The World Cup and Dead Balls

(Berlin) Sure to attract millions of visitors, the World Cup will be held in Germany this summer with the finals to be in Berlin in July. Although not as popular in the U.S., soccer is the world's sport and, to most of the globe's citizens, the World Cup is comparable to the Super Bowl and World Series combined.

In pre-tournament news, the German Police Union, the German Protestant Church, and others have joined in a campaign to raise public awareness that prostitution "is a modern form of slavery." An estimated 40,000 prostitutes will arrive, primarily from Eastern Europe, to balloon the total number of hookers working in Germany to over 215,000. Authorities are concerned that the influx of tourists will result in increases in forced prostitution and human trafficking.

Also, in preparing for the run up to the playoffs, German undertakers are offering cremation urns shaped like footballs (soccer in the U.S.). The black and white replica urns cost about $400. Purchasers should be careful to keep the football urns away from the grandchildren.