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History, Creativity and Compassion
GUESTS: Satish Kumar, Vandana Shiva

Yesterday’s tragic eviction of farmers at the South Central Farm has left activists stunned. After months of efforts to save the farm, real estate developer Ralph Horowitz chose to destroy a farm with 14 years of cultivation. Horowitz told the Los Angeles Times, “If the farmers got a donation and said, `We got $50 million, would you sell it to us?’ I would say no. Not a chance… It’s not about the money.” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a statement calling the eviction “disheartening and unnecessary.” He went to on say that “I understand a businessman’s need to invest and make a profit… But I also believe that we are called upon by a sense of community and civic duty to do the just and right thing. I had hoped that the landowner would have heeded that call.”

Today we spend the morning looking at the history of struggles by immigrant and indigenous communities against the greed of capitalism.

We begin with Satish Kumar, the editor of Jain Spirit, a teacher and lecturer who runs workshops internationally on ecology. He spoke alongside Vandana Shiva and John Seed recently in Southern California.

Vandana Shiva is a physicist, philosopher, ecofeminist, environmental activist and writer. She is a key figure in the global movement against neo-liberal capitalism. She has written several books – her latest is called “Earth Democracy : Justice, Sustainability, and Peace.”

We turn next to the premiere of a brand new two hour radio drama called “The Mexican OC.” This was a play we had featured on Uprising in recent weeks. My producer and I liked the play so much that we invited the actors and director into the KPFK studios to perform it as a gift for our listeners.