Inbox

Kickin' It, Globally

Thank you for your extensive coverage of "The Global Game" of soccer [June 14]. Yet your many pages spoke not a word about the tragedy of human trafficking. An estimated 40,000 women (and children) are reportedly being "gathered" to service the patrons of the World Cup games. This worldwide business must be stopped.

Gail Milholland, SANTA CRUZ, CALIF.

One unmentioned advantage of soccer: all children can play, starting as young as 7. It requires no special equipment; it can be practiced in any neighborhood street or vacant lot; all team members except the goalkeeper undergo similar levels of activity, promoting sound physical and social development. Soccer should be included in PE programs throughout the country.

Louis Miccio, SAN DIEGO

Sorry, but Americans love the underdog and come-from-behind victories, so they will never be able to get into a sport in which a 2-0 lead is considered utterly insurmountable.

Nicholas Wallerstein, SPEARFISH, S.D.

Soccer, fútbol, whatever. When does real football begin?

Chuck Werkowski, WEST ALLIS, WIS.

As much as I admire America's arrival in the global sport of soccer, remarks like the one given by Don Garber, claiming that America "has always been the center of the universe," continually make the rest of the world wary. As the Time article claims, soccer is the great equalizer, leaving no room for egocentric comments like Garber's. And so America finds itself in a place where it is, once and for all, not the center of the universe.

Yoh Kawano, LOS ANGELES

Praising Arizona

In "The Battle for Arizona," TIME mentions the need to focus on "real criminals" [June 14]. But entering the U.S. illegally is a crime. And how does not paying taxes but receiving public services contribute? At least Arizona is trying to do something about the effect of previous leaders' inaction.

Andy Hobbs, KNOXVILLE, TENN.

I was saddened to read Nathan Thornburgh's misinterpretation of the new immigration law. The law does not require police "to ask for immigration papers from anyone suspected of being in the country illegally." It requires them to ask anyone breaking the law about his or her citizenship. They can't just go up to anyone they suspect is in the country illegally and ask about immigration status.

Gregory Philips, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF.

A Mother's Too Brief Life

While I appreciated "The Perils of Pregnancy," about Mamma Sessay, I take offense at the pictures [June 14]. Showing this woman in her most vulnerable state was disrespectful. Would these photos have been cleaned up if she were not a poor African woman from a third-world country?

Tola Abe, RALEIGH, N.C.

Please let me know what I can do to help Sessay's family or another family avoid the same fate.

Angela Bolds, LAWTON, OKLA.

ALICE PARK RESPONDS: CARE and UNICEF, which accept individual donations, have excellent global maternal-health programs.

The Other (Quasi) Meat