I can think of better ways to spend

two million dollars than giving it to a convicted drug smuggler for her story. Apparently one of our major television channels has thought it worth paying that to Schapelle Corby for her story - or so the rest of the media would have us believe.
I am cynical enough to wonder what other deals have been done behind the scenes and whether her Indonesian brother in law has also planned to cash in on this. After all, he is the one who is acting as her "guarantor" while she is on parole and I don't imagine he is doing it out of the goodness of his heart. He would expect to be paid in some way or another. And of course Corby still owes her principal. That person will expect to be paid for the botched delivery - with interest.
There was another news item here over the weekend, one of those regular but always disturbing and distressing appeals for information about a crime. This time it was revealed that there are eleven unsolved cases in which there are million dollar rewards up for information that leads to the discovery of bodies and clues as to who did the crime. It promptly made someone I know say to me, "Oh wish I knew something. It would be an easy way to make a million."
Not it would not. I did not say that to him because I know he would not be prepared to listen.  In at least one of those cases I don't doubt you would need to change your identity or have your identity changed. You would be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. As for the others, even in the perpetrator of the crime was dead, could you really take the money? I'd like a million dollars but I couldn't take it knowing that it came from years of heartache and failed investigations at taxpayer expense.
I couldn't write a book for the benefit of a convicted criminal or benefit from their crimes. The thought makes me squirm. But, some people obviously don't mind and some others obviously like to read about it. I won't be.
I would much rather that two million dollars had been spent on teaching young people to entertain themselves so they didn't feel the need to try drugs even once.  I would like it to have been spent on something that would allow them to develop an interest that would last them for the rest of their lives. It didn't happen.
Apparently, crime pays.