Comments for melhurtig.ca http://melhurtig.ca The writings of Mel Hurtig Sun, 02 Oct 2011 01:01:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Comment on by Roy Berger http://melhurtig.ca/2011/09/19/595/comment-page-1/#comment-13168 Roy Berger Sun, 02 Oct 2011 01:01:52 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=595#comment-13168 Sometimes, I have occasion to talk to today's teens and young adults. I wonder what to say to them, I hate to think of nothing because, as a grown up now, I have the right to be annoying and ramble on while they think about rolling their eye balls. If today's post-modern youth hang anywhere, it's here so I'd like to say this to them: Think about all the strife and madness that's taken place on Earth as we search. Think about the goals and the means used in countries and times around the world. Think of their desires, the search for the black rose, the inventions. Now imagine for a moment, let's say you live in a magical time and place in history where you can say what you want, read what you want, look at what you want, travel without permission, publish without license, denounce an Official. Imagine if you lived in a time where you could just turn on a tap and get clean water, sleep where it's warm and have leisure time. Imagine if you lived in a time and lived a pretty odd lifestyle or looked different and it would be illegal for a mob to chase you down in the street. What if you lived in a time where you could pretty much contact anyone for a nickle? Imagine if you lived in a time, that would make every single one of your ancestors laugh, where you didn't have to spend every moment gathering fuel and heat to survive. Imagine if you lived in a day where you didn't get pregnant every time you had sex and you could rely on the State if you mate disappointed you. Imagine a time where any adult could put their name in the hat to become a State official and any adult could vote for or against them and, no matter what happened, you would still be safe from the loser or winner kicking down your door. If a portion of humanity ever reached that stage in social evolution and you were born in such a magical lucky time and place, if you could imagine such a thing - what would you do with that time? What would make sense to the knights, peasants, cave dwellers, warriors, royalty and artists of the past? All that they strove for so that you could... www.createspace.com/3650102 www.amazon.com/Rabbits-Happy-Apocalypse-Shortwave-ebook/dp/B005CBFR9G www.smashwords.com/books/view/87885 Sometimes, I have occasion to talk to today’s teens and young adults. I wonder what to say to them, I hate to think of nothing because, as a grown up now, I have the right to be annoying and ramble on while they think about rolling their eye balls. If today’s post-modern youth hang anywhere, it’s here so I’d like to say this to them:

Think about all the strife and madness that’s taken place on Earth as we search. Think about the goals and the means used in countries and times around the world. Think of their desires, the search for the black rose, the inventions.

Now imagine for a moment, let’s say you live in a magical time and place in history where you can say what you want, read what you want, look at what you want, travel without permission, publish without license, denounce an Official. Imagine if you lived in a time where you could just turn on a tap and get clean water, sleep where it’s warm and have leisure time. Imagine if you lived in a time and lived a pretty odd lifestyle or looked different and it would be illegal for a mob to chase you down in the street.

What if you lived in a time where you could pretty much contact anyone for a nickle? Imagine if you lived in a time, that would make every single one of your ancestors laugh, where you didn’t have to spend every moment gathering fuel and heat to survive. Imagine if you lived in a day where you didn’t get pregnant every time you had sex and you could rely on the State if you mate disappointed you.

Imagine a time where any adult could put their name in the hat to become a State official and any adult could vote for or against them and, no matter what happened, you would still be safe from the loser or winner kicking down your door.

If a portion of humanity ever reached that stage in social evolution and you were born in such a magical lucky time and place, if you could imagine such a thing – what would you do with that time? What would make sense to the knights, peasants, cave dwellers, warriors, royalty and artists of the past? All that they strove for so that you could…

http://www.createspace.com/3650102
http://www.amazon.com/Rabbits-Happy-Apocalypse-Shortwave-ebook/dp/B005CBFR9G
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87885

]]> Comment on Great Canadian Voices on Harper by Uncle B http://melhurtig.ca/2010/10/11/great-canadian-voices-on-harper/comment-page-1/#comment-13052 Uncle B Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:10:43 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=439#comment-13052 Alberta's Tar Sands: Plan "B" already in place! Google Alberta's politicians carefully now! They already have published plans to put Safe, plutonium free, benign waste product, Chinese Thorium fueled LFTR reactors on the Tar Sands, to provide clean, "CO2 free" heat for a much more environmentally friendly, Chinese/Canadian money backed, "Steam Extraction" of the oil there, which barely disturbs the top-soil! This methodology has already been tested, proven effective too! Currently, under obligation from the "Great American Corporate and Capitalist Propaganda Whore's" ridiculous, unsustainable "American Dream" and her "Sales pitch bull Shiite", huge amounts of Canadian Natural Gas is burned off in the out dated American devised technologies for oil recovery there, land is dug up, washed, and put out in great contaminated tailing ponds, and leaks out to surrounding rivers, streams, swamps, and destroys even them. and the indigenous Canadians we intend to protect! Canadian/Chinese proposal includes Churchill Manitoba as a huge new Northern Super-Port, oil, and natural gas pipe lined there, coal. iron ore by train, shipped through the North West Passage, with assistance from existing Russian nuclear ice-breakers, Russian, Finnish and Swedish mariners with experience in Northern waters already, doing the job, The Ontario Northern Railway reinforced, revived, to bring products, goods, from Ontario's Golden Horse-shoe region to Churchill for export, China wishes to liquify Canadian Natural Gas, ship it in their existing vessels to Asian markets, larger, richer Asian populations. Even suggested are shipments of Canadian Iron Ore, Coal, minerals, metals, grains, flax, hemp, even well educated medical, engineering, sciences, mathematics, students. Canadian schools, and a concerted Canadian effort to read and write in yet another language, Mandarin, an easy task in a multi-lingual Canada! We await the establishment of another West Edmonton styled Mall, another Canadian adaptation to our rich and prosperous Socialist Democracy our truly Northern country! The "Official Opposition" in our parliament today, The NDP would agree, and will probably win a majority in the next Canadian election! Denmark: net energy exporter, on Wind Turbines alone! Germany: curtailing all 'nuclear' by law! Surviving well, and outside the reach of the "Great American Corporate and Capitalist Propaganda Whore's" ridiculous "American Dream" and her "Sales pitch bull Shiite" too! Even her ridiculously dangerous Fuckoshima styled, plutonium making, bomb plant reactors now shunned, world-wide. Solar, Wind, Wave, Hydro, Tidal, Geothermal, Bio-mass, Anaerobic sewage and farm manure digestion for methane gas, Top-Soil building fertilizers, even methane gas burning home heating units using engines to generate electricity, catch heat from the same fuel burnt only once! A Two-for One gain over Americans and their sadly wasteful practices, poor ass-holes! All this, technically feasible, and probably more amenable to the Canadian mentality, the Canadian climate, the Canadian population and cultural mix. Remember: a large portion of Canada's population is already Asian in origin! Harper can jump off of his "U.S. brown" nose habits, jump on the Canadian bandwagon, do trade with Asia, where the money is now, and like our current Asian Softwood Agreement, realize great success or he can stick to the U.S.A. all the way to the bottom! Takes no fool to Google Shanghai skyline, Beijing Skyline, even Dubai skyline, compare them to Third World Detroit Michigan, Gary Indiana, and conclude where the real opportunities really are! The F**king Fool already wasted Canadian Capital on GM. What did we get? A $40,000.00 gasoline/electric hybrid that goes a full 40 miles on batteries??? Won't even work in the snow! Horse Shiite! Prius, superior Asian engineering, look at the difference!!! Betting on a dead horse makes no sense Stephan! get with it! Take possession of our Northlands! Not with out-dated, obsolete planes either! Army! Boots on the ground! Navy! Ships, Canadian built, Russian Built! Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian built - for Northerners, By Northerners, Piloted by Northerners! Planes - reconnaissance! not "jet fighters" Who in f**k is gonna put up jets to fight with them? MIG's? WWII air battles? Dog fights? - older than the Bomarc missile bases these ass-hole notions~ Hell! Russia will sell us all the MIG's we can buy! French fighters, Mirage - far superior, sold fully tuned! But we still will never need fighters! More likely Bombardier Ski-doos! Alberta’s Tar Sands: Plan “B” already in place! Google Alberta’s politicians carefully now! They already have published plans to put Safe, plutonium free, benign waste product, Chinese Thorium fueled LFTR reactors on the Tar Sands, to provide clean, “CO2 free” heat for a much more environmentally friendly, Chinese/Canadian money backed, “Steam Extraction” of the oil there, which barely disturbs the top-soil! This methodology has already been tested, proven effective too! Currently, under obligation from the “Great American Corporate and Capitalist Propaganda Whore’s” ridiculous, unsustainable “American Dream” and her “Sales pitch bull Shiite”, huge amounts of Canadian Natural Gas is burned off in the out dated American devised technologies for oil recovery there, land is dug up, washed, and put out in great contaminated tailing ponds, and leaks out to surrounding rivers, streams, swamps, and destroys even them. and the indigenous Canadians we intend to protect!
Canadian/Chinese proposal includes Churchill Manitoba as a huge new Northern Super-Port, oil, and natural gas pipe lined there, coal. iron ore by train, shipped through the North West Passage, with assistance from existing Russian nuclear ice-breakers, Russian, Finnish and Swedish mariners with experience in Northern waters already, doing the job, The Ontario Northern Railway reinforced, revived, to bring products, goods, from Ontario’s Golden Horse-shoe region to Churchill for export, China wishes to liquify Canadian Natural Gas, ship it in their existing vessels to Asian markets, larger, richer Asian populations. Even suggested are shipments of Canadian Iron Ore, Coal, minerals, metals, grains, flax, hemp, even well educated medical, engineering, sciences, mathematics, students. Canadian schools, and a concerted Canadian effort to read and write in yet another language, Mandarin, an easy task in a multi-lingual Canada! We await the establishment of another West Edmonton styled Mall, another Canadian adaptation to our rich and prosperous Socialist Democracy our truly Northern country! The “Official Opposition” in our parliament today, The NDP would agree, and will probably win a majority in the next Canadian election!
Denmark: net energy exporter, on Wind Turbines alone! Germany: curtailing all ‘nuclear’ by law! Surviving well, and outside the reach of the “Great American Corporate and Capitalist Propaganda Whore’s” ridiculous “American Dream” and her “Sales pitch bull Shiite” too! Even her ridiculously dangerous Fuckoshima styled, plutonium making, bomb plant reactors now shunned, world-wide. Solar, Wind, Wave, Hydro, Tidal, Geothermal, Bio-mass, Anaerobic sewage and farm manure digestion for methane gas, Top-Soil building fertilizers, even methane gas burning home heating units using engines to generate electricity, catch heat from the same fuel burnt only once! A Two-for One gain over Americans and their sadly wasteful practices, poor ass-holes! All this, technically feasible, and probably more amenable to the Canadian mentality, the Canadian climate, the Canadian population and cultural mix. Remember: a large portion of Canada’s population is already Asian in origin! Harper can jump off of his “U.S. brown” nose habits, jump on the Canadian bandwagon, do trade with Asia, where the money is now, and like our current Asian Softwood Agreement, realize great success or he can stick to the U.S.A. all the way to the bottom! Takes no fool to Google Shanghai skyline, Beijing Skyline, even Dubai skyline, compare them to Third World Detroit Michigan, Gary Indiana, and conclude where the real opportunities really are!
The F**king Fool already wasted Canadian Capital on GM. What did we get? A $40,000.00 gasoline/electric hybrid that goes a full 40 miles on batteries??? Won’t even work in the snow! Horse Shiite! Prius, superior Asian engineering, look at the difference!!! Betting on a dead horse makes no sense Stephan! get with it! Take possession of our Northlands! Not with out-dated, obsolete planes either! Army! Boots on the ground! Navy! Ships, Canadian built, Russian Built! Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian built – for Northerners, By Northerners, Piloted by Northerners! Planes – reconnaissance! not “jet fighters” Who in f**k is gonna put up jets to fight with them? MIG’s? WWII air battles? Dog fights? – older than the Bomarc missile bases these ass-hole notions~ Hell! Russia will sell us all the MIG’s we can buy! French fighters, Mirage – far superior, sold fully tuned! But we still will never need fighters! More likely Bombardier Ski-doos!

