The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., on human trafficking:

When Akouavi Kpade Afolabi lured more than 20 young women from West Africa to New Jersey with promises of a better life, she lied.

Once here, the young women -- who ranged in age from 10 to 19 -- were made to work countless hours in her family's two hair-braiding salons for no pay. Her attorney argued the treatment of the girls was cultural. That's hard to believe. But it was profitable -- and criminal.

She stole their meager tips, barred them from attending school and threatened them with violence and voodoo curses if they tried to leave.

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, she was convicted on 22 counts of human trafficking and visa fraud. She now faces her own captivity, 20 years in prison. A fitting punishment.

Sadly, such abuse is the story of tens of thousands of women from around the world who are trafficked to America in hopes of escaping the poverty of their homelands. They think they'll be working in factories, as domestics and babysitters.

Alone in a foreign land and in deep debt for their travel and lodging, many soon realize they're trapped in a tale of modern day slavery. ...

Most people would like to think such things don't happen in their communities, that forced servitude is a brutality of the past. But modern day slavery is alive and well, even here in New Jersey. We would all do well to educate ourselves about how human trafficking works, and what it looks like.

Minot (N.D.) Daily News, on NASA's future missions:

An independent panel created by the Obama administration announced last week that it (surprise!) disagrees with a plan pushed by former President George W. Bush to return to the moon with manned missions.

Instead, the panel members said, NASA should be focusing on new, and presumably more expensive, places to explore, such as nearby asteroids or one of the moons of Mars.

Whatever direction is taken, it's up to NASA officials to prove the billions of dollars being spent on the space program is worth it, especially at a time when those billions could be well-spent on a wide variety of items to help the citizens of this country.

We agree with at least some of the commission's report we see no urgent need to return to the moon.

Been there, done that. If Mars is the ultimate objective in the next 20 years, then let's focus on that.

Planning another manned mission to the moon only wastes precious time, technology and money....

(Oct. 31, 2009)