish of mind.

— 2nd lord: old things, anything ancient.

— 3rd Lord: inheritances and legacies from the dead.

9th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st lord: travel & its objectives.

— 2nd Lord: religion, faith, ethics, honesty, religious observance.

— 3rd Lord: science, knowledge, wisdom, visions, premonitions, omens, divination, astrology, & related matters.

10th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: authority, honor, high rank, governance, career, profession. The mother according to Ibn Ezra.

— 2nd Lord: reputation, fame, dignity, bravery, boldness, style of action, ability to lead.

— 3rd Lord: the stability and endurance of one’s authority or fame, professions.

11th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: hopes, things given in trust, praise, commendations, recognition from others.

— 2nd Lord: friends, companions, allies, patrons.

— 3rd Lord: benefit or harm from friends or allies.

12th House Triplicity Lords:

— 1st Lord: secret enemies, sorrow, sadness, grief, poverty, fear, disgrace.

— 2nd Lord: imprisonment, fortune or misfortune, labor.

— 3rd Lord: large animals, enemies.

#astrology #astro notes #astrological observations #hellenistic astrology #astro observations #astrology signs #triplicity

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saiiboat · 20 days

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have seen a lot of people upset over quackity not apologizing for the qadmin situation, but i think its important to point out that legally he cannot apologize without shooting himself in the foot.

in US law (im not getting into international law right now), there are some protections for apologies and expressions of sympathy, and they often are not considered an admission of guilt or liability and may be legally discounted as hearsay and may even help the individual's case. however, depending on the wording (like if you say "im sorry i let this happen"), self-incriminating apologies CAN be used as an admission of guilt. wording is extremely important, and especially as a non-native english speaker, i would understand quackity not wanting to risk self-incrimination- nevermind how it may be treated due to international law.

pulling from "DOES ‘SORRY’ INCRIMINATE? EVIDENCE, HARM AND THE PROTECTION OF APOLOGY" by Jeffrey S. Helmreich (Graduate Research Fellow, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School, and Ph.D. Candidate, philosophy, University of California, Los Angeles):

"Beginning in 1986, a growing number of states have adopted what have been called “apology laws”—protective measures designed to encourage injurers to apologize by expressly ensuring that at least some types of apologies cannot be used against them in litigation."

"Most of these measures, nevertheless, stop short of protecting full apologies. In particular, they deny protection to expressions of remorse, guilt, and self-criticism, such as “I’m sorry I let that happen to you.” They protect only expressions of good will, such as sympathy (“I’m sorry you’re suffering”) and benevolence (“I want to help you recover”). If one apologizes solely by expressing these sorts of neutral sentiments, the new state measures provide that these words will not be used in court to prove liability. If, on the other hand, one speaks self-critically to the victims of one’s accidental harms (“I should have found a way to stop this,” or “I’m so sorry I didn’t do a better job of preventing it”) the utterances enjoy no special protection. That is, in part, because most of the laws are tailored not only to protect apologizers, but to preserve probative evidence of liability. The new laws therefore deny protection to self-critical expressions such as “It was my fault,” or “I should not have done that” (3).

Again, this only covers US law, and does not take into account the laws of other countries that quackity also has to consider in this situation. it is very likely that he will not give an apology, either publicly or privately, for this reason.

citation:

Heimreich, Jeffrey S. (2012) "Does Sorry Incriminate - Evidence, Harm and the Protection of Apology," Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy: Vol. 21: Iss. 3, Article 3. Available at: https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cjlpp/vol21/iss3/3

#this is the only time we will be talking on our blog about the qadmin situation right now 1. because it is not sparking joy. and 2. college #but i thought we should mention this #qadmin situation #courtesy of mike

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allthecanadianpolitics · 3 months

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Around 400 people gathered at the Vancouver courthouse Tuesday to support Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum, co-founders of the Drug User Liberation Front. The pair were scheduled to make their first court appearance after their October arrests. But they didn’t end up getting their day in court. Instead, the matters were struck from the court list to give the Crown more time to review whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether the public interest requires a prosecution, said Stephanie Dickson, a lawyer with Pender Litigation and counsel, along with Tim Dickson, for Nyx and Kalicum. Nyx and Kalicum were arrested by police for suspected trafficking of controlled substances and for possession with the intent to traffic controlled substances. They have not yet been charged. If charges are approved, Dickson said, they plan to challenge the constitutionality of the prohibitions in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. It’s also possible that the pair won’t be charged because DULF was working to save lives, she added.

Tagging @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #british columbia #drug user liberation front #safe supply #harm reduction #drug use

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saturnsoups · 9 months

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he alone the honored one : gojo satoru

a vedic astrology perspective

keep in mind that every system of knowledge serves some purpose so lets be respectful towards different schools of astrology. keep in mind I'm using

Vedic depictions ( with Hindu deities of nakshatras (constellations) with Vimshottri planetary rulers for each )

Sidereal measurements for planetary placements in the sky

Whole house system

previous post on his sun sign

let's begin

To understand our sorcerer’s natal moon placement and immense significance of this placement one must understand what I intend to bring forth and what I consider these planetary placements to represent.

The moon

The moon in vedic astrology is the key significator of a person, his intimate sense of emotion, his visceral body and nervous system, his emotional self, his mother, early childhood, body, eyes and to certain extent his aura. Other than this, the moon rules over women, children, magic, witchcraft, the subconscious mind, emotional body, the masses, psychology and other things.

In today’s topic of concern, we are brought forth to Gojo Satoru, a very famous, fan favorite, sorcerer, arguably the strongest in his field. Canonically according to this birth date, he has a uttarapradrabada moon in pisces. While his moon is squaring his mercury and trining his mars, today we will look into his moon placement and it’s significance only.

