In a 1956 interview with Anna Louise Strong, Mao described American imperialism as a paper tiger. Of course, the military strength of the United States is unparalleled, especially because this country accounts for about half of worldwide military spending. Even so, the last three significant wars have shown that the country has been unable to defeat weak, relatively impoverished countries. Yes, the US government can bully small countries to make concessions in order to avoid having their government overthrown or experiencing a bout of humanitarian bombing.
In another sense, however, the government is a paper tiger, which has been domesticated by big-money. We’re coming down to the world of one lobbyist, one vote. Even if the government wanted to aggressively corral business, the global economy allows sufficient escape routes to make business feel secure. For example, tax havens make it virtually impossible to collect significant revenue from major corporations.

Rather than seeing the government as a source of power, more and more, is becoming an agent of redistribution, in which the taxes that it does collect are efficiently given back to powerful interest groups. This phenomenon becomes especially pronounced with the elimination or privatization of virtually every public service expected of a healthy government.

Domestically, the government can project power by regulating individual behavior, well on its way to create a virtual panopticon. A young person downloading music or a sick person seeking relief from marijuana, or even a woman fearing that her pregnancy could threaten her health will may all feel the power of the government. Police in battle gear can bully people seeking redress from their government. In contrast, a major corporation spewing toxins that do great harm to generations of people has nothing to fear.

At the same time, financialization, deindustrialization, the destruction of education, the decline in healthcare for the masses, and many other symptoms of toxic neoliberalism threaten to eventually undermine the grotesque military power of this country, eventually making the US into Mao’s version of a paper tiger. Or, to be less extreme, a second rate power, comparable to previous imperial powers, such as Holland or England.

Michael Perelman

Economics is the science that is the most obscured by politics. If you want to know why the capitalist system is once again in crisis, listen to the following interview.

Michael Perelman Interview on WBAI

Visit Michael’s Website Here

Warning: If you do not have security clearance to view classified information, you may be breaking the law if you view the above video.

The following haiku is written by CheeseFlap, and adds a sober coda to this cruel gag.

An act of torture
Shows no knowledge of people,
Nor of life itself

Machetera Explains The New Wikileaks

The evil that they do in your name

Essential information delivered with passion by Slavoj Zizek

Doors open at 7pm.
DJ Moni Pineda from Friends We Love will be spinning.
Free Cuban Food will be provided by Havana On The Hudson.
Books will be on sale, and Poster Boy will be there to sign them.
A world primiere of new Poster Boy videos will be presented.

We encourage you to defend Iraq war veteran Marc Hall, who is currently imprisoned for recording a song that expresses his anger over the Army’s stop-loss policy. Stop-loss is a policy that allows the army to keep soldiers active beyond the end of their signed contracts.

Dahr Jamail from truthout.org reports on the circumstances of Hall’s imprisonment here.

Here is a link to the beats that put him in jail:
“Stop-Loss” by Marc Hall

The following is an interview that i conducted eleven years ago of a veteran of the Panama invasion. This testimonial by a soldier who was an eyewitness, is a riveting chronicle of the evils of war, and a condemnation of yanqui imperialism. This interview has never been published before.

The Invasion Of Panama by Noam Chomsky explains what i left out.

The people of El Chorrillo, a working class communty that was burnt to the ground, speak about that terrible night

This jewel from my archive of demos needs some polish. i have written many more songs than i have used, and this is one that was languishing, so i put it up here now for fresh air. The lyrics are based on a poem by Mario Benedetti. I recorded this live and added some harmonies. This is a sketch of a song about our struggle for humanity. The jagged rhythms come from Bartok and The Clash.