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Quote of the Day:
Environment:
‘Putting a wrench into the gears of the pipeline machine’ The movement against dangerous oil and natural gas pipelines is spreading. And what’s truly remarkable is that the epicenter of the movement is developing along the Gulf Coast, a region that historically has not been known for a strong environmental community. Clearly, the catalyst for that movement has been the historic protests — led by the Native American community — against the Dakota Access pipeline near the Bakken oil field in the northern Great Plains. That movement — and the dramatic images of police and security guards siccing dogs and turning water cannons on protesters, much as was seen during the civil rights protests of the 1960s — has inspired activists elsewhere. Over the last month, national attention has turned toward Louisiana and the growing uproar over the proposed Bayou Bridge pipeline, as residents have said their worries over the future of the wetlands of the Atchafalaya Basin outweigh any limited, short-term job gains the project might bring. It seems clear that a corner has been turned. A growing number of Americans are coming to believe that the risks of a catastrophic oil or gas spill, or an explosion, from a pipeline running through their community simply isn’t worth it. This weekend, the pipeline protest movement sprouted in Tampa. Florida: By Stuart Smith
An Ever-Smaller Circle of Billionaires Controls the Planet’s Wealth As humanity by the hundreds of millions is forced into a Race to the Bottom, the super-rich expand their dominance of the Earth’s wealth. Eight individuals now own as much wealth as the bottom half of the planetary population. “How can a society call itself civilized, when half the value of all of humanity’s labor — which is what those fortunes actually represent — is at the disposal of eight men?” A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
Freedom Rider: No Tears for John Lewis John Lewis has parlayed his 1965 beating at the hands of Alabama police into a phony sainthood, and “now exemplifies everything that is wrong with the Congressional Black Caucus, the Democratic Party and the black misleadership class.” He “parrots every word” of the CIA in blaming Russia for Hillary Clinton’s defeat. There are many reasons to boycott Donald Trump’s inauguration, but “Russia” is the only one mentioned by Lewis, the party hack. by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley 
Celebrating Dr. King with the Departure of Barack Obama The 2008 campaign t-shirts depicted Barack Obama clasping hands with MLK, as if the two men were politically joined. Yet, one was a radical opponent of militarism and the rule of the rich, while the other served Wall Street, the Pentagon and American Exceptionalism. Dr. King loved humanity, and died in its service. In contrast, “for Obama, there is a hierarchy of humanity where a peoples’ worth is directly related to their value to the empire.” by BAR editor Ajamu
What Constitutes a “Legitimate President” in the United States? The furor over Donald Trump’s “legitimacy” as president presumes that the U.S. system of rule is, itself, legitimate, at home and abroad. The Democrats maintain “a legitimate President certainly cannot have peaceful relations with Russia.” They are attempting to continue the momentum of the Obama period, which “has been the highest expression of the Democratic Party’s transformation into the War Party and the most legitimate party of imperialism.” by Danny Haiphong 
Mocking, Marching, Stopping the Hate and Dumping Trump Are Not Enough Mocking, protesting and ridiculing Big Cheeto before and after inauguration will be big fun. But storms of ridicule did not drive Ronald Reagan or Dubya from office. Mockery that only undermines the legitimacy of evil persons rather than the capitalist system makes us nothing more than the warm up for Corey Booker or whoever Democrats nominate next. Left messages, memes and hashtags need to eviscerate Trump but also to educate people. by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon 
Black Lives Matter Wants to #ReclaimMLK’s Radical Legacy Several Black organizations across the U.S. have launched a campaign to reject the mainstream image of Martin Luther King, Jr., which they call “capitalist revisionism.” Dr. King “became increasingly anti-capitalist/imperialist and was killed for it,” said the groups gathered under #ReclaimMLK. “We have conflated nonviolence with passivity, and we have forgotten that King’s legacy is meeting incredible violence with masses in the street.” by TeleSUR 
Report: Chicago Police Use Excessive Force The long-awaited U.S. Justice Department report on Chicago police behavior in Black and brown communities shows cops frequently abuse their monopoly on the use of lethal force, and act out their racist prejudices on the job. “Black youth told us that they are routinely called ‘nigger,’ ‘animal,’ or ‘pieces of shit’ by CPD officers.” Cops use stun guns on kids with regularity, and engage in cover-ups enveloped in a “blue code of silence.” by German Lopez 
Young Black Men Again Faced Highest Rate of US Police Killings in 2016 The number of unarmed people fatally shot by police in the U.S. declined last year, according to data compiled by The Guardian newspaper, but young Black men remain far more likely than whites to die at the hands of cops. Recent moves to keep better track of police lethal police use of force could be undermined by the incoming president Donald Trump, who has balked at withholding funds from local departments that fail to report killings. by Jon Swaine and Ciara McCarthy 
As Obama Exits the White House, Never Forget His Destructive Imperialist Legacy A mythology of lies was built around Barack Obama, even before he walked into the White House. He got a peace prize for no good reason — and then made war against at least seven countries. Obama “even joked about the use of predator drones at a White House Correspondents Dinner.” Obamites cried when he gave his last speech, “yet can find little reason to shed tears over the masses of civilians who were destroyed as a result of Obama’s policies.” by Solomon Comissiong 
Labor:
Political Revolution Sprouts New Shoots Outside Goldman Sachs Sometimes all it takes to win a war is a rallying cry. That cry started in the bowels of Wall Street on September 17, 2011 with the takeover of Zuccotti Park by grassroots protesters calling themselves Occupy Wall Street. The thunder clap from that movement, “we are the 99 percent,” reverberated around the world. Occupy focused the public’s attention on the insidious wealth transfer system that has been institutionalized by Wall Street on behalf of the 1 percent — a system which has minted dozens of billionaires and thousands of multi-millionaires while collapsing the U.S. economy from 2008 to 2010 and leaving millions of Americans homeless and jobless. (See our past coverage of Occupy in related articles below.) By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World: