Ashley Madison : The law, Hacking , Adultery, Suicide

I was not aware of the fact that somebody can actually make money out of infidelity and adultery until yesterday . There is a Canadian based sited called Ashley Madison and they facilitate affairs. Their motto is "Life is short. Have an affair." Millions of people were members of this site and would pay money using credit cards-you name it so as to score an affair with a woman or a man who is married. Apparently the site offers a three month guarantee that one will certainly get an affair going for them once they sign up. What intrigued me (not in a good way) are the levels many people are willing to go for a secret affair. People can pay a huge amount of money just to score a date and possibly sleep with someone they hardly know all in the name of lust. Most of the people on the site  are married people looking for an extra marital affair. The men pay for chats and messages they have with women whilst the women can send messages for free. It is really something else. All was going well for these cheaters and adulterers until this July when some hackers who call themselves the "Impact Team" hacked into the site and threatened to release names, addresses, email address and basically all the private information of people who use this site. I bet for everyone who uses the site their hearts nearly leapt out when they heard such news.  Highly sensitive information of 37 million users was leaked to the media and some well known people were featured on it . It is reported that 2 people have committed suicide over this issue. It is being speculated that they committed the suicide because they couldn't face having their details leaked to the media. Most possibly they were afraid of what their partners would say or do or what their communities would think about them. Whatever they were scared of , I am of the view that they should and ought to have been scared before they started engaging in affairs on Ashley Madison. That fear should have kept them from spending money on strange women and conducting an affair. I think their fear should have stopped them from sending highly sexual messages to other users. I feel that fear should have stopped them from lying openly to their spouses that they were going on a business trip when in fact they were busy spending money on affairs and booking lavish hotels. Then they would have been spared of all the drama that is now panning out. 

The law is also being seen at play in this whole Ashley Madison drama. A man named John Doe in Los Angeles has filed a law suit against Ashley Madison and its parent company Avid Life Media,  seeking class action status for what he claims was negligence on the part of the company to keep its customer's data safe. Invasion of privacy and emotional distress are other things that Ashely Madison Company is being accused of . Avid Life Media was also sued last week in Canada in a class action that seeks $760 million as damages, the Guardian reports. The Toronto police officers are also trying to locate the hackers so that they can be brought to justice ( whose justice? I wonder). I am going to track the events that will continue unfolding concerning this issue.

On Twitter , people are also abuzz with the Madison issue. Some believe the hackers are to blame while some believe the adulterers got what they deserve. As the saying goes, what goes around comes back around. Also one day is one day-cheating and backstabbing always comes back to haunt somebody. Some people are of the view that every person has got skeletons in his or her closet so these hackers should not have done what they did. It is indeed sad to see that people are choosing suicide over dealing with their issues. Someone on twitter suggested that marriage counsellors, divorce lawyers and the likes should be happy now because most marriages are now damaged and some have broken down because of this hack. I do not believe these groups of people who stand to benefit in these circumstances will be happy. I do not think so. It is just their job. It is like thinking that Doctors are happy when people are sick, oh hell no, they just happen to be at your service because of their profession. It is tantamount to saying that marriage counsellors and lawyers have no feelings but only care about the money. Yes , there are a few bad apples here and there but certainly , lawyers have feelings too. Does anyone ever stop to wonder that these same people might also be affected by the hack? What if their spouse or long time lover's details were also leaked? Food for thought. 

xoxo

Life is short. Read my Blog and follow me on Twitter

Ms Vee

PS. Do not commit suicide even if the hackers leaked your name. The church, the lawyers, the marriage counselors and even the spouse you cheated on is here to help. PROBLEMS ARE NOT SOLVED BY SUICIDE

valentine masaiti: MAKING MY VOICE COUNT

valentine masaiti: MAKING MY VOICE COUNT: I wrote this article when I was only 19 years old for some essay competition, and I reproduce it today. YETT ESSAY COMPETITION 2012 ...

Monday Morning newspaper reading and law

Newspapers always contain something to do with law. I was just browsing through the newspaper and certain issues caught my eye. The newspaper reported a case on a woman who was disinherited from her husband's Will. She was customarily married and when the husband died he left a will which effectively disinherited her for he left the matrimonial home to one of his relatives. She contested the will and the court ruled in her favour with regards to the matrimonial property. This indeed got me thinking : What makes a spouse leave nothing for his or her beloved? Indeed there is a thin line between love and hate. You stay with someone for a long time thinking you know them well yet you don't . It is really sad and than God for the law that steps in and rectifies such cruel injustices. I wonder if it is out of spite or jealousy that the other party will remarry and live with the new husband or wife in the same house or it is simply being malicious. Either way it is wrong .