Pisces moon

According to vedic astrology, pisces is the last of the 12 zodiac signs, the end of the zodiacal wheel and the sign of spiritual actualization. Co- ruled by Jupiter and ketu, the pisces sign is the sign of moksha and giving – being an ultimate sign of spiritual abundance so much so that it fills up the cup of others with it’s knowledge because of its naturally fulfilled and whole state. Jupiter here signifies the guru, the teacher who is the overflowing goblet of spiritual knowledge and wisdom that it bestows upon his shishyas or disciples. Guru is generous and benefic in nature, never the miser and always giving the best and bringing the best to its true disciples. The ways of the guru are moral, ethics and devotion to what it learns. One who embodies the guru is charitable so much so that it is default to its nature as the person is spiritually abundant and thus energetically seeks to give and do charity. Materialistically this also signifies that the person might be of affluence in whatever manner it manifests; be it emotionally charitable, kindness, rich or being a very knowledgeable person.

The co-ruler ketu is the descending node of the moon, the body of the dragon, the spiritual residual of the past life and the karma and knowledge of it. Ketu is detached, ashen, very very dry in nature, and while it can make a person very detached and turn them lack luster towards the worldly pleasures, it often happens because it has no more desires or desires that can be fulfilled. Monks. Ascetics, healers, hospice nurses, cremation grounds, spirituality, wills, litigations, ancestors, etc.

Personally speaking when ketu transited over my personal placements I had a very big change self image, and I let go of what used to identity my own person to myself as. The nodes are extremely karmic and one should actually look into them to understand themselves better.

Pisces is the end sign, the conclusion if you believe in the illusion or maya of a single end and beginning of things. Reverting back to the snake imagery, the never ending snake to be exact we must remember that the thing that looks like the end of everything, the conclusion ( pisces ) is also the beginning of it all. To see what the beginning brings, as in the zodiacal wheel Aries, you have to see what is being gestated in the pisces realm, in the realm of the past, last birth, ethers, spirit.

This brings us back to the two things we know till now – moon in pisces

The native embodies abundance of spiritual essence, a self fulfilling, nurturing, innate knowledge that brews on in itself. It is essentially a nurturing energy because even if it is the end of the cycle, it recreates and continues the cycle.

As I said before moon signifies magic and sorcery is the study, the academia you may say of magic, Gojo being a teacher in magic to put it plainly is easily seen through this. It’s his calling, his choice and something he saw coming ( ketu giving that “ I gotta be this” vibe to it ). Sharing his knowledge, his abundance of cursed energy and his knowledge of harnessing it to his students serves him emotionally as well, is his way of catering to his own personal emotional needs too. Ketu does bring that self sacrificial “ one day they ( students ) will be stronger than me” and that one pep talk he had with megumi reminding him that one big fight between their ancestors who shared their respective techniques.

Venus exalts in pisces, so that sense of being gifted is always subconsciously present in natives. The blessing of this venus comes from surrender to the trials of the karma and the hard tests of guru.

All of this, albeit vague, I hope provided some clarity to his personal nature and emotional makeup as a person. Now coming to the main part that shows not only his technique but his path leading to it with some other references too.

Uttarabhadrapada moon

Uttara Bhadra (Pada 1)

Gojo Satoru has his moon in Pisces, exact degree unknown because of non availability of real birth time well because Gege lol. But either way moon is predominantly in the uttarabhadrapada nakshatra throughout that day.

Nakshatra ruler – Saturn

Nakshatra deity – ahirbudhyana

Symbol – the hind legs of a cot, signifies both birth and death.

The trip I went through researching this nakshatra damn truly Saturn nakshatra indeed. But the bountiful knowledge and complexity. For real the fandom needs to stop putting Satoru’s personality in a box ( lol) because if this doesn’t prove it I am not aware what will make them understand.

Uttarabhadrapada is the second last nakshatra in the 27 nakshatra cycle, and the last Saturn nakshatra. Every Saturn nakshatra is considered blessed and benefic in vedic astrology because in these Saturn nakshatras the native reaps the spiritual fruits of the trials and lessons it went through in its previous nakshatra ( Jupiter nakshatras). Pushya , anuradha and uttarabhadrapada are the Saturn nakshatras and are considered auspicious and blessed. It is also seen that these nakshatras are often linked with goddesses and are actually feminine in nature, giving it nurturing, enterprising, fertility and healing abilities, albeit creating energy. This abundance of creating force, accompanied with the culmination of spiritual fruits through the cosmic cycle deposits in this final Saturn nakshatra giving immense spiritual prowess and vast expansive energetic capacities to old and nurture to its natives. This ability is also supported by the fact that this nakshatra is in Pisces which is ruled by Jupiter, therefore there is abundance of knowledge and natives if not born with material blessings often accumulate material and knowledge wealth through out there lives. As Claire Nakti said, natives already possess the said capacity to attract and uphold abundance, it is just the matter of finding the said treasure.

But to correlate this with Satoru’s technique, the picture is incomplete. Abundance this, blessing that, we have already established the fact that he is very very strong quite early in the story. His sun in Jyestha already signifies that and now does his moon, but where is that click to it? The massive plot twists, the climaxes, the ascension to divinity, where is it and why is it news when he was blessed with it already since birth? And coming to think of it, his technique is generational. Satoru is born into luck. Why is yours truly dragging this post? Well because yours truly has something.

To understand the true essence of Uttarabhadrapada you have to know its previous counterpart – purvabhadrapada.

Purvabhadrapada is the last Jupiter nakshatra, the last and ultimate trial of the guru, the hardest of the test, the fire that will either purify you and get rid of your sins and pollution or become your pyre. With the promise of finding the ultimate treasure in this world, the biggest strength and the divine fruit of the this long spiritual cycle, people jump into this fire, your sanctify themselves, to become the hero, you become the self. But the fire never existed, it was never ignited. It was never something to step into. The fire is not for the native, the native is the fire. This test is the ultimate test, the Dark Night of the soul.

