Cesar Chavez Quotes
What we do know absolutely is that human lives are worth more than grapes and that innocent-looking grapes on the table may disguise poisonous residues hidden deep inside where washing cannot reach.
Chavez, Cesar. "The Wrath of Grapes Boycott Speech." 1989. The Words of César Chávez, edited by Richard J. Jensen and John C. Hammerback, Texas A&M University Press, 2002.
Fracturing underground shale—fracking—releases natural gas which the US has in an energy equivalent of two Saudi Arabias. However this is done by injecting water and chemicals into the underground shale. The shale is generally below the water table but the concrete shaft that carries the fluid and the gas at high pressure through the water table. There have been serious accidents where drinking water has been polluted. The George W. Bush administration, led by VP Cheney whose company was in the fracking business had a law passed which gave the gas fracking industry the right to endanger or pollute drinking water without the inspection of meeting the standards of the Clean Water Act and other state and federal protection laws. They are also exempt from having to disclose what poisons or carcinogens are in the fracking fluid or how much they are injecting into a community’s land and water. So the best potential option for American Energy independence got caught up with disputes over proper safety and disclosure procedures and the exemptions that were granted by Congress.
See {642413} for the reaction of one of the major local newspapers.
The Ministry of Health had conducted inspections of Lebanese Restaurants, rarely done in the past, and found many with traces of human and animal feces in the food. Typically bribes would be paid to the inspectors but a new reform minister made honest inspections a high priority. Then when he made the results public and newspapers like this carried the message, most of the other government ministers were very upset as it held the country up to ridicule and greatly threatened the international reputation of the country for the finest food in the Middle East, and might further harm the Tourist business which their self-inflicted civil war had already damaged in the latter part of the 20th century and by the militarized standoff that had evolved since. See {642413} for the Health Minister’s statement triggering this headline.
César Estrada Chávez was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union. Ideologically, his world-view combined leftist politics with Roman Catholic social teachings.
