Letters to the Editor

Unilever’s Despicable Behavior

Dear Editor:

As a result of our continuous collective efforts and pressure from “activist” investors, Unilever has reorganized its food business so that “ice cream” is now a separate division (Wall Street Journal, 1/23/22). Several analysts have suggested that Unilever may “spin off” or sell its food and refreshments business which includes ice cream (WSJ, 2/11/22).

On January 18, 2022, Unilever stock had dropped to $46.56 per share, a 24% drop in value from the time Unilever decided not to reverse the decision of Ben and Jerry’s to boycott Israel (Dow Jones News, 1/18/22). Then, the news came that Unilever had decided to get out of the food business altogether and go into commercial pharmaceuticals by acquiring GlaxoSmithKline. In May, 2021 before the Ben and Jerry’s debacle, Unilever’s stock had been $61 per share. From the time Unilever decided not to reverse the decision of Ben and Jerry’s decision to boycott Israel, it has lost approximately $26 billion in value.

In addition to the migraine known as Ben and Jerry’s, Unilever has had other headaches with its food business. Unilever recently sold off its troubled tea plantation in Kenya where a politically motivated massacre and atrocities were committed in 2007 against Unilever employees who were members of a specific ethnic group. Witnesses and former Unilever managers have testified that the company’s own staff incited and participated in the attacks (The Nation, 1/27/21). Victims claimed that supervisors from Unilever’s London office visited the plantation regularly and were fully aware of the threat that existed. The aggrieved parties, 218 victims, now have a case at the United Nations after failing to receive justice in the English Courts. (Business and Human Rights Resource Center, 7/30/20; Mind the Gap, 7/30/20; The Guardian, 8/1/20; The Nation, 1/27/21).

As early as the time preceding the Holocaust, Unilever has had a shameful history of refusing to take responsibility for not doing what is morally right. They have not changed their behavior since then.

All of Unilever’s public relations gimmicks cannot mask its despicable behavior.

Silence is not an option.

Sincerely
Lynne Bursky-Tammam and Nessim Tammam
Yom Hashoah Mobilization Committee

 

Flare Up in Ukraine?

Dear Editor:

Here I am writing this letter, biting my nails worrying that at any moment war could flare up in Ukraine, with our country involved in the conflict against Russia. If this does occur, we’ll be alone with the Ukrainians. NATO nations are so dependent on energy supplied to them by Russia, they’d be fools to go to war, joining us to fight Russia. If they do so, they’ll be committing economic suicide. And the Biden administration is responsible for this fiasco. We killed our own Keystone XL pipeline that made us independent of foreign energy sources and at the same time guaranteed Europe our overflow of oil and gas taking away the need for them to look to Russia for their energy needs. But Biden and his fools killed our domestic sources and at the same time backed Russia’s Nordstream-2 pipeline that Europe is now dependent on.

Is there not clear evidence that Biden is incompetent? Is there not a sane elected Democrat who will come out with this truth? We are truly headed for destruction with this guy in the White house.

Sincerely
Sandy Kanter
Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

Suspending the Federal Gas Tax

Dear Editor:

Democratic Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire introduced a bill that would temporarily suspend the federal gas tax until the end of 2022. They remind me of J. Wellington Wimpy, who famously said “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” In this case, it would be a discount for the cost of filling up your gas tank. Tuesday may never come for motorists who have to pay for these proposed goodies. What neither Senator addressed is the result which would be billions less going into the Highway Trust Fund. This is a critical source of funding for highway and transit projects.

A federal gas tax holiday would result in Uncle Sam not collecting $0.18 for every gallon of gas purchased.

The Highway Trust Fund already faced financial difficulties. The loss of billions would have to be made up at a later date. This kicks the can down the road for members of the 2023 Congress session. They will have to decide how to make up the lost billions. They will either raise taxes, transfer revenue from another source or reduce the scope or number of transportation funded projects. Motorists and transit riders will be the losers.

Sincerely,
Larry Penner

 

Vacant Supreme Court Justice Seat

Dear Editor:

I’m with your editorial on February 4th, “White House SCOTUS Pick Deepens Racial Divide.” Race, ethnicity, gender, even height and weight, should have nothing to do with who is picked or recommended for a Supreme Court position. It should only be based on the qualifications of the individual. Does or should, any Jewish, Catholic, black, white, male or female judge base his or her decisions on one’s own individual bias? If so, that jurist should be removed for prejudice.

Biden made a major blunder when he indicated his choice to fill the vacant Supreme Court justice seat would be limited to a black female. His choice, if he sticks to his promise, will tarnish that judge’s future decisions for years to come. The top Democrat leaders should call on him to back down on his promise and rather, choose an individual with the top credentials for the job. Racism and sexism have no place in any job selection from shoe salesman to president.

Thanks,
Andrew Reiter
Queens
New York

 

Casting Doubts on Mask Mandates

Dear Editor:

A recent letter from what appears to be a neighbor of mine in Florida, Murray Kall, casts doubt on the mask mandates ordered by Biden and supported with scientific evidence by Dr. Anthony Fauci. Shame on Kall. While tens of thousands of Americans have died from Covid-19, our leaders, elected an medical, have saved countless others’ lives with their calls for inoculations and masks. These people are not kooks, they are looking out for the safety, health and welfare of our citizens.

Those people who are sending out pictures of celebrities showing them maskless while in the company of others are not doing us all any good. In fact they are doing us a dis-service, undermining the calls for us all to wear masks while in public. Masks help prevent the spread of the virus. There’s no doubt about it. An the “jab” gives us immunity from hospitalization and death. That’s a fact that no one can doubt. No one was prepared for this horror but we can at least stop its spread by uniting under Biden and the medical experts under Dr. Fauci to at least stop the quick spread of this disease and get us back together as a nation.

Thanks,

Cora Rosenzweig
Boynton Beach,
Florida