When confronted with ones own short comings, devils and monsters, it is up to the native what he’ll do, stand in it or escape it. This internal battle is something the native must go through to break and open up their own world, sacrifice their ego and let go of their self that they thought were them. This very close call either burns you or births you anew.

Satoru’s purvabhadrapada stage is visible in various ways, firstly him killing one who was embodying it - Toji Fushiguro. It was conquering that ordeal did he unlock his complete technique. Toji’s lack of will to embody his own prowess because of trauma reflects the dark night of soul that gojo had to physically get over.

Geto was his most personal counterpart that went into this dark night of soul very consciously and overcame it actually- by accepting this stand and lack of chances of winning his cause. Though ending later, the deflection of geto is actually a slow death, preceded by the initial death of Gojo’s ego with his first murder of non sorcerers.

Geto’s version of dark night is completed when under Gojo’s conscious guidance ( true actualized self projecting) another student fights against Geto – Yuuta. And while Gojo was already the strongest after physically ending this first dark night with Toji, this process births another powerhouse in the Jujutsu world – Yuuta Okkotsu who is a Purvabhadrapada Sun himself ( his introduction is his back story while Gojo’s was his strength ).

Through these emerges the strongest – uttarabhadrapada, the one with self restraint from his previous trials, innate ability to harness and channel the immense spiritual energy that one gets as the final fruits of this long trial.

Ahirbudhyana

The deity of this nakshatra is Ahirbudhyana, which has both connections to Shiva and Vishnu. Meaning the serpent of the deep it refers to the snake that is coiled in the depths of the earth and is a great devotee of Vishnu, the hindu god that to put it very simply because I don’t have words enough to describe him at all, the one supreme that nurtures this world. Ahir, therefore it refers to the thousand headed snake upon whom the deity rests with no stress. Ahir budhayna is also the name of an avatara of Ruddra who is a great devotee of Vishnu and simply put signifies divinity in an immensely devotional form. Ahir budhayana therefore through symbolism itself represents the vast ocean of consciousness held by Vishnu himself that connects him through heaven and the mortal realms, as he alone nurtures life between the realms of Bhramha ( heaven ) and Shiva ( pretloka or realm of the spirits ).

Ahirbudhyana, through its manifestation represents the Limitless, expansive divinity, as expansive as the eternal etheric ocean from which is it said to have originated. Being a snake, its actions and true nature is said to be mysterious in nature. No one knows who an uttarabhadrapada native truly is.

Awakening and the Eye correlation

Ahir budhayan is therefore also sheeshnaga, the God of nagas also bring correlations to the kundalini which are the 7 energy chakras present within our bodies. The kundalini actuvation process is one the rarest spiritual instances, often either accidentally activated or through intense sadhana. The Kundalini activation is the activation of the pineal gland, physically coinciding with the etheric Third Eye chakra, the all seeing eye that leads to actualization. One with an activated 3rd eye is very spiritually aware, can see the unseen and is an enlightened person. Rings a bell?

It takes 1000s of incarnations and immense hardships for a soul to physically harness the kundalini, become a direct conduit of high vibrational perhaps higher dimensional energies so much so that they are spiritually less human more divine.

Said physical awakening of the Eye lets Gojo become an active conduit of limitless divine energy, making him almost always borderline between life and death, given also that Ahirbudhyana does traverse through the realms, with his tail in the nethers and head with the gods.

It is Saturn’s prowess of Piscean lordship of Jupiter, Gojo is an adept master of control over this knowledge that is born with - this limitless that is constantly generates himself through his chakras, Eyes. Coupled with the fact that sheesh nag does actually is said to hold the world it’s head, Gojo is actually the one that is upholding the Jujutsu world. But again due to his jupiterian nature he still hasn’t usurped the elders and taken control. But how long is the question.

Through all that use of my limited brain juice and it’s 1 am where I live, I think we can say Gojo Satoru really, even though I truly stand by the fact that he does not have a god complex but is regal like that truly

Through heaven and earth is the honored one

But though all of his trials and tribulations,

Bye for today muah.

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carriesthewind · 2 months

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Hmm, is that the sound of chickens, beginning to come home to roost?

After months of resisting, Air Canada was forced to give a partial refund to a grieving passenger who was misled by an airline chatbot inaccurately explaining the airline's bereavement travel policy. ... Air Canada was seemingly so invested in experimenting with AI that Crocker told the Globe and Mail that "Air Canada’s initial investment in customer service AI technology was much higher than the cost of continuing to pay workers to handle simple queries." It was worth it, Crocker said, because "the airline believes investing in automation and machine learning technology will lower its expenses" and '"fundamentally" create "a better customer experience."

I also highly recommend reading the decision itself:

Highlights:

"In effect, Air Canada suggests the chatbot is a separate legal entity that is responsible for its own actions. This is a remarkable submission."

"While Air Canada argues Mr. Moffatt could find the correct information on another part of its website, it does not explain why the webpage titled “Bereavement travel” was inherently more trustworthy than its chatbot. It also does not explain why customers should have to double-check information found in one part of its website on another part of its website."

And not "AI" related, but delicious snark:

"Air Canada is a sophisticated litigant that should know it is not enough in a legal process to assert that a contract says something without actually providing the contract."

#ai bs #lol #and good for the customer for refusing to take the company's shit #and taking them to court #I am a big fan of customers taking companies to small claims court

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thehopefuljournalist · 8 months

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According to a new survey, lawmakers are playing an increasingly important role in holding corporations and governments accountable for failures to tackle the climate crisis.

The research was done by Columbia Law School, and was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). It revealed that the number of climate-related court cases has more than doubled since 2017 and is steadily rising around the world.

