Tromper News Updates

I received a request today from PMac asking if I would post the followong - he is having password problems but will again be posting directly soon. He draws our attention to the last line in Einstein's observation which I seized on as the likely explanation for recent voting patterns in Canada. AH Here is Pmac's submission - very interesting and topical reading! "I hope AH and Dorsal don't get discouraged about the lack of responses despite the numerous attempts to engage the rest of us. Personally I enjoy the back and forth between the opposing viewpoints. I read what I think is a great quote by Einstein today. It was referenced in one of the reader feedbacks in the Globe...an article about APMA asking for their share of any bailout money. Anyway, it very accurately summarizes the frustration and paralysis that I feel when it comes to analyzing current events...the last line in particular. Here it is:" Einstein on Society. "Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights. " I'm guessing since I feel this way that others must as well. It's difficult to sift through the competing messages when you're not in it every day. Pmac