#D17; OB eviction; Gar everywhere; Eurozone; odds and ends

(1) D17: Big protests in NYC and elsewhere to commemorate the third month of #OWS.  Click on the image above for info about NYC events; visit your local Occupy’s website for info about protests near you.  I know some places are having rallies in support of Bradley Manning whose birthday is tomorrow and who is finally getting a pre-trial hearing, after more than 500 days incarcerated.

(2) #OccupyBoston evicted: Since my last post was about the imminent eviction of #OccupyBoston from Dewey Square in the Rose Kennedy Greenway, you may have figured out that that happened.  I think it went down about as smoothly as could have been hoped, and the Occupation continues post-eviction; two General Assemblies have been held indoors, after at least a couple were held in the Boston Common; the one I went to on Tuesday had around 200 people I would say, and Working Group meetings, rallies, and other events have been continuing apace.

I haven’t gathered the best material on the eviction, but here are two items: a nice piece that underscores how stupid it is that the Greenway Conservancy was behind the eviction, given that #OB is the best use to which the Greenway was ever put (it is usually empty of people, especially this time of year, and perhaps especially Dewey Square):  Rescued from Real People, Boston’s De-Occupied Dewey Park Now Re-Landscaped for Passing Motorists.  And there was a ridiculous piece in the Boston Business Journal saying that the clean-up/restoration of Dewey would cost $40K-$60K.  (They moved in with new soil and leveling and landscapers the very day of the eviction, indicating that it was long planned.)  The Conservancy is swimming in money and is non-transparent and non-accountable and undemocratic.  Look for #OB to make public statements denouncing them as serving the 1%.  (The Boston Business Journal piece was in their real estate section.)  Related: nice piece from the LA Review of Books on post-eviction OccupyLA and the corruption of the Democratic mayors who so enthusiastically evicted.

(3) Gar Alperovitz is everywhere: Did you catch that Gar Alperovitz, author of America Beyond Capitalism, whose new edition D&S just co-published, had the lead op-ed in the NYT yesterday? He was also on Democracy Now!.

(4) Eurozone: We’re working on a great piece on the eurozone crisis by Katherine Sciacchitano for our January/February issue.  In the meantime, hat-tip to John Miller for two good pieces:  one is Alan Blinder’s WSJ op-ed, which, as John puts it “is pretty clear on how countries in the euro zone had just one option – deficit spending — for counteracting a downturn in their economy instead of the three usual options (deficit spending, increasing the money supply, and devaluing their currency).”  And a take on the crisis that is actually radical vs. just being clear, by German left economist Heiner Flassbeck, in this video from the Real News Network.

(5) Bits ‘n’ Pieces:

–Nice interview with David Graeber, anarchist anthropologist who has been heavily involved in Occupy (in NYC) and whose book on debt we’ll review in our March/April issue;

–Occupy Student Debt Campaign, which we’re covering in our Jan/Feb issue;

–The Massachusetts legislature met yesterday to discuss whether to have a public option or single-payer health care (my impression was that they were going to pick one or the other).  Frequent D&S author Jerry Friedman testified; I may post his testimony soon, which was great and witty. Here’s the Globe piece in advance of the session.

–Great piece on what happened when a board of ed member too the standardized tests they force on kids. Very thoughtful commentary: WashPo story. We’ll be covering neoliberal reforms in education in our March/April or May/June issues.

–Interesting data from Pew about public opinion about Occupy.  Upshot: lots of people share the movement’s views, but some of those who do do not agree with the movement’s methods. (I’d chalk this up to the way crackdowns get blamed on the protesters.)

–Surge in free lunches at schools, according to the NYT.  Hat-tip to Shirley K.

That’s it for now.

–Chris Sturr