Their report confirms a trend highlighted in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, which claimed that individuals and environmental organizations were, more and more, turning to the law, as it became clear that the pace of transition to net-zero emissions was too slow.

“Climate litigation is increasing and concerns about emissions under-reporting and greenwashing have triggered calls for new regulatory oversight for the transition to net zero,” the Forum report said.

The UNEP report catalogues a number of high-profile court cases which have succeeded in enforcing climate action. In 2017, when climate case numbers were last counted, 884 legal actions had been brought. Today the total stands at 2,180.

The majority of climate cases to this date (1,522) have been brought in the US, followed by Australia, the UK, and the EU. The report notes that the number of legal actions in developing countries is growing, now at 17% of the total.

Climate litigation is also giving a voice to vulnerable groups who are being hard hit by climate change. The report says that, globally, 34 cases have been brought by children and young people, including two by girls aged seven and nine in Pakistan and India.

Here are five of the climate breakthroughs achieved by legal action so far.

1. Torres Strait Islanders Vs Australia

In September 2022, indigenous people living on islands in the Torres Strait between northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea won a landmark ruling that their human rights were being violated by the failure of the Australian government to take effective climate action.

The UN Human Rights Committee ruling established the principle that a country could be in breach of international human rights law over climate inaction. They ruled that Australia's poor climate record was a violation of the islanders’ right to family life and culture.

2. The Paris Agreement is a human rights treaty

In July 2022, Brazil's supreme court ruled that the Paris climate agreement is legally a human rights treaty which, it said, meant that it automatically overruled any domestic laws which conflicted with the country’s climate obligations.

The ruling ordered the government to reopen its national climate mitigation fund, which had been established under the Paris Agreement.

3. Climate inaction is a breach of human rights

Upholding an earlier court ruling that greenhouse emissions must be cut by 25% by 2020, the Netherlands Supreme Court ruled that failure to curb emissions was a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The December 2019 ruling stated that, although it was up to politicians to decide how to make the emission cuts, failure to do so would be a breach of Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention which affirm the right to life and respect for private and family life.

4. Companies are bound by the Paris accord

Corporations, and not just governments, must abide by the emissions reductions agreed in the Paris climate treaty. This principle was established by a 2021 ruling in the Netherlands brought by environmentalists against energy group Royal Dutch Shell.

The court ordered Shell to cut its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 bringing them in line with Paris climate targets. The judge was reported as saying there was "worldwide agreement" that a 45% reduction was needed, adding: "This applies to the entire world, so also to Shell”.

5. Courts overturn state climate plans

Up until now, three European governments have been defeated in the courts over their climate plans.

In March 2021, Germany’s highest court struck down a climate law requiring 55% emissions by 2030 cuts, ruling it did not do enough to protect citizens’ rights to life and health. The same year, the French government was ordered to take “immediate and concrete action” to comply with its climate commitments. And in 2022, the UK’s climate strategy was ruled unlawful for failing to spell out how emissions cuts would be made.

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leviathan-supersystem · 1 year

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A looming Supreme Court decision could end up making it easier for the railroad giant whose train derailed in Ohio this month to block lawsuits, including from victims of the disaster. In the case against Norfolk Southern, the Biden administration is siding with the railroad in its conflict with a cancer-stricken former rail worker. A high court ruling for Norfolk Southern could create a national precedent limiting where workers and consumers can bring cases against corporations. The lawsuit in question, filed initially in a Pennsylvania county court in 2017, deals with a state law that permits plaintiffs to file suit against any corporation registered to do business there, even if the actions that gave rise to the case occurred elsewhere. In its fight against the lawsuit, Norfolk Southern is asking the Supreme Court to uphold the lower court ruling, overturn Pennsylvania’s law, and restrict where corporations can be sued, upending centuries of precedent. Oral arguments in the case were held last fall, and a ruling is expected from the Supreme Court in the coming months. If the court rules in favor of Norfolk Southern, it could overturn plaintiff-friendly laws on the books in states including Pennsylvania, New York, and Georgia that give workers and consumers more leeway to choose where they take corporations to court — an advantage national corporations already enjoy, as they often require customers and employees to agree to file litigation in specific locales whose laws make it harder to hold companies accountable. Limiting lawsuits is exactly what the American Association of Railroads (AAR), the industry’s primary lobbying group, wants. The organization filed a brief on the side of Norfolk Southern in the case, arguing that a ruling in favor of the plaintiff would open up railroads to more litigation. It is also apparently what the Biden administration wants — the Justice Department filed its own brief in favor of Norfolk Southern. Should Norfolk Southern prevail, the company could use the ruling to challenge other lawsuits on the grounds that they’re filed in the wrong venue, said Scott Nelson, an attorney with the Public Citizen Litigation Group, which filed a brief backing the plaintiff in the Pennsylvania case. Such a decision could affect lawsuits filed by residents exposed to hazardous chemicals as the result of accidents in other states — such as the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment disaster, which occurred five miles west of the Pennsylvania state line. “[Norfolk Southern] might say, ‘You can only sue us in Ohio or Virginia [where Norfolk Southern is headquartered],’ even if you were injured at your home in Pennsylvania from an accident that took place five miles away in Ohio,” Nelson said.

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emeraldspiral · 5 months

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Zim episode where the Tallest are reviewing Invader salaries. The Empire is actually making a lot of monies charging people to park their ships on the planet formerly known as Blorch, so they can afford to give raises/expand the budget for most Invaders. When they get to Zim though, they lie and say that monies are tight so he's going to have to take a pay cut, but they're confident he's so resourceful he can make it work. He just needs to spend less on Starbucks and avocado toast.

