Bruce Wark

Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some, like Peter Kelly, have greatness thrust upon them. Well, almost. Halifax peaceniks are striving to thrust some measure of greatness upon the Supercity mayor, but so far, he’s refusing to accept it. Kelly is balking at joining Mayors for Peace, an organization campaigning for the abolition […]

“Save the Internet!” That’s the rallying cry of one of the strangest coalitions in US history. “Save the internet!” chant the trigger-happy Gun Owners of America, echoed by the lefty lawyers of the American Civil Liberties Union. The Bible-thumpers in the Christian Coalition are singing from the same “Save the internet” hymnbook as the suave […]

My heart bled for that hapless gal on the radio the morning after Tuesday’s provincial election. When a reporter informed her Nova Scotians had elected another minority government, the poor thing cried out, “What a bloody waste of money!” She was dead wrong, of course. In my own riding of Waverley—Fall River—Beaver Bank, the NDP’s […]

Dull, dull, dull. That was the media consensus after last week’s NS leaders’ debate. Call me crazy, but I found the debate infuriating. I even watched it twice, stopping the tape often the second time to take notes—and to groan and curse at the leaders’ leaden words. Rudyard Kipling called words “the most powerful drug […]

Atlantic Superstores lobbed a stink bomb into the provincial election campaign last week when the giant retailer announced that part of its Barrington Street outlet would soon be open on Sunday. Starting on June 11, two days before the provincial election, the Barrington emporium will be peddling turnips and tangerines, dead flesh and fish, face […]

Rodney MacDonald spent the first week of the election campaign stumping the province in a recreational vehicle sporting an Alberta licence plate. Sharp-eyed Dave Rodenhiser of the Daily News unearthed “plate-gate” the day Rodney called the election. “Why do you have an Albertan RV?” Rodenhiser asked. He reports that the Tory leader tried to dodge […]

I was chowing down on green chili curry the Friday night before Rodney MacDonald pulled the fuse to detonate the provincial election, when I spied a note on the spice packet. It announced that the curry company donates money to help save the endangered Asian elephant. “But what about the poor mainland moose?” I cried, […]

The veteran peace activist Richard Sanders calls it “The War Fighters’ Eye in the Sky.” The eye in question is a sophisticated Canadian satellite called RADARSAT-1. It’s capable of peering through clouds and darkness to produce detailed images of the earth’s surface. “RADARSAT is, in fact, a major Canadian contribution to US-led wars that have […]

In societies based on Judeo-Christian values, sex is a dark demon that keeps rearing its ugly head. Money is filthy lucre. Mate money with sex and you come up with the world’s oldest profession. “For by means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread,” the Good Book warns. “A 54-year-old […]

“So, what did you learn in school today?” I asked little Johnny as we lounged in the rec room munching popcorn and quaffing Moose. “Well, I learned that Tommy Douglas is the Greatest Canadian because he brought us universal medicare,” said Johnny as he cracked another brewski. “And I learned that Stephen Harper is the […]

I had a lot of fun in my 19 years as a CBC journalist. The pay wasn’t bad and it was great being famous. I have to admit though, there were days when life was hectic in the CBC sausage factory. Sometimes we were so busy grinding out the baloney that we forgot to ask […]