]]> Comment on Tribute to Jack Layton by Nadine Lumley http://melhurtig.ca/2011/08/23/tribute-to-jack-layton/comment-page-1/#comment-13025 Nadine Lumley Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:26:02 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=576#comment-13025 How Jack Layton helps keep neocon Harper in power But it was what Layton did not say that evening that was more interesting. He did not mention that the most ideologically right-wing prime minister in Canadian history was about to be sworn into office, and he did not mention that while the ndp’s 2006 election result was impressive, the party no longer held the same sway in Parliament. http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2006.05-politics-jack-layton-ndp-fake-left-go-right/1/ - the NDP is largely responsible for putting Harper in office in the first place, in 2006. You tell me is it normal for a supposed left winged party to be celebrating this 'big change' over a few extra seats, without much acknowledgement that the most ideologically right winged PM was about to be sworn into office? http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2006.05-politics-jack-layton-ndp-fake-left-go-right/ How Jack Layton helps keep neocon Harper in power

But it was what Layton did not say that evening that was more interesting. He did not mention that the most ideologically right-wing prime minister in Canadian history was about to be sworn into office, and he did not mention that while the ndp’s 2006 election result was impressive, the party no longer held the same sway in Parliament.

http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2006.05-politics-jack-layton-ndp-fake-left-go-right/1/

- the NDP is largely responsible for putting Harper in office in the first place, in 2006. You tell me is it normal for a supposed left winged party to be celebrating this ‘big change’ over a few extra seats, without much acknowledgement that the most ideologically right winged PM was about to be sworn into office?

http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2006.05-politics-jack-layton-ndp-fake-left-go-right/

]]> Comment on Tribute to Jack Layton by Nadine Lumley http://melhurtig.ca/2011/08/23/tribute-to-jack-layton/comment-page-1/#comment-13024 Nadine Lumley Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:25:45 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=576#comment-13024 Jack Layton sold out Canada to Steve Harper Prime Minister Martin had promised to call the election within thirty days of the release of retired justice John Gomery’s final report on the Liberal sponsorship scandal, which was delivered as planned on February 1, 2006. Either way, therefore, a trip to the polls was imminent. But NDP strategists thought it dangerous to allow the government to set the terms of debate, and were concerned that on the key issue of political ethics the party would be caught in a squeeze between the Liberals and the Conservatives. They believed that the Liberals would accept virtually all of Justice Gomery’s recommendations and that a chastened Liberal Party could win a majority government. http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2006.05-politics-jack-layton-ndp-fake-left-go-right/ Jack Layton sold out Canada to Steve Harper

Prime Minister Martin had promised to call the election within thirty days of the release of retired justice John Gomery’s final report on the Liberal sponsorship scandal, which was delivered as planned on February 1, 2006.

Either way, therefore, a trip to the polls was imminent. But NDP strategists thought it dangerous to allow the government to set the terms of debate, and were concerned that on the key issue of political ethics the party would be caught in a squeeze between the Liberals and the Conservatives.

They believed that the Liberals would accept virtually all of Justice Gomery’s recommendations and that a chastened Liberal Party could win a majority government.

http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2006.05-politics-jack-layton-ndp-fake-left-go-right/

]]> Comment on Tribute to Jack Layton by Richard Ring http://melhurtig.ca/2011/08/23/tribute-to-jack-layton/comment-page-1/#comment-12990 Richard Ring Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:17:45 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=576#comment-12990 Hearing about Canada's great loss during return flight from Sweden.I could not help but recall his intent to work towards changing our election system. Am hopeful that someone in his party will take up that big challenge,as I view it as essential if we are to progress in making our government work better for a broader group of citizens.Had difficulty to relate how our first past the post system is democratic in a very democratic country,where every vote counts,every 4 years as elections are held for both national and community candidates at same time..Do not buy the rationale that it has served us well for 144 years. It is more and more serving specific groups well.. namely those starting with Big...Sadly we have turned down 4 efforts in BC/Ontario so will be hard to effect change without a man/woman of Mr. Layton,s stature leading the effort.. Hearing about Canada’s great loss during return flight from Sweden.I could not help but recall his intent to work towards changing our election system. Am hopeful that someone in his party will take up that big challenge,as I view it as essential if we are to progress in making our government work better for a broader group of citizens.Had difficulty to relate how our first past the post system is democratic in a very democratic country,where every vote counts,every 4 years as elections are held for both national and community candidates at same time..Do not buy the rationale that it has served us well for 144 years. It is more and more serving specific groups well.. namely those starting with Big…Sadly we have turned down 4 efforts in BC/Ontario so will be hard to effect change without a man/woman of Mr. Layton,s stature leading the effort..

]]> Comment on Harper Misrepresents Economic Reality by Dragon Images http://melhurtig.ca/2011/03/31/harper-misrepresents-economic-reality/comment-page-1/#comment-12986 Dragon Images Wed, 24 Aug 2011 02:04:41 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=560#comment-12986 What's genuinely concerning about the Tories (so they say) not knowing that Andy Coulson was still being paid by News International (read; spy for Murdoch) when he was hired by David Cameron to work at No 10 Downing Street is that he could have been being paid by anybody, Russia, Iran, um, Labour, anyone at all! Aren't staff at Downing Street supposed to be securely vetted before they can work adjacent to a high-level security environment? It would be nice to see that absurd stuffed shirt Cameron get some serious criticism over this but beyond that it's just not funny... What’s genuinely concerning about the Tories (so they say) not knowing that Andy Coulson was still being paid by News International (read; spy for Murdoch) when he was hired by David Cameron to work at No 10 Downing Street is that he could have been being paid by anybody, Russia, Iran, um, Labour, anyone at all! Aren’t staff at Downing Street supposed to be securely vetted before they can work adjacent to a high-level security environment? It would be nice to see that absurd stuffed shirt Cameron get some serious criticism over this but beyond that it’s just not funny…