Zim then has to re-budget for his mission, which is difficult because he's got a lot of non-negotiables like toys to keep GIR and Minimoose happy and cooperative, or rare and expensive power sources to keep certain parts of his base running or maintain experiments, or high-quality snacks, which doesn't leave a lot left over for supplies to build doomsday weapons. One of his cost-cutting measures is releasing most of his enemies from Moo-Ping 10 because only #777 is really essential to him and he figures the rest have "probably learned their lesson" and completely fails to consider that they might come after him for revenge. He tries to get his computer to help, but then doesn't listen to any of its advice.

His main cost-cutting measure however, is getting cheap parts and knock-off equipment made by Vartian scientists since the good stuff made by Vortians is too expensive. He ends up buying a defective product that blows up in his face during a battle with Dib and is promptly visited by an alien lawyer who informs him that he may be entitled to compensation. Zim files a lawsuit and gets a fat settlement for twice his previous Invader salary, but he blows a lot of it on fancy snacks and one big extravagant superweapon which also blows up in his face. But because the Vortians that made it have more money to fight litigation they're able to get a lawyer who can prove the accident was user error and Zim is awarded no compensation.

#invader zim

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sowoozoo-7 · 1 year

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Love, Lust & Litigation | Ch 1

Pairing: Jungkook x Fem Reader x Namjoon

Genre: lawyer!AU, coworkers to lovers, slow burn, eventual smut

Rating: M (18+) whole fic, this chapter PG-13 (for language lol)

Warnings: some swearing in this chapter, nothing explicit

Word Count: 4k

Summary: Unfortunately, you have developed a massive crush on your new boss. Even more unfortunately, your equally attractive coworker is also harboring massive crush on your boss. AKA Jungkook and reader both pine for big, sexy brain Namjoon.

A/N: Phew! Here she is! The first chapter of my first fic. This has been slowly chewing away at my brain for the last few months, and I finally decided to say fuck it and write it. I don't know anything about law or lawyers other than what I've seen from movies and read in books so I'm sure I've gotten something wrong, but whatever, it's my own alternate made up universe.

Anyway, I’m new to all this — longtime reader, first-time poster — so I’d love feedback if you have any! Hope you like it ~

mlist | ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3 | ch 4 | ch 5 | interlude | ch 6

Two hours into your new job at Bang and Associates, and you’ve already made a fool of yourself.

The first couple of hours went smoothly. Check-in with HR was all standard forms, waivers, and NDAs, and the view from your new office is killer.

Though your new boss and the other associate on the litigation team are at court for the morning, you get to meet two of the paralegals on your team, Jimin Park and Hoseok Jung. They look like they just stepped out of a menswear ad, in their fitted suits and slicked back hair. You'd normally be wary of office workers who look a little too put together, but you get the sense that they’re going to be good coworkers from the few minutes you spend talking to them, both good-natured and quick to share a laugh.

It’s when they’re giving you a tour of the office that your heel slips on a set of marble stairs and you find yourself briefly experiencing flight. You decide flying is overrated when you land on your ass and bounce down several steps. One of your shoes takes its own trip and lands a few yards away. You sit on the steps, frozen for a minute, with your bare foot just out there for the world to see.

“Oh my god,” says Hoseok as he rushes down to the step where you landed. “Are you alright?”

You’re quiet for a moment while you deliberate whether or not you’re going to cry. It’s inevitable that you’ll cry in front of your coworkers one day, but looking around, you see everyone else in the atrium glancing over at the absolute idiot who fell down the stairs on her first day.

Not the day to cry, you decide. First impressions and all that. At least you wore a pantsuit today and not a dress.

“I think I’m okay,” you say with a rueful smile. “Just a bruised ego.”

Jimin retrieves your shoe and hands it to you with a sparkle of laughter in his eyes. “Another one bites the dust." It’s not malicious, you don’t think.

“He means that you’re not the first to slip down the stairs,” says Hoseok. “We think the janitors are polishing them extra to get back at all the asshole lawyers.”

You limp for the rest of the office tour.

***

You get sent to the courthouse after finishing the brief admin in the office to shadow your new boss, the firm’s superstar.

Namjoon Kim is mesmerizing.

You have heard of his reputation — how could you not? Top of his class with a winning streak unmatched in the industry — but you have yet to see him in action.

He lives up to his reputation.

You sit at the back of the courtroom, trying not to put too much weight on your bruised ass, watching as he delivers his closing statement.

His voice is deep and measured, drawing everyone to the edge of their seat to hear every twist to the argument he’s crafting. You pity the opposition. They went first with their closing statement and now they’re squirming in their seats as Namjoon takes down every argument, point by point. The jury hangs on to his every world.

Maybe it’s the way he carries himself, with a quiet confidence and authority, maybe it’s that he’s built like a tree and looks like a dream in his pinstripe suit. Whatever it is, you get the feeling that working under a beautiful genius is going to be some kind of Dantean torture.

“Thank you, Your Honor.”

You blink, realizing it’s over, and you watch as he goes to sit. Silence hangs in the court room in the brief second it takes the courtroom to snap out of their Namjoon-induced daze. The room shuffles as everyone shifts back in their seats. The closing formalities continue, with the judge sending the jury to deliberations.

“Court is adjourned.”

The room rumbles with a flurry of activity as everyone goes to exit. You hurry to catch Namjoon — you want to introduce yourself to your new boss as soon as possible — but you get lost in the shuffle of people filing out. By the time you catch up to him outside, he’s giving a press interview on the steps of the courthouse.

You wait on the outskirts of the small crowd that’s gathered. Deja-vu hits as you watch the reporters lean in to hang on to his every word. He takes the questions with grace, and even a little humor, and smiles at a joke one of the reporters makes.

Dear lord. He has dimples.

“Spectacular, isn’t he?”

