Deep Dive (July 21): Bezos Under Fire as Lawmakers and Celebs Blast His Post-Flight Comments

Tiffany Meier
7/21/2021
Updated:
7/21/2021

President Joe Biden is ordering a review of U.S.–Cuba policies, looking into ways to help the Cuban people, but they will also make sure that money sent to Cuba does not end up in the regime’s hands. This comes as the United States is also actively pursuing measures to hold the Cuban regime accountable for violence, repression, and human rights violations. Several U.S. lawmakers urged the Biden administration on Tuesday to take immediate actions to support the Cuban people, including getting them internet access and imposing sanctions on perpetrators of human rights violations.

Ben & Jerry’s is getting the cold shoulder from some grocery stores in the United States after the ice cream brand announced Monday they would stop doing business with a licensee in Israel that sells ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli politicians aren’t happy. Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told the company there would be “serious consequences, legal and otherwise.” He went on to accuse the ice cream brand and the parent company Unilever of taking a quote “clearly anti-Israel step.”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos became the second billionaire this month to take a tour in outer space. But back on earth, Bezos got blasted for his post-flight remarks. Bezos said, “I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all of this.” Senator Elizabeth Warren accused Bezos of not paying any taxes, tweeting out, ”Jeff Bezos forgot to thank all the hardworking Americans who actually paid taxes to keep this country running while he and Amazon paid nothing.” Representative Earl Blumenauer used the occasion to introduce a bill to tax space tourism.

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