]]> Comment on Many Thanks for the Great Feedback! by Chris J. Paxton http://melhurtig.ca/2011/07/12/many-thanks-for-the-great-feedback/comment-page-1/#comment-12926 Chris J. Paxton Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:55:40 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=573#comment-12926 I've actually just discovered this blog thanks to the Ideas programs (I get them on podcast so I'm a little late to the game). I love your stuff and your ideas about this country. This blog will be one of my regular stops from now on. A question: Is it possible to put an email subscription on the page? I know it is technically possible since I am a WordPress user too. Thanks for being a true Canadian patriot! Chris I’ve actually just discovered this blog thanks to the Ideas programs (I get them on podcast so I’m a little late to the game). I love your stuff and your ideas about this country. This blog will be one of my regular stops from now on. A question: Is it possible to put an email subscription on the page? I know it is technically possible since I am a WordPress user too.

Thanks for being a true Canadian patriot!
Chris

]]> Comment on Many Thanks for the Great Feedback! by David Achtem http://melhurtig.ca/2011/07/12/many-thanks-for-the-great-feedback/comment-page-1/#comment-12853 David Achtem Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:39:58 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=573#comment-12853 Dear Mel good to see you are going hard still.I have never been terribly religious I was raised Roman Catholic you grow up next to my dad now live net to all my amily in Van.I have an amazing story for you to help me get ot there, Thank you for the North West Passage but I thing I have your next book! My great grandfather was a jew who escape persecution.But it .life is about injustices to many. If you are curious call me at 780-432-3561 All the best David Achtem I finally get what you have been saying for years. You are a good man Dear Mel good to see you are going hard still.I have never been terribly religious I was raised Roman Catholic you grow up next to my dad now live net to all my amily in Van.I have an amazing story for you to help me get ot there, Thank you for the North West Passage but I thing I have your next book! My great grandfather was a jew who escape persecution.But it .life is about injustices to many.
If you are curious call me at 780-432-3561

All the best
David Achtem
I finally get what you have been saying for years.
You are a good man

]]> Comment on Many Thanks for the Great Feedback! by Catherine Larnon-Trout http://melhurtig.ca/2011/07/12/many-thanks-for-the-great-feedback/comment-page-1/#comment-12784 Catherine Larnon-Trout Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:31:01 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=573#comment-12784 Hello Mr Hurtig, I live in Maple Ridge, BC but in 1993 I lived in Regina Saskatchewan, campaigned and was a member of The National Party. I have listened to you many times as have my kids ( one of them was 8 when we met you for the first time - He had just had his ear pierced and suffered a lot of teasing. He asked you what you thought - you told him he would grow up to be a fine young man. He has. Thanks for keepin' on keepin' on you are still an inspiration to me. Hello Mr Hurtig, I live in Maple Ridge, BC but in 1993 I lived in Regina Saskatchewan, campaigned and was a member of The National Party. I have listened to you many times as have my kids ( one of them was 8 when we met you for the first time – He had just had his ear pierced and suffered a lot of teasing. He asked you what you thought – you told him he would grow up to be a fine young man. He has. Thanks for keepin’ on keepin’ on you are still an inspiration to me.

]]> Comment on Many Thanks for the Great Feedback! by G. Thielmann http://melhurtig.ca/2011/07/12/many-thanks-for-the-great-feedback/comment-page-1/#comment-12779 G. Thielmann Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:58:56 +0000 http://melhurtig.ca/?p=573#comment-12779 I just caught a bit of the CBC piece and will check the link for more... I teach civics as part of the Social Studies curriculum to high school students and have been challenged by your work here and elsewhere to put a greater emphasis on students becoming active citizens and developing their own vision of Canadian Identity/Nationalism that reflects their hopes and also informs their consumer/social/political behaviour. The challenges faced by our society and environment are such that we must seek to remake culture at every turn, to (re)introduce responsibility, total cost accounting, and mutual care into our national dialogue, and your examples provide many tools to make this task possible and enjoyable. Thanks! I just caught a bit of the CBC piece and will check the link for more… I teach civics as part of the Social Studies curriculum to high school students and have been challenged by your work here and elsewhere to put a greater emphasis on students becoming active citizens and developing their own vision of Canadian Identity/Nationalism that reflects their hopes and also informs their consumer/social/political behaviour. The challenges faced by our society and environment are such that we must seek to remake culture at every turn, to (re)introduce responsibility, total cost accounting, and mutual care into our national dialogue, and your examples provide many tools to make this task possible and enjoyable. Thanks!

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