A young man stands next to you, smirking as if he knows how much you’re fangirling over your new boss. You recognize him as the second attorney at the defendant’s counsel table. The remaining member of the litigation team.

If you weren’t so preoccupied with Namjoon, you’d be mooning over this man instead. His just-messy-enough-to-show-he-doesn’t-care hair frames his face in waves. An eyebrow piercing and a lip piercing glint in the late morning sun. Tattoos decorate the back of one of his hands. He would look like a punk kid up to no good, but you can the tell the suit he’s wearing costs more than your monthly rent. Jesus. Is everyone in the office just a walking GQ campaign?

“Excuse me?”

“Namjoon,” he says with a smile that changes his expression entirely, from a little rakish to boyish in its delight. “I call it the Namjoon Effect. No one’s immune. I think it’s the dimples.” He puts out his hand to shake yours. “Jungkook Jeon. I’m th—“

“The other associate on the litigation team. I know.” You shake his hand and introduce yourself. “Looking forward to working with you.”

“Ah, I thought it was you. Jimin texted me to look out for you today.”

The impromptu press conference breaks up and Namjoon ushers his client down the stairs.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you,” says Jungkook, flying down the steps. You follow at a slower pace, the twinge in your hip reminding you of your fall earlier that day. Still, you try to strike a confident stride in your heels. First impressions and all.

Namjoon pats the roof of the private car he has bundled his client into and straightens as Jungkook claps him on the shoulder.

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about any type of evidence to the press.”

Namjoon raises an eyebrow. “The PR team said that. I didn’t agree to anything. Besides, it’s the same evidence we presented at the trial, just in a different light. Even if we have a less-than-favorable verdict, we’ll still have the public on our side.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Why do you even bring me with you?” He sees you and gestures you over. “Namjoon, may I present your latest lackey.”

“I resent that,” you say, mock-frowning and pointing a finger at Jungkook. “But you’re not wrong.”

You introduce yourself to Namjoon and shake his hand. It’s warm and firm. You hope yours isn’t cold and clammy. “Pleasure to be working with you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine. I’ve heard great things from your former boss,” he says with a smile. There go the dimples again. He glances at his watch. “Shall we discuss our caseload over lunch?”

You feel a little thrill at being included in the “our.” Bang and Associates have a reputation for working on some of the most high-profile cases in the city and you’re ready to dig your greedy little fingers into the cases.

“Cat’s Pajamas?” asks Jungkook. He doesn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll drive.”

Namjoon sighs as Jungkook turns to walk towards the garage. “He always weasels his way into lunches. I swear he’s a never-ending pit,” he says with a note of fondness for the younger man.

Cat’s Pajamas is an airy bistro just a few blocks away from the offices. There’s a sizable lunchtime crowd, filled with self-important business people taking their clients out to lunch. Jimin and Hoseok meet your group at the restaurant.

You wince at you sit down, rubbing at the side of your hip. The bruise you expected from the fall is developing faster than you thought.

“Are you okay?” Namjoon asks.

He and Jungkook look at you with concern.

You wave them off. “Just a bruise.”

Jimin shakes his head. “The marble stairs have claimed their newest victim.”

“Ah,” says Jungkook with a knowing nod. “I almost broke my wrist when I fell down those stairs a couple months ago. It’s practically a rite of passage at Bang and Associates at this point.”

“Looks like you’re already part of the team,” says Namjoon, lifting his water glass in a toast.

***

The rest of the day passes quickly.

You return to your office to find a stack of documents already on your desk, with a sticky note from Hoseok on top. Welcome to the team!!!! it says, with a big looping smiley face next to it.

You slip out of your heels and bring your legs up under you as you settle into your desk, a routine study position that has followed you from college through to your professional life. There’s nothing you like more than finding your way in the maze of paperwork and laying out your trail in court. You lose yourself in the legalese, getting familiar with an ongoing case that Namjoon mentioned over lunch.

Jungkook pulls you into his office when you’re returning from the bathroom to strategize about the case. His office is exactly the same as yours, with enough space for two guest chairs, a large desk and a set of bookshelves crammed with leather-bound law books. And, your inner petty competitor is pleased to see, the view is also almost exactly the same. Of course, he has a slight advantage because he’s worked here longer, but you have the same job title, the same office. You’re almost on even footing. You’ve noticed a competitive streak in him, and you’re excited to play against it. It’s only going to make you a better lawyer.

The “quick chat” turns into an hour-long discussion and you decide by the time you leave his office that you’ll head home at normal close of business hours. You’ll be staying late anyway as your caseload grows.

You’re surprised to find a brown paper bag on your desk, one of the simple gift bags you can find at the drug store. Inside, you find a get well soon card with a cartoon of a man on a hospital bed in a full-body cast with a thermometer coming out of his mouth and an ice pack on his head. Inside, it reads:

Even though your welcome to Bang and Associates was a painful one, I’m very happy to have you on the team and I look forward to working with you. Now you know to avoid the stairs :)

-Namjoon

Inside the bag you find a bruise balm and a travel size pack of ibuprofen. Warmth spreads through you, pleased at the gift. There’s another layer to that warmth, a feeling that you don’t want to examine too closely, because he’s your boss, and you suspect (no, you know) it's inappropriate to feel that towards your boss.

Later that night, though, as you’re applying the balm to the colorful bruise on your hip, you can’t help but think of his dimpled smile.

***

“You’re babying me.”

You’ve won your first case for Bang and Associates. Your client, a rich young widow who married an older man for love, was the sole inheritor to his massive fortune. His children, some older than the widow, were upset that they got nothing in the will. As you worked with the client, you got the sense that she was genuinely sad about her late husband’s passing. Not that it made any difference. She was a paying client, and you had to represent her regardless, but it made rooting for her easier.

