Japanese seem to thrive eating tofu

Regarding your stories on a study linking the eating of tofu and aging, I have a difficult time reconciling the fact that Japanese people have the longest average life span and do not seem to suffer from accelerated aging. Yet it has been said that Japan consumes more tofu than any other country.

Perhaps a statistical analysis of the effect of tofu and baloney may be more meaningful.

Thomas Y. Kobara, M.D.
Via the Internet

More research on tofu is required

Concerns about eating tofu resulting from the recent study by Dr. Lon White certainly indicate the need for more research.

As was pointed out, tofu alone can't be blamed for causing Parkinson's disease and other forms of dementia, since many who have never eaten tofu are also stricken with brain impediment.

One theory is that gluten from wheat acts on the brain in a similar way. The veins that supply blood to the center of the brain become clogged with a form of plaque similar to that which affects arteries and causes heart attacks. This form of plaque limits blood to the brain and, over time, the brain's core suffers from a lack of adequate nourishment.

If this theory is valid, it is important to find ways to regularly clear out the plaque besides moderating the amount of plaque- causing foods we eat.

Ed Cesar
Kahaluu
Via the Internet

Carrying guns may actually save lives

The federal government through the Center for Disease Control has officially announced that firearms death and injuries have been dramatically reduced in the period 1993-97 by about 30-40 percent. This coincidentally is the period when more citizens have been carrying firearms, as many states have legalized the concealed carrying of handguns.

Could it be that those in favor of banning handguns are wrong? Could law-abiding citizens carrying handguns save lives? Food for thought.

Chet Nierenberg, M.D.
Via the Internet

All guns should be stored in an armory

The National Rifle Association would have us believe that people kill, not guns. But the gun makes it easy for the person to kill. I've never heard of a drive-by knifing.

All guns and rifles should be registered and kept in an armory. When the gun is to be used, it would be signed out; upon finishing the hunting trip or shooting practice or tournament, it would be signed back in.

Gun collectors should be able to have their collections but in the armory and without ammunition. Without bullets, a gun is useless.

Lastly, gun manufacturers ought to be held accountable for the destruction caused by their product.

Lloyd Y. Yamasaki
Wahiawa
Via the Internet

Quotables "What makes a season like this special is seeing the faces of the players, especially our seniors. They've been through so much." June Jones UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOOTBALL COACH Downplaying his selection as Western Athletic conference coach of the year, after turning last year's 0-12 team into an 8-4 team bound for the Oahu Bowl "OK, I understand spackle." Randy Aina VICE PRESIDENT AND SALES MANAGER OF EDWARD ENTERPRISES Who now understands the concept of women wearing face foundation to even out their skin tone

Newspaper is like a longtime companion

I am 91 years old and in excellent health, but sometimes I wonder what I'll die of. Now I know! If the Star-Bulletin ceases to exist, I'll die of a broken heart.

One of my daily pleasures is reading your newspaper. I pray that it will continue.

Helen Rachel de Harne
Wahiawa

One-newspaper towns are the poorer for it

Long ago, shortly after finishing journalism school at UCLA, I went to work for a newspaper in Los Angeles. I was fortunate to work with a remarkable writer named Darsey L. Darsey, who taught me to appreciate the second newspaper in town.

The Herald Express is long gone. There is no hope of reviving it. Los Angeles is a poorer town since its demise.

I hope the owners keep the Star- Bulletin alive. We need your stories, your writers and your excellence. Honolulu deserves a second point of view, and will be far poorer without the Star-Bulletin.

Phil Olsen
Via the Internet

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Bulletin closing archive

Gag order on students was uncalled for

Why was the gag order invoked on the students at St. Louis, forbidding them to make any statements about the firing of their president? This kind of restriction leads only to unnecessary and often erroneous speculation.

Are the trustees afraid of what the students might say, or do they feel that the students are not academically prepared to verbalize their opinions on this delicate matter?

The list of those who serve on the board of trustees is most impressive. Based on this, one might assume that they did everything to fairly and properly evaluate the president and terminate his contract.

What is puzzling, though, is the surfacing of comments by students, parents and others, in opposition to the board's decision. This provides strong support for the Rev. Mario Pariante's leadership and performance.

We need to know more before we can satisfy ourselves and put this matter behind us.

Teruo Hasegawa

Don't knock St. Louis if you didn't attend

I never won a championship at St. Louis School, but I'm proud to be a graduate of the school. I played football for Ron Marciel and baseball for Eric Texidor in the 1970s, and both were major reasons that "pride and perfection" were instilled in me.

Cal Lee is a great coach, but Marciel was the first to bring the "double slot" to high school football. Lee merely polished it up.

I came from Kaiser High School and almost flunked out my freshman year. At St. Louis, I was taught discipline and eventually went to college. St. Louis changed my life; I became a winner.

The general public should stop mocking St. Louis. Just imagine, for one second, if your high school won all the time. You'd be proud of your alma mater, too.

Leave St. Louis alone. Traditionally, it is a great school, academically and athletically. Don't comment on it if you have never experienced "St. Louis tradition."

Ron Komine Jr.
St. Louis School,
Class of 1980
Waipahu

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes

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