Weigh In #38

Wow. Half of 2010 is pretty much gone by now. So that makes it June and June this year brings us the World Cup! And, aside from the US having some potential this time around (fingers crossed), it is so amazing to see the level of play that the national teams bring. Watching these guys play can be mesmerizing, thrilling, exciting, jaw-dropping, and heart-stopping.

It's no wonder that this is The World's Game....

On the flip side, there is a dark side to an event such as the World Cup. The Olympics and other multi-week events like this tend to have the same kind of ting going on. I'm talking about human trafficking and the sex trade.

Here is a quote from a Time magazine article earlier this year (read the full article):

Despite more than a dozen international conventions banning slavery in the past 150 years, there are more slaves today than at any point in human history. Slaves are those forced to perform services for no pay beyond subsistence and for the profit of others who hold them through fraud and violence. While most are held in debt bondage in the poorest regions of South Asia, some are trafficked in the midst of thriving development. Such is the case here in Africa's wealthiest country, the host of this year's World Cup. 

Now, I know that most of you are not anywhere near South Africa and probably aren't going over for the World Cup. But that doesn't mean you can't get involved. The trade in human lives isn't just something that happens "over there" or is being handled by "them." It is happening all over the place and is only being addressed when "we" step in.

Here are a couple of ways that you can get involved:

• The New Underground Railroad
• Human Trafficking 101
• Not For Sale
• Donate

Please consider helping out or getting involved. At least in some way...

In my quest to make life a little better for myself and others, I'm still raising money for Love146.org by losing weight. And since it's Friday, I weighed in this morning. The bathroom scale was happy to let me know that my weight this morning was

242.0

One more pound down and only one away from my "80-60-40" goal. And only one pound away from the start of "210 in 2010". If you would like to help sponsor me (all the money goes to Love146.org), please let me know (email, facebook, twitter, or comment on this blog).

Thanks in advance.

Photo credit to BossTweed.