“I thought it was for sure a trick case and that there would be something to trip me up in the prenup, but it was so straightforward.” You’re in the elevator with Namjoon heading up to the office. He was present at the trial, to keep an eye on you to make sure you lived up to the promise of your initial interview.

He shrugs. “It’s nice to start off with a win. You’d be surprised with how many people don’t prepare or get wrapped up in how things should be and completely flounder.” He pats your shoulder as the elevator dings open. “You did good today. Good prep, good execution.”

He nods a goodbye and heads to his office without looking back. You head to yours at a slower clip, your shoulder burning where he touched you. You feel warm overall anyway, knowing you did a good job, but the praise still feels good. A little too good, maybe.

Over the next month, the cases get harder and harder, and you have to pull out the most obscure references from your time in law school. You start spending more and more time at the office, racking up insane amounts of billable hours. You have a permanent cup of coffee at your desk and you change into your fuzzy slippers you brought from home to give your feet a break from heels whenever a new case file lands on your desk for review.

At least you’re not the only one pulling crazy hours. The rest of the litigation team often stays late. You fall in quickly with the guys, cracking jokes over the Nespresso machine you all hover around. They were wary of you at first, an unknown entity coming into the equation, but you proved worth after the second night you stayed late and cracked the key piece of a case buried in ancient tax laws. They treated you to drinks at the local watering hole afterward. The biggest reward though, was getting a small dimpled smile and a thumbs up from Namjoon before he called it a night.

It helps that your boss stays late with the rest of the team. Every time you come to him with a tricky case, without fail, he gives brilliant insight or a nudge in the right direction, giving you advice on where to look for the answer. And when he goes to his fancy client dinners, he’ll always bring something back to the office when he inevitably stops by the office on his way home. You can’t say no to a good takeaway creme brûlée.

One Friday afternoon, Namjoon pulls everyone into a meeting a half hour before close of business. “It’s been a tough few weeks. You’re all going home at five today.” He holds up a hand when the team starts to protest. “I’m going to be at Silver Spoon for happy hour. Drinks are on me. You don’t have to come, but you can’t stay here.”

“I have too much work to do,” Jimin says with a pout.

“I’m firing you if you don’t leave at five on the dot.” The good-natured threat falls easily from Namjoon’s lips. “That goes for all of you. Wrap up what you need to.”

You spend the rest of the time cataloguing what you need to finish Monday morning. Usually you’d work Saturdays too, but with the promise of an early weekend, you decide everything can wait until open of business Monday. Well. Maybe you’ll work on that memo from home over the weekend, but everything else on your to-do list can wait.

You join Jungkook and Hoseok at the elevator bank three minutes before the hour.

“Think he’s gonna make it?” asks Hoseok with a laugh.

You check your watch. “Two minutes left. He’ll make it right at five.”

“He’ll be two minutes over,” says Jungkook.

“I think five over,” says Hoseok.

“Loser buys the nachos,” you say. They both shake on it.

Jimin runs into the elevator bank just as the clock ticks over to five. You pump your fist in victory while the other two groan.

Jimin leans over to catch his breath. “I thought I wasn’t going to make it.”

He straightens just as Namjoon rounds the corner from his office.

“Glad I’m not losing any of the team today.”

“And I get two sets of nachos,” you say, getting into the elevator behind the rest and pressing the button for the ground floor.

“Hobi gets the nachos. I’ll get the wings,” says Jungkook.

Jimin looks back and forth between you two, a confused pout on his face. “What did I miss?”

***

Silver Spoon is all leather and dark wood. Namjoon leads the way to a large booth in the back, waving to the bartender behind the gleaming wooden bar.

“You know everyone,” comments Jungkook as you all pile into the booth. It ends up with Namjoon in the middle, you and Jungkook flanking him, Hoseok next to you, and Jimin next to Jungkook.

“I’ve been working in this area a long time. It pays to get to know the people working at your favorite haunts.”

Namjoon drinks whiskey, neat. Junkook orders a pint of the house craft beer. Hoseok has a glass of red wine, and Jimin has a double straight vodka. You get an elderflower spritz, light and refreshing in the unusually hot fall afternoon.

The conversation deteriorates to work talk, as it usually does among coworkers. The nachos and wings follow the drinks, and everyone digs in. They’re good, just the right amount of elevated to make the price worth it, but not so fancy that the bar food is unrecognizable.

Silver Spoon fills up as the finance bros and hedge fund managers who work in the area trickle in. You recognize a few former coworkers, and you raise your glass to them in a toast when they wave hello, but you don’t attempt to engage further. You don’t care to reconnect with them. The cutthroat, backstabbing environment at your last firm is what made you leave in the first place. Bang and Associates hires ambitious lawyers, but fosters a workplace that manages to keep the ones that are ambitions without the cattiness, encouraging a collaborative work environment over individual hotshot lawyers. You're settling into your new workplace just fine, thank you.

Namjoon gets a call shortly after the third round of drinks, and Jungkook and Jimin shimmy out of the booth to let him out so he can take the call in private.

Hoseok picks up where the conversation left off, brainstorming where to start to research a tricky case. Jimin interrupts him before he can get a full sentence out.

“Uuuugh,” he says, dragging his hands down his cheeks. “Can we talk about anything but work?”

“Please,” you say.

Jimin looks at you with a mischievous grin and pops his chin onto his hand. He calls your name in a singsongy voice. “Are you seeing anyone?”

You snort into your drink. “Do I look like I have time for a relationship?”

“It’s amazing what you can get up to in our limited free time if you have some determination,” mutters Hoseok with a sidelong glance at Jimin.

“Jimin is slowly working his way through the office,” explains Jungkook.

Jimin crosses his heart with his finger and holds a hand up. “All above-board with HR, of course.”

“Doesn’t mean you haven’t left behind a trail of broken hearts,” says Hoseok.

