Paradise? Not Quite
I have always loved Northampton. I was born here, went to schools here, left and returned five years ago because of disability (multiple sclerosis). For the last year, the disease's progression has left me reliant on a wheelchair to get around town.
In that short time, I have been exposed on a daily basis to a Main Street raceway where many cars "don't see me" crossing the street, handicapped cutouts which are not up to specs, sidewalks which are not in many places free of ruts, cracks and holes in the surface, the new sandwich boards for restaurants blocking the sidewalk, sidewalk tables and chairs blocking passage, sidewalks not clear of ice and snow in the winter. For the most part, the mayor and city council don't seem to care about what is happening right in front of their eyes, and the business community does not recognize its responsibilities under federal handicapped accessibility law but wants everyone to shop in "Paradise City."
The downtown, just voted one of the 10 best, is not safe or accessible for the handicapped. Ignorance is certainly bliss when questions are asked of the mayor, city council folks, and business community. It doesn't seem important enough for any of these so-called progressive thinkers. Wouldn't it be great if an investigative newspaper would do an exposé on "Paradise City!"
Jim Brooks
Northampton
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Meat and Cancer
A landmark study released this week by the prestigious World Cancer Research Fund has found a "convincing" link between consumption of red and all processed meats and an elevated risk of colon cancer, as well as a "likely" link with cancers of the lung, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, prostate and uterus. The study was based on 7,000 diet and health reports selected from a worldwide pool of 500,000 spanning the past five decades. (For more details, visit www.dietandcancerreport.org.)
Since 1992, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), involving 521,483 individuals in 10 European countries, has published dozens of reports linking meat consumption with increased risk of cancers of the stomach, liver, kidneys, pancreas, gall bladder, colon, rectum, esophagus, lungs, breast, uterus, cervix, ovaries, prostate and testicles. Hundreds of other studies have found a correlation between meat consumption and some form of cancer. None have ever found an inverse relationship. The American Cancer Society estimates that 62 percent of all cancer deaths could be prevented by quitting tobacco and meat products, as well as by regular screenings and exercise.
We've spent billions of dollars in search of a silver bullet to vanquish this dreaded disease, but we've had it all along. It's the will to improve our diet and lifestyle.
Eddie Buster
Easthampton
