Brazilian footballers are funny folk

You may or may not be disturbed or incensed by Manchester United's Ronaldo's recent comments that playing a game for a living before thousands of adoring fans for millions of pounds amounts to the equivalent of "modern slavery," but if you (like Ronaldo) are in need of some enlightenment about actual modern slavery, may I recommend Benjamin Skinner's A Crime So Monstrous (Free Press, 2008)? It costs $50 to buy an 8-year-old sex slave in Haiti, apparently, and there are more slaves -- by the common definition of people working for no pay with no liberty to leave -- in North America right now than at any time in history.

I'm glad, at least, that this particular boneheaded soccer player doesn't play for Arsenal. But that doesn't so much help the slaves.