“They all knew what they were getting into when they consented to the relationship.”

“Or lack thereof,” says Jungkook with a snort.

Jimin turns to look at him, eyebrow raised. “Speaking of lack of relationships, still hung up on Namjoon?”

Jungkook turns an impressive shade of red. “Stop, I’m not—“

“Ever since he broke up with his ex-girlfriend, he’s had this massive crush on Namjoon,” Jimin tells you.

“Shut up!”

“We all see how you look at him,” says Hoseok, not unkindly. “Stars in your eyes when you think he’s not looking.”

So you hadn’t been imagining that.

Jungkook’s only response is to chug the rest of his pint.

“I don’t blame you,” you say, then freeze as three heads whip around to look at you. “What?” you ask, voice squeaky.

“Not you too,” groans Jimin.

“What?” You hope the heat creeping up your face isn’t noticeable in the low bar lighting. “I have eyes. He’s attractive. You can’t deny that.”

“And smart,” says Jungkook morosely.

“And kind and he’s a good leader. I’m surprised you guys aren’t also harboring secret crushes,” you say, as if they’re the idiots for not having a massive crush on their boss. In reality, it’s terrifying to say these things out loud, everything you’ve been thinking over the past month you’ve been working at Bang and Associates.

“Unfortunately, I’m straight,” says Hoseok.

“And disgustingly in love with his fiancée,” sneers Jimin. “It’s actually sickening to see them together. She’s super pretty and an amazing dancer — you’ll see at the holiday party— and you really want to hate her but she’s also really nice on top of all that.” He takes the rest of his drink in one shot without a wince. You’d think he was sober if you hadn’t seen him down his vodka doubles like they were water. “And I’m not straight, but I know a lost cause when I see one. Namjoon’s practically married to his work. There are other men and women still waiting to be added to my bedpost.” He waggles his eyebrows in an exaggerated imitation of a leery cartoon character.

“You’re disgusting, you know that?”

“Thought I don’t know about Namjoon.” Jimin continues like he didn’t hear Jungkook’s comment. “I don’t think he’s married, because I’ve never seen a ring, and I’ve never seen him flirting or taking anyone home after drinks. No dates to company parties.”

“Maybe he’s asexual,” says Hoseok.

“That would be a shame because I bet he’s got a big d—“

Jungkook interrupts Jimin with an elbow to his side. He sits up straight, and you follow his line of sight to see Namjoon coming back to the table. They move out of the booth to give him his spot back in the middle.

“Sorry about that. What are we talking about?” asks Namjoon as he settles in, just an inch closer than he had been sitting before. The intoxicating spicy smell of sandalwood that you’ve come to associate with Namjoon fills your nose and you suppress the urge to take a deep breath.

You and Jungkook exchange guilty glances over the table. Jimin heaves a dramatic sigh, thankfully drawing Namjoon’s attention away from you two.

“We were just bemoaning our single status. Not Hoseok, of course.”

“I’d be surprised if you all have time to date, what with the hours we’ve been pulling.”

“How do you balance it all? Work, a social life, dating?” The question falls from your lips and you wish you could shove it back in your mouth. Jungkook kicks you from the other side of the table, and Jimin looks impressed that you actually asked the question.

Namjoon lets out a hollow laugh. “I’m the wrong person to ask.”

You exchange glances with Jungkook again. Does this mean he’s single?

Before anyone can ask a follow-up question, a group of lawyers from the (mostly) friendly competition approach the table to make small talk. You want to shoo them away like pigeons so you can continue the conversation, but you busy yourself with your drink instead.

Your coworkers disperse soon after, with Hoseok slipping away to go home first, red-faced and quiet. Namjoon talks to a group of his law school classmates by the bar.

As the evening progresses, it’s painfully obvious to you now that Jungkook is mooning over Namjoon. You’d had your suspicions before, but after the conversation from earlier, the not-so-subtle glances make you cringe a little. You hope you’re not that obvious too.

Not that Namjoon’s presence stops him from chatting up sone of the women who join your table. They work in the advertising firm a few floors below you, and you’ve gotten friendly with them over the past few weeks. The petite woman with the swishy blonde hair touches him a little more than necessary.

You and Jimin exchange looks when you both clock her hand on Jungkook’s bicep for the third time in as many minutes.

Jungkook and the blonde head out together not too long after. Good for him, you think, not getting so hung up on Nmajoon that he can’t focus on a different pretty face for the night.

When it’s just you and Jimin left at the booth, he leans in a little close. “What do you say you and me head out?”

You laugh in his face. “I’m not going to sleep with you, Jimin.”

He takes it in stride, and stands with a wink. “If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”

He blows you a kiss before zeroing in on one of the finance bros who’s been looking over at your table for the past hour. He won’t know what hit him once Jimin is done with him.

You don’t bother trying to pull someone at the bar, choosing instead to slip away without any fanfare. Though you’re no stranger to one-night stands, you’re looking forward to sleeping in and you can’t be bothered with the logistics of a hookup. Tonight, you have a date with your bed, and your bed only.

The air has a bite to it as you step out of the bar, and you pull your coat around you as you hurry to the curb to your Uber. You settle into the back of the car as the driver pulls out into traffic.

You can’t help but feel kinship with Jungkook, what with both of you lusting after the same ill-advised man. The city lights blur by and you let your eyes unfocus.

You wonder what would happen if you were the last three people left in the world. Would he go for you or Jungkook? In your buzzed state of mind, you think you really wouldn't mind sharing.

Please do not copy or repost. I do not crosspost anywhere else.

#jungkook x you #namjoon x you #jungkook x reader #namjoon x reader #bts fic #bts smut #junkook fanfic #namjoon fanfic #jeon junkook smut #kim namjoon smut #fic: love lust & litigation

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