The law does not allow for the disinheritance of a spouse through a will and hence a spouse who finds himself or herself with no place to live can challenge such a will in the courts of law. The court can thus nullify the will fully or partially so that the surviving spouse can benefit too. A surviving spouse is the person who was still married to the deceased before he died. If the person had been divorced then there will not be a surviving spouse to talk about.

xoxo

Ms Vee

widows, children born out of wedlock and my thoughts as a law student

Not so long ago in the Bhila case , the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that children born out of wedlock had the same rights as children born in wedlock. This ruling was praised by many and equally scorned at by others as well. Activists for equality welcomed this decision and agreed with Honourable Justice Mwayera that there should be no discrimination when it comes to sharing inheritance. I have got to admit that I have mixed feelings for this judgement. On the other hand i applaud it and at the same time i have misgivings. The reason why i applaud it is because i think that children are children regardless of being born out of wedlock or in wedlock. Therefore the father has to take care of his children and they should be entitled to his inheritance. Some children live in abject poverty whilst the father is living large and it is only fair that those kids should partake in their father's estate. On the other hand, one can only imagine how the widow feels when she only becomes aware of children born out of wedlock after her husband's death. She will be expected to share the property she worked so hard for or maybe property she had to sweat and toil for with basically strangers. One can only imagine the bitterness she feels as she remembers those nights they had to go hungry while sacrificing to buy that house or car. It surely is one hell of an ordeal to go through i imagine. No one just wants to give up what they worked so hard for. I can just imagine. Maybe the fact that the widow is allowed to keep the matrimonial home is a bit of solace but still  i can just imagine how hard it is to give up things you thought were yours after all the years of hard work. Maybe that is what has inspired Mr Bhila to appeal against the judgement that places children born out of wedlock and children born in wedlock at a par. When someone goes through all those legal channels to fight for what they believe to be rightfully theirs, I can imagine it takes a lot of strength. At the same time children born out of wedlock are also rightfully entitled to such as the deceased indeed would have sired them knowingly (unless the DNA TESTS PROVE OTHERWISE). I am sure both sides would feel rightfully entitled to the inheritance.

I am still Conflicted. Who is wrong ? Who is right? Should children born out of wedlock be at the same par as children born in wedlock? Is there any difference at all?

xoxo

Ms Vee

The wanna-be doctor that became a lawyer: SHORT AND SWEET

From as long as i can remember i always wanted to be a doctor. It was what i day dreamed of and in class when the teacher asked what i wanted to be i said confidently , I want to be a doctor. But that was not to be. I became a law student instead and one can safely conclude that i will become a lawyer. Life does not always turn out the way we want does it? But sometimes it is for the best. The moment i was enrolled into law school , i knew that was it . When Professor Madhuku took us for Introduction to Law and uttered the words " law is law , its goodness or badness is another" i was hooked. I knew i had gotten myself into something noble and sweet. Lol

XOXO
MS VEE

life in law school

I have to admit , life in law school has not been all rosy. As i am now in my final year i just want to take time to thank the Lord for taking me this far. He has always been there and i thank him for that. I have had occasion to meet different distinguished people in my life through law school and for that I am grateful. There have been hiccups here and there but through it all i have gotten to realize who my true friends are and which ones are not. In law school, i have also learnt that all that glitters is not gold and that sometimes it is good to keep your mouth shut and avoid arguments with foolish people. I have also learnt to go for what i want and also not to take in everything that is said to me as gospel truth. My friend always tells me not to take everything as gospel truth. She is what many might call a reserved person but to me she is chitty chatty and is always there for me through my highs and lows. I have experienced tremendeous grace in law school and i just want to thank the Lord for it. When many of my class mates failed a course that was perceived to be hard , the Lord made sure i sailed through. For that I am truly thankful. It cannot be said that i am more intelligent than the rest of the people that failed, well no, but it has just been this thing called undeserved favour. In all my years in law school, i have also realized that life is what you make it and that if one chooses to think of themselves as inferior to others they are merely doing a deservice to other people. It has been an eyeopener and i must say i have learnt a lot and i will use what i have learnt to empower others. It has been a roller coaster ride indeed. What with the long queues for registration and the constant hustle for accommodation on campus. It has been a long road. I have cherished every moment i have spent on that campus though i believe that a lot needs to be improved there. I am glad because i went through many obstacles in life and they have shaped me to be a better person than i was back then. I now know that common sense is not that common . I have also learnt that not everyone has the best intentions at heart when they wish to help you. I have also realised that some people are as egoistical as Kanye West. In all my learning , i know one thing : I want to make a difference.

Like Michael Jackson sang , Im looking to the woman in the mirror and i am asking her to change this world. I am starting with myself

Start with the person in the mirror as well. Make the changes

xoxo

Ms Vee

My Observations of : The lion , The lawyer ,the law and a whole lot other things

A whole lot of things have been happening in Zimbabwe and i have been observing.

