Letters to the Editor – 12/22 to 12/28

Cry Babies

If we had less whiners and more doers, our Town might be able to move forward.

Howard Harris

Bearsville

Supporters Misguided

November 28th starts another BIG week, that is, Buy Israeli Goods, but do no expect Hudson Valley BDS or MECR of Woodstock to participate. Instead they want to boycott, divest and sanction Israeli products due to Israel‘s treatment of the Palestinians. If this is the case, they should stop text and use their cell phones as much of this technology was developed in Israel. If they really care about oppressed people then they should boycott products made in China due to China’s dismal human rights record. Turkish’s products should also be boycotted since Turkey continues to oppress the Kurds, who like the Palestinians, would like their own independent state. Obviously, this Turkey-Kurds conflict where thousands have died in the last 25 years is a non issue for these Hudson Valley self righteous activists whose only agenda is to bash Israel. Finally, MECR and BDS supporters should stop driving their cars as it uses Arab oil, and they are very well aware, but obviously do not care, about the widespread human rights abuses and oppression in the Arab world.

Would that be too difficult to do, MECR fans? Clearly, it is quite easy for you to demonstrate hypocrisy by targeting only Israel, the one democratic country in the Middle East. 20% of the Israeli society is Arab, who can vote and be elected to the Israeli Knesset (parliament). Arab countries, on the other hand, exercise apartheid, oppressing women and persecuting gays and other religions. How pathetic it is that these BDS/MECR supporters do not grasp how their actions only empower terrorist and autocratic regimes in the Middle East. So much for liberals promoting liberal values.

Tal. Peleg

Pine Bush

The Perfect Gift: Food

Are you looking for the perfect holiday gift for family or friends? Make a donation to the Good Neighbor Food Pantry in a loved one’s name! Send us a check at P. O. box 619, Woodstock, NY, 12498, along with the name and address of the person you’d like to honor, and we’ll send them a beautiful notecard letting them know that you’ve made a gift in their name. You can donate any amount. Just send a check made out to the Good Neighbor Food Pantry. Thanks for sharing the holidays with others and helping us create peace and food for all.

Thurman Greco

Woodstock

No Fracking Fluid In The Rondout

The Rondout waterfront is an Ulster County gem. An oil/gas company has already approached the city of Kingston to accept (for a nice fee) toxic hydrofracking waste into the Kingston Waste Treatment Plant, as reported in Lynn Woods’ excellent Kingston Times article of October 24.

Section 7.1.8.1, Appendix 21 of the new DEC SGEIS for gas drilling lists Kingston as a sewage plant capable of treating the poisons, salts, radium, bio-cides that spew back up the wells after each frack. So far, Kingston has said no because of present capacity limits.

What would this mean for Kingston? Hundreds of tanker trucks full of unregulated chemicals winding through and ruining the streets. These toxic salts will destroy any sewage plant system, according to Al Appleton, world renown sewage treatment expert. (google Green Street, wbai.org archives)

Not to mention contaminating the Rondout Creek. Pity the paint job on the Clearwater!

Somebody ought to alert the Clearwater. Poughkeepsie and Beacon are also on the list for “pre-treatment” approval.

Joan Walker-Wasylyk

Woodstock

For more letters, see print edition.