- Child labor is a valuable commodity. Now, Switzerland has
to decide how valuable it is. The country’s voters are set to
decide whether thousands of former child laborers and others who were taken
away from their families and subject to cruel treatment should receive
compensation from the government, which in a form can be characterized as
determining the worth of such labor. While the practice seems arcane and
moronic now, the notion of sending children from poor families, especially with
single mothers, away to work on farms was common practice in Switzerland well
into the 20th century. On the surface, merely forcing a poor child unable to
speak for himself or herself and refuse hard labor to do hard labor is the
solution to a lot of problems, but sadly, many of these "contract
children" experienced emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of
those who were meant to care for them, while rarely receiving any payment for
their labor. This isn't an issue the government raised and pursued of its own
accord; that’s just not what governments do, after all. No, this entire mess is
the result of the labors of campaigners who have collected the required 100,000
signatures to force a referendum on a plan for a compensation fund for
survivors. These whiners and apologists have proposed that the government set
aside 500 million Swiss francs ($490 million) for wrongs committed until the
early 1980s. That number has to be severely bloated by inflation, or at least by
the dollars-to-francs conversion rate………
- The war for content is on for digital video services. Netflix
has the lead, but its competitors are building their respective brands and
Amazon just took a huge swing by landing the one and only Woody Allen to
make his first ever TV series for its Netflix-style streaming service. While there
is no news on what Allen’s show will pertain to, Amazon is understandably fired
up about this deal. "Woody Allen is a visionary creator who has made some of the
greatest films of all-time, and it's an honor to be working with him on his
first television series," said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon
Studios, in a statement. "From Annie
Hall to Blue Jasmine,
Woody has been at the creative forefront of American cinema and we couldn't be
more excited to premiere his first TV series exclusively on Prime Instant
Video." The show may not have a concept or a title, but it will air in
half-hour installments and launch exclusively on Amazon Prime in the United
States, United Kingdom and Germany next year. "I don't know how I got into
this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy
Price will regret this,” Allen said in a typically self-deprecating statement. Amazon
is riding a major wave of momentum after its grand success at the Golden Globe
Awards, where its original series “Transparent”
won the Musical or Comedy Series prize. Allen has also been doing well of late
and his most recent film, “Magic in the Moonlight,” was well-received. He has
earned three Oscars in his career for directing and his screenplays, but an
Amazon online exclusive TV series, that has to be an honor the size of a Buick………..
- The world is a harsh, unforgiving place and it’s better
that children learn that lesson early rather than waltz through life swimming
in naïveté. More kids need to be
treated like a nine year-old boy in Idaho who was
released after a warrant was issued for his arrest when he twice failed to
appear in court on charges of allegedly stealing a pack of gum. Police Chief
Scott Haug, who has served the Idaho community of Post Falls for 30
years, is on the front lines of this one after prosecutor Barry McHugh issued
the warrant. McHugh made the smart move because he knows that sticky-fingered
little thieves need to learn hard lessons in a hurry, even if he later issued a
statement in which he said he regretted the decision and it was a
“mistake under the circumstances.” It wasn’t a mistake because this tiny felon missed
his day in court because his family didn’t have transportation to the
courthouse. A likely story, Timmy. See how that excuse holds up when you’re old
enough to have your learner’s permit, scumbag. According to McHugh, there was
an alternative option that should have been pursued. “At least one other viable
option existed, which was to seek a court-ordered child protection
investigation…in order to make a better-informed decision as to the best course
for the child,” McHugh said. Wrong again, Barry. You shouldn’t be promising to “do
everything in my power to avoid this type of mistake in the future.” You should
have used that child being hauled off to the local juvenile detention center as
a chance to scare the living hell out of that kid in the hopes that he’s not
knocking over convenience stores in about 10 years………
- No one wants to play in the Pro Bowl. Now, it seems no one
really wants to coach in the game either. The NFL’s über-pointless annual
all-star exhibition game has a tough time drawing players even in years when
it’s played in its traditional home of Honolulu, with most stars wanting the
contract bonus and recognition of being selected without the burden of actually
having to play in the game and risk injury. Every year, the initial Pro Bowl
rosters are announced and by the time the actual game is played, approximately
75 percent of those chosen have bowed out with all manner of bogus injuries and
other life conflicts. The game is played by fourth-options types who are geeked
about a free trip to Hawaii and the bonus money they’re getting. The same is
true of the coaching staffs for this year’s game, which will be held Jan. 25, in Glendale, Arizona instead of Hawaii. Because
the “honor” of coaching in the game typically goes to coaches from the
highest-seeded teams that lose in the AFC and NFC divisional playoff games, the
league is in a tough spot. See, those teams -- the Denver Broncos and the
Dallas Cowboys – are in coaching no man’s land because the Broncos fired, er,
mutually agreed with head coach John Fox to part ways and the Cowboys are
working on re-signing head coach Jason Garrett and his assistant coaches aren't
under contract. That leaves a gaping hole on the sidelines of the not-so-big
game and at least half of the problem has been fixed. Baltimore Ravens coach
John Harbaugh confirmed Tuesday that his staff will represent the AFC at the
Pro Bowl, while no NFC staff has yet been tabbed. The Carolina Panthers are
believed to be the choice for the conference, but at this point, everyone
behind them in the standings should probably be ready because this chore could
be passed like a hot potato in the next few days. Hell, the world just might
get an NFC Pro Bowl team helmed by the staff of the 2-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers………
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