Lion the Cecil is dead. He was brutally "murdered" by an American dentist. There is so much noise about it. Some are saying why is the whole world mourning Cecil while some are mourning. It is interesting really. People all over the world are up in arms over the lion. So whether one is interested in the topic or not , people are just talking about it. On tv channels , on whatsaap chats and in the newspapers. It is all about Cecil. The poor lion that was being researched by Oxford. The poor lion named after Cecil John Rhodes. How interesting. I am fascinated. Because everyone cannot seem to stop talking about it. Even I am blogging about it!!!!May his soul rest in peace. For real. No one should die the way Cecil died , even though he was an animal. Apparently he endured 40 hours of pain. That is so inhumane . It is. The American dentist has faced a lot of criticism on the internet. So much hatred towards one man. Poor him. But then again , what goes around comes -around Cecil suffered so he is also suffering now.

It never rains but it pours in Zimbabwe these days. What with the economic crises and job losses. It is really a sad situation. What is to become of those people? The unemployment rate was already high , pegged unofficially at 80%. Then because those people had no jobs , they resorted to vending in the streets. Then they were kicked off the streets. Then the Supreme Court ruling came and thousands more were laid off to join the already exploding pool of unemployed people. Then the people thought they would just sell second hand clothing. And then those second hand clothes were banned . What to do? Oh what to do? It never rains but it pours.

All the government policies are indeed good. I mean people could get sick from wearing second hand clothes, vendors on the streets caused mayhem and it is a fair deal for employers and employees to be equal aint it? These are all very good ideals we say but in this current economic situation it is not totally bad to turn a blind eye to the fact that Harare has to reach world class status by what and what year. No, that is not the main issue here. people need to survive. There are no jobs and people have children to feed. Why not let them fend for themselves? These austerity measures are indeed harsh. It is truly sad. People are suffering. The government has failed them. What is to become of us? Other countries do not want us. Where to run to? Nowhere to run to . 

And then i was also fascinated by the story of a certain lawyer. Nelson Chamisa. The ZCTU truly left me in stitches. They say just because he represented the employers in a case that led to thousands losing their jobs he must leave his political party because it is a labour backed party. Allow me to laugh out loud!!!Nelson Chamisa did lead to thousands losing their jobs nor did he do anything wrong by doing his job. The common law is the one that states that employees and employers are equal. The lawyer was simply doing his job for crying out loud. It is like saying to a doctor- "you cannot belong to an organisation that speaks out against child abuse because you treat rapists and molesters!". The doctor will simply be offering his services and doing his job when he treats a rapist. So , Nelson Chamisa was simply doing his job. The ZCTU must leave him in peace.

till next time

I will not stop observing and speaking my mind

Ms Vee

my lunch and law

I was just having lunch good people when the subject of law came up. I honestly thought i was safe from the law. After all I was just having lunch at a nice restaurant with ordinary people and i thought nothing about law would come up. Now, as i was digging into my steak and enjoying my lunch , i heard something which stopped me in my tracks. I was not eavesdropping , no i was not. The man who spoke had a booming voice and it was loud enough for me to hear. From what i gathered dear fellows, he was making a business deal with his friends seated with him at the table. I think one of the friends had suggested getting a lawyer to look at their agreement. Or whatever had transpired i do not know. I am simply speculating. Now, i hardly speculate but forgive me this one time. But what he said next -that, i heard clearly....He said ;"Lawyers want to involve themselves in everything. They are very stupid . They think they know everything."I was not angry when i heard this. I was simply intrigued. I remembered a saying i once heard; "Everybody hates lawyers (until they need one)". People hate lawyers until they need one. This hatred can be seen everywhere. Shakespeare once said "lets kill all the lawyers" ---Yeah>>>that bad! 

Some lawyer , who was obviously tired of all the abuse once said ;"Why does everybody hate lawyers ? Give us a break." I laughed out loud. It fascinates me really, the way people hate lawyers yet they turn to them when they need help putting out their fires. Or better yet when they need someone to fight the legal battles for them. How interesting-That moment when somebody realizes they actually need a lawyer. Glorious!!!!Lawyers are legal practitioners in as much as doctors are medical practitioners- the only difference is that lawyers take care of someone's legal health while doctors take care of physical and mental health.Everyone is entitled to legal representation regardless of the fact that they may be a murderer or a thief or have simply been wrongfully accused. Lawyers do not deal with criminal cases only by the way, they also represent that single mother whose husband does not want to pay the maintenance for the kid, they also represent that vendor who has been locked up in jail trying to put food on the table, they also represent that worker that has been unfairly dismissed. The other lawyer also has to represent that father who refuses to pay maintenance and that big Corporation that refuses to pay workers and exploits them. It is all in a day's work. Lawyers are also workers.

No one protests when doctors treats a sociopath, a murderer or that rapist. To everyone it is okay because doctors are simply performing their job. Why can't people understand that lawyers are also performing their jobs when they defend a rapist or a murderer? Even the law itself provides defenses for those things and lawyers simply apply the law!!!! People only realize the importance of lawyers when they are in hot soup. LOL . IT'S OKAY TO HATE LAWYERS...GO AHEAD...UNTIL THAT DAY WHEN YOU NEED A LAWYER. I will be there and I will not say I told you so. No. I will simply be happy for you. Happy that you have someone to represent you as it should be.

I love lawyers. They are the people's advocates. 

xoxo

Ms Vee